The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura, is among the most widespread and destructive agricultural pests, feeding on over 100 crops throughout tropical and subtropical Asia. By genome sequencing, physical mapping and transcriptome analysis, we found that the gene families encoding receptors for bitter or toxic substances and detoxification enzymes, such as cytochrome P450, carboxylesterase and glutathione-S-transferase, were massively expanded in this polyphagous species, enabling its extraordinary ability to detect and detoxify many plant secondary compounds. Larval exposure to insecticidal toxins induced expression of detoxification genes, and knockdown of representative genes using short interfering RNA (siRNA) reduced larval survival, consistent with their contribution to the insect’s natural pesticide tolerance. A population genetics study indicated that this species expanded throughout southeast Asia by migrating along a South India–South China–Japan axis, adapting to wide-ranging ecological conditions with diverse host plants and insecticides, surviving and adapting with the aid of its expanded detoxification systems. The findings of this study will enable the development of new pest management strategies for the control of major agricultural pests such as S. litura.

The effectiveness of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in the treatment of cartilage diseases has been demonstrated to be attributed to the paracrine mechanisms, especially the mediation of exosomes. But the exosomes derived from unsynchronized MSCs may be nonhomogeneous and the therapeutic effect varies between samples. Aim: To produce homogeneous and more effective exosomes for the regeneration of cartilage. Materials & methods: In this study we produced specific exosomes from bone marrow MSCs (BMSC) through kartogenin (KGN) preconditioning and investigated their performance in either in vitro or in vivo experiments. Results & conclusion: The exosomes derived from KGN-preconditioned BMSCs (KGN-BMSC-Exos) performed more effectively than the exosomes derived from BMSCs (BMSC-Exos). KGN preconditioning endowed BMSC-Exos with stronger chondral matrix formation and less degradation.

bulk heterojunction (BHJ) confi guration has been attracting considerable interest due to their low-cost fabrication, mechanical fl exibility and potential to provide effi cient conversion of solar energy. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] There are a number of challenges on the way to achieve high power conversion effi ciency (PCE) of solar cells. These include the development of low bandgap conjugated polymers with respect to broad light absorption and effi cient charge separation/transportation via controlling the nanostructure of active layer. As a result, several highly effi cient polymers have been reported with high PCE surpassing than 7% to date. [7][8][9] Considering the power conversion processes, including solar light absorption, exciton generation, exciton dissociation, and charge carriers transport, all occur in the active layers. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Therefore, gaining insight into the nanostructure of the active layer and the corresponding morphology, [22][23][24][25] as well as the photovoltaic mechanism, [17][18][19][20][21] is benefi cial to meliorate the PCE of the resulting BHJ solar cells. It is well known that reducing recombination is a linchpin of increasing device effi ciency. [ 22 ] Therefore, decreasing the thickness of the active layer and maximizing its absorption capability to reduce the device resistance and the probability of charge recombination play key roles to improve the device's PCE. From this viewpoint, a remarkable amount of work has been devoted to utilizing metal nanoparticles (NPs) strategies that result from their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) for effi cient light trapping in the active layer in an aim to enhance photon absorption without the need for a thick fi lm. [26][27][28] To date, most studies are focused on single-composition of gold, silver, and copper NPs, which are almost exclusively suspended in aqueous solution. [28][29][30] In comparison, much less systematic experimental study of alloying metal NPs has been performed in photo voltaic performance so far. [ 31 ] More importantly, conjugated polymers are soluble primarily in organic solvents, which are incompatible with aqueous media. This limits the use of these metal NPs in organic photovoltaic devices. Although many of the device geometries have been reported to directly introduce various species of aqueous phase metal NPs in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) A one-pot synthesis of large size and high quality AuAg alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with well controlled compositions via hot organic media is demonstrated. Amid the synthesis, complexation between trioctylphosphine (TOP) and metal precursors is found, which slows down the rate of nucleation and leads to the growth of large-size AuAg nanoalloys. The wavelength and relative intensities of the resulting plasmon bands are readily fi ne-tuned during the synthetic process using different Au/Ag precursors molar ratios. In the polymer solar cells, a key step in achieving high effi ciency...

The efficient delivery of antitumor agents to tumor sites faces numerous obstacles, such as poor cellular uptake and slow intracellular drug release. In this regard, smart nanoparticles (NPs) that respond to the unique microenvironment of tumor tissues have been widely used for drug delivery. In this study, novel charge-reversal and reduction-responsive histidine-grafted chitosan-lipoic acid NPs (HCSL-NPs) were selected for efficient therapy of breast cancer by enhancing cell internalization and intracellular pH- and reduction-triggered doxorubicin (DOX) release. The surface charge of HCSL-NPs presented as negative at physiological pH and reversed to positive at the extracellular and intracellular pH of the tumor. In vitro release investigation revealed that DOX/HCSL-NPs demonstrated a sustained drug release under the physiological condition, whereas rapid DOX release was triggered by both endolysosome pH and high-concentration reducing glutathione (GSH). These NPs exhibited enhanced internalization at extracellular pH, rapid intracellular drug release, and improved cytotoxicity against 4T1 cells in vitro. Excellent tumor penetrating efficacy was also found in 4T1 tumor spheroids and solid tumor slices. In vivo experiments demonstrated that HCSL-NPs exhibited excellent tumor-targeting ability in tumor tissues as well as excellent antitumor efficacy and low systemic toxicity in breast tumor-bearing BALB/c mice. These results indicated that the novel charge-reversal and reduction-responsive HCSL-NPs have great potential for targeted and efficient delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer treatments.