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Due to the increasingly serious environmental problems caused by the combustion of sulfides in fuel, deep desulfurization of fuel became particularly urgent. Herein, the catalyst (PMA@MOF-808) of the Zr-based metal-organic framework (MOF-808) encapsulating phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) was prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal method. Besides, the formate ions of PMA@MOF-808 were removed by posttreatment with methanol, resulting in formate-free PMA@MOF-808-H catalysts with unsaturated open metal sites. The as-synthesized catalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, BET, TGA

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has been approved for clinical photodynamic therapy (PDT) due to its negligible photosensitive toxicity. However, the curative effect of 5-ALA is restricted by intracellular biotransformation inactivation of 5-ALA and potential DNA repair of tumor cells. Inspired by the crucial function of iron ions in 5-ALA transformation and DNA repair, a liposomal nanomedicine (MFLs@5-ALA/DFO) with intracellular iron ion regulation property was developed for boosting the PDT of 5-ALA, which was prepared by co-encapsulating 5-ALA and DFO (deferoxamine, a special iron chelator) into the membrane fusion liposomes (MFLs). MFLs@5-ALA/DFO showed an improved pharmaceutical behavior and rapidly fused with tumor cell membrane for 5-ALA and DFO co-delivery. MFLs@5-ALA/DFO could efficiently reduce iron ion, thus blocking the biotransformation of photosensitive protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) to heme, realizing significant accumulation of photosensitivity. Meanwhile, the activity of DNA repair enzyme was also inhibited with the reduction of iron ion, resulting in the aggravated DNA damage in tumor cells. Our findings showed MFLs@5-ALA/DFO had potential to be applied for enhanced PDT of 5-ALA., Graphical abstract A liposomal nanomedicine (MFLs@5-ALA/DFO) was designed for boosting the PDT of 5-ALA through intracellular iron ion regulation.Image 1

Optogenetics combines the biological techniques of optics and genetics and uses light to control the activities of living tissues such as neurons and heart. Optogenetic actuators including channelrhodopsin (ChR), halorhodopsin (NpHR), and archaerhodopsin specifically provide for neuronal or cardiac controls. The clinical translation of cardiac optogenetics will include human and larger mammalian animal model applications and ultimately optogenetics may have the power to restore normal heart rhythm

Recently, hydrate technology as a newly emerging field has been attracting more and more attention. To support its potential applications, the dissociation behaviors and kinetics of CO2 hydrate in pure water and water/sediments systems at specified temperatures were studied experimentally by depressurization method. This work reveals two novel aspects of CO2 hydrate dissociation. Firstly, it is remarkable that the dissociation rate of CO2 hydrate in water/sediments is faster than that of CO2 hydrate in pure water, which has not been conscious previously. Secondly, a pseudo first‐order kinetic equation including the kinetic constant and activation energy was formulated to describe the dissociation process. Temperature plays an important role and the dissociation rate constant (kd) and activation energy (ΔEa) were obtained through the dissociation experiments at different temperatures. For CO2 hydrate in pure water, the dissociation rate constant increased from 0.02 to 0.13 mol/(dm2⋅MPa⋅min) at the temperature from 273.86 to 276.11 K, and the activation energy was 469.06 kJ mol−1. For CO2 hydrate in water/sediments, the dissociation rate constant was from 0.03 to 0.15 mol/(dm2⋅MPa⋅min) at the temperature ranging from 273.45 to 276.11 K, and the activation energy was 346.30 kJ mol−1. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Macroporous 3D carbon doped with nitrogen confined Mo catalyst (MoOx@CN) had been prepared by a facile one-step pyrolysis technique using silica as a template and was employed for oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model fuel with H2O2 as oxidant. The effect of different operating conditions (i.e., reaction temperature and time, catalyst dosage, H2O2/DBT (O/S) molar ratio) were also systematic investigated. Under the optimal reaction condition, MoOx@CN catalyst exhibited highly excellent ODS performance toward DBT, the highest sulfur removal efficiency can be up to 99.9% and sulfur content was wiped out from 800 ppm to 10 ppm. Due to the robust 3D structure promoting rapid transfer, in addition to the increased number of active sites induced by the Mo vacancies, the catalyst, prepared using chitosan and ammonium heptamolybdate in a mass ratio of 1:0.5, displayed rapid kinetics and low activation energy in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene. Moreover, it exhibited excellent recyclability after five cycles without any obvious decrease in catalytic activity for the oxidative desulfurization reaction.

Embolization therapy is an attractive strategy for antitumor therapy, especially for solid tumors. In vivo self-coagulation behavior holds great potential in a new type of tumor embolization therapy. However, spatiotemporal controllable in situ formation of thrombus in tumor is a challenge. Herein, an ultrasound (US)-responsive ultra-sensitive "thrombus constructor" (UUNC), which was prepared by loading thrombin into a nanobubble, and modified with NGR peptide on its surface, is rational designed for tumor embolization therapy. Benefiting from the targeting ability of NGR peptides to tumor neovascularization, UUNC efficiently enriched in tumor vessels, and then released thrombin rapidly to form thrombi in situ of tumor blood vessels in the presence of US. In vivo antitumor experiments demonstrated that UUNC could significantly lead to tumor cell apoptosis and necrosis, and the tumor growth inhibition rate (TGI) was 85.3% with a transient US in tumor, while maintain high stability, and no obvious thrombus was observed in normal tissues. UUNC holds an attractive potential for tumor embolization therapy via spatiotemporal controllable thrombus construct strategy.

Clarifying the evolutionary processes underlying species diversification and adaptation is a key focus of evolutionary biology. Begonia (Begoniaceae) is one of the most species-rich angiosperm genera with c. 2000 species, most of which are shade-adapted. Here, we present chromosome-scale genome assemblies for four species of Begonia (B. loranthoides, B. masoniana, B. darthvaderiana and B. peltatifolia), and whole genome shotgun data for an additional 74 Begonia representatives to investigate lineage evolution and shade adaptation of the genus. The four genome assemblies range in size from 331.75 Mb (B. peltatifolia) to 799.83 Mb (B. masoniana), and harbor 22 059-23 444 protein-coding genes. Synteny analysis revealed a lineage-specific whole-genome duplication (WGD) that occurred just before the diversification of Begonia. Functional enrichment of gene families retained after WGD highlights the significance of modified carbohydrate metabolism and photosynthesis possibly linked to shade adaptation in the genus, which is further supported by expansions of gene families involved in light perception and harvesting. Phylogenomic reconstructions and genomics studies indicate that genomic introgression has also played a role in the evolution of Begonia. Overall, this study provides valuable genomic resources for Begonia and suggests potential drivers underlying the diversity and adaptive evolution of this mega-diverse clade.

Virus-based immunotherapy is a promising approach to treat tumor. Closely mimicking the structure and sequential infection processes of natural viruses is highly desirable for effective tumor immunotherapy but remains challenging. Here, inspired by the robust innate immunity induced by herpesvirus, a herpesvirus-mimicking nanoparticle (named Vir-ZM@TD) is engineered for tumor therapy by mimicking the structure and infection processes of herpesvirus. In this biomimetic system, DNAzyme-loaded manganese-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-90 (ZIF-90) nanoparticles (ZM@TD) mimic the virus nucleocapsid containing the genome; the erythrocyte membrane mimics the viral envelope; and two functional peptides, RGD and HA2 peptides, resemble the surface glycoprotein spikes of herpesvirus. Vir-ZM@TD can both effectively evade rapid clearance in the blood circulation and closely mimic the serial infection processes of herpesvirus, including specific tumor targeting, membrane fusion-mediated endosomal escape, and TFAM (transcription factor A, mitochondrial) deficiency-triggered mitochondrial DNA stress, as well as the release of manganese ions (Mn

A series of resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) resin-derived carbon spheres modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared. The effects of PEG addition time during hydrothermal treatment and molecular weight on the pore structure, surface acidic groups, particle size, and adsorption performances of the obtained spherical activated carbons were investigated. Two types of model fuel containing indole, quinoline, and dibenzothiophene (DBT) as target adsorbates were prepared to evaluate the adsorption performances of the spheres, which increased in the order of DBT

A series of experiments on CO2 hydrate formation were carried out in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO2), silicon dioxide (SiO2), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanoparticles. Th...

In this paper, the organic geochemical characteristics of the upper Triassic Yanchang Formation source rocks in the Panlong oilfield in the eastern Ordos Basin of China were systematically ...

In order to improve the recovery of tight oil and extend the life cycle of the oilfield, in this paper, we have conducted a systematic study on the fine characterization of remaining oil distribution. A three-dimensional numerical simulation method was used to study remaining oil distribution of tight sandstones with the constraints of structure, sedimentary facies, and petrophysical properties. The results show that the distribution of remaining oil in the Chang 2 Member was affected by the structural location, sand body thickness, and petrophysical properties. The remaining oil saturation is higher in the axial parts of nose-like uplifts, the edge parts of thick sand bodies, and the positions where the monoclinic and sand bodies intersect; however, in the flanks of the nose-like uplifts, when the monoclinics are distributed nearly parallel the sand bodies, and in low-lying areas, a low oil saturation distribution often occurs. When two parameters in structure, sand body thickness, and petrophysical properties satisfy favorable conditions, this area is likely to become a favorable remaining oil enrichment area. Numerical simulation results show that improving the injection and production well pattern and increasing the number of oil production wells are important measures to improve oil recovery. The density of the well pattern can be considered as 30–50 wells per square kilometer.

Fractures enhance secondary porosity and permeability of tight sandstone and in turn promote fluid migration and well recovery. The developmental characteristics and dominant factors of tight sandstone reservoir fractures in the lower Permian Shanxi Formation, southern Qinshui Basin, were systematically studied by combining qualitative observations, quantitative characterizations, logging interpretations, and tectonic analysis. The results show that fractures are extensively developed in the Shanxi Formation tight sandstone. The primary factors controlling these fractures include tectonic position, proximity to faulting, rock brittleness, single sand body thickness, formation anisotropy, and diagenesis. In crest or flank portions of the anticline and the bottom or low regions or well-developed faults, the fracture density is generally greater than 2 per meter. The scale and intensity of faulting both have a significant impact on the fracture development. Near some faults, “crushed zones” or “weak zones” were observed in the cores. These areas have a moderate- to low-angle or near-horizontal dips of less than 15° and widths of less than 50 cm. The rock rupture of the crushed zone typically occurred in a certain direction. It was found that the first fractures to form in a tight sandstone reservoir are related to tensile failure or shear-tensile failure. A negative exponential correlation exists between the linear fracture density and the single sand body thickness. When the single sand body thickness is less than 3 m, the linear fracture density is generally higher than 4 per meter; when the single sand body thickness is greater than 6 m, the fracture density is generally lower than 2 m−1. The influence of fracture density on rock anisotropy is stronger than that of the geostress. Minerals with unstable chemical properties, such as carbonate cements and feldspar, provide favorable conditions for the migration of acidic fluids and the formation of dissolution fractures.

A custom convolutional neural network (CNN) integrated with convolutional long short-term memory (LSTM) achieves accurate 3D (2D + time) segmentation in cross-sectional videos of the Drosophila heart acquired by an optical coherence microscopy (OCM) system. While our previous FlyNet 1.0 model utilized regular CNNs to extract 2D spatial information from individual video frames, convolutional LSTM, FlyNet 2.0, utilizes both spatial and temporal information to improve segmentation performance further. To train and test FlyNet 2.0, we used 100 datasets including 500,000 fly heart OCM images. OCM videos in three developmental stages and two heartbeat situations were segmented achieving an intersection over union (IOU) accuracy of 92%. This increased segmentation accuracy allows morphological and dynamic cardiac parameters to be better quantified.

In situ stress has an important influence on coal reservoir permeability, fracturing, and production capacity. In this paper, fracturing testing, imaging logging, and 3D finite-element simulation were used to study the current in situ stress field of a coal reservoir with a high coal rank. The results indicated that the horizontal stress field within the coal reservoir is controlled by the burial depth, folding, and faulting. The [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values within the coal reservoir are 1–2.5 MPa higher than those within the clastic rocks of the roof and floor. The [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] values of the coal reservoir are generally between 2 and 6 MPa and increase with burial depth. When the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] value is less than 5 MPa, production from a single well is high, but when the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] value is greater than 5 MPa, production from a single well is low. In addition, the accumulated water production is high when the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] value is greater than 5 MPa, demonstrating that a higher [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] value allows the hydraulic fractures to more easily penetrate the roof and floor of the coal seam. In coal-bed methane development regions with high [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] values, repeated fracturing using the small-scale plug removal method — which is a fracturing method that uses a small volume of liquid, small displacement, and low sand concentration — is suggested.

The Chang 6 member sandstone is one of the main oil reservoirs of the Ordos basin, China, and consists of a lacustrine gravity flow deposited in Huangling area. Carbonate cement is volumetrically the most important diagenetic parameter controlling reservoir quality in the sandstones. Three generations of carbonate cements were recognized. The massive microcrystalline calcite, poikilotopic calcite and microcrystalline dolomite from the supersaturated alkaline pore water precipitate with basement cements at an early diagenesis stage. The ferroan calcite is mainly pore-filling and replacement cementation in the middle diagenesis stage, and ferroan dolomite is pore-filling cementation in the late diagenesis stage. The four types of reservoir facies and the distribution patterns were identified in the Chang 6 member sandstones. (1) Massive carbonate cemented facies with high contents of carbonate cements are distributed along the edges of the sandstone bodies, which are in the channels of the turbidite and sandy debris flow deposits. (2) Partial carbonate cemented facies occur along the margins of the massive carbonate cemented facies. (3) The porous facies with the lowest percentages of carbonate cements in sandstone are distributed in the middle of the sand-bodies of the sandy debris flow deposits. (4) High muddy debris facies that have high percentages of carbonate-cemented and high muddy debris sandstones occur essentially in the proximal overbank and lobe of the turbidite deposits. The reservoir quality of sandstones depended upon time of precipitation of carbonate cements on and diagenetic processes. Massive carbonate cements and the high muddy debris of sandstones undergo lots of carbonate cements and strong compaction in the early diagenesis stage, respectively. There was weak water rock reaction of dissolution in the later diagenesis process. Partial carbonate cemented facies and the porous facies of sandstones have sufficient water rock reaction and more dissolution pores.

The capture, storage and transportation technology of carbon dioxide based on hydrate formation is an innovative conception. This work presents an experimental investigation on CO 2 hydrate formation as a function of rotation speed (0, 200, 400, 600, 800 rpm), temperatures (274.15–279.15 K) and initial pressures (2.09, 3.17, 4.03, 5.04, 6.02 MPa) by using a gas-inducing agitated reactor. It was found that stable CO 2 hydrate formation was efficiently enhanced at the stage of CO 2 dissolution and nucleation in the liquid phase by the gas-inducing agitated reactor through mechanical agitation and gas recycle. The induction time was shortened from 261 to 24 min with an increase of agitation speed. Reactor design is one of the important effects on CO 2 hydrate formation. In addition, temperature and initial pressure also have strong effects on CO 2 hydrate formation and storage capacity. The induction time of nucleation was greatly reduced with a decrease in cooling temperature and an increase in initial pressure. The amount of CO 2 consumed and storage capacity were also increased.

Rh@UIO-66, prepared by using the double-solvent host–guest strategy and excess reduction methods, exhibited a higher catalytic activity in AB hydrolysis compared with Rh/UIO-66 because the ultrafine Rh nanoparticles were confined to UIO-66 channels. This confinement effect played a key role in enhancing the catalytic activity for AB hydrolysis.

Dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron, and dendritic morphology reflects synaptic organization during the development of the nervous system. Drosophila larval neuronal dendritic arborization (da) is an ideal model for studying morphogenesis of neural dendrites and gene function in the development of nervous system. There are four classes of da neurons. Class IV is the most complex with a branching pattern that covers almost the entire area of the larval body wall. We have previously characterized the effect of silencing the Drosophila ortholog of SOX5 on class IV neuronal dendritic arborization complexity (NDAC) using four parameters: the length of dendrites, the surface area of dendrite coverage, the total number of branches, and the branching structure. This protocol presents the workflow of NDAC quantitative analysis, consisting of larval dissection, confocal microscopy, and image analysis procedures using ImageJ software. Further insight into da neuronal development and its underlying mechanisms will improve the understanding of neuronal function and provide clues about the fundamental causes of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron, and dendritic morphology reflects synaptic organization during the development of the nervous system. Drosophila larval neuronal dendritic arborization (da) is an ideal model for studying morphogenesis of neural dendrites and gene function in the development of nervous system. There are four classes of da neurons. Class IV is the most complex with a branching pattern that covers almost the entire area of the larval body wall. We have previously characterized the effect of silencing the Drosophila ortholog of SOX5 on class IV neuronal dendritic arborization complexity (NDAC) using four parameters: the length of dendrites, the surface area of dendrite coverage, the total number of branches, and the branching structure. This protocol presents the workflow of NDAC quantitative analysis, consisting of larval dissection, confocal microscopy, and image analysis procedures using ImageJ software. Further insight into da neuronal development and its underlying mechanisms will improve the understanding of neuronal function and provide clues about the fundamental causes of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most abundant toxic heavy metals, is of great concern as an important environmental pollutant and toxicant. At higher concentrations, this metal interferes with the physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes of living systems and poses serious threats to living systems by entering the food chain through bioaccumulation and biomagnification. In contrast to conventional physicochemical techniques, biological methods, which use bacteria, fungi, and plants, have been proved promising as approaches to heavy metal remediation. The microbial ability to bind heavy metals (including Cd) and plant potential for hyperaccumulating toxic heavy metals provide an economical and viable solution for remediating metal-polluted sites. Coupling the synergistic effects of plants and microbes (bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi) as rhizoremediation and mycorrhizoremediation provides a striking environmentally friendly solution for remediating Cd-polluted sites. Bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi are essential components of sustainable soil–plant systems that play a role in increasing plant growth and nutrient uptake, especially under stress conditions. Therefore, soil management using biofertilizers and potential hyperaccumulator plant species as biotechnological tools has enormous potential for the remediation of large-scale polluted sites. This chapter elucidates the potential of these biotechnological tools for remediating Cd contamination from the environment.

Hydrate technology is a promising alternative method for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage from flue gas. In order to promote the hydrate growth rate and increase gas storage capacity, CO2 hydrate nucleation and growth induced by iron-based ionic liquid ([BMIM][FeCl4]) was studied with 400 rpm rotation speed at a temperature of 274.15 K and initial pressure of 5.0 MPa in this work. The induction time of CO2 hydrate formation was decreased by 52.8% and the storage capacity of CO2 hydrate was increased by 13.7% in 25.0 g/L [BMIM][FeCl4] solution. The local hydrogen bonds are strengthened by the combination interaction between the complex anion ([FeCl4]−) and water (H2O) molecules, which is favorable to the ordered arrangement and the proton exchange rate of H2O molecules during the hydrate nucleation. Besides, large mass transfer channels are formed by the large molar volume and regular tetrahedral structure of [FeCl4]− during the hydrate growth, which improves the diffusion rate of CO2 and H2O molecules in the solution to promote the hydrate growth. Distribution of lipophilic cation and hydrophilic anion with a large molecular volume of [BMIM][FeCl4] at the gas-liquid interface hinders the formation of cage structure of H2O molecules.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising research tool for brain imaging and developmental biology. Serving as a three-dimensional optical biopsy technique, OCT provides volumetric reconstruction of brain tissues and embryonic structures with micrometer resolution and video rate imaging speed. Functional OCT enables label-free monitoring of hemodynamic and metabolic changes in the brain in vitro and in vivo in animal models. Due to its noninvasiveness nature, OCT enables longitudinal imaging of developing specimens in vivo without potential damage from surgical operation, tissue fixation and processing, and staining with exogenous contrast agents. In this paper, various OCT applications in brain imaging and developmental biology are reviewed, with a particular focus on imaging heart development. In addition, we report findings on the effects of a circadian gene ( Clock ) and high-fat diet on heart development in Drosophila melanogaster . These findings contribute to our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms connecting circadian genes and obesity to heart development and cardiac diseases.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), or acne inversa, is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized clinically with acne-like lesions in apocrine gland–bearing skin, follicular occlusion and recurrent inflammation. Thirty-four unique mutations in patients with HS have been found in three genes encoding the γ-secretase complex: nicastrin (NCSTN), presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin enhancer 2 (PSENEN) and in POGLUT1, an endoplasmic reticulum O-glucosyltransferase involved in Notch signaling. We have carried out a system review and have performed a functional analysis of the 34 unique reported HS-linked mutations in NCSTN, PSEN1, PSENEN and POGLUT1. We have also examined the effects of the HS-linked PSEN1-P242LfsX11 mutation on cytokine and chemokine expression in macrophages. Mutations in NCSTN are predicted to cause loss of function, to result in loss of transmembrane (TM) domain, to affect NCSTN substrate recruitment sites, to cause loss or creation of new ligand binging sites and to alter post-translational modifications and disulfide bonds. PSEN1-P242LfsX11 occurs at the opposite side of TM5 from Alzheimer’s disease–linked PSEN1 mutations. All of the PSENEN mutations occur on TM regions that are predicted to disrupt membrane function. POGLUT1 mutations lead to an early termination of protein synthesis and are predicted to affect ligand binding function. In addition, PSEN1-P242LfsX11 mediates cytokine and chemokine expression and prolongs tumor necrosis factor α production on the inflammatory processes in THP-1 cells and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate–differentiated macrophages in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. These in silico analyses are instructive for functional studies of the HS-linked mutations. The PSEN1-P242LfsX11 mutation mediates cytokine and chemokine expression in macrophages.

Convolutional neural networks are powerful tools for image segmentation and classification. Here, we use this method to identify and mark the heart region of Drosophila at different developmental stages in the cross-sectional images acquired by a custom optical coherence microscopy (OCM) system. With our well-trained convolutional neural network model, the heart regions through multiple heartbeat cycles can be marked with an intersection over union (IOU) of ~86%. Various morphological and dynamical cardiac parameters can be quantified accurately with automatically segmented heart regions. This study demonstrates an efficient heart segmentation method to analyze OCM images of the beating heart in Drosophila., 7 figures

In cardiac optogenetics, cardiac functions of animals such as rat, zebrafish, and fruit fly, are controlled through optical excitation of opsin expressed cardiac tissues. In the last few years, this non-invasive cardiac control method has been developed rapidly as an alternative to the traditional technique of electrical stimulation. However, the strong absorption and scattering of the excitation light needed for commonly used opsins limit the optical penetration depth in tissue, which hampers the development of cardiac optogenetics. In this work, we express red-shifted opsins (ReaChR and halorhodopsin) in the heart of the established Drosophila melanogaster model,and use red-light stimulation for deep penetration of excitation light into the myocardial structures. Mmode images acquired through optical coherence microscopy (OCM) imaging demonstrate controlled heart function in vivo and in real time throughout the life cycle of Drosophila. Fast kinetics, high safety and high heart-rate adjustability were shown with short pulse width, low excitation power density, and wide frequency tuning range, respectively, in the pacing study. Stimulation power was also tuned to characterize the optimal excitation power densities for reliable cardiac function inactivation, which were proved safe for each developmental stage. Both groups of flies exhibited high cardiac stimulation efficiencies. This study demonstrates non-invasive cardiac control through activating and inhibiting heart functions of an intact animal, which is promising for scientific study and clinical treatment of cardiac diseases, such as congenital or posteriority bradycardia, tachycardia, and regional mechanical dys-synchrony.

Red-shifted opsins (ReaChR and halorhodopsin) were expressed in Drosophila melanogaster heart in order to achieve optogenetic pacing using red-light excitation. Controlled heart function was demonstrated in vivo throughout the Drosophila life cycle.

Oilseed flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) yields are primarily fertilizer-limited, especially by N supply in the semiarid regions of North China. This study was conducted to determine whether N accumulation, translocation and N use efficiency (NUE) could be manipulated through N. The effects of N on N translocation, oilseed flax yield, oil content and NUE were studied at Zhangjiakou, China. Plants were grown at 0, 45, 90, and 135 kg N ha–¹ (designated as the control, low N, moderate N, and high N, respectively), in 2011 and 2012. We found that N accumulation in leaves and capsule pericarps reached the maximum at anthesis and kernel developmental stage, respectively, then decreased rapidly before maturity. Averaged over 2 yr, N translocation from leaves to the seeds increased by 43, 150, and 150% under low N, moderate N, and high N, respectively, compared to the control; similarly, N translocation in capsule pericarps increased by 43, 243, and 190%, respectively. We discovered that leaves contributed the largest proportion of the seed N (averaging 80% in both years), and secondarily by the capsule pericarp N, which contributed 12% (in 2011) and 9% (in 2012) of the seed N. The highest seed yields were 2270 kg ha–¹ (in 2011) and 1903 kg ha–¹ (in 2012) which were obtained with the moderate N. Oil content was not affected by N. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased with progressively higher rates of N. The results suggest the moderate-N supply was adequate for promoting N translocation, and increasing N harvest index, NUE, and the productivity of oilseed flax.