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The inflammasome is a multimeric protein complex located in the cytoplasm that is activated by many factors and subsequently promotes the release of proinflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, resulting in a series of inflammatory responses that ultimately lead to the occurrence of various diseases. The Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is the most characteristic type and the most widely studied among many inflammasomes. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is closely related to the occurrence of many diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. At present, a large number of studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Plenty of articles have reported the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by various ions, such as K+ and Na+ reflux and Ca2+ influx. However, few articles have reviewed the effects of various ion channels on the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and the relationship between the diseases caused by these proteins. This article mainly summarizes the relationship between intracellular and extracellular ion activities and ion channels and the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. We also provide a general summary of the diseases of each system caused by NLRP3 activation. We hope that more research will provide options for the treatment of diseases driven by the NLRP3 inflammasome.

The mortality and morbidity rates of ovarian cancer (OC) are high, but the underlying mechanisms of OC have not been characterized. In this study, we determined the role of Rho GTPase Activating Protein 30 (ARHGAP30) in OC progression. We measured ARHGAP30 abundance in OC tissue samples and cells using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and RT-qPCR. EdU, transwell, and annexin V/PI apoptosis assays were used to evaluate proliferation, invasiveness, and apoptosis of OC cells, respectively. The results showed that ARHGAP30 was overexpressed in OC tissue samples and cells. Inhibition of ARHGAP30 suppressed growth and metastasis of OC cells, and enhanced apoptosis. Knockdown of ARHGAP30 in OC cells significantly inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Treatment with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor buparlisib simulated the effects of ARHGAP30 knockdown on growth, invasiveness, and apoptosis of OC cells. Following buparlisib treatment, the expression levels of p-PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR were significantly decreased. Furthermore, buparlisib inhibited the effects of ARHGAP30 upregulation on OC cell growth and invasiveness. In conclusion, ARHGAP30 regulated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway to promote progression of OC.

Two-dimensional (2D) covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) with a well-defined and tunable periodic porous skeleton are emerging candidates for lightweight and strong 2D polymeric materials. It remains challenging, however, to retain the superior mechanical properties of monolayer COFs in a multilayer stack. Here, we successfully demonstrated a precise layer control in synthesizing atomically thin COFs, enabling a systematic study of layer-dependent mechanical properties of 2D COFs with two different interlayer interactions. It was shown that the methoxy groups in COF TAPB-DMTP provided enhanced interlayer interactions, leading to layer-independent mechanical properties. In sharp contrast, mechanical properties of COF TAPB-PDA decreased significantly as the layer number increased. We attributed these results to higher energy barriers against interlayer sliding due to the presence of interlayer hydrogen bonds and possible mechanical interlocking in COF TAPB-DMTP, as revealed by density functional theory calculations.

Organic-inorganic hybrid Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (HRPPs) have gained much attention for optoelectronic applications due to their high moisture resistance, good processability under ambient conditions, and long functional lifetimes. Recent success in isolating molecularly thin hybrid perovskite nanosheets and their intriguing edge phenomena have raised the need for understanding the role of edges and the properties that dictate their fundamental behaviors. In this work, we perform a prototypical study on the edge effects in ultrathin hybrid perovskites by considering monolayer (BA)2PbI4 as a representative system. On the basis of first-principles simulations of nanoribbon models, we show that in addition to significant distortions of the octahedra network at the edges, strong edge stresses are also present in the material. Structural instabilities that arise from the edge stress could drive the relaxation process and dominate the morphological response of edges in practice. A clear downward shift of the bands at the narrower ribbons, as indicative of the edge effect, facilitates the separation of photoexcited carriers (electrons move toward the edge and holes move toward the interior part of the nanosheet). Moreover, the desorption energy of the organic molecule can also be much lower at the free edges, making it easier for functionalization and/or substitution events to take place. The findings reported in this work elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for edge states in HRPPs and will be important in guiding the rational design and development of high-performance layer-edge devices. We acknowledge the financial support received from the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (Core Funding), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Y. Cai acknowledges the support provided by the University of Macau (SRG2019-00179-IAPME), the Science and Technology Development Fund from Macau SAR (FDCT-0163/2019/A3), the Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 22022309), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2021A1515010024). Nanyang Technological University We acknowledge the financial support received from the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (Core Funding), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Y. Cai acknowledges the support provided by the University of Macau (SRG2019-00179-IAPME), the Science and Technology Development Fund from Macau SAR (FDCT-0163/2019/A3), the Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 22022309), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2021A1515010024).

Porous polymeric covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been under intense synthetic investigation with over 100 unique structural motifs known. In order to realize the true potential of these materials, converting the powders into thin films with strict control of thickness and morphology is necessary and accomplished through techniques including interfacial synthesis, chemical exfoliation and mechanical delamination. Recent progress in the construction and tailored properties of thin film COFs are highlighted in this review, addressing mechanical properties as well as application-focused properties in filtration, electronics, sensors, electrochemistry, magnetics, optoelectronics and beyond. Additionally, heterogeneous integration of these thin films with other inorganic and organic materials is discussed, revealing exciting opportunities to integrate COF thin films with other state of the art material and device systems.

During April 2022, leaf spot was observed on strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) with a disease incidence of approximately 45% among 100 plants. Strawberry was cultivated in a nursery at Huzhou University (30.87゜N, 120.13゜E), Zhejiang Province, China. In the strawberry greenhouse, the average temperature was 15-18 degrees, 40%-60% humidity. Early symptoms appeared as dark brown or black spotted necrotic lesions, which expanded from 2 to 6 mm in diameter. Dark brown spots with yellow halos occupied half of the leaf area and eventually developed leaf blight with large yellow halos. To isolate the causal agent, 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm fragments were cut from three symptomatic leaves, and were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s and then rinsed three times with sterilized water. The airdried leaf fragments were placed on PDA with 50 μg/ml ampicillin and incubated in the dark at 25℃ for two days. Isolates were obtained by transferring hyphal plugs of 1 mm in diameter onto PDA. The colony morphology was circular and dark brown on the upperside and black on the underside, with cottony mycelium and an large amount of gray aerial mycelium. Conidia were large, light olive-brown to dark olive-brown and light olive-black and septate. The typical conidia were oval or rod-shaped, rarely curved, and dark septa defined the basal and apical cells. In the two typical forms of conidia, the average size of oval conidia was approximately 18.77 × 54.92 μm (11.99 to 26.97 × 35.13 to 74.59 μm, n = 20), and the average size of the rod-shaped conidia was approximately 14.80 × 103.24 μm (11.24 to 24.64 × 73.11 to 131.51 μm, n = 20). The morphological characteristics matched well with previous descriptions of Exserohilum rostratum (Sharma et al. 2014; Liu et al. 2021). The identity of C1-L and C1-S from symptomatic tissues was confirmed by means of multi-locus gene sequencing. Genomic DNA was extracted from the mycelium using the CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) method (Griffith & Shaw 1998). Molecular identification was conducted by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region, partial glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene, partial actin (ACT) gene, and partial beta-tubulin 2 (TUB2), using the primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), GDF/GDR (Templeton et al. 1992), ACT512F/ACT783R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), T1 (O’Donnell and Cigelnik 1997) and Bt2b (Glass and Donaldson, 1995). The obtained sequences of C1-L and C1-S were the same. Moreover, the sequences have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers ON982516 (ITS), ON996915 (GAPDH), ON996916 (ACT), and ON996917 (TUB2). The results of Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis revealed that the ITS, GAPDH, and ACT had 100% identity with the sequences of E. rostratum (GenBank Accession No. LT837834, LT883550, and LT837672, respectively), the TUB2 had 99.61% similarity with BLAST sequences of E. rostratum (LT899391). These morphological characteristics and molecular analyses allowed the identification of the pathogen as E. rostratum. Koch’s postulates were performed with five healthy detached strawberry leaves with three inoculations per leaf of the ‘Akihime’ strawberry variety. Surface-sterilized leaves were wounded with an aseptic needle, and inoculated with 2 mm diameter mycelial plugs from 5-day-old cultures of E. rostratum. Control leaves were also wounded with the aseptic needle, and inoculated with a sterile PDA agar plug. The leaves were incubated at 25℃ in Petri plates with petioles wrapped in moist sterile cotton. The diseased symptoms included black spots on the epidermis of the wounded leaves within 5, 10, and 20 days after inoculation. Mock-inoculated controls remained asymptomatic, and three biological repetitions were conducted. The fungus reisolated from the diseased leaves was confirmed as E. rostratum by sequencing. Abundant reports have shown that E. rostratum can infect many economically important crops such as maize, rice, and pineapple (Sun et al. 2021; Kabore et al. 2022; Luo et al. 2012). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. rostratum on strawberry in China and worldwide.

We study the impact of financial literacy on financial risk preference. When financial literacy is measured jointly by actual and self-assessed scores, we find compelling evidence of a valley-shaped relationship between actual financial literacy and risk preference. At a given level of self-assessment, as actual financial literacy increases, the willingness to take risks initially decreases and then rises. Actual financial literacy is modeled to impact risk preference through self-assessed financial literacy, the mediator; this mediation effect is significant. Furthermore, increasing actual financial literacy has a positive (negative) effect in underconfident (overconfident) individuals on several financial behaviors.

Membrane separation has enjoyed tremendous advances in relevant material and engineering sciences, making it the fastest growing technology in water treatment. Although membranes as a broad-spectrum physical barrier have great advantages over conventional treatment processes in a myriad of applications, the need for higher selectivity and specificity in membrane separation is rising as we move to target contaminants at trace concentrations and to recover valuable chemicals from wastewater with low energy consumption. In this review, we discuss the drivers, fundamental science, and potential enabling materials for high selectivity membranes, as well as their applications in different water treatment processes. Membrane materials and processes that show promise to achieve high selectivity for water, ions, and small molecules—as well as the mechanisms involved—are highlighted. We further identify practical needs, knowledge gaps, and technological barriers in both material development and process design for high selectivity membrane processes. Finally, we discuss research priorities in the context of existing and future water supply paradigms.

Fabricating inorganic materials with designed three-dimensional nanostructures is an exciting yet challenging area of research and industrial application. Here, we develop an approach to 3D print high-quality nanostructures of silica with sub-200 nm resolution and with the flexible capability of rare-earth element doping. The printed SiO2 can be either amorphous glass or polycrystalline cristobalite controlled by the sintering process. The 3D-printed nanostructures demonstrate attractive optical properties. For instance, the fabricated micro-toroid optical resonators can reach quality factors (Q) of over 104. Moreover, and importantly for optical applications, doping and codoping of rare-earth salts such as Er3+, Tm3+, Yb3+, Eu3+ and Nd3+ can be directly implemented in the printed SiO2 structures, showing strong photoluminescence at the desired wavelengths. This technique shows the potential for building integrated microphotonics with silica via 3D printing. A 3D-printing technique has been developed to create high-quality pure silica nanostructures with sub-200 nm resolution and the flexible capability of rare-earth element doping. It shows excellent application potential in three-dimensional micro- and nanophotonics.

Two-dimensional (2D) trigonal selenium (t-Se) has become a new member in 2D semiconducting nanomaterial families. It is composed of well-aligned one-dimensional Se atomic chains bonded via van der Waals (vdW) interaction. The contribution of this unique anisotropic nanostructure to its mechanical properties has not been explored. Here, for the first time, we combine experimental and theoretical analyses to study the anisotropic mechanical properties of individual 2D t-Se nanosheets. It was found that its fracture strength and Young's modulus parallel to the atomic chain direction are much higher than along the transverse direction, which was attributed to the weak vdW interaction between Se atomic chains as compared to the covalent bonding within individual chains. Additionally, two distinctive fracture modes along two orthogonal loading directions were identified. This work provides important insights into the understanding of anisotropic mechanical behaviors of 2D semiconducting t-Se and opens new possibilities for future applications.

Estrogen deficiency is an important reason for the obesity of menopause, but the specific mechanism is unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of estrogen on glucose absorption. The experiments were performed in human, mice and SCBN cells. We first observed the correlation between estrogen and blood glucose in women, which found that blood glucose was significantly higher in the premenstrual phase than in the preovulatory phase of young women. Similarly, with serum estradiol level decreased in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, ER-α and ER-β in the duodenum reduced, the weight, abdominal fat and blood glucose increased significantly. However, interestingly, the expression of SGLT1 and GLUT2 and the glucose absorption in duodenal decreased significantly. It was further confirmed that estrogen could significantly up-regulate the expression of SGLT1 and GLUT2 in SCBN cells, and this trend can be reversed after silencing ER-α, but it doesn’t work after silencing ER-β, suggesting ER-α may be the key receptor of estrogen regulating glucose transporter. Mechanism study found that estrogen downstream can activate PKC pathway. Overall, our findings indicate that estrogen promotes glucose absorption, estrogen and its receptor (ER-α) deficiency can inhibit the expression of SGLT1 and GLUT2 through PKC signaling pathway, thereby reducing the glucose absorption.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has become curable over 95% patients under a complete chemo-free treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide in low-risk patients. Minimizing chemotherapy has proven feasible in high-risk patients. We evaluated oral arsenic and ATRA without chemotherapy as an outpatient consolidation therapy and no maintenance for high-risk APL. We conducted a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 study with consolidation phases. The consolidation therapy included Realgar–Indigo naturalis formula (60 mg/kg daily in an oral divided dose) in a 4-week-on and 4-week-off regimen for 4 cycles and ATRA (25 mg/m2 daily in an oral divided dose) in a 2-week-on and 2-week-off regimen for 7 cycles. The primary end point was the disease-free survival (DFS). Secondary end points included measurable resident disease, overall survival (OS), and safety. A total of 54 participants were enrolled at seven centers from May 2019. The median age was 40 years. At the median follow-up of 13.8 months (through April 2022), estimated 2-year DFS and OS were 94% and 100% in an intention-to-treat analysis. All the patients achieved complete molecular remission at the end of consolidation phase. Two patients relapsed after consolidation with a cumulative incidence of relapse of 6.2%. The majority of adverse events were grade 1–2, and only three grade 3 adverse events were observed. Oral arsenic plus ATRA without chemotherapy was active as a first-line consolidation therapy for high-risk APL.Trial registration: chictr.org.cn number, ChiCTR1900023309.

Organic/inorganic heterostructures present a versatile platform for creating materials with new functionalities and hybrid properties. In particular, junctions between two dimensional materials have demonstrated utility in next generation electronic, optical, and optoelectronic devices. This work pioneers a microwave facilitated synthesis process to readily incorporate few-layer covalent organic framework (COF) films onto monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC). Preferential microwave excitation of the monolayer TMDC flakes result in selective attachment of COFs onto the van der Waals surface with film thicknesses between 1 and 4 nm. The flexible process is extended to multiple TMDCs (MoS

The metasurface hybridized with vanadium dioxide (VO2) can be dynamically tuned, which has attracted enormous attention in recent years and orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing based on metasurfaces has shown promising prospects in terahertz communications. However, existing research on VO2 metasurface focuses on the metallic metasurface. The dielectric VO2 metasurface used for OAM multiplexing is rarely reported to the present. This paper proposed a terahertz reconfigurable dielectric metasurface hybridized with VO2 for two-dimensional multichannel multiplexing combing with spatial and frequency domains. The metasurface works in both reflection and transmission modes and simultaneously the polarization control and operating frequency band regulation can be realized by switching the VO2 from the metallic state to the insulator state. For the reflective or transmissive metasurface, when 4×M-channel (M is a positive integer) off-axis plane waves are incident on the metasurface, the co-polarization reflected or cross-polarization transmitted waves are transformed into 4×M-channel orthogonal on-axis beams with topological or frequency orthogonality. A metasurface composed of 14 × 14 unit cells is designed for verification. The simulated result shows that two-dimensional 12-channel multiplexing combing with OAM and frequency by the designed metasurface can be realized on the reflection and transmission modes in two different frequency bands. The proposed metasurface has great potential in terahertz communications.

Summary Microstructure engineering of composite cathodes in all-solid-state batteries is critical to ensure efficient electronic and ionic percolation networks. Organic-based solid-state batteries have recently emerged with impressive material-level specific energy and cycling stability. However, the low mass fraction of active materials in state-of-the-art organic cathodes severely limits electrode-level specific energy. In this work, we reveal the unfavorable microstructure as the origin of poor performance at a high fraction of active materials; a solvent-assisted process is then devoted to rectifying the microstructure, increasing the active materials fraction from 20 to 40 wt % while maintaining high utilization (97.6%). The resulting electrode-level specific energy of 302 Wh kg−1 is 83% higher than state-of-the-art solid-state batteries with organic cathodes. On the basis of the unique interphase chemistry between pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone and lithium thiophosphate, a potential-dependent reversible interphase evolution model is proposed. This work illustrates the critical role of microstructure engineering in optimizing novel active materials for all-solid-state batteries.

Flexible supercapacitors (SCs) have become a popular research topic due to their extra-long service life, foldability, and wearability. Nevertheless, their low energy density restricts their applications. Here, we synthesized phosphorus-doped bimetallic sulfides embedded in hetero-atom-doped (N, S, and P) carbon shells (P-ZCS/HC) using a simple approach to create high-performance flexible electrodes. The three-dimensional architecture made by interlaced nanosheets was preserved, and raised nanoparticles appeared on the rough surface during the annealing operation, increasing the specific surface area and potential exposure to the electrolyte. It is noteworthy that the optimal P-ZCS/HC electrode possessed a remarkable capacity of 1080 C g−1 at 1 A g−1 along with superb cycling stability. These extraordinary properties were primarily caused by plentiful redox reactions, enhanced conductivity, and synergic effects of the P-doped metal sulfides and heteroatom-doped carbon shells. Density functional theory simulations confirmed the good function of the P-doped electrodes and their ability to boost conductivity, improve reactive dynamics, and promote OH− adsorption. Notably, the assembled all-solid-state hybrid SC exhibited a maximum energy density of 62.9 W h kg−1 and a power density of 16 kW kg−1, while being able to maintain 92.0% of its initial capacity after 10,000 cycles. This systematic report provides new insight into the design and synthesis of electrodes with complex components and outstanding structures for the flexible energy field.

A simplified finite element method (FEM) simulation method has been established and validated for analyzing the sound absorption mechanism of structures with periodic axisymmetric cavities. Combined with genetic algorithm, the simplified FEM method is used to optimize the sound absorption coefficient of the structure containing periodic cylindrical cavities and variable cross section cavities. The result of variable section cavities is much better than the case of cylindrical cavities. The effect of cavity shape on sound absorption mechanism is discussed through energy dissipation, structure deformation and modal analysis of the absorption structures. It is found that the cavity structure resonances include bending vibration of the surface layer and radial motion of particles near the cavities. The radial motion also changes along the axial direction. Adding geometric design parameters of the cavity cross section are conducive to moving the radial mode to low frequency. The radial vibration has a great influence on absorption performance, which is more conducive to promoting the conversion of longitudinal waves into transverse waves with more energy dissipation. Finally, a better sound absorption performance is obtained by introducing the material parameter of Young's modulus into the optimization model, indicating that comprehensive consideration of geometry and material parameters for optimization is expected to obtain the desired sound absorption structure in engineering practice.

Summary Two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising polymeric crystalline nanomaterials with broad applications. However, the understanding of their mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms remains elusive. Here, we report a quantitative in situ tensile study of ultrathin COFTAPB-DHTA films. The fracture strength was measured to be 0.75 ± 0.34 GPa, and the tensile modulus was measured to be 10.38 ± 3.42 GPa, with a nominal density of 0.393 g/cc, thus having specific strength equivalent to Kevlar (2 GPa·cc/g), and specific modulus comparable with titanium alloys (23 GPa·cc/g). In addition, the fracture toughness was measured to be 0.55 ± 0.09 MPa√m, and it was found that the crack propagation could be insensitive to the pre-crack when the size of pre-crack is below a critical value, leading to intriguing flaw insensitivity in such ultrathin nanomaterials. This work provides in-depth insights into the fracture properties of 2D COF films and lays a foundation for their future applications.

Formation of mineral scale on a material surface has profound impact on a wide range of natural processes as well as industrial applications. However, how specific material surface characteristics affect the mineral-surface interactions and subsequent mineral scale formation is not well understood. Here we report the superior resistance of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to mineral scale formation compared to not only common metal and polymer surfaces but also the highly scaling-resistant graphene, making hBN possibly the most scaling resistant material reported to date. Experimental and simulation results reveal that this ultrahigh scaling-resistance is attributed to the combination of hBN’s atomically-smooth surface, in-plane atomic energy corrugation due to the polar boron-nitrogen bond, and the close match between its interatomic spacing and the size of water molecules. The latter two properties lead to strong polar interactions with water and hence the formation of a dense hydration layer, which strongly hinders the approach of mineral ions and crystals, decreasing both surface heterogeneous nucleation and crystal attachment.

Recent studies have identified unique properties of organic battery electrode materials such as moderate redox potentials and mechanical softness which are uniquely beneficial for all-solid-state b...

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials has captured the imagination of researchers since graphene was first exfoliated from graphite in 2004. Their exotic properties give rise to many exciting potential applications in advanced electronic, optoelectronic, energy and biomedical technologies. Scalable growth of high quality 2D materials is crucial for their adoption in technological applications the same way the arrival of high quality silicon single crystals was to the semiconductor industry. A huge amount of effort has been devoted to grow large-area, highly crystalline 2D crystals such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) through various methods. While CVD growth of wafer-scale monolayer graphene and TMDs has been demonstrated, considerable challenges still remain. In this perspective, we advocate for the focus on the crystal growth morphology as an underpinning for understanding, diagnosing and controlling the CVD process and environment for 2D material growth. Like snowflakes in nature, 2D crystals exhibit a rich variety of morphologies under different growth conditions. The mapping of crystal shapes in the growth parameter space “encodes” a wealth of information, the deciphering of which will lead to better understanding of the fundamental growth mechanism and materials properties. To this end, we envision a collective effort by the 2D materials community to establish the correlation between crystal shapes and the intrinsic thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for CVD reactions through integrated crystal growth experiment, database development and machine learning assisted predictive modeling, which will pave a robust path towards controlled synthesis of 2D materials and heterostructures.

The discovery of atomically thin van der Waals magnets (e.g., CrI3 and Cr2Ge2Te6) has triggered a renaissance in the study of two-dimensional (2D) magnetism. Most of the 2D magnetic compounds discovered so far host only one single magnetic phase unless the system is at a phase boundary. In this work, we report the near degeneracy of magnetic phases in ultrathin chromium telluride (Cr2Te3) layers with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy highly desired for stabilizing 2D magnetic order. Single-crystalline Cr2Te3 nanoplates with a trigonal structure (space group P31c) were grown by chemical vapor deposition. The bulk magnetization measurements suggest a ferromagnetic (FM) order with an enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, as evidenced by a coercive field as large as ∼14 kOe when the field is applied perpendicular to the basal plane of the thin nanoplates. Magneto-optical Kerr effect studies confirm the intrinsic ferromagnetism and characterize the magnetic ordering temperature of individual nanoplates. First-principles density functional theory calculations suggest the near degeneracy of magnetic orderings with a continuously varying canting from the c-axis FM due to their comparable energy scales, explaining the zero-field kink observed in the magnetic hysteresis loops. Our work highlights Cr2Te3 as a promising 2D Ising system to study magnetic phase coexistence and switches for ultracompact information storage and processing.

The gut-brain axis is a bidirectional information interaction system between the central nervous system (CNS) and the gastrointestinal tract, in which gut microbiota plays a key role. The gut microbiota forms a complex network with the enteric nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the neuroendocrine and neuroimmunity of the CNS, which is called the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Due to the close anatomical and functional interaction of the gut-liver axis, the microbiota-gut-liver-brain axis has attracted increased attention in recent years. The microbiota-gut-liver-brain axis mediates the occurrence and development of many diseases, and it offers a direction for the research of disease treatment. In this review, we mainly discuss the role of the gut microbiota in the irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, functional dyspepsia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy via the gut-liver-brain axis, and the focus is to clarify the potential mechanisms and treatment of digestive diseases based on the further understanding of the microbiota-gut- liver-brain axis.

Surface heating membrane distillation overcomes several limitations inherent in conventional membrane distillation technology. Here we report a successful effort to grow in situ a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanocoating on a stainless-steel wire cloth (hBN-SSWC), and its application as a scalable electrothermal heating material in surface heating membrane distillation. The novel hBN-SSWC provides superior vapour permeability, thermal conductivity, electrical insulation and anticorrosion properties, all of which are critical for the long-term surface heating membrane distillation performance, particularly with hypersaline solutions. By simply attaching hBN-SSWC to a commercial membrane and providing power with an a.c. supply at household frequency, we demonstrate that hBN-SSWC is able to support an ultrahigh power intensity (50 kW m−2) to desalinate hypersaline solutions with exceptionally high water flux (and throughput), single-pass water recovery and heat utilization efficiency while maintaining excellent material stability. We also demonstrate the exceptional performance of hBN-SSWC in a scalable and compact spiral-wound electrothermal membrane distillation module. A hexagonal boron nitride nanocoating grown directly on a stainless-steel mesh enables ultrahigh power input intensity in an electrothermal membrane distillation system to desalinate hypersaline solutions with exceptionally high water flux, single-pass water recovery and heat utilization efficiency.

Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) is a highly toxic groundwater contaminant. In this study, we demonstrate a selective electrochemical process tailored for removal of Cr(VI) using a hybrid MOF@rGO nanomaterial synthesized by

Backgrounds Mitochondria plays a critical role in the development and pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Neohesperidin (NHP) could lower blood glucose and prevent obesity in mice. However, the direct effect of NHP on hepatic steatosis has not been reported. Methods Mice were fed with either a chow diet or HFD with or without oral gavage of NHP for 12 weeks. A variety of biochemical and histological indicators were examined. In vitro cell culture model was utilized to demonstrate underlying molecular mechanism of the effect induced by NHP treatment. Results NHP increases mitochondrial biogenesis, improves hepatic steatosis and systematic insulin resistance in high fat diet (HFD) fed mice. NHP elevates hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis and fatty acid oxidation by increasing PGC-1α expression. Mechanistically, the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is involved in NHP induced PGC-1α expression. Conclusions PGC-1α-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis plays a vital role in the mitigation of hepatic steatosis treated by NHP. Our result suggests that NHP is a good candidate to be dietary supplement for the auxiliary treatment of NAFLD.

Quantitative influence and underlying mechanisms of nutrient stoichiometry on mineralization of native Soil organic C (SOC) and straw C in different aggregate classes from cultivated and non-cultivated soils are still unclear. Soil samples (Mollisols) from a native woodlot and a farmland converted from woodlot were sieved into three aggregate classes (mega-aggregates (6.3-2 mm), macro-aggregates (2-0.25 mm), and micro-aggregates (

Rechargeable Li-O2 batteries (LOBs) have been receiving intensive attention because of their ultra-high theoretical energy density close to the gasoline. Herein, Ag modified urchin-like α-MnO2 (Ag-MnO2) material with hierarchical porous structure is obtained by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. Ag-MnO2 possesses thick nanowires and presents hierarchical porous structure of mesopores and macropores. The unique structure can expose more active sites, and provide continuous pathways for O2 and discharge products as well. The doping of Ag leads to the change of electronic distribution in a-MnO2 (i.e., more oxygen vacancies), which play important roles in improving their intrinsic catalytic activity and conductivity. As a result, LOBs with Ag-MnO2 catalysts exhibit lower overpotential, higher discharge specific capacity and much better cycle stability compared to pure α-MnO2. LOBs with Ag-MnO2 catalysts exhibit a superior discharge specific capacity of 13,131 mAhg−1 at a current density of 200 mAg−1, a good cycle stability of 500 cycles at the capacity of 500 mAhg−1. When current density is increased to 400 mAg−1, LOBs still retain a long lifespan of 170 cycles at a limited capacity of 1,000 mAhg−1.

Devices operating with excitons have promising prospects for overcoming the dilemma of response time and integration in current generation of electron- or/and photon-based elements and devices. Although the intrinsic properties including edges, grain boundaries, and defects of atomically thin semiconductors have been demonstrated as a powerful tool to adjust the bandgap and exciton energy, investigating the intrinsic modulation of spatiotemporal dynamics still remains challenging on account of the short exciton diffusion length. Here, we achieve the attractive remote lightening phenomenon, in which the emission region could be far away (up to 14.6 μm) from the excitation center, by utilizing a femtosecond laser with ultrahigh peak power as excitation source and the edge region with high photoluminescence efficiency as a bright emitter. Furthermore, the ultrafast transition between exciton and trion is demonstrated, which provides insight into the intrinsic modulation on populations of exciton and trion states. The complete cascaded physical scenario of exciton spatiotemporal dynamics is eventually established. This work can refresh our perspective on the spatial nonuniformities of CVD-grown atomically thin semiconductors and provide important implications for developing durable and stable excitonic devices in the future.

The intrinsic activity of in-plane chalcogen atoms plays a significant role in the catalytic performance of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). A rational modulation of the local configurations is essential to activating the in-plane chalcogen atoms but restricted by the high energy barrier to break the in-plane TM-X (X = chalcogen) bonds. Here, we theoretically design and experimentally realize the tuning of local configurations. The electron transfer capacity of local configurations is used to screen suitable TMDs materials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Among various configurations, the triangular-shape cobalt atom cluster with a central sulfur vacancy (3CoMo-VS) renders the distinct electrocatalytic performance of MoS2 with much reduced overpotential and Tafel slope. The present study sheds light on deeper understanding of atomic-scale local configuration in TMDs and a methodology to boost the intrinsic activity of chalcogen atoms., Designing and realizing local configurations can activate the in-plane chalcogen atoms of transition metal dichalcogenide to enhance the HER activity. We combine the theoretical screening (charge transfer capability) and experimental realization to achieve highly active local configurations

Achieving the spontaneous evolution of fuel from integrated devices by solar-driven water splitting is an attractive method for renewable energy conversion. However, their widespread implementation is hindered by their immature architectures and inferior performances. Here, we propose a real integrated device consisting of two series-connected perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and two CoP catalyst electrodes, which can be immersed into the aqueous solution directly for solar-driven water splitting. Benefiting from the low-cost and facile encapsulation technique, this integrated device possesses a compact structure and well-connected circuits for the process of charge carriers generation, transfer, and storage. Moreover, although all expensive components in this integrated device are eliminated, the two series-connected carbon-based PSCs still exhibit a high solar-to-electric efficiency of 10.6% as well as the integrated devices display a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of as high as 6.7%. This integrated device serves as a model architecture toward future development and optimization of the integrated device that can be immersed into the aqueous solution directly for water splitting.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease affecting up to 10% of women at reproductive age. Prior combined studies implied that MYH8 mutations might exist in endometriosis. Here, 152 Han Chinese samples with ovarian endometriosis were analyzed for the presence of MYH8 mutations. Two heterozygous missense mutations in the MYH8 gene, c.1441A C (p.I481L) and c.4057G A (p.E1353K), were identified in our samples. These mutations were neither found in public databases nor detected in our 485 Han Chinese control women without endometriosis. The p.I481L-mutated sample belonged to 34-year-old, who had slightly elevated serum CA 125 (42.09 U/mL); while the sample with p.E1353K mutation belonged to 25 years old, who had a markedly increased serum CA125 (89.86 U/mL). The evolutionary conservation analysis results suggested that these MYH8 mutations caused highly conserved amino acid substitutions among vertebrate species. Both the mutations were predicted to be 'disease causing' by MutationTaster and SIFT programs. In addition, no association was observed between MYH8 mutations and the available clinical data. In summary, the present study identified two novel potential pathogenic mutations in the MYH8 gene in samples with ovarian endometriosis for the first time, implying that MYH8 mutations might play a positive role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

The upper gastrointestinal (GI) tumors are multifactorial diseases associated with a combination of oncogenes and environmental factors. Currently, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy are relatively effective treatment options for the patients with these tumors. However, the asymptomatic phenotype of these tumors during the early stages poses as a significant limiting factor to diagnosis and often renders treatments ineffective. Therefore, new early diagnosis and effective therapy for upper GI tumors are urgently needed. Ca2+ is a pivotal intracellular second messenger and plays a crucial role in living cells by regulating several processes from cell division to death. The aberrant Ca2+ homeostasis is related to many human pathological conditions and diseases, including cancer, and thus the changes in the expression and function of plasma membrane Ca2+ permeable channels and sodium/calcium exchangers are frequently described in tumorigenesis and tumor development of the upper GI tract, including voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCC), transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, store-operated channels (SOC) and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX). This review will summarize the current knowledge about plasma membrane Ca2+ permeable channels and sodium/calcium exchangers in the upper GI tumors and provide a synopsis of recent advancements on the role and involvement of these channels in upper GI tumors as well as a discussion of the possible strategies to target these channels and exchangers for diagnosis and therapy of the upper GI tumors.

Flexible supercapacitors have drawn tremendous attention resulting from the rapid development of wearable electronic devices. Herein, we develop an effective and facile two-step approach to prepare high content nitrogen, sulfur co-doped porous carbon nanofibers film as electrodes of flexible supercapacitors. Benefiting from the high specific surface area and rich nitrogen/sulfur content, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped porous carbon fibers film (N, S co-doped PCFF) electrodes exhibit a high mass specific capacitance of 307.8 F g−1, and the capacitance retains 98% of initial capacitance after 5000 cycles in a three-electrode system. The as-assembled flexible supercapacitor devices with polyvinyl alcohol/KOH gel electrolyte demonstrate a highest mass specific capacitance of single electrode of 183.9 F g-1 at the scan rate of 2 mV s-1, which is better than that of other heteroatom doping carbon materials. In addition, the energy density reaches as high as 16.35 Wh kg−1 with the power density of 147 W kg−1 and retains as 5.34 Wh kg−1 with higher power density of 2402 W kg−1. Furthermore, the flexible devices show good cycling stability, superior flexibility and stable electrochemical performance.

To investigate the relationship between size of different connectors and bending strength of cast porcelain materials.The samples were divided into 5 groups according to the area of all-porcelain materials and simulated connector. In group A, simulated connector with cast porcelain material with a cross-section of 2 mm×3 mm was selected; In group B, simulated connector with cast porcelain material with a cross-section of 2 mm×4 mm was selected; In group C, simulated connector with cast porcelain material with a cross-section of 3 mm×3 mm was selected; In group D, simulated connector with cast porcelain material with a cross-section of 3 mm×4 mm was selected; In group E, simulated connector with zirconium oxide material with a cross-section of 2 mm×3 mm was selected. The fracture load was tested using classical three-point bending experiment, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 software package.For lithium disilicate cast porcelain, the fracture load increased with increasing cross section area, but both below the shear zirconia fracture load with a cross section of 2 mm×3 mm(P＜0.05).The increase in width increased the fracture load of porcelain samples compared to the length.It is suitable to increase linker area when cast porcelain is applied to single-end bridge, which is especially achieved by increasing the width at the linker.

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy of T cell progenitors, known to be a heterogeneous disease in pediatric and adult patients. Here we attempted to better understand the disease at the molecular level based on the transcriptomic landscape of 707 T-ALL patients (510 pediatric, 190 adult patients, and 7 with unknown age; 599 from published cohorts and 108 newly investigated). Leveraging the information of gene expression enabled us to identify 10 subtypes (G1–G10), including the previously undescribed one characterized by GATA3 mutations, with GATA3R276Q capable of affecting lymphocyte development in zebrafish. Through associating with T cell differentiation stages, we found that high expression of LYL1/LMO2/SPI1/HOXA (G1–G6) might represent the early T cell progenitor, pro/precortical/cortical stage with a relatively high age of disease onset, and lymphoblasts with TLX3/TLX1 high expression (G7–G8) could be blocked at the cortical/postcortical stage, while those with high expression of NKX2-1/TAL1/LMO1 (G9–G10) might correspond to cortical/postcortical/mature stages of T cell development. Notably, adult patients harbored more cooperative mutations among epigenetic regulators, and genes involved in JAK-STAT and RAS signaling pathways, with 44% of patients aged 40 y or above in G1 bearing DNMT3A/IDH2 mutations usually seen in acute myeloid leukemia, suggesting the nature of mixed phenotype acute leukemia.

Studies have shown that epigenetic enzymes such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) are closely related to cancers and that several HDAC inhibitors exert antitumor effects. Studies have further suggested that class IIa HDAC inhibitors are related to immune functions, including immune responses and the expression of chemokines and complement pathway components. TMP195, a selective class IIa HDAC inhibitor, has been reported to be effective against breast cancer. However, the role and mechanism of TMP195 in colorectal cancer remain unknown. In this study, we found that TMP195 significantly reduced the tumor burden in two mouse models of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) and subcutaneous tumor. Mechanistically, TMP195 decreased the proportion of total macrophages but increased the proportion of M1 macrophages by promoting polarization, resulting in the increased release of inflammatory cytokines. TMP195 had no direct effect on the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells, and its antitumor effect on the colorectal cancer disappeared when macrophages were partly depleted by clodronate liposomes. In addition, TMP195 enhanced the efficacy of PD-1 blockade. The present study revealed that the combination of TMP195 and PD-1 blockade may provide a therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer.