Nano-Micro Core-Shell Fibers for Efficient Pest Trapping.

Insect sex pheromones as an alternative to chemical pesticides hold promising prospects in pest control. However, their burst release and duration need to be optimized. Herein, pheromone-loaded core-shell fibers composed of degradable polycaprolactone and polyhydroxybutyrate were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. The results showed that this core-shell fiber had good hydrophobic performance and thermal stability, and the light transmittance in the ultraviolet band was only below 40%, which provided protection to pheromones. The core-shell structure alleviated the burst release of pheromone in the fiber and extended the release time to about 133 days. In the field, the pheromone-loaded core-shell fibers showed the same continuous and efficient trapping of Spodoptera litura as the commercial carriers. More importantly, the electrospun fibers combined with biomaterials had a degradability unmatched by commercial carriers. The structure design strategy provides ideas for the innovative design of pheromone carriers and is a potential tool for the management of agricultural pests.

28-day repeated dose toxicity and toxicokinetics study on new melatonergic antidepressant GW117 in beagle dogs.

GW117 is new melatonergic antidepressant being developed to show better antidepressant action than agomelatine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and to determine potential target organs after oral (gavage) administration of the test article GW117 for 28 days and to assess the reversibility after a 4-week recovery phase in beagle dogs. Toxicokinetics was also evaluated. Four groups were designed in this study, including the vehicle control group and the GW117 50, 150 and 500 mg/kg/day groups, with 5 dogs/sex/group. Body weight, hematology, clinical chemistry, gross necropsy, organ weight, histopathology, and other indicators were examined. Results showed that animals dosed at ≥150 mg/kg/day showed gastrointestinal reactions (watery feces and dark green/red brown feces), with a dose-response relationship in the incidence and severity grade. Female dogs at 500 mg/kg/day had an increase in organ weight and ratios of the liver at the end of the dosing phase. Histopathology examination showed that some animals at 500 mg/kg/day, especially female animals, had minimal centrilobular hepatocyte hypertrophy in the liver, which reversed after 28-day recovery. With the exception of the above, no GW117-related abnormality was noted. Meanwhile, there were no sexual differences in drug exposure and accumulation after the first and last dosing. The no observed adverse effect dose level (NOAEL) was 150 mg/kg/day, under which mean Cmax and AUC0 → t were 583.5 and 2767.0 ng/ml*h for females and 663.2 and 4046.3 ng/ml*h for males on Day 28.

Preparation of Thifluzamide Polylactic Acid Glycolic Acid Copolymer Microspheres and Its Effect on the Growth of Cucumber Seedlings.

The polylactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer (PLGA) has been proven to be applicable in medicine, but there is limited research on its application and safety in the agricultural field. In this paper, thifluzamide PLGA microspheres were prepared via phacoemulsification and solvent volatilization, using the PLGA copolymer as the carrier and thifluzamide as the active component. It was found that the microspheres had good slow-release performance and fungicidal activity against Rhizoctonia solani. A comparative study was conducted to show the effect of thifluzamide PLGA microspheres on cucumber seedlings. Physiological and biochemical indexes of cucumber seedlings, including dry weight, root length, chlorophyll, protein, flavonoids, and total phenol content, indicated that the negative effect of thifluzamide on plant growth could be mitigated when it was wrapped in PLGA microspheres. This work explores the feasibility of PLGA as carriers in fungicide applications.

Performance of constructed wetlands with different water level for treating graphene oxide wastewater: Characteristics of plants and microorganisms.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been expected advantages in emerging pollutant removal, but with less known on their characteristic when treating wastewater containing graphene oxide (GO). In present study, we investigated characteristics of Iris pseudacorus, microorganisms, and pollutant removal in CWs with 60 cm and 37 cm water level (termed HCW and LCW). Plants in LCW had higher chlorophyll content and lower activities of antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase) as well as malondialdehyde content. Substrate enzyme activities were affected by time and CW type. LCW increased only dehydrogenase activities, while HCW increased catalase, urease, neutral phosphatase, and arylsulfatase activities. Sequencing analysis revealed that microbial community showed higher richness and diversity in LCW, but this dissimilarity could be eased by time-effect. Proteobacteria (25.62-60.36%) and Actinobacteria (13.86-56.20%) were stable dominant phyla in CWs. Ratio of Proteobacteria/Acidobacteria indicated that trophic status of plant rhizosphere zone was lower in LCW. Nitrospirae were enriched to 0.16-0.68% and 0.75-1.42% in HCW and LCW. The enrichment of phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes in HCW was attributed to class Gammaproteobacteria and genus Enterococcus. GO transformation showed some reductions in CWs, which could be affected by water depth and substrate depth. Overall, HCW achieved nitrogen and phosphorus removal for 48.78-62.99% and 95.01%, which decreased by 8.41% and 7.31% in LCW. COD removal was less affected reaching 93%. This study could provide some new evidence for CWs to treat wastewater containing GO.

Gradient-Descent-like Ghost Imaging.

Ghost imaging is an indirect optical imaging technique, which retrieves object information by calculating the intensity correlation between reference and bucket signals. However, in existing correlation functions, a high number of measurements is required to acquire a satisfied performance, and the increase in measurement number only leads to limited improvement in image quality. Here, inspired by the gradient descent idea that is widely used in artificial intelligence, we propose a gradient-descent-like ghost imaging method to recursively move towards the optimal solution of the preset objective function, which can efficiently reconstruct high-quality images. The feasibility of this technique has been demonstrated in both numerical simulation and optical experiments, where the image quality is greatly improved within finite steps. Since the correlation function in the iterative formula is replaceable, this technique offers more possibilities for image reconstruction of ghost imaging.

Enhanced Fungicidal Efficacy by Co-Delivery of Azoxystrobin and Diniconazole with Cauliflower-Like Metal-Organic Frameworks NH2-Al-MIL-101.

Long-term use of a single fungicide increases the resistance risk and causes adverse effects on natural ecosystems. Controlled release formulations of dual fungicides with different modes of action can afford a new dimension for addressing the current issues. Based on adjustable aperture and superhigh surface area, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are ideal candidates as pesticide release carriers. This study used Al3+ as the metal node and 2-aminoterephthalic acid as the organic chain to prepare aluminum-based metal-organic framework material (NH2-Al-MIL-101) with "cauliflower-like" structure and high surface area of 2359.0 m2/g. Fungicides of azoxystrobin (AZOX) and diniconazole (Dini) were simultaneously encapsulated into NH2-Al-MIL-101 with the loading content of 6.71% and 29.72%, respectively. Dual fungicide delivery system of AZOX@Dini@NH2-Al-MIL-101 demonstrated sustained and pH responsive release profiles. When the maximum cumulative release rate of AZOX and Dini both reached about 90%, the release time was 46 and 136 h, respectively. Furthermore, EC50 values as well as the percentage of inhibition revealed that AZOX@Dini@NH2-Al-MIL-101 had enhanced germicidal efficacy against rice sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani), evidenced by the synergistic ratio of 1.83. The present study demonstrates a potential application prospect in sustainable plant protection through co-delivery fungicides with MOFs as a platform.

Comparative analysis of upward and downward vertical flow constructed wetlands on the nitrogen removal and functional microbes treating wastewater containing Ag nanoparticles.

This study investigated impacts of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on nitrogen removal within constructed wetlands (CWs) with different flow directions. The obtained results showed that addition of AgNPs at 0.5 and 2 mg/L significantly inhibited NH4+-N removal, resulting from lower abundances of functional genes (amoA and nxrA) within CWs. And higher abundances of amoA and nxrA genes at 0.5 mg/L were observed in downward flow CW, leading to better NH4+-N removal, compared to upward flow CW. Besides, nitrifying genes amoA and nxrA in upward flow CW at 2.0 mg/L exhibited higher than downward flow CW, explaining better NH4+-N removal in upward flow CW. 0.5 mg/L AgNPs significantly declined NO3--N and TN removal, resulted from decreasing abundances of nirK, nirS and nosZ. In contrast, abundances of nirK, nirS and nosZ genes had slightly lower or higher than before adding AgNPs in upward flow CW, leading to lower NO3--N and TN effluent concentrations. High throughput sequencing also indicated the changes of functional bacterial community after exposing to AgNPs.

Effective and Sustained Control of Soil-Borne Plant Diseases by Biodegradable Polyhydroxybutyrate Mulch Films Embedded with Fungicide of Prothioconazole.

Soil-borne diseases and plant rhizosphere nematode have caused many crop yield losses. Increased environmental awareness is leading to more restrictions on the use of certain fumigants and root irrigation methods due to their impact on human health and soil system. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative treatments to maintain crop economic yields and environmental sustainability. In the present work, biodegradable antifungal mulches were prepared by blending poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) with fungicide of prothioconazole (PRO), which were used for effective and sustained control of soil-borne plant diseases. To reveal the application prospect of the PHB/PRO composite films in the management of soilborne plant diseases, some physical and biological properties were evaluated. The proper mulch film of PHB/PRO was assessed based on its mechanical and optical properties, while water solubility and the film micromorphology was further characterized. The release patterns of composite films under different pH levels were investigated. Moreover, the in vitro antifungal bioassay and pot experiment showed satisfactory bioactivity of the PHB/PRO films against Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc., a soil-borne disease in peanut fields. This study demonstrated that the biodegradable mulch films containing PRO fungicide are capable of inhibiting soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi effectively, and this facile but powerful strategy may find wide applicability in sustainable plant and horticulture protection.

Recombinant ferritin nanoparticles can induce dendritic cell maturation through TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Immune response initiation and regulation require activation of dendritic cells (DCs). However, the mechanism by which ferritin, a carrier for immunogen, induces DCs maturation remains unclear. RESULTS: Recombinant ferritin nanoparticle (RFNp), were prepared through the baculovirus expression vector system, formed spherical and hollow cage-liked proteins with a diameter of approximately 12.17 ± 0.87 nm. They induced bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) maturation via surface molecules up-regulation of (MHC II, CD80, CD86 and CD40), increased pro-inflammatory cytokines production (IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ), and decreased antigen capturing capacity. They positively regulated IκBα and NF-κB (p65) phosphorylation, and facilitate NF-κB (p65) translocation into mature BMDCs nuclei. Following pre-treatment of RFNp-treated BMDCs with TLR4 and NF-κB (p65) inhibitors, respectively, surface molecule expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines production, and IκBα and NF-κB (p65) activities were suppressed. RFNp-treated BMDCs can also facilitate T-cell proliferation and differentiation into Th1 and Th2. CONCLUSION: RFNps induced DCs maturation lends the potential application of RFNps as carrier platforms in DC-based vaccine.

Long-term effects of silver nanoparticles on performance of phosphorus removal in a laboratory-scale vertical flow constructed wetland.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used in many fields, which raised concerns about potential threats to biological sewage treatment systems. In this study, the phosphorus removal performance, enzymatic activity and microbial population dynamics in constructed wetlands (CWs) were evaluated under a long-term exposure to AgNPs (0, 50, and 200 µg/L) for 450 days. Results have shown that AgNPs inhibited the phosphorus removal efficiency in a short-term exposure, whereas caused no obviously negative effects from a long-term perspective. Moreover, in the coexisting CW system of AgNPs and phosphorus, competition exhibited in the initial exposure phase, however, cooperation between them was observed in later phase. Enzymatic activity of acid-phosphatase at the moderate temperature (10-20°C) was visibly higher than that at the high temperature (20-30°C) and CWs with AgNPs addition had no appreciable differences compared with the control. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the microbial richness, diversity and composition of CWs were distinctly affected with the extension of exposure time at different AgNPs levels. However, the phosphorus removal performance of CWs did not decline with the decrease of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs), which also confirmed that adsorption precipitation was the main way of phosphorus removal in CWs. The study suggested that AgNPs and phosphorus could be removed synergistically in the coexistence system. This work has some reference for evaluating the influences of AgNPs on the phosphorus removal and the interrelation between them in CWs.

Abnormal expression of estrogen receptor is associated with thin endometrium.

This study was conducted to investigate the association of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expressions with thin endometrium. Patients with endometrial thickness of less than 7 mm were classified as the study group, while the control group was comprised of patients with endometrial thickness of 7 to 14 mm. The expressions of ER and PR were detected with semi-quantitative immunohistochemical analysis, and the differences were compared between the two groups. The expression of ER was significantly decreased (p < .05) in the stromal cells of thin endometrium during both proliferative and secretory phases as compared to those of normal endometrium. Likewise, ER expression was found to be lower in the glandular cells of thin endometrium than those of normal endometrium during proliferative phase. However, no significant differences were observed for the expression of PR in both glandular and stromal cells between the two groups. Thin endometrium was associated with reduced expression of ER in stromal cells both during proliferative and secretory phase, but in glandular epithelial cells only during proliferative phase.

Effects of affricate's aspiration on realization and perception of lexical tones in Standard Chinese.

Consonants in /CV/ (i.e., a consonant + a vowel) syllables usually have potential influence on onset fundamental frequency (i.e., onset f0) of the following vowel. Previous research on effects of consonant's aspiration on onset f0 has mainly considered the stops. This study investigates not only the effects of aspiration with evidence from affricates, but also the effects of different language speakers (Japanese vs Chinese), on the onset f0 of the following vowel. Through examining acoustic data of f0 realization and perception data of two physical continua of f0 contours, it is observed that the onset f0 following aspirated affricates was higher than that following unaspirated affricates, but the magnitudes of differences varied with tones. Perception data of two physical continua indicated that a tone carried by aspirated affricates (or unaspirated affricates) tended to be perceived as the tone which has relatively lower (or higher) onset f0. Both the realization and perception performance of Japanese speakers resembled that of Chinese speakers, which may further confirm the hypothesis that the f0 perturbation caused by aspiration belongs to phonemic processing instead of phonological processing.

Sulfonate-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Carriers for Controlled Herbicide Diquat Dibromide Release through Electrostatic Interaction.

Environmental stimuli-responsive pesticide release is desirable for enhanced efficiency and reduced side effects. In most cases, the loading and release of pesticides mainly depends on hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding. Electrostatic interaction is less investigated as a weapon for achieving high loading content and controlled pesticide release. In this work, negative-charge decorated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were facilely fabricated by introducing sulfonate groups onto MSNs through a post-grafting method. Sulfonate-functionalized MSNs (MSN-SO3) were synthesized by conversion of epoxy group into sulfonate group using a bisulfite ion as a ring opening reagent. Diquat dibromide (DQ), one of the globally used quaternary ammonium herbicides, was efficiently loaded into these negatively charged MSN-SO3 nanoparticles. The loading content was increased to 12.73% compared to those using bare MSNs as carriers (5.31%). The release of DQ from DQ@MSN-SO3 nanoparticles was pH and ionic strength responsive, which was chiefly governed by the electrostatic interactions. Moreover, DQ@MSN-SO3 nanoparticles exhibited good herbicidal activity for the control of Datura stramonium L., and the bioactivity was affected by the ionic strength of the release medium. The strategy of cargo loading and release dependent on the electrostatic interactions could be generally used for charge-carrying pesticides using carriers possessing opposite charges to mitigate the potential negative impacts on the environment.

Feasibility study of vertical flow constructed wetland for tertiary treatment of nanosilver wastewater and temporal-spatial distribution of pollutants and microbial community.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have the potential to cause negative effects on nutrient removal in constructed wetlands (CWs), further leading to the deterioration of the water. The current work aimed to investigate the feasibility of vertical flow CW (VFCW) for tertiary treatment of AgNPs wastewater, temporal-spatial distribution of pollutants, and microbial community after 450-day exposure. Results reveal that the effluent of VFCW could still meet the discharge limits except the slightly excessive concentration of phosphorus (>0.5 mg/L) from day 390, with the average removal efficiencies of 83%, 61%, 42%, 70%, and 66% for the chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and soluble orthophosphate during 450 days, respectively. Results show that AgNPs removal was relatively stable over time, up to 96%. The temporal-spatial analysis reveals that all contaminants were mainly retained in the soil layer. The Ag concentrations in the upper soil layer and plant roots were higher than that in the lower soil layer and plant stems and leaves, respectively. Microbial sequencing analysis reveals the significant differences in the microbial community at different depths on day 450, with the dominant phyla of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi and Bacteroidetes, and dominant genera of Halomonas and Pseudomonas. These results provide much needed knowledge for the implementation of ecological technologies for AgNPs and nutrient removal simultaneously.

Wetting Behavior and Maximum Retention of Aqueous Surfactant Solutions on Tea Leaves.

In this research, the maximum retention and wetting behavior of surfactant solutions (N-200, N-300, Tween-80, Morwet EFW, DTAB, SDS) on the surfaces of tea leaves was investigated based on surface free energy, surface tension, the contact angle, adhesion work, and adhesion force. The results showed that the contact angles of all surfactant solutions were kept constant with low adsorption at the tea leaf-liquid interfaces below 0.005%. With an increase in concentration, the contact angle of Tween-80 decreased sharply because the adsorption of molecules at the solid-liquid interfaces (ΓSL') was several times greater than that at the liquid-air interfaces (ΓLV). Adhesion work decreased sharply and then reached a minimum at the critical micelle concentration (CMC), but then increased until reaching a constant. Moreover, a high adhesion force did not indicate better wettability, as it does with rose petals and peanut leaves. For tea leaf surfaces, an increase in the contact angle brought about an increase in the adhesion force. In addition, the maximum retention for Morwet EFW is at different concentrations compared to N-200, N-300, Tween-80, DTAB, and SDS, where the maximum retention of Morwet EFW on tea leaves was 6.05 mg/cm2 at 0.005%.According to the mechanisms of wetting behavior on plant surfaces, a recipe for pesticide formulation can be adjusted with better wettability to reduce loss, improve utilization efficiency, and alleviate adverse effects on the environment.

Immunomodulatory activities of proteins from Astragalus membranaceus waste.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine that has a long history of medical applications. It is of interest to investigate the functional components of A. membranaceus waste with regard to its development and utilization and increasing resource utilization. RESULTS: The protein AMWP was isolated from the A. membranaceus waste. This protein was further purified by DEAE-cellulose-52 chromatography and Sephadex G-200 size-exclusion chromatography to obtain three fractions, named AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6. Then, their immunomodulatory activities were evaluated by using cell model experiments. The results indicated that the protein fractions could significantly increase the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes, peritoneal macrophages and bone-marrow-derived cells (BMDCs). AMWPDG2 showed the highest immunocompetence. AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 not only significantly improved the phagocytosis and immunomodulatory factors (interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide) secretion of peritoneal macrophages, but also promoted the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12 p40, IL-1ß, IL-1α) and chemokines (CXCL1, CCL3) in BMDCs. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results indicated that three protein fractions from the A. membranaceus waste might be a potential natural immunomodulator. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further researching the mechanism of AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 on improving the immune response. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of adhesion force on the height pesticide droplets bounce on impaction with cabbage leaf surfaces.

The relationship between adhesion force and the height drops containing difenoconazole-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DF-MSNs)/Tween 80 bounce on cabbage leaf surfaces was investigated as a function of Tween 80 concentration. The adhesion force of a pesticide droplet on cabbage leaf surfaces was assessed using a high-sensitivity microelectromechanical balance system and the impact behavior was recorded with a high-speed camera. The height droplets bounced decreased with increasing adhesion force, with a negative correlation between the height of the bouncing drops and adhesion force. Although droplets containing ≥0.06% Tween 80 adhered to the cabbage leaves, the retraction height was still observed to decrease as the adhesion force increased. The experimental results indicate that for cabbage leaf surfaces, the adhesion force has a significant effect on the height drops bounce. The results provide new insights into how researchers can screen for formulations for hydrophobic target crops and how to increase spray adhesion to difficult-to-wet crop leaf surfaces.

Influence of the surface limiting elasticity modulus on the impact behavior of droplets of difenoconazole-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles with associated SDS.

The relation between the surface limiting elasticity modulus, ε0, of difenoconazole-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticle (DF-MSN) formulations with associated SDS and the height of the first returning droplet impacting on cabbage and rice leaf surfaces was investigated. The surface dilational rheology properties were determined by means of surface tension relaxation. The impact of a droplet on the leaf surface was recorded with a high-speed camera. The surface limiting elasticity modulus, ε0, shows differences with different SDS concentrations. A positive correlation between droplet first rebound height and the surface limiting elasticity modulus, ε0, is observed. The pesticide droplet impact on the target leaf surface is a rather complex phenomenon, so the focus of this article is to establish a relationship between the surface limiting elasticity modulus, ε0, and droplet first rebound height. These findings introduce a chemical way to affect the impact behavior of pesticide droplets on target crop leaf surfaces, which may be of particular importance for pesticide spraying and crop protection, especially for hydrophobic and superhydrophobic target crops.

Comparative liver transcriptome analysis in ducklings infected with duck hepatitis A virus 3 (DHAV-3) at 12 and 48 hours post-infection through RNA-seq.

Duck hepatitis A virus 3 (DHAV-3), the only member of the novel genus Avihepatovirus, in the family Picornaviridae, can cause significant economic losses for duck farms in China. Reports on the pathogenicity and the antiviral molecular mechanisms of the lethal DHAV-3 strain in ducklings are inadequate and remain poorly understood. We conducted global gene expression profiling and screened differentially expressed genes (DEG) of duckling liver tissues infected with lethal DHAV-3. There were 1643 DEG and 8979 DEG when compared with mock ducklings at 12 hours post-infection (hpi) and at 48 hpi, respectively. Gene pathway analysis of DEG highlighted mainly biological processes involved in metabolic pathways, host immune responses, and viral invasion. The results may provide valuable information for us to explore the pathogenicity of the virulent DHAV-3 strain and to improve our understanding of host-virus interactions.

Design, synthesis and anticancer activities evaluation of novel 5H-dibenzo[b,e]azepine-6,11-dione derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole units.

Rucaparib and PJ34 were used as the structural model for the design of novel 5H-dibenzo[b,e]azepine-6,11-dione derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole units. And target compounds were successfully synthesized through a 3-step synthetic strategy. All target compounds were screened for their anti-proliferative effects against OVCAR-3 cell line. Preliminary biological study of these compounds provided potent compounds d21 and d22 with better activities than Rucaparib.