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Background Hepatic lipid disorder impaired mitochondrial homeostasis and intracellular redox balance, triggering development of non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD), while effective therapeutic approach remains inadequate. Ginsenosides Rc has been reported to maintain glucose balance in adipose tissue, while its role in regulating lipid metabolism remain vacant. Thus, we investigated the function and mechanism of ginsenosides Rc in defending high fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD. Methods Mice primary hepatocytes (MPHs) challenged with oleic acid & palmitic acid were used to test the effects of ginsenosides Rc on intracellular lipid metabolism. RNAseq and molecular docking study were performed to explore potential targets of ginsenosides Rc in defending lipid deposition. Wild type and liver specific sirtuin 6 (SIRT6, 50721) deficient mice on HFD for 12 weeks were subjected to different dose of ginsenosides Rc to determine the function and detailed mechanism in vivo. Results We identified ginsenosides Rc as a novel SIRT6 activator via increasing its expression and deacetylase activity. Ginsenosides Rc defends OA&PA-induced lipid deposition in MPHs and protects mice against HFD-induced metabolic disorder in dosage dependent manner. Ginsenosides Rc (20mg/kg) injection improved glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, oxidative stress and inflammation response in HFD mice. Ginsenosides Rc treatment accelerates peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α, 19013)-mediated fatty acid oxidation in vivo and in vitro. Hepatic specific SIRT6 deletion abolished ginsenoside Rc-derived protective effects against HFD-induced NAFLD. Conclusion Ginsenosides Rc protects mice against HFD-induced hepatosteatosis by improving PPAR-α-mediated fatty acid oxidation and antioxidant capacity in a SIRT6 dependent manner, and providing a promising strategy for NAFLD.

A strengthening technique using prefabricated stone plates reinforced with carbon-fibre-reinforced-polymer bars is proposed to improve the flexural performance and maintain the original appearance of exposed stone beams. The effectiveness of the technique was experimentally evaluated using three stone beam specimens, considering the reinforcement ratio as the main parameter. For comparison, two specimens strengthened with near-surface-mounted (NSM) polymer bars and one bare stone specimen were also tested. The test results showed that the prefabricated plates shifted the failure mode of the stone beams from brittle fracture to more ductile behaviour manner accompanied by multiple flexural cracks. A significant increase in load-carrying and deformation capacities was observed and the flexural strength tended to increase with an increase in the polymer reinforcement ratio. No end-slip in the polymer bars was observed, indicating good bond characteristics between the prefabricated plates and the stone beams and effective composite action. Compared with specimens with NSM polymer bars, the specimens strengthened with prefabricated polymer-reinforced plates showed similar load-carrying capacity. A simplified theoretical model for predicting the flexural strength of strengthened stone beams was developed and assessed.

Two pyrrolyl-BODIPY dyes with 3,5-di-[Formula: see text]-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl group were synthesized through stepwise S[Formula: see text]Ar reactions of 3,5-dibromoBODIPYs, which were used as a fluorescent sensor for basic anions. The intermediate pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 2a–2b were regioselectively synthesized through an efficient S[Formula: see text]Ar reaction between 3,5-dibromoBODIPY 1a and pyrroles. The target pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 3a–3b with a 3,5-di-[Formula: see text]-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl group at 3-position and a pyrrole substituent at 5-position were obtained through a second S[Formula: see text]Ar reaction between pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 2a–2b and high steric hindrance 2,6-dibutylphenol in 90% and 88% yields, respectively. In contrast, the reaction between pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 2a–2b and phenol gave pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 3c–3d with phenoxy substituent at 3-position. These pyrrolyl-BODIPYs 3a–2d show strong, sharp absorptions (551–604 nm) and emissions (564–634 nm) with high fluorescence quantum yields up to 0.86 in dichloromethane. Importantly, the 3,5-di-[Formula: see text]-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl group of pyrrolyl-BODIPY 3a showed a turn-off fluorescent response toward fluoride anion.

The formation of high-nuclearity silver(I) clusters remains elusive and their potential applications are still underdeveloped. Herein, we firstly prepared a chain-like thiolated AgI complex {[Ag18 (St Bu)10 (NO3 )8 (CH3 CN)2 (H2 O)2 ] ⋅ [Ag18 (St Bu)10 (NO3 )8 (CH3 CN)6 ]}n (abbreviated as Ag18 ) in which two similar Ag18 clusters are assembled by NO3 - anions. The solution containing Ag18 reacted with hydrogen sulfide with controlled concentration, promptly producing another identifiable and bright red-emitting high-nuclearity silver(I) cluster, Ag62 (S)13 (St Bu)32 (NO3 )4 (abbreviated as Ag62 ). We tracked the transformation using time-dependent electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), UV/Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra. Based on this cluster transformation, we further developed an ultra-sensitive turn-on sensor detecting H2 S gas with an ultrafast response time (30 s) at a low detection limit (0.13 ppm). This work opens a new way of understanding the growth of metal clusters and developing their luminescent sensing applications.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disorder, is the causes of oxidative stress leading to complications in micro- and macro-vascular system. The present study investigated sophocarpine for anti-diabetic potential in vivo in mice model. Sophocarpine administration to diabetic mice significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated glucose content in the plasma. The diabetes mediated lowering of GSH, ceruloplasmin and vitamin E was prevented in mice plasma by sophocarpine administration. Sophocarpine significantly (p < 0.05) reversed diabetes mediated suppression of insulin level and total Hb content in the mice plasma. In sophocarpine administrated diabetic mice C-peptide level was elevated and glycosylated hemoglobin content was suppressed significantly (p < 0.05) relative to diabetic group. Administration of sophocarpine significantly (p < 0.05) repressed diabetes mediated increase in TG and TC levels in dose-based manner. Administration of sophocarpine exhibited preventive role against diabetes mediated pathological damage to pancreas in the mice. Sophocarpine administration to diabetic mice repressed PPARγ recruitment significantly (p < 0.05) in dose-dependent manner. Sophocarpine prevents oxidative stress mediated pancreatic damage through increase in vitamin E, GSH and C-peptide levels, Moreover, the PPARγ activity was down-regulated, LDL-c content lowered and HDL-c level elevated in diabetic mice by sophocarpine. Therefore, sophocarpine may be developed for treatment of diabetes, however, further in vivo studies need to confirm the same.

ObjectiveImpaired hepatic fatty acids oxidation results in lipid accumulation and redox imbalance, promoting the development of fatty liver diseases and insulin resistance. However, the underlying pathogenic mechanism is poorly understood. Krüppel-like factor 16 (KLF16) is a transcription factor that abounds in liver. We explored whether and by what mechanisms KLF16 affects hepatic lipid catabolism to improve hepatosteatosis and insulin resistance.DesignKLF16 expression was determined in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and mice models. The role of KLF16 in the regulation of lipid metabolism was investigated using hepatocyte-specific KLF16-deficient mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or using an adenovirus/adeno-associated virus to alter KLF16 expression in mouse primary hepatocytes (MPHs) and in vivo livers. RNA-seq, luciferase reporter gene assay and ChIP analysis served to explore the molecular mechanisms involved.ResultsKLF16 expression was decreased in patients with NAFLD, mice models and oleic acid and palmitic acid (OA and PA) cochallenged hepatocytes. Hepatic KLF16 knockout impaired fatty acid oxidation, aggravated mitochondrial stress, ROS burden, advancing hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance. Conversely, KLF16 overexpression reduced lipid deposition and improved insulin resistance via directly binding the promoter of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) to accelerate fatty acids oxidation and attenuate mitochondrial stress, oxidative stress in db/db and HFD mice. PPARα deficiency diminished the KLF16-evoked protective effects against lipid deposition in MPHs. Hepatic-specific PPARα overexpression effectively rescued KLF16 deficiency-induced hepatic steatosis, altered redox balance and insulin resistance.ConclusionsThese findings prove that a direct KLF16–PPARα pathway closely links hepatic lipid homeostasis and redox balance, whose dysfunction promotes insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis.

In recent years, design high catalytic graphitic carbon nitride (g–C3N4)–based catalysts has drawn broad attention in environmental remediation. In this work, a series of iron-doped g-C3N4 compounds were synthesized through a simple bottom-up strategy. By controlled pyrolysis, iron-doped g-C3N4 materials split from bulk structure into multi-layer structure with uniformly dispersed mesopores. The catalytic activities of layered iron-doped g-C3N4 in Fenton-like and photo-Fenton-like processes were investigated. Due to the doped iron, unique layered structure, and mesopore feature, the catalysts present greatly enhanced performance in heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions. Moreover, the degradation parameters calculated by the pseudo-first-order kinetic model fitted well with the specific surface area of the catalyst, indicating that the catalytic activities rely heavily on the specific surface area of layered and porous g-C3N4. This study presents a facile and generic method to regulate C3N4 morphology and structure for enhanced catalytic activity in Fenton-like reactions.

Conventional coherent and non-coherent techniques such as quasi-optical vector network analyze (VNA) and Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS) can be employed to measure the exhaustive properties of dielectrics in the terahertz band. However, the VNA can only cover a narrow frequency range, and the FTS takes a relatively long period of time for measurement. By contrast, the terahertz time domain spectroscopy (TDS) allows the measurement of material properties such as dielectric constant and loss tangent in a wide frequency range and in a short period of time. Using a terahertz TDS, we characterize the complex properties of some materials commonly used in terahertz superconducting receivers, including high density polyethylene (HDPE), single crystal magnesium oxide (MgO), single crystal quartz, single crystal sapphire, single crystal silicon (S.C. silicon), high resistance silicon (H.R. silicon), and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). The measurements at room temperature have finished yet. The measurements at cryostat temperature are in progress and will be published later.

A hot electron bolometer (HEB) with Johnson noise readout is an attractive technique for radiation detection due to its high sensitivity, wide operating temperature range, and large dynamic range. In this paper, we present the development of a terahertz HEB based on Johnson noise readout. The HEB consists of a titanium microbridge connected to two high-energy-gap niobium contacts for confining hot electrons. We measured the thermal conductance and noise equivalent power (NEP) of the HEB at different bath temperatures. We find that the thermal conductance due to the electron–phonon interaction increases with temperature as T2.5. At 3.0 K, the thermal conductance is found to be 37.9 ± 1.4 nW/K and the electrical NEP is as low as 23.0 ± 0.8 pW/$$ \sqrt {\text{Hz}} $$. In addition, we find that the HEB works efficiently up to 15 μW input power.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a devastating and highly metastatic cancer worldwide. Metformin (MET) is the priority drug for treatment of type 2 diabetes; however, it possesses multiple biological effects like anticancer and hepatoprotective activity. Herein, we examined the effects of aloin (barbaloin) and MET as well as combination treatment in HCC cell line in vitro and in vivo. As a result, aloin and MET alone exhibited inhibitory effects on proliferation and invasion of HepG2 and Bel‐7402 cells. Specially, combination treatment of aloin and MET showed enhanced inhibitory effects in vitro. Aloin and MET alone induced apoptosis and autophagy in vitro. Similarly, aloin and MET cooperated to promote apoptosis and autophagy in HepG2 and Bel‐7402 cells. In the HepG2 xenograft models, aloin in combination with MET confine tumor growth and facilitate apoptosis and autophagy. Both the in vitro and in vivo results showed that aloin and MET alone as well as combination treatment activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Overall, our research demonstrated that the concomitant treatment with aloin and MET enhances the antitumor effect by inhibiting the growth and invasion as well as inducing apoptosis and autophagy in HCC through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway., Our research demonstrated that the concomitant treatment with aloin and MET enhances the antitumor effect by inhibiting the growth and invasion as well as inducing apoptosis and autophagy in HCC through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

LncRNA DLGAP1 antisense RNA 2 (DLGAP1-AS2) is one kind cytoplasmic long non-coding RNA; however, there is rarely little information about its function in physiological process. Here, we demonstrated that LncRNA DLGAP1-AS2 was up-regulated in glioma and was quite correlated with poor prognosis of glioma patients. Depletion of DLGAP1-AS2 in glioma cells could inhibit cell proliferation and cell migration, and induce cell apoptosis, resulting in the suppression of the progression of glioma consequently. Furthermore, knockdown of DLGAP1-AS2 inhibited the growth of xenograft glioma tumour in vivo as well. Finally, we verified Yes Associated Protein 1 (YAP1) was the downstream target of DLGAP1-AS2 and DLGAP1-AS2 modulated glioma cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis via regulating YAP1. Our study revealed novel mechanism about how did lncRNA DLGAP1-AS2 execute function in glioma and thus provided potential therapeutic interventions for the treatment of glioma.

Subcellular organelle-targeted photosensitizers have recently reported to be effective photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents. In this work, three porphyrin-derived photosensitizers, containing one, two or four triphenylphosphonium targeting groups, were synthesized and characterized by NMR, HRMS, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. These photosensitizers showed similar photophysical properties to classical porphyrins and exhibited excellent [Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] quantum yields in acetonitrile. Subcellular colocalization indicated that all three photosensitizers specifically stain the mitochondria of HeLa cells. Photosensitizer mito-dp, containing two triphenylphosphonium cations was found to be the most uptaken by cells and exhibited the best PDT effect with an effective phototoxicity (IC[Formula: see text] (light) [Formula: see text] 12.4 nM), suggestive of a higher practicable potential of mitochondria-targeted PDT agents in cancer therapy.

Novel expanded porphyrinoids with advanced structure features (such as multiple-inner-ring-fusion) have a wide range of benefits (such as multi-metal coordination and facile tunable aromaticity) not offered by their normal porphyrin analogues, and have found wide applications as sensors, fluorescent probes, novel ligands and functionalized NIR organic dyes in various research fields. However, the structures of these expanded porphyrinoids are scarce due to their limited synthetic accessibility. Herein, we summarized the lately reported efficient synthesis of novel expanded porphyrinoids with multiple-inner-ring-fusion (up to six-inner-ring-fusion) and smaragdyrins with tunable aromaticity. Their synthesis is either based on an oxidative ring cyclization on linear/macrocyclic oligopyrroles containing N-confused pyrrole unit(s) or a straightforward double SNAr reaction on readily available 3,5-dibromoBODIPY, respectively.

A new synthetic method to build phenanthrene-fused boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) through tandem Suzuki couplings on readily available 2,3,5,6-tetrabromoBODIPYs, followed by an intramolecular oxid...

The first direct and selective 3,6-di-alkylation of carbazoles via iron-catalyzed hydroarylation of styrenes is demonstrated. This simple, general and efficient method could deliver a wide range of di-benzyl-carbazoles with high chemo- and regio-selectivity at room temperature in up to 96% yield with no need for a noble-metal catalyst, directing group or additives.

Bioaugmentation, a strategy based on microbiome engineering, has been proposed for bioremediation of pollutant-contaminated environments. However, the complex microbiome engineering processes for soil bioaugmentation, involving interactions among the exogenous inoculum, soil environment, and indigenous microbial microbiome, remain largely unknown. Acetamiprid is a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide which has caused environmental contaminations. Here, we used an acetamiprid-degrading strain, Pigmentiphaga sp. D-2, as inoculum to investigate the effects of bioaugmentation on the soil microbial community and the process of microbiome reassembly. The bioaugmentation treatment removed 94.8 and 92.5% of acetamiprid within 40 days from soils contaminated with 50 and 200 mg/kg acetamiprid, respectively. A decrease in bacterial richness and diversity was detected in bioaugmentation treatments, which later recovered with the removal of acetamiprid from soil. Moreover, the bioaugmentation treatment significantly influenced the bacterial community structure, whereas application of acetamiprid alone had little influence on the soil microbial community. Furthermore, the bioaugmentation treatment improved the growth of bacteria associated with acetamiprid degradation, and the inoculated and recruited taxa significantly influenced the keystone taxa of the indigenous microbiome, resulting in reassembly of the bacterial community yielding higher acetamiprid-degrading efficiency than that of the indigenous and acetamiprid-treated communities. Our results provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of microbiome engineering for bioaugmentation of acetamiprid-contaminated soils.

Background The cell wall and chloroplast are two fundamental structures determining plant mechanical strength and grain yield. Therefore, understanding mechanisms that improve plants’ ability to develop a robust cell wall and well-developed chloroplast is of utmost importance for agricultural activities. Results In this study, we report the functional characterization of a novel rice mutant, brittle stem and zebra leaf (bz1), which displays altered cell wall composition and collapsed chloroplast membrane. Molecular and biochemical analysis revealed that BZ1 encodes a functional UDP-galactose/glucose epimerase (UGE) and is ubiquitously expressed with higher expression in stem and leaf tissues. Multiple techniques analyses, including immunoblots, immuno-gold, and cryogenic scanning electron microscopy, demonstrated a significantly impaired glycosylation of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) and disordered cellulose microfibril deposition in bz1. Lipid profiling assay showed that the amount of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG), a major chloroplast membrane glycolipid, was significantly decreased in bz1. Taken together, these results strongly demonstrate that BZ1 participates in UDP-galactose supply for the sugar chains biosynthesis of AGPs and MGDG, which thereby, respectively, results in altered cell wall and abnormal chloroplast development. Due to inferior mechanical strength and reduced photosynthesis, bz1 plants displayed detrimental agronomic traits, whereas BZ1 overexpressing lines showed enhanced plant growth. Transcriptome analysis of stems and leaves further showed that numerous key genes involved in AGPs biosynthesis and photosynthesis metabolism were substantially suppressed in bz1. Conclusions Our finding identifies BZ1 as a dual-targeting UGE protein for glycosylation of AGPs and MGDG and suggests a strategy for breeding robust elite crops.

To design new mesoporous sucker-type selective sorbent for controlling environmental carcinogens like tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA), polyaniline (PANI) was controlled carefully to grow at different sites such as near the pore opening, in the channel or on the outside of SBA-15 by in one-pot synthetic and post-synthetic methods. The influences of aniline additional order, aniline to organosilicone ratio and with or without template are investigated in order to obtain the optimal growth position of PANI. Different location of PANI on SBA-15 was confirmed by TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption characterization and zeta potential measurement. PANI grows preferentially in the channel and then near the pore orifice when proper amount aniline is added previous to silicon source. If aniline is added later after the silicon source, PANI will grow mainly on the outside surface of SBA-15. The location of PANI is in the pore entrances once the aniline is put into the solution after template is removed. Resulting composites realize different selectivity for TSNA and tobacco alkaloids. 1P-S15 production possesses a best TSNA adsorptive capacity (23.2%), higher than commercial activated carbon (15.5%). FTIR spectrum of TSNA in 1P-S15 and quantum calculations demonstrated that the adsorption of TSNA is controlled by hydrogen bonding.

NIR photosensitizer is attractive for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Low-power light irradiation and imaging-guided PDT makes it possible to increase tissue penetration depth. The pyrrole-substituted iodinated BODIPY (BDPI) molecule was designed and synthesized, and it possesses an intense NIR absorption and emission band, and exhibits a high singlet oxygen quantum yield (ΦΔ = 0.80) which leads remarkable cytotoxicity upon low power illumination (IC50 = 0.60 μg/mL, 6.1 mW/cm2). After being encapsulated with biocompatibility polypeptide PEG–PLys, polymeric micelles nanoparticles (PBDPI NPs) was obtained that are water-dispersed and passively tumor-targetable. Such enhanced accumulation in tumor area makes it easily traced in vivo due to its NIR fluorescence. In addition, such nanoparticles offer an unprecedented photodynamic therapeutic effect by using a low-power irradiation light, which makes it possible to kill cancer cells in deep tissue efficiently.

New shape-selectivity of graphene-based materials was discovered on this article. To explore the new selectivity, the structure and surface state of graphene and carbon nanotube were examined firstly, and their specific selectivity was verified and was compared with that of ZSM-5 zeolite in aqueous solutions of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA) along with dyes. These two adsorbents trapped about 55% and 70% of 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK) but only 3% of N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) in solution, having an obvious selectivity for the former, due to its stronger interaction with graphene. NNK on graphene sheet obtained more electrons (0.015 e) and owned larger adsorption energy (15.63 kcal mol-1) than that of NNN (0.003 e, 9.19 kcal mol-1), according to theoretical calculation and FTIR results. More 95 or 136 mg g -1 acid red 88 than methyl orange was captured by graphene or carbon nanotube, demonstrating this special and abnormal selectivity again. With new selectivity, graphene showed a higher capacity (6.9%) and shorter adorption equilibrium time (5 min) for TSNA than the typical selecive sorbent ZSM-5 zeolite (1.7% and 20 min) in tobacco solution but kept the similar selctivity to NNK, paving a new way to control the carcinogens like TSNA in environment.

Escherichia coli K1 is the most common Gram-negative bacteria causing neonatal meningitis. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) transmigration across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the hallmark of bacterial meningitis. Reportedly, the deletion of virulence factor cglD (E44:ΔcglD) from E44 is responsible for a less efficient PMN transendothelial migration ability. In the present study, we found that complementation of the cglD gene into E44:ΔcglD mutant strain might restore the PMN count and myeloperoxidase level in a neonatal mouse meningitis. Using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs), the main model of the BBB in vitro, we found that E44:ΔcglD mutant strain induced a less efficient PMN adhesion to HBMECs and down-regulated chemokines CXCL1, CXCL6 and CXCL8 and adhesion molecule E-selectin, compared with the E44 strain. Complementation of cglD restored the PMN adhesion to HBMECs and the level of these proteins. E44:ΔcglD mutant strain also induced a less efficient NF-κB pathway activation in HBMECs and reduced the soluble p65 (sp65) level in the cerebral spinal fluid of newborn mice, compared with the E44 strain. Complementation of cglD restored the NF-κB pathway activation and increased the sp65 levels. This suggests that cglD in E44 contributes to NF-κB pathway activation in the brain endothelium to promote PMN adhesion to HBMECs and transendothelial migration. Our identified novel requirement of cglD for immune activation and subsequent PMN entry into the central nervous system suggests that therapies directed at neutralising this molecule will be beneficial in preventing bacterial meningitis progression.

A fundamental, highly fluorescent, and easily accessible scaffold named BOPPY is reported. The use of hydrazine as a bridging linkage between pyrrole and N-heteroarenes enables the binding of two BF2 units to provide sufficient rigidity of the unsymmetric core skeleton. These resultant unsymmetrical BOPPYs are thus highly fluorescent in their solutions and solid powder states and exhibit high molar absorption coefficients (42200–47000 M–1 cm–1), large Stokes shifts, excellent photostability, and insensitivity to pH. More importantly, these BOPPYs showed efficient two-photon absorption in the wide spectral range of 700–900 nm, making them well suited for two-photon fluorescence microscopy imaging in living cells.

Superconducting titanium thin films are good candidates for transition edge sensors. In this paper, we deposit titanium thin films on cooled silicon-on-insulator substrates by using electron-beam evaporation. The deposition rate dependence of the film stress, resistivity, and superconducting transition temperature are presented and analyzed. The relationship between film electrical properties and thickness is discussed. For investigating the heating influence on thin Ti films, a depth profile of oxygen diffusion in the films is also analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Arabidopsis Senescence-Associated Subtilisin Protease (SASP) has previously been reported to participate in leaf senescence and in the development of inflorescences and siliques. Here, we describe a new role of SASP in the regulation of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. SASP encodes a subtilase and its expression was considerably induced by darkness, ABA, and ethylene treatments. sasp knockout mutants displayed obvious developmental phenotypes such as early flowering and smaller leaves. In particular, the sasp mutants exhibited enhanced ABA sensitivity during seed germination and seedling growth, heightened ABA-mediated leaf senescence, and increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, the sasp mutants also showed remarkably increased tolerance to drought, with expression of six ABA signaling-related genes being either up- or down-regulated following ABA treatment. Interaction assays demonstrated that SASP physically interacts with OPEN STOMATA 1 (OST1) at the cell periphery. Co-expression of SASP and OST1 led to degradation of OST1, whereas this degradation was impaired in sasp-1 protoplasts. ROS attenuation assays demonstrated that in sasp-1 mutant guard cells the attenuation rate markedly decreased. Taken together, the results demonstrate that SASP plays an important role in regulating ABA signaling and drought tolerance through interaction with OST1.

This paper reported the attempt of endowing activated carbon the capability of selectively adsorption like that of zeolite for the first time. To create the optimal microenvironment in the activated carbon made from coconut shell, the sorbent was carefully modified with moderate ferric acetate through impregnation followed by carbonization, producing lots of ferric oxide extra-fine particles mingled with carbon nanoparticles to reduce the pore size of activated carbon and to increase the surface roughness of pore wall. Consequently, new activated carbon sorbent trapped 60% of tobacco specific nitrosamines in the tobacco extract solution with the concentration of 1796 ng mL−1, exhibiting the highest capacity (222 µg g−1) to date. Moreover, it showed a zeolite-like selectivity in the liquid adsorption to capture 98.5% of 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone because of the spindly shape of this strong carcinogen. Besides, distinguishable adsorption of tobacco specific nitrosamines from alkaloid by the new activated carbon sorbent in solution was discovered, providing a valuable clue for the development of new selective sorbents in environment protection.

To meet the requirement of selective removing environmental carcinogen, elaborated microporous interspaces were successfully fabricated inside the channel of mesoporous silica SBA-15. The discarded cigarette filters (CF) and ferric nitrate solution were infused into SBA-15, and carbonized to form carbon and FexO particles tailoring the tortuosity of mecsoporous channels and provide the necessary electrostatic interaction towards tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA) in solution. Besides, the carefully modified SBA-15 displayed evidently selectivity towards 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK) and the representative sample Fe0.9CF1.2/S15c owned excellent performances in various tobacco solutions, with the high NNK-selectivity up to 58%, same as that of HZSM−5 zeolite. This strategy created new sorbents combining the high capability of mesoporous silica and the selectivity of microporous zeolite, giving certain enlightenment for new functional materials and environmental protection.

A cost-efficient attapulgite-hydrochar composite (APHC) was prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal treatment and evaluated for cadmium (Cd) immobilization in contaminated soils. The results showed that APHC could effectively reduce the leaching Cd content by 32.1%, and the immobilization efficiency was significantly improved by 70.2% compared to pristine hydrochar (HC). By the introduction of APHC, the contaminated soils showed the highest reduction rate of 91.0% for acid-soluble Cd, and the ecological risk of amended soils was remarkably reduced from high-risk polluted grade to low-risk rank compared to original contaminated soils. The pot experiments indicated that APHC could effectively decrease the adsorbed amount of Cd in paddy rice by 71.2% and reduce the inhibition effect of Cd on plant growth and biomass production. The mechanism study showed that surface complexation, cation exchange and electrostatic attraction played significant roles in immobilizing Cd in contaminated soils. The present study offered a potentially promising approach to prepare cost-effective and eco-friendly amendments from waste biomass for in situ immobilization of heavy metal contaminated soils.

Transition-metal and nitrogen co-doped carbon-based catalysts receive much attention in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. However, the contribution of doped metal and the kinetic mechanisms of the emerging nonradical pathways especially enabled by reactive singlet oxygen species remain unclear. Herein, we report Fe-N-co-doped carbon-based catalysts (FeCNx) for peroxymonosulfate activation. The catalysts achieve fast removal of a broad spectrum of organic pollutants in a wide pH range without the common Fe leaching. Both catalyst surface-activated PMS complex (catalyst-PMS*), surface-bound radicals, and singlet oxygen are identified. The new mechanism is enabled by the Fe-Nx single-atomic-site that enhances the adsorption of PMS and facilitates the formation of catalyst-PMS*. The formation route of singlet oxygen species is elucidated for the first time for Fe, N-co-doped carbon-based catalysts with density functional theory simulation. This study reveals the intrinsic role of Fe-Nx site in catalysts and provides new insights into the origin and kinetics of non-radical pathways for peroxymonosulfate activation.

Worldwide, approximately 27 million ha of rice are grown in upland rather than paddy fields, and is subject to drought stress. To counter this stress, it is desirable to breed new rice cultivars with improved drought tolerance. For breeding purposes, especially for breeding upland rice, it is desirable to develop a simple and accurate method to evaluate rice drought tolerance. We describe a new method that can be used to evaluate efficiently the drought tolerance degree (DTD) of upland rice cultivars, and call it the DTD method. DTD is defined as the mean of the ratios of green leaf length to total leaf length of the top three leaves in every rice seedling after drought treatment, and thus takes values from zero to one. To test whether the DTD method works effectively to evaluate drought tolerance of upland rice cultivars, we determined the DTD values of 13 upland rice cultivars showing varying degrees of drought tolerance in drought-tolerance trials. The idr1-1 mutant, which displayed the strongest drought tolerance of the 13 cultivars as identified by drought-tolerance trials under severe drought stress, had the highest DTD value and 297-28, displaying the weakest drought tolerance, had the lowest DTD value. Further analyses of water potential, survival rate, panicles per plant, spikelets per panicle, seed setting rate, yield per plant, and contents of proline, chlorophyll, and malondialdehyde (MDA) indicated that DTD values are in general correlated with the values of these traits, making this new method useful for assessing the drought tolerance of upland rice cultivars. These results show that the DTD method is a simple, direct and relatively accurate evaluation method for drought-tolerance breeding of upland rice. Keywords: Upland rice, Breeding, Drought tolerance degree (DTD), New evaluation method

A set of dipyrrolyldipyrrins have been efficiently synthesized from a direct SNAr reaction on 1,9-dihalodipyrrins with pyrroles and show intense absorption in the NIR region (650–800 nm, as HCl salts). Substituents on both 1,9-dihalodipyrrins and pyrroles greatly affected the reactivity of this SNAr reaction and the absorption properties of the resultant dipyrrolyldipyrrins. These dipyrrolyldipyrrins show sensitive and selective “turn-on” fluorescence response toward Zn2+.

A series of new Mg-8Li-xCa-yGd (x = 0, 1, 2; y = 0, 2; wt.%) alloys were prepared, and the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The mechanical properties were characterized by tensile, compression and bending tests at room temperature. The results show that Mg-8Li-1Ca alloy is composed of alpha(Mg), beta(Li) and CaMg2 phases. In addition to the same phases in Mg-8Li-1Ca, there also exists CaLi2 phase in Mg-8Li-2Ca. In addition to the same phases in Mg-8Li-2Ca, GdMg5 phase is also formed in Mg-8Li-1Ca-2Gd alloy due to the addition of Gd. Both Ca and Gd have refining effect in the alloys, and the refining effect of Ca is better than that of Gd. The additions of Ca and Gd can improve the tensile strength and yield strength, but decrease the elongation and the bending strength. Comparing the mechanical properties of the investigated alloys, Mg-8Li-1Ca-2Gd possesses the best mechanical properties.

HZSM-5 zeolite was used to conquer the challenge of liquid adsorption of tobacco specific N -nitrosamines (TSNA), either in aqueous solution or tobacco extract solution, offering a candidate with an optimal Si/Al ratio and channel structure to capture the carcinogens. It could trap 84% of N ′-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and 99% of 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK) in aqueous solution, much better than that by NaZSM-5 zeolite. Both FTIR and TG/MS technologies were employed to study the adsorption and catalytic degradation of NNN and NNK by HZSM-5 zeolite. The N–N bond of NNK was broken in the range of 423–573 K and the pyridine fragments appeared at 630 K due to the breakage of C–C bond between pyridine and carbonyl groups. Besides, HZSM-5 zeolite was sprayed on the rod of cigarette and smoked with different manners for the first time, in order to assess its function of reducing TSNA content in mainstream smoke and compared with that of liquid adsorption.

In this paper, we investigate the critical temperature dependence of the performance of niobium nitride superconducting hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The input noise temperature and intermediate frequency (IF) noise bandwidth of superconducting HEB mixers of different critical temperatures $T_{c}$ (between 6 and 12 K) are simulated with a hot spot model. Simulation results show that the mixer input noise temperature is the lowest at $T_{c}$ approximately equal to 7–9.5 K and the IF noise bandwidth increases with $T_{c}$ . We also measure three superconducting HEB mixers of different critical temperatures (i.e., 7.5, 8.8, and 10.3 K) at 0.85 and 1.3 THz. An agreement between measurement and prediction is observed.

Sulfonated grapheme oxide (SGO) nanohybrids were synthesized and employed to modify polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes accompanied with perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA). Due to the synergism effects of PFSA and SGO, the SGO-blended PVDF membranes exhibit high permeability, anti-fouling performances and improved chemical resistance. SGO addition leads to thinner skin and porous sublayer of the membranes. The pure water permeability increases from 87.8 to 174.2 L·m−2·bar−1·h−1 by adding 0.5 wt% SGO nanohybrids in dope, and then slightly decreases to 156.2 L·m−2·bar−1·h−1 for M1.0 with further addition to 1.0 wt%. After five fouling-cleaning cycles, SGO-modified PVDF membranes show less flux decline and more stable solute rejection than the unmodified one, which demonstrate that SGO nanosheets act as a chlorine barrier for the PVDF membranes, resulting in an outstanding anti-fouling ability and an effective suppression of the membrane degradation under frequent oxidative cleaning.

Adsorption of 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK) along with N ’-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) in water is studied for the first time with the monitoring of LC-MS/MS. In the mixed aqueous solution of NNK and NNN, NaZSM-5 zeolite uniquely captured NNK but refused NNN. And the influence of initial concentration, adsorption time and type of sorbents were systemically investigated. Degradation of NNK adsorbed on zeolite is studied with TG/MS and FTIR methods for the first time. It was degraded to NO, pyridine, amine and propanal at around 600 K, avoiding formation of volatile nitrosamines and secondary pollution.

Ginsenoside Rg2 has been previously reported to reduce glucose production and adipogenesis in adipose tissue. However, the effects of ginsenosides Rg2 on hepatic lipid metabolism remain vacant. In this study, we found that ginsenoside Rg2 treatment significantly attenuated oleic acid and palmitic acid (OA&PA)-induced intracellular lipid deposition and oxidative stress in mouse primary hepatocytes. C57BL/6J mice that are fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and treated with ginsenosides Rg2 displayed decreased body weight, reversed hepatic steatosis, and improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Ginsenoside Rg2 administration significantly ameliorated HFD-induced hepatic oxidative stress and apoptosis. Moreover, Ginsenoside Rg2 had a good affinity with Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) and regulated its expression in vivo and in vitro. Deficiency of SIRT1 eliminated the therapeutic effect of ginsenoside Rg2 on lipid accumulation and overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in OA&PA-induced mice primary hepatocytes. Ginsenoside Rg2 treatment failed to alter the lipid and glucose disorder in hepatic SIRT1 deficient mice feeding on HFD. SIRT1 deficiency dissolves the therapeutic effect of ginsenoside Rg2 on oxidative stress and hepatocyte apoptosis induced by HFD. In summary, ginsenoside Rg2 plays a therapeutic role in HFD-induced hepatosteatosis of mice by decreasing the lipogenesis process and improving antioxidant capacity in an SIRT1-dependent manner.

Transition metal and nanocarbon-based composites with high activity and stability draw great attention in electro-Fenton system for organic pollutants removal. In this study, HKUST-1-derived Cu@C nanoparticles embedded within three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) network (denoted as 3DG/Cu@C) is synthesized through a simple strategy. The prepared catalyst shows ordered 3D porous carbon structure and Cu@C NPs are uniformly dispersed in the matrix. The 3DG/Cu@C is used as heterogeneous electro-Fenton (hetero-EF) catalyst and shows outstanding performance in various persistent organic pollutants removal. High concentration Rhodamine B (RhB) (40 mg L−1) can achieve a complete decolorization within 150 min with 25 mg L−1 3DG/Cu@C catalyst, which is one of the lowest catalyst dosages in hetero-EF for RhB removal. More importantly, the 3DG/Cu@C achieves high RhB mineralization efficiency of 81.5% and exhibits high catalytic performance in a wide pH window from 3 to 9. The 3DG/Cu@C also remains high efficiency after five successive reaction cycles. The working mechanism study shows that RhB is mainly oxidized by •OH and O2•- radicals through hetero-EF and anodic oxidation processes. The high stability and outstanding performance of 3DG/Cu@C provide new insights in organic pollutants removal by hetero-EF process with transition metal and nanocarbon-based catalysts.

Fourier phase gratings play a vital role in the multi-beam heterodyne receiver in sub-millimeter astronomical instruments. In this study, a 1×4 beam grating at 660 GHz is developed, by which the surface structure is generated with an iterative algorithm. Far-field beam pattern is simulated with FEKO, where a relative high efficiency of 91% as well as a uniformity of power distribution among 4 beams of less than 1% are obtained. The grating was manufactured in aluminum material by a micro-milling machine. A PC-controlled scanning stage is employed for the beam pattern measurement. Despite the discrepancy from the manufacture of less than 6 μm, measurement results exhibit a good agreement with simulation in both power efficiency and far-field spatial distribution.

In this paper, we report the investigation of direct detection behavior of a superconducting niobium nitride (NbN) hot electron bolometer (HEB) based on noise thermometry. The HEB consists of a microbridge made from 5.5 nm thick NbN film and a twin slot antenna for radiation coupling. In the microbridge, hot electron system is generated after radiation pumping and it creates extra noise at RF frequencies. We measured the response of the noise at 0.5-1.8 GHz and the noise equivalent power (NEP) of the superconducting NbN HEB at different bias voltages. The measurement result shows that the superconducting NbN HEB has a noise equivalent power of 1.24×10-12 W/Hz1/2 at its optimal bias point. We also compared the noise equivalent power measured by noise thermometry at two different readout bandwidths. The measured results are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical one.

Rapid and accurate determination of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) has become an emerging need for environmental monitoring and has yet to be realized in electrochemical sensors with metal organic framework (MOF)-based materials. In this study, a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) detection based on iron(II) phthalocyanine (PcFe) and a Zn-based metal organic framework (ZIF-8) composite is fabricated. As an electrode material, ZIF-8 possesses a large surface area and porous structure, which exhibits high absorbability; meanwhile, PcFe (II), as the sensing element, undergoes a reduction process from PcFe (II) to PcFe (I) during the sensing process. In the presence of TCAA, PcFe (I) is reoxidized by TCAA, which shifts the reaction equilibrium and accelerates the electron transfer on the electrode interface. By analyzing the reduction current of PcFe (II), the quantitative detection of TCAA is realized. The sensor shows a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.89 nM, which is superior to other reported TCAA sensors, as well as a high sensitivity (826 μΑ/μM). Moreover, the good selectivity and stability of this sensing platform demonstrate its capability and promise in determination of trace DBPs. The reported sensor provides a new strategy for electrochemical detection of DBPs and could expand the applications of MOFs in emerging technologies for monitoring contaminants.

Single-atom catalysts have drawn increasing attention in advanced oxidation due to their unique structure and significant promise in heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, single-atom iron anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon (SAFe-N-C) was synthesized with iron phthalocyanine (FePc) and metal-organic framework (ZIF-8). With thermal treatment and acid leaching, atomically-dispersed Fe-Nx sites were successfully formed on the surface of N-C support derived from ZIF-8. The prepared catalyst was demonstrated to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for chloramphenicol (CAP) degradation. Compared with N-C, the SAFe-N-C shows 6 times enhanced removal efficiency (from 15.3% to 93.1%) for CAP. Moreover, the catalyst shows high catalytic activity in a wide pH range of 5 to 9 and good resistance to inorganic anions, in which a singlet oxygen-dominated process is found. This study reveals the role of single-atom site in singlet oxygen evolution and offers a new catalytic approach for selective removal of organic pollutants in complex water matrix.

Two- and three-dimensional pore evolutions along with nitrogen diffusion behavior in nuclear graphite were studied using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. Calculated nitrogen diffusion activation energy was approximately 2.5 kJ·mol−1. Stable weight loss of graphite specimens increased with temperature, primarily due to more escaped nitrogen from the graphite matrix. Fewer nano-pores and more micro-pores were formed because of the nano-pore coalescence. At 873 K (600 °C), graphite microstructure evolution might be induced by temperature and mild oxidation. Before being placed into high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs), porous nuclear graphite should be subjected to vacuum at 573 K to 673 K (300 °C to 400 °C) to minimize 14N in the pores and 14C generated during operation of HTGRs.

Thermogravimetric kinetic of bamboo waste (BW) pyrolysis has been studied using Asymmetric Double Sigmoidal (Asym2sig) function deconvolution. Through deconvolution, BW pyrolytic profiles could be separated into three reactions well, each of which corresponded to pseudo hemicelluloses (P-HC), pseudo cellulose (P-CL), and pseudo lignin (P-LG) decomposition. Based on Friedman method, apparent activation energy of P-HC, P-CL, P-LG was found to be 175.6 kJ/mol, 199.7 kJ/mol, and 158.4 kJ/mol, respectively. Energy compensation effects (ln k0,z vs. Ez) of pseudo components were in well linearity, from which pre-exponential factors (k0) were determined as 6.22E+11 s−1 (P-HC), 4.50E+14 s−1 (P-CL) and 1.3E+10 s−1 (P-LG). Integral master-plots results showed pyrolytic mechanism of P-HC, P-CL, and P-LG was reaction order of f(α) = (1 − α)2, f(α) = 1 − α and f(α) = (1 − α)n(n = 6–8), respectively. Mechanism of P-HC and P-CL could be further reconstructed to n-th order Avrami-Erofeyev model of f(α) = 0.62(1 − α)[−ln(1 − α)]−0.61(n = 0.62) and f(α) = 1.08(1 − α)[−ln(1 − α)]0.074 (n = 1.08). Two-steps reaction was more suitable for P-LG pyrolysis.