Species of the Oriental subtropical and tropical genus Phylladothrips of fungus-feeding thrips exhibit some diagnostic character states, usually with abdominal tergite VIII bearing two pairs of wing-retaining setae and male tergite IX setae S2 about as long as S1. These species are quite small, and the maxillary stylets unusually broad for Phlaeothripinae. Phylladothripstrisetaesp. nov. from Xizang, China and P.selangorsp. nov. from Selangor, Malaysia are described, and P.fasciae is newly recorded from China. All 11 species in this genus are revised with an illustrated key.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) incorporates steatosis, non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH) and liver cirrhosis, associating with diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is protective of CVD. We aimed to determine whether TRAIL protects against insulin resistance, NAFLD and vascular injury. Twelve-week high fat diet (HFD)-fed Trail -/- mice had increased plasma cholesterol, insulin and glucose compared to wildtype. Insulin tolerance was impaired with TRAIL-deletion, with reduced p-Akt, GLUT4 expression and glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. Hepatic triglyceride content, inflammation and fibrosis were increased with TRAIL-deletion, with elevated expression of genes regulating lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis. Moreover, Trail -/- mice exhibited reduced aortic vasorelaxation, impaired insulin signaling, and >20-fold increased mRNA expression for IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. In vitro, palmitate treatment of hepatocytes increased lipid accumulation, inflammation and fibrosis, with TRAIL mRNA significantly reduced. TRAIL administration inhibited palmitate-induced hepatocyte lipid uptake. Finally, patients with NASH had significantly reduced plasma TRAIL compared to control, simple steatosis or obese individuals. These findings suggest that TRAIL protects against insulin resistance, NAFLD and vascular inflammation. Increasing TRAIL levels may be an attractive therapeutic strategy, to reduce features of diabetes, as well as liver and vascular injury, so commonly observed in individuals with NAFLD.
The first coordination-saturated buckyball with a C60 molecule totally encased in an icosidodecahedral Cu30 in a (μ30 -(η2 )30 )-fashion, namely C60 @Cu30 @Cl36 N12 , has been successfully realized by a C60 -templated assembly. The 48 outmost coordinating atoms (36Cl+12N) comprise a new simple polyhedron that is described by a ccf topology. Charge transfer from (CuI , Cl) to C60 explains the expansion of the light absorption up to 700 nm, and accounts for an ultrafast photophysical process that underpins its high photothermal conversion efficiency. This work makes a giant step forward in exohedral metallofullerene (ExMF) chemistry.
Two metallofullerene frameworks (MFFs) constructed from a penta-shell Keplerate cuprofullerene chloride, C60 @Cu24 @Cl44 @Cu12 @Cl12 , have been successfully prepared via a C60 -templated symmetry-driven strategy. The icosahedral cuprofullerene chloride is assembled on a C60 molecule through [η2 -(C=C)]-CuI and CuI -Cl coordination bonds, resulting in the penta-shell Keplerate with the C60 core canopied by 24 Cu, 44 Cl, 12 Cu and 12 Cl atoms that fulfill the tic@rco@oae@ico@ico penta-shell polyhedral configuration. By sharing the outmost-shell Cl atoms, the cuprofullerene chlorides are connected into 2D or 3D (snf net) frameworks. TD-DFT calculations reveal that the charge transfer from the outmost CuI and Cl to C60 core is responsible for their light absorption expansion to near-infrared region, implying anionic halogenation may be an effective strategy to tune the light absorption properties of metallofullerene materials.