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In this study, we aimed to describe the morphological and molecular characteristics of Austroglycyphagus geniculatus (Acari: Glycyphagidae) breeding in fodder. Flour and corn-crushed fodder samples were collected from a small fodder processing mill in Wuhu, Anhui province, China. The detection rate of A. geniculatus was 100% in six samples, and the breeding density was 1.44 mites/g. Under an optical microscope, we observed that the mite body was oval and small in size. The epidermis of the mite was coated with fine particles. We found two obvious, large, and red lateral ventral glands on either side of hysterosoma. The gene sequences for internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (COX 1) of A. geniculatus were amplified and uploaded to the GenBank nucleotide sequence database. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the detailed description of the morphological and molecular characteristics of A. geniculatus. The results of phylogenetic relationships obtained from the ITS and COX 1 support the classification statuses of A. geniculatus to the family Glycyphagidae based on the morphological classification. Our study provides morphological and molecular data for inferring phylogenetic relationship of A. geniculatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrous oxide (N2O) generation during composting not only leads to losses of nitrogen (N) but also reduces the agronomic values and environmental benefits of composting. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the C/N ratio on N2O emissions and its underlying mechanisms at the genetic level during the composting of vegetable waste. The experiment was set up with three treatments, including low C/N treatment (LT, C/N = 18), middle C/N treatment (MT, C/N = 30), and high C/N treatment (HT, C/N = 50). The results showed that N2O emission was mainly concentrated in the cooling and maturation periods, and the cumulative N2O emissions decreased as the C/N ratio increased. Specifically, the cumulative N2O emission was 57,401 mg in LT, significantly higher than 2155 mg in MT and 1353 mg in HT. Lowering the C/N ratio led to increasing TN, NH4+-N, and NO3−-N contents throughout the composting process. All detected nitrification-related gene abundances in LT continued to increase during composting, significantly surpassing those in MT during the cooling period. By contrast, in HT, there was a slight increase in the abundance of detected nitrification-related genes but a significant decrease in the abundance of narG, napA, and norB genes in the thermophilic and cooling periods. The structural equation model revealed that hao and nosZ genes were vital in N2O emissions. In conclusion, increasing the C/N ratio effectively contributed to N2O reduction during vegetable waste composting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The available findings on the association between iron status and risk of stroke remain controversial. We used multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models to explore the association between iron exposures and risk of stroke in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2007–2016, n = 24,627). A total of 941 (3.82%) stroke cases were identified in this study. In women, the ORs with 95% CIs of prevalence of stroke were 0.92 (0.65–1.28), 0.66 (0.44–0.98) and 0.72 (0.49–1.08) across quartiles 2–4 compared with quartile 1 of iron intake, respectively. An inverse and L-shaped association between iron intake and risk of stroke in women was observed, and the curve plateaued at 20 mg/day. However, neither serum iron concentrations nor iron intake were significantly associated with riskof stroke in men. Our study found that iron intake was inversely associated with risk of stroke in a sex-dependent fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing occurrence of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, its molecular mechanism is poorly documented in higher plants compared to other environmental stress. In present study, the influence of supplemental UV-B radiation on photosynthetic performance and antioxidant enzymes in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) was investigated. Supplemental UV-B radiation reduced net photosynthetic rate in rice flag leaves during senescence stage. By means of the JIP-test, it was found that the potential of processing light energy through the photosynthetic machinery was slightly inhibited by the increased thermal dissipation. Furthermore, 18 thylakoid membrane protein spots were differentially expressed (5-fold or greater variation compared to the control) in supplemental UV-B-treated rice. These identified proteins were involved in various cellular responses and metabolic processes including photosynthesis, stress defense, Calvin cycle, and others of unknown functions. Taken together, these results suggested that physiological changes that resulted from supplemental UV-B radiation were linked to the light reaction, carbon metabolism, and antioxidant enzymes in rice leaves during senescence stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Precursor pastes were obtained by milling In2S3 and CuS. CuInS2 thin films were successfully prepared by precursor layers, which were coated on glasses and Mo foils substrates using these pastes, and were annealed in a N2 atmosphere. The annealed films were characterized by XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–vis spectrophotometry. The results indicate that chalcopyrite CuInS2 is formed at 200°C and the crystallinity of this phase is improved as the temperature rises. The compression of precursor layers before annealing step is one of the most essential factors for the preparation of perfect CuInS2 thin films. The UV–vis spectroscopy shows that the observed band gaps of the CuInS2 films increase from 1.21 to 1.45eV corresponding to the Cu/In ratios. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new column-switching method has been proposed for the determination of 14 organic explosives (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-N-methylaniline, 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane, 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, nitrobenzene, 2,4,6-N-tetranitro-N-methylaniline, Trinitrotoluene, 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2-nitrotoluene, 4-nitrotoluene, and 3-nitrotoluene) and/or five inorganic cations (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) using liquid chromatography linked to ion chromatography by a switching valve. The mobile phase was methanol–water (40/60, v/v) for a C18 reversed-phase column and 3 mM of methanesulfonic acid (pH 2.5) for a cation-exchange column, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the 14 organic explosives and the five inorganic cations were separated and detected simultaneously within 45 min. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) of the 14 organic explosives and the five inorganic cations were in the range of 0.0048–0.0333 mg/L and 0.0116–0.1851 mg/L, respectively. The linear correlation coefficients were 0.9971–0.9999, and the relative standard deviation of the retention time and the peak area were 0.02–0.31% and 0.51–3.64%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of organic explosives and inorganic cations in dust samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a promising electrochemical detector has been fabricated by immersing a glass carbon electrode (GCE) in aniline containing novel ionic liquid and scanning between –1.0 and 1.0 V for 40 cycles, and was used in ion chromatography (IC) system. The morphology of the modified electrode surface was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The polyaniline (PANI) film showed excellent electrocatalytic activity than bare GCE and provided enhanced selectivity and stability for the detection of ascorbic acid (AA). Separated by IC with phosphate buffer solution (pH = 5.2) as eluent, AA could be determined by the PANI/GCE successfully at the working potential of 0.3 V. The retention time of AA was approximately 5.75 min, and the peak shape of AA was satisfactory. The calibration curve of AA was linear (r> 0.99), in the range between 0.05 mg/L and 1000 mg/L and the detection limit was 23.41 μg/L (S/N= 3). The proposed method was successfully applied in the detection of AA in four beverage samples. The recoveries of AA in these samples were from 92.32% to 110.57%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing occurrence of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, its molecular mechanism is poorly documented in higher plants compared to other environmental stress. In present study, the influence of supplemental UV-B radiation on photosynthetic performance and antioxidant enzymes in rice (Oryza sativa L.) was investigated. Supplemental UV-B radiation reduced net photosynthetic rate in rice flag leaves during senescence stage. By means of the JIP-test, it was found that the potential of processing light energy through the photosynthetic machinery was slightly inhibited by the increased thermal dissipation. Furthermore, 18 thylakoid membrane protein spots were differentially expressed (5-fold or greater variation compared to the control) in supplemental UV-B-treated rice. These identified proteins were involved in various cellular responses and metabolic processes including photosynthesis, stress defense, Calvin cycle, and others of unknown functions. Taken together, these results suggested that physiological changes that resulted from supplemental UV-B radiation were linked to the light reaction, carbon metabolism, and antioxidant enzymes in rice leaves during senescence stage.

Ion-pair reagent was used as mobile phase for the simultaneous separation of chlormequat chloride and mepiquat chloride in plants. The rapid separation was performed on a Dionex IonPac NG1 guard column and a Dionex IonPac NS1 analytical column using 1.0 mL/min of the eluent mixture of 1.00 mmol/L nonafluoropentanoic acid (as ion-pair reagent) and 7% acetonitrile, and the detection was achieved by a suppressed conductivity detector. The method provided good resolution of the analyte peaks without any interference. The detection limits of chlormequat chloride and mepiquat chloride were 0.154 6 mg/L and 0.171 4 mg/L, respectively. The linear calibration curves were obtained in the range of 1 - 100 mg/L. The mean recoveries in the ranges of 96.06% - 104.6% for chlormequat chloride and 98.53% - 103.7% for mepiquat chloride were obtained in real samples. The method requires only simple sample preparation and the technique is suitable for routine quality control analysis.