Search

The Stat signaling pathway plays important roles in mediating the secretions of a large number of cytokines and growth factors in vertebrates, which is generally triggered by the growth factor receptor, cytokine receptor, G protein coupled receptor, and receptor protein tyrosine kinase. In the current study, a platelet-derived growth factor receptor (defined as CgPDGFRβ) was identified from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, with a signal peptide, three Ig domains, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular Ser/Thr/Tyr kinase domain. The two N-terminal Ig domains of CgPDGFRβ showed relatively higher binding activity to Gram-negative bacteria and LPS compared with Gram-positive bacteria and peptidoglycan. Upon binding bacteria, CgPDGFRβ in hemocytes formed a dimer and interacted with protein tyrosine kinase CgSrc to induce the phosphorylation of CgSrc at Tyr416. The activated CgSrc interacted with CgStat to induce the translocation of CgStat into the nucleus of hemocytes, which then promoted the expressions of Big defensin 1 (CgBigdef1), IL17-4 (CgIL17-4), and TNF (CgTNF1). These findings together demonstrated that the Src/Stat signaling was activated after the binding of CgPDGFRβ with bacteria to induce the expressions of CgBigdef1, CgIL17-4, and CgTNF1.

Neuropathic pain is caused by abnormal sensory processing in the central nervous system (CNS). The immune response of the CNS is related to the function of glial cells and is critical in neuropathic pain. Agents based on cytokines and glial cells in the CNS have potential for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Gambogic acid (GA) is one of the main components of Garcinia cambogia, which has anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and analgesic effects. However, the effect of GA on neuropathic pain and related mechanisms are still unclear. Previous studies indicated that GA could reduce CXCR4 expression in neuropathic pain. In this study, we found that GA could alleviate nerve pain behavior in rats by measuring the incubation period of heat shrinkage and mechanical pain threshold. Also, GA reduced inflammation in chronic constriction injury rats. We further found GA reduced the apoptosis of spinal cord nerve cells in chronic constriction injury rats. Mechanically, we noticed GA relieved neuropathic pain in rats via regulating CXCR4-TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway. Our data confirmed that GA could serve as a promising drug for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

This work presents a simple method for the preparation of the Mg-doped nanocomposite copper silicates (Mgx-Cu1−x-SiO3) (x=0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 0.9) using coal gangue waste as the silicon source for CO2 capture at low temperature. The as-prepared Mgx-Cu1−x-SiO3 was systemically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis (BET). The results suggest that all Mgx-Cu1−x-SiO3 possess large surface areas, micropores and mesoporous structures composed of the agglomerates of small nanoparticles. They exhibit high CO2 adsorption capacity at 298.15 K under 1 bar, and that of Mg0.9-Cu0.1-SiO3 was the highest with the value of 16.73 cm3/g. The Freundlich isotherm model fits the CO2 adsorption isotherm well. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the CO2 adsorption on Mg0.9-Cu0.1-SiO3 is exothermic (ΔH°

The activator protein-1 (AP-1) plays an important role in inducing the immune effector production in response to cellular stress and bacterial infection. In the present study, an AP-1 was identified from Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (designed as CgAP-1) and its function was investigated in response against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. CgAP-1 was consisted of 290 amino acids including a Jun domain and a basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) domain. CgAP-1 shared 98.6% similarities with ChAP-1 from oyster C. hongkongensis, and assigned into the branch of invertebrates in the phylogenetic tree. The mRNA transcripts of CgAP-1 gene were detected in all tested tissues with highest expression level in hemocytes, especially in granulocytes. The mRNA expression level of CgAP-1 gene in hemocytes was significantly up-regulated (8.53-fold of that in PBS group, p

A new CuO–Cu2O/GO nanocomposite was prepared by using Cu(OAc)2 and graphene oxide (GO) as the main raw materials under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The structures of CuO–Cu2O/GO were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, TEM and HR-TEM. The results showed that the nanoparticles of CuO and Cu2O as heterostructures have been simultaneously grown in situ on GO sheets with 10–15 nm particle size. The photocatalytic properties of the nanocomposite were evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and tetracycline pollutants. The designed nanocomposite showed excellent dual function catalytic ability for the rapid catalytic oxidation of tetracycline (TC) and methyl orange (MO). The degradation ratios of TC and MO reached 90% and 95% after 120 min (under visible light), respectively. The high catalytic activity is mainly due to the excellent photogenerated electron–hole transfer properties of the CuO–Cu2O/GO nanocomposite.

The present study aims to reveal the mechanism by which miR-430s regulate steroidogenesis in larval rice field eel Monopterus albus. To this end, M. albus embryos were respectively microinjected with miRNA-overexpressing mimics (agomir430a, agomir430b, and agomir430c) or miRNA-knockdown inhibitors (antagomir430a, antagomir430b, and antagomir430c). Transcriptome profiling of the larvae indicated that a total of more than 149 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the eight treatments. Specifically, DEGs related to steroidogenesis, the GnRH signaling pathway, the erbB signaling pathway, the Wnt signaling pathway, and other pathways were characterized in the transcriptome. We found that steroidogenesis-related genes (hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 3 (17β-hsdb3), hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 7 (17β-hsdb7), hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 12 (17β-hsdb12), and cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily a (cyp19a1b)) were significantly downregulated in miR-430 knockdown groups. The differential expressions of miR-430 in three gonads indicated different roles of three miR-430 (a, b, and c) isoforms in regulating steroidogenesis and sex differentiation. Mutation of the miR-430 sites reversed the downregulation of cytochrome P450 family 17 (cyp17), cyp19a1b, and forkhead box L2 (foxl2) reporter activities by miR-430, indicating that miR-430 directly interacted with cyp17, cyp19a1b, and foxl2 genes to inhibit their expressions. Combining these findings, we concluded that miR-430 regulated the steroidogenesis and the biosynthesis of steroid hormones by targeting cyp19a1b in larval M. albus. Our results provide a novel insight into steroidogenesis at the early stage of fish at the molecular level.

Several ecological restoration techniques have been used to enhance the levels of available organic matter in mine tailings. However, the effect of organic carbon on nitrogen fixation remains poorly understood. In this study, nitrogen fixation in two mine tailings treated with glucose was analyzed using 15N isotope labeling, pyrosequencing and DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) to identify nitrogen fixers and their activity under organic carbon addition (0.8 mg glucose-C/g soils). Following glucose addition, the total nitrogen content increased significantly (1.6–5.4% of initial N content), and the 15N content increased from 0.89 ± 0.20 mg·kg−1 to 37.08 ± 3.34 mg·kg−1 during a 28-day incubation period. In addition, glucose-stimulated nitrogen fixation in dark conditions was 8.53-fold (Shuimuchong) and 1.22-fold (Yangshanchong) higher than that in light conditions. At the same time, the addition of glucose led to distinctly different phylotypes of the bacterial communities and an increase in the abundance of the nifH gene in the two mine tailings. 13C-glucose SIP showed that the highest copy number of the 16S rRNA and nifH genes in the 13C-glucose-labeled treatment peaked in the heavy fraction, with a buoyant density of 1.737 g·mL−1. However, the pyrosequencing results revealed that the vast majority of the nifH genes were unique and belonged to yet uncultured bacteria, while the potentially known groups were associated with Azotobacter, acidophilic Leptospirillum and Pseudanabaena, accounting for 13.83% of all the total nifH genes. These results indicate that the addition of organic carbon may increase the nitrogen content by stimulating nitrogen fixers, highlighting the vital roles of organic carbon in increasing nitrogen accumulation during the restoration of mine tailings.

A novel mesoporous silica (MS) with the high specific surface area up to 1,199 m2/g was prepared from coal slag by SO 3 2− leaching and hydrothermal synthesis. Its application in metal ion removal was explored using Pb2+, Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+ as the model ions. The effects of adsorption time, pH, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dosage and adsorption temperature on the metal ion adsorption behaviors of the as-prepared MS were systematically, and the maximum adsorption capacities were measured to be 55.76 mg·g−1, 33.49 mg·g−1, 24.29 mg·g−1 and 22.98 mg·g−l for Pb2+, Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+, respectively. The metal ion adsorption on the as-prepared MS followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherm fitted the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating that the adsorption was spontaneous, endothermic and enthalpy driven.

This study is the first to show the response of bacterial communities with primary carbon and nitrogen fixers to elevated CO2 (eCO2) in light and dark conditions based on 6 months of culture growth. Carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation were analyzed by 13C and 15N isotope labeling using 13C-labeled CO2 and 15N-labeled N2, followed by pyrosequencing and DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) to identify carbon fixers and nitrogen fixers. The results indicated that eCO2 decreased the Chao 1 richness, and the eCO2-light treatment exhibited the highest Shannon diversity. In addition, eCO2 (in either light or dark conditions) greatly increased the relative abundances of bacteria belonging to the classes Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria. The 13C atom % in the mine tailings increased from 1.108 to 1.84 ± 0.11 under light conditions and 1.52 ± 0.17 under dark conditions after 6 months of culture growth. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) form I-coding gene (cbbL) copy numbers were 164.30-fold and 40.36-fold higher than RubisCO form II-coding gene (cbbM) copy numbers in the heavy fractions with a buoyant density of 1.7388 g·mL−1 relative to the buoyant density gradients of DNA fractions obtained under eCO2-light and eCO2-dark treatment, respectively. The Proteobacteria-like cbbL genes were dominant in the carbon fixers. In addition, the 15N atom % in the mine tailings increased from 0.366 to 0.454 ± 0.021 in light conditions and 0.437 ± 0.018 in dark conditions. Furthermore, uncultured nitrogen-fixing bacteria were the dominant nitrogen fixers in light conditions, and bacteria harboring the Bradyrhizobium-like nifH and Leptospirillum-like nifH genes were the dominant nitrogen fixers in dark conditions. These first data for a mine tailing ecosystem are inconsistent with those obtained for a range of other ecosystems, in which the effects of CO2 were limited to several nonphotoautotrophic communities and different nitrogen fixers.

Polymetallic mine tailings have great potential as carbon sequestration tools to stabilize atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, previous studies focused on carbonate mineral precipitation, whereas the role of autotrophic bacteria in mine tailing carbon sequestration has been neglected. In this study, carbon sequestration in two samples of mine tailings treated with FeS2 was evaluated using 13C isotope, pyrosequencing and DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) analyses to identify carbon fixers. Mine tailings treated with FeS2 exhibited a higher percentage of 13C atoms (1.76±0.06 % for Yangshanchong and 1.36±0.01 % for Shuimuchong) than did controls over a 14-day incubation, which emphasized the role of autotrophs in carbon sequestration with pyrite addition. Pyrite treatment also led to changes in the composition of bacterial communities, and several autotrophic bacteria increased, including Acidithiobacillus and Sulfobacillus. Furthermore, pyrite addition increased the relative abundance of the dominant genus Sulfobacillus by 8.86 % and 5.99 % in Yangshanchong and Shuimuchong samples, respectively. Furthermore, DNA SIP results indicated a 8.20–16.50 times greater gene copy number for cbbL than cbbM in 13C-labeled heavy fractions, and a Sulfobacillus-like cbbL gene sequence (cbbL-OTU1) accounted for 30.11 %–34.74 % of all cbbL gene sequences in 13C-labeled heavy fractions of mine tailings treated with FeS2. These findings highlight the importance of the cbbL gene in bacterial carbon sequestration and demonstrate the ability of chemoautotrophs to sequester carbon during sulfide mineral oxidation in mine tailings. This study is the first to investigate carbon sequestration by autotrophic bacteria in mine tailings through the use of isotope tracers and DNA SIP.

Interferon (IFN) system is considered as the first defense line against viral infection, and it has been extensively studied in vertebrates from fish to mammals. In invertebrates, Vagos from arthropod and IFN-like protein (CgIFNLP) from Crassostrea gigas appeared to function as IFN-like antiviral cytokines. In the present study, the CgIFNLP protein in hemocytes was observed to increase after Poly (I:C) stimulation. After CgIFNLP was knocked down by RNAi, the mRNA expression of IFN-stimulated genes (CgISGs) was significantly inhibited. Both cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (CgcGAS) and stimulator of interferon gene (CgSTING) identified from oyster were able to recognize the double-stranded nucleic acid [Poly (I:C) and dsDNA] and expressed at high level after Poly (I:C) stimulation. The expression of CgIFNLP and interferon regulatory factors (CgIRF1/8) and the nuclear translocation of CgIRF8 were all suppressed in CgcGAS-RNAi or CgSTING-RNAi oysters after Poly (I:C) stimulation. The expression level of CgSTING and TANK binding kinase1 (CgTBK1) did not decrease in CgcGAS-RNAi oysters. After CgSTING was knocked down, the high expression of CgTBK1 induced by Poly (I:C) was prevented significantly. These results indicated that there was a primitive IFN-like antiviral mechanism dependent on the cGAS/STING–TBK1–IRFs regulatory axis in mollusks, which was different from the classic cGAS–STING–TBK1 signal pathway in mammals.

The gas-liquid equilibrium (GLE) data were determined for the mixture SO2 + N2 in the binary system of tetraethylene glycol (TeEG) + dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at T = 298.15–313.15 K and p = 123.15 kPa with the SO2 partial pressures of 0.4–150 Pa. From GLE data, Henry’s law constants (HLCs) were obtained. When the SO2 concentration in the gas phase was designed at ySO2 = 500 ppmv, the SO2 solubility in the binary system is located in a minimum of 9.36 mol m−3 in TeEG and a maximum of 80.34 mol m−3 in DMSO. The SO2 absorption process was reversible from the five absorption–desorption cycles, and the solvents could repeat utilisation without obvious loss of absorption capacity and the homologous SO2 desorption efficiency was nearby 98.7%. Furthermore, the spectral consequences illustrated that H-bonding was formed among TeEG, DMSO and SO2.

Density (ρ) and dynamic viscosity (η) for the binary system of tetraethylene glycol (TeEG) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were measured at T = (293.15 to 318.15) K with the step of 5 K and surrounding ambient pressure. From experimental ρ and η values, the excess molar volumes (VmE), apparent molar volumes (Vφ,1 and Vφ,2), partial molar volumes ( V 1 ¯ and V 2 ¯ ), viscosity deviations (∆ η) and the thermal expansion coefficient (αp) were calculated. The pure solvents and other concentrations were characterized using UV–Vis, fluorescence, FTIR, and 1H NMR spectral technologies, and the spectral results illuminated that hydrogen bonds were formed between TeEG and DMSO.

The density (ρ) and kinematic viscosity (v) data of polyethylene glycol 300 (PEG) + N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) binary mixture were determined under atmospheric pressure and six temperatures of T = (293.15–318.15) K. From these experimental results, the thermodynamic parameters like excess molar volume (VmE), apparent molar volume (Vφ,1 and Vφ,2) and partial molar volume (V1‾ and V2‾), viscosity deviation (Δη) and excess Gibbs activation free energy (ΔG*E) were systemically counted, in which the standard deviation between the experimental and calculated data was estimated by fitting the Redlich-Kister formula. The intermolecular interaction of DMF with PEG was analysed by FTIR and UV-vis spectral technologies.

Ecological restoration technologies applied to tailings can influence the associated bacterial communities. However, it is unknown if the shifts in these bacterial communities are caused by increased organic carbon. Glucose-induced respiration and high-throughput sequencing were used to assess the microbial activity and bacterial communities, respectively. Glucose addition increased the microbial activity, and glucose + ammonium nitrate addition resulted in slightly higher CO2 emission than did glucose addition alone, suggesting that carbon and nitrogen limited microbial community growth. In neutral pH tailings, the bacterial taxa that increased by glucose addition were assigned to the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes. However, the bacterial taxa that increased by glucose addition in acidic tailings only belonged to the phylum Actinobacteria (maximum increase of 43.78%). In addition, the abundances of the total nitrogen-fixing genera and of the genus Arthrobacter (representing approximately 97.89% of the total nitrogen-fixing genera) increased by glucose addition in acidic tailings (maximum increase of 46.98%). In contrast, the relative abundances of the total iron- and (or) sulfur-oxidizing bacteria decreased (maximum decrease of 10.41%) in response to the addition of glucose. These findings indicate that the addition of organic carbon is beneficial to the development of bacterial communities in mine tailings.

Nanostructure of CuO plays a critical role in Li-ion battery (LIB) applications of CuO/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites. Morphological evolution of CuO/GO anode material provides essential information for developing the performance of LIBs. But, the nanostructural evolution of the CuO/GO anode materials have not been previously studied by in situ electrochemical-synchrotron radiation techniques. In this paper, different CuO morphology in preparation of CuO/GO nanocomposites could be controlled by increasing the reactive time at 83 °C. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) are employed to characterize the structural behavior of CuO/GO samples during the first cycle. The CuO(-511) Bragg peak demonstrates a more significant shift toward higher angles due to the incorporation of Li+ in the CuO crystal lattice. SAXS indicates that the formation and growth of SEI are observed with lithiation dose, and subsequently some cracks occur. The in situ electrochemical-synchrotron techniques could be implemented to help further understand the electrochemical behaviors and conversion mechanism of anode materials.

Density ( ρ ) and viscosity ( η ) data for the binary system of polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG) + 1.2-ethanediamine (EDA) over the whole concentration range as a function of composition were measured at T = (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, and 318.15) K under atmospheric pressure. Based on experimental density and viscosity data, the excess properties of the PEG (1) + EDA (2) mixtures, including excess molar volume ( V m E ) and viscosity deviation (∆ η ), excess free energies of activation (∆ G * E ), apparent molar volume ( V φ ,1 and V φ ,2 ), and partial molar volumes ( V 1 and V 2 ), were calculated respectively. Meanwhile, the results of V m E , ∆ η and ∆ G * E were fitted by a Redlich–Kister equation to obtain coefficients and to evaluate the standard deviations ( σ ) between the experimental and calculated quantities. Additionally, based on FTIR and UV–Vis spectral results of PEG (1) + EDA (2) mixtures with various concentrations, intermolecular interaction of PEG with EDA was discussed.

Activated carbon derived from lignite is investigated as the active electrode material in supercapacitors. ZnCl2 was used as excitation agent during preparation process. XRD, BET, SEM and electrochemical performance testing carried out to characterize the structure and properties of activated carbon. Electrochemical investigations indicate that the activated carbon (AC-650°) shows the maximum specific capacitance of 207.5 F g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolytes at 0.5 A g−1. The activated carbon presents good cycle stability during 3,000 cycles at a fair current density of 5 A g−1 and capacity rate can reach 91 %, because of its specific surface area of 1024 m2 g−1.

Liquid Ga could be used as a flexible heat-transfer medium or contact medium in the synchrotron-radiation-based instruments. The chemical stability of liquid Ga on other metal surface determines the serviceability of liquid Ga. In this paper, the oxidation evolutions of liquid Ga on Ni and Cu substrates have been investigated by in-situ grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) as a function of substrate temperature. The liquid Ga on Ni and Cu substrates shows different oxidation behaviors. A successive and slower oxidation from oxide clusters to oxide layer takes place with temperature increasing from 25 to 190 degrees C on the surface of the Ga/Ni/Si specimen, but a quick oxidation occurs on the entire surface of the Ga/Cu/Si specimen at the initial 25 degrees C. The subsequent heating increases the surface roughness of both liquid Ga, but increases simultaneously the surface curvature of the Ga/Cu/Si specimen. The understanding of the substrate-dependent oxidation behavior of liquid Ga is beneficial to its application as a heat-transfer medium. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The globular C1q domain containing (C1qDC) proteins are a family of versatile pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to bind various ligands by their globular C1q (gC1q) domain. In the present study, a novel globular C1qDC (CgC1qDC-7) was characterized from Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. The open reading frame of CgC1qDC-7 was of 555 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 185 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CgC1qDC-7 shared high homology with C1qDCs from Crassostrea virginica, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Mizuhopecten yessoensis. The mRNA transcripts of CgC1qDC-7 were widely expressed in all the tested tissues including mantle, gonad, gills, adductor muscle, hemocytes, hepatopancreas and labial palps, with the highest expression level in hemocytes and gills. The recombinant protein of CgC1qDC-7 (rCgC1qDC-7) exhibited binding activity towards Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio splendidus, V. anguillarum, Escherichia coli, V. alginolyticus, and Aeromonas hydrophila), Gram-positive bacteria (Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungi (Pichia pastoris and Yarrowia lipolytica), and displayed strongest binding affinity towards Gram-negative bacteria V. splendidus and V. anguillarum. It also exhibited affinity to vital pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN), mannan (MAN) and Poly (I:C) with high affinity towards LPS and PGN, and low affinity to MAN and Poly (I:C). These results collectively indicated that CgC1qDC-7 was a novel PRR in C. gigas with high binding affinity towards LPS and PGN as well as Gram-negative bacteria.

Akirin, a recently discovered nuclear factor, participates in regulating various processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation, embryonic development, and immunity. In the present study, a novel Akirin was identified from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis (designated as EsAkirin), and its primary functions in regulating antimicrobial peptides were explored. The open reading frame of EsAkirin was of 615 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 204 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of EsAkirin shared high similarities ranging from 44.1% to 89.2% with other Akirins. In the phylogenetic tree, EsAkirin was firstly clustered with Akirins from shrimp and then assigned into the invertebrate branch. The mRNA transcripts of EsAkirin were constitutively expressed in all the tested tissues, with the highest expression level (5.07-fold compared to the stomach, p 0.01) in hepatopancreas. The mRNA expression of EsAkirin in hemocytes was significantly increased at 6 h, and reached the maximum level at 24 h post stimulations with either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5.04-fold, p 0.01) or Aeromonas hydrophila (3.10-fold, p 0.01). After the injection of EsAkirin-dsRNA, the mRNA expressions of EsALF2, EsLYZ, EsCrus2 and EsDWD1 were significantly decreased (p 0.01) upon LPS stimulation. EsAkirin protein was prominently distributed in the nucleus of E. sinensis hemocytes after LPS and A. hydrophila stimulations. The relative luciferase reporter system analysis revealed that the activity of nuclear factor-κB was significantly up-regulated (2.64-fold, p 0.01) in human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells after the over-expression of EsAkirin. Collectively, these results suggested that EsAkirin might play an important role in the immune responses of E. sinensis by regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides.

Polymetallic mine tailings have great potential as carbon sequestration tools to stabilize atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. However, previous studies focused on carbonate mineral precipitation, while the role of autotrophs in carbon sequestration by mine tailings has been neglected. In this study, carbon sequestration in two mine tailings treated with FeS 2 and 13 C-labeled CO 2 was analyzed using 13 C isotope labeling, pyrosequencing and DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) to identify carbon fixers. Mine tailings treated with FeS 2 exhibited a higher percentage of 13 C atoms (1.76 ± 0.06 in Yangshanchong and 1.36 ± 0.01 in Shuimuchong) than the control groups over a 14-day incubation, as well an increase in the total organic carbon (TOC) content (0.20 ± 0.11 mg/g in Yangshanchong and 0.28 ± 0.14 mg/g in Shuimuchong). These data demonstrated the role of autotrophs in carbon sequestration with pyrite addition. Pyrite treatment led to changes in the composition of bacterial communities, and the genera Sulfobacillus (8.04 %) and Novosphingobium (8.60 %) were found to be dominant in these communities. In addition, the DNA-SIP results indicated that the cbbL gene copy number was 8.20–16.50 times greater than the cbbL gene copy number in 13 C-labeled heavy fractions. Furthermore, a Sulfobacillus -like cbbL gene sequence (cbbL-OTU1) accounted for 30.11–34.74 % of all cbbL gene sequences in the 13 C-labeled heavy fractions of mine tailings treated with FeS 2 . These findings highlight the importance of the RubisCO form I-encoding gene, cbbL , in bacterial carbon sequestration and demonstrate the ability of chemoautotrophs to sequester carbon during sulfide mineral oxidation in mine tailings. This study is the first to investigate carbon sequestration by autotrophic groups in mine tailings through the use of isotope tracers and DNA-SIP.

Homogeneous CaCO3 microspheres were controllably synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method without using extraneous additives by Ca(OH)2 saturated solution reacted with CO2 storage material (CO2SM), which was obtained by absorbing CO2 gas in a system containing equimolar ethylenediamine (EDA) and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG). Specifically, homogeneous pure vaterite spheres were obtained by using 160 g/L CO2SM solution at 100 °C and a reaction time of two hours. It is noteworthy that the EDA and PEG, which are released from CO2SM, have dual functions as a CO2 absorber and crystal regulator in the process of controlling the crystallization of CaCO3 crystals.

Hair, a high-nitrogen energetic material, is utilized as a precursor for nitrogen-doped porous carbon. The preparation procedures for obtaining carbon from hair are very simple, namely, reductant or deionized water activation process followed by hair carbonization under argon atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h. The samples are characterized through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron microscopy. The carbon samples are tested as electrode materials in supercapacitors in a three-electrode system. The carbon (soaked in deionized water at 80 °C) presents relatively low specific surface areas (441.34 m 2 g −1 ) and shows higher capacitance (154.5 F g −1 ) compared with nitrogen-free commercial activated carbons (134.5 F g −1 ) at 5 A g −1 . The capacitance remains at 130.5 F g −1 even when the current load is increased to 15 A g −1 . The capacitance loss is only 5% in 6 M KOH after 10,000 charge and discharge cycles at 5 A g −1 . It is the unique microstructure after activation processing and electroactive nitrogen functionalities that enable the carbon obtained through a simple, ecological, and economical process to be utilized as a potential electrode material for electrical double-layer capacitors.

(R)-3-(allylthio)-2-((R)-3-(allylthio)-2-aminopropanamido)propanoic acid was isolated from the bulb of garlic, together with four known amino acids. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of 2D NMR and MS techniques. To the best of our knowledge, (R)-3-(allylthio)-2-((R)-3-(allylthio)-2-aminopropanamido)propanoic acid, which showed antibacterial activity against the Staphylococcus aureus antibiotic resistant strain, was the first example of dipeptide from garlic.

In the title compound, C13H11N3Se, the dihedral angle between the mean plane of the fused selenoazolopyridine ring system and the p-toluidine ring is 14.260 (5)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by N—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming zigzag chains extending along the b-axis direction.