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Biochars produced from different feedstocks and at different pyrolysis temperatures may have various chemical and physical properties, affecting their potential use as alternative microbial carrier materials. In this study, biochars were produced from pine wood and oak feedstocks at various temperatures (400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C and 800°C), characterized, and assessed for their potential as carriers for Bradyrhizobium japonicum (CB1809) strain. The biochars were then stored at two different storage temperatures (28°C and 38°C) for up to 90 days. Furthermore, the study also explored the role of potentially ideal carriers as inoculants in the growth of Glycine max L. (soybean) under different moisture levels i.e., 55% water holding capacity (WHC) (D0), 30% WHC (D1) and, 15% WHC (D2) using a mixture of 50% garden soil and 50% sand. The results were compared to a control group (without inoculants) and a peat inoculant. Among all the materials derived from pine wood and oak, pine wood biochar pyrolyzed at 400℃ (P-BC400) exhibited the highest CFU count, with values of 10.34 and 9.74 Log 10 CFU g− 1 after 90 days of storage at 28℃ and 38℃, respectively. This was notably higher compared to other biochars and peat carriers. Significant (p < 0.05) increases in plant properties: shoot and root dry biomass (174% and 367%), shoot and root length (89% and 85%), number of leaves (71%), membrane stability index (27%), relative water content (26%), and total chlorophyll (140%) were observed in plants treated with P-BC400 carrier inoculant compared to the control at D2; however, lower enrichment of δ13C (37%) and δ15N (108%) with highest number of root nodules (8.3 ± 1.26) and nitrogenase activity (0.869 ± 0.04) were observed under D2, as evident through PCA analysis, showing more nitrogen (N) fixation and photosynthetic activity. Overall, this experiment concluded that biochar pyrolyzed at lower temperatures, especially P-BC400, was the most suitable candidate for rhizobial inoculum and promoted soybean growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lanthanide‐doped scintillators have the ability to convert the absorbed X‐ray irradiation into ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis), or near‐infrared (NIR) light. Lanthanide‐doped scintillators with excellent persistent luminescence (PersL) are emerging as a new class of PersL materials recently. They have attracted great attention due to their unique "self‐luminescence" characteristic and potential applications. In this review, we comb through and focus on current developments of lanthanide‐doped persistent luminescent scintillators (PersLSs), including their PersL mechanism, synthetic methods, tuning of PersL properties (e. g. emission wavelength, intensity, and duration time), as well as their promising applications (e. g. information storage, encryption, anti‐counterfeiting, bio‐imaging, and photodynamic therapy). We hope this review will provide valuable guidance for the future development of PersLSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A SF/SPI hydrogel was created by silk fibroin (SF) and soybean protein isolate (SPI). • The quercetin loaded SF/SPI hydrogel, SF/SPI-Q, owned favorable bioactivity. • SF/SPI-Q was biocompatible, biodegradable, antibacterial and antioxidant. • SF/SPI-Q accelerated epidermal regeneration, collagen deposition, and angiogenesis. • SF/SPI-Q reduced inflammation, promising for wound healing. Hydrogel networks composed of naturally derived polymers offer a promising solution for the development of wound dressings due to their biodegradable, biocompatible, and renewable properties. In this study, silk fibroin (SF) and soybean protein isolate (SPI) were used as the main components to create a natural SF/SPI hydrogel. To further enhance its bioactivity, quercetin was loaded into the hydrogel to form a SF/SPI-Q hydrogel. The resulting SF/SPI-Q hybrid hydrogels possessed a unique combination of advantages derived from both the natural polymers (such as excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and promotion of cell migration) and therapeutic drugs (including antibacterial properties and antioxidant capacity). As a result, the hydrogel effectively accelerated wound healing in an infected burn wound model. The SF/SPI-Q hydrogels accelerated epidermal regeneration, collagen deposition, and angiogenesis, facilitating the healing process of burn wounds. Moreover, they also exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, which contributed to a reduction in inflammation. Thus, the SF/SPI-Q hydrogels showed great potential as a highly effective treatment option for wound healing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-entropy alloy films have shown excellent mechanical performance, but their hardness and wear resistance are still lower than those of conventional hard films such as TiN and CrN, which cannot meet the requirements of hard film applied under severe wear conditions. In this study, the (CuNiTiNbCr)C x N y high-entropy nanocomposite films were prepared by the double-target co-sputtering method. The effect of carbon content on the film morphology, phase structure, mechanical properties and tribological properties were investigated. With the introduction of carbon atoms in the film, the amorphous/carbonitride/amorphous carbon composite structure is formed. At 21.5 at.% carbon, the film hardness reaches the highest of 18.1 GPa. And at 37.6 at.% carbon, the film shows the highest toughness of 0.96 MPa m1/2 and exhibits the best tribological properties with a low friction coefficient of 0.27 and a wear rate of 1.0 × 10−6 mm3/N·m. The improvement in wear resistance is mainly attributed to the strong toughness of nanocomposite structures and the lubrication effect of amorphous carbon phase. The (CuNiTiNbCr)C x N y high-entropy nanocomposite films show good application prospect in harsh friction environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Recurrent spontaneous abortion affects approximately 1–2% of reproductive-age women, with roughly half of RSA cases classified as unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). Genetic polymorphisms in eNOS gene have been shown to have significant implications across various disease processes. Nevertheless, the potential impact of eNOS gene polymorphisms on the susceptibility to URSA in Yunnan population has yet to be explored or documented. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the potential association between specific variations in the eNOS gene (VNTR 4b/a, - 786T > C, and + 894G > T) and the risk of URSA in Yunnan population. METHODS: A total of 243 URSA patients and 241 healthy females are involved in this study. We conducted amplification of the eNOS gene fragment and performed sanger sequencing to detect the specific eNOS gene polymorphisms, including VNTR 4b/a, - 786T > C, and + 894G > T. Using a multivariate logistic regression model, we evaluate the potential association between eNOS gene polymorphisms (VNTR 4b/a, - 786T > C, and + 894G > T) and the risk of URSA. Furthermore, serum NO levels were measured in URSA patients. RESULTS: The presence of VNTR 4a, - 786C, and + 894T alleles was found to be associated with an increased risk of URSA. Additionally, our study revealed a significant association between the G-C-4b haplotype of the investigated eNOS gene polymorphisms and a predisposition to URSA. Notably, these eNOS polymorphisms were shown to reduce serum NO levels in URSA patients. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence supporting the association between eNOS gene polymorphisms, VNTR 4b/a, - 786T > C, and + 894G > T, and the occurrence of URSA in Yunnan Province, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver/polymeric vesicle composite nanoparticles with good antibacterial properties were fabricated in this study. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared in situ on cross‐linked vesicle membranes through the reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) via coordination bonding between the Ag+ ions and the nitrogen atoms on the vesicles. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy (UV‐vis), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed the formation of AgNPs on the vesicles. The antibacterial test demonstrated good antibacterial activity against both Gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and Gram‐positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) for the produced AgNP‐decorated vesicles. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the AgNP‐decorated vesicles for E. coli and S. aureus were 8.4 and 9.6 μg/mL, respectively. Cell viability analysis on the A549 cells indicated that the toxicity was low when the AgNP concentrations did not exceed the MIC values, and the wound healing test confirmed the good antibacterial properties of the AgNP‐decorated vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and theoretical insights into robust PIL-Br@ZIF-8 hetero-frameworks for the selective conversion of CO 2 into cyclic carbonates under mild conditions. [Display omitted] • A novel strategy is developed for fabricating core–shell PILs@ZIF-8 composites. • PIL-Br@ZIF-8 enables simultaneous adsorption and activation of CO 2 and epoxide. • Low-concentration/low-pressure CO 2 conversion into cyclic carbonates was achieved. • PIL-Br@ZIF-8 is recyclable and exhibits good thermal and structural stability. • Valuable insight into the cycloaddition mechanism is theoretically elucidated. The present study, for the first time, reports the fabrication of core–shell poly(ionic liquids)@ZIF-8 nanocomposites through a facile in-situ polymerization strategy. These composites exhibited exceptional structural characteristics including high specific surface areas and the integration of high-density Lewis acid/base and nucleophilic active sites. The structure–activity relationship, reusability, and versatility of the poly(ionic liquids)@ZIF-8 composites were investigated for the cycloaddition reaction between CO 2 and epoxide. By optimizing the composites structures and their catalytic performance, PIL-Br@ZIF-8(2:1) was identified as an exciting catalyst that exhibits high activity and selectivity in the synthesis of various cyclic carbonates under mild or even atmospheric pressure or simulated flue gas conditions. Moreover, the catalyst demonstrated excellent structural stability while maintaining its catalytic activity throughout multiple usage cycles. By combining DFT calculations, we investigated the transition states and intermediate geometries of the cycloaddition reaction in different coordination microenvironments, thereby proposing a synergistic catalytic mechanism involving multiple active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving constrained optimization problems that require processing large-scale data is of significant value in practical applications, and such problems can be described as the minimization of a finite-sum of local convex functions. Many existing works addressing constrained optimization problems have achieved a linear convergence rate to the exact optimal solution if the constant step-size was sufficiently small. However, they still suffer from low computational efficiency because of the computation of the local batch gradients at each iteration. Considering high computational efficiency to resolve the constrained optimization problems, we introduce the projection operator and variance-reduction technique to propose a novel projected decentralized variance-reduction algorithm, namely P-DVR, to tackle the constrained optimization problem subject to a closed convex set. Theoretical analysis shows that if the local function is strongly convex and smooth, the P-DVR algorithm can converge to the exact optimal solution at a linear convergence rate O ( λ ^ k) with a sufficiently small step-size, where 0 < λ ^ < 1 . Finally, we experimentally validate the effectiveness of the algorithm, i.e., the algorithm possesses high computational efficiency and exact convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cathodic protection efficiency and hydrogen permeation behaviour of high-strength steel with barnacle adhesion in the tidal zone were studied using field exposure and laboratory simulation tests for 2 years. Because of the shielding effect, barnacles can lead to an uneven calcareous deposition, a flatter morphology and a higher protection efficiency of steel. By contrast, because of the higher hydrogen permeation current at the edge of the barnacle adhesion area (caused by a higher hydrogen evolution rate), barnacle adhesion can promote hydrogen permeation. A mechanism was proposed to explain the observed phenomenon, and its effect on service safety was analysed. • 2-year field exposure tests were conducted. • Barnacle adhesion can increase the cathodic protection current of steel at the edge of adhesion area. • Barnacle adhesion can increase the hydrogen permeation current density of steel. • High hydrogen permeation current of steel at the edge of adhesion area was confirmed by direct test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic flow forecasting (TFF) is crucial for effective urban planning and traffic management. Most modeling approaches in TFF ignore the dynamic characteristics of the transportation network topology, which results in an inability to accurately capture the hidden spatiotemporal correlations. To this end, we investigate a Spatiotemporal Synchronous Dynamic Graph Attention Network (STS-DGAT) for TFF. STS-DGAT is composed of three parts: the dynamic feature enhancement (DFE) module, the spatiotemporal coupling (STC) module, and the temporal position embedding (TPE) module. Specifically, we discover the impact of traffic data features on TFF based on the DFE module, assign dynamic weights of various features for time steps, and adjust the intrinsic relevance of traffic data. Then, we propose the STC module to characterize the complex coupling relationships of road network nodes in spatial and temporal dimensions and the dynamic intrinsic interactions of spatiotemporal correlations. The STC module comprises a dynamic graph attention network (DGAT) and an adaptive gated temporal convolutional network (AGTCN). Deep characterization for the dynamic topology of road networks is mined by DGAT, which captures real-time dynamic spatial correlations, and hidden features in the nonlinear temporal dimension are extracted by AGTCN to learn long-term temporal dependency. Finally, we put forward a TPE module to incorporate temporal position information into spatiotemporal relationships and adaptively learn hidden features of individual nodes to understand spatiotemporal variation features effectively. Experimental results from four real-world datasets demonstrate that the STS-DGAT model outperforms other baseline models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field exposure test was set up to study the effect of macrofouling adhesion on hydrogen permeation and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviors of a high-strength steel in marine immersion zone, and the results were further verified by laboratory electrochemical simulation tests. The results indicated that the crevices formed by macrofouling adhesion can promote localized corrosion pits and change the local chemical environment. More severe localized corrosion can increase the hydrogen permeation current density and promote the SCC of high-strength steel. As a comparison, the hydrogen permeation current density of steel under cathodic protection state was slightly decreased owing to the shielding effect of macrofouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]