Exploring the Biologically Active Metabolites Produced by for Plant Growth Promotion, Heat Stress Tolerance, and Resistance to Bacterial Soft Rot in .

Eight gene clusters responsible for synthesizing bioactive metabolites associated with plant growth promotion were identified in the strain D1 (BcD1) genome using the de novo whole-genome assembly method. The two largest gene clusters were responsible for synthesizing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and encoding extracellular serine proteases. The treatment with BcD1 resulted in an increase in leaf chlorophyll content, plant size, and fresh weight in seedlings.

Development of Innovative Online Modularized Device for Turbidity Monitoring.

Given progress in water-quality analytical technology and the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) in recent years, compact and durable automated water-quality monitoring devices have substantial market potential. Due to susceptibility to the influence of interfering substances, which lowers measurement accuracy, existing automated online monitoring devices for turbidity, a key indicator of a natural water body, feature a single light source and are thus insufficient for more complicated water-quality measurement. The newly developed modularized water-quality monitoring device boasts dual light sources (VIS/NIR), capable of measuring the intensity of scattering, transmission, and reference light at the same time.

Alzheimer disease research in the 21st century: past and current failures, new perspectives and funding priorities.

Much of Alzheimer disease (AD) research has been traditionally based on the use of animals, which have been extensively applied in an effort to both improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease and to test novel therapeutic approaches. However, decades of such research have not effectively translated into substantial therapeutic success for human patients. Here we critically discuss these issues in order to determine how existing human-based methods can be applied to study AD pathology and develop novel therapeutics.

In situ gelation of PEG-PLGA-PEG hydrogels containing high loading of hydroxyapatite: in vitro and in vivo characteristics.

Thermosensitive hydrogels are renowned carriers that are used to deliver a variety of drugs with the aim of combating diseases. In this study, the injectability of thermosensitive hydrogels comprised of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PLGA-PEG, PELGE) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were examined for their ability to deliver bone morphological protein 2 (BMP-2). The physicochemical characteristics of PELGE, HA, and PELGE/HA hydrogel composites were investigated by (1)H NMR, GPC, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM.

Self-assembly behavior of amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with a shell of aniline pentamer.

A series of amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (PAMAM, G2-G5) composed of a hydrophilic core and a hydrophobic shell of aniline pentamer (AP) were synthesized and characterized. The modified dendrimers self-assembled to vesicular aggregates in water with the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) decreased in the order of G2 > G3 > G4 > G5. It was found that the modified dendrimers self-organized into spherical aggregates with a bilayer vesicular structures and that the dendrimers in higher generation have more order structure, which may be attributed to the crystallization induced by the compacted effect of AP segments.

Nanocasting technique to prepare lotus-leaf-like superhydrophobic electroactive polyimide as advanced anticorrosive coatings.

Nanocasting technique was used to obtain a biomimetic superhydrophobic electroactive polyimide (SEPI) surface structure from a natural Xanthosoma sagittifolium leaf. An electroactive polyimide (EPI) was first synthesized through thermal imidization. An impression of the superhydrophobic Xanthosoma sagittifolium leaf was then nanocasted onto the surface of the EPI so that the resulting EPI was superhydrophobic and would prevent corrosion.

Enhancement in insulation and mechanical properties of PMMA nanocomposite foams infused with multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

In this study, PMMA/CNTs composite materials with carboxyl-multi walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) or untreated MWNTs were prepared via in-situ bulk polymerization. The as-prepared PMMA/CNTs composite materials were then characterized by Fourier-Transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The molecular weights of PMMA extracted from PMMA/CNTs composite materials and bulk PMMA were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with THF used as the eluant.

Comparatively electrochemical studies at different operational temperatures for the effect of layered silicate and spherical silica on the anticorrosion efficiency of PANI nanocomposite coatings.

In this paper, a series of PANI nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by in situ oxidative polymerization. The as-prepared PANI nanocomposites were subsequently characterized by WAXRD patterns and TEM. It should be noted that the nanocomposite coating containing 3 wt-% of organophilic clay loading was found to exhibit an observable enhanced corrosion protection on cold-rolled steel (CRS) electrode at higher operational temperature of 50 degrees C, which was even better than that of uncoated and electrode-coated with PANI or PANI nanocomposites with 3 wt-% of amino-modified silica nanoparticles alone at room temperature of 30 degrees C based on the electrochemical parameter evaluations (e.

Comparative electrochemical studies at different operational temperatures for the effect of nanoclay platelets on the anticorrosion efficiency of organo-soluble polyimide/clay nanocomposite coatings.

A organic soluble polyimide (SPI) prepared from 4,4'-Oxydianiline and 4,4'-(4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenoxy)bis(phthalic anhydride) was mixed with organo-modified montmorillonite (MMT) in N,N-Dimethylacetamide. The organic soluble polyimide-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials were characterized by Fourier-Transformation infrared (FTIR), spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD) patterns and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It should be noted that the nanocomposite coating containing 3 wt% of clay loading was found to exhibit an observable enhanced corrosion protection on cold-rolled stell (CRS) electrode at higher operational temperature of 50 degrees C, which was even better than that of uncoated and electrode-coated with SPI alone at room temperature of 30 degrees C based on the electrochemical parameter evaluations.

Estimation of sensible heat, water vapor, and CO2 fluxes using the flux-variance method.

This study investigated the flux-variance relationships of temperature, humidity, and CO(2), and examined the performance of using this method for predicting sensible heat (H), water vapor (LE), and CO(2) fluxes (F(CO2)) with eddy-covariance measured flux data at three different ecosystems: grassland, paddy rice field, and forest. The H and LE estimations were found to be in good agreement with the measurements over the three fields. The prediction accuracy of LE could be improved by around 15% if the predictions were obtained by the flux-variance method in conjunction with measured sensible heat fluxes.

CD44 cross-linking induces integrin-mediated adhesion and transendothelial migration in breast cancer cell line by up-regulation of LFA-1 (alpha L beta2) and VLA-4 (alpha4beta1).

CD44, a widely expressed cell surface glycoprotein, plays a major role in cell-cell adhesion, cell-substrate interaction, lymphocyte homing, and tumor metastasis. For tumor metastasis to occur through the blood vessel and lymphatic vessel pathway, the tumor cells must first adhere to endothelial cells. Recent studies have shown that high expression of CD44 in certain types of tumors is associated with the hematogenic spread of cancer cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells in the Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord.

The Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord contains mucoid connective tissue and fibroblast-like cells. Using flow cytometric analysis, we found that mesenchymal cells isolated from the umbilical cord express matrix receptors (CD44, CD105) and integrin markers (CD29, CD51) but not hematopoietic lineage markers (CD34, CD45). Interestingly, these cells also express significant amounts of mesenchymal stem cell markers (SH2, SH3).