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New particle formation (NPF) is a global phenomenon that significantly influences climate. NPF also contributes to haze, with pronounced negative impacts on human health. Theory and observations both show that nucleation is favored during clean days and inhibited during haze episodes due to a high pre‐existing condensation sink (CS). Here we show that the surprising occurrence of NPF during haze days in Beijing is associated with a high concentration of sulfuric acid dimers. With both field observations and model simulations, we demonstrate that downward mixing of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from the residual layer aloft enhances ground level SO2, which in turn elevates sulfuric acid dimer after rapid SO2 oxidation in the polluted air. Our results address a key gap between the source of SO2 and its atmospheric oxidation products during haze conditions in a megacity, Beijing, providing a missing link in a complete chain describing NPF in the polluted atmosphere. Plain Language Summary: New particle formation is a global phenomenon with notable effects on climate and health. Recent studies have argued that atmospheric nucleation during haze episodes with high aerosol loading should not occur. In spite of this, we have observed intensive nucleation events during haze episodes in Beijing and found an unexpected high concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2), along with a decreased condensation sink (CS) owing to the development of boundary layer. The SO2 originates from emissions by tall stacks outside of Beijing and is subsequently transported downward from the morning residual layer to the surface, this contributes to peaks of SO2 during the day. A decreased loss of sulfuric acid dimer owing to a decreased CS drives nucleation during haze episodes. As the phenomenon of a later morning SO2 peak exactly coincide with nucleation has been widely reported in eastern China, we highlight the importance of emissions of SO2 from tall smokestacks in atmospheric nucleation events. Key Points: Sulfuric acid dimer is involved in new particle formation (NPF) events during haze episodes in BeijingField observation and model simulation confirm downward mixing of sulfur dioxide from residual layerHigh formation rate of sulfuric acid dimer owing to a decreased condensation sink promotes NPF during haze [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the aging assessment method of the oil–paper insulation in power transformers, the polarization and depolarization current (PDC) characteristics of oil–paper composite insulation samples are investigated under high applied voltage. Based on the asymmetry of polarization absorption current and depolarization current and the polarity effect of insulation pressboard, the repeated polarization current test method is proposed. A novel aging characteristic parameter, which is the ratio of the normalized charge for the first polarization and the normalized charge for the second polarization, is extracted. The difference between the decay rates of the first polarization current and the second polarization current increases at first and then decreases with the polarization time, and decreases with increasing aging degree of the pressboard. The more serious the insulation aging is, the smaller the variation range of aging characteristic parameter with polarization time is, and the closer the value is to 1. With decrease in the DP, the maximum of aging characteristic parameter changes in a decreasing trend. The aging condition of the oil–paper composite insulation can be assessed by the repeated polarization current method and the relationship between the aging characteristic parameter and the polarization time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Search Strategy Selection Criteria Data Collection and Analysis Main Results Conclusions Adverse pregnancy outcomes, which can be caused by multiple factors, present a significant threat to the health of mothers and their babies. Cell‐free fetal DNA (cffDNA) from placental trophoblast cells might be able to reflect placental and fetal status. Previous studies have yielded controversial results regarding the association of FF or cffDNA with various adverse pregnancy outcomes. A previous study has attempted to systematically assess the association between low fetal fraction (FF) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, but it failed to perform quantitative analyses due to the few studies included. In the present study, we attempted to quantitatively assess the association of FF (or cffDNA) with adverse pregnancy outcomes and further analyze the causes of heterogeneity.To investigate the association of high/low FF or cffDNA with adverse pregnancy outcomes.We searched the databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science from January 1, 1990, to June 15, 2022 in this meta‐analysis.Studies on the relationships of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with FF or cell free DNA were included. Non‐English literature was excluded.Data about pregnancy outcomes and cell free DNA were extracted and meta‐analyzed. Subgroup analysis was performed by different outcomes.There were 11 studies included involving 8280 participants. No significant heterogeneity was observed among the studies (I2 = 27%, 25%), and a fixed‐effect model was used for weighted quantitative analysis. The results revealed that the FF or cffDNA during pregnancy was significantly associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women (OR = 1.57, 95% CI [1.24, 1.99], P = 0.233). The overall incidence of the maternal adverse outcomes was 8% (95% CI: 5–13). Subgroup analysis of different outcomes showed an evident association between low FF or cffDNA and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) (OR = 1.76, 95% CI [1.36, 2.27], P = 0.581). There was no evidence that the occurrence of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) and placental abnormality was associated with FF or cffDNA. No association was observed between low FF or cffDNA during pregnancy and adverse outcomes in fetuses (OR = 1.39, 95% CI [0.99, 1.94], P = 0.242). The overall incidence of adverse outcomes in fetuses was 8% (95% CI: 6–11). There were controversies over the association between high FF or cffDNA and HDP, and sPTB and small for gestational age infant, among different studies.Pregnant women with low FF or cffDNA during the first or second trimester of pregnancy have an overall increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially HDP. However, the association between FF and various pregnancy outcomes needs to be further explored by more prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this research is to improve poor network structure of polychloroprene rubber (CR)/epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) self-crosslinking blends, which could substitute traditional vulcanizates in some application area. Carbon black (CB)-CR/ENR blends were prepared by reacting CR with ENR in the presence of CB. The structure of CR/ENR blends was characterized by attenuated total-reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). The effect of CB loading on curing characterization and mechanical properties of CR/ENR blends was investigated, and the interaction among CR, ENR, and CB was studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The effect of CB loading on the Payne effect of CR/ENR was investigated using rubber process analyzer. Scanning electron microscope was used to characterize the morphology of CB-CR/ENR blends. The results showed that CR/ENR blends were obtained by the ring-opening reaction of epoxy groups in ENR and chlorine groups in CR. Mechanical properties of CR/ENR blends increased with the increase of CB loading. The Payne effect of CR/ENR became more remarkable with increasing CB loading. Morphology study indicated that interfacial compatibility between CR and ENR increased with the increase of CB loading because CB could strengthen the self-crosslinking network structure of CR/ENR blends. The promoting effect of CB on self-crosslinking reaction was verified by the assessment of crosslink density. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:463-471, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human IL-4 (IL-4), one of the small four-helix-bundle cytokines, uses the specific IL-4 receptor α chain together with a promiscuous subunit, the common γ chain (γc) for transmembrane signaling. The ligand-binding properties of γc, which are presently poorly understood, were analysed by biosensor techniques employing recombinant ectodomains of γc and α receptor chains (IL4-BP). The formation of a ternary complex between solute γc ectodomain and IL-4 saturated IL4-BP could be established to exhibit a high dissociation constant Kd = 3 μM and a short half life τ1/2 = 7 s. This binding affinity resulted to the major part from the interaction of γc ectodomain with IL-4 and not from a direct contact of the ectodomains, since binding between solute γc ectodomain and IL-4 could be established (Kd about 150 μM), whereas no binding was found between the γc ectodomain and IL4-BP in the absence of IL-4. The IL-4 epitope involved in γc ectodomain interaction (site 2) was identified by means of an alanine-scanning mutational approach. The IL-4 site 2 comprised residues I11 and N15 on helix A together with Y124 on helix D as major binding determinants. The IL-4 alanine variants at site 2 generally showed only moderate defects in biological activity. Even the most affected variant [A124]IL-4 retained a partial agonist activity of about 50 % during a T-cell proliferation assay. The dosis leading to a half-maximal response (EC50) was not altered by site-2 substitutions. The present results are in accordance with a two-step-dimerisation mechanism for IL-4 receptor activation, where solute IL-4 at physiological concentrations binds first via the high-affinity site 1 to the α chain only, since the affinity of IL-4 site 2 for γc is too low. This site-2 affinity... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aim Method Results Conclusion Relevance to Clinical Practice Pneumonia has a high incidence in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and lacks effective treatments. Early mobilization (EM) may be a potentially effective treatment.To explore the impact of EM on TBI‐related pneumonia in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU).This study was a historical control study. 100 TBI patients who received EM intervention were prospectively included as the experimental group (EM cohort), and 250 TBI patients were retrospectively included as the control group. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was employed to balance baseline and minimize potential bias. The relationship between EM and TBI‐related pneumonia was investigated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, then further determined by subgroup analysis. The influence of other variables was excluded by interaction analyses. Finally, the effect of EM on the prognosis of TBI patients was analysed by comparing the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and the hospital stay.After screening, 86 patients were included in the EM cohort and 199 patients were included in the control cohort. There were obvious differences between the two cohorts at baseline, and these differences were eliminated after PSM, when the incidence of pneumonia was significantly lower in the EM cohort than in the control cohort (35.0% vs. 61.9%, p < .001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that EM was an independent risk factor for TBI‐related pneumonia and was significantly associated with a decreased incidence of pneumonia. This correlation was present in most subgroups and was not affected by other variables (p for interaction >.05). Patients in the EM cohort had shorter length of ICU stay (6 vs. 7 days, p = .017) and higher GCS at discharge (12 vs. 11, p = .010).EM is a safe and effective treatment for TBI patients in NICU, which can reduce the incidence of pneumonia, help to improve prognosis and shorten the length of ICU stay.Although the utilization rate of EM is low in TBI patients for various reasons, EM is still an effective method to prevent complications. Our study confirms that a scientific and detailed EM strategy can effectively reduce the incidence of pneumonia while ensuring the safety of TBI patients, which is worthy of further research and clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquefaction‐induced lateral spread is a kind of ground deformation caused by soil liquefaction, which is a danger to houses, roads and other infrastructures. In order to systematically investigate the influence law of different parameters on lateral displacement, this paper establishes a numerical model of the seismic responses of gently sloping grounds through the open‐source finite element software OpenSees and carries out a large number of calculations considering various working conditions. Based on the calculation results, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and random forest (RF) regression are used to build the proxy models for lateral spread displacement prediction. The finite element model was verified by using the multiple VELACS No. 2 centrifuge experiments. Finally, the model was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method. The results of the model training showed that both models were able to achieve a good fit to the numerical calculation results, with the RF model having a smaller prediction error for the centrifuge experiments. The model interpretation results showed that the modified cumulative absolute velocity (CAV5) was the most important input variable in the model, and the importance of ground slope (S), relative density (Dr) and thickness of liquefiable soil layer (HL) was relatively high. In addition, the influence of each parameter on the lateral displacement is consistent with the actual situation, reflecting the rationality of the model prediction process. In addition, the results showed that there is a threshold for the modified cumulative absolute velocity (CAV5) and Arias intensity (Ia) that leads to a significant increase in lateral displacement. The thresholds of CAV5 and Ia are 1.3 g s and 1.0 m/s, respectively. These thresholds are in good agreement with the thresholds for triggering the overall initial liquefaction of the soil layer determined by related studies, which provides a reference for the evaluation of liquefaction‐induced lateral displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Starch biosynthesis in gravity‐sensing tissues of rice shoot determines the magnitude of rice shoot gravitropism and thus tiller angle. However, the molecular mechanism underlying starch biosynthesis in rice gravity‐sensing tissues is still unclear. We characterized a novel tiller angle gene LAZY3 (LA3) in rice through map‐based cloning. Biochemical, molecular and genetic studies further demonstrated the essential roles of LA3 in gravity perception of rice shoot and tiller angle control. The shoot gravitropism and lateral auxin transport were defective in la3 mutant upon gravistimulation. We showed that LA3 encodes a chloroplast‐localized tryptophan‐rich protein associated with starch granules via Tryptophan‐rich region (TRR) domain. Moreover, LA3 could interact with the starch biosynthesis regulator LA2, determining starch granule formation in shoot gravity‐sensing tissues. LA3 and LA2 negatively regulate tiller angle in the same pathway acting upstream of LA1 to mediate asymmetric distribution of auxin. Our study defined LA3 as an indispensable factor of starch biosynthesis in rice gravity‐sensing tissues that greatly broadens current understanding in the molecular mechanisms underlying the starch granule formation in gravity‐sensing tissues, and provides new insights into the regulatory mechanism of shoot gravitropism and rice tiller angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gravity‐induced root curvature involves the asymmetric distribution of the phytohormone auxin. This response depends on the concerted activities of the auxin transporters such as PIN‐FORMED (PIN) proteins for auxin efflux and AUXIN RESISTANT 1 (AUX1) for auxin influx. However, how the auxin gradient is established remains elusive. Here we identified a new mutant with a short root, strong auxin distribution in the lateral root cap and an impaired gravitropic response. The causal gene encoded an Arabidopsis homolog of the human unconventional prefoldin RPB5 interactor (URI). AtURI interacted with prefoldin 2 (PFD2) and PFD6, two β‐type PFD members that modulate actin and tubulin patterning in roots. The auxin reporter DR5rev:GFP showed that asymmetric auxin redistribution after gravistimulation is disordered in aturi‐1 root tips. Treatment with the endomembrane protein trafficking inhibitor brefeldin A indicated that recycling of the auxin transporter PIN2 is disrupted in aturi‐1 roots as well as in pfd mutants. We propose that AtURI cooperates with PFDs to recycle PIN2 and modulate auxin distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OH radicals in the air maintain the oxidizing power of the troposphere. A conventional view is that particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is a major sink of OH radicals, thereby lowering the oxidizing power of atmosphere in the event of high‐level PM. By contrary, our joint experimental/theoretical study reveals a new mechanism for the generation of gaseous OH radicals by carbonaceous soot particles. We show that water and O2 react on carbonaceous surfaces and give rise to gaseous OH radicals under irradiation. With ample delocalized π electrons, carbonaceous surfaces enable the easy desorption of hydroxyl groups to produce gaseous OH radicals, evidenced by direct observation of the steady generation of OH radicals on a carbonaceous surface. Our results reveal a new chemical mechanism for the production of OH radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OH radicals in the air maintain the oxidizing power of the troposphere. A conventional view is that particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is a major sink of OH radicals, thereby lowering the oxidizing power of atmosphere in the event of high‐level PM. By contrary, our joint experimental/theoretical study reveals a new mechanism for the generation of gaseous OH radicals by carbonaceous soot particles. We show that water and O2 react on carbonaceous surfaces and give rise to gaseous OH radicals under irradiation. With ample delocalized π electrons, carbonaceous surfaces enable the easy desorption of hydroxyl groups to produce gaseous OH radicals, evidenced by direct observation of the steady generation of OH radicals on a carbonaceous surface. Our results reveal a new chemical mechanism for the production of OH radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Garlic (Allium sativum L.), whose bioactive components are mainly organosulfur compounds (OSCs), is a herbaceous perennial widely consumed as a green vegetable and a condiment. Yet, the metabolic enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of OSCs are not identified in garlic. RESULTS: Here, a full‐length transcriptome of purple garlic was generated via PacBio and Illumina sequencing, to characterize the garlic transcriptome and identify key proteins mediating the biosynthesis of OSCs. Overall, 22.56 Gb of clean data were generated, resulting in 454 698 circular consensus sequence (CCS) reads, of which 83.4% (379 206) were identified as being full‐length non‐chimeric reads – their further transcript clustering facilitated identification of 36 571 high‐quality consensus reads. Once corrected, their genome‐wide mapping revealed that 6140 reads were novel isoforms of known genes, and 2186 reads were novel isoforms from novel genes. We detected 1677 alternative splicing events, finding 2902 genes possessing either two or more poly(A) sites. Given the importance of serine O‐acetyltransferase (SERAT) in cysteine biosynthesis, we investigated the five SERAT homologs in garlic. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a three‐tier classification of SERAT proteins, each featuring a serine acetyltransferase domain (N‐terminal) and one or two hexapeptide transferase motifs. Template‐based modeling showed that garlic SERATs shared a common homo‐trimeric structure with homologs from bacteria and other plants. The residues responsible for substrate recognition and catalysis were highly conserved, implying a similar reaction mechanism. In profiling the five SERAT genes' transcript levels, their expression pattern varied significantly among different tissues. CONCLUSION: This study's findings deepen our knowledge of SERAT proteins, and provide timely genetic resources that could advance future exploration into garlic's genetic improvement and breeding. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Plant Knotted1‐like homeobox (KNOX) genes encode homeodomain‐containing transcription factors. In rice (Oryza sativa L.), little is known about the downstream target genes of KNOX Class II subfamily proteins. Here we generated chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)–sequencing datasets for HOS59, a member of the rice KNOX Class II subfamily, and characterized the genome‐wide binding sites of HOS59. We conducted trait ontology (TO) analysis of 9705 identified downstream target genes, and found that multiple TO terms are related to plant structure morphology and stress traits. ChIP–quantitative PCR (qPCR) was conducted to validate some key target genes. Meanwhile, our IP‐MS datasets showed that HOS59 was closely associated with BELL family proteins, some grain size regulators (OsSPL13, OsSPL16, OsSPL18, SLG, etc.), and some epigenetic modification factors such as OsAGO4α and OsAGO4β, proteins involved in small interfering RNA‐mediated gene silencing. Furthermore, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 editing and transgenic approaches to generate hos59 mutants and overexpression lines, respectively. Compared with wild‐type plants, the hos59 mutants have longer grains and increased glume cell length, a loose plant architecture, and drooping leaves, while the overexpression lines showed smaller grain size, erect leaves, and lower plant height. The qRT‐PCR results showed that mutation of the HOS59 gene led to upregulation of some grain size‐related genes such as OsSPL13, OsSPL18, and PGL2. In summary, our results indicate that HOS59 may be a repressor of the downstream target genes, negatively regulating glume cell length, rice grain size, plant architecture, etc. The identified downstream target genes and possible interaction proteins of HOS59 improve our understanding of the KNOX regulatory networks. Significance Statement: We identified downstream target genes and possible interaction partners of rice (Oryza sativa L.) HOS59 (a KNOX Class II subfamily member) through ChIP‐seq and IP‐MS analyses. Furthermore, we found that compared to wild‐type and overexpression plants, the CRISPR/Cas9‐edited mutants showed longer grains and increased glume cell length, a loose plant architecture, and drooping leaves. Our results indicate that HOS59 is a negative regulator of the downstream genes, playing essential roles in agronomic traits such as grain size and architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mullite ceramics were fabricated with fly ash, clay, and Al2O3 as raw materials. The effects of Al2O3 content, the sintering temperature and the pickling process on the crystalline phases, sintering characteristics and microstructures were studied. With more addition amount of Al2O3 and higher sintering temperature, the peak intensity of the mullite crystalline phase increased. By pickling process, mullite instead of anorthite became the main phase with little corundum. Moreover, the required sintering temperature had reduced to 1300°C and the Al2O3 content also decreased to 30 wt%. The pickling process also enlarged the sintering range of the green bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Rice (Oryzasativa) tiller angle is a key component for achieving ideal plant architecture and higher grain yield. However, the molecular mechanism underlying rice tiller angle remains elusive.We characterized a novel rice tiller angle mutant lazy2 (la2) and isolated the causative gene LA2 through map‐based cloning. Biochemical, molecular and genetic studies were conducted to elucidate the LA2‐involved tiller angle regulatory mechanism.The la2 mutant shows large tiller angle with impaired shoot gravitropism and defective asymmetric distribution of auxin. We found that starch granules in amyloplasts are completely lost in the gravity‐sensing leaf sheath base cells of la2, whereas the seed development is not affected. LA2 encodes a novel chloroplastic protein that can interact with the starch biosynthetic enzyme Oryza sativa plastidic phosphoglucomutase (OspPGM) to regulate starch biosynthesis in rice shoot gravity‐sensing cells. Genetic analysis showed that LA2 regulates shoot gravitropism and tiller angle by acting upstream of LA1 to mediate lateral auxin transport.Our studies revealed that LA2 acts as a novel regulator of rice tiller angle by specifically regulating starch biosynthesis in gravity‐sensing cells, and established the framework of the starch‐statolith‐dependent rice tiller angle regulatory pathway, providing new insights into the rice tiller angle regulatory network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar radiation is an important environmental factor affecting maize (Zea mays L.) root and shoot growth and grain yield. This study was conducted in Qitai and Yinchuan, China, in 2018 and 2019. The maize cultivars of XY335, ZD958, and DH618 and planting densities of 7.5 × 104 (D1) and 12 × 104 plants ha−1 (D2) were adopted under shading levels of 15 (S1), 30 (S2), and 50% (S3) with natural light as the control (CK). The results showed that averaging all shading and density treatments over the 2 yr, shading reduced the grain yields of XY335, ZD958, and DH618 by an average of 40.4, 39.2, and 35.6%, respectively, compared with the CK. The effect of solar radiation on the root dry weight was greater than that on the shoot dry weight, which resulted in a decrease in root/shoot ratio with increasing shading level. The quantitative analysis results showed that for every 1‐MJ m−2 decrease in solar radiation, the root dry weight, shoot dry weight, and root/shoot ratio decreased by 0.1938 g m−2, 1.3517 g m−2, and 0.0103 × 10−2, respectively. According to this quantitative relationship, it was helpful to select cultivars and planting density with suitable root characteristics under different solar radiation conditions in different regions. From the aspects of shoot and grain yield, DH618 was more shade resistant, and its root system rapidly adjusted to compensate for shoot growth and yield formation when solar radiation decreased. Such cultivars should be given attention in future production and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The flag leaf and grain belong to the source and sink, respectively, of cereals, and both have a bearing on final yield. Premature leaf senescence significantly reduces the photosynthetic rate and severely lowers crop yield. Cytokinins play important roles in leaf senescence and determine grain number. Here, we characterized the roles of the rice (Oryza sativa L.) cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase OsCKX11 in delaying leaf senescence, increasing grain number, and coordinately regulating source and sink. OsCKX11 was predominantly expressed in the roots, leaves, and panicles and was strongly induced by abscisic acid and leaf senescence. Recombinant OsCKX11 protein catalysed the degradation of various types of cytokinins but showed preference for trans‐zeatin and cis‐zeatin. Cytokinin levels were significantly increased in the flag leaves of osckx11 mutant compared to those of the wild type (WT). In the osckx11 mutant, the ABA‐biosynthesizing genes were down‐regulated and the ABA‐degrading genes were up‐regulated, thereby reducing the ABA levels relative to the WT. Thus, OsCKX11 functions antagonistically between cytokinins and ABA in leaf senescence. Moreover, osckx11 presented with significantly increased branch, tiller, and grain number compared with the WT. Collectively, our findings reveal that OsCKX11 simultaneously regulates photosynthesis and grain number, which may provide new insights into leaf senescence and crop molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence confirms that ferroptosis plays an important role in tumor growth inhibition. However, some non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines are less sensitive to erastin‐induced ferroptotic cell death. Elucidating the mechanism of resistance of cancer cells to erastin‐induced ferroptosis and increasing the sensitivity of cancer cells to erastin need to be addressed. In our experiment, erastin and acetaminophen (APAP) cotreatment inhibited NSCLC cell viability and promoted ferroptosis and apoptosis, accompanied with attenuation of glutathione and ectopic increases in lipid peroxides. Erastin and APAP promoted NSCLC cell death by regulating nucleus translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2); and the ferroptosis induced by erastin and APAP was abrogated by bardoxolone methyl (BM) with less generation of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde. As a downstream gene of Nrf2, heme oxygenase‐1 expression decreased significantly with the cotreatment of erastin and APAP, which could be rescued by BM. In vivo experiment showed that the combination of erastin and APAP had a synergic therapeutic effect on xenograft of lung cancer. In short, the present study develops a new effective treatment for NSCLC by synergizing erastin and APAP to induce ferroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: CpxR is a global response regulator that negatively influences the antimicrobial activities of Xenorhabdus nematophila. Herein, the wildtype and ΔcpxR mutant of X. nematophila were cultured in a 5‐l and 70‐l bioreactor. The kinetic analysis showed that ΔcpxR significantly increased the cell biomass and antibiotic activity. The maximum dry cell weight (DCW) and antibiotic activity of ΔcpxR were 20.77 ± 1.56 g L−1 and 492.0 ± 31.2 U ml−1 and increased by 17.28 and 97.33% compared to the wildtype respectively. Xenocoumacin 1 (Xcn1), a major antimicrobial compound, was increased 3.07‐fold, but nematophin was decreased by 48.7%. In 70‐l bioreactor, DCW was increased by 18.97%, while antibiotic activity and Xcn1 were decreased by 27.71% and 11.0% compared to that in 5‐l bioreactor respectively. Notably, pH had remarkable effects on the cell biomass and antibiotic activity of ΔcpxR, where ΔcpxR was sensitive to alkaline pH conditions. The optimal cell growth and antibiotic activity of ΔcpxR occurred at pH 7.0, while Xcn1 was increased 5.45‐ and 3.87‐fold relative to that at pH 5.5 and 8.5 respectively. These findings confirmed that ΔcpxR considerably increased the biomass of X. nematophila at a late stage of fermentation. In addition, ΔcpxR significantly promoted the biosynthesis of Xcns but decreased the production of nematophin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: We aimed to appraise the quality of Chinese Society of Infectious Diseases of China Medical Association clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for infectious diseases in China. Methods: We performed the electronic search and hand search on the above‐mentioned CPGs for infectious diseases published from January 1997 to October 2017. Each publication was evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. Results: Thirteen guidelines were identified and enrolled for the further evaluation. The median scores of the AGREE II domains across all 13 guidelines were as follows: scope and purpose 73.61% (36.11% to 84.72%), stakeholder involvement 12.50% (8.33% to 20.83%), rigor of development 19.27% (12.50% to 26.04%), clarity of presentation 86.11% (23.61% to 94.44%), applicability 33.33% (26.04% to 50.00%), and editorial independence 8.33% (4.17% to 16.67%). The clarity of presentation domain got the highest score among the six domains. Moreover, when compared the CPGs by the year of publication (2002 to 2006 vs. 2007 to 2017), the quality scores were higher in the CPGs published in the last 10 years than those published before, but with no significant difference. Conclusions: The quality score of CPGs for infectious diseases in China from January 1997 to October 2017 was moderate, but had significant shortcomings, especially in the stakeholder involvement and editorial independence domains. However, the AGREE II instrument is useful and feasible for appraising the CPGs and should be applied to develop, implement, and promote the CPGs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, different stimuli triggered shape memory polymer composites (SMPC) have received much research interest. However, most shape memory effects (SME) in polymer composites are mainly caused by introducing different functional inorganic fillers into polymer matrix. In the present work, the special structure of poly(ionic liquids), the heating effect of microwaves (MW), and the mechanism of SMPs are combined to design MW induced SMPC completely based on polymers, poly(ionic liquid)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PIL/PVA) polymer networks. PILs contain anion cation pairs, which have strong MW absorption capability due to their dielectric properties. Polymer composites absorb MW energy under irradiation and generate MW heating, which could provide the required energy for shape recovery. The functional ionic liquid monomer (MIL) styrene imidazole ([VBBI][BF4]) is synthesized and polymerized. Then, PIL is mixed into PVA solution, which is crosslinked with glutaraldehyde to form P[VBBI][BF4]/PVA polymer networks. 1H NMR is used to characterize the structure of the synthesized styrene imidazole ILM and PIL. A bending test is applied to quantitatively characterize SMEs, which are affected by the PIL content in the composites and the applied MW power output. The present work combines the advantages of microwaves with PILs, opening up an efficient and environmentally friendly field for SMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Plasma cell leukemia morphologically resembling hairy cell leukemia variant. Topics discussed include the morphological characteristics of myeloma plasma cells vary from mature to plasmablastic and pleomorphic forms; and describe one rare case of PCL, presenting as hairy cell leukemia variant (HCL-v).

Inside Cover: Generation and Release of OH Radicals from the Reaction of H2O with O2 over Soot (Angew. Keywords: Carbonaceous Surface; OH Radicals; Soot; Surface Hydroxyls EN Carbonaceous Surface OH Radicals Soot Surface Hydroxyls 1 1 1 05/11/22 20220516 NES 220516 B A conventional view b is that particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is a major sink of OH radicals. This new chemical mechanism for the generation of OH radicals indicates that airborne soot particles possess important catalytic oxidation capacity. [Extracted from the article]

Carbonaceous Surface, OH Radicals, Soot, Surface Hydroxyls Keywords: Carbonaceous Surface; OH Radicals; Soot; Surface Hydroxyls EN Carbonaceous Surface OH Radicals Soot Surface Hydroxyls 1 1 1 05/11/22 20220516 NES 220516 B Feinstaubpartikel b sind nach herkömmlicher Auffassung eine wichtige Senke für OH-Radikale in der Atmosphäre. Innentitelbild: Generation and Release of OH Radicals from the Reaction of H2O with O2 over Soot (Angew. [Extracted from the article]

The effect of excess MgO mole ratio on the sintering behavior of cordierite ceramic was studied using XRD and SEM. The green bodies were sintered at 1100-1300°C by solid-state method. The excess MgO did not obviously reduce the crystallization temperature but increased the production of liquid and densification. This effect has to be activated by a specific temperature. The starting material had little influence on the crystallization phase at 1200°C or higher. As basic magnesium carbonate can also be used as a pore-forming agent, the shrinkage and porosity approached maximum value at 3.4 mole ratio of MgO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerial parts of higher plants are generated from the shoot apical meristem (SAM). In this study, we isolated a small rice (Oryza sativa L.) mutant that showed premature termination of shoot development and was named mini rice 1 (mini1). The mutant was first isolated from a japonica cultivar Zhonghua11 (ZH11) subjected to ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment. With bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and mapbased cloning method, Mini1 gene was finally fine-mapped to an interval of 48.6 kb on chromosome 9. Sequence analyses revealed a single base substitution from G to A was found in the region, which resulted in an amino acid change from Gly to Asp. The candidate gene Os09g0363900 was predicted to encode a putative adhesion of calyx edges protein ACE (putative HOTHEAD precursor) and genetic complementation experiment confirmed the identity of Mini1. Os09g0363900 contains glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) oxidoreductase and NAD(P)- binding Rossmann-like domain, and exhibits high similarity to Arabidopsis HOTHEAD (HTH). Expression analysis indicated Mini1 was highly expressed in young shoots but lowly in roots and the expression level of most genes involved in auxin biosynthesis and signal transduction were reduced in mutant. We conclude that Mini1 plays an important role in maintaining SAM activity and promoting shoot development in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous mullite ceramics were fabricated from an industrial grade mullite powder by gelcasting process using fly ash cenospheres ( FAC) as a pore-forming agent. The influence of content of FAC and sintering temperature on the density and strength was evaluated. The microstructure showed that FAC can act as a sintering aid and a pore-forming agent. When the sintering temperature at 1200°C, porous mullite ceramics with a relatively high porosity (48.1-72.2%), low density (0.84-1.64 g/cm3), low thermal conductivity (0.16-0.22 W/m · K), and high compressive strength (6.21-14.70 MPa) have been obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points Dopamine and its receptors in prefrontal cortex (PFC) play an important role in regulating synaptic transmission and PFC-mediated cognitive functions., Considering that presynaptic action potential waveform can modulate postsynaptic responses, we investigated whether axonal K+ channels and action potential waveform are subjected to modulation by dopamine., Patch-clamp recording from the axon of PFC pyramidal neurons showed that the activation of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors decreased and enhanced axonal K+ currents, respectively. Further experiments revealed that intracellular cAMP-PKA pathway was involved in this dopaminergic modulation of axonal K+ currents., Recording from axons disconnected from the soma revealed that the dopaminergic modulation still occurred, indicating the presence of functional dopamine receptors along the axon., We further demonstrate that axonal action potentials were substantially prolonged by D1 receptor activation. Taken together, our results reveal a new mechanism for dopaminergic modulation of neuronal signalling in PFC., Abstract Voltage-gated K+ (KV) channels play critical roles in shaping neuronal signals. KV channels distributed in the perisomatic regions and thick dendrites of cortical pyramidal neurons have been extensively studied. However, the properties and regulation of KV channels distributed in the thin axons remain unknown. In this study, by performing somatic and axonal patch-clamp recordings from layer 5 pyramidal neurons of prefrontal cortical slices, we showed that the rapidly inactivating A-currents mediated the transient K+ currents evoked by action potential (AP) waveform command (KAP) at the soma, whereas the rapidly activating but slowly inactivating KV1-mediated D-currents dominated the KAP at the axon. In addition, activation of D1-like receptors for dopamine decreased the axonal K+ currents, as a result of an increase in the activity of cAMP-PKA pathway. In contrast, activation of D2-like receptors showed an opposite effect on the axonal K+ currents. Further experiments demonstrated that functional D1-like receptors were expressed at the main axon trunk and their activation could broaden the waveforms of axonal APs. Together, these results show that axonal KV channels were subjected to dopamine modulation, and this modulation could regulate the waveforms of propagating APs at the axon, suggesting an important role of dopaminergic modulation of axonal KV channels in regulating neuronal signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology of vanadium slags were investigated by scanning electron microscopy SEM. The mineralogical phases were characterized by energy disperse Xray spectrometry EDS and powder Xray diffraction XRD. The obtained results show that spinels and silicates are the major phases in the vanadium slag, and V is concentrated in FexV3xO4and MgxV, Ti3xO4. Both the spinel grain size and volume fraction in the slag with higher V2O3content are much larger than that with lower V2O3content. Fe, Mn2SiO4and Fe, MnSiO3have a higher proportion in the slag with lower V2O3and higher SiO2content. The relation among cooling conditions and grain size and volume fraction of spinels is also discussed. It is found that low cooling rate and long holding time benefit spinel crystal growth, especially for the interval of 12001250 °C. Both mean diameter and volume fraction of spinels could achieve or exceed the industry vanadium slag when holding more than 45 min. © 2009 WILEYVCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant tryptophan (Trp) biosynthetic pathway produces many secondary metabolites with diverse functions. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), proposed as a derivative from Trp or its precursors, plays an essential role in plant growth and development. Although the Trp-dependant and Trp-independent IAA biosynthetic pathways have been proposed, the enzymes, reactions and regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. In Arabidopsis, indole-3-glycerol phosphate (IGP) is suggested to serve as a branchpoint component in the Trp-independent IAA biosynthesis. To address whether other enzymes in addition to Trp synthase α (TSA1) catalyze IGP cleavage, we identified and characterized an indole synthase ( INS) gene, a homolog of TSA1 in Arabidopsis. INS exhibits different subcellular localization from TSA1 owing to the lack of chloroplast transit peptide (cTP). In silico data show that the expression levels of INS and TSA1 in all examined organs are quite different. Histochemical staining of INS promoter- GUS transgenic lines indicates that INS is expressed in vascular tissue of cotyledons, hypocotyls, roots and rosette leaves as well as in flowers and siliques. INS is capable of complementing the Trp auxotrophy of Escherichia coliΔ trpA strain, which is defective in Trp synthesis due to the deletion of TSA. This implies that INS catalyzes the conversion of IGP to indole and may be involved in the biosynthesis of Trp-independent IAA or other secondary metabolites in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]