Prevalence, genomic characteristics, and pathogenicity of fowl adenovirus 2 in Southern China.

In recent years, the occurrence of fowl adenovirus 2 (FAdV-2) has been on the rise in China, posing a significant threat to the poultry industry. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology, phylogenetic relationship, genomic characteristics, and pathogenicity of FAdV-2. The epidemiological analysis revealed the detection of multiple FAdV serotypes, including FAdV-1, FAdV-2, FAdV-3, FAdV-4, FAdV-8a, FAdV-8b, and FAdV-11 serotypes. Among them, FAdV-2 exhibited the highest proportion, accounting for 21.05% (8/38). The complete genomes of these 8 FAdV-2 strains were sequenced. Genetic evolution analysis indicated that these FAdV-2 strains formed a separate branch within the FAdV-D group, sharing 94.60 to 97.90% nucleotide similarity with the reference FAdV-2 and FAdV-11 strains. Notably, the recombination analysis revealed that 5 out of the 8 FAdV-2 strains, exhibited recombination events between FAdV-2 and FAdV-11. The recombination regions involved Hexon, Fiber, ORF19 genes and 3' end. Furthermore, pathogenicity experiments demonstrated that recombinant FAdV-2 XX strain is capable of inducing mortality rate of 66.70% and causing more severe hepatitis hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) in 6-wk-old specific-pathogen-free chickens. These findings contribute to our understanding of the prevalence, genomic characteristics, and the pathogenicity of FAdV-2, providing foundations for FAdV-2 vaccine development.

Effects of working pressure on the material and defect properties of Sb2S3 thin-film solar cells achieved by the VTD method.

Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3), an emerging material for photovoltaic devices, has drawn growing research interest due to its inexpensive and high-throughput device production. In this study, the material and defect properties of Sb2S3 thin films prepared by the vapor transport deposition (VTD) method at different working pressures were studied. Solar cells based on a structure of glass/ITO/CdS/Sb2S3/Au were fabricated. The working pressure showed a significant effect on the device's performance. The current density versus voltage measurement and scanning electron microscopy analysis outcome were utilized to investigate the photovoltaic and microstructural properties in the samples. The compositional analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurement confirmed the Sb/S ratio as 2:2.8 for the thin films. The identification and characterization of the defects present in Sb2S3 thin films were performed via admittance measurements. Compared to the defect density, the defect energy level was found to inherit a more important role in the device's performance. The best solar cell performance with better crystal quality, lower defect density, and longer capture lifetime was achieved under the substrate working pressure of 2 Pa. The highest efficiency was found to be 0.86% with Voc=0.55V, Jsc=5.07mA/cm2.

Facile synthesis of air-stable heterobimetallic osmium-silver hydride complexes.

The synthesis and characterization of air-stable heterobimetallic Os-Ag hydrides are described. All of the new heterobimetallic Os-Ag hydrides are neutral, and the in situ generated and presynthesized cis-[Os](H)-CC-R units in these frameworks act as organometallic bidentate chelating ligands coordinating with the AgPPh3 cation, which makes these complexes more stable. Our results provide a new synthetic route for the construction of stable heterobimetallic complexes.

B-H and O-H bonds activation via a single electron transfer of frustrated radical pairs.

The rare examples of B-H bond activation in a frustrated radical pair regime have been observed by treatment of TEMPO radicals with Piers' borane HB(C6F5)2 or bis-borane, respectively. The resulting concomitant formation of zwitterionic products and geminal N/B frustrated Lewis pairs implied a one electron process. In addition, the reaction of a TEMPO/B(C6F5)3 pair with H2O·B(C6F5)3 was assumed to involve one-electron reduction of water. Our results provide insights into chemical bond (e.g. B-H and O-H) activation via a single electron transfer.

Emotion anticipation induces emotion effects in neutral words during sentence reading: Evidence from event-related potentials.

This study examined whether emotion responses during reading are co-constituted by lexical items and the preceding context. Event-related potentials to coherent emotion and neutral words finishing sentences with or without strong constraint for the incoming valence were analyzed. Typical frontal P200 and posterior late positive component (LPC) emotion responses were seen to emotion words relative to neutral words in the neutral context, indicating heightened attention allocation and further valence analysis induced by word-level emotionality. With emotional bias in the context, words elicited reduced N400 responses, indicating facilitated semantic processing. Critically, we obtained evidence for contextualized emotion responses during coherent sentence comprehension. With active anticipation of the incoming emotionality (evidenced by the frontal positivity to plausible emotionally unpredicted words), enhanced P200 and LPC responses were seen to neutral words in emotional contexts. These findings demonstrated that, like word emotionality, emotion-constraining contexts could similarly engage motivational circuits and attention resources, affecting early perception and later further affective evaluation of the incoming information, even for emotionally neutral words. Despite the seeming similarity, multiple routes may be involved for giving rise to these neurophysiological reactions during emotion processing - while lexically driven LPCs were significantly correlated with empathy, contextually driven LPCs were not. Together, these findings provide support for contextualized emotion responses during congruent sentence reading when explicit emotional judgment on the materials is not required. These findings also provide an initial understanding about how these responses are mediated by empathy - an important aspect of human ability to perceive emotion.

Mechanical Milling-Assisted Spark Plasma Sintering of Fine-Grained W-Ni-Mn Alloy.

Fine-grained W-6Ni-4Mn alloys were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using mechanical milling W, Ni and Mn composite powders. The relative density of W-6Ni-4Mn alloy increases from 71.56% to 99.60% when it is sintered at a low temperature range of 1000⁻1200 °C for 3 min. The spark plasma sintering process of the alloy can be divided into three stages, which clarify the densification process of powder compacts. As the sintering temperature increases, the average W grain size increases but remains at less than 7 µm and the distribution of the binding phase is uniform. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation reveals that the W-6Ni-4Mn alloy consists of the tungsten phase and the γ-(Ni, Mn, W) binding phase. As the sintering temperature increases, the Rockwell hardness and bending strength of alloys initially increases and then decreases. The optimum comprehensive hardness and bending strength of the alloy are obtained at 1150 °C. The main fracture mode of the alloys is W/W interface fracture.

A Non-specific Setaria italica Lipid Transfer Protein Gene Plays a Critical Role under Abiotic Stress.

Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are a class of cysteine-rich soluble proteins having small molecular weights. LTPs participate in flower and seed development, cuticular wax deposition, also play important roles in pathogen and abiotic stress responses. A non-specific LTP gene (SiLTP) was isolated from a foxtail millet (Setaria italica) suppression subtractive hybridization library enriched for differentially expressed genes after abiotic stress treatments. A semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR analysis showed that SiLTP was expressed in all foxtail millet tissues. Additionally, the SiLTP promoter drove GUS expression in root tips, stems, leaves, flowers, and siliques of transgenic Arabidopsis. Quantitative real-time PCR indicated that the SiLTP expression was induced by NaCl, polyethylene glycol, and abscisic acid (ABA). SiLTP was localized in the cytoplasm of tobacco leaf epidermal cells and maize protoplasts. The ectopic expression of SiLTP in tobacco resulted in higher levels of salt and drought tolerance than in the wild type (WT). To further assess the function of SiLTP, SiLTP overexpression (OE) and RNA interference (RNAi)-based transgenic foxtail millet were obtained. SiLTP-OE lines performed better under salt and drought stresses compared with WT plants. In contrast, the RNAi lines were much more sensitive to salt and drought compared than WT. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and yeast one-hybrids indicated that the transcription factor ABA-responsive DRE-binding protein (SiARDP) could bind to the dehydration-responsive element of SiLTP promoter in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Moreover, the SiLTP expression levels were higher in SiARDP-OE plants compared than the WT. These results confirmed that SiLTP plays important roles in improving salt and drought stress tolerance of foxtail millet, and may partly be upregulated by SiARDP. SiLTP may provide an effective genetic resource for molecular breeding in crops to enhance salt and drought tolerance levels.

SiASR4, the Target Gene of SiARDP from Setaria italica, Improves Abiotic Stress Adaption in Plants.

Drought and other types of abiotic stresses negatively affect plant growth and crop yields. The abscisic acid-, stress-, and ripening-induced (ASR) proteins play important roles in the protection of plants against abiotic stress. However, the regulatory pathway of the gene encoding this protein remains to be elucidated. In this study, the foxtail millet (Setaria italica) ASR gene, SiASR4, was cloned and characterized. SiASR4 localized to the cell nucleus, cytoplasm and cytomembrane, and the protein contained 102 amino acids, including an ABA/WDS (abscisic acid/water-deficit stress) domain, with a molecular mass of 11.5 kDa. The abundance of SiASR4 transcripts increased after treatment with ABA, NaCl, and PEG in foxtail millet seedlings. It has been reported that the S. italica ABA-responsive DRE-binding protein (SiARDP) binds to a DNA sequence with a CCGAC core and that there are five dehydration-responsive element (DRE) motifs within the SiASR4 promoter. Our analyses demonstrated that the SiARDP protein could bind to the SiASR4 promoter in vitro and in vivo. The expression of SiASR4 increased in SiARDP-overexpressing plants. SiASR4-transgenic Arabidopsis and SiASR4-overexpressing foxtail millet exhibited enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stress. Furthermore, the transcription of stress-responsive and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger-associated genes was activated in SiASR4 transgenic plants. Together, these findings show that SiASR4 functions in the adaption to drought and salt stress and is regulated by SiARDP via an ABA-dependent pathway.

Spatial and temporal activity of the foxtail millet (Setaria italica) seed-specific promoter pF128.

MAIN CONCLUSION: pF128 drives GUS specifically expressed in transgenic seeds of foxtail millet and Zea mays with higher activity than the constitutive CaMV35S promoter and the maize seed-specific 19Z promoter. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica), a member of the Poaceae family, is an important food and fodder crop in arid regions. Foxtail millet is an excellent C4 crop model owing to its small genome (~490 Mb), self-pollination and availability of a complete genome sequence. F128 was isolated from a cDNA library of foxtail millet immature seeds. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that F128 mRNA was specifically expressed in immature and mature seeds. The highest F128 mRNA level was observed 5 days after pollination and gradually decreased as the seed matured. Sequence analysis suggested that the protein encoded by F128 is likely a protease inhibitor/seed storage protein/lipid-transfer protein. The 1,053 bp 5' flanking sequence of F128 (pF128) was isolated and fused to the GUS reporter gene. The corresponding vector was then transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana, foxtail millet and Zea mays. GUS analysis revealed that pF128 drove GUS expression efficiently and specifically in the seeds of transgenic Arabidopsis, foxtail millet and Zea mays. GUS activity was also detected in Arabidopsis cotyledons. Activity of pF128 was higher than that observed for the constitutive CaMV35S promoter and the maize seed-specific 19 Zein (19Z) promoter. These results indicate that pF128 is a seed-specific promoter. Its application is expected to be of considerable value in plant genetic engineering.

SiLEA14, a novel atypical LEA protein, confers abiotic stress resistance in foxtail millet.

BACKGROUND: Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are involved in protecting higher plants from damage caused by environmental stresses. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important cereal crop for food and feed in semi-arid areas. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance to these conditions are not well defined. RESULTS: Here, we characterized a novel atypical LEA gene named SiLEA14 from foxtail millet. It contains two exons separated by one intron. SiLEA14 was expressed in roots, stems, leaves, inflorescences and seeds at different levels under normal growth conditions. In addition, SiLEA14 was dramatically induced by osmotic stress, NaCl and exogenous abscisic acid. The SiLEA14 protein was localized in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Overexpression of SiLEA14 improved Escherichia coli growth performance compared with the control under salt stress. To further assess the function of SiLEA14 in plants, transgenic Arabidopsis and foxtail millet plants that overexpressed SiLEA14 were obtained. The transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings showed higher tolerance to salt and osmotic stress than the wild type (WT). Similarly, the transgenic foxtail millet showed improved growth under salt and drought stresses compared with the WT. Taken together, our results indicated that SiLEA14 is a novel atypical LEA protein and plays important roles in resistance to abiotic stresses in plants. CONCLUSION: We characterized a novel atypical LEA gene SiLEA14 from foxtail millet, which plays important roles in plant abiotic stress resistance. Modification of SiLEA14 expression may improve abiotic stress resistance in agricultural crops.

Fine structural tuning of whereabout and clustering of metal-metal oxide heterostructure for optimal photocatalytic enhancement and stability.

In this work, we demonstrate the fine structural tuning of metal-metal oxide heterostructure with regards to the individual tuning of the various core and shell components from shell thickness to metal core constitution. Furthermore, we deliberately engineered spatially confined and clustered Au nanoparticles in the core of a porous shell structure without the assistance of template or linker. Our findings unambiguously highlight that whilst it is important to incorporate metal nanoparticles into metal oxide for higher photocatalytic performance through enhanced light absorption and charge separation, the "whereabout" and clustering of Au nanoparticles affect the photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, we also prove the enhanced and prolonged catalytic activity of spatially confined metal cores over conventional surface loaded metal particles, which originates from the structural stability and optimized contact interface for heterojunction-induced charge transfer. The present well-controlled synthetic route can offer a facile and valuable way to tune and probe specific structure in relation to nanoscale light-matter manipulation and solar-to-chemical energy conversion studies.

Two-photon induced photoluminescence and singlet oxygen generation from aggregated gold nanoparticles.

Metal nanoparticles have potential applications as bioimaging and photosensitizing agents. Aggregation effects are generally believed to be adverse to their biomedical applications. Here we have studied the aggregation effects on two-photon induced photoluminescence and singlet oxygen generation of Au nanospheres and Au nanorods of two different aspect ratios. Aggregated Au nanospheres and short Au nanorods were found to display enhanced two-photon induced photoluminescence and singlet oxygen generation capabilities compared to the unaggregated ones. The two-photon photoluminescence of Au nanospheres and short Au nanorods were enhanced by up to 15.0- and 2.0-fold upon aggregation, and the corresponding two-photon induced singlet oxygen generation capabilities were enhanced by 8.3 and 1.8-fold, respectively. The two-photon induced photoluminescence and singlet oxygen generation of the aggregated long Au nanorods were found to be lower than the unaggregated ones. These results support that the change in their two-photon induced photoluminescence and singlet oxygen generation originate from aggregation modulated two-photon excitation efficiency. This finding is expected to foster more biomedical applications of metal nanoparticles as Au nanoparticles normally exist in an aggregated form in the biological environments. Considering their excellent biocompatibility, high inertness, ready conjugation, and easy preparation, Au nanoparticles are expected to find more applications in two-photon imaging and two-photon photodynamic therapy.

TiO2 coated Au/Ag nanorods with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation.

A facile method was used to prepare uniform Au NR/TiO2 and Au/Ag NR/TiO2 core-shell composite nanoparticles. Au/Ag NR/TiO2 nanoparticles were found to display significantly enhanced visible light photo-catalytic activity compared to Au NR/TiO2 and the commercially available TiO2 nanoparticles. The enhancement mechanism was ascribed to injection of hot electrons of photo-excited Au/Ag NRs to TiO2, which was confirmed by 633 nm laser induced reduction of silver ions on the surface of Au/Ag NR/TiO2 composite nanoparticles.

Excitation Nature of Two-Photon Photoluminescence of Gold Nanorods and Coupled Gold Nanoparticles Studied by Two-Pulse Emission Modulation Spectroscopy.

Gold nanorods (Au NRs) and coupled gold nanospheres (Au NSs) are known to display strong two-photon photoluminescence (TPPL). Here two-pulse emission modulation (TPEM) and pump-probe measurements were performed on Au NRs and coupled Au NSs to understand their excitation mechanisms. The TPEM cross contributions of Au NRs and coupled Au NSs showed much slower decay compared with a two-photon absorption organic dye. Their decay time constants (4.0 ps for Au NRs and 3.1 ps for coupled Au NSs) match well with the lifetimes of intermediate states measured from pump-probe experiments. These results support the fact that strong TPPL in Au NRs and coupled Au NSs arises from two sequential one-photon absorption steps involving real intermediate states instead of coherent two-photon absorption. These results give direct evidence that previously observed aggregation-enhanced TPPL arises from enhanced two-photon excitation efficiency, which was facilitated by two sequential plasmon-coupling-enhanced one-photon absorption steps via real intermediate states.

Plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic properties of Cu2O nanowire-Au nanoparticle assemblies.

Cu(2)O-Au nanocomposites (NCs) with tunable coverage of Au were prepared by a facile method of mixing gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with copper(I) oxide nanowires (Cu(2)O NWs) in various ratios. These Cu(2)O-Au NCs display tunable optical properties, and their photocatalytic properties were dependent on the coverage density of Au NPs. The photocatalytic activity of Cu(2)O-Au NCs was examined by photodegradation of methylene blue. The presence of Au NPs enhanced the photodegradation efficiency of Cu(2)O NCs. The photocatalytic efficiency of Cu(2)O-Au NCs initially increased with the increasing coverage density of Au NPs and then decreased as the surface of Cu(2)O became densely covered by Au NPs. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency was ascribed to enhanced light absorption (by the surface plasmon resonance) and the electron sink effect of the Au NPs.