A Novel Gelatin-Based Sustained-Release Molluscicide for Control of the Invasive Agricultural Pest and Disease Vector Pomacea canaliculata

Pomacea canaliculata, one of the 100 most destructive invasive species in the world, and it is an important intermediate host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The molluscicides in current use are an effective method for controlling snails. However, most molluscicides have no slow-release effect and are toxic to nontarget organisms. Thus, these molluscicides cannot be used on a large scale to effectively act on snails. In this study, gelatin, a safe and nontoxic substance, was combined with sustained-release molluscicide and was found to reduce the toxicity of niclosamide to nontarget organisms. We assessed the effects of gelatin and molluscicide in controlling P. canaliculata snails and eggs. The results demonstrated that the niclosamide retention time with 1.0% and 1.5% gelatin sustained-release agents reached 20 days. Additionally, the mortality rate of P. canaliculata and their eggs increased as the concentration of the niclosamide sustained-release agents increased. The adult mortality rate of P. canaliculata reached 50% after the snails were exposed to gelatin with 0.1 mg/L niclosamide for 48 h. The hatching rate of P. canaliculata was only 28.5% of the normal group after the treatment was applied. The sustained-release molluscicide at this concentration was less toxic to zebrafish, which means that this molluscicide can increase the safety of niclosamide to control P. canaliculata in aquatic environments. In this study, we explored the safety of using niclosamide sustained-release agents with gelatin against P. canaliculata. The results suggest that gelatin is an ideal sustained-release agent that can provide a foundation for subsequent improvements in control of P. canaliculata.     

Phosphorylation of ERK-Dependent NF-κB Triggers NLRP3 Inflammasome Mediated by Vimentin in EV71-Infected Glioblastoma Cells

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a dominant pathogenic agent that may cause severe central nervous system (CNS) diseases among infants and young children in the Asia-pacific. The inflammasome is closely implicated in EV71-induced CNS injuries through a series of signaling pathways. However, the activation pathway of NLRP3 inflammasome involved in EV71-mediated CNS injuries remains poorly defined. In the studies, EV71 infection, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and activation of NLRP3 are abolished in glioblastoma cells with low vimentin expression by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockdown. PD098059, an inhibitor of p-ERK, remarkably blocks the vimentin-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation in EV71-infected cells. Nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 is dependent on p-ERK in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, NLRP3 activation and caspase-1 production are limited in EV71-infected cells upon the caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) administration, an inhibitor of NF-κB, which contributes to the inflammasome regulation. In conclusion, these results suggest that EV71-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome could be activated via the VIM-ERK-NF-κB pathway, and the treatment of the dephosphorylation of ERK and NF-κB inhibitors is beneficial to host defense in EV71-infected CNS.     

Structural Characteristics,Antioxidant and Hypoglycemic Activities of Polysaccharide from Siraitia grosvenorii

The structural characterization, the in vitro antioxidant activity, and the hypoglycemic activity of a polysaccharide (SGP-1-1) isolated from Siraitia grosvenorii (SG) were studied in this paper. SGP-1-1, whose molecular weight is 19.037 kDa, consisted of Gal:Man:Glc in the molar ratio of 1:2.56:4.90. According to the results of methylation analysis, GC–MS, and NMR, HSQC was interpreted as a glucomannan with a backbone composed of 4)-β-D-Glcp-(1→4)-, α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-, and 4)-Manp-(1 residues. α-1,6 linked an α-D-Galp branch, and α-1,6 linked an α-D-Glcp branch. The study indirectly showed that SGP-1-1 has good in vitro hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities and that these activities may be related to the fact that the SGP-1-1’s monosaccharide composition (a higher proportion of Gal and Man) is the glycosidic-bond type (α- and β-glycosidic bonds). SGP-1-1 could be used as a potential antioxidant and hypoglycemic candidate for functional and nutritional food applications.     

Comparison of the Structural Evolution of β Polypropylene during the Sequential and Simultaneous Biaxial Stretching Process

In this work, the lamellar structural evolution and microvoids variations of β polypropylene(β-PP) during the processing of two different stretching methods, sequential biaxial stretching and simultaneous biaxial stretching, were investigated in detail. It was found that different stretching methods led to significantly different lamellae deformation modes, and the microporous membranes obtained from the simultaneous biaxial stretching exhibited better mechanical properties. For the sequential biaxial stretching, abundant coarse fibers originated from the tight accumulation of the lamellae parallel to the longitudinal stretching direction, whereas the lamellae perpendicular to the stretching direction were easily deformed and separated. Those coarse fibers were difficult to be separated to form micropores during the subsequent transverse stretching process, resulting in a poor micropores distribution. However, for the simultaneous biaxial stretching, the β crystal had the same deformation mode, that is, the lamellae distributed in different directions were all destroyed, forming abundant microvoids and little coarse fibers.     

Interfacial Charge Transfer Induced Electronic Property Tuning of MoS_2 by Molecular Functionalization

The modulation of electrical properties of MoS_2 has attracted extensive research interest because of its potential applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.Herein,interfacial charge transfer induced electronic property tuning of MoS_2 are investigated by in situ ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.A downward band-bending of MoS_2-related electronic states along with the decreasing work function,which are induced by the electron transfer from Cs overlayers to MoS_2,is observed after the functionalization of MoS_2 with Cs,leading to n-type doping.Meanwhile,when MoS_2 is modified with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane(F_4-TCNQ),an upward band-bending of MoS_2-related electronic states along with the increasing work function is observed at the interfaces.This is attributed to the electron depletion within MoS_2 due to the strong electron withdrawing property of F_4-TCNQ,indicating p-type doping of MoS_2.Our findings reveal that surface transfer doping is an effective approach for electronic property tuning of MoS_2 and paves the way to optimize its performance in electronic and optoelectronic devices.     

Possible light neutral boson and particle mass quantization

Qualities of nucleons, such as the fundamental parameter mass, might be modified in extreme conditions relative to those of isolated nucleons. We show the ratio of the EMC-effect tagged nucleon mass to that of the free one(m*/m);these values are derived from the nuclear structure function ratio between heavy nuclei and deuterium measured in the electron Deep Inelastic Scattering(DIS) reaction in 0.3≤x≤0.7. The increase in m*/mwith A-1/3 is phenomenologically interpreted via the release of a color-singlet cluster formed by sea quarks and gluons in bound nucleons holding high momentum in the nucleus, from which the mass and fraction of non-nucleonic components in nuclei can be deduced. The mass of color-singlet clusters released per short range correlated(SRC) proton in the high momentum region(k > 2 fm-1) is extracted to be 16.890 ±0.016 MeV/c2, which evidences the possibility of a light neutral boson and quantized mass of matter.     

Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of Kagome Metal CsV_3Sb_5

We systematically measure the superconducting(SC) and mixed state properties of high-quality CsV_3 Sb_5 single crystals with T_c～3.5 K.We find that the upper critical field H_(c2)(T) exhibits a large anisotropic ratio of H_(c2)~(ab)/H_(c2)~c～9 at zero temperature and fitting its temperature dependence requires a minimum two-band effective model.Moreover,the ratio of the lower critical field,H_(c1)~(ab)/H_(c1)~c,is also found to be larger than 1,which indicates that the in-plane energy dispersion is strongly renormalized near Fermi energy.Both H_(c1)(T) and SC diamagnetic signal are found to change little initially below T_c～3.5 K and then to increase abruptly upon cooling to a characteristic temperature of ～2.8 K.Furthermore,we identify a two-fold anisotropy of in-plane angular-dependent magnetoresistance in the mixed state.Interestingly,we find that,below the same characteristic T～2.8 K,the orientation of this two-fold anisotropy displays a peculiar twist by an angle of 60° characteristic of the Kagome geometry.Our results suggest an intriguing superconducting state emerging in the complex environment of Kagome lattice,which,at least,is partially driven by electron-electron correlation.     

Common (π,π) Band Folding and Surface Reconstruction in Fe As-Based Superconductors

High resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES) measurements are carried out on CaKFe_4 As_4,KCa_2 Fe_4 As_4 F_2 and(Ba_(0.6)K_(0.4))Fe_2 As_2 superconductors.Clear evidence of band folding between the Brillouin zone center and corners with a(π,π) wave vector has been found from the measured Fermi surface and band structures in all the three kinds of superconductors.A dominant ~(1/2)×~(1/2) surface reconstruction is observed on the cleaved surface of CaKFe_4As_4 by scanning tunneling microscopy(STM) measurements.We propose that the commonly observed ~(1/2)×~(1/2) reconstruction in the FeAs-based superconductors provides a general scenario to understand the origin of the(π,π) band folding.Our observations provide new insights in understanding the electronic structure and superconductivity mechanism in iron-based superconductors.     

正丁基正辛基亚砜萃取Au(Ⅲ)的NMR波谱研究

以亚砜的模型化合物正丁基正辛基亚砜液-液萃取Au(Ⅲ),对萃取剂及萃取配合物的1H NMR、13C NMR波谱特征进行讨论,研究了萃取时萃合物的结构及其动态变化.作者认为有机相中存在Au(Ⅲ)在正丁基正辛基亚砜(BOSO)与配合物之间快速交换的过程,该过程有利于Au(Ⅲ)从水相向有机相转移,也是形成NMR波谱特征的主要原因.核磁共振实验也说明了在两种酸度下Au(Ⅲ)均与亚砜基团中的氧原子配位,但萃取机理有所不同,核磁共振波潜的分析给出了萃取机理的直接证据.     

超声喷雾电离源的研制与表征

研制了超声喷雾电离源(SSI)。采用核糖核酸A、溶菌酶等样品和商品化的线性离子阱质谱仪对该电离源进行了表征。实验发现,对于生物大分子,超声喷雾电离质谱(SSI-MS)能够获得与电喷雾质谱(ESI-MS)类似的多电荷离子。但与同等条件下ESI-MS所获得的谱图相比,SSI主要获得低价态的多电荷离子。在此基础上,系统考察了SSI-MS各主要操作参数对不同价态蛋白质多电荷离子信号强度的影响,并提出了SSI离子化的可能机理。结果表明,在喷雾气压3.4~3.6 MPa、喷雾口到质谱入口的距离4~6 mm、离子传输管温度250~300℃、样液流速50~100μL/min、2%~5%甲酸酸性且不含甲醇的条件下,各价态蛋白质离子信号强度及信号分布均达到最优;而离子传输管温度越高,喷雾压力越大或溶剂中甲醇等挥发性成分越高,则越有利于低价态离子的形成。