Display omitted
•Photodegradation of POPs by GR-based composites was comprehensively reviewed.•Recent developments in the synthesis of GR-based photocatalysts were summarized.•Catalytic mechanisms ...and roles of GR species in composites were elucidated in depth.•Challenges and future research needs in this field were insightfully suggested.
Over the last decade, two-dimensional graphene (2D GR) has brought new impetus in environmental photocatalysis, mainly benefiting from their unique physicochemical and photoelectric structural properties. Numbers of researchers have spared no effort to utilize visible-light-induced GR-based composites as catalyst platform to generate reactive species in photocatalytic oxidation technology. Herein, a comprehensive overview is presented on recent achievements of the construction and water-related applications of these photocatalysts for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) removal. A brief introduction of synthesis strategies is introduced for GR and its derivatives. Roles of GR as supports, flexible substrates and co-catalysts in composites are specifically pointed out with experimental studies. Most importantly, shortcomings (e.g., fast carrier recombination and serious photocorrosion) appeared in visible light photocatalysis and relative solutions by using GR species are clearly investigated. Based on the current research status, special attention has been paid to their promising applications on removing typical POPs, such as phenols, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and dyes. Also, challenges (e.g., biotoxicity) and prospects are discussed for future developments in this field. This paper enriches the knowledge to deeply understand the catalytic performances and mechanisms of GR-based photocatalysts, and bring better perspectives for researchers in this field.
We define the chemoconnectome (CCT) as the entire set of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, neuropeptides, and their receptors underlying chemotransmission in an animal. We have generated knockout ...lines of Drosophila CCT genes for functional investigations and knockin lines containing Gal4 and other tools for examining gene expression and manipulating neuronal activities, with a versatile platform allowing genetic intersections and logic gates. CCT reveals the coexistence of specific transmitters but mutual exclusion of the major inhibitory and excitatory transmitters in the same neurons. One neuropeptide and five receptors were detected in glia, with octopamine β2 receptor functioning in glia. A pilot screen implicated 41 genes in sleep regulation, with the dopamine receptor Dop2R functioning in neurons expressing the peptides Dilp2 and SIFa. Thus, CCT is a novel concept, chemoconnectomics a new approach, and CCT tool lines a powerful resource for systematic investigations of chemical-transmission-mediated neural signaling circuits underlying behavior and cognition.
•The authors propose a new concept of the chemoconnectome (CCT) for chemical transmission•Chemoconnectomics with genetic tools is a new approach for neural mapping•CCT research in Drosophila will stimulate CCT studies in higher animals
Deng et al. propose the concept of the chemoconnectome (CCT) as the entirety of all neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, neuropeptides, and their receptors and the approach of chemoconnectomics to trace neural circuitry anatomically and functionally.
In this study, we investigated how Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass (RYGB) enhances glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) response in GK rats and explored the potential link between RYGB‐stimulated BAs/FXR ...signalling and GLP‐1R‐linked signalling in β‐cells, a key pathway that regulates glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Here we show that RYGB restores GLP‐1R expression in GK rat islets. This involves increased total BAs as well as chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), leading to FXR activation, increasing FXR binding to the promoter of Glp‐1r and enhancing occupancy of histone acetyltransferase steroid receptor coactivator‐1 (SRC1), thus increasing histone H3 acetylation at the promoter. These coordinated events bring about increased GLP‐1R expression, resulting in greater GLP‐1 response in β‐cells. Moreover, ablation of FXR suppressed the stimulatory effects of GLP‐1. Thus, this study unravels the crucial role of the BAs/FXR/SRC1 axis‐controlled GLP‐1R expression in β‐cells, which results in enhanced incretin effect and normalized blood glucose of GK rats after RYGB.
The human brain responds more strongly to racial ingroup than outgroup individuals' pain. This racial ingroup bias varies across individuals and has been attributed to social experiences. What ...remains unknown is whether the racial ingroup bias in brain activity is associated with a genetic polymorphism. We investigated genetic associations of racial ingroup bias in the brain activity to racial ingroup and outgroup faces that received painful or non-painful stimulations by scanning A/A and G/G homozygous of the oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (OXTR rs53576) using functional MRI. We found that G/G compared to A/A individuals showed stronger activity in the anterior cingulate and supplementary motor area (ACC/SMA) in response to racial ingroup members' pain, whereas A/A relative to G/G individuals exhibited greater activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in response to racial outgroup members' pain. Moreover, the racial ingroup bias in ACC/SMA activity positively predicted participants' racial ingroup bias in implicit attitudes and NAcc activity to racial outgroup individuals' pain negatively predicted participants' motivations to reduce racial outgroup members' pain. Our results suggest that the two variants of OXTR rs53576 are associated with racial ingroup bias in brain activities that are linked to implicit attitude and altruistic motivation, respectively.
Upgrading of biomass derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has attracted considerable interest recently. A new highly HMF-tolerant strain of
NJPI-15 was isolated in this study, and the biocatalytic ...reduction of HMF into 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) using whole cells was reported. Co-substrate was applied to improve the BHMF yield and selectivity of this strain as well as HMF-tolerant level. The catalytic capacity of the cells can be substantially improved by Mn
ion. The strain exhibited good catalytic performance at a pH range of 6.0-9.0 and a temperature range of 25°C-35°C. In addition, 100 mM HMF could be reduced to BHMF by the
NJPI-15 resting cells in presence of 70 mM glutamine and 30 mM sucrose, with a yield of 95%. In the fed-batch strategy, 656 mM BHMF was obtained within 48 h, giving a yield of 93.7%. The reported utilization of HMF to produce BHMF is a promising industrially sound biocatalytic process.
Cognitive distortion in depression is characterized by enhanced negative thoughts about both environment and oneself. Carriers of a risk allele for depression, that is, the short (s) allele of the ...serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), exhibit amygdala hyperresponsiveness to negative environmental stimuli relative to homozygous long variant (l/l). However, the neural correlates of negative self-schema in s allele carriers remain unknown. Using functional MRI, we scanned individuals with s/s or l/l genotype of the 5-HTTLPR during reflection on their own personality traits or a friend's personality traits. We found that relative to l/l carriers, s/s carriers showed stronger distressed feelings and greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC)/dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the right anterior insula (AI) during negative self-reflection. The 5-HTTLPR effect on the distressed feelings was mediated by the AI/inferior frontal (IF) activity during negative self-reflection. The dACC/dmPFC activity explained 20% of the variation in harm-avoidance tendency in s/s but not l/l carriers. The genotype effects on distress and brain activity were not observed during reflection on a friend's negative traits. Our findings reveal that 5-HTTLPR polymorphism modulates distressed feelings and brain activities associated with negative self-schema and suggest a potential neurogenetic susceptibility mechanism for depression.
Recent evidence suggests that the association between oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR rs53576) and emotion-related behavioral/psychological tendencies differs between individuals from East Asian ...and Western cultures. What remains unresolved is which specific dimension of cultural orientations interacts with OXTR rs53576 to shape these tendencies and whether such gene × culture interactions occurs at both behavioral and neural level. This study investigated whether and how OXTR rs53576 interacts with interdependence-a key dimension of cultural orientations that distinguish between East Asian and Western cultures-to affect human empathy that underlies altruistic motivation and prosocial behavior. Experiment 1 measured interdependence, empathy trait and OXTR rs53576 genotypes of 1536 Chinese participants. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a stronger association between interdependence and empathy trait in G allele carriers compared with A/A homozygotes of OXTR rs53576. Experiment 2 measured neural responses to others' suffering by scanning A/A and G/G homozygous of OXTR rs53576 using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger associations between interdependence and empathic neural responses in the insula, amygdala and superior temporal gyrus in G/G compared with A/A carriers. Our results provide the first evidence for gene × culture interactions on empathy at both behavioral tendency and underlying brain activity.
A convenient, cheap and accurate method for the determination of quisqualic acid in traditional Chinese medicine
Quisqualis fructus
by pre-column derivatization with 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride ...and HPLC was established.
Quisqualis fructus
samples were homogenised in water after being crushed and degreased with petroleum ether. Target compounds were separated and detected on a C18 column using gradient elution. The recovery rates were in the range of 90–103%. Good linearity within the range of 0.2–20 mg/mL for quisqualic acid with correlation coefficients of ≥0.98 was observed. The relative standard deviations (
RSDs
) of the within-day and between-day retention time precisions were 0.15–0.17% and 0.8–0.9%, respectively. The RSDs of the within-day and between-day integrated area precisions were 2.3–6.4% and 4.8–9.8%, respectively. The concentrations of quisqualic acid (1.5 mg/g) from
Quisqualis fructus
were conveniently measured without any expensive photodiode array detector but with a common UV–visible detector.
Adenylyl cyclase 8 (ADCY8) and Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) have been identified in pancreatic β-cells and play important roles in insulin secretion. But the mechanisms underlying with respect to the ...regulation of ADCY8 expression in β-cells, particularly whether FXR is involved, remain unexplored. We now show that ADCY8 expression is decreased in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat islets compared with healthy Wistar controls. We also found that reduced ADCY8 is associated with decreased expression of FXR. Consistently, ADCY8 expression was suppressed by the knockdown of FXR in INS-1 832/13 cells, as well as the islets from FXR knockout mice. On the contrary, ADCY8 expression was increased in FXR-overexpressed INS-1 832/13 cells or in the case of FXR activation. Mechanistically, FXR directly binds to Adcy8 promoter and recruits the histone acetyltransferase Steroid Receptor Coactivator 1 (SRC1), thereby resulting in the increased acetylation of histone H3 in Adcy8 locus, promoting Adcy8 gene transcription in β-cells. Thus, this study indicates that FXR is a critical transcription factor that mediates ADCY8 expression in pancreatic β-cells and has characterized the chromatin modification associated with Adcy8 transcription.
In the process of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed transglycosylation, the synthesis of uridine diphosphate sugars is generally thermodynamically disfavored. This study found that GT
BP1
from
Bacillus ...pumilus
BF1 displayed the potential to reversely synthesize uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG, UDP-glucose), which catalyzed the deglycosylation of ponasteroside A and the transglycosylation of phenolic compounds in one-pot reaction. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis of GT
BP1
and other GTs with reversible glycosylation ability were also implemented. Using solvent engineering strategy, the reaction time in water-organic biphasic was shortened and the conversion was improved. The final conversion of ponasterone A was reached 93.4%, and the final yield of ferulic acid glycoside was 92.7%. Using the fed-batch technology with the coupled reaction, the cumulative product of ponasterone A was about 1.97 g/L, and the level of produced ferulic acid glycoside was about 1.52 g/L. The substrate specificity of the GT
BP1
was also confirmed. It implies the diversity of GT
BP1
’s ability to construct UDP cycles.
PDF
