2-[(2,6-Diethyl­phen­yl)imino­meth­yl]-N-(2-methoxy­phen­yl)aniline

The title anilide–imine compound, C24H26N2O, features an intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond involving the imine and anilide groups to generate an S(6) ring motif. The mol­ecule displays an E configuration about the imine C=N double bond, with the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings being 86.5°. The packing is stabilized by three different C—H⋯π inter­actions

Responses of microbial abundance and enzyme activity in integrated vertical-flow constructed wetlands for domestic and secondary wastewater

Although micro-organisms play a significant role in pollutant removal in constructed wetlands, little is known on the effect of wastewater-quality properties on microbial characteristics. In this study, two groups of integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland microcosms were applied to treat synthetic domestic wastewater and synthetic secondary effluent. The effects of wastewater-quality properties on microbial features were assessed. Results showed that higher values of microbial indicators were observed in the systems with domestic wastewater and in down-flow cells. Redundancy analysis revealed that organic matter concentration and temperature were two critical determinants influencing the microbial features

Diverse anisotropy of phonon transport in two-dimensional IV-VI compounds: A comparative study

New classes two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond graphene, including layered and non-layered, and their heterostructures, are currently attracting increasing interest due to their promising applications in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and clean energy, where thermal transport property is one of the fundamental physical parameters. In this paper, we systematically investigated the phonon transport properties of 2D orthorhombic group IV-VI compounds of $GeS$, $GeSe$, $SnS$ and $SnSe$ by solving the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) based on first-principles calculations. Despite the similar puckered (hinge-like) structure along the armchair direction as phosphorene, the four monolayer compounds possess diverse anisotropic properties in many aspects, such as phonon group velocity, Young's modulus and lattice thermal conductivity ($\kappa$), etc. Especially, the $\kappa$ along the zigzag and armchair directions of monolayer $GeS$ shows the strongest anisotropy while monolayer $SnS$ and $SnSe$ shows an almost isotropy in phonon transport. The origin of the diverse anisotropy is fully studied and the underlying mechanism is discussed in detail. With limited size, the $\kappa$ could be effectively lowered, and the anisotropy could be effectively modulated by nanostructuring, which would extend the applications in nanoscale thermoelectrics and thermal management. Our study offers fundamental understanding of the anisotropic phonon transport properties of 2D materials, and would be of significance for further study, modulation and aplications in emerging technologies.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

HIF-1α Contributes to Hypoxia-induced Invasion and Metastasis of Esophageal Carcinoma via Inhibiting E-cadherin and Promoting MMP-2 Expression

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) has been found to enhance tumor invasion and metastasis, but no study has reported its action in esophageal carcinoma. The goal of this study was to explore the probable mechanism of HIF-1α in the invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells in vitro and in vivo. mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α, E-cadherin and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) under hypoxia were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The effects of silencing HIF-1α on E-cadherin, MMP-2 mRNA and protein expression under hypoxia or normoxia were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The invasive ability of Eca109 cells was tested using a transwell chambers. We established an Eca109-implanted tumor model and observed tumor growth and lymph node metastasis. The expression of HIF-1α, E-cadherin and MMP-2 in xenograft tumors was detected by Western blotting. After exposure to hypoxia, HIF-1α protein was up-regulated, both mRNA and protein levels of E-cadherin were down-regulated and MMP-2 was up-regulated, while HIF-1α mRNA showed no significant change. SiRNA could block HIF-1α effectively, increase E-cadherin expression and inhibit MMP-2 expression. The number of invading cells decreased after HIF-1α was silenced. Meanwhile, the tumor volume was much smaller, and the metastatic rate of lymph nodes and the positive rate were lower in vivo. Our observations suggest that HIF-1α inhibition might be an effective strategy to weaken invasion and metastasis in the esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cell line

Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics Effects with Nitrogen Vacancy Center Spins in Diamond and Microwave Resonators at Room Temperature

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (C-QED) effects, such as Rabi splitting, Rabi oscillations and superradiance, have been demonstrated with nitrogen vacancy center spins in diamond in microwave resonators at cryogenic temperature. In this article we explore the possibility to realize strong collective coupling and the resulting C-QED effects with ensembles of spins at room temperature. Thermal excitation of the individual spins by the hot environment leads to population of collective Dicke states with low symmetry and a reduced collective spin-microwave field coupling. However, we show with simulations that the thermal excitation can be compensated by spin-cooling via optical pumping. The resulting population of Dicke states with higher symmetry implies strong coupling with currently available high-quality resonators and enables C-QED effects at room temperature with potential applications in quantum sensing and quantum information processing.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Protein kinases mediate increment of the phosphorylation of cyclic AMP -responsive element binding protein in spinal cord of rats following capsaicin injection

BACKGROUND: Strong noxious stimuli cause plastic changes in spinal nociceptive neurons. Intracellular signal transduction pathways from cellular membrane to nucleus, which may further regulate gene expression by critical transcription factors, convey peripheral stimulation. Cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) is a well-characterized stimulus-induced transcription factor whose activation requires phosphorylation of the Serine-133 residue. Phospho-CREB can further induce gene transcription and strengthen synaptic transmission by the activation of the protein kinase cascades. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which CREB phosphorylation is regulated by protein kinases during nociception. This study was designed to use Western blot analysis to investigate the role of mitogen-activated protein (MAP)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK 1/2), PKA and PKC in regulating the phosphorylation of CREB in the spinal cord of rats following intraplantar capsaicin injection. RESULTS: We found that capsaicin injection significantly increased the phosphorylation level of CREB in the ipsilateral side of the spinal cord. Pharmacological manipulation of MEK 1/2, PKA and PKC with their inhibitors (U0126, H89 and NPC 15473, respectively) significantly blocked this increment of CREB phosphorylation. However, the expression of CREB itself showed no change in any group. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the activation of intracellular MAP kinase, PKA and PKC cascades may contribute to the regulation of phospho-CREB in central nociceptive neurons following peripheral painful stimuli