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Abstract: We demonstrate with field data the benefit of using high‐time‐resolution chemical speciation data in achieving more robust source apportionment of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) using positive matrix factorization (PMF). Hourly composition data were collected over a month in Shanghai, including four inorganic ions, 13 elements, organic, and elemental carbon. PMF analysis of the hourly data set (PMF1h) resolves eight factors: secondary nitrate/sulfate, vehicular/industrial emissions, coal combustion, secondary sulfate, tire wear, Cr and Ni point source, residual oil combustion, and dust, with the first three being the major ones and each contributing to >20% of PM2.5 mass. To characterize the benefit gained from time resolution, we carried out separate PMF analyses of 4‐ and 6‐hr averaged data of the same data set (PMF6h and PMF4h). PMF6h and PMF4h produce an eight‐factor solution sharing similar factors to those by PMF1h but show less stability and more mixing in source profiles. Profile mixing was especially noticeable for tire wear, coal combustion, and Cr and Ni point source in PMF6h, as the 6‐hr averaging significantly decreased between‐sample variability and increased rotational ambiguity. While the three sets of PMF solutions were similar in contributions for factors with major species as source markers (e.g., secondary nitrate/sulfate), larger variations existed for factors with trace species as markers due to mixing of major species in the profiles and higher rotational uncertainties in PMF4h and PMF6h. Our results indicate that hourly time series of elements and major components could achieve more robust source apportionment through better capturing of diurnal‐scale dynamics in source activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field campaigns rarely measure individual polar organic compounds online, leaving unexplored their potential in tracking the formation dynamics of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In a three-week-long field campaign in urban Shanghai, we deployed a commercial Thermal desorption Aerosol Gas chromatograph system (TAG) that integrates sampling, in-situ derivatization, and thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis, producing hourly measurement of polar organics including a set of biogenic and anthropogenic SOA tracers. The abundance and variations of these SOA tracers were examined in relation to five PM 2.5 episodes, varying from 4 to 64 h in duration, during the field campaign from 9 November to 3 December 2018. The episodes were associated with stagnant air parcels. In comparison with the non-episodic hours, the episodic hours showed distinct chemical characteristics of a large mass increment of nitrate (an average of 4.7 fold) and secondary organic compounds (~3–6.4 fold), exceeding those of primary pollutants (1.6–1.9 fold). These results clearly indicate the significant contributions of secondary inorganic and organic production processes to forming PM 2.5 episodes. The SOA concentration estimated by the set of TAG-measured SOA tracers reached an average concentration of 2.6 μg/m3, accounting for a significant portion of OA in view of that the total organic matter (OM) in PM 1 measured by an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer was 7.9 μg/m3. Among them the SOA attributed to monoaromatic compounds (e.g., toluene) accounted for a noticeable portion of the total OM, implying that control strategies targeting local anthropogenic emissions would be effective in reducing the severity of episodic PM pollution. Examining the ratio of two monoterpene-derived SOA products, we found evidence of less-aged SOA in urban Shanghai, and this result was collaborated by the O/C value (0.4) of bulk OA. This work demonstrates hourly SOA tracer measurements by TAG are uniquely specific on identification of major SOA precursors for episodic events and observing the evolution of SOA. Image 1 • Online measurement of individual aerosol organics was made for the first time in urban Shanghai. • Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers specific to a few common precursors were tracked. • Significant mass enhancement of SOA tracers and nitrate was observed during 5 PM 2.5 episodes. • Toluene and other monoaromatics SOA tracer had a mass increment of 5.6 during episodes vs. <2 for primary pollutants. • The diagnostic ratio of two α-pinene SOA tracers suggested fresh SOA in urban Shanghai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The transcriptomic, phenotypic and metabolomic analysis of transgenic plants overexpressing GhMPK31 in upland cotton revealed the regulation of H2O2 burst and the synthesis of defensive metabolites by GhMPK31. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a crucial class of protein kinases, which play an essential role in various biological processes in plants. Upland cotton (G. hirsutum) is the most widely cultivated cotton species with high economic value. To gain a better understanding of the role of the MAPK gene family, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the MAPK gene family in cotton. In this study, a total of 55 GhMPK genes were identified from the whole genome of G. hirsutum. Through an investigation of the expression patterns under diverse stress conditions, we discovered that the majority of GhMPK family members demonstrated robust responses to abiotic stress, pathogen stress and pest stress. Furthermore, the overexpression of GhMPK31 in cotton leaves led to a hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death phenotype and impaired the defense capability of cotton against herbivorous insects. Transcriptome and metabolomics data analysis showed that overexpression of GhMPK31 enhanced the expression of H2O2-related genes and reduced the accumulation of defensive related metabolites. The direct evidence of GhMPK31 interacting with GhRBOHB (H2O2-generating protein) were found by Y2H, BiFC, and LCI. Therefore, we propose that the increase of H2O2 content caused by overexpression of GhMPK31 resulted in HR-like cell death in cotton leaves while reducing the accumulation of defensive metabolites, ultimately leading to a decrease in the defense ability of cotton against herbivorous insects. This study provides valuable insights into the function of MAPK genes in plant resistance to herbivorous insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects pose significant challenges in cotton‐producing regions. Here, they describe a high‐throughput CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated large‐scale mutagenesis library targeting endogenous insect‐resistance‐related genes in cotton. This library targeted 502 previously identified genes using 968 sgRNAs, generated ≈2000 T0 plants and achieved 97.29% genome editing with efficient heredity, reaching upto 84.78%. Several potential resistance‐related mutants (10% of 200 lines) their identified that may contribute to cotton‐insect molecular interaction. Among these, they selected 139 and 144 lines showing decreased resistance to pest infestation and targeting major latex‐like protein 423 (GhMLP423) for in‐depth study. Overexpression of GhMLP423 enhanced insect resistance by activating the plant systemic acquired resistance (SAR) of salicylic acid (SA) and pathogenesis‐related (PR) genes. This activation is induced by an elevation of cytosolic calcium [Ca2+]cyt flux eliciting reactive oxygen species (ROS), which their demoted in GhMLP423 knockout (CR) plants. Protein‐protein interaction assays revealed that GhMLP423 interacted with a human epidermal growth factor receptor substrate15 (EPS15) protein at the cell membrane. Together, they regulated the systemically propagating waves of Ca2+ and ROS, which in turn induced SAR. Collectively, this large‐scale mutagenesis library provides an efficient strategy for functional genomics research of polyploid plant species and serves as a solid platform for genetic engineering of insect resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A zinc metal organic framework nanofiber fluorescent membrane (Zn(Eu)-MOF@PAN NFM) was prepared by doping the lanthanide metal Eu through an electrospinning and impregnation process. It was found that it had a strong fluorescence quenching effect on nitrobenzene, 4-nitrophenol, benzaldehyde and Fe3+ ions. [Display omitted] Metal-organic framework (MOF) fluorescent materials have significant advantages in detecting organic pollutants and metal ion pollution. A zinc metal organic framework nanofiber fluorescent membrane (Zn(Eu)-MOF@PAN NFM) was prepared by doping the lanthanide metal Eu using an electrospinning and impregnation process. The structure and morphology of the membrane was characterized by SEM, XRD, FT-IR and XPS. The results show that the membrane has good fluorescence performance and can successfully and efficiently detect nitrobenzene (NB; detection limit = 0.861 ppm, K sv = 0.143 ppm−1), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP; detection limit = 0.631 ppm, K sv = 0.178 ppm−1), benzaldehyde (BA; detection limit = 0.981 ppm, K sv = 0.051 ppm−1) and Fe3+ ions (detection limit = 3.418 ppm, K sv = 3.210×10−3 ppm−1) in solution. In terms of repeatability and stability, the test results are obviously better than the property of the powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lacustrine sediments are good recorders of palaeoenvironment changes and have been widely studied in recent years. The study of lacustrine sediments in Southwest China will improve our understanding of the complex environmental evolution history of Southwest China. Therefore, this paper presents a high-resolution rock magnetism study from the Pengtun drilling hole (PT2) in the Heqing Basin, Southwest China. The results show that the dominant magnetic minerals in the PT2 drill core are magnetite, maghemite and haematite. The magnetic susceptibility (χ) of the upper part of the core (0–13.5 m) is lower than that of the lower part (13.5–33.5 m). There is no maghemite in the upper sections. The minerals with high χ values have the characteristics of pseudosingle-domain (PSD), single-domain (SD), superparamagnetic (SP) and multidomain (MD) grains. The magnetic domains are widely distributed, and the particles are coarser. When χ is low, the magnetic domains of the different samples vary greatly, and the particles are finer. Combined with the magnetic and nonmagnetic characteristics of the sediment, we infer that the change in χ in the PT2 drill core is related to clastic input, water erosion, and reductive dissolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Base editors (BEs) display diverse applications in a variety of plant species such as Arabidopsis, rice, wheat, maize, soybean, and cotton, where they have been used to mediate precise base pair conversions without the collateral generation of undesirable double-stranded breaks (DSB). Studies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) underpinning plant traits are still challenging, particularly in polyploidy species where such SNPs are present in multiple copies, and simultaneous modification of all alleles would be required for functional analysis. Allotetraploid cotton has a number of homoeologous gene pairs located in the A and D sub-genomes with considerable SNPs, and it is desirable to develop adenine base editors (ABEs) for efficient and precise A-to-G single-base editing without DSB in such complex genome. Results: We established various ABE vectors based on different engineered adenosine deaminase (TadA) proteins fused to Cas9 variants (dCas9, nCas9), enabling efficient A to G editing up to 64% efficiency on-target sites of the allotetraploid cotton genome. Comprehensive analysis showed that GhABE7.10n exhibited the highest editing efficiency, with the main editing sites specifically located at the position A5 (counting the PAM as positions 21–23). Furthermore, DNA and RNA off-target analysis of cotton plants edited with GhABE7.10n and GhABE7.10d by whole genome and whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed no DNA off-target mutations, while very low-level RNA off-target mutations were detected. A new base editor, namely GhABE7.10dCpf1 (7.10TadA + dCpf1), that recognizes a T-rich PAM, was developed for the first time. Targeted A-to-G substitutions generated a single amino acid change in the cotton phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding protein (GhPEBP), leading to a compact cotton plant architecture, an ideotype for mechanized harvesting of modern cotton production. Conclusions: Our data illustrate the robustness of adenine base editing in plant species with complex genomes, which provides efficient and precise toolkit for cotton functional genomics and precise molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long and continuous lacustrine sedimentary sequences from southwest (SW) China is an excellent material for research on the evolution of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). However, well-dated research spanning periods exceeding 50 ka in the late Quaternary remains scarce because of the limited dating range of the 14C method. Therefore, we collected a 33.9-m long lacustrine sedimentary core (PT2) from SW China for a chronology study in the late Quaternary using geomagnetic excursion (GE) and relative paleointensity (RPI) correlation. This study will improve our understanding of the dynamics and evolutionary rules of the ISM. Detailed rock magnetic analyses showed that single domain- and vortex-state magnetite (and/or maghemite) dominated the magnetic properties in moderate and strong magnetic intervals. Moderate variations in concentration-dependent (SIRM, ARM) and grain size-dependent (ARM/SIRM) parameters satisfied the criteria for RPI research. Consequently, we present the magnetostratigraphy and RPI record of the PT2 lacustrine sedimentary core based on stepwise alternating field demagnetization. Five GEs were identified by at least three continuous reversed inclinations. Using the radiocarbon dating results as constraints, we identified the Hilina Pali, Mono Lake, and Laschamp excursions. By proxy correlation with the adjacent sedimentary core, an age tie of 140.07 ka was obtained. Subsequently, four RPI lows matched the NRM/ARM troughs in the adjacent HQ2002 drill core according to their synchronous changes. Based on the age ties above, post-Blake and Blake excursions were identified. Accordingly, three RPI lows were correlated with troughs in the global target curve PISO-1500 between 60 and 100 ka. Using AMS 14C dates, proxy-matched ties, magnetic excursions, and RPI correlation ties as constraints, we established an age-depth model of the PT2 lacustrine sequence since ∼184 ka. [Display omitted] • Based on 14C dates, 5 GEs were identified by correlating magnetic polarity with GITS. • 7 age ties were matched by correlations between RPI curve and PISO1500 stacks. • We built up the age model of a lake sequence since ∼184 ka by GE and RPI correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PEI-ECH-CMCS microspheres were first fabricated via elaborate three-step reactions. • PEI-ECH-CMCS microspheres of 24.79 μm in size had smooth spherical surfaces. • New sorbent had pH-responsive swelling features, beneficial to pollutants' capture. • Adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) or Pb(II) was higher than the counterparts reported. PEI-ECH-CMCS microspheres (MPs) were first constructed via elaborately programmed procedures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, conductometric titration, Brunauer−Emmett−Teller, X-ray diffraction, pH at zero point of charge (pH zpc), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and swelling results demonstrated that chitosan-based adsorbent had ample −NH 2 and −COOH, specific surface area of 29.040 m2/g, porous 3D architectures, pH zpc of 4.2, uniform spherical surfaces, narrow size distribution (19–33 μm), and pH-responsive swelling features, advantageous to Cr(VI) and Pb(II) capture. Adsorption parameters were obtained from batch experiments and pH 3 and 5 were chosen for Cr(VI) and Pb(II) capture. Pseudo-second-order kinetic and Liu isotherm models well interpreted adsorption behavior, and thermodynamic, isotherm, and kinetic studies revealed an exothermic, spontaneous, monolayer, and chemical adsorption process. Maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) or Pb(II) was 331.32 or 302.56 mg/g, exceeding CS-based adsorbents reported. Excellent reusability and feasibility were evidenced by adsorption capacity loss < 12.10% and high removal efficiency for Cr(VI) (95.79%) and Pb(II) (91.40%) in synthetic effluents. Finally, potential adsorption mechanisms were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cu and g-C 3 N 4 were selectively deposited on the {0 1 0} and {1 1 0} facets of BiVO 4 by photodeposition, respectively. • Cu/BiVO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 composites with the synergistic effect of the interface electric field and the interface heterojunction were prepared. • The surface plasmon resonance that Cu produces significantly improves the capacity to absorb light. The preparation of photocatalysts with high photogenerated carrier separation efficiency and excellent light absorption performance plays an important role in environmental pollution control. This paper successfully synthesised decahedral BiVO 4 with co-exposed {0 1 0} and {1 1 0} facets by the hydrothermal method. Cu nanoparticles and negatively charged g-C 3 N 4 were selectively deposited on the {0 1 0} and {1 1 0} facets of BiVO 4 by photodeposition using methanol and NaIO 3 as hole scavengers and electron acceptors, respectively. A Cu/BiVO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 composite photocatalyst with synergistic effect of the Schottky junction, surface heterojunction and interfacial electric field was prepared. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated under visible light by degrading 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and ciprofloxacin (CIP). Compared to pure BiVO 4 and g-C 3 N 4 , Cu/BiVO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 -30 showed the best photocatalytic performance. The degradation efficiency of MBT was 97.9% in 60 min and the degradation efficiency of CIP was 92.8% in 120 min. The degradation of MBT was studied using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Therefore, this work provides a feasible strategy for designing photocatalysts that degrade organic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the NEC-TT speaker recognition system designed for the 2018 Speaker Recognition Evaluation (SRE'18) benchmarking. The NEC-TT submission was among the best-performing systems in this latest edition of SRE organized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It comprises multiple sub-systems based on a deep speaker embedding front-end followed by a probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) back-end. Speaker embeddings are continuous-valued vector representations that allow easy comparison between speaker voices with simple geometric operations. The effectiveness of deep speaker embeddings relies on the quantity and diversity of the training data. To this end, we hinge on data augmentation and mixed-bandwidth training strategies to increase the number of training examples and speakers. By doing so, we not only increase the quantity of the training data but also expand the output softmax layer with a larger number of speaker classes. From a system design perspective, we adopted a two-stage pipeline consisting of a general multi-domain speaker embedding front-end followed by a domain-specific PLDA back-end. This has a significant benefit in commercial deployment since the same speaker embedding front-end could be used with multiple domain-adapted PLDA back-ends to cater to every specific deployment. This paper provides a detailed description and analysis of the design methodology, data augmentation, bandwidth extension, multi-head attention, PLDA adaptation, and other components that have contributed to good performance in NEC-TT's SRE'18 results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most prevalent internal modification of mRNA and plays an important role in regulating plant growth. However, there is still a lack of effective tools to precisely modify m 6 A sites of individual transcripts in plants. Here, programmable m 6 A editing tools are developed by combining CRISPR/dCas13(Rx) with the methyltransferase GhMTA (Targeted RNA Methylation Editor, TME) or the demethyltransferase GhALKBH10 (Targeted RNA Demethylation Editor, TDE). These editors enable efficient deposition or removal of m 6 A modifications at targeted sites of endo-transcripts GhECA1 and GhDi19 within a broad editing window ranging from 0 to 46 nt. TDE editor significantly decreases m 6 A levels by 24%-76%, while the TME editor increases m 6 A enrichment, ranging from 1.37- to 2.51-fold. Furthermore, installation and removal of m 6 A modifications play opposing roles in regulating GhECA1 and GhDi19 mRNA transcripts, which may be attributed to the fact that their m 6 A sites are located in different regions of the genes. Most importantly, targeting the GhDi19 transcript with TME editor plants results in a significant increase in root length and enhanced drought resistance. Collectively, these m 6 A editors can be applied to study the function of specific m 6 A modifications and have the potential for future applications in crop improvement., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Below-ground herbivory impacts plant development and often induces systemic responses in plants that affect the performance and feeding behavior of above-ground herbivores. Meanwhile, pest-damaged root tissue can enhance a plant's susceptibility to abiotic stress such as salinity. Yet, the extent to which herbivore-induced plant defenses are modulated by such abiotic stress has rarely been studied. In this study, we examine whether root feeding by larvae of the turnip moth, Agrotis segetum (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) affects the performance of the above-ground, sap-feeding aphid Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on cotton, and assess whether those interactions are modulated by salinity stress. In the absence of salinity stress, A. segetum root feeding does not affect A. gossypii development. On the other hand, under intense salinity stress (i.e., 600 mM NaCl), A. segetum root feeding decreases aphid development time by 16.1 % and enhances fecundity by 72.0 %. Transcriptome, metabolome and bioassay trials showed that root feeding and salinity stress jointly trigger the biosynthesis of amino acids in cotton leaves. Specifically, increased titers of valine in leaf tissue relate to an enhanced performance of A. gossypii. Taken together, salinity stress alters the interaction between above- and below-ground feeders by changing amino acid accumulation. Our findings advance our understanding of how plants cope with concurrent biotic and abiotic stressors, and may help tailor plant protection strategies to varying production contexts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) act as key signal transduction enzymes in plants, especially in response to diverse stresses, including herbivory. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the CDPK gene family in upland cotton revealed that GhCPKs are widely expressed in multiple cotton tissues and respond positively to various biotic and abiotic stresses. We developed a strategy for screening insect-resistance genes from a CRISPR-Cas9 mutant library of GhCPKs. The library was created using 246 single-guide RNAs targeting the GhCPK gene family to generate 518 independent T0 plants. The average target-gene coverage was 86.18%, the genome editing rate was 89.49%, and the editing heritability was 82%. An insect bioassay in the field led to identification of 14 GhCPK mutants that are resistant or susceptible to insects. The mutant that showed the clearest insect resistance, cpk33/74 (in which the homologous genes GhCPK33 and GhCPK74 were knocked out), was selected for further study. Oral secretions from Spodoptera litura induced a rapid influx of Ca 2+ in cpk33/74 leaves, resulting in a significant increase in jasmonic acid content. S-adenosylmethionine synthase is an important protein involved in plant stress response, and protein interaction experiments provided evidence for interactions of GhCPK33 and GhCPK74 with GhSAMS1 and GhSAM2. In addition, virus-induced gene silencing of GhSAMS1 and GhSAM2 in cotton impaired defense against S. litura. This study demonstrates an effective strategy for constructing a mutant library of a gene family in a polyploid plant species and offers valuable insights into the role of CDPKs in the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The discovery of high-entropy oxides (HEOs) in 2015 has provided a family of potential solid catalysts, due to their tunable components, abundant defects or lattice distorts, excellent thermal stability (Δ G ↓ = Δ H - T Δ S ↑), and so on. When facing the heterogeneous catalysis by HEOs, the micrometer bulky morphology and low surface areas (e.g., <10 m 2 g -1 ) by traditional synthesis methods obstructed their way. In this work, an electrospinning method to fabricate HEO nanofibers with diameters of 50-100 nm was demonstrated. The key point lay in the formation of one-dimensional filamentous precursors, during which the uniform dispersion of five metal species with disordered configuration would help to crystallize into single-phase HEOs at lower temperatures: inverse spinel (Cr 0.2 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 Ni 0.2 Fe 0.2 ) 3 O 4 (400 °C), perovskite La(Mn 0.2 Cu 0.2 Co 0.2 Ni 0.2 Fe 0.2 )O 3 (500 °C), spinel Ni 0.2 Mg 0.2 Cu 0.2 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 )Al 2 O 4 (550 °C), and cubic Ni 0.2 Mg 0.2 Cu 0.2 Zn 0.2 Co 0.2 O (750 °C). As a proof-of-concept, (Ni 3 MoCoZn)Al 12 O 24 nanofiber exhibited good activity (CH 4 Conv. > 96%, CO 2 Conv. > 99%, H 2 /CO ≈ 0.98), long-time stability (>100 h) for the dry reforming of methane (DRM) at 700 °C without coke deposition, better than control samples (Ni 3 MoCoZn)Al 12 O 24 -Coprecipitation-700 (CH 4 Conv. < 3%, CO 2 Conv. < 7%). The reaction mechanism of DRM was studied by in situ infrared spectroscopy, CO 2 -TPD, and CO 2 /CH 4 -TPSR. This electrospinning method provides a synthetic route for HEO nanofibers for target applications.

This study reports the assembly of a near-complete genome of Catharanthus roseus, consisting of 561.7 Mb scaffolded into 8 pseudochromosomes with a contig N50 of 24.7 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 71.1 Mb. The assembly enables the construction of a gene regulatory network of the vinblastine biosynthetic pathway and provides insights into the high susceptibility of C. roseus to the Huanglongbing pathogen., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been fully elucidated, and there are no effective disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of PD. Mesenchymal stem cells have been used to treat several diseases, but are not readily available., Methods: Here, we used phenotypically uniform trophoblast stage-derived mesenchymal stem cells (T-MSCs) from embryonic stem cells, which are capable of stable production, and their exosomes (T-MSCs-Exo) to explore the molecular mechanisms involved in dopaminergic (DA) neuron protection in PD models using experimental assays (e.g., western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry staining)., Results: We assessed the levels of DA neuron injury and oxidative stress in MPTP-induced PD mice and MPP + -induced MN9D cells after treating them with T-MSCs or T-MSCs-Exo. Furthermore, T-MSCs-Exo miRNA sequencing analysis revealed that miR-100-5p-enriched T-MSCs-Exo directly targeted the 3' UTR of NOX4, which could protect against the loss of DA neurons, maintain nigro-striatal system function, ameliorate motor deficits, and reduce oxidative stress via the Nox4-ROS-Nrf2 axis in PD models., Conclusions: The study suggests that miR-100-5p-enriched T-MSCs-Exo may be a promising biological agent for the treatment of PD. Schematic summary of the mechanism underlying the neuroprotective actions of T-MSCs-Exo in PD. T-MSCs Exo may inhibit the expression level of the target gene NOX4 by delivering miR-100-5p, thereby reducing ROS production and alleviating oxidative stress via the Nox4-ROS-Nrf2 axis, thus improving DA neuron damage in PD., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Cancer metastatic organotropism is still a mystery. The liver is known to be susceptible to cancer metastasis and alcoholic injury. However, it is unclear whether and how alcohol facilitates liver metastasis and how to intervene. Here, we show that alcohol preferentially promotes liver metastasis in colon-cancer-bearing mice and post-surgery pancreatic cancer patients. The mechanism is that alcohol triggers an extra- and intrahepatic crosstalk to reshape an immunosuppressive liver microenvironment. In detail, alcohol upregulates extrahepatic IL-6 and hepatocellular IL-6 receptor expression, resulting in hepatocyte STAT3 signaling activation and downstream lipocalin-2 (Lcn2) upregulation. Furthermore, LCN2 promotes T cell-exhaustion neutrophil recruitment and cancer cell epithelial plasticity. In contrast, knocking out hepatocellular Stat3 or systemic Il6 in alcohol-treated mice preserves the liver microenvironment and suppresses liver metastasis. This mechanism is reflected in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, in that alcohol-associated signaling elevation in noncancerous liver tissue indicates adverse prognosis. Accordingly, we discover a novel application for BBI608, a small molecular STAT3 inhibitor that can prevent liver metastasis. BBI608 pretreatment protects the liver and suppresses alcohol-triggered premetastatic niche formation. In conclusion, under extra- and intrahepatic crosstalk, the alcoholic injured liver forms a favorable niche for cancer cell metastasis, while BBI608 is a promising anti-metastatic agent targeting such microenvironments., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Lignins and their antimicrobial-related polymers cooperatively enhance plant resistance to pathogens. Several isoforms of 4-coumarate-coenzyme A ligases (4CLs) have been identified as indispensable enzymes involved in lignin and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. However, their roles in plant-pathogen interaction are still poorly understood. This study uncovers the role of Gh4CL3 in cotton resistance to the vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae. The cotton 4CL3-CRISPR/Cas9 mutant (CR4cl) exhibited high susceptibility to V. dahliae. This susceptibility was most probably due to the reduction in the total lignin content and the biosynthesis of several phenolic metabolites, e.g., rutin, catechin, scopoletin glucoside, and chlorogenic acid, along with jasmonic acid (JA) attenuation. These changes were coupled with a significant reduction in 4CL activity toward p-coumaric acid substrate, and it is likely that recombinant Gh4CL3 could specifically catalyze p-coumaric acid to form p-coumaroyl-coenzyme A. Thus, overexpression of Gh4CL3 (OE4CL) showed increasing 4CL activity that augmented phenolic precursors, cinnamic, p-coumaric, and sinapic acids, channeling into lignin and flavonoid biosyntheses and enhanced resistance to V. dahliae. Besides, Gh4CL3 overexpression activated JA signaling that instantly stimulated lignin deposition and metabolic flux in response to pathogen, which all established an efficient plant defense response system, and inhibited V. dahliae mycelium growth. Our results propose that Gh4CL3 acts as a positive regulator for cotton resistance against V. dahliae by promoting JA signaling-mediated enhanced cell wall rigidity and metabolic flux., (© 2023 Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The determination of primary organic carbon (POC) and secondary organic carbon (SOC) in fine particulate matter using ambient measurements is essential in atmospheric chemistry. A novel Bayesian inference (BI) approach is proposed to achieve such quantification using only major component measurement data and tested in two case studies. One case study composes of filter-based daily compositional data made in the Pearl River Delta region, China, during 2012, while the other uses online measurement data recorded at the Dianshan Lake monitoring site in Shanghai in wintertime 2019. Source-specific organic trace measurement data are available in both the cases so that positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis is performed, where PMF-resolved POC and SOC are used as the best available reference values for model evaluation. Meanwhile, traditional techniques, i.e., minimum ratio value, minimum R squared, and multiple linear regression, are also employed and evaluated. For both the cases, the BI models have shown significant advantages in accurately estimating POC and SOC amounts over conventional methods. Further analysis suggests that using sulfate as the SOC tracer in BI model gives the best model performance. This methodological advance provides an improved and practical tool to derive POC and SOC levels for addressing PM-related environmental impacts.

Polysaccharides are the main bioactive components in safflower. In this study, safflower polysaccharides (SPs) were extracted by ultrasonic assisted extraction, and four purified safflower polysaccharide fractions (named SSP1, SSP2, SSP3, and SSP4, respectively) were obtained. The physicochemical properties and in vitro physiological activities of the four fractions were investigated. The molecular weights (M W ) of the SSPs were 38.03 kDa, 43.17 kDa, 54.49 kDa, and 76.92 kDa, respectively. Glucuronic acid, galactose acid, glucose, galactose, and arabinose were the main monosaccharides. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated that the polysaccharides had α - and β -glycosidic bonds. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis showed that SSP1 had 6 different types of glycosidic bonds, while SSP3 had 8 different types. SSP3 exhibited relatively higher ABTS + scavenging activity, Fe +3 -reduction activity, and antiproliferative activity. The results will offer a theoretical framework for the use of SPs in the industry of functional foods and medications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, strict lockdown measures led to notable reductions in transportation-related emissions and significantly altered atmospheric pollution characteristics in urban and suburban areas. In this work, we compare comprehensive online measurements of PM 2.5 major components and organic molecular markers in a suburban location in Shanghai, China before lockdown (Dec. 28, 2019 to Jan. 23, 2020) and during lockdown (Jan. 24 to Feb. 9, 2020). The NO x levels declined sharply by 59% from 44 to 18 ppb during the lockdown, while O 3 rose two times higher to 42 ppb. The PM 2.5 level dropped from 64 to 49 μg m -3 (-24%). The major components all showed reductions, with the reduction of nitrate most prominent at -58%, followed by organics at -19%, and sulfate at -17%. Positive matrix factorization analysis identifies fourteen source factors, including nine primary sources and five secondary sources. The secondary sources consist of sulfate-rich factor, nitrate-rich factor, and three secondary organic aerosol (SOA) factors, with SOA&#95;I being anthropogenic SOA, SOA&#95;II associated with later generation products of organic oxidation, and SOA&#95;III being biogenic SOA. The combined secondary sources contributed to 69% and 63% (40 and 22 μg m -3 ) of PM 2.5 before and during lockdown, respectively, among which the reductions in the nitrate-rich (-55%) factor was the most prominent. Among primary sources, large reductions (>80%) were observed in contributions from industrial, cooking, and vehicle emissions. Unlike some studies reporting that the restriction during the Covid-19 resulted in enhanced secondary sulfate and SOA formation, we observed decreases in both secondary inorganic and SOA formation despite the overall elevated oxidizing capacity in the suburban site. Our results indicate that the formation change in secondary inorganic and organic compounds in response to substantial reductions in urban primary precursors are different for urban and suburban environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan microparticles (CGP) prepared via the inversed-phase emulsification were successively modified by epichlorohydrin (ECH) and amidinothiourea (AT) as novel adsorbent (CGPET) for selective removal of Hg(II) in solution. FTIR, EA, XPS, SEM-EDX, TG, DTG, and XRD results indicated that CGPET had ample -NH 2 and CS, relative rough surface, mean diameter of ~40 μm, great thermal stability, and crystalline degree of 2.4%, beneficial to the uptake of Hg(II). The optimum parameters (pH 5, dosage 1 g/L, contact time 4 h, and initial concentration 150 mg/L) were acquired via batches of adsorption experiments. Adsorption behavior was well described by the Liu isothermal and pseudo-second-order kinetics models, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 322.51 mg/g, surpassing many reported adsorbents. Regeneration and coexisting-ion tests demonstrated that CGPET had outstanding reusability (R r  > 86.89% at the fifth cycle) and selectivity (R s  > 93%). Besides, its potential adsorption sites and mechanisms were proposed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Air quality in megacities is significantly impacted by emissions from vehicles and other urban-scale human activities. Amid the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in January 2020, strict policies were in place to restrict people's movement, bringing about steep reductions in pollution activities and notably lower ambient concentrations of primary pollutants. In this study, we report hourly measurements of fine particulate matter (i.e., PM 2.5 ) and its comprehensive chemical speciation, including elemental and molecular source tracers, at an urban site in Shanghai spanning a period before the lockdown restriction (BR) (1 to 23 Jan. 2020) and during the restriction (DR) (24 Jan. to 9 Feb. 2020). The overall PM 2.5 was reduced by 27% from 56.2 ± 40.9 (BR) to 41.1 ± 25.3 μg m -3 (DR) and the organic carbon (OC) in PM 2.5 was similar, averaged at 5.45 ± 2.37 (BR) and 5.42 ± 1.75 μgC m -3 (DR). Reduction in nitrate was prominent, from 18.1 (BR) to 9.2 μg m -3 (DR), accounting for most of the PM 2.5 decrease. Source analysis of PM 2.5 using positive matrix factorization modeling of comprehensive chemical composition, resolved nine primary source factors and five secondary source factors. The quantitative source analysis confirms reduced contributions from primary sources affected by COVID-19, with vehicular emissions showing the largest drop, from 4.6 (BR) to 0.61 μg m -3 (DR) and the percentage change (-87%) in par with vehicle traffic volume and fuel sale statistics (-60% to -90%). In the same time period, secondary sources are revealed to vary in response to precursor reductions from the lockdown, with two sources showing consistent enhancement while the other three showing reductions, highlighting the complexity in secondary organic aerosol formation and the nonlinear response to broad primary precursor pollutants. The combined contribution from the two secondary sources to PM 2.5 increased from 7.3 ± 6.6 (BR) to 14.8 ± 9.3 μg m -3 (DR), partially offsetting the reductions from primary sources and nitrate while their increased contribution to OC, from 1.6 ± 1.4 (BR) to 3.2 ± 2.0 μgC m -3 (DR), almost offset the decrease coming from the primary sources. Results from this work underscore challenges in predicting the benefits to PM 2.5 improvement from emission reductions of common urban primary sources.