Cancer burden attributable to risk factors, 1990-2019: A comparative risk assessment.

An up-to-date comprehensive assessment of the cancer burden attributable to risk factors is essential for cancer prevention. We analyzed the population attributable fraction (PAF) of cancer disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to 11 level 2 risk factors using data from the Global Burden and Disease Study (GBD) 2019. We highlighted that almost half of the cancer DALYs can be preventable by modifying relevant risk factors. The attributable cancer DALYs increased by 60.42%-105.0 million from 1990 to 2019. Tobacco, dietary risks, alcohol use, high body-mass index, and air pollution were the top five risk factors. The PAFs attributable to high fasting plasma glucose, high body-mass index, and low physical activity have increased worldwide from 1990 to 2019. Unsafe sex was the leading risk factor for women before age of 54. Tailored prevention programs targeted at specific populations should be scaled up to reduce the cancer burden in the future.

Protein lipidation in health and disease: molecular basis, physiological function and pathological implication.

Posttranslational modifications increase the complexity and functional diversity of proteins in response to complex external stimuli and internal changes. Among these, protein lipidations which refer to lipid attachment to proteins are prominent, which primarily encompassing five types including S-palmitoylation, N-myristoylation, S-prenylation, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor and cholesterylation. Lipid attachment to proteins plays an essential role in the regulation of protein trafficking, localisation, stability, conformation, interactions and signal transduction by enhancing hydrophobicity. Accumulating evidence from genetic, structural, and biomedical studies has consistently shown that protein lipidation is pivotal in the regulation of broad physiological functions and is inextricably linked to a variety of diseases. Decades of dedicated research have driven the development of a wide range of drugs targeting protein lipidation, and several agents have been developed and tested in preclinical and clinical studies, some of which, such as asciminib and lonafarnib are FDA-approved for therapeutic use, indicating that targeting protein lipidations represents a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, we comprehensively review the known regulatory enzymes and catalytic mechanisms of various protein lipidation types, outline the impact of protein lipidations on physiology and disease, and highlight potential therapeutic targets and clinical research progress, aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for future protein lipidation research.

Durability Improvement of Pumice Lightweight Aggregate Concrete by Incorporating Modified Rubber Powder with Sodium Silicate.

To improve the durability of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete applied in cold and drought areas, sodium silicate-modified waste tire rubber powder is used to treat the pumice lightweight aggregate concrete. The pumice lightweight aggregate concrete studied is mainly used in river lining structures. It will be eroded by water flow and the impact of ice and other injuries, resulting in reduced durability, and the addition of modified rubber will reduce the damage. The durability, including mass loss rate and relative dynamic elastic modulus of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete with different sodium silicate dosages and rubber power particle sizes, is analyzed under freeze-thaw cycles, and the microstructure is further characterized by using microscopic test methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance tests, ultra-depth 3D microscope tests, and scanning electron microscopy tests. The results showed that the durability of pumice lightweight aggregate concrete is significantly improved by the addition of modified waste tire rubber powder, and the optimum durability is achieved when using 2 wt% sodium silicate modified rubber power with a particle size of 20, and then the mass loss rate decreased from 4.54% to 0.77% and the relative dynamic elastic modulus increased from 50.34% to 64.87% after 300 freeze-thaw cycles compared with other samples. The scanning electron microscopy test result showed that the surface of rubber power is cleaner after the modification of sodium silicate, so the bonding ability between rubber power and cement hydration products is improved, which further improved the durability of concrete under the freeze-thaw cycle. The results of the nuclear magnetic resonance test showed that the pore area increased with the number of freeze-thaw cycles, and the small pores gradually evolved into large pores. The effect of sodium silicate on the modification of rubber power with different particle sizes is different. After the treatment of 2 wt% sodium silicate, the relationship between the increased rate of pore area and the number of freezing-thawing cycles is 23.8/times for the pumice lightweight aggregate concrete containing rubber power with a particle size of 20 and 35.3/times for the pumice lightweight aggregate concrete containing a particle size of 80 rubber power, respectively.

Synergistic effect of organic matter-floc size-bound water and multifactorial quantitative model of optimal reagent demand in sewage sludge conditioning process prior to dewatering.

The high amount of densely hydrated organic substance present in sewage sludge impedes its filterability, thus restricting sludge disposal. Although chemical conditioning can facilitate filtration, the diverse sludge properties complicate the quantitative control of conditioning process. Investigating how to accurately quantify the optimal reagent demand (ORD) based on the critical physicochemical properties of the target sludge is an effective way to address the current issue. This study focused on the sewage and stockpiled sludge with varying properties, and their ORD under different chemical conditioning. The results showed that organic content, floc size, and bound water synergistically influenced conditioning process. The quantitative models were established between their coupling indicators and ORD, with coupling indicators including the ratio of organic content to floc size, the ratio of flow viscosity to floc size, and the ratio of the product of organic content and bound water to floc size. The linear correlation of the coupling indicator with ORD was higher than that of the traditional single-factor indicator. Furthermore, the inherent filterability of the sludge was somewhat separate from the adjustability of its filtration. A "dual-system" impact model was proposed to characterized the conditioning and filtration processes. These results provide theoretical guidance for the quantitative regulation of conditioning and filtration processes of sludge with complex characteristics.

ZMIZ2 facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma progression via LEF1 mediated activation of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies with a high lethality rate. ZMIZ2 is a transcriptional co-activator implicated in various human diseases. However, the role and molecular mechanism of ZMIZ2 in HCC remains to be elucidated. METHODS: The expression and prognostic value of ZMIZ2 in HCC was excavated from public databases and explored by bioinformatic analysis. Then the expression of ZMIZ2 and related genes was further validated by quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Loss and gain-of-function experiments were performed in vitro and in vivo to investigate the function of ZMIZ2 in HCC. In addition, transcriptome sequencing and immunoprecipitation was conducted to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of ZMIZ2. RESULTS: ZMIZ2 was highly expressed in HCC and associated with poor prognosis. Silencing ZMIZ2 significantly inhibited HCC cell proliferation, cell cycle process, migration, and invasion in vitro, and also inhibited the progression of HCC in vivo. Additionally, ZMIZ2 expression was correlated with immune cell infiltration in HCC samples. Somatic mutation analysis showed that ZMIZ2 and TP53 mutations jointly affected the progression of HCC. Mechanistically, ZMIZ2 interacted with LEF1 to regulate malignant progression of HCC by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. CONCLUSION: ZMIZ2 was overexpressed in HCC and associated with poor prognosis. The overexpression of ZMIZ2 was corelated with malignant phenotype, and it facilitated HCC progression via LEF1-mediated activation of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Furthermore, ZMIZ2 could be served as a prognostic biomarker and a new therapeutic target for HCC.

RBM45 reprograms lipid metabolism promoting hepatocellular carcinoma via Rictor and ACSL1/ACSL4.

Reprogramming of lipid metabolism during hepatocarcinogenesis is not well elucidated. Here, we aimed to explore pivotal RNA-binding motif proteins (RBMs) in lipid metabolism and their therapeutic potential in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Through bioinformatic analysis, we identified RBM45 as a critical gene of interest among differentially expressed RBMs in HCC, with significant prognostic relevance. RBM45 influenced the malignant biological phenotype and lipid metabolism of HCC cells. Mechanically, RBM45 promotes de novo lipogenesis in HCC by directly targeting two key enzymes involved in long-chain fatty acid synthesis, ACSL1 and ACSL4. RBM45 also targets Rictor, which has been demonstrated to modulate lipid metabolism profoundly. RBM45 also aided lipid degradation through activating a key fatty acid ß oxidation enzyme, CPT1A. Thus, RBM45 boosted lipid synthesis and decomposition, indicating an enhanced utility of lipid fuels in HCC. Clinically, body mass index was positively correlated with RBM45 in human HCCs. The combination of a PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor in vitro or Sorafenib in orthotopic liver cancer mouse models with shRBM45 has a more significant therapeutic effect on liver cancer than the drug alone. In summary, our findings highlight the versatile roles of RBM45 in lipid metabolism reprogramming and its therapeutic potential in HCC. Lipids induced RBM45 expression. In turn, RBM45 promoted the utility of lipid in HCCs through accelerating both de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid ß oxidation, which required the participation of Rictor, a core component of mTORC2 that has been demonstrated to modulate lipid metabolism potently, as well as ACSL1/ACSL4, two key enzymes of long-chain fatty acid synthesis. When the first-line chemotherapy drug sorafenib is combined with a PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor (MK2206 is an AKT inhibitor, rapamycin is a mTOR inhibitor, and inhibiting RBM45 can significantly inhibit Rictor), cell cycle, proliferation, lipid metabolism reprogramming, and hepatocarcinogenesis can be significantly inhibited, while apoptosis can be significantly enhanced.

DLAT as a Cuproptosis Promoter and a Molecular Target of Elesclomol in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Cuproptosis is a novel cell death pathway that was newly discovered in early 2022. However, cuproptosis is still in its infancy in many respects and warrants further research in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to analyze the mechanism of cuprptosis in HCC. METHODS: Herein, the tumor microenvironment infiltration landscape of molecular subtypes was illustrated using GSVA, ssGSEA, TIMER, CIBERSORT, and ESTIMATE algorithms based on the expression profile of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) from TCGA and GEO databases. Then, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression method was applied to construct a cuproptosis signature to quantify the cuproptosis profile of HCC. Further, we explored the expression of three hub CRGs in cell lines and clinical patient tissues of HCC by Western blotting, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Finally, we examined the function of dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT) in cuproptosis in HCC by loss-of-function strategy, Western blotting and CCK8 assay. RESULTS: Three distinct molecular subtypes were identified. Cluster 2 had the greatest infiltration of immune cells with best prognosis. The cuproptosis signature was indicative of tumor subtype, immunity, and prognosis for HCC, and specifically, a low cuproptosis score foreshadowed good prognosis. DLAT was highly expressed in liver cancer cell lines and HCC tissues and positively correlated with clinical stage and grade. We also found that potent copper ionophore elesclomol could induce cuproptosis in a copper-dependent manner. Selective Cu++ chelator ammonium tetrathiomolybdate and downregulating DLAT expression by siRNA could effectively inhibit cuproptosis. CONCLUSION: Cuproptosis and DLAT as a promising biomarker could help to determine the prognosis of HCC and may offer novel insights for effective treatment.

Joint QTL Mapping and Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis Reveal Candidate Seed-Shattering-Related Genes in Common Buckwheat.

Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum M.) is an important traditional miscellaneous grain crop. However, seed-shattering is a significant problem in common buckwheat. To investigate the genetic architecture and genetic regulation of seed-shattering in common buckwheat, we constructed a genetic linkage map using the F2 population of Gr (green-flower mutant and shattering resistance) and UD (white flower and susceptible to shattering), which included eight linkage groups with 174 loci, and detected seven QTLs of pedicel strength. RNA-seq analysis of pedicel in two parents revealed 214 differentially expressed genes DEGs that play roles in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, vitamin B6 metabolism, and flavonoid biosynthesis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed and screened out 19 core hub genes. Untargeted GC-MS analysis detected 138 different metabolites and conjoint analysis screened out 11 DEGs, which were significantly associated with differential metabolites. Furthermore, we identified 43 genes in the QTLs, of which six genes had high expression levels in the pedicel of common buckwheat. Finally, 21 candidate genes were screened out based on the above analysis and gene function. Our results provided additional knowledge for the identification and functions of causal candidate genes responsible for the variation in seed-shattering and would be an invaluable resource for the genetic dissection of common buckwheat resistance-shattering molecular breeding.

Discovery of Barakacin and Its Derivatives as Novel Antiviral and Fungicidal Agents.

Pesticides are essential for the development of agriculture. It is urgent to develop green, safe and efficient pesticides. Bisindole alkaloids have unique and concise structures and broad biological activities, which make them an important leading skeleton in the creation of new pesticides. In this work, we synthesized bisindole alkaloid barakacin in a simple seven-step process, and simultaneously designed and synthesized a series of its derivatives. Biological activity research indicated that most of these compounds displayed good antiviral activities against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Among them, compound 14b exerted a superior inhibitory effect in comparison to commercially available antiviral agent ribavirin, and could be expected to become a novel antiviral candidate. Molecular biology experiments and molecular docking research found that the potential target of compound 14b was TMV coat protein (CP). These compounds also showed broad-spectrum anti-fungal activities against seven kinds of plant fungi.

Discovery, Antitumor Activity, and Fermentation Optimization of Roquefortines from Penicillium sp. OUCMDZ-1435.

Meleagrin and oxaline, which belong to the roquefortine alkaloids with a unique dihydroindole spiroamide framework, have significant bioactivities, especially tumor cell inhibitory activity. In order to discover the requefortine alkaloids, Penicillium sp. OUCMDZ-1435 was fished and identified from marine fungi using molecular probe technology. Meleagrin (1) and oxaline (2) were isolated from it. In addition, we first reported that compounds 1 and 2 could effectively inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of the human HepG2 cell and induce HepG2 cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Additionally, the fermentation of Meleagrin (1) was optimized to increase its yield to 335 mg/L. These results provided bioactive inspiration and fungus resources for roquefortine alkaloid development.

Advances of mRNA vaccine in tumor: a maze of opportunities and challenges.

High-frequency mutations in tumor genomes could be exploited as an asset for developing tumor vaccines. In recent years, with the tremendous breakthrough in genomics, intelligence algorithm, and in-depth insight of tumor immunology, it has become possible to rapidly target genomic alterations in tumor cell and rationally select vaccine targets. Among a variety of candidate vaccine platforms, the early application of mRNA was limited by instability low efficiency and excessive immunogenicity until the successful development of mRNA vaccines against SARS-COV-2 broken of technical bottleneck in vaccine preparation, allowing tumor mRNA vaccines to be prepared rapidly in an economical way with good performance of stability and efficiency. In this review, we systematically summarized the classification and characteristics of tumor antigens, the general process and methods for screening neoantigens, the strategies of vaccine preparations and advances in clinical trials, as well as presented the main challenges in the current mRNA tumor vaccine development.

Effect of long-term acid attack on impermeability and microstructure of compacted cement-bound soils.

Compacted cement-bound soils (CCS) are widely used as leakage barriers around solid waste landfills and contaminated sites. However, a study of its long-term reliability in an acidic environment is relatively scarce. A 3-year-long experimental study on the changes in permeability coefficient and microstructure of CCS under acid attack was conducted, from which the following conclusions can be drawn: the permeability coefficient of CCS under weak acid (pH = 5.00) attack decreased progressively with time, from 4.90 × 10-8 cm/s at the beginning to 6.70 × 10-10 cm/s after 3 years. Under strongly acidic environments with pH values of 2.65 and 3.65, the permeability coefficients of CCS initially decreased and then increased with time, reaching 6.70 × 10-5 and 9.37 × 10-8 cm/s, respectively. The degradation effect of a weak acid (pH = 5.00) on the hydration products of cement was mild as a large amount of hydration products (e.g. C-S-H shaped in short fibrous) remained in the pores of CCS after 3 years of immersion. However, strong acid caused an obvious degradation effect on the hydration products, which almost disappeared after 3 years of immersion. Based on the study data, a unified mathematical model was developed to correlate the permeability coefficient of CCS, immersion time and acidic solution pH value. Furthermore, a quantitative expression function between the service life of CCS and solution pH value was established.

The influence of social and commercial pension insurance differences and social capital on the mental health of older adults-Microdata from China.

The number of older adults is rising rapidly in China. Various concerns such as chronic diseases, financial inadequacy, and a feeling of loneliness have adversely affected the mental health of older adults, and this has become an important public health and social issue. To realize healthy aging, the Nineteenth National People's Congress of China put forth the Healthy China strategy, speeding up the promotion activities of mental health and pension measures, carrying out public welfare pension insurance for the entire population, and contributing to the mental health of older adults. This study used data from China Family Panel Studies. This study mainly uses the random effect estimation method (random effect, RE) and the feasible generalized least squares estimation method (FGLS) to control for heterogeneity to explore the impact of social and commercial pension insurance on the mental health of older adults, the moderating effect of social capital on pension insurance, and the mental health of older adults. The results showed that social pension insurance is proportional to the mental health of older adults, whereas commercial pension insurance is inversely proportional to mental health. Social capital had a significant moderating effect on pension insurance. When a country develops an aging economy, the emphasis on social capital helps make targeted industrial development suggestions. The government's expansion of insurance coverage is crucial for improving the mental health of older adults.

Detection of Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure Falsification Based on Support Vector Machine.

Environmental information disclosure (EID) is an important embodiment of corporate social responsibility. With the awakening of public awareness of environmental protection and the increasing pressure of environmental preservation, enterprises tend to strategically manipulate environmental information for the pursuit of profit, which will consequently lead to environmental information disclosure falsification (EIDF) and disruption of both the market regulatory order and the development of green economy. In this article, support vector machine (SVM) technique is applied to construct the detection model of corporate EIDF. Based on the theory of "public pressure," the detection indicators will be improved from three aspects: public pressure, corporate governance, and financial indicators. The training set and test set are constructed by combining the manually collected cases of environmental administrative penalties from 2015 to 2019 with the indicator information of nonfinancial listed enterprises in China's A-share market, and the SVM detection performance is compared with the logistic regression of the benchmark model. To solve the problem of category imbalance, we have introduced the Borderline-SMOTE oversampling technique. Based on the detection results of SVM and Borderline-SMOTE, we find that the Borderline-SMOTE-SVM model has the best detection performance, surpassing the SVM and logistic regression models. These conclusions have constructive policy implications for regulatory agencies, investors, the third-party service sector, enterprises, and government policy-making to achieve high-quality corporate EID.

Evaluation and prediction of the connect index between the Belt and Road countries and China based on the DANP method.

Interconnection is the priority direction of the Belt and Road initiative, which can provide substantial assistance to win-win cooperation. This study establishes a new indicator system from the five dimensions of policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people, evaluates the connect index of 63 Belt and Road countries from 2013 to 2020 based on the DEMATEL-ANP method which removes the potential subjective interference and interaction between indicators, and predicts the trend of the connect index by using the grey model. The findings indicate that the five dimensions of the Belt and Road connectivity have unevenly developed, among which the policy coordination has achieved the least. Singapore, Russia, and Malaysia have the highest connect index, and we can find that the 10 countries with the highest connect index are basically from East Asia & Pacific and Europe & Central Asia, which possess large economic and geographical differences. Moreover, there are 17 "omission areas" characterized by low national income, poor infrastructure, low population density, and small land areas along the Belt and Road. Finally, the Silk Road Economic Belt is facing structural imbalances in connectivity, and the relation features "proximity but not affinity" between China and its neighboring countries. These conclusions are friendly cautions and have constructive policy implications for the Belt and Road countries to achieve high-quality interconnection.

Risk Factors and Outcome of Sepsis in Traumatic Patients and Pathogen Detection Using Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing.

Objective: Sepsis, a life-threatening clinical syndrome, is a leading cause of mortality after experiencing multiple traumas. Once diagnosed with sepsis, patients should be given an appropriate empiric antimicrobial treatment followed by the specific antibiotic therapy based on blood culture due to its rapid progression to tissue damage and organ failure. In this study, we aimed to analyze the risk factors and outcome of sepsis in traumatic patients and to investigate the performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) compared with standard microbiological diagnostics in post-traumatic sepsis. Methods: The study included 528 patients with multiple traumas among which there were 142 cases with post-traumatic sepsis. Patients' demographic and clinical data were recorded. The outcome measures included mortality during the emergency intensive care unit (EICU), EICU length of stay (LOS), all-cause 28-day mortality, and total ventilator days in 28 days after admission. A total of 89 blood samples from 89 septic patients underwent standard microbiological blood cultures and 89 samples of peripheral blood (n = 21), wound secretion (n = 41), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (19), ascites (n = 5), and sputum (n = 3) underwent mNGS. Pathogen detection was compared between standard microbiological blood cultures and mNGS. Results: The sepsis group and non-sepsis group exhibited significant differences regarding shock on admission, blood transfusion, mechanical ventilation, body temperature, heart rate, WBC count, neutrophil count, hematocrit, urea nitrogen, creatinine, CRP, D-D dimer, PCT, scores of APACHE II, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), and Injury Severity Score (ISS) on admission to the EICU, and Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndromes (MODS) (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that scores of APACHE II, SOFA, and ISS on admission, and MODS were independent risk factors for the occurrence of sepsis in patients with multiple traumas. The 28-day mortality was higher in the sepsis group than in the non-sepsis group (45.07% vs. 19.17%, P < 0.001). The mortality during the EICU was higher in the sepsis group than in the non-sepsis group (P=0.002). The LOS in the EICU in the sepsis group was increased compared with the non-sepsis group (P=0.004). The total ventilator days in 28 days after admission in the sepsis group was increased compared with the non-sepsis group (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that septic shock, APACHE II score on admission, SOFA score, and MODS were independent risk factors of death for patients with post-traumatic sepsis. The positive detection rate of mNGS was 91.01% (81/89), which was significantly higher than that of standard microbiological blood cultures (39.33% (35/89)). Standard microbiological blood cultures and mNGS methods demonstrated double positive results in 33 (37.08%) specimens and double-negative results in 8 (8.99%) specimens, while 46 (51.69%) samples and 2 (2.25%) samples had positive results only with mNGS or culture alone, respectively. Conclusion: Our study identifies risk factors for the incidence and death of sepsis in traumatic patients and shows that mNGS may serve as a better diagnostic tool for the identification of pathogens in post-traumatic sepsis than standard microbiological blood cultures.

Investigation on Water Transformation and Pore Structure of Cement-Stabilized Dredged Sediment Based on NMR Technology.

Cement-stabilized dredged sediment (CDS) when used as a new road construction material cannot only solve the problem of abandoned sediment disposal, but also effectively save natural soil resources. This study aimed to evaluate the strength and permeability of CDS and establish corresponding prediction models from the perspective of a stabilization mechanism. The soil-water composition and pore size distribution were investigated by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The results demonstrated that more liquid pore water inside the CDS specimen transformed into combined water with cement hydration. The amount of combined water, which essentially characterized the hydration process of cement, presented a linear relationship with log (t). The cementation and filling action of hydrates resulted in the transformation of large pores into smaller ones, hence the optimal pore size decreased with an increasing curing period and cement content. The stress-strain curves and hydraulic conductivity were determined based on unconfined compression and flexible wall penetration tests, respectively. The unconfined compressive strength increased exponentially with the amount of combined water, and the functional correlations of hydraulic conductivity and micropore parameters were established. The reliability of the NMR technique as a new method to study the microscopic evolution mechanism of the strength and permeability of CDS was further verified by scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry tests.

Design of metalloenzyme mimics based on self-assembled peptides for organophosphorus pesticides detection.

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) detection has attracted considerable attention because of the extensive application of OPs. In this research, non-toxic and high-performance metalloenzyme mimics of Zn2+-bonding peptides were developed by obtaining inspiration from phosphotriesterase (PTE) and nanofiber formation. Furthermore, based on the electrochemical activity of p-nitrophenol (PNP), the electrochemical sensor of metalloenzyme mimics was developed. By examining the effect of the active sites of peptides and fibril formation on the degradation of OPs, the optimal metalloenzyme mimic was selected. Furthermore, optimal metalloenzyme mimics were combined with NiCo2O4 to develop an electrochemical sensor of OPs. By monitoring square wave voltammetry (SWV) signals of PNP degraded from OPs, the amounts of OPs in actual samples could be determined in 15 min. We discovered that both the active sites of α metal and ß metal were required for metalloenzyme mimics; Zn2+ promoted peptide fibrosis and especially acted as a cofactor for degrading OPs. Compared to traditional methods, the electrochemical sensor of metalloenzyme mimics was sensitive, reliable, and non-toxic; furthermore, the detection limit of methyl paraoxon was as low as 0.08 µM. The metalloenzyme mimics will be a promising material for detecting OPs in the food industry and environment fields.

Transcriptome and metabolome analyses reveal the key genes related to grain size of big grain mutant in Tartary Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tartaricum).

Grain size with high heritability and stability is an important selection target during Tartary buckwheat breeding. However, the mechanisms that regulate Tartary buckwheat grain development are unknown. We generated transcriptome and metabolome sequencing from 10 and 15 days past anthesis (DPA) grains of big grain mutant (bg1) and WT, and identified 4108 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 93 significantly up-regulated differential genes and 85 significantly down-regulated genes in both stages, simultaneously. Meanwhile, we identified DEGs involved in ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, HAI-KU (IKU) pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, plant hormone (auxin, brassinosteroids and cytokinins) transduction pathway and five transcription factor families, including APETALA (AP2), GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORS (GRF), AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF), WRKY and MYB. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed and obtained 9 core DEGs. Conjoint analyses of transcriptome and metabolome sequencing screened out 394 DEGs. Using a combined comprehensive analysis, we identified 24 potential candidate genes that encode E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase HIP1, EMBRYO-DEFECTIVE (EMB) protein, receptor-like protein kinase FERONIA (FER), kinesin-4 protein SRG1, and so on, which may be associated with the big-grain mutant bg1. Finally, a quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was conducted to validate the identified DEGs. Our results provide additional knowledge for identification and functions of causal candidate genes responsible for the variation in grain size and will be an invaluable resource for the genetic dissection of Tartary buckwheat high-yield molecular breeding.