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Pecan (Carya illinoinensis), a globally economically significant dried fruit and woody oil tree, faces significant challenges in production and nut quality due to the rampant outbreak of severe fungal diseases. From 2020 to 2021, an extensive occurrence of a disease resembling gray mold was observed on the leaves and fruits of pecan trees in Jiangsu Province, China. Upon isolation from symptomatic samples, Botrytis cinerea was identified through morphological analysis and phylogenetic studies of the G3PDH, HSP60, and RPB2 gene sequences. Furthermore, pathogenicity tests conclusively attributed the gray mold disease observed on pecan leaves and fruits to B. cinerea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that B. cinerea has been reported on pecans. These findings thus provide a basis for further research on the management of pecan gray mold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortical bone loss is intricately associated with ageing and coincides with iron accumulation. The precise role of ferroptosis, characterized by iron overload and lipid peroxidation, in senescent osteocytes remains elusive. We found that ferroptosis was a crucial mode of osteocyte death in cortical bone during ageing. Using a single‐cell transcriptome analysis, we identified activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) as a critical driver of osteocyte ferroptosis. Elevated ATF3 expression in senescent osteocytes promotes iron uptake by upregulating transferrin receptor 1 while simultaneously inhibiting solute carrier family 7‐member 11‐mediated cystine import. This process leads to an iron overload and lipid peroxidation, culminating in ferroptosis. Importantly, ATF3 inhibition in aged mice effectively alleviated ferroptosis in the cortical bone and mitigated cortical bone mass loss. Taken together, our findings establish a pivotal role of ferroptosis in cortical bone loss in older adults, providing promising prevention and treatment strategies for osteoporosis and fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new negligible depletion extraction procedure was proposed for equilibrium sampling of 4-tert-octylphenol (OP) and 4-nonylphenol (NP) into a thin film of 1-octanol supported on a hollow fiber membrane. This thin liquid film extraction technique was directed at the determination of (1) freely dissolved concentrations, (2) distribution coefficients to 1-octanol ([D.sub.ow]), and (3) binding to dissolved organic matter ([D.sub.DOC]). The sampling device was prepared by dipping pieces of polypropylene microporous hollow fiber membrane (10-mm length, 30-[micro]m wall thickness, 240-[micro]m inner diameter) into 1-octanol for a few seconds to impregnate the pores of the hollow fiber wall. After stirring in 100 mL of sample solution for 24 h, the sampling device was harvested and desorbed with 30 [micro]L of methanol, of which 20 [micro]L was injected for HPLC analysis. With the measured [D.sub.ow] of a chemical and its equilibrium concentration in the 1-octanol sampling phase ([C.sub.octanol]), the freely dissolved concentration ([C.sub.free]) was calibrated based on [C.sub.free] = [C.sub.octanol]/[D.sub.ow]. Measured log [D.sub.ow] values of OP (4.32 [+ or -] 0.06) and NP (4.79 [+ or -] 0.02) were independent of the chemical concentration, only minimally affected by the environmentally relevant pH, buffering capacity, and salinity of samples, and agreed well with reported values. Log [D.sub.DOC] values of OP (4.89 [+ or -] 0.43) and NP (5.14 [+ or -] 0.37), determined in Aldrich humic acid solution, agreed with reported partition coefficients to organic carbon (log [K.sub.oc]) for particles in river water and effluent wastewater. Short equilibration times and high enrichment factors were obtained for both analytes due to the high surface to volume ratio of the new sampler. The technique was successfully applied to determine [C.sub.free] of OP and NP in real water samples and to study their association with humic acids and bovine albumin.

A novel Ag3VO4/CoWO4 (AgCoO) p–n heterostructure was designed and prepared by an in situ growth method. The physicochemical properties of the as-prepared materials were characterized by multiple techniques, and the photocatalytic performances in Cr(VI) reduction and TC degradation were also evaluated under visible-light irradiation. The optimal AgCoO0.20 exhibited excellent Cr(VI) reduction activity (98.5% removal rate) and TC degradation activity (71.4% removal rate). The enhanced Cr(VI) reduction and TC degradation performances were attributed to fast transportation and efficient separation of the charge carriers due to the synergistic effect of the sufficient interfacial contact and the interaction between CoWO4 and Ag3VO4 induced by the formation of the p–n heterostructure. Ultimately, the possible enhanced photocatalytic mechanism over the Ag3VO4/CoWO4 p–n heterostructure composite was also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel three-dimensional (3D) network rodlike Ag 2 S/Bi 2 SiO 5 photocatalyst with a p-n heterostructure composed of ultrafine Ag 2 S nanoparticles (NPs) and Bi 2 SiO 5 nanosheets was prepared using an anionic self-regulation strategy by a two-step hydrothermal process. The architecture facilitated the efficient transfer and separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The optimal Ag 2 S/Bi 2 SiO 5 composite (ABSO 0.10 ) exhibited an excellent reduction activity (93.5% Cr(VI) removal in wastewater containing 50 mg·L -1 Cr(VI) within 90 min under visible light), which was about 11.2 and 25.6 times higher than that of the pristine Ag 2 S and virgin Bi 2 SiO 5 , respectively. Assisted by experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for Cr(VI) reduction over the Ag 2 S/Bi 2 SiO 5 composite under visible-light irradiation was proposed.

Using an intensified spectroscopic detector CCD, the UV-Vis absorption spectra of tanshinone II A and Tanshinone II A-Cu(II) complex were acquired. The stable geometric structures of Tanshinone II A and Tanshinone II A -Cu(II) complex were obtained by using density functional theory method. Based on the optimized geometric structures, the electronic absorption spectra of Tanshinone II A and Tanshinone II A-Cu(II) complex in gas phase and in ethanol solution were calculated by using time-dependent density functional theory. Results show that the solvent effect induces the red shift of spectrum for Tanshinone II A and the blue shift of spectrum for Tanshinone II A-Cu(II) complex. The calculated absorption spectra including the solvent effect are in good agreement with the experimental results. The present work first measured and computed the electronic absorption spectra of Tanshinone II A-Cu(II) complex.