The role of ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BmimBF sub(4)), on the phase transition behavior of concentrated PNIPAM solutions was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy in ...combination with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2Dcos) and the perturbation correlation moving window (PCMW) technique for the first time. At low IL concentrations, the T sub(p) of the PNIPAM solution decreases with increases in the IL concentration, due to the destabilization of the hydrated macromolecule structure viapreferential interactions between IL and water molecules. However, at higher IL concentrations, unexpectedly, the phase transition behavior disappears. This has been attributed to the formation of a stable interaction network viaintra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, two changes can be observed in the nu (C-H) region for the sample with 0.4 mol L super(-1) BmimBF sub(4). The first change is related to the phase separation of the PNIPAM solution, while the second step is attributed to an IL-D sub(2)O association, which takes part in the globule construction, probably interacting with hydrophilic groups of PNIPAM. Thus, the role of ILs on the phase behavior of PNIPAM is embodied in two opposite aspects, the "destroyer" and the "constructer".
Histocompatibility Minor 13 (HM13) is reported to participate in regulating multiple cancers. In the present study, we uncovered that HM13 was highly expressed in breast cancer and correlated with ...worse prognosis. Downregulation of HM13 could suppress breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis abilities. Tumorigenicity mediated by HM13 was also observed in the xenograft model. Knockdown of HM13 could activate autophagy by inducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Moreover, further experiments demonstrated that downregulated HM13 could inhibit PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. We then verified that HM13 was a direct target of miR-760 functioned as a tumor -suppressor in breast cancer. And the tumor suppressive effects of miR-760 could be partially reversed by HM13. Taken together, these findings elucidated that HM13, targeted by miR-760, could play an oncogenic role in breast cancer by inducing autophagic inhibition and facilitating PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. Our findings suggested HM13 could act as a novel therapeutic target candidate for breast cancer and supported the idea that autophagy inducers might represent a new approach to treat breast cancer.
Objective
This study aimed to investigate application of the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), serum beta 2-microglobulin (β2-MG), and cystatin C as risk markers in a cohort of women with ...polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) for the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed 312 pregnant women with PCOS and classified them as those with and without GDM. For all participants, elbow venous blood and clean middle urine were collected in the morning after 8 hours of an empty stomach.
Results
Logistic regression analysis showed that the ACR, urine β2-MG levels, and serum cystatin C levels were important markers for women with PCOS concomitant with GDM. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of CysC was 0.81 with the threshold based on >0.93 and that of β2-MG was 0.72 with the threshold based on >1.25.
Conclusions
Increased levels of β2-MG and cystatin C and a high ACR might be risk factors for Chinese women with PCOS and GDM during mid-pregnancy.
Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM, largely Hg(0)) in coastal seawater and gaseous elemental mercury (GEM or Hg(0)) in the atmosphere were simultaneously measured on the coast of the Yellow Sea, China in ...four different seasons (2008–09). Mean concentrations (±SD) of DGM and GEM over the study period were 34.0
±
26.1
pg
L
−1 and 2.55
±
0.98
ng
m
−3, respectively. DGM concentrations and the degree of DGM saturation (
S
a) exhibited distinct seasonal variation with the order of summer (DGM: 69.0
±
23.3
pg
L
−1,
S
a: 11.00
±
5.92)
>
fall (27.0
±
16.4
pg
L
−1, 3.50
±
2.60)
>
spring (23.0
±
8.7
pg
L
−1, 2.00
±
0.98)
>
winter (16.0
±
6.0
pg
L
−1, 0.96
±
0.39). Under typical meteorological condition with low wind speed and intensive solar radiation in warm seasons, DGM usually exhibited the clear diurnal variation with elevated levels around noon and low levels in morning and afternoon. The diurnal and seasonal variation of DGM indicated the importance of photochemical DGM formation in the seawater. A consistent low DGM levels in high wind speed condition suggested that the biological activity probably influenced the DGM formation. There was no significant correlation between DGM and total mercury (THg), reactive mercury (RHg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the seawater, indicating that THg/RHg and DOC might be not the controlling factors for the DGM formation in our study region. Based on the data of DGM and GEM and a two-layer gas exchange model, Hg(0) fluxes (in the unit of ng
m
−2
h
−1) at air–sea interface were 0.51
±
1.29 over the entire study period with 0.89
±
1.84 in fall, 0.88
±
1.38 in summer, 0.32
±
0.71 in spring, and −0.06
±
0.64, a slightly net Hg(0) deposition rate, in winter, respectively.
Gradient materials have gained tremendous attention due to their unprecedented mechanical performance. Here, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-based approach is reported to characterize the ...microstructural evolution in a gradient high-entropy alloy (HEA) produced by the shot peening treatment, which involves electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques. The gradient distributions of nanograins, nanotwins, and dislocations from the surface to the center of the HEA were revealed in detail. The present approach shows comparable resolution to traditional bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, yet with far higher efficiency and affordability. More intriguingly, we uncovered the dislocation substructures and the corresponding geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density distribution simultaneously below the micrometer scale. The strengthening effect resulted from the change of GND density accounts for the variation of the hardness at the depth larger than 75 μm. The present study provides a route to better understanding the mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of gradient materials.
Display omitted
•An SEM-based approach is reported to characterize the gradient high-entropy alloy.•The present approach shows comparable resolution to normal TEM imaging.•GND density distribution is quantitative measured by HR-EBSD.
Mercury dynamics in the process of litter decomposition is crucial to understanding the atmospheric mercury deposition to soils in the forest catchments. This work aimed to quantify mercury internal ...biogeochemical cycling and the fractionation process in a coniferous forest and a broad‐leaved forest in southwest China. Annual deposition fluxes of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) via litterfall were 40.5 and 0.10 μg/m2 in the coniferous forest and were 90.9 and 0.34 μg/m2 in the broad‐leaved forest, respectively. The litterfall biomass was the most influential factor resulting in the higher mercury input in the broad‐leaved forest. During the one‐year incubation, THg and MeHg mass in the decomposing litter increased 49 and 444% in the coniferous forest compared to those in the broad‐leaved forest, respectively. Methylation has increased the risk of MeHg mobilization to aquatic and soil ecosystems during litter decomposition. Additionally, higher mercury deposition flux but lower accumulation in the broad‐leaved forest resulted in similar mercury content in the coniferous forest soils. Six mercury fractions were determined by sequential extraction for the decomposing litter, while MeHg concentrations were statistically significantly correlated to water soluble and salt soluble fractions. The residual mercury fraction accounted for over 90% of the THg and increased with litter decomposition. During the last half of the litter decomposition, the ratio of residual fraction significantly increased, while the sum of the other ratios reduced, which indicated that litter dynamics in the internal forests stabilized the mercury in organic soils during litter decomposition.
Key Points
Litterfall mercury deposition was much higher in the broadleaf forest than that in the coniferous forest
Total mercury and methylmercury mass increased, and over 90% of the mercury was in unbioavailable fraction during the litter decomposition
Litter dynamics in the internal forests enhanced the mercury accumulation in organic soils during litter decomposition
To gain a deeper understanding of the formation and evolutionary mechanisms of a bow-shaped squall line (BSL) that occurred in East China on 10 May 2021, observations from S-band dual-polarization ...radars, a disdrometer and other instruments are used to investigate the characteristics and evolution of the kinematic, microphysical and radar echo structure within the squall line during its formative and mature stages. The results are as follows. The updraft induced by upper-level divergence and vertical thermal instability induced by the cold source at the middle and top of the troposphere provided environmental conditions suitable for the formation and strengthening of a squall line. The characteristics of the vertical vorticity at the leading edge of the squall line provided a good indication of its echo structure and evolutionary trend. The mechanism behind a new echo phenomenon—double high-differential reflectivity (ZDR) bands—observed in plan position indicator scans produced by the dual-polarization radar is investigated from the kinematic and microphysical structural perspectives. The evolutionary characteristics of the microphysical structure of the bulk of the squall line and its trailing stratiform cloud region are analyzed based on the quasi-vertical profiles retrieved from the S-band dual-polarization radar in Quzhou. Moreover, a conceptual model describing this type of BSL with a trailing region of stratiform rain in the warm sector is developed to provide technical support for the monitoring and early warning of BSLs.
The microstructural evolution of a metastable face centered cubic (FCC) Fe
40
Co
20
Cr
20
Mn
10
Ni
10
high-entropy alloy (HEA) under both tension and compression is systemically investigated. The ...results show much higher level of martensite phase transformation from FCC structure to hexagonal closed packed (HCP) structure under compression than tension, indicating a distinct tension-compression asymmetry. The compressive tests underwent higher true stresses, which further provided stronger driving forces to trigger the phase transformation than those in tensile tests. Except for the martensite phase transformation, dislocation planar slip prevails in both tension and compression, along with the occasional formation of mechanical twins. Dislocation slip dominates the whole tensile deformation, while both dislocation motions and martensite phase transformation play critical roles in the compressive deformation. The martensite phase transformation is preferred to nucleate at grain or subgrain boundaries due to a medium stacking fault energy (SFE) of ∼20 mJ m
−2
. The formation of HCP phase
via
partial dislocation emission from low angle grain boundaries offers additional pathways for martensite phase transformation. Our study thus remarkably benefits the understanding of the de formation mechanisms of metastable HEAs.
We sequenced and analyzed the complete chloroplast genome of
(family Asteraceae), a Chinese herb used medicinally to relieve coughs and reduce sputum. The
chloroplast genome was 152,992 bp in size, ...and harbored a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb, each 24,850 bp) divided into a large single-copy (LSC, 84,698 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC, 18,250 bp) region. Our annotation revealed that the
chloroplast genome contained 115 genes, including 81 protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA genes, and 30 transfer RNA genes. In addition, 70 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in the
chloroplast genome, including mononucleotides (36), dinucleotides (1), trinucleotides (23), tetranucleotides (1), pentanucleotides (8), and hexanucleotides (1). Comparative chloroplast genome analysis of three
species indicated that a higher similarity was preserved in the IR regions than in the LSC and SSC regions, and that the differences in the degree of preservation were slighter between
and
than between
and
. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that
was more closely related to
than to
. Our findings offer valuable information for future research on
species identification and selective breeding.
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