Characteristics of the Accessible Chromatin Landscape and Transcriptome under Different Temperature Stresses in <i>Bemisia tabaci</i>

Bemisia tabaci is an important invasive pest with worldwide distribution and strong temperature tolerance. Previous studies have shown that temperature tolerance varies significantly between the different invasive populations. Several key factors involved in epigenetic regulation have been identified and verified in B. tabaci; therefore, epigenetic adaptation mechanisms may also exist. This study aimed to detect changes in the chromatin accessibility landscape and genome-wide transcriptome under different temperature stresses in B. tabaci. Assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing and RNA-seq analyses indicated that transcriptional activity of the genes strongly correlates with chromatin accessibility. Chromatin transcription-activated gene expression regulation is dominant during high-temperature stress in B. tabaci, mainly through the transcriptional repression of genes related to low-temperature stress resistance. Furthermore, B. tabaci resists low-temperature stress by regulating enzyme activities and withstands high-temperature stress by regulating metabolism and synthesis of organic substances, both achieved by altering chromatin accessibility. In summary, this study provides a theoretical basis for exploring changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility under different temperature stresses, offering a new approach to unravelling regulatory mechanisms underlying the onset of molecular regulation in response to various temperature stress conditions

Flame Retardancy and Thermal Behavior of Wool Fabric Treated with a Phosphorus-Containing Polycarboxylic Acid

The compound 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) is an eco-friendly water treatment agent possessing flame-retardant phosphorus element and multi-carboxylic acid groups in its molecular structure. In the present work, PBTCA is employed as a finishing agent to improve the flame retardancy of the wool fabrics by the pad-dry-cure technique. The treated wool (10.2% weight gain) by 100 g/L of PBTCA showed an increased flame retardancy with a limiting oxygen index value (LOI) of 44% with a minimum char length of 40 mm. Importantly, the treated wool can self-extinguish after 30 washing cycles. The PBTCA-treated wool exhibited better stability with obviously increased char residue of 39.7% and 28.7% at 600 &deg;C, while only 25.9% and 13.2% were measured for the control wool in nitrogen and air atmosphere, respectively. In addition, the high thermal stability of the treated wool with astonishing char-forming ability is confirmed by the SEM images of the wool after the isothermal heating treatment at different temperatures. Finally, a two-stage flame-retarding mechanism of enhanced crosslinking and char formability of PBTCA-treated wool is proposed and analyzed by infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and thermal (DSC and TGA) results of the pyrolytic volatiles of the treated wool

Manganese-Cobalt Spinel Nanoparticles Anchored on Carbon Nanotubes as Bi-Functional Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction and Oxygen Evolution Reactions

The pivotal role of oxygen electrocatalysis in the realm of energy conversion and storage is unmistakably significant. In an endeavor to diminish the reliance on precious metals, the development of innovative catalysts exhibiting exceptional bifunctional durability and heightened activity for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has garnered considerable scholarly interest. Employing a straightforward two-step methodology, we have successfully synthesized uniformly distributed MnCo2O4 and CoMn2O4 nanoparticles of diminutive size, meticulously anchored onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Owing to the synergistic covalent interplay between the spinel oxide nanoparticles and CNTs, these nanocomposites demonstrate ORR activity on par with, and notably superior OER activity compared to, commercially available Pt/C catalysts. The onset potential of MnCo2O4-CNTs stands at 1.03 V vs. RHE, maintaining 95.76% of its initial current density following a 10,000-s chronoamperometry test. Furthermore, MnCo2O4-CNTs outperform CoMn2O4-CNTs in OER catalysis. The outstanding performance of MnCo2O4-CNTs is attributed to the higher content of Co3+ ions, which are active for the oxygen electrocatalysis

Interaction between the PI3K/AKT pathway and mitochondrial autophagy in macrophages and the leukocyte count in rats with LPS-induced pulmonary infection

This study examined the effects of the PI3K/AKT pathway and mitochondrial autophagy in macrophages and the leukocyte count after pulmonary infection. Sprague‒Dawley rats were subjected to tracheal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to establish animal models of pulmonary infection. By inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway or inhibiting/inducing mitochondrial autophagy in macrophages, the severity of the pulmonary infection and the leukocyte count were altered. The PI3K/AKT inhibition group did not show a significant difference in leukocyte counts compared with the infection model group. Mitochondrial autophagy induction alleviated the pulmonary inflammatory response. The infection model group had significantly higher levels of LC3B, Beclin1, and p-mTOR than the control group. The AKT2 inhibitor group exhibited significantly increased levels of LC3B and Beclin1 compared with the control group (P < 0.05), and the Beclin1 level was significantly higher than that in the infection model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the infection model group, the mitochondrial autophagy inhibitor group exhibited significantly decreased levels of p-AKT2 and p-mTOR, whereas the levels of these proteins were significantly increased in the mitochondrial autophagy inducer group (P < 0.05). PI3K/AKT inhibition promoted mitochondrial autophagy in macrophages. Mitochondrial autophagy induction activated the downstream gene mTOR of the PI3K/AKT pathway, alleviated pulmonary inflammatory reactions, and decreased leukocyte counts