Plants of the genus Taxus have attracted much attention owing to the natural product taxol, a successful anti-cancer drug. T. fuana and T. yunnanensis are two endangered Taxus species mainly ...distributed in the Himalayas. In our study, an untargeted metabolomics approach integrated with a targeted UPLC-MS/MS method was applied to examine the metabolic variations between these two Taxus species growing in different environments.
The level of taxol in T. yunnanensis is much higher than that in T. fuana, indicating a higher economic value of T. yunnanensis for taxol production. A series of specific metabolites, including precursors, intermediates, competitors of taxol, were identified. All the identified intermediates are predominantly accumulated in T. yunnanensis than T. fuana, giving a reasonable explanation for the higher accumulation of taxol in T. yunnanensis. Taxusin and its analogues are highly accumulated in T. fuana, which may consume limited intermediates and block the metabolic flow towards taxol. The contents of total flavonoids and a majority of tested individual flavonoids are significantly accumulated in T. fuana than T. yunnanensis, indicating a stronger environmental adaptiveness of T. fuana.
Systemic metabolic profiling may provide valuable information for the comprehensive industrial utilization of the germplasm resources of these two endangered Taxus species growing in different environments.
IntroductionRehabilitation services are supposed to facilitate recovery. However, there is no concrete evidence in Taiwan.ObjectivesThis study examined the patterns of rehabilitation service use and ...the association between the pattern of use and personal recovery.MethodsThirty-two community psychiatric rehabilitation centers in Taiwan agreed to participate in this study. A sample of 592 participants filled out the questionnaires. Eight kinds of rehabilitation services were included: Independent living and self-care training, interpersonal and social skills training, daily life arrangement and community life rehabilitation, physical activities, symptom management training, occupational therapy, sheltered workshops, and vocational training. Recovery was measured by the Stage of Recovery Scale. Cluster analysis was utilized to classify service use patterns among the participants. ANOVA was used to examine the association between the pattern of use and recovery.ResultsThe results revealed five patterns of use: (1) Overall middle level with emphasis on work, (2) independent living plus occupational rehabilitation, (3) independent living plus vocational rehabilitation, (4) overall low-level of use, and (5) overall high-level of use. The differences among the five groups of participants in each kind of rehabilitation service were significant (Eta2=19.2%). The recovery status of overall high users was significantly better than middle-level and low users. The recovery status of low-level users was significantly worse than the other four groups.ConclusionsThe findings imply that greater rehabilitation service use is conducive to recovery. Comprehensive use of various types of service or the combination of independent living and other types seem to facilitate recovery.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Tuning the metal insulator transition (MIT) behavior of VO2 film through the interfacial strain is effective for practical applications. However, the mechanism for strain-modulated MIT is still under ...debate. Here we directly record the strain dynamics of ultrathin VO2 film on TiO2 substrate and reveal the intrinsic modulation process by means of synchrotron radiation and first-principles calculations. It is observed that the MIT process of the obtained VO2 films can be modulated continuously via the interfacial strain. The relationship between the phase transition temperature and the strain evolution is established from the initial film growth. From the interfacial strain dynamics and theoretical calculations, we claim that the electronic orbital occupancy is strongly affected by the interfacial strain, which changes also the electron–electron correlation and controls the phase transition temperature. These findings open the possibility of an active tuning of phase transition for the thin VO2 film through the interfacial lattice engineering.
Abnormalities in prefrontal gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic transmission, particularly in fast-spiking interneurons that express parvalbumin (PV), are hypothesized to contribute to the ...pathophysiology of multiple psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and depression. While primarily histological abnormalities have been observed in patients and in animal models of psychiatric disease, evidence for abnormalities in functional neurotransmission at the level of specific interneuron populations has been lacking in animal models and is difficult to establish in human patients. Using an animal model of a psychiatric disease risk factor, prenatal maternal immune activation (MIA), we found reduced functional GABAergic transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of adult MIA offspring. Decreased transmission was selective for interneurons expressing PV, resulted from a decrease in release probability and was not observed in calretinin-expressing neurons. This deficit in PV function in MIA offspring was associated with increased anxiety-like behavior and impairments in attentional set shifting, but did not affect working memory. Furthermore, cell-type specific optogenetic inhibition of mPFC PV interneurons was sufficient to impair attentional set shifting and enhance anxiety levels. Finally, we found that in vivo mPFC gamma oscillations, which are supported by PV interneuron function, were linearly correlated with the degree of anxiety displayed in adult mice, and that this correlation was disrupted in MIA offspring. These results demonstrate a selective functional vulnerability of PV interneurons to MIA, leading to affective and cognitive symptoms that have high relevance for schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.
Organic–inorganic halide perovskites have attracted enormous attention for future optoelectronic applications because of their remarkable optical and electrical properties, solution processability, ...low cost, and large-scale fabrication capabilities. In addition to their use in photovoltaics and light-emitting diodes, halide perovskites have recently emerged as promising candidates for new-generation photodetectors. However, conventional three-dimensional halide perovskite photodetectors suffer from current–voltage hysteresis, unreliable performance, and instability. By controlling the morphological dimensionality of bulk three-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional structured perovskites, low-dimensional halide perovskites (LDHPs, such as two-dimensional, one-dimensional, and zero-dimensional halide perovskites), which have robust chemical stability and optoelectronic tunability owing to the quantum size effect, can be obtained, providing an alternative solution to overcoming the aforementioned limitations. In this Review, we examine the current state of the art and highlight the recent advances in photodetectors based on LDHPs, with a focus on their operation mechanisms, device architectures, synthesis and modification methods, and photodetection performances. We also discuss the current challenges for and provide a future perspective on the creation of LDHP-based photodetectors with unprecedented performance and opportunities for commercialization.
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► Significant grain refinement was achieved by severe plasticity burnishing (SPB). ► Strong basal textures were created concomitantly by SPB. ► Corrosion resistance of AZ31B processed ...by SPB was remarkably improved. ► Effects of texture become more critical than grain refinement when grain size was around 1μm. ► Residual stresses have less influence than texture and grain size.
Grain refinement and strong basal texture were produced on AZ31B Mg alloy surface concomitantly by a newly developed severe plastic deformation (SPD) process, severe plasticity burnishing (SPB). The remarkably improved corrosion resistance of AZ31 in NaCl solution after SPB was attributed mainly to dramatically reduced grain size and strongly basal-textured grain orientation. The residual stresses introduced by SPB were also found to influence the corrosion resistance to some extent. Compared with other SPD processes, SPB is fast, cost-effective, does not change material bulk properties and requires little changes to the industrial production process.
Six rumen-fistulated dairy cows were used in 2 trials to validate the technique for the collection of ruminal fluid by an oral stomach tube (OST). Trial 1 was conducted to compare the differences of ...ruminal fermentation parameters among rumen sites (cranial dorsal, cranial ventral, central, ventral, caudal dorsal, and caudal ventral). The ruminal fluid was collected once per day for 3 consecutive days through rumen cannula (RC). The samples were analyzed for pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), ammonia N, sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and phosphorus concentrations. The ruminal fermentation parameters varied significantly among rumen sites. Compared with the central or ventral rumen, the cranial dorsal rumen had significantly higher pH, ammonia, and sodium concentrations and lower acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations, indicating that the sampling site may be one of the main factors contributing to the difference in ruminal fermentation parameters between the samples collected via the OST and RC. In trial 2, the fermentation parameters of ruminal fluid collected via OST at 2 insertion depths (180 or 200cm) were compared with those of ruminal fluid collected via RC (ventral sac). Ruminal fluid was collected once per week at 5 to 6h after morning feeding. When the OST was inserted to a depth of 180cm, the OST head was located in the cranial dorsal (atrium) of the rumen. The ruminal fluid collected via the OST had higher pH and sodium concentrations but lower VFA, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus concentrations than that collected via RC. However, when the OST was inserted to a depth of 200cm, the OST head could pass through the front rumen pillar and reach the central rumen for sampling. No differences were found in pH, VFA, ammonia N, and ion concentrations between the samples collected via the 2 sampling methods. These results indicated that the OST should be inserted to reach the central rumen to obtain representative rumen fluid samples.
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