As a new protein class of semiochemical binding and transporting, Niemann-Pick proteins type C2 (NPC2) in arthropods have received more attentions in recent decade. However, the gene function has not ...been studied in phytoseiid mites with biocontrol potential. In the current study, we cloned a NPC2 gene
PpNPC2a
from the transcriptome of
Phytoseiulus persimilis
Athias-Henriot. By encoding 181 amino acids with a conserved ML domain,
PpNPC2a
was found a homolog of
NPC2-1
in
Galendromus occidentalis
Nesbitt. We then measured the spatio-temporal expression of
PpNPC2a
in
P. persimilis
, and found the highest expression in female adults compared to other stages. Due to the tiny body size of predatory mites, we only examined tissue expressions in two sections: the anterior part (gnathosoma and the first pair of legs) and the posterior part (idiosoma without the first pair of legs). Higher transcription of
PpNPC2a
was found in the posterior part. To investigate the potential function of
PpNPC2a
in
P. persimilis
, we interfered gene expression in female adults by feeding dsRNA, which resulted in a decrease of relative expression by 59.1 and 78.2% after 24 and 72 h, respectively. Compared with the control, dsNPC2a-treated
P. persimilis
were insensitive to the scent of leaves or plants infested by spider mites, suggesting a role of
PpNPC2a
in response to plant volatiles. However, the dsNPC2a-interfered mites could still respond to four representative compounds of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, including 4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene (TMTT), methyl salicylate (MeSA), β-caryophyllene and linalool. In short, our results indicated
PpNPC2a
may be involved in the chemosensory process of
P. persimilis
in response to whole-plant volatiles.
•Low frequency stimulation-induced LTD modulates SHP2 pY542 and GluA1 pS845 levels in hippocampus.•SHP2 pY542 level is down-regulated by low dose NMDA induced cLTD at the time point of 10 min but not ...5 min post-stimulation.•Blockade of NMDA receptor hampers the decrease in SHP2 pY542 and GluA1 pS845 level in cLTD.•Noonan syndrome-associated SHP2 D61G mutant exerts minimal effects on removal of surface AMPA receptors during cLTD.
Hebbian-type synaptic plasticity which includes long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD), is the main cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory. Effective activity and synaptic content of tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 are required for AMPA receptor trafficking during LTP. However, the role of SHP2 in LTD has not been fully elucidated. This study shows that the phosphorylation level of SHP2 at Y542 decreased after LTD induction either in hippocampal cultures or acute CA1 mini slices. This change occurred at least 10 min after LTD induction and was alleviated by administration of NMDA receptor antagonist, APV. Furthermore, the SHP2 mutant (D61G), found in Noonan syndrome patients, prevented the removal of surface AMPA receptors during chemical-induced LTD on cultured hippocampal neurons. The results revealed a molecular basis of regulatory role of SHP2 in long term depression, thus expands our understanding of the SHP2 function in learning and memory.
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Lithium–sulfur batteries have great potential for next-generation electrochemical storage systems owing to their high theoretical specific energy and cost-effectiveness. However, the ...shuttle effect of soluble polysulfides and sluggish multi-electron sulfur redox reactions has severely impeded the implementation of lithium–sulfur batteries. Herein, we prepared a new type of Ti3C2-TiO2 heterostructure sandwich nanosheet confined within polydopamine derived N-doped porous carbon. The highly polar heterostructures sandwich nanosheet with a high specific surface area can strongly absorb polysulfides, restraining their outward diffusion into the electrolyte. Abundant boundary defects constructed by new types of heterostructures reduce the overpotential of nucleation and improve the nucleation/conversion redox kinetics of Li2S. The Ti3C2–TiO2@NC/S cathode exhibited discharge capacities of 1363, and 801 mAh g−1 at the first and 100th cycles at 0.5C, respectively, and retained an ultralow capacity fade rate of 0.076% per cycle over 500cycles at 1.0C. This study provides a potential avenue for constructing heterostructure materials for electrochemical energy storage and catalysis.
•Effects of fluctuated water pressure on emitter clogging degree was defined.•The mechanism and path of fluctuated pressure in controlling clogging was revealed.•Appropriate model of fluctuated ...pressure in controlling emitter clogging was put forwarded.
Emitter clogging is one of the bottlenecks that restricts the application and promotion of drip irrigation technology. Applying intermittent fluctuated water pressure is regarded as an effective way to overcome drip irrigation emitter clogging when using high sediment water. Therefore, a drip irrigation experiment using Yellow River water was carried out at Deng Kou County, Inner Mongolia, China, to study emitter clogging controlling effects of three fluctuation patterns. The control group (CG) operation pressure was 40 kPa, and three intermittent fluctuated water pressure modes were 40 kPa + fluctuating water pressure for 1 h (FP1 h), 2 h (FP2 h), and 4 h (FP4 h), respectively. The system was fluctuated once every 16 h, and the amplitude of the fluctuating water pressure was 80–100 kPa with a cycle of 40 s. The characteristics of the sediment size and mineral components of clogging substances found in emitters and laterals were also analyzed. The results showed that intermittent fluctuated water pressure not only directly changed the flow velocity distribution in the emitter flow path to reduce the deposition of clogging substances, but also controlled the formation of clogging substances inside the laterals to avoid enhanced emitter clogging by transporting into the emitter. The intermittent fluctuated operating pressure could effectively reduce contents of emitter clogging substance in drip irrigation, and the longer period it was applied, the better controlling effect was observed. Comparing with the CG, applying intermittent fluctuated water pressure with constant period of 4 h would reduce the total clogging substance contents by 26%. The clay and powder particles were reduced by 56% and 34%, respectively. Meanwhile the quartz, silicate, calcium magnesium and carbonate in the clogging substances decreased by 36%, 35%, and 11%, respectively. Thus, the discharge ratio variation coefficient (Dra) and Christiansen Uniformity coefficient (CU) increased by 10.1–16.7% and 8.9–14.2%, correspondingly. These results could provide references for the application and promotion of drip irrigation technology using water with high sediment load.
The operation patterns of drip irrigation fertigation system have significant impacts on the emitter clogging. Exploring the dynamic variation and influence mechanism of mineral components in ...clogging substances under different operation patterns can provide suitable guidance for fertigation management models. In this study, an emitter clogging experiment was conducted through three operating irrigation patterns (once per day, OP
1/1
; once every 4 days, OP
1/4
; once every 7 days, OP
1/7
) by running high-sediment surface water under the potassium dihydrogen phosphate (PDP) fertigation. The X-ray diffractometer was used to identify the mineral components. The results indicated that the primary mineral components in the emitter clogging materials were quartz, silicate, and carbonate and their contents accounted for more than 97% of the total. The components showed a dynamic process of slow growth followed by rapid growth. And there was a significant correlation between mineral compositions and the clogging degree (
R
2
> 0.86). The application of PDP fertilizer did not generate phosphate precipitation in the emitters directly, but accelerated the carbonates precipitation through adsorption influence of phosphate fertilizers instead. The contents of quartz, silicate, and carbonate were at their highest levels in OF
1/7
followed by OP
1/4
, and then at their lowest in OP
1/1
due to the difference time of applying P fertilizer time in three operating patterns. Both the relative discharge (Dra) and uniformity coefficient (CU) of the drip emitters also showed similar trends for the all eight types of emitters that were tested in this experiment.
The utilization of waste materials to control phosphorus (P) pollution has been intensively studied as a promising strategy to achieve sustainable wastewater treatment. Although many methods are ...proposed and investigated to develop modified waste-based adsorbents, a core yet still-debated issue is their effectiveness and viability in real-world applications. Therefore, this critical review summarizes the current research state on the use of waste materials and their modified forms as adsorbents for dissolved reactive P removal from wastewater. Various performance improvement methods are compiled into the research outcomes to highlight three significant efforts that scientists have contributed to promoting the application of waste-based adsorbents: (i) how to enhance the P removal efficiency; (ii) how to scale up implementation; and (iii) how to achieve sustainable management. Furthermore, this review proposes a paradigm of waste-based absorbent in the P removal process to systematically formulate a complete sustainable management strategy for practical application. Overall, this review offers a guide for the development and application of waste-based adsorbents for P removal from wastewater.
Aphelinus mali (Haldeman) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in China is comprised of two clades (termed, the Shandong and Liaoning clades). In order to clarify the genetic relationship between these two ...clades, we compared and analyzed the morphological characteristics and the mitochondrial genome of each, and performed a hybridization experiment. Morphological results showed that both males and females of the Liaoning clade were larger than Shandong clade, in terms of whole body, abdominal, wing and antennal lengths, however, there were no significant differences between clades for total length of the middle or hind leg of females. The length of the mitochondrial genome of the Shandong clade was 14415 bp and, for the Liaoning clade, it was 14804 bp. Each contained 31 genes, including 13 protein-encoded genes, 16 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. The highest AT level among the 13 protein-coding genes for the two clades were the same gene (ATP8) (Shandong clade, 91.52%; Liaoning clade, 90.91%). By hybridization and backcrossing, we found that there was no cross incompatibility between these two clades of A. mali. Our results indicate that the historic geographical isolation between these clades has not yet caused reproductive isolation of these populations, and they belong to the same species.
•CRI can as sess anti-clogging ability of emitters using low-quality watersrapidly and accurately.•CRI can be predicted directly with two dimensionless structural emitter parameters•CRI do es not ...depend on water sources or working conditions.•CRI shows an accuracy of >86% in assessing the anti-clogging ability of flat emitters.
Drip irrigation is considered as one of the most suitable methods to utilize multiple low-quality water sources. However, the emitter clogging issue caused has become the main constraint for its application and promotion, which possibly leads to system failure if it becomes uncontrollably acute. How to select the anti-clogging emitter product precisely, in order to improve the system functionality and extend the service life, is the premise of increasing the sustainability of drip irrigation systems broadly used for agriculture and landscape irrigation. Therefore, drip irrigation emitter clogging experiments using three types of low-quality water sources (including water with high sediment and salinity loads and their mixture with the same volume ratio) were conducted. Under the fourteen working conditions included in the present study, the discharge variation rate (Dra), Christiansen coefficient of uniformity (CU) and emitter clogging substances (ECS) of the referenced emitter all showed linear correlations with the other eight types of emitters used in this paper, and the regression slopes were referred to as the anti-clogging relative index (CRI). The relative magnitudes of CRI_Dra, CRI_CU and CRI_ECS could effectively represent the anti-clogging abilities of different emitters. Instead of being affected by the different working conditions or water quality parameters, the differences in CRI were mainly due to the emitter structural characteristics. Two dimensionless parameters of emitter flow paths (W/D and A1/2/L) were significantly correlated to the relative magnitudes of CRI, and thus these two parameters directly allowed for assessing of the anti-clogging ability of emitters. The model established could provide an accurate method for the selection of anti-clogging drip emitter products in a rapid way, which is beneficial for the safe, high-efficiency and long-time running of the drip irrigation system using low-quality water sources.
Serine protease inhibitors (serpins) appear to be ubiquitous in almost all living organisms, with a conserved structure and varying functions. Serpins can modulate immune responses by negatively ...regulating serine protease activities strictly and precisely. The codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), a major invasive pest in China, can cause serious economic losses. However, knowledge of serpin genes in this insect remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed a systematic analysis of the serpin genes in C. pomonella, obtaining 26 serpins from the C. pomonella genome. Subsequently, their sequence features, evolutionary relationship, and expression pattern were characterized. Comparative analysis revealed the evolution of a number of serpin genes in Lepidoptera. Importantly, the evolutionary relationship and putative roles of serpin genes in C. pomonella were revealed. Additionally, selective pressure analysis found amino acid sites with strong evidence of positive selection. Interestingly, the serpin1 gene possessed at least six splicing isoforms with distinct reactive-center loops, and these isoforms were experimentally validated. Furthermore, we observed a subclade expansion of serpins, and these genes showed high expression in multiple tissues, suggesting their important roles in C. pomonella. Overall, this study will enrich our knowledge of the immunity of C. pomonella and help to elucidate the role of serpins in the immune response.
Human class I homeobox A13 (HOXA13) was initially identified as a transcription factor and has an important role in embryonic development and malignant transformation. However, the clinical ...significance and the molecular mechanisms of HOXA13 in colon cancer development and progression are still unknown. In this study, we found that HOXA13 was highly expressed in colon cancer tissues, and its expression was associated with histological grade, T stage, N stage and tumour size. In vitro studies showed that HOXA13 promoted colon cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that HOXA13 expression was positively correlated with the WNT signalling pathway. In vitro studies showed that HOXA13 promoted the malignant phenotype of colon cancer cells by facilitating the nuclear translocation of β-Catenin. Moreover, XAV939, an inhibitor of β-Catenin, reversed the HOXA13-mediated effects on invasion and proliferation of colon cancer cells. In vivo studies further verified that HOXA13 promoted tumour formation through the Wnt/β-Catenin pathway. Collectively, these results suggest that HOXA13 is a potential oncogene that functions by promoting the nuclear translocation of β-Catenin, thereby maintaining the proliferation and metastasis of colon cancer.
•High expression of HOXA13 was closely associated with poor survival in colon cancer patients.•Overexpression of HOXA13 activated the Wnt signaling pathway via promoting the translocation of β-catenin from cytoplasm to nucleus.
