The accessible chromatin landscape of lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammatory response identifying epigenome signatures and transcription regulatory networks in chickens.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce systemic inflammatory response (SIR) in animals. Understanding the regulatory mechanism of SIR and therapies to ensure healthy growth is urgently needed. Chromatin remodeling plays a crucial role in the expression of genes involved in immune diseases. In the present study, the ATAC-seq analysis revealed 3491 differential open chromatin sites in the spleen of chicks with SIR induced by LPS challenge, and we presented the motifs on these sites and the associated transcription factors. The regulatory network was presented by combining the differential open chromatin data with the mRNAs and exploded cytokines. Interestingly, the LPS challenge could regulate the mRNA expression of 202 genes through chromatin reprogramming, including critical genes such as TLE1 and JUN, which regulate signaling pathways such as I-κB kinase/NF-κB, Toll-like receptor, and downstream cytokine genes. Furthermore, dietary daidzein could inhibit DNA topoisomerase II, which reprograms the spatial conformation of chromatin in the inflammatory response and attenuates SIR. In conclusion, we successfully identified key genes directly regulated by chromatin reprogramming in SIR and demonstrated the chromatin epigenome signatures and transcriptional regulatory network, which provides an important reference for further research on avian epigenetics. There is great potential for alleviating SIR using dietary daidzein.

Dorsomedial hypothalamus-raphe pallidus-cardiac sympathetic pathway mediates electroacupuncture intervention of stress-induced tachycardia.

Electroacupuncture at Neiguan point (PC6) effectively ameliorates tachycardia. However, very little is known about the neural pathway mechanism underlying the effect of electroacupuncture at PC6 in stress-induced tachycardia. Here, we investigate whether there exists a dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH)-raphe pallidus (RP)-heart pathway to mediate the effect of electroacupuncture at PC6. The virus tracing results show that the heart is innervated by the neurons in DMH and RP, and the neurons of DMH project to RP. Chemogenetic inhibition of RP projecting DMH neurons reverses the cardiac autonomic imbalance and tachycardia induced by stress. Of note, immunofluorescence results show that the neural activity of DMH and RP is inhibited by electroacupuncture at PC6 accompanied with improved cardiac autonomic imbalance and tachycardia under stress. Moreover, chemogenetic inhibition of RP projecting DMH neurons cannot affect autonomic nervous activity and heart rate of stress rats after administrating electroacupuncture at PC6.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study suggests that this dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH)-raphe pallidus (RP)-cardiac sympathetic pathway involves in the improvement of cardiac dysfunction associated with stress by administrating electroacupuncture at PC6, thus providing beneficial information for the development of therapeutic strategies to prevent stress-induced cardiovascular diseases, and insight into neural pathway basis for electroacupuncture at PC6 intervention of cardiac dysfunction.

Selective Cleavage of Methylene Linkage in Kraft Lignin over Commercial Zeolite in Isopropanol.

Lignin is an aromatic polymer that constitutes over 30 wt% of lignocellulosic biomass and is the most important source of renewable aromatics in nature. The global paper industry generates more than 70 million tons of Kraft lignin annually. Depolymerization of Kraft lignin to value-added monomers can significantly enhance the profitability of biorefinery. However, the method is impeded by the severe condensation of Kraft lignin during the pulping process, which forms robust C-C bonds and results in low monomer yields. In this study, we present a stepwise approach for producing valuable aromatic monomers from Kraft lignin through the cleavage of both C-O and C-C bonds. The approach initiated with complete cleavage of C-O bonds between lignin units within Kraft lignin through alcoholysis in isopropanol, resulting in a monomer yield of 8.9 %. Subsequently, the selective cleavage of methylene linkages present in the residual dimers and oligomers was achieved with commercial MCM-41 zeolite in the same pot, proceeding with an additional monomer yield of 4.0 %, thereby increasing the total monomer yield by 45 %. This work provides an avenue for increasing the depolymerization efficiency of Kraft lignin.

Research on the Impact Initiation Behavior of PTFE/Al/Ni2O3 Reactive Materials.

PTFE/Al reactive material is an energetic material that releases energy under impact conditions, resulting in a wide range of application prospects. In order to improve its damage ability-considering the higher heat of the reaction per unit mass when Ni2O3 is involved in the aluminothermic reaction-we designed and studied PTFE/Al/Ni2O3, a reaction material based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). We also designed two other kinds (PTFE/Al, PTFE/Al/CuO) for comparative study, with the mass fraction of the metal oxides added at 10%, 20%, and 30%, respectively. The quasi-static compression properties and impact initiation behavior of the material were investigated by a universal material testing machine and a drop hammer test. The reaction process of different materials under a high strain rate was recorded using a high-speed camera. The results show that with the increase in Ni2O3 content, the strength of the PTFE/Al/Ni2O3 reactive material shows an increasing trend followed by a decreasing trend. Among the three reactive materials, when the content of Al/Ni2O3 reaches 30 wt.%, the reaction duration is the longest (at 4 ms) and the reaction fireball is the largest. The addition of Ni2O3 is helpful to improve the reactivity and reaction duration of the PTEF/Al reactive material.

Tandem strategy of photocatalytic preoxidation-ultrasonic cavitation depolymerization for lignin valorization.

Tandem strategy for lignin utilization with photocatalytic preoxidation and ultrasonic cavitation depolymerization was proposed. Cornstalk residual lignin from industrial bioethanol process was first photocatalytically preoxidized under visible light by g-C3N4 and WO3/g-C3N4/h-BN (WCB) photocatalysts respectively, then obtained lignin samples were characterized to confirm the preoxidation with raw lignin as a blank. During photocatalytic preoxidation, benzyl hydroxyls in lignin was transformed to carbonyls, but a certain degree of lignin degradation and condensation was observed. In comparison, WCB-catalyzed photopreoxidation was more effective. Thereafter, lignin depolymerization was achieved by ultrasonic cavitation-assisted ethanololysis under optimal conditions. Compared with the mere ultrasonic cavitation depolymerization of pristine lignin, WCB-induced photocatalytic preoxidation improved the conversion rate by 14%, the light-oil yield by 26%, and the phenolic monomer yield by 35%. In general, the reported tandem method worked very well for the enhancement of lignin depolymerization and provided a new idea for the development of lignin valorization.

Radical footprinting and regularity revealing during the pyrolysis of technical lignins.

Revealing radical-mediated reactions is conducive to illustrate lignin pyrolysis and achieve subsequent regulation. Three technical lignins (hot-water-extracted lignin, kraft lignin, and soda lignin) were selected in this study and pyrolyzed from 400 °C to 700 °C, and their pyrolysis radicals in both chars and bio-oils were monitored with the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer. Results showed that spin concentrations of char radicals had a volcanic trend against the pyrolysis temperature, and reached the maximum values at 550-600 °C. However, the contents of bio-oil radicals were low during pyrolysis at low and medium temperature, but their spin concentrations exploded abruptly over 600-650 °C. Meanwhile, the bio-oil yields were found to drop after 550-600 °C, and the three inflection temperatures for char radicals, bio-oil radicals, and bio-oil yields were perfectly matched. These findings systematically elucidated the radical regularity in technical lignin pyrolysis and fundamentally contributed to the development of radical-mediated lignin pyrolysis mechanisms.

Lignin-first biorefinery of corn stalk via zirconium(IV) chloride/sodium hydroxide-catalyzed aerobic oxidation to produce phenolic carbonyls.

Lignin-first biorefinery of corn stalk via ZrCl4/NaOH-catalyzed aerobic oxidation for phenolic carbonyls production was reported. Under the co-catalysis of ZrCl4 and NaOH, lignin in corn stalk was oxidized into phenolic aldehydes (p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, and syringaldehyde), ketones (p-hydroxyacetophenone, acetovanillone, and acetosyringone), acids (p-hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic acid), and other derivatives. Reaction conditions, including time, temperature, ZrCl4 dosage, NaOH dosage, MeCN/H2O ratio, and initial O2 pressure were comprehensively screened, and the optimal lignin-derived monomer yields of 13.2 wt% was obtained. Among these aromatic compounds, phenolic aldehydes were the main products, and the overall selectivity of phenolic carbonyls was as high as 93%. Cellulose-rich residues after lignin-first oxidation were further characterized by thermogravimetry and analytical pyrolysis with corn stalk as the control, proving the good fragmentation and dissolution of lignin streams. In general, ZrCl4/NaOH-catalyzed lignin-first oxidation provided a novel approach for lignin valorization, and achieved the highest reported phenolic carbonyls selectivity.

Elucidating radical-mediated pyrolysis behaviors of preoxidized lignins.

Effect of lignin preoxidation on subsequent radical-mediated pyrolysis was discussed in this study. Technical hot-water-extracted lignin was preoxidized by 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone in diverse degrees and pyrolyzed under different temperatures. Characterizations indicated that preoxidation increased lignin oxygen contents and converted α-hydroxyls to α-carbonyls. These structural modifications caused by preoxidation reduced the thermal stability and pyrolysis reactivity of lignin, shifting lignin thermal decomposition to the low temperature region and inhibiting lignin pyrolysis into bio-oil fractions. However, recognition of species and yields of specific compounds via analytical pyrolysis declared that although preoxidation reduced product yields, it did not alter the reaction pathways. The fixed bed experiments proved the above findings and gave the gas compositions, mainly CO2 derived through decarbonylation. Both radicals in chars and bio-oils were monitored, and char radical concentrations were proportional to the preoxidation degrees. This work sorted out the performances of lignin pyrolysis after preoxidation and determined their negative effects.

Unmasking radical-mediated lignin pyrolysis after benzyl hydroxyl shielding.

Whether lignin benzyl hydroxyl shielding could promote its pyrolysis to phenolic compounds was investigated in this paper. Lignin benzyl hydroxyl was first preoxidized by 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone and stabilized by propionaldehyde respectively, then pyrolysis was conducted with milled wood lignin as a control. Organic stable radicals in pyrolytic chars were further detected to reveal lignin pyrolysis chemistry. Results showed that benzyl hydroxyl shielding process weakened lignin thermal stability, and decreased liquid yields regardless of the frequency of lignin ß-O-4 linkages. In addition, char yield grew after benzyl hydroxyl shielding. Radical concentration was inversely proportional to ß-O-4 content which indicated the non-negligible impact of shielded benzyl hydroxyl on lignin pyrolysis. Furthermore, gases from propionaldehyde stabilized lignin quenched its radicals. This work confirmed that lignin ß-O-4 linkages and shielded benzyl hydroxyl both played the great role in radical-mediated pyrolysis, but the enhancement of liquid products could not be achieved via benzyl hydroxyl shielding.

Could preoxidation always promote the subsequent hydroconversion of lignin? Two counterexamples catalyzed by Cu/CuMgAlOx in supercritical ethanol.

In this study, two counterexamples of lignin preoxidation-hydroconversion were reported. First, two lignin feedstocks were preoxidized with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) in acetonitrile with various dosages (15%, 30%, and 60%). Then, these preoxidized lignins (HELOs and MWLOs) were hydroconverted in supercritical ethanol catalyzed by Cu/CuMgAlOx. Total yields from HELOs were all higher than those from HEL, indicating the good promotion of DDQ preoxidation on the subsequent hydroconversion of HELOs, especially with the DDQ dosage of 15%. Differently, the promotion effect of DDQ preoxidation on the hydroconversion of MWLOs depended on the DDQ dosage as well as the reaction time. Through the comparison of two counterexamples, this work bursted the myth that preoxidation can always promote the subsequent hydroconversion of lignin, revealed the influence of lignin property, preoxidation degree, and reaction conditions on the subsequent hydroconversion of preoxidized lignin, and presented the new insight into the preoxidation-hydroconversion strategy for lignin.

Robust liquid-infused surfaces through patterned wettability.

Liquid-infused surfaces display advantageous properties that are normally associated with conventional gas-cushioned superhydrophobic surfaces. However, the surfaces can lose their novel properties if the infused liquid drains from the surface. We explore how drainage due to gravity or due to an external flow can be prevented through the use of chemical patterning. A small area of the overall surface is chemically treated to be preferentially wetted by the external fluid rather than the infused liquid. These sacrificial regions disrupt the continuity of the infused liquid, thereby preventing the liquid from draining from the texture. If the regions are patterned with the correct periodicity, drainage can be prevented entirely. The chemical patterns are created using spray-coating or deep-UV exposure, two facile techniques that are scalable to generate large-scale failure-resistant surfaces.