Identifying BMI-associated genes via a genome-wide multi-omics integrative approach using summary data.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify BMI-associated genes by integrating aggregated summary information from different omics data. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis to leverage information from a genome-wide association study (n = 339 224), a transcriptome-wide association study (n = 5619), and an epigenome-wide association study (n = 3743). We prioritized the significant genes with a machine learning-based method, netWAS, which borrows information from adipose tissue-specific interaction networks. We also used the brain-specific network in netWAS to investigate genes potentially involved in brain-adipose interaction. RESULTS: We identified 195 genes that were significantly associated with BMI through meta-analysis. The netWAS analysis narrowed down the list to 21 genes in adipose tissue. Among these 21 genes, six genes, including FUS, STX4, CCNT2, FUBP1, NDUFS3, and RAPSN, were not reported to be BMI-associated in PubMed or GWAS Catalog. We also identified 11 genes that were significantly associated with BMI in both adipose and whole brain tissues. CONCLUSION: This study integrated three types of omics data and identified a group of genes that have not previously been reported to be associated with BMI. This strategy could provide new insights for future studies to identify molecular mechanisms contributing to BMI regulation.

Rapid in situ RNA imaging based on Cas12a thrusting strand displacement reaction.

RNA In situ imaging through DNA self-assembly is advantaged in illustrating its structures and functions with high-resolution, while the limited reaction efficiency and time-consuming operation hinder its clinical application. Here, we first proposed a new strand displacement reaction (SDR) model (Cas12a thrusting SDR, CtSDR), in which Cas12a could overcome the inherent reaction limitation and dramatically enhance efficiency through energy replenishment and by-product consumption. The target-initiated CtSDR amplification was established for RNA analysis, with order of magnitude lower limit of detection (LOD) than the Cas13a system. The CtSDR-based RNA in situ imaging strategy was developed to monitor intra-cellular microRNA expression change and delineate the landscape of oncogenic RNA in 66 clinic tissue samples, possessing a clear advantage over classic in situ hybridization (ISH) in terms of operation time (1 h versus 14 h) while showing comparable sensitivity and specificity. This work presents a promising approach to developing advanced molecular diagnostic tools.

Zipper-Confined DNA Nanoframe for High-Efficient and High-Contrast Imaging of Heterogeneous Tumor Cell.

Current study in the heterogeneity and physiological behavior of tumor cells is limited by the fluorescence in situ hybridization technology in terms of probe assembly efficiency, background suppression capability, and target compatibility. In a typically well-designed assay, hybridization probes are constructed in a confined nanostructure to achieve a rapid assembly for efficient signal response, while the excessively high local concentration between different probes inevitably leads to nonspecific background leakage. Inspired by the fabric zipper, we propose a novel confinement reaction pattern in a zipper-confined DNA nanoframe (ZCDN), where two kinds of hairpin probes are independently anchored respective tracks. The metastable states of the dual tracks can well avoid signal leakage caused by the nonspecific probe configuration change. Biomarker-mediated proximity ligation reduces the local distance of dual tracks, kinetically triggering an efficient allosteric chain reaction between the hairpin probes. This method circumvents nonspecific background leakage while maintaining a high efficiency in responding to targets. ZCDN is employed to track different cancer biomarkers located in both the cytoplasm and cytomembrane, of which the expression level and oligomerization behavior can provide crucial information regarding intratumoral heterogeneity. ZCDN exhibits high target response efficiency and strong background suppression capabilities and is compatible with various types of biological targets, thus providing a desirable tool for advanced molecular diagnostics.

Validation of hyperthermia as an enhancer of chemotherapeutic efficacy: insights from a bladder cancer organoid model.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the combined efficacy of hyperthermia and chemotherapy using a bladder cancer organoid model and to explore hyperthermia-related molecular pathways. METHOD: Tumor organoids were generated by embedding RT4 bladder cancer cells into Matrigel. The resulting organoids were treated with pirarubicin or gemcitabine at 37 °C or 42 °C. Proliferation was determined by Ki67 immunofluorescence staining, and apoptosis was assessed using a TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. RNA sequencing was used to identify the differentially expressed genes. RESULTS: Bladder cancer organoids were successfully established and exhibited robust proliferative abilities. Treatment with gemcitabine or pirarubicin under hyperthermic conditions caused pronounced structural damage to the organoids and increased cell death compared to that in the normothermically treated group. Furthermore, Ki67 labeling and TUNEL assays showed that the hyperthermia chemotherapy group showed a significantly reduced proliferation rate and high level of apoptosis. Finally, RNA sequencing revealed the IFN-γ signaling pathway to be associated with hyperthermia. CONCLUSION: Overall, hyperthermia combined with chemotherapy exerted better therapeutic effects than those of normothermic chemotherapy in grade 1-2 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, potentially through activation of the IFN-γ-JAK-STAT pathway.

MRI evaluation of cranial nerve abnormalities and extraocular muscle fibrosis in duane retraction syndrome and congenital extraocular muscle fibrosis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the alterations in extraocular muscles (EOMs) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among patients diagnosed with Duane retraction yndrome (DRS) and congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles (CFEOM), who present with various cranial nerve anomalies in an attempt to enhance the clinical diagnostic process. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate 27 patients with DRS and 14 patients with CFEOM. All patients underwent MRI scans of the brainstem and orbital examination. Neurodevelopmental assessments were conducted through MRI, and maximum cross-sectional area and volumes of EOMs were obtained. Three types of models were constructed using machine learning decision tree algorithms based on EOMs to predict disease diagnosis, cranial nerve abnormalities, and clinical subtypes. RESULTS: Patients with bilateral CN VI abnormalities had smaller volumes of LR, MR, and IR muscles compared to those with unilateral involvement (P < 0.05). Similarly, patients with CFEOM and unilateral third cranial nerve abnormalities had a smaller maximum cross-section of the affected eye's SR compared to the contralateral eye (P < 0.05). In patients with both CN III and CN VI abnormalities, the volume of SR was smaller than in patients with CN III abnormalities alone (P < 0.05). The prediction model using EOMs volume showed a diagnostic precision of 82.5% for clinical cases and 60.1% for predicting cranial nerve abnormalities. Nonetheless, the precision for identifying clinical subtypes was relatively modest, at only 41.7%. CONCLUSION: The distinctive volumetric alterations in EOMs among individuals exhibiting distinct cranial nerve anomalies associated with DRS or CFEOM provide valuable diagnostic insights into to Congenital Cranial Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CCDDs). MRI analysis of EOMs should thus be regarded as a crucial diagnostic modality.

Recalled age of myopia onset may predict risk of high adult myopia in Chinese adults.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between age of myopia onset and high myopia and to explore if age of onset mediated the associations of high myopia with parental myopia and time spent on electronics. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 1118 myopic patients aged 18 to 40. Information was obtained via a detailed questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression and linear regression models were utilized to assess age of onset in relation to high myopia and spherical equivalent refractive error, respectively. Structural equation models examined the mediated effect of onset age on the association between parental myopia, time spent on electronics and high myopia. RESULTS: An early age at myopia onset was negatively correlated with spherical equivalent refractive power. Subjects who developed myopia before the age of 12 were more likely to suffer from high myopia than those who developed myopia after the age of 15. Age of myopia onset was the strongest predictor of high myopia, with an area under the curve (AUC) in Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis of 0.80. Additionally, age of myopia onset served as a mediator in the relationships between parental myopia, electronic device usage duration, and the onset of high myopia in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Age of myopia onset might be the single best predictor for high myopia, and age at onset appeared to mediate the associations of high myopia with parental myopia and time spent on electronics.

A lightweight hybrid model for the automatic recognition of uterine fibroid ultrasound images based on deep learning.

PURPOSE: Uterine fibroids (UF) are the most frequent tumors in ladies and can pose an enormous threat to complications, such as miscarriage. The accuracy of prognosis may also be affected by way of doctor inexperience and fatigue, underscoring the want for automatic classification fashions that can analyze UF from a giant wide variety of images. METHODS: A hybrid model has been proposed that combines the MobileNetV2 community and deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (DCGAN) into useful resources for medical practitioners in figuring out UF and evaluating its characteristics. Real-time automated classification of UF can aid in diagnosing the circumstance and minimizing subjective errors. The DCGAN science is utilized for superior statistics augmentation to create first-rate UF images, which are labeled into UF and non-uterine-fibroid (NUF) classes. The MobileNetV2 model then precisely classifies the photos based totally on this data. RESULTS: The overall performance of the hybrid model contrasts with different models. The hybrid model achieves a real-time classification velocity of 40 frames per second (FPS), an accuracy of 97.45%, and an F1 rating of 0.9741. CONCLUSION: By using this deep learning hybrid approach, we address the shortcomings of the current classification methods of uterine fibroid.

Upcycling of Carbon Fiber/Thermoset Composites into High-Performance Elastomers and Repurposed Carbon Fibers.

Recycling of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRCs) based on thermosetting plastics is difficult. In the present study, high-performance CFRCs are fabricated through complexation of aromatic pinacol-cross-linked polyurethane (PU-AP) thermosets with carbon fiber (CF) cloths. PU-AP thermosets exhibit a breaking strength of 95.5 MPa and toughness of 473.6 MJ m-3 and contain abundant hydrogen-bonding groups, which can have strong adhesion with CFs. Because of the high interfacial adhesion between CF cloths and PU-AP thermosets and high toughness of PU-AP thermosets, CF/PU-AP composites possess a high tensile strength of >870 MPa. Upon heating in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) at 100 °C, the aromatic pinacols in the CF/PU-AP composites can be cleaved, generating non-destructive CF cloths and linear polymers that can be converted to high-performance elastomers. The elastomers are mechanically robust, healable, reprocessable, and damage-resistant with an extremely high tensile strength of 74.2 MPa and fracture energy of 149.6 kJ m-2. As a result, dissociation of CF/PU-AP composites enables the recovery of reusable CF cloths and high-performance elastomers, thus realizing the upcycling of CF/PU-AP composites.

Comprehensive analysis of the lncRNAs-related immune gene signatures and their correlation with immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)-related immune genes (lrRIGs) play a crucial role in the development and progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, reliable prognostic signatures based on lrRIGs have not yet been identified. METHODS: We screened lrRIGs associated with the prognosis of LUAD using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and then established a novel prognostic nine-gene signature composed of CD79A, INHA, SHC3, LIFR, TNFRSF11A, GPI, F2RL1, SEMA7A and WFDC2 through bioinformatic approaches. A risk score derived from this gene signature was used to divide LUAD patients into the low- and high-risk groups. The latter was confirmed to have markedly worse overall survival (O.S.). A nomogram was developed using the risk score and other independent prognostic elements, demonstrating excellent performance in predicting the O.S. rate of LUAD patients. RESULTS: We observed that the infiltration of diverse immune cell subtypes and response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly differed between the low- and high-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, stratification based on this gene signature could be used to guide better therapeutic management and improve outcomes for LUAD patients.

Mesoporous Nanozyme-Enhanced DNA Tetrahedron Electrochemiluminescent Biosensor with Three-Dimensional Walking Nanomotor-Mediated CRISPR/Cas12a for Ultrasensitive Detection of Exosomal microRNA.

Exosomal microRNAs (exomiRNAs) have emerged as ideal biomarkers for early clinical diagnostics. The accurate detection of exomiRNAs plays a crucial role in facilitating clinical applications. Herein, an ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) biosensor was constructed using three-dimensional (3D) walking nanomotor-mediated CRISPR/Cas12a and tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs)-modified nanoemitters (TCPP-Fe@HMUiO@Au-ABEI) for exomiR-155 detection. Initially, the 3D walking nanomotor-mediated CRISPR/Cas12a strategy could effectively convert the target exomiR-155 into amplified biological signals for improving the sensitivity and specificity. Then, TCPP-Fe@HMUiO@Au nanozymes with excellent catalytic performance were used to amplify ECL signals because of the enhanced mass transfer and increased catalytic active sites, originating from its high surface areas (601.83 m2/g), average pore size (3.46 nm), and large pore volumes (0.52 cm3/g). Meanwhile, the TDNs as the scaffold to fabricate "bottom-up" anchor bioprobes could improve the trans-cleavage efficiency of Cas12a. Consequently, this biosensor achieved the limit of detection down to 273.20 aM ranging from 1.0 fM to 1.0 nM. Furthermore, the biosensor could discriminate breast cancer patients evidently by analyzing exomiR-155, and these results conformed to that of qRT-PCR. Thus, this work provides a promising tool for early clinical diagnostics.

Visual Assay for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Based on Rolling Circular Amplification Triggering G-Quadruplex/Hemin DNAzyme Proximity Assembly.

Nowadays, infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have constituted a new challenge for anti-infective treatment. Precise identification and rapid clinical diagnostics of MRSA from other methicillin-sensitive strains entail assays with robust diagnostic efficiency and simple operation steps. Sensitive detection of MecA gene is promising to indicate MRSA infection, but it is challenged by the lack of isothermal and simple strategies. A visual assay based on isothermal rolling circular amplification and G-quadruplex/hemin (G4/hemin) DNAzyme proximity assembly was proposed for the immediate, efficient, and cost-effective detection of MecA in simple operation steps and in a single tube. The presence of MecA specifically drove the formation of circular templates, which further triggered isothermal amplification. The amplified product offered abundant binding sites for DNA-grafted hemin probes to form a novel proximity-assembled G4/hemin DNAzyme structure for colorimetric changing diagnosis. This tandem-repeated novel DNAzyme possessed higher catalytic activity and a lower background signal than traditional G4/hemin DNAzyme, ensuring sensitive discrimination of MRSA (limit of detection: 9.6 pM). Assay stability and antimatrix interference capability enable clinical application, which shows compared diagnostic ability with classic methods (100% sensitivity and 100% specificity) but possesses more simplified procedures and shorter turnaround time (<6 h). This colorimetric strategy in a nonsite-specific and hypersensitive manner holds foreseeable prospects in clinical diagnostic and research applications.

Isolation and Identification of Novel Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (H5N8) Subclade 2.3.4.4b from Geese in Northeastern China.

H5N8, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, has become a new zoonotic threat in recent years. As of December 28, 2021, at least 3,206 H5N8 cases had been reported in wild birds and poultry worldwide. In January 2021, a novel virus strain named A/goose/China/1/2021 was isolated during an H5N8 goose influenza outbreak in northeastern China. The PB2, PB1, HA, and M genes of A/goose/China/1/2021 were highly identical to those of H5N8 strains emerging in Kazakhstan and Russia in Central Asia from August to September 2020, while the remaining four genes had the closest homology to those of H5N8 viruses isolated in South Korea in East Asia from November to December 2020. We thus speculate that A/goose/China/1/2021 is likely a reassortant virus that formed in the 2020 to 2021 influenza season and that the migratory birds via the two migration routes of Central Asia and East Asia-Australia may have played an essential role in the genetic reassortment of this virus. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the HA genes of H5N8 viruses belonging to group II of subclade 2.3.4.4b, including A/goose/China/1/2021, may be derived from strains in Central Asia. Given the complex global spread of H5N8 virus, our study highlights the necessity to strengthen the function of the global surveillance network for H5N8 virus and to accelerate the pace of vaccine development to confront the current challenges posed by H5N8 virus of subclade 2.3.4.4. IMPORTANCE H5N8, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, not only has an impact on public health, but also has a huge negative impact on animal health, food safety, safety, and even on the local and international economy. The migratory wild birds play a vital role in the intercontinental transmission of H5N8 virus. It is urgent that we should strengthen the function of the global surveillance network for H5N8 virus and accelerate the pace of vaccine development to confront the current challenges posed by H5N8 virus of subclade 2.3.4.4.

MIR-107/HMGB1/FGF-2 axis responds to excessive mechanical stretch to promote rapid repair of vascular endothelial cells.

The increase of vascular wall tension can lead to endothelial injury during hypertension, but its potential mechanism remains to be studied. Our results of previous study showed that HUVECs could induce changes in HMGB1/RAGE to resist abnormal mechanical environments in pathological mechanical stretching. In this study, we applied two different kinds of mechanical tension to endothelial cells using the in vitro mechanical loading system FlexCell-5000T and focused on exploring the expression of miR-107 related pathways in HUVECs with excessive mechanical tension. The results showed that miR-107 negatively regulated the expression of the HMGB1/RAGE axis under excessive mechanical tension. Excessive mechanical stretching reduced the expression of miR-107 in HUVECs, and increased the expression of the HMGB1/RAGE axis. When miR-107 analog was transfected into HUVECs with lipo3000 reagent, the overexpression of miR-107 slowed down the increase of the HMGB1/RAGE axis caused by excessive mechanical stretching. At the same time, the overexpression of miR-107 inhibited the proliferation and migration of HUVECs to a certain extent. On the contrary, when miR-107 was silent, the proliferation and migration of HUVECs showed an upward trend. In addition, the study also showed that under excessive mechanical tension, miR-107 could regulate the expression of FGF-2 by HMGB1. In conclusion, these findings suggest that pathological mechanical stretching promote resistance to abnormal mechanical stimulation on HUVECs through miR-107/HMGB1/RAGE/FGF-2 pathway, thus promote vascular repair after endothelial injury. The suggest that miR-107 is a potential therapeutic target for hypertension.

Janus Hemispheres through Controlled Polymerization-Induced Phase Separations within Wax Droplets.

A series of Janus hemispheres with a patchy hemispherical surface and a flat undersurface were synthesized through controlled polymerization-induced phase separation within emulsified wax droplets. The hemispherical shape was generated through the polymerization of styrene within wax droplets, followed by the grafting of hydrophilic polymers on the exposed surface. Then, the patchy hemispherical surface was achieved after introducing the hydrophobic acrylate monomers within wax droplets and controlling the polymerization-induced phase separation. The morphological evolution of patches was recorded via the reaction time, followed by their morphological regulation through the type, feeding amount, and cross-linking degree of acrylate monomers. A functional monomer, vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC), was also used to copolymerize the patches for grafting a zwitterionic polymer via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The as-obtained Janus hemispheres were employed to fabricate robust coatings with wettability tuned from superhydrophobicity to underwater superoleophobicity by the grafted zwitterionic polymers.

Soil pH determines arsenic-related functional gene and bacterial diversity in natural forests on the Taibai Mountain.

Arsenic-related functional genes are ubiquitous in microbes, and their distribution and abundance are influenced by edaphic factors. In arsenic-contaminated soils, soil arsenic content and pH determine the distribution of arsenic metabolizing microorganisms. In the uncontaminated natural ecosystems, however, it remains understudied for the key variable factor in determining the variation of bacterial assembly and mediating the arsenic biogeographical cycles. Here, we selected natural forest soils from southern and northern slopes along the altitudinal gradient of Taibai Mountain, China. The arsenic-related functional genes and soil bacterial community was examined using GeoChip 5.0 and high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, respectively. It was found that arsenic-related functional genes were ubiquitous in tested forest soils. The gene arsB has the highest relative abundance, followed by arsC, aoxB, arrA, arsM, and arxA. The arsenic-related functional genes distribution on two slopes were decoupled from their corresponding bacterial community. Though there are higher abundance of bacterial communities on the northern slope than that on the southern slope, for arsenic-related functional genes, the abundance has the contrary trend which showing the more arsenic-related functional genes on the southern slope. In the top ten phyla, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were dominant phyla which affected the abundance of arsenic-related functional genes. Redundancy analysis and variance partitioning analysis indicated that soil pH, organic matter and altitude jointly determined the arsenic-related functional genes diversity in the two slopes of Taibai Mountain, and soil pH was a key factor. This indicates that the lower pH may shape more microbes with arsenic metabolic capacity. These findings suggested that soil pH plays a significant role in regulating the distribution of arsenic-related functional microorganisms, even for a forest ecosystem with an altitudinal gradient, and remind us the importance of pH in microbe mediated arsenic transformation.

Furfural Derivatives and Phenolic Constituents in Stemona tuberosa Lour.

Chemical investigation on the water-soluble constituents of Stemona tuberosa Lour. resulted in the isolation of a previously undescribed furfural derivative namely (S)-5-((R)-hydroxy(5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)-5-methylfuran-2(5H)-one and twenty-five known compounds from the water decoction of the dried root tubers. Their structures were determined by analysis of the extensive spectroscopic data, including 1D/2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and ORD, as well as the ECD simulation and comparison. Most of them were phenolic and among them, four compounds were isolated from Stemona plants for the first time. This study uncovers diverse constituents from water decoction of S. tuberosa dedicated for its quality control and allows for the exploitation of chemical markers with potential significance for discrimination of Stemona plants.

Molecular Mapping of Putative Genomic Regions Controlling Fruit and Seed Morphology of Watermelon.

The genetic regulatory basis of qualitative and quantitative phenotypes of watermelon is being investigated in different types of molecular and genetic breeding studies around the world. In this study, biparental F2 mapping populations were developed over two experimental years, and the collected datasets of fruit and seed traits exhibited highly significant correlations. Whole-genome resequencing of comparative parental lines was performed and detected single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci were converted into cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers. The screened polymorphic markers were genotyped in segregating populations and two genetic linkage maps were constructed, which covered a total of 2834.28 and 2721.45 centimorgan (cM) genetic lengths, respectively. A total of 22 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for seven phenotypic traits were mapped; among them, five stable and major-effect QTLs (PC-8-1, SL-9-1, SWi-9-1, SSi-9-1, and SW-6-1) and four minor-effect QTLs (PC-2-1 and PC-2-2; PT-2-1 and PT-2-2; SL-6-1 and SSi-6-2; and SWi-6-1 and SWi-6-2) were observed with 3.77-38.98% PVE. The adjacent QTL markers showed a good fit marker-trait association, and a significant allele-specific contribution was also noticed for genetic inheritance of traits. Further, a total of four candidate genes (Cla97C09G179150, Cla97C09G179350, Cla97C09G180040, and Cla97C09G180100) were spotted in the stable colocalized QTLs of seed size linked traits (SL-9-1 and SWi-9-1) that showed non-synonymous type mutations. The gene expression trends indicated that the seed morphology had been formed in the early developmental stage and showed the genetic regulation of seed shape formation. Hence, we think that our identified QTLs and genes would provide powerful genetic insights for marker-assisted breeding aimed at improving the quality traits of watermelon.

Degradation Profiling of Nardosinone at High Temperature and in Simulated Gastric and Intestinal Fluids.

Nardosinone, a predominant bioactive product from Nardostachys jatamansi DC, is well-known for its promising therapeutic applications, such as being used as a drug on anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, cardioprotective, anti-neuroinflammatory, anti-arrhythmic, anti-periodontitis, etc. However, its stability under varying environmental conditions and its degradation products remain unclear. In this study, four main degradation products, including two previously undescribed compounds [2-deoxokanshone M (64.23%) and 2-deoxokanshone L (1.10%)] and two known compounds [desoxo-narchinol A (2.17%) and isonardosinone (3.44%)], were firstly afforded from the refluxed products of nardosinone in boiling water; their structures were identified using an analysis of the extensive NMR and X-ray diffraction data and the simulation and comparison of electronic circular dichroism spectra. Compared with nardosinone, 2-deoxokanshone M exhibited potent vasodilatory activity without any of the significant anti-neuroinflammatory activity that nardosinone contains. Secondly, UPLC-PDA and UHPLC-DAD/Q-TOF MS analyses on the degradation patterns of nardosinone revealed that nardosinone degraded more easily under high temperatures and in simulated gastric fluid compared with the simulated intestinal fluid. A plausible degradation pathway of nardosinone was finally proposed using nardosinonediol as the initial intermediate and involved multiple chemical reactions, including peroxy ring-opening, keto-enol tautomerization, oxidation, isopropyl cleavage, and pinacol rearrangement. Our findings may supply certain guidance and scientific evidence for the quality control and reasonable application of nardosinone-related products.

Exposing Cu(100) Surface via Ion-Implantation-Induced Oxidization and Etching for Promoting Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Metallic materials with unique surface structure have attracted much attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties. However, it is hard to prepare bulk metallic materials with special crystal faces, especially at the nanoscale. Herein, we report an efficient method to adjust the surface structure of a Cu plate which combines ion implantation technology with the oxidation-etching process. The large number of vacancies generated by ion implantation induced the electrochemical oxidation of several atomic layers in depth; after chemical etching, the Cu(100) planes were exposed on the surface of the Cu plate. As a catalyst for acid hydrogen evolution reaction, the Cu plate with (100) planes merely needs 273 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm2 because the high-energy (100) surface has moderate hydrogen adsorption and desorption capability. This work provides an appealing strategy to engineer the surface structure of bulk metallic materials and improve their catalytic properties.

Mapping of genetic loci controlling fruit linked morphological traits of melon using developed CAPS markers.

BACKGROUND: Fruit morphology traits are important commercial traits that directly affect the market value. However, studying the genetic basis of these traits in un-explored botanical groups is a fundamental objective for crop genetic improvement through marker-assisted breeding. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, a quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping strategy was used for dissecting the genomic regions of fruit linked morphological traits by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based cleaved amplified polymorphism sequence (CAPS) molecular markers. Next-generation sequencing was done for the genomic sequencing of two contrasted melon lines (climacteric and non-climacteric), which revealed 97% and 96% of average coverage over the reference melon genome database, respectively. A total of 57.51% non-synonymous SNPs and 42.49% synonymous SNPs were found, which produced 149 sets of codominant markers with a 24% polymorphism rate. Total 138-F2 derived plant populations were genotyped for linkage mapping and composite interval mapping based QTL mapping exposed 6 genetic loci, positioned over distinct chromosomes (02, 04, 08, 09, and 12) between the flanking intervals of CAPS markers, which explained an unlinked polygenic architecture in genome. Three minor QTLs of fruit weight (FWt2.1, FWt4.1, FWt9.1), one major QTL of fruit firmness (FrFir8.1), one major QTL of fruit length (FL12.1), and one major QTL of fruit shape (FS12.1) were determined and collectively explained the phenotypic variance from 5.64 to 15.64%. Fruit phenotypic correlation exhibited the significant relationship and principal component analysis also identified the potential variability. Multiple sequence alignments also indicated the significant base-mutations in the detected genetic loci, respectively. CONCLUSION: In short, our illustrated genetic loci are expected to provide the reference insights for fine QTL mapping and candidate gene(s) mining through molecular genetic breeding approaches aimed at developing the new varieties.