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Neuropeptides are involved in many biological processes in insects. However, it is unclear what role neuropeptides play in Spodoptera lituraadaptation to phytochemical flavone. In this study, 63 neuropeptide precursors from 48 gene families were identified in S. litura, including two neuropeptide F genes (NPFs). NPFs played a positive role in feeding regulation in S. liturabecause knockdown of NPFsdecreased larval diet intake. S. lituralarvae reduced flavone intake by downregulating NPFs. Conversely, the flavone intake was increased if the larvae were treated with NPF mature peptides. The NPF receptor (NPFR) was susceptible to the fluctuation of NPFs. NPFR mediated NPF signaling by interacting with NPFs to regulate the larval diet intake. In conclusion, this study suggested that NPF signaling regulated diet intake to promote S. lituraadaptation to flavone, which contributed to understanding insect adaptation mechanisms to host plants and provide more potential pesticidal targets for pest control.

The healthy aging index (HAI) has been recently developed as a surrogate measure of biological age. However, to what extent the HAI is associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality and whether this association differs in younger and older adults remains unknown. We aimed to quantify the association between the HAI and mortality in a population of UK adults. In the prospective cohort study, data are obtained from the UK Biobank. Five HAI components (systolic blood pressure, reaction time, cystatin C, serum glucose, forced vital capacity) were scored 0 (healthiest), 1, and 2 (unhealthiest) according to sex-specific tertiles or clinically relevant cut-points and summed to construct the HAI (range 0–10). Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the associations of the HAI with the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. 387,794 middle-aged and older participants were followed up for a median of 8.9 years (IQR 8.3–9.5). A total of 14,112 all-cause deaths were documented. After adjustments, each 1-point increase in the HAI was related to a higher risk of all-cause mortality (hazards ratio [HR], 1.17; 95%CI, 1.15–1.18). Such association was stronger among adults younger than 60 years (1.19, 1.17–1.21) than that among those 60 years and older (1.15, 1.14–1.17) (Pinteraction < 0.001). For each unit increment of the HAI, the multivariate-adjusted HRs for risk of death were 1.28 (1.25–1.31) for cardiovascular diseases, 1.09 (1.07–1.10) for cancer, 1.36 (1.29–1.44) for digestive disease, 1.42 (1.35–1.48) for respiratory disease, 1.42 (1.33–1.51) for infectious diseases, and 1.15 (1.09–1.21) for neurodegenerative disease, respectively. Our findings indicate that the HAI is positively associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality independent of chronological age. Our results further underscore the importance of effective early-life interventions to slow aging and prevent premature death.

Background: The fat-to-muscle mass ratio (FMR) has been proposed as a meaningful indicator of risk of obesity. This study investigated the associations between total and regional FMR and incident breast/ovarian cancer. Methods: A total of 256,390 participants (women, mean age 56.35 ± 7.98 years old) from the UK Biobank were enrolled. The association was estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. Results: During a median 8.77 years follow-up, 6976 cases of breast cancer and 798 cases of ovarian cancer were recruited. Significant associations were found between total, leg, and trunk FMR and breast cancer risk, trunk FMR, and ovarian cancer risk after adjustment for BMI and other confounders. There was a dose-response relationship between trunk FMR and the risk of breast/ovarian cancer (Pfor trend&lt;0.05). Compared to the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of FMR in the trunk increased the risk of breast cancer by 19% and risk of ovarian cancer by 37%. Stratified analysis showed the associations of total and regional FMR with incident breast cancer, arm and leg FMR with incident ovarian cancer were more pronounced among the normal weight population (BMI &lt;25 kg/m2) than in overweight/obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2, Pinteraction&lt;0.05) women. Conclusions: The correlations between total, leg, and trunk FMR and breast cancer risk, trunk FMR, and ovarian cancer risk were independent of BMI. The association between trunk and leg FMR and breast cancer risk increased with the increase of FMR quartile and was significantly stronger among women whose BMI was below 25 kg/m2.

Light is an essential environmental signal perceived by a broad range of photoreceptors in plants. Among them, the red/far-red light receptor phytochromes function to promote photomorphogenesis, which is critical to the survival of seedlings after seeds germination. The basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factors phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are the pivotal direct downstream components of phytochromes. H2A.Z is a highly conserved histone variant regulating gene transcription, and its incorporation into nucleosomes is catalyzed by SWI2/SNF2-related 1 complex, in which SWI2/SNF2-related 1 complex subunit 6 (SWC6) and actin-related protein 6 (ARP6) serve as core subunits. Here, we show that PIFs physically interact with SWC6 in vitro and in vivo, leading to the disassociation of HY5 from SWC6. SWC6and ARP6regulate hypocotyl elongation partly through PIFsin red light. PIFs and SWC6 coregulate the expression of auxin-responsive genes such as IAA6, IAA19, IAA20, and IAA29and repress H2A.Z deposition at IAA6and IAA19in red light. Based on previous studies and our findings, we propose that PIFs inhibit photomorphogenesis, at least in part, through repression of H2A.Z deposition at auxin-responsive genes mediated by the interactions of PIFs with SWC6 and promotion of their expression in red light.

Cryptochromes (CRYs) act as blue-light photoreceptors that regulate development and circadian rhythms in plants and animals and as navigating magnetoreceptors in migratory birds. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most serious type of DNA damage and threaten genome stability in all organisms. Although CRYs have been shown to respond to DNA damage, whether and how they participate in DSB repair is not well understood. Here we report that ArabidopsisCRYs promote the repair of DSBs through direct interactions with ADA2b and SMC5 in a blue-light-dependent manner to enhance their interaction. Mutations in CRYs and in ADA2b lead to similar enhanced DNA damage accumulation. In response to DNA damage, CRYs are localized at DSBs, and the recruitment of SMC5 to DSBs is dependent on CRYs. These results suggest that CRY-enhanced ADA2b–SMC5 interaction promotes ADA2b-mediated recruitment of SMC5 to DSBs, leading to DSB repair.

Pear (Pyrusspp.) has the function of clearing heat, reducing fire and moistening the lungs. Not from concentrated (NFC) pear juice can better maintain the nutrition, aroma and taste of pear fruit, which is worth considering as a pear processing product. Fruit raw materials play a key role in the preparation of NFC juice. In order to obtain suitable varieties for NFC pear juice, this study investigated the fruit quality of 16 kinds of pear from China, and the physicochemical characteristics, sensory quality and volatile components of NFC pear juice. The results revealed that there was a great difference among the species. The weight of single fruit varies from 84.03 to 334.96 g and juice yield from 39.39 to 85.22%. For the juice, L* values from 32.74 to 45.13, a* values from − 0.72 to 3.79%, b* values from 2.01 to 11.00. Browning degree from 0.66 to 4.35. Total soluble solids from 8.26 to 12.89%, sugar contents from 1.28 to 6.64%, total acidity from 0.65 to 7.55 g/L, and apparent viscosity from 2.42 to 3.99 mPa s. Total polyphenols from 32.35 to 116.48 mg/100mL, total flavonoid content from 21.14 to 372.32 mg/100mL. The DPPH radical scavenging ability from 60.77 to 96.28%, ABTS radical scavenging ability from 7.5 to 45.60%. 70 volatile components were detected in 16 NFC pear juices, mainly including alcohols, esters and aldehydes, etc. Overall sensory score from Anli (4.45) to Williams pear (7.72). Through correlation analysis and principal component analysis, it was found that the variety of pear fruit was an important factor affecting the quality of fruit juice.

The fat‐to‐muscle mass ratio (FMR), which integrates the antagonistic effects of fat and muscle mass, has been proposed as a useful indicator to assess disease risk independent of overall obesity. However, little is known about the association between FMR and dementia risk. We aimed to prospectively investigate the sex‐specific associations between total and regional FMR and incident dementia. A total of 491 420 participants (223 581 men and 267 839 women; mean age 56.7 ± 8.2 and 56.3 ± 8.0 years old, respectively) free of dementia at baseline from the UK Biobank were included. Fat mass and muscle mass were measured using a bioelectrical impedance assessment device. Cox regression analyses were used to examine the associations of total and regional FMR with incident all‐cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). The shape of the associations of the continuous scale of FMR and incident dementia were examined using restricted cubic spline analysis. During a median 8.65 years of follow‐up, we documented 2 225 incident all‐cause dementia cases, including 836 AD and 468 VD cases. There was an L‐shaped association between whole body FMR and all‐cause dementia risk in both sexes after adjusting body mass index (BMI) and other covariates (Pfor non‐linear <0.001 in men and women), where all‐cause dementia risk decreased steeply with increasing FMR and levelled off at around the medians (0.35 in men, 0.61 in women) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.96; P= 0.019) and 0.60 (0.47, 0.77; <0.001) per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in men and women, respectively. Compared with other body parts, FMR of the leg showed the strongest inverse associations [HR (95% CI; P) per 1 SD below the medians: 0.60 (0.48, 0.75; <0.001); 0.61 (0.47, 0.79; <0.001) in men and women, respectively]. Specifically, the inverse associations of whole body FMR on all‐cause dementia risk were significant only among participants over the age of 60 (Pfor trend <0.001). Multivariable adjusted Cox models showed inverse associations of whole body FMR with AD in men only (Pfor trend = 0.003), whereas no statistically significant decrease was detected in VD among men and women. Our analyses provide strong evidence for L‐shaped associations of total and regional FMR with the development of dementia among participants aged 60 years or older independent of overall obesity.

Background: Accumulating evidence has suggested that the imbalance of gut microbiota is commonly observed in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, it remains unclear whether dysbiosis is a cause or consequence of chronic intestinal inflammation. We aimed to investigate the causal relationships of gut microbiota and metabolites with IBD, including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). Methods: We applied two-sample Mendelian randomization using summary statistics from the gut microbiota genetic consortium (n= 1812), the Framingham Heart Study (n= 2076) and the International IBD Genetics Consortium (n= 86,640). Results: Using the genetic approach, the increase in OTU10032 unclassified Enterobacteriaceaewas associated with higher risks of IBD (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00–1.06; P= 0.033) and CD (1.04; 1.01–1.08; P= 0.015). Importantly, an Enterobacteriaceae-related metabolite taurine was positively associated with risks of IBD (1.04; 1.01–1.08; P= 0.016) and UC (1.05; 1.01–1.10; P= 0.024). Notably, we also found betaine, a downstream product of Enterobacteriaceaemetabolism, was causally associated with a higher risk of CD (1.10; 1.02–1.18; P= 0.008). In addition, increased Erysipelotrichaceae familywere causally related to lower risks of IBD (0.88; 0.78–0.98; P= 0.026) and UC (0.86; 0.75–0.99; P= 0.042), and Actinobacteria class(0.80; 0.65–0.98; P= 0.028) and Unclassified Erysipelotrichaceae(0.79; 0.64–0.98; P= 0.036) were associated with lower risks of UC and CD, respectively. Conclusions: Our finding provided new insights into the key role of gut metabolites such as taurine and betaine in host-microbiota interactions of IBD pathogenesis, indicating that host-microbe balance strongly influences inflammatory conditions.

Hybrid power generators will improve the extraction of electrical energy from the wind to develop sustainable and eco-friendly self-powered wireless sensors. A novel piezo-triboelectric flag wind energy harvesting nanogenerator (P-FTENG) is proposed that consists of a piezoelectric cantilever beam and a triboelectric flag. The flag flutters in the wind, inducing vibration in the cantilever beam, thereby converting wind energy into electrical power with piezo and triboelectric effects. Based on the aerodynamic mechanism, a nonlinear flutter theoretical model is derived to evaluate the drag force and pressure of fluid separation on the piezo-triboelectric structure. Furthermore, this paper comprehensively elaborates on the transverse motion of the flag flutter caused by the airflow. The force from the transverse motion excites the cantilever beam. The power output of P-FTENG generation depends on various factors. The optimized flag-shaped configuration may activate the piezoelectric cantilever beam vibration and decrease the crucial flutter wind speed, according to test results. P-FTENG generates a voltage of around 17.8 V when the wind speed is 8.5 m/s. The cantilever beam energy harvester's PEH reaches 32 mW/m2, while Flag-TENG's output power density reaches 37 μW/m2, which charges capacitors and lights the array of LEDs. The hybrid piezo-triboelectric flag nanogenerator fluttering in the wind is promising for powering the function of a calculator or electronic thermometer/hygrometer sensor.

•Tubby-like protein-coding genes were identified and thoroughly characterized in walnut.•JrTLPmembers were divided into five groups, and most of them contained the featured F-box and Tubby domains.•JrTLP2and JrTLP8are involved in the modulating pathogen resistance.•JrTLPswere highly responsive to phytohormone treatments and abiotic stresses.

Intelligent films serving as a response to a particular stimulus (e.g., biogenic amines) endow great potential to monitor the meat freshness. The aim of this study was to develop intelligent films with excellent antioxidant properties based on starch/glycerol/gelatin and colored potato (Black King Kong) anthocyanins (CPA) to monitor pork freshness in cold storage (4 °C). The CPA component was first detected by ultra-high liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The physicochemical and antioxidant properties as well as the pH-sensitivity of films were investigated. Two stable components (peonidin chloride (51.7%) and malvidin 3-O-glucoside chloride (18.0%)) were detected in extracted CPA. With CPA incorporated, an evident decrease in water vapor permeability and light transmittance, but a highly increase in elongation at break and scavenging ability for DPPH+(60.87%) and ABTS+(53.38%). The films showed color change lower than 2.5 under 4 °C and existed great NH3sensing ability. The pork freshness application test proved CPA film existed obvious color changes with the inner increased TVBN contents. Furthermore, the polynomial model proved that the color parameter (b, yellowness) fit well with the TVBN (R = 0.94), which was critical to predicate pork freshness. Therefore, the intelligent films can be expected as intelligent packaging for detection pork freshness in cold storage to ensure their safe consumption.

Light is a key environmental cue that fundamentally regulates all aspects of plant growth and development, which is mediated by the multiple photoreceptors including the blue light photoreceptors cryptochromes (CRYs). In Arabidopsis, there are two well-characterized homologous CRYs, CRY1 and CRY2. Whereas CRYs are flavoproteins, they lack photolyase activity and are characterized by an N-terminal photolyase-homologous region (PHR) domain and a C-terminal extension domain. It has been established that the C-terminal extension domain of CRYs is involved in mediating light signaling through direct interactions with the master negative regulator of photomorphogenesis, COP1. Recent studies have revealed that the N-terminal PHR domain of CRYs is also involved in mediating light signaling. In this review, we mainly summarize and discuss the recent advances in CRYs signaling mediated by the N-terminal PHR domain, which involves the N-terminal PHR domain-mediated dimerization/oligomerization of CRYs and physical interactions with the pivotal transcription regulators in light and phytohormone signaling.

•A simple NIRS method was proposed to accurately determine the storage duration for rice.•The characteristic wavelengths related to the storage duration of rice were obtained using the 2D-COS and CARS algorithms.•Machine learning algorithms were used to establish qualitative models, with the LS-SVM demonstrating superior performance.

Engineered water systems such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are potential reservoirs of various biological risk factors (BRFs), including pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and virulence factors (VFs). Currently, a BRF database relevant to engineered water systems on a global geographic scale is lacking. Here, we present the Global Wastewater Pathogen Database (GWPD, http://gwpd.hitsz.edu.cn), an online database that provides information on the diversity, abundance, and distribution of BRFs from 1302 metagenome samples obtained from 186 cities, 68 countries, and six continents. We sorted these samples into six types: sewer networks, influent, anoxic activated sludge, oxic activated sludge, effluent, and receiving/natural waters. In total, 476 pathogens, 442 ARGs, and 246 VFs were identified. As a multifunctional database, GWPD provides an interactive visualization of these BRFs in a world map, an information retrieval interface, and an online one-click service for BRF annotation from metagenome sequencing data. GWPD is built on a web service framework, which can be readily extended to future versions of GWPD by adding more functional modules and connecting to other data sources, such as epidemic databases, to support risk assessment and control in the context of “One Health.”

Currently, interstitial lung disease (ILD) has no unified treatment plan. Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), as a non-pharmacological treatment, is a non-invasive and low-cost option for improving exercise capacity and quality of life. This study explores the impact of home-based PR on lung function, and the quality of life of patients with ILD. In this randomized prospective study, 60 patients with ILD were randomly assigned to the home-based PR intervention and traditional drug treatment groups, and they were followed for 12 months. The outcome measures were the 6-min walk distance (6MWD), exercise-related dyspnea, and St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score (SGRQ). It found that the 6MWD results were significantly improved from 348.5 ± 106.1 m at baseline to 403.6 ± 100.3 m on the completion of PR and 443.8 ± 96.5 at 1-year follow-up (P = 0.001). Compared with the control group, the home-based PR group had slightly improved pulmonary function. Furthermore, the severity of dyspnea evaluated with mMRC in the home-based PR group improved from 2.9 ± 1.1 at baseline to 2.2 ± 0.9 after the home-based PR program, and this improvement persisted after 12 months (P = 0.001). Additionally, home-based PR for patients with ILD improved the functional pulmonary performance and the SGRQ score results.

Background: Drug repositioning refers to discovering new indications for the existing drugs, which can improve the efficiency of drug research and development. Methods: In this work, a novel drug repositioning approach based on integrative multiple similarity measure, called DR_IMSM, is proposed. The process of integrative similarity measure contains three steps. First, a heterogeneous network can be constructed based on known drug-disease association, shared entities information for drug pairwise and diseases pairwise. Second, a deep learning method, DeepWalk, is used to capture the topology similarity for drug and disease. Third, a similarity integration and adjusting process is further conducted to obtain more comprehensive drug and disease similarity measure, respectively. Results: On this basis, a Bi-random walk algorithm is implemented in the constructed heterogeneous network to rank diseases for each drug. Compared with other approaches, the proposed DR_IMSM can achieve superior performance in terms of AUC on the gold standard datasets. Case studies further confirm the practical significance of DR_IMSM.

Lithium (Li)-metal anode has attracted renewed research interest due to its high specific capacity and the lowest negative potential. However, Li-metal batteries have safety issues and severe capacity fading. In this study, we demonstrate a facile and effective technique by adding an anodic aluminum oxide nanostructured interlayer onto the commercial polypropylene separator (PP) to create a novel architecture (AP). It is found that AP-based symmetric Li–Li cells and Li–NCM523 cells exhibit enhanced cycling performance and delayed capacity decay. Furthermore, compared with the cells with PP, the cells with AP show reduced overpotentials and improved cycle stability at low temperatures and various current densities, implying the wide applications of the designed architecture. The superior performance of AP is ascribed to its high electrolyte retention, high mechanical strength, and precisely ordered architecture, which contribute to uniform Li nucleation and growth. This unique separator architecture provides mechanistic insights into the design of rechargeable lithium-metal batteries, which are aimed at high energy density and cycling stability.

A 150‐d feeding experiment was conducted to assess the effect of the dietary energy to protein ratio (E/P ratio) on growth, biological indices, proximate composition, and amino acid profiles in the muscle of Varicorhinus macrolepis. Six experimental diets were formulated with different E/P ratios (30.51, 33.90, 37.82, 42.34, 47.70, and 54.09 kJ/g). In the experiment, 360 fish with a mean weight of 8.75 g (SD, 0.59) were randomly divided into six groups (three replicates per group, 20 fish per replicate) and fed three times daily with the experimental diet. Results showed that when the dietary E/P ratio was 37.82 kJ/g, Varicorhinus macrolepistended to gain the highest specific growth rate. With a change in the increment of dietary E/P ratio, the condition factor, intestosomatic index, hepatosomatic index, and viscerosomatic index all changed in the quadric polynomial regression model. Muscle crude lipid content showed a tendency of leveling‐off first and then increased with increasing dietary E/P ratio. Varicorhinus macrolepisgained the highest concentration of total amino acids and essential amino acids when the dietary E/P ratio was 37.82 kJ/g. Except for methionine + cysteine, phenylalanine + tyrosine, and the amino acid score of lysine, the amino acid scores and chemical scores of the other essential amino acids were highest when the dietary E/P ratio was 37.82 kJ/g. These results suggest that Varicorhinus macrolepisobtained optimal growth and muscle amino acid composition when the dietary E/P ratio was 37.82 kJ/g.

Series of porous carbons are prepared from Osmanthusflower by simple hydrothermal carbonization followed by KOH activation. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared Osmanthusflower-derived porous carbon materials (OC) were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, N2adsorption/desorption isotherm and electron microscopy, respectively. The results indicate that the OC are mainly microporous with 3D interpenetrating framework, and the pore-structure of the OC is associated with the dosage of KOH. As electrode material for supercapacitors, the electrochemical measurements showed that the OC-2 (the weight ratio of KOH/biochar is 2) exhibited better electrochemical performance than other OC samples and reported porous carbon materials, which is mainly due to the higher micropore surface/volume and the interpenetrating framework in the texture of the OC-2. Furthermore, a symmetric supercapacitor assembled by OC-2 can delivered a high energy density of 7.95Whkg−1with a power density of 10kWkg−1at 20Ag−1, and an excellent cycling stability (a high capacitance retention of 92.9% after 10,000 cycles). The impressive electrochemical performances of OC-2 electrodes demonstrated that the fully utilization of cheap resource acquisition endowed by nature is a good avenue to design and fabricate materials with great promising applications as high-performance energy storage system.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniaecauses enzootic pneumonia, a highly contagious respiratory disease in swine that causes significant economic losses worldwide. It is unknown whether the nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome regulates the immune response in swine during M. hyopneumoniaeinfection. The current study utilized an in vivo swine model of M. hyopneumoniaeinfection to investigate the regulatory functional role of the NLRP3 inflammasome during M. hyopneumoniaeinfection. Notable histopathological alterations were observed in M. hyopneumoniae-infected swine tissues, which were associated with an inflammatory response and disease progression. Swine M. hyopneumoniaeinfection was associated with an increase in the expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 18, and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β). The impact of the NLRP3 inhibitor, MCC950 on NLRP3 and pro-inflammatory cytokines in M. hyopneumoniae-infected swine was examined to investigate the relationship between the NLRP3 inflammasome and M. hyopneumoniaeinfection. Taken together, our findings provide strong evidence that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a critical regulatory functional role in M. hyopneumoniaeinfection in swine.Our study uncovered the crucial regulatory role of the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in managing the invasion of respiratory mycoplasma in swine. The findings of our research suggest that the levels of NLRP3 expression can serve as a reliable diagnostic indicator for identifying Mycoplasma hyopneumoniaeinfection. Furthermore, inhibiting NLRP3 could offer therapeutic advantages in treating NLRP3-related disorders, such as porcine enzootic pneumonia.Our study highlights the importance of controlling the innate immune defense against respiratory mycoplasma invasion to suppress mycoplasma growth and minimize lung tissue damage. Using an in vivo swine model, we investigated the regulatory functional role of the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome during acute Mycoplasma hyopneumoniaeinfection. Furthermore, we also found that NLRP3 expression levels have the potential to serve as a novel diagnostic marker for detecting M. hyopneumoniaeinfection in the respiratory tract of pigs. The NLRP3 inhibitor, MCC950, was used to investigate how NLRP3 inhibition affects the expression of inflammatory cytokines, and it was found that the NLRP3 inhibitor significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3, indicating its specific targeting of the NLRP3 inflammasome during M. hyopneumoniaeinfection in swine. The findings suggest that MCC950 is a promising therapeutic option for treating NLRP3-related disorders, including porcine enzootic pneumonia.

Although the induction of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases involved in insect detoxification has been well documented, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain obscure. In Spodoptera litura, CYP321A subfamily members were effectively induced by exposure to flavone, xanthotoxin, curcumin, and λ-cyhalothrin, while knockdown of the CYP321A genes increased larval susceptibility to these xenobiotics. Homology modeling and molecular docking analyses showed that these four xenobiotics could stably bind to the CYP321A enzymes. Furthermore, two transcription factor genes, CncCand MafK,were significantly induced by the xenobiotics. Knockdown of CncCor MafKreduced the expression of four CYP321A genes and increased larval susceptibility to the xenobiotics. Dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that cotransfection of reporter plasmids carrying the CYP321A promoter with CncC and/or MafK-expressing constructs significantly magnified the promoter activity. These results indicate that the induction of CYP321A subfamily members conferring larval detoxification capability to xenobiotics is mediated by the activation of CncC and MafK.

•The evaluation mode and determination technique of γ-glutamyl peptides were stated.•The biosynthetic pathways and relevant enzymes of γ-glutamyl peptides were stated.•The contribution of kokumi γ-glutamyl peptides to the taste of foods.•Processing influences on the contents of γ-glutamyl peptides and food quality.

Recent clinical observations indicate that female gender is associated with a higher risk of developing torsades de pointes (TdP) cardiac arrhythmia. In this study, we used the Langendorff technique in isolated perfused rabbit hearts and the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in ventricular myocytes to examine the gender difference in TdP incidence and gain insight into the underlying mechanisms. Isolated rabbit hearts were perfused by using the Langendorff technique. TdP was induced by abrupt changes of cycle length (ΔCL) in the presence of Tyrode's solution containing 1 mM4-aminopyridine (4AP) and 50% reduced Mg2+and K+(low K/Mg). The effects of 1 mM4AP on cardiac potassium currents were characterized by using the patch-clamp technique. Results demonstrated that (a) no significant gender difference was observed in the absolute QT interval before or after 4AP perfusion in the presence of low K/Mg; (b) 4AP caused marked QT prolongation in the ECG; (c) a significantly higher TdP incidence (nine of 12) was found in female hearts compared with male hearts (three of 12; p < 0.05); (d) 1 mM4AP primarily inhibited Ito, although a slight inhibition of IKralso occurred in low-K/Mg Tyrode's solution. (e) No inhibition of IK1was observed. (f) No gender difference was found in the potassium current block produced by 4AP. Female gender is associated with a higher incidence of TdP in an experimental isolated heart model and mechanisms subsequent to QT prolongation may contribute to such a gender difference.

A solid-state lithium (Li) battery primarily consists of Li metal anode, solid electrolyte separator, and cathode. The asymmetric volume changes, originating from ion transport and interfacial Li growth during plating, lead to significant stresses in the layered architecture. In this study, we develop a coupled mechanics-electrochemistry formalism for polymer electrolyte based solid-state batteries, in particular, focusing on the stress effect on electrochemical performance. By means of a coupling coefficient, it is found that stress-assisted ion transport in the electrolyte results in a delayed Sand’s time and increased critical current density of unstable electrodeposition, and consequently, alleviates the propensity of dendrite formation. Stress at the Li metal-electrolyte interface affects the electrochemical reaction kinetics, and the influences from the deviatoric stress and hydrostatic pressure vary with Li plating time. In addition, a low restraint stiffness to the layered structure could elastically buffer the volumetric changes and thus reduce the stress during Li plating. This fundamental study provides guidance for the design of solid-state batteries, aimed at stable electrodeposition and mechanical integrity.

A generalized, noninvasive technique based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is proposed to quantify the electrolyte transport resistance of typical electrode microstructures for lithium ion batteries. The electrolyte transport resistance, representative of the pore network resistance, can be obtained via an impedance analytics approach, thus quantifying the tortuosity of porous electrode microstructures. A characteristic coefficient is defined and estimated for more electronically conductive graphite, lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), and nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) electrodes, and for less electronically conductive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium titanate (LTO) electrodes. The fitting of the electrochemical impedance spectra by the general transmission line model yields unambiguous values by adding an independent determination of the electronic resistance. Such an independent determination of the electronic resistance can be easily done by sandwiching the composite electrode between two ion-blocking electrodes. This would be essential to verify the approach for electrodes with low electronic conductivity, such as LFP and LTO. This method is capable of adequately capturing the influence of particle size and morphology on the pore-scale tortuosity of electrode microstructures.

In order to research the logistics bioavailability and sample difference, the two stage cross-over test design is introduced. The two stage cross-over design is explained. The two stage cross-over design of a medicament experiment was realized using SAS and the test data were gained. The test data was analyzed using variance analysis. The bioavailability and sample difference are gained. The study in this paper can be adopted in other fields of test design and data analysis.

The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China included the construction of ecological civilization in the “Five-in-One” (economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress) general layout for socialism with Chinese characteristics. Based on the concept of ecological civilization, the authors build an evaluation indicator system from four dimensions, namely ecological economy, ecological society, resource and environment efficiency, and ecological culture and institutions, including 45 basic indicators of three levels. In order to test the validity and reliability of the indicator system, the paper uses 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong Province as examples to evaluate the comprehensive level of eco-civilization construction and the statuses of the four dimensions by the attribute hierarchy model. The evaluation results show various statuses and characteristics of cities in Guangdong Province. The cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shaoguan, Guangzhou and Maoming are notable in ecological economy; Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Huizhou are prominent in ecological society; Heyuan, Zhaoqing, Shaoguan, Qingyuan and Meizhou are the top five cities with relatively high resource and environment efficiency; Foshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou are the first five cities that perform well in ecological culture and institutions. The evaluation results are consistent with the actual situation of Guangdong Province, indicating the high reliability and validity of the four-dimensional evaluation indicator system for eco-civilization construction.