Controlled Assembly of Sb₂S₃ Nanoparticles on Silica/Polymer Nanotubes:Insights into the Nature of Hybrid Interfaces

Silica nanotubes can serve as high aspect ratio templates for the deposition of inorganic nanoparticles to form novel hybrids. However, the nature of the interfacial binding is still an unresolved challenge when considered at the atomic level. In this work, novel nanocomposites have been successfully fabricated by the controlled nucleation and assembly of Sb(2)S(3) nanoparticles on the surface of mercaptopropyl-functionalized silica/polymer hybrid nanotubes (HNTs). The Sb(2)S(3) nanoparticles were strongly attached to the HNTs surface by interactions between the pendent thiol groups and inorganic sulfur atoms. Detailed analysis of the geometric and electronic structure using first–principle density functional theory demonstrates charge transfer from the nanoparticles to the underlying HNTs at the Sb(2)S(3)/HNTs interfaces. Formation of a packed array of Sb(2)S(3) nanoparticles on the HNTs results in mixing of the electronic states of the components, and is mediated by the mercaptopropyl bridges between Sb(2)S(3) and the outer layer of the HNTs

Graphene-analogues boron nitride nanosheets confining ionic liquids: a high-performance quasi-liquid solid electrolyte

Solid electrolytes are one of the most promising electrolyte systems for safe lithium batteries, but the low ionic conductivity of these electrolytes seriously hinders the development of efficient lithium batteries. Here, a novel class of graphene-analogues boron nitride (g-BN) nanosheets confining an ultrahigh concentration of ionic liquids (ILs) in an interlayer and out-of-layer chamber to give rise to a quasi-liquid solid electrolyte (QLSE) is reported. The electron-insulated g-BN nanosheet host with a large specific surface area can confine ILs as much as 10 times of the host's weight to afford high ionic conductivity (3.85 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 25 °C, even 2.32 × 10−4 S cm−1 at −20 °C), which is close to that of the corresponding bulk IL electrolytes. The high ionic conductivity of QLSE is attributed to the enormous absorption for ILs and the confining effect of g-BN to form the ordered lithium ion transport channels in an interlayer and out-of-layer of g-BN. Furthermore, the electrolyte displays outstanding electrochemical properties and battery performance. In principle, this work enables a wider tunability, further opening up a new field for the fabrication of the next-generation QLSE based on layered nanomaterials in energy conversion devices

Shear wave elastography as a quantitative biomarker of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes and the strongest initiating risk factor for diabetic foot ulceration. Early diagnosis of DPN through screening measures is, therefore, of great importance for diabetic patients. Recently, shear wave elastography (SWE) has been used as a method that is complementary to neuroelectrophysiological examination in the diagnosis of DPN. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis based on currently available data to evaluate the performance of tibial nerve stiffness on SWE for diagnosing DPN.MethodsBoth PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for studies that investigated the diagnostic performance of SWE for DPN up to March 1th, 2022. Three measures of diagnostic test performance, including the summary area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC), the summary sensitivity and specificity, and the summary diagnostic odds ratios were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of SWE. All included studies were published between 2017 and 2021.ResultsSix eligible studies (with 170 DPN patients, 28 clinically defined DPN patients, 168 non-DPN patients, and 154 control participants) that evaluated tibial nerve stiffness were included for meta-analysis. The summary sensitivity and specificity of SWE for tibial nerve stiffness were 75% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 68–80%) and 86% (95% CI: 80–90%), respectively, and the summary AUROC was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81–0.87), for diagnosing DPN. A subgroup analysis of five two-dimensional SWE studies revealed similar diagnostic performance, showing the summary sensitivity and specificity of 77% (95% CI: 69–83%) and 86% (95% CI: 79–91%), respectively, and a summary AUROC value of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83–0.89).ConclusionsSWE is found to have good diagnostic accuracy for detecting DPN and has considerable potential as an important and noninvasive adjunctive tool in the management of patients with DPN

Rapid detection of grass carp reovirus type 1 using RPA-based test strips combined with CRISPR Cas13a system

IntroductionDue to the existence of grass carp reovirus (GCRV), grass carp hemorrhagic disease occurs frequently, and its high pathogenicity and infectivity are great challenges to the aquaculture industry. As a highly pathogenic pathogen, the outbreak of hemorrhagic disease often causes tremendous economic losses. Therefore, it is important to rapidly and accurately detect GCRV on site to control timely.MethodsIn this study, recombinant enzyme amplification (RPA) combined with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas13a system was employed to establish a method to detect the vp7 gene of grass carp reovirus type 1. This method can be adopted for judging the results by collecting fluorescence signal, ultraviolet excitation visual fluorescence and test strip.ResultsCombined with the RPA amplification experiment, the detection limit of the RPA-CRISPR method can reach 7.2 × 101 copies/μL of vp7 gene per reaction, and the detection process can be completed within 1 h. In addition, this method had no cross-reaction with the other 11 common aquatic pathogens. Then, the performance of the RPA-CRISPR/Cas13a detection method was evaluated by comparing it with the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR detection method of clinical samples. The results of RPA-CRISPR/Cas13a detection were shown to be in consistence with the results obtained from the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR detection. The coincidence rate of this method with 26 GCRV clinical samples was 92.31%.DiscussionIn summary, this method has high sensitivity, specificity and on-site practicability for detecting GCRV type 1, and has great application potential in on-site GCRV monitoring

Gene expression profiling in Rosa roxburghii fruit and overexpressing RrGGP2 in tobacco and tomato indicates the key control point of AsA biosynthesis

Rosa roxburghii Tratt. is an important commercial horticultural crop endemic to China, which is recognized for its extremely high content of L-ascorbic acid (AsA). To understand the mechanisms underlying AsA overproduction in fruit of R. roxburghii, content levels, accumulation rate, and the expression of genes putatively in the biosynthesis of AsA during fruit development have been characterized. The content of AsA increased with fruit weight during development, and AsA accumulation rate was found to be highest between 60 and 90 days after anthesis (DAA), with approximately 60% of the total amount being accumulated during this period. In vitro incubating analysis of 70DAA fruit flesh tissues confirmed that AsA was synthesized mainly via the L-galactose pathway although L-Gulono-1, 4-lactone was also an effective precursor elevating AsA biosynthesis. Furthermore, in transcript level, AsA content was significantly associated with GDP-L-galactose phosphorylase (RrGGP2) gene expression. Virus-induced RrGGP2 silencing reduced the AsA content in R. roxburghii fruit by 28.9%. Overexpressing RrGGP2 increased AsA content by 8-12-fold in tobacco leaves and 2.33-3.11-fold in tomato fruit, respectively, and it showed enhanced resistance to oxidative stress caused by paraquat in transformed tobacco. These results further justified the importance of RrGGP2 as a major control step to AsA biosynthesis in R. roxburghii fruit

Hydrogeochemical processes of groundwater system and its mining-motivated effect in mining areas of Western China

The exploitation of coal resources will destroy the aquifer structure, disturb the groundwater system and produce a new water cycle model. As the focus of coal supply and production, the western mining area is short of water resources and fragile in ecology. High-intensity and large-scale mining aggravates this disturbance and makes the hydrochemical process such as water-rock interaction more intense. The coal mining-motivated effect of groundwater system hydrochemistry behind it is a key scientific problem related to the prediction accuracy of coal mine safety mining and the protection of groundwater environment in green mining. In view of this, taking the Caojiatan coal mine in western Yushen mining area as an example, using the principles and methods of hydrogeochemistry, from the perspective of ‘what it is’, ‘why it is’ and ‘how it changes’, the results of mining-motivated effect, the process of mining-motivated effect, and the evolution trend of hydrochemistry are systematically studied. The results show that the groundwater in the study area can be divided into five clusters. Cluster Ⅰ represents the shallow groundwater dominated by Quaternary and weathered bedrock aquifers in the west wing of the mine field after coal mining. Cluster Ⅱ represents the mixing of groundwater before and after mining. Cluster Ⅲ represents the groundwater before mining. Cluster Ⅳ and Cluster Ⅴ mainly represent the groundwater of Yan’an Formation after mining. After coal mining, the proportion of HCO3–Ca and HCO3–Mg in the groundwater samples of the fourth and fifth sections of Zhiluo Formation and Yan’an Formation increased, the shallow groundwater quality after mining in the west wing of the mine field was the best as a whole, and the water quality of each aquifer has a tendency to evolve well and is not sensitive to the response of coal mining. The groundwater in the study area is controlled by the ion exchange, and the groundwater in the fourth and above aquifers of Yan’an Formation before coal mining is controlled by the dissolution of carbonate and silicate rocks. The shallow groundwater in the west wing of the mine field after coal mining is controlled by the dissolution of carbonate rocks. The groundwater in the aquifers of the Zhiluo Formation and the fourth and fifth sections of the Yan’an Formation is mainly controlled by the dissolution of silicate rocks and the oxidation of FeS2. The groundwater in the aquifers of the third and lower sections of the Yan’an Formation is mainly controlled by the dissolution of evaporated salt. Coal mining accelerates the circulation speed of groundwater and the hydraulic connection between aquifers. The resulting dilution effect and the discharge measures after mine water treatment are the reasons for the hydrochemical characteristics and water quality evolution of the aquifers in the fourth section of Yan'an Formation and above. In the future, we should continue to do a good job in the discharge of mine water after treatment, and pay attention to the trend of groundwater characteristics in the fifth section of Zhiluo Formation and Yan’an Formation evolving to shallow groundwater, so as to avoid misjudgment of the results of water inrush sources

Rapid flotation of Microcystis wesenbergii mediated by high light exposure: implications for surface scum formation and cyanobacterial species succession

Increasing occurrences of Microcystis surface scum have been observed in the context of global climate change and the increase in anthropogenic pollution, causing deteriorating water quality in aquatic ecosystems. Previous studies on scum formation mainly focus on the buoyancy-driven floating process of larger Microcystis colonies, neglecting other potential mechanisms. To study the non-buoyancy-driven rapid flotation of Microcystis, we here investigate the floating processes of two strains of single-cell species (Microcystis aeruginosa and Microcystis wesenbergii), which are typically buoyant, under light conditions (150 μmol photons s−1 m−2). Our results showed that M. wesenbergii exhibited fast upward migration and formed surface scum within 4 hours, while M. aeruginosa did not form visible scum throughout the experiments. To further explore the underlying mechanism of these processes, we compared the dissolved oxygen (DO), extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) content, and colony size of Microcystis in different treatments. We found supersaturated DO and the formation of micro-bubbles (50–200 µm in diameter) in M. wesenbergii treatments. M. aeruginosa produces bubbles in small quantities and small sizes. Additionally, M. wesenbergii produced more EPS and tended to aggregate into larger colonies. M. wesenbergii had much more derived-soluble extracellular proteins and polysaccharides compared to M. aeruginosa. At the same time, M. wesenbergii contains abundant functional groups, which was beneficial to the formation of agglomerates. The surface scum observed in M. wesenbergii is likely due to micro-bubbles attaching to the surface of cell aggregates or becoming trapped within the colony. Our study reveals a species-specific mechanism for the rapid floatation of Microcystis, providing novel insights into surface scum formation as well as succession of cyanobacterial species

Single-Cell Dna Methylome and 3D Multi-Omic Atlas of the Adult Mouse Brain

Cytosine DNA methylation is essential in brain development and is implicated in various neurological disorders. Understanding DNA methylation diversity across the entire brain in a spatial context is fundamental for a complete molecular atlas of brain cell types and their gene regulatory landscapes. Here we used single-nucleus methylome sequencing (snmC-seq3) and multi-omic sequencing (snm3C-seq)1 technologies to generate 301,626 methylomes and 176,003 chromatin conformation–methylome joint profiles from 117 dissected regions throughout the adult mouse brain. Using iterative clustering and integrating with companion whole-brain transcriptome and chromatin accessibility datasets, we constructed a methylation-based cell taxonomy with 4,673 cell groups and 274 cross-modality-annotated subclasses. We identified 2.6 million differentially methylated regions across the genome that represent potential gene regulation elements. Notably, we observed spatial cytosine methylation patterns on both genes and regulatory elements in cell types within and across brain regions. Brain-wide spatial transcriptomics data validated the association of spatial epigenetic diversity with transcription and improved the anatomical mapping of our epigenetic datasets. Furthermore, chromatin conformation diversities occurred in important neuronal genes and were highly associated with DNA methylation and transcription changes. Brain-wide cell-type comparisons enabled the construction of regulatory networks that incorporate transcription factors, regulatory elements and their potential downstream gene targets. Finally, intragenic DNA methylation and chromatin conformation patterns predicted alternative gene isoform expression observed in a whole-brain SMART-seq2 dataset. Our study establishes a brain-wide, single-cell DNA methylome and 3D multi-omic atlas and provides a valuable resource for comprehending the cellular–spatial and regulatory genome diversity of the mouse brain

The Local Origin of the Tibetan Pig and Additional Insights into the Origin of Asian Pigs

BACKGROUND: The domestic pig currently indigenous to the Tibetan highlands is supposed to have been introduced during a continuous period of colonization by the ancestors of modern Tibetans. However, there is no direct genetic evidence of either the local origin or exotic migration of the Tibetan pig. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We analyzed mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVI) variation of 218 individuals from seven Tibetan pig populations and 1,737 reported mtDNA sequences from domestic pigs and wild boars across Asia. The Bayesian consensus tree revealed a main haplogroup M and twelve minor haplogroups, which suggested a large number of small scale in situ domestication episodes. In particular, haplogroups D1 and D6 represented two highly divergent lineages in the Tibetan highlands and Island Southeastern Asia, respectively. Network analysis of haplogroup M further revealed one main subhaplogroup M1 and two minor subhaplogroups M2 and M3. Intriguingly, M2 was mainly distributed in Southeastern Asia, suggesting for a local origin. Similar with haplogroup D6, M3 was mainly restricted in Island Southeastern Asia. This pattern suggested that Island Southeastern Asia, but not Southeastern Asia, might be the center of domestication of the so-called Pacific clade (M3 and D6 here) described in previous studies. Diversity gradient analysis of major subhaplogroup M1 suggested three local origins in Southeastern Asia, the middle and downstream regions of the Yangtze River, and the Tibetan highlands, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified two new origin centers for domestic pigs in the Tibetan highlands and in the Island Southeastern Asian region

The Mitochondrial Genome of Baylisascaris procyonis

BACKGROUND: Baylisascaris procyonis (Nematoda: Ascaridida), an intestinal nematode of raccoons, is emerging as an important helminthic zoonosis due to serious or fatal larval migrans in animals and humans. Despite its significant veterinary and public health impact, the epidemiology, molecular ecology and population genetics of this parasite remain largely unexplored. Mitochondrial (mt) genomes can provide a foundation for investigations in these areas and assist in the diagnosis and control of B. procyonis. In this study, the first complete mt genome sequence of B. procyonis was determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based primer-walking strategy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The circular mt genome (14781 bp) of B. procyonis contained 12 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNA and 2 ribosomal RNA genes congruent with other chromadorean nematodes. Interestingly, the B. procyonis mtDNA featured an extremely long AT-rich region (1375 bp) and a high number of intergenic spacers (17), making it unique compared with other secernentean nematodes characterized to date. Additionally, the entire genome displayed notable levels of AT skew and GC skew. Based on pairwise comparisons and sliding window analysis of mt genes among the available 11 Ascaridida mtDNAs, new primer pairs were designed to amplify specific short fragments of the genes cytb (548 bp fragment) and rrnL (200 bp fragment) in the B. procyonis mtDNA, and tested as possible alternatives to existing mt molecular beacons for Ascaridida. Finally, phylogenetic analysis of mtDNAs provided novel estimates of the interrelationships of Baylisasaris and Ascaridida. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The complete mt genome sequence of B. procyonis sequenced here should contribute to molecular diagnostic methods, epidemiological investigations and ecological studies of B. procyonis and other related ascaridoids. The information will be important in refining the phylogenetic relationships within the order Ascaridida and enriching the resource of markers for systematic, population genetic and evolutionary biological studies of parasitic nematodes of socio-economic importance