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Low light reduces growth and adversely affects the antioxidant defense system. At the same time, the silica nanoparticles (SiO2NPs) mitigate the biotic and abiotic stresses and improve plant growth. Therefore, this study investigated whether SiO2NPs alleviates the low light stress by measuring the biomass and physiological indices of maize seedlings. A hydroponic experiment was set up with two maize varieties, Yuebaitiannuo10 and Yuebaitiannuo12, grown under two light treatments, namely normal light (NL) and low light (LL) and three SiO2NPs foliar treatments (SiO2NPs at doses of 0 mg L− 1(Si0), 150 mg L− 1(Si1), and 300 mg L− 1(Si2)). The plant growth, antioxidant responses, nitrogen metabolism, and photosynthetic pigments in the maize seedlings were determined. The results showed that the low light treatment significantly reduced the maize seedling growth in both varieties. However, the SiO2NPs slightly increased the biomass and altered the growth, with the highest aboveground dry weight/plant height detected in the Si1 treatment, irrespective of the maize variety and light treatment. Compared to the Si0 treatment, Si1 significantly increased the aboveground dry weight/plant height by 35.38% in Yuebaitiannuo12 at low light. Various changes in antioxidant response, photosynthesis pigments, and nitrogen metabolism were recorded in the different maize varieties and light treatments in response to the SiO2NPs treatments. Correlation analysis suggested that the maize seedling growth parameters and biomass were related to the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and ascorbic acid content in the root, SOD activity and malondialdehyde content in the stem, and nitrate reductase activity in the leaves (P<0.05). The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for expanding the research on the application of SiO2NPs in maize. It also provides the relevant reference for elucidating the response mechanism of maize seedlings under fluctuating light environments to lay a foundation for improving maize yield at later growth stages.

The exacerbation of the greenhouse effect has made heat stress (HS) an important risk factor for the occurrence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). The experiment aims to uncover the effects of maternal HS on IUGR and its mechanisms. The results showed that HS leads to decreased maternal and fetal birth weights, accompanied by increased serum oxidative stress and cortisol levels. Moreover, HS inflicted significant damage to both the intestinal and placental barriers, altering maternal gut microbiota and increasing intestinal LPS levels. As a result, LPS levels increased in maternal serum, placenta, and fetus. Furthermore, HS damaged the intestinal structure, intensifying inflammation and disrupting the redox balance. The placenta exposed to HS exhibited changes in the placental structure along with disrupted angiogenesis and decreased levels of nutritional transporters. Additionally, the leakage of LPS triggered placental JNK and ERK phosphorylation, ultimately inducing severe placental inflammation and oxidative stress. This study suggests that LPS translocation from the maternal intestine to the fetus, due to a disrupted gut microbiota balance and compromised intestinal and placental barrier integrity, may be the primary cause of HS-induced IUGR. Furthermore, increased LPS leakage leads to placental inflammation, redox imbalance, and impaired nutrient transport, further restricting fetal growth.

Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) are promising drug delivery systems in various of disease treatment areas, particularly for cancer treatments. Here, a water-insoluble antitumor agent, hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), was successfully incorporated into LPNs formed from polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000) (DSPE-PEG2000), and lecithin, by a modified single emulsification-solvent evaporation method. Quality-by-design (QbD) strategy composed of Plackett–Burman and Box–Behnken designs were applied for optimizing HCPT-LPNs with desired properties. The optimized HCPT-loaded lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (HCPT-LPNs) were on the nanoscale, with a final size of 220.9 nm, drug loading of 2.50%. HCPT-LPNs were highly stable in plasma and had pH- and drug loading-related sustained release characteristics. The in vitro cytotoxicity of HCPT-LPNs against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells showed that HCPT-LPNs had higher in vitro cytotoxicity than HCPT solution (HCPT-Sol) with reduced cell viability and IC50values. In vivo pharmacokinetic assays demonstrated that the AUC of HCPT-LPNs was more than 3 times higher than that of HCPT-Sol after tail vein injection in SD rats. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited compared with HCPT-Sol after a single tail vein injection of HCPT-LPNs in murine LLC-GFP-luc lung cancer bearing mice at a dose of 6 mg/kg, without severe side effects. These results indicate that HCPT-LPNs are the promising drug delivery system for antitumor treatments.

Power adjustment and frequency modulation are two major problems to be urgently resolved for grid-connected wind farms. It is prerequisite to establish the whole wind farm model in studying the above two issues.In order to reduce the order of the wind farm model, lessen the computational complexity, and simplify the analysis and research of the entire wind power grid-connected system, it is quite essential to cluster the wind farm to several groups. A new wind farm clustering method based on ASSCW-FCM algorithm is proposed in this paper. Firstly, taking D-PMSG wind turbine as an example,the regular and deloading operating characteristics are analyzed, the wind speed, rotor speed, pitch angle and output power are determined as the wind farm multiple clustering indicators. Then, due to the unequal contributions of different turbines operating conditions and different operating characteristics for the same turbine to the clustering results, an adaptive sample-sample characteristics weighting fuzzy C-means (ASSCW-FCM) clustering algorithm is proposed. Finally, two actual wind farm systems containing wind turbines with the same capacity and with different capacities are introduced to verify the rationality of the selected clustering indicators and the effectiveness of the ASSCW-FCM clustering algorithm.

Electrocatalytic nitrogen oxidation reaction (NOR) can convert nitrogen (N2) into nitrate (NO3–) under ambient conditions, providing an attractive approach for synthesis of NO3–, alternative to the current approach involving the harsh Haber–Bosch and Ostwald oxidation processes that necessitate high temperature, high pressure, and substantial carbon emission. Developing efficient NOR catalysts is a prerequisite, which remains a formidable challenge, owing to the weak activation/dissociation of N2. A variety of NOR electrocatalysts have been developed, but their NOR kinetics are still extremely sluggish, resulting in inferior Faradaic Efficiencies. Here, we report a high-entropy Ru-based perovskite oxide (denoted as Ru-HEP) that can function as a high-performance NOR catalyst and exhibit a high NO3–yield rate of 39.0 μmol mg–1h–1with a Faradaic Efficiency of 32.8%. Both our experimental results and theoretical calculations suggest that the high-entropy configuration of Ru-HEP perovskite oxide can markedly enhance the oxygen-vacancy concentration, where the Ru sites and their neighboring oxygen vacancies can serve as unsaturated centers and decrease the overall energy barrier for N2electrooxidation, thereby leading to promoted NOR kinetics. This work presents an alternative avenue for promoting NOR catalysis on perovskite oxides through the high-entropy engineering strategy.

ABSTRACTIntroductionFormulation of nanocrystals is one of the most important drug delivery systems for poorly soluble drug molecules. Nanocrystals are produced by techniques like precipitation, media milling, high-pressure homogenization, and so on. In order to achieve sustained release and higher absorption of nanosuspensions, intramuscularly administered nanosuspensions have been developed. As well, intramuscularly administered nanosuspensions have been implemented in order to improve the bioavailability of drug nanocrystals which have both a low oral bioavailability and cannot be administered by intravenous injection routes.Areas coveredThis review summarizes studies that have focused on the production, classification, in vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetics of intramuscularly administered nanosuspensions. In order to avoid common drawbacks of intramuscularly administered nanosuspensions, such as tissue residues and some local tissue damage, nanosuspensions with a reduced administration volume of high drug loading and extended therapeutic effects are developed.Expert opinionIntramuscularly administered nano/micro crystal suspensions have been developed for the treatment of various diseases such as schizophrenia, hormone disordered diseases, HIV and more. Additionally, intramuscularly administered nanosuspensions are also a good route for the development of traditional chinese medicines which have lower oral bioavailability and are not suitable for intravenous injection.

The development of nonprecious catalysts for hydrogenation of organic molecules is of great importance in heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we report a series of N-doped hollow carbon frameworks encompassing cobalt nanoparticles (denoted as Co@NHF-900) constructed as a new kind of reusable catalyst for this purpose by pyrolysis of ZIF-8@Co–dopamine under Ar atmospheres. Notably, the framework of ZIF-8 is essential for efficient catalyst by providing a carbon framework to support Co–dopamine. The experimental results reveal that the ZIF-8 renders a large hollow place within the catalysts, allowing the enrichment of the substrate and windows of the hollow structure and the ease of mass transfer of products during the reaction. All of the virtues made Co@NHF-900 a good candidate for hydrogenation of quinolines with high activity (TOF value of 119 h–1, which is several times than that of akin catalysts) and chemoselectivity.