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Efficient enzymatic conversion of CO2 to methanol is limited by low CO2 solubility in water (33 mM), and the high-cost of the cofactor (NADH) hinders the potential large-scale application of CO2 enzymatic conversion. In this study, a bioelectrocatalytic system was established for tackling both these issues, and in this system enzymes were embedded in the metal–organic framework ZIF-8 via in situ encapsulation to increase the substrate (CO2) concentration and pre-concentrate NADH, and a Rh complex-grafted electrode was developed for regenerating NADH in a sustainable manner. The results showed that after encapsulation of enzymes in ZIF-8, the methanol concentration increased from 0.061 to 0.320 mM (5 fold) in three hours. Furthermore, after coupling with electrocatalytic NADH regeneration, the methanol concentration further increased to 0.742 mM (12 fold) compared to a free enzyme system. Overall, methanol was produced at a rate of 822 μmol g−1 h−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging of ionic liquids (ILs) provides an efficient and sustainable way to separate and recover NH3 due to their unique properties. However, the solid or highly viscous ILs are not suitable for traditional scrubbing. Therefore, an effective strategy was proposed by combining the protic ILs (PILs) with acidic H and low viscous ethylene glycol (EG) to form IL‐based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for NH3 absorption. The results indicated that these PIL‐based DESs not only have fast absorption rate, but also exhibit exceptional NH3 capacity and excellent recyclability. The highest mass capacity of 211 mg NH3/g DES was achieved by [Im][NO3]/EG with molar ratio of 1:3, and was higher than all the reported ILs and IL‐based DESs, which was originated from multiple hydrogen bonding between acidic H and hydroxyl groups of the DESs and NH3. This work will provide useful idea for designing IL‐based solvents for NH3 separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the research on dendritic cells (DCs) and their correlated neoplasms has not been clear. Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) and mature plasmacytoid dendritic cell proliferation (MPDCP) are two types of malignancies originating from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). Some evidence has indicated the existence of other pDC neoplasms. In addition, cases of myeloid neoplasms (MNs), acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with increased pDCs (AML/MDS‐pDCs) seem to have immature DCs according to the vaguely consistent expression of markers among MNs and pDCs, which appear to fit the developmental pattern of normal DCs. We analyzed 14 AML/MDS‐pDC cases mainly for their immunophenotype by flow cytometry and inferred their CD expression pattern. The patients' clinical information and other laboratory data were collected and reviewed. AML/MDS‐pDCs show a different pattern of markers from BPDCN and MPDCP. Three maturation‐involved stages were found in these AML/MDS‐pDCs patients. Stage I was the most immature stage and displayed an expression profile of CD34+/st+ CD117+/st+ BDCA2− BDCA4− CD123+ HLA‐DR+/st+ CD4− CD45dim+; Stage II was the more immature stage displayed a phenotype of CD34dim+ CD117dim+ BDCA2−/dim+ BDCA4−/dim+ CD123st+ HLA‐DR+/st+ CD4− CD45+; and Stage III was the mature stage showed CD34− CD117− BDCA2+/BDCA4+ CD123st+ HLA‐DR+/st+ CD4+ CD45+/st+. Three maturation‐involved stages overlapped well with the phenotypes of normal DC progenitors in a continuously developmental process: granulocyte, monocyte, and DC progenitors (GMDPs) and/or monocyte and DC progenitors (MDPs), common DC progenitors (CDPs), pDCs, and/or pre‐DCs. In this study, we considered AML/MDS‐pDCs as entities that were distinct from BPDCN and MPDCP and correlated the components of this tumor with the normal DC differentiation pathway, which provides new evidence for understanding DC neoplasms. © 2019 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants especially need to adapt to all different light environments (shade, high light, etc.) due to the essential role of light in plant life. Either shade or high-light microenvironmental conditions are common for cool-season turfgrasses, such as perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). In order to study how a plant highly conserves microRNA, miR164-affected perennial ryegrass were studied under different light intensities. OsmiR164a-overexpression (OE164), target mimicry OsmiR164a (MIM164), and CRES-T (chimeric repressor gene-silencing technology) OsNAC60 (NAC60) transgenic plants and wild-type (WT) plants were evaluated in both field (shade and full sun) and growth chamber conditions (low, medium, and high PAR at 100, 400, and 1200 µmol s−1 m−2). Morphological and physiological analysis showed miR164 could fine-tune perennial ryegrass adaptation to changing light intensity, possibly via the regulation of target genes, such as NAC60. Overall, OE164 and NAC60 plants were similar to each other and more sensitive to high light, particularly under the field condition, demonstrated by smaller size and much poorer grass quality; MIM164 performed more like WT plants than either the OE164 or NAC60 plants. This study indicates the potential of genetic manipulation of miR164 and/or its targeted genes for turfgrass adaptation to changing light environments, and future research to further investigate the molecular mechanism beneath would be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Over expression of MsSPL12 improved alfalfa salt tolerance by reducing Na+ accumulation and increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and regulating down-stream gene expression. Improvement of salt tolerance is one of the major goals in alfalfa breeding. Here, we demonstrated that MsSPL12, an alfalfa transcription factor gene highly expressed in the stem cells, plays a positive role in alfalfa salt tolerance. MsSPL12 is localized in the nucleus and shows transcriptional activity in the presence of its C-terminus. To investigate MsSPL12 function in plant response to salt stress, we generated transgenic plants overexpressing either MsSPL12 or a chimeric MsSPL12-SRDX gene that represses the function of MsSPL12 by using the Chimeric REpressor gene-Silencing Technology (CRES-T), and observed that overexpression of MsSPL12 increased the salt tolerance of alfalfa transgenic plants associated with an increase in K+/Na+ ratio and relative water content (RWC) under salt stress treatment, but a reduction in electrolyte leakage (EL), reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and proline (Pro) compared to wild type (WT) plants. However, transgenic plants overexpressing MsSPL12-SRDX showed an inhibited plant growth and a reduced salt tolerance. RNA-sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR analyses revealed that MsSPL12 affected the expression of plant abiotic resistance-related genes in multiple physiological pathways. The potential MsSPL12-mediated regulatory pathways based on the differentially expressed genes between the MsSPL12 overexpression transgenics and WT controls were predicted. In summary, our study proves that MsSPL12 is a positive regulator in alfalfa salt tolerance and can be used as a new candidate for manipulation to develop forage crops with enhanced salt tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a hemp straw activated carbon (HSAC) was simply prepared by hydrothermal process followed by a pre-oxidization and carbonization by KOH solid-state activation. The as-synthesized HSAC shows abundant porosity, which is designed to be beneficial to the fast transportation of electrolyte. The preparation conditions for HSACs under different mass ratios of KOH:precursors were optimized, and the sample obtained by a mass ratio of 4:1 showed an outstanding capacitive property (specific capacitance of 279 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 current density). Besides, the capacitance of 91.6% was retained after 5000 charge-discharge cycles under 2 A g−1 current density. The resulting symmetrical supercapacitor obtained by using the HSAC electrodes exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance, which successfully illuminated a LED light. The HSAC has great potentials as electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor, which opens a new way for value increment of natural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant mechanical strength contributes to lodging resistance and grain yield, making it an agronomically important trait in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). In this study, we isolated the brittle culm 1 (bc1) mutant and identified SbBC1 through map-based cloning. SbBC1, a homolog of rice OsBC1 and Arabidopsis thaliana AtCOBL4, encodes a COBRA-like protein that exhibits typical structural features of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein. A single-nucleotide mutation in SbBC1 led to reduced mechanical strength, decreased cellulose content, and increased lignin content without obviously altering plant morphology. Transmission electron microscopy revealed reduced cell wall thickness in sclerenchyma cells of the bc1 mutant. SbBC1 is primarily expressed in developing sclerenchyma cells and vascular bundles in sorghum. RNA-seq analysis further suggested a possible mechanism by which SbBC1 mediates cellulose biosynthesis and cell wall remodeling. Our results demonstrate that SbBC1 participates in the biosynthesis of cellulose in the secondary cell wall and affects the mechanical strength of sorghum plants, providing additional genetic evidence for the roles of COBRA-like genes in cellulose biosynthesis in grasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass-based nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning a mixture of polyacrylonitrile and acid-treated biomass from industrial hemp straw. The as-prepared biomass-based nanofibers were then carbonized and activated by high-temperature carbonization and KOH to obtain the activated biomass-based carbon nanofibers. The scanning electron microscopy images show that the precursors and carbon nanofibers are composed of fibers 179 nm in diameter, and the nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements indicate that the carbon nanofibers possess a high-specific surface area of 2348.73 m2·g−1. The carbon nanofibers exhibit excellent electrical performance. The specific capacitance is as high as 244.8 F·g−1 at a current density of 1 A·g−1. The specific capacitance remains at 96% after 3000 cycles of charge and discharge at a current density of 2 A·g−1, showing excellent cycle stability. This work provides new ideas for the future development of supercapacitors electrode materials and enhances the development of biomass energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of lentinan in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colitis‐associated cancer (CAC). Lentinan decreased the disease activity index and macroscopic and microscopic colon tissue damage in dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)‐induced or TNBS‐induced models of colitis. High‐dose lentinan was more effective than salicylazosulfapyridine in the mouse models of colitis. Lentinan decreased the number of tumours, inflammatory cell infiltration, atypical hyperplasia and nuclear atypia in azoxymethane/DSS‐induced CAC model. It also decreased the expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, such as IL‐13 and CD30L, in IBD and CAC model mice possibly by inhibiting Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4)/NF‐κB signalling and the expression of colon cancer markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen, cytokeratin 8, CK18 and p53, in CAC model mice. In addition, lentinan restored the intestinal bacterial microbiotal community structure in IBD model mice. Thus, it shows therapeutic potential in IBD and CAC model mice possibly by inhibiting TLR4/NF‐κB signalling‐mediated inflammatory responses and disruption of the intestinal microbiotal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress severely affects alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth and production. It is particularly important to analyze the key networks of drought in alfalfa through physiological and molecular levels. However, how to quickly screen drought-tolerant alfalfa germplasm and how to elucidate the molecular pathways of alfalfa responding to drought are less studied. In this study, based on our previous research, we further verified the association between the heritability of ABA sensitivity during seed germination and drought tolerance of plants and identified the key pathways of drought tolerance differences between ABA-sensitivity (S1-0) and -insensitivity (S1-50) plants via RNA-seq and analysis. The results showed that the sensitivity to ABA in alfalfa seeds can be inherited and that plants that are insensitive to ABA during germination show stronger drought tolerance. An analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed that ABA biosynthesis and signaling, amino acid metabolism, LEA, and wax synthesis-related pathways may be the key pathways that can be used for drought tolerance improvement in alfalfa. DEGs such as NCED, PYR/PYL, and PP2C may contribute to drought tolerance in the S1-50 plant. The study further confirms that screening with ABA at the seed germination stage can select alfalfa lines with good drought tolerance, which provides a new theoretical basis for alfalfa drought tolerance breeding. The expression of the key genes of alfalfa in response to drought stress was also tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, using multiparameter flow cytometry (FCM), we investigate the impact of minimal residual disease prior to transplantation (pre-MRD) on the transplant outcomes of AML patients with fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation. A total of 20 patients who received HLA-matched sibling donor transplantation (MSDT) and 63 patients who received unmanipulated haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) were enrolled. Patients were classified into four groups based on the status of pre-FCM: group 1 with positive pre-FCM before MSDT, group 2 with negative pre-FCM before MSDT, group 3 with positive pre-FCM before haplo-HSCT, and group 4 with positive pre-FCM before haplo-HSCT. The results showed that patients in group 1 had the highest cumulative incidence of relapse (2-year CIR, 75.0%), the lowest leukemia-free survival (2-year LFS, 33.3%), and the overall survival (2-year OS, 25.0%) among all four groups. The other three groups of patients had comparable CIR (2-year CIR: group 2 vs. 3 vs. 4, 12.5% vs. 31.3% vs. 22.2%, P > 0.05) and LFS (2-year LFS: group 2 vs. 3 vs. 4, 87.5% vs. 62.5% vs. 66.5%, P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that disease status (> CR) and pre-MRD were associated with a higher CIR and a lower LFS when patients were classified by pre-MRD and transplant type. Our results suggested that AML patients with FLT3-ITD were able to be separated into high-risk and low-risk relapse groups based on pre-MRD, as determined by multiparameter FCM. Haplo-HSCT might overcome the negative impact of pre-MRD on patient outcomes compared to MSDT. These results require further investigation in prospective study with large numbers of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor budding (TB) has become a crucial factor for predicting the malignancy grade and prognostic outcome for multiple types of solid cancer. Studies have investigated the prognostic value of TB in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its molecular mechanism in HCC remains unclear. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to compare the expression of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between TB-positive (TB-pos) and TB-negative HCC tissues. In the present study, total RNA was extracted from 40 HCC tissue specimens and then sequenced. According to Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation, upregulated DEGs were markedly associated with embryonic kidney development-related GO terms, which suggested that the TB process may at least partly mimic the process of embryonic kidney development. Subsequently, two genes, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin motifs 16 (ADAMTS16) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), were screened and verified through immunohistochemical analysis of HCC tissue microarrays. According to the immunohistochemical results, ADAMTS16 and BMP2 were upregulated in TB-pos HCC samples, and BMP2 expression was increased in budding cells compared with the tumor center. Additionally, through cell culture experiments, it was demonstrated that ADAMTS16 and BMP2 may promote TB of liver cancer, thus promoting the malignant progression of liver cancer. Further analysis revealed that ADAMTS16 expression was associated with necrosis and cholestasis, and BMP2 expression was associated with the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage and the vessels encapsulating tumor clusters. Overall, the findings of the present study provided insights into the possible mechanisms of TB in HCC and revealed potential anti-HCC therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]