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Cellulose fibers have been one of the most common fibers due to their biodegradability, excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, high absorption ability, cheapness and renewability. In this study, novel, simple and green method is concerned with the production of multifunctional cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). Nanocomposites consisting of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and polyaniline (PANi) were in situ synthesized into plasma-pretreated cellulosic nanofibers fabricated by solution blowing spinning technique. The produced cellulose acetate nanofibers were then subjected to deacetylation followed by plasma-activation followed by a treatment with aniline and silver nitrate (AgNO3) in the presence of ammonium acetate. Plasma-assisted oxidation polymerization process of aniline into PANi associated with a reduction of Ag+ into AgNPs results in their permanent insolubility into the surface of the cellulose nanofibers. The morphologies and elemental contents were determined by polarizing optical microscope (POM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy-dispersive X-ray patterns and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, transmission electron microscope (TEM) was applied to explore the morphologies of silver nanoparticles and PANi showing particle diameter between 12 and 25 nm. The antimicrobial Ag NPs were formed from an aqueous medium of silver nitrate by taking the reduction ability advantage of the electrically active PANi. The immobilization of polyaniline and silver nanoparticles into the surface of the cellulose nanofibers enhanced its electrical conductivity. The produced CNFs demonstrated a high UV protection as well as antibacterial activity.

Previous study has reported that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZDY2013 which was screened from traditional Chinese fermented soybeans has a strong acid resistance. The purpose of this study was to uncover the genes potentially related to its genetic adaptation and probiotic profiles, based on comparative genomic and comparative transcriptome analysis. We got the basic information about L. plantarum ZDY2013 and identified genes which are related to genetic adaptation and probiotic profiles, including carbohydrate transport and metabolism, cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis, proteolytic enzyme systems and amino acid biosynthesis, CRISPR adaptive immunity, stress responses, ability to adhere to the host intestinal wall, exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis, and bacteriocin biosynthesis. Comparative transcriptome showed CK group (normal MRS culture L. plantarum ZDY2013) and SCL group (pH 3.0 MRS culture L. plantarum ZDY2013) had 652 significant differentially expressed genes including 310 up-regulated genes and 342 down-regulated genes. Besides that, these genes had been classified through KEGG and GO functional annotation. In addition, we also found top 20 KEGG pathways adjusted to acid stress. Then, some genes were selected to verify the transcriptome analysis and explore the mechanism of how L. plantarum ZDY2013 tolerate acid stress. We found that some genes of ABC transporter, phosphotransferase system, oxidation reduction process, membrane transporter and phosphorylation metabolism process had a significant change. These results suggested that comparative characterization of the L. plantarum ZDY2013 genome and transcriptome provided the genetic basis for further elucidating the functional mechanisms of it.

Complex [Cu(phen)2Cl]Cl∙2PABA∙4H2O has been isolated, where phen ligand is 1,10-phenanthroline and PABA is p-aminobenzoic acid. The complex crystallizes in the centrosymetric (monoclinic) space group P2(1)/n. The unit cell dimensions are a = 10.479(4) A, b = 22.396(7) A, and c = 16.212(6) A. The basic unit structure of complex is distorted trigonal bipyramidal. Two hydrogen-bonded PABA molecules are enclosed through π−π interactions in filled aryl box FAB motif made by juxtaposition of four phen from two opposing cations. While π−π interaction between phen causes the formation of offset face-to-face overlap OFF primary motif. The result is formation of extended (OFF-FAB)n chains. Cyclic voltammetry showed one reversible oxidation reduction process followed by one irreversible oxidation process. Thermal analysis indicated successive loss of crystalline water and crystalline PABA molecules, chloride ions, and phen ligands. DFT study indicates that PABA interacts with phen with binding energy 68.87 kJ mol−1 reflecting strong π-stacking. The charge density in HOMO is localized on the metal halogen bond, whereas in LUMO, it is spread over two phen. The vibrational spectrum of complex was calculated at M05-2X/6-31G(d) and compared with the experimental vibrational spectrum data. The inhibitory concentrations IC50 against carcinoma cells A549 (lung adenocarcinoma) and MDA-MB-231 (breast adenocarcinoma) are 3.4 and 4.5 µM, respectively. IC50 values of new complex are comparable to those of cisplatin and smaller than the values for [Cu(phen)2Cl]Cl∙6.5H2O.

We aim to understand how oocyte vitrification impacts subsequent mouse preimplantation embryo development at molecular level. We profiled transcriptomics of fertilized preimplantation embryos derived from mouse vitrified-warmed oocytes. Concomitantly, we evaluated epigenetic markers in fertilized preimplantation embryos. We found that oocyte vitrification did not affect the fertilization and cleavage process but delayed embryo development until blastocyst stage. RNA sequencing revealed that 1575 genes were profoundly altered in the 2-cell stage embryos developed from vitrified oocytes. The most significantly altered biological pathway was "oxidation-reduction process." Such profound transcriptomics change was associated with decreased level of oocyte-specific histone H1FOO in zygote and 2-cell stage. Transcriptome alteration due to oocyte vitrification was less pronounced as embryos develop into the morula stage. Oocyte vitrification temporarily changes transcriptomics in early preimplantation embryos. Targeting oxidation-reduction pathway might be a potential therapeutic strategy to improve embryo quality and long-term embryo survival.

The present study was proposed to examine one of the important herbal plant is known Lavender and study the interaction of its extracts with enzymatic oxidation reduction process and anti microorganism. The catalase assay in vitro was implied in this work. Lavender flower containing on essential oils has been many uses for disease treatment, this plant bring from the trading market in Iraq. The current study involved biological activity on two ways; alcoholic extract on enzymatic activity, other way hot water extract and alcoholic extract on four isolate of bacteria and one type fungi. (The weight of flower is equal to 1gm/50ml for two extracts). The results of this study demonstrated effect of lavender to be activator agent of catalase enzymatic activity and Vmax was calculated without and with extract that equal to (88.6, 208)Ku/L and km equal to (53.5, 72.4)mM respectively by Line weaver-Burk plot. The activation percentage was calculated by using different volume of Ethanolic extract, that maximum activation is recorded equal to 133.6% at substrate concentration 60 mM and 100µl alcoholic extract. On the other hand their effects on microorganism obvious in the present study that showed not effect began.

Variability in cognitive decline is related to the environment, lifestyle factors, and individual differences in biological aging, including cognitive reserve, plastic properties of the brain, which account for better-than-expected cognition for a given level of brain aging or pathology. Cognitive reserve has not been thoroughly investigated in aged rodents. To address this gap, cognitive reserve was examined using Gene Expression Omnibus data for the CA1 region of the hippocampus of young and aged behaviorally characterized male rats. Statistical filtering identified brain aging and potential cognitive reserve genes, and multiple regression was employed to confirm cognitive reserve genes as genes that predicted better-than-expected cognition for a given level of brain aging. In general, cognitive reserve genes, in which increased expression was associated with better cognition, were not different with age or directly correlated with measures of cognition and appear to act as negative regulators of aging processes, including neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. The results suggest that, for some animals, resilience mechanisms are activated to counteract aging stressors that impair cognition. In contrast, cognitive reserve genes, in which decreased expression was associated with better cognition, were linked to nervous system development and cation transport, suggesting adaptive changes in the circuit to preserve cognition.

The presence of various forms of RNAs having roles in fertilisation and early embryonic development is well documented in mammalian spermatozoa. In the present study, using Agilent microarray platform, we compared sperm mRNA expression profiles between high- and low-fertile crossbred bulls with normal semen parameters. Microarray data acquisition and analysis were performed using GeneSpring GX version software, wherein spermatozoa from high-fertile bulls were kept as control while spermatozoa from low-fertile bulls were considered as treatment group. A total of 6,238 transcripts were detected in crossbred bull spermatozoa; 559 transcripts (>1.5-fold) were differentially regulated between high- and low-fertile bulls. Functional annotation has categorised these transcripts into biological process, cellular, and molecular functions. It was observed that transcripts associated with oxidation reduction process (p = .003), mitochondrial membrane potential (p = .03), were significantly down-regulated while transcripts associated with apoptosis (p = .04) were up-regulated in low-fertile spermatozoa. The dysregulated genes were involved in important cellular pathways including oxidative phosphorylation (p = .002), oestrogen signalling (p = .002), Wnt signalling (p = .035), cGMP-PKG signalling (p = .007) and MAPK signalling (p = .032) pathways. Collectively, the present study discovered profound discrepancies in sperm mRNA expression between high- and low-fertile crossbred bulls, with potential possibilities for their use in fertility prediction.

Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction has been widely used to treat stroke and sequelae of stroke. We have previously shown that the active fractions of Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction attenuate cerebral ischemic injury. However, the global protein profile and signaling conduction pathways regulated by Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction are still unclear. This study established a two-vessel occlusion rat model by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. Rats were intragastrically administered 50 or 150 mg/kg Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction for 4 consecutive weeks. Learning and memory abilities were measured with Morris water maze. Motor ability was detected with prehensile test. Coordination ability was examined using the inclined screen test. Neuronal plasticity was observed by immunofluorescent staining. Differentially expressed proteins of rat hippocampus were analyzed by label-free quantitative proteomics. Real time-polymerase chain reaction and western blot assay were used to identify the changes in proteins. Results showed that Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction dramatically alleviated learning and memory deficits, and motor and coordination dysfunction, and increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein 2. Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction extract remarkably decreased 13 upregulated proteins and increased 39 downregulated proteins. The regulated proteins were mainly involved in oxidation reduction process, intracellular signaling cascade process, and protein catabolic process. The signaling pathways were mainly involved in ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and the phosphatidylinositol signaling system. Furthermore, there was an interaction among Rab2a, Ptpn1, Ppm1e, Cdk18, Gorasp2, Eps15, Capza2, Syngap1 and Mt-nd1. Protein analyses confirmed the changes in expression of MT-ND1. The current findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction extract’s effects on chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.

The amount of hydrogen gas generated from metal oxide materials, based on a thermochemical water-splitting method, gradually reduces as the surface of the metal oxide oxidizes during the hydrogen generation process. To regenerate hydrogen, the oxygen reduction process of a metal oxide at high temperatures (1000–2500 °C) is generally required. In this study, to overcome the problem of an energy efficiency imbalance, in which the required energy of the oxygen reduction process for hydrogen regeneration is higher than the generated hydrogen energy, we investigated the possibility of the oxygen reduction of a metal oxide with a low energy using microwave irradiation. For this purpose, a macroporous nickel-oxide structure was used as a metal oxide catalyst to generate hydrogen gas, and the oxidized surface of the macroporous nickel-oxide structure could be reduced by microwave irradiation. Through this oxidation reduction process, ∼750 μmol g−1 of hydrogen gas could be continuously regenerated. In this way, it is expected that oxygen-enriched metal oxide materials can be efficiently reduced by microwave irradiation, with a low power consumption of

The influence of reduction-oxidation-reduction (ROR) pretreatment on 20% Co/SiO2 has been investigated using different oxidizing gases including water vapor and oxygen in the oxidation step. In this study, the evolution concerning the SiO2 structure and the cobalt phase and morphology is clearly elucidated at each step of reduction, oxidation and subsequent re-reduction. It is demonstrated that ROR treatment using both oxygen and water vapor decreases the average cobalt particle size. However, the catalytic performance affected in FTS is considerably different. ROR treatment in oxygen results in an increase in catalytic activity. In contrast, the water vapor applied in oxidation step obviously deactivates cobalt catalyst and enhances selectivity of methane. The resulting deactivation is ascribed to the promoted formation of irreducible cobalt silicate through the reaction between water vapor caused surface Si OH groups and oxidized cobalt (CoO) in spite of unchanged surface area and pore structure on SiO2. The characterization data reveals that the re-dispersion of cobalt particles occurs at oxidation step rather than the re-reduction step. In addition, the results indicate that the ROR treatment reducing the cobalt particle size depends on its initial size as no re-dispersion can be observed in the case of particles smaller than about 11 nm. Furthermore, the water vapor shows more effective re-dispersion in cobalt particles compared with the use of oxygen. This study provides fundamental insights into the control of catalytic activity, product selectivity, and catalyst stability over supported cobalt catalysts by understanding the evolution of catalyst structure through ROR treatment in different chemical environment.

In this article, we propose a simple redox process to in-situ create a cellular architecture on Ni solid sheet by the direct oxidization (O 2 ) and subsequent reduction (H 2 ) at 750 °C. Nanocrystalline Ni(OH) 2 is fabricated on the micro-porous Ni sheet (MPNS) using cathodic electrodeposition method to form a MPNS-Ni(OH) 2 electrode for supercapacitor. The obtained results indicate that the created micro-porous architectures expand the contact interfaces between the Ni(OH) 2 and Ni substrate and enhance its supercapacitor performance and cyclic stability.

The clam Saxidomus purpuratus is an important economic marine bivalve species in China. In this study, we performed a de novo transcriptome sequencing of S. purpuratus gill tissues to generate a transcriptome dataset by performing Illumina paired-end sequencing on the HiSeq 2500 platform. A total of 10,488,024 raw reads were produced. After removing the inferior sequences, adaptor sequences, and rRNAs, 68,080,636 high-quality reads were obtained, from which 5,115,494 assembled contigs were produced. These contigs were assembled into 120,479 transcripts and 66,388 unigenes with mean lengths of 674.96 and 562.70 bp, respectively. All unigene sequences were compared against the NCBI databases, and 26,781 unigenes were annotated. Both the gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that several functional genes were involved in the stress response, immune system, and oxidation reduction process. Meanwhile, 414 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the S. purpuratus transcriptome. SSR validation via PCR confirmed that 26 primer pairs had expected products, and 13 primers proved to be polymorphism among 30 individuals. The S. purpuratus transcriptome advances the underlying molecular understanding of this economic shellfish and provides a basis for further exploring S. purpuratus genomics resources.

Graphene is considered as an excellent reinforcement in composite materials because of its unique physical and mechanical properties. In this study, graphene was successfully prepared at the reducing temperature of ambient temperature by oxidation reduction process using a green reducing agent and an attempt was made to fabricate graphene/W70Cu30 composites by mechanical alloy and pressureless infiltration sintering technology. Effect of graphene addition on W70Cu30 powders and W70Cu30 composites were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Optical microscopy (OM) and HB-3000 hardness tester. The results show that the graphene could remain after ball milling and sintering process. But, the carbides (like WC and W 2 C) were also formed in bulk composites, which revealed that some of graphene would react with W during the sintering process, but the graphene coated with Cu phase in W70Cu30 alloy still keep intrinsic structures. And W grain size is efficiently refined with addition of graphene. The relative density of graphene/W70Cu30 composites enhance with the content of graphene increasing. When the graphene content is 1.0 wt%, the relative density of composites reach up to 98.4%, which is considered that graphene could improve the wettability of W and Cu. The incorporation of graphene into W7Cu30 alloy gradually increases the hardness of composites, which is enhanced about 21% compared with the pure W70Cu30 when the graphene content is 1.0 wt%. The electrical conductivity of composites increase gradually firstly and decrease sharply with the increase of graphene content. When the 0.5 wt% graphene was added to the W70Cu30 alloys, the maximum conductivity reaches ∼46% IACS.

Proteomic technologies allow the detection of thousands of proteins at the same time, being a powerful technique to reveal molecular regulatory mechanisms in spermatozoa and also sperm damage linked to low fertility or specific biotechnologies. Modifications induced by the cryopreservation in the stallion sperm proteome were studied using UHPLC/MS/MS. Ejaculates from fertile stallions were collected and split in two subsamples, one was investigated as fresh (control) samples, and the other aliquot frozen and thawed using standard procedures and investigated as frozen thawed subsamples. UHPLC/MS/MS was used to study the sperm proteome under these two distinct conditions and bioinformatic enrichment analysis conducted. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis were performed revealing dramatic changes as consequence of cryopreservation. The terms oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondrial ATP synthesis coupled electron transport and electron transport chain were significantly enriched in fresh samples (P = 5.50 × 10-12, 4.26 × 10-8 and 7.26 × 10-8, respectively), while were not significantly enriched in frozen thawed samples (P = 1). The GO terms oxidation reduction process and oxidoreductase activity were enriched in fresh samples and the enrichment was reduced in frozen thawed samples (1.40 × 10-8, 1.69 × 10-6 versus 1.13 × 10-2 and 2-86 × 10-2 respectively). Reactome pathways (using human orthologs) significantly enriched in fresh sperm were TCA cycle and respiratory electron transport (P = 1.867 × 10-8), Respiratory electron transport ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis coupling (P = 2.124 × 10-5), Citric acid cycle (TCA cycle)(P = 8.395 × 10-4) Pyruvate metabolism and TCA cycle (P = 3.380 × 10-3), Respiratory electron transport (P = 2.764 × 10-2) and Beta oxidation of laurolyl-CoA to decanoyl CoA-CoA (P = 1.854 × 10-2) none of these pathways were enriched in thawed samples (P = 1). We have provided the first detailed study on how the cryopreservation process impacts the stallion sperm proteome. Our findings identify the metabolic proteome and redoxome as the two key groups of proteins affected by the procedure. SIGNIFICANCE: In the present manuscript we investigated how the cryopreservation of stallion spermatozoa impacts the proteome of these cells. This procedure is routinely used in horse breeding and has a major impact in the industry, facilitating the trade of genetic material. This is still a suboptimal biotechnology, with numerous unresolved problems. The limited knowledge of the molecular insults occurring during cryopreservation is behind these problems. The application and development of proteomics to the spermatozoa, allow to obtain valuable information of the specific mechanisms affected by the procedure. In this paper, we report that cryopreservation impacts numerous proteins involved in metabolism regulation (mainly mitochondrial proteins involved in the TCA cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation) and also affects proteins with oxidoreductase activity. Moreover, specific proteins involved in the sperm-oocyte interaction are also affected by the procedure. The information gathered in this study, opens interesting questions and offer new lines of research for the improvement of the technology focusing the targets here identified, and the specific steps in the procedure (cooling, toxicity of antioxidants etc.) to be modified to reduce the damage.

Electron beam (EB) has proven to be an effective advanced oxidation reduction process (AORP) to degrade the psychiatric drug carbamazepine (CBZ); however, the degradation mechanism and the toxicity of the final reaction solutions to aquatic microorganisms needed further investigation. In this study, CBZ was eventually degraded and even mineralized by EB treatment, where the degradation of CBZ followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics with R2 > 0.98. Acidic conditions, presence of an additional oxidant (2.5 mmol L−1 H2O2), and O2/air-saturated conditions improved the degradation efficiency of CBZ, as well as the radiation chemical yield (G-value defined as the efficiency of the irradiation process). Concentrations of transient reactive species (TRS) caused by EB were quantified under different conditions at doses of 0.956 and 3.17 kGy, and the apparent quantum yield of CBZ degradation was in the order of OH > H > eaq−. However, the contribution of these species to CBZ degradation was in the order of OH > eaq− > H due to the generation of only a small amount of H. Findings regarding the changes of in CBZ degradation intermediates, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and total organic carbon showed that CBZ can gradually be mineralized into CO2/CO32−, H2O, and NH3/NH4+ by the EB process. Additionally, an excellent rotifer survival rate after 5-day culturing in the reaction solutions resulting from 5-kGy treatment indicated that EB can be a safe AORP to mineralize CBZ in solution. These findings provide scientific proof for the EB being an effective AORP for removal of psychiatric drugs from aqueous solutions, laying the foundation for future remediation research.

Biofortification of staple crops with essential micronutrients is the sustainable way to overcome the hidden hunger. A large number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) linked with grain micronutrient contents have been reported in different mapping studies. Identification of consistent QTLs across diverse genetic backgrounds is useful for candidate gene analysis and marker assisted selection of target traits. In this study, an up to date meta-analysis of grain iron and zinc associated QTLs was performed and 48 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) distributed across 12 rice chromosomes were identified. The 95% confidence intervals of identified genomic regions were significantly narrower than the average of their corresponding original QTLs. A total of 9308 genes/transcripts physically located within or near MQTL regions were retrieved and through prioritization of candidate genes (CGs) 663 non-redundant iron and zinc CGs were selected and studied in detailed. Several functionally characterized iron and zinc homoeostasis related genes e.g OsATM3, OsDMAS1, OsFRO2, OsNAS1-3, OsVIT2, OsYSL16, OsZIP3 and OsZIP7 were also included in our MQTL analysis. More than 64% genes were enriched with zinc and iron binding gene ontology terms and were involved in oxidation reduction process, carbohydrate metabolic process, regulation of transcription, trans-membrane transport, response to oxidative stress, cell redox homeostasis and proteolysis etc. In-silico transcriptomic analysis of rice identified 260 CGs which were regulated in response to iron and zinc stresses. We also identified at least 37 genes which were differentially expressed under both stress conditions and majority of these have not been studied in detailed before. Our results strongly indicate that majority of the MQTLs identified in this study are hotspots for grain iron and zinc concentration and are worth of intensive functional studies in near future.

Nitrogen (N) is one of the essential macronutrients that plays an important role in plant growth and development. Unfortunately, low utilization rate of nitrogen has become one of the main abiotic factors affecting crop growth. Nevertheless, little research has been done on the molecular mechanism of wheat seedlings resisting or adapting to low nitrogen environment. In this paper, the response of wheat seedlings against low nitrogen stress at phenotypic changes and gene expression level were studied. The results showed that plant height, leaf area, shoot and root dry weight, total root length, and number under low nitrogen stress decreased by 26.0, 28.1, 24.3, 38.0, 41.4, and 21.2 percent, respectively compared with plants under normal conditions. 2265 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in roots and 2083 DEGs were detected in leaves under low nitrogen stress (N-) compared with the control (CK). 1688 genes were up-regulated and 577 genes were down-regulated in roots, whilst 505 genes were up-regulated and 1578 were down-regulated in leaves. Among the most addressed Gene Ontology (GO) categories, oxidation reduction process, oxidoreductase activity, and cell component were mostly represented. In addition, genes involved in the signal transduction, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, antioxidant activity, and environmental adaptation were highlighted. Our study provides new information for further understanding the response of wheat to low nitrogen stress.

To investigate the properties of the oxidation–reduction bonding (ORB) process with different kinds of microscale Cu particles, we characterized the microstructure and shear strength of ORB-produced joints using microscale flake-shaped Cu particles, spherical Cu particles, and their hybrid particle pastes. The Cu–Cu joints were bonded with the ORB process at 300 °C for 60 min without pressure, and 31.2 MPa shear strength was achieved by using the hybrid particle paste comprising 75 mass.% flake-shaped Cu particles and 25 mass.% spherical Cu particles. Moreover, ORB joints were also fabricated with pre-oxidized Cu and electroless nickel/immersion gold (ENIG)-finished Cu substrates. The bonded ENIG-finished Cu joint has a shear strength that is similar to that of the bonded pure Cu joint. On the other hand, the bonded pre-oxidized Cu joint shows a shear strength of 28.1 MPa, only 10% less than the shear strength of the bonded pure Cu joint. This result reveals that the shear strength of an ORB joint is insensitive to the surface condition of the substrate, which makes the ORB process acceptable in practical large-scale production.

A low-temperature oxidation-reduction process was used to modify the surface of a Cu current collector (foil) for a Si film electrode. The surfaces of the modified Cu foils were investigated under various oxidation-reduction conditions, and the electrochemical properties of Si film electrodes containing the surface modified foils were evaluated. Various nanostructures were found to have formed on the surface; for example, Cu(OH)2 needles, CuO flowers, and CuO plates formed on Cu-foil surfaces oxidized at 313 K for 1, 10, and 30 min, respectively. Furthermore, these nanostructures were transformed to coral-like Cu2O structures after reduction at 673 K. The amount of Cu2O and the surface roughness decreased on increasing reduction time. The Si film electrode containing a Cu foil reduced for 6 h showed the best electrochemical performance (83.5% of the initial efficiency and 74.8% of capacity retention) due to the small amount of Cu2O and the formation of coral-like structures.

A new 1:1 alternating copolymerization of a five-membered, six-membered, and seven-membered cyclic germylene having a Me3Si-N group with N-phenyl-p-quinoneimine has successfully been demonstrated. The germylenes behaved as a reductant monomer whereas N-phenyl-p-quinoneimine as an oxidant monomer to give copolymers (oxidation-reduction copolymerization). In contrast to the previous observation that the copolymerization of cyclic germylenes with p-benzoquinone led to the formation of 2:1 periodic copolymers, the present copolymerization using a p-quinoneimine derivative produces all 1:1 alternating copolymers.

Wet desulfurization and denitrification technologies are one of the main research directions in the future air pollution control. Compared with the traditional macro-bubbles, the MNBs can spontaneously generate  · O H with high oxidizing ability, and also improve the gas solubility. Na2SO3 is a strong reducing agent and can react with NO, NO2, NO2– and NO3– to convert ionic N to non-toxic and harmless N2. In the study, based on the principle of wet desulfurization and denitrification, a new recycling oxidation–reduction process was firstly proposed for simultaneous removal of NO and SO2 by using the MNBGLS which was generated with a MNBG through recycling Na2SO3 aqueous solution at a given concentration from a column reactor and the simulated flue gas composed of NO, SO2, N2 and/or other gases such as O2 and CO2. The MNBGLS was recycled continuously from the MNBG to the reactor. The effects of various experimental parameters, such as operation time, initial pH and temperature of absorbent, Na2SO3 concentration, NO concentration, SO2 concentration, the presence of O2 and CO2, on the removal of NO and SO2, were investigated. All the investigated parameters affected the removal of NO, whereas only initial solution pH influenced the removal of SO2. This new process can not only achieve high NO and SO2 removal efficiencies but also treat NO2– and NO3– so as to reduce the cost of subsequent wastewater treatment. Moreover, the main removal product, SO42−, can be recycled. Thus it is an economical, environmentally friendly and efficient desulfurization and denitrification process.

Bud abortion is the main factor affecting hybrid seeds&rsquo, yield during broccoli cross breeding when using ogura cytoplasmic male sterile (ogu CMS) lines. However, the genes associated with bud abortion are poorly understood. We applied RNA sequencing to analyze the transcriptomes of normal and abortive buds of broccoli maintainer and ogu CMS lines. Functional analysis showed that among the 54,753 annotated unigenes obtained, 74 and 21 differentially expressed genes in common were upregulated and downregulated in ogu CMS abortive buds compared with ogu CMS normal buds, maintainer normal, and abortive buds, respectively. Nineteen of the common differentially expressed genes were enriched by GO terms associated with glycosyl hydrolases, reactive oxygen species scavenging, inhibitor, and protein degradation. Ethylene-responsive transcription factor 115 and transcriptional factor basic helix-loop-helix 137 were significantly upregulated, transcription factors DUO1 and PosF21/RF2a/BZIP34 were downregulated in ogu CMS abortive buds compared with the other groups. Genes related to polygalacturonase metabolism, glycosyl hydrolases, oxidation reduction process, phenylalanine metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were significantly changed in ogu CMS abortive buds. Our results increase our understanding of bud abortion, provide a valuable resource for further functional characterization of ogu CMS during bud abortion, and will aid in future cross breeding of Brassica crops.

Vibrio cholerae, a pandemic diarrheagenic bacterium, is able to synthesize the essential vitamin riboflavin through the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway (RBP) and also to internalize it through the RibN importer. In bacteria, the way riboflavin biosynthesis and uptake functions correlate is unclear. To gain insights into the role of the riboflavin provision pathways in the physiology of V. cholerae, we analyzed the transcriptomics response to extracellular riboflavin and to deletions of ribD (RBP-deficient strain) or ribN. Many riboflavin-responsive genes were previously reported to belong to the iron regulon, including various iron uptake genes. Real time PCR analysis confirmed this effect and further documented that reciprocally, iron regulates RBP and ribN genes in a riboflavin-dependent way. A subset of genes were responding to both ribD and ribN deletions. However, in the subset of genes specifically affected in the ∆ribD strain, the functional terms protein folding and oxidation reduction process were enriched, as determined by a Gene Ontology analysis. In the gene subset specifically affected in the ∆ribN strain, the cytochrome complex assembly functional term was enriched. Results suggest that iron and riboflavin interrelate to regulate its respective provision genes and that both common and specific effects of biosynthesized and internalized riboflavin exist.

Quorum sensing is a cell-cell communication mechanism mediated by chemical signals that leads to differential gene expression in response to high population density. Salmonella is unable to synthesize the autoinducer-1 (AI-1), N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL), but is able to recognize AHLs produced by other microorganisms through SdiA protein. This study aimed to evaluate the fatty acid and protein profiles of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis PT4 578 throughout time of cultivation in the presence of AHL. The presence of N-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) altered the fatty acid and protein profiles of Salmonella cultivated during 4, 6, 7, 12 and 36 h in anaerobic condition. The profiles of Salmonella Enteritidis at logarithmic phase of growth (4 h of cultivation), in the presence of C12-HSL, were similar to those of cells at late stationary phase (36 h). In addition, there was less variation in both protein and fatty acid profiles along growth, suggesting that this quorum sensing signal anticipated a stationary phase response. The presence of C12-HSL increased the abundance of thiol related proteins such as Tpx, Q7CR42, Q8ZP25, YfgD, AhpC, NfsB, YdhD and TrxA, as well as the levels of free cellular thiol after 6 h of cultivation, suggesting that these cells have greater potential to resist oxidative stress. Additionally, the LuxS protein which synthesizes the AI-2 signaling molecule was differentially abundant in the presence of C12-HSL. The NfsB protein had its abundance increased in the presence of C12-HSL at all evaluated times, which is a suggestion that the cells may be susceptible to the action of nitrofurans or that AHLs present some toxicity. Overall, the presence of C12-HSL altered important pathways related to oxidative stress and stationary phase response in Salmonella.

In the late stage of anthocyanin biosynthesis, dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) mediate a formal tautomerization. However, such oxidation/reduction process requires high energy and appears to be unnecessary, as the oxidation state does not change during the transformation. Thus, a non-enzymatic pathway of tautomerization has also been proposed. To resolve the long-standing issue of whether this non-enzymatic pathway is the main contributor for the biosynthesis, we carried out density functional theory (DFT) calculations to examine this non-enzymatic pathway from dihydroflavonol to anthocyanidin. We show here that the activation barriers for the proposed non-enzymatic tautomerization are too high to enable the reaction to proceed under normal aqueous conditions in plants. The calculations also explain the experimentally observed requirement for acidic conditions during the final step of conversion of 2-flaven-3,4-diol to anthocyanidin; a thermodynamically and kinetically favorable concerted pathway can operate under these conditions.

Background Heterobasidion parviporum is an economically most important fungal forest pathogen in northern Europe, causing root and butt rot disease of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and virulence of this species remain elusive. No reference genome to facilitate functional analysis is available for this species. Results To better understand the virulence factor at both phenotypic and genomic level, we characterized 15 H. parviporum isolates originating from different locations across Finland for virulence, vegetative growth, sporulation and saprotrophic wood decay. Wood decay capability and latitude of fungal origins exerted interactive effects on their virulence and appeared important for H. parviporum virulence. We sequenced the most virulent isolate, the first full genome sequences of H. parviporum as a reference genome, and re-sequenced the remaining 14 H. parviporum isolates. Genome-wide alignments and intrinsic polymorphism analysis showed that these isolates exhibited overall high genomic similarity with an average of at least 96% nucleotide identity when compared to the reference, yet had remarkable intra-specific level of polymorphism with a bias for CpG to TpG mutations. Reads mapping coverage analysis enabled the classification of all predicted genes into five groups and uncovered two genomic regions exclusively present in the reference with putative contribution to its higher virulence. Genes enriched for copy number variations (deletions and duplications) and nucleotide polymorphism were involved in oxidation-reduction processes and encoding domains relevant to transcription factors. Some secreted protein coding genes based on the genome-wide selection pressure, or the presence of variants were proposed as potential virulence candidates. Conclusion Our study reported on the first reference genome sequence for this Norway spruce pathogen (H. parviporum). Comparative genomics analysis gave insight into the overall genomic variation among this fungal species and also facilitated the identification of several secreted protein coding genes as putative virulence factors for the further functional analysis. We also analyzed and identified phenotypic traits potentially linked to its virulence. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4610-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Maize Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency has been greatly improved in recent years. Antioxidants, such as, cysteine, can significantly improve maize transformation frequency through improving the Agrobacterium infection efficiency. However, the mechanism underlying the transformation improvement after cysteine exposure has not been elucidated. In this study, we showed that the addition of cysteine to the co-cultivation medium significantly increased the Agrobacterium infection efficiency of hybrid HiII and inbred line Z31 maize embryos. Reactive oxygen species contents were higher in embryos treated with cysteine than that without cysteine. We further investigated the mechanism behind cysteine-related infection efficiency increase using transcriptome analysis. The results showed that the cysteine treatment up-regulated 939 genes and down-regulated 549 genes in both Z31 and HiII. Additionally, more differentially expressed genes were found in HiII embryos than those in Z31 embryos, suggesting that HiII was more sensitive to the cysteine treatment than Z31. GO analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were mainly involved in the oxidation reduction process. The up-regulation of these genes could help maize embryos to cope with the oxidative stress stimulated by Agrobacterium infection. The down-regulated genes were mainly involved in the cell wall and membrane metabolism, such as, aquaporin and expansin genes. Decreased expression of these cell wall integrity genes could loosen the cell wall, thereby improving the entry of Agrobacterium into plant cells. This study offers insight into the role of cysteine in improving Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize immature embryos.

In the process of hot dip galvanizing high tensile strength sheet steels containing Si and Mn, selective surface oxidation of Si and Mn causes coating defects. One promising method for overcoming this problem is an oxidation-reduction process. When the steel surface is exposed to an oxidizing atmosphere, it will react primarily by forming an Fe oxide, which can be reduced by hydrogen in a reduction process that follows. It has been explained that good wettability can be obtained due to the formation of pure iron. However, the mechanism of suppression of selective surface oxidation has not been clearly understood in detail yet. In order to reveal this mechanism, the present study focused on both Mn and Fe oxidation behavior during the oxidation-reduction process for a cold-rolled sheet steel containing 0.25mass%Si-1.8mass%Mn. Surface and cross-sectional analyses were performed by using secondary electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Selective surface oxidation behavior was investigated by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The main results obtained are as follows. First, selective surface oxidation of Mn was suppressed even if soaking was continued after completion of the reduction of the Fe oxide. Second, as the reduction process proceeded, Mn was trapped as an internal oxide under the Fe oxide layer. Moreover, depletion of solute Mn was observed in the matrix. From these results, depletion of solute Mn is supposed to suppress the outer diffusion of Mn during soaking. Therefore, selective surface oxidation of Mn is suppressed even after Fe oxide reduction is completed.

An improved Cu-Cu joint strength was achieved by a pressureless sintering bonding using microscale Cu particles with an oxidation-reduction process for power device packaging. After the bonding at 300 °C in air, Cu2O nanoparticles uniformly formed on the surface of microscale Cu particles through a thermal oxidation, and the formation of neck between microscale Cu particles was obvious. Then, after the following bonding at 300 °C in a reductive formic acid atmosphere, the Cu2O nanoparticle surface of microscale Cu particles was reduced to a Cu nanostructured surface, meanwhile the joining between the microscale Cu particles was facilitated by formed nanostructured surface, resulting a higher joint strength than that of the bonding joint with entire formic acid atmosphere process. The results demonstrate that the pressureless sintering bonding using microscale Cu particles by the oxidation-reduction process has the potential to fulfill the requirement of die-attach bonding for power device packaging.

Aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized directly on a stainless steel surface by surface activation by intense oxidation in air followed by a moderate reduction in H 2 without any wet process. This method is extremely simple compared with conventional ways that need catalyst loading steps or acid pre-etching steps to synthesize carbon nanotubes on stainless steel surfaces. It was found that the length of MWCNT bundles could reach 80 μm when the oxidation step was properly controlled. It was demonstrated that MWCNTs synthesized on stainless steel meshes could be used as a catalyst support to enhance ozone oxidation in the decomposition of phenol in water.

The unusual wetting phenomenon of liquid Bi on surface-porous copper has been studied. A porous layer was prepared at the surface of a copper substrate and the wetting behavior of liquid Bi on this layer was investigated and compared with that on a flat solid copper substrate. A surface-oxidized copper substrate was reduced at 473 K in H2 to prepare a porous layer at the surface. Since the contact angle of liquid Bi on the flat solid copper substrate was gradually declining with increasing temperature, the behavior of liquid Bi on solid copper was shown to have good-wettability. In addition, the unusual wetting behavior of liquid Bi was observed on surface-porous copper substrate. This result is evidence that the pores in the porous layer are 3-dimensionally inter-connected. This usual wetting phenomenon of liquid Bi was then applied in the joining of copper wire with the surface-porous copper substrate. Bonding was successfully achieved with a minimized weld overlay at the joining point. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MRA2007179]

Voltametrically stable 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS2−) modified electrode was obtained by sol–gel processing of methyltrimethoxysilane based sol with dissolved ABTS2− together with dispersed graphite particles. Next, extracellular laccase from Cerrena unicolor was encapsulated within a thin hydrophilic tetramethoxysilane film on the top the electrode. The obtained ABTS2− modified carbon ceramic electrode exhibits stable voltammetry corresponding to the surface confined oxidation reduction process. The biocatalytic activity of this electrode is similar to that observed when ABTS2− is present in solution. Keywords: Laccase, ABTS, Dioxygen reduction, Sol–gel, Carbon ceramic electrode, Bioelectrocatalysis

Recent investigations have shown that an iron oxidation / reduction process can improve the quality of the coated steels by decreasing the amount of external selective oxidation. This economical process can be made during heating by modifying the air/gas ratio of the direct fire furnace or in the rapid cooling section by air injection. A sensor allows measuring continuously the iron oxide thickness of the oxidized strip.

The processes of direct recycling heavy metal turnings by oxidation–reduction technique have been investigated in details. The average particle size of recycled alloy powders was about 1.5 μm, and the shape of powder particle was regular when the final reduction temperature was 850 °C. The average size of the particle increased to 5 and 8 μm when increasing the reduction temperature to 900 and 950 °C, respectively. However, if the reduction temperature was above 900 °C, the surface of powder was complicated. Increasing reduction temperature from 900 to 950 °C, the particle of recycled powder grew slightly, and the content of oxygen decreased from 0.2314% to 0.1700%. It has been also found that the chemical composition of the recycled alloy powder is the same as the primary heavy metal turnings.

Three-dimensional information is obtained for the Cu site in azurin at very high resolution by combining high-resolution crystallographic structures and EXAFS data for the oxidized and reduced form of the protein. This combined approach has allowed us to define the subtle structural changes (

Unusual wetting behavior of liquid Cu was found on a surface-oxidized iron substrate in reducing atmosphere. Liquid Cu wetted and spread very widely on the iron substrate when a droplet was attached with the substrate in Ar-10%H2 after the surface oxidation of the substrate. The oxidationreduction process fabricates a porous layer at the surface of the iron substrate. The pores in the porous iron layer are 3-dimensionally interconnected. Thus, liquid metals, which are contacted with the reduced iron samples, penetrate into these pores by capillary force to cause the unusual wetting behavior. It has been already confirmed that liquid Ag, Sn, In and Bi show this phenomenon onto surface-porous iron samples as well as liquid Cu. This unusual wetting behavior of a liquid metal has been correlated to the normal contact angle of the liquid metal on a flat iron substrate.