Genome-Wide Identification, Comprehensive Gene Feature, Evolution, and Expression Analysis of Plant Metal Tolerance Proteins in Tobacco Under Heavy Metal Toxicity

Plant metal tolerance proteins (MTPs) comprise a family of membrane divalent cation transporters that play essential roles in plant mineral nutrition maintenance and heavy metal stresses resistance. However, the evolutionary relationships and biological functions of MTP family in tobacco remain unclear. In the present study, 26, 13, and 12 MTPs in three main Nicotiana species (N. tabacum, N. sylvestris, and N. tomentosiformis) were identified and designated, respectively. The phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, chromosome distributions, conserved motifs, and domains of NtMTPs were systematic analyzed. According to the phylogenetic features, 26 NtMTPs were classified into three major substrate-specific groups that were Zn-cation diffusion facilitators (CDFs), Zn/Fe-CDFs, and Mn-CDFs, and seven primary groups (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12). All of the NtMTPs contained a modified signature sequence and the cation_efflux domain, whereas some of them also harbored the ZT_dimer. Evolutionary analysis showed that NtMTP family of N. tabacum originated from its parental genome of N. sylvestris and N. tomentosiformis, and further underwent gene loss and expanded via one segmental duplication event. Moreover, the prediction of cis-acting elements (CREs) and the microRNA target sites of NtMTP genes suggested the diverse and complex regulatory mechanisms that control NtMTPs gene expression. Expression profile analysis derived from transcriptome data and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the tissue expression patterns of NtMTPs in the same group were similar but varied among groups. Besides, under heavy metal toxicity, NtMTP genes exhibited various responses in either tobacco leaves or roots. 19 and 15 NtMTPs were found to response to at least one metal ion treatment in leaves and roots, respectively. In addition, NtMTP8.1, NtMTP8.4, and NtMTP11.1 exhibited Mn transport abilities in yeast cells. These results provided a perspective on the evolution of MTP genes in tobacco and were helpful for further functional characterization of NtMTP genes

Oral microbiome and risk of malignant esophageal lesions in a high-risk area of China: A nested case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to prospectively evaluate the association of oral microbiome with malignant esophageal lesions and its predictive potential as a biomarker of risk. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study nested within a population-based cohort with up to 8 visits of oral swab collection for each subject over an 11-year period in a high-risk area for esophageal cancer in China. The oral microbiome was evaluated with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing in 428 pre-diagnostic oral specimens from 84 cases with esophageal lesions of severe squamous dysplasia and above (SDA) and 168 matched healthy controls. DESeq analysis was performed to identify taxa of differential abundance. Differential oral species together with subject characteristics were evaluated for their potential in predicting SDA risk by constructing conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 125 taxa including 37 named species showed significantly different abundance between SDA cases and controls (all P0.84. CONCLUSIONS: The oral microbiome may play an etiological and predictive role in esophageal cancer, and it holds promise as a non-invasive early warning biomarker for risk stratification for esophageal cancer screening programs

Why elderly in rural China didn’t wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative narrative interview study

Abstract Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, ageism and stigmatization towards the elderly have been prominent issues. In addition, there have been debates on Chinese social media as to why elderly people in rural areas are not wearing masks. While some factors that affect the mask-wearing behaviour of the elderly have been analyzed, little attention has been given to the lived experiences and behavioral intentions of rural elderly people who choose not to wear masks, despite government mandates to do so. Method In this research, 50 semi-structured interviews with 30 elderly individuals in three Chinese villages were carried out using the qualitative method of semi-structured interviews. Following verbatim recording and transcription of the conversations, the subject was analyzed using the Theory of Reasoned Action. Results We identified four factors that influence the non-masking behaviour of rural elderly, including past experiences, cultural concepts, cognitive attitudes, and health and safety anxiety, and identified nine sub-themes based on the four overarching themes. Past knowledge, experience, and history have led rural elderly people to distrust the government's mandatory “mask mandate,” believing that they do not need to wear masks. Rural cultural concepts and habits make the elderly feel that masks not only fail to provide protection but also become obstacles, resulting in poor daily experiences. Cognitive attitudes and emotions determine the elderly's evaluation of masks, which in turn affects their use of masks. Finally, elderly individuals’chronic diseases directly affect the physical pain and life safety caused by their use of masks, which is a major objective factor for their non-masking. Conclusions Although numerous studies have concluded that Chinese people wore masks out of collectivism and conformity during the pandemic, marginalized groups' opposition to wearing masks also contains distinctive, individualized elements and underlying causes. By exposing these elements and reasons, we can better comprehend the peculiar behavior of particular groups while fighting the pandemic. The needs of marginalized populations should be prioritized by public health policy makers to provide more equitable services

Preparation and characterization of ultrafine Fe-Cu-based catalysts for CO hydrogenation

The ultrafine particles of a new style Fe-Cu-based catalysts for CO hydrogenation were prepared by impregnating the organic sol of Fe(OH)(3) and Cu(OH)(2) onto the activated Al(2)O(3), in which the organic sol of Fe(OH)(3) and Cu(OH)(2) were prepared in the microemulsion of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium (S)/n-butanol (A)/n-toluene(O)/water with V(A)/V(O) = 0.25 and W(A)/W(S) = 1.50. This catalyst wits characterized by particle size analysis, XRD and TG. The results of particle size analysis showed that Fe(OH)(3) particles with a mean size of 17.1 nm and Cu(OH)(2) particles with an average size of 6.65 mu m were obtained. TG analysis and XRD patterns Suggested that 673 K is the optimal calcination temperature. CO hydrogenation produced C(2)(+)OH with a high selectivity above 58 wt% by using the ultrafine particles as catalyst, and the total alcohol yield of 0.250 g.ml(-1).h(-1) was obtained when the contents of Al(2)O(3) and K were 88.61 wt% and 1.60 wt%, respectively

Track Irregularity Assessment in High-Speed Rail by Incorporating Carriage-Body Acceleration with Transfer Function

The determination of the precise track irregularity with unfavorable wavelength, which shall induce vehicle’s violent vibration in terms of the vehicle’s speeds, still challenges the researchers. This study proposes a feasible study of assessing the track irregularity by using the transfer function and the measured carriage-body acceleration by combining the ARX model with state space model. The ARX model and state space model are constructed using system identification to obtain the transfer relation between the track irregularity and the carriage-body acceleration, respectively. The model’s parameters are estimated by the measured data from the high-speed China Railway Comprehensive Inspection Train (CRCIT). The correlation value between the predicted and measured carriage-body acceleration shows that both models can effectively represent the transfer characteristics between the track irregularity and the carriage-body acceleration. Furthermore, the models can help assess the proportion of the vibration caused by track irregularity with the specific wavelengths and determine the track irregularity with unfavorable wavelength

Poling-Free Hydroxyapatite/Polylactide Nanogenerator with Improved Piezoelectricity for Energy Harvesting

Polylactide-based piezoelectric nanogenerators were designed and fabricated with improved piezoelectric performances by blending polylactide with hydroxyapatite. The addition of hydroxyapatite significantly improves the crystallinity of polylactide and helps to form hydrogen bonds, which further improved the piezoelectric output performance of these piezoelectric nanogenerators with over three times the open circuit voltage compared with that of pure-polylactide-based devices. Such excellent piezoelectricity of hydroxyapatite/polylactide-based nanogenerators give them great potential for energy harvesting fields

Insights into the Effect of WJ-7 Fastener Rubber Pad to Vehicle-Rail-Viaduct Coupled Dynamics

The high-speed railway (HSR) has been a long-term hotspot in both scientific and engineering societies to enhance the long-term high quality HSR service. This study aims to investigate the WJ-7B type small resistance fastener rubber pad applied in HSR, and temperature sweep test is applied to determine the mechanical parameters of the fastener rubber pad, which are hereafter introduced into the vehicle-track-viaduct vertical coupling model via dynamic flexibility method. The track irregularity spectrum is considered as fixed-point excitation to investigate the temperature-dependent effect of fastener rubber pad on the dynamic responses. The results reveal that the rigidity of the fastener rubber pad is low temperature sensitive and high temperature stable, and the temperature variation has little effect on the vertical dynamic responses of the vehicle. The dynamic flexibility of the rail increases in amplitude and the dominant frequency decreases as the temperature of the fastener rubber pad increases. The vertical dynamic responses of the wheel-rail force, the wheelset and the rail-viaduct system gradually decrease as the temperature of the fastener rubber pad increases, and the peak frequency follows the similar rule. While under high temperature circumstances, the temperature dependent stiffness of the fastener rubber pad has little influence on the peak of the dominant frequency in the vertical dynamic response of the track-viaduct system

High Step-Up Ratio DC-AC Converter Using Fourth-Order LCLC Resonant Circuit for Ultrasonic Fingerprint-Sensor Drivers

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are becoming more widely used in thick or flexible displays. In order to better identify fingerprint information, ultrasonic sensors need to generate more ultrasonic energy, which can be transmitted to the display surface through media with higher acoustic impedance. In this paper, a DC-AC converter with a high lift ratio was proposed to enhance the transmission energy of the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, thus helping to improve the identification. The converter comprises a full-bridge inverter and two LC resonant circuits. The introduction of an additional LC resonant circuit into the traditional Class-D LC resonant converter effectively increases the boost ratio of the proposed converter from 5 to 22. When used as a part of the ultrasonic fingerprint sensing system, the proposed converter can amplify the 20-V low-voltage DC required to drive the piezoelectric organic film to 376 V high-voltage AC. The voltage of the wave received from this new driver is equal to 970 mV, which greatly exceeds the 376 mV achieved by using the Class-D converter alone. In this paper, the topology proposed by the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor converter driver was experimentally verified, which greatly improved the boost ratio and can be considered suitable for wider applications

Insights into Underrail Rubber Pad’s Effect on Vehicle-Track-Viaduct System Dynamics

To scientifically characterize the dynamic mechanical characteristics of the rubber pad under the rail of fasteners and its influence on the dynamic response of the vehicle-rail-viaduct system, taking the rubber pad under the rail of WJ-7B high-speed railway (HSR) with constant resistance as an example, a TFDV model was applied to characterize the viscoelasticity of the rubber pad and the theoretical model in the dynamic coupling of vehicle-rail-bridge was also studied. The results show that the energy storage modulus and loss factor of rubber pad under rail show a curved surface relation versus the change of frequency-temperature. In a certain frequency/temperature range, the energy storage modulus and loss factor of rubber pad under rail increase with the decrease of temperature and the increase of frequency, and the influence of low temperature on dynamic parameters is more significant. With the decrease of temperature, the minimum value of total dynamic flexibility decreases, and the corresponding extreme frequency shifts to high frequency. Viscoelastic dynamic features of rubber pad under rail mainly affect the dynamic response of vehicle subsystem and rail-bridge subsystem. With the decrease of ambient temperature of rubber pad, the dominant frequency band of power spectrum curve of each structure shifts to high frequency