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The combined influence of Mg/Si and Ca contents on the crystallization of primary Mg2Si in Al–Mg2Si alloy is investigated. Embryo formation of primary Mg2Si can be restricted by the addition of Ca while the restricted effect is weakened by increasing the content of Mg/Si, and content of Ca for over-modification is increased with the increased Mg/Si content. Growth of primary Mg2Si is encouraged with the increasing content of Mg/Si, while the addition of Ca can restrict the growth rate directionally in Ca-modified Al–Mg2Si alloy, which leads to the morphology evolution of primary Mg2Si. The serious inhibition effect on the whole crystallization process of primary Mg2Si caused by increasing the content of Ca is the main reason for the occurrence of over-modification. Dice-like primary Mg2Si is prepared successfully in the over-modified alloy for the first time. The tip-growth process of the dice-like primary Mg2Si is revealed, which is completed by 2-D nucleation growth. The study provides a novel method to control the morphology and particle size of primary Mg2Si, which can further help understand the crystallization process of the crystal.

Biofouling is a major obstacle to the efficient extraction of uranium from seawater due to the numerous marine microorganisms in the ocean. Herein, we report a novel amidoxime (AO) crystalline cova...

Kaempferol (KF) is an important natural anti-inflammatory flavonol. Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disorder, which in about 20% cases may develop into severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with a high mortality rate. This research was to study the effects and mechanism of kaempferol on SAP. SAP was induced by sodium taurocholate. The level of cytokines was analyzed by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay. The expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1–nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Keap1–Nrf2) proteins was analyzed by Western blot assay. Pathological changes in the pancreas were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Kaempferol attenuated pancreatic injury in SAP rats, including reduction in inflammatory infiltration and necrosis. The level of serum amylase and lipase was also decreased in kaempferol-treated SAP rats. Kaempferol inhibited the expression of inflammatory mediators (nuclear factor-α, Interlukin-1β, and Interlukin-6), and alleviated the oxidative stress characterized by the decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. Kaempferol decreased the expression of cleaved caspase 3 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, which indicated that kaempferol could inhibit apoptosis of pancreatic cells in SAP rats. Kaempferol treatment could decrease the expression of p-p65 and the amount of nuclear Nrf2 (Nu-Nrf2), which demonstrated that kaempferol inhibited the NF-κB activation and enhanced the Keap1–Nrf2 pathway. Our research indicated that kaempferol could attenuate the pancreatic injury of SAP by regulating NF-κB and Keap1–Nrf2 signaling pathway. Kaempferol could serve as a natural candidate for treating SAP.

Three new complexes, namely, [Cu2(H2bdcpb)2(pyridine)2] (1), [Cu3(bdcpp)2(CH3NCH3)(H2O)] (2), and [Cu2(H2bdcpp)2(H2O)2]·2H2O (3), have been synthesized through the hydro/solvothermal reaction of cu...

A stable QTL qSalt-A04-1 for salt tolerance in the cotton seed germination stage, and two candidate genes, GhGASA1 and GhADC2, that play negative roles by modulating the GA and PA signalling pathways, respectively, were identified. The successful transition of a seed into a seedling is a prerequisite for plant propagation and crop yield. Germination is a vulnerable stage in a plant’s life cycle that is strongly affected by environmental conditions, such as salinity. In this study, we identified a novel quantitative trait locus (QTL) qRGR-A04-1 associated with the relative germination rate (RGR) after salt stress treatment based on a high-density genetic map under phytotron and field conditions, with LOD values that ranged from 6.65 to 16.83 and 6.11–12.63% phenotypic variations in all five environmental tests. Two candidate genes with significantly differential expression between the two parents were finally identified through RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses. Further functional analyses showed that GhGASA1- and GhADC2-overexpression lines were more sensitive to salt stress than wild-type Arabidopsis based on the regulation of the transcript levels of gibberellic acid (GA)- and polyamine (PA)- related genes in GA and PA biosynthesis and the reduction in the accumulation of GA and PA, respectively, under salt stress. Virus-induced gene silencing analysis showed that TRV:GASA1 and TRV:ADC2 were more tolerant to salt stress than TRV:00 based on the increased expression of GA synthesis genes and decreased H2O2 content, respectively. Taken together, our results suggested that QTL qRGR-A04-1 and its two harboured genes, GhGASA1 and GhADC2, are promising candidates for salt tolerance improvement in cotton.

Recent advances in end-to-end continuous-flow synthesis are rapidly expanding the capabilities of automated customized syntheses of small-molecule pharmacophores, resulting in considerable industrial and societal impacts; however, many hurdles persist that limit the number of sequential steps that can be achieved in such systems, including solvent and reagent incompatibility between individual steps, cumulated by-product formation, risk of clogging and mismatch of timescales between steps in a processing chain. To address these limitations, herein we report a strategy that merges solid-phase synthesis and continuous-flow operation, enabling push-button automated multistep syntheses of active pharmaceutical ingredients. We demonstrate our platform with a six-step synthesis of prexasertib in 65% isolated yield after 32 h of continuous execution. As there are no interactions between individual synthetic steps in the sequence, the established chemical recipe file was directly adopted or slightly modified for the synthesis of twenty-three prexasertib derivatives, enabling both automated early and late-stage diversification., Although strategies for the automated assembly of compounds of pharmaceutical relevance is a growing field of research, the synthesis of small-molecule pharmacophores remains a predominantly manual process. Now, an automated six-step synthesis of prexasertib is achieved by multistep solid-phase chemistry in a continuous-flow fashion using a chemical recipe file that enables automated scaffold modification through both early and late-stage diversification.

The decline of fossil fuels is fostering research on carbon–neutral fuels such as nuclear energy, yet uranium supply is limited by actual techniques of uranium extraction from seawater. In particular, biofouling by marine bacteria and adsorbent instability are major drawbacks. Here we synthesized a novel amidoxime-functionalized antibacterial covalent organic framework that displays high stability and inhibits more than 90% the growth of marine bacteria, thus resulting in an enhanced uranium recovery capacity of 6.64 mg/g. Meanwhile, due to its exceptional fluorescence properties, the adsorbent can also be applied to highly sensitive on-site and real-time monitoring of UO22+.

Meeting the demand for fresh water and energy is among the major challenges to the development of human civilization. Herein, we report the concept of a covalent organic framework hydrogel (named CPP) as a synergistic platform for seawater desalination and uranium extraction. In natural seawater, CPP shows an exceptional evaporation rate (0.744 kg m−2 h−1) and uranium extraction capacity (4.15 mg g−1), which benefits from the hydrophilic 3D hydrogel network and capillary microporous channels of CPP providing adequate water transport, improving the mass transfer of uranyl ions, and increasing the binding sites of uranyl ions. In addition, CPP exploits interfacial solar heating to limit heat, increases solar energy utilization, and further accelerates the coordination between uranium and binding sites. The excellent photocatalytic effects endow CPP with high anti-biofouling activity, achieving long-term solar desalination and highly efficient uranium extraction. The connection between freshwater and nuclear energy is realized in a new material providing an opportunity to meet the growing needs of mankind.

Divergent catalytic reactions provide access to diverse nitrogen-containing heterocycles through controlled catalysts. This study presents a computational study of rhodium- and cobalt-catalyzed decarboxylative transformations of isoxazolones. The calculations clarified the mechanistic details of the reaction and the origins of the catalyst controlled product selectivity. We identified a mechanism in which alkene insertion precedes CO2 elimination in rhodium- and cobalt-catalyzed decarboxylative transformations of isoxazolones. The kinetic feasibility of this mechanism is attributed to the avoidance of formation of a highly unstable four-membered rhodacycle intermediate. The reason for the formation of different products with the two metals lies in the different geometries of the metal centers in the key transition states. The energy barrier of C–N-bond-forming reductive elimination via the triplet state for the cobalt system is small because the distorted trigonal–bipyramidal coordination geometry of the transition state maximizes the overlap between the π* orbital of the N atom and the σ* orbital of the C atom.

Suitable chemical components in water systems for human health are a crucial prerequisite for mankind's survival. Simple and effective innovations are being developed to efficiently monitor healthy and toxic substances. Here, with a hydrothermal technique, a novel thermostable metal–organic framework (MOF) [Cd2(L)(bib)0.5(H2O)3]n·1.75n(H2O) (MOF-1, H4L = biphenyl-2,3,3′,5′-tetracarboxylic acid, bib = 1,4-bis(imidazolyl)butane) was designed and synthesized. MOF-1 shows a 4,5-connection binodal 3D fsx-type topological net with irregular cages, which the bulk materials show high phase purity, excellent thermo/aqua-stability and intense fluorescence. The luminescent MOF was studied for the highly sensitive detection of trace amounts of Fe3+ ions and nitrobenzene and shows high KSV values of 4.653 × 104 and 5.724 × 104, respectively. It was also demonstrated that MOF-1 possesses superior probing ability towards nine other nitroaromatic explosives with remarkable quenching percentages. These results offer a new possibility for the potential multiple recognition of various chemical substances in human body and water systems by utilizing novel dual-functionalized luminescent MOF sensors.

The effective removal of organic pollutants in wastewater is a key environmental challenge. In this work, an anionic covalent organic framework (named TpPa-SO3Na) was synthesized through a green two-in-one synthesis strategy with autocatalytic imine formation. The slowly generated acetic acid as a catalyst is favorable to sustain the reversibility of the covalent organic framework (COF) formation reaction and improve the crystallinity of TpPa-SO3Na. TpPa-SO3Na consists of a homogeneous distribution of sulfonate groups to produce negatively charged regular channels. The strong electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions between the sulfonate groups anchored in the nanochannels and the amine groups in organic pollutants improve the adsorption selectivity and capacity. These structures allow a high degree of control over adsorption processes to boost the adsorption kinetics and improve selective separation. TpPa-SO3Na exhibits ultrafast adsorption (

Extracting uranium from seawater with a chemically stable adsorbent is one of the most promising strategies for challenges originating from sustainable nuclear energy industries. Covalent organic f...

Uranium is a key resource for the development of the nuclear industry, and extracting uranium from the natural seawater is one of the most promising ways to address the shortage of uranium resources. Herein, a semiconducting covalent organic framework (named NDA-TN-AO) with excellent photocatalytic and photoelectric activities was synthesized. The excellent photocatalytic effect endowed NDA-TN-AO with a high anti-biofouling activity by generating biotoxic reactive oxygen species and promoting photoelectrons to reduce the adsorbed UVI to insoluble UIV , thereby increasing the uranium extraction capacity. Owing to the photoinduced effect, the adsorption capacity of NDA-TN-AO to uranium in seawater reaches 6.07 mg g-1 , which is 1.33 times of that in dark. The NDA-TN-AO with enhanced adsorption capacity is a promising material for extracting uranium from the natural seawater.

The hybrid electrode of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/Cu2O/ZnO nanorods (NRs)/graphene used on the current-response nonenzymatic glucose sensor was investigated herein, regarding the mechanism of the formation of functional channel. The synthesis of the hybrid electrode involved four steps. First, the graphene was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and then wet-transferred onto indium transparent oxide (ITO) glass. Second, a zinc oxide (ZnO) seed layer was sputtered onto the graphene/ITO glass, and ZnO NRs were gradually grown by the hydrothermal method. Third, the ZnO NRs were clad with cuprous oxide (Cu2O) by the electrochemical method. Fourth, the SWCNTs were dropped onto the Cu2O surface, with a Nafion surfactant. X-ray diffraction spectra, scanning electron microscopy spectra, Raman spectra, cyclic voltammograms, and amperometric response diagrams were used to verify the performance of the device. Results showed that sensitivity increased significantly from 11.2 to 289.8 μA mM-1 cm-2, linear range increased significantly from 0.6 to 11.1 mM, and the coefficient of determination (R2) increased from 0.9766 to 0.9923, all by the addition of the SWCNTs/Cu2O functional channel mechanism and without graphene. When the graphene was added to the functional channel electrode, sensitivity increased again from 289.8 to 466.1 μA mM-1 cm-2 at low concentrations.

As one of the most important elements in the nuclear industry, uranium has both radioactivity and chemical toxicity, which can harm human beings when released into the natural environment. It is difficult for most uranium adsorbents to maintain good stability under strong radiation and acid conditions. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop a stable adsorbent for the rapid detection and efficient removal of uranium. Herein, we first constructed an amidoxime-functionalized luminescent sp2 carbon linked covalent organic framework (TP-COF-AO), which is rich in amidoxime groups, has open 1D channels and an extraordinarily stable framework. Based on these advantages, it can reduce UO22+ from 9.25 ppm to below 10 ppb within 10 min and has a high adsorption capacity (436 mg g−1). Meanwhile, the adsorption of UO22+ on TP-COF-AO results in rapid fluorescence quenching (within 2 s) with an ultra-low detection limit (8.3 nM), which is well below the maximum contamination standard in drinking water prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (130 nM). Moreover, it also has excellent recyclability that provides possibility for practical applications. This study indicates that the sp2 carbon-conjugated COF can be used for the simultaneous detection and adsorption of UO22+ with good application prospects in environmental applications.

Mercury is one of the most toxic elements in the environment. Recently, a number of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) were developed for simultaneous detection and removal of mercury. They rely on...

Hypoxia‐inducible factor 1α (HIF‐1α) plays a critical role in the apoptotic process during cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study aimed to investigate whether post‐treatment with dexmedetomidine (DEX) could protect against I/R‐induced cardiac apoptosis in vivo and in vitro via regulating HIF‐1α signalling pathway. Rat myocardial I/R was induced by occluding the left anterior descending artery for 30 minutes followed by 6‐hours reperfusion, and cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) was induced by oxygen‐glucose deprivation for 6 hours followed by 3‐hours reoxygenation. Dexmedetomidine administration at the beginning of reperfusion or reoxygenation attenuated I/R‐induced myocardial injury or H/R‐induced cell death, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, inhibited the activation of HIF‐1α and modulated the expressions of apoptosis‐related proteins including BCL‐2, BAX, BNIP3, cleaved caspase‐3 and cleaved PARP. Conversely, the HIF‐1α prolyl hydroxylase‐2 inhibitor IOX2 partly blocked DEX‐mediated cardioprotection both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, DEX down‐regulated HIF‐1α expression at the post‐transcriptional level and inhibited the transcriptional activation of the target gene BNIP3. Post‐treatment with DEX protects against cardiac I/R injury in vivo and H/R injury in vitro. These effects are, at least in part, mediated via the inhibition of cell apoptosis by targeting HIF‐1α signalling.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL), as an advanced sensing process, can selectively control the generation of excited states by changing the potential. However, most of the existing ECL systems rely on poisonous coreactants to provide radicals for luminescence; although the ECL efficiency was improved, the athematic coreactants will cause unpredictable interference to the accurate analysis of trace targets. Herein, we realized the ECL of nonemitting molecules by performing intramolecular electron transfer in the olefin-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs), with a high efficiency of 63.7%. Employing internal dissolved oxygen as the coreactant, it is well suitable for the analysis of various complex samples in the environment. Taking nuclear contamination analysis as the goal orientation, we further illustrated a design of a "turn-on" uranyl ion monitoring system integrating fast response, low detection limit, and high selectivity, showing that new ECL-COFs are promising to facilitate environment-related sensing analysis and structure-feature correlation mechanism exploration.

Liquid-liquid phase separation promotes the formation of membraneless condensates that mediate diverse cellular functions, including autophagy of misfolded proteins. However, how phase separation participates in autophagy of dysfunctional mitochondria (mitophagy) remains obscure. We previously discovered that nuclear receptor Nur77 (also called TR3, NGFI-B, or NR4A1) translocates from the nucleus to mitochondria to mediate celastrol-induced mitophagy through interaction with p62/SQSTM1. Here, we show that the ubiquitinated mitochondrial Nur77 forms membraneless condensates capable of sequestrating damaged mitochondria by interacting with the UBA domain of p62/SQSTM1. However, tethering clustered mitochondria to the autophagy machinery requires an additional interaction mediated by the N-terminal intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of Nur77 and the N-terminal PB1 domain of p62/SQSTM1, which confers Nur77-p62/SQSTM1 condensates with the magnitude and liquidity. Our results demonstrate how composite multivalent interaction between Nur77 and p62/SQSTM1 coordinates to sequester damaged mitochondria and to connect targeted cargo mitochondria for autophagy, providing mechanistic insight into mitophagy., How phase separation participates in mitophagy remains unclear. Here the authors show that Nur77 and p62/SQSTM1 through “head-to-head” and “tail-to-tail” interactions form membraneless condensates capable of sequestering dysfunctional mitochondria and tethering them to autolysosome for degradation.

The nonaqueous lithium–oxygen batteries have attracted considerable interest because of the ultrahigh theoretical capacity. However, the overpotential and cyclability issue of lithium–oxygen battery caused by interfacial issue limits its commercialization. To overcome these challenges, redox mediators, which are capable of charge transport on the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, are introduced to lithium–oxygen batteries to reduce overpotential. This review provides a detailed summary of the interfacial reaction mechanism and the influence of redox mediators on the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Researches on suppressing redox mediators’ shuttle effect are also beneficial to enhance the electrochemical performance of lithium–oxygen batteries.

Uranium is a key element in the nuclear industry and also a global environmental contaminant with combined highly toxic and radioactive. Currently, the materials based on post-modification of amidoxime have been developed for uranium detection and adsorption. However, the affinity of amidoxime group for vanadium is stronger than that of uranium, which is the main challenge hindering the practical application of amidoxime-based adsorbents. Herein, we synthesized a fluorescent covalent organic framework (TFPPy-BDOH) through integrating biphenyl diamine and pyrene unit into the π-conjugated framework. TFPPy-BDOH has an excellent selectivity to uranium due to the synergistic effect of nitrogen atom in the imine bond and hydroxyl groups in conjugated framework. It can achieve ultra-fast fluorescence response time (2 s) and ultra-low detection limit (8.8 nM), which may be attributed to its intrinsic regular porous channel structures and excellent hydrophilicity. More excitingly, TFPPy-BDOH can chemically reduce soluble U (VI) to insoluble U (IV), and release the binding site to adsorb additional U (VI), achieving high adsorption capacity of 982.6 ± 49.1 mg g-1. Therefore, TFPPy-BDOH can overcome the challenges faced by current amidoxime-based adsorbents, making it as a potential adsorbent in practical applications.

Anaerobically treated swine wastewater contains large amounts of orthophosphate phosphorus, ammonium nitrogen and organic substances with potential nutrients recovery via struvite electrochemical precipitation post-treatment. Lab-scale batch experiments were systematically conducted in this study to investigate the effects of initial pH, current density, organic substances upon nutrients removal, and precipitates quality (characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and element analysis via acid dissolution method) during the struvite electrochemical precipitation process. The optimal conditions for the initial pH of 7.0 and current density of 4 mA/cm2 favoured nutrients removal and precipitates quality (struvite purity of up to 94.2%) in the absence of organic substances. By contrast, a more adverse effect on nutrients removal, morphology and purity of precipitates was found by humic acid than by sodium alginate and bovine albumin in the individual presence of organic substances. Low concentration combination of bovine albumin, sodium alginate, and humic acid showed antagonistic inhibition effects, whereas a high concentration combination showed the accelerating inhibition effects. Initial pH adjustment from 7 to 8 could effectively mitigate the adverse effects on struvite electrochemical precipitation under high concentration combined with organic substances (500 mg/L bovine albumin, 500 mg/L sodium alginate, and 1500 mg/L humic acid), this may help improve struvite electrochemical precipitation technology in practical application for nutrients recovery from anaerobically treated swine wastewater.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) plays a key role in analysis and sensing because of its high sensitivity and low background. Its wide applications are however limited by a lack of highly tunable ECL luminophores. Here we develop a scalable method to design ECL emitters of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in aqueous medium by simultaneously restricting the donor and acceptor to the COFs’ tight electron configurations and constructing high-speed charge transport networks through olefin linkages. This design allows efficient intramolecular charge transfer for strong ECL, and no exogenous poisonous co-reactants are needed. Olefin-linked donor-acceptor conjugated COFs, systematically synthesized by combining non-ECL active monomers with C2v or C3v symmetry, exhibit strong ECL signals, which can be boosted by increasing the chain length and conjugation of monomers. The present concept demonstrates that the highly efficient COF-based ECL luminophores can be precisely designed, providing a promising direction toward COF-based ECL phosphors., Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) plays a key role in analysis and sensing but its application is limited by a lack of highly tunable luminophores. Here, the authors demonstrate the design of high efficient ECL luminophores of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in aqueous media by simultaneously restricting the donor and acceptor to the COFs’ electron configurations and constructing charge transport networks through olefin linkages.

Energy and fresh water are essential for the sustainable development of human society, and both could be obtained from seawater. Herein, we explored the first covalent organic framework (COF) sponge (named BHMS) by in situ loading the benzoxazole-linked COF (DBD-BTTH) onto a porous polymer scaffold (polydimethylsiloxane) as a synergistic platform for efficient solar desalination and selective uranium recovery. In natural seawater, BHMS shows a high evaporation rate (1.39 kg m-2 h-1) and an exceptional uranium recovery capacity (5.14 ± 0.15 mg g-1) under 1 sun, which are due to its desirable inbuilt structural hierarchy and elastic macroporous open cells providing adequate water transport, increased evaporation sites of seawater, and selective binding sites of uranyl. Besides, the excellent photothermal performance and photocatalytic activity endow the BHMS with high solar desalination efficiency and excellent anti-biofouling activity and promote selective coordination of uranyl.

The leafminer fly, Liriomyza trifolii, is an invasive pest of horticultural and vegetable crops that possesses a robust competitive ability when compared to congeneric species, especially with respect to temperature and insecticide tolerance. Abamectin, which is commonly used to control L. trifolii in the field, was selected as the target insecticide in this study. Our objective was to study the effect of abamectin and high temperature stress on L. trifolii mortality and the expression of genes encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP450s) and heat shock proteins (Hsps) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). When L. trifolii was exposed to abamectin followed by exposure to 40 °C (LC50 +HT40), mortality showed a significant increase, whereas exposure to 40 ℃ followed by abamectin (HT40+LC50) reduced mortality relative to abamectin or HT40 alone. Expression of three CYP450s in the CYP4 family was highest in the HT40+LC50 treatment, followed by the LC50+HT40 treatment. The expression levels of CYP18A1 (CYP18 family) were not significantly different among treatments, and CYP301A1 (CYP301 family) was only sensitive to temperature (HT40). The expression of five sHsps showed similar expression patterns and were highly responsive to the LC50+HT40 treatment, followed by the HT40 and HT40+LC50 treatments. Based on CYP450s and Hsps expression levels, our findings that suggest that L. trifolii exhibits adaptive cross-tolerance to high temperature and abamectin. This study provides a framework for selecting the most effective application time for abamectin with respect to controlling L. trifolii, which will ultimately reduce the overuse of pesticides.

Celecoxib (CXB) is the only clinical cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor. Oral administration of CXB in experimental diabetic mice effectively relieved the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy (DN); however, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the potential molecular mechanisms of CXB in the treatment of DN. An in vitro cellular model of DN was produced by stimulating dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons with high glucose. Cell viability and apoptosis were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays and flow cytometry, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) kits, ELISA kits and western blotting were used to determine oxidative cellular damage. The expression level of microRNA (miR)-155 was analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The starBase database and dual-luciferase assays were performed to predict and determine the interaction between miR-155 and COX-2. Protein expression of neurotrophic factors, oxidative stress-related proteins and COX-2 were analyzed by western blotting. Incubation with high glucose led to a decrease in DRG neuron cell viability, facilitated apoptosis, downregulated NGF and BDNF expression, increased ROS and MDA generation and decreased SOD activity. Treatment with CXB significantly protected DRG neurons against high glucose-evoked damage. CXB promoted the expression of miR-155 and COX-2 was revealed to be a direct target of miR-155. Inhibition of COX-2 enhanced the protective effect of CXB on DRG neurons and that treatment with an miR-155 inhibitor partially rescued this effect. The present study demonstrated the involvement of the miR-155/COX-2 axis in the protective effect of CXB against high glucose-induced DN.

Arsenic being one of the most toxic heavy metals has long been a focus of concern due to its gravest threats to human health and environment. Herein, we employ a new method named ring-opening click reaction to synthesize thiol- and amino- bifunctionalized SBA-15 (denoted as bi-SBA-15) for directly remove As(III) without preoxidation As(III) to As(V) from contaminated water. Quite different from commonly modified with trialkoxysilanes, ring-opening click reaction is substantially faster (0.5–2 h at 25 °C) and more efficient. The synthesized bi-SBA-15 exhibits excellent adsorption performance of As(III) and As(V) in an aqueous solution with a great adsorption capacity (33.70 mg/g and 42.66 mg/g, respectively), a very short equilibrium time (

Swelling, mechanical strength, flexibility, and toughness are important parameters in hydrogel preparation for application in the human body. Herein, composite hydrogels were prepared using a mix of Konjac glucomannan (KGM), sodium alginate (SA), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cross-linked by calcium hydroxide. The PVA/KGM/SA composite hydrogel showed a suitable swelling ratio and rate, as well as elasticity and flexibility. In addition, the elongation at break was 660.3%, with a breaking strength of 87.25 kPa and a compression modulus of 1.660 MPa. Rheological studies showed that the composite hydrogel was composed of a multiply cross-linked network involving chemical and physical interactions, thereby affecting the elasticity and flexibility of the gel. Interestingly, the composite gel network was reformed when the temperature decreased. In rabbit models of dry eye, the hydrogel effectively maintained the normal tear meniscus height and increased the low tear meniscus area. The results therefore showed that the PVA/KGM/SA gels not only provide a simple, effective, and safe method for the preparation of hydrogels, but also have potential applications in the treatment of dry eye syndrome.

Waterlogging causes oxygen deprivation within plant roots and affects crop growth and yield. In crop wheat (Triticum aestivum), molecular responses to waterlogging are poorly understood. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis of group VII ethylene response factor (ERFVII) genes in hexaploid wheat and identified 25 genes, which were induced by waterlogging with diverse manner. Among them, TaERFVII.1 exhibited differential expression patterns between waterlogging-tolerant wheat Nonglin46 and susceptible wheat Yangmai16 under waterlogging. Constitutive expression of TaERFVII.1 with an MYC-peptide tag at its N terminus in wheat enhanced tolerance to waterlogging as evidenced by increased grain weight per plant, survival rate, and chlorophyll content of leaves and by increased expression of waterlogging-responsive genes, while silencing of TaERFVII.1 compromised the expression of waterlogging-responsive genes. Notably, constitutive expression of the stabilized TaERFVII.1 did not negatively impact both plant development and grain yield under standard conditions. We further demonstrated that constitutive expression of stabilized TaERFVII.1 elevated the transcriptional level of TaSAB18.1, the ortholog of Arabidopsis HRA1 and rice SAB18, consequently reduced the expression of waterlogging-responsive genes under standard conditions. These results suggest that TaERFVII.1 plays an important role in wheat tolerance to waterlogging, and it could be a candidate for improving crop waterlogging tolerance.

The soil-borne vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae infects many dicotyledonous plants to cause devastating wilt diseases. During colonization, V. dahliae spores develop hyphae surrounding the roots. Only a few hyphae that adhere tightly to the root surface form hyphopodia at the infection site, which further differentiate into penetration pegs to facilitate infection. The molecular mechanisms controlling hyphopodium formation in V. dahliae remain unclear. Here, we uncovered a cellophane surface-induced gene (VdCSIN1) as a regulator of V. dahliae hyphopodium formation and pathogenesis. Deletion of VdCSIN1 compromises hyphopodium formation, hyphal development and pathogenesis. Exogenous application of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) degradation inhibitor or disruption of the cAMP phosphodiesterase gene (VdPDEH) partially restores hyphopodium formation in the VdΔcsin1 mutant. Moreover, deletion of VdPDEH partially restores the pathogenesis of the VdΔcsin1 mutant. These findings indicate that VdCSIN1 regulates hyphopodium formation via cAMP-mediated signalling to promote host colonization by V. dahliae.

The application of electric field stimulation (EFS) can reduce the cation influx after spinal cord injury. However, regenerated cation influx and reestablished injury potential are observed after EFS. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is popular as an effective cell membrane fusion agent. This study aims to determine the effects of the combination therapy of EFS and PEG in the ex vivo spinal cord after compression. The ex vivo spinal cords of female rats with compression injury were incubated in a double sucrose gap recording chamber (DSGRC) and randomly divided into the following four groups: (1) compression group: compression only, (2) EFS group: EFS for 15 min, (3) PEG group: PEG treatment for 4 min, and (4) EFS + PEG group: EFS for 15 min and PEG treatment for 4 min. The hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to measure the necrotic area of the spinal cords. The gap potential was detected, and the area under the curve of the gap potential was calculated. The intracellular cation concentration, membrane permeability, and compound action potential were measured and quantified. Results revealed no significant difference in the necrotic areas among different groups, and the compression model of the ex vivo spinal cord in the DSGRC had high consistency and stability. The combination therapy could attenuate cation inflow, promote cell membrane restoration, and promote the functional recovery of the spinal cord conduction after compression in ex vivo spinal cords.

Skin wound is a very common type of injury and the healing process greatly affects the life quality of individuals. Ozone has been shown beneficial to wound healing with unclear mechanisms. Here, we tested the effect of ozone oil (OZ) on wound healing and investigated the underlying mechanisms. Mouse skin wound model and Masson staining were used to evaluate the effect of OZ on wound healing. Primary fibroblast culture was employed to assess the functions of OZ, miR-21-5p, and RASA1. QRT-PCR and western blot were used to determine expression levels of miR-21-5p, RASA1, α-SMA, and collagen I. CCK-8 assay and scratch wound healing assay were used to measure viability and migration of fibroblasts. Dual luciferase activity assay was performed to validate miR-21-5p/RASA1 interaction. OZ accelerated wound healing in mice and promoted proliferation and migration abilities of fibroblasts. miR-21-5p was increased while RASA1 was reduced during the wound healing and OZ treatment augmented those changes, as well as increased levels of α-SMA and collagen I. Knockdown of miR-21-5p suppressed those effects of OZ on fibroblasts. Furthermore, miR-21-5p directly targeted RASA1 mRNA and negatively regulated its expression. Overexpression of RASA1 inhibited fibroblast proliferation and migration as well as diminished α-SMA and collagen I protein expression. Additionally, RASA1 overexpression blocked the promotion of miR-21-5p overexpression on fibroblast viability and migration. In vivo, miR-21-5p facilitated wound healing while overexpression of RASA1 reversed the effect. OZ promoted wound healing by enhancing miR-21-5p-mediated RASA1 inhibition to increase fibroblast proliferation and migration.

Based on density functional theory(DFT), using virtual crystal approximation and generalized gradient approximation(GGA)with pseudopotential method, the lattices and energies for five crystallines of vanadium hydrides are optimized and calculated. The phonon densities of states are calculated based on density functional perturbation theory(DFPT). The standard Heat capacities, Entropies, Helmholtz free energies and Gibbs functions of vanadium and its hydride are deduced at 298.15K. The calculated results are discussed and compared with experimental data.

The inherent features of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) make them highly attractive for uranium recovery applications. A key aspect yet to be explored is how to improve the selectivity and efficiency of COFs for recovering uranium from seawater. To achieve this goal, a series of robust and hydrophilic benzoxazole-based COFs is developed (denoted as Tp-DBD, Bd-DBD, and Hb-DBD) as efficient adsorbents for photo-enhanced targeted uranium recovery. Benefiting from the hydroxyl groups and the formation of benzoxazole rings, the hydrophilic Tp-DBD shows outstanding stability and chemical reduction properties. Meanwhile, the synergistic effect of the hydroxyl groups and the benzoxazole rings in the π-conjugated frameworks significantly decrease the optical band gap, and improve the affinity and capacity to uranium recovery. In seawater, the adsorption capacity of uranium is 19.2× that of vanadium, a main interfering metal in uranium extraction.

Herein, molecular imprinting technology (MIT) was introduced into construction of molecularly imprinted triazine-based porous aromatic frameworks (MI-TBPAFs) via Heck-coupling reaction for palladium extracting from wastewater. According to the decorating Pd-vinylpyridine complex (Pd@Vpy), MI-TBPAFs were given considerable tailor-made binding sites with strong affinities for palladium, which captured palladium from various metal ions precisely. The adsorption experiments showed that the extraction capacity of MI-TBPAF-3 was improved by 59.0% (435.4 mg/g) under simulated sunlight radiation. Mechanism analysis proved that Pd2+ was reduced into Pd0 by MI-TBPAF-3 via photocatalytic and chemical reduction effects originating from triazine base and pyridine nitrogen atoms in the extended π-conjugated framework respectively, thereby greatly increasing adsorption capacity by the sorption-reduction strategy. Organically combining the advantages of MIT, photocatalytic reduction and chemical reduction, three synergistic mechanisms, not only provides a new strategy for highly efficient palladium extraction, but also inspires new insights for precious metal recovery.

Summary: It is hard to find new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) luminophores using existing research strategies, especially from ECL non-active monomers. Here, fully conjugated covalent organic frameworks with trithiophene (BTT-COFs) are found to have ultra-high ECL efficiencies (up to 62.2%), even in water and without exogenous co-reactants. Quantum chemistry calculations confirm that the periodic BTT-COFs arrays promote intramolecular electron transfer generating ECL from non-ECL monomers. Modulation of ECL performance is possible by substituting the monomers for those with different electron-withdrawing properties. In addition, the cyano group weaved in the skeleton provides the dense sites for post-functionalization. As a typical use case, a highly selective ECL probe for uranyl ions is reported. The tunable ECL luminophore family possesses a broader development space than the traditional emitters, demonstrates the prospects of ECL-COFs, and affords an idea for detecting various contaminants through the rational design of target ligands.

Capturing of uranium from the natural seawater is considered to be one of the most promising methods to meet the current demand for nuclear energy. Herein, we prepared a reduced graphene oxide-based (rGO-based) covalent organic framework hydrogel (KTG) with three-dimensional porous structure as a platform for enhancing uranium capture capacity through photothermal desalination. Under light irradiation, the KTG produces a local heat that can be used to generate steam while promoting the rapid diffusion of uranium inside the hydrogel 3D network, thereby increasing the adsorption efficiency and capacity of uranium. KTG can achieve exceptional uranium capture capacity (521.6 mg g−1) under one sun irradiation, which is 42.4% higher than that under dark conditions. In addition, excellent photocatalytic activity and mechanical properties make KTG possess high anti-biofouling activity, good reusability, and achieving continuous uranium capture and solar distillation.

In this study, a stable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly porous 2,5-bis(methylthio)terephthalaldehyde–chitosan–grafted graphene oxide (BMTTPA–CS–GO) nanocomposite was synthesized by covalently grafting BMTTPA–CS onto the surfaces of graphene oxide and used for removing heavy metal ions from polluted water. According to well-established Hg2+–thioether coordination chemistry, the newly designed covalently linked stable porous BMTTPA–CS–GO nanocomposite with thioether units on the pore walls greatly increases the adsorption capacity of Hg2+ and does not cause secondary pollution to the environment. The results of sorption experiments and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurements demonstrate that the maximum adsorption capacity of Hg2+ on BMTTPA–CS–GO at pH 7 is 306.8 mg g−1, indicating that BMTTPA–CS–GO has excellent adsorption performance for Hg2+. The experimental results show that this stable, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and excellent adsorption performance of BMTTPA–CS–GO makes it a potential nanocomposite for removing Hg2+ and other heavy metal ions from polluted water, and even drinking water. This study suggests that covalently linked crucial groups on the surface of carbon-based materials are essential for improving the adsorption capacity of adsorbents for heavy metal ions.

Photocatalysis is a potential technology for removing pollutants from water. As the recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs can hinder the photocatalytic efficiency in the treatment of wastewater, the surface of the carrier is usually coated with a semiconductor. In this study, carbon microtube electrode prepared from corncob was coated with either titanium oxide (TiO2) or bismuth phosphate (BiPO4) and then used as a photocatalyst (C–TiO2 or C–BiPO4) to investigate the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The two photocatalysts, C–TiO2 and C–BiPO4, were characterized by phase determination, microstructure observation, water contact angle measurement, and base site analysis. The influences of reaction time, stability, MB concentration, initial pH, and OH radicals quenching on the degradation of MB were also evaluated. The degradation of MB by C–TiO2 and C–BiPO4 was mainly dominated by OH radical oxidation. The carbon microtube increased both the mass transfer rate and the photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation rate, thereby increasing the photocatalysis of both C–TiO2 and C–BiPO4 as revealed by an increase in the rate of MB degradation. The rate constants obtained for the degradation of MB by C–TiO2 and C–BiPO4 at 20 °C were 9.739 × 10−7 mM min−1 and 1.111 × 10−7 mM min−1, respectively. The coating of TiO2 and BiPO4 on the surface of the carbon microtube electrode enhanced their photocatalytic performance, and therefore, C–TiO2 and C–BiPO4 could be developed into a novel material to be used in the photodegradation of dye pollutants.

Uranium is a key element in the nuclear industry, but its unintended leakage has caused health and environmental concerns. Here we report a sp2 carbon-conjugated fluorescent covalent organic framework (COF) named TFPT-BTAN-AO with excellent chemical, thermal and radiation stability is synthesized by integrating triazine-based building blocks with amidoxime-substituted linkers. TFPT-BTAN-AO shows an exceptional UO22+ adsorption capacity of 427 mg g−1 attributable to the abundant selective uranium-binding groups on the highly accessible pore walls of open 1D channels. In addition, it has an ultra-fast response time (2 s) and an ultra-low detection limit of 6.7 nM UO22+ suitable for on-site and real-time monitoring of UO22+, allowing not only extraction but also monitoring the quality of the extracted water. This study demonstrates great potential of fluorescent COFs for radionuclide detection and extraction. By rational designing target ligands, this strategy can be extended to the detection and extraction of other contaminants., Porous materials for uranium capture have been developed in the past, but materials for simultaneous uranium capture and detection are scarce. Here the authors develop a stable covalent organic framework capable of adsorbing and detecting uranyl ions.

Ginkgo biloba leaf tablets is an effective ingredient in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In the process of drug production, the quality of ginkgo preparations is often controlled by measuring the content of seven ingredients in ginkgo leaves. To establish UPLC-MS multicomponent analysis method for ginkgo biloba tablets and to simultaneously determine the contents of quercetin (QUE), isorhamnetin(ISO), kaempferol(KAE) and GinkgolideA (GA),ginkgolideB(GB),ginkgolideC(GC) and bilobalide (BB) in ginkgo tablets. Waters Xbridge C18(4.6×150mm,3.5um) column was used, mobile phase A was acetonitrile and mobile phase B was water (containing 0.10% formic acid). The injection volume was 10μL.Negative ion mode monitoring was conducted with ESI. Scanning range:m/z100∼1400.The detection ions of the seven tested components includem/z301.0(QUE),m/z284.9(KAE),m/z315.1(ISO),m/z453.1(GA),m/z423.1(G B),m/z439.0(GC)and m/z325.0(BB), respectively. Within a space of 10min, flavonoids and terpene lactones in ginkgo biloba tablets were completely separated. The peak area exhibited an excellent linear relationship with the concentration. The sample recovery rate ranged from 91.74% to 109.77%.Precision RSDs of within-day and between-day were lower than 2.879% and 3.928% respectively. The method for determination of seven components in ginkgo biloba tablets displays good repeatability, recovery rate and precision, for which it can be applied to quality control of ginkgo biloba tablets.

The disorder of bile acid metabolism is a common feature during pregnancy, which leads to adverse birth outcomes and maternal damage effects. However, the cause and therapy about the disorder of bile acid metabolism are still poor. Microbial infection often occurs in pregnant women, which can induce the disorder of bile acid metabolism in adult mice. Here, this study observed the acute effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on maternal bile acid of pregnant mice at gestational day 17 and the protective effect of obeticholic acid (OCA) pretreatment, a potent agonist of bile acid receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR). The results showed LPS significantly increased the level of maternal serum and disordered bile acids components of maternal serum and liver, which were ameliorated by OCA pretreatment with obviously reducing the contents of CA, TCA, DCA, TCDCA, CDCA, GCA and TDCA in maternal serum and DCA, TCA, TDCA, TUDCA, CDCA and TCDCA in maternal liver. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of OCA on LPS-disrupted bile acid metabolism in maternal liver. LPS disrupted maternal bile acid profile by decreasing transport and metabolism with hepatic tight junctions of bile acid in pregnant mice. OCA obviously increased the protein level of nuclear FXR and regulated its target genes involving in the metabolism of bile acid, which was characterized by the lower expression of bile acid synthase CYP7A1, the higher expression of CYP3A and the higher mRNA level of transporter Mdr1a/b. This study provided the evidences that LPS disrupted bile acid metabolism in the late stage of pregnant mice and OCA pretreatment played the protective role on it by activating FXR.

Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) can infect wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), leading to yield loss. Among four BYDV strains (GAV, GPV, PAV, and RMV) identified in China, BYDV-GAV is the prevailing isolate. YW642, a wheat–Thinopyrum intermedium translocation line, is resistant to BYDV isolates at both seedling and adult stages. Zhong 8601 is the wheat recurrent parent of YW642 and is susceptible to BYDV. In this study, we investigated the adult-stage resistance mechanism of YW642, measured BYDV titer and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in adult-stage leaves of YW642 and Zhong 8601 inoculated with BYDV-GAV, and identified transcriptional differences between YW642 and Zhong 8601 using microarray-based comparative transcriptomics. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and H2O2 assay showed that both BYDV titer and H2O2 content were markedly lower in YW642 than in Zhong 8601 at 21, 28, 35, and 40 days post-inoculation (dpi). The transcriptomic comparison revealed that many types of genes were significantly up-regulated at 35 dpi in adult-stage leaves of YW642 compared to Zhong 8601. The important up-regulated genes associated with the adult-stage resistance encoded 15 resistance-like proteins, pathogenesis-related proteins (such as defensin and lipid transfer proteins), protein kinase homologs, transcription factors, reactive oxygen species scavenging-related proteins, and jasmonic acid and gibberellic acid biosynthesis enzymes. These results suggest that precise expression regulation of these proteins plays a crucial role in adult-stage resistance of YW642 against BYDV infection. Keywords: Barley yellow dwarf virus, Reactive oxygen species, Resistance at adult stage, Defense-associated genes, Phytohormone

A series of 1,6-naphthyridinone-based MET kinase inhibitors bearing quinoline moiety in block A were designed and synthesized based on the structures of Cabozantinib and our reported compound IV. Extensive SAR and DMPK studies led to the identification of 20j, a potent and orally bioavailable MET kinase inhibitor with favorable kinase selectivity. More importantly, 20j exhibited statistically significant tumor growth inhibition (Tumor growth inhibition/TGI of 131%, 4/6 partial regression/PR) in the U-87 MG xeograft model, which is superior to that of Cabozantinib (TGI of 97%, 2/6 PR), and significantly better than that of compound IV (TGI of 15%, 0/6 PR) at the same dose (12.5 mg/kg). Combined with favorable in vitro potency, kinase selectivity, pharmacokinetic profile and in vivo efficacy, the promising antitumor drug candidate 20j has subsequently advanced into preclinical research.