catena-Poly[[diaqua­[(4-tolyl­sulfan­yl)acetato-κO]cadmium(II)]-μ-4,4′-bipyridine-κ2 N:N′]

The title complex, [Cd(C9H9O2S)2(C10H8N2)(H2O)2]n, has a linear chain structure. The central CdII ion is in a slightly disorted octa­hedral environment, coordinated by two aqua ligands, two (4-tolyl­sulfan­yl)acetate ligands and two bridging 4,4′-bipyridine ligands. The CdII ion lies on a twofold rotation axis. Inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect adjacent chains, forming a layer structure. An intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond is also present

Ukupna kinetika redukcije niskokvalitetnog piroluzita smjesom hemiceluloze i lignina kao redukcijskog sredstva

Manganese is widely used in many fields. Many efforts have been made to recover manganese from low-grade pyrolusite due to the depletion of high-grade manganese ore. Thus, it is of practical significance to develop a clean, energy-saving and environmentally friendly technical route to reduce the low-grade pyrolusite. The reported results show that biomass wastes from crops, crop waste, wood and wood waste are environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and low-cost reducing agents for roasting reduction of low-grade pyrolusite. Kinetics of the reduction reactions is necessary for an efficient design of biomass reduction of pyrolusite. Therefore, it is important to look for a general kinetics equation to describe the reduction of pyrolusite by different kinds of biomass, because there is a wide variety of biomass wastes, meaning that it is impossible to investigate the kinetics for each biomass waste. In this paper, thermal gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis were applied to study the overall reduction kinetics of pyrolusite using a mixture of hemicellulose and lignin, two major components of biomass. Overall reduction process is the overlap of the respective reduction processes. A new empirical equation based on the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami equation can be used to describe the respective reduction kinetics using hemicellulose and lignin as reductants, and the corresponding apparent activation energy is 30.14 kJ mol−1 and 38.91 kJ mol−1, respectively. The overall kinetic model for the reduction of pyrolusite by the mixture of hemicellulose and lignin can be simulated by the summation of the respective kinetics by considering their mass-loss fractions, while a unit step function was used to avoid the invalid conversion data. The obtained results in this work are necessary to understand the biomass reduction of pyrolusite and provide valuable assistance in the development of a general kinetics equation.Ukupna kinetika redukcije piroluzita istraživana je termogravimetrijom i diferencijalnom termogravimetrijom. Kao redukcijsko sredstvo upotrijebljeni su hemiceluloza i lignin, glavni sastojci poljoprivrednog biljnog biootpada, drva i drvnog otpada. Ukupnu redukciju čine isprepleteni pojedinačni redukcijski procesi. Kinetika redukcije piroluzita smjesom hemiceluloze i lignina može se opisati novom empirijskom jednadžbom temeljenoj na jednadžbi Johnson–Mehl–Avrami, a odgovarajuća prividna energija aktivacije iznosi 30.14 kJ mol−1, odnosno 38.91 kJ mol−1. Sveobuhvatna kinetika može se modelirati kao zbroj pojedinačnih udjela uzimajući u obzir masene udjele sastojaka smjese te uz primjenu jedinične odskočne funkcije kako bi se izbjegli nevaljani podaci

Time Series Gene Expression Profiling and Temporal Regulatory Pathway Analysis of Angiotensin II Induced Atrial Fibrillation in Mice

Background/Aim: Angiotensin II (Ang II) and hypertension play critical roles in the pathogenesis of the atrial remodeling that contributes to atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the gene expression profiles and signaling pathways in atria during the development of AF induced by Ang II remain unknown.Methods: Wild-type male mice (C57BL/6 background, 10 weeks old) were administered an infusion of Ang II (2000 ng/kg/min) using an osmotic pump for 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Blood pressure (BP) was measured by the tail-cuff method. AF was induced and recorded. Atrial enlargement and remodeling were examined by echocardiography and Masson’s trichrome staining. Time-series microarray analyses were conducted to examine gene expression profiles and pathways.Results: Ang II infusion resulted in marked elevation of systolic BP, increased AF incidence and duration, atrial enlargement, fibrosis, and atrial infiltration of myofibroblasts and F4/80-positive macrophages in a time-dependent manner. Microarray results showed that 1,719 genes were differentially expressed in the atrium at weeks 1, 2, and 3 after Ang II infusion. Gene ontology showed that these genes participate mainly in immune system processes, and regulation of cell migration, cell adhesion, complement activation, and the inflammatory response. Significant pathways included lysosomal and phagosomal pathways, which are involved in antigen processing and presentation, as well as chemokine signaling, and extracellular matrix–receptor interaction, which are known to play important roles in Ang II-induced AF. Moreover, these differentially expressed genes were classified into 50 profiles by hierarchical cluster analysis. Of these, eight profiles were significant and contained a total of 1,157 genes. Gene co-expression network analysis identified that Pik3cg (also known as phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 3) was localized in the core of the gene network, and was the most highly expressed among the Pik3 isoforms at different time points.Conclusion: The present findings revealed that many genes are involved in Ang II-induced AF, and highlighted that Pik3cg may play a central role in this disease

The role of autophagy in the treatment of type II diabetes and its complications: a review

Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by prolonged hyperglycemia and insulin resistance (IR). Its incidence is increasing annually, posing a significant threat to human life and health. Consequently, there is an urgent requirement to discover effective drugs and investigate the pathogenesis of T2DM. Autophagy plays a crucial role in maintaining normal islet structure. However, in a state of high glucose, autophagy is inhibited, resulting in impaired islet function, insulin resistance, and complications. Studies have shown that modulating autophagy through activation or inhibition can have a positive impact on the treatment of T2DM and its complications. However, it is important to note that the specific regulatory mechanisms vary depending on the target organ. This review explores the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of T2DM, taking into account both genetic and external factors. It also provides a summary of reported chemical drugs and traditional Chinese medicine that target the autophagic pathway for the treatment of T2DM and its complications

The Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey: Quasar Properties from Data Release Six to Nine

We report the fourth installment in the series of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey, which includes quasars observed between September, 2017 and June, 2021. There are in total 13,066 quasars reliably identified, of which 6,685 are newly discovered that are not reported in the SDSS DR14 quasar catalog or Million Quasars catalog. Because LAMOST does not provide accurate absolute flux calibration, we re-calibrate the spectra with the SDSS/Pan-STARRS1 multi-band photometric data. The emission line properties of H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, Mg\,{\sc ii} and C\,{\sc iv}, and the continuum luminosities are measured by fitting the re-calibrated spectra. We also estimate the single-epoch virial black hole masses ($\rm M_{BH}$) using the derived emission line and continuum parameters. This is the first time that the emission line and continuum fluxes were estimated based on LAMOST re-calibrated quasar spectra. The catalog and spectra for these quasars are available online. After the nine-year LAMOST quasar survey, there are in total 56,175 identified quasars, of which 24,127 are newly discovered. The LAMOST quasar survey not only discovers a great number of new quasars, but also provides a database for investigating the spectral variability of the quasars observed by both LAMOST and SDSS, and finding rare quasars including changing-look quasars and broad absorption line quasars.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1811.01570, Accepted by ApJ

Germline Variants and Genetic Interactions of Several EMT Regulatory Genes Increase the Risk of HBV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in the development of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We hypothesized that germline variants in the major EMT regulatory genes (SNAIL1, ZEB1, ZEB2, TWIST1) may influence the development of HBV-related HCC. We included 421 cases of HBsAg-positive patients with HCC, 1371 cases of HBsAg-positive subjects without HCC [patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) or liver cirrhosis (LC)] and 618 cases of healthy controls in the case-control study. Genotype, allele, and haplotype associations in the major EMT regulatory genes were tested. Environment-gene and gene-gene interactions were analysed using the non-parametric model-free multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method. The SNAIL1rs4647958T>C was associated with a significantly increased risk of both HCC (CT+CC vs. TT: OR=1.559; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.073-2.264; P=0.020) and CHB+LC (CT+CC vs. TT: OR=1.509; 95% CI, 1.145-1.988; P=0.003). Carriers of the TWIST1rs2285681G>C (genotypes CT+CC) had an increased risk of HCC (CG+CC vs. GG: OR=1.407; 95% CI, 1.065-1.858; P=0.016). The ZEB2rs3806475T>C was associated with significantly increased risk of both HCC (Precessive =0.001) and CHB+LC (Precessive<0.001). The CG haplotype of the rs4647958/rs1543442 haplotype block was associated with significant differences between healthy subjects and HCC patients (P=0.0347). Meanwhile, the CT haplotype of the rs2285681/rs2285682 haplotype block was associated with significant differences between CHB+LC and HCC patients (P=0.0123). In MDR analysis, the combination of TWIST1rs2285681, ZEB2rs3806475, SNAIL1rs4647958 exhibited the most significant association with CHB+LC and Health control in the three-locus model. Our results suggest significant single-gene associations and environment-gene/gene-gene interactions of EMT-related genes with HBV-related HCC

Demonstration of coherent terahertz transition radiation from relativistic laser-solid interactions

Coherent transition radiation in the terahertz (THz) region with energies of sub-mJ/pulse has been demonstrated by relativistic laser-driven electron beams crossing the solid-vacuum boundary. Targets including mass-limited foils and layered metal-plastic targets are used to verify the radiation mechanism and characterize the radiation properties. Observations of THz emissions as a function of target parameters agree well with the formation-zone and diffraction model of transition radiation. Particle-in-cell simulations also well reproduce the observed characteristics of THz emissions. The present THz transition radiation enables not only a potential tabletop brilliant THz source, but also a novel noninvasive diagnostic for fast electron generation and transport in laser-plasma interactions

Transposon Ac/Ds-induced chromosomal rearrangements at the rice OsRLG5 locus

Previous studies have shown that pairs of closely-linked Ac/Ds transposable elements can induce various chromosomal rearrangements in plant genomes. To study chromosomal rearrangements in rice, we isolated a line (OsRLG5-161) that contains two inversely-oriented Ds insertions in OsRLG5 (Oryza sativa Receptor like kinase Gene 5). Among approximately 300 plants regenerated from OsRLG5-161 heterozygous seeds, 107 contained rearrangements including deletions, duplications and inversions of various sizes. Most rearrangements were induced by previously identified alternative transposition mechanism. Furthermore, we also detected a new class of rearrangements that contain juxtaposed inversions and deletions on the same chromosome. We propose that these novel alleles were generated by a previously unreported type of alternative transposition reactions involving the 5′ and 3′ termini of two inversely-oriented Ds elements located on the same chromatid. Finally, 11% of rearrangements contained inversions resulting from homologous recombination between the two inverted Ds elements in OsRLG5-161. The high frequency inheritance and great variety of rearrangements obtained suggests that the rice regeneration system results in a burst of transposition activity and a relaxation of the controls which normally limit the transposition competence of individual Ds termini. Together, these results demonstrate a greatly enlarged potential of the Ac/Ds system for plant chromosome engineering