Structure and Ecological Function of Fungal Endophytes from Stems of Different Mulberry Cultivars.

To explore the microbial community structure and ecological function of mulberry and their potential relationship with the resistance of mulberry, the community structure and function of endophytic fungi in 18 mulberry cultivars were analyzed and predicted by using high-throughput sequencing technology and the FUNGuild database. A total of 352 operational taxonomic units of fungi were observed at a 97% similarity level, representing six phyla of fungi, Fungi_unclassified, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Zygomycota, Rozellomycota, and Chytridiomycota. Fungi_unclassified was dominant, and Ascomycota was relatively dominant in all cultivars. At the genus level, Ascomycota_unclassified was dominant, and Ampelomyces was relatively dominant, with a richness in TAIWANCHANGGUOSANG 16.47-8975.69 times that in the other cultivars. Classified Ascomycota_unclassified was 4.75-296.65 times more common in NANYUANSIJI than in the other cultivars. Based on the FUNGuild analysis method, we successfully annotated six nutrient types, namely, pathotroph, pathotroph-saprotroph, pathotroph-saprotroph-symbiotroph, saprotroph, saprotroph-symbiotroph, and symbiotroph, among which saprophytic-symbiotic accounted for the largest proportion and was absolutely dominant in TWC. This research suggests that community composition differs among cultivars and that the diversity and richness of endophytic fungi in resistant cultivars are higher than those in susceptible cultivars. The ecological functions of cultivars with different resistances are quite different.

Non-destructive detection of protein content in mulberry leaves by using hyperspectral imaging.

Protein content is one of the most important indicators for assessing the quality of mulberry leaves. This work is carried out for the rapid and non-destructive detection of protein content of mulberry leaves using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) (Specim FX10 and FX17, Spectral Imaging Ltd., Oulu, Finland). The spectral range of the HSI acquisition system and data processing methods (pretreatment, feature extraction, and modeling) is compared. Hyperspectral images of three spectral ranges in 400-1,000 nm (Spectral Range I), 900-1,700 nm (Spectral Range II), and 400-1,700 nm (Spectral Range III) were considered. With standard normal variate (SNV), Savitzky-Golay first-order derivation, and multiplicative scatter correction used to preprocess the spectral data, and successive projections algorithm (SPA), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, and random frog used to extract the characteristic wavelengths, regression models are constructed by using partial least square and least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM). The protein content distribution of mulberry leaves is visualized based on the best model. The results show that the best results are obtained with the application of the model constructed by combining SNV with SPA and LS-SVM, showing an R 2 of up to 0.93, an RMSE of just 0.71 g/100 g, and an RPD of up to 3.83 based on the HSI acquisition system of 900-1700 nm. The protein content distribution map of mulberry leaves shows that the protein of healthy mulberry leaves distributes evenly among the mesophyll, with less protein content in the vein of the leaves. The above results show that rapid, non-destructive, and high-precision detection of protein content of mulberry leaves can be achieved by applying the SWIR HSI acquisition system combined with the SNV-SPA-LS-SVM algorithm.

Selective Electrochemical Oxidation of Benzylic C-H to Benzylic Alcohols with the Aid of Imidazolium Radical Mediators.

Selective oxidation of benzylic C-H to benzylic alcohols is a well-known challenge in the chemical community since benzylic C-H is more prone to be overoxidized to benzylic ketones. In this work, we report the highly selective electro-oxidation of benzylic C-H to benzylic alcohols in an undivided cell in ionic liquid-based solution. As an example, the selectivity toward xanthydrol could be as high as 95.7% at complete conversion of xanthene, a typical benzylic C-H compound, on gram-scale in imidazolium bromide/H2O/DMF. Mechanism investigation reveals that the imidazolium radical generated in situ participants in a proton-coupled electron transfer process and low-barrier hydrogen bonds stabilize the reaction intermediates, together steering the redox equilibrium, favoring benzylic alcohols over benzylic ketones.

Non-destructive prediction and visualization of anthocyanin content in mulberry fruits using hyperspectral imaging.

Being rich in anthocyanin is one of the most important physiological traits of mulberry fruits. Efficient and non-destructive detection of anthocyanin content and distribution in fruits is important for the breeding, cultivation, harvesting and selling of them. This study aims at building a fast, non-destructive, and high-precision method for detecting and visualizing anthocyanin content of mulberry fruit by using hyperspectral imaging. Visible near-infrared hyperspectral images of the fruits of two varieties at three maturity stages are collected. Successive projections algorithm (SPA), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and stacked auto-encoder (SAE) are used to reduce the dimension of high-dimensional hyperspectral data. The least squares-support vector machine and extreme learning machine (ELM) are used to build models for predicting the anthocyanin content of mulberry fruit. And genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the major parameters of models. The results show that the higher the anthocyanin content is, the lower the spectral reflectance is. 15, 7 and 13 characteristic variables are extracted by applying CARS, SPA and SAE respectively. The model based on SAE-GA-ELM achieved the best performance with R2 of 0.97 and the RMSE of 0.22 mg/g in both the training set and testing set, and it is applied to retrieve the distribution of anthocyanin content in mulberry fruits. By applying SAE-GA-ELM model to each pixel of the mulberry fruit images, distribution maps are created to visualize the changes in anthocyanin content of mulberry fruits at three maturity stages. The overall results indicate that hyperspectral imaging, in combination with SAE-GA-ELM, can help achieve rapid, non-destructive and high-precision detection and visualization of anthocyanin content in mulberry fruits.

Regulator of calcineurin 1 deletion attenuates mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in acute kidney injury through JNK/Mff signaling pathway.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) induced acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by excessive mitochondrial damage and cell apoptosis, remains a clinical challenge. Recent studies suggest that regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) regulates mitochondrial function in different cell types, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation. Herein, we aim to explore whether RCAN1 involves in mitochondrial dysfunction in AKI and the exact mechanism. In present study, AKI was induced by I/R and cisplatin in RCAN1flox/flox mice and mice with renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs)-specific deletion of RCAN1. The role of RCAN1 in hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) and cisplatin-induced injury in human renal proximal tubule epithelial cell line HK-2 was also examined by overexpression and knockdown of RCAN1. Mitochondrial function was assessed by transmission electron microscopy, JC-1 staining, MitoSOX staining, ATP production, mitochondrial fission and mitophagy. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay, Annexin V-FITC staining and Western blotting analysis of apoptosis-related proteins. It was found that protein expression of RCAN1 was markedly upregulated in I/R- or cisplatin-induced AKI mouse models, as well as in HR models in HK-2 cells. RCAN1 deficiency significantly reduced kidney damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell apoptosis, whereas RCAN1 overexpression led to the opposite phenotypes. Our in-depth mechanistic exploration demonstrated that RCAN1 increases the phosphorylation of mitochondrial fission factor (Mff) by binding to downstream c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), then promotes dynamin related protein 1 (Drp1) migration to mitochondria, ultimately leads to excessive mitochondrial fission of renal TECs. In conclusion, our study suggests that RCAN1 could induce mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis by activating the downstream JNK/Mff signaling pathway. RCAN1 may be a potential therapeutic target for conferring protection against I/R- or cisplatin-AKI.

Protocol for fabricating a photonic structure consisting of ZnO/Ag/ZnO film perforated with 2D periodic apertures based on photolithography technology.

A ZnO/Ag/ZnO film with 2D periodic apertures can have a high visible transmittance and low emittances in atmospheric windows for visible-infrared compatible camouflage and a high transmittance in 5-8 µm for heat dissipation by radiation. This following protocol details the fabrication process of such a photonic structure based on photolithography technology. Also described are the related challenges and troubleshooting steps. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Dang and Ye (2021).

Photoassisted Electron-Ion Synergic Doping Induced Phase Transition of n-VO2/p-GaN Thin-Film Heterojunction.

As a typical correlated metal oxide, vanadium dioxide (VO2) shows specific metal-insulator transition (MIT) properties and demonstrates great potential applications in ultrafast optoelectronic switch, resistive memory, and neuromorphic devices. Effective control of the MIT process is essential for improving the device performance. In the current study, we have first proposed a photoassisted ion-doping method to modulate the phase transition of the VO2 layer based on the photovoltaic effect and electron-ion synergic doping in acid solution. Experimental results show that, for the prepared n-VO2/p-GaN nanojunction, this photoassisted strategy can effectively dope the n-VO2 layer by H+, Al3+, or Mg2+ ions under light radiation and trigger consecutive insulator-metal-insulator transitions. If combined with standard lithography or electron beam etching processes, selective doping with nanoscale size area can also be achieved. This photoassisted doping method not only shows a facile route for MIT modulation via a doping route under ambient conditions but also supplies some clues for photosensitive detection in the future.

Highly fluorescent carbon dots from coix seed for the determination of furazolidone and temperature.

In this work, blue emission fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) were fabricated by using the hydrothermal strategy from coix seed for the first time. We found that the prepared CDs possessed many excellent characteristics including excitation-dependent properties, good solubility and strong photostability. The optimal excitation and emission wavelength of CDs were 363 and 435 nm, respectively. Unbelievably, the fluorescence of CDs was selectively and effectively quenched with the addition of furazolidone (Fu). The quenching mechanisms might be assumed to the static quenching and inner filter effect (IFE). Based on this principle, a novel fluorescence probe was developed for the determination of Fu. At the same time, the proposed probe showed excellent sensitivity and selectivity towards Fu with a wide linear range from 0.5 to 100 µM, and the corresponding detection limit was 0.096 µM. Moreover, the CDs also could be applied for the sensing of temperature. The practical application of the CDs for Fu detection in real samples was also confirmed with the satisfactory recoveries changing from 96.6% to 108.5%, which provided huge possibility in the field of medical analysis.

Production of Piperidine and δ-Lactam Chemicals from Biomass-Derived Triacetic Acid Lactone.

Piperidine and δ-Lactam chemicals have wide application, which are currently produced from fossil resource in industry. Production of this kind of chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is of great importance, but is challenging and the reported routes give low yield. Herein, we demonstrate the strategy to synthesize 2-methyl piperidine (MP) and 6-methylpiperidin-2-one (MPO) from biomass-derived triacetic acid lactone (TAL) that is produced microbially from glucose. In this route, TAL was firstly converted into 4-hydroxy-6-methylpyridin-2(1H)-one (HMPO) through facile aminolysis, subsequently HMPO was selectively transformed into MP or MPO over Ru catalysts supported on beta zeolite (Ru/BEA-X, X is the molar ratio of Si to Al) via the tandem reaction. It was found that the yield of MP could reach 76.5 % over Ru/BEA-60 in t-BuOH, and the yield of MPO could be 78.5 % in dioxane. Systematic studies reveal that the excellent catalytic performance of Ru/BEA-60 was closely correlated with the cooperative effects between active metal and acidic zeolite with large pore geometries. The related reaction pathway was studied on the basis of control experiments.

Design and characterization of oil-in-water nanoemulsion for enhanced oil recovery stabilized by amphiphilic copolymer, nonionic surfactant, and LAPONITE® RD.

The application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry has attracted widespread attention in recent years. This study aims to develop a nanoemulsion (NE) for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The NE stabilized by anion amphiphilic copolymer, nonionic surfactant (Brij30) and modified LAPONITE® RD was prepared by the phase inversion composition (PIC) method. The appearance of the emulsion is translucent and the average particle size is less than 60 nm. The micromorphology and interfacial tension (IFT) are examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a spinning drop IFT meter, respectively. The NE possesses good stability evaluated by conductivity and particle size tests. The absolute value of the zeta potential of NE increases when modified LAPONITE® RD is added. In a core flooding experiment with an artificial sandstone core, the NE flooding increased oil recovery by 23.53% compared to water flooding.

Transit From Autotrophism to Heterotrophism: Sequence Variation and Evolution of Chloroplast Genomes in Orobanchaceae Species.

The family Orobanchaceae including autotrophic, hemiparasitic, and holoparasitic species, is becoming a key taxa to study the evolution of chloroplast genomes in different lifestyles. But the early evolutionary trajectory in the transit from autotrophism to hemiparasitism still maintains unclear for the inadequate sampling. In this study, we compared 50 complete chloroplast genomes in Orobanchaceae, containing four newly sequenced plastomes from hemiparasitic Pedicularis, to elucidate the sequence variation patterns in the evolution of plastomes. Contrasted to the sequence and structural hypervariabilities in holoparasites, hemiparasitic plastomes exhibited high similarity to those of autotrophs in gene and GC contents. They are generally characterized with functional or physical loss of ndh/tRNA genes and the inverted small-single-copy region. Gene losses in Orobanchaceae were lineage-specific and convergent, possibly related to structural reconfiguration and expansion/contraction of the inverted region. Pseudogenization of ndh genes was unique in hemiparasites. At least in Pedicularis, the ndhF gene might be most sensitive to the environmental factors and easily pseudogenized when autotrophs transit to hemiparasites. And the changes in gene contents and structural variation potentially deeply rely on the feeding type. Selective pressure, together with mutational bias, was the dominant factor of shaping the codon usage patterns. The relaxed selective constraint, potentially with genome-based GC conversion (gBGC) and preferential codon usage, drive the fluctuation of GC contents among taxa with different lifestyles. Phylogenetic analysis in Orobanchaceae supported that parasitic species were single-originated while holoparasites were multiple-originated. Overall, the comparison of plastomes provided a good opportunity to understand the evolution process in Orobanchaceae with different lifestyles.

Characteristics of Organellar Genomes and Nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacers in the Tertiary Relict Genus Dipelta and Their Phylogenomic Implications.

Dipelta (Caprifoliaceae) is a Tertiary relict genus endemic to China, comprising three species with horticultural and medicinal values. For the lack of genomic information, interspecific relationships and divergence times in the genus remain unresolved. In the present study, we assembled and characterized the complete plastomes, the partial mitogenomes, and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) fragments from genome skimming datasets of 14 Dipelta individuals. The plastomes were conserved in genomic structure, gene order, and gene content, but with highly variable repeat sequences. Three genes (rpl23, ycf1, ycf2) were examined with positive selection, and nine divergent hotpot regions (psbL, accD, rpl23, ycf2, ycf3, rbcL-accD, trnI-CAU-ycf2, ndhH-rps15, and rps18 intron) were potentially valuable for DNA barcodes. Contrasted to the variability in plastome sequences, mitogenomes contained 12 protein-coding genes with limited indels and nucleotide substitutions, and no gene was found under positive selection. Genes in organellar genomes tended to have a similar pattern of codon usage bias, with a preference of A/U ending codons. Phylogenetic trees constructed with plastomes, mitogenomes, and ITS sequences consistently supported that Dipelta was monophyletic, and Dipelta elegans was sister to the other two taxa. Interspecific divergences were estimated at about 33-37 Ma in the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, suggesting the paleo-endemism of the extant species as "living fossils" of the East Asian Flora. Our study well-exhibited that genome skimming could provide valuable genomic information to elucidate the evolutionary history of the complex group in a cost-efficient way.

Highly Efficient Synthesis of Amino Acids by Amination of Bio-Derived Hydroxy Acids with Ammonia over Ru Supported on N-Doped Carbon Nanotubes.

The amino acids have extensive applications, and their productions from biomass-derived feedstocks are very attractive. In this work, the synthesis of amino acids by amination of bio-derived hydroxy acids with ammonia over different metallic nano-catalysts supported on various supports is studied. It is found that Ru nano-catalysts on the nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Ru/N-CNTs) have an outstanding performance for the reaction. Different hydroxy acids can be catalytically converted into the corresponding amino acids with yields up to 70.0 % under mild conditions, which is higher than those reported. The reasons for the high efficiency of the catalyst are investigated, and the reaction pathway is proposed on the basis of control experiments.

Carbon dots as fluorescent nanoprobe for the determination of N-acetyl-ß-d-glucosaminidase activity.

Carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized from p-aminophenol and ethylenediamine via one-step under mild condition and used as a sensitive fluorescent nanoprobe for the activity determination of N-acetyl-ß-d-glucosaminidase (NAG). In this assay, p-nitrophenol was in situ produced from p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-N-acetyl-glucosaminide, which was exclusively hydrolyzed by NAG. The UV absorption peak of p-nitrophenol (maximum at 400 nm) overlapped the excitation peak of CDs with maximum wavelength at 415 nm, which caused the fluorescence decline of CDs based on inner filter effect. The activity of NAG was determined by the fluorescence changes. The assay is highly sensitive to NAG with a low detection limit of 0.75 U L-1 (K = 3) and showed a good linear relationship in the range from 1 to 45 U L-1. This CDs nanoprobe was successfully applied for the determination of NAG activity in human serum and urine samples.

RCAN1.4 mediates high glucose-induced matrix production by stimulating mitochondrial fission in mesangial cells.

High glucose (HG)-induced mitochondrial dynamic changes and oxidative damage are closely related to the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Recent studies suggest that regulators of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is involved in the regulation of mitochondrial function in different cell types, so we investigate the role of RCAN1 in mitochondrial dynamics under HG ambience in rat glomerular mesangial cells (MCs). MCs subjected to HG exhibited an isoform-specific up-regulation of RCAN1.4 at both mRNA and protein levels. RCAN1.4 overexpression induced translocation of Dynamin related protein 1 (Drp1) to mitochondria, mitochondrial fragmentation and depolarization, accompanied by increased matrix production under normal glucose and HG ambience. In contrast, decreasing the expression of RCAN1.4 by siRNA inhibited HG-induced mitochondrial fragmentation and matrix protein up-regulation. Moreover, both mitochondrial fission inhibitor Mdivi-1 and Drp1 shRNA prevented RCAN1.4-induced fibronectin up-regulation, suggesting that RCAN1.4-induced matrix production is dependent on its modulation of mitochondrial fission. Although HG-induced RCAN1.4 up-regulation was achieved by activating calcineurin, RCAN1.4-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation and matrix production is independent of calcineurin activity. These results provide the first evidence for the HG-induced RCAN1.4 up-regulation involving increased mitochondrial fragmentation, leading to matrix protein up-regulation.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein induces fibronectin up-regulation in rat mesangial cells through reactive oxygen species/Src/EGFR signaling.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is known to be up-regulated in both glomeruli and tubules in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD), but its role remains unclear. Previous studies show that PTHrP-induced hypertrophic response in mesangial cells (MCs) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tubuloepithelial cells can be mediated by TGF-ß1. In the present study, although long-term PHTrP (1-34) treatment increased the mRNA and protein level of TGF-ß1 in primary rat MCs, fibronectin up-regulation occurred earlier, suggesting that fibronectin induction is independent of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling. We thus evaluated the involvement of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling and found that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase-derived reactive oxygen species mediates PTHrP (1-34)-induced Src kinase activation. Src phosphorylates EGFR at tyrosine 845 and then transactive EGFR. Subsequent PI3K activation mediates Akt and ERK1/2 activation. Akt and ERK1/2 discretely lead to excessive protein synthesis of fibronectin. Our study thus demonstrates the new role of PTHrP in fibronectin up-regulation for the first time in glomerular MCs. These data also provided new insights to guide development of therapy for glomerular sclerosis.

Complete chloroplast genome of the Meconopsis quintuplinervia (Papaveraceae), a traditional medicine of Tibetan.

As a medicinal herb of Tibetan, Meconopsis quintuplinervia is often utilized for treating pneumonia. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of M. quintuplinervia was determined by next-generation sequencing technology. The overall genome was 154,997 bp in size, including a large single copy (LSC), a small single copy (SSC) and two inverted repeat (IR) regions, which were 85,153 bp, 17,876 bp, and 25,984 bp in length, respectively. The circular chloroplast genome owned 129 genes, comprising 84 protein-coding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA genes (four rRNA species), and 37 transfer RNA genes. The GC contents of the entire sequence, LSC, SSC, and IR region were 38.5%, 37.1%, 32.8%, and 43%, separately. The maximum likelihood tree revealed that M. quintuplinervia was closely related to M. racemosa with strong support value.

Anion amphiphilic random copolymers and their performance as stabilizers for O/W nanoemulsions.

A series of anionic amphiphilic random copolymers with sodium p-styrene sulfonate and dodecyl methacrylate side chains were synthesized via free radical polymerization and their properties in the formation and stabilization of nano-emulsions were investigated. Using poly(sodium p-styrene sulfonate)-ran-poly(dodecyl methacrylate) and Brij 30 as a stabilizer to prepare nanoemulsions, we obtained small droplet size and unimodal distribution nanoemulsions by a low-energy phase inversion composition (PIC) method. The p(SSS)-ran-p(LMA)-Brij 30 co-stabilized nanoemulsions show extraordinary long-term stability and heat resistance, there were almost no variations of droplet size after storing for 35 days and no phase inversion occurred when heating the temperature up to 90 °C. The influence of salinity on the properties of the nanoemulsions was also discussed.

The influence of organically intercalated montmorillonites on the interfacial tension and structure of oil-in-water nanoemulsions.

The properties of O/W emulsions can be improved by the addition of nanomaterials. To explore the influence of organically intercalated montmorillonites (OMts) on the properties of O/W emulsions, we introduced an OMt into a nanoemulsion as a co-stabilizer with the quaternary ammonium Gemini cationic surfactant (G16-2-16) and nonionic lauryl polyoxyethylene ether (Brij 30). The influence of the organically intercalated montmorillonite (OMt) on the properties, such as the interfacial tension, zeta potential, stability, conductivity and morphology of the droplets, of the nanoemulsions was investigated. The results indicate obvious synergistic effects of OMt with G16-2-16. At the concentration of 0.15% w/v G16-2-16, ultralow interfacial tension (IFT) of the O/W results in the formation of nanoemulsions in a much shorter time with 3.4 × 10-3% w/v OMt than that in the case of without OMt; however, at the concentration of 0.2% w/v G16-2-16, the interfacial tension of the O/W increased upon the addition of 3.4 × 10-3% w/v OMt. In addition, light transmission measurements showed that the transmission of the nanoemulsions varied with temperature, and the process was reversible. The mechanisms of these phenomena were analyzed and confirmed by TEM.