The molecular identification, odor binding characterization, and immunolocalization of odorant-binding proteins in Liriomyza trifolii.

The Liriomyza trifolii is a highly invasive polyphagia pest. Understanding the physiological functions of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) in the chemical communication of L. trifolii can lead to effective pest management strategies. Seven full-length OBPs were identified by transcriptome screening of L. trifolii adults. Bioinformatics analyses classified the seven OBPs into two subfamilies (six classic OBPs, one minus-C OBP). The analysis of their expression in different development stages revealed that LtriOBP5 was highly expressed in the larval stage, LtriOBP4 in the pupa stage, and LtriOBP1, 2, 3, 6, 7 in the adult stage; the expression levels were higher in male adults than in females. The analysis of different tissues showed high expression of LtriOBP1, 3, 6, 7 in the antennae, which were selected for in vitro purification. To explore the ligand compounds of OBPs, fluorescence competitive binding experiments were performed. Immunofluorescence localization revealed that LtriOBP1, 3, 6, 7 showed strong binding abilities to plant volatiles and were located in the antennae, implying that LtriOBP1, 3, 6, 7 may play key roles in olfaction, such as host location. LtriOBP6 and LtriOBP7 had strong binding abilities to specific herbivore-induced plant volatiles, suggesting LtriOBP6 and LtriOBP7 may also play critical roles in chemoreception. This study provides preliminary exploration of the olfactory perception mechanism of L. trifolii, which can be used as a basis to design insect behavior regulators and develop highly effective insecticides using mixture of ligands and known pesticides.

Irradiation stent insertion for distal biliary obstruction secondary to primary common biliary cancer.

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness and safety of irradiation stent insertion for patients with distal biliary obstruction (DBO) secondary to primary common biliary cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-two consecutive patients with DBO secondary to primary common biliary cancer were treated via either normal (n = 45) or irradiation stenting (n = 37) between January 2013 and December 2019. The instant and long-term outcomes were compared. RESULTS: Technical success rates of normal and irradiation stenting were both 100%. Clinical success rates of normal and irradiation stenting were 91.1 and 100%, respectively (p = .179). Stent reobstruction was observed in 13 and 7 patients in the normal and irradiation stenting groups, respectively (p = .295). The median stent patency was 162 and 225 days in the normal and irradiation stenting groups, respectively (p < .001). The median survival was 178 and 250 days in the normal and irradiation stenting groups, respectively (p < .001). Cholangitis was, respectively, observed in 8 and 12 patients in normal and irradiation stenting groups (p = .124). CONCLUSION: Irradiation stenting is effective and safe for patients with DBO secondary to primary common biliary cancer and can prolong stent patency and survival.

Association of serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D with Vitamin D intervention and outdoor activity among children in North China: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Living at high latitudes is one of the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in children. However, evidence on vitamin D improvement for this pediatric population to date is limited. This study aims at evaluating the association of different vitamin D intervention methods and outdoor activity on the vitamin D status of children in North China. METHODS: In this observational study, a total of 55,925 children aged 1 month to 18 years old were recruited from pediatric outpatient departments from July 2016 to June 2017. Data on demographics, anthropometric measurements, vitamin D intervention (either prescribed by physicians or given by parents) and outdoor activity were recorded. The serum levels of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of vitamin D intervention or outdoor activity with blood vitamin D status, adjusted for age, gender, BMI for age, and seasons. RESULTS: The overall rate of hypovitaminosis D was 65.60%. Of the children's outdoor activity, 35.63, 31.95, and 32.42% were below 30 min/d, 30-60 min/d and over 60 min/d, respectively. Furthermore, the proportion of therapeutic intervention, supplementation intervention and no vitamin D intervention among the children was 16.48, 32.87, and 50.65%, respectively. After adjusted for confounding factors, vitamin D intervention was associated with a lower risk of hypovitaminosis D, with OR (95% CI) of 0.191 (0.180, 0.202) in children with therapeutic doses and 0.423 (0.404, 0.443) in those with supplementation doses, compared with children without vitamin D intervention. In addition, longer outdoor time was associated with a lower risk of hypovitaminosis D [0.479 (0.456, 0.504) for 60 min/d, 0.737 (0.701, 0.776) for 30-60 min/d], independent of vitamin D intervention. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was found in children living at high latitudes. Vitamin D intervention and outdoor activity are all negatively associated with children's vitamin D deficiency. Routine vitamin D intervention combined with increased outdoor time might be an effective approach to prevent hypovitaminosis D among children, especially those at school, living at high latitudes.

Palladium-catalyzed allylation of aminophenol with alkynes to construct C-N bonds.

A method for the allylic alkylation of aminophenol with alkynes was developed using a palladium-catalysed allylation reaction with 100% atom economy. A series of structurally diverse N-allylic substituted allylamines were synthesized in good yields with high chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivities under mild conditions.

Palladium-catalyzed allylation of tautomerizable heterocycles with alkynes.

A method for the allylic amidation of tautomerizable heterocycles was developed by a palladium catalyzed allylation reaction with 100% atom economy. A series of structurally diverse N-allylic substituted heterocycles can be synthesized in good yields with high chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivities under mild conditions.

Palladium-catalyzed allylation of sulfonyl hydrazides with alkynes to synthesize allylic arylsulfones.

A novel method for the construction of allyl arylsulfone derivatives was developed by palladium catalyzed allylation of sulfonyl hydrazides with alkynes. A series of structurally diverse allyl arylsulfones can be regioselectively synthesized in high yields under mild conditions.

[Mineral nitrogen accumulation and its spatial distribution in soils in dense planting dwarf rootstock apple orchard on the Weibei dry plateau, Northwest China]. / æ¸­åŒ—æ—±å¡¬çŸ®ç §å¯†æ¤è‹¹æžœå›­åœŸå£¤çŸ¿è´¨æ°®ç§¯ç´¯ä¸Žç©ºé—´åˆ†å¸ƒç‰¹å¾.

With the rapid development of dense apple tree plantings with the dwarf rootstock cultivation method, determining accumulation and distribution characteristics of soil mineral nitrogen in densely planted orchards with dwarf rootstock is important to enable scientific fertilization of apple orchards. We investigated densely planted apple orchards with dwarf rootstocks and different plant ages (6 a, 9 a, and 12 a). We collected soil samples under trees, between trees, between rows, and at the midpoints between the trees and rows, and examined the accumulation and distribution characteristics of nitrate, ammonium, and mineral nitrogen. The cumulative amount of nitrate in the 0-300 cm soil layer increased with plant age. The difference between orchards with different plant ages was significant and showed the trend 6 a<9 a<12 a. The cumulative amount of nitrate increased from 1729 kg·hm-2 to 3771 kg·hm-2 with increasing plant age. The ammonium content was low for orchards of all plant ages and had little effect on the accumulation and spatial distribution of mineral nitrogen. There were two accumulation peaks of nitrate nitrogen in the vertical direction. The depth of soil layer where the second accumulation peak was located decreased from 180 cm to 220 cm with increasing plant age. In the horizontal direction, soil nitrate nitrogen content between rows increased from 27 mg·kg-1 to 138 mg·kg-1 with increasing plant age, representing a more than 400% increase. The difference between orchards with different plant ages was significant. In summary, excessive usage of nitrogen fertilizer and serious leaching of nitrate were problematic in all orchards with different ages. Less nitrogen fertilizer should be applied, and anti-seepage measures should be used at the fertilization location to prevent the leaching of nitrate to deep layers.

Enhanced Denitrification of Integrated Sewage Treatment System by Supplementing Denitrifying Carbon Source.

Integrated sewage treatment system (ISTY) is a new technology for rural domestic sewage treatment. In the ISTY, the carbon source in the denitrification stage is often insufficient, affecting the denitrification efficiency. In order to improve the denitrification efficiency, several commonly available agricultural wastes, peanut shell (PS), sawdust (SD), peat (PT), and their mixtures (MT), were selected as supplementary carbon sources in the denitrification stage of ISTY to study the denitrification efficiency. Results show that PS exhibited a high carbon release capacity. PS released an enormous amount of carbon in 144 h, and the cumulative total organic carbon was 41.99 ± 0.7 mg/(g·L). The optimum carbon source dosage was 3 g/L, the nitrate removal rates of PS exceeded 95% after 48 h, and the denitrification rates were 9.35 mg/(g·L), which were 63.92% higher than that of the control group. After running the ISTY for 120 h, and with PS as supplementary carbon sources, the removal rate of TN increased from 29.76% to 83.86%. At the genus level, the dominant denitrifying bacteria in ISTY, after adding PS, were Pseudomonas and Cupriavidus, accounting for 78.68%, an increase of 72.90% compared with the control group. This evidence suggested that PS can obviously enhance the denitrification efficiency of the ISTY as a supplementary carbon source.

miR-25 promotes glioma cell proliferation by targeting CDKN1C.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) have oncogenic or tumor-suppressive roles in the development and growth of human glioma. Glioma development is also associated with alteration in the activities and expression of cell cycle regulators, and miRNAs are emerging as important regulators of cell cycle progression. Here, we show that miR-25 is overexpressed in 91% of examined human glioma tissues and 4 out of 6 human glioma cell lines. MiR-25 increases cell proliferation in two independent glioma cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-25 was found to reduce CDKN1C protein levels by directly targeting its 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Notably, ablation of endogenous miR-25 rescued CDKN1C expression and significantly decreased glioma cell proliferation by facilitating normal cell cycle progression. Our clinical investigation found CDKN1C and miR-25 levels were inversely correlated. Lastly, downregulation of CDKN1 by siRNA blocked the activity of miR-25 on promoting glioma cell proliferation. Overall, our results for the first time show an oncogenic role of miR-25 in human glioma by targeting CDKN1C and that miR-25 could potentially be a therapeutic target for glioma intervention.

Observations of three-dimensional Richtmyer-Meshkov instability on a membraneless gas bubble.

We investigate the three-dimensional evolution of shock impact on a membraneless gas bubble. When a shock wave impacts a gas interface, gas layer is generally perturbed via the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. We show the vortex structure evolves from the merging process of the extending spikes on the compressed D-shaped surface via the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. The spikes are found to have a linear growth before 11 µs (of 1.4 mm). A ripple-typed fluctuating ring structure is observed and discussed with the scaling relation. We also notice that a thin layer exists in the intersection of the counterpropagating shock shells. The superposition of the rarefaction waves from both sides of the intersection is suspected to be responsible for the density change.