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Combining fabrics with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) coating is the most promising method to fabricate wearable thermoelectric (TE) devices. However, the high modulus, low strain, and low TE performance of PEDOT:PSS coating lead to poor flexibility and low power generation efficiency. In this study, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ionic liquids (ILs) were selected as a modifier to enhance the flexibility and TE performance of PEDOT:PSS. Different from the penetrating structure and coil conformation of pristine PEDOT:PSS coating, a flexible continuous ultrathin layer of PEDOT:PSS/DMSO/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (P/D/ED) with a linear conformation forms on the surface of cotton yarn. The morphology and structure of PEDOT:PSS and P/D/ED coating were characterized by FESEM, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. Compared with the pristine PEDOT:PSS film, the P/D/ED film shows significantly reduced modules and enhanced strain and bending stability. Moreover, the TE performance of P/D/ED-coated yarn is significantly enhanced with nearly half mass loading. Based on this, a large-area wearable TE fabric with enhanced flexibility and TE performance was prepared. The output power density is 136.1 mW/m2 at ΔT = 40.8 K, which is a typically high value compared with the former reported composite TE fabrics. This study provides a new way to synergistically enhance the flexibility and TE performance of composite yarn, and the prepared TE fabric has great potential as a wearable power source.

Fabric-based piezoresistive sensors have demonstrated great potential in human motion and health detection applications. However, the conductive polymers of sensing units are easily influenced by high humidity and sweat conditions, which result in real-time electrical resistance fluctuation, and ultimately sensing inaccuracy. Herein, a hydrophobic, non-fluoride, titanium dioxide nanoparticle (TiO2-ODI)-modified fabric-based piezoresistive sensor was firstly employed to obtain accurate pressure sensing by prohibiting the interference from both high humidity and droplets in daily life. Due to the prominent isolation effect of the dense TiO2-ODI nanoparticle layer, for the first time, the dynamic normalized electrical resistance changes in a fabric-based piezoresistive sensor were negligibly influenced by high humidity of 95% and droplets of water, saline, milk, and sweat. Compared with the original pressure sensor (S = 0.85 kPa−1), the introduction of TiO2-ODI almost did not sacrifice the sensing performance (S = 0.83 kPa−1) and displayed prominent resistance to sweat interference. Thus, the hydrophobic TiO2-ODI pressure sensor exhibits promising potential and wide applicability for preparing highly accurate fabric structural piezoresistive sensors with wearing comfort, large area, self-cleaning property, ultraviolet protection, and anti-interference of high humidity and sweaty conditions, such as accurately evaluating human motion during exercise or on a rainy day.

Graphical abstract, Safer and more-effective drugs are urgently needed to counter infections with the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV-2, cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identification of efficient inhibitors to treat and prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection is a predominant focus. Encouragingly, using X-ray crystal structures of therapeutically relevant drug targets (PLpro, Mpro, RdRp, and S glycoprotein) offers a valuable direction for anti–SARS-CoV-2 drug discovery and lead optimization through direct visualization of interactions. Computational analyses based primarily on MMPBSA calculations have also been proposed for assessing the binding stability of biomolecular structures involving the ligand and receptor. In this study, we focused on state-of-the-art X-ray co-crystal structures of the abovementioned targets complexed with newly identified small-molecule inhibitors (natural products, FDA-approved drugs, candidate drugs, and their analogues) with the assistance of computational analyses to support the precision design and screening of anti–SARS-CoV-2 drugs.

The application range of nickel-rich layered oxide cathodes is seriously hampered by the structural collapse, cycling decay and self-discharge issues under extreme temperature conditions. In this study, the real-time phase evolution of the LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC-811) cathode is investigated at the idling charged state and upon the high temperature galvanostatic cycling. Correspondingly, a quaternary system, consisting of LiNi0.79Mn0.1Co0.1Al0.01O2 (NMCA), with the primary particles encapsulated by the glassy LiBO2 network is proposed; the multiscale strategy collectively suppresses the performance deterioration at the static and dynamic processes, such as the unfavorable phasic transition from the layered to rock-salt structure and the microcrack evolution. When pairing this modified NMCA cathode at high loading mass (>450 g m−2 for double side deposition) with the Si/C composite anode in the standard 18,650 cylinder-type cells, the prototype realizes the simultaneous robust capacity retention (~ 85% for 1000 cycles at 0.5 C), practical energy density of ~ 245.8 Wh kg−1, effective mitigation of the self-discharge process at the elevated temperatures as well as 92% capacity retention even upon the operation at -20 °C. The scalability of our proposed modification strategy enables the feasible practical use of NMCA cathode within a broader temperature range.

α-Terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, and δ-terpineol, isomers of terpineol, are among the compounds that give Cinnamomum longepaniculatum leaf oil its distinguished pleasant smell. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of these three isomeric terpineols. The determination of antibacterial activity was based on the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericide concentration (MBC). Changes in time-kill curve, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), UV-absorbing material, membrane potential, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were measured to elucidate the possible antimicrobial mechanism. α-Terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, and δ-terpineol demonstrated good inhibitory effects against several gram-negative bacteria, particularly Shigella flexneri. MIC and MBC of α-terpineol and terpinen-4-ol were similar (0.766 mg/mL and 1.531 mg/mL, respectively) for S. flexneri, while the MIC and MBC values of δ-terpineol were 0.780 mg/mL and 3.125 mg/mL, respectively. Time-kill curves showed that the antibacterial activities of the tested compounds were in a concentration-dependent manner. Release of nucleic acids and proteins along with a decrease in membrane potential proved that α-terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, and δ-terpineol could increase the membrane permeability of Shigella flexneri. Additionally, the release of AKP suggested that the cell wall was destroyed. SEM analysis further confirmed that S. flexneri cell membranes were damaged by α-terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, and δ-terpineol. Our research suggests that these three isomeric terpineols have the potential of being used as natural antibacterial agents by destroying the cell membrane and wall, resulting in cell death. However, the specific antibacterial activity differences need further investigation.

We highlighted the discovery process, preparation techniques, broad-spectrum activities, antiviral mechanism, and future perspectives of GS-5734.

The intricate folding of chromatin enables living organisms to store genomic material in an extremely small volume while facilitating proper cell function. Hi‐C is a chromosome conformation capture (3C)‐based technology to detect pair‐wise chromatin interactions genome‐wide, and has become a benchmark tool to study genome organization. In Hi‐C, chromatin conformation is first captured by chemical cross‐linking of cells. Cells are then lysed and subjected to restriction enzyme digestion, before the ends of the resulting fragments are marked with biotin. Fragments within close 3D proximity are ligated, and the biotin label is used to selectively enrich for ligated junctions. Finally, isolated ligation products are prepared for high‐throughput sequencing, which enables the mapping of pair‐wise chromatin interactions genome‐wide. Over the past decade, “next‐generation” sequencing has become cheaper and easier to perform, enabling more interactions to be sampled to obtain higher resolution in chromatin interaction maps. Here, we provide an in‐depth guide to performing an up‐to‐date Hi‐C procedure on mammalian cell lines. These protocols include recent improvements that increase the resolution potential of the assay, namely by enhancing cross‐linking and using a restriction enzyme cocktail. These improvements result in a versatile Hi‐C procedure that enables the detection of genome folding features at a wide range of distances. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Fixation of nuclear conformation Basic Protocol 2: Chromosome conformation capture Basic Protocol 3: Hi‐C sequencing library preparation

Background The myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a high-risk hemocytopenia easily converted to acute myeloid leukemia. CD47 plays an important role in regulating phagocytosis, and its role in the pathogenesis of MDS is unclear. Methods CD47 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR on CD34+ CD38- cells were detected by flow cytometry. NF-κB, PI3K, AKT, PTEN, and mTOR mRNA overexpressed in CD34+ CD38- CD47+ cells were performed by real-time quantitative transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Phagocytic capacity of macrophages was measured with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester and fluorescent microspheres. Sorted CD34+ CD38- CD47+ cells were injected into NOD-Prkdcscid Il2rgnull mice. Results The expression of CD47 on CD34+ CD38- cells of the patients in high-risk MDS based on IPSS-R/WPSS score was higher than that in low-risk MDS and controls. The signaling pathway of PI3K/AKT/mTOR is active in CD34+ CD38- CD47+ cells of MDS patients. CD47 overexpressing CD34+ CD38- cells has antiphagocytosis. CD47 overexpressing leukemia stem cell (LSC) -transplanted mice has a short survival time. The macrophages originated from MDS might elicit a pro-tumor response in MDS by inhibiting phagocytosis. Conclusions Phagocytosis checkpoints are impaired in MDS. High expression of CD47 on CD34+CD38- cells indicates poor clinical prognosis in MDS.

Background Armyworm (Mythimna separata) is a destructive herbivore for maize. Balsas teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis), the direct wild ancestor of cultivated maize, has shown great potential to defend against herbivory. Here, based on armyworm bioassay, we compared responses of teosinte and B73 maize inbred during armyworm attack in their transcriptome profiles to elucidate the gene expression changes involved in teosinte responses to armyworm attack. The goal of this study was to identify novel resistance alleles that could serve as valuable resources for modern maize breeding. Results Our bioassay revealed that armyworm larvae grew less on teosinte than on maize. A follow-up transcriptomic comparison showed more down-regulated genes in maize B73 and similar numbers of up-regulated genes in both genotypes under armyworm attack. The up-regulated genes in teosinte were markedly enriched in MAPK cascade-mediated signaling pathway and phytohormone pathway. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that phytohormones jasmonic acid, ethylene, salicylic acid and abscisic acid (ABA) were actively involved in armyworm resistance of teosinte plants, and so were transcription factors such as MYBs, WRKYs and TIFYs. Interestingly, teosinte also showed high regulation in three ABA receptor PYLs. Based on differential expression analysis, we identified 30 candidate defense-related genes in teosinte, which belong to 11 gene families and the majority of the genes were up-regulated, while some of them were nonresponsive in maize. Conclusion This study demonstrates that teosinte showed more vigorous defense response than maize toward armyworm attack and might be a beneficial genetic resource to improve pest resistance in cultivated maize. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

In contemporary organic solar cell (OSC) research, small A-D-A molecules comprising electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) units are increasingly used as a means to control the optoelectronic properties of photovoltaic blends. Slight structural variations to these A-D-A molecules can result in profound changes to the performance of the OSCs. Herein, we study two A-D-A molecules, BTCN-O and BTCN-M, which are identical in structure apart from a subtle difference in the position of alkyl chains, which force the molecules to adopt different equilibrium conformations. These steric effects cause the respective molecules to work better as an electron donor and acceptor when blended with benchmark acceptor and donor materials (PC71BM and PBDB-T). We study the photophysics of these “D:A” blends and devices using a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Time-resolved photoluminescence reveals the impact of the molecular conformation on the quenching of the A-D-A emission when BTCN-O and BTCN-M are blended with PBDB-T or PC71BM. Ultrafast broadband transient absorption spectroscopy demonstrates that the dynamics of charge separation are essentially identical when comparing BTCN-M and BTCN-O based blends, but the recombination dynamics are quite dissimilar. This suggests that the device performance is ultimately determined by the morphology of the blends imposed by the A-D-A conformation. This notion is supported by X-ray scattering data from the “D:A” films, and electroluminescence data and pump-push-photocurrent spectroscopy on the “D:A” devices. Our findings provide insight into the remarkable structure-function relationship in A-D-A molecules, and emphasize the need for careful morphological and energetic considerations when designing high-performance OSCs.

Biochar as a soil amendment has attracted wide attention worldwide. However, the study of biochar on soil hydraulic properties during freeze-thawing remains insufficient. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of straw biochar on soil water retention and soil hydraulic conductivity during a freeze-thaw period. Specifically, the effects of different biochar application rates (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 t·hm−2) on the soil water characteristic curve (SWRCs), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and hydraulic characteristic parameters were analysed through field trials. The response relationship between changes in the soil pore size and hydraulic characteristics was explored. The results showed that the combination of biochar amendment and freezing-thawing significantly increased the soil micro pore size (≥0.3–5 μm), soil voids (>100 μm) and total porosity (TP) and thereby improved the soil water retention capacity during the melting period. In addition, the use of biochar can promote the Ksat before and after freezing-thawing. However, increases in the carbon added during the melting period decreased the value of Ksat by 3.89%, 8.12%, 13.02% and 18.14% (p

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.

Si anodes suffer from poor cycling efficiency because of the pulverization induced by volume expansion, lithium trapping in Li-Si alloys, and unfavorable interfacial side reactions with the electrolyte; the comprehensive consideration of the Si anode design is required for their practical deployment. In this article, we develop a cabbage-inspired graphite scaffold to accommodate the volume expansion of silicon particles in interplanar spacing. With further interfacial modification and prelithiation processing, the Si@G/C anode with an areal capacity of 4.4 mA h cm-2 delivers highly reversible cycling at 0.5 C (Coulombic efficiency of 99.9%) and a mitigated volume expansion of 23%. Furthermore, we scale up the synthetic strategy by producing 10 kg of the Si@G/C composite in the pilot line and pair this anode with a LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode in a 1 A h pouch-type cell. The full-cell prototype realizes a robust cyclability over 500 cycles (88% capacity retention) and an energy density of 301.3 W h kg-1 at 0.5 C. Considering the scalable fabrication protocol, holistic electrode formulation design, and harmony integration of key metrics evaluated both in half-cell and full-cell tests, the reversible cycling of the prelithiated silicon species in the graphite scaffold of the composite could enable feasible use of the composite anode in high-energy density lithium batteries.

During mitosis chromosomes reorganise into highly compact, rod-shaped forms, thought to consist of consecutive chromatin loops around a central protein scaffold. Condensin complexes are involved in chromatin compaction, but the contribution of other chromatin proteins, DNA sequence and histone modifications is less understood. A large region of fission yeast DNA inserted into a mouse chromosome was previously observed to adopt a mitotic organisation distinct from that of surrounding mouse DNA. Here we show that a similar distinct structure is common to a large subset of insertion events in both mouse and human cells and is coincident with the presence of high levels of heterochromatic H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3). Hi-C and microscopy indicate that the heterochromatinised fission yeast DNA is organised into smaller chromatin loops than flanking euchromatic mouse chromatin. We conclude that heterochromatin alters chromatin loop size, thus contributing to the distinct appearance of heterochromatin on mitotic chromosomes, such as at centromeres.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of emodin on renal injury in a BXSB mouse model of lupus and its mechanisms. BXSB mice were fed different concentrations of emodin (0, 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg.d), and the levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and fibronectin (FN) levels in the glomeruli and serum levels of the anti-dsDNA antibody were determined. Mesangial cells (MCs) were cultured in vitro, and IgG-type anti-dsDNA antibody and/or emodin were added to the MC culture supernatant. In addition, TNF-α small interfering RNA (siRNA) was transfected into MCs to explore the mechanism of action of emodin. The results showed that the mice fed emodin presented decreases in the urinary protein content and glomerular TNF-α, ICAM-1 and FN levels (P

Overexpression of PTBP3, a factor involved in alternative splicing, may inhibit the differentiation of leukemia cells. However, its role in gastric cancer differentiation and the specific pathways involved are unclear. In this study, we found that PTBP3 was upregulated in the poorly differentiated gastric cancer tissues. Patients with high levels of PTBP3 expression had significantly shorter survival than those with low PTBP3 expression. In gastric cancer cells, the regulatory effect of PTBP3 on alternative splicing of the Id1 gene was investigated. Following sodium butyrate-induced differentiation of MKN45 cells, the expression of Id1a decreased, but the expression of Id1b increased. RNA interference and overexpression experiments showed that PTBP3 upregulated Id1a expression and downregulated Id1b expression. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays indicated PTBP3 could interact with Id1. UV cross-linking assays indicated that PTBP3 interacted with the CU rich region of the Id1 gene. Two-hybrid experiments and a gel mobility shift assays found that Id1b had a more potent affinity for Hes1 than Id1a. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays verified the association of Hes1 and the promoter of PTBP3 gene. Luciferase assays revealed that Hes1 bound the N-box sequence in the PTBP3 promoter. After silencing or overexpression of Hes1, PTBP3 protein expression remained unchanged. Thus, the loss of feedback regulation among PTBP3, Id1, and Hes1 in gastric cancer cells may be one of the causes of inhibited differentiation and malignant proliferation of these cells.

The novel and highly pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has become a continued focus of global attention due to the serious threat it poses to public health. There are no specific drugs available to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Natural products (carolacton, homoharringtonine, emetine, and cepharanthine) and natural product-inspired small molecules (ivermectin, GS-5734, EIDD-2801, and ebselen) are potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents that have attracted significant attention due to their broad-spectrum antiviral activities. Here, we review the research on potential landmark anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, systematically discussing the importance of natural products and natural-product-inspired small molecules in the research and development of safe and effective antiviral agents.

Recent studies suggested that serum secretory phospholipase A2 group IB (sPLA2-IB) was increased in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). However, the interference of high lipemia on the sPLA2-IB levels was not taken into account in these studies. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between sPLA2-IB and lipemia, and the clinical merit of sPLA2-IB in the prediction of prognosis of IMN patients. A total of 64 IMN patients, 39 immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) patients and 64 healthy controls were included in the study. The levels of serum sPLA2-IB, lipemia and proteinuria were measured. Fifty IMN patients were followed up for 6 months. Pathologic stages were made for all IgAN and IMN patients. The results showed that the levels of serum sPLA2-IB, cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly higher, and the levels of albumin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly lower in IMN patients than in healthy controls and IgAN patients. Serum sPLA2-IB levels were also found to be higher in IgAN patients than in heathy controls, but the association of serum sPLA2-IB levels with proteinuria, cholesterol and albumin was only shown in IMN patients. Antibody against M-type receptor for secretory phospholipase A2 (PLA2R1) was positive in 81.3% IMN patients. Glomerular sPLA2-IB deposition, podocyte fused processes, and density deposition on thickened basement membrane were seen in IMN patients, but not in IgAN patients. IMN patients with lower sPLA2-IB and proteinuria levels were found to have better outcome after the 6-month follow-up. In IMN patients, sPLA2-IB levels were significantly increased in both serum and renal tissue. In conclusion, serum sPLA2-IB was closely correlated with proteinuria, albumin and cholesterol, and IMN patients with lower sPLA2-IB levels were more likely to achieve a better outcome.

Background Ferroptosis is a form of iron-dependent non-apoptotic cell death, with characteristics of loss of the activity of the lipid repair enzyme, glutathione (GSH) peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and accumulation of lethal reactive lipid oxygen species. The mechanism of ferroptosis in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is unclear. Methods Cell viability assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, GSH assay, and GPX activity assay were performed to study the regulation of ferroptosis in MDS cells obtained from MDS patients, the iron overload model mice, and cell lines. Results The growth-inhibitory effect of decitabine could be partially reversed by ferrostatin-1 and iron-chelating agent [desferrioxamine (DFO)] in MDS cell lines. Erastin could increase the cytotoxicity of decitabine on MDS cells. The level of GSH and the activity of GPX4 decreased, whereas the ROS level increased in MDS cells upon treatment with decitabine, which could be reversed by ferrostatin-1. The concentration of hemoglobin in peripheral blood of iron overload mice was negatively correlated with intracellular Fe2+ level and ferritin concentration. Iron overload (IO) led to decreased viability of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs), which was negatively correlated with intracellular Fe2+ level. Ferrostatin-1 partially reversed the decline of cell viability in IO groups. The level of GSH and the activity of GPX4 decreased, whereas the ROS level increased in BMMNCs of IO mice. DFO could increase the level of GSH. Ferrostatin-1 and DFO could increase the GPX4 activity of BMMNCs in IO mice. Ferrostatin-1 could significantly reverse the growth-inhibitory effect of decitabine in MDS patients. Decitabine could significantly increase the ROS level in MDS groups, which could be inhibited by ferrostatin-1 or promoted by erastin. Ferrostatin-1 could significantly reverse the inhibitory effect of decitabine on GSH levels in MDS patients. Erastin combined with decitabine could further reduce the GSH level. Erastin could further decrease the activity of GPX4 compared with the decitabine group. Conclusion Ferroptosis may account for the main mechanisms of how decitabine induced death of MDS cells. Decitabine-induced ROS raise leads to ferroptosis in MDS cells by decreasing GSH level and GPX4 activity.

In this study, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanocluster structure was synthesized on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified cotton fibers. The organic electrochemical transistors based on the modified fiber have been assembled and their performance of different gate electrode transistors have been investigated. The transistor exhibits an excellent transconductance of up to 15.5 mS and a high on-off ratio close to 2*102. The bending angle and bending times have little effect on the device performance. The uric acid (UA) sensor based transistor has been fabricated for the first time. Flexible sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymer membrane (MIP) with different fiber gate electrodes have been investigated. The UA sensor with MIP/PEDOT/carbon fiber as the gate electrode has a sensitivity of 100 μA per decade from 1 nM to 500 μM, a linear coefficient of 0.97143, excellent selectivity, and good reproducibility. In addition, fiber based organic electrochemical transistors (FECTs) can be sewn into the fabric for monitoring and have successfully evaluated the detection of UA in artificial urine sample, with data consistent well with the UA concentration obtained from single fiber. Therefore, the sensor based FECTs can be used for low cost, accurate, non-enzymatic detection of UA in clinical diagnostics and bioanalytical applications.

Halogenation is a very efficient chemical modification method to tune the molecular energy levels, absorption spectra and molecular packing of organic semiconductors. Recently, in the field of organic solar cells (OSCs), both fluorine- and chlorine-substituted photovoltaic materials, including donors and acceptors, demonstrated their great potentials in achieving high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), raising a question that how to make a decision between fluorination and chlorination when designing materials. Herein, we systemically studied the impact of fluorination and chlorination on the properties of resulting donors (PBDB-T-2F and PBDB-T-2Cl) and acceptors (IT-4F and IT-4Cl). The results suggest that all the OSCs based on different donor and acceptor combinations can deliver good PCEs around 13%–14%. Chlorination is more effective than fluorination in downshifting the molecular energy levels and broadening the absorption spectra. The influence of chlorination and fluorination on the crystallinity of the resulting materials is dependent on their introduction positions. As chlorination has the advantage of easy synthesis, it is more attractive in designing low-cost photovoltaic materials and therefore may have more potential in large-scale applications.

In bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ-OSCs), exciton dissociation and charge transport are highly sensitive to the molecular packing pattern and phase separation morphology in blend films. Efficient photovoltaic small molecules (SMs) typically possess an acceptor–donor–acceptor structure that causes intrinsic anisotropy, limiting the control over molecular packing because of the lack of an effective method for modulating molecular orientation. In this report, we design a group of model compounds, named DRTB-T-CX (X = 2, 4, 6, and 8), to demonstrate that adjusting the length of the end alkyl chain can be used to modify the molecular orientation. A top-performance power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 11.24% is achieved with a DRTB-T-C4/IT-4F-based device, which is the best performance reported for a state-of-the-art nonfullerene SM organic solar cell (NFSM-OSC).

Modulation of the electron donating and accepting properties of organic semiconductors is an important topic in the field of organic photovoltaics. Although the small-molecule semiconductors (SMs) with an A-D-A structure can act as either electron donor or acceptor in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, the reason why molecules with similar conjugated structures play different roles remains unclear. In this work, we designed and synthesized two A-D-A SMs named BTCN-O and BTCN-M, which have an identical backbone and differ in the alkyl substitution position. BTCN-O and BTCN-M demonstrate similar optical absorption spectra in solution and molecular energy levels in a solid film. BTCN-O forms an ordered lamellar packed structure with compact π–π stacking, whereas BTCN-M demonstrates only a weak π–π stacking effect in solid film. We also investigated their photovoltaic properties by blending each with a polymer donor, PBDB-T, and a fullerene acceptor, PC71BM, and found that the electron donating and accepting...

An n-type helical molecule perylene diimide (PDI2) has been explored as an efficient interfacial layer between TiO2 and perovskite for the preparation of perovskite solar cells. The extended π-conjugation of PDI2 ensures a high electron conductivity for efficient charge transport, and the oxygen atoms of the carbonyl groups can chelate with uncoordinated Pb2+ to passivate the surface defects of perovskite crystals. It thereby suppresses interfacial recombination, enhances efficiency, and reduces hysteresis and the light-soaking instability. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of our perovskite solar cells showed negligible dependence on the thickness of the PDI2 interlayer, and the champion device achieved a high PCE of 19.84% and the hysteresis value (ΔPCE) was reduced to 2.34% compared to 6.46% in the perovskite device without the presence of the PDI2 interlayer.

Constructing carbon-based metal sulfides hybrids are efficient strategy for improving the sodium storage performance. And novel carbon materials are attractive in the development of electrodes. Herein, chiral amphiphiles are utilized to design chiral (C-CNTs) and straight (S-CNTs) nitrogen-doped CNTs through polycondensation and supramolecular assemble process, followed by pyrolysis. Besides, the CNTs can serve as skeleton, and MoS2 nanosheets are then anchored on the mesoporous CNTs matrix by hydrothermal reaction. Well-aligned architectures are obtained for MoS2/S-CNTs, while MoS2/C-CNTs are porous with short tubular morphology. As anode materials, MoS2/C-CNTs electrode outperforms the MoS2/S-CNTs counterparts and exhibits superior cycle stability and rate performances. It delivers a capacity of 368.8 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles at a high current density of 2 A g−1. Based on kinetics analysis, the percentage of capacitive charge storage is around 93.6% at the scan rate of 2 mV s−1. The phenomenon can be elucidated by the fast charge transfer resistance and small Warburg coefficient of MoS2/C-CNTs, which are superior to MoS2/S-CNTs. Therefore, the unique chiral structure combines the merits of expanded layer-spacing, nitrogen doping with high conductivity, and mesoporous channels, ensuring fast ion diffusion and pseudocapacitive behavior. This work provides an opportunity for fabricating other metal sulfides/C-CNTs SIBs anode materials with excellent cycling stability.

Dual functional composite films with high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and photothermal conversion properties are urgently demanded for modern microelectronic devices, especially to be used in an extreme environment. Here, flexible and lightweight MXene/AgNW/PU composite foam films were constructed by incorporating 1D AgNWs and 2D MXene in a PU matrix for highly efficient electromagnetic interference shielding and photothermal conversion. The 3D conductive network of AgNWs and MXene as well as the porous structure with multiple interfaces facilitated a high shielding effectiveness of 50 dB at a low density of 0.15 g/cm3 in X-band with a high absorption-dominated shielding efficiency of 86%. In the frequency of Ku-band, the composite foam film presented a higher shielding efficiency of 60 dB with the absorption efficiency as high as 95%, representing an excellent absorption-dominated shielding performance. The composite foam film remained an excellent EMI shielding efficiency of 41.5 dB after 1000 cycles of compression and release. Furthermore, the composite foam film showed a high photothermal conversion property. The flexible and lightweight MXene/AgNW/PU composite foam films provided a facile strategy for applications of EMI shielding and photothermal conversion in aerospace as well as portable smart electronics.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are widely used as bioactive ingredient in functional foods. In this study, we presented an efficient method to produce the FOS using a mutant strain of Aspergillus oryzae S719. This mutant strain hold an overexpressing β-fructofuranosidase (FTase) with high-level FOS synthetic activity and it was resistant to high osmotic pressure. At a sucrose concentration of 900 g/L, Aspergillus oryzae S719 produced 586.0 ± 4.7 g/L of FOS in a 50 L bioreactor during a 20 h transformation process, whose productivity was 2-fold higher compared to an initial sucrose concentration of 500 g/L. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the mycelia of Aspergillus oryzae S719 was loose and spherical and had a large number of vacuoles compared to the original strain Aspergillus oryzae ZT65. These morphological characteristics might have contributed to the improved FTase activity. In summary, this study demonstrated an efficient strategy for FOS production on an industrial scale.

Metal oxide charge transport layers have been widely employed to prepare inverted polymer solar cells with high efficiency and long lifetime. However, the intrinsic defects in the metal oxide layers, especially those prepared from low-temperature routes, overshadow the high efficiency that can be achieved and also introduce “light-soaking” issues to these devices. In this work, we have employed polyethyleneimine (PEI) and poly[9,9-bis(6′-(N,N-diethylamino)propyl)-fluorene-alt-9,9-bis-(3-ethyl(oxetane-3-ethyloxy)-hexyl)-fluorene] (PFN-OX) to modify our low-temperature-processed TiO2 electron-transport-layer(ETL), and demonstrated that the light-soaking issue can be effectively eliminated by PEI modifications due to the formation of abundant dipole moments, whilst PFN-OX was ineffective due to deficient dipole moments at the interface. Excitingly, PEI modifications enable versatile device architectures to obtain light-soaking-free, inverted PTB7-Th:PC71BM solar cells with efficiencies over 10%, by adding PE...

Conjugated polymer poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) has been explored as an efficient hole transport material (HTM) to replace poly(3,4-ethylenedio-xythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) for the preparation of p-i-n type, inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. The PVK film can be facilely deposited by room-temperature solution-casting without any doping or post treatments. Using MAPbI 3 as the photoactive layer, a 15.8% stabilized power conversion efficiency was achieved in ITO/PVK/MAPbI 3 /PCBM/Ag devices, which is a significant improvement compared with 12.1% from devices using PEDOT:PSS as the HTM. The perovskite photoactive layer cast on PVK HTM has higher crystallinity and less PbI 2 residues, leading to a higher charge recombination resistance of the device. After a storage of 1000 h, the PCE of PVK- and PEDOT:PSS- based devices dropped to 82.5% and 56% respectively, and demonstrated that the PVK-based perovskite devices is more stable compared with the PEDOT:PSS-based devices.

Background: Human polypyrimidine tract binding protein 3 (PTBP3) was first discovered in 1999 and has been well characterised as a differentiation regulator. However, its role in human cancer has rarely been reported. Our previous study revealed increased PTBP3 protein level in gastric cancer tissues. Downregulation of PTBP3 suppressed the proliferation and differentiation of gastric cancer cells in vivo. Methods: PTBP3 mRNA levels in human gastric cancer and adjuvant non-tumour tissues were detected. Apoptosis and 5-FU effect were determined in PTBP3-silenced gastric cancer cells. Underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated. Results: MRNA expression of PTBP3 was upregulated in gastric cancer tissues, especially in those at an advanced stage. PTBP3 silencing led to apoptosis, under which modulation of PTB and thereby switch of Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing pattern might be an important mechanism. Further research found that inhibition of PTBP3 expression enhanced the chemosensitivity of gastric cancer cells towards 5-FU treatment. This was mediated by reduced expression of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), which further inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt and the expression of thymidylate synthase (TYMS), the critical determinant of 5-FU cytotoxicity. Conclusions: PTBP3 might serve as a biomarker of gastric cancer or potential target for anti-cancer therapy.

Flexible wearable pressure sensors have received extensive attention in recent years because of the promising application potentials in health management, humanoid robots, and human machine interfaces. Among the many sensory performances, the high sensitivity is an essential requirement for the practical use of flexible sensors. Therefore, numerous research studies are devoted to improving the sensitivity of the flexible pressure sensors. The fiber assemblies are recognized as an ideal substrate for a highly sensitive piezoresistive sensor because its three-dimensional porous structure can be easily compressed and can provide high interconnection possibilities of the conductive component. Moreover, it is expected to achieve high sensitivity by raising the porosity of the fiber assemblies. In this paper, the three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/polyolefin elastomer (RGO/POE) nanofiber composite aerogels were prepared by chemical reducing the graphene oxide (GO)/POE nanofiber composite aerogels, which were obtained by freeze drying the mixture of the GO aqueous solution and the POE nanofiber suspension. It was found that the volumetric shrinkage of thermoplastic POE nanofibers during the reduction process enhanced the compression mechanical strength of the composite aerogel, while decreasing its sensitivity. Therefore, the composite aerogels with varying POE nanofiber usage were prepared to balance the sensitivity and working pressure range. The results indicated that the composite aerogel with POE nanofiber/RGO proportion of 3:3 was the optimal sample, which exhibits high sensitivity (ca. 223 kPa&minus, 1) and working pressure ranging from 0 to 17.7 kPa. In addition, the composite aerogel showed strong stability when it is either compressed with different frequencies or reversibly compressed and released 5000 times.

CyclinB1 is a regulatory protein involved in mitosis. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that cyclinB1 depletion constrains proliferation and induces apoptosis in human tumor cells. The cells become susceptible to suffer a critical situation when cyclinB1 is downregulated. Autophagy is a major intracellular degradation system that recycles nutrients, removes damaged organelles, and promotes cell survival under stressful conditions, whereas the role of autophagy in cyclinB1-deprived neoplastic cell as well as the underlying molecular mechanism remains obscure. Here we pioneeringly elaborated that specific knockdown of cyclinB1 triggered autophagy via AMPK-ULK1-dependent signal pathway through the elevation of ROS, rather than ATP in the cell lines of CNE-1 and CNE-2. Moreover, ROS scavengers demonstrated that the observed effect of cyclinB1 silencing on AMPK phosphorylation was ROS dependent. Additionally, double knockdown of AMPK and cyclinB1 evidently abrogated cyclinB1 silencing-induced autophagy. Summarily, this study first revealed that downregulation of cyclinB1 induced autophagy via AMPK-ULK1-dependent signal pathway, which represents a key step toward unveiling the mechanism how cell cycle checkpoint proteins regulate autophagy.

Flexible electronic materials have received intensive attentions in diverse applications owing to unprecedented advantages such as good flexibility, low cost, multifunctionality and disposability, while not undermining its electronic performance. In this paper, conductive material consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and conductive inks (graphite or Ag) is used, which not only keeps the conductivity of the ink, but also improves the hydrophobicity of the PDMS and adhesiveness of the conductive ink. To further facilitate the implementation of the material in diverse applications, two types of novel fabrication methods termed plastic film mask printing (PFMP) and wire-cut electrical discharge cutting (WEDC) were proposed and presented, leveraging future usage in regards to requirements like ease of operation, low-cost and high-resolution. In addition, 2D/3D paper-based flexible circuits, supercapacitors and 3D PDMS-based conductive model were applied to further provide demonstrative applications of the material, along with dielectrophoretic (DEP) separation of the plasma from the whole human blood on paper and polystyrene (PS) microspheres from the solution on paper- and PDMS-based devices respectively. We believe the proposed conductive materials and fabrication methods meet the state-of-art scientific research needs and will provide a new direction for future flexible electronics, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and biomedical fields.

Compared to normal cells, most cancer cells produce ATP by glycolysis under aerobic conditions rather than via the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA). This study is intended to determine whether 3B, a novel photosensitizer, can inhibit glycolysis and inflammation in breast cancer cells. We showed that 3B had the ability to repress glucose consumption as well as the generation of ATP, lactate and lactate dehydrogenase. 3B-PDT not only inhibited the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 but also affected the JAK-STAT3 inflammatory pathway in vitro. The present study showed that 3B featured a significant inhibitory effect on the expression of microRNA-155-5p and SOCS1 might serve as a target gene. In vivo studies revealed that 3B inhibited tumor growth and exhibited almost no side effects. Therefore, through the anti-glycolytic effect and breakage of the JAK/STAT3/SOCS1 feedback loop via miR-155-5p, 3B may potentially serve as a potential therapeutic agent against breast cancer.

The resistance to oxaliplatin (L-OHP) is a major obstacle to ideal therapeutic outcomes in colorectal cancer. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) induces tumor damage through photosensitizer-mediated oxidative cytotoxicity. Hypericin is a well-studied photosensitizer. In this study, we explored the role of hypericin-mediated PDT (HY-PDT) in sensitizing human colorectal cancer cells towards L-OHP. Pre-treatment with HY-PDT enhanced the anti-tumor activity of L-OHP via decreasing drug efflux and increasing platinum accumulation. Further research showed that HY-PDT-mediated resensitization of resistance cells towards L-OHP was dependent on regulation of MRP-2, instead of p-gp. HY-PDT was also found to inhibit intracellular glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione S-transferase (GST), suggesting the involvement of GSH-related detoxification in the sensitization effect. Additionally, enhanced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was observed following HY-PDT/L-OHP combined treatment. HY-PDT lowered the removing rate of platinum from DNA and down-regulated the expression of ERCC1 and XPF, two critical enzymes involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. GSH monoethyl ester (GSH-EE) antagonized HY-PDT-induced ROS and repressed sensitization to platinum. Taken together, HY-PDT mediated sensitization of L-OHP in human colorectal cancer is mediated by ROS, whose mechanism involves affecting drug efflux, GSH-related detoxification and NER-mediated DNA repair.

BACKGROUND: The adsorption of ampicillin from aqueous solution by three types of activated carbon was investigated. The first was a commercial activated carbon (AC), the second (AAC) was AC modified by HNO3 oxidation and the third (HAAC) was AAC modified through thermal treatment. The surface properties of the activated carbon samples were characterized and the effects of pH and contact time on the adsorption were determined. The adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics and adsorption mechanism are discussed. RESULTS: Compared to AC, HNO3 oxidation increased the number of acid functional groups on the surface of AAC, which hindered the adsorption of ampicillin. For HAAC, thermal treatment removed surface oxygen groups and then improved the adsorption ability. The adsorption processes was greatly affected by pH and acidic conditions were favorable for adsorption. With an initial ampicillin sodium concentration of 200 mg/L, 9 h was needed for adsorption to reach equilibrium. The Langmuir isotherm provides a better fit for the adsorption than the Freundlich isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacities for AC, AAC and HAAC were 90.6, 59.8, 140.9 mg/g, respectively. The sorption kinetics can be described by a pseudo-second order model. CONCLUSION: The functional groups on activated carbon greatly affect its adsorption ability. The adsorption of ampicillin can be improved by increasing the number of basic functional groups on the activated carbon. Chemisorption was the dominant adsorption process and pH was an important factor affecting ampicillin adsorption.

Stability remains as a challenge of perovskite solar cells although encouraging progress has been made toward their maximum achievable power conversion efficiency in recent years. Light-soaking issue, where the device performance improves upon continuous light illumination and reduces upon storage in dark, is widely observed and marked as the early-stage instability during device operation. In this work, we have employed conjugated polymer PCDTBT as the dopant-free hole-transport layer to fabricate devices without hysteresis but with reversible light-soaking instability. The introduction of n-type molecules, either organic molecule PDI2 or fullerene derivative PC61BM, as the interfacial layer between TiO2 and perovskite layers can effectively reduce or eliminate this instability owing to the efficient charge transport and defect passivation at the electron-transport layer interface, accompanied with an efficiency of 15.7 and 17.7%, respectively. We conclude that the light-soaking instability of these pero...

Chlorinated conjugated polymers not only show great potential for the realization of highly efficient polymer solar cells (PSCs) but also have simple and high-yield synthetic routes and low-cost raw materials available for their preparation. However, the study of the structure-property relationship of chlorinated polymers is lagging. Now two chlorinated conjugated polymers, PCl(3)BDB-T and PCl(4)BDB-T are investigated. When the polymers were used to fabricate PSCs with the nonfullerene acceptor (IT-4F), surprisingly, the PCl(3)BDB-T:IT-4F-based device exhibited a negligible power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.18 %, while the PCl(4)BDB-T:IT-4F-based device showed an outstanding PCE of 12.33 %. These results provide new insight for the rational design and synthesis of novel chlorinated polymer donors for further improving the photovoltaic efficiencies of PSCs.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells represent an exceptional candidate for nextgeneration\ud photovoltaic technology. However, the presence of surface defects in perovskite crystals\ud limits the performance as well as the stability of perovskite solar cells. We have employed a series\ud of carbazole and benzothiadiazole (BT) based donor-acceptor copolymers, which have different\ud lengths of alkoxy side-chains grafted on the BT unit, as the dopant-free hole transport materials\ud (HTMs) for perovskite solar cells. We demonstrate that although these side-chains can reduce the\ud π−π stacking structural order of these copolymers to affect the hole transport properties, the\ud methoxy unit introduces a desired defect passivation effect. Compared to the Spiro-OMeTAD-based\ud device, the copolymer with methoxy side-chains on the BT unit (namely PCDTBT1) as the HTM\ud achieved superior power conversion efficiency and stability due to efficient hole transport and the\ud suppression of trap-induced degradation, whilst the copolymer with octyloxy side-chains on the BT\ud unit (namely PCDTBT8) as the HTM lead to poor performance and stability.

This study used different intensity ultrasound treatments, wheat seedlings in the germination energy, germination rate, growth potential, root length, and number of lateral roots optimal radiation dose selection. Studied under drought stress were the optimal dose of radiation treatment of wheat seedling leaf relative water content (RWC), protein content, Methane Dicarboxylic Aldehyde (MDA) content, relative conductivity, Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and the impact of amylase activity. Studies have shown that after ultrasonic treatment enhanced drought resistance of wheat seedlings, alleviate drought stress on wheat seedling injury to 65 W 15 min ultrasonic treatment works best.

Long chain branching polypropylene (LCBPP) has good application prospect but the synergistic effects of the long chain branching (LCB) structure and complex flow field on the crystallization behavior of LCB polymers are still elusive. In the present work, microparts of isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/LCBPP blends were prepared by microinjection molding (MIM). The effect of the LCB structure on the morphology evolution and the β-crystal distribution in microparts were investigated. Interestingly, adding LCBPP facilitates the formation of oriented β-crystals along the shear direction in the core layer of the microparts but unexpectedly, decreases the relative content of β-crystals due to the heterogeneous nucleation effect of LCBPP. Moreover, the introduction of LCBPP can also improve the orientation degree of the molecular chains and shrink the thickness of the core layer thereby inevitably suppressing the “skin–core” structure which might optimize the properties of MIM parts.

A new organic small molecule, DRTB-T, that incorporates a two-dimensional trialkylthienyl-substituted benzodithiophene core building block was designed and synthesized. DRTB-T has a band gap (Egopt) of 2.0 eV with a low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of −5.51 eV. Nonfullerene small-molecule solar cells consisting of DRTB-T and a nonfullerene acceptor (IC-C6IDT-IC) were constructed, and the morphology of the active layer was fine-tuned by solvent vapor annealing (SVA). The device showed a record 9.08% power conversion efficiency (PCE) with a high open-circuit voltage (Voc = 0.98 V). This is the highest PCE for a nonfullerene small-molecule organic solar cell (NFSM-OSC) reported to date. Our notable results demonstrate that the molecular design of a wide band gap (WBG) donor to create a well-matched donor–acceptor pair with a low band gap (LBG) nonfullerene small-molecule acceptor, as well as subtle morphological control, provides great potential to realize high-performance NFSM-OSCs.

Artemisinin, existing in the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua L., is a kind of sesquiterpenoid lactone endoperoxide. It has received extensive attention from all over the world owing to its unusual trioxane structure and potent antimalarial properties. Here we demonstrate the complete chemical synthetic pathway of artemisinin, investigated the past three decades, including the total and partial syntheses.

Polystyrene (PS) nanolatexes were successfully prepared via emulsion polymerization using sodium dodecyl sulfonate as the emulsifier. The effects of emulsifier concentration, initiator concentration, polymerization reaction time, and polymerization reaction temperature on particle size and size distribution of PS colloidal spheres were investigated, respectively. The particle size of the diluted polymer emulsion was about 20 nm, as determined by laser scattering. These obtained PS particles were also characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

A novel series of water-soluble derivatives of limonin were synthesized by introducing various tertiary amines onto the C (7)-position of limonin. Ten target compounds were characterized and screened for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity in vivo. Compound 3c exhibited the strongest analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity among the limonin and its derivatives tested; its analgesic activity is more potent than that of aspirin and its anti-inflammatory activity is stronger than that of naproxen.

Flavonoids, composed of a C6-C3-C6 backbone, are a kind of secondary metabolites of natural medicine, which widely exist in the higher plant. They have received extensive attention from all over the world and obtained rapid development owing to widespread distribution, structural complexity, active diversity, and molecular plasticity. Total synthesis of natural products is not only one of the most driving forces in organic chemistry but also the embodiment of the development level of organic synthesis chemistry. Total synthesis research possesses not only important theoretical significance to the development of organic chemistry but also potential marketing prospects to clinical medicine and significant practical value to the development of natural medicine. Flavonoids contain flavan, chalcone, flavone, biflavone, isoflavone, xanthone, pterocarpin, homoisoflavone, flavonol, favonolignan, and some other main structure types. This article summarizes the latest research on first total synthesis, inc...

The paper is concerned with the novel method on polymer molecular weight and gyration radius of DNA (R g ) detection by a quantitative DNA sieving model using DNA separations by capillary electrophoresis, which was proposed by us previously. First, the molecular weights of polymer additives such as hydroxylpropyl cellulose (HPC) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) were calculated by the intercept of a linear plot of (1/μ–1/μ0)1/2 against . The relative differences between the predicted and the actual values (M w = 80, 000 to 1, 000, 000) were all within the range of −0.61% to 6.71%. Second, the radius of gyration (R g) of DNA in the collision direction of the Y-axis can be also calculated simultaneously. Results indicated that R g depends on the DNA length, polymer concentration, polymer species, and polymer M w. R g lengthens with increased DNA length, but shortens with increased solution concentration and polymer M w. Furthermore, R g of DNA was longer in linear polyacrylamide (LPA) than in HEC solution wh...

We explored the use of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on alleviating effects of UV-B light on winter wheat development. Triticum aestivum L. cv. Linyou 7287 seeds were irradiated with UV-B (10.08 kJ·m–2·d–1) (enhanced UV-B) and watered with either water or 100 μmol·L–1 SNP solution. Plants were also watered with the SNP alone. The results showed that enhanced UV-B produced negative effects on seedling development. Leaf length decreased and seedling biomass dropped significantly compared with the control. Photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) dropped, and chlorophyll and carotenoid content as well as the ATPase activity declined. Content of UV-absorbing compounds and activity of the POD increased compared to the control. Application of the SNP, a NO donor partially protected wheat seedlings exposed to elevated UV-B radiation in that their leaf lengths and biomass accumulation were enhanced compared to the UV-B treatment alone. SNP also improved the contents of chlorophyll, carotenoid and UV-absorbing compounds in leaves. ATPase activity was enhanced but no influence on POD activity. Furthermore, the application of SNP alone showed a favorable effect on seedling growth compared with the control.