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Callosobruchus maculatus is one of the most competitive stored grain pests, which causes a great loss to agricultural economy. However, due to an inadequacy of high-quality reference genome, the molecular mechanisms for olfactory and hypoxic adaptations to stored environments are unknown and require to be revealed urgently, which will contribute to the detection and prevention of the invasive pests C. maculatus. Here, we presented a high-quality chromosome-level genome of C. maculatus based on Illumina, Nanopore and Hi-C sequencing data. The total size was 1.2 Gb, and 65.17% (797.47 Mb) of it was identified to be repeat sequences. Among assembled chromosomes, chromosome 10 was considered the X chromosome according to the evidence of reads coverage and homologous genes among species. The current version of high-quality genome provides preferable data resources for the adaptive evolution research of C. maculatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the changes in the serum levels of Klotho, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) before and after recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment, as well as the correlation of Klotho and FGF23 with the growth hormone (GH)/IGF-1 growth axis in these children. Methods A prospective study was conducted on 33 children who were diagnosed with ISS in the Department of Pediatrics, Hebei Provincial People's Hospital, from March 10, 2021 to December 1, 2022 (ISS group). Twenty-nine healthy children, matched for age and sex, who attended the Department of Child Healthcare during the same period, were enrolled as the healthy control group. The children in the ISS group were treated with rhGH, and the serum levels of Klotho, FGF23, and IGF-1 were measured before treatment and after 3, 6, and 9 months of treatment. A correlation analysis was conducted on these indexes. Results There were no significant differences in the serum levels of IGF-1, Klotho, and FGF23 between the ISS and healthy control groups (P>0.05). The serum levels of Klotho, FGF23, and IGF-1 increased significantly in the ISS group after 3, 6, and 9 months of rhGH treatment (P<0.05). In the ISS group, Klotho and FGF23 levels were positively correlated with the phosphate level before treatment (P<0.05). Before treatment and after 3, 6, and 9 months of rhGH treatment, the Klotho level was positively correlated with the IGF-1 level (P<0.05), the FGF23 level was positively correlated with the IGF-1 level (P<0.05), and the Klotho level was positively correlated with the FGF23 level (P<0.05), while Klotho and FGF23 levels were not correlated with the height standard deviation of point (P>0.05). Conclusions The rhGH treatment can upregulate the levels of Klotho, FGF23, and IGF-1 and realize the catch-up growth in children with ISS. Klotho and FGF23 may not directly promote the linear growth of children with ISS, but may have indirect effects through the pathways such as IGF-1 and phosphate metabolism. The consistent changes in Klotho, FGF23 and IGF-1 levels show that there is a synergistic relationship among them in regulating the linear growth of ISS children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous Ni-P alloy coatings were prepared on 45 carbon steel blocks using electrodeposition method. The thermal effect and quality change of Ni-P alloy coating under heating rate of 20℃/min were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). Coatings were heat-treated at 300℃ and 400℃ for 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75min respectively, coating surface was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tester. The result shows that the exothermic peak of Ni-P alloy coating appears at 284.8℃, coating quality and elemental composition are stable during the heat treatment. Crystallization process experiences a transformation of amorphous, metastable state NiP and Ni5P2, stable state Ni3P. The microhardness of coating can be improved remarkably after heat treatment, namely, the maximum value of heat-treated coating is 1036.56HV, which is nearly 2 times as hard as as-deposited coating. The corrosion resistance of heat-treated Ni-P alloy coating in NaCl solution is inferior to as-deposited coating, but they are both much better than 45 carbon steel substrate.

Abstract: Several benzo-[b]-pyran derivatives were prepared via microwave irradiation under solvent-free conditions in the presence of In[Cl.sub.3] x 4[H.sub.2]O. The advantages of this method include simple operational process, environmental benignancy, [...]

Swarming behavior facilitates pair formation, and therefore mating, in many eusocial termites. However, the physiological adjustments and morphological transformations of the flight muscles involved in flying and flightless insect forms are still unclear. Here, we found that the dispersal flight of the eusocial termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder led to a gradual decrease in adenosine triphosphate supply from oxidative phosphorylation, as well as a reduction in the activities of critical mitochondrial respiratory enzymes from preflight to dealation. Correspondingly, using three‐dimensional reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the flight muscles were found to be gradually deteriorated during this process. In particular, two tergo‐pleural muscles (IItpm5 and III‐tpm5) necessary to adjust the rotation of wings for wing shedding behavior were present only in flying alates. These findings suggest that flight muscle systems vary in function and morphology to facilitate the swarming flight procedure, which sheds light on the important role of swarming in successful extension and fecundity of eusocial termites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave-promoted α-alkylation of ketones with cycloalkanes as alkylating agents under metal-free conditions is presented. The reaction mechanism involves the DTBP-initiated (DTBP=di- tert-butyl peroxide) microwave-assisted formation of the required cycloalkyl and α-ketone carbon radicals followed by a selective cross-coupling step. This is the first example in which simple ketones and 1,3-diketones have been efficiently alkylated with cycloalkanes under metal-free conditions through the cross-dehydrogenative coupling of C(sp3)−H bonds. Compared with previous methods, this alkylation protocol has advantages such as the use inexpensive and abundant substrates under metal-free conditions and its good atom-economy and sustainability. Moreover, the substituted ketones can be used as intermediates in the preparation of the synthetically and biologically valuable trisubstituted alkenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient and stereoselective synthesis of ( E)-4-oxo-but-2-enals through tert-butyl nitrite ( tBuONO)- and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-promoted cascade reactions of homoallylic alcohols is presented. Mechanistically, the formation of the title compounds involves a cascade process including nitration of the carbon-carbon double bond, oxidation of the secondary alcohol unit, and Nef transformation of the in situ formed allylic nitro scaffold. In this process, tBuONO is an efficient nitration and oxidation reagent while TEMPO is believed to act as a mild oxidant and a novel reagent to promote the Nef reaction that is accomplished under mild and neutral conditions. As a further aspect, the ( E)-4-oxo-but-2-enals thus obtained were found to be suitable substrates to condense with hydrazine hydrate to give diversely substituted pyridazines with good efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]