Green fabrication of modified lignin/zeolite/chitosan-based composite membranes for preservation of perishable foods.

Chitosan, as a kind of naturally occurring green and degradable material for the preservation of perishable foods, was investigated in this study with the objective of enhancing its preservation performances. Herein, lignin was modified using the solvent fractionation method (modified lignin, ML, including ML1-ML3), while natural clinoptilolite zeolite was modified using the alkali modification method (modified clinoptilolite zeolite, MCZ, including MCZ1-MCZ5). After optimizing the conditions, it was discovered that incorporating both ML3 and MCZ3 into pure chitosan-based membranes might be conducive to fabricate chitosan-based composite membranes for the preservation of perishable foods. As-prepared composite membranes possessed better visible light transmittance, antioxidant activity, and carbon dioxide/oxygen selectivity, resulting in improved preservation effects on the model perishable foods such as bananas, cherry tomatoes, and cheeses. These findings might indicate promising applications for chitosan-based composite membranes with modified lignin and zeolite in the field of eco-friendly degradable materials for the preservation of perishable foods.

Dye-doped cellulose nanocrystals as novel dusting powders for visualizing latent fingerprints.

Powder-dusting method based on the visual contrast between the background surface and powder-covered ridges of a fingerprint is widely used to develop the invisible latent fingerprints (LFPs) left at crime scenes. Recently, the development of nano-sized powders with excellent optical performances has been extensively explored. In this work, we employed environmentally friendly and low-toxicity cellulose nanocrystals as the novel support. Using dye-doped cellulose nanocrystals as novel dusting powders, two dyes (phenylfluorone and curcumin) were adsorbed on the cellulose nanocrystals by a simple batch adsorption method. The dye-doped cellulose nanocrystals (namely, phenylfluorone-doped cellulose nanocrystals (PDCN) and curcumin-doped cellulose nanocrystals (CDCN)) containing 2% of the loaded mass of both the dyes with bright green fluorescence were developed to visualize LFPs on the surfaces of various substrates (such as glass slide, printing paper, orange plastic card, tile, stainless steel, compact disc, red plastic packing, copper foil and aluminum foil). Images of the LFPs can been obtained by both the dye-doped cellulose nanocrystals with sufficient affinity to the ridges of LFPs. High-quality ridge details with features at the second and third level can be detected by CDCN, whereas PDCN only display the secondary-level features of ridge details. Compared with PDCN, CDCN illustrate higher sensitivity, higher selectivity, and better contrast, especially for detecting fresh and non-fresh LFPs on porous and non-porous substrates, and has the potential for practical use in forensic science.

Integrated monitoring and prediction of thermal discharge from nuclear power plants using satellite, UAV, and numerical simulation.

Global nuclear power is surging ahead in its quest for global carbon neutrality, eyeing an anticipated installed capacity of 436 GW for coastal nuclear power plants by 2040. As these plants operate, they emit substantial amounts of warm water into the ocean, known as thermal discharge, to regulate the temperature of their nuclear reactors. This discharge has the potential to elevate the temperature of the surrounding seawater, potentially influencing the marine ecosystem in the discharge vicinity. Therefore, our study area is on the Qinshan and Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plants in China, employing a blend of Landsat 8/9, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery to gather sea surface temperature (SST) data. In situ measurements validate the temperature data procured through remote sensing. Leveraging these SST observations alongside hydrodynamic and meteorological data from field measurements, we input them into the MIKE 3 model to prognosticate the three-dimensional (3D) spatial distribution and temperature elevation resulting from thermal discharge. The findings reveal that (1) satellite remote sensing can instantly acquire the horizontal distribution of thermal discharge, but with a spatial resolution much lower than that of UAV. The spatial resolution of UAV is higher, but the imaging efficiency of UAV is only 1/40,000 of that of satellite remote sensing. (2) Numerical simulation models can predict the 3D spatial distribution of thermal discharge. Although UAV and satellite remote sensing cannot directly obtain the 3D spatial distribution of thermal discharge, using remotely sensed SST as the temperature field input for the MIKE 3 model can reduce the quantity of measured temperature data and lower the cost of numerical simulation. (3) In the process of monitoring and predicting the thermal discharge of nuclear power plants, achieving an effective balance between monitoring accuracy and cost can be realized by comprehensively considering the advantages and costs of satellite, UAV, and numerical simulation technologies.

Uncovering Photoelectronic and Photothermal Effects in Plasmon-Mediated Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

Plasmon-mediated electrocatalysis that rests on the ability of coupling localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and electrochemical activation, emerges as an intriguing and booming area. However, its development seriously suffers from the entanglement between the photoelectronic and photothermal effects induced by the decay of plasmons, especially under the influence of applied potential. Herein, using LSPR-mediated CO2 reduction on Ag electrocatalyst as a model system, we quantitatively uncover the dominant photoelectronic effect on CO2 reduction reaction over a wide potential window, in contrast to the leading photothermal effect on H2 evolution reaction at relatively negative potentials. The excitation of LSPR selectively enhances the CO faradaic efficiency (17-fold at -0.6 VRHE ) and partial current density (100-fold at -0.6 VRHE ), suppressing the undesired H2 faradaic efficiency. Furthermore, in situ attenuated total reflection-surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) reveals a plasmon-promoted formation of the bridge-bonded CO on Ag surface via a carbonyl-containing C1 intermediate. The present work demonstrates a deep mechanistic understanding of selective regulation of interfacial reactions by coupling plasmons and electrochemistry.

Wide-band excited and deep-red sensitized Mn2+ emission from an NaSrSc(BO3)2:Eu2+,Mn2+ phosphor with vanished Eu2+ emission.

It is of great importance to develop new broadband red phosphors since they have possible applications like plant cultivation, indoor lighting and non-destructive sensing. Herein, we report a series of Eu2+, Mn2+ activated NaSrSc(BO3)2 phosphors via a conventional solid-state reaction route. It has been found that both Mn2+ and Eu2+ solo-doped NaSrSc(BO3)2 show weak or no luminescence, while Eu2+, Mn2+ co-doped NaSrSc(BO3)2 exhibits wide-band absorption and intense deep-red emission at 680 nm with color purity of 89%. Analysis of the absorption, excitation and emission spectra of Eu2+, Mn2+ solo- and co-doped NaSrSc(BO3)2 indicates that this deep-red broadband emission originates from Eu2+ sensitization of the octahedron Mn2+ 4T1-6A1 transition. It was found that the photoionization process led by energetic similarity of the host band-gap and the Eu2+ lowest 5d excited state was mainly responsible for the vanished luminescence of Eu2+. The values of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and absorption efficiency (AE) for the optimal NSSO:0.007Eu2+,0.05Mn2+ sample are 24.5% and 61.8%, respectively. This work could provide new insights into exploring novel Mn-activated deep-red luminescent materials.

Organic Thin Films Enable Retaining the Oxidation State of Copper Catalysts during CO2 Electroreduction.

A key challenge in electrocatalysis remains controlling a catalyst's structural, chemical, and electrical properties under reaction conditions. While organic coatings showed promise for enhancing the selectivity and stability of catalysts for CO2 electroreduction (CO2RR), their impact on the chemical state of underlying metal electrodes has remained unclear. In this study, we show that organic thin films on polycrystalline copper (Cu) enable retaining Cu+ species at reducing potentials down to -1.0 V vs RHE, as evidenced by operando Raman and quasi in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy revealed the integrity of the porous organic film and nearly unaltered Cu electrode morphology. While the pristine thin film enhances the CO2-to-ethylene conversion, the addition of organic modifiers into electrolytes gives rise to improved CO2RR performance stability. Our findings showcase hybrid metal-organic systems as a versatile approach to control, beyond morphology and local environment, the oxidation states of catalysts and energy conversion materials.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Drought-Responsive Pathways and Key Genes of Two Oat (Avena sativa) Varieties.

To cope with the yield loss caused by drought stress, new oat varieties with greater drought tolerance need to be selected. In this study, two oat varieties with different drought tolerances were selected for analysis of their phenotypes and physiological indices under moderate and severe soil drought stress. The results revealed significant differences in the degree of wilting, leaf relative water content (RWC), and SOD and CAT activity between the two oat genotypes under severe soil drought stress; moreover, the drought-tolerant variety exhibited a significant increase in the number of stomata and wax crystals on the surface of both the leaf and guard cells; additionally, the morphology of the guard cells was normal, and there was no significant disruption of the grana lamella membrane or the nuclear envelope. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of waxes and cell-wall components, as well as those of the WRKY family, significantly increased in the drought-tolerant variety. These findings suggest that several genes involved in the antioxidant pathway could improve drought tolerance in plants by regulating the increase/decrease in wax and cell-wall constituents and maintaining normal cellular water potential, as well as improving the ability of the antioxidant system to scavenge peroxides in oats.

Analysis on EZH2: mechanism identification of related CeRNA and its immunoassay in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To screen the possible potential signaling pathways related to enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) based on ceRNA mechanism, and to analyze the correlation between E2H2 and depths of various immune cell infiltration depths. The relationship between different immune checkpoints were also analyzed. METHODS: First, the expression of EZH2 in pan-cancer (18 malignancies) was analyzed with the TCGA database. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues of 374 cases and normal tissues of 50 cases were analyzed in terms of the differential expression, overall survival (OS) and progression-free-survival (PFS). Then, we conducted GO and KEGG enrichment analysis on target gene. We also analyzed mRNA-miRNA and MicroRNA (miRNA)- long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) correlation with starbase databse, so as to determine the potential ceRNA mechanism associated with EZH2. Finally, immunoassay and drug-sensitivity analysis of EZH2 was performed. RESULTS: Seven potential EZH2-related ceRNA pathways were screened out, namely lncRNA: Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 1 (SNHG1), SNHG 3, and SNHG 6-miR-101-3p-EZH2; and lncRNA: Long Intergenic Non-Protein Coding RNA 1978 (LINC01978), SNHG12, Ring Finger Protein 216 Pseudogene 1 (RNF216P1), and Coiled-coil Domain Containing 18 Antisense RNA 1 (CCDC18-AS1)-let-7c-5p-EZH2. Finally, 4 potential EZH2-related ceRNA pathways were identified through qPCR.According to immune correlation analysis, EZH2 may be positively correlated with T cells follicular helper, T cells Cluster of differentiation (CD)4 memory activated, Macrophages M0, and B cells memory (P < 0.05, cof > 0.2); while be negatively correlated with T cells CD4 + memory resting (P < 0.05, cof < -0.2). And EZH2 is positively correlated with Programmed Cell Death 1 (PDCD1) (R = 0.22), CD274 (R = 0.3) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated Protein 4 (CTLA4) (R = 0.23). According to drug sensitivity analysis, patients in the high expression group were more susceptible to the effects of various drugs including Sorafenib, 5-Fluorouracil, Doxorubicin, Etoposide, Paclitaxel, and Vinorelbine than those with low expression. CONCLUSION: This study revealed seven potential pathways of Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2)-related ceRNA mechanisms: lncRNA (SNHG3, 6) -Mir-101-3P-ezh2; lncRNA (SNHG12, RNF216P1)-let-7c-5p-EZH2. We also analyzed the immunity and drug sensitivity of EZH2. Our study proves that EZH2 still has great research prospects in HCC.

Achieving Ultra-Wideband NIR-II Emission in Cr3+-Doped Li(Sc,In)(Si,Ge)O4 Phosphors Based on Host Composition Engineering.

Realizing ultra-wideband and tunable near-infrared (NIR) emission remains a great challenge in NIR phosphor development. The luminescence of most reported NIR phosphors exhibits a peak wavelength shorter than 1000 nm and the corresponding FWHM is <200 nm. Here, a series of Cr3+-activated Li(Sc,In)(Si,Ge)O4 phosphors with ultra-wideband and tunable NIR-II emission are successfully developed based on the host composition engineering strategy. Significant spectral engineering in the NIR-II region is achieved with a peak wavelength changing from 1110 to 1253 nm. The olivine host structure could provide Cr3+ activator a highly distorted octahedral site with very weak crystal field strength, which results in NIR-II ultra-wideband emission with FWHM > 300 nm. A detailed discussion on the relationship between structural variation, crystal field splitting, and NIR luminescence has been applied. As far as we know, it is the first report about Cr3+ NIR luminescence engineering in such a long wavelength and wide range. The application of these NIR-II phosphors is demonstrated in intensity-based luminescent thermometry with a relative sensitivity of >2.0% K-1 in the physiological temperature range.

Sharp-Line Near-Infrared Emission from Tetrahedron-Occupied Ni2+ in Ca2GeO4.

As far as we are concerned, the phenomenon of Ni2+ luminescence in tetrahedral coordination has not been reported. For the first time, a new NIR phosphor Ca2GeO4:Ni2+ is developed in this work. It is found that the NIR emission from this phosphor is a sharp peak attributed to the unusual Ni2+-occupied GeO4 site in the lattice, instead of the conventional broadband luminescence of Ni2+ in the octahedrally coordinated site. Crystal-field analysis has been applied, and the parameters Dq, B, and Δ are calculated to reveal the relationship between the emission profile and the crystal field strength. The optimal Ni2+ doping concentration is found to be 1%. Ca2GeO4:Ni2+ provides an efficient sharp-line (fwhm = 16 nm) emission centered at 1164 nm which originates from the 1T2 → 3T1 transition with an internal quantum efficiency of 23.1% and a decay lifetime of about 300 µs. This work could provide some new insights to explore novel NIR luminescent materials based on transition-metal elements.

Comparative study of Co3O4(111), CoFe2O4(111), and Fe3O4(111) thin film electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction.

Water electrolysis to produce 'green H2' with renewable energy is a promising option for the upcoming green economy. However, the slow and complex oxygen evolution reaction at the anode limits the efficiency. Co3O4 with added iron is a capable catalyst for this reaction, but the role of iron is presently unclear. To investigate this topic, we compare epitaxial Co3O4(111), CoFe2O4(111), and Fe3O4(111) thin film model electrocatalysts, combining quasi in-situ preparation and characterization in ultra-high vacuum with electrochemistry experiments. The well-defined composition and structure of the thin epitaxial films permits the obtention of quantitatively comparable results. CoFe2O4(111) is found to be up to about four times more active than Co3O4(111) and about nine times more than Fe3O4(111), with the activity depending acutely on the Co/Fe concentration ratio. Under reaction conditions, all three oxides are covered by oxyhydroxide. For CoFe2O4(111), the oxyhydroxide's Fe/Co concentration ratio is stabilized by partial iron dissolution.

Pan-cancer analysis of SYNGR2 with a focus on clinical implications and immune landscape in liver hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Synaptogyrin-2 (SYNGR2), as a member of synaptogyrin gene family, is overexpressed in several types of cancer. However, the role of SYNGR2 in pan-cancer is largely unexplored. METHODS: From the TCGA and GEO databases, we obtained bulk transcriptomes, and clinical information. We examined the expression patterns, prognostic values, and diagnostic value of SYNGR2 in pan-cancer, and investigated the relationship of SYNGR2 expression with tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), immune infiltration, and immune checkpoint (ICP) genes. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) software was used to perform pathway analysis. Besides, we built a nomogram of liver hepatocellular carcinoma patients (LIHC) and validated its prediction accuracy. RESULTS: SYNGR2 was highly expressed in most cancers. The high expression of SYNGR2 significantly reduced the overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free interval (DFI), and progression-free interval (PFI) in multiple types of cancer. Also, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that SYNGR2 showed high accuracy in distinguishing cancerous tissues from normal ones. Moreover, SYNGR2 expression was correlated with TMB, MSI, immune scores, and immune cell infiltrations. We also analyzed the association of SYNGR2 with immunotherapy response in LIHC. Finally, a nomogram including SYNGR2 and pathologic T, N, M stage was built and exhibited good predictive power for the OS, DSS, and PFI of LIHC patients. CONCLUSION: Overall, SYNGR2 is a critical oncogene in various tumors. SYNGR2 participates in the carcinogenic progression, and may contribute to the immune infiltration in tumor microenvironment. Our study suggests that SYNGR2 can serve as a predictor related to prognosis in pan-cancer, especially LIHC.

Degradation of soybean meal proteins by wheat malt endopeptidase and the antioxidant capacity of the enzymolytic products.

This study investigated the hydrolysis effect of the endopeptidase from wheat malt on the soybean meal proteins. The results indicated that the endopeptidase broke the peptide bonds of soybean meal proteins and converted the alcohol- and alkali-soluble proteins into water-soluble and salt-soluble proteins. In addition, wheat malt endopeptidase did not break the disulfide bonds between proteins but affected the conformation of disulfide bonds between substrate protein molecules, which were changed from the gauche-gauche-trans (g-g-t) vibrational mode to the trans-gauche-trans (t-g-t) vibrational mode. Wheat malt endopeptidase exhibited the highest enzymatic activity at 2 h of enzymatic digestion, demonstrating the fastest hydrolytic rate of soybean meal proteins. Compared with the samples before enzymatic hydrolysis, the total alcohol- and alkali-soluble proteins were decreased by 11.89% but the water- and salt-soluble proteins were increased by 11.99%, indicating the hydrolytic effect of endopeptidase. The corresponding water-soluble proteins had molecular weights of 66.4-97.2, 29-44.3, and 20.1 kDa, while the salt-soluble proteins had molecular weights of 44.3-66.4, 29-44.3, and 20.1 kDa, respectively. The degree of enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean meal reached the maximum at 8 h. The newly created proteins exhibited significantly antioxidant properties, which were inversely related to the molecular weight. Proteins with molecular weight <3 kDa had the highest antioxidant performance with an antioxidant capacity of 1.72 ± 0.03 mM, hydroxyl radical scavenging rate of 98.04%, and ABTS [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] radical scavenging capacity of 0.44 ± 0.04 mM.

Broadband-excited and green-red tunable emission in Eu2+-sensitized Ca8MnTb(PO4)7 phosphors induced by structural-confined cascade energy transfer.

Novel green-red color-tunable Ca8(Mg,Mn)Tb(PO4)7:Eu2+ phosphors have been synthesized via the traditional solid-state method. Since Tb3+/Mn2+ ions are the parent ions in the lattice, the structural confinement occurs when the sensitizer Eu2+ is introduced into the Ca8(Mg,Mn)Tb(PO4)7:Eu2+ structure. The distance from Eu2+ to Tb3+/Mn2+ is confined in the 5 Å range, which induces a highly efficient energy transfer process. At Eu2+ 350 nm excitation, Ca8MgTb(PO4)7:Eu2+ shows dominant Tb3+ green emission with almost-vanished Eu2+ emission. Red emission is clearly observed as Mn2+ ions doping into Ca8MgTb(PO4)7:Eu2+, and color-tuning from green to red is realized by varying the Mn2+ contents. Eu2+-Tb3+-Mn2+ cascade energy transfer process is in effect due to short Eu2+-Tb3+/Mn2+ and Tb3+-Mn2+ distances, which is verified by PL and decay variations. Meanwhile, the Ca8(Mg,Mn)Tb(PO4)7:Eu2+ phosphor indicates good thermal stability and maintained the 45% emission level at 150 °C, which demonstrates their potential applications in white light LEDs.

Lignin-based covalent organic polymers with improved crystallinity for non-targeted analysis of chemical hazards in food samples.

Lignin, the most abundant source of renewable aromatic compounds derived from natural lignocellulosic biomass, has great potential for various applications as green materials due to its abundant active groups. However, it is still challenging to quickly construct green polymers with a certain crystallinity by utilizing lignin as a building block. Herein, new green lignin-based covalent organic polymers (LIGOPD-COPs) were one-pot fabricated with water as the reaction solvent and natural lignin as the raw material. Furthermore, by using paraformaldehyde as a protector and modulator, the LIGOPD-COPs prepared under optimized conditions displayed better crystallinity than reported lignin-based polymers, demonstrating the feasibility of preparing lignin-based polymers with improved crystallinity. The improved crystallinity confers LIGOPD-COPs with enhanced application performance, which was demonstrated by their excellent performances in sample treatment of non-targeted food safety analysis. Under optimized conditions, phytochromes, the main interfering matrices, were almost completely removed from different phytochromes-rich vegetables by LIGOPD-COPs, accompanied by "full recovery" of 90 chemical hazards. Green, low-cost, and reusable properties, together with improved crystallinity, will accelerate the industrialization and marketization of lignin-based COPs, and promote their applications in many fields.

Effect of mobile-phase modifiers on the enantioselective retention behavior of methyl mandelate with an amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate chiral stationary phase under reversed-phase conditions.

In this study, methanol, ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, and tert-butanol were used as organic modifiers in reversed-phase mode chiral liquid-chromatography to systematically investigate the effects of mobile phase components on the enantioselective retention behavior of methyl mandelate with immobilized amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate-based sorbent called Chiralpak IA. A two-site enantioselective model was used to obtain information on the recognition mechanisms by observing the dependence of the enantioselectivity and retention factor difference on the modifier content. Similar enantioselective retention behaviors were observed for all modifiers, and characteristic modifier concentration points (PL , PM , and PH ) were identified. At modifier concentrations up to PM , the weakened hydrophobic environment resulted in polymer structural relaxation, which changed the recognition mechanisms. By contrast, at concentrations beyond PH , considerably different enantioselectivity behaviors were observed, indicating that the existence of dipole-dipole interaction, which was stronger at higher modifier concentrations, contributed to the retention mechanisms. The concentrations at which these characteristic points occurred were dependent on the carbon number of the modifier molecule. Modifiers with more carbon numbers facilitated the transition in the enantioselective behaviors. These results demonstrated that the proposed method can provide a physically consistent quantitative description of enantioselective retention behavior in reversed-phase mode.

Plasmon-Enhanced C-C Bond Cleavage toward Efficient Ethanol Electrooxidation.

Ethanol, as a sustainable biomass fuel, is endowed with the merits of theoretically high energy density and environmental friendliness yet suffers from sluggish kinetics and low selectivity toward the desired complete electrooxidation (C1 pathway). Here, the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect is explored as a manipulating knob to boost electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media under ambient conditions by appropriate visible light. Under illumination, Au@Pt nanoparticles with plasmonic core and active shell exhibit concurrently higher activity (from 2.30 to 4.05 A mgPt-1 at 0.8 V vs RHE) and C1 selectivity (from 9 to 38% at 0.8 V). In situ attenuated total reflection-surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) provides a molecular level insight into the LSPR promoted C-C bond cleavage and the subsequent CO oxidation. This work not only extends the methodology hyphenating plasmonic electrocatalysis and in situ surface IR spectroscopy but also presents a promising approach for tuning complex reaction pathways.

[Grain oil quality formation and metabolism-related genes difference expression of Paeonia suffruticosa cv. 'Fengdan' grown at different altitudes.] / 不同海拔'凤丹'ç‰¡ä¸¹ç±½ç²’æ²¹è„‚å“è´¨å½¢æˆåŠä»£è°¢ç›¸å ³åŸºå› å·®å¼‚è¡¨è¾¾.

We measured the morphological index, nutritional composition and the expression analysis of key genes during grain development of Paeonia suffruticosa cv. 'Fengdan' grown at altitudes of 100, 650 and 1010 m in Luo-yang. The aim of this study was to examine differences in grain yield traits and the transformation of soluble sugar, starch, soluble protein and fatty acid contents, as well as the related enzyme activity and differential expression of key genes in oil metabolism. The results showed that grain yield traits increased with altitudes and that the growth period of grain at the higher altitudes was longer than that at low and mid altitudes. The soluble sugar and starch in mature grains increased with altitudes, while soluble protein and crude fat did not change. During grain development, the activities of sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) first decreased and then increased, with the lowest occurred at 90 d after flowering. The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminease (GOT) increased rapidly during 50-90 d after flowering and peaked at 90 d. The relative expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) and stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SAD) peaked at 50 d after flowering, and ω-6 fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) peaked at 90 d, in oil tree peony grain at different altitudes. There was a negative correlation of soluble sugar and starch with the accumulation of soluble protein and crude fat. SPS activity was positively correlated with the contents of soluble sugar and starch, and negatively correlated with the contents of soluble protein and crude fat during grain development. Activities of GPT and GOT were negatively associated with the content of soluble sugar and the content of starch, and had a highly significant positive correlation with the contents of soluble protein and crude fat. Activity of PDH was positively correlated with the content of soluble proteins and activities of GPT and GOT, and negatively correlated with the contents of soluble sugar and starch. It suggested that nutrient accumulation in the process of grain development of tree peony was transformed from sugar to crude fat and protein, and that metabolic enzymes, such as SPS, PDH, GPT and GOT, played an important role in this process. Palmitate acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid were negatively correlated with the relative increment of α-linolenic acid, indicating that fatty acid desaturation process in the grain development of tree peony was towards the direction of α-linolenic acid synthesis. The relative expression of ACCase, SAD, and FAD2 was positively correlated with the relative increment of α-linolenic acid accumulation, which played an important role in α-linolenic acid synthesis. The oil quality of tree peony grain was relatively stable at different altitudes, but grain production increased with altitude. Planting oil tree peony at mid to high altitudes could be an important strategy for the efficient use of marginal land in Luoyang.

Magnetic responses for heavy metal pollution recorded by the sediments from Bohai Sea, Eastern China.

The Bohai Sea is facing multidirectional pressure from economic development and pollutant emissions. Magnetic minerals and heavy metal concentrations in the sediments of core M5 from the Bohai Sea were performed. The results of concentration-related magnetic parameters, heavy metal contents, and PLI (Tomlinson pollution load index) illustrate there are essential linkages of the sources, migration, and deposition. The predominant magnetic mineral was magnetite. Based on the chronological data from 210Pb and 137Cs activities, the increasing magnetic parameters and heavy metal concentrations at a depth of 81 cm were dated to 1950 CE, which corresponded to the establishment of the People's Republic of China; the decrease at depths of 37-45 cm and 16-18 cm may be related to the decline in steel production in 1960 CE and the Tangshan earthquake in 1978 CE, respectively. This study enriches relevant theories of environmental magnetism via the ecological and environmental protection of the coastal zones.

Bioinformatic-based mechanism identification of E2F1-related ceRNA and E2F1 immunoassays in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: E2F1 is an important transcription factor. Previous studies have shown that the overexpression of E2F1 is closely related to the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the current research on the regulatory mechanism of E2F1 is still insufficient. This study sought to identify valuable therapeutic E2F1-related targets for HCC. Methods: HCC-related transcriptome data and patient clinical information downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The expression of the E2F1 gene in pan-cancer was analyzed using the Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) 2.0 database, and the expression level of E2F1 in HCC was verified using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis database. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in HCC patients were also analyzed. Subsequently, based on the Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (ENCORI) database, we adopted E2F1 as the research objective and identified the target long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs that suggested the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanisms related to E2F1. We also performed a correlation analysis of E2F1 using the R language package that contained immune cell and immune checkpoint information. Finally, the drug sensitivity of E2F1 was detected using the R language package, "pRRophetic." Results: Ultimately, the following 6 potential ceRNA-based pathways targeting E2F1 were identified-lncRNA: LINC01224, PCBP1-AS1, and ITGA9-AS1-miR-29b-3p-E2F1; lncRNA: SNHG7 and THUMPD3-AS1, and LINC02323-miR-29c-3p-E2F1. Cluster of differentiation (CD)4 memory activated T cells, memory B cells, eosinophils, and T follicular helper cells were positively correlated with E2F1 (P<0.05), and monocytes, naïve B cells, and CD4 memory resting T cells were negatively correlated with E2F1 (P<0.05). The immune checkpoint analysis showed that E2F1 was positively correlated with PDCD1, CTLA4, and LAG3 (P>0.2). According to the drug sensitivity analysis, E2F1 may be sensitive to 39 drugs (P<0.05). Conclusions: This study provides a valuable direction for researching transcription factor E2F1, which may be conducive in identifying research targets for HCC-related molecular biological therapy and immunotherapy in future.