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Nodularin (NOD) is a kind of cyanobacterial toxins. It is of concern due to elicit severe genotoxicity in humans and animals. The comprehensive evaluation of NOD-induced adverse effects in living organisms is urgently needed. This study is aimed to report the developmental toxicity and molecular mechanism using zebrafish embryos exposed to NOD. The embryonic toxicity induced by NOD is demonstrated by inhibition of embryo hatching, increase in mortality rate, abnormal heart rate, embryonic malformation as well as defects in angiogenesis and common cardinal vein remodeling. NOD triggered a decreased rate of angiogenesis through inhibiting endothelial cells migration. NOD induced embryonic cell apoptosis and DNA damage, which can be alleviated by antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine. NOD significantly caused oxidative damage as indicated by changes in reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and malondialdehyde. NOD also altered the expression of vascular development-genes (DLL4, CDH5, VEGFA, VEGFC) and apoptosis-related genes (BAX, BCL-2, P53, CASPASE 3). Taken together, NOD induced adverse effect on zebrafish embryos development, which may be associated with oxidative stress and apoptosis through the activation of P53-BAX/BCL-2-CASPASE 3-mediated pathway.

Improving the utilization and anti-poisoning ability of Pt for electrocatalysis applications is widely concerned for years. Herein, a Pt thin-film modified electrode is prepared via a galvanic replacement reaction (GRR) of the copper thin film originated from directly electrodeposited Cu(OH)2 for high-performance electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol in alkaline medium. In an unbuffered electrolyte solution of CuSO4 and p-benzoquinone (BQ), a uniformly distributed Cu(OH)2 thin-film is deposited on a gold-plated glassy carbon electrode (Au/GCE) by electroreducing BQ to consume H+ near the electrode surface. The electroreduction of Cu(OH)2 to atomic copper and then its GRR with K2PtCl4 yields a Pt thin-film modified Au/GCE (PtCu(OH)2/Au/GCE) with excellent performance for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol in alkaline medium. The processes and mechanisms of electrode modification are investigated by electrochemistry, quartz crystal microbalance, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Under the optimal conditions, the electrocatalytic oxidation peak current obtained by cyclic voltammetry (−0.8 V～0.8 V, 50 mV s−1) on PtCu(OH)2/Au/GCE is 21.8 mA cmPt−2 in 0.5 M aqueous KOH containing 1 M methanol. The method is expected to be a good candidate for electrodepositing other uniform films for wider applications.

Surface tailored Ga Au loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles are considered as an important nanomaterial for biomedical applications such as diagnosis and cancer treatment. In this study, we used Ga Au loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Ga-Au@mSiO2) for the photothermal treatment of two prostate cancer cell lines. We systematically examined the nanocomposite form by various spectroscopic (UV–Vis, TGA and DTA) and electroscopic techniques (TEM and SEM including the elemental mapping analysis). After careful evaluation of the nanocomposite form, we performed cancer cell growth inhibition properties of the prostate cancer cell lines (DU145 and LNCaP). Also, we performed the photothermal effects of these nanocomposites on cell proliferation and apoptosis using different biochemical staining and flow cytometry. Our in vitro investigational datas are established Ga-Au@mSiO2 effectively exhibited and also with Ga-Au@mSiO2 + NIR the photothermal conversion therapy improved prostate cancer cells abolishing the prostate cancer cells. Interestingly, Ga-Au@mSiO2 + NIR was found to surpass the activity of Ga-Au@mSiO2 in all the cancer cells tested a topnotches. Hence, our current results demonstrated that surface tailored Ga Au loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles significantly inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cell lines and shown prominent antitumor effect in vitro. Thus, our study suggests that Ga-Au@mSiO2 + NIR could be used as impending anticancer candidate for photothermal ablation of prostate cancer cells. Further examinations of the mechanism indicated that anticancer activity was accomplished by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells, which is suggesting that these Ga-Au@mSiO2 + NIR nanocomposite can be used as promising candidates for nursing care cancer therapy.

Aluminum, as a known neurotoxicant, contributes to cognitive dysfunction and may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. The important reason is that aluminum can enter and be deposited in the brain. There have been three routes by which aluminum could enter the brain from systemic circulation or the site of absorption. Aluminum fluxes into brain across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the choroid plexuses and the nasal cavity. Some factors, such as the increasing of the blood-brain barrier permeability, citric acid and parathyroid hormone (PTH), and vitamin D, can promote aluminum to enter the brain. But the redistribution of aluminum out of the brain is slow, so aluminum can be deposited in the brain for a long time.

Iron oxide particle-decorated, hollow, carbon nanofibers (HCNFs), with poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) solution as the core and acetic acid lignin as the shell, were manufactured using a coaxial electrospinning technique, using iron(III) acetylacetonate as the iron oxide-precursor additive in the shell. The fabricated HCNFs exhibited a high specific capacitance of 121 F·g−1 at 0.5 A·g−1, which was 2.18-fold that of solid electrospun nanofibers under the same conditions. The samples also possessed a superior cycling life, with a 90% retention rate after 1000 cycles in 1 M sodium sulfite. In this system, HCNFs exhibited high surface areas, as the result of hollow structures and producing capacitance improvement, while iron oxide particles enhanced electrochemical properties via reversible redox reactions. The attractive performances exhibited by these supercapacitors yielded them potentially promising candidates for future energy storage systems.

Aluminum, as a known neurotoxicant, contributes to cognitive dysfunction and may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. The important reason is that aluminum can enter and be deposited in the brain. There have been three routes by which aluminum could enter the brain from systemic circulation or the site of absorption. Aluminum fluxes into brain across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the choroid plexuses and the nasal cavity. Some factors, such as the increasing of the blood-brain barrier permeability, citric acid and parathyroid hormone (PTH), and vitamin D, can promote aluminum to enter the brain. But the redistribution of aluminum out of the brain is slow, so aluminum can be deposited in the brain for a long time.

Highly conjugated linear molecular wires are one of the basic elements for constructing molecular electronic devices. Among these conjugated compounds, ferrocene-terminated compounds as well as their derivatives were widely studied because of their ideal electrochemical activity. Based on these, a new ferrocene-terminated phenylethynyaniline (Fc-NH 2 ) was synthesized by Sonogashira cross coupling reaction. The structure of the target compound was identified by infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectra (MS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). By combining the graphene-chitosan (GH-CS) and Fc-NH 2 , a new composite of GH-CS/Fc-NH 2 was prepared and then used for immobilization of Cytc to prepare the GH-CS/Fc-NH 2 /cytochrome c (Cytc)/GCE. It was found from the CV result that a pair of peaks near −0.2 V was appeared, which could be attributed to Cytc. The GH-CS/Fc-NH 2 /Cytc modified GCE shows good catalysis towards NaNO 2 , and good linear relationship was found in the range of 1.0 × 10 −7 −1.5 × 10 −4 M with the detection limit bellow 4.0 × 10 −8 M. Therefore, Cytc could be immobilized on the GH-CS/Fc-NH 2 and the direct electron transfer was realized between the electrode and solution, and showed good prospect for detection of NaNO 2 .

Paecilomyces hepialid (PH) is an endoparasitic fungus of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) and has become a substitute for CS due to their similar pharmacological activities. Because the market demand for CS is difficult to satisfy, and cordycepin, the effective compound of CS, is difficult to industrially produce, we produced 5 samples of PH by culturing for different durations and adding different additives to the culture broth, and detected their cordycepin content with UPLC ESI MS/MS. Then we grouped these cultures into five transcriptome comparisons containing 3 time variable groups and 2 additive variable groups. We used next-generation (NG) sequencing methods to acquire transcriptomic information and investigated the response of gene expression to the additives and the influence of different growth stages. This work will contribute to a better understanding of purine metabolism in PH, and possibly in other Cordyceps species. It will provide a useful resource to further advance transcriptomics studies in Cordyceps species.

The present study was conducted to develop a simple and versatile method to prepare carboxylated bamboo fibers which can be applied as potential bio-adsorbent for metal ions removal due to the high content of carboxyl groups. The chemical modification of bamboo fibers with citric acid (CA) was carried out by friendly semi-dry oven method. The resulting products with carboxyl group content between 1.99 and 4.13 mmol/g were accessible by changing ultrasonic pretreatment time, reaction temperature, reaction time and the amounts of catalyst and citric acid in order to minimize cross-linking reaction and thereby maximize carboxyl groups content. The characterization of the resulting products confirmed that carboxyl groups were successfully grafted onto surface of bamboo fibers. Moreover, the carboxylated bamboo fibers could be applied as bio-adsorbent for the removal of lead(II) ions from aqueous solution. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of Pd2+ could reach 127.1 mg/g for carboxylated bamboo fibers with 4.13 mmol/g carboxyl group content prepared under the ultrasonic pretreatment for 20 min at the CA/bamboo fibers weight ratio of 4.0 in the catalyst amount of 30 wt% at 120 °C for 90 min and the carboxylated bamboo fibers exhibited highly efficient regeneration with no significant loss of adsorption capacity of lead ion after five repeated adsorption/desorption cycles.

A novel (4-ferrocenylethyne) phenylamine functionalized graphene sheets (FEPA-GR), coupling with chitosan (CS) were used as a signal amplification platform for simultaneous and sensitive determination of dopamine (DA) and acetaminophen (AC). In this work, FEPA used as electron transfer mediator can be immobilized on GR surface via strong π-π stacking interaction between the conjugate chain of FEPA and GR, which effectively prevents FEPA electron mediator leaking from the electrode surface and amplified the signal. Transmission electron microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and electrochemical experiments results are all demonstrated the strong π-π stacking interaction between FEPA and GR. The resulted biosensor exhibited a fast response, remarkable electrocatalytic activity, perfect anti-interference ability and good stability for simultaneous detection of DA and AC. Under the optimum conditions, the oxidation peak currents of DA and AC were linearly correlated to their concentrations in the range of 2.0–135.0 µmol·L−1 and 0.3–80.0 µmol·L−1, respectively. The lower detection limits for DA and AC were 0.30 and 0.05 µmol·L−1, respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method was validated by successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of DA and AC in serum samples with the standard addition method.

A new ferrocene benzyne derivative (Fc-SAc) that contained oligo-(phenylene-ethynylene) skeleton, ferrocene and thiolate terminal groups was firstly synthesized. The hydrolysis product of Fc-SAc (Fc-SH) was immobilized onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE) as sensing element for rutin detection with high sensitivity. The new sensing strategy was proposed by using two Fc-SH modified electrodes: Fc-S/AuNPs/GCE (Electrode1) and Fc-S/AuNPs/graphene-chitosan/GCE (Electrode2). The electrochemical oxidation of rutin on Electrode2 was a diffusion-controlled process, which was different from a mass-controlled process on Electrode1. Under the optimal conditions, the peak currents of the sensors were linearly related to the concentrations of rutin. The linear responses ranges were 0.05-30 μM and 0.04-100 μM with the regression coefficients of 0.998 and 0.997 on Electrode1 and Electrode2, respectively. Electrode2 presented wider linear range, superior high sensitivity, lower detection limit and better stability on determination of rutin.

A dual sensitized graphene composite decorated with carbon nanoparticles (CNP) and a new ferrocene-derivative redox mediator, (4-ferrocenylethyne) phenylamine (FEPA), is prepared by a facile and rapid one-step method. The as-prepared (4-ferrocenylethyne) phenylamine–carbon nanoparticles–graphene (FEPA–CNP–GR) composite coupling with Nafion was used to construct an ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor (Nafion-FEPA–CNP–GR) for simultaneous detection of dihydroxybenzene isomers. It was found that the well-dispersed hydrophilic-type CNP in the composite could improve the water-solubility and the surface area of GR, and exhibit an excellent catalytic activity toward resorcinol (RC) oxidation. Meanwhile, synthesized FEPA served as a good electron-transfer mediator, improved the sensitivity of the sensor, permitted favorable oxidation peak separations between isomers, and reduced the interferences between isomers. FEPA steadily adsorbed on the surface of GR through the π-stacking interaction between the conjugate chain of FEPA and GR, which effectively prevented FEPA mediator leaking from electrode surface. In addition, Nafion used as an immobilization film for eliminate the main interferences in relatively high concentrations, which led to an excellent selectivity. Thus, the proposed method exhibited good stability, sensitivity and selectivity for the simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers due to the synergistic effect of CNP, FEPA and GR. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curves for hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), and RC were obtained in the range of 0.3–90 μmol L −1 , 0.6–100 μmol L −1 and 4–300 μmol L −1 , respectively. The detection limits were found to be 0.1 μmol L −1 for HQ, 0.2 μmol L −1 for CC and 0.7 μmol L −1 for RC based on S/N of 3. The developed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers in synthetic and real samples, and the results are satisfactory.

China's infant crop insurance industry faces two, not mutually exclusive, challenges. The first challenge is operational and arises from the lack of historical crop yield data at the farm household or village level. The second problem relates to a possible disconnect between objective measures of historical yields that is required for actuarial pricing in the supply of insurance and the subjective perceptions of future risk that is required to establish demand. This may require a substantial subsidy from the Chinese government in order to encourage participation. This paper examines both issues, including the form of subsidy, through use of the beta-PERT distribution. The PERT distribution has the advantage of defining proximal (second best) distributions based on farmers’ recall of historical low, high and typical yields to cover objective risk measures, and subjective distributions through projections of low, high and most likely future yields. Direct elicitations of objective and subjective PERT parameters from 730 farmers in Shaanxi were collected in the fall of 2010. We find that 82.3 per cent of farm households have perceptions that their pro-forma corn yields in 2011 would be higher than their historical memory, while 71.63 per cent perceived the distribution of risks in 2011 to be lower than the historical average. In addition, we find that when we regress farmers’ interest in crop insurance it is the skewness of subjective risk that matters, and perception of downside risk is largely dictated by perceived mean and standard deviation. As a result we argue that the need for subsidising crop insurance premiums is a consequence of the dissonance between subjective and historical risks.

Paecilomyces hepiali is an endoparasitic fungus that commonly exists in the natural Cordyceps sinensis . Here, we report the draft genome sequence of P. hepiali , which will facilitate the exploitation of medicinal compounds produced by the fungus.

A method for the synthesis of chitosan crosslinking 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiodiazole (CTS-DMTD) adsorbent and the determination of trace amount of palladium in geological samples was established. It was found that the adsorption capacity was significantly affected by the solution pH, with optimum pH value of 2.0, the saturated adsorption capacity was 16.2 mg · g−1 for Pd(II). The studies of desorption were carried out using various reagents and the optimum effect obtained by using thiourea. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit (3σ) for Pd(II) was 0.015 mg · L−1 and the relative standard deviation was 4.7%.

To determine the nutrient solution copper (Cu2+) level above which Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber, cv. LOGICA F1) plant growth and fruit yield will be negatively affected, plants were grown on rockwool and irrigated with nutrient solutions containing Cu2+ at 0.05, 0.55, 1.05, 1.55, and 2.05 mg·L−1. Copper treatment began when plants were 4 weeks old and lasted for 10 weeks. During this 10-week period, plants were harvested at 3 weeks (short-term) and 10 weeks (long-term) after the start of Cu2+ treatment. Neither visible leaf injury nor negative Cu2+ effect was observed on plant growth (leaf number, leaf area, leaf dry weight, and stem dry weight) after 3 weeks of continuous Cu2+ treatment. However, after 10 weeks of continuous Cu2+ application, cucumber leaf dry weight was significantly reduced by Cu2+ levels 1.05 mg·L−1 or greater; leaf number, leaf area, and stem dry weight were significantly reduced by Cu2+ levels 1.55 mg·L−1 or greater. Copper (Cu2+ levels 1.05 mg·L−1 or greater) also caused root browning. Some plants under the 2.05 mg·L−1 Cu2+ treatment started to wilt after 6 weeks of continuous Cu2+ treatment. Copper treatment did not result in any change in leaf greenness until after Week 9 from the start of the treatments. There was no sign of a negative Cu2+ effect on cucumber fruit numbers after the first 2 weeks of production, but plants under the highest Cu2+ concentration treatment (2.05 mg·L−1) gradually produced fewer cucumber fruit than the control (0.05 mg·L−1) and eventually resulted in lower cucumber yield. Nutrient solution can be treated with 1.05 mg·L−1 of Cu2+ in cucumber production greenhouses; however, it is not recommended to use Cu2+ concentrations 1.05 mg·L−1 or greater continuously long-term (more than 3 weeks). When applying Cu2+, it is suggested that cucumber roots be examined regularly because roots are a better indicator for Cu2+ toxicity than leaf injury.

Nanostructured polyaniline films with controlled thickness have been successfully grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method at room temperature. The formation mechanism of the polyaniline film is monitored by CV techniques, alternating current (AC) impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is found that the accumulation of nanostructured polyaniline (>70 nm) on both the scattered and compact layers simultaneously increased the reactive interface, which supports charge transfer at the interface and resistance that hinders electronic transport in the film. By optimising the preparation conditions, the short-circuit photocurrent density of a dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) with a PANI counter electrode (CE) increased by 11.6% in comparison to a DSSC with an electrodeposited platinum CE.

Tochilinite represents a mineral group of ordered mixed-layer structures containing alternating Fe 1− x S layers with mackinawite-like structure and metal hydroxide layers with Mg(OH) 2 -like structure. In this article, we report the preparation of a series of tochilinite-originated (or Fe 1− x S-based) intercalation compounds (ICs). According to their preparation procedures, these ICs can be divided into four kinds. The first kind of IC was sodium tochilinite (Na-tochilinite), which was prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of metallic Fe particles with concentrated Na 2 S·9H 2 O aqueous solutions. The hydroxide layer of the Na-tochilinite was a mixed hydroxide of Na + ions along with a certain amount of Fe 2+ ions. When the hydroxide layer of the Na-tochilinite completely dissolved in aqueous solutions, a Fe-deficient mackinawite-like phase Fe 1− x S was obtained, which was probably an electron-deficient p -type conductor. The second kind of ICs was prepared by ‘low-temperature direct intercalation in aqueous solutions, using Na-tochilinite as a parental precursor. When the Na-tochilinite was ultrasonicated in aqueous solutions containing Lewis basic complexing agents (like NH 3 , N 2 H 4 , 2,2′-bipyridine (bipy), and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen)), the Na + ions of the Na-tochilinite were removed and the Lewis basic complexing agents entered the hydroxide layer of the Na-tochilinite and became coordinated with the Fe 2+ ions, and the second kind of ICs was thus produced. The second kind of ICs includes NH 3 IC, N 2 H 4 IC, N 2 H 4 -NH 3 IC, [Fe(bipy) 3 ] 2+ -containing IC and [Fe(phen) 3 ] 2+ -containing IC. The third kind of ICs, which includes NH 3 IC, N 2 H 4 –NH 3 IC and N 2 H 4 -LiOH (NaOH) IC, was prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of metallic Fe particles with (NH 4 ) 2 S aqueous solution, S (elemental) + N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O aqueous solution, and S + N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O + LiOH (NaOH) aqueous solution, respectively. The third kind of ICs has a close relationship with the second kind of ICs both in composition and structure. The fourth kind of ICs was prepared by the oxidation and reduction of some of the N 2 H 4 -containing ICs mentioned above, which include N 2 H 2 (diazene or diimide) IC, N 2 (dinitrogen) IC and NH 3 IC. The N 2 H 2 IC was prepared by mild air oxidation of the N 2 H 4 -LiOH IC. The N 2 IC was prepared by strong air oxidation of the N 2 H 4 -LiOH IC, however, we have not been able to separate the pure phase N 2 IC. Hydrothermal reduction of the N 2 H 4 IC made by the direct intercalation method in strong reducing environment by H 2 S + Fe (metal) led to the production of the NH 3 IC of the fourth kind of ICs. The NH 3 ICs prepared by the three methods had similar compositions and structures. As almost all the ICs reported in this paper were extremely sensitive both to air and to the electron beam, they were mainly characterized by XRD. The properties and interrelationships (or mutual transformations) of the Fe 1− x S-based ICs revealed novel chemistry occurring in the sub-nanoscopic space between the micrometer- to nanometer-sized electron-deficient Fe 1− x S layers. An important finding of this novel chemistry was that the Fe 1− x S-based ICs tended to oxidize or reduce the intercalated species when the redox state of their environments varied. The results of our experiments potentially have many cosmochemical implications. The most important implication is that our experimental results, along with previous studies, strongly suggested that some of the ammonium salts, ammonia and carbonates existing in the matrix of the CM carbonaceous chondrites may have been formed by abiotic reactions employing molecular nitrogen as the nitrogen source and carbon monoxide as the carbon source and iron sulfide and/or iron hydroxide as catalysts.

Emerging evidence indicates that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a critical role in host inflammatory responses in several disease states, including atherosclerosis, sepsis, and rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we determined the effect of VEGF on endothelial induction of proinflammatory cytokines and investigated the responsible signal pathways. By using a cytokine antibody array that detects the end point protein products released from endothelial cells (ECs), we found that VEGF, via VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), predominantly induced the production of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 and CXC chemokines IL-8 and growth-related oncogene-alpha (GRO-alpha) in ECs but not in leukocytes among 36 cytokines in the array. The production of these inflammatory cytokines by VEGF was much stronger than the induction of cell adhesion molecule in ECs. We further found that the cytokine production by VEGF was essentially mediated by the Gö-6976-sensitive protein kinase D (PKD) family kinases. Importantly, the VEGF-induced production of IL-6, IL-8, and GRO-alpha was inhibited approximately 70%, 40%, or 37% by PKD1 silencing (more than 90% knockdown) with three small interference RNAs that target different PKD1 regions. Moreover, silencing PKD2 downregulated VEGFR2 and markedly inhibited the cytokine production by VEGF in ECs. Our results indicate that VEGF, via VEGFR2-PKD1 axis, induces the production of proinflammatory cytokine IL-6, IL-8, and GRO-alpha in ECs but not in leukocytes, which may offer new insights into the mechanism of the proinflammatory activity of VEGF.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, plays a crucial role in normal physiological processes and in various pathological conditions. In the present study, we have investigated the physiological function of a newly described serine/threonine protein kinase D2 (PKD2) in aspects of endothelial cell biology involved in angiogenesis. We found that PKD2 was expressed in primary human endothelial cells from different tissues and was a critical PKD isoform mediating the phosphorylation of PKD substrates in endothelial cells. By using small interference RNAs that target different PKD2 regions, we found that silencing PKD2, but not PKD1 isoform, markedly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and in vitro angiogenesis of endothelial cells cultured in EGM-2 complete medium. We further showed that PKD2, but not PKD1, was required for the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 that are two key growth factor receptors involved in angiogenesis. These findings indicate that PKD2 plays a pivotal role in endothelial cell proliferation and migration necessary for angiogenesis at least in part through modulation of the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor-1.

Aluminum (Al) exposure has been implicated as the cause of neural cells loss in several neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, defining the mechanism of neural cell death in Al toxicity and degenerative diseases might lead to the development of therapeutic agents which promote neural cell survival. Furthermore, knowledge of cell death pathways might facilitate the discovery of treatments for neurodegeneration. However, the death mode of neural cells triggered by Al has not been firmly established. The present study focuses on understanding the pathway of cells death in cultured cortical cells treated with Al. Primary neurons cultured alone, astrocytes cultured alone, and neuron/astrocyte co-cultures obtained from newborn rats were incubated with Al at the concentrations of 0, 0.5,1.0, or 2.0 mM for 72 h. Morphological changes were observed with an inverted phase microscope, a fluorescent microscope, and an electron microscope. Simultaneously, the rate of apoptosis was quantified with flow cytometry. Morphological characteristics of apoptosis such as cell shrinkage, aggregation and fragmentation of chromatin, membrane buds, and formation of membrane-bound apoptotic bodies were observed in Al-treated neurons, while none of these characteristics were found in Al-treated astrocytes. Quantitative results of apoptotic rates detected with flow cytometry indicated a typical apoptosis progression in neurons at various dosages. A concentration-dependent relationship between Al concentration and apoptotic rates confirmed that apoptosis is the prominent cause of cell death in primary cultured neurons, even at a concentration lower than 2 mM. Both necrosis and apoptosis are evident in neuron/astrocyte co-cultures, but the intensity of apoptosis is much less compared with that of neurons, suggesting that astrocytes may be especially important for neuronal survival in the presence of Al.

It is well understood that insufficient oxygen within plant root zones can greatly diminish plant productivity. However, little is known about the effect of elevated root zone oxygen concentrations. Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum Mill., cv. Trust) seedlings were grown in nutrient solutions containing dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration ranging from 5.3 to 40 mg L−1 for 4 weeks. There were no visible symptoms observed on the leaves or stems in any of the treatments. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in the 40 mg L−1 treatment than with 20 and 30 mg L−1 DO treatments. Two weeks from the start of the experiment, roots in the 40 mg L−1 treatment exhibited stunted growth, became thicker, and had fewer side and fine roots compared to roots in the lower levels of DO treatment. Almost all the measured growth parameters (fresh and dry weights of root, stem, and leaf, leaf area, stem diameter) were significantly reduced in plants grown in the 40 mg L−1 treatment compared to plants in the lower level of DO treatments, except that the plant height increased with the increasing DO concentration. Root respiration increased linearly with increasing DO concentration; however, there was no effect on leaf net CO2 exchange rate. It is suggested that it was safe to enrich root zone DO to as high as 30 mg L−1, although the growth benefit was minor by increasing DO from ambient air saturated level (∼8.5 mg L−1) to 30 mg L−1. Higher than 30 mg L−1 could cause reduction in tomato plant growth.

INTRODUCTION Research suggests that targeting high-risk, nonhypertensive patients for preventive intervention may delay the onset of hypertension. We aimed to develop a biomarker-based risk prediction model for assessing hypertension risk in an urban Han Chinese population. METHODS We analyzed data from 26,496 people with hypertension to extract factors from 11 check-up biomarkers. Then, depending on a 5-year follow-up cohort, a Cox model for predicting hypertension development was built by using extracted factors as predictors. Finally, we created a hypertension synthetic predictor (HSP) by weighting each factor with its risk for hypertension to develop a risk assessment matrix. RESULTS After factor analysis, 5 risk factors were extracted from data for both men and women. After a 5-year follow-up, the cohort of participants had an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve [AUC]) with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.755 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.746-0.763) for men and an OR of 0.801 (95% CI, 0.792-0.810) for women. After tenfold cross validation, the AUC was still high, with 0.755 (95% CI, 0.746-0.763) for men and 0.800 (95% CI, 0.791-0.810) for women. An HSP-based 5-year risk matrix provided a convenient tool for risk appraisal. CONCLUSION Hypertension could be explained by 5 factors in a population sample of Chinese urban Han. The HSP may be useful in predicting hypertension.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and global DNA methylation in aluminum (Al) potroom workers. METHODS A total of 366 Al-exposed workers were investigated, and their cognitive functions were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Aluminum in serum was quantified using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Global DNA methylation was analyzed in whole blood using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-like reaction. RESULTS Mini-Mental State Examination scores and global DNA methylation decreased with the increase of serum Al concentration. Forty-three mild cognitive impairment (MCI) people were diagnosed. Global DNA methylation of the MCI was lower than the non-MCI. Multiple logistic analysis showed that the Al-exposed workers had lower global DNA methylation and higher serum Al concentration and were at the higher risk of MCI. CONCLUSIONS Long-term exposure to Al may cause MCI. Mild cognitive impairment was significantly associated with global DNA methylation in blood.

Exposure to aluminum has been reported to lead to neurotoxicity. Mitochondria are important organelles involved in maintaining cell function. This study investigates the effect of aluminum on mitochondria in rat neural cells. The ultrastructure of mitochondria was observed, and the cell death rate (CDR), reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and 3-[4,5demethyl-2-thiazalyl]-2,-5diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) were measured to investigate the effect of aluminum on the mitochondrial structure and its function in neural cells. Results observed from the mitochondrial ultrastructure show that aluminum may impair the mitochondrial membrane and cristae. Increased CDR, enhanced ROS, decreased MMP, and decreased enzyme activity in mitochondria were observed in the Al-exposed neurons (100 – 500 μM). The present study demonstrates that alteration in the mitochondrial structure and function plays an important role in neurotoxic mechanisms induced by aluminum.

Retinoic acid (RA), the active metabolite of vitamin A, regulates cellular growth and differentiation during embryonic development. In excess, this vitamin is also highly teratogenic to animals and humans. The neural crest is particularly sensitive to RA, and high levels adversely affect migration, proliferation and cell death. We investigated potential gene targets of RA associated with neural crest proliferation by determining RA-mediated changes in gene expression over time, using microarrays. Statistical analysis of the top ranked RA-regulated genes identified modest changes in multiple genes previously associated with cell cycle control and proliferation including the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors Cdkn1a (p21), Cdkn2b (p15(INK4b)), and Gas3/PMP22. The expression of p21 and p15(INK4b) contribute to decreased proliferation by blocking cell cycle progression at G1-S. This checkpoint is pivotal to decisions regulating proliferation, apoptosis, or differentiation. We have also confirmed the overexpression of Gas3/PMP22 in RA-treated neural crests, which is associated with cytoskeletal changes and increased apoptosis. Our results suggest that increases in multiple components of diverse regulatory pathways have an overall cumulative effect on cellular decisions. This heterogeneity contributes to the pleiotropic effects of RA, specifically those affecting proliferation and cell death.

Electrolytically generated copper is increasingly used to control diseases and algae in the greenhouse industry. However, there is a shortage of information regarding appropriate management strategies for copper in ornamental crop production. The objectives of this study were to characterize the response of three ornamental crops (Dendranthema ×grandiflorum L. `Fina', Rosa ×hybrida L. `Lavlinger', Pelargonium ×hortorum L. `Evening Glow') to different solution levels of Cu2+ (ranging from 0.4 to 40 μm) and to determine the critical levels above which toxic responses became apparent. The following measurements were used to assess the treatments: leaf chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), leaf chlorophyll content, and visible injury of leaf and root. Excessive copper reduced plant root length, root dry weight, total dry weight, root to shoot ratio, leaf area, and specific leaf area in all three species. The critical solution level of Cu2+ that resulted in significantly reduced plant dry weight for chrysanthemum was 5 μm; for miniature rose, 2.4; and for geranium, 8 μm. Plant visible root injury was a more sensitive and reliable copper toxicity indicator than visible leaf injury, leaf chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm, or leaf and stem copper content. Generally, all the species exhibited some sensitivity to Cu2+ in solution culture, with chrysanthemum and miniature rose being most sensitive and geranium being least sensitive. Caution should be taken when applying copper in solution culture production systems.

AbtractPaecilomyces hepiali, belonging to the Eurotiales order Ascomycota, is an endoparasitic fungus that commonly exists in the natural Cordyceps sinensis anamorph stage. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of P. hepiali for the first time. The genome is 24,245 bp in length, encoding 15 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 25 tRNA genes and 3 homing endonucleases. The overall AT composition is 73.37% and the average AT content of PCG, rRNA, tRNA and non-coding region are 74.21%, 66.07%, 62.83% and 75.96%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis with eight Ascomycota species and thirteen Basidiomycota species revealed that P. hepiali is was more closely related to Cordyceps bassiana, Cordycep smilitaris and Cordyceps brongniartii. It is confirmed that P. hepiali is a derivative of Cordyceps sinensis. This study provided valuable information on the gene contents of the mitochondrial genome and would facilitate the study of function and evolution of P. hepiali.

There is abundant evidence supporting the role of caspases in the development of neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, regulating the activity of caspases has been considered as a therapeutic target. However, all the efforts on AD therapy using pan-caspase inhibitors have failed because of uncontrolled adverse effects. Alternatively, the specific knockdown of caspase-3 gene through RNA interference (RNAi) could serve as a future potential therapeutic strategy. The aim of the present study is to down-regulate the expression of caspase-3 gene using lentiviral vector-mediated caspase-3 short hairpin RNA (LV-Caspase-3 shRNA). The effect of LV-Caspase-3 shRNA on apoptosis induced by aluminum (Al) was investigated in primary cultured cortical neurons and validated in C57BL/6J mice. The results indicated an increase in apoptosis and caspase-3 expression in primary cultured neurons and the cortex ofmice exposed to Al, which could be down-regulated by LV-Caspase-3 shRNA. Furthermore, LV-Caspase-3 shRNA reduced neural cell death and improved learning and memory in C57BL/6J mice treated with Al. Our results suggest that LV-caspase-3 shRNA is a potential therapeutic agent to prevent neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction in aluminum- exposed animal models. The findings provide a rational gene therapy strategy for AD.

Chronic administration of aluminium has been proposed as an environmental factor that may affect some pathological changes related to neurotoxicity and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The abnormal generation and deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) in senile plaques are hallmark features in the brains of AD patients. Furthermore, Aβ is generated by the sequential cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) via the APP cleaving enzyme (α-secretase, or β-secretase) and γ-secretase. In the present study, we investigated the modulation of Aβ deposition and neurotoxicity in aluminium-maltolate-treated (0, 15, 30, 45 mmol/kg body weight via intraperitoneal injection) in experimental rats. We measured Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 in the cortex and hippocampus in rat brains using ELISA. Subtypes of α-secretase, β-secretase, and γ-secretase, including ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM17 (TACE), BACE1, presenilin 1 (PS1) and nicastrin (NCT), were determined using western blotting analyses. These results indicated that aluminium-maltolate induced an AD-like behavioural deficit in rats at 30 and 45 mmol/kg body weight. Moreover, the Aβ1–42 content increased significantly, both in the cortex and hippocampus, although no changes were observed in Aβ1–40. Furthermore, ADAM9, ADAM10, and ADAM17 decreased significantly; in contrast, BACE1, PS1, and NCT showed significant increase. Taken together, these results suggest that the changes in secretases may correlate to the abnormal deposition of Aβ by aluminium in rat brains.

A putative ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene was identified in the single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus of Buzura suppressaria (BusuNPV). This is the first egt gene to be characterized in a SNPV, suggesting that egt genes are prevalent in nucleopolyhedroviruses and possibly in all baculoviruses. The open reading frame (ORF) of the gene is 1539 nucleotides (nt) long, encoding a putative protein (EGT) of 513 amino acids (aa) with a M of 58922. The 5' noncoding region contains three possible TATA boxes. A polyadenylation signal, AATAAA, was found downstream of the translation stop codon. A putative signal peptide of 16 residues was present at the N-terminus of the EGT. The BusuNPV egt gene has a high degree of nucleotide and amino acid sequence homology to multiple nucleocapsid (M) NPV egt genes, the highest being to the Spodoptera exigua MNPV egt. A phylogenetic tree of eleven known EGTs was constructed using maximum parsimony analysis.

Copper (electrolytically generated or from cupric sulfate) is increasingly used to control diseases and algae in the greenhouse industry. However, there is a shortage of information regarding appropriate management strategies for Cu2+ (Cu) in greenhouse hydroponic production. Three greenhouse studies were conducted to examine the growth and yield responses of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L., Triple 4, red) to the application of Cu in hydroponic production systems. In the first two experiments, plants were grown on rockwool and irrigated with nutrient solutions containing Cu at concentrations of 0.05, 0.55, 1.05, 1.55, and 2.05 mg·L–1. Copper treatments were started either when plants were 32 days old and continued for 4 weeks, or when plants were 11 weeks old and continued for 18 weeks, respectively. In the third experiment, roots of solution cultured pepper seedlings were exposed to Cu (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg·L–1) containing nutrient solutions for 2 hours per day for 3 weeks. Higher Cu treatment initialized when plants were 32 days old significantly reduced plant leaf number, leaf area, leaf biomass, specific leaf area, stem length and shoot biomass. The calculated Cu toxicity threshold was 0.19 mg·L–1. However, when treatment initialized at plants were 11 weeks old, Cu did not have significant effects on leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area or specific leaf area. Copper started to show significant negative effects on leaf biomass and shoot biomass at 1.05 mg·L–1 or higher levels. Copper treatments did not have any significant effect on fruit number, fresh weight or dry weight. Under all the Cu levels, fresh fruit copper contents were lower than 0.95 mg·kg–1 which is below the drinking water standard of 1.3 mg·kg–1. Seedling growth was significantly reduced by exposing roots to Cu (≥1.0 mg·L–1) containing solutions even for only 2 h·d–1.

A new ferrocene derivative (1-[(4-amino) phenylethynyl]ferrocene, Fc-NH(2)) was synthesized for the first time. The ferrocene derivative molecule contained the phenylethynyl skeleton, ferrocene and amino groups with excellent electrochemical properties. The graphene/Fc-NH(2) nanocomposite was prepared by mixing graphene solution and Fc-NH(2) solution in one pot and the nanocomposite was utilized to construct a Nafion/graphene/Fc-NH(2) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The ferrocene derivative immobilized on the graphene can enhance the charge-transport ability of the nanocomposite, stabilize the graphene and prevent the leakage of ferrocene. The detection signal of dopamine (DA) was significantly amplified on the Nafion/graphene/Fc-NH(2)/GCE. It was experimentally demonstrated that the signal enhancement results from the synergy amplification effect of graphene and the Fc-NH(2). The oxidation peak currents of DA were linearly related to the concentrations in the range of 5 × 10(-8) to 2 × 10(-4) M with the detection limit of 20 nM in the absence of uric acid (UA) and ascorbic acid (AA). In the presence of 10(-3) M AA and 10(-4) M UA, the linear response range was 1 × 10(-7) to 4 × 10(-4) M, and the detection limit was 50 nM at S/N = 3. Using the proposed Nafion/Fc-NH(2)/graphene/GCE, DA was successfully determined in real samples with the standard addition method.

Most of sensors in a wireless sensor network (WSN) are energy-limited. In order to prolong the network lifetime, some energy-efficient algorithms are proposed. Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy with Deterministic Cluster-Head Selection (L-DCHS) is a well-known distributed clustering algorithm. In this paper, we propose a novel energy-efficient algorithm for wireless sensor networks (NEAW) based on L-DCHS. Our simulation shows that NEAW can prolong the network lifetime, and it is energy-efficient.

A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of hundreds or thousands of energy-limited sensors. Distributing energy dissipation evenly throughout the sensors and saving energy are important goals in designing of WSN protocol. In this paper, we propose an improved energy-efficient algorithm based on L-DCHS (IEAL), it adds a cluster head in each cluster with a novel method, and prolong the steady-state phase time. Additionally, we redefine the candidate set in each round. Simulations show that IEAL can achieve a longer system lifetime and save energy dissipation.

In this paper, a new method of touring into the picture (TIP) is proposed to present one of the most famous ancient Chinese paintings in order to renew the essence of traditional art works. In the beginning, framework of the whole presentation system is detailed to introduce our system's working principle. Then rendering path which is traversing the exquisite artwork is set for camera capturing key scenes. Then 3d-depth information and 3d scene structure is built with Markov Random Fields (MRF). In order to make better visual effect, we give an improved method to the projection system. With parameters is set for our camera, it become possible to make sequential dynamically video through dynamical computation.

Objectives are to investigate the effects of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) on the autonomic nervous system of coke oven workers. One hundred eighty-four coke oven workers were divided into 3 groups according to their working sites (coke oven bottom group, coke oven side group and coke oven top group), and 93 referents were recruited. B[a]P monitored by air sampling pumps as well as urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-Py) was determined by high performance liquid chromatograph with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FD). The autonomic nervous system (ANS) function was determined by 4 tests: Valsalva Manoeuvre heart rate variation (HR-V), variation of heart rate when breathing deeply (HR-DB), variation of heart rate when instantly standing up (HR-IS, including RR30:15 and RRmax:min) and variation of blood pressure when instantly standing up (BP-IS). The B[a]P mean concentrations in coke oven bottom, coke oven side and coke oven top were 19, 185 and 1,623 ng/m(3), respectively. The levels of urinary 1-OH-Py were markedly higher in the 3 exposed groups than that in the referent group (p0.01). No significant difference was found in each group between smokers and non-smokers (p0.05). Compared with referents, HR-V decreased significantly in coke oven workers (p0.01), representing modulation of parasympathetic nervous function. However, no statistical differences were found in HR-DB, RR30:15, RRmax:min and BP-IS between the exposed groups and the control group (p0.05). HR-V decreased with the increment of 1-OH-Py (p0.05), and results of multiple linear stepwise regression demonstrated that external exposure level and duration of education entered the HR-V model; age was a significant factor of HR-DB and RRmax:min, but no variable was involved in RR30:15 and BP-IS regression. Benzo[a]pyrene affects the autonomic nervous function of coke oven workers mainly by down-regulating the parasympathetic nervous function.

Scheduling is the key coordinating activity in manufacturing industry. Conventional Job shop scheduling problem (JSSP) draws much more attention than the JSSP with assembly operations. We introduced a concept termed CJSSP (complete JSSP) to extendedly define and explicitly describe it as a basic problem. Our objectives include exploring CJSSP and developing an algorithm to solve it. Since no CJSSP benchmark existed thus far, we adapted one from the benchmark FT10. We worked out a genetic algorithm (GA) with a novel encoding process for it. Computation results illustrate that our algorithm is feasible and effective. Moreover, a near-optimal makespan of 2046 was obtained.

Aluminum exposure has been reported to be related to learning and memory impairment. This study examines the role of aluminum in alterating amino acids of the cerebral cortex of rats. The Step-down type tests were performed to investigate the alteration of learning and memory of rats induced by aluminum. The amino acids in the cerebral cortex were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HLPC). Results show that the amounts of aluminum in the cerebral cortex increased by 5.0mgAl3+/(Kg·BW) group and 10.0mg Al3+/(Kg·BW) group. In the Step-down type test, the EN1 increased significantly in the Al3+ 10.0mg/(Kg·BW) group. The latency shortened obviously and the EN2 increased significantly in the 10.0mg Al3+/(Kg·BW) group. The content of Glu (Glutamic acid) increased but the content of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) decreased significantly in the 10.0mg Al3+/(Kg·BW) group. This present study shows evidence that the disorder of amino acid neurotransmitters system plays an important role in the impairment of learning and memory of rats induced by aluminum.

Copper is one of the essential micro-nutrient elements for plants, but when in excess, is toxic to plants and other living organisms. Electrolytically generated copper and cupric sulphate are increasingly used by the greenhouse industry to control diseases and algae in hydroponic systems. However, there is little information regarding appropriate strategies for employing copper in greenhouse crop production. We investigated the physiological responses, growth and production of several ornamental crops (miniature rose, chrysanthemum and geranium) and greenhouse vegetable crops (pepper, cucumber, and tomato) with respect to Cu2+ concentration in the root zone. Tests were conducted using plants grown in nutrient solution, Promix and rockwool. Results showed that phytotoxic levels of Cu2+ were dependent on the crop species and growing substrate. Plants grown in nutrient solution exhibited symptoms of phytotoxicity at lower Cu2+ concentrations than those on the solid substrates. The ability of copper to control Pythium aphanidermatum and green algae was evaluated under both laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Copper was effective in suppressing green algae in nutrient solution, but did not control Pythium effectively. This presentation is a comprehensive summary of the research conducted over the last three years by our group on copper application in greenhouse systems.