1,4-Dimeth­oxy-2,5-bis­{2-[4-(trifluoro­meth­yl)phen­yl]ethyn­yl}benzene

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C26H16F6O2, contains one half of the mol­ecule situated on an inversion centre. In the rod-like mol­ecule, the two terminal benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 71.9 (1)° with the central benzene ring. The trifluoro­methyl group is rotationally disordered over two orientations in a 0.53 (1):0.47 (1) ratio. The crystal packing exhibits no classical inter­molecular inter­actions

Structural state scale-dependent physical characteristics and endurance of cermet composite for cutting metal

A structural-phase state developed on the surface of a TiC/Ni-Cr-Al cermet alloy under superfast heating and cooling produced by pulse electron beam melting has been presented. The effect of the surface's structural state multimodality on the temperature dependencies of thefriction and endurance of the cermet tool in cutting metal has been investigated. The high-energy flux treatment of subsurface layers by electron beam pulses in argon-containing gas discharge plasma serves to improve the endurance of metal cutting tools manifold (by a factor of 6), to reduce the friction via precipitation of secondary 200 nm carbides in binder interlayers. It is possible to improve the cermet tool endurance for cutting metal by a factor of 10-12 by irradiating the cermet in a reactive nitrogen-containing atmosphere with the ensuingprecipitation of nanosize 50 nm AlN particles in the binder interlayers

Whole-Genome Sequencing Of Mesorhizobium huakuii 7653R Provides Molecular Insights into Host Specificity and Symbiosis Island Dynamics

Background Evidence based on genomic sequences is urgently needed to confirm the phylogenetic relationship between Mesorhizobium strain MAFF303099 and M. huakuii. To define underlying causes for the rather striking difference in host specificity between M. huakuii strain 7653R and MAFF303099, several probable determinants also require comparison at the genomic level. An improved understanding of mobile genetic elements that can be integrated into the main chromosomes of Mesorhizobium to form genomic islands would enrich our knowledge of how genome dynamics may contribute to Mesorhizobium evolution in general. Results In this study, we sequenced the complete genome of 7653R and compared it with five other Mesorhizobium genomes. Genomes of 7653R and MAFF303099 were found to share a large set of orthologs and, most importantly, a conserved chromosomal backbone and even larger perfectly conserved synteny blocks. We also identified candidate molecular differences responsible for the different host specificities of these two strains. Finally, we reconstructed an ancestral Mesorhizobium genomic island that has evolved into diverse forms in different Mesorhizobium species. Conclusions Our ortholog and synteny analyses firmly establish MAFF303099 as a strain of M. huakuii. Differences in nodulation factors and secretion systems T3SS, T4SS, and T6SS may be responsible for the unique host specificities of 7653R and MAFF303099 strains. The plasmids of 7653R may have arisen by excision of the original genomic island from the 7653R chromosome

Cosmosycanus perelegans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae), a new record from China, with report of its female genitalia

Zhao, Ping, Ren, Shuzhi, Wang, Baohai, Cai, Wanzhi (2015): Cosmosycanus perelegans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae), a new record from China, with report of its female genitalia. Zootaxa 3936 (4): 567-574, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3936.4.

A new species of the genus Sphedanolestes Stål 1866 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae) from China, with a key to Chinese species

Zhao, Ping, Ren, Shuzhi, Wang, Baohai, Cai, Wanzhi (2015): A new species of the genus Sphedanolestes Stål 1866 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae) from China, with a key to Chinese species. Zootaxa 3985 (4): 591-599, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3985.4.

FIGURES 7–17 in Cosmosycanus perelegans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae), a new record from China, with report of its female genitalia

FIGURES 7–17. Cosmosycanus perelegans (Breddin). 7, Head and pronotum, antennae removed; 8, 9, abdomen; 10, 11, pygophore; 12, 13, paramere; 14, phallobase; 15, phallus; 16, 17, phallosoma. 7–9, ♀, 10–17, ♂; 7, 8, 10–17, China, Guangxi; 9, Vietnam, Hoa Binh; 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, lateral view; 10, caudal view; 16, dorsal view; 17, ventral view. Scale bar of 7–9 = 2.5 mm; of 10–17 = 0.6 mm

Verbascoside attenuates experimental varicocele-induced damage to testes and sperm levels through up-regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis

Context Verbascoside (VB), which is found in many medicinal plant families, exhibits biological activities in various diseases. However, its effects on varicocele (VCL)-induced damage remain unknown. Objective To investigate the effects and mechanism of VB on experimental rats with varicocele (VCL)-induced damage. Materials and methods Sixty sexually mature male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into six groups (n = 10): control, control-sham, VCL-vehicle (normal saline), and VCL + VB groups (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally). After 4 weeks of VB treatment, all animals were sacrificed, and the body and testicular weight, sperm quality parameters, histopathology, antioxidant status, and hormone levels were tested. The levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone in the hypothalamus were detected by western blot. Results Compared with the VCL-vehicle group (41.14%), administration of VB significantly increased the sperm viability (59.29, 65.45, 84.93%). VB groups showed higher Johnson’s score (3.57 ± 0.15, 4.71 ± 0.26, 7.93 ± 0.37) than VCL-vehicle group (2.72 ± 0.24). Antioxidant status and hormone levels alterations were also observed. Meanwhile, the mean number of apoptotic tubules (8.15 ± 0.96, 6.61 ± 1.05, 2.17 ± 0.08) and apoptotic index showed a marked decrease. Compared with the VCL-vehicle group (0.21 ± 0.09), the VB groups (0.36 ± 0.07, 0.42 ± 0.06, 0.88 ± 0.10) showed considerable increases in GnRH. Discussion and conclusions VB has protective effects on reproductive organs and VB may be therapeutically useful in the treatment of varicocele through up-regulation of the HPG axis

Exploring the relationship of brown adipose tissue to bone microarchitecture using 7T MRI and micro-CT

Background. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is involved both in energy production and bone metabolism. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between BAT and microarchitecture at cancellous and cortical bone using Kunming mice and the methods of 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with micro-CT. Methods. Twenty-four female Kunming mice were examined by 7T MRI and measured T2* relaxation time on the deep and superficial interscapular BAT (iBAT) and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (sWAT). Cancellous bone microarchitecture of the distal femur and cortical bone of the middle femur were examined by micro-CT. A paired t-test was used to analyze the differences in T2* values between iBAT and sWAT. The correlation between BAT T2* values and bone microstructure parameters were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation. Results. T2* values of the deep and superficial iBAT (6.36±3.31 ms and 6.23±2.61 ms) were significantly shorter than those of sWAT (16.30±3.05 ms, tdeep iBAT=- 10.816), tsuperficial iBAT=-12.276, p<0.01). Deep iBAT T2* values were significantly and negatively correlated with bone volume, cancellous thickness, and bone thickness (Th) and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) of the cancellous bone of femur. Deep iBAT T2* values were significantly and positively correlated with the structural model index of cancellous bone of femur. Deep iBAT T2* values were significantly and negatively correlated with bone mineral density of the cortical bone of femur. Conclusions. MRI can distinguish the two adipose tissues from each other. T2* values of BAT were lower than WAT on MRI. BAT related bone remodeling was more correlated with the microstructure of cancellous bone than that of cortical bone

A Genome-Wide Prediction and Identification of Intergenic Small RNAs by Comparative Analysis in Mesorhizobium huakuii 7653R

In bacteria, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are critical regulators of cellular adaptation to changes in metabolism, physiology, or the external environment. In the last decade, more than 2000 of sRNA families have been reported in the Rfam database and have been shown to exert various regulatory functions in bacterial transcription and translation. However, little is known about sRNAs and their functions in Mesorhizobium. Here, we predicted putative sRNAs in the intergenic regions (IGRs) of M. huakuii 7653R by genome-wide comparisons with four related Mesorhizobial strains. The expression and transcribed regions of candidate sRNAs were analyzed using a set of high-throughput RNA deep sequencing data. In all, 39 candidate sRNAs were found, with 5 located in the symbiotic megaplasmids and 34 in the chromosome of M. huakuii 7653R. Of these, 24 were annotated as functional sRNAs in the Rfam database and 15 were recognized as putative novel sRNAs. The expression of nine selected sRNAs was confirmed by Northern blotting, and most of the nine selected sRNAs were highly expressed in 28 dpi nodules and under symbiosis-mimicking conditions. For those putative novel sRNAs, functional categorizations of their target genes were performed by analyzing the enriched GO terms. In addition, MH_s15 was shown to be an abundant and conserved sRNA

Stable and durable laser-induced graphene patterns embedded in polymer substrates

The stability and durability of laser-induced graphene (LIG) patterns embedded in polymer substrates are significant for their practical application. However, most of currently reported LIG precursors are facing the dilemma of weak structural controllability, poor resistance to acid/base, or bad processability. In this work, we efficiently converted the synthesized poly (Ph-ddm) into LIG using a straightforward CO2 laser, aiming to find a potential LIG precursor with excellent durability under harsh conditions. The graphene structure of obtained LIG was confirmed by Raman spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results indicated that the poly (Ph-ddm)-based LIG showed a low sheet resistance of 35 Omega/sq as well as a high specific surface area of 883 m(2)/g. And due to the superior properties of poly (Ph-ddm), the LIG patterns exhibited excellent resistance to strong acid/base solutions and high adhesion on the substrate, which ensured their stable application under severe conditions. Besides, potential application of as-prepared LIG was demonstrated in well-performed supercapacitors and electrode for water splitting in an alkaline medium. Based on the results in this work, polybenzoxazine could be a promising precursor for stable and durable LIG preparation. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved