Porous Wood Members-Based Amplified Colorimetric Sensor for Hg2+ Detection through Hg2+-Triggered Methylene Blue Reduction Reactions.

Wood has attracted increasing scientific interest in the field of green electronics, biological devices, bioenergy, and energy storage because of its abundance, low cost, biocompatibility, and natural vessel structure. However, its potential application in the important area of environmental monitoring has not yet been effectively explored. In this work, gold nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulated in porous wood (denoted as Au@wood) for high-performance colorimetric detection of Hg2+ in aqueous solution have been constructed. The detection mechanism is based on Hg2+-triggered methylene blue (MB) reduction-assisted signal amplification. In such a detection system, Au NPs can be used as a specific identification element for the binding of Hg2+ due to the formation of gold amalgam to initiate catalytic activity of gold. The low-cost natural wood is introduced to prevent the aggregation of Au NPs and increase the contact area between MB and Au NPs in three-dimensional space. MB, as a tracer molecule, enables the output signals to be directly observed by the naked eye. Such a detection system exhibited an ultralow detection limit of 32 pM for Hg2+, which is greatly lower than the threshold levels (10 nM) for drinking water and other colorimetric methods. The proposed detection system also exhibits high selectivity against other metal ions and works well for environmental water and blood samples. The resultant Au@wood sensor is low cost, easy handling, and convenient, making it an attractive material for point-of-use monitoring of Hg2+ in environmental and biological samples.

Reversible Response of Luminescent Terbium(III)-Nanocellulose Hydrogels to Anions for Latent Fingerprint Detection and Encryption.

Fingerprint fluorescence imaging has become one of the most prominent technologies in the field of forensic medicine, but it seldom considers the security protection of detection information, which is of great importance in modern society. Herein we demonstrate that luminescent TbIII -carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) complex binding aptamer hydrogels that are reversibly responsive to ClO- /SCN- can be used for the selective detection, protection, and storage of fingerprint information. The imaging information of the fingerprint can be quenched and recovered by ClO- /SCN- regulation, respectively, resulting in reversible on/off conversion of the luminescence signals for the encryption and decryption of multiple levels of information. The present study opens new avenues for multilevel imaging, data recording, and security protection of fingerprint information with tunable fluorescent hydrogels.

Coping with alpine habitats: genomic insights into the adaptation strategies of Triplostegia glandulifera (Caprifoliaceae).

How plants find a way to thrive in alpine habitats remains largely unknown. Here we present a chromosome-level genome assembly for an alpine medicinal herb, Triplostegia glandulifera (Caprifoliaceae), and 13 transcriptomes from other species of Dipsacales. We detected a whole-genome duplication event in T. glandulifera that occurred prior to the diversification of Dipsacales. Preferential gene retention after whole-genome duplication was found to contribute to increasing cold-related genes in T. glandulifera. A series of genes putatively associated with alpine adaptation (e.g. CBFs, ERF-VIIs, and RAD51C) exhibited higher expression levels in T. glandulifera than in its low-elevation relative, Lonicera japonica. Comparative genomic analysis among five pairs of high- vs low-elevation species, including a comparison of T. glandulifera and L. japonica, indicated that the gene families related to disease resistance experienced a significantly convergent contraction in alpine plants compared with their lowland relatives. The reduction in gene repertory size was largely concentrated in clades of genes for pathogen recognition (e.g. CNLs, prRLPs, and XII RLKs), while the clades for signal transduction and development remained nearly unchanged. This finding reflects an energy-saving strategy for survival in hostile alpine areas, where there is a tradeoff with less challenge from pathogens and limited resources for growth. We also identified candidate genes for alpine adaptation (e.g. RAD1, DMC1, and MSH3) that were under convergent positive selection or that exhibited a convergent acceleration in evolutionary rate in the investigated alpine plants. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the high-elevation adaptation strategies of this and other alpine plants.

Agronomic and Genetic Strategies to Enhance Selenium Accumulation in Crops and Their Influence on Quality.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of humans, animals, and certain plants. It is extensively present throughout the Earth's crust and is absorbed by crops in the form of selenates and selenite, eventually entering the food chain. Se biofortification is an agricultural process that employs agronomic and genetic strategies. Its goal is to enhance the mechanisms of crop uptake and the accumulation of exogenous Se, resulting in the production of crops enriched with Se. This process ultimately contributes to promoting human health. Agronomic strategies in Se biofortification aim to enhance the availability of exogenous Se in crops. Concurrently, genetic strategies focus on improving a crop's capacity to uptake, transport, and accumulate Se. Early research primarily concentrated on optimizing Se biofortification methods, improving Se fertilizer efficiency, and enhancing Se content in crops. In recent years, there has been a growing realization that Se can effectively enhance crop growth and increase crop yield, thereby contributing to alleviating food shortages. Additionally, Se has been found to promote the accumulation of macro-nutrients, antioxidants, and beneficial mineral elements in crops. The supplementation of Se biofortified foods is gradually emerging as an effective approach for promoting human dietary health and alleviating hidden hunger. Therefore, in this paper, we provide a comprehensive summary of the Se biofortification conducted over the past decade, mainly focusing on Se accumulation in crops and its impact on crop quality. We discuss various Se biofortification strategies, with an emphasis on the impact of Se fertilizer strategies on crop Se accumulation and their underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we highlight Se's role in enhancing crop quality and offer perspective on Se biofortification in crop improvement, guiding future mechanistic explorations and applications of Se biofortification.

NIR emissive light-harvesting systems through perovskite passivation and sequential energy transfer for third-level fingerprint imaging.

A near-infrared (NIR) emissive artificial light-harvesting system with two-step high-efficiency sequential resonance energy transfers was fabricated based on the in situ growth of MAPbBr3 quantum dots in the supramolecular self-assembly of a Zn(II) carboxyl-functionalized pillar[5]arene coordination polymer and two different fluorescent dyes, eosin Y and Nile blue. This system could realize NIR fluorescent imaging of the sweat pores of latent fingerprints, opening a new avenue to design perovskite-based NIR emitting artificial light-harvesting systems for third-level fingerprint imaging.

Colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor for highly selective and sensitive relay detection of Cu2+ and H2PO4- in aqueous media.

In this manuscript, a new colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor (T) was designed and synthesized, it could successively detect Cu2+ and H2PO4- in DMSO/H2O (v/v=9:1, pH=7.2) buffer solution with high selectivity and sensitivity. When added Cu2+ ions into the solution of T, it showed a color changes from yellow to colorless, meanwhile, the green fluorescence of sensor T quenched. This recognition behavior was not affected in the presence of other cations, including Hg2+, Ag+, Ca2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Cr3+, and Mg2+ ions. More interestingly, the Cu2+ ions contain sensor T solution could recover the color and fluorescence upon the addition of H2PO4- anions in the same medium. And other surveyed anions (including F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, AcO-, HSO4-, ClO4-, CN- and SCN-) had nearly no influence on the recognition behavior. The detection limits of T to Cu2+ and T-Cu2+ to H2PO4- were evaluated to be 1.609×10-8M and 0.994×10-7M, respectively. In addition, the sensor T also could be served as a recyclable component and the logic gate output was also defined in sensing materials. The test strips based on sensor T were fabricated, which acted as a convenient and efficient Cu2+ and H2PO4- test kits.

Anti-hyperuricemic and nephroprotective effects of Rhizoma Dioscoreae septemlobae extracts and its main component dioscin via regulation of mOAT1, mURAT1 and mOCT2 in hypertensive mice.

Rhizoma Dioscoreae septemlobae (RDSE) has been widely used for the treatment of hyperuricemia in China. However, the therapeutic mechanism has been unknown. This study investigated the antihyperuricemic mechanisms of the extracts obtained from RDSE and its main component dioscin (DIS) in hyperuricemic mice. Hyperuricemic mice were induced by potassium oxonate (250 mg/kg). RDSE or DIS was orally administered to hyperuricemic mice at dosages of 319.22, 638.43, 1276.86 mg/kg/day for 10 days, respectively. Uric acid or creatinine in serum and urine was determined by HPLC or HPLC-MS/MS, respectively. The xanthine oxidase (XO) activities in mice liver were examined in vitro. Protein levels of organic anion transporter 1 (mOAT1), urate transporter 1 (mURAT1) and organic cation transporter 2 (mOCT2) in the kidney were analyzed by western blotting. The results indicated that uric acid and creatinine in serum were significantly increased by potassium oxonate, as compared to that of control mice. Compared saline-treated group, after RDSE treatment in the high and middle dose, the expression of mOAT1 increased 47.98 and 54.48 %, respectively, which accompanied with the decreased expression of mURAT1 (47.63 %) in high dose. After DIS treatment in high, middle and low dose, the expression of mOAT1 increased 23.93, 32.80 and 25.28 % compared to saline-treated group, respectively, which accompanied with the decreased expression of mURAT1 (51.07, 51.42 and 51.35 %). However, RDSE and DIS displayed a weak XO inhibition activity compared with allopurinol. Therefore, RDSE and DIS processed uricosuric and nephroprotective actions by regulation of mOAT1, mURAT1 and mOCT2.

Clinical characteristics and surgical treatment of oesophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumours.

OBJECTIVE: Oesophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are extremely rare. The preoperative diagnosis is complicated by lack of specificity and the clinical features of patients with oesophageal GISTs need to be fully studied. METHODS: We have reviewed retrospectively the medical records of those patients who are treated surgically for oesophageal GISTs in our two hospitals. RESULTS: Eight oesophageal GISTs were identified among the 63 oesophageal mesenchymal tumours in our two hospitals in the past 30 years. Of the eight patients, the male:female ratio was 5:3; the median age of the patients was 57 years (range 49-71 years). Dysphagia was the most common symptom, and all cases were diagnosed postoperatively. The tumours were resected by enucleation or oesophagectomy. The median follow-up was 59 months, ranging from 14 to 202 months, with four of the patients succumbing to the disease, among them two with recurrence and another two with metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that oesophageal GIST is rather rare, and it has relatively high recurrence and mortality rates, especially for patients with large tumours (larger than 9 cm). At present, surgical resection and postoperative diagnosis remain the mainstay for treatment of patients with oesophageal GISTs in China.