An All-Solid-State Phosphate Electrode with H3PO4 Doped Polyaniline as the Sensitive Layer

We here describe the construction of a highly sensitive and selective all-solid-state phosphate electrode based on polyaniline and H3PO4 doped polyaniline. The polyaniline layer was electroplated on the gold substrate with Chronoamperometry method and was in-situ doped by H3PO4. The Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM, EDS) and contact angle measurement was taken to explain the difference of the two layers. This electrode can be used in both freshwater and seawater systems. In both of the two systems, the electrode exhibits linear response in the concentration range 10-1 to 10-6 M with detection limit of 10-6 M. and response time of <1 seconds. The selectivity of the electrodes was also studied in 10-1-10-5 M KH2PO4 solutions containing either 0.01 M sulfate, nitrate, chloride as the interference ions. During 12 hours continuous monitoring in 10-3 M KH2PO4 with 3.5% NaCl the potential drift was 0.05 mV/h and the lifetime of the electrode was over 40 days when preserved in this solutionpublishersversionPeer reviewe

Unveiling the pollution and risk of atmospheric (gaseous and particulate) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a heavily polluted Chinese city: A multi-site observation research

Linfen, one of the most polluted cities in China, releases huge amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the atmosphere. The pollution characteristics of Linfen's PAHs, along with their emission sources and health risks, were scarcely discussed. This study conducted a multi-site observation campaign in Linfen during the non-heating and heating periods (2018–2019) using passive air samplers. Sixteen PAHs were analyzed for the gaseous and particulate samples collected at the 15 sites in the urban, rural, and background areas. The PAH concentrations in Linfen's atmosphere were 225.7 ± 81.9 ng m−3 during the heating period and 139.9 ± 47.5 ng m−3 during the non-heating period, annually averaged to 168.1 ± 58.6 ng m−3, which was predominantly contributed by the rural and urban emissions. Combustion was highly responsible for the PAHs, including the burning of coal for industrial production and winter heating, coupled with the utilization of oils by automobile engines. The spatiotemporal variations of PAHs were associated with the discrepancy of emission intensity rather than that of emission type. The BaP equivalent concentrations for the rural and urban areas were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than the various international standards, indicating the considerable carcinogenic risk for the majority of local residents. These findings are informative for better understanding the atmospheric PAH pollution in a typical resource-based Chinese city.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41001344, 42205099), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (164320H116), the Special Science and Technology Innovation Program for Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutralization of Jiangsu Province (BE2022612), and the Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China (2021M700792, 2023T160111).Peer reviewe

Syntaxin of plants71 plays essential roles in plant development and stress response via regulating pH homeostasis

SYP71, a plant-specific Qc-SNARE with multiple subcellular localization, is essential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in nodules in Lotus, and is implicated in plant resistance to pathogenesis in rice, wheat and soybean. Arabidopsis SYP71 is proposed to participate in multiple membrane fusion steps during secretion. To date, the molecular mechanism underlying SYP71 regulation on plant development remains elusive. In this study, we clarified that AtSYP71 is essential for plant development and stress response, using techniques of cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and transcriptomics. AtSYP71-knockout mutant atsyp71-1 was lethal at early development stage due to the failure of root elongation and albinism of the leaves. AtSYP71-knockdown mutants, atsyp71-2 and atsyp71-3, had short roots, delayed early development, and altered stress response. The cell wall structure and components changed significantly in atsyp71-2 due to disrupted cell wall biosynthesis and dynamics. Reactive oxygen species homeostasis and pH homeostasis were also collapsed in atsyp71-2. All these defects were likely resulted from blocked secretion pathway in the mutants. Strikingly, change of pH value significantly affected ROS homeostasis in atsyp71-2, suggesting interconnection between ROS and pH homeostasis. Furthermore, we identified AtSYP71 partners and propose that AtSYP71 forms distinct SNARE complexes to mediate multiple membrane fusion steps in secretory pathway. Our findings suggest that AtSYP71 plays an essential role in plant development and stress response via regulating pH homeostasis through secretory pathway

Research on Energy-Saving Design of Rural Building Wall in Qinba Mountains Based on Uniform Radiation Field

How to create a healthy and comfortable indoor environment without causing a substantial increase in energy consumption has become a strategic problem that the development of all countries must face and solve. According to the climatic conditions of Qinba Mountains in China, combined with the characteristics of local rural residential buildings and residents’ living habits, the field survey and theoretical analysis were used to study the thermal environment status and the heating energy consumption condition of local rural residential buildings. The thermal design method of walls for the local rural energy-saving buildings based on the indoor uniform radiation field was explored by using the outdoor comprehensive temperature function expressed by the fourth-order harmonic Fourier series as the boundary condition of the wall thermal analysis. ANSYS CFX was adopted to study the suitability of the energy-saving wall structure designed by the above method. The results show that the indoor thermal environment of local rural residential buildings in winter is not ideal and the heating energy consumption is high, but this area has the geographical advantage to develop solar energy buildings. It is proposed that the indoor thermal comfort temperature of local rural residential buildings in winter should not be lower than 14°C. When the internal surface temperature of the external walls in different orientations are equally based on the design principle of uniform radiation field, the heat transfer coefficient of the east wall, the west wall, and the north wall of the local rural residential buildings is 1.13 times, 1.06 times, and 1.14 times of the south wall heat transfer coefficient, respectively. The energy-saving structural wall with KPI porous brick as the main material and the south wall heat transfer coefficient of 0.9 W/(m2·K) is the most suitable energy-saving wall for local rural residential buildings

Synthesis and preliminary structure-activity relationship study of 3-methylquinazolinone derivatives as EGFR inhibitors with enhanced antiproliferative activities against tumour cells

In this paper, a set of 3-methylquniazolinone derivatives were designed, synthesised, and studied the preliminary structure-activity relationship for antiproliferative activities. All target compounds performed significantly inhibitory effects against wild type epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFRwt-TK) and tumour cells (A431, A549, MCF-7, and NCI-H1975). In particular, compound 4d 3-fluoro-N-(4-((3-methyl-4-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-2-yl)methoxy)phenyl)benzamide showed higher antiproliferative activities against all tumour cells than Gefitinib (IC50 of 3.48, 2.55, 0.87 and 6.42 μM, respectively). Furthermore, compound 4d could induce apoptosis of MCF-7 cells and arrest in G2/M phase at the tested concentration. Molecular docking and ADMET studies showed that compound 4d could closely form many hydrogen bonds with EGFRwt-TK. Therefore, compound 4d is potential to develop as novel anti-cancer drug

Origin and Evolution of the Late Cretaceous Reworked Phosphorite in the Sirhan-Turayf Basin, Northern Saudi Arabia

The redeposition of pristine phosphorite plays an important role in phosphorus accumulation, which created reworked phosphorite extensively on the continental shelf. This paper, using geochemical analysis combined with data from petrology and diagenesis, focuses on the reconstruction of the formation processes of the Late Cretaceous Thaniyat phosphorite deposition in northwestern Saudi Arabia, which is a part of the famous large Neo-Tethys Ocean’s phosphorite deposit. The results of our study illustrate that the phosphorites represent the reworked products from the north, close to the edge of the Neo-Tethys Ocean’s shelf, where upwelling had accreted the pristine phosphorite. The reworked phosphatic grains were redeposited near the shore in sandstone, forming sandy phosphorite and on a carbonate platform and creating calcareous phosphorite. The microscale sedimentological and geochemical information hosted in the eroded phosphorite grains indicates that the source sediment, pristine phosphorite, occurred under a fluctuating geophysical condition and in a relatively limited geochemical environment. They were physically crushed and transported landward and deposited under oxic conditions, forming the Thaniyat phosphorites. Early diagenesis in the Thaniyat phosphorite was evidenced by recrystallization of the phosphate minerals, geochemical depletion, and C and O isotope excursion

A reactive oxygen species burst causes haploid induction in maize

Haploid induction is an important tool in crop breeding. Phospholipase A1 (ZmPLA1) / NOT LIKE DAD (NLD)/ MATRILINEAL (MTL) is a key gene controlling haploid induction in maize; however, its molecular mechanism is unknown. To understand the regulatory network of zmpla1, we applied a comprehensive functional analysis at multiple omic levels, integrating transcriptomes, metabolomes, quantitative proteomes and protein modifications. Functional classes of significantly enriched or differentially abundant molecular entities were associated with the oxidative stress response, suggesting that a reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst plays a critical role in haploid induction. In support of this, we show that a simple chemical treatment of pollen with ROS reagents leads to haploid induction (HI). Moreover, a sperm-specific peroxidase (ZmPOD65) was identified as a new gene controlling HI. The mechanism of HI revealed in this study suggests the importance of ROS balance in maintaining normal reproduction, and provides a potential route to accelerate crop breeding

Multidimensional Gene Regulatory Landscape of Motor Organ Pulvinus in the Model Legume <i>Medicago truncatula</i>

Nyctinastic leaf movement of Fabaceae is driven by the tiny motor organ pulvinus located at the base of the leaf or leaflet. Despite the increased understanding of the essential role of ELONGATED PETIOLULE1 (ELP1)/PETIOLE LIKE PULVINUS (PLP) orthologs in determining pulvinus identity in legumes, key regulatory components and molecular mechanisms underlying this movement remain largely unclear. Here, we used WT pulvinus and the equivalent tissue in the elp1 mutant to carry out transcriptome and proteome experiments. The omics data indicated that there are multiple cell biological processes altered at the gene expression and protein abundance level during the pulvinus development. In addition, comparative analysis of different leaf tissues provided clues to illuminate the possible common primordium between pulvinus and petiole, as well as the function of ELP1. Furthermore, the auxin pathway, cell wall composition and chloroplast distribution were altered in elp1 mutants, verifying their important roles in pulvinus development. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the motor organ of the model legume Medicago truncatula and further supplies a rich dataset to facilitate the identification of novel players involved in nyctinastic movement