Insect pests negatively affect crop quality and yield; identifying new methods to protect crops against insects therefore has important agricultural applications. Our analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants showed that overexpression of PENTACYCLIC TRITERPENE SYNTHASE 1 (PEN1), encoding the key biosynthetic enzyme for the natural plant product (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), led to significant resistance against a major insect pest, Plustella xylostella. DMNT treatment severely damaged the peritrophic matrix (PM), a physical barrier isolating food and pathogens from the midgut wall cells. DMNT repressed the expression of PxMucin in midgut cells and knocking down PxMucin resulted in PM rupture and P. xylostella death. A 16S RNA survey revealed that DMNT significantly disrupted midgut microbiota populations and that midgut microbes were essential for DMNT-induced killing. Therefore, we propose that the midgut microbiota assists DMNT in killing P. xylostella. These findings may provide a novel approach for plant protection against P. xylostella.

Background/Aims: Circulating long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged recently as major players in tumor biology and may be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and as potential therapeutic targets. We explored circulating lncRNA as a predictor for the tumorigenesis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: In this study, we applied a lncRNA microarray to screen for a potential biomarker for NSCLC, utilizing RT-PCR (ABI 7900HT). A multi-stage validation and risk score formula detection analysis was used. Results: We discovered that three lncRNAs (RP11-397D12.4, AC007403.1, and ERICH1-AS1) were up regulated in NSCLC, compared with cancer-free controls, with the merged area under the curve in the training and validation sets of 0.986 and 0.861. Furthermore, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the three merged factors were 0.72 and 0.87. We confirmed stable detection of the three lncRNAs by three cycles of freezing and thawing. Conclusions: RP11-397D12.4, AC007403.1, and ERICH1-AS1 may be potential biomarkers for predicting the tumorigenesis of NSCLC in the future.

Development of efficient cathode catalysts is crucial for achieving high-performance rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries. Herein, a simple one-step electrospun method was applied to obtain a silver-modified perovskite La0.9FeO3−δ (Ag@LFO) as an efficient cathode catalyst. The synthesized catalyst has two characteristics: first, the doping of Ag led to a tailored electronic structure including the generation of Fe4+; second, the in situ grown Ag exhibits a stronger interaction with perovskite. These two advantages result in high oxygen adsorbability and increased percentage of highly active oxygen species. Therefore, film-like Li2O2 was observed during discharge on the Ag@LFO cathode, which is beneficial for decomposition during recharge, whereas Li2O2 generated on the LFO cathode was largely toroidal. Density functional theory calculations were used to discuss the Li2O2 growth mechanism. As a result, compared to La0.9FeO3−δ and post-loading silver-decorated La0.9FeO3−δ (Ag/LFO), Ag@LFO exhibits lower overpotential, improved rate-capability, higher discharge specific capacity, and especially promoted cycling performance that is triple that of LFO.

Thus our results provide evidence that miR-497 might function as a metastasis suppressor in CRC. Targeting miR-497 may provide a strategy for blocking its metastasis.

Vinyl chloride, the monomer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), is industrially synthesized via acetylene hydrochlorination. Thereby, easy to sublimate but toxic mercury chloride catalysts are widely used. It is imperative to find environmentally friendly non-mercury catalysts to promote the green production of PVC. Low-cost copper-based catalysts are promising candidates. In this study, phosphorus-doped Cu-based catalysts are prepared. It is shown that the type of phosphorus configuration and the distribution on the surface of the carrier can be adjusted by changing the calcination temperature. Among the different phosphorus species, the formed P-C bond plays a key role. The coordination structure formed by the interaction between P-C bonds and atomically dispersed Cu2+ species results in effective and stable active sites. Insights on how P-C bonds activate the substrate may provide ideas for the design and optimization of phosphorus-doped catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination.