A zinc oxide resonant nano-accelerometer with ultra-high sensitivity.

Nanoelectromechanical system accelerometers have the potential to be utilized in next-generation consumer electronics, inertial navigation, and seismology due to their low cost, small size, and low power consumption. There is an urgent need to develop resonant accelerometer with high sensitivity, precision and robustness. Here, a zinc oxide resonant nano-accelerometer with high sensitivity has been designed and prototyped using zinc oxide nanowires. Within a device two nanowires were symmetrically placed close to a notched flexure to evaluate acceleration based on differential resonant frequencies. Additionally, microleverages were integrated in the accelerometer to enhance its sensitivity by amplifying the inertial force. High performance of the accelerometer has been demonstrated by the measured absolute sensitivity (16.818 kHz/g), bias instability (13.13 µg at 1.2 s integration time) and bandwidth (from 4.78 to 29.64 kHz), respectively. These results suggest that zinc oxide nanowires could be a candidate to develop future nanoelectromechanical resonant accelerometer potentially used for inertial navigation, tilt measurement, and geophysical measurements.

Reassortant H9N2 canine influenza viruses containing the pandemic H1N1/2009 ribonucleoprotein complex circulating in pigs acquired enhanced virulence in mice.

The reassortment between avian H9N2 and Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 viruses may have potentially changed from avian-to-mammals adaptation. This study generated 20 reassortant viruses with the introduction of H1N1/2009 internal genes from EA H1N1 virus into H9N2 virus. 12 of these recovered the replication capability both in the lungs and turbinate samples. 10 of 12 obtained PA gene segments from the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes of the EA H1N1 virus, and 3 exhibited extreme virulence. Specially, the combination of PB2, PA and NP genes could overcome the species-specific restriction in human cells. Analysis of the polymerase activities found that introduction of the PA gene resulted in increased polymerase activity. These findings indicated that RNP complexes from EA H1N1 virus could confer an adaptation advantage and high compatibility to avian H9N2 virus. This raises new concerns for public health due to the possible coexistence of H9N2 and EA H1N1 viruses in dogs.

Synergistic HA and NS mutations enhanced the virulence of a mouse-adapted H1N1 influenza A virus.

H1N1 reassortants between the swine Eurasian avian-like (EA) and H1N1 2009 pandemic (H1N1 pdm/09) viruses have been circulating stably in pig populations for more than ten years, and they may have contributed to increased human infections. Whether these H1N1 viruses acquire adaptive mutations to increase their pathogenicity towards a new host is unknown. To address this problem, mouse-adapted (MA) variants of swine-origin EA H1N1 influenza virus isolated from dogs (A/canine/Guangxi/LZ57/2015[LZ57-MA]) were generated by serial lung-to-lung passages in BALB/c mice. These exhibited greater virulence and replication capability than the wild-type virus (LZ57-WT). Of the six adaptive mutations, two were mapped to the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex (PB2-E578D and PA-T97I), two to hemagglutinin (HA-N198D and HA-A227E) and two to the non-structural protein 1 (NS1) and nuclear export protein (NS1-A53D and NEP-R42K, respectively). Reverse genetic substitution of the viral genes and mutation experiments demonstrated that the mutations in PA-T97I could enhance the polymerase activity, but a significant downregulation of activity was seen with PB2-E578D, which was consistent with a decrease in virulence. However, HA and NS, which are genes that act synergistically, were found to be determinants of virulence in mice. The reassortant viruses bearing HA mutations (N198D and A227E) were acquired during adaptation enhanced early-stage viral replication in mammalian cells. The single-point mutations in the NS genes had limited effects on virulence. Furthermore, a combination of HA (N198D and A227E) with NS(A53D) in the rLZ57-WT backbone resulted in efficient replication and a significant increase in virulence. The results suggest that these substitutions could compensate for the polymerase function and contribute to enhanced virulence, which highlights a major role for mutations in the HA and NS genes.

[Gaseous Nitrogen Emission from Soil After Application of NH4+-N Loaded Biochar].

To safely and effectively transfer NH4+-N from eutrophic water to soil, biochar was applied to adsorb NH4+-N from wastewater, and this NH4+-N loaded biochar (N-BC) was subsequently used as a soil amendment. Understanding the influence of N-BC on N2O-N emission and NH3-N volatilization is important for both decreasing the application of chemical fertilizers and reducing gaseous nitrogen loss from soil. In this study, experiments were conducted in soil columns with four treatments, namely CK (no fertilizer), NPK (chemical fertilizer), N-BC+PK (NH4+-N loaded biochar+chemical fertilizer), and BC+NPK (biochar+chemical fertilizer). Compared to both the NPK and BC+NPK treatments, N-BC+PK significantly reduced the cumulative N2O-N emissions and NH3-N volatilization, as well as the total gaseous nitrogen loss from the soil (P<0.05). Relative to NPK and BC+NPK, cumulative N2O-N emissions decreased by 33.62% and 24.64%, cumulative NH3-N volatilization decreased 70.64% and 79.29%, and the cumulative total gaseous nitrogen loss decreased by 64.97% and 73.75%. In particular, BC+NPK significantly enhanced the cumulative NH3-N volatilization. Furthermore, the N2O-N emission flux and NH3-N volatilization rate were significantly positively correlated with the NH4+-N concentration, NO3--N concentration, and pH of soil (P<0.01). Overall, using NH4+-N loaded biochar can significantly decrease N2O-N emissions and NH3-N volatilization, relative to the traditional application combining biochar and chemical fertilizer. This research provides solid theoretical support and data for the application of NH4+-N loaded biochar in soil, to reduce gaseous nitrogen loss.

Characterization of Regulatory and Transporter Genes in the Biosynthesis of Anti-Tuberculosis Ilamycins and Production in a Heterologous Host.

Ilamycins are cyclopeptides with novel structures that have been isolated from different Actinomycetes. They showed strong anti-tuberculosis activity and could serve as important anti-tuberculosis drug leads. The functions of the pre-tailoring and the post-tailoring genes in the biosynthesis of ilamycins have been elucidated, but the functions of the regulatory and transporter genes remain elusive. We reported herein the functions of four genes in ilamycin biosynthetic gene cluster (ila BGC) including two regulatory genes (ilaA and ilaB) and two transporter genes (ilaJ and ilaK) and the heterologous expression of ila BGC. The IlaA and IlaB were unambiguously shown to be negative and positive regulator of ilamycins biosynthesis, respectively. Consistent with these roles, inactivation of ilaA and ilaB (independent of each other) was shown to enhance and abolish the production of ilamycins, respectively. Total yields of ilamycins were enhanced 3.0-fold and 1.9-fold by inactivation of ilaA and overexpression of ilaB compared to those of in the Streptomyces atratus SCSIO ZH16, respectively. In addition, the ila BGC was successfully expressed in Streptomyces coelicolor M1152, which indicated that all biosynthetic elements for the construction of ilamycins were included in the PAC7A6. These results not only lay a foundation for further exploration of ilamycins, but also provide the genetic elements for synthetic biology.

Exploration and genome mining of natural products from marine Streptomyces.

Marine Streptomyces sp. are an important source of bioactive compounds owing to their unique habitats and metabolic pathways. Whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics analyses have shown that the potential of synthesizing secondary metabolites from marine-derived Streptomyces has been substantially underestimated. Genome mining is an integrated strategy used to discover natural products based on gene cluster sequences and biosynthetic pathways. Its emergence has greatly enhanced the discovery of natural compounds from marine Streptomyces, thereby yielding a large number of bioactive molecules with novel structures and potent activities. In this review, we briefly summarize the current applications of genome mining in marine Streptomyces, such as bioinformatics-based optimization of culture conditions, ribosome engineering, control of regulatory networks, heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene cluster, and combinatorial biosynthesis of natural compounds. Furthermore, we discuss the factors hindering the utilization of marine-derived natural products and conclude with the prospects for this technique.

Characterization of the Noncanonical Regulatory and Transporter Genes in Atratumycin Biosynthesis and Production in a Heterologous Host.

Atratumycin is a cyclodepsipeptide with activity against Mycobacteria tuberculosis isolated from deep-sea derived Streptomyces atratus SCSIO ZH16NS-80S. Analysis of the atratumycin biosynthetic gene cluster (atr) revealed that its biosynthesis is regulated by multiple factors, including two LuxR regulatory genes (atr1 and atr2), two ABC transporter genes (atr29 and atr30) and one Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory gene (atr32). In this work, three regulatory and two transporter genes were unambiguously determined to provide positive, negative and self-protective roles during biosynthesis of atratumycin through bioinformatic analyses, gene inactivations and trans-complementation studies. Notably, an unusual Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory protein Atr32 was characterized as a negative regulator; the function of Atr32 is distinct from previous studies. Five over-expression mutant strains were constructed by rational application of the regulatory and transporter genes; the resulting strains produced significantly improved titers of atratumycin that were ca. 1.7-2.3 fold greater than wild-type (WT) producer. Furthermore, the atratumycin gene cluster was successfully expressed in Streptomyces coelicolor M1154, thus paving the way for the transfer and recombination of large DNA fragments. Overall, this finding sets the stage for understanding the unique biosynthesis of pharmaceutically important atratumycin and lays the foundation for generating anti-tuberculosis lead compounds possessing novel structures.

Characterization of swine-origin H1N1 canine influenza viruses.

Host switch events of influenza A viruses (IAVs) continuously pose a zoonotic threat to humans. In 2013, swine-origin H1N1 IAVs emerged in dogs soon after they were detected in swine in the Guangxi province of China. This host switch was followed by multiple reassortment events between these H1N1 and previously circulating H3N2 canine IAVs (IAVs-C) in dogs. To evaluate the phenotype of these newly identified viruses, we characterized three swine-origin H1N1 IAVs-C and one reassortant H1N1 IAV-C. We found that H1N1 IAVs-C predominantly bound to human-type receptors, efficiently transmitted via direct contact in guinea pigs and replicated in human lung cells. Moreover, the swine-origin H1N1 IAVs-C were lethal in mice and were transmissible by respiratory droplets in guinea pigs. Importantly, sporadic human infections with these viruses have been detected, and preexisting immunity in humans might not be sufficient to prevent infections with these new viruses. Our results show the potential of H1N1 IAVs-C to infect and transmit in humans, suggesting that these viruses should be closely monitored in the future.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Physical Properties of Layered LnCrSe2O (Ln = Ce-Nd).

The layered oxyselenides with the formula LnCrSe2O (Ln = Ce-Nd) were synthesized via molten salt methods. The isostructural compounds crystallize in the monoclinic space group of C2/m. The crystal structures feature ∞2[CrSe2O]3- motifs stacked along the a axis, which are separated by Ln3+ ions. The ∞2[CrSe2O]3- layers are composed of [Cr1Se6]9- and [Cr2Se4O2]9- octahedra via corner and edge sharing. Powder X-ray diffraction results confirm the phase purities of the as-synthesized compounds. LnCrSe2O (Ln = Ce-Nd) show typical antiferromagnetic ordering with TN = 125, 120, and 118 K, respectively. Heat capacity measurement for NdCrSe2O indicates that the Debye temperature is 278.4 K. Similar metal-to-semiconductor phase transitions were observed for LnCrSe2O (Ln = Ce-Nd) plates with transition temperatures of 115, 109, and 95 K, respectively. NdCrSe2O also possesses a magnetoresistance effect at low temperature (<25 K) with a significant positive magnetoresistance ∼ 16% at 2 K and 1 T.

Crystal structure design and multiband physical properties of quaternary sulfide Ba5Bi2Co2S10 for optoelectronic conversion.

Multiband materials have received increasing attention due to their superior solar absorption properties. Here we design a new multiband compound, namely Ba5Bi2Co2S10, which crystallizes in the space group C22h-P21/m (No. 11) of the monoclinic system. Ba5Bi2Co2S10 is composed of one-dimensional 1∞[Bi2Co2S10]10- chains along the a axis. The adjacent chains are separated by Ba2+ ions. The optical band gap of the compound is 1.05 eV and 0.74 eV, presenting typical multi-absorption characteristics. First-principles calculations, which are perfectly consistent with the experimental results, show that the hybrid coupling effect between Co and S gives rise to multiband characteristics. Evident optoelectronic conversion properties were observed under visible light illumination with a photocurrent density of 4.0 mA cm-2 at 1 V.

Genome Mining of Streptomyces atratus SCSIO ZH16: Discovery of Atratumycin and Identification of Its Biosynthetic Gene Cluster.

Genome mining of the deep sea-derived Streptomyces atratus SCSIO ZH16 enabled the activation of a cyclodepsipeptide gene cluster and isolation of its cinnamic acid-bearing product, atratumycin (1). Atratumycin's structure was elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic experiments, X-ray data, and Marfey's method; a plausible biosynthesis and tailoring modification of 1 are also proposed and investigated. Additionally, atratumycin is active against Mycobacteria tuberculosis H37Ra and H37Rv with MICs of 3.8 and 14.6 µM, respectively.

Enhanced Photoelectric SrOCuSbS2 of a [SrO]-Intercalated CuSbS2 Structure.

A new two-dimensional (2D) layered oxysulfide, namely, SrOCuSbS2, was successfully synthesized at 160 °C by using a hydrazine-hydrothermal method. The compound crystallizes in the space group C2 h2- P21/ m (No. 11) of the monoclinic system. The crystal structure is composed of distorted chalcostibite-like ∞2[CuSbS2O]2- layers along the ab plane, in which the adjacent layers are separated by Sr2+ ions. Each layer contains infinite ∞1[Cu2S6]10- chains linked by [SbS4O]7- units. The optical band gap of the compound is 1.9 eV, presenting the dark red color. Due to the electronic insulating layer (EIL) of the SrO, SrOCuSbS2 shows a high photoelectric property with a photocurrent density of 3.5 mA/cm2 at 1 V. The results of density of states (DOS) reveal that the valence band maximum (VBM) mainly consists of Cu-3d and S-3p states, while Sb-5p, S-3p, and S-3s contribute to the conductive band minimum (CBM).

Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance and Thermal Stability of CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite through Lattice Symmetrization.

The organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites are attractive materials for photovoltaic application. The most widely studied perovskites based on methyl ammonium organic cation are less likely to form an ideal high-symmetry configuration at room temperature, leading to the appearance of local lattice strain. Herein, this study reports a strategy for the construction of thermally stable cubic perovskites at room temperature through the incorporation of the larger organic cation dimethyl ammonium. Detailed characterization on the single crystals and thin films reveals the formation of cubic phase with the addition of a certain amount of dimethyl ammonium at room temperature. With the presence of dimethyl ammonium, the nonradiative recombination in perovskite is suppressed, showing a longer PL lifetime and hole diffusion length. The more efficient charge extraction leads to an improvement in the photocurrent density, and then the device efficiency from 17.1% to 18.6%, together with an enhanced thermal stability at 85 °C. The influence of incorporating a larger organic cation on the structural configuration, optical properties, charge extraction, as well as the photovoltaic performance is systematically investigated, which offers an alternative way to improve the intrinsic stability of hybrid perovskites.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Optical Properties of Noncentrosymmetric Na2ZnSnS4.

A new chalcogenide Na2ZnSnS4 has been successfully synthesized by using Na2S2 as reactive flux. Na2ZnSnS4 crystallizes in the tetragonal system with space group of I4̅. Its cell parameters are a = 6.4835(6) Å and c = 9.134(1) Å. The structure is a derivative of AgGaS2, in which the Ag+ ions are replaced by Na+ ions and the Ga3+ ions are replaced by Zn2+ and Sn4+ ions. All three cations are in seriously distorted tetrahedral geometry with a distortion factor (η = c/ a) of 1.4. Optical measurements show that the Na2ZnSnS4 powder sample has a large transparent range from 0.8 to 25 µm and a wide band gap of 3.1 eV. It exhibits large second-harmonic generation intensity of 0.9 × AgGaS2 in the grain size range from 41 to 74 µm. First-principles calculation results reveal that the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum are mainly composed of S 3p, Zn 3d orbitals and Sn 5s, S 3p orbitals, respectively.

Novel triple-reassortant influenza viruses in pigs, Guangxi, China.

Considered a "mixing vessel" for influenza viruses, pigs can give rise to new influenza virus reassortants that can threaten humans. During our surveillance of pigs in Guangxi, China from 2013 to 2015, we isolated 11 H1N1 and three H3N2 influenza A viruses of swine origin (IAVs-S). Out of the 14, we detected ten novel triple-reassortant viruses, which contained surface genes (hemagglutinin and neuraminidase) from Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 or seasonal human-like H3N2, matrix (M) genes from H1N1/2009 pandemic or EA H1N1, nonstructural (NS) genes from classical swine, and the remaining genes from H1N1/2009 pandemic. Mouse studies indicate that these IAVs-S replicate efficiently without prior adaptation, with some isolates demonstrating lethality. Notably, the reassortant EA H1N1 viruses with EA-like M gene have been reported in human infections. Further investigations will help to assess the potential risk of these novel triple-reassortant viruses to humans.

Synthesis, Structure, and Optical Properties of Antiperovskite-Derived Ba2MQ3X (M = As, Sb; Q = S, Se; X = Cl, Br, I) Chalcohalides.

Six isostructural antiperovskite-derived chalcohalides, Ba2MQ3X (M = As, Sb; Q = S, Se; X = Cl, Br, I), crystallizing in the space group Pnma, have been synthesized by solid-state reactions. The crystal structure features a 3D framework with the [XBa5]9+ disordered square pyramids as building blocks and [MQ3]3- units filling the interspace. [XBa5]9+ disordered square pyramids are edge-sharing along [010], derived from the fusing of the two pyramids in octahedral [XBa6]11+. Surprisingly, Ba2AsS3X (X = Cl, Br, I) show almost the same optical band gap of 2.80 eV, and Ba2AsSe3X (X = Br, I) also have a similar band gap of 2.28 eV. The optical band gap of Ba2SbS3I is 2.64 eV. First-principles calculations reveal that the optical absorption is attributed to the transitions between Q np at the valence band maximum (VBM) and M np-Q np at the conduction band minimum (CBM). These compounds also possess interesting photoluminescence properties with splitting emission peaks on excitation at 200 nm.

Nano Titanium Monoxide Crystals and Unusual Superconductivity at 11 K.

Nano TiO2 is investigated intensely due to extraordinary photoelectric performances in photocatalysis, new-type solar cells, etc., but only very few synthesis and physical properties have been reported on nanostructured TiO or other low valent titanium-containing oxides. Here, a core-shell nanoparticle made of TiO core covered with a ≈5 nm shell of amorphous TiO1+x is newly constructed via a controllable reduction method to synthesize nano TiO core and subsequent soft oxidation to form the shell (TiO1+x ). The physical properties measurements of electrical transport and magnetism indicate these TiO@TiO1+x nanocrystals are a type-ІІ superconductor of a recorded Tconset = 11 K in the binary Ti-O system. This unusual superconductivity could be attributed to the interfacial effect due to the nearly linear gradient of O/Ti ratio across the outer amorphous layer. This novel synthetic method and enhanced superconductivity could open up possibilities in interface superconductivity of nanostructured composites with well-controlled interfaces.

Structure Re-determination and Superconductivity Observation of Bulk 1T MoS2.

2H MoS2 has been intensively studied because of its layer-dependent electronic structures and novel physical properties. Though the metastable 1T MoS2 with a [MoS6 ] octahedron was observed over the microscopic area, the true crystal structure of 1T phase has not been strictly determined. Moreover, the true physical properties have not been demonstrated from experiments owing to the challenge for the preparation of pure 1T MoS2 crystals. 1T MoS2 single crystals were successfully synthesized and the crystal structure of 1T MoS2 re-determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1T MoS2 crystallizes in the space group P3‾ m1 with a cell of a=b=3.190(3) Šand c=5.945(6) Å. The individual MoS2 layer consists of MoS6 octahedra sharing edges with each other. More surprisingly, the bulk 1T MoS2 crystals undergo a superconducting transition of Tc =4 K, which is the first observation of superconductivity in pure 1T MoS2 phase.

Characterization of a novel mosquitocidal toxin of Cry50Ba and its potential synergism with other mosquitocidal toxins.

A putative toxin gene of cry50Ba was successfully expressed in E. coli cells and confirmed that the purified Cry50Ba toxin had very high toxic activity against Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. Furthermore, the potential synergism of Cry50Ba toxin with Cry2Aa, Cry4Aa and Cry11Aa at a ratio of 1:1 was investigated. Although no significant synergism with other toxins was observed, the Cry50Ba as a novel toxin could be used to delay rapid onset of resistance in mosquito.