A novel nanoscale photocatalyst CNTs/P-TiO₂ was successfully prepared by hydrothermal method. The morphology and the physicochemical properties of the prepared samples were investigated using TEM, ...XPS, XRD, BET, FTIR, TG-DSC and UV–vis DRS spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye. The results demonstrated that CNTs/P-TiO₂ nanoparticles could effectively photodegrade MO not only under UV irradiation but also under visible-light (VL) irradiation. The MO degradation performance on CNTs/P-TiO₂ was superior to that of the commercial P25. The optimal mass ratio of CNTs to P-TiO₂ in the nanocomposite catalyst was 5:100. The synergetic effect was discussed in terms of different roles played by phosphorus doping and introducing CNTs into the composite catalysts.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) evolve more rapidly than mRNAs. Whether conserved lncRNAs undergo conserved processing, localization, and function remains unexplored. We report differing subcellular ...localization of lncRNAs in human and mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). A significantly higher fraction of lncRNAs is localized in the cytoplasm of hESCs than in mESCs. This turns out to be important for hESC pluripotency. FAST is a positionally conserved lncRNA but is not conserved in its processing and localization. In hESCs, cytoplasm-localized hFAST binds to the WD40 domain of the E3 ubiquitin ligase β-TrCP and blocks its interaction with phosphorylated β-catenin to prevent degradation, leading to activated WNT signaling, required for pluripotency. In contrast, mFast is nuclear retained in mESCs, and its processing is suppressed by the splicing factor PPIE, which is highly expressed in mESCs but not hESCs. These findings reveal that lncRNA processing and localization are previously under-appreciated contributors to the rapid evolution of function.
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•Subcellular localization of conserved lncRNAs is different in hESCs and mESCs•Cytoplasmic hFAST but not nuclear mFast promotes WNT signaling in hESC pluripotency•PPIE regulates distinct FAST processing in hESCs and mESCs•RNA processing and localization contribute to lncRNA functional evolution
A pair of lncRNA orthologs exhibits different subcellular localization in human and murine ESCs because of differential RNA processing, which, in turn, leads to their functional divergence in the context of pluripotency regulation. The findings highlight how conserved lncRNAs may achieve functional evolution through non-conserved RNA processing.
Adoption of biotech crops engineered to express insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has revolutionized insect pest control in agriculture. For continuing effective application and ...development of the environmentally friendly Bt biotechnology, it is fundamental to understand pathways of toxicity of Bt toxins in insects. In this study, mutations were introduced in the midgut cadherin gene in the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, by CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis. T. ni strains with mutations in the genes of two major receptors for Bt toxins, the midgut cadherin and ABCC2, and three Cry1A toxins with shared and differential midgut binding sites were used as an experimental system to dissect the roles of the cadherin and ABCC2 in the pathways of toxicity of Bt toxins. Results from assays of responses of the T. ni strains to different Bt toxins revealed that the cadherin and ABCC2 play independent roles in the mode of action of Cry1A toxins and that Bt toxins exert insecticidal activity through multiple redundant pathways of toxicity in insects. Besides the cadherin and ABCC2 pathways, there exists an additional major pathway of toxicity to be identified for Cry1Aa. The results also confirmed that the toxicity of Cry2Ab involves neither the cadherin nor the ABCC2 protein. The multiple pathway model for Bt toxins clarified from this study provided new insights into the molecular modes of action of Bt toxins and mechanisms of insect resistance to Bt toxins.
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•Trichoplusia ni strains with mutations in the midgut cadherin gene were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis.•Roles of midgut cadherin and ABCC2 in mode of action of Bt toxins were functionally dissected in T. ni.•The midgut cadherin and ABCC2 play independent roles in the mode of action of Cry1A toxins.•Bt toxins exert insecticidal activity through multiple independent pathways of toxicity in insects.
The fracture behaviour and crack propagation features of coal under coupled static-dynamic loading conditions are important when evaluating the dynamic failure of coal. In this study, coupled ...static-dynamic loading tests are conducted on Brazilian disc (BD) coal specimens using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The effects of the static axial pre-stress and loading rate on the dynamic tensile strength and crack propagation characteristics of BD coal specimens are studied. The average dynamic indirect tensile strength of coal specimens increases first and then decreases with the static axial pre-stress increasing. When no static axial pre-stress is applied, or the static axial pre-stress is 30% of the static tensile strength, the dynamic indirect tensile strength of coal specimens shows an increase trend as the loading rate increases. When the static axial pre-stress is 60% of the static tensile strength, the dynamic indirect tensile strength shows a fluctuant trend as the loading rate increases. According to the crack propagation process of coal specimens recorded by high-speed camera, the impact velocity influences the mode of crack propagation, while the static axial pre-stress influences the direction of crack propagation. The failure of coal specimens is a coupled tensile-shear failure under high impact velocity. When there is no static axial pre-stress, tensile cracks occur in the vertical loading direction. When the static axial pre-stress is applied, the number of cracks perpendicular to the loading direction decreases, and more cracks occur in the parallel loading direction.
The emergence of the first three lineages during development is orchestrated by a network of transcription factors, which are best characterized in mice. However, the role and regulation of these ...factors are not completely conserved in other mammals, including human and cattle. Here, we establish a gene inactivation system with a robust efficiency by introducing premature codon with cytosine base editors in bovine early embryos. By using this approach, we have determined the functional consequences of three critical lineage-specific genes (SOX2, OCT4 and CDX2) in bovine embryos. In particular, SOX2 knockout results in a failure of the establishment of pluripotency in blastocysts. Indeed, OCT4 level is significantly reduced and NANOG barely detectable. Furthermore, the formation of primitive endoderm is compromised with few SOX17 positive cells. RNA-seq analysis of single blastocysts (day 7.5) reveals dysregulation of 2074 genes, among which 90% are up-regulated in SOX2-null blastocysts. Intriguingly, more than a dozen lineage-specific genes, including OCT4 and NANOG, are down-regulated. Moreover, SOX2 level is sustained in the trophectoderm in absence of CDX2. However, OCT4 knockout does not affect the expression of SOX2. Overall, we propose that SOX2 is indispensable for OCT4 and NANOG expression and CDX2 represses the expression of SOX2 in the trophectoderm in cattle, which are all in sharp contrast with results in mice.
•Increased temperature affects starch anabolism and further affected quality traits.•Under elevated temperature, nitrogen decreased the starch particle-size induced chalky rice.•Nitrogen regulates ...starch structure to further affect quality under elevated temperature.•Adjusting nitrogen fertilizer use likely mitigates quality deterioration under climate warming.
Relevant evidence of rice quality responses to increased temperatures under field condition has been obtained in our previous study. Understanding the intrinsic mechanism of increased temperatures and fertilizer treatment in regulating rice quality formation will be contributed to the development of mitigation measures suitable for actual field operations and to cope with climate warming. This study investigated the potential role of nitrogen fertilizer in regulating the rice quality under field warming through identifying starch-related property indicators. Results showed application of nitrogen fertilizer at heading stage effectively delayed the significantly increased accumulation of total starch, amylose and amylopectin, and reduced the starch particle size, chain length distribution, and crystal structure induced by high temperature, which further compensated the deterioration of rice quality caused by elevated temperature.
Quantifying forage nutritional quality and pool at various spatial and temporal scales are major challenges in quantifying global nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, and the carrying capacity of ...grasslands. In this study, we modeled forage nutrition quality and storage using climate data under fencing conditions, and using climate data and a growing-season maximum normalized-difference vegetation index under grazing conditions based on four different methods (i.e., multiple linear regression, random-forest models, support-vector machines and recursive-regression trees) in the alpine grasslands of Tibet. Our results implied that random-forest models can have greater potential ability in modeling forage nutrition quality and storage than the other three methods. The relative biases between simulated nutritional quality using random-forest models and the observed nutritional quality, and between simulated nutrition storage using random-forest models and the observed nutrition storage, were lower than 2.00% and 6.00%, respectively. The RMSE between simulated nutrition quality using random-forest models and the observed nutrition quality, and between simulated nutrition storage using random-forest models and the observed nutrition storage, were no more than 0.99% and 4.50 g m−2, respectively. Therefore, random-forest models based on climate data and/or the normalized-difference vegetation index can be used to model forage nutrition quality and storage in the alpine grasslands of Tibet.
Interleukin (IL)-17 is a T helper 17 cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although IL-17A has a well-established role in murine ...pulmonary fibrosis models, its role in the tissue remodeling and fibrosis occurring in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) is not very well defined. To address this question, we utilized complimentary studies to determine responsiveness of human normal and pathogenic lung fibroblasts to IL-17A and used lung biopsies acquired from patients with IPF and RA-ILD to determine IL-17A receptor (IL-17RA) expression. Both normal and pathogenic IPF lung fibroblasts express functional IL-17RA and respond to IL-17A stimulation with cell proliferation, generation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, and induction of myofibroblast transdifferentiation. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) silencing of IL-17RA attenuated this fibroblast response to IL-17A on ECM production. These fibroblast responses to IL-17A are dependent on NF-κB-mediated signaling. In addition, inhibiting Janus activated kinase (JAK) 2 by either siRNA or a selective pharmacological inhibitor, AZD1480-but not a JAK1/JAK3 selective inhibitor, tofacitinib-also significantly reduced this IL-17A-induced fibrogenic response. Lung biopsies of RA-ILD patients demonstrate significantly higher IL-17RA expression in areas of fibroblast accumulation and fibrosis, compared with either IPF or normal lung tissue. These observations support a direct role for IL-17A in lung fibrosis that may be particularly relevant in the context of RA-ILD.
The gut bacteria producing metabolites like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs; e.g., acetate, propionate and butyrate), are frequently reduced in Patients with diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disorders, ...and cancers. Hence, microbiome modulators such as probiotics may be helpful in maintaining or even restoring normal gut microbiome composition to benefit host health. Herein, we developed a human-origin probiotic cocktail with the ability to modulate gut microbiota to increase native SCFA production. Following a robust protocol of isolation, characterization and safety validation of infant gut-origin Lactobacillus and Enterococcus strains with probiotic attributes (tolerance to simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, adherence to intestinal epithelial cells, absence of potential virulence genes, cell-surface hydrophobicity, and susceptibility to common antibiotics), we select 10 strains (5 from each genera) out of total 321 isolates. A single dose (oral gavage) as well as 5 consecutive doses of this 10-strain probiotic cocktail in mice modulates gut microbiome and increases SCFA production (particularly propionate and butyrate). Inoculation of these probiotics in human feces also increases SCFA production along with microbiome modulation. Results indicate that human-origin probiotic lactobacilli and enterococci could ameliorate gut microbiome dysbiosis and hence may prove to be a potential therapy for diseases involving reduced SCFAs production in the gut.
The role of systemic inflammation in promoting cardiovascular diseases has attracted attention, but its correlation with various arrhythmias remains to be clarified. We aimed to comprehensively ...assess the association between various indicators of systemic inflammation and atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), ventricular arrhythmia (VA), and bradyarrhythmia in the UK Biobank cohort.
After excluding ineligible participants, a total of 478,524 eligible individuals (46.75% male, aged 40-69 years) were enrolled in the study to assess the association between systemic inflammatory indicators and each type of arrhythmia.
After covariates were fully adjusted, CRP levels were found to have an essentially linear positive correlation with the risk of various arrhythmias; neutrophil count, monocyte count, and NLR showed a non-linear positive correlation; and lymphocyte count, SII, PLR, and LMR showed a U-shaped association. VA showed the strongest association with systemic inflammation indicators, and it was followed sequentially by AF and bradyarrhythmia.
Multiple systemic inflammatory indicators showed strong associations with the onset of AF, VA, and bradyarrhythmia, of which the latter two have been rarely studied. Active systemic inflammation management might have favorable effects in reducing the arrhythmia burden and further randomized controlled studies are needed.
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