Trigger a multi-electron reaction by tailoring electronic structure of VO2 toward more efficient aqueous zinc metal batteries.

VO2 (B) is recognized as a promising cathode material for aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) owing to its remarkable specific capacity and its unique, expansive tunnel structure, which facilitates the reversible insertion and extraction of Zn2+. Nonetheless, challenges such as the inherent instability of the VO2 structure, poor ion/electron transport and a limited capacity due to the low redox potential of the V3+/V4+ couple have hindered its wider application. In this study, we present a strategy to replace vanadium ions by doping Al3+ in VO2. This approach activates the multi-electron reaction (V4+/V5+), to increase the specific capacity and improve the structural stability by forming robust V5+O and Al3+O bonds. It also induces a local electric field by altering the local electron arrangement, which significantly accelerates the ion/electron transport process. As a result, Al-doped VO2 exhibits superior specific capacity, improved cycling stability, and accelerated electronic transport kinetics compared to undoped VO2. The beneficial effects of heterogeneous atomic doping observed here may provide valuable insights into the improvement electrode materials in metal-ion battery systems other than those based on Zn.

Melatonin alleviates cadmium toxicity and abiotic stress by promoting glandular trichome development and antioxidant capacity in Nicotiana tabacum.

Melatonin is a well-known signaling molecule that mediates a range of physiological activities and various stress reactions in plants. We comprehensively tested the effect of melatonin on the development of root hairs and glandular trichomes and found that melatonin pretreatment of tobacco seeds significantly increased the length of root hairs. Furthermore, melatonin-treated tobacco exhibited significantly higher density of trichomes and larger glandular heads on long-stalk glandular trichomes than untreated plants, which resulted in enhanced secretion in glandular trichomes. Exogenous melatonin enhanced the aphid resistance of plants by facilitating the accumulation of cembranoids in the glandular trichomes and alleviated cadmium toxicity by increasing the Cd-exudation capacity of long glandular trichomes. Metabolic analysis indicated that the contents of 108 metabolites significantly changed upon melatonin treatment, with the contents of those that are directly/indirectly involved in melatonin metabolism changing the most. Further, KEGG pathway analysis suggested that the metabolic pathways of amino acids, reducing sugar, secondary metabolites, indole alkaloid biosynthesis, purine, pyrimidine, and ABC transporters were greatly influenced by exogenous melatonin application. Moreover, metabolisms of melatonin-related antioxidants and pyrimidine nucleoside antibiotics were enhanced after melatonin treatment. Melatonin improved tobacco resistance to high salinity, drought, and extreme temperature stresses, as indicated by improved photosynthetic and antioxidant capacities in treated vs. untreated plants. This study lays a foundation for the comprehensive application of melatonin to increase the stress tolerance of plants.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profile Analysis of the SnRK2 Gene Family in Nicotiana tabacum.

SnRK2 protein kinase family plays an important role in plant response to abiotic stress and has been identified in various plants. This study aimed to identify SnRK2 genes in tobacco and systematically analyze their expression under abscisic acid treatment and abiotic stress. We identified 22 NtSnRK2 members, which were divided into three groups and located on 13 chromosomes, mainly at both ends of the chromosomes; additionally, 11 duplicated NtSnRK2 gene pairs were observed. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these SnRK2 members were divided into three groups in tobacco. The motifs of NtSnRK2 proteins in the same group were highly similar. Subcellular localization indicated that NtSnRK2s in Group3 were present in the nucleus, cytomembrane, and cytoplasm. Gene expression pattern analysis revealed that NtSnRK2 genes played a role in the responses to several abiotic stresses (salt, drought, and low-temperature stress), indicating that they are widely involved in the adaptation of tobacco to adverse environmental conditions.

Assessing the Impact of Street-View Greenery on Fear of Neighborhood Crime in Guangzhou, China.

Previous literature has examined the relationship between the amount of green space and perceived safety in urban areas, but little is known about the effect of street-view neighborhood greenery on perceived neighborhood safety. Using a deep learning approach, we derived greenery from a massive set of street view images in central Guangzhou. We further tested the relationships and mechanisms between street-view greenery and fear of crime in the neighborhood. Results demonstrated that a higher level of neighborhood street-view greenery was associated with a lower fear of crime, and its relationship was mediated by perceived physical incivilities. While increasing street greenery of the micro-environment may reduce fear of crime, this paper also suggests that social factors should be considered when designing ameliorative programs.

Integrative Analyses of Biochemical Properties and Transcriptome Reveal the Dynamic Changes in Leaf Senescence of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.).

Leaf senescence is an important process of growth and development in plant, and it is a programmed decline controlled by a series of genes. In this study, the biochemical properties and transcriptome at five maturity stages (M1∼M5) of tobacco leaves were analyzed to reveal the dynamic changes in leaf senescence of tobacco. A total of 722, 1,534, 3,723, and 6,933 genes were differentially expressed (DEG) between M1 and M2, M1 and M3, M1 and M4, and M1 and M5, respectively. Significant changes of nitrogen, sugars, and the DEGs related to metabolite accumulation were identified, suggesting the importance of energy metabolism during leaf senescence. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis found that DEGs were enriched in biosynthetic, metabolic, photosynthesis, and redox processes, and especially, the nitrogen metabolic pathways were closely related to the whole leaf senescence process (M1∼M5). All the DEGs were grouped into 12 expression profiles according to their distinct expression patterns based on Short Time-series Expression Miner (STEM) software analysis. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis found that these DEGs were enriched in pathways of carbon metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and photosynthesis among these expression profiles. A total of 30 core genes were examined by Weight Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), and they appeared to play a crucial role in the regulatory of tobacco senescence. Our results provided valuable information for further functional investigation of leaf senescence in plants.

Decomplexation of electroplating wastewater by ozone-based advanced oxidation process.

Heavy metal contamination from electroplating wastewater is a serious risk to terrestrial life and public health. The complexed metal cannot be effectively removed by traditional precipitation without decomplexing. In this work, four ozone-based advanced oxidation processes, O3, O3/H2O2, O3/UV and O3/H2O2/UV to decomplex electroplating wastewater were investigated and their performance compared. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid are the most common components of electroplating wastewater. They were used as representatives to study the decomplexation and mineralization of complexes in the ozone-based advanced oxidation processes. Among all, the highest degradation and mineralization efficiency of EDTA occurred in O3/UV and was 65% and 53% in 60 min, respectively. For citric acid, the highest degradation (77%) and mineralization (56%) efficiency was observed in the O3/H2O2/UV process. This indicates that selection of the advanced oxidation process is determined by the target contaminant.

A comprehensive theoretical study on the coupling reaction mechanism of propylene oxide with carbon dioxide catalyzed by copper(I) cyanomethyl.

The mechanistic details of the coupling reaction of propylene oxide with carbon dioxide catalyzed by copper(I) cyanomethyl to yield cyclic carbonate were elucidated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311G** level. Our results reveal that the overall reaction is stepwise and considered to include two processes. In process 1, CO(2) insertion into the Cu(I)-C bond of copper(I) cyanomethyl affords activated carbon dioxide carriers. In process 2, O-coordination of propylene oxide molecule to the electrophilic copper center of carriers occurs. Herein, three possible pathways were investigated, and the calculated reaction free energy profiles were compared. It was found that carrier 8 reacting with propylene oxide is more favored than the other two carriers (6 and 7) both kinetically and thermodynamically. Several factors, such as the composition of catalyst, the coordinate environment of copper, and the symmetry of frontier molecular orbitals, affected the reaction mechanisms, and the outcomes were identified. The overall reaction is exothermic. In addition, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis has been performed to study the effects of charge transfer and understand the nature of different interactions between atoms and groups. The present theoretical study explains satisfactorily the early reported experimental observations well and provides a clear profile for the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide with propylene oxide promoted by NCCH(2)Cu.