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Inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and ferroptosis play important roles in diabetic nephropathy development. Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a transcriptional factor, which regulates multiple cell processes and is involved in diabetic nephropathy. Berberine has various biological activities, including anti-inflammation, antioxidative stress, and antiferroptosis. Berberine has been shown to inhibit diabetic nephropathy, but whether it involves KLF4 and ferroptosis remains unknown. We established a diabetic nephropathy mice model and administered berberine to the mice. The kidney function, renal structure and fibrosis, expression of KLF4 and DNA methylation enzymes, DNA methylation of the KLF4 promoter, mitochondria structure, and expression of oxidative stress and ferroptosis markers were analyzed. Berberine rescued kidney function and renal structure and prevented renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy mice. Berberine suppressed the expression of DNMT1 and DNMT2 and upregulated KLF4 expression by preventing KLF4 promoter methylation. Berberine inhibited the expression of oxidative stress and ferroptosis markers, maintained mitochondria structure, and prevented ferroptosis. Berberine ameliorates diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting Klf4 promoter methylation and ferroptosis.

Graphene-like materials are currently showing great potential in different fields, especially in energy storage. We synthesized N-GLC/MOF-74 by compositing nitrogen-doped graphene-like carbon (N-GLC) with MOF-74. A series of porous N-GLC/metal monolithic complexes (N-1, N-2, and N-3) were successfully synthesized by calcining the synthesized composites at different temperatures (300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C) under a nitrogen atmosphere. Characterization shows that the MOF is converted to metal monomers at high temperatures, whereas N-GLC does not change significantly. The Coulombic efficiency of N-1 reaches 97.3% after 4000 long cycles at 5 A g–1, indicating an improvement in the stability of the material. This work provides implications for the potential application of graphene-like derivatives in energy storage.

The continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has evaded the efficacy of previously developed antibodies and vaccines, thus remaining a significant global public health threat. Therefore, it is imperative to develop additional antibodies that are capable of neutralizing emerging variants. Nanobodies, as the smallest functional single-domain antibodies, exhibit enhanced stability and penetration ability, enabling them to recognize numerous concealed epitopes that are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. Herein, we constructed an immune library based on the immunization of alpaca with the S1 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, from which two nanobodies, Nb1 and Nb2, were selected using phage display technology for further characterization. Both nanobodies, with the binding residues residing within the receptor-binding domain (RBD) region of the spike, exhibited high affinity toward the S1 subunit. Moreover, they displayed cross-neutralizing activity against both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and 10 ο variants, including BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.5, BA.2.75, BF.7, BQ.1, EG.5.1, XBB.1.5, and JN.1. Molecular modeling and dynamics simulations predicted that both nanobodies interacted with the viral RBD through their complementarity determining region 1 (CDR1) and CDR2. These two nanobodies are novel tools for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic countermeasures targeting SARS-CoV-2 variants and potentially emerging coronaviruses.

Efficient charge carrier transport characteristics are critical to achieving the excellent performance of metal-oxide semiconductor gas sensors. Herein, SnO2/CeO2heterojunction layered nanosheets with abundant oxygen vacancies were successfully synthesized through a simple solvothermal assisted high-temperature calcination method. The synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and heterojunctions promoting the charge carrier transport properties at the SnO2/CeO2interface for the enhanced sensing properties of triethylamine (TEA) was highlighted. As a result, the optimized SnO2/CeO2exhibits improved gas sensing performance at 173 °C to 50 ppm of TEA. These include high response (205), excellent selectivity, low detection limit, and good long-term stability. This enhanced gas sensing property of SnO2/CeO2is mainly attributed to the fact that the heterojunction and oxygen vacancies act as dual active sites synergistically inducing electron transfer, thereby effectively modulating the transport properties of the interfacial charge carriers, and thus facilitate the surface reactions efficiently. In this work, the dual-engineering strategy of synergistic interaction of heterojunction and oxygen vacancies can provide new perspectives for the design of advanced gas sensing materials.

This paper numerically studied supersonic film cooling performance in a convergent divergent nozzle, for the purpose of exploring and extending the knowledge of high-efficient cooling techniques for exhaust nozzles in real working conditions. The work was conducted with a steady state RANS approach with the SST turbulence model. The boundary conditions were chosen to mimic a real engine condition. The slot height and the inlet pressure ratio were varied to investigate the effect of the geometrical condition and flow condition. The flow field was analyzed in detail to study the phenomena of the supersonic secondary flow injected into the transonic flow. Besides the cooling effectiveness, the thrust coefficient and the discharge coefficient for the cooling cases were discussed together with the baseline case, to evaluate the influence of the supersonic coolant injection on the nozzle performance. The work can be a basis for the design of cooling schemes in an aero-engine exhaust nozzle.

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) play a vital role in the regeneration of the pulp-dentin complex after pulp disease. While the regeneration efficiency relies on the odontoblastic differentiation capacity of hDPSCs, this is difficult to regulate within the pulp cavity. Although nicotinamide riboside (NR) has been found to promote tissue regeneration, its specific role in pulp-dentin complex regeneration is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to explore the role of NR in the odontoblastic differentiation of hDPSCs and its underlying molecular mechanism. It was found that NR enhanced the viability and retarded senescence in hDPSCs with higher NAD+/NADH levels. In contrast to the sustained action of NR, the multi-directional differentiation of hDPSCs was enhanced after NR pre-treatment. Moreover, in an ectopic pulp regeneration assay in nude mice, transplantation of hDPSCs pretreated with NR promoted the formation of a dentin-like structure surrounded by cells positively expressing DMP-1 and DSPP. RNA-Seq demonstrated inhibition of the HIF-1 signaling pathway in hDPSCs pretreated with NR. The number of HIF-1α-positive cells was significantly decreased in hDPSCs pretreated by NR in vivo. Similarly, NR significantly downregulated the expression of HIF-1α in vitro. The findings suggested that NR could potentially regulate hDPSC odontoblastic differentiation and promote the development of innovative strategies for dental pulp repair.Graphical Abstract

The gingiva is a key oral barrier that protects oral tissues from various stimuli. A loss of gingival tissue homeostasis causes periodontitis, one of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases in humans. The human gingiva exists as a complex cell network comprising specialized structures. To understand the tissue-specific pathophysiology of the gingiva, we applied a recently developed spatial enhanced resolution omics-sequencing (Stereo-seq) technique to obtain a spatial transcriptome (ST) atlas of the gingiva in healthy individuals and periodontitis patients. By utilizing Stereo-seq, we identified the major cell types present in the gingiva, which included epithelial cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and immune cells, as well as subgroups of epithelial cells and immune cells. We further observed that inflammation-related signalling pathways, such as the JAK-STAT and NF-κB signalling pathways, were significantly upregulated in the endothelial cells of the gingiva of periodontitis patients compared with those of healthy individuals. Additionally, we characterized the spatial distribution of periodontitis risk genes in the gingiva and found that the expression of IFI16 was significantly increased in endothelial cells of inflamed gingiva. In conclusion, our Stereo-seq findings may facilitate the development of innovative therapeutic strategies for periodontitis by mapping periodontitis-relevant genes and pathways and effector cells.

We present some formulae related to the Chern-Ricci curvatures and scalar curvatures of special Hermitian metrics. We prove that a compact locally conformal Kähler manifold with constant nonpositive holomorphic sectional curvature is Kähler. We also give examples of complete non-Kähler metrics with pointwise negative constant but not globally constant holomorphic sectional curvature, and complete non-Kähler metrics with zero holomorphic sectional curvature and nonvanishing curvature tensors.

Due to the openness of wireless networks, cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) is extremely vulnerable to attacks by spectrum sensing data falsification (SSDF) as the core part of cognitive radio. To ensure data security for spectrum sensing, this paper proposes a soft byzantine attack with a variable attack probability (VAP) model, where the attackers change the attack probability continuously according to their trust value through cooperation. In this model, the attackers are classified into primary attackers (PA) and cooperative attackers (CA). The CAs are restricted to passively receiving the attack report of the PAs, thus reducing the attack cost. Under the VAP model, there is a catastrophic blow struck against many of the existing trust defence algorithms when using SSDF for constantly changing the attack parameters and for the cooperating attacks. Therefore, a frequency change rate (FCR) defence algorithm is proposed based on the frequency of change of the trust value in the traditional algorithm. PA and CA can be eliminated by the FCR algorithm, and it can ensure that large quantities of honest users with perceptual errors will not be eliminated. In the system simulation process performed with Python, the model and the defence algorithm are taken into consideration. Compared with the traditional static attack model, the VAP attack model proposed in this study is more destructive to the channel, which renders the traditional trust algorithm invalid. Both the PA and CA are distinctive for their use of the FCR algorithm. Compared with the traditional trust algorithm, the trust value of the attackers is effectively reduced, with the final detection probability improved by approximately 40%. Moreover, the detection probability is improved by approximately 20% when compared with the no-defence algorithm.

Waste foundry sand (WFS), a by-product of the casting industry, is a potential material that may be employed as a substitute for fine aggregate in concrete. In the present study, gene expression programming (GEP) and multi-expression programming (MEP) are used to generate predictive models for the split tensile strength (STS) and elastic modulus (E) of waste foundry sand concrete (WFSC). Therefore, a comprehensive database was collected that contains 146 and 242 values of Eand STS, respectively. Seven different variables were chosen as input for the development of the ML-based models. The reliability and accuracy of the proposed model were evaluated by using various statistical indicators. Given the performance assessment, both GEP and MEP accurately predict the Ewith a correlation of 0.994 and 0.996, respectively. However, GEP performance was much superior in predicting STS(R = 0.987) as compared to the MEP model (R = 0.892). The integrated statistical performance (ρ, OF) of both models approaches zero, indicating the excellent performance and generalization potential of the developed models. For the interpretation of machine learning (ML) models, Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) was used to know about the input variables' importance and influence on the output parameter. The SHAP analysis revealed that a higher ratio of FA/TA results in the enhancement of the elastic modulus, whereas CA/C higher ratio is favorably influencing the split tensile strength up to some extent, however, this trend changes when the ratio is further increased. These soft computing prediction techniques can incentivize the use of WFS in sustainable concrete, reducing waste disposal and promoting environment-friendly construction. Furthermore, it is recommended that the findings of this study be validated with more extensive data sets and that other ML techniques be investigated.

Purpose: Tactile brain-computer interfaces can be used to express control intentions, avoiding motor imagery difficulties and visual fatigue. Tactile BCI has the problems of poor reproducibility and unclear features in applications. For further applications, a single-trial analysis of tactile-evoked P300 experiments is needed. Methods: A brain-computer interface for single-trial analysis of vibrotactile stimulation-evoked P300 is proposed. It uses the combination of frequency and time period information as the feature extraction method and uses the maximum value of the most significant EEG channel as the input of the classifier to identify the control intention of the subject and use it to control the lower limb robot. Results: The online experimental results show that online classification accuracy can reach 89.35 ± 4.86%, which realizes the closed loop of human neural motor rehabilitation. In addition, Subject 9, an elderly person, achieves an online accuracy rate of 83.33%. Conclusion: A brain-computer interface based on the haptic-evoked P300 is developed and applied to control a lower limb rehabilitation robot. The classification results of an elderly individual verify the feasibility of the method.

ABSTRACTSimultaneous measurement of multiple modalities in single-cell analysis, represented by CITE-seq, is a promising approach to link transcriptional changes to cellular phenotype and function, requiring new computational methods to define cellular subtypes and states based on multiple data types. Here, we design a flexible single-cell multimodal analysis framework, called CITEMO, to integrate the transcriptome and antibody-derived tags (ADT) data to capture cell heterogeneity from the multi omics perspective. CITEMO uses Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to obtain a low-dimensional representation of the transcriptome and ADT, respectively, and then employs PCA again to integrate these low-dimensional multimodal data for downstream analysis. To investigate the effectiveness of the CITEMO framework, we apply CITEMO to analyse the cell subtypes of Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells (CBMC) samples. Results show that the CITEMO framework can comprehensively analyse single-cell multimodal samples and accurately identify cell subtypes. Besides, we find some specific immune cells that co-express multiple ADT markers. To better describe the co-expression phenomenon, we introduce the co-expression entropy to measure the heterogeneous distribution of the ADT combinations. To further validate the robustness of the CITEMO framework, we analyse Human Bone Marrow Cell (HBMC) samples and identify different states of the same cell type. CITEMO has an excellent performance in identifying cell subtypes and states for multimodal omics data. We suggest that the flexible design idea of CITEMO can be an inspiration for other single-cell multimodal tasks. The complete source code and dataset of the CITEMO framework can be obtained from https://github.com/studentiz/CITEMO.

Electroactive membranes have the potential to address membrane fouling via electrokinetic phenomena. However, additional energy consumption and complex material design represent chief barriers to achieving sustainable and economically viable antifouling performance. Herein, we present a novel strategy for fabricating a piezoelectric antifouling polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Pi-UFM) by integrating the ion–dipole interactions (NaCl coagulation bath) and mild poling (in situ electric field) into a one-step phase separation process. This Pi-UFM with an intact porous structure could be self-powered in a typical ultrafiltration (UF) process via the responsivity to pressure stimuli, where the dominant β-PVDF phase and the out-of-plane aligned dipoles were demonstrated to be critical to obtain piezoelectricity. By challenging with different feed solutions, the Pi-UFM achieved enhanced antifouling capacity for organic foulants even with high ionic strength, suggesting that electrostatic repulsion and hydration repulsion were behind the antifouling mechanism. Furthermore, the TMP-dependent output performance of the Pi-UFM in both air and water confirmed its ability for converting ambient mechanical energy to in situ surface potential (ζ), demonstrating that this antifouling performance was a result of the membrane electromechanical transducer actions. Therefore, this study provides useful insight and strategy to enable piezoelectric materials for membrane filtration applications with energy efficiency and extend functionalities.

The multi‐camera calibration is an essential step for many spatially aware applications, such as robotic navigation, augmented reality, and 3D human pose estimation. Traditional calibration methods use off‐the‐shelf checkerboards or triangles as the known world coordinate system and their corresponding corners are set as control points, which heavily depends on specific calibration patterns and is not suitable for calibration pattern‐denied environments. In this paper, an automatic calibration method is proposed to calibrate the multi‐camera system without the aid of a known calibration pattern. The key idea of the proposed method is that the authors consider the human body, which is always available, as the counterpart of the calibration pattern. The authors’ approach starts with binocular camera calibration, in which the extrinsic and intrinsic parameters are calculated in order and followed by a joint optimisation. With the results of each pair of binocular camera calibration, the multi‐camera system calibration is carried out in three steps: (i) parameters initialisation, (ii) extrinsic parameters optimisation, and (iii) jointly optimising intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. Since the authors’ approach does not require additional calibration patterns except for one visible person, it is flexible and easy to be implemented. Real experiments are conducted in different scenes, camera angles, and camera settings. Human pose estimation with the multi‐camera system is additionally performed for exhaustive experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the authors’ method shows superior performance than the traditional method with the aid of a specific calibration pattern.

Vital Pulp Therapy Vital pulp therapy for pulpitis teeth remains a substantial challenge due to uncontrolled infection, excessive inflammation, and limited regenerative potential. A multifunctional hydrogel co‐assembled with antimicrobial peptide and demineralized dentin matrix is designed to eliminate endodontic pathogens, pacify pulpal inflammation, and induce the regeneration of the dentin‐pulp complex, which provides a biological paradigm for the treatment of pulpitis. More details can be found in article 2303709by Xuetao Shi, Zhengmei Lin, Xianling Gao, and co‐workers.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to a severe permanent disability. A poor inflammatory microenvironment and nerve electric signal conduction block are the main reasons for difficulty in spinal cord nerve regeneration. In this study, black phosphorus (BP) and glycyrrhizic acid (GA) are integrated into methacrylate‐modified silk fibroin (SF) to construct a bifunctional injectable hydrogel (SF/BP/GA) with appropriate conductivity and the ability to inhibit inflammation to promote neuronal regeneration after SCI. This work discovers that the SF/BP/GA hydrogel can reduce the oxidative damage mediated by oxygen free radicals, promote the polarization of macrophages toward the anti‐inflammatory M2 phenotype, reduce the expression of inflammatory factors, and improve the inflammatory microenvironment. Moreover, it induces neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation and neurosphere formation, restores signal conduction at the SCI site in vivo, and ameliorates motor function in mice with spinal cord hemisection, revealing a significant neural repair effect. An injectable, electroconductive, free‐radical‐scavenging hydrogel is a promising therapeutic strategy for SCI repair. An injectable silk fibroin (SF)/black phosphorus (BP)/glycyrrhizic acid (GA) nanocomposite hydrogel with appropriate conductivity and anti‐inflammatory properties is developed for spinal cord repair. This free radical‐scavenging hydrogel can reduce the inflammatory level at the injury site, promote neural differentiation and neurosphere formation, improve motor function, and enhance therapeutic effects after spinal cord injury.

In this article, an advanced observer-based finite-time trajectory tracking controller is investigated for lower extremity exoskeleton without available joint angular velocities to improve the movement ability of dependent persons, which is robust against uncertain dynamics, human active joint torque and external disturbances. First, the Lagrange principle is applied to analyze the dynamic properties of lower extremity exoskeleton driven by artificial pneumatic muscles, and its swing phase model is established. After that, a novel finite-time extended state observer is proposed to observe the lumped disturbances and unavailable angular velocities of the lower limb exoskeleton simultaneously. Furthermore, a finite-time sliding mode controller of exoskeleton is designed based on the extended state observer, and the finite-time convergence of tracking error is rigorously demonstrated based on the Lyapunov theory. Finally, the control system simulation is established and experimental tests are conducted with a voluntary subject during flexion of wearer’s knee and hip joints, the obtained results demonstrate fast and high-precision tracking performance of the proposed approach.

Byline: Chuan. Shen, Lingling. Chen, Jiangtao. Fu, Hongbin. Lin Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) in locoregionally advanced [...]

This article proposes a new adaptive sliding mode repetitive learning control strategy. The proposed controller can obtain satisfactory position tracking performance in the presence of unknown dynamics and external disturbance. The unknown dynamics parameters of the exoskeleton system can be estimated via an adaptive algorithm, which is used to design the sliding mode control law. Besides, the periodic external disturbance of the system can be compensated by repetitive learning to reduce the tracking error. The stability of the proposed method is demonstrated rigorous by the Lyapunov theory. Using an upper-limb exoskeleton model, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy. The proposed method has a better control performance than other methods.

Surface instability of elastomers is of great interest in engineering science, especially in the characterization of flexible electronic materials and the manufacture of micro-nano surface topography. There is limited research on how the geometry of the block affects wrinkle appearance in a multiphysics environment. In this paper, we formulate the boundary-value problem and its incremental forms to analyze the sinusoidal surface instability of a neo-Hookean dielectric block subjected to electromechanical loads. We discover that the competition between the Maxwell stress, induced by the voltage, and the mechanical stress caused by the stretch, plays a crucial role in inducing surface wrinkling. Furthermore, we find that the aspect ratio of the block can modify the critical value of the combination of voltage and pre-stretch required for wrinkling. In addition to this, the aspect ratio also affects the shape of the wrinkling. Specifically, if the elastomer block has a smaller aspect ratio, its sinusoidal wrinkling will have a larger wavenumber. Our paper enhances the understanding of surface instability in electrostrictive elastomers and provides guidance on triggering it without breaking down the elastomer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lower limb exoskeleton provides assistance by following the lower limb joints’ desired motion trajectory. However, angle control is not enough to meet the requirements in some special circumstances such as encountering obstacles. In the swing phase of the attached leg with the exoskeleton, there is a different contact force between the sole and the road surface in different road conditions. Therefore, it is particularly important to control the joint angle and contact force simultaneously, that is, it is not only necessary to follow the desired angle but also to minimize the influence of external contact force. In this article, a novel scheme is proposed to adjust the trajectory dynamically in the swing phase. First of all, the physical model is streamlined and the Lagrangian principle is carried out to dynamic analysis and established a model of lower limb exoskeleton in the swing phase. Furthermore, the angle dynamics equation is transformed into a Cartesian coordinate system to calculate the end contact force for the impedance model. Finally, the impedance control strategy together with a disturbance observer is designed which is suitable for nonlinear and strong coupling characteristics. The simulation result shows that the control system can follow the angle accurately in the condition of minimizing external constraints. Hardware experiment shows that lower extremity exoskeleton can adjust motion trajectory actively when encountering obstacles and complete the movement trajectory tracking at the same time.

Dryopteris crassirhizomadryocrassin ABBA is a kind of phloroglucinol compound isolated from the whole plants of Dryopteris crassirhizoma. While previous studies have shown that dryocrassin ABBA induces various defence responses in potato tubers, limited information is known about the mechanism of dryocrassin ABBA-induced plant responses. The transcriptome profiles in potato tubers after treatment with dryocrassin ABBA or distilled water were analysed using RNA-Seq. The profiling analysis revealed a total of 37 million clean reads and 3252 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The data were further confirmed by real-time PCR. The results suggest that dryocrassin ABBA treatment enhances resistance in potatoes, which may be primarily mediated by the salicylic acid (SA) signal pathway, while the jasmonic acid (JA), the ethylene (ET) and the abscisic acid (ABA) signal pathways effectively induce resistance in potatoes. Moreover, the transcripts related to flavonoid metabolism were also up-regulated in potatoes after dryocrassin ABBA treatment, demonstrating that secondary metabolites are related to the constitutive activation of the defence response in dryocrassin ABBA-treated potatoes. These findings reveal that the induced resistance of dryocrassin ABBA is related tomultiple signaling pathways and defence components to enhance host defence responses in potato tubers.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for energy storage applications require a large discharge energy density and high discharge/charge efficiency under high electric fields. Here, 0.87BaTiO3-0.13Bi(Zn2/3(Nb0.85Ta0.15)1/3)O3(BTBZNT) MLCCs with double active dielectric layers were fabricated, and the effects of inner electrode and sintering method on the energy storage properties of BTBZNT MLCCs were investigated. By using the pure Pt as inner electrode instead of Ag0.6Pd0.4alloys, an alternating current (AC) breakdown strength (BDS) enhancement from 1047 to 1500 kV/cm was achieved. By investigating the leakage current behavior of BTBZNT MLCCs, the Pt inner electrode and two-step sintering method (TSS) were confirmed to enhance the Schottky barrier and minimize the leakage current density. With relatively high permittivity, dielectric sublinearity, and ultra-high BDS, the Pt TSS BTBZNT MLCCs exhibited a surprisingly discharge energy density (Udis) of 14.08 J/cm3. Moreover, under an operating electric field of 400 kV/cm, the MLCCs also exhibited thermal stability with Udisvariation < ±8% over a wide temperature (t) range from -50 to 175 °C and cycling reliability with Udisreduction < 0.3% after 3000 charge-discharge cycles. These remarkable performances make Pt TSS BTBZNT MLCCs promising for energy storage applications.

As a star ligand, the construction of coordination polymers (CPs) based on tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)ethylene (H4TCPE) has drawn much attention, due to not only the various coordination configurations but also the intriguing chromophore feature causing aggregation-induced emission (AIE). Herein, by the solvothermal reaction of H4TCPEas connected nodes with lanthanide La(III) salts, the first example of the La(III)-TCPE-based CP (1) has been obtained. The structural analyses indicate that 1exhibits a 3D framework connected by the sharing carboxylate groups with two kinds of 1D rhombic channels when viewed along the cdirection. The photophysical properties of 1have been explored by luminescence, photoluminescence decay, and quantum yield in the solid state. 1shows strong luminescence in tetrahydrofuran that was attributed to a “pseudo-AIE process” and sensitive and selective sensing activity of Fe3+toward metal ions via the obvious luminescent quenching. The sensing mechanism has been investigated and reveals a synergetic effect of the competitive absorption and weak interactions between 1and Fe3+. Moreover, the high porosity, multiple conjugated π-electrons within the tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)ethylene backbone, and the uncoordinated carboxyl oxygen sites in this material also provide the capacity for iodine adsorption. The adsorption experiments indicate that 1could efficiently remove almost complete I2from the cyclohexane solution after 24 h contact time with an adsorption capacity of 690 mg/g toward I2.

The strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite (SrHA) is a commonly used material in bone regeneration for its good osteoconductivity and high alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Scaffolds used in bone defects require a high compressive modulus. However, the SrHA nanoparticle-doped scaffold cannot properly fit the required mechanical properties. Therefore, a lot of effort has been used to fabricate synthetic bone scaffolds with biocompatibility, suitable mechanical properties, antibacterial ability and osteoconductivity. Here, we used a facile hydrothermal method to synthesize graphene oxide (GO)-reinforced SrHA nanoparticles. The incorporation of GO can be used as nucleation and growth active sites of hydroxyapatite. In addition, GO is easy to self-assemble into a layered structure in the dispersion, which can effectively regulate the deposition of hydroxyapatite on the surface of GO. The scaffold was fabricated using a freeze-drying method by incorporating SrHA/GO nanoparticles into chitosan (CS) and quaternized chitosan (QCS) mixed solutions. The compressive modulus of the CS/QCS/SrHA/GO scaffold reached 438.5 kPa, which was 4-fold higher than that of the CS/QCS scaffold. The CS/QCS/SrHA/GO scaffold exhibited significantly higher in vitromineralization levels and ALP activity. In vivorat skull repair indicated that the CS/QCS/SrHA/GO scaffold had a significant role in promoting bone regeneration. This study provides a new strategy for modifying hydroxyapatite to satisfy the biomedical demand of bone tissue engineering scaffolds.

Use of nanomaterials (NMs) to improve plant abiotic stress tolerance (AST)is a hot topic in NM-enabled agriculture. Previous studies mainly focused on the physiological and biochemical responses of plants treated with NMs under abiotic stress. To use NMs for improving plant AST, it is necessary to understand how they act on this tolerance at the omics and epigenetics levels. In this review, we summarized the knowledge of NM-improved abiotic stress tolerance in relation to omics (such as metabolic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and microRNA), DNA methylation, and histone modifications. Overall, NMs can improve plant abiotic stress tolerance through the modulation at omics and epigenetics levels.

High glucose condition inhibited osteoblast differentiation could be a main mechanism contributing to the decreased bone repair associated with diabetes. Metformin, a widely prescribed antidiabetic drug, was shown to have osteogenic properties in our previous study. Transplanted mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may differentiate into osteoblasts and promote bone regeneration. Our study aimed to combine the benefits of metformin and MSCs transplantation on osteogenesis in high glucose conditions. We developed demineralized dentin matrix (DDM) as a carrier to target deliver metformin and dental pulp-derived MSCs (DPSCs). We collected clinically discarded teeth, isolated DPSCs from the dental pulp, and prepared the DDM from the dentin. The DDM was observed by scanning electron microscopy and was found to have well-distributed tubes. Then, metformin was loaded into the DDM to form the DDM–Met complex (DDM–Met); DDM–Met released metformin at a favorable concentration. The DPSCs seeded with the DDM–Met in a high glucose medium showed satisfactory attachment and viability together with increased mineralization and upregulated osteogenesis-related genes, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), and osteopontin (OPN). A possible mechanism of the enhanced osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs was explored, and the adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway was found to play a role in the enhancement of osteogenesis. DDM–Met appeared to be a successful metformin and DPSC carrier that allowed for the local delivery of metformin and DPSCs in high glucose conditions. DDM–Met–DPSC construct has promising prospects to promote osteogenesis and enhance the much-needed diabetic bone regeneration.

Implant-related bacterial infections are one of the most common but tricky problems in orthopedic clinics because the formation of biofilms inhibits the penetration of antibiotics to kill bacteria effectively; thus, a new strategy is urgently needed. Antibacterial nanomaterials [e.g., copper (Cu)-based nanoparticles (NPs)] combined with near-infrared (NIR) irradiation show enhanced antibacterial activity against clinical bacteria. However, their antibacterial efficiency toward implant-related infections and against biofilm formation remains unclear. Here, unique polyethylene glycol-modified Cu9S8NPs with good biocompatibility were synthesized. We found that the Cu9S8NPs exhibited high photothermal performance and could increase the generation of reactive oxygen species under NIR irradiation (808 nm, 1 W cm–2). The Cu9S8NPs with NIR irradiation successfully destroyed the bacterial structure, resulting in the death of the clinically derived Staphylococcus aureusgrowing on titanium (Ti) plates. Moreover, this excellent antibacterial activity was indicated to have a synergistic effect with photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) by comparison to Cu9S8with heating treatment in a water bath with similar temperature changes compared to NIR + Cu9S8. Finally, the biofilm formation on the Ti plates was effectively disrupted by NIR + Cu9S8treatment, while Cu9S8with thermal treatment showed a mild impact. Hence, Cu9S8NP-based PTT and PDT can provide a promising approach to eliminating implant-related bacteria and disrupting bacterial biofilms.

Exosomes are important mediators of intercellular communication and have a vital part in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in humans. Here, we investigated the benefits and underlying mechanism of exosomes secreted via stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED-derived exosomes) in promoting alveolar bone regeneration, thus providing new insights into exosome-based therapy for periodontitis. SHED-derived exosomes were isolated by ultracentrifugation. The impacts of SHED-derived exosomes on the angiogenic ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the osteogenic capability of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were evaluated in vitro. Compound C, a pharmacological blocker of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), was used to examine the role of the AMPK signaling cascade in these processes. Periodontal defect rat models were established and treated with PBS, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), or a grouping of exosomes/β-TCP. Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) scanning, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, Masson staining, and immunofluorescence staining were done to inspect the impacts of the exosomes/β-TCP combination on periodontal bone regeneration. Our outcomes indicated that the expression of angiogenesis-related genes (KDR, SDF-1, and FGF2), osteogenesis-related genes (COL1, RUNX2, and OPN), and phosphorylated (p)-AMPK were upregulated after treatment with exosomes, while the positive impacts of SHED-derived exosomes on HUVECs and BMSCs were partially reversed by compound C. Micro-CT analysis demonstrated that the exosomes/β-TCP group exhibited better bone regeneration than either the β-TCP group or the control group. Additionally, the results of HE and Masson staining as well as immunofluorescence staining showed neovascularization and new bone formation in the exosomes/β-TCP group but only limited new bone formation in the other two groups. Thus, SHED-derived exosomes contribute to periodontal bone regeneration by promoting neovascularization and new bone formation, possibly through the AMPK signaling pathway.

Melatonin acts as a crucial signaling molecule with multiple physiological functions in plant response to abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the impact and regulatory mechanism of melatonin on attenuating tomato fruit fungal decay are unclear. In this study, we investigated the potential roles of melatonin in modulating fruit resistance to Botrytis cinereaand explored related physiological and molecular mechanisms. The results revealed that disease resistance was strongly enhanced by melatonin treatment, and 50 μM was confirmed as the best concentration. Melatonin treatment increased the activities of defense-related enzymes and decreased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content with enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities. Moreover, we found that melatonin treatment increased methyl jasmonate (MeJA) content; up-regulated the expressions of SlLoxD, SlAOC, and SlPI II; and reduced the expressions of SlMYC2and SlJAZ1. We postulated that melatonin played a positive role in tomato fruit resistance to Botrytis cinereathrough regulating H2O2level and JA signaling pathway.

For the parallel external fixator, there are some defects, such as uneven distraction rate, unbearable pain and uncontrollable movement trajectory in practical clinical applications. In order to solve the problems, a new deformity correction algorithm, which is used to calculate the elongation of the six struts, is developed. Meanwhile, the corresponding computer software for getting the electronic prescription is developed. First, the trajectory of the moving bone is planned by Cartesian coordinate path control. Next, the prescription is obtained from the trajectory by the inverse pose solution algorithm. Finally, the genetic algorithm is utilized to optimize the achieved prescription. From the year of 2015 to 2018, twenty-three patients with complicated tibia deformity are treated by using parallel external fixator and the developed computer software. All patients have standing, patella-forward, full-length post-operative AP and lateral radiographs of the lower limbs with the complete proximal ring for getting the deformity parameters and frame parameters. These parameters are input into the computer software to calculate a daily prescription schedule for strut adjustment. Radiographs are taken regularly to determine the effects of recovery during the correction process. The mean time of follow-up is 18 months (range 11–40 months). All patients reach the requirements for deformity correction, and their symptoms and appearance are improved significantly. No cases of wound infections or complications occur, and no severe pain came as well during the correction process. By using the computer-aided parallel external fixator for the correction of lower limb deformities, satisfactory outcomes can be achieved. Hence, this method greatly improved the treatment of these patients in a clinical application.

The avascular necrosis of the femoral head represents the death of bone tissue due to the lack of blood supply. The disease has a progressive evolution; it leads to femoral head collapse and severe arthritis when left untreated. The application of a pedicled bone flap graft is an effective treatment for femoral head necrosis. A pure Mg screw is a kind of degradable screw that can fix the grafted bone flap and prevent long-term stress occlusion and secondary dissection.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV), an infection that is endemic in certain parts of Asia, Africa, and South America, has been associated with malignancy and neurological deficits. Here, we describe a pediatric patient with chronic HTLV-I infection who developed complications associated with HTLV-I (ie, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis). To our knowledge, this presentation in a child has never been described. The patient underwent a bone marrow transplant and, at the time of this writing, was in remission. This case report highlights the fact that HTLV-related complications, previously expected to occur after decades of infection, also can occur in pediatric patients, particularly those who acquired HTLV-I perinatally.

Fruiting bodies that exhibit strong autolysis of Coprinopsis cinereaare a good resource for the chitinolytic system. In this study, a new Chitinase ChiE1 from C. cinereawas cloned, heterologously expressed, and characterized. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that ChiE1 is an exochitinase with a processive mode of action. Although ChiE1 contains only a single catalytic domain without a binding domain, it can bind to and degrade insoluble chitin powder and colloidal chitin. The combination of ChiE1 and C. cinereaendochitinase ChiIII could increase the amount of reducing sugar released from chitin powder by approximately 120% compared to using ChiE1 and ChiIII alone. The synergistic action of ChiE1 and ChiIII on degradation of chitin powder is higher than all previously reported synergism of chitinases. The recombinant Chitinase ChiE1 expressed in Pichia pastorismay be used as a synergistic chitinase for a reconstituted chitinolytic system for agricultural, biological, and environmental applications.

Periodontitis is initiated by the infection of periodontal bacteria and subsequent tissue inflammation due to immunoreaction, eventually leading to periodontal apparatus loss. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) have exhibited beneficial characteristics in dental tissue regeneration. However, the immunomodulatory functions of SHEDs have not been elucidated in the context of periodontitis treatment. In this study, we investigated the potential immunomodulatory effects of SHEDs on experimental periodontitis and demonstrated that multidose delivery of SHEDs led to periodontal tissue regeneration. SHEDs and monocytes/macrophages were cocultured in transwell systems and SHEDs were found to be capable of promoting monocyte/macrophage conversion to CD206+M2-like phenotype. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was employed to assess the survival and distribution of SHEDs after delivery in periodontal tissues in an induced periodontitis model, and BLI revealed that SHEDs survived for ∼7 days in periodontal tissues with little tissue diffusion. Then, multidose SHED delivery was applied to treat periodontitis at 7-day intervals. Results showed that mutidose SHEDs altered the cytokine expression profile in gingival crevicular fluid, reduced gum bleeding, increased new attachment of periodontal ligament, and decreased osteoclast differentiation. Micro-computed tomography analysis showed SHED administration significantly increased periodontal regeneration and alveolar bone volume, and decreased distance of cementoenamel junction to alveolar bone crest. Furthermore, an increase in the number of CD206+M2 macrophages was observed in periodontal tissues following the delivery of SHEDs, which aligned well with the promoted conversion to CD206+M2-like cells from monocytes/macrophages in vitroafter stimulation by SHEDs. This study demonstrated in a rat periodontitis model that local delivery of SHEDs attributed to the induction of M2 macrophage polarization, reduction of periodontal tissue inflammation, and enhancement of periodontal regeneration.

DNA N6-methyladenine (6mA) is a non-canonical DNA modification that is present at low levels in different eukaryotes1–8, but its prevalence and genomic function in higher plants are unclear. Using mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation and validation with analysis of single-molecule real-time sequencing, we observed that about 0.2% of all adenines are 6mA methylated in the rice genome. 6mA occurs most frequently at GAGG motifs and is mapped to about 20% of genes and 14% of transposable elements. In promoters, 6mA marks silent genes, but in bodies correlates with gene activity. 6mA overlaps with 5-methylcytosine (5mC) at CG sites in gene bodies and is complementary to 5mC at CHH sites in transposable elements. We show that OsALKBH1 may be potentially involved in 6mA demethylation in rice. The results suggest that 6mA is complementary to 5mC as an epigenomic mark in rice and reinforce a distinct role for 6mA as a gene expression-associated epigenomic mark in eukaryotes. This study provides a map of N6-methyladenine in the rice genome, examines its association with gene expression and 5-methylcytosine and reports a potential demethylase for this epigenomic mark.

The shuttle effect of polysulfide and slow reaction kinetics has hindered the commercialization of lithium–sulfur batteries. Here, metal organic framework (MOF)-derived nitrogen-doped carbon was used as templates, and the continuous interspersed filamentary network structure of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was used as a modifier to synthesize Co-NC@MWCNT. The exposure of Co-MOF with a high density of catalytic sites in the pores effectively improves the sulfur stability capacity of the composite and inhibits the shuttle effect. The outermost layer of coated MWCNTs and the intermediate layer of N-doped porous carbon effectively protected the Co2+active site of the dodecahedral configuration from easy deactivation and agglomeration. The prepared Co-NC@MWCNT composite had an initial discharge capacity of 1240 mA h g−1(0.1C), it maintained a low decay rate of 0.054 % after 1000 cycles (0.5C). The graphite-like layer gap and multilayer tube structure of the networked MWCNT can effectively mitigate volume expansion during charging and discharging and provide Li+transport channels to improve electrical conductivity. Moreover, the energy storage devices developed as part of this work have excellent electrochemical properties and have a noteworthy industrial potential.

Profound understanding of fouling behaviors and underlying mechanisms is fundamentally important for fouling control in membrane-based environmental applications. Therefore, it entails novel noninvasive analytical approaches for in situcharacterizing the formation and development of membrane fouling processes. This work presents a characterization approach based on hyperspectral light sheet fluorescence microscopy (HSPEC-LSFM), which is capable of discriminating various foulants and providing their 2-dimensional/3-dimensional spatial distributions on/in membranes in a label-free manner. A fast, highly sensitive and noninvasive imaging platform was established by developing a HSPEC-LSFM system and further extending it to incorporate a laboratory-scale pressure-driven membrane filtration system. Hyperspectral data sets with a spectral resolution of ∼1.1 nm and spatial resolution of ∼3 μm as well as the temporal resolution of ∼8 s/plane were obtained, and the fouling formation and development process of foulants onto membrane surfaces, within the pores and on the pore walls were clearly observed during the ultrafiltration of protein and humic substances solutions. Pore blocking/constriction at short times while cake growth/concentration polarization at longer times was found to have coupled effects for the flux decline in these filtration tests, and yet the contribution of each effect as well as the transition of the governing mechanisms was found distinct. These results demonstrate in situlabel-free characterization of membrane fouling evolution with the recognition of foulant species during filtration and provide new insights into membrane fouling. This work offers a powerful tool to investigate dynamic processes for a wide range of membrane-based explorations.

The electret has drawn considerable attention as an emerging flexible energy collector. In this work, a charged microcapsule is designed which can provide a stable storage space for electric charge in the electret. The flexoelectric-like response is achieved by embedding a layer of charged microcapsules in the middle plane of the flexible polymer to form an electret. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy verified the successful preparation of microcapsules. Zeta potential analysis showed the negative electrical properties of the microcapsules. The prepared microcapsule electret has a significant flexoelectric effect under loading conditions. This work presents a preliminary theoretical study of the microcapsule electret to optimize the output characteristics of the electret by varying the parameters, including the number of microcapsules, the size of the electret, and the external load. Good agreement was achieved with the experimental results, which verified the validity of the theoretical study. This work provides a new method for preparing electret and further promotes its application in electromechanical transducers.

We reconstruct the environmental evolution of the East China Sea in the past 14 kyr based on glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in a sediment core from the subaqueous Yangtze River Delta. Two primary phases are recognized. Phase I (13.8–8 cal kyr BP) reflects a predominantly continental influence, showing distinctly higher concentrations of branched GDGTs (averaged 143 ng/g dry sediment weight, dsw) than isoprenoid GDGTs (averaged 36 ng/g dsw), high BIT index (branched vs. isoprenoid tetraethers) values (>0.78) and a fluctuating GDGT-0/crenarchaeol ratio (R0/5, varied from 0.52 to 3.81). Within this interval, temporal increases of terrestrial and marine influence are attributed to Younger Dryas (YD) (ca. 12.9–12.2 cal kyr BP) cold event and melt-water pulse (MWP) -1B (11.5–11.1 cal kyr BP), respectively. The prominent transition from 8 to 7.9 cal kyr BP shows a sharp decrease in BIT index value (<0.4) and increase in crenarchaeol, which marks the beginning of phase II. Afterwards, the proxies remain relatively constant, which indicates that phase II (7.9 cal kyr BP-present) is a shelf sedimentary environment with high stand of sea level. Overall, the BIT index in our record serves as a good marker for terrestrial influence at the site, and likely reflects the flooding history of the region. The TEX86(TetraEther Index of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbons) proxy is not applicable in phase I because of an excess terrestrial influence; but it seems to be valid for revealing the annual SST in phase II (21.6±0.9°C, n=49). In contrast, the MBT'/CBT (Methylation of Branched Tetraethers and Cyclization of Branched Tetraethers) proxy appears to faithfully record the annual mean air temperature (MAT) (14.3±0.63°C, n=68) and presents an integrated signal over the middle and lower Yangtze River drainage basin.

ABSTRACTAlong with rapid urban sprawl in China, a particular phenomenon of lake reclamation, which is triggered by local economic development, has ensued. This study addresses the phenomenon of lake reclamation, identifies the processes and influences that have driven its evolution and highlights its challenges. In this paper, the former land use policy that has been adopted by local governments adjacent to the lake has been evaluated in response to the problem. Lake reclamation processes have been transformed throughout the eras of exploitation, transition, conservation activities and diversification. Implementation of the proposed policy recommendations is discussed through a case study of Poyang Lake areas, Jiangxi province, drawing attention to its contested and contingent nature. The combination of expansion, industrialization and decreasing lake areas have raised major concerns for the future ecological security in Poyang Lake. These findings will be important for decision-makers to conserve lake ecosystems and resources.

We describe an angular multiplexed imaging technique for 3-D in vivo cell tracking of sparse cell distributions and optical projection tomography (OPT) with superior time-lapse resolution and a significantly reduced light dose compared to volumetric time-lapse techniques. We demonstrate that using dual axis OPT, where two images are acquired simultaneously at different projection angles, can enable localization and tracking of features in 3-D with a time resolution equal to the camera frame rate. This is achieved with a 200x reduction in light dose compared to an equivalent volumetric time-lapse single camera OPT acquisition with 200 projection angles. We demonstrate the application of this technique to mapping the 3-D neutrophil migration pattern observed over ~25.5 minutes in a live 2 day post-fertilisation transgenic LysC:GFP zebrafish embryo following a tail wound.

We describe a remote focal scanning technique for optical projection tomography (OPT) implemented with an electrically tunable lens (ETL) that removes the need to scan the specimen or objective lens. Using a 4× objective lens the average spatial resolution is improved by ∼46% and the light collection efficiency by a factor of ∼6.76, thereby enabling increased acquisition speed and reduced light dose. This convenient implementation is particularly appropriate for lower magnifications and larger sample diameters where axial objective scanning would encounter problems with speed and stability.