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Research suggests that to eliminate undesirable effects of the scale layer, natural wool needs to be surface-modified before further application to textile manufacture, obtaining better properties ...

Nanocatalysts with combination of unique morphologies and synergistic interactions have a potential to enhance electrocatalytic ability related to the reactions in fuel cells. Here, we show a wet-chemistry-based synthesis of dendritic Au@PtIr nanowires (NWs) with core-shell constructions regarding Te NWs as sacrificial templates for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Regarding the synthesis of Au@PtIr NWs, Au NWs are firstly obtained through galvanic replacement with Te templates, followed by growth of alloy PtIr shells in subsequent seed-mediated growth. The as-synthesized core-shell Au@PtIr nanowires combine the advantage of one-dimensional (1D) dendritic feature that facilitate fast electron transport and provide more interfaces and interstices between catalytic active sites and electrolyte, with the synergistic interactions in alloy shells. Consequently, the as-prepared Au@PtIr NWs show good catalytic properties in MOR and HER in terms of higher activity, larger electrochemically active surface areas (ECSAs) and better anti-toxicity than commercial Pt/C.

Apigenin (APG) is a flavonoid widely distributed in fruits, vegetables, and herbs, with comprehensive pharmacological effects. In this paper, we report that APG can elicit a protective effect, which is comparable to those induced by gymnoside II/n-BuOH extracts of Bletilla striata, on SiO2-induced lung injury in vitro and in vivo. In vitro experiments showed that APG (25 μM) could restore the SiO2-decreased A549 cell viability and lower the apoptotic rate and the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in A549 cells treated with nm SiO2. Western blot results showed that APG (25 μM) could increase the level of Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream proteins. In vivo experiments showed that APG (20 mg/kg) could potently alleviate the SiO2-elicited lung injury by enhancing the Nrf2 expression and thereby suppressing Bax/Bcl-2 pathway. The present study suggests that APG can significantly alleviate the SiO2-induced lung injury both in vitro and in vivo through, at least partially, activating Nrf2 expression.

Previous studies indicated that the deep eutectic solvent (DES, also referred to as an ionic liquid analogue) regenerates wool keratin as an eco-friendly approach. However, the regenerated keratin still exhibited hydrophobicity, similar to other ionic liquids hence not conducive for further use. Herein, both water-soluble and non-water-soluble keratins were separated and studied to explore the differences between them for the first time. Our results showed that the content of obtained products increased with treatment time and rose in temperature with the main one being the non-water-soluble keratin. The FTIR spectra, NMR spectrum along with crystallinity analysis suggested that water-soluble keratin had a more α-helical structure, although it had a lower molecular weight as demonstrated by the SDS-PAGE data. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the more α-helical structure of water-soluble keratin contributed to poor heat resistance compared to the non-water-soluble keratin. Additionally, the amino acid analysis results indicated that the water-soluble keratin had a higher ratio of the number of amino acids with hydrophilic side groups to the number of amino acids with hydrophobic side groups compared to that of the non-water-soluble keratin. Collectively, we demonstrated that water-solubility could be due to the loose structure with a short peptide chain and hydrophilic groups, and the content of water-soluble keratin increased with treatment time and rose in temperature. This study adds to the body of knowledge on the use of regenerated keratin and further explores the mechanism of wool dissolution in ionic liquids particularly DESs.

BACKGROUND Rice α-globulin has been reported to have serum cholesterol-lowering activity in rats. However, it is still unclear whether α-globulin exerts this effect when taken as one of the dietary components. In the present study, we investigated the effect of two cultivars of rice, low glutelin content (LGC)-1 and LGC-Jun, on reducing serum cholesterol in exogenously hypercholesterolemic (ExHC) rats. LGC-1 is enriched in α-globulin (10.6 mg g-1 rice flour, which is an approximately 1.5 times higher α-globulin content than in Koshihikari a predominant rice cultivar in Japan), whereas LGC-Jun is a globulin-negative cultivar. METHODS ExHC rats, the model strain of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia, were fed 50% LGC-1 or LGC-Jun and 0.5% cholesterol-containing diets for 2 weeks, followed by measurement of cholesterol metabolism parameters in serum and tissues. RESULTS Serum cholesterol and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the LGC-1 group compared to the LGC-Jun group. Cholesterol intestinal absorption markers, hepatic and serum levels of campesterol and β-sitosterol, and lymphatic cholesterol transport were not different between the two groups. Levels of 7α-hydroxycholesterol, an intermediate of bile acid synthesis, showed a downward trend in the livers of rats that were fed LGC-1 (P = 0.098). There was a significant decrease in the hepatic mRNA expression of Cyp7a1 (a synthetic enzyme for 7α-hydroxycholesterol) in the LGC-1 group compared to the LGC-Jun group. CONCLUSION Dietary LGC-1 significantly decreased serum cholesterol levels in ExHC rats. The possible mechanism for the cholesterol-lowering activity of LGC-1 is partial inhibition of bile acid and cholesterol synthesis in the liver. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The objective of this study was to simulate a proton-electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system, namely a PEMFC stack, an anode gas supply subsystem, an anode gas-recovery subsystem, a cathode gas supply subsystem, and a tail gas exhaustion subsystem. In addition, this paper presents an analysis of the efficiency of combined heat and power (CHP) systems. MATLAB and Simulink were employed for dynamic simulation and statistical analysis. The rates of active and the passive anode hydrogen recirculation were considered to elucidate the mechanism of hydrogen circulation. When recovery involved diverse recovery mechanisms, the recirculation rate was affected by the pressure at the hydrogen outlet of the PEMFC system. The greater the pressure was at that outlet, the higher the recovery rate was. In the hydrogen recovery system, when the temperature of the hydrogen supply end remained the same, increasing the temperature of the gas supply end increased the efficiency of the fuel cells; fixing the flow of the hydrogen supply end and increasing the temperature of the hydrogen supply end increased the efficiency of the PEMFC system. A calculation of the efficiency of the recovery system indicated that the thermal efficiency of the fuel cells exceeded 35%, the power generation efficiency exceeded 45%, and the efficiency of the CHP system exceeded 80%.

Soyasaponins are triterpenoid glycosides found in soybean. We investigated whether soyasaponin ameliorates lipid metabolism and its possible mechanisms. In C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD), soyasaponin (SAP) was orally administered for 9 weeks. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of soyasapogenols on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In HFD-fed mice, the SAP significantly reduced body weight by 7% and relative adipose tissue weight by 35%. X-ray computed tomography demonstrated that the SAP reduced visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue weights during week 3 of feeding. The SAP reduced sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) mRNA levels by 32% in the epididymal adipose tissue, significantly decreasing the triacylglycerol (TAG) content by 37% and SREBP-1c and fatty acid synthase mRNA levels by 52% and 61%, respectively, in the liver. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, soyasapogenol B significantly decreased lipid droplets. The SAP containing soyasaponin A and B as conjugates demonstrate anti-obesity effects by suppressing adipocyte differentiation and lipogenesis, with a preventive effect on hepatic TAG accumulation by suppressing lipogenesis. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Soyasaponin is one of the oleanane triterpenoids in soybeans. We have demonstrated that soyasaponin potently reduces body weight and white adipose tissue weight, and hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation in high-fat diet-fed mice. Thus, soyasaponin is a beneficial compound to prevent obesity and fatty liver.

Wool surface modification is essential for its application in the textile industry. In this work, a novel approach using reduced ionic liquid (IL) was applied to modify the surface of wool and enha...

Wool is a natural biopolymer with excellent biocompatibility. This dense structure makes it difficult to recycle the millions of wool textiles discarded annually. This study reports, for the first ...

The development of advanced transition metal/nitrogen/carbon-based (M/N/C) catalysts with high activity and extended durability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical for platinum-group-metal (PGM) free fuel cells but still remains great challenging. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in two typical M/N/C catalysts (atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts and carbon-supported metal nanoparticles with N-doped carbon shells (M@NC)) with an emphasis on their potential applications in fuel cells. Starting with understanding the active sites in these two types of catalysts, the representative innovative strategies for enhancing their intrinsic activity and increasing the density of these sites are systematically introduced. The synergistic effects of M-N-C and M@NC are subsequently discussed for those M/N/C catalysts combining both of them. To translate the material-level catalyst performance into high-performance devices, we also include the recent progress in engineering the porous structure and durability of M/N/C catalysts towards efficient performance in fuel cell devices. From the viewpoint of industrial applications, the scale-up cost-effective synthesis of M/N/C catalysts has been lastly briefed. With this knowledge, the challenges and perspectives in designing advanced M/N/C catalysts for potential PGM-free fuel cells are proposed.

Metal oxide-based nano/microstructures assembled on heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials are promising materials to design the electrocatalysts with enhanced electrochemical performances. In this ...

FoxO3a is a well-defined tumor suppressor gene in the forkhead transcription factor O subfamily (FoxO), and its reduction is related to the occurrence of various tumors. It was found that the expression of miR-155 is abnormally elevated in oral cancer tissues, suggesting that miR-155 may be a tumor-promoting gene for oral cancer. Bioinformatics analysis revealed a targeted complementary binding site between miR-155 and FoxO3a. In this study, we established a cisplatin-resistant cell line of oral cancer to compare the expression of miR-155 and FoxO3a in parental oral cancer cells, and explore whether miR-155 regulates the expression of FoxO3a and affects the proliferation and apoptosis of oral cancer cells. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay validated the targeted regulatory role between miR-155 and FoxO3a. The DDP-resistant oral cancer cell line KB/DDP was established, and the expressions of miR-155 and FoxO3a were compared. The CCK-8 assay was used to calculate the resistance index (RI). KB/DDP cells were divided into miR-NC group and miR-155 inhibitor group. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Cell proliferation ability was detected by EdU staining. There is a targeted regulatory relationship between miR-155 and FoxO3a mRNA. The expression of miR-155 was significantly higher, while the expression of Foxo3a mRNA and protein was obviously lower in KB/DDP cells than that in KB cells. CCK-8 experiments showed that the same concentration of DDP exhibited apparently lower proliferation inhibition in KB/DDP cells than KB cells. Compared with the miR-NC group, transfection of miR-155 inhibitor markedly increased the expression of Foxo3a in KB/DDP cells, which significantly attenuated cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis in DDP-treated cells. Increased expression of miR-155 and decreased expression of Foxo3a were associated with DDP resistance in oral cancer cells. Inhibition of miR-155 expression upregulated Foxo3a expression, restrained oral cancer cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and enhanced DDP sensitivity in oral cancer cells.

Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. MiRNAs are recognized as important molecules in cancer biology. The aim of the study was to identify a novel biomarker miR-148b and its mechanism in the modulation of NSCLC progression. Methods The expressional level of miR-148b was analyzed by RT-PCR. The effect of miR-4317 on proliferation was evaluated through 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2Htetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The effect of miR-148b on the metastasis of NSCLC was detected through transwell assays. The verification of the target of miR-148b was assessed by TargetScan and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The related proteins in this study were analyzed by western blot. Results Our findings confirmed that miR-148b was decreased in NSCLC and NSCLC patients with lower expression exhibited poorer overall survival (OS). Increasing miR-148b significantly repressed proliferation, invasion and migration. More importantly, activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) was determined as the direct target of miR-148b, and reintroduction of ALCAM attenuated miR-148b effect on the progress of NSCLC. In addition, NF-κB signaling pathway was modulated by miR-148b/ALCAM axis. Conclusions Our results indicated that miR-148b is able to suppress NSCLC growth and metastasis via targeting ALCAM through the NF-κB pathway. These findings provided new evidence that miR-148b serves as a potential biomarker and novel target for NSCLC treatment.

Enzymes as biocatalysts have attracted extensive attention. In addition to immobilizing or encapsulating various enzymes for combating the easy loss of enzymatic activity, strengthening the enzymatic activity upon light irradiation is a challenge. To the best of our knowledge, the work of spatiotemporally modulating the catalytic activity of artificial-natural bienzymes with a near-infrared light irradiation has not been reported. Inspired by immobilized enzymes and nanozymes, herein a platinum nanozyme was synthesized; subsequently, the platinum nanozyme was grafted on the body of laccase, thus successfully obtaining the artificial-natural bienzyme. The three-dimensional structure of the artificial-natural bienzyme was greatly different from that of the immobilized enzyme or the encapsulated enzyme. The platinum nanozyme possessed excellent laccase-like activity, which was 3.7 times higher than that of laccase. Meanwhile, the coordination between the platinum nanozyme and laccase was proved. Besides, the cascaded catalysis of artificial-natural bienzyme was verified with hydrogen peroxide as a mediator. The enzymatic activities of artificial-natural bienzyme with and without near-infrared light irradiation were, respectively, 46.2 and 29.5% higher than that of free laccase. Moreover, the reversible catalytic activity of the coupled enzyme could be manipulated with and without a near-infrared light at 808 nm. As a result, the degradation rates of methylene blue catalyzed by the coupled enzyme and the platinum nanozyme were higher than that of laccase. Furthermore, accelerating polymerization of the dopamine was also demonstrated. Briefly, this facile strategy may provide a universal approach to control the catalytic activity of other natural enzymes.

Diabetic embryopathy is a diabetic complication, in which maternal hyperglycemia in early pregnancy causes birth defects in newborn infants. Under maternal diabetic conditions, hyperglycemia disturbs intracellular molecular activities and organelles functions. These include protein misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria, and high levels of nitric oxide (NO). The resultant ER, oxidative, and nitrosative stresses activate apoptotic machinery to cause cell death in the embryo, ultimately resulting in developmental malformations. Based on the basic research data, efforts have been made to develop interventional strategies to alleviate the stress conditions and to reduce embryonic malformations. One of the challenges in birth defect prevention is to identify effective and safe agents to be used in pregnancy. One approach is to search and characterize naturally occurring phytochemicals, including flavonoids, curcuminoids and stilbenoids, for use in prevention of diabetic embryopathy.

A dc superconducting fault current limiting device can effectively limit the fast rising dc fault current and ensure the safety and reliability of the power grid. However, during the limiting period, the superconducting unit withstands the high voltage. Polymer film, kapton, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have an excellent insulation performance at low temperature, which can solve the insulation problem. Quench and recovery is important characteristic, especially for the fault current limiting device. In this work, we measured the resistance development in YBCO tape with three insulation modes. In this work, a new insolating method for YBCO tape is investigated. We measured the resistance development in YBCO tape with three insulation modes. The experiment results show that the PTFE can be used, which can decrease the recovery time 30% ~ 50% than the naked one. As to the high-voltage superconducting fault current limiting device, the PTFE film can be put in the first layer, then twined the kapton film outside, which reduce recovery time about 20% ~ 40%.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrient recovery in a solid form from wastewater streams is of utmost importance while managing their global cycles. Here, we show that water insoluble MgO precurso...

Through a two-way control of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), the PdCu nanoalloys with branched structures are synthesized in one step by hydrothermal reduction and used as electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). In this two-way control strategy, the CTAB is used as a structure-oriented surfactant, while a certain amount of HCl is used to control the reaction kinetics for achieving gradual growth of multi-dendritic structures. The characterizations including scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggest that PdCu nanoalloys with unique multi-dendritic branches have favorable electronic structure and lattice strain for electrocatalyzing the oxidation of formic acid. In specific, among the electrocatalysts with different Pd/Cu ratios, the Pd1Cu1 branched nanoalloys have the largest electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) and the best performance for the FAOR. The catalytic activity of the Pd1Cu1 branched nanoalloys is 2.4 times that of commercial Pd black. After the chronoamperometry test, the Pd1Cu1 branched nanoalloys still maintain their original morphologies and higher current density than that of the commercial Pd black. In addition, in the CO-stripping tests, the initial oxidation potential and the oxidation peak potential of the PdCu branched nanoalloys for CO adsorption are lower than those of commercial Pd balck, evincing their better anti-poisoning performance.

Gender differences in individual immune responses to external stimuli have been elucidated in many invertebrates. However, it is unclear if gender differences do exist in the Hong Kong oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis, one of the most valuable marine species cultivated along the coast of South China. To clarify this, we stimulated post-spawning adult C. hongkongensis with Vibrio harveyi and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Gender-based differences in some essential functional parameters of hemocytes were studied via flow cytometry. Obvious gender-, subpopulation-, and immune-specific alterations were found in the hemocyte immune parameters of C. hongkongensis. Three hemocyte subpopulations were identified: granulocytes, semi-granulocytes, and agranulocytes. Granulocytes, the chief phagocytes and major producers of esterase, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide, were the main immunocompetent hemocytes. Immune parameter alterations were notable in the accumulation of granulocyte esterase activities, lysosomal masses, nitric oxide levels, and granulocyte numbers in male oysters. These results suggest that post-spawning-phase male oysters possess a more powerful immune response than females. Gender and subpopulation differences in bivalve immune parameters should be considered in the future analysis of immune parameters when studying the impact of pathogenic or environmental factors.

Chitosan is a kind of biodegradable natural polysaccharide, and it is a very promising adsorber material for removing metal ions from aqueous solutions. In this study, chitosan-based magnetic adsorbent CMC@Fe3O4 was synthesized by a one-step method using carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and ferric salts under relatively mild conditions. The Fe3O4 microspheres were formed and the core–shell structure of CMC@Fe3O4 was synthesized in the meantime, which was well characterized via SEM/TEM, XRD, VSM, FT-IR, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), XPS, size distribution, and zeta potential. The effects of initial arsenic concentration, pH, temperature, contact time, and ionic strength on adsorption quantity of inorganic arsenic was studied through batch adsorption experiments. The magnetic adsorbent CMC@Fe3O4 displayed satisfactory adsorption performance for arsenic in water samples, up to 20.1 mg/g. The optimal conditions of the adsorption process were pH 3.0, 30−50 °C, and a reaction time of 15 min. The adsorption process can be well described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, suggesting that chemisorption was main rate-controlling step. The Langmuir adsorption model provided much higher correlation coefficient than that of Freundlich adsorption model, indicating that the adsorption behavior is monolayer adsorption on the surface of the magnetic adsorbents. The above results have demonstrated that chitosan-based magnetic adsorbent CMC@Fe3O4 is suitable for the removal of inorganic arsenic in water.

The impact resistance capability of YBCO tapes is an important basis for the safe and stable operation of superconducting current limiting devices in DC grids. Since the impact damage of superconducting materials is mainly related to the heat quantity of impact process. Therefore, high-capacity DC impact can be applied on YBCO tapes by prolonging the impact time, based on the energy equivalent principle, which can reduce the requirements for the impact power source capacity as well as voltage. The DC impact test method is indicated in this paper and the impact resistance capability of YBCO tape is showed by the test result.

International audience; Fluorescently labeled proteins can improve the detection sensitivity and have been widely used in a variety of biological measurements. In single-molecule assays, site-specific labeling of proteins enables the visualization of molecular interactions, conformational changes in proteins, and enzymatic activity. In this study, based on a flexible linker in the Escherichia coli RecQ helicase, we established a scheme involving a combination of fluorophore labeling and sortase A ligation to allow site-specific labeling of the HRDC domain of RecQ with a single Cy5 fluorophore, without inletting extra fluorescent domain or peptide fragment. Using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we visualized that Cy5-labeled HRDC could directly interact with RecA domains and could bind to both the 3 and 5 ends of the overhang DNA dynamically in vitro for the first time. The present work not only reveals the functional mechanism of the HRDC domain, but also provides a feasible method for site-specific labeling of a domain with a single fluorophore used in single-molecule assays.

The Mg[sbnd]Al, Ca[sbnd]Al, Zn[sbnd]Al and Mg[sbnd]Fe layered double hydroxides intercalated by sodium dodecyl sulfate was prepared by a co-precipitation method. These materials were characterized by elemental analysis, Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N2 physical adsorption and desorption. Adsorption of CO2 on the samples was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis at 30 °C under 1 bar. The samples had a CO2 adsorption capacity in the range of 0.35–0.58 mmol/g. Ca[sbnd]Al layered double hydroxide intercalated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) had the highest CO2 adsorption capacity. The layered structures were analyzed by using quantum chemical calculation methods. The simulation results showed that CO2 adsorption capacity was correlated to the ELUMO and the density of Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO). The higher ELUMO and density of LUMO orbitals promoted the formation of O-H…O hydrogen bonds, which leaded to the higher CO2 adsorption capacity.

An enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-oridonin is accomplished based on a key interrupted Nazarov reaction. The stereochemistry of the Nazarov/Hosomi-Sakurai cascade was first explored to forge a tetracyclic skeleton with challenging quaternary carbons. A delicate sequence of two ring-rearrangements and late-stage redox manipulations was carried out to achieve the de novo synthesis of this highly oxidized ent-kauranoid.

Limited research has been conducted on the contributions of local and nonlocal emission sources to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) and their associated mortality. In this study, we estimated the total mortality resulting from long-term PM2.5 and O3 exposures in California in 2012 using multiple concentration response functions (CRFs) and attributed the estimated mortality to different emission groups. The point estimates of PM2.5-associated mortality in California ranged from 12,700 to 26,700, of which 53% were attributable to in-state anthropogenic emissions. Based on new epidemiological evidence, we estimated that O3 could be associated with up to 13,700 deaths from diseases of both the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in California. In addition, 75% of the ambient O3 in California was due to distant emissions outside the western United States, leading to 92% of the O3-associated mortality. Overall, distant emissions lead to greater mortality burdens of air pollution in California than local anthropogenic emissions. Keywords: Emissions, Fine particulate matter, Ozone, Mortality

Part of the Springer Proceedings in Complexity book series; International audience; Atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) emissions estimated from inverse modeling analyses exhibit large uncertainties, due, in part, to discrepancies in the tropospheric chemistry in atmospheric models. We attempt to reduce the uncertainties in CO emission estimates by constraining the modeled abundance of ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric acid (HNO3), and formaldehyde (HCHO), which are constituents that play a key role in tropospheric chemistry. Using the GEOS-Chem four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation system, we estimate CO emissions by assimilating observations of CO from the Measurement of Pollution In the Troposphere (MOPITT) and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), together with observations of O3 from the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) and IASI, NO2 and HCHO from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and HNO3 from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Although our focus is on quantifying CO emission estimates, we also infer surface emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and isoprene. Our results reveal that this multiple species chemical data assimilation produces a chemical consistent state that effectively adjusts the CO–O3–OH coupling in the model. The O3-induced changes in OH are particularly large in the tropics. We show that the analysis results in a tropospheric chemical state that is better constrained. Our experiments also evaluate the inferred CO emission estimates from major anthropogenic, biomass burning and biogenic sources.

Biogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) emitted from vegetation are a primary source for the chemical production of carbon monoxide (CO) in the atmosphere and these biogenic emissions account for about 18 % of the global CO burden. Partitioning CO fluxes to different source types in top-down inversion methods is challenging and typically a simple scaling of the posterior flux to prior flux values for fossil fuel, biogenic and biomass burning sources is used. Here we show top-down estimates of biogenic CO fluxes using a Bayesian inference approach, which explicitly accounts for both posterior and a priori CO flux uncertainties. This approach re-partitions CO fluxes following inversion of Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) CO observations with the GEOS-Chem model, a global chemical transport model driven by assimilated meteorology from the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS). We compare these results to the prior information for CO used to represent biogenic NMVOCs from GEOS-Chem, which uses the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) for biogenic emissions. We evaluate the a posteriori biogenic CO fluxes against top-down estimates of isoprene fluxes using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) formaldehyde observations. We find similar seasonality and spatial consistency in the posterior CO and top-down isoprene estimates globally. For the African savanna region, both top-down CO and isoprene seasonality vary significantly from the MEGAN apriori inventory. This method for estimating biogenic sources of CO will provide an independent constraint on modelled biogenic emissions and has the potential for diagnosing decadal-scale changes in emissions due to land-use change and climate variability.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of malignant tumors with high mortality and morbidity in the world. MicroRNA-122 (miR-122) acts as a tumor suppressor in a variety of cancers and has been found to be dominant in gastric adenocarcinoma. However, the specific biological function of miR-122-5p in GC is not completely clear. In this study, we found that miR-122-5p was low-expressed in GC tissues and cell lines by using qRT-PCR. Overexpression of miR-122-5p inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells by using CCK-8 and transwell assays. On the contrary, downregulation of miR-122-5p promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. In addition, we found that the expression of LYN, an Src family tyrosine kinase, was inversely correlated with miR-122-5p expression in GC tissues by using western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR assays. Meanwhile, luciferase assay results indicated that LYN is a direct target of miR-122-5p in GC cells. Moreover, silencing LYN expression by its siRNA inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Importantly, overexpression of LYN restored miR-122-5p-mediated inhibition of the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Taken together, our results indicated miR-122-5p inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion by targeting LYN in GC.

Ostreid herpesvirus-1 (OsHV-1) is a well-known pathogen associated with high mortality rates in hatchery-reared larvae and juveniles of different bivalve species worldwide. Early, rapid and accurate diagnosis plays a fundamental role in disease prevention and control in aquaculture. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a novel isothermal amplification method, which can amplify detectable amount of DNA at 37 °C–39 °C within 20 min. In the present study, two sets of specific primers and probes were designed for the real-time quantitative RPA (qRPA) detection of OsHV-1 DNA. The sensitivity and specificity of detection were evaluated by comparison with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The detection limit for qRPA assays was shown to be 5 copies DNA/reaction for the primer set ORF95, which was lower than the 100 copies required for the qPCR test. The optimal reaction temperature and time were 37 °C for 20 min, making this approach faster than qPCR. This is the first study to apply qPCR and qRPA methods to detect OsHV-1 in Scapharca subcrenata. The percentage of viral load sample detected by the two methods was 22% and the correlation of the two virus quantitative results was 0.8. Therefore, qRPA assays is sensitive, fast, and high-temperature independent relative to qPCR and is suitable for critical clinical diagnostics use and rapid field analysis in resource-limited settings.

Peroxyacyl nitrate (PAN) is a critical atmospheric reservoir for nitrogen oxide radicals, and plays a lead role in their redistribution in the troposphere. We analyze new Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) PAN observations over North America from July 2006 to July 2009. Using aircraft observations from the Colorado Front Range, we demonstrate that TES can be sensitive to elevated PAN in the boundary layer (∼ 750 hPa) even in the presence of clouds. In situ observations have shown that wildfire emissions can rapidly produce PAN, and PAN decomposition is an important component of ozone production in smoke plumes. We identify smoke-impacted TES PAN retrievals by co-location with NOAA Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke plumes. Depending on the year, 15–32 % of cases where elevated PAN is identified in TES observations (retrievals with degrees of freedom (DOF) > 0.6) overlap smoke plumes during July. Of all the retrievals attempted in the July 2006 to July 2009 study period, 18 % is associated with smoke . A case study of smoke transport in July 2007 illustrates that PAN enhancements associated with HMS smoke plumes can be connected to fire complexes, providing evidence that TES is sufficiently sensitive to measure elevated PAN several days downwind of major fires. Using a subset of retrievals with TES 510 hPa carbon monoxide (CO) > 150 ppbv, and multiple estimates of background PAN, we calculate enhancement ratios for tropospheric average PAN relative to CO in smoke-impacted retrievals. Most of the TES-based enhancement ratios fall within the range calculated from in situ measurements.

Quasi-isotropic strands made of second generation (2G) high temperature superconducting (HTS) wires are attractive to applications of high-field magnets at low temperatures and power transmission cables at liquid nitrogen temperature in virtue of their high current carrying capability and well mechanical property. In this contribution, a 10 m length quasi-isotropic strand is manufactured and successfully tested in liquid nitrogen to verify the feasibility of an industrial scale production of the strand by the existing cabling technologies. The strand with copper sheath consists of 72 symmetrically assembled 2G wires. The uniformity of critical properties of long quasi-isotropic strands, including critical current and n-value, is very important for their using. Critical currents as well as n-values of the strand are measured every 1 m respectively and compared with the simulation results. Critical current and n-value of the strand are calculated basing on the self-consistent model solved by the finite element method (FEM). Effects of self-field on the critical current and n-value distributions in wires of the strand are analyzed in detail. The simulation results show good agreement with the experimental data and the 10 m quasi-isotropic strand has good critical properties uniformity.

We investigated the effects of egg white protein hydrolysates (EWH) on orotic acid (OA)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) in rats. Effects of the egg white protein (EWP) and EWH were also compared. Four groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were separately fed AIN-76-based diets, supplemented with 20% casein for control, or with 1% OA, together with either 20% casein (OA), 20% EWP, or 20% EWH, respectively, for 3 d (developing stage) and 14 d (developed stage). In both feeding periods, animals from the OA group showed higher accumulation hepatic triacylglycerol (TAG) compared with those from the control group. In the 14-d experiment, dietary EWP and EWH significantly reduced the hepatic TAG levels. Intake of EWP reduced liver fat in OA-fed rats by 61%, while EWH reduced it by 92%. In addition, EWH restored the OA-induced high serum-TAG level to that seen in the control group. The 3 d experiment showed that consumption of EWH improved the expression of hepatic MTP, that was reduced by OA, without changing Mttp gene expression. It also increased the hepatic synthesis of PC and PE by enhancing the transcription of Pcyt1 and Pemt genes. Inclusion of EWP and EWH in the diet improves the OA-induced NAFL. EWH reduces the liver TAG better than EWP, and works more rapidly. Dietary EWH ameliorates OA-induced NAFL by promoting the secretion of hepatic TAG.

The El Nino Modoki in 2010 lead to historic droughts in Brazil. We quantify the global and Brazilian carbon response to this event using the NASA Carbon Monitoring System Flux (CMS-Flux) framework. Satellite observations of CO$_2$, CO, and solar induced fluorescence (SIF) are ingested into a 4D-variational assimilation system driven by carbon cycle models to infer spatially resolved carbon fluxes including net ecosystem exchange, biomass burning, and gross primary productivity (GPP). The global net carbon flux tendency, which is the flux difference 2011-2010 and is positive for net fluxes into the atmosphere, was estimated to be -1.60 PgC between 2011-2010 while the Brazilian tendency was -0.24 $\pm$ 0.11 PgC. This estimate is broadly within the uncertainty of previous aircraft based estimates restricted to the Amazonian basin. The biomass burning tendency in Brazil was -0.24 $\pm$ 0.036 PgC, which implies a near-zero change of the net ecosystem production (NEP). The near-zero change of the NEP is the result of quantitatively comparable increase in GPP (0.34 $\pm$ 0.20) and respiration in Brazil. Comparisons of the component fluxes in Brazil to the global fluxes show a complex balance between regional contributions to individual carbon fluxes such as biomass burning, and their net contribution to the global carbon balance, i.e., the Brazilian biomass burning tendency is a significant contributor to the global biomass burning tendency but the Brazilian net flux tendency is not a dominant contributor to the global tendency. These results show the potential of multiple satellite observations to help quantify the spatially resolved response of productivity and respiration fluxes to climate variability.

A new 1,4-napthoquinone derivative, namely (S)-(-)-3-(8-hydroxy-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydro-naphthalen-2-yl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-propionic acid methyl ester (1), was isolated from the roots of Juglans mandshurica Maxim. The structure was identified based on HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic methods.

This study was to study the antitumor effect of lonchocarpin (34) from traditional herbal medicine Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre and to reveal the underlying mechanism. The cytotoxic activities of lonchocarpin were evaluated in 10 lung cancer cell lines and it exhibited 97.5% activity at a dose of 100 μM in the H292 cell line. A field-based quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) study of 37 flavonoids from P. pinnata was also performed, and the results obtained showed that the hydrophobic interaction could be the crucial factor for the antitumor activity of lonchocarpin. Molecular docking studies revealed that lonchocarpin bound stably to the BH3-binding groove of the Bcl-2 protein with hydrophobic interactions with ALA146. Also, lonchocarpin significantly reduced cell proliferation via modulating Bax/Caspase-9/Caspase-3 pathway. An apoptotic test using flow cytometry showed that lonchocarpin produced about 41.1% and 47.9% apoptosis after treatment for 24 h and 48 h, respectively. Moreover, lonchocarpin inhibited tumor growth in S180-bearing mice with an inhibition rate of 57.94, 63.40 and 72.51%, respectively at a dose of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg. These results suggest that lonchocarpin is a potentially useful natural agent for cancer treatment.

China is the largest coal gasification market in the world. The gasifiers have been commercialized for producing syngas for coal-to-liquids, coal-to-olefin, and coal-to-substitute natural gas. During coal gasification at high temperature and pressure, the differences in reactivity of organic matter in coal are almost negligible; however, the transformation behaviour of minerals is important to the stability of the process. Detailed knowledge of the mineralogical properties of ash and slag is essential for optimizing the operational parameters. It is also significant for determining the influence of the solid wastes on the environment: for example, trace elements carried in bottom slag, fly ash, condensate water, and gaseous products migrate to natural water and soil and into the atmosphere. With this in mind, the mineralogy of ash and slag from typical coal gasification processes in China are reviewed, including the transformation of minerals typically found in coal, and the effects of operating c...

Neuroinflammation is a key contributor to neuronal damage in neurodegenerative diseases. In our previous work on natural effective neuroinflammatory inhibitors, Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (Leguminosae), a folk medicine widely distributed in Xinjiang, attracted our attention because of its significant anti-neuroinflammatory effect. Therefore, further investigation of the bioactive material basis was carried out. As a result, 33 major components were characterized and identified by chromatographic and spectral methods, respectively. Furthermore, the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of the extract and purified constituents were evaluated in LPS-induced N9 cells in vitro. The results displayed that compounds 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 33 could exhibit significant inhibitory activities without obvious cytotoxicities at their effective concentrations. Especially, isorhamnetin (1) (IC50 17.87μM), quercetin (2) (10.22μM), 3',7-dihydroxyl-4'-methoxylisoflavone (5) (17.43μM), 3',7-dihydroxyl-4',6-dimethoxylisoflavone (6) (11.21μM), syringgaresinol (16) (2.68μM), bombasinol A (17) (7.61μM), aurantiamide (23) (14.91μM) and 1,3,3,4-tetramethyl cyclopentene (33) (2.63μM) showed much stronger inhibiting effect than that of the positive control minocycline (19.89μM). Therefore, the effective compositions might be responsible for the significant neuroinflammation inhibitory activities exhibited by the herb. Moreover, compounds 16 and 33 could be good leading compounds for the development of potential therapeutic agents against neurodegenerative diseases.

We performed a cross-sectional study on 215 Japanese employees aged 20-68 years to investigate the association between NAFLD and serum phospholipid fatty acid composition. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography. The fatty acid composition between the control and NAFLD groups was compared, and the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was performed to eliminate each confounding effect of sex, smoking status, BMI, insulin resistance, dietary cholesterol, and salt intake. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the NAFLD prediction accuracy of fatty acids. Seventy-one subjects were diagnosed with NAFLD. Their serum phospholipid dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA) level was significantly higher after adjusting for each variable using IPTW. In the ROC analysis, the ratio of ARA to DGLA had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.763. By combining the ratio of ARA to DGLA with the ratio of AST to ALT, AUC increased to 0.871. In conclusion, NAFLD subjects in a Japanese working population have higher serum phospholipid DGLA. Results of the IPTW and ROC analysis indicated that serum PL DGLA and the ratio of ARA to DGLA provide diagnosis information on the fatty liver that is different to AST and ALT and improve the accuracy of fatty liver prediction, owning potential value as serum biomarkers.

The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) plays an important role in apoptosis, metastasis, and proliferation and is recognized as an important potential therapeutic target for cancer. Six series of 3(5)-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-4-(quinolin-4-yl)pyrazoles (11a-d, 12a-d, and 18a-d) and 3(5)-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-4-(2-phenyl-pyridin-4-yl)pyrazoles (19a-d, 20a-d, and 21a-d) were synthesized and evaluated for activin receptor-like kinase 5 (ALK5) and HIF-1α inhibitory activity at the enzyme and cell levels. The effect of the lead compound 20d (J-1012) on HIF-1α activation in HCT116 cells was investigated. J-1012 markedly decreased the hypoxia-induced or TNF-induced accumulation of HIF-1α protein dose-dependently. Analysis revealed that J-1012 inhibited HIF-1α protein synthesis, without affecting the degradation of HIF-1α protein. Furthermore, by inhibiting the activation of HIF-1α, J-1012 suppressed the metastasis and proliferation and promoted apoptosis of HCT116 cells. These results suggest that J-1012 may be a potential therapeutic agent against human colon cancer.

d -Allulose, a C-3 epimer of d -fructose, is a rare sugar reported to be a non-caloric sweetener having several health beneficial effects including anti-hyperglycemia and anti-obesity. However, the impact of dietary d -allulose on cholesterol metabolism remains unclear. Therefore, we studied the effects of d -allulose on the cholesterol metabolism of Golden Syrian hamsters, an animal model with a lipid metabolism similar to that of humans. Hamsters received either normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet (HFD) with or without 3% d -allulose for 4 or 8 weeks. While there were no significant differences in total serum cholesterol levels between the groups, d -allulose significantly increased HDL-cholesterol levels in ND-fed hamsters and decreased LDL-cholesterol levels in HFD-fed hamsters, causing an overall decrease in the LDL/HDL ratio. Furthermore, dietary d -allulose decreased serum proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels in both diets. In conclusion, d -allulose may favorably modulate cholesterol metabolism by reducing PCSK9 in hamsters.

Large-scale abuse of antibiotics has led to serious environmental problems. Some conventional adsorbents such as several biopolymer gels have poor adsorption performance and inadequate mechanical properties. In this paper, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO), were combined with sodium alginate (SA) to improve the adsorption performance and other properties of traditional adsorbents. With the help of hydrogen peroxide and l -cysteine (L-cys), carbon nanotubes/ l -cysteine@graphene oxide/sodium alginate (CNTs/L-cys@GO/SA) triple-network composite hydrogels were prepared. Compared with traditional hydrogels and the double-network hydrogels that are currently being developed, these triple-network composite hydrogels can exploit their three-dimensional structure to improve their adsorption capacity. The independent triple-network structure increases the three-dimensional space, so there are more pores and pollutant adsorption sites to achieve the high-efficient removal of ciprofloxacin. And the adsorption capacity of CNTs/L-cys@GO/SA hydrogels can reach 181 mg g−1 and 200 mg g−1 at 25 °C and 15 °C respectively in weak acidity environment. In fact, CNTs/L-cys@GO/SA hydrogels show better property at low temperature. In addition, the thermal stability, mechanical properties and swelling ability of the triple-network hydrogels have also been improved. The independent multilayer network can retain the excellent properties of the original materials and make the internal space of hydrogels larger. These multinetwork hydrogels have great potential for removing pollutants from wastewater. In addition, the CNTs/L-cys@GO/SA hydrogels show the higher adsorption capacity of ciprofloxacin under the conditions of weak acidity, low temperature and low inorganic salt concentration, so the removal of ciprofloxacin by hydrogels can also be promoted by changing environmental conditions.