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In this paper, CuOx@Ag/CeO2 catalysts were synthesized by simple wet-chemical method and equal volume impregnation method. The obtained catalysts were subjected to soot temperature programmed oxidation (soot-TPO) activity tests and were further characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy/high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM/HR-TEM), N2 physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and H2- temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). The results show that CuOx@Ag/CeO2 synthesized presents well controlled core-shell structures, with nano-cube like Cu2O as the core and Ag decorated polycrystalline CeO2 grafting layers as the shell. Such core-shell structured CuOx@Ag/CeO2 can successfully construct a secondary oxygen delivery channel (CuOx → CeO2 → Ag) to effectively transfer bulk oxygen of the catalyst to the soot, resulting in its excellent soot oxidation activity compared to CuOx@CeO2. The potential benefiting effect by Ag introduction over Cu@Ag/Ce can be concluded as: (i) pumping lattice oxygen and accelerating gaseous O2 dissociation to generate significantly increased active surface oxygen content; (ii) modulating a moderate surface oxygen vacancies concentration to maintain more highly active O2– species.

A type III polyketide synthase (SfuPKS1) from the edible seaweed Sargassum fusiforme was molecularly cloned and biochemically characterized. The recombinant SfuPKS1 catalyzed the condensation of fatty acyl-CoA with two or three malonyl-CoA using lactone-type intramolecular cyclization to produce tri- and/or tetraketides. Moreover, it can also utilize phenylpropanoyl-CoA to synthesize phloroglucinol derivatives through Claisen-type cyclization, exhibiting broad substrate and catalysis specificity. Furthermore, the catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) for acetyl-CoA was 11.8-fold higher than that for 4-coumaroyl-CoA. A pathway for the synthesis of naringenin involving SfuPKS1 was also constructed in Escherichia coli by recombinant means, resulting in 4.9 mg of naringenin per liter.

Soy-cow blended milk is a potential nutritional beverage and raw material for dairy products. This study determined the particle size, flow, lubrication, flavour and sensory properties of cow milk, soy milk and their blends. Twenty-one major volatile compounds were identified using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography (SPME-GCMS) in cow milk and soy milk. Among all the compounds detected in the milk samples, hexanal, associated with off flavour was found highest in soymilk followed by cow milk and blended milk. From confocal images, soy-cow blended milk at a ratio of 1:1 showed a homogenous distribution of small fat globules and protein compared to the soy milk and cow milk. The addition of soy milk to cow milk lowers the particle size although not significantly (p > 0.05) and decreases the viscosity of blended milk. Cow milk was the most viscous (2.66 mPa.s at 50 s ) with large particles (0.48 μm) observed from confocal images. However, soymilk was found to have better lubrication properties (boundary regime) with a lower friction coefficient (~0.30) compared to cow milk (~0.40) and blended milk (~0.50) at low entrainment speed (0.1-2 mm/s). The sensory panel ranked cow milk as creamier and more viscous while soymilk was perceived as more astringent with beany flavour. Overall, a proportion of 3:7 soy-cow blended milk was more acceptable than the other two blended milks with less beany flavour, as confirmed by the lower amount of hexanal from gas chromatography mass spectrometer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

It is still challenging to develop suitable cathode structures for high-rate and stable aqueous Zn-ion batteries. Herein, a phosphating-assisted interfacial engineering strategy is designed for the controllable conversion of NiCo2S4 nanosheets into heterostructured NiCoP/NiCo2S4 as the cathodes in aqueous Zn-ion batteries. The multicomponent heterostructures with rich interfaces can not only improve the electrical conductivity but also enhance the diffusion pathways for Zn-ion storage. As expected, the NiCoP/NiCo2S4 electrode has high performance with a large specific capacity of 251.1 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 10 A g−1 and excellent rate capability (retaining about 76% even at 50 A g−1). Accordingly, the Zn-ion battery using NiCoP/NiCo2S4 as the cathode delivers a high specific capacity (265.1 mA h g−1 at 5A g−1), a long-term cycling stability (96.9% retention after 5000 cycles), and a competitive energy density (444.7 W h kg−1 at the power density of 8.4 kW kg−1). This work therefore provides a simple phosphating-assisted interfacial engineering strategy to construct heterostructured electrode materials with rich interfaces for the development of high-performance energy storage devices in the future.

To effectively protect the marine ecological environment, herein, the silver-loaded organometallic framework material ((MIL-101(Cr)@Ag) was synthesized to study the rapid enrichment of iodide ions. Under the best experimental conditions, the reaction was in adsorption equilibrium within 10 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity could attain 57 mg/g. The XPS and XRD analysis indicated that the iodide ions mainly interacted with silver atoms in MIL-101(Cr)@Ag to form AgI. The adsorption behavior was well fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, showed that adsorption process was mainly monolayer chemisorption. Therefore, MIL-101(Cr)@Ag could be used as a potential material for removing iodide ions from aqueous solutions.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), characterized by secretion of type 2 cytokines, regulate multiple immune responses. ILC2s are found in different tumor tissues, and ILC2-derived interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-13 act on the cells in tumor microenvironment to participate in tumor progression. ILC2s are abundant in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue, but the role of ILC2s in CRC remains unclear. In this study, we found that the percentage of ILC2s was higher in CRC tissue than in the adjacent normal tissue and that these ILC2s were the dominant IL-9-secreting cell-subsets in CRC tissue, as shown by flow cytometry analysis. ILC2s-derived IL-9 could activate CD8+ T cells to inhibit tumor growth, while anti-IL-9 reversed this effect. In vivo experiments showed that neutralizing ILC2s promoted tumor growth, while tumor inhibition occurred by intravenous injection of IL-9. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that ILC2-derived IL-9 could activate CD8+ T cells to promote anti-tumor effects in CRC.

Guttiferone F, a natural polyprenylated polycyclic acylphloroglucinol, was originally assigned as the 30-epimer of garcinol by NMR data analyses. Conversion of guttiferone F in the presence of acid afforded its cyclized form (2a), which was previously assigned as 30-epi-cambogin. However, the absolute configurations of guttiferone F and 2a have not been determined. Reinvestigation of the structures of those two compounds, using X-ray and NMR data analyses and chemical transformation, revealed that the original assignment of the C-30 absolute configuration in guttiferone F and 2a should be inverted. Guttiferone F is indeed garcinol, and 2a, which was previously identified as 30-epi-cambogin, is cambogin.

Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU has been proved to be a novel scaffold material to treat bone defect caused by chronic osteomyelitis. We have previously identified that this material can effectively treat chronic osteomyelitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in vivo. However, the potential mechanisms of antibacterial and osteogenic induction properties remain unclear. Thus, for osteogenesis property, immunohistochemistry, PCR, and Western blot were performed to detect the expression of osteogenic markers. Furthermore, flow cytometry and TUNEL were applied to analyze MC3T3-E1 proliferation and apoptosis. For antibacterial property, the material was co-cultivated with bacteria, bacterial colony forming units was counted and the release time of the effective levofloxacin was assayed by agar disc-diffusion test. Moreover, scanning electron microscope was applied to observe adhesion of bacteria. In terms of osteogenic induction, we found BMSCs adherently grew more prominently on Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU. Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU also enhanced the expression of osteogenic markers including OCN and COL1α1, as well as effectively promoted the transition from G1 phase to G2 phase. Furthermore, Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU could reduce apoptosis of MC3T3-E1. Besides, both Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU and n-HA/PU materials could inhibit bacterial colonies, while Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU possessed a stronger antibacterial activities, and lower bacterial adhesion than n-HA/PU. These results illustrated that Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU composite scaffold possess favorable compatibility in vitro, which induce osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, promote proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1, and inhibit apoptosis. Moreover, clear in vitro antibacterial effect of Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU was also observed. In summary, this study replenishes the potential of Lev/MSNs/n-HA/PU composite scaffold possess dual functions of anti-infection and enhanced osteogenesis for future clinical application.

Series of Fe/Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts with different Fe loading content were synthesized by simple one-pot strategy. The obtained catalysts were subjected to selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3 and were characterized by various techniques. The results show that Fe0.63/Cu1.50-SSZ-13 catalyst with proper Fe content exhibits excellent catalytic activity with widest operation temperature window from 160 to 580°C, excellent hydrothermal stability as well as good resistance to sulfur poisoning when compared with Cu-SSZ-13, signifying its great potential for practical applications. Further characterizations reveal that the synthesized Fe/Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts present typical chabazite (CHA) structure with good crystallinity, while isolated Cu2+ and monomeric Fe3+ are revealed as the predominant copper and iron species. At low temperatures, isolated Cu2+ species act as primary active sites for SCR reaction, while monomeric Fe3+ species provide sufficient active sites for sustain the SCR activity at high temperature. Moreover, Fe over doping would lead to the damage of zeolite structure, destruction of isolated Cu2+ site, as well as the formation of highly oxidizing Fe2O3, thus causing deterioration of catalytic performances.

An Fe-15Mo-18Cr-3.3C-1.65V white iron has been widely used in industries for many years due to its excellent wear performance, but never been reported to academic circle. This paper studied its phase constituents in as-cast condition and its wear performance for metal-to-metal contact wear applications. Microstructural analyses were performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with phase identification performed using a transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) technique. A solidification sequence was proposed by correlating thermodynamic equilibrium calculations with the distribution and size of the phase constituents. Field-returned components were analyzed after approximately 10,000 service hours. Micro-galling defects exhibited regions of material flow, white layer formation, subsurface cracking, and material loss. For the first time, white layer was found in a highly alloyed white iron, which was determined to be nanocrystalline with an average grain size less than 15 nm and a phase constitution similar to the base metal. Material loss contributed to abrasive wear scars and eventual leakage of the lubricant protecting the wear components.

We report the nucleation and two dimensional (2D) crystallization of the helical aromatic hydrocarbon pentahelicene ([5]H) on the semimetallic Bi(111) surface studied via low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Individual homochiral dimers and heterochiral trimers appear on the substrate at a low coverage. With an increase in the coverage, a chiral phase transition takes place from the 2D conglomerate of [5]H dimers to the 2D racemate of [5]H trimers. The heterochiral [5]H trimers reveal a wavy arrangement due to the swing of 5[H] trimer rows after every second or third trimers. The swing mechanism of the trimer rows can be attributed to the steric repulsion between the adjacent trimers with same handedness.

Though fullerene has been regarded as an effective radical scavenger, the hydrophobicity strongly limits its application in biological fields. Herein, we proposed a simple photoreduction method in preparing a highly water-soluble nanocomposite consisting of ultrasmall copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) and hydroxylated fullerene (fullerenol), which showed excellent radical scavenging performance compared with traditional antioxidants. The superb antioxidative behavior was believed to be due to the synergetic effect induced by the stable decoration of CuNPs onto the surface of fullerenol, while the low metal loading level would decrease the potential toxicity of the prepared composite. Our work will offer an alternative choice for efficient antioxidative agents with more biosafety.

Forbidden M1 and E2 transition rates as well as the fine-structure splitting between 1s22s22p2P3/2and 2P1/2have been calculated using the multiconfiguration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) and relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) methods for the boron isoelectronic sequence with Z = 5∼92. The results are compared with other theoretical calculations and available experimental data. The differences have been obtained and the dependence of relative differences on atomic number Z is analyzed by the least square method. It is found that there is good continuity and smoothness in the relative differences, which can be used to describe the residual correction from electron correlation and quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects. This paper attempts to find an empirical formula to describe the relationship between the present calculation and other theoretical and experimental results. Finally, the fine-structure splitting, M1 and E2 transition probabilities and the lifetime of the excited state 1s22s22p2P3/2have been estimated by the same empirical formula with combining the present calculation with the experimental data and other theoretical results.

Plant-specific NAM, ATAF, and CUC (NAC) transcription factors (TFs) play clear roles in plant development and abiotic stress responses. Chinese dwarf cherry (Cerasus humilis) is an economically important shrub, that has strong resistance to drought. In this study, we isolated and functionally characterized a novel NAC TF from C. humilis. The ChNAC1 ORF contained 894 nucleotides, encoding 297 amino acid residues. ChNAC1 amino acid sequences had the highest similarity with homologous petunia (Petunia hybrida) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) NAM proteins. The ChNAC1 transcripts were most abundant in the leaves of seedlings and significantly up-regulated by drought stress. The nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of the C-terminal domain further confirmed that ChNAC1 functions as a TF. Yeast two-hybrid results showed that ChNAC1 can homodimerize in yeast cells. Next, we transformed ChNAC1 into wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and found that the ectopic expression of ChNAC1 increased chlorophyll, water, proline, and protein contents as well as higher peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities while decreasing electrolyte conductivity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents compared to wild-type and mutant lines. Further, overexpression of ChNAC1 positively regulated ABA-responsive genes under drought stress and increased ABA sensitivity during root growth. Collectively, these results demonstrate the key role of ChNAC1 in drought stress tolerance.

Background/purpose: Calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], a wildly used intracanal medicament, should be completely removed from the root canal before obturation to avoid negative effects on the treatment. This study evaluated the effectiveness of conventional needle irrigation (CNI), passive ultrasonic activation (PUI), photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS), XP-endo Finisher (XP) and EDDY for the removal of Ca(OH)2 from S-shaped root canal. Materials and methods: Eighty-four S-shaped root canals in resin blocks were prepared using Protaper Gold up to size #25/0.08 and filled with Ca(OH)2. Five groups were established according to the removal techniques (n = 16): CNI, PUI, PIPS, XP and EDDY group. The positive and negative control group (n = 2) were also established. Sodium hypochlorite 3% was used as the irrigant. Digital radiographs were used to measure the remaining Ca(OH)2. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn's post hoc test with Bonferroni correction (α = 0.05). Results: All the tested techniques completely removed Ca(OH)2 from the straight portion and coronal curve of the S-shaped root canal in 100% of cases. Regarding the apical curve, PUI, EDDY, PIPS and XP removed significantly more Ca(OH)2 than CNI (P 0.05). The complete clearance of Ca(OH)2 from the apical curve was observed in 75%, 62.5%, 56.3%, 43.8% and 0% of cases of PUI, EDDY, PIPS, XP and CNI group, respectively. Conclusion: Irrigant activation enhanced Ca(OH)2 removal from the apical region of the S-shaped root canal. CNI was significantly less effective than all activation techniques.

Objective: Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is one of the causes of most cardiomyocyte injuries and deaths. Berberine (BBR) has been suggested a potential to exert protective effects against myocardial I/R injury. This systematic review aims to determine the intrinsic mechanisms of BBR's protective effects in myocardial I/R injury.Methods: Seven databases were searched for studies performed from inception to July 2020. Methodological quality was assessed by SYRCLE's-RoB tool.Results: Ten studies including a total of 270 animals were included in this study. The methodology quality scores of the included studies ranged from 5 to 7 points. The meta-analysis we conducted demonstrated that BBR significantly reduced myocardial infarct size and the incidence of ventricular arrhythmia, compared to control groups (P < 0.00001). Cardiac function of animals in the BBR treatment group was also markedly increased (P < 0.00001). The index of myocardial apoptosis and the levels of biomarkers of myocardial infarction (LDH and CK) were also decreased in the BBR treatment groups compared to the control groups (P < 0.00001).Conclusions: The pre-clinical evidence, according to our study, showed that BBR is a promising therapeutic agent for myocardial I/R injury. However, this conclusion should be further investigated in clinical studies.

Four CeO2–ZrO2 mixed oxides with different morphologies were synthesized using hydrothermal (polyhedra, rods and plates) and coprecipitation method (disordered). Detail structural/physio-chemical characterizations, catalytic activity measurements as well as in situ DRIFTS were conducted on the obtained ceria-zirconia as well as its supported Rh-only TWCs. The CeO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides present different exposed crystal planes and the catalytic performance of Rh/CeO2-ZrO2 is closely related to such different microstructures. Polyhedra shaped CeO2-ZrO2 exhibits increased lattice micro-strain originated from lattice distortion and defects, which can promote the mobility of bulk oxygen species to the surface, resulting in better three-way performance. Disordered Rh/CeO2-ZrO2 catalyst with high surface area and OSC shows wider static operation window, but the surface rhodium species tend to exist as Rh4+ with low redox ability which not favorable for the redox reactions. Besides, the lack of intermediate Rh-(NO)2 and Rh-CN species over disordered Rh/CeO2-ZrO2 based on in situ DRIFTS further reveals its unsatisfactory performance for NOx conversion.

A series of (Ce, Cr)xO2/Nb2O5 catalysts with different (Ce, Cr)xO2 to Nb2O5 mass ratios were synthesized by the deposition-precipitation method for use in deep catalytic oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE), which is one of the typical chlorinated volatile organic compound pollutants. The textural properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, UV-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The surface acidity and the redox properties were characterized by ammonia temperature-programmed desorption and H2 temperature-programmed reduction, respectively. The results show that the addition of a proper amount of (Ce, Cr)xO2 over Nb2O5 significantly improves the intrinsic catalytic activity towards the deep oxidation of DCE, and only a very small amount of C2H3Cl is detected as the byproduct of the oxidation process. Further study reveals the existence of an obvious synergistic effect between Nb2O5, with abundant strong acid sites, and (Ce, Cr)xO2, with strong oxidation sites, as the strong acid sites of Nb2O5 promote the adsorption and dehydrochlorination of DCE, while the strong oxidation sites of (Ce, Cr)xO2 contribute to the deep oxidation of the reactant, intermediates, and byproducts.

Blending with non-starch hydrocolloids is a crucial method to modify the processing properties of native starch. However, few comprehensive studies investigated the effects of inulin on the properties of rice starch (RS). In this research, we used three types of inulin with different degrees of polymerization (DP), namely, short-chain inulin (SI, DP 10), and long-chain inulin (LI, DP > 23), to investigate the effects of inulin on the pasting, thermal, and rheological properties of RS and to provide the foundation for the application of inulin in RS-based food. Inulin addition increased the pasting temperature of RS and decreased all viscosity indices, including the peak, final, breakdown, and Setback viscosities of RS. Compared with LI, SI and MI exerted stronger influence on the viscosity indices of RS. The gelatinization temperature levels of the RS–inulin blends were higher than that of starch alone. The RS and RS–inulin blends exhibited a shear-thinning property, and stress–shear hysteresis loops were observed during shear. Thixotropy followed the order RS > RS-LI > RS-MI > RS-SI. Dynamic viscoelasticity results indicated that the RS and RS–inulin blends displayed weak gel-like behavior. Replacement of RS with LI and MI evidently increased the elastic properties more than the viscous properties of the RS–inulin blends.

CeO2-CrOx-Nb2O5 mixed oxides were synthesized by three different methods (coprecipitation, deposition-precipitation and mechanical mixing) and subjected for 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) deep oxidation tests. Detailed characterizations such as XRD, UV-Raman, N2 adsorption/desorption, SEM, XPS, NH3-TPD and H2-TPR were performed. Results show that the synergistic effect between redox and acid properties are critical for promoting the catalytic oxidation of DCE. The CeCrNb-cp prepared by coprecipitation method presents larger specific surface area and mesopore volume as well as smaller particle sizes. Moreover, the highly dispersed state of (Ce,Cr)xO2 in the Nb2O5 matrix can enhance the strong interaction between Nb2O5 and (Ce,Cr)xO2, facilitate the synergy between surface acid sites and oxidation sites, thus improving the destructive efficiency of DCE. The CeCrNb-cp catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity for DCE destruction, high selectivity for less toxic products (HCl and CO2), scarce formation of chlorinated byproduct (C2H3Cl) and relatively good durability, all of which indicates it would be promising for potential industrial application.

Chemoresistance is the primary obstacle in the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Recent evidence suggests that the transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) is involved in chemoresistance. Our group previously confirmed that FoxM1 is overexpressed in NPC. In this study, we investigated the role of FoxM1 in cisplatin resistance of the cell lines 5-8F and HONE-1 and explored its possible mechanism. Our results showed that FoxM1 and NBS1 were both overexpressed in NPC tissues based on data from the GSE cohort (GSE12452). Then, we measured FoxM1 levels in NPC cells and found FoxM1 was overexpressed in NPC cell lines and could be stimulated by cisplatin. MTT and clonogenic assays, flow cytometry, γH2AX immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and western blotting revealed that downregulation of FoxM1 sensitized NPC cells to cisplatin and reduced the repair of cisplatin-induced DNA double-strand breaks via inhibition of the MRN (MRE11-RAD50-NBS1)-ATM axis, which might be related to the ability of FoxM1 to regulate NBS1. Subsequently, we demonstrated that enhanced sensitivity of FoxM1 knockdown cells could be reduced by overexpression of NBS1. Taken together, our data demonstrate that downregulation of FoxM1 could improve the sensitivity of NPC cells to cisplatin through inhibition of MRN-ATM-mediated DNA repair, which could be related to FoxM1-dependent regulation of NBS1. [BMB Reports 2019; 52(3): 208-213].

The Λ-S electronic states with respect to the lowest four dissociation limits of BeSb are investigated theoretically on the icMRCI + Q level employing basis set of quintuple-ζ quality. The geometrical parameters, potential energy curves, vibrational energy levels, spectroscopic constants for the twelve Λ ‐ S states are obtained, analyzed and compared with those of the Beryllium-VA group diatomic family species where data are available. The permanent dipole moments, transition dipole moments, Einstein emission coefficients, radiative lifetimes and Franck-Condon factors for interested Λ ‐ S states are also derived. Further assessments of the spin-orbit coupling effect are performed for states associated with the first two dissociation asymptotes of BeSb. Four Λ ‐ S states split into seven Ω states, and some of the PECs are distorted significantly through the spin-orbit coupling effect, which is similar to its isovalent diatomics BeAs. In consideration of potential risks of manipulating beryllium-containing species directly, the information associated with molecular structures, spectroscopic parameters as well as transition properties that provide in this paper is anticipated to serve as guidelines for further researches of BeSb.

Series of nano rod shaped CeO2-MnOx catalysts with different Ce/Mn molar ratios were synthesized through facile hydro-thermal method and subjected to chlorobenzene (CB) complete catalytic oxidation tests. Detailed structural/chemical characterizations such as TEM/HRTEM, Rietveld XRD, N2 adsorption/desorption, UV-Raman and H2-TPR were conducted. Results show that the designed nano rod shaped CeO2-MnOx binary oxides can be promising with highly efficient catalytic performance towards the complete oxidation of CB. The Ce/Mn-1/8 catalyst (Ce/Mn molar ratio 1:8) is verified as the most outstanding candidate among all the CeO2-MnOx catalysts obtained, which not only presents best catalytic activity but also gives less production of hazardous polychlorinated byproducts, along with excellent durability. Further characterizations reveal that such catalytic advantages can be attributed to both the unique morphology effect and the Ce-Mn strong interaction in the nano rod shaped CeO2-MnOx catalysts. The designed nano rod shaped CeO2-MnOx catalyst mainly exposes the more defective {100} facet, generating lattice micro-strain and favorable for forming more oxygen vacancies. While the formation of todorokite/vernadite phase with special tunnel-like structure which promoting the migration of lattice oxygen to catalyst surface. Moreover, the strong interaction between CeO2 and MnOx can promote the (Ce4+/Ce3+ ↔ Mn4+/Mn3+) redox cycles and is beneficial for CB deep oxidation. Increasing Mn content leads to higher content of todorokite/vernadite phases, surface Mn4+ enrichment and shorter nano rods with more exposes lattice defects, thus rendering enhanced Ce-Mn strong interaction and morphology effect in Ce/Mn-1/8 catalyst.

Metal-to-metal wear systems are widely used in various industries, but heat-induced adhesive wear has been limiting the lifetime of the components for many years. An idea of introducing interconnected flake graphite networks into white iron was developed by the authors, which can potentially solve this problem by increasing the overall thermal conductivity. To optimize the thermal conductivity and wear resistance, five alloys with different chromium and carbon contents were designed, produced, and investigated to develop the first generation of graphitic white iron. Mathematical models were developed to correlate the graphite phase concentration and cooling rate with carbon equivalent. It was shown that graphite volume percent needs to be higher than 7 pct to have a consistent thermal conductivity increase. Hardness model developed in this article suggested that M7C3 has a higher hardness than the plate cementite, and hardness increases with increasing chromium content in the carbides. The as-solidified microstructure was characterized using a SEM, and solidification sequence was established for this novel alloy system. Unexpectedly, for the first time, study of alloy with 11 wt pct Cr shows that M7C3 was formed during eutectic reaction and then transformed into cementite at a lower temperature.

Both Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative bacteria can secrete outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) in their growth and metabolism process. Originally, OMVs were considered as a by-product of bacterial merisis. However, many scientists have reported the important role of OMVs in many fields recently. In this review, we briefly introduce OMVs biological functions and then summarize the findings about the OMVs interactions with host cells. At last, we will make an expectation about the prospects of the application of OMVs as vaccines.

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders associated with substantial dysfunction and socioeconomic burden. Pharmacotherapy is the first choice for GAD. Remission [Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) score ≤7] is regarded as a crucial treatment goal for patients with GAD. There is no up-to-date evidence to compare remission rate and tolerability of all available drugs by using network meta-analysis. Therefore, the goal of our study is to update evidence and determine the best advantageous drugs for GAD in remission rate and tolerability profiles.Method: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis of double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, wanfang data, China Biology Medicine and ClinicalTrials.gov from their inception to March 2020 to identify eligible double-blind, RCTs reporting the outcome of remission in adult patients who received any pharmacological treatment for GAD. Two reviewers independently assessed quality of included studies utilizing the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool as described in Cochrane Collaboration Handbook and extracted data from all manuscripts. Our outcomes were remission rate (proportion of participants with a final score of seven or less on HAM-A) and tolerability (treatments discontinuations due to adverse events). We calculated summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of each outcome via pairwise and network meta-analysis with random effects.Results: Overall, 30 studies were included, comprising 32 double-blind RCTs, involving 13,338 participants diagnosed as GAD by DSM-IV criteria. Twenty-eight trials were rated as moderate risk of bias, four trials as low. For remission rate, agomelatine (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.74–4.19), duloxetine (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.47–2.40), escitalopram (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.48–2.78), paroxetine (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.25–2.42), quetiapine (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.39–2.55), and venlafaxine (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.69–3.07) were superior to placebo. For tolerability, sertraline, agomelatine, vortioxetine, and pregabalin were found to be comparable to placebo. However, the others were worse than placebo in terms of tolerability, with ORs ranging between 1.86 (95% CI 1.25–2.75) for tiagabine and 5.98 (95% CI 2.41–14.87) for lorazepam. In head-to-head comparisons, agomelatine, duloxetine, escitalopram, quetiapine, and venlafaxine were more efficacious than tiagabine in terms of remission rate, ORs from 1.66 (95% CI 1.04–2.65) for duloxetine to 2.38 (95% CI 1.32–4.31) for agomelatine. We also found that agomelatine (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.15–3.75) and venlafaxine (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.08–2.86) were superior to vortioxetine. Lorazepam and quetiapine were poorly tolerated when compared with other drugs.Conclusions: Of these interventions, only agomelatine manifested better remission with relatively good tolerability but these results were limited by small sample sizes. Duloxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine, paroxetine, and quetiapine showed better remission but were poorly tolerated.

Intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIgG) is approved for primary immunodeficiency syndromes but may induce anti-cancer effects, and while this has been attributed to its anti-inflammatory properties, IgG against specific tumor targets may play a role. We evaluated IVIgG alone, and with a Heat shock protein (HSP)-90 or proteasome inhibitor, using multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells in vitro, and with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib in vivo. IVIgG inhibited the growth of all cell lines tested, induced G1 cell cycle arrest, and suppressed pro-tumor cytokines including Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-10. Genomic and proteomic studies showed that IVIgG reduced tumor cell HSP70-1 levels by suppressing the ability of extracellular HSP70-1 to stimulate endogenous HSP70-1 promoter activity, and reduced extracellular vesicle uptake. Preparations of IVIgG were found to contain high titers of anti-HSP70-1 IgG, and recombinant HSP70-1 reduced the efficacy of IVIgG to suppress HSP70-1 levels. Combining IVIgG with the HSP90 inhibitor AUY922 produced superior cell growth inhibition and correlated with HSP70-1 suppression. Also, IVIgG with bortezomib or carfilzomib was superior to each single agent, and enhanced bortezomib's activity in bortezomib-resistant myeloma cells. Moreover, IVIgG reduced transfer of extracellular vesicles (EVs) to cells, and blocked transfer of bortezomib resistance through EVs. Finally, IVIgG with bortezomib were superior to the single agents in an in vivo myeloma model. These studies support the possibility that anti-HSP70-1 IgG contained in IVIgG can inhibit myeloma and MCL growth by interfering with a novel mechanism involving uptake of exogenous HSP70-1 which then induces its own promoter.

Curdlan has wide potential application in the food and biomedical fields due to its unique thermal gel and biological activity. This study investigated the effect of six sugars including glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, sucrose and xylose as carbon sources on production and properties of curdlan using Agrobacterium sp. DH-2. The maximum production (38.1 g/L and 37.4 g/L, respectively) and yield (0.58 g curdlan/g sucrose and 0.53 g curdlan/g maltose, respectively) of curdlan were achieved by sucrose and maltose, followed by glucose, fructose, lactose and xylose. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the surface of cells was smooth in strain growth phase, while cells were covered by curdlan matrix acted as a net in the curdlan synthesis phase. The highest glucosyltransferase activity (19.9 U/g biomass) corresponded to the maximum curdlan production using the sucrose medium. The molecular weight and gel strength of curdlan were influenced by the carbon sources. The curdlan from xylose medium resulted in a maximum molecular weight of 1.59 × 106 Da and the highest gel strength of 989.2 g/cm2, while the curdlan from sucrose medium resulted in a lowest molecular weight of 1.10 × 106 Da and gel strength of 672.8 g/cm2. The high molecular weight of curdlan had high gel strength.

In this study, the characteristics and distribution of the organic phosphorus (Po) fractions in the surface sediments of seven inflow rivers around Hongze Lake in China were analyzed with a soil Po fraction method, as used by Ivanoff. The relationships between the Po fractions and physiochemical features of sediments were also discussed. The results showed that, the sediments of the rivers had been moderately pollution with certain ecological risk effects except the Waste Yellow River. The relative contribution order of the Po fractions in the sediments was residual Po &gt, HCl-Po &gt, fulvic acid-Po &gt, humic acid-Po &gt, labile organic phosphorus (LOP). Moderately labile organic phosphorus (MLOP) was the main part of the Po forms in the whole sediments. The risk of phosphorus released from river sediments was the highest in the western region, followed by the southwestern region, and finally the northwestern region. There were significant correlations between Po forms and total phosphorus (TP), inorganic phosphorus (Pi), and Po. Non labile organic phosphorus (NLOP) had the strongest correlation with TP. The distribution of Po forms in each region was different due to the impact of human activities, industrial and agricultural production and the land types, the heaver polluted sediments with higher Po fractions. It is suggested that most of the sediments of the inflow rivers in the regions have certain ecological risk effects and P of them have an important contributions on the eutrophication of Hongze Lake. Po forms can provide a reliable theoretical basis for dealing with the change of water quality and should be paid more attention in the lake eutrophication investigation. There was reciprocal transformation between different Po forms, especially non-bioavailable fraction can change into bio-available ones. The results can provide a basis for the earth cycle of phosphorus and a new perspective of eutrophication control of shallow lakes.

Background Selenium(Se) is an element found in the soil, which is also an essential micronutrient for human body. In fact, Se content of most of foods is very low, the Se requirement of the body can be satisfied with dietary supplements, Se-enriched foods is a good choice to deliver Se. Scope and approach In modern society, the suitable agronomic-based and processing-based strategies can be utilized by farmers and producers to produce Se-enriched food products with high quality. We can also use some methods to optimize the Se content and bioaccessibility of Se-enriched foods. Key findings and conclusions Agricultural stragety biofortification is an efficient way to produce Se-enriched local original products. But some processing methods may decrease the Se content of processed food. In addition, different Se forms have different bioaccessibility to living organisms.

Moisture sorption isotherms and state diagrams for indica rice starch (IRS) and indica rice starch-soluble dietary fiber (IRS-SDF) were developed to investigate the effect of SDF on the stability of IRS. Sorption isotherms of IRS and IRS-SDF were determined by the static gravimetric method and the data were modeled by Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer (GAB) model. The GAB monolayer moisture contents were calculated to be 7.43 and 8.37 g/100g (dry basis) for IRS and IRS-SDF, respectively. The state diagram was composed of the glass transition line and freezing curve, which were fitted according to Gordon–Taylor and Chen models, respectively. The ultimate maximum-freeze-concentration conditions were calculated as characteristic glass transition temperature (Tg’) of −42.5 °C and −31.5 °C with characteristic solids content (Xs') being 0.71 and 0.72 g/g (wet basis), and characteristic temperature of end point of freezing (Tm’) being −18.2 °C and −13.8 °C for IRS and IRS-SDF, respectively. The state diagrams and sorption isotherms of IRS and IRS-SDF have great significance for evaluating storage stability, optimizing drying and freezing processes.

Chemical fertilizer has been excessively used for high yield of citrus around the world, especially in China; meanwhile, it deteriorates the citrus orchard soil environment. To resolve the conflict, the use of organic fertilizer provides a promising solution. However, the data about organic fertilizer used in citrus orchard is rarely available. Here, four treatments including CK (no fertilizer), CF (chemical fertilizer), OF + CF (chemical fertilizer reduction combined with organic fertilizer; application of N, P2O5, K2O fertilizer and organic fertilizer is 0.564, 0.236, 0.336 and 10 kg/plant), and BF + CF (chemical fertilizer reduction combined with bioorganic fertilizer; application of N, P2O5, K2O fertilizer and bioorganic fertilizer is 0.508, 0.320, 0.310 and 10 kg/plant) were performed in a ‘Ponkan’ (Citrus reticulata Blanco) orchard to evaluate the effect of organic fertilizer on citrus yield, growth, soil properties etc. when nutrients of fertilizer of each treatment were equal except CK. The data obtained in 2019 and 2020 showed that both OF + CF and BF + CF were beneficial to improve soil fertility (soil physicochemical and microbe properties) and citrus growth physiology (growth, nutrient and photosynthesis), alleviate NO3−-N leaching, and promote yields. Comprehensive evaluation indicated that BF + CF was more effective than OF + CF. Together, organic fertilizer has the potential to substitute partial chemical fertilizer with improvement in soil properties, growth physiology, and yield of citrus.