MYB Transcription Factor OsC1PLSr Involves the Regulation of Purple Leaf Sheath in Rice.

Although several regulators associated with purple traits in rice have been identified, the genetic basis of the purple sheath remains unclear. In the present study, F2-1 and F2-2 populations were constructed using purple sheath (H93S) and green sheath (R1173 and YHSM), respectively. In order to identify QTL loci in purple sheaths, BSA analyses were performed on the two F2 populations. A crucial QTL for purple sheath was identified, tentatively named qPLSr6, and was located in the 4.61 Mb to 6.03 Mb region of chromosome 6. Combined with expression pattern analysis of candidate genes, LOC_Os06g10350 (OsC1PLSr) was suggested as a candidate gene. The homozygous mutant KO-1 and KO-2 created through CRISPR/Cas9 editing, lost their purple leaf sheath. The RT-PCR revealed that OsC1PLSr, anthocyanin synthase (ANS), diflavonol-4-reductase (DFR), flavanone-3-hydroxylase (F3H), and flavanone-3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) expression levels were dramatically down-regulated in the mutants. The yeast report system indicated that the 145-272 aa region at the C-terminal of OsC1PLSr is a positive transcriptional activation domain. The results indicated that OsC1PLSr synthesized anthocyanins by regulating the expression of ANS, DFR, F3H, and F3'H. This study provides new insights into the genetic basis of the purple sheath.

Tailoring the pore chemistry in porous aromatic frameworks for selective separation of acetylene from ethylene.

The separation of acetylene from ethylene is a crucial process in the petrochemical industry, because even traces of acetylene impurities can poison the catalysts of ethylene polymerization. Herein, we synthesize a new family of 3D porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), non-functionalized PAF-28, carbene-functionalized PAF-28 (cPAF-28) and imidazolium-functionalized PAF-28 (iPAF-28), via Sonogashira coupling reactions. These PAFs show high porosity and good thermal stability. Both cPAF-28 and iPAF-28 are proved to be good candidates for C2H2 adsorption, demonstrated by C2H2/C2H4 selectivity of 12.2 and 15.4, and C2H2 capacity of 48 cm3 g-1 and 57 cm3 g-1, which are significantly higher than those of non-functionalized PAF-28 (1.8, 37 cm3 g-1). Furthermore, the cPAF-28 and iPAF-28 display good breakthrough performance and remarkable recyclability for the separation of the C2H2/C2H4 gas mixture. In addition, the C2H2/C2H4 adsorption sites are revealed by DFT calculations. This work sheds a new light on gas molecular recognition by tailoring the pore chemistry of PAFs.

Interzeolite Conversion-Synthesized Sub-1 µm NaA Zeolite Membrane for C2H2/C2H4 Selective Separation.

Zeolite membranes with reduced thickness and high continuity are of paramount importance for accelerating selective gas separation for resemblant molecules, and the synthesis of such membranes remains a grand challenge. Herein, we developed an interzeolite conversion synthesis approach to grow NaA zeolite membranes on NaX. The conversion of NaX into NaA proceeded via mild hydrothermal treatment of a dilute synthesis solution, preferentially forming a continuous polycrystalline NaA layer on the surface of NaX, which was precrystallized on a porous alumina support. The thickness of the NaA zeolite membrane was successfully controlled to the submicron scale (500 nm). The synthesized NaA membrane functioned as a selective separator for C2H2 and C2H4 gases. Taking the traditionally in situ grown membrane as a reference, the interzeolite-derived membrane exhibited a 3.5-fold separation factor and ∼4.0 times C2H2 permeance. This approach provides an alternative synthesis option for zeolite membranes with advanced properties, and high efficiency in terms of superior gas selectivity and permeability is promising in precise gas separation.

SO2/NO2 Separation Driven by NO2 Dimerization on SSZ-13 Zeolite Membrane.

The molecular state is crucial for precise gas separation using a zeolite membrane, yet the state control remains a big challenge. Herein, we report a NO2 dimerization facilitated high performance SO2/NO2 separation on a SSZ-13 zeolite membrane. The NO2 dimerization is triggered by temperature and pressure to form N2O4 with big molecular size, and N2O4 diffusion into the zeolite pore is inhibited on the basis of size exclusion, leading to high separation selectivity. Consequently, SO2 rather than NO2 preferentially permeates through the SSZ-13 membrane with a high SO2 permeance of 2 × 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and high SO2/NO2 separation factor of 22, ∼50-fold of that measured without dimerization. The dimerization effect for SO2/NO2 separation prevails in other small-pore zeolites such as NaA. This advanced function is revealed through membrane separation using single and mixture gases.

Continuous Porous Aromatic Framework Membranes with Modifiable Sites for Optimized Gas Separation.

Continuous microporous membranes are widely studied for gas separation, due to their low energy premium and strong molecular specificity. Porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with their exceptional stability and structural flexibility are suited to a wide range of separations. Main-stream PAF-based membranes are usually prepared with polymeric matrices, but their discrete entities and boundary defects weaken their selectivity and permeability. The synthesis of continuous PAF membranes is still a major challenge because PAFs are insoluble. Herein, we successfully synthesized a continuous PAF membrane for gas separation. Both pore size and chemistry of the PAF membrane were modified by ion-exchange, resulting in good selectivity and permeance for the gas mixtures H2 /N2 and CO2 /N2 . The membrane with Br- as a counter ion in the framework exhibited a H2 /N2 selectivity of 72.7 with a H2 permeance of 51844 gas permeation units (GPU). When the counter ions were replaced by BF4 - , the membrane showed a CO2 permeance of 23058 GPU, and an optimized CO2 /N2 selectivity of 60.0. Our results show that continuous PAF membranes with modifiable pores are promising for various gas separation situations.

Characteristics of Fertility Transition Response to the Cumulative Effective Low Temperature in a Two-Line Male Sterile Rice Cultivar.

BACKGROUND: Photo-thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) rice (Oryza sativa L.) is usually considered two-line male sterile rice because of its dual-purpose in two-line hybrid rice system: under short days and low temperatures, it is fertile and used for self-propagation, but under long days and high temperatures, it is sterile and used for hybrid seed production. Therefore, photoperiod and temperature conditions are extremely important for the fertility transition of two-line male sterile rice. In recent years, there have been frequent occurrences of abnormally low-temperature (ALT) resulting in failure of two-line hybrid rice seed production. The daily average temperature (DAT) during ALT events is sometimes higher than the critical sterility-inducing temperature (CSIT) of two-line male sterile rice, of which the night temperature is lower than the CSIT. DAT has been traditionally used as the single indicator of pollen fertility transition, but it is unknown why the fertility of two-line male sterile rice in seed production restored fertility under ALT conditions. RESULTS: For Hang93S (H93S), a newly released PTGMS line, we hypothesized fertility transition is determined mainly by the cumulative effective low temperature (ELT) and only a certain duration of low temperature is required every day during the fertility-sensitive period. This study simulated ALTs where the DAT was higher than the CSIT while some segments of night temperature were lower than the CSIT. The results showed H93S exhibited a fertility transition to varying degrees. Moreover, fertility was restored under simulated ALT conditions and pollen fertility increased with increasing cumulative ELT, indicating that the fertility transition was affected primarily by the cumulative ELT. Results also indicated that pollen fertility increased as the number of treatment days increased. CONCLUSIONS: The fertility transition is caused mainly by the cumulative ELT. In two-line male sterile rice breeding, the effects of day length, ALT at night, and continuous response days should be considered together. The present study provides new insight into fertility transition so breeders can more effectively utilize the two-line male sterile rice, H93S, in breeding programs.

Zeolite-Based Memristive Synapse with Ultralow Sub-10-fJ Energy Consumption for Neuromorphic Computation.

The development of neuromorphic computation faces the appreciable challenge of implementing hardware with energy consumption on the level of a femtojoule per synaptic event to be comparable with the energy consumption of human brain. Controllable ultrathin conductive filaments are needed to achieve such extremely low energy consumption in memristive synapses but their formation is difficult to control owing to their stochastic morphology and unexpected overgrowth. Herein, a zeolite-based memristive synapse is demonstrated for the first time, in which Ag exchange in the sub-nanometer pore closely resembles synaptic Ca2+ dynamics across biomembrane channel. Particularly, the confined ultrasmall pore and low Ag ion migration barrier give the zeolite-based memristive synapse ultralow energy consumption below 10 fJ per synaptic spike, on par with the biological counterpart. Experimental results reveal that the gradual memristive effect is attributed to the dimension modulation of Ag clusters. In addition to emulating inherent cognitive functions through electrical stimulations, the experience-dependent transition of short-term plasticity to long-term plasticity using a chemical modulation method is achieved by treating the initial Ag quantity as a learning experience. The proposed memristors can be used to develop highly efficient memristive neural networks and are considered as a candidate for application in neuromorphic computation.

Constructing Mesoporous Adsorption Channels and MOF-Polymer Interfaces in Electrospun Composite Fibers for Effective Removal of Emerging Organic Contaminants.

Recently, metal-organic framework (MOF)-based electrospun fibers have attracted considerable attention as adsorbents for organic contaminant removal from water. To prepare these fibers, two common strategies including blending electrospinning and surface coating are employed. However, fibers obtained from the two strategies still have some disadvantages, such as adsorption site blockage and unstable loading. Here, we constructed interconnected mesopores in the electrospun zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers with the assistance of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) to expose more adsorption sites of ZIF-8 and make ZIF-8 more stable. Moreover, the mesopores could also enhance the diffusion of contaminant molecules and create MOF-polymer interfaces in the fiber, which improve the adsorption rate and adsorption capacity, respectively. The obtained fibers were used to adsorb antibiotic tetracycline from water. Benefiting from the mesoporous adsorption channels and the MOF-polymer interface, porous ZIF-8/PAN fibers showed faster adsorption kinetics than ZIF-8/PAN blending fibers and larger adsorption capacity than ZIF-8-coated PAN fibers and ZIF-8/PAN blending fibers. The maximum adsorption capacity of porous ZIF-8/PAN fibers was 885.24 mg/g, which is close to that of pure ZIF-8. After 10 adsorption-desorption cycles, the removal efficiency was still above 97%. In addition, porous ZIF-8/PAN fibers could act as the membrane adsorbents to dynamically separate tetracycline with a treated capacity of 9.93 × 103 bed volumes. These results demonstrate that our prepared porous ZIF-8/PAN fibers have great potential in antibiotic drug removal.

Screen printing directed synthesis of covalent organic framework membranes with water sieving property.

Screen printing is introduced to direct the synthesis of crack-free and thickness-tunable TpPa(OH)2 covalent organic framework membranes. A smooth precursor layer is firstly screen printed and then fully crystallised into the TpPa(OH)2 membrane. Molecular-scale pores endow the membrane with a fast water-sieving property, which is promising in water desalination.

A zeolite-like aluminophosphate membrane with molecular-sieving property for water desalination.

Membrane desalination has been proposed as a promising strategy to address the worldwide challenge of water scarcity. The development of membrane desalination is impeded by the limited availability of membrane materials, thus, selective membranes with high water fluxes are in high demand. Therefore, the synthesis of a zeolite-like aluminophosphate membrane for water desalination is reported herein. An AlPO4-18 membrane without visible cracks was prepared on stainless steel nets via a seeded approach. The specific adsorption and diffusion properties of the AlPO4-18 membrane toward water were simultaneously investigated by vapor adsorption measurements and molecular simulation. A large adsorption capacity indicates the excellent water affinity of the AlPO4-18 membrane, and water gathering around other water molecules suggests stronger water-water interactions than framework-water interactions. Meanwhile, water molecules transport rapidly through the pores, assisted by a built-in pathway and directed diffusion. The as-synthesized membranes are further evaluated for water desalination. The desalination tests of seawater containing both single and multi-component ions demonstrate that the AlPO4-18 membrane is very selective for water transport, evidenced by very high rejection degrees for cations (>99%). Moreover, the AlPO4-18 membrane exhibits unprecedented high water fluxes (2.14 kg m-2 h-1 in average). The superior performances of good selectivity, high water permeability and high stability ensure the potential application of supported aluminophosphate membranes in desalination.