Non-reciprocal reflections of optical signals are unusual yet fascinating to achieve the imminent applications of non-reciprocal photonic devices and circuits. The complete non-reciprocal reflection ...(unidirectional reflection) was recently found to be achievable in a homogeneous medium, if the real and imaginary parts of the probe susceptibility satisfy the spatial Kramers-Kronig (KK) relation. We propose a coherent four-level tripod model for realizing dynamically tunable two-color non-reciprocal reflections by applying two control fields with linearly modulated intensities. We found that, the unidirectional reflection can be obtained if the non-reciprocal frequency regions are located in the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) windows. This mechanism is to break the spatial symmetry by the spatial modulation of susceptibility to induce unidirectional reflections, the real and imaginary parts of the probe susceptibility are no longer required to satisfy the spatial KK relation.
Hyperoside (Hyp), a kind of Chinese herbal medicine, exerts multiple therapeutic effects on many diseases. However, the role and mechanisms of Hyp in vascular pathophysiology in ischemic stroke need ...to be further established. The study aimed to investigate the role of (large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+) BK channels on the vasoprotection of Hyp against cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. The concentration gradient of Hyp was pretreated in both the middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion model and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model of primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in rats. A series of indicators were detected, including neurological deficit score, infarct volume, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), cerebral blood flow (CBF), cell viability, membrane potential, and BK channels α- and β1-subunits expression. The results showed that Hyp significantly reduced infarct volume and ameliorated neurological dysfunction in I/R-injured rats. Besides, the effects of I/R-induced reduction of BK channels α- and β1-subunits expression were significantly reversed by Hyp in endothelial-denudated cerebral basilar arteries. Furthermore, the protective effect against I/R-induced increases of MDA and reduction of SOD as well as CBF induced by Hyp was significantly reversed by iberiotoxin (IbTX). In OGD/R-injured VSMCs, downregulated cellular viability and BK channels β1-subunits expression were remarkably reversed by Hyp. However, neither OGD/R nor Hyp affected BK channels α-subunits expression, and Hyp failed to induced hyperpolarization of VSMCs. Moreover, the protective effect against OGD/R-induced reduction of cell viability and SOD level and increases of MDA production induced by Hyp was significantly reversed by IbTX in VSMCs. The study indicates that Hyp has the therapeutic potential to improve vascular outcomes, and the mechanism is associated with suppressing oxidative stress and improving CBF through upregulating BK channels.
Summary
Invertase (INV)‐mediated sucrose (Suc) hydrolysis, leading to the irreversible production of glucose (Glc) and fructose (Frc), plays an essential role in abiotic stress tolerance of plants. ...However, the regulatory network associated with the Suc catabolism in response to cold environment remains largely elusive.
Herein, the cold‐induced alkaline/neutral INV gene PtrA/NINV7 of trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) was shown to function in cold tolerance via mediating the Suc hydrolysis. Meanwhile, a nuclear matrix‐associated region containing A/T‐rich sequences within its promoter was indispensable for the cold induction of PtrA/NINV7.
Two AT‐Hook Motif Containing Nuclear Localized (AHL) proteins, PtrAHL14 and PtrAHL17, were identified as upstream transcriptional activators of PtrA/NINV7 by interacting with the A/T‐rich motifs. PtrAHL14 and PtrAHL17 function positively in the cold tolerance by modulating PtrA/NINV7‐mediated Suc catabolism. Furthermore, both PtrAHL14 and PtrAHL17 could form homo‑ and heterodimers between each other, and interacted with two histone acetyltransferases (HATs), GCN5 and TAF1, leading to elevated histone3 acetylation level under the cold stress.
Taken together, our findings unraveled a new cold‐responsive signaling module (AHL14/17‐HATs‐A/NINV7) for orchestration of Suc catabolism and cold tolerance, which shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying Suc catabolism catalyzed by A/NINVs under cold stress.
The fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) gene family, which encodes a group of fatty acid-trafficking molecules that affect cellular functions, has been studied extensively in mammals. However, little ...is known about the gene structure, expression profile, and regulatory mechanism of the gene family in chickens. In the present study, bioinformatics-based methods were used to identify the family members and investigate their evolutionary history and features of gene structure. Real-time PCR combined with in vivo and in vitro experiments were used to examine the spatiotemporal expression pattern, and explore the regulatory mechanism of FABP genes. The results show that nine members of the FABP gene family, which branched into two clusters and shared a conserved FATTYACIDBP domain, exist in the genome of chickens. Of these, seven FABP genes, including FABP1, FABP3-7, and FABP10 were abundantly expressed in the liver of hens. The expression levels of FABP1, FABP3, and FABP10 were significantly increased, FABP5 and FABP7 were significantly decreased, and FABP4 and FABP6 remained unchanged in hens at the peak laying stage in comparison to those at the pre-laying stage. Transcription of FABP1 and FABP3 were activated by estrogen via estrogen receptor (ER) α, whilst FABP10 was activated by estrogen via ERβ. Meanwhile, the expression of FABP1 was regulated by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) isoforms, of which tested PPARα and PPARβ agonists significantly inhibited the expression of FABP1, while tested PPARγ agonists significantly increased the expression of FABP1, but downregulated it when the concentration of the PPARγ agonist reached 100 nM. The expression of FABP3 was upregulated via tested PPARβ and PPARγ agonists, and the expression of FABP7 was selectively promoted via PPARγ. The expression of FABP10 was activated by all of the three tested PPAR agonists, but the expression of FABP4-6 was not affected by any of the PPAR agonists. In conclusion, members of the FABP gene family in chickens shared similar functional domains, gene structures, and evolutionary histories with mammalian species, but exhibited varying expression profiles and regulatory mechanisms. The results provide a valuable resource for better understanding the biological functions of individual FABP genes in chickens.
► The nano-meadows PEDOT was prepared using pulse electropolymerization. ► The pulsed PEDOT CE showed the lowest RCT of 1.27Ωcm2. ►The efficiency of the Pt-free DSSC reached 6.40% based on the pulsed ...PEDOT CE.
High performance nano-meadows poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were electropolymerized onto the fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) substrates as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by using the pulse potentiostatic electropolymerization method. Various pulse parameters were studied to control the morphology of PEDOT films. After optimization, a PEDOT film with nano-meadows morphology can be obtained under 1.2V pulse-on potential, 0.2V pulse-reversal potential, 1s pulse-on period, 0.5s pulse-reversal period, and total 900 duration time. The extensive cyclic voltammograms (CV) showed the nano-meadows PEDOT CE with excellent electrocatalytic activity for I3− reduction. Moreover, the peak current densities of the nano-meadows PEDOT CE showed no sign of degradation after consecutive 300 CV tests, suggesting the great electrochemical stability of the PEDOT CE. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed the pulsed PEDOT CE has the lowest charge-transfer resistance (RCT) of 1.27Ωcm2 among all CEs tested in this study. Thus, the DSSC assembled with the pulsed PEDOT CE showed an enhanced photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 6.40% (compared to 5.75% for DSSCs with Pt CE) under full sunlight illumination (100mWcm−2, AM1.5 G) due to its intrinsic superior electrocatalytic activity and high surface area from the nano-meadows morphology. Therefore, the pulsed PEDOT CE can be considered as a promising alternative CE for use in low-cost Pt-free DSSCs.
Mitochondrial diseases (MDs) were a large group multisystem disorders, attributable in part to the dual genomic control. The advent of massively sequencing has improved diagnostic rates and speed, ...and was increasingly being used as a first-line diagnostic test. Paediatric patients (aged < 18 years) who underwent dual genomic sequencing were enrolled in this retrospective multicentre study. We evaluated the mitochondrial disease criteria (MDC) and molecular diagnostic yield of dual genomic sequencing. Causative variants were identified in 177 out of 503 (35.2%) patients using dual genomic sequencing. Forty-six patients (9.1%) had mitochondria-related variants, including 25 patients with nuclear DNA (nDNA) variants, 15 with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants, and six with dual genomic variants (MT-ND6 and POLG; MT-ND5 and RARS2; MT-TL1 and NARS2; MT-CO2 and NDUFS1; MT-CYB and SMARCA2; and CHRNA4 and MT-CO3). Based on the MDC, 15.2% of the patients with mitochondria-related variants were classified as "unlikely to have mitochondrial disorder". Moreover, 4.5% of the patients with non-mitochondria-related variants and 1.43% with negative genetic tests, were classified as "probably having mitochondrial disorder". Dual genomic sequencing in suspected MDs provided a more comprehensive and accurate diagnosis for pediatric patients, especially for patients with dual genomic variants.
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•Ternary Au/Ag/AgCl nanochains are synthesized by one-step pulsed laser excitation.•Enhanced synergistic coupling effect of ternary NMs inhibits the photocorrosion.•The Au/Ag/AgCl NMs ...offer much higher photocatalytic activity than binary Ag/AgCl.•The ternary NMs can be self-deposited on the bottom after each photodegradation.•The ternary systems show pronounced long-term stability/reusability over 14 days.
Silver/silver halides (Ag/AgX, X = Cl, Br, I)-based photocatalysts with tunable energetic synergies have attracted intensive attention in solar-energy-conversion. Herein, we introduce an appealing ternary Au/Ag/AgCl nanochain with short curvilinear necklace-like nanoarchitectures via an ingenious one-step strategy by pulsed laser irradiation of metallic ions in solution. Compared with binary Ag/AgCl nanoparticles (NPs), the ternary nanochains with stronger intermetallic synergy exhibit improved absorbance capacity and enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) under broad visible-light irradiation. Then, the Au/Ag/AgCl nanochains can obviously accelerate photoinduced electron transfer and boost the separation of electron-hole on their surfaces, providing an excellent photocatalytic activity towards degradation of methylene blue (MB). Meanwhile, the enhanced synergistic coupling effect of the ternary nanocomposites also enables them to inhibit the photocorrosion under visible-light irradiation. Interestingly, compared to monodisperse NPs, the Au/Ag/AgCl nanochains with numerous interconnected NPs can be self-deposited on the bottom of solution after each photocatalytic reaction. Without the aid of extra and complicated nanocatalyst-separation procedures, then the clear-water will be easily obtained. Therefore, the unique photocatalyst possesses pronounced long-term stability, since ~ 97.6% photodegradation rate can be maintained after 14 recycling tests within two weeks. Undoubtedly, these findings will bring new opportunities to prepare high-performance photocatalysts for diverse practical applications.
The prospect of wielding surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as a powerful technique for ultrasensitive detection of organic molecules in wastewater has received extensive attention in ...environmental surveillance. Based on ultraviolet (UV, 405 nm) laser irradiation of ZnO nanorods in HAuCl4 solution, ZnO@Au nanorods with controllable Au nanoparticles were successfully fabricated and established as an advanced SERS-based substrate. The reduction of Au ions was driven by the generation of electron-hole pairs via UV laser excitation of semiconductor-based nanomaterials, resulting in the moderate overgrowth of Au nanoparticles on the ZnO nanorods. The Au composition-dependent SERS analysis of crystal violet (CV) molecules revealed that the ZnO@Au nanorods with 16.21% Au contents exhibited optimized SERS activity in comparison with other nano-substrates in this paper. Furthermore, the detection limit of light-resistant methyl blue (MB) dye molecules was achieved at nanomole (nM) level of 10−9 M (0.8 μg/L), providing ultrasensitive detection of organic pollution in wastewater. Even after twenty recycles, the excellent reusability of this novel substrate with 65% original SERS intensity was achieved by subsequently eliminating the residual MB molecules via photocatalytic degradation. Therefore, the as-prepared ZnO@Au nanorods can serve as a cost-effective, clean, reusable and active SERS substrate for ultrasensitive monitoring of light-resistant organic pollutant in natural ecosystems.
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•Photochemical synthesis of ZnO/Au nanorods with controllable Au nanoparticles.•ZnO@Au nanorods with 16.21% Au composition provide optimized SERS activity.•The SERS detection limit of light-resistant MB dye molecules reached at 10−9 M.•MB molecules can be removed from ZnO/Au substrate by photocatalytic degradation.
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•Environmentally relevant levels of PTC and dPTC reduced the fecundity of F0 parental zebrafish, especially in female zebrafish.•Transgenerational abnormal development occurred in ...unexposed offspring.•The possible mechanism was related to epigenetic modification involving DNA methylation.
Prothioconazole (PTC) is a widely used agricultural fungicide, and its parent and metabolite prothioconazole-desthio (dPTC) have been detected in diverse environmental media. This study was aimed at investigating the gender-dependent effects on adult zebrafish reproduction and intergenerational effects on offspring development following parental exposure to PTC and dPTC. The results showed that after the adult zebrafish (F0) was exposed to 0.5 and 10 μg/L PTC and dPTC for 21 days, the fertility and gametogenesis of female zebrafish were decreased more significantly than that of male zebrafish. After that, three fecundity tests were conducted in the exposure period to explore the development endpoints of F1 embryos/larvae without further treatment with PTC and dPTC exposure. However, PTC and dPTC exposure did lead to abnormal development of F1 embryos, including delayed hatching, shortened body length, abnormal development and significant changes in locomotor behavior. These changes were related to the abnormal expression of sex hormones and the regulation of DNA methylation in F0 fish. In a word, the results of this study showed that parental PTC and dPTC interference have sex-dependent reproductive toxicity on F0 zebrafish, which may be passed on to the next generation through epigenetic modification involving DNA methylation, resulting in alternations in growth phenotype of offspring.
The semicrystalline poly(monothiocarbonate)s were prepared by the copolymerization of carbonyl sulfide (COS) and ethylene oxide, an achiral epoxide, using a bifunctional chromium(III) complex as ...catalyst. The resultant copolymer, possessing perfectly alternating structure, high molecular weight, and narrow polydispersity, has a melting temperature of 128.2 °C, with a melting enthalpy up to 75.44 J/g. Moreover, an ABA triblock copolymer containing the “hard” semicrystalline poly(ethylene monothiocarbonate) (A) and the “soft” amorphous poly(propylene monothiocarbonate) (B) is synthesized by stepwise addition of epoxides. The tensile testing demonstrates the triblock copolymer may have the potential as a thermoplastic elastomer.
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