Atomic defects can be generated relatively easily in phosphorene due to their low formation energies. How these defects affect the buckling behavior of phosphorene nanotubes (PNTs) remains ...unexplored. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of vacancies on the buckling properties of PNTs. We show that compared to a pristine PNT, the defective one exhibits a much lower buckling strength and strain. Remarkably, 1% concentration of vacancies in a PNT is able to cause a 30% reduction in buckling strength. Interestingly, for long PNTs, the buckling occurs via column or global buckling. As a result, the buckling strength decreases significantly with the increase (decrease) in the tube length (diameter) for both the pristine and defective PNTs, consistent with the Euler buckling theory. For short PNTs with small slenderness ratio (
L
/
D
), however, buckling occurs via shell or local buckling. As a result, the buckling strength increases with decreasing the tube diameter, consistent with shell buckling theory. Finally, with the increase in temperature, the buckling strength and strain can be reduced significantly for both the pristine and defective PNTs. These findings may provide important guidelines for the design and applications of PNTs-based nanodevices.
Three new sesquiterpene‐hydroquinone hybrids, saromacrophorins A–C (1–3) were isolated from the deep‐sea‐derived fungus Sarocladium terricola 494a, along with nine known compounds. Their structures ...were elucidated by comprehensive analyses of 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and ECD calculations. Noteworthily, compound 1 is a rare 5′,6′‐dihydroxymacrophorin and compound 3 is the first example of macrophorin possessing 4′S‐configuration. Compound 4 showed potent anti‐food allergic activity with an IC50 value of 18.9 μM.
Saromacrophorin A, a macrophorin cotanied rare 5′,6′‐dihydroxylisoepiepoformin fragment; saromacrophorin C, the first example of 4′S‐macrophorin; macrophorin D, anti‐food allergic activity with IC50 value of 18.9 μM.
In this work, the lithium-storage performance and mechanism of a designed (Ni0.5Co0.5)9S8@NC hollow nanocube composite as a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode are investigated. The ...nanocomposite is composed of a bimetallic sulfide (Ni0.5Co0.5)9S8 core and a surrounding nitrogen-doped carbon shell. It displays a superior electrochemical reactivity with an appealing specific capacity of 724 mAh g–1 at a specific current of 0.5 A g–1 cycled 80 times, as well as attractive stability and rate capability. The quantitative kinetic analysis reveals that the advanced lithium-storage performance is partly derived from the pseudocapacitive contributions. In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrates the formation of Ni, Co, and Li2S in the conversion reaction during the initial cycling. Ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrate the volume expansion of the core (Ni0.5Co0.5)9S8 active material with the essential preservation of the complete (Ni0.5Co0.5)9S8@NC hollow nanocube structure during repeating cycling. Namely, the synergistic effect of the N-doped carbon coating, the rigid hollow nanostructure, and the multiple-electron-transfer conversion reaction of the bimetallic sulfide contributes to the superior lithium-storage performance of the nanocomposite.
This study investigates the trend in general obesity and abdominal obesity in US adults from 2001 to 2018.
We included 44,184 adults from the nine cycles of the continuous NHANES (2001-2002, ...2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, and 2017-2018). The age-adjusted mean body mass index and waist circumference were calculated, and the sex-specific annual change was estimated by the survey cycle. We used the weighted sex-specific logistic regression models to analyze the prevalence of general obesity and abdominal obesity from 2001 to 2018. The weighted adjusted odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated.
Our study showed that general obesity and abdominal obesity account for about 35.48 and 53.13% of the US population. From 2001-2002 to 2017-2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of general obesity increased from 33.09 to 41.36% in females and from 26.88 to 42.43% in males. During 2001-2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity increased from 57.58 to 67.33% in females and from 39.07 to 49.73% in males. A significant time-dependent increase was observed in the prevalence of general obesity (adjusted OR, 1.007; 95% CI 1.005-1.009,
< 0.001) and abdominal obesity (adjusted OR, 1.006; 95% CI, 1.004-1.008;
< 0.001).
General obesity and abdominal obesity are a heavy health burden among US adults, and the increasing trend remains in both males and females from 2001 to 2018.
Hyperuricemia (HUA) is strongly associated with abnormal glucose metabolism and insulin resistance (IR). However, the precise molecular mechanism of HUA-induced IR is still unclear. Retinol binding ...protein 4 (RBP4) has been shown to induce IR in type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study was designed to clarify the relationship between RBP4 and HUA-induced IR and its potential mechanisms.
Patients with HUA were collected to detect the levels of plasma RBP4 and clinical biochemical indicators. Rats were fed with 10% high yeast and oteracil potassium (300 mg/kg)
intraperitoneal injection once daily for eight weeks, and gavage with adenine (100 mg/kg) once daily from the fifth week to induce the HUA model. Glucose consumption testing was performed to determine the capacity of glucose intake and consumption in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein level of RBP4 and insulin receptor substrate-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-active protein kinase (IRS/PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway-related proteins.
The levels of plasma RBP4 in both HUA patients and HUA rat models were significantly higher than that in the control groups. The level of plasma RBP4 was positively correlated with plasma uric acid, creatinine, fasting insulin, IR index, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in patients with HUA. In HUA rats, the level of plasma RBP4 was positively correlated with plasma uric acid, IR index, and triglycerides. HUA rats also exhibited IR. After inhibition of RBP4 expression, the phosphorylation levels of the IRS/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were increased, and IR was significantly improved.
HUA induced IR both
and
. RBP4 may be involved in HUA-induced IR by inhibiting IRS/PI3K/Akt phosphorylation. Our findings may provide a new insight for the treatment of IR caused by HUA.
•New methods for identifying village typologies.•Revealing the environmental risks of village development in China.•Zoning maps for village environmental management.
Identifying the dynamic processes ...of socio-economic development and environmental sustainability is an important measure to prevent environmental degradation and improve human well-being in village areas. However, there is currently a lack of analytical frameworks that integrate socio-economic and environmental security indicators in village areas, making it difficult to accurately identify the ecological environmental status of village areas at different stages of development. This study quantified the multifunctional land use and heavy metal pollution risks of different village areas using land use data and soil samples collected in the field. It then integrated land use functions and heavy metal pollution risks into the analytical framework using hierarchical clustering, which identified different types of village areas. The results show that: (1) The applicability and accuracy of this analytical framework are validated by a sample verification, which classifies village areas into traditional village, productive village, comprehensive village and ecotype village. (2) Most village areas belong to the traditional village with single production and life functions. With the development of village industries, some traditional villages become productive villages. Those closer to cities or with policy support continue to develop into comprehensive villages. In this process, the village socio-economy develops, land use functional services become more diverse, but heavy metal risks gradually increase. (3) Traditional villages should prevent pollution risks from Cd, Zn and other heavy metals. Productive villages should prevent Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr and other heavy metals from industrial and domestic wastewater. Comprehensive villages should strengthen soil remediation and remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites, adjust industrial layout. Ecotype villages should avoid the impact of exogenous pollutants on the region and develop ecotourism industries. Through the classification results and discussion of village area types, this study effectively reveals the differences in environmental risks faced by socio-economic development in typical village areas in China, and provides a basis for governments to formulate functional planning and environmental protection policies suitable for different types of villages.
Celastrol has been identified as a potential candidate for anticancer drug development. In this study, 28 novel celastrol derivatives with C‐6 sulfhydryl substitution and 20‐substitution were ...designed and synthesized, and their antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells and non‐malignant human cells was evaluated, with cisplatin and celastrol being used as controls. The results showed that most of the derivatives had enhanced in vitro anticancer activity compared to the parent compound celastrol. Specifically, derivative 2f demonstrated the most potent inhibitory potential and selectivity against HOS with an IC50 value of 0.82 μM. Our study provides new insights into the structure–activity relationship of celastrol and suggests that compound 2f may be a promising drug candidate for the treatment of osteosarcoma.
In this study, 26 novel celastrol analogues with C‐6 sulfhydryl substituted were designed, synthesized, and evaluated their antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells (HCT116, A549, HOS, 5‐8F, and M231). What's more, this study gives a new insight into the structure–activity relationships of celastrol.
The roles of gut microbiota and metabolomics in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are not well understood. This study investigated the gut metabolomic profiling of GDM rats and GDM rats ...treated with probiotic supplements. Associations between gut metabolites and microbiota were also studied in GDM rats. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to detect gut metabolites in GDM rats and GDM rats treated with probiotic supplements of 0.5 g (low-dose group) or 1 g (high-dose group) for 15 days. Each gram of probiotic supplement contained 5 × 10
colony-forming units (CFU) of
and 1 × 10
CFU of
Bb12. The association between gut metabolites and microbiota in GDM rats was investigated using Spearman's correlation. Finally, 10 rats in the normal pregnant group, eight rats in the GDM model group, eight GDM rats in the low-dose probiotics group, and nine GDM rats in the high-dose probiotics group were further studied. Serum parameters and pancreatic and colon histology were significantly changed in GDM rats, and these were restored using probiotic supplements. In total, 999 gut metabolites were detected in the feces, and GDM rats were distinguished from normal rats. The levels of 44 metabolites were increased in GDM rats, and they were alleviated using probiotic supplements. Changes in metabolites in GDM rats were associated with amino acids and bile acids metabolism signaling pathways. Furthermore, changes in metabolites after probiotic supplementation were associated with porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism pathways. We found that the
genus displayed strong positive correlations, whereas the
and
genera displayed strong negative correlations with metabolisms of amino acids and bile acids in GDM rats. The
and
genera were positively correlated with gut metabolites. Overall, our results showed that metabolism signaling pathways of amino acids and bile acids are associated with the development of GDM. Probiotic supplements alleviate the pathology of GDM through the metabolism pathways of amino acids, bile acids, porphyrin, and chlorophyll.
A new route of converting the whole of lignocellulose biomass derived molecules into high quality fuels was developed with C-C bond formation as the key step. The fuel precursors with 10-14 carbons ...could be easily obtained though direct self-coupling of furfural, 5-methyfurfural or aromatic aldehyde, the main components of lignocellulose, under mild conditions in water. After dehydration/hydrogenation, straight or branched alkanes with 8-14 carbons within diesel ranged fuels were obtained in moderate to high yield.
Endophytic bacteria can degrade toxic phthalate (PAEs). Nevertheless, the colonization and function of endophytic PAE-degrader in soil-crop system and their association mechanism with indigenous ...bacteria in PAE removal remain unknown. Here, endophytic PAE-degrader Bacillus subtilis N-1 was marked with green fluorescent protein gene. Inoculated strain N-1-gfp could well colonize in soil and rice plant exposed to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) as directly confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy and realtime PCR. Illumina high-throughput sequencing demonstrated that inoculated N-1-gfp shifted indigenous bacterial community in rhizosphere and endosphere of rice plants with significant increasing relative abundance of its affiliating genus Bacillus than non-inoculation. Strain N-1-gfp exhibited efficient DBP degradation with 99.7% removal in culture solutions, and significantly promoted DBP removal in soil-plant system. Strain N-1-gfp colonization help plant enrich specific functional bacteria (e.g., pollutant-degrading bacteria) with significant higher relative abundances and stimulated bacterial activities (e.g., pollutant degradation) compared with non-inoculation. Furthermore, strain N-1-gfp displayed strong interaction with indigenous bacteria for accelerating DBP degradation in soil, decreasing DBP accumulation in plants and promoting plant growth. This is the first report on well colonization of endophytic DBP-degrader Bacillus subtilis in soil-plant system and its bioaugmentation with indigenous bacteria for promoting DBP removal.
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•Endophytic strain N-1-gfp well colonized in soil-crop system with bacterial aggregates.•N-1-gfp abundance was confirmed by visualization, strain population, qPCR and sequencing.•Inoculated N-1-gfp shifted indigenous bacterial community in rhizosphere and endosphere.•N-1-gfp accelerated DBP degradation in soil and decreased DBP accumulation in crop.•N-1-gfp strongly interacted with indigenous bacteria for PAE removal and plant growth promotion.
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