Incorporating metal cations into V2O5 has been proven to be an effective method for solving the poor long-term cycling performance of vanadium-based oxides as electrodes for mono- or multivalent ...aqueous rechargeable batteries. This is due to the existence of a bilayer structure with a large interlayer space in the V2O5 electrode and to the fact that the intercalated ions act as pillars to support the layered structure and facilitate the diffusion of charged carriers. However, a fundamental understanding of the mechanical stability of multi-ion-co-intercalated bilayered V2O5 is still lacking. In this paper, a variety of pillared vanadium pentoxides with two types of co-intercalated ions were studied. The root-mean-square deviation of the V-O bonds and the elastic constants calculated by density functional theory were used as references to evaluate the stability of the intercalated compounds. The d-band center and electronic band structures are also discussed. Our theoretical results show that the structural characteristics and stability of the system are quite strongly influenced by the intercalating strategy.
A fluorescent probe for the determination of nitrite (NO2−) was fabricated by using green fluorescent nitrogen doped carbon dots (NCDs). The NCDs were synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal ...carbonization of citric acid in the presence of p-phenylenediamine as the nitrogen source. The N content of the NCDs was high to 17.09% and consisted of a variety of functional groups on the NCDs surface, including sp2-hybridized CN, porphyrin C–N–C and amino N in N-(C) 3 or H–N-(C) 2 et al. N atoms were also doped within the framework of the NCDs. The almost monodisperse NCDs (average particle diameter = 3.67 nm) exhibited green photoluminescence (PL) with excitation/emission maxima of 360/505 nm. The PL of the NCDs was dependent on both excitation wavelength and solution pH. The NCDs showed a strong PL quenching response to NO2− under acidic conditions (pH = 2.5). The PL intensity of the NCDs was inversely proportional to the concentration of NO2− between 0.02 and 40 μM (R2 = 0.992), with a detection limit of 21.2 nM. The practical use of the nanoprobe for NO2− determination in food samples was also demonstrated, successfully. NCD-nitroso compounds formed because of reaction between the abundant amide groups on the surface of NCDs with the NO2−, which caused an inner filter effect and static PL quenching. Importantly, the NCDs had low cellular toxicity and were successfully used as a multicolor cellular imaging agent for Hepg2 cells.
One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of nitrogen doped carbon dots that emit green fluorescence and their applications for nitrite detection based on inner filter effect and static quenching and multicolor cellular imaging. Display omitted
•Nitrogen doped carbon dots (NCDs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of citric acid and p-phenylenediamine.•The NCDs showed selective and sensitive nitrite determination property.•The NCDs were successfully used to detect the content of nitrite in food samples.•The NCDs possessed high efficiency for multicolor cellular imaging.
Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent and fatal type of bone tumor. Despite advancements in the treatment of other cancers, overall survival rates for patients with osteosarcoma have stagnated over the ...past four decades Multiple-drug resistance--the capacity of cancer cells to become simultaneously resistant to multiple drugs--remains a significant obstacle to effective chemotherapy. The recent studies have shown that noncoding RNAs can regulate the expression of target genes. It has been proposed that "competing endogenous RNA" activity forms a large-scale regulatory network across the transcriptome, playing important roles in pathological conditions such as cancer. Numerous studies have highlighted that circular RNAs (circRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can bind to microRNA (miRNA) sites as competitive endogenous RNAs, thereby affecting and regulating the expression of mRNAs and target genes. These circRNA/lncRNA-associated competitive endogenous RNAs are hypothesized to play significant roles in cancer initiation and progression. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play an important role in tumor resistance to chemotherapy. However, the molecular mechanisms of the lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competitive endogenous RNA network in drug resistance of osteosarcoma remain unclear. An in-depth study of the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in osteosarcoma and the elucidation of effective intervention targets are of great significance for improving the overall recovery of patients with osteosarcoma. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma in circRNA-, lncRNA-, and miRNA-mediated competitive endogenous networks. Keywords: Osteosarcoma, CircRNA, LncRNA, miRNA, Competitive endogenous RNA, Chemotherapy resistance, Multidrug resistance
Planting alfalfa in grey desert soil can have significant effects on soil nutrient levels, microbial communities, and overall soil improvement. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to ...explore the relationship between the rhizosphere microbial community structure of grey desert soil planted with different alfalfa varieties (Aohan, WL525HQ, Knight2, Kangsai, Victoria, and WL712), alfalfa characteristics and rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties. Alfalfa planting increased the nitrogen and organic matter in the grey desert soil, and the effects in Victoria, Kangsai, and Aohan were relatively better than those in the unplanted areas and other alfalfa areas. The Chao1 and Shannon indexes showed that the diversity and relative abundance of bacteria and fungi in Kangsai were significantly higher than those in the unplanted areas and other alfalfa areas. Redundancy analysis showed that available nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as fresh weight, significantly affected the changes in fungal and bacterial communities. Variance partitioning analysis showed that soil and alfalfa growth characteristics explained 50.04% and 51.58% of the structural changes in the bacteria and fungi, respectively. Therefore, planting alfalfa changed the community structure of bacteria and fungi, as well as the content of soil nutrients, and different varieties of alfalfa had different effects on soil improvement.
Pest control heavily relies on chemical pesticides has been going on for decades. However, the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides often results in the development of resistance in pests. ...Almost all pests have developed some degree of resistance to pesticides. Research showed that the mechanisms of insecticide resistance in insects encompass metabolic resistance, behavioral resistance, penetration resistance and target-site resistance. Research on the these mechanisms has been mainly focused on the cis -regulatory or trans -regulatory for the insecticide resistance-related genes, with less attention paid to non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), and circular RNA (circRNA). There has been increased studies focus on understanding how these ncRNAs are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of insecticide resistance-related genes. Besides, the formatted endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory networks (lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA) has been identified as a key player in governing insect resistance formation. This review delves into the functions and underlying mechanisms of miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA in regulating insect resistance. ncRNAs orchestrate insect resistance by modulating the expression of detoxification enzyme genes, insecticide target genes, as well as receptor genes, effectively regulating both target-site, metabolic and penetration resistance in insects. It also explores the regulatory mechanisms of ceRNA networks in the development of resistance. By enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms of ncRNAs in insecticide resistance, it will not only provide valuable insights into the new mechanisms of insecticide resistance but also help to enrich new directions in ncRNAs gene regulation research.
Alfalfa (
Medicago sativa
L.) is an important forage legume in farming and animal husbandry systems. This study assessed the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate-solubilizing ...bacteria (PSB) on alfalfa growth under different phosphorus application levels. In this experiment, a complete randomized block design was used. The following four bacterial applications were used: inoculation of
Funneliformis mosseae
(Fm), inoculation of
Bacillus megaterium
(Bm), inoculation of mixed species (Fm × Bm) and noninoculation treatment (CK). Phosphorus (P) treatment was applied at the following four levels: 0 mg kg
−1
(P
0
), 50 mg kg
−1
(P
1
), 100 mg kg
−1
(P
2
) and 150 mg P kg
−1
(P
3
). The results showed that with the increase in phosphorus application, each index increased first and then decreased. The J
2
treatment was significantly greater than the J
0
treatment (
P
< 0.05) under the same bacterial treatment. In each cropping period the difference in each index to alfalfa was extremely significant under J, P treatment and J × P interactive treatment (
P
< 0.01). The indexes were compared by membership function. The priority order was as follows: J
3
P
2
> J
1
P
2
> J
3
P
1
treatment. Therefore, when phosphorus was applied at 100 mg kg
−1
, the mixed inoculation of Fm × Bm was optimal, benefitting mycorrhiza growth and the production performance of alfalfa.
The well-known small-molecule biothiols have been used to maintain the normal metabolism of peroxy radicals, forming protein structures, resisting cell apoptosis, regulating metabolism, and ...protecting the homeostasis of cells in the organism. A large amount of research has found that abnormal levels of the above biothiols can cause some adverse diseases, such as changes in hair pigmentation, a slower growth rate, delayed response, excessive sleep and skin diseases. In order to further investigate the exact intracellular molecular mechanism of biothiols, it is imperative to explore effective strategies for real-time biothiol detection in living systems. In this work, a new near-infrared (NIR) emission fluorescence probe (probe 1) for sensitive and selective detection of biothiols was devised by combining dicyanoisophorone derivatives with the dinitrobenzenesulfonyl (DNBS) group. As expected, probe 1 could specifically detect biothiols (Cys, Hcy and GSH) through the dinitrobenzenesulfonyl group to form dye 2, which works as a signaling molecule for sensing biothiols in real samples. Surprisingly, probe 1 showed superior sensing characteristics and low-limit detection towards biothiols (36.0 nM for Cys, 39.0 nM for Hcy and 48.0 nM for GSH) with a large Stokes shift (134 nm). Additionally, the function of probe 1 as a platform for detecting biothiols was confirmed by confocal fluorescence imaging of biothiols in MCF-7 cells and zebrafish. More importantly, the capability of probe 1 in vivo has been further evaluated by imaging the overexpressed biothiols in tumor tissue. It is reasonable to believe that probe 1 can provide a valuable method to explore the relationship between biothiols and the genesis of tumor.
To effectively identify the key material parameters of different zones of concrete face rockfill dams and improve the efficiency of parameter optimization, a global sensitivity analysis method of ...parameters based on sparse polynomial chaotic expansion (sPCE) is proposed in this paper. The latin hypercube sampling method is used to select multiple groups of material parameters, and then finite element method is used to calculate the displacement of dam characteristic nodes in dam body. On this basis, the displacement is expanded by sPCE, and the polynomial basis function is reconstructed by orthogonal matching pursuit to improve the construction and analysis efficiency of the proxy model. According to the chaos coefficients, Sobol’ indices are calculated to evaluate the influence of the material parameters and their interaction on different displacements of the dam. The results show that the sPCE model can accurately simulate dam displacement and its statistical characteristics with a relatively small sample size. The sensitivity of the same parameter has spatial variability, and under the influence of parameter levels and spatial distribution of different materials, the parameter sensitivity ranking of different zones has certain differences. The proposed method provides a new reference to sensitivity analysis and uncertainty analysis for practical engineering.
Condensed tannins (CT) from sainfoin have a high capacity to inhibit proteolysis. A previous study reported that CT from sainfoin can inhibit lactic acid bacteria activity and decrease ...ammonium-nitrogen (N) content during sainfoin ensiling; however, no study has focused on the metabolome of ensiled sainfoin. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of CT following supplementation of deactivated CT with polyethylene glycol (PEG) on protease activity, keystone bacteria, and metabolome during sainfoin ensiling. According to the results, PEG amendment increased non-protein N, amino acid, and soluble protein contents significantly (in the 49.08–59.41, 116.01–64.22, and 23.5–41.94% ranges, respectively,
p
< 0.05) during ensiling, whereas neutral detergent-insoluble protein and acid detergent-insoluble protein were decreased significantly (in the 55.98–64.71 and 36.58–57.55% ranges, respectively,
p
< 0.05). PEG supplementation increased aminopeptidase and acid protease activity after 3 days of ensiling (
p
< 0.05) and increased carboxypeptidase activity during the entire ensiling process (
p
< 0.05). The keystone bacteria changed following PEG addition (
Stenotrophomona
s,
Pantoea
, and
Cellulosimicrobium
in the control vs.
Microbacterium, Enterococcus
, and
Brevundimonas
in the PEG-treated group). In total, 510 metabolites were identified after 60 days of sainfoin ensiling, with 33 metabolites annotated in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. Among the metabolites, phospholipids were the most abundant (72.7% of 33 metabolites). In addition, 10 upregulated and 23 downregulated metabolites were identified in the PEG-treated group when compared with the control group, after 60 days of ensiling (
p
< 0.05).
Pediococcus
(correlated with 20 metabolites,
R
2
> 0.88,
p
< 0.05) and
Lactobacillus
(correlated with 16 metabolites,
R
2
> 0.88,
p
< 0.05) were the bacteria most correlated with metabolites. The results suggested antagonistic effects between
Lactobacillus
and
Pediococcus
during ensiling. The decreased proteolysis during sainfoin ensiling was mainly attributed to the inhibition of protease activity by CT, particularly carboxypeptidase activity. In addition, proteolysis decreased partly due to CT inhibiting
Pediococcus
activity during ensiling, with
Pediococcus
being significantly and positively correlated with dopamine after 60 days of ensiling (
R
2
= 0.8857,
p
< 0.05).
The concrete dam displacement monitoring model is an essential part of dam health. Due to the complicated nonlinear mapping relationship between concrete dam displacement and various environmental ...quantities, as well as conventional statistical models, neural networks, and machine learning methods fail to consider each input's fuzzy uncertainty factors. Therefore, the model's prediction accuracy is usually affected by selecting impact factors and modeling methods. This paper uses the Copula theory to perform nonlinear correlation tests on displacement influencing factors for the above problems. Furthermore, on this basis, this paper proposes a hybrid model, which uses an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to establish a regression model and uses the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to find the optimal parameters of the model. This paper takes a roller-compacted concrete gravity dam as an example. It explores the effect of two clustering methods (subtractive clustering and fuzzy C-means clustering) on the ANFIS model's performance based on the dam's measured data. The results show that the MAPE in the subtractive clustering is about 26% less than the fuzzy C-means clustering in the test stage. Finally, this paper compares the prediction results of the Copula-ANFIS-PSO model with the other five conventional methods. The analysis of the results of six models with four error indicators shows that the error in the Copula-ANFIS-PSO model is about 46% less than other models. It provides a new method for concrete dam displacement monitoring.
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