Search

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), featuring semiconductor-like behavior, have recently garnered widespread interest for applications in photocatalysis by virtue of their well-defined and tailorable porous structures, high surface areas and excellent chemical stability. A facile strategy for designing COFs exerting efficient charge transfer and separation as well as suppressing charge carrier recombination is the precise integration of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing moieties to form long-range ordered donor–acceptor (D–A) type structures. In this work, we rationally designed and synthesized a novel imine-linked COF (DABT-Py-COF) by the condensation of a newly designed D–A–D type monomer of 4,4′,4′′,4′′′-(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-4,7-diylbis(9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine-10,2,7-triyl))tetrabenzaldehyde and 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)pyrene under solvothermal conditions. Remarkably, the obtained DABT-Py-COF exhibited outstanding and steady hydrogen production with a maximum hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 5458 μmol g−1 h−1 under visible-light irradiation (AM 1.5). This work has paved the way for the rational design and preparation of more efficient D–A type COFs for photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fully sp2-carbon conjugated COF (Py-FTP-COF) was designed and synthesized, exhibiting excellent hydrogen evolution rate of 5.22 mmol g−1 h−1. More importantly, in situ hydrogenation of nitroarenes under visible-light irradiation without any additional hydrogen source was successfully accomplished for the first time over COF-based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new foraminiferal fauna is reported from the upper part of the Xiala Formation in the Zhari Namco section in the central Lhasa Block, which contains three species of fusulines and 26 species of small foraminifers. The presence of Reichelina and Codonofusiella in the fauna suggests a Wuchiapingian age. A review of the Lopingian faunas in several localities in the Lhasa Block indicates that this block was under a shallow marine environment during the Lopingian, rather than an uplifted terrestrial environment as previously recognized. The Lopingian palaeobiogeography as well as the sequences of the Lhasa Block differs greatly from the adjacent South Qiangtang, Karakorum and South Pamir blocks, and the Tethys Himalaya region of the Indian Plate. It further suggests that the Lhasa Block was separated from the South Qiangtang Block in the north by the Bangong‐Nujiang Ocean and the Tethys Himalaya area in the south by the Neotethys Ocean during the Lopingian time. Furthermore, the dissimilarity of the Guadalupian and Lopingian strata and faunas between the Lhasa and Karakorum blocks and similarity between the Lhasa and Tengchong blocks, may suggest that the Lhasa and Tengchong blocks were linked together during the Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is now seen as a significant resource that develops abundant on the world economy, with short supply and development. A study found that renewable energy systems are needed to prevent shortages. Hence, all the focus in this study to decrease electricity consumption and reduce the overall completion times for a regular console in green technology networks was an efficient and scalable production genomic solution. A Renewable green energy resources smart city (RGER-SC) framework is proposed that used a multi-target evolutionary algorithm was hybridized to be effective and calculated arithmetically in this study. This work deals with fostering renewable energy incorporation by adjusting federal charges to increase the energy accounting practitioners. Besides, this report analyses the timely generation of delay-tolerant demands and the maintenance of district heating at network infrastructure. In comparison, capacity differentials between consumers and information centres are considered and evaluated using the Renewable green energy resources smart city (RGER-SC) framework for energy conservation and controlled task management at an industrial level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tectonic evolution of the Sibumasu Block during the Permian remains controversial, and Permian faunas and their paleobiogeographic affinities provide some insight into its paleogeographic and tectonic evolutionary histories. In this paper, a new brachiopod fauna dominated by Spinomartinia prolificaWaterhouse, 1981 is described from the uppermost part of the Taungnyo Group in the Zwekabin Range, eastern Myanmar. This brachiopod fauna includes 23 species and its age is well constrained as late Kungurian by the associated conodonts, i.e., Vjalovognathus nicolliYuan et al., 2016 and Mesogondolella idahoensis (Youngquist, Hawley, and Miller, 1951), contrary to the late Sakmarian age given to the same brachiopod faunas previously reported from southern Thailand and Malaysia. Based on comprehensive comparisons of the Cisuralian brachiopod faunas and other data in different parts of the Sibumasu Block, we consider that they are better subdivided into two independent stratigraphic assemblages, i.e., the lower (earlier) Bandoproductus monticulus-Spirelytha petaliformis Assemblage of a Sakmarian to probably early Artinskian age, and the upper (younger) Spinomartinia prolifica-Retimarginifera alata Assemblage of a late Kungurian age. The former assemblage is a typical cold-water fauna, mainly composed of Gondwanan-type genera, e.g., BandoproductusJin and Sun, 1981, SpirelythaFredericks, 1924, and SulciplicaWaterhouse, 1968. The latter assemblage is strongly characterized by an admixture of both Cathaysian and Gondwanan elements, as well as some genera restricted to the Cimmerian continents. Notably, the spatial distribution pattern of these two separate brachiopod assemblages varies distinctly. The Sakmarian cold-water brachiopod faunas have been found in association with glacial-marine diamictites throughout the Sibumasu Block including both the Irrawaddy and Sibuma blocks. In contrast, the Kungurian biogeographically mixed brachiopod faunas are only recorded in the Irrawaddy Block, unlike the Sibuma Block that contains a contemporaneous paleotropical Tethyan fusuline fauna. Thus, it appears likely that by the end of Cisuralian (early Permian), the Sibumasu Block comprised the Irrawaddy Block in the south with cool climatic conditions, and the Sibuma Block in the north with a temperate to warm-water environment, separated by the incipient Thai-Myanmar Mesotethys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small burrowing herbivores create extensive disturbances to grassland soil, which may change carbon cycling. We focused on the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) to simultaneously investigate the responses of the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks of alpine meadows to the disturbance caused by this small burrowing herbivore and its disturbance intensity at the plot scale across five sites on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. The percentage of bare soil area in a disturbed plot was used as a proxy for the disturbance intensity of plateau pikas. Our study found that the disturbance by plateau pikas reduced the SIC stock and increased the SOC stock, whereas it had no effect on the soil total carbon (STC) stock. Our study also found that the SOC and STC stocks were higher at intermediate disturbance intensities of plateau pikas, whereas the SIC stock showed a decreasing trend as the disturbance intensity of plateau pikas increased. Our findings suggest that intermediate disturbance intensities of a small burrowing herbivore (plateau pika) improve soil quality by increasing the SOC stock and benefit soil carbon sequestration by increasing the STC stock. Highlights: Explored the SIC and SOC stocks simultaneously in relation to the disturbance by a small burrowing herbivore.Soil carbon stocks were evaluated at plot scale across five sites.SIC and SOC stocks responded differently to the disturbance by plateau pika and its disturbance intensity.The intermediate disturbance intensities were good for the soil quality and soil carbon sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to evaluate meat colour, antioxidant performance of longissimus muscle in different pig breeds, including five Chinese native pig breeds, a Chinese bred pig breed as well as a commercial crossbred pig breed, and to analyse the relationships between meat colour and antioxidant capacity. The results showed that the Chinese native and bred pig breeds have higher meat colour and marbling scores than commercial crossbred pigs. The Chinese native and bred pig breeds showed significantly stronger total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase activity, and lower malondialdehyde contents than commercial crossbred pigs. Moreover, the total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase activity were positively correlated with visual colour, a * and chroma, and negatively correlated with L * and hue angle; on the contrary, the malondialdehyde content was negatively correlated with visual colour, marbling, a *, b * and chroma, and positively correlated with L * and hue angle. In addition, principal component 1 and 2 explained 46.41% and 18.30% of the total variance. These results indicated that meat colour and antioxidant capacity were affected by pig breeds, and meat colour was strongly correlated with antioxidant capacity. Comparative study between Chinese native pig breeds and commercial crossbred pigs can provide information on meat colour and antioxidant capacity of different breeds. This is a preliminary study on antioxidant capacity in Chinese native pig breeds, exhibiting higher antioxidant capacity than commercial crossbred pig. This discovery could provide a new perspective on meat colour and antioxidant capacity, and these results implied that there was a strong relationship between meat colour and antioxidant capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polyvinylidene fluoride/perfluorosulfonic acid/oxidized-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PVDF/PFSA/O-MWNTs) hollow fiber membranes with 90.0% N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) aqueous solution as bore liquid are prepared by the wet spinning method. The membranes with the singly introduced PFSA or O-MWNTs additive are also investigated for comparison. The synergism effects of the two additives of PFSA and O-MWNTs are experimentally verified. The results indicate that the PVDF/PFSA/O-MWNTs hollow fiber membranes show asymmetrical structure. The fingerlike voids in the membranes run through the whole cross-sections. However, the PVDF/O-MWNTs fiber (MC-75) has an evidently different cross-section morphology due to the absence of PFSA. The surface hydrophilicity and permeation flux of PVDF/PFSA/O-MWNTs membranes are evidently improved with the addition of O-MWNTs. The hydraulic permeability J w increases from 100.4 L M −2 H −1 bar −1 to 229.4 L M −2 H −1 bar −1 as O-MWNTs loading increases from 0.25 wt% to 0.75 wt% for M-25–M-75, and then slightly decreases to 205.3 L M −2 H −1 bar −1 for M-100. The fibers of M-0 and MC-75 containing a single additive, PFSA or O-MWNTs, only have 80.7±4.8 L M −2 H −1 bar −1 and 32.3±6.1 L M −2 H −1 bar −1 , respectively. The mechanical properties of PVDF/PFSA/O-MWNTs fibers are also improved by adding O-MWNTs up to 0.75 wt%, whereas the fibers only containing a single additive (PFSA or O-MWNTs) present a lower mechanical strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low air pressure and low oxygen partial pressure at high altitude seriously affect the survival and development of human beings and animals. ECE1 is a recently discovered gene that is involved in anti-hypoxia, but the full-length cDNA sequence has not been obtained. For a better understanding of the structure and function of the ECE1 gene and to study its effect in Tibetan pig, the cDNA of the ECE1 gene from the muscle of Tibetan pig was cloned, sequenced and characterized. The ECE1 full-length cDNA sequence consists of 2262 bp coding sequence (CDS) that encodes 753 amino acids with a molecular mass of 85,449 kD, 2 bp 5′UTR and 1507 bp 3′UTR. In addition, the phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the Tibetan pig ECE1 has a closer genetic relationship and evolution distance with the land mammals ECE1 . Furthermore, analysis by qPCR showed that the ECE1 transcript is constitutively expressed in the 10 tissues tested: the liver, subcutaneous fat, kidney, muscle, stomach, heart, brain, spleen, pancreas, and lung. These results serve as a foundation for further insight into the Tibetan pig ECE1 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Trade-off of increased stem and decreased leaf biomass under PRDI maintain shoot biomass of alfalfa whole plant. • PRDI increases alfalfa whole plant water productivity. • PRDI increases C and P concentration in roots, and N concentration in alfalfa whole plant. • PRDI encourages more C and P to be allocated to the roots and more N to the leaves of alfalfa whole plant. Partial root-zone drying irrigation (PRDI) can influence carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and P (phosphorus) allocations in annual crop plants. This study consisted of a two-factorial split-plot field experiment conducted on Huanghua farmland in western China, and it was focused on investigating the effects of PRDI on the biomass; water productivity; and C, N and P allocations in a perennial plant (alfalfa) from 2016-2017. The two factors were the irrigation mode (PRDI and conventional furrow irrigation (CFI)) and irrigation volume (70 %-I 1 , 85 %-I 2 , 100 %-I 3 and 115 %-I 4 of the alfalfa water requirement), in which the irrigation mode was the primary plot and the irrigation volume was the subplot. This study showed that PRDI decreased the alfalfa leaf biomass and increased the alfalfa root, stem biomass and water productivity but that it had no effect on the alfalfa shoot biomass at the end of the vegetative growth period in 2016 and 2017. PRDI increased the C and P concentrations in the roots and the N concentration in the roots, stems and leaves, and it led more C and P to be allocated to the roots and more N to be allocated to the leaves in 2016 and 2017. These results implied that C, N, and P allocation changes in different organs induced by PRDI may be one of the possible ways for alfalfa plants to adapt to the changing environmental conditions caused by PRDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimal treatment modality for patients with stage IA (T1N0M0) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is still unclear., Methods: Patients who received surgical resection or chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) between January 2004 and December 2014 were identified from The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Surgical resection included lobectomy, wedge resection, segmentectomy with lymphadenectomy [examined lymph node (ELN) ≥1]. Propensity score match analysis was utilized to balance the baseline characteristics., Results: A total of 686 stage IA SCLC cases were included: 337 patients underwent surgery and 349 patients were treated by CRT alone. Surgery achieved a better outcome than CRT alone, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 0.495. Patients who underwent lobectomy demonstrated a longer overall survival (OS), compared to those who received sublobectomy (crude cohort, median OS, 69 vs. 38 months; match cohort, median OS, 67 vs. 38 months). Patients with ELN >7 presented with longer OS than those with ELN ≤7 (crude cohort, median OS, 91 vs. 49 months; matched cohort, median OS, 91 vs. 54 months). The additional efficacy of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in patients receiving lobectomy was observed. The best prognosis was achieved in the lobectomy plus CRT cohort, with a 5-year survival rate of 73.5%., Conclusions: The prolonged survival associated with lobectomy and chemotherapy or radiotherapy presents a viable treatment option in the management of patients with stage IA SCLC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-5525). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2020 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association of clinical prognostic factors with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) efficacy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients., Methods: The demographic and clinical characteristics of 94 patients with stage IV NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed, and the association between clinical factors and EGFR-TKIs efficacy was evaluated., Results: Of the 94 stage IV NSCLC patients enrolled in this study, a 74.5% objective response rate (ORR) and 97.9% disease control rate (DCR) were observed for EGFR-TKIs treatment, and a higher ORR was seen in patients with 0 and 1 ECOG scores than those with 2 or greater scores (P = 0.049). The subjects had a median PFS of 11 months and a median OS of 31 months after EGFR-TKIs treatment. ECOG score and timing of targeted therapy were factors affecting PFS, and ECOG score, smoking status and brain metastasis were factors affecting OS. In addition, ECOG score was an independent prognostic factor for PFS in stage IV NSCLC patients, and the patients with EGFR 19del mutation had a longer PFS than those with exon 21 L855R mutation (P = 0.003), while ECOG score and brain metastasis were independent prognostic factors for OS., Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that EGFR-TKI therapy results in survival benefits for EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC patients, regardless of gender, smoking history, pathologic type, type of EGFR mutations, brain metastasis and timing of targeted therapy. ECOG score is an independent prognostic factor for PFS, and ECOG score and brain metastasis are independent prognostic factors for OS in advanced NSCLC patients.

Proliferation, a key feature of cancer cells, accounts for the majority of cancer-related diseases resulting in mortality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) plays important post-transcriptional modulation roles by acting on multiple signaling pathways, but the underlying mechanism in proliferation and tumorigenicity is unclear. Here, we identified the role of miR-150 in proliferation and tumorigenicity in leukemia stem cells (LSCs; CD34+CD38- cells). miR-150 expression was significantly down-regulated in LSCs from leukemia cell lines and clinical samples. Functional assays demonstrated that increased miR-150 expression inhibited proliferation and clonal and clonogenic growth, enhanced chemosensitivity, and attenuated tumorigenic activity of LSCs in vitro . Transplantation animal studies revealed that miR-150 overexpression progressively abrogates tumor growth. Immunohistochemistry assays demonstrated that miR-150 overexpression enhanced caspase-3 level and reduced Ki-67 level. Moreover, luciferase reporter assays indicated Nanog is a direct and functional target of miR-150. Nanog silencing using small interfering RNA recapitulated anti-proliferation and tumorigenicity inhibition effects. Furthermore, miR-150 directly down-regulated the expression of other cancer stem cell factors including Notch2 and CTNNB1. These results provide insights into the specific biological behavior of miR-150 in regulating LSC proliferation and tumorigenicity. Targeting this miR-150/Nanog axis would be a helpful therapeutic strategy to treat acute myeloid leukemia.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that cancer cells contain subpopulations that can initiate tumor growth, self-renew, and maintain tumor cell growth. However, for esophageal cancer cells, the relationship between STAT3, microRNAs and cancer stem cells remains unclear., Methods: Serum-free culture was used to enrich esophageal cancer stem-like cells (ECSLC). Flow cytometry determined the proportion of ECSLC. qPCR were performed to examine expression level of stemness factors, mesenchymal markers, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, STAT3, miR-181b, CYLD. Western blot were performed to analyze the expression of STAT3, p-STAT3 and CYLD (cylindromatosis). BALB/c mice xenograft studies were conducted to evaluate the tumorigenicity of enriched ECSLC. Sphere formation assay and colony formation assays were employed to analyze the relationship between STAT3 and miR-181b. Luciferase assays were used to evaluate activity which CYLD is a target of miR-181b., Results: Sphere formation cells (SFCs) with properties of ECSLC were enriched. Enriched SFCs in serum-free suspension culture exhibited cancer stem-like cell properties and increased single-positive CD44 + CD24-, stemness factor, mesenchymal marker expression ABC transporters and tumorigenicity in vivo compared with the parental cells. Additionally, we found that reciprocal activation between STAT3 and miR-181b regulated SFCs proliferation. Moreover, STAT3 directly activated miR-181b transcription in SFCs and miR-181b then potentiated p-STAT3 activity. Luciferase assays indicated that CYLD was a direct and functional target of miR-181b., Conclusion: The mutual regulation between STAT3 and miR-181b in SFCs was required for proliferation and apoptosis resistance. STAT3 and miR-181b control each other's expression in a positive feedback loop that regulates SFCs via CYLD pathway. These findings maybe is helpful for targeting ECSLC and providing approach for esophageal cancer treatments.

A group of ferrocene-containing poly(phenylacetylene)s (PPAs) with different alkyl spacers were synthesized by using organorhodium complexes [Rh(diene)Cl](2) and Rh (+)(nbd)[C(6)H(5)B (-)(C(6)H(5))(3)] as catalysts. With the aid of pi-pi interactions between the walls of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the PPA skeleton together with the ferrocene pendants, the polymer (P 1, P2(5) and P2(10)) chains effectively wrapped round the shells of both single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The "additive effect" of the PPA skeleton and the ferrocene pendants in dispersing the SWNTs and MWNTs resulted in the generation of highly soluble hybrids. The solubilities of P 1-functionalized SWNTs and MWNTs in tetrahydrofuran (THF) are up to 633 mg/L and 967 mg/L, respectively. They are much higher than the solubilities of M 1-modified SWNTs and MWNTs, which are only 167 mg/L and 133 mg/L in THF. The results indicate the existence of a powerful polymer effect on dispersing CNTs. The high solubilities of the hybrids in organic solvents allowed us to fabricate high-quality and large-area films. Meanwhile, the desirable loading of ferrocene-containing PPAs onto the CNTs offered polymer/CNTs hybrids with multiple redox centers and ferrocene-featured electrochemical properties. The P 1/MWNT hybrid exhibits evident optical-limiting properties. At high incident laser fluence, the optical-limiting power of P 1/MWNT is higher than that of C(60), a well-known optical limiter. Thermal analyses indicate that the decomposition temperatures ( T(d), the temperature at which a sample loses its 5% weight) for P1 and P1/MWNT are 342 and 346 degrees C, respectively, much higher than that for PPA (225 degrees C). Thus the attachment of a ferrocene pendant to a PPA backbone, followed by hybridization with CNTs, improved the thermal stability. Upon pyrolysis, both the polymer and the polymer/CNTs hybrid gave rise to superparamagnetic ceramics; the saturation magnetizations ( M(s)) of the ceramics derived from P1 and P1/MWNT are 29.9 and 26.9 emu/g, respectively. The latter datum is in the list of the best results reported for the magnetic nanocomposites obtained by the attachment of magnetic nanoparticles onto CNTs.

Molecules of a thiol-functionalized phenylacetylene derivative were assembled on the CdS nanorod surface and copolymerized with phenylacetylene, affording an inorganic semiconductor-conjugated polymer hybrid with excellent solubility and high photoconductivity.