Search

Topological systems hosting gapless boundary states have attracted huge attention as promising components for next-generation information processing, attributed to their capacity for dissipationless electronics. Nevertheless, recent theoretical and experimental inquiries have revealed the emergence of energy dissipation in precisely quantized electrical transport. Here, we present a criterion for the realization of truly no-dissipation design, characterized as Nin = Ntunl + Nbs, where Nin, Ntunl, and Nbs represent the number of modes participating in injecting, tunneling, and backscattering processes, respectively. The key lies in matching the number of injecting, tunneling, and backscattering modes, ensuring the equilibrium among all engaged modes inside the device. Among all the topological materials, we advocate for the indispensability of Chern insulators exhibiting higher Chern numbers to achieve functional devices and uphold the no-dissipation rule simultaneously. Furthermore, we design the topological current divider and collector, evading dissipation upon fulfilling the established criterion. Our work paves the path for developing the prospective topotronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of networks within natural wood (NW) lumens to produce porous wood aerogels (WAs) with fascinating characteristics of being lightweight, flexible, and porous is significant for the high value-added utilization of wood. Nonetheless, how wood species affect the structure and properties of WAs has not been comprehensively investigated. Herein, typical softwood of fir and hardwoods of poplar and balsa are employed to fabricate WAs with abundant nanofibrillar networks using the method of lignin removal and nanofibril's in situ regeneration. Benefiting from the avoidance of xylem ray restriction and the exposure of the cellulose framework, hardwood has a stronger tendency to form nanofibrillar networks compared to softwood. Specifically, a larger and more evenly distributed network structure is displayed in the lumens of balsa WAs (WA-3) with a low density (59 kg m−3), a high porosity (96%), and high compressive properties (strain = 40%; maximum stress = 0.42 MPa; height retention = 100%) because of the unique structure and properties of WA-3. Comparatively, the specific surface area (SSA) exhibits 25-, 27-, and 34-fold increments in the cases of fir WAs (WA-1), poplar WAs (WA-2), and WA-3. The formation of nanofibrillar networks depends on the low-density and thin cell walls of hardwood. This work offers a foundation for investigating the formation mechanisms of nanonetworks and for expanding the potential applications of WAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, surface molecularly imprinted polymers based on magnetic multi‐walled carbon nanotubes were prepared for the specific recognition and adsorption of resveratrol. The functionalization of magnetic multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and the synthesis process of surface molecularly imprinted polymers were optimized. Characterizations were performed to demonstrate the successful synthesis of the imprinted materials. The imprinted materials showed satisfactory adsorption capacity of resveratrol (45.73 ± 1.72 mg/g) and excellent selectivity (imprinting factor 2.89 ± 0.15). In addition, the imprinted materials were used as adsorbents in molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction for the purification of resveratrol from crude extracts of some food and medicinal resources, achieving recoveries of 93.69%−95.53% with high purities of 88.37%−92.33%. Moreover, the purified products exhibited extremely strong free radical scavenging activity compared with crude extracts. Overall, this work provided a promising approach for the highly selective purification of resveratrol from natural resources, which would contribute to the application of this valuable compound in the food/nutraceutical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of feature matching is to establish accurate correspondences between feature points in different images depicting the same scene. To address the polymorphism of local structures, the authors propose a mismatch removal method using bilateral local–global structural consistency. This method incorporates the problem of mismatch removal into the framework of graph matching, constructs a global affinity matrix using local structural similarity and global affine transformation consistency, and optimizes it using a constrained integer quadratic programming method. To comprehensively describe the local structure, the signature quadratic form distance (SQFD) is used to measure the consistency of the neighbourhood structure. Specifically, the weights of edges are constructed based on the SQFD of the local structure, while the matching correctness of nodes and edges between the two graphs is described using local vector similarity. Furthermore, the consistency of the global affine transformation is evaluated by assessing the consistency of the local neighbourhood affine transformation between different corresponding point pairs. In estimating the local affine transformation, a bilateral correction is performed using a total least‐squares (TLS) algorithm to measure the similarity of nodes between the two different graphs. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms state‐of‐the‐art methods in terms of accuracy and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of sedimentary storm deposits around the Tethys Ocean during the early Toarcian hyperthermal (~183 Ma) suggests that intensified tropical cyclone (TC) activity occurred in response to CO2 rise and marked warming. However, this hypothesized linkage between extreme warmth and storm activity remains untested, and the spatial pattern of any changes in TCs is unclear. Here, model results show that there were two potential storm genesis centers over Tethys during the early Toarcian hyperthermal located around the northwestern and southeastern Tethys. The empirically determined doubling of CO2 concentration that accompanied the early Toarcian hyperthermal (~500 to ~1,000 ppmv) leads to increased probability of stronger storms over Tethys, in tandem with more favorable conditions for coastal erosion. These results match well with the geological occurrence of storm deposits during the early Toarcian hyperthermal and confirm that increased TC intensity would have accompanied global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major cereal crop that is grown worldwide, and it is highly dependent on sufficient N supply. The molecular mechanisms associated with nitrate uptake and assimilation are still poorly understood in wheat. In plants, NRT2 family proteins play a crucial role in NO3– acquisition and translocation under nitrate limited conditions. However, the biological functions of these genes in wheat are still unclear, especially their roles in NO3– uptake and assimilation. Results: In this study, a comprehensive analysis of wheat TaNRT2 genes was conducted using bioinformatics and molecular biology methods, and 49 TaNRT2 genes were identified. A phylogenetic analysis clustered the TaNRT2 genes into three clades. The genes that clustered on the same phylogenetic branch had similar gene structures and nitrate assimilation functions. The identified genes were further mapped onto the 13 wheat chromosomes, and the results showed that a large duplication event had occurred on chromosome 6. To explore the TaNRT2 gene expression profiles in wheat, we performed transcriptome sequencing after low nitrate treatment for three days. Transcriptome analysis revealed the expression levels of all TaNRT2 genes in shoots and roots, and based on the expression profiles, three highly expressed genes (TaNRT2-6A.2, TaNRT2-6A.6, and TaNRT2-6B.4) were selected for qPCR analysis in two different wheat cultivars ('Mianmai367' and 'Nanmai660') under nitrate-limited and normal conditions. All three genes were upregulated under nitrate-limited conditions and highly expressed in the high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) wheat 'Mianmai367' under low nitrate conditions. Conclusion: We systematically identified 49 NRT2 genes in wheat and analysed the transcript levels of all TaNRT2s under nitrate deficient conditions and over the whole growth period. The results suggest that these genes play important roles in nitrate absorption, distribution, and accumulation. This study provides valuable information and key candidate genes for further studies on the function of TaNRT2s in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deepen our understanding of the behavior of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) and its response to various external forcings, we investigate the variation of TC genesis potential over the WNP during the past 20 ka that experienced several large forcings. Using a set of transient simulations and a genesis potential index, our results indicate that TC genesis potential in the storm season shows an overall increase averaged over the WNP during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1;17-16 ka) relative to the Last Glacial Maximum. Subsequently, there is a sharp decrease in genesis potential during the Bølling-Allerød (BA;13.5 ka) relative to the HS1, which is followed by an increase during the Younger Dryas (YD;12.9-11.7 ka). During the Holocene, TC genesis potential shows a slight decrease during the early-middle Holocene (;11.7-6 ka) and a significant increasing trend afterward. Further analysis shows that the contribution of each genesis factor to the genesis potential change varies greatly with time, which is in turn tied to changes in external forcings. The increased meltwater fluxes dominate the increased genesis potential during the HS1 and YD, whereas all external forcings (i.e., changes in meltwater, ice sheets, CO2, and insolation) contribute to genesis potential change during the BA. The long-term increasing trend from the mid-Holocene to the present is controlled by orbital insolation. These results may help improve our understanding on past TC activity and shed lights on TC response to various external forcings in a long-term future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters comprise a superfamily of genes encoding membrane proteins with nucleotide-binding domains (NBD). These transporters, including drug efflux across the blood–brain barrier (BBB), carry a variety of substrates through plasma membranes against substrate gradients, fueled by hydrolyzing ATP. The expression patterns/enrichment of ABC transporter genes in brain microvessels compared to peripheral vessels and tissues are largely uncharacterized. Methods: In this study, the expression patterns of ABC transporter genes in brain microvessels, peripheral tissues (lung, liver and spleen) and lung vessels were investigated using RNA-seq and WesTM analyses in three species: human, mouse and rat. Results: The study demonstrated that ABC drug efflux transporter genes (including ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCC4 and ABCC5) were highly expressed in isolated brain microvessels in all three species studied; the expression of ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCC1, ABCC4 and ABCC5 was generally higher in rodent brain microvessels compared to those of humans. In contrast, ABCC2 and ABCC3 expression was low in brain microvessels, but high in rodent liver and lung vessels. Overall, most ABC transporters (with the exception of drug efflux transporters) were enriched in peripheral tissues compared to brain microvessels in humans, while in rodent species, additional ABC transporters were found to be enriched in brain microvessels. Conclusions: This study furthers the understanding of species similarities and differences in the expression patterns of ABC transporter genes; this is important for translational studies in drug development. In particular, CNS drug delivery and toxicity may vary among species depending on their unique profiles of ABC transporter expression in brain microvessels and BBB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing highly porous and conductive carbon electrodes is crucial for high-performance electrochemical double-layer capacitors. We provide a method for preparing supercapacitor electrode materials using zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)-coated wood fibers. The material has high nitrogen (N)-doping content and a specific surface area of 593.52 m2 g−1. When used as a supercapacitor electrode, the composite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 270.74 F g−1, with an excellent capacitance retention rate of 98.4% after 10,000 cycles. The symmetrical supercapacitors (SSCs) with two carbon fiber electrodes (CWFZ2) showed a high power density of 2272.73 W kg−1 (at an energy density of 2.46 W h kg−1) and an energy density of 4.15 Wh kg−1 (at a power density of 113.64 W kg−1). Moreover, the SSCs maintained 81.21% of the initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g−1, which proves that the SSCs have good cycle stability. The excellent capacitance performance is primarily attributed to the high conductivity and N source provided by the zeolite imidazole framework. Because of this carbon material's unique structural features and N-doping, our obtained CWFZ2 electrode material could be a candidate for high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of non-rigid point set registration is to estimate the optimal correspondence between points, and then recover the non-rigid deformation between point sets in a specific way, typically by using a set of complex interpolation functions. Many non-rigid matching algorithms have been studied, but only a few algorithms fully exploit the local structure between point sets. To improve the accuracy of point set registration, this paper proposes a new non-rigid registration algorithm that uses both the global structure and the stable local structure of a non-rigid shape to constrain the registration. Specifically, we consider the point set registration problem as a probability assignment problem, with the probability determined by the Gaussian mixture model and the local structure of the point set. In particular, the Hausdorff distance can effectively measure the similarity of the local structure of the point set in the proposed algorithm. The transformation between the two-point sets is determined by the reproducing kernel Hilbert space based on the motion coherence theory once the correspondence is determined. A significant number of experiments show that the proposed technique has higher registration accuracy than several other state-of-the-art algorithms when dealing with non-rigid registration problems, especially when the point set contains outliers and severely missing points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) lidar has been widely used in various fields. The MEMS scanning system is one of its most important components, while the limitation of scanning angle is the main obstacle to improve the demerit for its application in various fields. In this paper, a folded large field of view scanning optical system is proposed. The structure and parameters of the system are determined by theoretical derivation of ray tracing. The optical design software Zemax is used to design the system. After optimization, the final structure performs well in collimation and beam expansion. The results show that the scan angle can be expanded from ±5° to ±26.5°, and finally the parallel light scanning is realized. The spot diagram at a distance of 100 mm from the exit surface shows that the maximum radius of the spot is 0.506 mm with a uniformly distributed spot. The maximum radius of the spot at 100 m is 19 cm, and the diffusion angle is less than 2 mrad. The energy concentration in the spot range is greater than 90% with a high system energy concentration, and the parallelism is good. This design overcomes the shortcoming of the small mechanical scanning angle of the MEMS lidar, and has good performance in collimation and beam expansion. It provides a design method for large-scale application of MEMS lidar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study evaluates role of hyperpolarized 3helium (3He) MRI measured apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in examining pulmonary function of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Methods: After literature search in electronic databases, studies were selected by following precise eligibility criteria. Meta‐analyses were performed to estimate mean difference in ADC between COPD patients and healthy individuals and to seek correlations between lung ADC and pulmonary function. Metaregression analyses were performed to seek relationships between ADC and age, gender, BMI, cigarette pack‐years, and pulmonary function tests. Results: Twenty‐five studies (622 COPD patients and 469 healthy controls) were included. Lung ADC was 0.402 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.374, 0.429) in COPD patients and 0.228 (95% CI: 0.205, 0.252) in healthy individuals (mean difference 0.160 [95% CI: 0.127, 0.193]; p < 0.001). In metaregression, age (coefficient: 0.006; p = 0.004), pack‐years (coefficient: 0.005; p = 0.018), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (coefficient: −1.815; p = 0.007), percent predicted diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO) (coefficient: −0.004; p = 0.008), and percent predicted inspiratory capacity (coefficient: −0.004; p = 0.012) were significantly associated with ADC in COPD patients. In meta‐analysis of correlation coefficients, ADC was significantly correlated with FEV1 (r = −0.62; p < 0.00001), FEV1/FVC (r = −0.80; p < 0.00001), DLCO (r = −0.85; p < 0.00001), functional residual capacity (r = 0.71; p < 0.00001), reserve volume (r = 0.53; p = 0.0001), and emphysema index (r = 0.89; p < 0.00001). Conclusion: Hyperpolarized 3He MRI measured ADC was higher in COPD patients than in healthy individuals and was inversely associated with FEV1, FEV1/FVC, DLCO, and inspiratory capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciers over High-Mountain Asia (HMA) provide a critical window into past climate change and the linkage between high and low-latitude glaciation, but how glaciers may have varied during past glacial-interglacial cycles remains elusive. Here, we reconstruct the timing and extent of glaciations for the last 425 kyr over HMA, using a climate-glaciation simulation constrained by observations and glacial geologic evidence. We illustrate that there were multiple alpine-style glaciations comparable in extent to those during the last glacial maximum during the last four glacial-interglacial cycles. The extent and timing of glaciations vary across HMA, especially between the westerly influenced northern and the monsoonal-influenced southern HMA. The ~23-kyr periodicity dominates HMA glaciation due to the critical role of precession in regulating summer temperature and precipitation. Our results, in addition to helping to fill the incomplete glacial geologic record, provide a framework to test hypotheses linking orbital-scale climate, glaciation, and landscape evolution over HMA. Plain Language Summary Glaciers are sensitive indicators of climate change and sculpting the landscape we observe today, but there is an incomplete picture of how glaciers over High-Mountain Asia (HMA) might vary during past glacial-interglacial cycles. Here, we provide the first geological evidence-constrained scenario on glaciation evolution over HMA during the last four glacial-interglacial cycles. We illustrate that there were multiple significant glaciations masked by extensive valley glaciers and expanded ice caps for the last 425 kyr, but a continental-scale ice sheet did not develop. Meantime, the ~23-kyr periodicity dominates HMA glaciation, in contrast to the 100-kyr cycle for the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Moreover, the extent and timing of glaciations vary across HMA, especially between the westerly influenced northern and monsoonal-influenced southern HMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the plasma membranes, many transmembrane (TM) proteins/peptides are anchored to the underlying cytoskeleton and/or the extracellular matrix. The lateral diffusion and the tilt of these proteins/ peptides may be greatly restricted by the anchoring. Here, using the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation, we investigated the domain formation and peptide sorting in the ternary lipid bilayers in the presence of the immobilized peptide-grid and peptide-cluster. We mainly focused on examining the combining effect of the peptide immobilization and hydrophobic mismatch on the domain formation and peptide sorting in the lipid bilayers. Compared to the lipid bilayers inserted with free TM peptides, our results showed that, because of the tilt restriction imposed on the peptides, the hydrophobic mismatch effect more significantly influences the domain size, the dynamics of domain formation, and the peptide sorting in our systems. Our results provide some theoretical insights into understanding the formation of nanosized lipid rafts, the protein sorting in the lipid rafts and the interaction between the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix, and the plasma membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty‐one fusaric acid analogs possessing a pyridine carboxylic acid scaffold have been synthesized. The antibacterial activity results demonstrated that compounds 5b, 7b, 8c, and 8d displayed strong antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 4–16 μg/mL. Molecular docking study indicated that these compounds have strong hydrogen‐bonding interactions with TyrRS. Meanwhile, 8c and 8d showed promising antibacterial activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027. Compound 4 exhibited pronounced antibacterial activities against a clinically isolated multidrug‐resistant strain of Escherichia coli (MIC: 64 μg/mL as compared 64 μg/mL of levofloxacin and 1024 μg/mL of ceftriaxone sodium). Moreover, compound 17e displayed strong synergistic antibacterial effect with levofloxacin against the multidrug‐resistant strain, decreasing the MIC value of levofloxacin to 1/16 of its original MIC. No obvious cytotoxic activities against LO2 was observed for compounds 4, 5b, 8c, 8d, 17d, and 17e at 50 μM. The preliminary structure–activity relationship of fusaric acid analogs was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laser beam divergence angle is one of the important parameters to evaluate the quality of the laser beam. It can not only accurately indicate the nature of the beam divergence when the laser beam is transmitted over a long distance, but also objectively evaluate the performance of the laser system. At present, lidar has received a lot of attention as a core component of environment awareness technology. Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) micromirror has become the first choice for three-dimensional imaging lidar because of its small size and fast scanning speed. However, due to the small size of the MEMS micromirror, the lidar scanning system has a small field of view (FOV). In order to achieve a wide range of scanning imaging, collimating optical system and wide-angle optical system are generally added to the system. However, due to the inherent properties of the optical lens, it is impossible to perfect the imaging, so the effects of collimating and expanding the beam will be different at different angles. This article aims to propose a measurement system that dynamically measures the divergence angles of MEMS scanning lidar beams in different fields of view to objectively evaluate the performances of scanning lidar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of high-efficiency non-noble metal materials to substitute Pt-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions is crucial in the commercial viability of Zn-air batteries technology. Nitrogen doped carbons (NDCs) are highly appealing as promising candidates. This study reports a facile molten salt (MS) method to synthesize aerogel-like nitrogen doped carbon (NDC-MS). The eutectic mixture acting as combined solvent and porogen leads to the obtained porous materials with extremely large surface area (1548.6 m2 g−1) and relatively high pore volume. The unique aerogel-like structure with hierarchical structure, increased catalytic active sits, extended surface area and large pore volume is beneficial for enhancing oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance. The resultant NDC-MS displays a superb ORR catalytic activity with high half-wave potential of 0.88 V, which is one of the most effective figures in previous literature of metal-free catalysts. The superb ORR performance can also be evaluated by Zn–air batteries with satisfactory power density and long-term operation stability. Therefore, such an efficient and green synthetic strategy can open up a new avenue for a wide range of commercial application of heteroatom doped carbon materials in advanced energy technologies. Image 1 • An aerogel-like nitrogen doped carbon catalyst is prepared by molten salt template method. • Molten salt template works as structure-directing agent which guides the formation of unique 3D aerogel-like structure. • NDC-MS exhibits a well-developed hierarchical structure, efficient doping and large surface area of 1548.6 m2 g−1. • Unique features endow NDC-MS with superior ORR performance and satisfactory stability Zn-air battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To advance our knowledge of the response of midlatitude westerlies to various external forcings, we investigate the meridional shift of midlatitude westerlies over arid central Asia (ACA) during the past 21 000 years, which experienced more varied forcings than the present day based on a set of transient simulations. Our results suggest that the evolution of midlatitude westerlies over ACA and driving factors vary with time and across seasons. In spring, the location of midlatitude westerlies overACAoscillates largely during the last deglaciation, driven by meltwater fluxes and continental ice sheets, and then shows a long-term equatorward shift during the Holocene controlled by orbital insolation. In summer, orbital insolation dominates the meridional shift of midlatitude westerlies, with poleward and equatorward migration during the last deglaciation and the Holocene, respectively. From a thermodynamic perspective, variations in zonal winds are linked with the meridional temperature gradient based on the thermal wind relationship. From a dynamic perspective, variations in midlatitude westerlies are mainly induced by anomalous sea surface temperatures over the Indian Ocean through the Matsuno–Gill response and over the North Atlantic Ocean by the propagation of Rossby waves, or both, but their relative importance varies across forcings. Additionally, the modeled meridional shift of midlatitude westerlies is broadly consistent with geological evidence, although model–data discrepancies still exist. Overall, our study provides a possible scenario for a meridional shift of midlatitude westerlies over ACA in response to various external forcings during the past 21 000 years and highlights important roles of both the Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean in regulating Asian westerlies, which may shed light on the behavior of westerlies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ferroptosis, a newly form of regulated cell death (RCD), is characterized by iron dyshomeostasis and unrestricted lipid peroxidation. Emerging evidence depicts a pivotal role for ferroptosis in driving some pathological processes, especially in cancer. Triggering ferroptosis can suppress tumor growth and induce an anti-tumor immune response, denoting the therapeutic promises for targeting ferroptosis in the management of cancer. As an autophagic phenomenon, ferritinophagy is critical to induce ferroptosis by degradation of ferritin to release intracellular free iron. Recently, a great deal of effort has gone into designing and developing anti-cancer strategies based on targeting ferritinophagy to induce ferroptosis. Conclusion: This review delineates the regulatory mechanism of ferritinophagy firstly and summarizes the role of ferritinophagy-induced ferroptosis in cancer. Moreover, the strategies targeting ferritinophagy to induce ferroptosis are highlighted to unveil the therapeutic value of ferritinophagy as a target to manage cancer. Finally, the future research directions on how to cope with the challenges in developing ferritinophagy promoters into clinical therapeutics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) is a principal pathway for transport of macromolecules essential for brain function across the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Antibodies or peptide ligands which bind RMT receptors are often co-opted for brain delivery of biotherapeutics. Constitutively recycling transferrin receptor (TfR) is a prototype receptor utilized to shuttle therapeutic cargos across the BBB. Several other BBB-expressed receptors have been shown to mediate transcytosis of antibodies or protein ligands including insulin receptor (INSR) and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R), lipid transporters LRP1, LDLR, LRP8 and TMEM30A, solute carrier family transporter SLC3A2/CD98hc and leptin receptor (LEPR). In this study, we analyzed expression patterns of genes encoding RMT receptors in isolated brain microvessels, brain parenchyma and peripheral organs of the mouse and the human using RNA-seq approach. IGF1R, INSR and LRP8 were highly enriched in mouse brain microvessels compared to peripheral tissues. In human brain microvessels only INSR was enriched compared to either the brain or the lung. The expression levels of SLC2A1, LRP1, IGF1R, LRP8 and TFRC were significantly higher in the mouse compared to human brain microvessels. The protein expression of these receptors analyzed by Western blot and immunofluorescent staining of the brain microvessels correlated with their transcript abundance. This study provides a molecular transcriptomics map of key RMT receptors in mouse and human brain microvessels and peripheral tissues, important to translational studies of biodistribution, efficacy and safety of antibodies developed against these receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) late expression factor 5 (LEF5) is highly conserved in all sequenced baculovirus genomes and plays an important role in production of infectious viral progeny. In this study, nucleolar localization of AcMNPV LEF5 was characterized. Through transcriptome analysis we identified two putative nucleolar proteins, Spodoptera frugiperda nucleostemin (SfNS) and fibrillarin (SfFBL) from Sf9 cells. Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that SfNS and SfFBL were localized to the nucleolus. AcMNPV infection resulted in reorganization of the nucleolus of infected cells. Colocalization of LEF5 and SfNS showed that AcMNPV LEF5 was localized to the nucleolus in Sf9 cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that basic amino acids of LEF5 are enriched at residues 184 to 213 and may contain a nucleolar localization signal (NoLS). Green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to NoLS of AcMNPV LEF5 localized to the nucleolus of transfected cells. Multiple point mutation analysis demonstrated that amino acid residues 197 to 204 are important for nucleolar localization of LEF5. To identify whether the NoLS in AcMNPV LEF5 is important for production of viral progeny, a lef5-null AcMNPV bacmid was constructed, several NoLS-mutated LEF5s were reinserted into the lef5-null AcMNPV bacmid with a GFP reporter. The constructs containing point mutations at residues 185 to 189 or 197 to 204 in AcMNPV LEF5 resulted in reduction in production of infectious viral progeny and occlusion body yield in bacmid-transfected cells. Together, these data suggested that AcMNPV LEF5 contains an NoLS, which is important for nucleolar localization of LEF5, progeny production and occlusion body production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the effect of nifedipine combined with ritodrine hydrochloride on the outcome of threatened premature labor mothers and infants. Methods: A total of 94 pregnant women with threatened premature labor treated in our hospital were divided into 47 cases in the control group and 47 cases in the observation group. The control group was treated with ritodrine hydrochloride, and the observation group was treated with nifedipine on the basis of the control group. The therapeutic effects, successful rates of prolonged pregnancy and fertility preservation, changes in serum inflammatory factors before and after treatment, and the outcomes of mothers and infants of two groups were compared. Results: The total effective rate in the observation group (95.74%) was higher than that in the control group (76.60%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The prolonged pregnancy time in the observation group (21.74 ± 3.42) d was longer than that in the control group (14.53 ± 1.98) d, and the success rate of fertility preservation (95.74%) was higher than that of the control group (78.72%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). After treatment, serum IL-2 levels decreased in both groups, while IL-4 and IL-10 levels increased (observation group: t = 27.547, 12.165, 22.728, control group: t = 11.591, 6.471, 16.621, P < 0.05); after treatment, serum IL-2 levels in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, while IL-4 and IL-10 levels were higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t = 14.760, 6.237, 9.728, P <0.05). The incidence rates of birth asphyxia and low birth weight infants in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05); there was no significant difference in perinatal mortality between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Nifedipine combined with ritodrine hydrochloride has a good effect on pregnant women with threatened premature labor, and the outcomes of mothers and infants are good, which is valuable in guiding clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general protocol for the construction of novel densely functionalized γ-lactones was developed in good to excellent yields with high diastereoselectivity from easily available N-vinyl-α,β-unsaturated nitrones and ketenes. The reaction involves copper-catalyzed [5 + 2] cycloaddition, N–O bond cleavage, 6π electron cyclization, and aromatization to afford various γ-(pyridin-2-yl)lactones over four step transformations in a single flask. The present method features mild reaction conditions, high atom economy, high regio- and diastereoselectivity, diversity of γ-lactones, and a new application of the O-transfer reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estrogen exerts its cardiovascular protective role at least in part by regulating endothelial hydrogen sulfide (H2S) release, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Estrogen exerts genomic effects, i.e. those involving direct binding of the estrogen receptor (ER) to gene promoters in the nucleus, and nongenomic effects, mediated by interactions of the ER with other proteins. Here, using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), immunological detection, MS-based analyses, and cGMP and H2S assays, we show that 17β-estradiol (E2) rapidly enhances endothelial H2S release in a nongenomic manner. We found that E2 induces phosphorylation of cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), the key enzyme in vascular endothelial H2S generation. Mechanistically, E2 enhanced the interaction of membrane ERα with the Gα subunit Gαi-2/3, which then transactivated particulate guanylate cyclase-A (pGC-A) to produce cGMP, thereby activating protein kinase G type I (PKG-I). We also found that PKG-Iβ, but not PKG-Iα, interacts with CSE, leading to its phosphorylation, and rapidly induces endothelial H2S release. Furthermore, we report that silencing of either CSE or pGC-A in mice attenuates E2-induced aorta vasodilation. These results provide detailed mechanistic insights into estrogen's nongenomic effects on vascular endothelial H2S release and advance our current understanding of the protective activities of estrogen in the cardiovascular system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical calculations were performed to investigate the effect of isovalent substitution of Fe with Ga on the magnetic and ferroelectric properties in BiFeO 3 doped with 16.6% and 8.3% Ga. Such substitution will break the G-type anti-ferromagnetic order and enhance the magnetism of BiFeO 3 by forming a stable ferrimagnetic order. The doped system maintains robust spontaneous polarization that is sufficiently large for practical applications at room temperature. The findings explain experimentally observed magnetism. The coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity in the doped BiFeO 3 render it a candidate material for application to information storage and spintronics devices. • The coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity is observed in Ga-doped BiFeO 3. • The substitutional doping establishes a ferrimagnetism in BiFeO 3 matrix. • The Ga-doped BiFeO 3 material still maintains robust ferroelectricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical hydroxytrifluoromethylation of alkenes using the Langlois reagent as the trifluoromethyl source and DMSO as the oxidant is described. This reaction is mild and operationally simple, without exclusion of either moisture or oxygen, allowing access to a wide range of β-trifluoromethyl alcohols in useful yields. This transformation is environmentally friendly and can be easily scaled up to gram level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A π-rich aromatic organic ligand, 4'-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-2,2′,6′,2″-terpyridine (H 2 -DCPTP), and four new lanthanide coordination polymers, {[Ln(DCPTP)(NO 3)]·(H 2 O)} n (Ln = Tb, Eu, Gd) and {[Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 (DCPTP)(NO 3)]·(H 2 O)} n (termed Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 -DCPTP), were prepared. Compound {[Ln(DCPTP)(NO 3)]·(H 2 O)} n is a 3D framework based on the dinuclear Ln 2 (μ 2 -COO) 2 ] units linked by the tridentate DCPTP2− ligands. The H 2 -DCPTP ligand with an appropriate triplet excited state confirmed by DFT calculations and experiments, is a light-harvesting ligand for efficiently sensitizing of Tb3+ and Eu3+ simultaneously, thus enhancing the overall luminescent properties of Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 -DCPTP. The Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 -DCPTP behaves as a high-performance luminescent thermometer ranging from 150 to 300 K with a large relative thermal sensitivity (S m) of 21.5% K−1 and a high energy transfer efficiency (η) of 84% at 300 K. Graphical abstract The 4'-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-2,2′,6′,2″-terpyridine (H 2 -DCPTP) ligand serves as a light-harvesting ligand for efficiently sensitizing of Tb3+ and Eu3+ simultaneously, thus enhancing the overall luminescence of Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 -DCPTP, which behaves as a high-performance luminescent thermometer with a high relative thermal sensitivity of S m up to 21.5% K−1. Image 1 Highlights • {[Ln(DCPTP)(NO 3)](H 2 O)} n and {[Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 (DCPTP)(NO 3)](H 2 O)} n were presented. • The H 2 -DCPTP ligand is a light-harvesting ligand for efficiently sensitizing of Tb3+ and Eu3+. • Tb 0.9064 Eu 0.0936 -DCPTP behaves as a high-performance luminescent thermometer. • Luminescent thermometer with a high relative thermal sensitivity of S m up to 21.5% K−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Chitosan elicitation was conducted for flavonoid enhancement in hairy root cultures. • Chitosan elicitation gave a 7.08-fold increase in flavonoid yield over control. • Chalcone synthase and flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase might be two crucial genes. • Chitosan elicitation can facilitate the commercialization of plant in vitro cultures. Abstract Elicitation for phytochemical enhancement via cost-effective elicitors can overcome the limitation of commercial application faced by plant cell and organ culture technology. Chitosan is a natural, low-cost, and nontoxic elicitor that can trigger plant defense responses with the concomitant enhancement in phytochemical biosynthesis. In this work, the elicitation of Isatis tinctoria L. hairy root cultures by chitosan was conducted to enhance the production of pharmacologically active flavonoids. In comparison with control (2.31 ± 0.29 mg/g DW), a 7.08-fold enhancement of total flavonoids (16.35 ± 0.88 mg/g DW) was achieved in 24 day-old I. tinctoria hairy root cultures elicited by 150 mg/L chitosan for 36 h. Interestingly, the multiple hydroxyl-substituted flavonoids (rutin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and isoliquiritigenin) were noticed to increase significantly in chitosan-elicited I. tinctoria hairy root cultures. Moreover, the transcription of associated genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway was significantly up-regulated underlying chitosan elicitation, among which chalcone synthase and flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase might play an important role in flavonoid enhancement. Additionally, extracts from chitosan-elicited I. tinctoria hairy root cultures exhibited higher antioxidant activities with lower IC 50 values as compared with control. Overall, a cost-effective strategy via the simple chitosan elicitation is provided here to enhance the production of high-added value flavonoids in I. tinctoria hairy root cultures, which paves the way toward the successful commercialization of this in vitro culture system in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a cathode is an essential component of many electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Two‐dimensional materials are beneficial for electron conduction and mass transport with high density, showing prominent electrochemical catalytic performance towards the ORR. Herein, a simple NaCl‐assisted method to synthesize cobalt–nitrogen‐doped carbon materials (CoNC), which present prominent performance towards the ORR in alkaline media, is described. The utilization of the NaCl template endows the product with a large specific surface area of 556.4 m2 g−1, as well as good dispersion of cobalt nanoparticles. CoNC‐800@NaCl (800 indicates the calcination temperature in °C) displays an excellent onset potential of 0.94 V (vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode), which is close to that of commercial Pt/C. Additionally, CoNC‐800@NaCl also exhibits better long‐term durability and methanol tolerance than that of Pt/C. The high‐performance CoNC‐800@NaCl catalyst provides a hopeful alternative to noble‐metal catalysts for the ORR in practical applications. Sprinkle of salt: Two‐dimensional cobalt–nitrogen‐doped carbon nanosheets were successfully fabricated through a simple sodium chloride assisted pyrolysis method (see figure). These nanosheets have been tested as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Five new metabolites belonging to two backbones of pulvilloric acid-type azaphilone and tremulane sesquiterpene were obtained and their structures were determined by spectral analysis. Based on the biogenesis analysis, tremulane sesquiterpenes were obtained from Irpex lacteus by the stimulation of mixed-culture. The antifungal selectivities of metabolites produced by fungus against their co-culture fungus and common pathogens , exhibited competitive interaction of this mix-culture. The tremulane sesquiterpene conocenol B produced by I. lacteus through the induction of Nigrospora oryzae showed selectivity of anti-fungal activity against its co-culture fungus, N. oryzae , with MICs at 16 μg/mL and 128 μg/mL against I. lacteus. The fungus can metabolize these new compounds to inhibit the growth of co-culture fungus while not inhibiting its own growth. Compound 5 was active against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with a ratio of 35% at the concentration of 50 μM. Graphic abstract The antifungal selectivities of new metabolites against its co-culture fungus, produced by different fungus, exhibited the competitive interactions. 5 indicated anti-AChE activity. Unlabelled Image Highlights • The antifungal selectivities of new microbial metabolites against its co-culture fungus showed the competitive interactions. • 5 indicated anti-AChE activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Search of cost-effective strategies that can enhance the accumulation of phytochemicals of pharmaceutical interest in plant in vitro cultures is an essential task. For the first time, Isatis tinctoria L. hairy root cultures were exposed to ultraviolet radiation (ultraviolet-A, ultraviolet-B, and ultraviolet-C) in an attempt to promote the production of pharmacologically active flavonoids. Results showed that the maximum flavonoid accumulation (7259.12 ± 198.19 μg/g DW) in I. tinctoria hairy root cultures treated by 108 kJ/m 2 dose of UV-B radiation increased 16.51-fold as compared with that in control (439.68 ± 8.27 μg/g DW). Additionally, antioxidant activity enhancement and cell wall reinforcement were found in the treated I. tinctoria hairy root cultures, indicating the positive-feedback responses to oxidative stress mediated by ultraviolet-B radiation. Moreover, the expression of chalcone synthase gene was tremendously up-regulated (up to 405.84-fold) in I. tinctoria hairy root cultures following ultraviolet-B radiation, which suggested chalcone synthase gene might play a crucial role in flavonoid augmentation. Overall, the present work provides a feasible approach for the enhanced production of biologically active flavonoids in I. tinctoria hairy root cultures via the simple supplementation of ultraviolet-B radiation, which is useful for the biotechnological production of these high-added value compounds to fulfil the ever-increasing demand in pharmaceutical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To produce a qualified gasification-coke by blending a larger proportion of low-rank coal, the effects of blending ratio, particle size distribution, and maceral components on the coke strength were studied, and a new coking mechanism was put forward in terms of the physical texture. The results show that the influence of coal particle size varies with the different cohesiveness of coals. Fat coal (FC) with a smaller size gets a better performance on the coke strength, while a larger size is needed for gas coal (GC), and the optimum size of long flame coal (Shenfu coal, SFC) varied with its blending ratio. SFC and GC should be crushed coarsely (2–3 mm surpasses 40%) to act as the framework with the less external surface in the viscous embedded state. FC should be crushed finely (<0.2 mm) to form flowing metaplast that being filled uniformly in the gap between these coarse particles, thus reinforcing the embedded state and leading to a high coke strength with a less blend of FC (25 wt%). Moreover, liptinite enriched in the coarse particles of GC and SFC improves the cohesiveness of blended coal moderately. A qualified gasification-coke ( M 25  > 90%, CRI  > 50%, CSR  > 35%) can be obtained by blending >40 wt% SFC with this new coking mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid resins composed of polymeric 4-4 diphenyl methane diisocyanate (pMDI) and used urea-formaldehyde (UUF) resins were prepared and studied. In these hybrid resins, high ratios of pMDI (e.g., 20%) were evenly dispersed in UUF resins by using acetone as a solvent for pMDI. The viscosity of the hybrid resin containing 15% of pMDI only changed from 216 to 424 mPa s with 30 h of storage. Chemical composition analysis showed that the free isocyanate groups were reacted with hydroxyl groups in the hybrid resins within 2 h. From a curing kinetics analysis, even without obvious active isocyanate groups, these hybrid resins still showed lower curing peak temperatures and Kissinger activation energies than the UUF resin. Moreover, the hybrid resins presented significantly higher dry and wet tensile shear strengths than the UUF resin. The effective use time of the hybrid resin with 15% pMDI reached up to 12 h. This study provided a new method for modifying UF resin with pMDI. These results also proved the feasibility of applying the hybrid resins in wood-based composites manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iron(iii)-catalyst controlled cyclization and selective N–O bond cleavage of N-vinyl-α,β-unsaturated nitrones has been achieved under mild conditions to access tetrasubstituted pyridines and 3,5-disubstituted isoxazolines in moderate to good yields. The tetrasubstituted pyridines were afforded with FeCl3 as a catalyst while using FeCl3·6H2O combined with 1,10-phenanthroline delivered isoxazolines. The regioselectivity for cyclization of styrenyl groups in N-vinyl-α,β-unsaturated nitrones was completely different during the formation of pyridines and isoxazolines. A rational mechanism for the formation of pyridines and isoxazolines was proposed based on the further control experimental studies. The isoxazolines can be converted to a novel bidentate N-ligand over four steps and an epoxypyridine scaffold was obtained from N-vinyl nitrone when copper(ii) acetate in combination with the prepared bidentate N-ligand was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) DNA polymerase (DNApol) plays a crucial role in viral DNA synthesis, and the N terminus (residues 1 to 186) is highly conserved in the baculovirus DNApol family. However, the functional role of the N terminus of DNApol has not yet been characterized. Here we report a functional analysis of the AcMNPV DNApol N terminus. We truncated the DNApol N terminus to construct truncation mutants Bac-GFP-PolΔ64, Bac- GFP-PolΔ110, and Bac-GFP-PolΔ186, which lack 64, 110, and 186 N-terminal residues, respectively. Although the truncation mutants rescued viral DNA synthesis and infectious virus production, the level of DNA replication decreased, and Bac-GFP-PolΔ64, Bac-GFP-PolΔ110, and Bac-GFP-PolΔ186 showed 10-fold, 89-fold, and 891-fold reductions in infectious viral yield compared to that of the wild-type repair virus, respectively. Production of occlusion bodies was compromised for all truncation mutants. Further bioinformatic analysis showed that the first 64 amino acids (aa) at the extreme N terminus contains a conserved α(-helix)-β(-sheet)-β-β secondary-structure region, and further downstream sequence from aa 67 to 186 is comprised of four conserved sequence motifs. Multiple alanine point substitutions in the α-β-β-β structure region or the four sequence motifs in the N terminus impaired viral DNA replication and resulted in reduction of virus yield and occlusion body production. Together, our results suggested that the secondary structure and four conserved motifs within the N terminus of AcMNPV DNApol are important for viral DNA synthesis, infectious virus yield, and production of occlusion bodies. IMPORTANCE DNA polymerase (DNApol) is highly conserved in all baculoviruses and is required for viral DNA replication. The N terminus is one of the highly conserved regions of baculovirus DNApols. Our results showed that the N terminus of baculovirus DNA polymerase plays an important role in efficient viral DNA synthesis and infectious virus yield and production of occlusion bodies. We identified five features, including a highly conserved secondary structure and four conserved amino acid motifs, in the AcMNPV DNApol N terminus, all of which are important for efficient viral DNA synthesis, infectious virus yield, and production of occlusion bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty seven species of Psathyrella have been found in Northeast China. Amongst them, P. conica, P. jilinensis, P. mycenoides and P. subsingeri are described as new species, based on studying morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses. Detailed morphological descriptions, line drawings and photographs of the new species are presented. Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and an identification key to the 27 Psathyrella species occuring in Northeast China are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dried roots of Isatis tinctoria L. are highly traded in the pharmaceutical industry due to their notable anti-influenza efficacy. For the first time, I. tinctoria hairy root cultures (ITHRCs) were co-cultured with two immobilized live GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) fungi, i.e. Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus niger , for the elevated production of pharmacologically active flavonoids. Immobilized A. niger (IAN) was exhibited as the superior elicitor in the plant-fungus co-cultivation system. The highest flavonoid production (3018.31 ± 48.66 μg/g DW) were achieved in IAN-treated ITHRCs under the optimal conditions of IAN spore concentration ca. 10 4 spores/mL, temperature 30 °C, initial pH value of media 7.0 and time 72 h, which remarkably increased 6.83-fold relative to non-treated control (441.91 ± 7.35 μg/g DW). Also, this study revealed that IAN elicitation could trigger the sequentially transient accumulation of signal molecules and intensify the oxidative stress in ITHRCs, which both contributed to the up-regulated expression of associated genes involved in flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Moreover, IAN could be reused at least five cycles with satisfactory performance. Overall, the coupled culture of IAN and ITHRCs is a promising and effective approach for the enhanced production of flavonoids, which allows for the improved applicability of these valuable compounds in pharmaceutical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a pivotal tool to build interpretive models, variable selection plays an increasingly important role in high-dimensional data analysis. In recent years, variable selection ensembles (VSEs) have gained much interest due to their many advantages. Stability selection (Meinshausen and Bühlmann, 2010), a VSE technique based on subsampling in combination with a base algorithm like lasso, is an effective method to control false discovery rate (FDR) and to improve selection accuracy in linear regression models. By adopting lasso as a base learner, we attempt to extend stability selection to handle variable selection problems in a Cox model. According to our experience, it is crucial to set the regularization region Λ in lasso and the parameter λmin properly so that stability selection can work well. To the best of our knowledge, however, there is no literature addressing this problem in an explicit way. Therefore, we first provide a detailed procedure to specify Λ and λmin. Then, some simulated and real-world data with various censoring rates are used to examine how well stability selection performs. It is also compared with several other variable selection approaches. Experimental results demonstrate that it achieves better or competitive performance in comparison with several other popular techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral image (HSI) clustering has drawn increasing attention due to its challenging work with respect to the curse of dimensionality. In this paper, we propose a novel class probability propagation of supervised information based on sparse subspace clustering (CPPSSC) algorithm for HSI clustering. Firstly, we estimate the class probability of unlabeled samples by way of partial known supervised information, which can be addressed by sparse representation-based classification (SRC). Then, we incorporate the class probability into the traditional sparse subspace clustering (SSC) model to obtain a more accurate sparse representation coefficient matrix accompanied by obvious block diagonalization, which will be used to build the similarity matrix. Finally, the cluster results can be obtained by applying the spectral clustering on similarity matrix. Extensive experiments on a variety of challenging data sets illustrate that our proposed method is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel and complex nanostructures of amphiphiles assemblies facilitate realizing of many practical applications in nanotechnologies. Under different physical conditions, amphiphiles can form various morphologies. In this article, the self-assembly of bolaamphiphiles was investigated under the cylindrical confinement of carbon nanotubes by coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation. We found that bolaamphiphiles inside a carbon nanotube with a relatively large diameter tended to self-assemble into curved cylindrical micelles, and further some of these micelles can form double helix structures which were not observed in bulk solutions. We develop an effective method to characterize different morphologies. Our analysis results showed that the formation of double helix and other amorphous morphologies of micelles in carbon nanotubes is not induced by the conformational variation of bolaamphiphiles. Moreover, through examining the potential energies of different structures, we infer that it is entropy which leads micelles to bend even to form double stranded helix structures. In addition, we analyzed the sizes of micelles and find the scission and recombination of micelles during the double helix formation process. This work indicates that the confinement of carbon nanotube is an available method to produce complex nanostructures and provides some new insights of the self-assembly of bolaamphiphiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The proposed TLS-based criterion includes two dual terms which are only governed by the single row-orthonormal STM. • The rationality of the TLS-based criterion is explained. • We formulate the soft-decision making criterion which includes two outlier parameters and the deterministic annealing technology. • We improve the accuracy of correspondence estimation and enhance the suppression of bilateral outliers by using two dual terms. Point set registration (PSR) is competitive with related techniques because it purposefully captures the overall structure between two point-set patterns. Typically, the point set registration problem can be divided into two sub-problems: (1) search point set correspondence (PSC); (2) estimate spatial transformation matrix (STM). Searching for the best PSC is a classical combinatorial explosion problem, and estimating the STM is a continuous space optimization problem. Also, two feature point sets detected by two low-quality images include point-position errors and often involve bilateral outliers composed of such feature points that cannot form a correspondence relationship. To address the above problems, we propose an efficient PSR algorithm with d ual (symmetrical) t erms based on the t otal l east s quares (DT-TLS), which can correct errors-in-variables and suppress multiple outliers. Meanwhile, the framework of soft decision-making is presented, and a TLS-based criterion is constructed to efficiently exploit the probability and global structures of two-point sets. Such TLS-based criterion with single row-orthonormal STM includes two interesting dual (symmetrical) terms that can be conveniently exploited to suppress bilateral outliers. The experimental results show that DT-TLS achieves better performance than the state-of-the-art algorithms in some multi-view computer vision tasks, indicating that our proposed algorithm is suitable for solving PSR problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonaceous solid acid (CSA) catalysts with –SO3H, –COOH, and phenolic –OH functional groups were prepared by hydrothermal carbonization and sulfuric acid impregnation methods. A maximum furfural (FF) yield of 19.66% from corncob degradation remained stable at 10 runs at 180°C for 170 min while the concentration of sulfuric acid was employed from 2.0 to 0.5 mol/L. The sulfur in CSA catalyst exists in two forms, namely SO42−and –SO3H. The free sulfuric acid and carbon together with –SO3H created good physical contact between the lignocellulose substrate and the solid catalyst in the reaction, and drastically improved the depolymerization rate of hemicelluloses and cellulose to soluble polysaccharide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering porous heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials with remarkable capacitive performance is highly attractive. Herein, a simple and smart method has been developed to synthesize phosphorus (P) doped carbon with hierarchical porous structure derived from lignocellulose. Hierarchically porous P doped carbon is readily obtained by the pyrolysis of lignocellulose immersed in ZnCl 2 /NaH 2 PO 4 aqueous solution, and exhibits excellent capacitive properties. The as-obtained P doped porous carbon delivers a significant capacitance of 133 F g −1 (146 mF cm −2 ) at a high current density of 10 A g −1 with outstanding rate performance. Furthermore, the P doped carbon electrode yields a long-term cycling durability with more than 97.9% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles as well. A symmetric supercapacitor with a maximum energy density of 4.7 Wh kg −1 is also demonstrated based on these P doped carbon electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic co-regulation between biosynthetic pathways for secondary metabolites is common in microbes and can play an important role in microbial interactions. Here, we describe a novel mechanism of metabolic co-regulation in which an intermediate in one pathway is converted into signals that activate a second pathway. Our study focused on the co-regulation of 2,4- diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) and pyoluteorin, two antimicrobial metabolites produced by the soil bacterium Pseudomonas protegens. We show that an intermediate in DAPG biosynthesis, phloroglucinol, is transformed by a halogenase encoded in the pyoluteorin gene cluster into mono- and di-chlorinated phloroglucinols. The chlorinated phloroglucinols function as intra- and inter- cellular signals that induce the expression of pyoluteorin biosynthetic genes, pyoluteorin production, and pyoluteorin-mediated inhibition of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora. This metabolic co-regulation provides a strategy for P. protegens to optimize the deployment of secondary metabolites with distinct roles in cooperative and competitive microbial interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel biotechnology approach by combining deacetylation biocatalysis with elicitation of immobilized Penicillium canescens ( IPC) in Astragalus membranaceus hairy root cultures ( AMHRCs) was proposed for the elevated production of astragaloside IV ( AG IV). The highest AG IV accumulation was achieved in 36-day-old AMHRCs co-cultured with IPC for 60 h, which resulted in the enhanced production of AG IV by 14.59-fold in comparison with that in control (0.193 ± 0.007 mg/g DW). Meanwhile, AG IV precursors were almost transformed to AG IV by IPC deacetylation. Moreover, expression of genes involved in AG IV biosynthetic pathway was significantly up-regulated in response to IPC elicitation. Also, FTIR and SEM showed that cell wall lignification was enhanced following IPC treatment and root surface was likely to be IPC deacetylation site. Overall, dual roles of IPC (biocatalyst and elicitor) offered an effective and sustainable way for the mass production of AG IV in AMHRCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method, so called “active hydrogen bond network” (AHBN), is proposed for site-directed mutations of hydrolytic enzymes. In an enzyme the AHBN consists of the active residues, functional residues, and conservative water molecules, which are connected by hydrogen bonds, forming a three dimensional network. In the catalysis hydrolytic reactions of hydrolytic enzymes AHBN is responsible for the transportation of protons and water molecules, and maintaining the active and dynamic structures of enzymes. The AHBN of pullulanase BNPulA324 from Bacillus naganoensis was constructed based on a homologous model structure using Swiss Model Protein-modeling Server according to the template structure of pullulanase BAPulA (2WAN). The pullulanase BNPulA324 are mutated at the mutation sites selected by means of the AHBN method. Both thermal stability and pH-sensitivity of pullulanase BNPulA324 were successfully improved. The mutations at the residues located at the out edge of AHBN may yield positive effects. On the other hand the mutations at the residues inside the AHBN may deprive the bioactivity of enzymes. The AHBN method, proposed in this study, may provide an assistant and alternate tool for protein rational design and protein engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the threats that tropical cyclones (TC) pose to people and infrastructure, there is significant interest in how the climatology of these storms may change with climate. The global historical record has been extensively examined, but it is short and plagued with recurring questions about its homogeneity, limiting its effectiveness at assessing how TCs vary with climate. Past warm intervals provide an opportunity to quantify TC behavior in a warmer-than-present world. Here, we use a TC-resolving (~25 km) global atmospheric model to investigate TC activity during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.264-3.025 Ma) that shares similarities with projections of future climate. Two experiments, one driven by the reconstructed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and the other by the SSTs from an ensemble of mid-Pliocene simulations, consistently predict enhanced global-average peak TC intensity during the mid-Pliocene coupled with longer duration, increased power dissipation, and a poleward migration of the location of peak intensity. The simulations are similar to global TC changes observed during recent global warming, as well as those of many future projections, providing a window into the potential TC activity that may be expected in a warmer world. Changes to power dissipation and TC frequency, especially in the Pacific, are sensitive to the different SST patterns, which could affect the viability of the role of TCs as a factor for maintaining a reduced zonal SST gradient during the Pliocene, as recently hypothesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, Cajanus cajan cell suspension cultures (CCSCs) were elicited by living GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) fungi to enhance the production of bioactive phenolic compounds. Under the inoculum size of mycelia (0.5 %), the optimal fungus Aspergillus oryzae Y-29 (AO Y-29) could achieve the enhanced production of cajaninstilbene acid (5.79-fold increase) in 49-day-old CCSCs at 8 h. Also, AO Y-29 could promote the production of flavonoid aglycones including luteolin (2.25-fold increase), genistein (2.04-fold increase), apigenin (1.96-fold increase), isorhamnetin (1.43-fold increase), and biochanin A (6.48-fold increase) in CCSCs at 12 h. Moreover, the levels of genistein and cajaninstilbene acid in culture media after fungal elicitation increased by 3.58- and 18.02-fold over control, respectively. AO Y-29 mycelia was found to trigger the oxidative stress thus activating the expression of pathogenesis-, biosynthesis-, and ABC transport-related genes, which contributed to the accumulation and secretion of flavonoid aglycones and cajaninstilbene acid in CCSCs. Furthermore, ABCB11 was likely to be correlated with the transport of genistein and cajaninstilbene acid, which was important for systematic metabolic engineering to increase their productivity. Overall, the elicitation of CCSCs with AO Y-29 was attractive for obtaining high yields of valuable flavonoid aglycones and cajaninstilbene acid in pharmaceutical/nutraceutical fields. [Display omitted] • Cajanus cajan cell suspension cultures (CCSCs) elicited by living fungi was to enhance phenolic production and secretion. • Yields of high-value flavonoid aglycones and cajaninstilbene acid (CSA) increased upon fungal elicitation. • CCSCs augmented CSA productivity 5.79-fold when elicited by Aspergillus oryzae Y-29 mycelia. • Expression of pathogenesis-, biosynthesis-, and transport-related genes was activated. • ABCB11 was likely to be correlated with the transport of genistein and CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we focused on characterizing the proteome in granulosa cells in patients with biochemical premature ovarian insufficiency (bPOI) in order to identify differential proteins and investigate the fundamental mechanisms of POI. A total of 2688 proteins were identified based on the data-independent acquisition method, and 70 differentially expressed proteins were significant. Bioinformatic analyses, including gene expression pattern analysis, gene ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins analysis, revealed discrete modules and the underlying molecular mechanisms in bPOI. Importantly, we observed that Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1) was downregulated in the granulosa cells of bPOI. Low expression of RAC1 may affect the development process of POI by affecting the proliferation, apoptosis, and hormone synthesis of granulosa cells. Downregulation of RAC1 expression in the KGN and COV434 cells inhibited cell proliferation, blocked cells in the G1/G0 phase, and promoted apoptosis. Western blot results showed that β-catenin and cyclin D1 in the KGN and COV434 cells transfected with RAC1-siRNA were downregulated, while P21 and Bax were upregulated. Knocking down RAC1 in the KGN cells or adding the RAC1 enzyme inhibitor to the human luteinized granulosa cells (hLGC) inhibited the synthesis of E 2 , and the expression of aromatase and follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) was reduced. • RAC1 showed low expression in the GCs of patients with bPOI. • RAC1 devoted to POI by affecting the proliferation and apoptosis of GCs through β-catenin pathway. • RAC1 knockdown inhibits the E 2 biosynthesis of GCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]