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August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" tells the life predicaments of the patrons at Memphis' restaurant in the 1960s. Though Wilson avoids addressing the interracial conflicts and movements on stage to eschew protesting and propaganda, they as social background could not be totally ignored in the play. The paper analyses Wilson's use of symbolic characters, off-stage space and storytelling to show how the playwright implies his assessment of the black political movements and of the political awareness of common blacks in 1960s.

Sorghum is not only an important bio-energy crop but also a vital raw material for brewing. Exogenous copper affects the growth and metabolism of crops in specific ways. This study identified 8475 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by high-throughput transcriptome sequencing in the sorghum cultivar 'Jinnuoliang 2' after 24 h of treatment with 10 mM CuSO. Using GO analysis, 476 genes were functionally annotated, which were mainly related to catabolism and biosynthetic processes. Additionally, 90 pathways were annotated by employing the KEGG analysis. Among them, glutathione metabolism and peroxisome were induced, while photosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna protein, and carbon sequestration of photosynthetic organisms were inhibited. Of the DEGs, 399 were identified to encode transcription factors belonging to 49 families. This study also identified a WRKY transcription factor-encoding gene SbWRKY24 from the transcriptome data. For studying its function, the relative expression levels of SbWRKY24 in roots and leaves post-treatment with different growth hormones and exposure to a variety of abiotic stresses were detected by RT-qPCR. SbWRKY24 showed treatment-and tissue-specific expression patterns, indicating its unique role in stress tolerance. This study lays a theoretical basis for the functional exploration of SbWRKY24 , elucidating the mechanism of copper resistance, and elaborating on the stress responses in sorghum. It also guides the exploration of the molecular mechanism of copper ions inducing intracellular signal transduction pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new coordination polymers, including 1D, 2D and 3D structures, were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using Cd2+/Zn2+/Cu2+ metal salts as nodes. These polymers were formed through self‐assembly of four different dicarboxylic acid ligands, namely adamantane‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid (H2adc), glutaric acid (H2glu), 5‐hydroxyisophthalic acid (H2hip) and fumaric acid (H2fum), in conjunction with the auxiliary ligand [1,4‐bis(pyridin‐4‐ylmethyl)piperazine (bpmp). The corresponding formulae are [Cd3(adc)2(bpmp)Cl2(H2O)2]n (1), {[Cd2(glu)2(bpmp)2(H2O)2]·8H2O·2CH3OH}n (2), [Zn(hip)(bpmp)(H2O)]n (3) and [Cu(fum)(bpmp)(H2O)2]n (4). Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies revealed that the Cd2+ centers in complex 1 all adopt a six‐coordinate mode but two distinct {CdO2N2Cl2} and {CuO5Cl} units. The 3D network of complex 1 can be simplified to a binodal (4.6)‐connected underlying net with the point symbol (3·42·5·62)4(32·62·72·88·10). Each Cd2+ cation in complex 2 adopts a seven‐coordinate {CdO5N2} center, forming an asymmetric pentagonal bipyramidal coordination. Its stacking structure is formed by the interaction of hydrogen bonds between 2D supramolecular layers, with the adjacent layers exhibiting mirror symmetry. Each Zn2+ ion in complex 3 displays a {ZnO3N} four‐coordinate unit. Its stacking structure is formed by one‐dimensional [Zn(hip)(bpmp)(H2O)]n chains connected through hydrogen bonds. On the other hand, complex 4 features a Jahn–Teller distorted {CuO4N2} octahedral coordination. Subsequently, the thermal stability of these complexes was investigated. The solid‐state fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to analyze complexes 1, 2 and 3. Additionally, a Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed on complex 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new metal–organic coordination polymers, {[Co2(TDC)2(H-3,3′-pytz)2(μ2-OH)]·4DMF}n (1), [Mn5(NDC)4(3,3′-pytz)(DMF)4(μ3-OH)2]n (2), [Co5(NDC)4(3,3′-pytz)(DMF)4(μ3-OH)2]n (3). (3,3′-pytz = 3,6-bis(3-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine; H-3,3′-pytz = protonated 3,6-bis(3-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine; H2TDC = 2,5-Thiophenedicarboxylic acid; H2NDC = 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid) were synthesized under hydro-/solvothermal conditions and characterized by techniques of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, elemental analysis, infrared spectra (IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The resulting analyses demonstrate that complex 1 displays a rare 3D 8-connected bcu framework with the point symbol of {424·64} based on dinuclear [Co2(μ2-OH)(COO)4] cluster, while complex 2 and 3 possessed a rare 3D 10-connected pentanuclear-cluster-based ile{36·434·53·62}framework. The variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data show that the complex 1, 2 and 3 exhibit antiferromagnetic interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Tetrahydropiperine is one of the natural arylpentanamide compounds isolated from Piper nigrum L., which has been demonstrated to have insecticidal activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic profiles of tetrahydropiperine in mouse, rat, dog, monkey and human hepatocytes. Methods: The in vitro metabolism of tetrahydropiperine was elucidated via incubation with hepatocytes for 2 h at 37°C. The samples were analyzed using ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography combined with diode‐array detection and high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry operated in positive electrospray ionization mode. The structures of the metabolites were characterized using their retention times and their tandem mass spectrometric product ions. Results: A total of 20 metabolites were detected and their structures were proposed. These metabolites were formed mainly through the following pathways: (1) 1,3‐benzodioxole ring opening to form a catechol derivative (M12), which was prone to glucuronidation (M6 and M8), methylation (M17) and glutathione (GSH)‐derived conjugation through an ortho‐quinone intermediate (M4) or via an aldehyde intermediate (M7); (2) dehydrogenation to form a piperanine (M15), which was subsequently subject to hydroxylation (M2 and M5) and GSH conjugation (M10 and M11) via Michael addition; (3) hydroxylation (M13, M14, M16, M18 and M19); and (4) direct GSH conjugation through an aldehyde intermediate (M3). Conclusions: The major metabolic pathways of tetrahydropiperine were hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, methylation, GSH conjugation and glucuronidation. Tetrahydropiperine was bioactivated through ortho‐quinone, Michael receptor and aldehyde intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new coordination polymers, including 1D, 2D and 3D structures, were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using Cd 2+ /Zn 2+ /Cu 2+ metal salts as nodes. These polymers were formed through self-assembly of four different dicarboxylic acid ligands, namely adamantane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (H 2 adc), glutaric acid (H 2 glu), 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid (H 2 hip) and fumaric acid (H 2 fum), in conjunction with the auxiliary ligand [1,4-bis(pyridin-4-ylmethyl)piperazine (bpmp). The corresponding formulae are [Cd 3 (adc) 2 (bpmp)Cl 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] n (1), {[Cd 2 (glu) 2 (bpmp) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ]·8H 2 O·2CH 3 OH} n (2), [Zn(hip)(bpmp)(H 2 O)] n (3) and [Cu(fum)(bpmp)(H 2 O) 2 ] n (4). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the Cd 2+ centers in complex 1 all adopt a six-coordinate mode but two distinct {CdO 2 N 2 Cl 2 } and {CuO 5 Cl} units. The 3D network of complex 1 can be simplified to a binodal (4.6)-connected underlying net with the point symbol (3·4 2 ·5·6 2 ) 4 (3 2 ·6 2 ·7 2 ·8 8 ·10). Each Cd 2+ cation in complex 2 adopts a seven-coordinate {CdO 5 N 2 } center, forming an asymmetric pentagonal bipyramidal coordination. Its stacking structure is formed by the interaction of hydrogen bonds between 2D supramolecular layers, with the adjacent layers exhibiting mirror symmetry. Each Zn 2+ ion in complex 3 displays a {ZnO 3 N} four-coordinate unit. Its stacking structure is formed by one-dimensional [Zn(hip)(bpmp)(H 2 O)] n chains connected through hydrogen bonds. On the other hand, complex 4 features a Jahn-Teller distorted {CuO 4 N 2 } octahedral coordination. Subsequently, the thermal stability of these complexes was investigated. The solid-state fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to analyze complexes 1, 2 and 3. Additionally, a Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed on complex 3.