The ubiquitous coexistence of majority insulating 245 phases and minority superconducting (SC) phases in A(x)Fe(2-y)Se(2) (A = K, Cs, Rb, Tl/Rb, Tl/K) formed by high-temperature routes makes pure SC phases highly desirable for studying the intrinsic properties of this SC family. Here we report that there are at least two pure SC phases, K(x)Fe(2)Se(2)(NH(3))(y) (x ≈ 0.3 and 0.6), determined mainly by potassium concentration in the K-intercalated iron selenides formed via the liquid ammonia route. K(0.3)Fe(2)Se(2)(NH(3))(0.47) corresponds to the 44 K phase with lattice constant c = 15.56(1) Å and K(0.6)Fe(2)Se(2)(NH(3))(0.37) to the 30 K phase with c = 14.84(1) Å. With higher potassium doping, the 44 K phase can be converted into the 30 K phase. NH(3) has little, if any, effect on superconductivity. Thus, the conclusions should apply to both K(0.3)Fe(2)Se(2) and K(0.6)Fe(2)Se(2) SC phases. K(0.3)Fe(2)Se(2)(NH(3))(0.47) and K(0.6)Fe(2)Se(2)(NH(3))(0.37) stand out among known superconductors as their structures are stable only at particular potassium doping levels, and hence the variation of T(c) with doping is not dome-like.

Metabolic rewiring is considered as a primary feature of cancer. Malignant cells reprogram metabolism pathway in response to various intrinsic and extrinsic drawback to fuel cell survival and growth. Among the complex metabolic pathways, pyrimidine biosynthesis is conserved in all living organism and is necessary to maintain cellular fundamental function (i.e. DNA and RNA biosynthesis). A wealth of evidence has demonstrated that dysfunction of pyrimidine metabolism is closely related to cancer progression and numerous drugs targeting pyrimidine metabolism have been approved for multiple types of cancer. However, the non-negligible side effects and limited efficacy warrants a better strategy for negating pyrimidine metabolism in cancer. In recent years, increased studies have evidenced the interplay of oncogenic signaling and pyrimidine synthesis in tumorigenesis. Here, we review the recent conceptual advances on pyrimidine metabolism, especially dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), in the framework of precision oncology medicine and prospect how this would guide the development of new drug precisely targeting the pyrimidine metabolism in cancer.

Raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) are widespread across the plant kingdom, and their concentrations are related to the environment, genotype, and harvest time. RFOs are known to carry out many functions in plants and humans. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of RFOs, including their beneficial and anti-nutritional properties. RFOs are considered anti-nutritional factors since they cause flatulence in humans and animals. Flatulence is the single most important factor that deters consumption and utilization of legumes in human and animal diets. In plants, RFOs have been reported to impart tolerance to heat, drought, cold, salinity, and disease resistance besides regulating seed germination, vigor, and longevity. In humans, RFOs have beneficial effects in the large intestine and have shown prebiotic potential by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria reducing pathogens and putrefactive bacteria present in the colon. In addition to their prebiotic potential, RFOs have many other biological functions in humans and animals, such as anti-allergic, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, prevention of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cryoprotection. The wide-ranging applications of RFOs make them useful in food, feed, cosmetics, health, pharmaceuticals, and plant stress tolerance; therefore, we review the composition and diversity of RFOs, describe the metabolism and genetics of RFOs, evaluate their role in plant and human health, with a primary focus in grain legumes.