Diaporthe species causing shoot dieback of Acer (maple) in Henan Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Maple is an important ornamental plant in China. With the increasing use of maple trees in landscaping, a symptom of shoot dieback has been observed in Henan province, China. RESULTS: In this study, 28 Diaporthe isolates were obtained from symptomatic shoots of maple trees between 2020 and 2023. Phylogenetic analyses based on five loci (ITS, TEF, CAL, HIS and TUB) coupled with morphology of 12 representative isolates identified three known species (D. eres, D. pescicola and D. spinosa) and one new species, namely D. pseudoacerina sp. nov. Koch's postulates confirmed that all these species were pathogenic. Additionally, D. pseudoacerina was able to infect China wingnut (Pterocarya stenoptera), pear (Pyrus sp.), and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). This study marks the first report of Diaporthe spinosa and D. pescicola pathogens infecting maple trees. CONCLUSIONS: These findings enhance the existing knowledge of the taxonomy and host diversity of Diaporthe species as, while also providing valuable information for managing of maple shoot dieback in Henan Province, China.

A study on the application of diffuse axonal multi-axis general evaluation for brain injury assessment in small overlap barrier crash test.

PURPOSE: Head injury criterion (HIC) companied by a rotation-based metric was widely believed to be helpful for head injury prediction in road traffic accidents. Recently, the Euro-New Car Assessment Program utilized a newly developed metric called diffuse axonal multi-axis general evaluation (DAMAGE) to explain test device for human occupant restraint (THOR) head injury, which demonstrated excellent ability in capturing concussions and diffuse axonal injuries. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the effectiveness of using DAMAGE for Hybrid Ⅲ 50th percentile male dummy (H50th) head injury assessment. The objective of this study is to determine whether the DAMAGE could capture the risk of H50th brain injury during small overlap barrier tests. METHODS: To achieve this objective, a total of 24 vehicle crash loading curves were collected as input data for the multi-body simulation. Two commercially available mathematical dynamic models, namely H50th and THOR, were utilized to investigate the differences in head injury response. Subsequently, a decision method known as simple additive weighting was employed to establish a comprehensive brain injury metric by incorporating the weighted HIC and either DAMAGE or brain injury criterion. Furthermore, 35 sets of vehicle crash test data were used to analyze these brain injury metrics. RESULTS: The rotational displacement of the THOR head is significantly greater than that of the H50th head. The maximum linear and rotational head accelerations experienced by H50th and THOR models were (544.6 ± 341.7) m/s2, (2468.2 ± 1309.4) rad/s2 and (715.2 ± 332.8) m/s2, (3778.7 ± 1660.6) rad/s2, respectively. Under the same loading condition during small overlap barrier (SOB) tests, THOR exhibits a higher risk of head injury compared to the H50th model. It was observed that the overall head injury response during the small overlap left test condition is greater than that during the small overlap right test. Additionally, an equation was formulated to establish the necessary relationship between the DAMAGE values of THOR and H50th. CONCLUSION: If H50th rather than THOR is employed as an evaluation tool in SOB crash tests, newly designed vehicles are more likely to achieve superior performance scores. According to the current injury curve for DAMAGE and brain injury criterion, it is highly recommended that HIC along with DAMAGE was prioritized for brain injury assessment in SOB tests.

Photoelectrochemical determination of diclofenac using oriented single-crystalline TiO2 nanoarray modified with molecularly imprinted polypyrrole.

A novel molecular imprint photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor has been prepared based on oriented single-crystalline TiO2 nanoarray (TNA) material for sensitive detection of diclofenac (DCF). The TNA obtained by the one-step hydrothermal method was characterized by XRD, SEM, and TEM. Polypyrrole film was formed on the TNA by electrochemical method, and DCF was imprinted on the polymer film as the template molecule. After the removal of DCF, there appeared lots of specific recognition sites that matched template molecules. The experimental results demonstrated that the constructed PEC sensor has good sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of DCF, which can be attributed to the high photoelectric conversion efficiency of TNA and the high selectivity of molecular imprinting technology. The fabricated PEC sensor showed a wide detection range (0.05-1000 µM) and a low limit of detection (0.0034 µM) for DCF, as well as good repeatability and stability. The proposed PEC sensor provided an effective strategy in the monitoring of environmental pollutants.

Correction to: Photoelectrochemical sensing of dopamine using gold-TiO2 nanocomposites and visible-light illumination.

The published version of this article, unfortunately, contains error. The author found out that Chinese characters are shown in Scheme 1a.

Photoelectrochemical sensing of dopamine using gold-TiO2 nanocomposites and visible-light illumination.

A photoelectrochemical (PEC) method was developed for the determination of dopamine. It is making use of a composite prepared from gold nanoparticles and TiO2 (type P25) and placed on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode. The composites are used for photoelectrical detection with improved electron transfer efficiency for photoproduction and with improved photoelectrical conversion efficiency. This is due to the excellent electrical conductivity and surface plasmon resonance absorption by gold nanoparticles, and also by the photocatalytic effect of TiO2. Dopamine binds easily to the surface of the composites and acts as an electron donor. This electrode gives a strongly enhanced photocurrent which increases linearly in the 0.1 to 100 µM dopamine concentration range and has a 23 nM detection limit (at S/N = 3). The electrode was operated over 15 cycles of light-on and light-off states every 20 s under visible-light illumination, and the sensor indicates good stability. In addition, it is selective over several possible interferents including uric acid, L-cysteine, glutathione, ascorbic acid and glucose. Graphical abstract A new gold/P25 composite-based photoelectrochemical sensing scheme for dopamine is described. Under visible light irradiation, the photocurrent response is increased with the increasing concentration of dopamine (DA).

Hollow ZnS-CdS nanocage based photoelectrochemical sensor combined with molecularly imprinting technology for sensitive detection of oxytetracycline.

A novel hollow ZnS-CdS nanocage-based molecularly imprinted photoelectrochemical (ZnS-CdS/rMIP PEC) sensor was designed for sensitive detection of oxytetracycline (OTC). O-phenylenediamine was electropolymerized onto hollow ZnS-CdS nanocages to form a polymer film, and then OTC molecules were imprinted on the polymer film through hydrogen bonding. When OTC was eluted, many specific recognition sites were formed on the polymer membrane for detecting OTC in samples. It is worth noting that the rhombohedral dodecahedral structure of hollow ZnS-CdS nanocage can provide large specific surface area, allowing more OTC molecules to be imprinted into the polymer film. Moreover, the unique hollow structure and the heterojunction formed by ZnS and CdS can significantly enhance the photocurrent response. Furthermore, molecular imprint polymer (MIP) technology greatly improves the selectivity and sensitivity of the constructed PEC sensor for detection of OTC. Under optimal conditions, the ZnS-CdS/rMIP PEC sensor has prominent linear relationship in the range of OTC concentration from 1 nmol L-1 to 3 µmol L-1, and the detection limit is 0.10 nmol L-1 (S/N = 3). It is gratifying that the fabricated ZnS-CdS/rMIP PEC sensor displays excellent selectivity for OTC detection when interferences with similar structure exist. It also exhibits superior reproducibility and stability as well as high recovery in the investigation of actual water samples. The combination of PEC and MIP technology will provide significant reference value for effective and rapid detection of other pollutants in the environment.

In-site synthesis molecular imprinting Nb2O5 -based photoelectrochemical sensor for bisphenol A detection.

In this work, a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor based on inorganic surface molecular imprinting Nb2O5 (MI-Nb2O5) for detection of bisphenol A (BPA) had been developed. In the PEC sensor, MI-Nb2O5 material was synthesized based on an in-situ surface molecular imprinting technique. The microstructure characteristics of the as-prepared photoactive materials were systematically investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, FTIR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The PEC detection results showed that the MI-Nb2O5 material had higher photocurrent responses and excellent selectivity for contaminant BPA under UV-light irradiation owing to the abundant special recognition sites on the surface of MI-Nb2O5. Besides, the PEC sensor exhibited a wide detection range from 0.01 nmol·L-1 to 30 nmol·L-1 with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.004 nmol·L-1. The interferences test showed that the sensor had a good selectivity to BPA molecules in the different interference solutions. This method combining molecular imprinting technique with photoelectrochemical detection measurement made a successful attempt to detect BPA and supplied a promising way to detect other environment pollutions rapidly and selectively in the future.