NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND INVESTI－GATION OF HUMAN THERMOREGULATION IN COLD ENVIRONMENT

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Thellungiella halophila ST103 enhances salt tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum

Background:Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum),the major textile fiber crop ofthe world,is negatively affected by salinity.It leads to the induction of adverse effects on growth and development of cott on.The overall yield of cotton faces major drawback once they are grown in saline soil.To improve cotton salt tolerance,tunsgenic approach offers a fast and effective way but it relies on the availability of salt tolerance genes.Results:In this study,we have reported the evaluation of ThST103,a homologue of Arabidopsis ozone-induced protein(AtOZI1)in Thellungiellahalophila,in enhancing salt tolerance in cotton.Overexpression ofThST103 enabled cotton plants to germinate and grow better than the wild types under salt stress.The transgenic lines showed enhanced survival rate in the saline environment and experienced less oxidative damage compared with the wild types.In the field,the transgenic cotton lines produced higher yield than the wild type in saline soil.Transcriptomic comparison analyses of ThST103 overexpression lines versus the wild type revealed upregulated genes enriched in salt stress tolerance and ion homeostasis.Conclusions:Our results dem on strate that ThST103 has the capability to improve salt tolerance in cotton.It can be used in cotton breeding for salt tolerance cultivars.

Composition optimized trimetallic PtNiRu dendritic nanostructures as I versatile and active electrocatalysts for alcohol oxidation

Platinum-based nano crystals are the most effective electrocatalysts for accelerati ng the chemical tran sformatio ns on the anode in direct alcohol fuel cells. To facilitate practical applications and overcome the drawbacks of diverse alcohols, it is significant to develop electrocatalysts with high activities and a wide fuel flexibility. Here, we demonstrate a practicable solution method for fabricating composition tun able trimetallic PtNiRu den dritic nano structures (DNSs) which can serve as versatile and active catalysts for electrooxidatio n of a variety of liquid alcohols. A series of trimetallic DNSs with tun able Pt/Ni/Ru atomic ratios were successfully syn thesized by simply adjusti ng the feeding of precursors. Detailed electrochemical test indicates that, among other compositions, the Pt66Ni27Ru7 DNSs present much superior electroactivity in catalyzing electrooxidation of liquid alcohols in acidic mediums. Specifically, the mass activity and specific activity on the Pt66Ni27Ru7 DNSs, for electrooxidation of methanol, ethanol, and ethylene glycol, are 4.57 and 4.34 times, 3.55 and 3.42 times, and 2.37 and 2.28 times that of the commercial Pt black, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and CO stripping studies reveal the adsorption of CO on these PtNiRu DNSs is much weaker than on pure Pt. Meanwhile, the surface Ru sites can provide neighbouring -OH groups to facilitate the oxidati on and removal of the adsorbed in termediates (-CO) on the surface Pt sites, effectively improvi ng the CO tolera nee of the catalysts. The PtNiRu DNSs also show effectively boosted capacity for breaking the C-C bond in C2-alcohols, showing great potential for fuel-flexible fuel cell applications.

The epididymal immune balance:a key to preserving male fertility

Up to 15%of male in fertility has an immuno logical origi n,either due to repetitive infections or to autoimmune resp on ses mainly affecting the epididymis,prostate,and testis.Clinical observations and epidemiological data clearly contradict the idea that the testis confers immune protection to the whole male genital tract.As a consequenee,the epididymis,in which posttesticular spermatozoa mature and are stored,has raised some in terest in recent years when it comes to its immune mecha nisms.In deed,sperm cells are produced at puberty,long after the establishment of self-toleranee,and they possess unique surface proteins that cannot be recognized as self.These are potential targets of the immune system,with the risk of inducing autoantibodies and consequently male infertility.Epididymal immunity is based on a finely tuned equilibrium between efficient immune responses to pathogens and strong tolerance to sperm cells.These processes rely on incompletely described molecules and cell types.This review compiles recent studies focusing on the immune cell types populating the epididymis,and proposes hypothetical models of the organization of epididymal immunity with a special emphasis on the immune response,while also discussing important aspects of the epididymal immune regulation such as tolerance and tumour control.

Photoenzymatic RAFT Emulsion Polymerization with Oxygen Tolerance

Photoenzymatic reversible addition-fragmenatation chain transfer(RAFT)emulsion polymerization,surfactant-free or ab initio,of various monomers is reported with oxygen toleranee.In surfactant-free emulsion polymerizatoin,poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)s were used as stabilizer blocks for emulsion polymerization of methyl acrylate,n-butyl acrylate and styrene,producing well-defined amphiphilic block copolymers,including those with an ultrahigh molecular weight,at quantitative conversions.The controlled character of surfactant-free emulsion polymerization was confirmed by kinetic studies,chain extension studies and GPC analyses.Temporal control was demonstrated by light ON/OFF experiments.In ab initio emulsion polymerization of methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate,low-dispersity hydrophobic polymers were synthesized with predictable molecular weights.This study extends the monomer scope suitable for photoenzymatic RAFT polymerization from hydrophilic to hydrophobic monomers and demonstrates that oxygen-toleranee can be equally achieved for emulsion polymerization with excellent RAFT control.

Intraspecific differentiation in seed flooding tolerance of Echinochloa crusgalli var.zelayensis population in shores of a giant reservoir along altitudinal gradients

Aims In a large dam-regulated reservoir with regular hydrological pattern and strong flooding gradients across shore elevations,plants inhabiting in different shore elevations have to confront long-lasting flooding of differential in tensities every year.Such persistent stress may lead to intraspecific differentiation of flooding tolerance in seeds.Echinochloa crusgalli var.zelayensis is a dominant annual plant in the shores of the Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR),which plays an important role in the shore vegetation.The objective of this study is to check whether intraspecific differentiation of seed flooding tolerance has occurred among E.crusgalli var.zelayensis populations in the TGR shores and whether such differentiation is associated with weak seed dispersal.Methods We collected seeds of E.crusgalli var.zelayensis from different populations in the TGR shores,and then placed them at four elevations in the shores flooded by reservoir impoundment.Parameters reflecting seed flooding tolerance including post-flooding percentage of intact seeds,seed germinability and seedling emergence rate were investigated for the seeds from different populations and undergoing flooding of different intensities.Floating time of seeds and speed of water level rise during impoundment were examined,and used to quantify dispersal potential of seeds in the shores of the TGR when flooded.Important Findings Both intact seed percentage and final seedling emergence rate after flooding significantly declined with increasing shore elevations where the seeds were collected,indicating that intraspecific differentiation in seed flooding tolerance has occurred among E.crusgalli var.zelayensis populations in the TGR shores after 7-year operation of the reservoir.The distanee of seeds transported by rising water during reservoir impoundment was limited due to short-floating time of the seeds and relatively low speed of water level rise in the reservoir.This would be favourable to the development of intraspecific differentiation in seed flooding tolerance.