Transcription factor CrWRKY42 coregulates chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis in citrus.

Chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis, which occur almost simultaneously during fruit ripening, are essential for the coloration and nutritional value of fruits. However, the synergistic regulation of these 2 processes at the transcriptional level remains largely unknown. In this study, we identified a WRKY transcription factor, CrWRKY42, from the transcriptome data of the yellowish bud mutant "Jinlegan" ([Citrus unshiu × C. sinensis] × C. reticulata) tangor and its wild-type "Shiranui" tangor, which was involved in the transcriptional regulation of both chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis pathways. CrWRKY42 directly bound to the promoter of ß-carotene hydroxylase 1 (CrBCH1) and activated its expression. The overexpression and interference of CrWRKY42 in citrus calli demonstrated that CrWRKY42 promoted carotenoid accumulation by inducing the expression of multiple carotenoid biosynthetic genes. Further assays confirmed that CrWRKY42 also directly bound to and activated the promoters of the genes involved in carotenoid biosynthesis, including phytoene desaturase (CrPDS) and lycopene ß-cyclase 2 (CrLCYB2). In addition, CrWRKY42 could bind to the promoters of NONYELLOW COLORING (CrNYC) and STAY-GREEN (CrSGR) and activate their expression, thus promoting chlorophyll degradation. The overexpression and silencing of CrWRKY42 in citrus fruits indicated that CrWRKY42 positively regulated chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis by synergistically activating the expression of genes involved in both pathways. Our data revealed that CrWRKY42 acts as a positive regulator of chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis to alter the conversion of citrus fruit color. Our findings provide insight into the complex transcriptional regulation of chlorophyll and carotenoid metabolism during fruit ripening.

Green Tea Polyphenols Alleviate Kidney Injury Induced by Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate in Mice.

INTRODUCTION: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a common plasticizer. Studies have revealed that DEHP exposure can cause kidney damage. Green tea is among the most popular beverages in China. Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) have been proven to have therapeutic effects on organ damage induced by heavy metal exposure. However, few studies have reported on GTP-relieving DEHP-induced kidney damage. METHODS: C57BL/6J male mice aged 6-8 weeks were treated with distilled water (control group), 1,500 mg/kg/d DEHP + corn oil (model group), 1,500 mg/kg/d DEHP + corn oil + 70 mg/kg GTP (treatment group), corn oil (oil group), and 70 mg/kg GTP (GTP group) by gavage for 8 weeks, respectively. The renal function of mice and renal tissue histopathology of each group were evaluated. The renal tissues of mice in the model, treatment, and control groups were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. We calculated the differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) using the limma R package, the CIBERSORT algorithm was used to predict immune infiltration, the starBase database was used to screen the miRNA-mRNA regulatory axis, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed to verify protein expression. RESULTS: GTP alleviated the deterioration of renal function, renal inflammation and fibrosis, and mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum lesions induced by DEHP in mice. Differential immune infiltrations of plasma, dendritic, T, and B cells were noted between the model and treatment groups. We found that three differentially expressed miRNAs (mmu-miR-383-5p, mmu-miR-152-3p, and mmu-miR-144-3p), three differentially expressed mRNAs (Ddit4, Dusp1, and Snx18), and three differentially expressed proteins (Ddit4, Dusp1, and Snx18) played crucial roles in the miRNA-mRNA-protein regulatory axes when GTPs mitigate DEHP-induced kidney damage in mice. CONCLUSION: GTP can alleviate DEHP-induced kidney damage and regulate immune cell infiltration. We screened four important miRNA-mRNA-protein regulatory axes of GTP, mitigating DEHP-induced kidney damage in mice.

Ionic liquid-modified UiO-66-NH2 as sorbent of dispersive solid-phase extraction for rapid adsorption and enrichment of benzoylurea insecticides.

Ionic liquid (IL)-modified UiO-66-NH2 composite was prepared and used as sorbent of dispersed solid-phase extraction (dSPE) for extracting trace benzoylurea insecticides (BUs) from complex environmental matrices. The IL in framework endowed the prepared material had electropositive characteristics, which can produce interaction with electron rich guest molecules, such as BUs. The high thermal and chemical stability of UiO-66-NH2/IL enabled it to be reused for 16 times without significant reduction in adsorption performance. Due to the multiple forces including π-π, hydrogen bonding, and fluorine-fluorine interaction, UiO-66-NH2/IL showed good adsorption performance, short adsorption time (20 s) and rapid desorption ability (60 s) for BUs. Under the optimal conditions, the method exhibited wide linear range (0.02-500 ng mL-1) with correlation coefficient (R2) not worse than 0.9928, high enrichment factor (252-300), and low detection limit (0.005-0.4 ng mL-1). The dispersed solid phase extraction coupling with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (dSPE-HPLC-DAD) was successfully used to detection of BUs in real environmental samples and satisfactory recoveries were obtained (80.5%±2.4-118%±3.2). The results indicated that UiO-66-NH2/IL composite can be a potential sorbent for the preconcentration of trace insecticides in environmental samples.

Stretchable Hydrogels with Low Hysteresis and High Fracture Toughness for Flexible Electronics.

Stretchable materials, especially hydrogels, are emerging in various fields recently. Many applications demand low hysteresis and high fracture toughness of the materials to be used under dynamic mechanical loads. Herein, the authors report a hydrogel with high fracture toughness and low hysteresis through using a strong metal coordination bond and relatively high crosslinking density. This design allows the sacrificial bond to remain intact under normal operation, while fracturing to dissipate mechanical energy in the fracture zone to prevent propagation of the cracks. The obtained hydrogel exhibits a low hysteresis (≈1.5%) and a high fracture toughness (≈2,164 J m-2 ). Moreover, the hydrogel possesses a high fatigue threshold of ≈141 J m-2 and a reasonable conductivity. This study provides a worth-adopted approach to synthesize hydrogels with low hysteresis and high fracture toughness.

Development of a mechanism for reconstruction of terahertz single-frequency images of biological samples.

Algorithmic mechanisms are used to improve terahertz (THz) image quality, which is critical to a biological sample analysis. A complete mechanism for the super-resolution reconstruction and evaluation of THz biological sample images was constructed in this study. With eucalyptus leaves as an example, the THz spectral region screening technique was adopted to select the characteristic frequencies for imaging, and the THz single-frequency images were reconstructed with the single-image super-resolution image reconstruction technique. The THz super-resolution reconstructed images without ideal reference were evaluated after the introduction of three no-reference image evaluation criteria considering the diversity and complexity of organisms. The results show that the THz image reconstruction mechanism proposed in this study led to an increase in resolution and a decrease in noise. At the same time, the imaging quality of biological samples was considerably improved, and the detailed information was enriched. These provide a reference for a THz imaging analysis of leaves and other biological samples.

Monocyte as a prognostic marker in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

This letter raised some concerns about the study by Karampitsakos et al. in a recent issue of Respiratory Research.

Structuring Metal-Organic Framework Materials into Hierarchically Porous Composites through One-Pot Fabrication Strategy.

Controlled synthesis of metal-organic framework (MOF)-based materials with multiple levels of porous structures across different length scales is of great interest in various applications but it still remains challenging. Most of the current strategies are time consuming and labor intensive, and not readily scaled-up. In this work, we introduce a straightforward one-pot fabrication strategy to prepare a robust and flexible hierarchically macro-meso-micro porous HKUST-1/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite through solvent evaporation, in which MOF crystallization and polymer precipitation are combined together. The effect of the MOF precursor and the polymer initial amount on the morphology of the final composite was thoroughly studied. The interaction between the MOF and the polymer during the evaporation process is the key factor, which would limit the mobility of the polymer chains and cause instability in the MOF growth, thus endowing the composite with a hierarchically macro-meso-micro porous structure. This "all-in-one" porous structure could enhance the mass transport property of molecules within the composite. The obtained HKUST-1/PVDF composite showed an enhanced CO2 adsorption rate constant of 0.821 min-1 (298 K, 1 bar), which was 3.5 times higher than that of the pristine MOF. In addition, the composite showed an equivalent gas adsorption capacity under all tested pressures and greatly improved water stability.

Suppression of LINC00707 alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation and apoptosis in PC-12 cells by regulated miR-30a-5p/Neurod 1.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) has emerged as a pivotal regulator improving neural regeneration in the progression of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, whether lncRNAs can be targeted for therapeutic intervention of SCI remains unclear. In this study, we found that LINC00707 expression was significantly up-regulated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated PC-12, a model that mimics nerve cell injury in an inflammatory environment after SCI. Suppression of LINC00707 alleviated LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis in PC-12 cells. Furthermore, we found that LINC00707 adsorbed miR-30a-5p and silenced miR-30a-5p or overexpressed Neurod 1 reversed the effect of LINC00707 on the inflammation and apoptosis of LPS-treated PC-12 cells. These findings revealed that LINC00707 alleviates LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis in PC-12 cells by targeting miR-30a-5p/Neurod 1, providing a preliminary theoretical basis for the clinical application of LINC00707 in SCI.

Interconnected Porous Monolith Prepared via UiO-66 Stabilized Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsion Template.

High internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating offers an efficient approach to prepare 3D hierarchical porous metal-organic framework (MOF)-based monoliths. However, conventional poly-Pickering HIPEs synthesized from MOF-stabilized HIPEs have low permeability due to closed-cell structures, thus limiting their applications. Herein, interconnected porous MOF monoliths, prepared by adding a small amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as co-stabilizer into UiO-66 stabilized Pickering HIPE templates are reported. The morphology of the porous monoliths was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The pore size could be well controlled by varying the PVA concentration. A unique morphology, formed by an ice template, was clearly seen on the cell wall. The pores were thus interconnected. The mass transfer performance of the monoliths having different cell structures was investigated by CO2 adsorption. The interconnected porous structure significantly accelerated the CO2 adsorption process, as well as enhancing the saturated adsorption capacity.

Breathable Microgel Colloidosome: Gas-Switchable Microcapsules with O2 and CO2 Tunable Shell Permeability for Hierarchical Size-Selective Control Release.

Microcapsules enabling precise delivery and controlled release are highly desirable. However, it is still challenging to control the release profile by regulating the microcapsule shell permeability. In this work, gas-switchable microgel colloidosome (MGC) with oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) dual gas-tunable shell permeability has been developed and tested for control release of water-soluble cargo molecules, based on the size exclusion mechanism. The O2 and CO2 dual gas-switchable poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-co-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene), P(DEA-co-FS), microgels having surface modified with amino group (-NH2) were synthesized and used to stabilize oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsions. The oil-soluble poly(propylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PPGDGE) was added as an intermicrogel cross-linker. The cross-linking between adjacent microgel particles at the water-oil interface was achieved through the amine-epoxy reaction of PPGDGE with the amine groups at the particle surface. Fluorescent-labeled dextran model cargo molecules of 10 kDa (D1) and 2000 kDa (D2) were uploaded under CO2 treatment and locked inside the MGC with N2 treatment. The O2 and CO2 dual-gas switchable properties offered the MGC with tunable shell permeability, which allowed the hierarchical release of D1 and D2 based on size exclusive mechanism. This work provides a robust method for preparation of gas-switchable microcapsules with tunable permeability and size-exclusive hierarchical release profile, promising for multiple ingredient controllable release, separation, and reaction.

Highly Porous Poly(high internal phase emulsion) Membranes with "Open-Cell" Structure and CO2-Switchable Wettability Used for Controlled Oil/Water Separation.

Polymer membranes with switchable wettability have promising applications in smart separation. Hereby, we report highly porous poly(styrene-co-N,N-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (i.e., poly(St-co-DEA)) membranes with "open-cell" structure and CO2-switchable wettability prepared from water-in-oil (W/O) high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates. The open-cell porous structure facilitates fluid penetration through the membranes. The combination of CO2-switchable functionality and porous microstructure enable the membrane with CO2-switchable wettability from hydrophobic or superoleophilic to hydrophilic or superoleophobic through CO2 treatment in an aqueous system. This type of membrane can be used for gravity-driven CO2-controlled oil/water separation, in which oil selectively penetrates through the membrane and separates from water. After being treated with CO2 switching wettability of the membrane, a reversed separation of water and oil can be achieved. Such a wettability switch is fully reversible, and the membrane could be regenerated through simple removal of CO2 and oil residual through drying. This facile and cost-effective approach represents the development of the first CO2-switchable polyHIPE system, which is promising for smart separation in a large volume.

Assembly of a Metal-Organic Framework into 3 D Hierarchical Porous Monoliths Using a Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsion Template.

3D Hierarchical porous metal-organic framework (MOF) monoliths are prepared by using Pickering high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) template. Pickering HIPEs were stabilized solely by UiO-66 MOF particles with internal phase up to 90 % of the volume. The effects of internal phase type and volume, as well as MOF particle concentration on the stability of resulting Pickering HIPEs were investigated. Furthermore, by adding small amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as binder or polymerization in the continuous aqueous phase, followed by freeze-drying, two types of MOF-based 3D hierarchical porous monoliths with ultralow density (as low as 12 mg cm(-3) ) were successfully prepared. This Pickering HIPE template approach provides a facile and practical way for assembling of MOFs into complex structures.

CO2 -Breathing Induced Reversible Activation of Mechanophore within Microgels.

In this work, CO2 -breathing induced reversible activation of mechanophore within microgels is reported. The microgels are prepared through soap-free emulsion polymerization of CO2 -switchable monomer 2-(diethylamino)ethyl-methacrylate, using spiropyran (SP) based mechanophore MA-SP-MA as cross-linker. The microgels can be swollen by CO2 aeration. The swelling of microgels activates the SP mechanophore into merocyanine, causing distinguished color and fluorescence change. Moreover, these transitions are highly reversible, and the initial states of microgels can be easily recovered by "washing off" CO2 with N2 . The present contribution represents the first example of CO2 -breathing activation of mechanophore within microgels.

A Novel Gradient Vector Flow Snake Model Based on Convex Function for Infrared Image Segmentation.

Infrared image segmentation is a challenging topic because infrared images are characterized by high noise, low contrast, and weak edges. Active contour models, especially gradient vector flow, have several advantages in terms of infrared image segmentation. However, the GVF (Gradient Vector Flow) model also has some drawbacks including a dilemma between noise smoothing and weak edge protection, which decrease the effect of infrared image segmentation significantly. In order to solve this problem, we propose a novel generalized gradient vector flow snakes model combining GGVF (Generic Gradient Vector Flow) and NBGVF (Normally Biased Gradient Vector Flow) models. We also adopt a new type of coefficients setting in the form of convex function to improve the ability of protecting weak edges while smoothing noises. Experimental results and comparisons against other methods indicate that our proposed snakes model owns better ability in terms of infrared image segmentation than other snakes models.

[Study on the Measurement and Optimization of Soybean Oil Optical Spectrum in THz Range].

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is an effective technique that applies spectral measurements by using an ultra fast femtosecond laser. These unique properties of terahertz waves make it an effective nondestructive testing technology. Currently, it has been applied in many fields. However, when we calculate the optical parameters of the sample especially for liquids, from data obtained with time-domain spectroscopy, a common problem occurred is spurious oscillation, which is caused by the Fabry-Perot effect in sample, containers and optical elements. In order to obtain high frequency resolution and accurate sample optical parameters, it is necessary to use some signal processing techniques properly. In this paper, we improved de-convolution algorithm and presented a simple algorithm based on the traditional optical parameter calculation model. Considering the nonlinear absorption of THz wave by samples, containers, emitters or detectors, a THz time-domain trace containing echo signals can be represented as a convolution of the primary peak, some delta functions and nonlinear transfer functions. By analyzing equations，spurious oscillations in the THz spectra result from echo signals can be removed or reduced effectively. The use of the method is discussed and the transmission spectrum of soybean oil in 0.2~2.0 THz range is measured accurately by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Experiments show that, this method can effectively remove the frequency oscillation caused by echoes. This algorithm is not affected by the tested object, and is equally applicable to other liquid measurements in THz range. What's more, compared with the traditional method of main pulse interception, this algorithm under the same experimental conditions can effectively improve frequency resolution of soybean oil in 0.2~2.0 THz region, from 50 GHz to less than 10 GHz. At the end of this paper, the causation of remaining oscillation in sample spectrum and absorption spectrum were deeply analyzed.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide dual gas-responsive and switchable microgels prepared from emulsion copolymerization of fluoro- and amino-containing monomers.

We report herein the design and preparation of microgels that are responsive to both O2 and CO2 gases. The microgels were synthesized through soap-free emulsion copolymerization of O2-responsive monomer 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene (FS) and CO2-responsive monomer 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEA) with N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BisAM) as the cross-linker. The P(DEA-co-FS) microgels dispersed in aqueous solution could undergo volume phase transitions triggered by O2 and/or CO2 aeration. The particles were very responsive to CO2, while their responsivity to O2 was moderate. Microgels having different levels of the responsivity could be designed and prepared by varying the FS content in the copolymer. The phase transitions were also highly reversible, and the initial states of microgels could be easily recovered by "washing off" the trigger gases with N2. Multicycle O2, CO2, and N2 aerations were applied, and no loss in the dual gas responsivity and switchability was observed.