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Compared to conventional grinding, ultrasonic face grinding of SiC ceramic with vibration amplitude more than 3 μm has been proved to improve the machining efficiency but usually face the problem of reducing the workpiece surface quality. The material removal mechanism and ground surface quality by ultrasonic face grinding using minor vibration amplitude (less than 1 μm) still remains uncertain and needs to be further investigated. In the present work, experiments of ultrasonic face grinding of SiC ceramic are carried out to study the influence of processing parameters (e.g. depth of cut, wheel speed and ultrasonic vibration amplitude) on the surface finish. The results show that both the grinding forces and ground surface roughness increase significantly with the increase of depth of cut and the decrease of wheel speed. However, with the increase of ultrasonic vibration amplitude, the grinding forces decrease rapidly first and then keep steady, and the ground surface roughness shows three variation stages: dropping, climbing and stabilizing, which achieves the smallest value of 0.04 μm at the amplitude of 0.216 μm. From the analysis of acquired workpiece surface morphology and image processing result, the proportion of chunks and pits on the workpiece surface is reduced due to ductile removal in case of ultrasonic vibration amplitude less than 0.2 μm, but increases when the amplitude is more than 0.2 μm because the material is removed in brittle domain. Finally, a sample machined at relatively high wheel speed and minor vibration amplitude is provided to support the findings. The proposed investigation provides a new approach to achieve mirror surface of SiC ceramic using ultrasonic face grinding.

Fluid inclusion analysis and testing were conducted to clarify the relationship between reservoir densification and hydrocarbon accumulation in the Paleogene Pinghu and Huagang formations in the Xihu Depression. The hydrocarbon accumulation stages of the reservoirs were studied in combination with the reconstruction results of burial and thermal evolution histories. Furthermore, the relationship between reservoir densification and accumulation charging was clarified in combination with the pore evolutionary history. In accordance with the time relation between reservoir densification and hydrocarbon charging, the reservoirs were classified into three types: pre-charging, syn-charging, and after-charging densification. Results indicated that large-scale hydrocarbon charging occurred in 11–0Myr. Reservoir densification was mainly caused by strong mechanical compaction and pore filling by well-developed siliceous and carbonate cements. Entering the middle diagenetic stage A1, the reservoir was under an acidic-diagenetic environment, resulting in the development of secondary dissolution pores. If large-scale hydrocarbon charging occurred during this period, then an after-charging densification reservoir, which is the most suitable type for hydrocarbon accumulation, might have developed. Entering the middle diagenetic stage A2, the reservoir was under an acidic-alkaline transitional diagenetic environment. During this stage, dissolution became weak, and compaction and cementation were enhanced, resulting in the continuous loss of pore space and reservoir densification. Entering the middle diagenetic period B, the reservoir was under an alkaline-diagenetic environment, and the reservoir had been largely densified. If large-scale hydrocarbon charging occurred during this period, a pre-charging densified reservoir, which is the worst reservoir type for hydrocarbon accumulation, might have developed.

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephretidae), is a serious pest of fruits and vegetables and has developed high levels of insecticide resistance. ATP-binding cassette transporter genes (ABC transporters) are involved in mediating the energy-driven transport of many substances across membranes and are closely associated with development and insecticide detoxification. In this study, three ABC transporters in the H subfamily were identified, and the possible roles of these genes in B. dorsalis are discussed. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that those genes are conserved, typical of half-transporters. The expression profiles of BdABCH genes (BdABCHs) in the developmental stages, tissues, and following insecticide exposure, extreme temperature, warm- and cold-acclimated strain, starvation, and desiccation stress were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Expression of BdABCHs can be detected in various tissues and in different developmental stages. They were most highly expressed in the hindgut and in newly emerged adults. The mRNA levels of BdABCHs in males (including most tissues and body segments) were higher than in females. The expression of BdABCH1 was significantly upregulated 3.8-fold in the cold-acclimated strain, and was significantly upregulated by 1.9-, 3.8- and 4.1-fold in the 0°C, starvation, and desiccation treatments, respectively. Treatment with malathion and avermectin at LD20 and LD30 concentrations produced no obvious changes in the levels of BdABCHs. BdABCHs may be involved in the transport of related hormones during eclosion, as well as water and inorganic salts. BdABCH1 also demonstrated that it is related to the ability to cope with adverse environments.

To control the spread of COVID-19, rigorous restrictions have been implemented in China, resulting in a great reduction in pollutant emissions. In this study, we evaluated the air quality in the Yangtze River Delta during the COVID-19 lockdown period using satellite and ground-based data, including particle matter (PM), trace gases, water-soluble ions (WSIs) and black carbon (BC). We found that the impacts of lockdown policy on air quality cannot be accurately assessed using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) data, whereas the tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical column density can well reflect the influences of these restrictions on human activities. Compared to the pre-COVID period, the PM2.5, PM10, NO2, carbon monoxide (CO), BC and WSIs during the lockdown in Suzhou were observed to decrease by 37.2%, 38.3%, 64.5%, 26.1%, 53.3% and 58.6%, respectively, while the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) increased by 1.5% and 104.7%. The WSIs ranked in the order of NO3− > NH4+ > SO42- > Cl− > Ca2+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Na+ during the lockdown period. By comparisons with the ion concentrations during the pre-COVID period, we found that the ions NO3−, NH4+, SO42−, Cl−, Ca2+, K+ and Na+ decreased by 66.3%, 48.8%, 52.9%, 56.9%, 57.9% and 76.3%, respectively, during the lockdown, in contrast to Mg2+, which increased by 30.2%. The lockdown policy was found to have great impacts on the diurnal variations of Cl−, SO42−, Na+ and Ca2+., Graphical absract Image, graphical abstract

In this paper, we report a transient absorption microscopy study of photocarrier dynamics in CuS crystals at room temperature. The photocarriers are injected into the sample by interband absorption...

The Y-family DNA polymerases specialize in translesion DNA synthesis, which is essential for replicating damaged DNA. The Y-family polymerases, which are made up of four stable domains, exhibit extensive distributions of charged residues, and are responsible for the tight formation of the protein-DNA complex. However, it is still unclear how the electrostatic interactions influence the conformational dynamics of the polymerases. Here, we focus on the case of a prototype Y-family DNA polymerase, Dpo4. Using coarse-grained models including a salt-dependent electrostatic potential, we investigate the effects of the electrostatic interactions on the folding process of Dpo4. Our simulations show that strong electrostatic interactions result in a three-state folding of Dpo4, consistent with the experimental observations. This folding process exhibits low cooperativity led by low salt concentration, where the individual domains fold one by one through one single pathway. Since the refined folding order of domains in multidomain proteins can shrink the configurational space, we suggest that the electrostatic interactions facilitate the Dpo4 folding. In addition, we study the local conformational dynamics of Dpo4 in terms of fluctuation and frustration analyses. We show that the electrostatic interactions can exaggerate the local conformational properties, which are in favor of the large-scale conformational transition of Dpo4 during the functional DNA binding. Our results underline the importance of electrostatic interactions in the conformational dynamics of Dpo4 at both the global and local scale, providing useful guidance in protein engineering at the multidomain level.

Sepsis-induced cardiac injury (SIC) is one of the most common complications in the intensive care unit (ICU) with high morbidity and mortality. Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the main reasons for SIC, and Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a master regulator of mitochondria biogenesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of IL-13 in SIC and explore the underlying mechanism. It was found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis were significantly increased in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated primary cardiomyocytes, which was accompanied with obvious mitochondria dysfunction. The results of RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), mitochondrial membrane potential, fatty acid uptake and oxidation rate suggested that treatment with IL-13 could restore the function and morphology of mitochondria, indicating that it played an important role in protecting septic cardiomyocytes. These findings demonstrated that IL-13 alleviated sepsis-induced cardiac inflammation and apoptosis by improving mitochondrial fatty acid uptake and oxidation, suggesting that IL-13 may prove to be a potential promising target for SIC treatment.

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-secreted protein hormone and prevents the development of insulin resistance. The adiponectin-mediated activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway is essential for decreasing the expression of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes and enhancing the hepatic effects of insulin. However, the resilience factors required to maintain adiponectin-mediated AMPK activation signaling in the liver remain unclear. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that NgBR plays a previously unrecognized role in preserving AMPK activation. The loss of NgBR in the obesity liver impairs adiponectin-dependent gluconeogenesis and insulin sensitivity. NgBR hepatocyte-specific knockout (hepKO) mice resemble many features of prediabetes, such as moderately increased fasting blood glucose levels and insulin resistance, as well as facilitating the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced onset of T2D. NgBR was identified as a cell surface receptor for soluble Nogo-B (sNogo-B). Also, NgBR binds the farnesylated form of liver kinase B1 (LKB1-farn), a key regulator of AMPK. NgBR depletion in hepatocytes abolishes the localization of LKB1 in the plasma membrane and impairs AMPK activation, the critical signal for adiponectin-mediated insulin sensitivity. NgBR expression is decreased in the liver of diabetic mice. Similar changes also occur in diabetes patients. The NgBR transcript level is reduced in T2D obese patients’ liver compared to non-T2D obese and lean subjects. Additional in vitro studies show that NgBR deficiency in hepatocyte prevents AMPK activation induced by AdipoRon (an agonist of adiponectin receptor) and increases the gluconeogenesis. Our data suggest that NgBR is a potential resilience factor required for preserving adiponectin-mediated insulin sensitivity and preventing the onset of obesity-caused T2D, and disruption of the NgBR-dependent regulation system leads to impairing gluconeogenesis regulation and insulin sensitivity in the liver. Disclosure W. Hu: None. X. Wang: None. Q. Miao: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01DK112971)

Malononitrile underwent α-arylation with 2-(2-bromophenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole to give a subsequent nucleophilic addition and dehydration products of 5-amino-2,3-diphenylimidazo[2,1-a]isoquinoline-6-carbonitriles catalyzed by CuI/l-proline. Under the same reaction conditions, this novel procedure had a good chemoselectivity in cyanacetates for the efficient synthesis of 5-aminoimidazo[2,1-a]isoquinoline-6-carboxylate derivatives in good yields.

Background: Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutations are the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD). While the corresponding pathogenic mechanisms remain largely unknown, LRRK2 has been implicated in the immune system.Objective: To assess whether LRRK2 mutations alter the sensitivity to a single peripheral inflammatory trigger, with ultimate impact on dopaminergic integrity, using a longitudinal imaging-based study design.Methods: Rats carrying LRRK2 p.G2019S and non-transgenic (NT) littermates were treated peripherally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). They were monitored over 10 months with PET markers for neuroinflammation and dopaminergic integrity, and with behavioral testing. Tyrosine hydroxylase and CD68 expression were assessed postmortem, 12 months after LPS treatment, in the striatum and substantia nigra.Results: Longitudinal [C-11]PBR28 PET imaging revealed that LPS treatment caused inflammation in the brain, increasing over time, as compared to saline (corrected p = 0.008). LPS treated LRRK2 animals exhibited significantly increased neuroinflammation in the cortex and ventral-regions compared to saline treated animals (LRRK2 and NT) at 10 months post treatment, with the increase in [C-11] PBR28 binding from baseline averaging 0.128 +/- 0.045 g/mL. For LPS treated NT animals, the increase was not significant. CD68 immunohistochemistry data supported the imaging results, but without reaching statistical significance. No dopaminergic degeneration was observed.Conclusion: A single peripheral inflammatory trigger elicited long lasting, progressive neuroinflammation. A trend for an exacerbated inflammatory response in LRRK2 animals compared to NT controls was observed. Translationally, this implies that repeated exposure to inflammatory triggers may be needed for LRRK2 mutation carriers to develop active PD.

The styrenated sulfur- and phosphorus-free organic titanate (STAE) was synthesized via an in situ method with soybean oil, diethanolamine, and isopropyl titanate. The tribological and antioxidant behavior of the as-synthesized STAE as an additive in PAO was evaluated by a four-ball test, a rotary oxygen bomb test (ROBT), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and its oxidative stability was estimated through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The as-synthesized STAE exhibits excellent antiwear and load-carrying capacities as well as good antiwear synergism with zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) in poly-α-olefin (PAO). STAE in PAO also showed good synergistic antioxidation effects with the traditional additive p,p-(dioctyldiphenylamine (DODPA). This is because STAE can effectively reduce the oxidation rate of DODPA, which was confirmed by the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

The development of synthetic methods to obtain high value-added mesoporous Al-MCM-41 from a low-cost silicon-aluminum source with low toxicity is an active research topic in solid waste resource utilization. In particular, the controlled synthesis of MCM-41 with a two-level pore distribution is a challenging task. In this work, the synthesis of unimodal and bimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41s was achieved using acids with different degrees of ionization from coal gasification fine residue (CGFR) as bulk solid waste generated by the coal gasification process. We determined that the degree of acid ionization affected the self-assembly of inorganic/organic species as well as condensation processes, resulting in some changes of the hexagonal mesoscopic structure. The unimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41 with acetic acid HAc and bimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41s with an inorganic acid environment (HCl, HNO3 or H2SO4) could be effectively prepared in a controllable manner by the silicon and aluminum source obtained at alkali dissolution time 6 h and crystallization conditions at pH 10.5 and 383 K in 72 h. Moreover, the synthesis of Al-MCM-41-HAc with different SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratios (18–89) could also be realized by different alkali dissolution times. And alkali dissolution time (2–24 h) and the crystallization conditions (pH 4.5–11.5, temperatures 373–393 K, and time 48–96 h) also affected the formation of unimodal and bimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41-HAc. In addition, the maximum adsorption amount onto bimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41-H2SO4 (476.19 mg g−1 at 308 K) was larger than that onto unimodal mesoporous Al-MCM-41-HAc (243.90 mg g−1 at 303 K). The mesoporous Al-MCM-41s showed good stability.

In this contribution, novel bio-derived rosin acid ester compounds have been developed and used as internal electron donors to prepare MgCl2 supported titanium catalysts for propylene polymerization. The results of the polymerization showed that tri-n-amyl maleate, triiso-amyl maleate and tri-n-heptyl maleate as internal electron donors in Ziegler-Natta catalysts all have high polymerization activity and stereoregularity. In particular, the Ziegler-Natta catalyst with tri-n-amyl maleate as the internal electron donor has the highest activity (up to 33.4 kgPP·gCat−1·h−1) for propylene polymerization and the isotacticity of polypropylene is as high as 96.8% determined by 13C NMR. Simultaneously, the obtained polypropylene with a relatively broad molecular weight distribution of 9.0 and melt flow rate of 160.3 g/10 min, which is beneficial to processing and has practical industrial application value when used as the basic material of melt blown cloth for medical mask.

Psocids are a new risk for global food security and safety because they are significant worldwide pests of stored products. Among these psocids, Liposcelis bostrychophila has developed high levels of resistance or tolerance to heat treatment in grain storage systems, and thus has led to investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying heat tolerance in this pest. In this study, the time-related effects of thermal stress treatments at relatively high temperatures on the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidases (POD), glutathione-S-transferases (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA), of L. bostrychophila were determined. Thermal stress resulted that L. bostrychophila had a significantly higher MDA concentration at 42.5 &deg, C, which indicated that the heat stress increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) contents and oxidative stress in this psocid pest. Heat stress also resulted in significant elevation of SOD, CAT and GST activities but decreased POD activity. Our data indicates that different antioxidant enzymes contribute to defense mechanisms, counteracting oxidative damage in varying levels. POD play minor roles in scavenging deleterious LPO, while enhanced SOD, CAT and GST activities in response to thermal stress likely play a more important role against oxidative damage. Here, we firstly identified five LbHsps (four LbHsp70s and one LbHsp110) from psocids, and most of these LbHsps (except LbHsp70-1) are highly expressed at fourth instar nymph and adults, and LbHsp70-1 likely presents as a cognate form of HSP due to its non-significant changes of expression. Most LbHsp70s (except LbHsp70-4) are significantly induced at moderate high temperatures (&lt, 40 &deg, C) and decreased at extreme high temperatures (40&ndash, 45 &deg, C), but LbHsp110-1 can be significantly induced at all high temperatures. Results of this study suggest that the LbHsp70s and LbHsp110 genes are involved in tolerance to thermal stress in L. bostrychophila, and antioxidant enzymes and heat shock proteins may be coordinately involved in the tolerance to thermal stress in psocids.

Fraxinellone (1) is a naturally occurring degraded limonoid isolated from Meliaceae and Rutaceae plants. As a potential natural-product-based insecticidal agent, fraxinellone has been structurally modified to improve its activity. Furan ring of fraxinellone is critical in exhibiting its insecticidal activity, but with few modifications. Herein, C-ring-modified cyclopropyl analogues were semi-synthesized by Rh(II)-catalyzed cyclopropanation. The structures of the target compounds were well characterized by NMR and HRMS. The precise three-dimensional structural information of 3a was established by X-ray crystallography. Their insecticidal activity was evaluated against Mythimna separata Walker by a leaf-dipping method. Compound 3c exhibited stronger insecticidal activity than 1 and toosendanin against M. separata with teratogenic symptoms during the different periods, implying that cyclopropanation of the furan ring could strengthen the insecticidal activity of fraxinellone.

As sessile organisms, plants must be highly adaptable to the changing environment by modifying their growth and development. Plants rely on their underground part, the root system, to absorb water and nutrients and to anchor to the ground. The root is a highly dynamic organ of indeterminate growth with new tissues produced by root stem cells. Plants have evolved unique molecular mechanisms to fine-tune root developmental processes, during which phytohormones play vital roles. These hormones often relay environmental signals to auxin signaling that ultimately directs root development programs. Therefore, the crosstalk among hormones is critical in the root development. In this review, we will focus on the recent progresses that jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene signaling are integrated into auxin in regulating root development of Arabidopsis thaliana and discuss the key roles of transcription factors (TFs) ethylene response factors (ERFs) and homeobox proteins in the crosstalk.

International audience; We report a comprehensive study on the structure and elastic constants of epitaxial cubic δ-TaxN (x ≈ 1) layers deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering at 570 °C on MgO(001), MgO(110) and MgO(111) substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that all layers are single-phase and have a single-crystal rocksalt-structure, growing with an epitaxial cube-on-cube relationship with respect to their MgO substrates. For (001)-orientation, Brillouin light scattering provides the measurement of c44 (137 ± 3 GPa) and c12 (130 ± 5 GPa) single-crystal elastic constants, while picosecond laser ultrasonics (PLU) provides the third independent one, c11 (530 ± 10 GPa). For (110)- and (111)-orientations, PLU provides selectively the following combinations, (c11+c12+2c44)/2 and (c11+2c12+4c44)/3, respectively. Electrical resistivity measurements show evidence of point defects in the films despite a composition close to 1:1 stoichiometry. Point defects (metal and nitrogen vacancies) are considered in our first-principles calculations to find closer agreement between experimental and theoretical lattice parameter, mass density, sound velocities and elastic constants. Sound velocities and elastic constants are found to be particularly sensitive to the presence of vacancies, resulting into a more compliant and less anisotropic material. While only ∼ − 1% mismatch is found between predicted defect-free and experimental lattice parameters, huge differences of −27% and +180% are observed for c11 and c44, respectively. These discrepancies can be rationalized by considering the presence of point defects (metal vacancy and/or Schottky defect) in concentration ∼11% in the as-deposited TaN films, a compositional value that corresponds to the lowest formation energy of δ-TaNx structure.

Garlic has been proven effective in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis (AS), which is widely used as a food and medicine by people in daily life. Garlic saponins are the main active nonsulfur compounds of garlic, which have a variety of pharmacological activities against cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the antiatherosclerosis properties and mechanism of total saponins of garlic (TSG) in rats were explored. The AS animal model was established by a combination of high-fat feeding, intraperitoneal injection of vitamin D3, and ovalbumin-induced inflammation in SD rats. Then, the atherosclerotic rats were gavaged daily by TSG for 4 weeks. Administration of TSG markedly decreased atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta of atherosclerotic rats. TSG restored the serum lipid profile by significantly decreasing the lipid levels and had effective antioxidation by inhibiting the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and restoring the reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Additionally, the ratio of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) could be maintained in a relatively stable dynamic balance after administration of TSG to maintain the vascular homeostasis. In summary, TSG had therapeutic effects on AS, which are promising as functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and treatment of AS.

Esterases (ESTs) play important roles in metabolizing various physiologically endogenous and exogenous compounds, and various environmental xenobiotics in insects. The psocid, Liposcelis bostrychophila is a major pest of stored products worldwide and rapidly develops resistance to commonly insecticides. However, the involvement of ESTs in insecticide metabolization and the application of RNAi approach in psocids have not been well elucidated. In this study, we characterized four LbEST genes and investigated the transcriptional levels of these genes at different developmental stages and under different insecticides exposures to assess their potential roles in response to insecticides. The four LbESTs contain a catalytic triad (Ser-His-Glu) linked to an oxyanion hole and acyl pocket involved in substrate stabilization during its hydrolysis. Synergism observed with the esterase-inhibitor DEF suggests the involvement of esterases in malathion detoxification. LbESTs were expressed during the whole of developmental stages, but predominant abundance in the first nymphal instar and adult stage. The mRNA level of three LbEST genes (except for LbEST4) was induced (1.29- to 5.60 fold) in response to malathion or deltamethrin exposures, indicating that these esterases are involved in the detoxification process. Silencing of LbEST1, LbEST2 or LbEST3 through dsRNA feeding led to a higher mortality of psocids upon the malathion treatment compared to controls (1.83 to 2.69-fold), demonstrating that these esterase genes play roles in malathion detoxification in L. bostrychophila. Our study provides new evidence for understanding of the function and regulation mechanism of esterases in L. bostrychophila in insecticide detoxification. The current study also suggests that the present RNAi method could be applied for gene functional studies in psocids.

These data are supplied for supporting their interpretations and discussions provided in the research article “Large influence of vacancies on the elastic constants of cubic epitaxial tantalum nitride layers grown by reactive magnetron sputtering” by Abadias et al. (2020) [doi: 10.1016/j.actamat.2019.11.041 ]. The datasheet describes the experimental methods used to measure the longitudinal (VL) and transverse (VT) sound velocities of cubic epitaxial TaN/MgO thin films, and their related cubic elastic constants (c11, c12 and c44), by the picosecond laser ultrasonic (PLU) and the Brillouin light scattering (BLS) techniques, respectively. First-principles numerical simulations provide additional data using specifically designed supercells of TaN structures, generated either by hand or using the alloy theoretical automated toolkit (ATAT) method [A. Zunger et al. (1990)], with different configurations (random, cluster and ordered) of defects (Ta and N vacancies). Phonons calculations support discussion of dynamical mechanical stability of defected TaN cubic structures. The data illustrate the huge role of vacancies in elastic properties and phase stability of TaN films.

To observe the therapeutic effects of Saussurea involucrata (Sau) injection against severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)-induced brain injury.Sodium taurocholate-induced SAP-modeled rats were equally randomized into an SAP model group (SAP group) and a Sau treated group (Sau + S group). Healthy rats were equally randomized into a Sau treated group (Sau + H group) and a sham operation group (SO group). Serum amylase levels, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) contents were determined by optical turbidimetry, ELISA and nitrate reductase method respectively. Western blot was used to detect protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt), ET-1, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) while mRNA levels of these biomarkers in brain tissue were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Furthermore, pathological changes, as well as all above indexes of pancreas and brain, were observed at 6, 24 and 48 h after administration.There was a significant difference in mortality between SAP and Sau + S groups (P 0.05). Serum amylase levels, ET-1 and NO contents, ET-1/NO ratio, relative expression levels of ET-1 and iNOS protein/mRNA of brain tissue in Sau + S group were lower than those in SAP group at 24 and 48 h post-operation (P 0.05 or 0.01), meanwhile, pancreas and brain pathological scores showed similar tendency (P 0.01). However, both protein and mRNA levels of PI3K, Akt and eNOS of brain tissue in Sau + S group were higher than those in SAP group (P 0.05 or P 0.01). There were no significant differences in all indexes between Sau + H and SO groups at all designated time points (P 0.05).Sau injection has therapeutic effects on SAP-induced brain injury in rats.

Four silver(I) coordination polymers (CPs), namely {Ag3(cpyz)(btc)}n (1), {Ag2(cpyz)(pta)}n (2), {Ag3(mpyz)2(btc)·2(H2O)}n (3), {Ag2(mpyz)(pta)·2(H2O)}n (4), [cpyz = 2-chloropyrazine, H3btc = 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic, mpyz = 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, H2pta = phthalic acid] have been synthesized and characterized. X-ray diffraction indicates that, 1 shows a 3D supramolecular structure with a 1D silver chain containing an infinite Ag3 units; 2 features a 3D supramolecular framework with Ag-O and Ag-Ag interaction and cpyz ligand adopts monodentate mode making no contribution to the dimensionality; in 3, the silver atom links mpyz ligand and btc anion into a 2D layer connected by Ag-Ag interaction between neighboring layers into the 3D network, with Zigzag Ag4 units; in 4, Ag(I) coordinates pta benzene dicarboxylates to generate a one-dimensional infinite chain, connecting by nitrogen ligand to exhibit a 2D 44-sql network. The results suggest that benzene dicarboxylates and the kinds of pyrazine derivatives play significant roles in the formation of such coordination architectures. The photoluminescence and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the complexes were measured.

Background Triptolide is a structurally unique diterpene triepoxide with potent antitumor activity. However,the effect and mechanism of triptolide on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well studied. Methods Cells were treated with triptolide, and the anti-HCC activity of triptolide was evaluated using flow cytometry, western blot, and xenograft studies. MicroRNA microarray and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to identify differential microRNAs induced by triptolide. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was employed to study the interaction between c-Myc and genomic regions of miR106b-25. MicroRNAs overexpression and knockdown experiments were performed to determine the role of these microRNAs in triptolide-induced apoptosis. Results Triptolide inhibited cell proliferation and induced marked apoptosis in multiple HCC cell lines with different p53 status. Several signaling molecules involved in different pathways were altered after the treatment of triptolide. Xenograft tumor volume was significantly reduced in triptolide-treated group compared with vehicle control group. Two miRNA clusters, miR-17-92 and miR-106b-25, were significantly suppressed by triptolide, which resulted in the upregulation of their common target genes, including BIM, PTEN, and p21. In HCC samples, high levels of these miRNA clusters correlated with shorter recurrence free survival. Triptolide inhibited the expression of theses miRNAs in a c-Myc-dependent manner, which enhanced triptolide-induced cell death. We further showed that triptolide down-regulated the expression of c-Myc through targeting ERCC3, a newly identified triptolide-binding protein. Conclusions The triptolide-induced modulation of c-Myc/miRNA clusters/target genes axis enhances its potent antitumor activity, which indicates that triptolide serves as an attractive chemotherapeutic agent against HCC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-018-0698-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Amorfrutins with a 2-hydroxybenzoic acid core structure are promising natural PPARγ agonists with potent antidiabetic activity. Owing to the complex matrix and low concentration in botanical material, the identification of unknown amorfrutins remains a challenge. In the present study, a combined application of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and UPLC-QqQ-MS was developed to discover unknown amorfrutins from fruits of Amorpha fruticosa. First, reference compounds of amorfrutin A (AA), amorfrutin B (AB), and 2-carboxy-3,5-dihydroxy-4-geranylbibenzyl (AC) were analyzed using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS to reveal the characteristic fragment ions and the possible neutral loss. Second, the extract of A. fruticosa was separated and screened by UPLC-QqQ-MS using neutral loss scan to find out suspect compounds associated with the specified neutral fragment Δm/z 44. Third, the extract was re-analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS to obtain the exact mass of quasi-molecular ion and fragment ions of each suspect compound, and to subsequently calculate their corresponding molecular formulas. Finally, according to the molecular formula of suspect compound and its fragment ions and comparing with literature data, structure elucidation of four unidentified amorfrutins was achieved. The results indicated that the combination of QqQ-MS neutral loss scan and Q-TOF-MS molecular formula calculation was proven to be a powerful tool for unknown natural product identification, and this strategy provides an effective solution to discover natural products or metabolites of trace content. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Breakdown of Schmid's law is a long-standing problem for exploring the orientation-dependent deformation mechanism in intermetallics. The lack of atomic-level understanding of the selection rules f ...

A chromosome substitution line, CS-B25, was developed by the substitution of chromosome pair 25 of Gossypium hirsutum TM-1 with the homologous pair of chromosome 25 from G. barbadense, a double haploid Pima 3-79 line. CS-B25 has improved fiber traits compared to its parent TM-1. To explore the molecule mechanisms underlying improved fiber traits, deep sequencing of total RNA was used to compare gene expression in fibers of CS-B25 and TM-1 at 10 days post anthesis (10-DPA). A total of 1872 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected between the two lines, with 1175 up-regulated and 697 down-regulated in CS-B25. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the expression data by Generally Applicable Gene-set Enrichment (GAGE) and ReviGO indicated that the most prevalent Biological Process GO terms associated with DEGs included DNA-templated transcription, response to oxidative stress, and cellulose biosynthesis. Enriched Molecular Function GO terms included structural constituents of cytoskeleton, peroxidase activity, cellulose synthase (UDP-forming) activity, and transcription regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding factors. GAGE was also used to find enriched KEGG pathways, and the highly represented pathways were Biosynthesis of Amino Acids, Starch and Sucrose Metabolism, Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis, Protein Processing in Endoplasmic Reticulum, and Plant Hormone Signal Transduction. Many of the identified DEGs are involved in cytoskeleton and cell wall metabolism. The results of gene expression data have provided new insight into the molecular mechanisms of fiber development during the fiber elongation stage and would offer novel candidate genes that may be utilized in cotton fiber quality improvement.

Three-dimensional hierarchical metal oxide core/shell nanowire arrays (HMONAs) have become promising pseudocapacitive materials due to their integrated smart architectures. However, these core/shell nanostructures have unsatisfactory structural stability and frequently suffer destruction during their fabrication process and their charge–discharge cycles, thus limiting their application lifespan. Herein, a general strategy based on the minimization of the lattice mismatch between the shell and the backbone at the nanoscale interface has been proposed to improve the cycling stability of the HMONAs. This strategy is achieved by a facile hydrothermal pretreatment under mild acidic condition, where a selective dissolution process occurs for interface optimization. To prove the concept, three typical HMONAs, α-MnO2 nanotube@δ-MnO2 nanosheet core/shell arrays, α-MnO2 nanotube@NiO nanosheet core/shell arrays and Co3O4@MnO2 core/shell nanoarrays, were synthesized for interface optimization. It was found that these thermodynamically unstable nanostructures in the shells of HMONAs can be selectively dissolved under a hydrothermal process, leading to enhanced stability of HMONAs. The comparison study indicates that all treated HMONAs exhibit excellent capacitance retention of 93.2% (MnO2@MnO2), 94.3% (MnO2@NiO) and 95.3% (Co3O4@MnO2) after 5000 cycles, which are 22.9%, 9.3% and 20.1% higher, respectively, than those of the untreated HMONAs. Furthermore, the symmetrical supercapacitors based on treated MnO2@MnO2 nanoarrays electrodes also demonstrate 92% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles, showing better comprehensive performance than their untreated counterpart (78% capacitance retention). The general strategy of nanoscale interface optimization provides new opportunities in pushing the cycling stability limit of HMONAs.

Four silver(I) coordination polymers based on 2,6-dimethylpyrazine(dmpz), {Ag2(dmpz)(L1)}n (1), {Ag2(dmpz)(L2)}n (2), {Ag2(dmpz)(L3)0.5·H2O}n (3) and {Ag6(dmpz)6(L4)2·2H2O}n (4) (H2L1 = 5-Nitroisophthalic acid, H2L2 = 3-Nitrophthalic acid, H4L3 = Pyromellitic acid, H2L4 = 5-Sulfoisophthalic acid), were synthesized under the ammoniacal condition in mixed solvents and characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1 contains rhombic Ag4 unit, but 4 exhibits Zigzag Ag4 unit, both with 2D double layer architecture. In 2, L2 anions link Ag pairs into 1D corrugated chains, which are further connected by dmpz ligand into 2D 44-sql network. 3 possess 3D supramolecular framework resulting from Ag O and Ag N interaction and Zigzag Ag4 units. Ag Ag interactions exist in four coordination polymers. Benzene dicarboxylates and pyrazine ligands play vital roles in formation of the multiple architectures. Photoluminescence and thermogravimetry of the complexes were also measured.

The 18O/16O of lignin at bulk, molecular and positional levels can be used to extract valuable information about climate, plant growth environment, plant physiology, and plant metabolism. Access to the individual oxygen isotope compositions (δ18O) in the lignin monomeric units is, however, challenging as depolymerization of lignin to release the monomeric units may cause isotope fractionation. We have developed a novel method to measure the δ18O of the three oxygens (O-3, O-4 and O-5) attached to the aromatic ring of the monomeric units (bearing no oxygen in their side chains) releasable by highly selective W2C/AC (tungsten carbide supported by activated carbon)-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of lignin. O-4 is obtained by measuring the δ18O of H-type monomeric unit, while O-3 and O-5 can be calculated following isotope mass balance between H, G and S-type monomeric units measurable simultaneously with GC/Py/IRMS (gas chromatography-pyrolysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry). The measurement precisions are better than 1.15 mUr and 4.15 mUr at molecular and positional levels, respectively. It was shown that there were a δ18OH > δ18OG > δ18OS isotopic order in the herbaceous plant lignin and an (inclusive) opposite order in woody plant lignin. Such differences in isotopic order is likely to be caused by the fact that both L-tyrosine, which carries an 18O-enriched leaf water signal, and L-phenylalanine, which carries mainly a molecular O2 isotopic signal, serve as the precursors for lignin biosynthesis in herbaceous plants while only the latter serves as precursor for lignin biosynthesis in woody plants. We have highlighted the potential application of such molecular and positional levels isotopic signals in plant physiological, metabolic, lignin biosynthetic and climate studies.

The incorporation of fluorine into polyolefin can dramatically improve its own mechanical properties and compatibility with other polymers, which has revolutionized the development of polyolefin industry. However, there were no fluorinated isotactic polypropylene (iPP) on the market which remains a formidable challenge. Here, a novel approach is presented that fluorinated iPP was prepared by free radical reaction using N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) as fluorine transfer reagent and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator in solution reaction. By conducting the tests of water contact angle (CA), DSC and TGA, the results indicated that the surface property and the thermal stability of fluorinated iPP (F-iPP) were greatly improved. In this contribution, a direct and economical route to fluorinate polyolefin was provided.

This study aimed to investigate the particle size effect on bioactivity, cellular internalization and bioavailability of curcumin (CUR) nanosuspension (CUR-NS). CUR-NSs of different particle sizes were prepared by two different anti-solvent precipitation methods. CUR-NS with the smallest size showed similar in vitro anticancer activity and bioavailability to the CUR solution, whereas nanosuspensions of larger particle sizes displayed higher in vitro cellular internalization and cytotoxicity, as well as higher in vivo AUC and slower clearance rate after i.v. administration in rats. CUR solution and different sized CUR-NSs reached the highest concentrations in the lung, followed by liver and spleen while the lowest concentration was observed in the brain after i.v. administration in mice. Specifically, CUR-NS of 70nm accumulated more in the brain, whereas CUR-NS of 200nm accrued more in liver and spleen. CUR-NS of 20nm displayed no significant biodistribution difference compared with CUR solution in all tissues.

A facile and efficient method for the synthesis of benzo[b]pyrido[3,2-f][1,7]phenanthrolines and dipyrido[4,3-b:3′,2′-f][1,7]phenanthrolines has been developed in high yields. Using EtOH as a solvent without any additionally basic catalysts, the three-component reaction of aromatic aldehyde, 1,10-phenanthrolin-5-amine, and dimedone or piperidine-2,4-dione affords two novel classes of fused phentacyclic heterocycles containing both pyridine and phenanthroline moieties.

H-ZSM-5 zeolites with a uniform crystal size from 0.25 to 2 μm were obtained by adding colloidal silicalite-1 seed in the synthesis gel; with H-ZSM-5 as the support, Zn/H-ZSM-5 was prepared by incipient wet impregnation. The influence of crystal size on the state of Zn species and its relation to the catalytic performance of Zn/H-ZSM-5 in the conversion of methanol to aromatics (MTA) was then investigated. The results illustrated that the state of Zn species and catalytic performance of Zn/H-ZSM-5 are closely related to the crystal size, though the crystal size has little influence on the overall acidity. There exist mainly two types of zinc species, viz., ZnO and ZnOH+; Zn/H-ZSM-5 with smaller crystal size is provided with more ZnOH+ species. The selectivity to aromatics and catalyst stability can be improved greatly by using small crystal Zn/H-ZSM-5. A good linear correlation is observed between the amount of ZnOH+ species and the selectivity to aromatics, suggesting that ZnOH+ species plays an important role in enhancing the dehydrogenation of alkanes and aromatization of alkenes to aromatics. As a result, small crystal Zn/H-ZSM-5 with large portion of ZnOH+ species exhibits high selectivity to aromatics and long lifetime in MTA.

Fe3O4 nanoparticles synthesized via thermal decomposition in the organic phase have attracted tremendous research interest because of their unique morphology, size dispersion, and crystallinity. However, their poor water dispersibility strongly limited their development in biomedical applications. Therefore, a phase-transfer strategy through which hydrophobic nanoparticles with good performance in the aqueous phase can be obtained is an extremely critical issue. Herein, we present a large-scale, facile, highly efficient strategy for the phase transfer of oleic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles via a reverse-micelle-based oxidative reaction. The reverse micelle system improves the efficiency of the interface oxidative reaction and prevents the aggregation of nanoparticles during the reaction, facilitating the transfer of Fe3O4 nanoparticles from the organic phase to the aqueous phase. The transferred Fe3O4 nanoparticles are used as a T2 contrast agent to perform magnetic resonance imaging of CNE2 cells (naso...

Ag-Cu-Ti/TiX (TiX=TiB 2 , TiN or TiC) composite filler materials, instead of pure Ag-Cu-Ti alloy, were developed to improve the comprehensive mechanical performance of brazed joints of cubic boron nitride (CBN) grains/bonding layer/steel matrix. This article mainly concerns the effects of TiX addition on the joining interface and compressive strength of brazed CBN grains. The results demonstrate that, due to the variation of chemical activity of Ti atoms induced by TiX addition into the brazing system, the brazing reactions, especially chemical resultants produced at the joining interface between CBN grain and Ag-Cu-Ti alloy, are restrained to some extents. In general, the TiN particles show the greatest suppression effect on the brazing resultants, while the TiC particles have the weakest effect, and TiB 2 particles have the medium effect. The optimum reinforcement of the composite filler is finally determined as the TiB 2 particles with the content of 8 wt%, with which the average compressive strength of brazed CBN grains reaches 15 N, which is nearly the same high as that of original CBN grains.

Molecular simulation calculation has been performed to investigate the catalytic performance of metal-modified ((Fe, Co, Ni) SAPO-34 in methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process. Adsorption amount and adsorption heats of the reactant, methanol, and the main products, ethylene and propylene, in SAPO-34 and MeAPSO-34 (Me = Fe, Co, Ni) zeolites were analyzed and compared both in single adsorption and co-adsorption process with a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation method. On the other hand, with a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method, the system energy of the molecules in three different positions was calculated and compared. The simulation results show that modifying SAPO-34 with Fe, Co, and Ni is beneficial to improve the selectivity of light olefins during the MTO process, especially for that of ethylene. And among the three MeAPSO-34 zeolites, the catalytic performance of NiAPSO-34 is the best.

The development of a multifunctional nanoprobe capable of non-invasive multimodal imaging is crucial for precise tumour diagnosis. Herein, we report a facile polymer-assisted method to produce Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites (NCPs) for the dual-modal magnetic resonance (MR) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging of tumours. In this approach, amino-functionalized Au nanospheres were first obtained by surface modification of the bifunctional polymer SH-PEG-NH2. Hydrophilic and carboxyl-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were produced by phase transfer of reverse micelle oxidation in our previous work. The Au nanoparticles were conjugated with hydrophilic Fe3O4 nanoparticles through an amide reaction. The obtained Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites display a high r2 relativity (157.92 mM&minus, 1 s&minus, 1) and a Hounsfield units (HU) value (270 HU) at Au concentration of 8 mg/mL and could be applied as nanoprobes for the dual-modal MR/CT imaging of a xenografted tumour model. Our work provides a facile method to prepare Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites for dual-modal MR/CT imaging, and this method can be extended to prepare other multifunctional nanoparticles for multimodal bioimaging.

Furan ring is a key pharmacophore for insecticidal activity of limoninoids. To develop natural-product-based insecticidal agents, a series of furan-site transformations (2, 3 and 3a–j) of obacunone were synthesized by selective bromination and following coupling reactions without altering other functional groups. Bioassays indicated that derivatives 3e, 3f and 3j displayed more potent insecticidal activity than obacunone and toosendanin against the instar larvae of Mythimna separate Walker. Besides, their structure–activity relationships were discussed.

In our previous studies, it was found that there existed pharmacokinetic interactions between magnoflorine and the rest of the ingredients in Coptidis Rhizoma. In this study, the pharmacokinetic interaction mechanism of magnoflorine with the rest of the components in Coptidis Rhizoma was researched based on the intestinal absorption and metabolism characteristics.The absorption characteristics of magnoflorine in each rat intestinal segments were evaluated by non-everted intestinal sac model. To identify the metabolites of magnoflorine, the acceptor solutions of each intestinal segment at 120 min were analyzed by HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS.The accumulative absorption (Q), the absorption rate (J) and the apparent permeability coefficient (PIt was shown that the rest of the ingredients in Coptidis Rhizoma accelerated the absorption of magnoflorine weakly and promoted the metabolism of magnoflorine in the gut. The effects of other processes in the pharmacokinetics should be further evaluated.

A theoretical investigation of the reaction mechanism and kinetics of the reaction between chloromethanes CH4–xClx (x = 1–3) and chlorine atoms was performed. The height of the reaction barrier was found to decrease with the degree of substitution of chloromethanes with atomic chlorine. A direct dynamics method was employed to study the kinetic nature of these hydrogen-abstraction reactions. The sequence of calculated reaction rate coefficients is: k(CH3Cl + Cl) < k(CH2Cl2 + Cl) < k(CHCl3 + Cl).

Context Previous studies have shown that Scutellariae Radix, the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Labiatae), has a certain inhibitory effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp), but the effects of its main active constituents on P-gp are still ambiguous. Objectives In vitro studies were performed to investigate the effects of its main active constituents (baicalin and its aglycone, baicalein) on the activity and expression of P-gp in intestine using Caco-2 cells and rat gut sacs. Materials and methods In Caco-2 cell experiments, the effects of baicalin and baicalein on P-gp activity were investigated using a P-gp substrate, rhodamine 123 and non-substrate fluorescein Na, by determining their intracellular fluorescence accumulation, and their effects on P-gp expression were determined using flow cytometry. In addition, rat gut sac model was selected to investigate the effects of baicalin and baicalein on the transport of verapamil, a classical P-gp substrate. The gut sacs of male Sprague-Dawley rats were filled with 0.4 mL the test solution contained verapamil (0.2575 mg/mL) and the drugs [baicalin and baicalein, at concentrations of 1/8 IC50 (59.875, 41.5 μg/mL), 1/4 IC50 (119.75, 83 μg/mL) and 1/2 IC50 (239.5, 166 μg/mL)], and then incubated in Tyrode's solution for a period of time. After termination of the incubation, the incubated solution was processed for the subsequent detection. Results According to the results of MTT assay, the IC50 values of verapamil, baicalin and baicalein were 104, 479, 332 μg/mL, respectively. The obtained results from the two models were confirmed mutually. As a result, baicalin exhibited no obvious effect on intracellular accumulation of Rh-123, and almost had no effect on P-gp expression and verapamil transportation, while baicalein significantly increased intracellular accumulation of Rh-123 (p

Size-selected boron clusters have been found to be predominantly planar or quasi-planar (2D) in the small size regime with the appearance of three-dimensional (3D) borospherene cages of larger sizes. A seashell-like B28− cluster was previously shown to be the smallest borospherene, which competes with a quasi-planar isomer for the global minimum. Here we report a study on the structures and bonding of the B29− and B29 clusters using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and first-principles calculations and demonstrate the continued competition between the 2D and borospherene structures. The PES spectrum of B29− displays a complex pattern with evidence of low-lying isomers. Global-minimum searches and extensive theoretical calculations revealed a complicated potential energy surface for B29− with five low-lying isomers, among which the lowest three were shown to contribute to the experimental spectrum. A 3D seashell-like Cs (2, 1A′) isomer, featuring two heptagons on the waist and one octagon at the bottom, is the global minimum for B29−, followed by a 2D C1 (3, 1A) isomer with a hexagonal hole and a stingray-shaped 2D Cs (1, 1A′) isomer with a pentagonal hole. However, by taking into account the entropic effects, the stingray-shaped isomer 1 was shown to be the lowest in energy at room temperature and was found to dominate the PES spectrum. Isomers 2 and 3, which have lower electron binding energies, were also found to be present in the experiment. Chemical bonding analyses showed that isomer 1 is an all-boron analogue of benzo[ghi]fluoranthene (C18H10), whereas the borospherene isomer 2 possesses 18π electrons, conforming to the 2(N + 1)2 electron counting rule for spherical aromaticity. For the B29 neutral cluster, the seashell-like borospherene isomer is the global minimum, significantly lower in energy than the stingray-shaped quasi-planar structure.

Compressible porous monoliths are important for isolation and separation processes. However, preparation via a gel-emulsion method suffers from high cost, partially due to the consumption of too much stabilizer and less tunability in both mechanical properties and internal structures. To cope with the challenges, a polymerizable cholesteryl derivative (CEA) was designed and used as a stabilizer of gel-emulsions. In addition, a derivative of poly(oligo)-dimethylsiloxane with two olefinic bonds at its ends (D-PDMS) was also purposely prepared and employed as a cross-linker for the system. In this way, gel-emulsions with a mixture of toluene, n-heptane, CEA, and D-PDMS as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed phase were prepared. As expected, polymerization of the continuous phase resulted in porous polymeric monoliths. Interestingly, the internal structures of the materials could be largely adjusted via simple variation of the ratio of n-heptane to toluene in the continuous phase. Moreover, utilization of the specially synthesized cross-linker endows the monoliths with flexibility, which must bring convenience for real-life applications. Adsorption tests demonstrated that the porous materials were good adsorbents of formaldehyde (∼1300 mg g−1) and toluene (∼900 mg g−1) at ambient conditions, and they were reusable after simple washing and drying. Considering the simplest material in the preparation including ambient pressure drying without solvent exchange, the superior performance in the adsorption tests and the fact that the as-created CEA could function both as a monomer and a stabilizer, it is believed that the work presented here represents substantial progress of the techniques used for the preparation of porous polymeric materials. Moreover, the monolith demonstrates new records for the adsorption of toxic formaldehyde and toluene from contaminated air.

Introducing high symmetric cubic disordered β or ordered β 0 phases by alloying β-stabilizers improves the strength and high-temperature deformability of intermetallic γ-TiAl. However, the β phase is prone to decomposition of lower symmetric hexagonal phases such as ω 0 and ω ’ ’ , which are extremely brittle and harmful to the ductility of the alloy. Therefore, understanding the effect of the β-stabilizers on the phase stability of TiAl is crucial for the rational design of TiAl based alloys. In the present work, the equilibrium lattice structures, bulk moduli, and heats of formation of β, β 0 , ω ’ ’ , and ω 0 of TiAl with some typical β stabilizers V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, and Mn were calculated by using a first-principles method, with which the relative phase stability were discussed. We showed that the phase stability sequence is β β 0 ω 0 ω ’ ’ for Ti4Al3Nb and Ti4Al3Ta, β ω 0 β 0 ω ’ ’ for Ti4Al3V, Ti4Al3Mo and Ti4Al3W, and β ω 0 ω ’ ’ β 0 for Ti4Al3Cr and Ti4Al3Mn. The β-stabilizing effect of the alloying element X increases from Nb/Ta to V/Mo/W to Cr/Mn. The relative stability of the various phases is roughly in accordance with the trends of the unit volume and bulk modulus against the phases with a few exceptions. The phase diagrams of the alloys associated with these phases were estimated by comparing the free energies against the temperature of various phases, evaluated with the calculated unit volumes and bulk moduli.

The gaseous hormone ethylene participates in many physiological processes of plants. It is well known that ethylene-inhibited root elongation involves basipetal auxin delivery requiring PIN2. However, the molecular mechanism how ethylene regulatesPIN2is not well understood. Here, we report that the ethylene-responsive HD-Zip geneHB52is involved in ethylene-mediated inhibition of primary root elongation. Using biochemical and genetic analyses, we demonstrated thatHB52is ethylene-responsive and acts immediately downstream of EIN3.HB52knock-down mutants are insensitive to ethylene in primary root elongation while the overexpression lines have dramatically shortened roots like ethylene treated plants. Moreover, HB52 upregulatesPIN2, WAG1, andWAG2by directly binding to their promoter, leading to an enhanced basipetal auxin delivery to the elongation zone and thus inhibiting root growth. Our work uncovers HB52 as an important crosstalk node between ethylene signaling and auxin transport in root elongation.

Theoretical studies on DNA-photocleavage mechanisms and abilities of chiral Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes have been carried out using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The stable DNA-docking models of chiral Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes were obtained using the docking and DFT methods. Based on the obtained DNA-docking models, the DNA-binding energies of chiral Ru(II) complexes were computed using UB3LYP and UB3LYP-D3 methods, and the trend in DNA-binding affinities of chiral Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes were reasonably explained. According to the distances between complexes and DNA, the reason of DNA-binding abilities of Δ-complexes stronger than those of Λ-complexes was also explained. In addition, the excited-state reduction potentials, electrons-transfer (ET) activation energies and intramolecular reorganization energies of chiral Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes were calculated and the DNA-photocleavage abilities were reasonably explained.

To study the effects of sea buckthorn juice and L-quebrachitol on type 2 diabetes, db/db mice were given 10-week gavage administration of pure sea buckthorn juice or sea buckthorn juice enriched with L-quebrachitol. Treatment with sea buckthorn juice reduced the feed intake, body weight gain, random blood glucose level, and the expression of insulin receptor β in the liver. Sea buckthorn juice significantly improved glucose tolerance and the integrity of pancreatic tissue. Administration of sea buckthorn juice enriched in L-quebrachitol increased fasting insulin level in plasma and showed similar effects on random blood glucose level, glucose tolerance and the pancreatic tissue as observed for pure sea buckthorn juice. The results suggest hypoglycaemic effects of sea buckthorn juice in type 2 diabetic db/db mice, likely associated with improvement of pancreas and reversal of insulin resistance. L-quebrachitol present in sea buckthorn might have contributed to the effects observed.

Anisodamine is an ancient Chinese medicine derived from Tibet as a belladonna alkaloid, which is usually used for improvement of blood circulation in patients with organ phosphorus poisoning or shock. In this study, for the first time, we report its cardioprotective effects on preventing ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and decreasing the myocardial infarction area and severity in heart of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Our results suggest a potential molecular mechanism of anisodamine against the I/R injury in cardiomyocytes is associated with its anti-apoptotic effect. Anisodamine treatment decreases the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-8, and increases Bcl-2/Bax ratio in cardiomyocytes. Our data suggest that anisodamine can provide significant cardioprotection against I/R injury, potentially through the suppression of cardiomyocytes apoptosis.

The newly discovered borospherenes B40 (-/0) and B39 (-) mark the onset of a new class of boron nanostructures. Based on extensive first-principles calculations, we introduce herein two new chiral members to the borospherene family: the cage-like C1 B41 (+) (1) and C2 B42 (2+) (2), both of which are the global minima of the systems with degenerate enantiomers. These chiral borospherene cations are composed of twelve interwoven boron double chains with six hexagonal and heptagonal faces and may be viewed as the cuborenes analogous to cubane (C8 H8 ). Chemical bonding analyses show that there exists a three-center two-electron σ bond on each B3 triangle and twelve multicenter two-electron π bonds over the σ skeleton. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that C1 B41 (+) (1) fluctuates above 300 K, whereas C2 B42 (2+) (2) remains dynamically stable. The infrared and Raman spectra of these borospherene cations are predicted to facilitate their experimental characterizations.