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Rare earth fluorides have been widely used in recent years in the field of solid-state lighting. However, the relationship between the structure and luminescence properties is still unclear. Herein, the photoluminescence and structural transition of CeF 3 :Tb 3+ nanoparticles under high pressure were investigated through in situ photoluminescence and X-ray diffraction measurements. Intriguingly, the photoluminescence of CeF 3 :Tb 3+ nanoparticles displays an enhancement from 18.3 to 33.4 GPa, accompanied by the phase transition from the starting hexagonal phase to the orthorhombic phase. It was found that the distance of luminescent centers increased sharply during the high-pressure phase transition, which weakened the quenching effect and improved transmission efficiency. Our work provides more insight into the optical characteristics and structures of rare earth trifluorides., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Metabolic engineering is a promising approach for the synthesis of valuable compounds. Transcriptional factor-based biosensors are efficient tools to regulate the metabolic pathway dynamically. Here, we engineered the p -coumaric acid responsive regulator PadR from Bacillus subtilis . We found that yveF and yveG , two previously uncharacterized components in the sensor system, showed positive impacts on the regulation of PadR-P padC sensor system, mostly on assisting the release of the repression by PadR. By site directed PadR engineering, we obtained two mutants, K64A and H38A, which exhibited increased dynamic range and superior sensitivity. To increase the promoter strength of the sensor system and investigate whether the PadR binding boxes can function in a "plug-and-play" manner, a series of hybrid promoters were constructed. Four of them, P1, P2, P7, and P9, showed increased strength compared to P padC and can be regulated by PadR and p -coumaric acid. The PadR variants and hybrid promoters obtained in this paper would expand the applicability of this sensor system in future metabolic engineering research.

Bacteria are everywhere and pose severe threats to human health and safety. The rapid classification and sensitive detection of bacteria are vital steps of bacterial community research and the treatment of infection. Herein, we developed optical property-superior and heavy metal-free ZnCuInSe quantum dots (QDs) for achieving rapid discrimination of Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacteria by the naked eye; driven by the structural differences of bacteria, ZnCuInSe QDs are effective in binding to Gram-positive bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), in comparison with Gram-negative bacteria and give discernable color viewed by the naked eye. Meanwhile, based on its distinctive fluorescence response, the accurate quantification of S. aureus was investigated with a photoluminescence system in the concentration ranges of 1 × 10 3 to 1 × 10 11  CFU/mL, with a limit of detection of 1 × 10 3  CFU/mL. Furthermore, we demonstrated the feasibility of ZnCuInSe QDs as a fluorescence probe for imaging S. aureus. This simple strategy based on ZnCuInSe QDs provides an unprecedented step for rapid and effective bacterial discrimination, detection, and imaging.

We aimed to elucidate the role of cortical and hippocampal dendritic spines on neurological deficits associated with hippocampal microgliosis, hippocampal neurogenesis, and neuroinflammation in mice with cortical compact impact (CCI) injury. In the present study, we found that CCI reduced spatial memory mean latency (10 s. vs 50 s) and motor dysfunction (130 s. vs 150 s.) in mice, as determined by Morris water maze and rotarod test, respectively. Golgi staining of cortical pyramidal neurons revealed that, compared to the controls, the CCI group treated with vehicle solution had significantly lower values of dendritic order (or dendritic branch number) (4.0 vs 6.2), total spine length (400 μm vs 620 μm) and spine density (40 spines/μm vs 60 spines/μm), but had significantly higher values of dendritic beading (40 beadings/mm vs 20 beadings/mm). Additionally, Sholl analysis showed that, compared to controls, the CCI + NS group mice had significantly lower values of dendritic intersections (1.0 vs 2.0). Immunofluorescence assay also revealed that, compared to controls, the CCI + NS group mice had significantly higher values of the newly formed hippocampal cells (1250/mm 2 vs 1000/mm 2 ) but significantly lower values of dendritic order (2.0 branch # vs 4.2 branch #), total spine length (180 μm vs 320 μm) and intersection (1.0 vs 3.0). The CCI + NS group mice further showed significantly higher numbers of microglia in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluids. All the CCI-induced spatial memory (40 s) and motor (150 s) dysfunction, deranged dendritic and spine morphology of cortical pyramidal neurons or hippocampal newly formed cells, hippocampal microgliosis, and central neuroinflammation were all significantly reduced by melatonin administration during post-CCI. Simultaneously, melatonin therapy caused an enhancement in the compensatory hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophic growth factors (e.g., doublecortin-1) and compensatory central anti-inflammatory cytokines. Our results indicate that melatonin attenuates the spatial memory and motor deficits via the modification of cortical and hippocampal dendritic spine morphology, hippocampal microgliosis and neurogenesis, and neuroinflammation in mice with traumatic brain injury.

The high-pressure behaviors of Mn 3 O 4 nanorods were studied by high pressure powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. We found that the initial hausmannite phase transforms into the orthorhombic CaTi 2 O 4 -type structure, and then to the marokite-like phase upon compression. Upon decompression, the marokite-like phase is retained at the ambient pressure. Compared with Mn 3 O 4 bulk and nanoparticles, Mn 3 O 4 nanorods show obviously different phase transition behaviors. Upon compression, the phase transition sequence of Mn 3 O 4 nanorods is similar with the nanoparticles, while the decompression behavior is consistent with the bulk counterparts. The hausmannite phase shows higher stability and smaller bulk modulus in Mn 3 O 4 nanorods than those of the corresponding bulk and nanoparticles. We proposed that the higher phase stability and compressibility of the nanorods are concerned with their nanosize effects and the rod morphology. Both the growth orientation and the suppressed Jahn-Teller distortion of the Mn 3 O 4 nanorods are crucial factors for their high pressure behaviors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A novel visible light-driven photocatalyst (represented as Mn-CdS/ZCISe/CIS/TiO 2 ) for the passivation of E. coli was prepared with TiO 2 nanowires as support and using CuInS 2 (CIS) and ZnCuInSe (ZCISe) quantum dots (QDs), as well as Mn-doped CdS (Mn-CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) as sensitizers. The use of CIS and ZCISe QDs and Mn-CdS NPs extends the light harvest region to visible light. The photoelectric conversion efficiency was consequently improved, with a photocurrent density of 12.5 mA cm -2 , about 60 times that of pure TiO 2 nanowires. The germicidal efficiency of the photocatalyst was assessed by passivation of E. coli, 96% bacteria in 50 ml 10 5 colony forming units (CFU) ml -1 solution were killed within 50 min. Besides the high efficiency, the composite has good stability and satisfactory recycling performance. The antibiotic mechanism was also performed by using photoluminescence and a scavenging agent of different active matter, revealing that the photo-generated holes play a major role in the sterilization process.

Amino acids are naturally occurring and structurally diverse metabolites in biological system, whose potentials for chemical expansion, however, have not been fully explored. Here, we devise a metabolic platform capable of producing industrially important C3-C5 diols from amino acids. The presented platform combines the natural catabolism of charged amino acids with a catalytically efficient and thermodynamically favorable diol formation pathway, created by expanding the substrate scope of the carboxylic acid reductase toward noncognate ω-hydroxylic acids. Using the established platform as gateways, seven different diol-convertible amino acids are converted to diols including 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,5-pentanediol. Particularly, we afford to optimize the production of 1,4-butanediol and demonstrate the de novo production of 1,5-pentanediol from glucose, with titers reaching 1.41 and 0.97 g l -1 , respectively. Our work presents a metabolic platform that enriches the pathway repertoire for nonnatural diols with feedstock flexibility to both sugar and protein hydrolysates., Competing Interests: Competing interest statement: An invention disclosure has been filed for this work.

Proteins found in nature have traditionally been the most frequently used biocatalysts to produce numerous natural products ranging from commodity chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Protein engineering has emerged as a powerful biotechnological toolbox in the development of metabolic engineering, particularly for the biosynthesis of natural products. Recently, protein engineering has become a favored method to improve enzymatic activity, increase enzyme stability, and expand product spectra in natural product biosynthesis. This review summarizes recent advances and typical strategies in protein engineering, highlighting the paramount role of protein engineering in improving and diversifying the biosynthesis of natural products. Future prospects and research directions are also discussed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heat stroke-induced mortality is rising across the globe. So, the design of prophylactic and/or therapeutic modalities for heat stroke is pressing need. The common plant derived flavonoid exhibits strong anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities; however, its effects in heat stroke remain unknown. The study aimed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of myricetin on heat stroke induced acute myocardial injury as well as lethality in rats and to explore the underlying mechanisms., Methods: Myocardial injury was induced by subjecting the anesthetized rats to a high ambient temperature of 43 °C for 70 min. An intragastrical dose of myricetin (5-25 mg/kg body weight) was given to rats once per day for one week prior to the start of heat stress. Heat shock protein 72 antibodies was given intraperitoneally to rats 24 h before the start of heat stress. Myocardial injury severity was estimated by determing myocardial damage scores, myocardial injury indicators, myocardial oxidative and inflammatory factors. Western blot analysis was used for cardiac expression of heat shock protein (HSP)72., Results: Significant (P < 0.05) up-regulation of HSP-72 after chronic administration of myricetin coincided with significant (P < 0.05) reduction in hyperthermia, hypotension, cardiac inflammatory and oxidative damage and lethality. Inhibition of HSP-72 showed a significant (P < 0.05) reversal in the cardiaprotection as well as survival., Conclusions: Our results indicate that myricetin diminishes myocardial injury as well as lethality in heat stroke by up-regulating HSP-72 and show promise as a novel prevention therapeutic for heat stroke., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Molecular dynamics simulations have been widely adopted to study oxygen ion diffusion mechanisms in materials for application in solid oxide fuel cells. Indeed, understanding the fundamental aspects of oxygen diffusion is important to develop new materials for this application. In this work, Nd1-xAExBaInO4-x/2 (AE = Ca, Sr, Ba) compounds have been studied by MD simulations focusing on oxygen diffusion mechanisms. Two general clustering methods were used, namely a convex hull classification method and a DBSCAN machine learning algorithm, to identify oxygen ion diffusion pathways. Here, relevant details are provided for an efficient use of these two approaches during MD analysis of ion conductors. The calculations show that Ca is the most favorable dopant for substituting Nd in NdBaInO4, while Ba is the least desired. Indeed, the substitution of Nd by Ca hardly changes the pristine lattice parameters of NdBaInO4 and leads to the highest oxygen diffusion coefficient compared to other dopants. The oxygen vacancies induced by doping mainly locate on two specific oxygen sites over four oxygen sites available. Concerning the diffusion process, jumps involving these two sites play the main role and are associated with smaller migration enthalpies. For the main diffusion path, ions migrate along the b (2 routes) and c (4 routes) directions. Some other oxygen sites can be considered as barriers for the diffusion process inducing a strong anisotropy in the diffusion process. Additionally, the residence time analysis of oxygen ions confirms that ions at different sites have different motion abilities. As a whole, the approach presented here can be extrapolated to other ion conductors for gaining detailed information about the diffusion process.

Novel Bi 0.15 Fe 0.15 TiO 2 nanocomposites (B 0.15 F 0.15 TNs) were synthesized for the first time by a modified sol-gel technology and successfully applied to selective extraction and enrichment of phosphopeptides from digested protein mixture solutions and real samples (tissue protein extract from human liver). The codoping of Bi and Fe into TiO 2 results in a significant enhancement in both the enrichment efficiency and selectivity. Compared with the commercial available TiO 2 extractant, the proposed B 0.15 F 0.15 TNs possess a lower detection limit (2 × 10 -9 M) and higher selectivity at a low weight ratio of 1:1200 (phosphopeptides/nonphosphopeptides). Additionally, a total of 223 phosphorylation sites were identified from the human liver lysate after enrichment by the B 0.15 F 0.15 TNs. In addition, the synthesis of B 0.15 F 0.15 TNs is quite easy, of high yield, and inexpensive.

Writing artificial logic and dynamic function into complex cellular background to achieve desired phenotypes or improved outputs calls for the development of new genetic tools as well as their innovative use. In this study, we present a sensor-regulator and RNAi-based bifunctional dynamic control network that can provide simultaneous upregulation and downregulation of cellular metabolism for engineered biosynthesis. The promoter-regulator-mediated upregulation function and its transduced downregulation function through RNAi are systematically verified and characterized. We apply this dynamic control network to regulate the phosphoenolpyruvate metabolic node in Escherichia coli and achieve autonomous distribution of carbon flux between its native metabolism and the engineered muconic acid biosynthetic pathway. This allows muconic acid biosynthesis to reach 1.8 g L -1 . This study also suggests the circumstances where dynamic control approaches are likely to take effects.