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Byline: Tiemin. Jiang, Zongding. Wang, Tuerganaili. Aji, Bo. Ran, Qiang. Guo, Ruiqing. Zhang, Talaiti. Tuergan, Kai. Zhong, Yingmei. Shao, Wen. Hao Background: Hepatic cystic echinococcosis (HCE) rupture into the biliary [...]

With the continuous expansion of petroleum exploitation, a large amount of petroleum hydrocarbons has leaked into the Earth's soil, which seriously threatens ecological health. Hence, a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of natural attenuation (NA), rice husk (RH), and biochar derived from rice husk (RHBC) in enhancing the bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil. When the biodegradation time reached 100 d, the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) biodegradation amounts of NA, RH, and RHBC were 3688.2, 4557.9, and 5913.3 mg/kg, which was equal to the biodegradation efficiency of 32.8, 40.6, and 52.6%, respectively. Compared with NA and RH, the biodegradation efficiency of n-alkanes C11–C15 (C11 represents n-alkanes with 11 carbons, namely n-Hendecane) C16–C29, and C30–C40 in RHBC increased to 69.7~82.5%, 42.4~81.5%, and 30.2~48.1%, equivalent to 12.2~34.5%, 6.9~31.2%, and 13.5~37.1% more than NA and RH, respectively. Moreover, the half-life of biodegradation in RHBC was shorted to 83.3 d, equal to 49.7 and 67.9% of NA and RH, respectively. Furthermore, the application of RHBC could improve the dehydrogenase activity in soil and promote the growth and reproduction of petroleum-degrading bacteria (PDB), which enhances the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. This study exhibited that biochar formed from biomass pyrolysis is a potential biostimulator in enhancing the remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil by indigenous bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrin‐linked kinase (ILK) is crucial in solid tumors by regulating the Hippo‐Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP) pathway. This study aimed to uncover how Helicobacter pylori influences ILK levels and its role in regulating YAP during H. pylori‐induced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: GES‐1 cells with stable Ilk knockdown and overexpression and a mouse carcinogenesis model for H. pylori infection were constructed. And ILK, the phosphorylated mammalian STE20‐like protein kinase 1 (MST1), large tumor suppressor 1 (LATS1; S909, T1079), and YAP (S109, S127) were detected in cells, and mice by western blotting, as well as fluorescence intensity of YAP were assayed by immunofluorescence. YAP downstream genes Igfbp4 and Ctgf, the pathological changes and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐1beta (IL‐1β), and nitric oxide (NO) levels in mice gastric tissues were detected by real‐time PCR, H&E, and ELISA assays. Results: In this study, stable Ilk knockdown cells exhibited significantly higher phosphorylated levels of MST1, LATS1, and YAP, as well as increased YAP in the nuclei of GES‐1 cells. Conversely, cells with Ilk overexpression showed opposite results. H. pylori infection led to decreased ILK levels in gastric epithelial cells but increased ILK levels in gastric cancer cell lines (MGC803, SGC7901) and gastric cancer tissues in mice. Treatment with the ILK inhibitor OST‐T315 elevated the phosphorylated MST, LATS1, and YAP levels, and inhibited the mRNA levels of Igfbp4 and Ctgf at 44, 48 week‐aged mice. OST‐T315 also reduced the release of TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐1β, and NO, as well as the progression of gastric cancer caused by H. pylori and N‐Nitroso‐N‐methylurea (NMU) treatment. Conclusion: Upon initiation of gastric tumorigenesis signals, H. pylori increases ILK levels and suppresses Hippo signaling, thereby promoting YAP activation and gastric cancer progression. ILK can serve as a potential prevention target to impede H. pylori‐induced gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compounding Pisha sandstone (PSS) with sandy soil in Mu Us Sandy Land is a viable agronomical measure to effectively reduce soil erosion and improve soil quality due to the complementary characters and structures of the two materials. Aggregate stability is an important indicator to assess sandy soil erosion resistance and quality, which could be largely affected by soil surface electrochemical properties and particle interaction forces. However, the effect of the compound ratio and particle interaction forces on the aggregate stability of compound soils with Pisha sandstone and sandy soil is still unclear. Therefore, in this study, the electrochemical properties, particle interaction forces, and their effects on the aggregate stability of PSS and sandy soil at five volume ratios (0:1, 1:5, 1:2, 1:1, and 1:0) were determined to clarify the internal force mechanism of PSS to increase sandy soil structural stability in a 10-year field experiment. Experiments were measured by a combined method for the determination of surface properties and aggregate water stability. A ten-year field study revealed that the incorporation of Pisha sandstone significantly enhanced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) (p < 0.05), while the CEC value notably increased from 4.68 to 13.76 cmol·kg−1 (p < 0.05). The soil surface potential (absolute value) and the electric field intensity gradually decreased with the increase in the Pisha sandstone content. For the compound soil particle interaction force, the addition of Pisha sandstone enhanced the van der Waals attraction force, reduced the net repulsive force between compound soil particles, and promoted the agglomeration of aeolian sandy soil. The overall trend of the aggregate breaking strength of compound soils under different addition ratios of PSS was 1:0 > 1:1 > 0:1 > 1:5 > 1:2. When the Pisha sandstone content in the compound soils was <50%, the aggregate stability was mainly influenced by compound soil particle interaction forces, and the interaction force increase was the key reason for the aggregate breakdown. When the Pisha sandstone content in the compound soils was ≥50%, the aggregate stability was affected by the combined effects of the compound soil particle composition and particle interaction forces. These results indicate that PSS addition ratios and particle interaction force are important factors affecting the structural stability of compound soils, in which the volume ratio of PSS to sandy soil of 1:2 is the appropriate ratio. Our study provides some theoretical references for further understanding of the compound soil structure improvement and sandy soil erosion control in Mu Us Sandy Land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The luminescence property of various compounds is developed in the photoelectric applications field, while the near‐infrared (NIR) dual‐band emission of compounds is extremely challenging. Herein, 0D Cu(I)‐based organic–inorganic module (ETA)3Cu6I9 is synthesized to achieve NIR and cyan dual‐band emission in metal halide systems. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with comprehensive spectroscopic data reveal its emission mechanism. Under the excitation at 371 nm, (ETA)3Cu6I9 shows the broadband NIR emission peaking at 775 nm with a large wavelength, attributed to the triple‐cluster‐center (3CC) transition. Meanwhile, under 286 nm excitation, (ETA)3Cu6I9 shows a bright cyan emission peaking at 490 nm, attributed to the metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (MLCT) or halide‐to‐ligand charge transfer (XLCT) transitions. Moreover, (ETA)3Cu6I9 presents relatively superior thermal and air stability. Benefiting from the good stability of (ETA)3Cu6I9, the as‐fabricated NIR‐LED device demonstrates great potential in biological imaging and night vision. This study opens up a new way for designing new non‐toxic NIR and cyan dual‐band emission materials, which guides to synthesize new materials in metal halide field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]