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Imaging the lung parenchyma with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging due to cardiac and respiratory motion, the low proton density and short TIn this study, a 2D UTE technique was combined with tiny golden angle (tyGA) ordering. Data were acquired either during breath-holds (BH) or continuously during free-breathing (FB) at a field strength of 3T. Retrospective self-gating (image- and k-space-based) was used to reconstruct respiratory and cardiac multistage images from the FB acquisitions. The reproducibility of functional lung parameters derived from BH and FB acquisitions was assessed for three independent examinations (M1-3). M1 and M2 were acquired within 2 h, whereas M3 was acquired at least 14 d after M1/2. Different respiratory and cardiac phases were reconstructed for three coronal slices. Quantitative analysis including proton fraction (All scans could be performed successfully in all volunteers. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of inter-measurement and inter-observer variability, and Bland-Altman analysis showed good to very good reproducibility. Larger breathing amplitudes were observed in the BH acquisitions, which also showed lower reproducibility when compared with the FB acquisitions. For the FB approach, the ICC ranged between 0.70 and 0.98 for all measurements, and ranged between 0.86 and 0.97 for the two observers. No bias or significant differences were observed between the three measurements or the two observers in healthy volunteers.The study proves the feasibility of FB 2D tyGA UTE for lung imaging. Functional parameters derived from FB acquisitions are reproducible in healthy volunteers, allowing for further investigation of this technique in patients with various underlying diseases.

This paper firstly analyzes the comparative advantages of carpooling under the mobile Internet and traditional travel modes, including buses, private cars and taxis, as well as the differences between carpooling under the mobile Internet and traditional carpooling, so as to obtain the factors that affect travelers’ mode choices. Secondly, the mixed logit model is used to describe the travelers’ travel mode choice behavior, which effectively avoids the limitations of the IIA characteristics and preference randomness of the logit model. Finally, we conducted an SP survey on 1077 samples online and offline. After eliminating some invalid samples, 984 valid ones were obtained. Based on these survey data, we analyze the impacts of carpooling under the mobile Internet on the mode shares of traditional travel modes. The results show that for different trip lengths, carpooling under the mobile Internet has different degrees of substitution for buses, taxis and private cars. That is to say, travelers who previously chose buses and other modes will shift to carpooling due to the mobile Internet. In addition, in most cases, the emergence of carpooling under the mobile Internet is helpful to reduce the traffic volume in the urban road network, thus alleviating the urban congestion. However, when the trip length is short and the seat utilization ratio of carpooling under the mobile Internet is low, carpooling under the mobile Internet will increase the traffic volume.

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the comparison and relationship between serum heat shock protein 72 (sHSP72) and intestinal permeability in patients with cerebral infarction (CI) and healthy individuals to elucidate the link to gut microbiota alterations and clinical severity of CI. Methods Stool samples of 50 CI patients and 46 healthy volunteers were applied to characterize intestinal flora profile through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Composition difference and taxon evaluation were observed. sHSP72 and zonulin were assayed using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Medical comorbidities and dietary habits were acquired using questionnaires and partial biochemical index were recorded. The obtained data were then subjected to comparative and correlative analysis. Results We found that the levels of zonulin and sHSP72 were significantly higher in CI group compared to the healthy group. Strikingly, sHSP72 and zonulin levels were positively correlated in CI group. After adjustment for age, gender, medical comorbidities and biochemical index, sHSP72 and zonulin levels correlated positively with clinical severity of CI. In the CI patient group, the abundance of bacteria Eubacterium_fissicatena_group, Eubacterium_eligens_group and Romboutsia manifested remarkably positive correlation with sHSP72. The abundance of bacteria Eubacterium_fissicatena_group and Acetivibrio were significantly positive correlation with zonulin levels. The CI group had a decreased abundance of Eubacterium_fissicatena_group, Eubacterium_eligens_group and Romboutsia, and an increased abundance of Acetivibrio. Conclusion Our findings represented that an increase in sHSP72 and zonulin levels were manifested in patients with CI and related to specific gut microbiota alterations and the clinical severity of CI.

BackgroundAdipose tissue plays a pivotal role in the pathology of metabolic disorders. In the past decade, brown and brown-like adipose tissues were detected in adult humans and show therapeutic potential in ageing-related metabolic diseases.ObjectiveThis study investigated expressions of major brown adipose markers in white adipose tissue (WAT) of different ages. Their associations with metabolic parameters and key adipokines were interrogated.DesignCross-sectional study, 2019-2021.MethodsWe recruited 21 young, 67 middle-aged, and 34 older patients. Omental adipose tissues were collected, and expressions of key brown markers and adipokines and the adipocyte size were evaluated. The fat depot distribution was evaluated by computed tomography.ResultsUCP1 and PRDM16 mRNA expressions declined with ageing in WAT and were more associated with age, than with the body mass index (BMI). The increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) amount, as well as the VAT to subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) ratio, was decreased in the highest tertile of UCP1 expression, while individuals in different PRDM16 mRNA tertiles exhibited similar fat distribution. UCP1 mRNA was positively correlated with ADIPOQ and the strength of the correlation declined with ageing. In contrast, the association between UCP1 and LEP was insignificant in young and middle-aged groups but became significantly correlated in the older-people group. We also found a positive correlation between UCP1 and PRDM16.ConclusionsPRDM16 and UCP1, despite their key functions in adipose browning, exhibit differential clinical correlations with metabolic features in human WAT in an age-dependent manner. These two genes may participate in the pathogenesis of ageing-related metabolic diseases, but with distinct mechanisms.

The use of high alkaline medium is a feasible way to provide carbon source and prevent biological contamination for the outdoor cultivation of alkaliphilic microalgae and cyanobacteria. A novel cyanobacterial strain was isolated from the open pond of a marine green alga (Picochlorum sp. SCSIO-45015, Sanya, Hainan) and identified as Cyanobacterium sp. SCSIO-45682. The effects of initial sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) concentrations on the growth and biochemical composition of Cyanobacterium sp. SCSIO-45682 were investigated. The results demonstrated that Cyanobacterium sp. SCSIO-45682 had good adaptation to 16.8 g/L NaHCO3 (the same concentration of NaHCO3 used in Zarrouk medium for Spirulina). Moreover, the yields of biomass, polysaccharide, chlorophyll a (chl a), and phycocyanin increased under high NaHCO3 concentrations. The maximum final biomass concentration of 2.5 g/L was observed at 8.4 g/L NaHCO3, while the highest intracellular total saccharide content of 49.2% of dry weight (DW) and exopolysaccharide (EPS) concentration of 93 mg/L were achieved at the NaHCO3 concentration of 16.8 g/L. The crude protein content declined under high NaHCO3 concentrations, which provide a possible explanation for the accumulation of polysaccharide. This study shows a good potential of alkaliphilic Cyanobacterium sp. SCSIO-45682 as a polysaccharide feedstock.

Ship-related marine oil spills pose a significant threat to the environment, and while it may not be possible to prevent such incidents entirely, effective clean-up efforts can minimize their impact on the environment. The success of these clean-up efforts is influenced by various factors, including accident-related factors such as the type of accident, location, and environmental weather conditions, as well as emergency response-related factors such as available resources and response actions. To improve targeted and effective responses to oil spills resulting from ship accidents and enhance oil spill emergency response methods, it is essential to understand the factors that affect their effectiveness. In this study, a data-driven Bayesian network (TAN) analysis approach was used with data from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to identify the key accident-related factors that impact oil spill clean-up performance. The analysis found that the amount of discharge, severity, and the location of the accident are the most critical factors affecting the clean-up ratio. These findings are significant for emergency management and planning oil spill clean-up efforts.

A sediment sequence from a small forest lake in southwestern Sweden was investigated to explore the effects of forestry and land-use on catchment erosion and delivery of organic and minerogenic matter to the lake. Catchment-scale vegetation changes during the last 1,100 years were reconstructed quantitatively at 50-year resolution using pollen analysis and the Landscape reconstruction algorithm (LRA). Variations in terrestrial organic matter input to lake sediments were assessed by total organic carbon (TOC) content and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios. Changes in minerogenic matter were analysed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning. The results show that Skogaryd was not intensively used for agriculture throughout the past 1,100 years, but its land-use changes were very sensitive to societal changes. Between ca.ad950 and 1350, local land-use was characterized by small-scale agricultural activities associated with the Medieval expansion, and enhanced soil erosion was recorded by increased K, Ti and Rb deposition. Aroundad1350 much of the farmland was abandoned, most likely in response to outbreaks of plague. The abandonment of farmland caused increased coniferous woodland cover and lower soil erosion. From the 16th century land-use expanded and gradually intensified, concurrent with a population increase documented in the study area between ca.ad1600 and 1850. Intensive exploitation of the forest led to soil erosion and increased terrestrial organic and minerogenic matter export to the lake. These processes peaked with the artificial drainage of a nearby wetland for agricultural purposes. During the 20th century, modern forestry management started with the plantation of conifers, and soil erosion declined.

A mild, efficient, and transition-metal-free catalytic strategy is developed to construct thioesters via selective N–C bond cleavage of Boc2-activated primary amides. This strategy is successfully carried out with stoichiometric Na2CO3 as the base and provides the corresponding products in moderate to excellent yields.

CO2 reduction is a very attractive research field in environmental, material, and chemical science in light of the energy crisis and the greenhouse effect. In this study, Bi2WO6/BiOCl heterojunctions were fabricated onto the F-SnO2 transparent conductive glass in situ by a hydrothermal method. These new photocathodes, named BCW-X, were characterized by such methods as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, and UV-vis spectra. Their morphology is a good 2D layered/3D flower structure. The exposed crystal plane of BiOCl was changed from (1 0 1) of the pristine form to (1 1 2) in the heterojunction. The photoelectrocatalytic reduction of CO2 was carried out in BCW-X|KHCO3|BiVO4 under irradiation by an Xe lamp and external voltage from a Si solar cell (−0.6 to −1.1 V). A PEC cell of BCW-6|KHCO3|BiVO4 produces ethanol at a rate of 11.4 μM h−1 cm−2 (600 μmol h−1 g−1) with 80.0% selectivity under −1.0 V. The apparent quantum efficiency is up to 0.63%, about three times that of composite BiOCl–Bi2WO6 as photocathode. These phenomena can be attributed to the better photogenic electron–hole separation and high charge separation efficiency of heterojunctions.

Recently, intriguing physical properties have been unraveled in anisotropic layered semiconductors, in which the in-plane electronic band structure anisotropy often originates from the low crystallographic symmetry and thus a thickness-independent character emerges. Here, we apply high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to directly image the in-plane anisotropic energy bands in monoclinic gallium telluride (GaTe). Our first-principles calculations reveal the in-plane anisotropic energy band structure of GaTe measured experimentally is dominated by a strong bulk-surface interaction rather than geometric factors, surface effect and quantum confinement effect. Furthermore, accompanied by the thickness of GaTe increasing from mono- to few-layers, the strong interlayer coupling of GaTe induces direct-indirect-direct band gap transitions and the in-plane anisotropy of hole effective mass is reversed. Our results shed light on the physical origins of in-plane anisotropy of electronic structure in GaTe, paving the way for the design and device applications of nanoelectronics and optoelectronics based on anisotropic layered semiconductors., Comment: To be published in Communications Physics

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of disabling infectious diseases that disproportionately affect middle- and low-income people in Africa and Latin America. Although progress has been made in controlling and/or eradicating these devastating infections, there is still an urgent need for new and accessible drugs. For several neglected tropical diseases there are no available drugs or drug resistance has emerged to the existing ones, limiting overall efficacy of the current treatments. Natural products have been a source of active metabolites against various targets through the years, with over half of the approved pharmaceuticals either inspired by or directly representing natural products. In this review, we present secondary metabolites isolated from marine sources that have demonstrated activity against these diseases and are promising candidates for drug development. Herein, we discuss 114 marine derived metabolites active against the WHO’s 2017 list of 20 NTDs. While not all these diseases have reported active marine natural products, we still describe these diseases and offer explanation as to why this rich source of bioactive metabolites has been omitted. With the development of new technologies in accessing new parts of the oceans, identifying novel chemistry or biological screening, the potential of marine natural products against NTDs has yet to be fully tapped into to.

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) infection can elicit nervous system disorders. Curcumin has been reported to have neuroprotective effects. However, whether curcumin can protect neurons against PRV infection and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, for the first time, the protective effects of curcumin against PRV-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction in rat hippocampal neurons and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) pathway were investigated. Results indicated that PRV with a titer of 3.06 × 106 TCID50 (50% tissue culture infective dose) induced oxidative damage of hippocampal neurons 2 h post-infection and that 10 μM curcumin improved the viability of PRV-infected hippocampal neurons. Blocking the BDNF/TrkB pathway reversed the neuroprotective effects of curcumin, which were imparted by decreasing the PRV-induced upregulation of nitric oxide synthase expression, repressing the PRV-activated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and mitochondrial dysfunction. To conclude, curcumin exhibited a neuroprotective role against PRV infection by upregulating the BDNF/TrkB pathway. This study provides insight into the anti-PRV neuroprotective application of curcumin and the underlying mechanism in the prophylaxis and treatment of neurological disorders caused by PRV infection.

Recently, spontaneous out-of-plane electric polarization and ferroelectric switching were found in WTe2 devices. On single crystal with ferroelectric property, a built-in electric field and corresponding band bending would be expected at the surface. However, such band bending in WTe2 hasn’t directly been observed experimentally. Here, by fitting angle-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra on WTe2 surface, we clearly observed downward band bending after slightly exposure to air, verifying appearance of surface polarization. Such band bending can’t be observed on pristine WTe2 surface and will disappear on fully oxidized sample. It suggests strong correlation between surface band bending and oxidation. Ionized donors from oxide species pinned at surface may contribute to the formation of surface band bending and polarization. Our study here offers new insight to figure out the microscopic origin of ferroelectric in WTe2.

Recently, the observations of spontaneous out-of-plane electric polarization and ferroelectric switching in WTe2 related devices with semimetal property a have generated considerable attentions. The polar structure of WTe2 was proposed to be vital, however there is still no consensus about the physical origin, which deserves detailed surface analysis. Here, by using angle-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ADXPS), we observed an obvious downward band bending in WTe2 after slightly surface oxidation, which can't be observed on the freshly cleaved WTe2. And it will disappear after fully oxidation, demonstrating strong correlation between band bending and surface oxidation. Our study suggests surface oxidation and resulted band bending in WTe2 should be taken into account in the WTe2-related devices, such as ferroelectric.

To improve the yields of specific value-added compounds from Arthrospira platensis, one generally accepted method is to obtain mutant strains with increased target component content and growth rate. In the present study, mutation breeding of seawater A. platensis SCSIO-44012 (the wild type strain, hereafter WT) through space-flight carriage by Shijian-10 satellite was carried out. After returning to earth, 183 single filaments were picked out, 43 of which survived. During the following consecutive subcultures, one out of the 43 mutant strains, named A. platensis SCSIO-44012-H11 (hereafter H11), showed stable advantages in high levels of polysaccharides production. The biomass yield, total sugar content, and total sugar productivity of H11 remained stable at 0.88 g L−1, 24.82% DW, and 21.78 mg L−1 d−1, respectively, from the 10th to 35th generations of subculture, which were 8.6%, 62.26%, and 73.68%, respectively, higher than that of WT. The biochemical compositions of polysaccharide extracts (PSE) from H11 and WT also exhibited significant differences. The total sugar content of H11 PSE reached 55.37%, 2.49 times as much as that of WT PSE. The PSE from H11 was enriched in the component cutting off 100 kDa, accounting for 89.32% of the total polysaccharides, whereas WT PSE was mainly composed of the component with a molecular weight between 10 kDa and 50 kDa. The predominant monosaccharide of H11 PSE was glucose, followed by rhamnose, which accounted for 84.53% and 8.13% of the total monosaccharides, respectively. By comparison, glucose and rhamnose occupied 27.33% and 35.41%, respectively, in PSE from WT. Furthermore, the PSE from H11 showed strong ferrous ion-chelating activity and moisture retention capacity. These results indicated the feasibility of H11 as a polysaccharides feedstock applied in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and medicines.

Here, we present a dual amplification strategy based on a duplex-specific nuclease and a hybridization chain reaction, which has been designed for the highly sensitive detection of miRNAs. In the first step, a loop amplification strategy based on a duplex-specific nuclease was employed to obtain a large number of ssDNA reporters that then act as initiators to trigger the next amplification step. The second step involves a hybridization chain reaction based on two hairpin DNAs denoted as H1 and H2. Doxorubicin-CdTe quantum dots, which function as detecting indicators that intercalated into the hybridization chain reaction products, lead to significantly amplified electrochemiluminescence signal readout. This dual amplification strategy enabled the sensitive detection of let-7d from 10 aM to 10 nM with a detection limit of 10 aM, and offered an excellent capacity to discriminate between microRNA family members. This assay therefore offers great potential applications in biomedical research and early clinical diagnosis.

In this paper, an express delivery vehicle platform is designed for the practical needs of delivery industry, which is driven by hub motors. The control system is further studied based on the double closed-loop of DC motor model, and the simulation is made. To improve the stability of hub motor’s speed, STM32 is used to perform Kalman filtering on the speed value returned by the encoder. Then the control effects of incremental PID and a ‘double-speed-loop’ system on the motion are discussed. In the experimental verification phase, actual running results are tested, comparing with simulation result.

Organic carbon burial in lake sediments plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, and is heavily affected by the terrestrial organic matter input. However, few studies have focused on long-term changes in terrestrial organic matter input to lakes in response to land-use changes. The aim of this study was to assess variations in sedimentary terrestrial organic matter over the last 1000 years based on lignin biomarker records from two sediment cores from Lake Skottenesjön, southwestern Sweden. In combination with pollen-based quantitative land cover reconstruction, we investigated the impacts of centennial-scale land-use changes on terrestrial organic matter input to lake sediments. The results show that human activities in the catchment had significant impacts on terrestrial organic export by modifying the vegetation cover. Intensified use of the forest in the 18th and 19th centuries led to enhanced soil erosion, and increased terrestrial organic matter input to the lake. Although farmland expanded between the 12th and the middle of 14th century, no significant change in terrestrial organic matter input was observed at that time. Much higher export of terrestrial organic and minerogenic matter to the lake was observed during the period of modern forestry in the 20th century as compared to previous periods of minor forest disturbance, such as 11th century. The changes in the vegetation cover in the catchment considerably modified the composition of terrestrial organic matter deposited in the lake sediments, which is reflected by the composition of lignin phenols. This study demonstrates that the combination of lignin phenols analysis and pollen-based quantitative land cover reconstruction is a useful approach for investigating long-term changes in terrestrial organic matter delivery to lake ecosystems.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Terminalia catappa L. (West Indian-Almond) is a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases. Moreover, various organic extracts prepared from this plant have been reported to exhibit antiplasmodial activity. Aim of the study The need for new antimalarials is still an urgency driven by the alarmingly high burden of malaria in endemic regions, with multitude of people dying annually. We have previously identified an endophytic fungus Aspergillus niger 58 harboured by T. catappa as having promising specialized secondary metabolites against the malaria parasites. In the present study, we report the antiplasmodial activity-guided chromatographic isolation of some metabolites secreted by this endophytic fungus. Materials and methods The SYBR Green I-based fluorescence microtiter plate assay was used to monitor the growth of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in culture in the presence and absence of inhibitors and results were validated by microscopic analysis of Giemsa-stained culture smears. Giemsa-stain microscopy was also used to study the cell cycle stage-specific action of selected fractions. Results The results revealed that the multidimensional purification of the crude extract (IC50: 4.03 μg/mL) provided RPHPLC F17 (IC50: 0.09 μg/mL) and RPHPLC F18 (IC50: 0.1 μg/mL) with activity against P. falciparum 3D7 (Pf3D7) strain. Moreover, both fractions at IC99 (0.5 μg/mL) exhibited multi-stages action by targeting all the three stages of the life cycle of blood-stage Pf3D7. Two compounds, flavasperone (1) and aurasperone A (2) were isolated, of which aurasperone A exhibited good potency against Pf3D7 (IC50: 4.17 μM) and P. falciparum INDO (PfINDO) (IC50: 3.08 μM). Conclusion Our study adds credence to the notion that endophytic extracts are potential storehouses for potent specialized secondary metabolites that can be harnessed to fight the malaria parasite and reduce the burden of this disease worldwide. An endophyte that can be cultured in laboratory with ability to secrete promising metabolites of medicinal value holds the promise of conserving Nature from the threat of annihilation of flora for medicinal purposes.

Algal β-glucans have received attention in recent years, but little is understood for the pattern and molecular mechanism of β-glucans accumulation in Chlorella, a more economically feasible microalga. In the present study, P-limited conditions were found to substantially inhibit the microalgal growth, reduce the lipid and protein production but induce the accumulation of β-glucans and total carbohydrate of Chlorella sorokiniana SCSIO 46784 during the early phase of growth. Comparative transcriptomics analysis of the microalga for the specific time point under P-limited and P-replete conditions identified key genes involved in β-glucans metabolism and revealed the probable molecular mechanism of the β-glucans accumulation. The significant up- and down-regulation of genes encoding β-glucans synthesis- and degradation-related enzymes coincided with a rapid increase in β-glucans production. The reduced synthesis of certain sugars (starch, sucrose, UDP-L-rhamnose, and UDP-sulfoquinovose) might provide more carbon precursors for β-glucans biosynthesis. The suppression of lipids (fatty acid, triacylglycerol, sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol) synthesis presumably shunted carbon flux toward carbohydrates and β-glucans biosynthesis. In addition, the down-regulation of multiple genes related to carbon fixation (CO2 concentrating mechanism and Calvin cycle) and central carbon metabolism (pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and tricarboxylic acid cycle) might contribute to the inferior growth of C. sorokiniana SCSIO 46784 under P-limited conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first report to reveal the metabolic insights into β-glucans in Chlorella. This study provides not only the useful information for understanding the biosynthesis and accumulation of β-glucans but also potential gene targets for genetic modification to improve the production of β-glucans in Chlorella.

A monolayer 1T′-WTe2 film is grown on SrTiO3(001) with in-plane tensile strain. A height of ∼0.7 nm, obvious charge transfer, and incommensurate charge fluctuations in 1T′-WTe2 suggest strong coupling to the STO substrate. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy on the surface reveals that a large energy gap opens at the Fermi level with nearly zero conductance. The opened energy gap decreases with the increase in the WTe2 island size. The lack of the metallic edge state on monolayer 1T′-WTe2/SrTiO3(001) indicates the absence of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) state. Our study here demonstrates that the energy gap of monolayer 1T′-WTe2 can be tuned by lattice strain and illustrates the importance of interface coupling to realize the metallic edge state and QSH in monolayer 1T′-WTe2.

The development of high-performance catalysts for CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons is of great importance for addressing the energy crisis issue. In this work, the Cu@porphyrin-COFs nanorods materials were first designed and synthesized by solvothermal method followed by the electrodeposition of Cu nanowires to the free-base porphyrin-COFs on the carbon fibers. The structure of the free-base porphyrin-COFs were well characterized experimentally and simulatively calculated by DFT method. The Cu@porphyrin-COFs nanorods show high catalytic activity for CO2 reduction under photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) conditions, giving C1–C3 chemicals such as methanol (CH3OH), ethanol (CH3CH2OH), ethane-1,1-diol (CH3CH(OH)2) and acetone (CH3COCH3) with an extremely apparent Faradaic efficiency (AFE) of total carbon-based products of 452.75% due to the efficient adsorption of protons onto the surfaces of Cu crystals and excellent absorption of solar light. The 13CO2 labeling experiments verified that the carbon-based products are derived from CO2. On the other hand, combining with simulation, we show that the hydroxyl groups in free-base porphyrins COFs play a vital role in photoelectrocatalytic reduction of CO2.

Long-term changes in terrestrial organic matter input into lakes responding to land use changes.

The microalga, Nannochloropsis, is receiving increased attention for their potential application as a biodiesel feedstock and an aquaculture feed. Nannochloropsis cultured in different environments has been shown to possess different growth characteristics and the biochemical composition. The biochemical composition are critical as they dictate applicability and profitably of the species. In the present study, the outdoor productivity of Nannochloropsis oceanica SCS-1981 was investigated in a novel open pond that was completely powered by solar-electricity. Using this technique, the maximum cell density in the solar-powered open pond was 1.1 × 108 cell mL−1, with proteins the dominant biochemical component (53.1% of dry weight). Additionally, the microalga accumulated a high content of eicosapntemacnioc acid (EPA) comprising nearly 3% of the dry weight. Probiotics, such as Phaeodactylibacter, were present in the culture pond, which was a gram-negative bacteria that has been reported to have a positive effect on the absorption and immune system of cultured animal. The results of the study indicated that N. oceanica was suitable for aquiculture feeds. The productivity of biomass was 5.8 g m−2 d−1, which was similar to traditional raceway ponds. Considering that the solar-powered open pond requires no additional energy input, the costs of culturing can be significantly reduced. This culturing method is easy to work with and would be an easy technique to be used in the culturing of Nannochloropsis as living aquaculture feeds. The study will greatly promote the low-cost cultivation of microalgae for aquaculture feed purposes.

Two new 2-benzylpyridin-4-one containing metabolites, aspernigrins C (3) and D (4), together with six known compounds (1, 2, and 5-8), were isolated from the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus niger SCSIO Jcsw6F30. The structures of the new compounds were determined by NMR, MS, and optical rotation analyses. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activities against infection with HIV-1 SF162 in TZM-bl cells. Malformin C (5) showed the strongest anti-HIV-1 activity with IC50 of 1.4±0.06μM (selectivity index, 11.4), meanwhile aspernigrin C (3) also exhibited potent activity with IC50 of 4.7±0.4μM (selectivity index, 7.5).