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As a new type of biologically compatible material, TiO2 NPs are widely used in the industry as additives, drug carriers, and components of skin care products. Due to their wide use, residual TiO2 NPs in the environment are a safety concern that has attracted extensive attention. In this study, the ovarian cell line BmN of the model organism Bombyx mori was used to reveal the damaging effects of TiO2 NPs exposure. The results demonstrated that TiO2 NPs exhibited a dose-dependent effect on the relative cell viability, with significant toxic effects being observed above 20 mg/L. Oxidative damage analysis showed that ROS accumulated significantly in BmN cells after exposure to TiO2 NPs (P ≤ 0.05) and induced DNA damage. Further analysis revealed that the transcriptional levels of key superoxide dismutase genes (SOD) decreased significantly, while the transcriptions of key genes of the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway (P38, MEK, ERK and REL) and the downstream inflammatory factor genes (IL6 and TNFSF5) were all significantly up-regulated (P ≤ 0.05). Overall, our results indicate that exposure to TiO2 NPs leads to reduced transcription of antioxidant genes, accumulation of peroxides, and inflammation. These findings provide valuable data for the safety evaluation of environmental residues of TiO2 NPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS), the complete mitochondrial genome of thePsenopsis anomalawas sequenced in the present study. The mitochondrial genome ofP. anomalais 16,528 bp long and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. The structure about gene order and composition ofP. anomalamitochondrial genome is similar to those of most other vertebrates. The nucleotide compositions of the light strand in descending order is 29.18% of T, 27.97% of G, 27.06% of A, and 15.79% of C. With the exception of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 (ND6) and eight tRNA genes, other mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand. The phylogenetic analysis by maximum-likelihood (ML) method shown that thePsenopsis anomalawas closer toPeprilus triacanthusin the phylogenetic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eIF6 proteins are distributed extensively in eukaryotes and play diverse and essential roles. The bona fide eIF6 protein in Arabidopsis , At-eIF6;1, is essential for embryogenesis. However, the role of eIF6 proteins in rice growth and development remains elusive and requires further investigation. Here, we characterized the functions of OseIF6.1, which is homologous to At-eIF6;1. OseIF6.1 encodes an eukaryotic translation initiation factor with a conserved eIF6 domain. The knockdown of OseIF6.1 resulted in a decrease in grain length and pollen sterility, whereas the overexpression of OseIF6.1 displayed opposite phenotypes. Further studies revealed that OseIF6.1 regulates grain shape by influencing cell expansion and proliferation. In addition, OseIF6.1 interacts with OsNMD3, which is a nuclear export adaptor for the 60S ribosomal subunit. The knockdown of OsNMD3 in plants exhibited reduced fertility and seed setting. Therefore, our findings have significantly enriched the current understanding of the role of OseIF6.1 in rice growth and development., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Guo, Lv, Su, Chen, Ren, Liu, Ren, Liu, Dai, Ren and Gao.)

In order to improve the CO 2 foam stability at high temperature and salinity, hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) were added into a dilute zwitterionic surfactant solution to stabilize supercritical CO 2 (SC-CO 2 ) foam. In the present paper, the foaming capacity and stability of SC-CO 2 foam were investigated as a function of NP concentration at elevated temperatures and pressures. It was observed that the drainage rate of SC-CO 2 foam was initially fast and then became slower with NPs adsorption at the gas-liquid interface. The improved foam stability at high temperature was attributed to the enhanced disjoining pressure with addition of NPs. Furthermore, an obvious increase in the foam stability was noticed with the increasing salinity due to the screening of NP charges at the interface. The rheological characteristics including apparent viscosity and surface elasticity, resistance factor, and microstructures of SC-CO 2 foam were also analyzed at high temperature and pressure. With addition of 0.7% NPs, SC-CO 2 foam was stabilized with apparent viscosity increased up to 80 mPa·s and resistance factor up to 200. Based on the stochastic bubble population (SBP) model, the resistance factor of SC-CO 2 foam was simulated by considering the foam generation rate and maximum bubble density. The microstructural characteristics of SC-CO 2 foam were detected by optical microscopy. It was found that the effluent bubble size ranged between 20 and 30 μm and the coalescence rate of SC-CO 2 foam became slow with the increasing NP concentration. Oscillation measurements revealed that the NPs enhanced surface elasticity between CO 2 and foam agents for resisting external disturbances, thus resulting in enhanced film stability and excellent rheological properties., (Copyright © 2019 Li, Wei, Xiong, Ouyang, Shao, Dai, Liu and Du.)