Digest: Multivariate genetic variation constrains adaptation to environmental changes during range expansion.

How do selection and standing genetic variation shape population divergence across landscapes? Henry and Stinchcombe estimated selection gradients on traits in the ivy-leaved morning glory (Ipomoea hederacea) in the field and compared them with the G-matrix and population divergence for four populations in North America. The authors show that population divergence and genetic covariances are largely unaligned with the selection gradient at the species' range edge. These findings raise the question of whether limited evolvability or multivariate genetic variation of populations at range edges prevent species from range expansion, which is important for understanding the role of genetic constraint in population divergence and predicting local adaptation in the face of climate change.

Diagnostic value of high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) in dialysis patients with myocardial infarction.

Background: As a sensitive diagnostic marker for myocardial infarction (MI) in people with normal renal function, elevated high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) was often found in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients requiring dialysis. However, the accuracy of baseline hs-cTnT in the diagnosis of MI (including Type 1 MI (T1MI) and Type 2 MI (T2MI)) in dialysis patients is still controversial. The aim of this study was to retrospectively explore whether there were any clinical indices that could increase the predictive value of hs-cTnT on admission for MI occurrence in dialysis patients. Methods: Here, 136 patients with uremia who underwent regular dialysis with coronary angiography in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from August 2017 to October 2021 were enrolled. According to the coronary angiography results and the presence of clinical symptoms, the patients were divided into: (1). AMI group (n = 69; angiography positive) and Control group (n = 67; angiography negative); (2). T1MI group (n = 69; angiography positive), T2MI group (n = 7; angiography negative & symptomatic), and Control group (n = 60; angiography negative & asymptomatic). Results: Here, we found the mean hs-cTnT on admission in the Control group was much lower than that in the AMI group. Hs-cTnT alone had a mediocre predictive performance, with an AUROC of 0.7958 (95% CI: 0.7220, 0.8696). Moreover, the ROC curve of hs-cTnT combined with the Triglyceride (TG), Time of dialysis, and Albumin (Alb) showed a higher sensitivity area [0.9343 (95% CI: 0.8901, 0.9786)] than that of single hs-cTnT. Next, hs-cTnT combined with the TG, Time of dialysis, and Alb also presented a better performance in predicting T1MI [0.9150 (95% CI: 0.8678, 0.9621)] or T2MI (0.9167 [0.9167 (95% CI: 0.8427, 0.9906)] occurrences. Last, these combined variables could better distinguish patient between T1MI and T2MI group than hs-cTnT alone. Conclusions: On admission, a combination of hs-cTnT, TG, Time of dialysis, and Alb presented a higher sensitivity than hs-cTnT alone in predicting MI occurrence in dialysis patients, suggesting a better diagnostic approach for future clinical applications.

Origin of Air-Stability for Transition Metal Oxide Cathodes in Sodium-Ion Batteries.

The air-sensitivity of transition metal oxide cathode materials (NaxTMO2, TM: transition metal) is a challenge for their practical application in sodium-ion batteries for large-scale energy storage. However, the deterioration mechanism of NaxTMO2 under ambient air is unclear, which hinders the precise design of air-stable NaxTMO2. Here, we revealed the origin of NaxTMO2 degradation by capturing the initial degradation status and microstructural evolution under ambient atmospheres with optimal humidity. It was found that the insertion of CO2 into Na layers along (003) planes of NaxTMO2 led to initial growth of Na2CO3 nanoseeds between TM layers, which initiated fast structure degradation with surface cracks and extrusion of Na2CO3 out of NaxTMO2. The degradation extents and pathways for NaxTMO2 could be highly associated with crystal orientation, particle morphology, and ambient humidity. Interestingly, the deteriorated NaxTMO2 could be completely healed through optimal recalcination, showing even improved air-stability and electrochemical performance. This work provides a helpful perspective on the interfacical structure design of high-performance NaxTMO2 cathodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Diversity in nonlinear responses to soil moisture shapes evolutionary constraints in Brachypodium.

Water availability is perhaps the greatest environmental determinant of plant yield and fitness. However, our understanding of plant-water relations is limited because-like many studies of organism-environment interaction-it is primarily informed by experiments considering performance at two discrete levels-wet and dry-rather than as a continuously varying environmental gradient. Here, we used experimental and statistical methods based on function-valued traits to explore genetic variation in responses to a continuous soil moisture gradient in physiological and morphological traits among 10 genotypes across two species of the model grass genus Brachypodium. We find that most traits exhibit significant genetic variation and nonlinear responses to soil moisture variability. We also observe differences in the shape of these nonlinear responses between traits and genotypes. Emergent phenomena arise from this variation including changes in trait correlations and evolutionary constraints as a function of soil moisture. Our results point to the importance of considering diversity in nonlinear organism-environment relationships to understand plastic and evolutionary responses to changing climates.

Construction of Hierarchical NiCo2O4@Ni-MOF Hybrid Arrays on Carbon Cloth as Superior Battery-Type Electrodes for Flexible Solid-State Hybrid Supercapacitors.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been considered as a class of promising electrode materials for supercapacitors owing to their large surface area, rich porosity, and variable redox sites; however, direct application of pristine MOFs in energy storage has been largely hindered by their poor electrical conductivity and stability issues. In this work, we demonstrate a facile two-step approach to address the controlled growth of Ni-MOF arrays on the surface of NiCo2O4 nanowires by modulating the formation reaction of MOFs. By taking advantage of the intriguing merits from the NiCo2O4 core and Ni-MOF shell as well as their synergistic effects, the optimized NiCo2O4@Ni-MOF hybrid electrode exhibits boosted electrochemical performance, in terms of high specific capacity (208.8 mA h/g at 2 mA/cm2) and good rate capability. In addition, the assembled flexible solid-state HSC device based on the optimized NiCo2O4@Ni-MOF and activated carbon as the cathode and anode achieves a maximum energy density of 32.6 W h/kg at a power density of 348.9 W/kg without sacrificing its outstanding cycling performance (nearly 100% retention over 6000 cycles at 8 mA/cm2) and mechanical stability, outperforming most recently reported MOF-based HSC devices in an aqueous electrolyte. Our work demonstrates the possibility of exploiting novel MOF-based hybrid arrays as battery-type electrodes with enhanced electrochemical properties, which exhibits great potential in flexible energy storage devices.

Interlaced NiMn-LDH nanosheet decorated NiCo2O4 nanowire arrays on carbon cloth as advanced electrodes for high-performance flexible solid-state hybrid supercapacitors.

The development of flexible energy storage devices for portable and wearable electronics has aroused increasing interest. In this work, three-dimensional hierarchical NiCo2O4@NiMn-LDH nanowire/nanosheet arrays have been successfully fabricated on carbon cloth through a facile hydrothermal and calcination synthetic method. Benefiting from the sophisticated hybrid nanoarchitectures with desirable structure and components, the optimized NiCo2O4@NiMn-LDH hybrid electrode is found to deliver a remarkable specific capacity of 278 mA h g-1 at 2 mA cm-2 and a good rate capability of 89.1% retention at 20 mA cm-2. Detailed analysis of the reaction kinetics for the hybrid electrode clearly indicates the dominant diffusion-controlled contribution to the total capacity. In addition, a flexible solid-state hybrid supercapacitor is assembled by taking NiCo2O4@NiMn-LDH and activated carbon as the cathode and anode, respectively, which manifests a maximum energy density of 47 W h kg-1 at a power density of 357 W kg-1 as well as an excellent long-term cycling stability (95.6% retention after 5000 cycles over 8 mA cm-2). Our work demonstrates the great potential of this core/shell hybrid nanostructure as an advanced battery-type electrode for high-performance flexible energy storage devices.

One-step sulfuration synthesis of hierarchical NiCo2S4@NiCo2S4 nanotube/nanosheet arrays on carbon cloth as advanced electrodes for high-performance flexible solid-state hybrid supercapacitors.

To obtain high-performance hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs), a new class of battery-type electrode materials with hierarchical core/shell structure, high conductivity and rich porosity are needed. Herein, we propose a facile one-step sulfuration approach to achieve the fabrication of hierarchical NiCo2S4@NiCo2S4 hybrid nanotube/nanosheet arrays (NTSAs) on carbon cloth, by taking hydrothermally grown Ni-Co precursor@Ni-Co precursor nanowire/nanosheet arrays (NWSAs) as the starting templates. The optimized electrode of NiCo2S4@NiCo2S4 hybrid NTSAs demonstrates an enhanced areal capacity of 245 µA h cm-2 at 2 mA cm-2 with outstanding rate capability (73% from 2 to 20 mA cm-2) and cycling stability (86% at 10 mA cm-2 over 3000 cycles). In addition, flexible solid-state HSC devices are assembled by using NiCo2S4@NiCo2S4 hybrid NTSAs and activated carbon as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, which manifest a maximum volumetric energy density of 1.03 mW h cm-3 at a power density of 11.4 mW cm-3, with excellent cycling stability. Our work indicates the feasibility of designing and fabricating core/shell structured metal sulfides through such a facile one-step sulfuration process and the great potential of these materials as advanced electrodes for high-performance HSC devices.

Protective Role of Antioxidant Huskless Barley Extracts on TNF-α-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction in Human Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are considered as two key factors that contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. This study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity of huskless barley and to explore its protective functions through the regulation of the antioxidant defense and inflammatory response in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) scavenging capacity of water and alkali extracts of the polysaccharides from nine huskless barley varieties were investigated in vitro. The antioxidant properties of the alkaline extracts were more pronounced than those of the water extracts. The results from the cell model showed that pretreatment of HUVEC with the water or alkaline extracts of the polysaccharides from the huskless barley cultivars QHH and NLGL decreased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) but increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and maintained cell viability. Huskless barley polysaccharide extracts exhibited the vasodilatory effect of inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) production. These discoveries revealed the potent protective functions of barley in oxidative damage and a potential role for barley in preventing chronic inflammation in cardiovascular diseases.

Immobilization of tris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium with graphene oxide for electrochemiluminescent analysis.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of ruthenium complexes has broad applications and the immobilization of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) has received extensive attention. In comparison with Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), Ru(phen)(3)(2+) can be immobilized more easily because of its better adsorbability. In this study, immobilization of Ru(phen)(3)(2+) for ECL analysis has been demonstrated for the first time by using graphene oxide (GO) as an immobilization matrix. The immobilization of Ru(phen)(3)(2+) is achieved easily by mixing Ru(phen)(3)(2+) with GO without using any ion exchange polymer or covalent method. The strong binding of Ru(phen)(3)(2+) with GO is attributed to both the π-π stacking interaction and the electrostatic interaction. The Ru(phen)(3)(2+)/GO modified electrode was characterized by using tripropylamine (TPA) as the coreactant. The linear range of TPA is from 3×10(-7) to 3×10(-2) mol L(-1) with the detection limit of 3×10(-7) mol L(-1). The ECL sensor demonstrates outstanding long-term stability. After the storage in the ambient environment for 90 days, the ECL response remains comparable with its original signal.

[Effect of total flavonoids of jiawei wuzi yanzong prescription on VGCCs induced by amyloid-beta25-35 peptide in CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampal slice].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of the total flavonoids of Jiawei Wuzi Yanzong prescription on the Voltage-gated calcium channel of the CA1 pyramidal cell of rat hippocampus. METHOD: The inward calcium current was recorded by the whole-cell patch clamp and the amplitude of it was thought to observe the effect of Abeta25-35 and the total flavonoids. The hippocampus of rat was separated and cut into slices. Active pyramidal cells of slices were chosen for the whole-cell patch clamp recording. After exposure to Abeta25-35, voltage steps (500 ms) were used to depolarize stepwise in a range from 50 to +50 mV (increment: 5 mV). An inward Ca2+ current which was suggested to be survey was evoked. Application of the total flavonoids was to be observed if it had effect on this voltage-depended inward current. RESULT: Abeta25-35 could enhance the calcium current to induce intracellular calcium overload. The amplitude of the control group was--(157.1 +/- 19.9) pA, but after application of Abeta25-35 the current enhanced to--(323.2 +/- 23.4) pA. When the total flavonoids at concentration of 125, 250, 500 g x L(-1) were added, the current declined to--(257.9 +/- 31.6), - (196.4 +/- 29.8) and--(169.3 +/- 34.0) pA, respectively. CONCLUSION: Abeta-induced intracellular calcium overload may be one of neurotoxic of beta-amyloid peptide. The total flavonoids of Jiawei Wuzi Yanzong prescription can suppress inward calcium current to protect neurons.

[Modulation of extracellular calcium on miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents of Xenopus' optic tectal neurons].

Experiments were performed to study the relationship between presynaptic calcium and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) using voltage-clamp technique with whole cell mode in Xenopus optic tectal slices. The results are as follows: The frequency of mIPSCs decreased from 1.91+/-0.59 Hz to 0.34+/-0.09 Hz in calcium-free solution (paired t test, P=0.019, n=8), the value of mIPSCs frequency being (25.5+/-4.4)% of control. In order to rule out the effect of remaining calcium in perfusing solution we further applied calcium-free solution containing egtazic acid, ethyleneglycol-bis (beta-aminoethylether)-N,N -tetraacetic acid (EGTA) (200 nmol/L-2 mmol/L). The mIPSCs frequency changed from 1.57+/-0.57 in control to 0.89+/-0.41 Hz in calcium-free solution containing EGTA (paired t test, P=0.002, n=12), decreasing to (40.0+/-5.9)% of control. There is no statistical difference in the results between Ca(2+)-free perfusion and Ca(2+)-free solution containing EGTA (paired t test, P=0.74, n=9). When cadmium chloride (CdCl2, 100 micromol/L), a non-specific Ca(2+) channel blocker, was applied to the bath solution, the mIPSCs frequency decreased from 1.15+/-0.34 Hz in control to 0.25+/-0.09 Hz in CdCl2-containing solution (paired t test, P=0.008, n=11), reaching (29.25+/-6.1)% of control. However, the amplitude did not change much. An endoplasmic reticulum pump inhibitor thapsigargin increased the mIPSCs frequency from 0.93+/-0.19 Hz to 1.58+/-0.28 Hz (paired t test, P=0.002, n=11). The value in the latter is (214.6 +/-49.1)% of that in the former. In order to exclude the remaining calcium from the bathing solution, the mIPSCs frequency was first recorded from calcium-free solution as control (0.41+/-0.08 Hz) and then from calcium-free containing TG solution (8-16 micromol/L)(0.71+/-0.15 Hz)(paired t test, P=0.026, n=5), increasing to (175.0+/-14.6)% of control. The endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) store RyR agonist (ryanodine, 10-100 nmol/L) enhanced mIPSCs frequency from 1.18+/-0.40 Hz to 1.80+/-0.44 Hz with increment of (261.8+/-89.5)% (paired t test, P=0.004, n=6). However, the endoplasmic reticulum RyR antagonist (procaine, 2 mmol/L) could inhibit mIPSCs from 1.26+/-0.35 Hz to 0.43+/-0.15 Hz (paired t test, P=0.027, n=6). U73122 (40 micromol/L), a phosphalipase C inhibitor, decreased also mIPSCs frequency from 2.01+/-0.58 Hz in control to 0.92+/-0.40 Hz in U73122-containing solution (paired t test, P=0.002, n=10). Caffeine (10 mmol/L) markedly diminished mIPSCs frequency from 3.22+/-0.64 Hz to 0.15+/-0.30 Hz (paired t test, P=0.003, n=7), which is (4.6+/-2.9)% compared to control. Furthermore, in some cases the caffeine could abolish mIPSCs. Taken together, our results demonstrated that cytosolic calcium might be important for mediating the generation of mIPSCs. The cytosolic calcium could be increased by calcium influx through membrane calcium channel on presynaptic membrane, and/or by calcium released through RyR and IP(3)R in presynaptical internal store. The increased cytosolic Ca(2+) both from external solution or internal Ca(2+) stores might increase the transmitter vesicles at the presynaptic terminal, which in turn results in the increase of the mIPSCs frequency in the postsynaptic neurons.