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Untreated cotton usually needs to be scoured to remove hydrophobic pectin and wax for the demands of subsequent processing such as dyeing and finishing. Pectinase can degrade pectin on cotton fibers, but the catalytic efficiency is not particularly high. This study developed a new scouring method for cotton fabrics by pectin hydrolase combined with an ascorbic acid (VC)/H2O2 Fenton-like system. The GPC results showed that water-soluble pectin (1969.2 kDa) could be degraded into 10.6 kDa within 30 min through pectinase with VC/H2O2. The FTIR results suggested that VC/H2O2 breaks the ester bonds on water-soluble pectin. The results of XPS demonstrated that the α-1,4-glycosidic bonds of pectin could be degraded more effectively through VC/H2O2 oxidation and pectinase hydrolysis. The fabrics scoured with VC/H2O2–pectinase exhibited a reduction in wetting time (from > 200 to 8.04 s) and an increase in vertical wicking height (from 0.1 to 6.70 cm) in comparison to the fabrics treated with pectinase. The pilot-scale machine experiments yielded satisfactory performance with VC/H2O2–pectinase scoured fabrics, suggesting that VC/H2O2–pectinase scouring has potential for practical application. The cotton fabric scouring by VC/H2O2–pectinase is a simple and efficient method with the advantages of mild treatment conditions, less damage to cotton fabrics and environmental friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemoglobin disorders are highly prevalent inherited hematological defects in Southern China. The identification of novel variants in globin genes and accurate assessment of hematological parameters play a crucial role in precise genetic counseling and clinical practice. Peripheral blood samples were collected for hematological analysis, including red blood cell and hemoglobin assessment, while serum ferritin levels were measured to detect iron depletion. Thalassemia carrier identification was conducted in four subjects admitted to Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital using next-generation sequencing and Gap-PCR due to the high prevalence of thalassemia in Jiangxi Province. The identified rare or novel small nucleotide variants were subsequently validated through Sanger sequencing. A total of four novel variants were identified incidentally in four unrelated subjects, including HBA1: c.300G > C (p.Lys100Asn), HBA2: c.212T > A (p.Val71Glu), HBB: c.28T > A (p.Ser10Thr) and c.167T > C (p.Met56Thr). The proband carrying the c.212T > A and c.300G > C variants exhibited normal hematological findings, while capillary electrophoresis revealed the presence of abnormal hemoglobin fractions at 22.4% and 10.9%. The subjects with variant HBB: c.28T > A and c.167T > C all demonstrated normal hematological findings and normal hemoglobin fraction as determined by capillary electrophoresis or ion exchange high-resolution liquid chromatography (HPLC). The two variants exhibiting abnormal fractions of hemoglobin were designated as Hb Jiangxi (HBA2: c.212T > A) and Hb Fulton (HBA1: c.300G > C). Meanwhile, HBB: c.28T > A and HBB: c.167T > C were referred to as Hb Yichun and Hb Jinxian, respectively. We here reported four novel variants in globin genes and their hematological findings in for unrelated Chinese individuals in Southern China. Our research has expanded the existing genetic spectrum of globin genes and enhanced our understanding of the hematological profiles associated with variant hemoglobin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron-phonon interaction and related self-energy are fundamental to both the equilibrium properties and non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics of solids. Although electron-phonon interaction has been suggested by various time-resolved measurements to be important for the relaxation dynamics of graphene, the lack of energy- and momentum-resolved self-energy dynamics prohibits direct identification of the role of specific phonon modes in the relaxation dynamics. Here, by performing time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on Kekulé-ordered graphene with folded Dirac cones at the Γ point, we have succeeded in resolving the self-energy effect induced by the coupling of electrons to two phonons at Ω1 = 177 meV and Ω2 = 54 meV, and revealing its dynamical change in the time domain. Moreover, these strongly coupled phonons define energy thresholds, which separate the hierarchical relaxation dynamics from ultrafast, fast to slow, thereby providing direct experimental evidence for the dominant role of mode-specific phonons in the relaxation dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase separation in the nanometer- to micrometer-scale is characteristic for correlated materials, for example, high temperature superconductors, colossal magnetoresistance manganites, Mott insulators, etc. Resolving the electronic structure with spatially-resolved information is critical for revealing the fundamental physics of such inhomogeneous systems yet this is challenging experimentally. Here by using nanometer- and micrometer-spot angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopies (NanoARPES and MicroARPES), we reveal the spatially-resolved electronic structure in the stripe phase of IrTe2. Each separated domain shows two-fold symmetric electronic structure with the mirror axis aligned along 3 equivalent directions, and 6 × 1 replicas are clearly identified. Moreover, such electronic structure inhomogeneity disappears across the stripe phase transition, suggesting that electronic phase with broken symmetry induced by the 6 × 1 modulation is directly related to the stripe phase transition of IrTe2. Our work demonstrates the capability of NanoARPES and MicroARPES in elucidating the fundamental physics of phase-separated materials. Obtaining spatially-resolved electronic structure information at the microscale is key to a complete understanding of phase transitions and domain separation in the solid-state. Here, micro- and nanoscale angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals the electronic structure of domains in the striped phase of IrTe2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the kinetic triplet including the activation energy, frequency factor, and kinetic mechanism function is a key objective in kinetic analysis of solid-state reactions like lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis. The master plots method is usually used to determine the kinetic mechanism function once the activation energies as a function of conversion are estimated from an isoconversional method. A critical study of the master plots method has been performed by analyzing theoretically simulated processes with varying activation energies and frequency factors. The accuracy of the resulting kinetic mechanism function calculated by the master plots method is strongly dependent on the variation degree of the frequency factor with conversion and the conversion dependency of activation energy from isoconversional methods. The utilization of the master plots method without considering the variation degree of the frequency factor with conversion may result in misestimating kinetic mechanism function. [Display omitted] • Applicability and accuracy of master plots method are investigated. • Accuracy of master plots method depends on variation degree of A α with α and α -dependency of E α. • Master plots method needs modification when A α significantly varies with α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From microbes to humans, organisms perform numerous tasks for their survival, including food acquisition, migration, and reproduction. A complex biological task can be performed by either an autonomous organism or by cooperation among several specialized organisms. However, it remains unclear how autonomy and cooperation evolutionarily switch. Specifically, it remains unclear whether and how cooperative specialists can repair deleted genes through direct genetic exchange, thereby regaining metabolic autonomy. Here, we address this question by experimentally evolving a mutualistic microbial consortium composed of two specialists that cooperatively degrade naphthalene. We observed that autonomous genotypes capable of performing the entire naphthalene degradation pathway evolved from two cooperative specialists and dominated the community. This evolutionary transition was driven by the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between the two specialists. However, this evolution was exclusively observed in the fluctuating environment alternately supplied with naphthalene and pyruvate, where mutualism and competition between the two specialists alternated. The naphthalene-supplied environment exerted selective pressure that favors the expansion of autonomous genotypes. The pyruvate-supplied environment promoted the coexistence and cell density of the cooperative specialists, thereby increasing the likelihood of HGT. Using a mathematical model, we quantitatively demonstrate that environmental fluctuations facilitate the evolution of autonomy through HGT when the relative growth rate and carrying capacity of the cooperative specialists allow enhanced coexistence and higher cell density in the competitive environment. Together, our results demonstrate that cooperative specialists can repair deleted genes through a direct genetic exchange under specific conditions, thereby regaining metabolic autonomy., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Trichoderma spp. is a kind of filamentous fungi with important biocontrol value. Twelve strains of Trichoderma spp. were isolated from the soils of different types of crops in Shaoxing, Zhejiang and Foshan, Guangdong. The antagonistic resistance to Fusarium oxysporum was compared by plate confrontation test. The further analysis of volatile secondary metabolites for two strains were carried out using HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis. The results showed that T. asperellum ZJSX5003 and GDFS1009 had fast growth ability, and the inhibition effects on F. oxysporum were 73% and 74% respectively. Six identical volatile metabolites were detected as follows 2-Methyl-1-propanol, 3-Methyl-1-butanol, 3-Methyl-3-buten-1-ol, Acetyl methyl carbinol, Butane-2,3-diol and 6-n-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one (6-PAP). Among them, 6-PAP was validated to have a higher inhibitory effect on F. oxysporum in vitro. This study will provide basis for the development of biocontrol agents with metabolites of Trichoderma, such as 6-PAP.