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The wildfire disease on tobacco can seriously hinder plants. Meanwhile, its pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae, can also infect over 200 plants and threat agriculture production. However, the disease usually occurs after summer rains which washes away most copper (Cu)-based bactericides, allowing the disease to invade. Therefore, we fabricate a new nanogel with high disease control and anti-erosion ability and study the effects of the reductant on the performance of the copper oxide nanoparticle (CuONP) composite nanogel.Polydopamine (PDA) is a polycation for both in situ reduction of CuONP in alginate nanogels and for adjusting the copper ion (CuThe addition of polycations (like PDA) into CuONP composite nanogel could increase the Cu

The characteristics of wave spectra in the swell-dominated seas in the Chancay Bay, Peru, and off the coast of Hambantota, Sri Lanka, were studied based on in situ measurements. According to the characteristics of the spectral shapes, the measured wave spectra were divided into single- and double-peaked spectra. For the single-peaked measured spectra, many widely used wave spectrum models were adopted to fit the measured wave spectra. By comparing the fitting results with the measured wave spectra, these wave spectra were insufficient for describing the peak enhancement or the high-frequency tail shape of the measured spectra. The spectral shape parameters were found to play an important role in the expression of the spectrum models. The peak enhancement factor γ in the Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP) spectra could adjust the peak height of the spectrum and the shape parameter m of the spectrum high-frequency tail in the Wallops spectra made the wave spectrum more flexible. Therefore, an improved single-peaked wave spectrum was proposed by combining the JONSWAP and Wallops spectra. It performed better than other spectrum models in describing the swell and has advantages in both the wave characteristic parameters and wave spectral shapes. The spectrum peak width parameter σ was relatively consistent in the two measurement stations and both around 0.24. Moreover, the proposed model overcame the limitations of the excessively high estimated slope in the high-frequency range of the Wallops spectrum; the shape parameter m of the spectrum high-frequency tail is primarily distributed in the range (1, 5). For the double-peaked measured spectra, the Ochi–Hubble spectrum was found to work better than the Torsethaugen spectrum.

This review discusses the developments in CO separation techniques in the last few decades and the gaps in knowledge it leaves, as well as sources of CO, both traditional and emerging, which would benefit from improved CO separation.

Control of plant virus diseases largely depends on the induced plant defense achieved by the external application of synthetic chemical inducers with the ability to modify defense-signaling pathways. However, most of the molecular mechanisms underlying these chemical inducers remain unknown. Here, we developed a lentinan-loaded hydrogel with a core-shell structure and discovered how it protects plants from different virus infections. The hydrogel was synthesized by adding a chitosan shell on the surface of the polyanion sodium alginate-Ca -lentinan (LNT) hydrogel (SL-gel) to form a CSL-gel. CSL-gels exhibit the capacity to prolong the stable release of lentinan and promote Ca release. Application of CSL-gels on the root of plants induces broad-spectrum resistance against TMV, TRV, PVX and TuMV). RNA-seq analysis identified that the calmodulin-like protein 19 gene ( NbCML19) is upregulated by the sustained release of Ca from the CSL-gel, and silencing and overexpression of NbCML19 alter the susceptibility and resistance of tobacco to TMV. Our findings provide evidence that this novel and synthetic CSL-gel strongly inhibits the infection of plant viruses by the sustainable release of LNT and Ca . This study uncovers a novel mode of action by which CSL-gels trigger NbCML19 expression through the stable and sustained release of Ca .

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) can release copper ions (CuData showed that the CTAC coating would affect the antibacterial activity and leaf surface adhesion of the nanogel, while CuNP content could also influence the membrane damage ability of the gel. The nanogel could depress the growth of bacteria by rupturing its membrane and show a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) as low as 500 μg mLThe CuNP composite nanogel fabricated in this work performed high leaf disease controllability and safety compared to the commercial bactericide thiodiazole copper. We hope this nanogel can provide a potential high-efficiency nano-bactericide that can be used in the leaf bacterial disease control.

Pepper blight, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora capsici (P. capsici), is one of the most destructive soilborne diseases worldwide. Between 2019 and 2020, 235 single spore isolates of P. capsici were collected from 36 commercial pepper planting areas in Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou provinces in China. A novel full set of 323 high-quality polymorphic microsatellites was obtained by resequencing 10 isolates. In total, 163 isolates with two alleles per microsatellite locus were used for population analysis and resulted in 156 genotypes on 10 microsatellite loci. The genetic diversity, population differentiation, principal component, genetic structure, and genetic relationships analyses showed an extensive variety of the P. capsici in Sichuan and Guizhou with clonal lineages, two shared genotypes, and no geographic differentiation. The population from Chongqing was differentiated from that of Sichuan and Guizhou and had the highest genetic diversity. There was no significant distinction between the populations of the two sampling years, but there was a small differentiation between the populations from bell peppers and hot peppers. The isolates from Southwest China were largely distant from the two reference isolates from the USA. The analysis of molecular variance showed that the major variance of the populations was within populations. The linkage equilibrium test, mating type composition, and oospore detection indicated that only P. capsici from the Jiulongpo district of Chongqing had appeared in sexual recombination. Overall, this study revealed that the high and complex genetic diversity population of P. capsici in Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou with uneven geographic variation and limited sexual reproductive behavior in Chongqing, potentially driven by differences in the geographical environment, reproductive patterns, different cultivars, and artificial long-distance transfers. IMPORTANCE Phytophthora capsici, a notorious soilborne and rapidly evolving pathogen with a wide range of hosts, is a huge threat to pepper production worldwide. However, the detailed genetic structure and dynamics of P. capsici in most Chinese provinces are still unclear, even though China is the world's largest producer and consumer of peppers. Here, a novel full set of high-quality polymorphic microsatellites, obtained by genome resequencing data of 10 isolates from Southwest China, was provided for future population analyses. In this study, we further investigated and established the genetic structure, sexual recombination, geographic subdivisions, interannual stability, differentiation in different types of host peppers, and member relationships of P. capsici from three provinces in Southwest China. These results reveal the genetic structure and dynamics of P. capsici in three provinces of Southwest China and help us to execute more effective management strategies in the future.

Although ε-poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) has a good potential as a green fungicide, high concentration is usually required during its controlling of plant disease. On the other hand, same problems also appeared in the study of CuONP based nano pesticides. In this manuscript, a new composite alginate nanogel (ALGNP) that containing CuONP and ε-PL was fabricated via in situ reduction of CuONP in nanogel and ε-PL surface coating. Based on the chelation of amide bond of ε-PL and Cu

Calcium is an important plant immune signal that is essential for activating host resistance, but how RNA viruses manipulate calcium signals to promote their infections remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) coat protein (CP)-interacting protein L (IP-L) associates with calmodulin-like protein 30 (NbCML30) in the cytoplasm and nucleus, and can suppress its expression at the nucleic acid and protein levels. NbCML30, which lacks the EF-hand conserved domain and cannot bind to Ca

Purpose This study aims to explore the radioprotective effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on rats' submandibular gland hypofunction induced by irradiation (IR). Materials and Methods Thirty rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) control group, 2) IR group, and 3) IR + rhEPO group. The IR group and IR + rhEPO group received a single dose of 15 Grays (Gy) (0.98 Gy/min), plus, the IR + rhEPO group also received subcutaneous administration of rhEPO at a dose of 3,000 IU/kg body weight 3 days before irradiation and then repeated every 24 hours for the first 2 weeks after irradiation. Immunohistochemistry analysis to erythropoietin receptor was performed to detect the levels of erythropoietin receptor in submandibular glands with or without radiation. Ninety days after irradiation, the salivary flow rates were assessed, and the submandibular gland of every rat was subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining with antiaquaporin 5 and anti–proliferating cell nuclear antigen antibodies. Apoptosis was examined by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUDP nick end-labeling assay. In addition, to examine the protective role of rhEPO on human submandibular gland cells, the apoptotic and proliferation rate of cells under a radiation dose of 8 Gy was detected. One-way analysis of variance was carried out to analyze the results of each group, and the P value was set at 0.05. Results Erythropoietin receptor was expressed in the submandibular glands at a low level under normal conditions but upregulated after irradiation. rhEPO administration remarkably alleviated gland atrophy, increased salivary flow rates with upregulation of aquaporin-5 compared with the IR group. In addition, fewer apoptotic cells and more proliferative cells were observed in the IR + rhEPO group compared with the IR group, both in vivo and in vitro. Conclusions rhEPO administration may be a useful countermeasure to mitigate submandibular gland hypofunction after therapeutic radiation exposure.

This paper proposes a 3-D non-hydrostatic free surface flow model with a newly proposed general boundary-fitted grid system to simulate the nonlinear interactions of the bi-chromatic deep-water gravity waves. First, the monochromatic bidirectional and bi-chromatic bidirectional waves of small wave steepness are successively simulated to verify the abilities of the numerical model. Then, a series of bi-chromatic progressive waves of moderate wave steepness and different crossing angles are simulated and analyzed in detail. It is found that if the crossing angle is close to or smaller than the resonant angle, apparent discrepancies are observed among the numerical results, the linear wave theory, and the steady third-order theory. Otherwise, the three solutions coincide well. Through analysis, it is concluded that the discrepancies are caused by the third-order quasi-resonant interactions between the bi-chromatic progressive waves. Such interactions not only could modify the wave spectrum, but could also change the wave shape patterns.

Improving the efficiency and prolonging the duration of pesticides are of great significance in agricultural production. In this work, based on the antiviral compound chloroinconazide (CHI) synthesized previously, the improvement of the fabricated CHI-loaded alginate-based nanogel (CHI@ALGNP) was studied. It was found that CHI@ALGNP showed higher foliar adhesion than CHI and exhibited a sustained release for up to 7 days. CHI@ALGNP could also continuously activate the reactive oxygen species and antioxidant levels and induce the increase of salicylic acid content and the expression of its responsive gene PR2 for a long time, thus achieving sustained resistance to tobacco mosaic virus infection in Nicotiana benthamiana. Strikingly, CHI@ALGNP could release Ca2+ and Mg2+ to promote the growth of N. benthamiana. Taken together, for the first time, we have shown the improvement of a nanogel carrier to the antiviral activity and growth promotion of small molecular pesticides. As the alginate-based nanogel can be easily applied to the spray-based pesticide delivery technology, our study provides a new strategy for the development of new pesticide preparations and the application of multifunctional pesticides.

In this paper, the interactions between extreme waves and a vertical cylinder are investigated through a 3-D two-phase flow model. The numerical model is verified and validated by experimental data. Then, two factors are considered, the global wave steepness and the frequency bandwidth of the wave groups, in the studies of the in-line wave forces and the wave run-up around a cylinder. It is found that both the in-line wave forces and the wave run-up are remarkably increased with the increase of the global wave steepness, whereas the effect of the frequency bandwidth on the in-line wave forces is relatively weak in comparison with its effect on the wave run-up. The minimum and maximum wave run-ups are located in the directions of 22.5° and 180° with respect to the direction of the incident waves, respectively. Additionally, a new empirical formula is proposed for predicting the in-line wave forces by using only the free surface elevations around the cylinder. The results of the formula agree well with the simulation results.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) function as an essential regulator in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the potential roles and mechanism of circRNAs in OSCC are still elusive. Here, this research investigates the roles and molecular mechanism of novel circRNA (circMDM2) in OSCC progression. Clinically, circMDM2 was overexpressed in OSCC tissue and cells, and the overexpression served as a poor prognostic factor for OSCC patients. Functionally, cellular experiments confirmed that circMDM2 accelerated OSCC cell proliferation and glycolysis in vitro and circMDM2 knockdown repressed the tumour growth in vivo. Mechanistically, circMDM2 sponged miR‐532‐3p to promote the hexokinase 2 (HK2), forming the circMDM2/miR‐532‐3p/HK2 axis. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that circMDM2/miR‐532‐3p/HK2 axis promotes the proliferation and glycolysis of OSCC, rendering a potential diagnostic biomarker and prospective therapeutic target for OSCC.

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Shubnikov-de Hass oscillations are directly observed in undoped antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4. With increasing magnetic fields, the oscillation period decreases gradually in the magnetic transition from canted antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism and then saturates in high magnetic fields, indicating the field-induced evolution of the band structure. From the analysis of the high-field oscillations, a nontrivial Berry phase and a small effective mass are extracted, in agreement with the predicted Weyl semimetal phase in ferromagnetic MnBi2Te4. Furthermore, rotating the magnetization of MnBi2Te4 can lead to a splitting of the high-field oscillations, which suggests the enhanced asymmetry of the Weyl cones in tilted fields. Therefore, the observation of these magnetically tunable quantum oscillations clearly demonstrates the indispensable role of field in tuning the band structure or physical properties of MnBi2Te4., 13 pages, 5 figures

A new modified nonlinear Schrödinger (MNLS) equation is derived for gravity waves with the presence of wind, dissipation, and shear currents in finite water depth. Horizontal surface currents are assumed stationary and slowly varying spatially. Using the MNLS equation, the modulational instability (MI) of deep-water gravity wave trains affected by wind and dissipation is considered. It was demonstrated that the modulational perturbation of waves is unstable or becomes unstable after several wave periods, whereas the dissipation will suppress the MI. Then, a new theoretical formula for predicting the maximum amplitude is derived to take into account the effect of vorticity, dissipation, and wind. The effect of dissipation becomes significant in strong currents, while wind can increase the height amplification. Furthermore, an explicit analytical Peregrine breather (PB) solution that considers the effect of vorticity, dissipation, and wind is presented. Opposing currents and winds will increase the height of PB. However, following currents and dissipation have opposite effects. The effects of the shear current, dissipation, and wind on nondimensional maximum amplitudes during the evolution of the Akhmediev breather are similar to PB solution.

Emerging transcriptome high throughput screenings reveal the landscape and functions of RNAs, such as circular RNAs (circRNAs), in human cancer. In addition, the post-transcriptional internal modifications, especially N6-methyladenosine (m6A), greatly enrich the variety of RNAs metabolism. However, the m6A modification on circRNAs has yet to be addressed. Here, we report an epitranscriptome-wide mapping of m6A-modified circRNAs (m6A-circRNA) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Utilizing the data of MeRIP-seq and m6A-circRNAs epitranscriptomic microarray analysis, we found that m6A-circRNAs exhibited their particular modification style in OSCC, which was independent of m6A-mRNA. Besides, m6A modification on circRNAs frequently occurred on the long exons in the front part of the coding sequence (CDS), which was distinct from m6A-mRNA that in 3’-UTR or stop codon. In conclusion, our work preliminarily demonstrates the traits of m6A-circRNAs and probed into the association of m6A-circRNAs and m6A-mRNA, which may bring enlighten for the roles of m6A-circRNAs in OSCC.

As a kind of promising nanopesticide, in contrast to traditional synthesis strategies, the application of a polysaccharide in silver nanoparticle preparation can improve its stability and avoid the usage of harmful substances. In this work, a two-step strategy for synthesizing silver nanoparticles (A-AgNPs) from aldehyde-modified sodium alginate (ASA) was introduced. The size of the A-AgNPs synthesized can be controlled from 6 to 40 nm with a high dispersibility in water. Furthermore, compared to naked AgNPs (n-AgNPs), the A-AgNPs showed improved broad-spectrum antimicroorganism activity. We found that the A-AgNPs mainly exerted their antifungal activity through the changing of cell membrane permeability and affecting the soluble protein synthesis, destruction of DNA structure, and inhibition of DNA replication. Meanwhile, the A-AgNPs showed no inhibition of rice and

Asparagine synthetase is a key enzyme that catalyses the conversion of amide groups from glutamine or ammonium to aspartate, which leads to the generation of asparagine. However, the role of asparagine synthetase in plant immunity remains largely unknown. Here, we identified a Nicotiana benthamiana asparagine synthetase B (NbAS‐B) that associates with tomato mosaic virus coat protein‐interacting protein L (IP‐L) using the yeast two‐hybrid assay and examined its role in tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) resistance. The association of IP‐L with NbAS‐B was further confirmed by in vivo co‐immunoprecipitation, luciferase complementation imaging, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. IP‐L and NbAS‐B interact in the nucleus and cytosol and IP‐L apparently stabilizes NbAS‐B, thus enhancing its accumulation. The expressions of IP‐L and NbAS‐B are continuously induced on TMV‐green fluorescent protein (GFP) infection. Co‐silencing of IP‐L and NbAS‐B facilitates TMV‐GFP infection. Overexpression of NbAS‐B in tobacco reduces TMV‐GFP infection by significantly improving the synthesis of asparagine. Furthermore, the external application of asparagine significantly inhibits the infection of TMV‐GFP by activating the salicylic acid signalling pathway. These findings hold the potential for the future application of asparagine in the control of TMV., Nicotiana benthamiana asparagine synthetase B (NbAS‐B) interacts with interacting protein L (IP‐L), facilitating the accumulation of NbAS‐B and increasing asparagine content, thus providing enhanced resistance to tobacco mosaic virus through the asparagine‐induced salicylic acid signalling pathway.

In this research, the dopamine self-polymerization was used to coat polydopamine (PDA) on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) surfaces, and we integrated the functionality and structural merits of the two components in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films at a nanometer scale. The results showed that coating PDA on CNCs led to a concurrent increase in strength and break elongation. With increasing PDA@CNC loading level, the Young’s modulus continuously increased, which could be ca. 3.1-fold over that of neat PVA film at a loading level of 15 wt%. Both tensile strength and breaking elongation of the nanocomposite reached the maximum values with 6 wt% PDA@CNC, which were 75.8% and 58.1% more than those of neat PVA, respectively. Besides, the maximum decomposition temperature shifted from 271.3 °C of neat PVA film to 278.5 °C of the nanocomposite containing 6 wt% PDA@CNC, and then was continuously elevated up to 328.2 °C when the PDA@CNC loading level reached 15 wt%. For packaging application, the PDA component contributed to the UV-shielding and radical-scavenging functions, and the PDA@CNC nanofiller reduced the permeability of oxygen and water–vapor into PVA-based composites. Overall, the integrated PDA@CNC nanofiller as an active ingredient enhanced the mechanical, thermal, and functional properties of the PVA-based materials, and hence intensified the potential of their packaging application.

Zinc ions (Zn

Background Antibacterial photocatalytic therapy has been employed as a promising strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the water disinfection field, especially some non-metal inorganic nanomaterials. However, their antibacterial activities on plant phytopathogens are poorly understood. Here, the photocatalytic antibacterial mechanism of the urea-synthesized graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C3 N4 nanosheets) against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci was systematically investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results The g-C3 N4 nanosheets exhibited remarkable concentration-dependent and irradiation-time-dependent antibacterial properties, and the 0.5 mg mL-1 concentration ameliorated tobacco wildfire disease in host plants. Specifically, under visible irradiation, g-C3 N4 nanosheets produced numerous reactive oxygen species (ROS), supplementing the plentiful extracellular and intracellular ROS in bacteria. After exposing light-induced g-C3 N4 nanosheets for 1 h, 500 genes were differentially expressed, according to transcriptome analyses. Notably, the expression of genes related 'antioxidant activity' and 'membrane transport' was sharply upregulated, and those related to 'bacterial chemotaxis', 'biofilm formation', 'energy metabolism' and 'cell motility' were downregulated. After exposure for over 2 h, the longer-time pressure on the target bacteria cause the decreased biofilm formation and flagellum motility, further injuring the cell membranes leading to cytoplasm leakage and damaged DNA, eventually resulting in the bacterial death. Concomitantly, the attachment of g-C3 N4 nanosheets was a synergistic physical antibacterial pathway. The infection capacity assessment also supported the earlier supposition. Conclusion These results provide novel insights into the photocatalytic antibacterial mechanisms of g-C3 N4 nanosheets at the transcriptome level, which are expected to be useful for dissecting the response pathways in antibacterial activities and for improving g-C3 N4 -based photocatalysts practices in plant disease control. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Long waves with periods greater than tens of seconds propagating into a harbor may be trapped and significantly amplified, thereby resulting in detrimental effects on port operations. The water surface elevation in the Hambantota Port, Sri Lanka, was measured to investigate the low-frequency oscillations and their forcing mechanisms. Results show that the port is protected well from short waves with periods less than 30 s; however, the protection against long waves with periods larger than 30 s is inadequate. The spectral analyses identified four dominant periods within the low-frequency wave range. Modal analysis based on the extended mild-slope equation shows that the measured spectrum density for some dominant periods is low because the measurement point is close to the corresponding modal lines. Correlation analysis shows that low-frequency oscillations inside the Hambantota Port are excited directly by the low-frequency waves contained within the incident waves. The low-frequency waves outside the Hambantota Port are generated from the higher-frequency gravity waves (swell and wind waves) due to nonlinear interactions. Empirical formula is adopted to estimate the low-frequency wave height outside the Hambantota Port.

The characteristics of wave spectrum in the swell dominated seas (i.e., the Chancay Bay on the western coast of Peru) are studied based on directional wave spectra measured using the technique of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). According to the wave rose diagram and the measured wave spectra, this sea area is mainly affected by the swell of the southwest direction and the significant wave height is between 0.7m-2.6m. Moreover, the wave spectra feature the single-peaked spectra and the double-peaked spectra. The JONSWAP spectrum model is adopted to fit single-peaked swell spectra. A close agreement could be found between the observed and fitted spectrum parameters. Hence, the JONSWAP model can be used to describe the single-peaked swell spectra in the sea area studied in this work. As for the double-peaked spectrum, Ochi-Hubble double peak spectrum model and simplified Torsethaugen double peak spectrum model are adopted to fit the wave spectra, respectively. Comparing the fitting results of two double-peaked spectrum modal, it’s possible to conclude that the measured double-peaked spectra can be well represented by the Ochi-Hubble double peak spectrum model.

A new family of five‐coordinate lanthanide single‐molecule magnets (Ln SMMs) [Dy(Mes*O)2(THF)2X] (Mes*=2,4,6‐tri‐tert‐butylphenyl; X=Cl, 1; Br, 2; I, 3) is reported with energy barriers to magnetic reversal >1200 K. The five‐coordinate DyIII ions have distorted square pyramidal geometries, with halide anions on the apex, and two Mes*O ligands mutually trans‐ to each other, and the two THF molecules forming the second trans‐ pair. These geometrical features lead to a large magnetic anisotropy in these complexes along the trans‐Mes*O direction. QTM and Raman relaxation times are enhanced by varying the apex halide from Cl to Br to I, or by dilution in a diamagnetic yttrium analogue., Halide influence: A new family of five‐coordinate lanthanide‐based single‐molecule magnets, [Dy(Mes*O)2(THF)2X] (Mes*=2,4,6‐tri‐tert‐butylphenyl), (X=Cl, Br, I) is reported. While the influence of the different halides on the quantum tunnelling of magnetization and Raman processes is clearly established, the Orbach relaxation is independent of the halide substitution.