Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Co/CoOx Supported on Earth-Abundant Coal-Derived Carbon for Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Evolution

The evident demand for hydrogen as the ultimate energy fuel for posterity calls for the development of low-cost, efficient and stable electrocatalysts for water splitting. Herein, we report the synthesis of Co/CoOx supported on coal-derived N-doped carbon via a simple microwave-assisted method and demonstrate its application as an efficient catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). With the optimal amount of cobalt introduced into the N-doped coal-derived, the developed catalyst achieved overpotentials of 0.370 and 0.429 V during water oxidation at current densities of 1 mA cm(-2) and 10 mA cm(-2), respectively. There was no noticeable loss in the activity of the catalyst during continuous galvanostatic polarization at a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) for a test period of 66 h. The synergistic interaction of the Co/CoOx moieties with the pyridinic and pyrollic nitrogen functional groups in the N-doped carbon, as well with the other heteroatoms species in the pristine coal favored enhancement of the OER electrocatalytic performance. (C) The Author(s) 2019. Published by ECS

The Maize ABA Receptors ZmPYL8, 9, and 12 Facilitate Plant Drought Resistance

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting world agriculture. Breeding drought-resistant crops is one of the most important challenges for plant biologists. PYR1/PYL/RCARs, which encode the abscisic acid (ABA) receptors, play pivotal roles in ABA signaling, but how these genes function in crop drought response remains largely unknown. Here we identified 13 PYL family members in maize (ZmPYL1-13). Changes in expression of these genes under different stresses indicated that ZmPYLs played important roles in responding to multiple abiotic stresses. Transgenic analyses of ZmPYL genes in Arabidopsis showed that overexpression of ZmPYL3, ZmPYL9, ZmPYL10, and ZmPYL13 significantly enhanced the sensitivity of transgenic plants to ABA. Additionally, transgenic lines overexpressing ZmPYL8, ZmPYL9, and ZmPYL12 were more resistant to drought. Accumulation of proline and enhanced expression of drought-related marker genes in transgenic lines further confirmed the positive roles of ZmPYL genes in plant drought resistance. Association analyses with a panel of 368 maize inbred lines identified natural variants in ZmPYL8 and ZmPYL12 that were significantly associated with maize drought resistance. Our results deepen the knowledge of the function of maize PYL genes in responses to abiotic stresses, and the natural variants identified in ZmPYL genes may serve as potential molecular markers for breeding drought-resistant maize cultivars

Wind Buckling Analysis of a Large-Scale Open-Topped Steel Tank with Harmonic Settlement-Induced Imperfection

In this study, the wind buckling capacity of an open-topped steel tank with harmonic settlement-induced imperfection is numerically investigated. Although the single effect of the wind load or differential settlement on the open-topped steel tanks is widely studied, the interaction of the two loads to the tank shell is scarcely examined. The prototype of a 100,000 m3 open-topped steel tank with a floating roof is selected, and the harmonic settlements (wave numbers n = 2, 3, and 4) and the wind profile considering internal pressure (EN 1993-4-1) are applied. Firstly, the finite element model is established and validated by the replication of peer-reviewed research. Then, the wind buckling analysis of the tank shell with harmonic settlement-induced imperfection is studied. Next, the effects of the harmonic settlement-induced imperfection (HSII) and the wind attack angle (WAA) on the wind buckling capacity are discussed. The results show that the effect of the HSII on the wind buckling capacity is complex. When the wind attack angle is the case of β=0°, the wind load capacities (λcig) with HSIIs decrease to 73.4% (wave number n=2), 37.5% (wave number n=3) and 41.3% (wave number n=4) of the non-settlement wind load capacity (λcg). Given that the case of β=0° is the basis, when the harmonic settlement level is low, such as settlement load No.1 and No.2, the biggest increase of wind buckling capacity is less than 20% with an exception; when the harmonic settlement level is high, such as settlement load No.3, No.4 and No.5, the biggest increase of wind buckling capacity is more than 40%, with a few exceptions

New Strategy To Enhance Phosphate Removal from Water by Hydrous Manganese Oxide

Hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) is generally <i>negatively</i> charged at circumneutral pH and cannot effectively remove anionic pollutants such as phosphate. Here we proposed a new strategy to enhance HMO-mediated phosphate removal by immobilizing nano-HMO within a polystyrene anion exchanger (NS). The resultant nanocomposite HMO@NS exhibited substantially enhanced phosphate removal in the presence of sulfate, chloride, and nitrate at greater levels. This is mainly attributed to the pH_pzc shift from 6.2 for the bulky HMO to 10.5 for the capsulated HMO nanoparticles, where HMO nanoparticles are <i>positively</i> charged at neutral pH. The ammonium groups of NS also favor phosphate adsorption through the Donnan effect. Cyclic column adsorption experiment indicated that the fresh HMO@NS could treat 460 bed volumes (BV) of a synthetic influent (from the initial concentration of 2 mg P­[PO₄^3–]/L to 0.5 mg P­[PO₄^3–]/L), while only 80 BV for NS. After the first time of regeneration by NaOH-NaCl solution, the capacity of HMO@NS was lowered to ∼300 BV and then kept constant for the subsequent 5 runs, implying the presence of both the reversible and irreversible adsorption sites of nano-HMO. Additional column adsorption feeding with a real bioeffluent further validated great potential of HMO@NS in advanced wastewater treatment. This study may provide an alternative approach to expand the usability of other metal oxides in water treatment

Presentation_1.PPTX

<p>Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting world agriculture. Breeding drought-resistant crops is one of the most important challenges for plant biologists. PYR1/PYL/RCARs, which encode the abscisic acid (ABA) receptors, play pivotal roles in ABA signaling, but how these genes function in crop drought response remains largely unknown. Here we identified 13 PYL family members in maize (ZmPYL1-13). Changes in expression of these genes under different stresses indicated that ZmPYLs played important roles in responding to multiple abiotic stresses. Transgenic analyses of ZmPYL genes in Arabidopsis showed that overexpression of ZmPYL3, ZmPYL9, ZmPYL10, and ZmPYL13 significantly enhanced the sensitivity of transgenic plants to ABA. Additionally, transgenic lines overexpressing ZmPYL8, ZmPYL9, and ZmPYL12 were more resistant to drought. Accumulation of proline and enhanced expression of drought-related marker genes in transgenic lines further confirmed the positive roles of ZmPYL genes in plant drought resistance. Association analyses with a panel of 368 maize inbred lines identified natural variants in ZmPYL8 and ZmPYL12 that were significantly associated with maize drought resistance. Our results deepen the knowledge of the function of maize PYL genes in responses to abiotic stresses, and the natural variants identified in ZmPYL genes may serve as potential molecular markers for breeding drought-resistant maize cultivars.</p

DNA sequencing reveals the midgut microbiota of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) and a possible relationship with insecticide resistance.

Insect midgut microbiota is important in host nutrition, development and immune response. Recent studies indicate possible links between insect gut microbiota and resistance to biological and chemical toxins. Studies of this phenomenon and symbionts in general have been hampered by difficulties in culture-based approach. In the present study, DNA sequencing was used to examine the midgut microbiota of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.), a destructive pest that attacks cruciferous crops worldwide. Its ability to develop resistance to many types of synthetic insecticide and even Bacillus thuringiensis toxins makes it an important species to study.Bacteria of the DBM larval midgut in a susceptible and two insecticide (chlorpyrifos and fipronil) resistant lines were examined by Illumina sequencing sampled from an insect generation that was not exposed to insecticide. This revealed that more than 97% of the bacteria were from three orders: Enterobacteriales, Vibrionales and Lactobacillales. Both insecticide-resistant lines had more Lactobacillales and the much scarcer taxa Pseudomonadales and Xanthomonadales with fewer Enterobacteriales compared with the susceptible strain. Consistent with this, a second study observed an increase in the proportion of Lactobacillales in the midgut of DBM individuals from a generation treated with insecticides.This is the first report of high-throughput DNA sequencing of the entire microbiota of DBM. It reveals differences related to inter- and intra-generational exposure to insecticides. Differences in the midgut microbiota among susceptible and insecticide-resistant lines are independent of insecticide exposure in the sampled generations. While this is consistent with the hypothesis that Lactobacillales or other scarcer taxa play a role in conferring DBM insecticide resistance, further studies are necessary to rule out other possibilities. Findings constitute the basis for future molecular work on the functions of insect midgut microbiota taxa and their possible role in conferring host resistance to toxins

Table_1.xlsx

<p>Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting world agriculture. Breeding drought-resistant crops is one of the most important challenges for plant biologists. PYR1/PYL/RCARs, which encode the abscisic acid (ABA) receptors, play pivotal roles in ABA signaling, but how these genes function in crop drought response remains largely unknown. Here we identified 13 PYL family members in maize (ZmPYL1-13). Changes in expression of these genes under different stresses indicated that ZmPYLs played important roles in responding to multiple abiotic stresses. Transgenic analyses of ZmPYL genes in Arabidopsis showed that overexpression of ZmPYL3, ZmPYL9, ZmPYL10, and ZmPYL13 significantly enhanced the sensitivity of transgenic plants to ABA. Additionally, transgenic lines overexpressing ZmPYL8, ZmPYL9, and ZmPYL12 were more resistant to drought. Accumulation of proline and enhanced expression of drought-related marker genes in transgenic lines further confirmed the positive roles of ZmPYL genes in plant drought resistance. Association analyses with a panel of 368 maize inbred lines identified natural variants in ZmPYL8 and ZmPYL12 that were significantly associated with maize drought resistance. Our results deepen the knowledge of the function of maize PYL genes in responses to abiotic stresses, and the natural variants identified in ZmPYL genes may serve as potential molecular markers for breeding drought-resistant maize cultivars.</p

Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA V6 region sequences from samples of the susceptible strain (SS), chlorpyrifos-resistant lines (CRL) and fipronil-resistant lines (FRL).

<p>The bootstrap value (100 replicates) associated with the taxa clustered in the tree is shown next to the branches. The scaled bar represents 0.1% estimated phylogenetic divergence. The numbers below SS, FRL and CRL are the percent abundances corresponding to the OTUs on the tree, and the numbers in the square brackets are the percentage abundances corresponding to the phylum in SS, FRL and CRL.</p

Proportional composition of microbes in the DBM larval midgut for the susceptible strain (SS), chlorpyrifos-resistant line (CRL), and fipronil-resistant line (FRL) not exposed to insecticides.

<p>(A) Composition at the phylum level, and (B) composition at the order level.</p

The order-based proportional composition of microbiota in the DBM larval midgut.

<p>The order-based proportional composition of microbiota in the DBM larval midgut.</p