Late Palaeozoic ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of the HP-LT metamorphic rocks from the Kekesu Valley, Chinese southwestern Tianshan: new constraints on exhumation tectonics

<div><p></p><p>Although numerous ages have been obtained for the Chinese southwestern Tianshan high pressure/ultrahigh pressure-low temperature (HP/UHP-LT) metamorphic belt in the past two decades, its exhumation history is still controversial. The poor age constraint was related to the appealing low metamorphic temperatures and excess Ar commonly present under HP/UHP conditions. This study aims to provide new age constraints on the orogen’s exhumation by obtaining ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mica ages using the conventional step-heating technique, with emphasis on the avoidance of excess Ar contamination. From a cross section along the Kekesu Valley, four samples, three from the HP-LT metamorphic belt (TK050, TK051, and TK081) and one from the southern margin of the low pressure metamorphic belt (TK097), were selected for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Phengites from garnet glaucophane schist TK050 and the surrounding rock garnet phengite schist TK051 yield comparable plateau ages of 321.4 ± 1.6 and 318.6 ± 1.6 Ma, respectively, while epidote mica schist TK081 gives a younger plateau age of 293.3 ± 1.5 Ma. Considering the chemical compositions of phengites, mineral assemblages, and microstructures in the thin slices, we suppose that the former represents the time the HP rocks retrograded from the peak stage (eclogite facies) to the (epidote)-blueschist facies, whereas the latter reflects greenschist facies overprinting. Biotite and muscovite from two-mica quartzite TK097 give similar plateau ages of 253.0 ± 1.3 and 247.1 ± 1.2 Ma, interpreted to date movement on the post collisional transcrustal South Nalati ductile shear zone. By combining our new ages with published data, a two-stage exhumation model is suggested for the Chinese southwestern Tianshan HP/UHP-LT metamorphic belt: initial fast exhumation to a depth of about 30–35 km by ~320 Ma was followed by relatively slow (~1 mm year^–1) uplift to ~10 km by ~293 Ma.</p></div

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<p>The development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant crops has revolutionized weed control in crops in many regions of the world. The early, non-destructive identification of superior plant phenotypes is an important stage in plant breeding programs. Here, glyphosate-tolerant transgenic maize and its parental wild-type control were studied at 2, 4, 6, and 8 days after glyphosate treatment. Visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging techniques were applied to monitor the performance of plants. In our research, transgenic maize, which was highly tolerant to glyphosate, was phenotyped using these high-throughput non-destructive methods to validate low levels of shikimic acid accumulation and high photochemical efficiency of photosystem II as reflected by maximum quantum yield and non-photochemical quenching in response to glyphosate. For hyperspectral imaging analysis, the combination of spectroscopy and chemometric methods was used to predict shikimic acid concentration. Our results indicated that a partial least-squares regression model, built on optimal wavelengths, effectively predicted shikimic acid concentrations, with a coefficient of determination value of 0.79 for the calibration set, and 0.82 for the prediction set. Moreover, shikimic acid concentration estimates from hyperspectral images were visualized on the prediction maps by spectral features, which could help in developing a simple multispectral imaging instrument for non-destructive phenotyping. Specific physiological effects of glyphosate affected the photochemical processes of maize, which induced substantial changes in chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics. A new data-driven method, combining mean fluorescence parameters and featuring a screening approach, provided a satisfactory relationship between fluorescence parameters and shikimic acid content. The glyphosate-tolerant transgenic plants can be identified with the developed discrimination model established on important wavelengths or sensitive fluorescence parameters 6 days after glyphosate treatment. The overall results indicated that both hyperspectral imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging techniques could provide useful tools for stress phenotyping in maize breeding programs and could enable the detection and evaluation of superior genotypes, such as glyphosate tolerance, with a non-destructive high-throughput technique.</p

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<p>The development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant crops has revolutionized weed control in crops in many regions of the world. The early, non-destructive identification of superior plant phenotypes is an important stage in plant breeding programs. Here, glyphosate-tolerant transgenic maize and its parental wild-type control were studied at 2, 4, 6, and 8 days after glyphosate treatment. Visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging techniques were applied to monitor the performance of plants. In our research, transgenic maize, which was highly tolerant to glyphosate, was phenotyped using these high-throughput non-destructive methods to validate low levels of shikimic acid accumulation and high photochemical efficiency of photosystem II as reflected by maximum quantum yield and non-photochemical quenching in response to glyphosate. For hyperspectral imaging analysis, the combination of spectroscopy and chemometric methods was used to predict shikimic acid concentration. Our results indicated that a partial least-squares regression model, built on optimal wavelengths, effectively predicted shikimic acid concentrations, with a coefficient of determination value of 0.79 for the calibration set, and 0.82 for the prediction set. Moreover, shikimic acid concentration estimates from hyperspectral images were visualized on the prediction maps by spectral features, which could help in developing a simple multispectral imaging instrument for non-destructive phenotyping. Specific physiological effects of glyphosate affected the photochemical processes of maize, which induced substantial changes in chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics. A new data-driven method, combining mean fluorescence parameters and featuring a screening approach, provided a satisfactory relationship between fluorescence parameters and shikimic acid content. The glyphosate-tolerant transgenic plants can be identified with the developed discrimination model established on important wavelengths or sensitive fluorescence parameters 6 days after glyphosate treatment. The overall results indicated that both hyperspectral imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging techniques could provide useful tools for stress phenotyping in maize breeding programs and could enable the detection and evaluation of superior genotypes, such as glyphosate tolerance, with a non-destructive high-throughput technique.</p

Moisture Influence Reducing Method for Heavy Metals Detection in Plant Materials Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: A Case Study for Chromium Content Detection in Rice Leaves

Fast detection of heavy metals in plant materials is crucial for environmental remediation and ensuring food safety. However, most plant materials contain high moisture content, the influence of which cannot be simply ignored. Hence, we proposed moisture influence reducing method for fast detection of heavy metals using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). First, we investigated the effect of moisture content on signal intensity, stability, and plasma parameters (temperature and electron density) and determined the main influential factors (experimental parameters <i>F</i> and the change of analyte concentration) on the variations of signal. For chromium content detection, the rice leaves were performed with a quick drying procedure, and two strategies were further used to reduce the effect of moisture content and shot-to-shot fluctuation. An exponential model based on the intensity of background was used to correct the actual element concentration in analyte. Also, the ratio of signal-to-background for univariable calibration and partial least squared regression (PLSR) for multivariable calibration were used to compensate the prediction deviations. The PLSR calibration model obtained the best result, with the correlation coefficient of 0.9669 and root-mean-square error of 4.75 mg/kg in the prediction set. The preliminary results indicated that the proposed method allowed for the detection of heavy metals in plant materials using LIBS, and it could be possibly used for element mapping in future work

Self-Assembled Upconversion Nanoparticle Clusters for NIR-controlled Drug Release and Synergistic Therapy after Conjugation with Gold Nanoparticles

Fabricated three-dimensional (3D) upconversion nanoclusters (abbreviated as EBSUCNPs) are obtained via an emulsion-based bottom-up self-assembly of NaGdF₄:Yb/Er@NaGdF₄ nanoparticles (abbreviated as UCNPs), which comprise a NaGdF₄:Yb/Er core and a NaGdF₄ shell. The EBSUCNPs were then coated with a thin mesoporous amino-functionalized SiO₂ shell (resulting in EBSUCNPs@SiO₂ precursor) and further conjugated with gold nanoparticles to give the novel EBSUCNPs@SiO₂@Au material. Finally, EBSUCNPs@SiO₂@Au was applied as a biocompatible and efficient drug carrier for doxorubicin (DOX), thus giving rise to a multifunctional EBSUCNPs@SiO₂–DOX@Au nanocomposite. This final material, EBSUCNPs@SiO₂–DOX@Au, and the precursor nanoparticles, EBSUCNPs@SiO₂@Au, were both fully characterized and their luminescence was investigated in detail. In addition, the drug release properties and photothermal effects of EBSUCNPs@SiO₂–DOX@Au were also discussed. Interestingly, when under NIR irradiation, an increasing DOX release was achieved owing to the thermal effect of the Au NPs after absorbing the green light from the upconversion nanoclusters based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) effect. Thus, a near-infrared (NIR)-controlled “on–off” pattern of drug release behavior can be achieved. Moreover, compared with a single therapy method, the assembled nanocomposites exhibit a good synergistic therapy against cancer cells that combines chemotherapy with photothermal therapy. In addition, the in vitro fluorescence microscopy images of EBSUCNPs@SiO₂–DOX@Au show a higher enhancement in the red region due to the loading of DOX molecules with respect to EBSUCNPs@SiO₂@Au. Therefore, this novel multifunctional 3D cluster architecture can be used in the biomedical field after modification and may pave a new way in other application areas of UCNPs clusters

Legislative Documents

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TERT inhibition reversed PH induced by hypoxia or MCT in rats.

<p><b>A</b>, Right ventricular systemic pressures (RVSP). <b>B</b>, Representative tracing of RVSP. <b>C</b>, Ratio of right ventricle to left ventricle plus septum. <b>D</b>, Cardiac index (cardiac output per 100 g body weight). Hypoxia or MCT significantly increased RVSP and aggravated the ratio of right ventricle compared with normoxic rats, which was partially reversible by administration of AZT (TERT inhibitor, 20 mg/kg body weight). Con, control; Hyp, hypoxia; MCT, monocrotaline, A, azidothymidine. *P<0.05 vs. normoxia, #P<0.05 vs. hypoxia, $P<0.05 vs. normoxia, &P<0.05 vs. MCT; n = 5. All values are denoted as mean ± SEM.</p

Additional file 5: of Genomic analyses of unique carbohydrate and phytohormone metabolism in the macroalga Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

Table S5. The enzymes involved in trehalose metabolism. (DOCX 24 kb

Additional file 7: of Genomic analyses of unique carbohydrate and phytohormone metabolism in the macroalga Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

Table S6. The genes related to auxin signaling in Gp. lemaneiformis. (DOCX 24 kb

Translocation of TERT protein from cytoplasm to nucleus upon hypoxia and interaction of TERT and 15-LO-2.

<p><b>A</b>, Immunofluenrescence of PAs from Normoxia, Hypoxia, Hypoxia with NDGA treated rats. Lung sections were stained with (49,69-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), blue), TERT (green), α-smooth muscle actin (SMA; red), and Merged (yellow). Scale bars are 50 µm. <b>B</b>, The protein and mRNA of TERT was quantified by Western Blot and RT-PCR in rat lung homogenates from normoxia, hypoxia and hypoxia with NDGA rats. <b>C</b>, TERT protein and mRNA was examined in PASMCs. <b>D</b>, PASMCs were fixed and stained with anti-TERT antibody (green) and DNA counterstaining DAPI (blue) and merged. Scale bars are 20 µm. <b>E</b>, Distribution of TERT protein. Nuclear extracts (Nucleu, 20 µg), and cytoplasmic extracts (Cytoplasm, 100 µg) of PASMCs were prepared, and TERT protein was detected by Western Blot. <b>F</b>, Co-IP of TERT and 15-LO-2 by in PASMCs. 5% input samples, mouse IgG used as negative control and immunocomplexes obtained with an anti-LO-2 antibody were analyzed by immunoblot (IB) with anti-TERT antibody. *P<0.05 vs. normoxia, #P<0.05 vs. hypoxia, $P<0.05 vs. hypoxia with NDGA or CDC, &P<0.05 vs. hypoxia; n = 5. Nor, normoxia; Hyp, hypoxia; N, NDGA. All values are denoted as means ± SEM.</p