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Adhesives are indispensable raw materials in the assembly of electronics and electrical equipment. Their environmental performance has been widely studied. In most adhesive products, the number of monomer residues changes [...]

Piezocatalysis offers a facile method for H2O2 production with the ability to obtain the desired product under clean and safe conditions. In this study, an efficient ternary n-n type van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction piezocatalyst Bi/Bi4Ti3O12/g-C3N4 (BBC) was fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method, leading to the in situ reduction of metallic Bi and the formation of a heterojunction. The piezocatalytic activity of the BBC nanocomposite for H2O2 production (10.5 mmol g–1 h–1) is significantly enhanced by the synergistic effect of metallic Bi and g-C3N4, exceeding that of pure BTO and g-C3N4 by factors of 2.19 and 1.98, respectively. The piezoelectric catalytic mechanism demonstrates that the boosted piezocatalytic performance of this novel nanocomposite BBC could be attributed to the unique structure and the strengthened internal electric fields formed by the vdW heterojunction that improved the charge separation efficiency. This work presents an effective strategy to fabricate efficient nanocomposites capable of converting mechanical energy into chemical energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium‐sulfur batteries (Li−S) have possessed gratifying development in the past decade due to their high theoretical energy density. However, the severe polysulfide shuttling provokes undesirable self‐discharge effect, leading to low energy efficiency in Li−S batteries. Herein, an interlayer composed of oxygen‐rich carbon nanosheets (OCN) derived from bagasse is elaborated to suppress the shuttle effect and reduce the resultant self‐discharge effect. The OCN interlayer is able to physically block the shuttling behavior of polysulfides and its oxygen‐rich functional groups can strongly interact with polysulfides via O−S bonds to chemically immobilize mobile polysulfides. The self‐discharge test for seven days further shows that the self‐discahrge rate is diminished by impressive 93 %. As a result, Li−S batteries with the OCN interlayer achieve an ultrahigh discharge specific capacity of 710 mAh g−1 at a high mass loading of 7.18 mg. The work provides a facile method for designing functional interlayers and opens a new avenue for realizing Li−S batteries with high energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent perception technology is an advanced bionic technology that simulates human sensory organs using sensor technology to capture various sensory attributes of samples. By combining intelligent recognition algorithms and signal processing, it enables the comprehensive anthropomorphic evaluation of sample quality. As a modern extension and supplement to traditional sensory evaluation techniques, intelligent perception technology offers technical characteristics such as fast detection speed, no sample pretreatment, easy operation, and real-time online analysis, etc. It serves as a powerful tool for in-depth perception of sensory quality in food. This paper provides an overview of several key intelligent perception technologies in food industry, including electronic tongue technology for simulating taste, electronic nose technology for simulating smell, texture analyzers for simulating touch, and electronic vision systems for simulating sight. Additionally, the article summarizes the application and research progress of intelligent perception technology in food quality evaluation, while also discussing the potential development possibilities of intelligent sensing technology in static sensory, dynamic sensory, and emotional perception representation. With rapid advancements in interdisciplinary fields such as biology, materials science, and computer science, intelligent perception technology is expected to evolve from distinguishing and identifying the overall sensory characteristics of samples to detecting and representing food preferences and emotions, thereby providing new impetus for the development of the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fan is part of the core equipment of a super-pressure balloon altitude control system, and high-performance fans have a significant impact on the altitude control capability and flight safety of super-pressure balloons. This paper proposes a mixed-flow MIX-140 fan for use with super-pressure balloons. Changes in the fan's operating characteristics at various flight altitudes of a super-pressure balloon were investigated. First, the performance of the fan at ground level was obtained through numerical simulation and compared with measured data of the prototype to verify the accuracy of the simulation analysis. On this basis, the influences of changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed on fan performance were investigated through numerical simulation. Furthermore, the MIX-140 fan was compared with an existing fan, and the variation of two parameters, namely, the ratio of inflation volume per unit time and the ratio of inflation volume per unit power, were investigated at different altitudes. Finally, the changes in the operating characteristics of the fan under different high-altitude environments were investigated through actual testing. The results reveal that changes in altitude can lead to significant changes in fan performance, and changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed affect the fan's working characteristics. Compared with the existing fan, the MIX-140 fan achieves an average increase of 295.8% in the inflation volume per unit of time, and 14.6% in the inflation volume per unit of power at altitudes of 16–20 km. The performance variation characteristics and testing methods of this proposed super-pressure balloon fan can provide a foundation and reference for the design of a super-pressure balloon control system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all commercial bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) are crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GLUT); however, issues such as immune responses, calcification, delayed endothelialization, and especially severe thrombosis threaten the service lifespan of BHVs. Surface modification is expected to impart GLUT-crosslinked BHVs with versatility to optimize service performance. Here, a postfunctionalization strategy was established for GLUT-crosslinked BHVs, which were firstly modified with metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) to shield the exposed calcification site, and then anticoagulant recombinant humanized type III collagen (rhCOLIII) was immobilized to endow them with long-term antithrombogenicity and enhanced endothelialization properties. The postfunctionalization coating exhibited promising mechanical properties and resistance to enzymatic degradation capability resembling that of GLUT-crosslinked porcine pericardium (GLUT-PP). With the introduction of meticulously tailored rhCOLIII, the anti-coagulation and re-endothelialization properties of TA/Fe-rhCOLIII were significantly improved. Furthermore, the mild inflammatory response and reduced calcification were evidenced in TA/Fe-rhCOLIII by subcutaneous implantation. In conclusion, the efficacy of the proposed strategy combining anti-inflammatory MPNs and multifunctional rhCOLIII to improve anticoagulation, reduce the inflammatory response, and ultimately achieve rapid reendothelialization was supported by both ex vivo and in vivo experiments. Altogether, the current findings may provide a simple strategy for enhancing the service function of BHVs after implantation and show great potential in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Chlorogenic acid (CGA), as one of the most abundant naturally occurring phenolic acids, has been documented to be beneficial for intestinal health. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. The adult intestinal stem cell is the critical driver of epithelial homeostasis and regeneration. RESULTS: This study hypothesized that CGA exerted intestinal health effects by modulating intestinal stem‐cell functions. Lgr5‐EGFP mice were treated for 14 days, and intestinal organoids derived from these mice were treated for 3 days, using CGA solution. In comparison with the control group, CGA treatment increased intestinal villous height and crypt depth in mice and augmented the area expansion and the number of budding intestinal organoids. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis revealed that CGA treatment significantly increased the expression of genes coding intestinal stem‐cell markers in intestinal tissue and organoids, and upregulated the expression of genes coding secretory cell lineages and enterocytes, although not statistically significantly. Fluorescence‐activated cell‐sorting analysis further confirmed that CGA augmented the number of stem cells. 5‐Ethynyl‐2'‐deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation and Ki67 immunostaining results also demonstrated that CGA treatment enhanced intestinal stem‐cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our findings indicate that CGA could activate intestinal stem‐cell and epithelial regeneration, which could contribute to the improvement of intestinal morphology or organoid growth of mice. This highlights a promising mechanism for CGA as an excellent candidate for the formulation of dietary supplements and functional foods for intestinal protection. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that, in contrast to the properties of food‐derived copper, water‐derived copper exerts neurotoxic effects and exhibits different speciation during digestion. The cellular uptake efficiencies of different speciation of copper are distinct. However, it is unclear whether these different speciation share the same transport pathway in intestinal epithelial cells. In the present study, the intracellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ion and copper complex solutions was investigated in Caco‐2 cells. RESULTS: The cellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ions was higher than that of copper derived from the copper complex. Treatment with carboplatin and Ag+, which are copper transporter receptor 1 (Ctr1, LC31A1) inhibitors, did not inhibit copper accumulation in Caco‐2 cells, but inhibited copper accumulation in HepG2 cells. Zinc ion significantly decreased the intracellular copper content from 114 ± 7 μg g−1 protein to 88 ± 4 μg g−1 protein in the copper ion‐treated Caco‐2 cells, but not in the copper complex‐treated Caco‐2 cells (84.6 ± 14 μg g−1 protein versus 87.7 ± 20 μg g−1 protein, P > 0.05). Additionally, copper accumulation in Caco‐2 and HepG2 cells significantly differed depending on different solvents (Hanks' balanced salt solution and NaNO3, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the intracellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ion and copper complex is mediated by distinct copper transport pathways. Copper speciation may be an important factor that affects copper absorption and toxicity. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oral microbiome is second only to its intestinal counterpart in diversity and abundance, but its effects on taste cells remains largely unexplored. Using single-cell RNASeq, we found that mouse taste cells, in particular, sweet and umami receptor cells that express taste 1 receptor member 3 (Tas1r3), have a gene expression signature reminiscent of Microfold (M) cells, a central player in immune surveillance in the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) such as those in the Peyer's patch and tonsils. Administration of tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 11 (TNFSF11; also known as RANKL), a growth factor required for differentiation of M cells, dramatically increased M cell proliferation and marker gene expression in the taste papillae and in cultured taste organoids from wild-type (WT) mice. Taste papillae and organoids from knockout mice lacking Spib (SpibKO), a RANKL-regulated transcription factor required for M cell development and regeneration on the other hand, failed to respond to RANKL. Taste papillae from SpibKO mice also showed reduced expression of NF-κB signaling pathway components and proinflammatory cytokines and attracted fewer immune cells. However, lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of cytokines was strongly up-regulated in SpibKO mice compared to their WT counterparts. Like M cells, taste cells from WT but not SpibKO mice readily took up fluorescently labeled microbeads, a proxy for microbial transcytosis. The proportion of taste cell subtypes are unaltered in SpibKO mice; however, they displayed increased attraction to sweet and umami taste stimuli. We propose that taste cells are involved in immune surveillance and may tune their taste responses to microbial signaling and infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-inflammation and anti-coagulation are the primary requirements for cardiovascular stents and also the widely accepted trajectory for multi-functional modification. In this work, we proposed an extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimetic coating for cardiovascular stents with the amplified functionalization of recombinant humanized collagen type III (rhCOL III), where the biomimetics were driven by structure mimicry and component/function mimicry. Briefly, the structure-mimic was constructed by the formation of a nanofiber (NF) structure via the polymerization of polysiloxane with a further introduction of amine groups as the nanofibrous layer. The fiber network could function as a three-dimensional reservoir to support the amplified immobilization of rhCoL III. The rhCOL III was tailored for anti-coagulant, anti-inflammatory and endothelialization promotion properties, which endows the ECM-mimetic coating with desired surface functionalities. Stent implantation in the abdominal aorta of rabbits was conducted to validate the in vivo re-endothelialization of the ECM-mimetic coating. The mild inflammatory responses, anti-thrombotic property, promotion of endothelialization and suppression of excessive neointimal hyperplasia confirmed that the ECM-mimetic coating provided a promising approach for the modification of vascular implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste perception, initiated by activation of taste receptors in taste bud cells, is crucial for regulating nutrient intake. Genetic polymorphisms in taste receptor genes cannot fully explain the wide individual variations of taste sensitivity. Alternative splicing (AS) is a ubiquitous posttranscriptional mode of gene regulation that enriches the functional diversity of proteins. Here, we report the identification of a novel splicing variant of sweet taste receptor gene Tas1r2 (Tas1r2_∆e4) in mouse taste buds and the mechanism by which it diminishes sweet taste responses in vitro and in vivo. Skipping of Tas1r2 exon 4 in Tas1r2_∆e4 led to loss of amino acids in the extracellular Venus flytrap domain, and the truncated isoform reduced the response of sweet taste receptors (STRs) to all sweet compounds tested by generating nonfunctional T1R2/T1R3 STR heterodimers. The splicing factor PTBP1 (polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1) promoted Tas1r2_∆e4 generation through binding to a polypyrimidine-rich splicing silencer in Tas1r2 exon 4, thus decreasing STR function and sweet taste perception in mice. Taken together, these data reveal the existence of a regulated AS event in Tas1r2 expression and its effect on sweet taste perception, providing a novel mechanism for modulating taste sensitivity at the posttranscriptional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4‐(2‐Chlorobenzyl)‐1‐(furan‐2‐yl)‐[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3‐a]quinazolin‐5(4H)‐one is a triazoloquinazolinone compound with broad‐spectrum biological activity. In this study, the four‐step method was used to synthesize the title compound, and its structure was confirmed by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), 13‐carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy (MS). Further, its single crystal was characterized by X‐ray diffraction. The density functional theory was used to calculate the optimal structure of the molecule. The results demonstrated that the analyzed structure was consistent with the crystal structure determined by single‐crystal diffraction. In addition, discrete Fourier transform was used to study the molecular electrostatic potential and Frontier molecular orbital of the title compound, revealing a few of the compound's physicochemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel series of triazoloquinazolinone derivatives were designed, synthesised, and evaluated for their in vitro biological activities against the SHP2 protein. Moreover, some compounds were evaluated against A375 cells. The results revealed that target compounds possessed moderate to excellent inhibitory activity against SHP2 protein, whereas compounds 12f, 12l, 12j, 17e, and 17f have strong antiproliferative activity on A375 cells. The compound 12l showed remarkable cytotoxicity against A375 cells and a strong inhibitory effect against SHP2 protein when compared with SHP244. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) indicated that electron-donating groups (EDGs) on phenyl rings are beneficial for improving the antitumor activity; compounds with a hydroxyl substituent at the 2-position of phenyl ring exhibited superior activities than compounds with a substituent at the 4-position. In addition, compound 12l displayed improved physicochemical properties as well as metabolic stability compared to SHP244. Our efforts identified 12l as a promising SHP2 protein inhibitor, warranting its further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic administration of caffeine on the anatomical characteristics of taste buds, the expression level of taste receptor protein in mice, and preference for a palatable solution. We found that following a 21-day administration of caffeine, mice showed increased behavioural responses to sweet stimuli (acesulfame-K solution). Mirroring this behavioural change, chronic caffeine treatment evidently decreased the maximal cross-sectional area and height of the longitudinal axis of fungiform taste buds, the number of taste cells per fungiform taste bud, and the expression of G protein α-gustducin, while the expression of the sweet taste receptors T1R2 and T1R3 was reversed. Our findings demonstrate that chronic administration of caffeine has an impact on taste sensitivity and changes in taste bud features, which may contribute to the alteration of taste behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Sour taste perception builds on both chemical and physiological foundations, and plays an important role in food flavor, including that of fruit, beer, wine, and other beverages. A uniform sourness standard and sourness conversion method for researchers and food enterprises is necessary to obtain uniform conclusions. RESULTS: This study established an optimized organic acid sensory sourness analysis and sourness conversion method. It is based on sour sensory difference strength curves, which consist of an absolute threshold value and sensory difference threshold values. Defining the absolute threshold value of citric acid sourness as 1, sourness could be calculated according to the curve. With a logarithmic curve form, the acid sourness indexes (AI) were calculated as 1, 0.74, 0.77, 1.31, and 1.21 for citric, malic, fumaric, lactic, and tartaric acid samples, respectively. Consequently, each acid's sourness and concentration could be obtained and converted. Single acid and mixed acid sourness comparison evaluation's result implied that the novel method was more accurate (91.7–100%) than the hydrogen ion concentration method. CONCLUSION: The novel sourness determination and conversion equation would provide more accurate sourness standard and calculation method in food sensory areas. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mammals, multiple cell-signaling pathways and transcription factors regulate development of the embryonic taste system and turnover of taste cells in the adult stage. Using single-cell RNA-Seq of mouse taste cells, we found that the homeobox-containing transcription factor Nkx2-2, a target of the Sonic Hedgehog pathway and a key regulator of the development and regeneration of multiple cell types in the body, is highly expressed in type III taste cells but not in type II or taste stem cells. Using in situ hybridization and immunostaining, we confirmed that Nkx2-2 is expressed specifically in type III taste cells in the endoderm-derived circumvallate and foliate taste papillae but not in the ectoderm-derived fungiform papillae. Lineage tracing revealed that Nkx2 -2-expressing cells differentiate into type III, but not type II or type I cells in circumvallate and foliate papillae. Neonatal Nkx2-2 -knockout mice did not express key type III taste cell marker genes, while the expression of type II and type I taste cell marker genes were unaffected in these mice. Our findings indicate that Nkx2-2 -expressing cells are committed to the type III lineage and that Nkx2 -2 may be critical for the development of type III taste cells in the posterior tongue, thus illustrating a key difference in the mechanism of type III cell lineage specification between ectoderm- and endoderm-derived taste fields. [Display omitted] • Nkx2-2 is expressed in type III taste cells in endoderm-derived taste papillae. • Nkx2-2 expressing taste cells do not transdifferentiate into other taste cell types. • Mice lacking Nkx2-2 have reduced expression of type III taste cell marker genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]