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Clay minerals have great potentials in pinpointing sediment provenance for large depositional systems. However, source identification using clay minerals for small floodplain lakes is not well known. Situated in the North China Plain, the Dongping Lake receives sediments from both the Yellow River and the Dawen River, thereby representing an ideal site for testing the utility of this method. Here we use clay minerals in conjunction with the Bayesian end-member modeling analysis (BEMMA) to quantify the riverine contribution to modern sediments in the Dongping Lake. Results showed that modern sediments of the Dongping Lake are characterized by four primary clay minerals: illite, smectite, kaolinite, and chlorite, with average contents of 60.53%, 11.37%, 12.70%, and 15.40%, respectively. Clay minerals in modern sediments of the Dongping Lake are mainly delivered by the Yellow River, accounting for approximately 58.99–72.33%; whereas those originating from the Dawen River only account for 27.67–41.01%. It is also found that clay mineral from these rivers have a marked spatial variability. For example, source materials from the Yellow River are widely distributed across the lake, while those from the Dawen River only occur at the estuary of the river and slightly spread out in all directions under the action of water flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic perovskite nanocrystals exhibit tremendous prospects in optoelectronics. Although the stability of perovskite nanocrystals is considerably improved after being embedded in a glass matrix, subtle difference in the glass composition is still an important factor affecting the glass matrix and perovskite precipitation behavior. In this study, a series of CsPbCl 2 Br 1 nanocrystal glasses with excellent optical properties were prepared by optimizing the composition. Further, we introduced Sm3+ into CsPbCl 2 Br 1 perovskite nanocrystal glass (PNG) to enhance photoluminescence (PL) emissions and improve the ultraviolet response and device stability of silicon photodetectors (Si PDs). After integrating the as-prepared Sm3+-doped CsPbCl 2 Br 1 PNG with Si PDs, the UV response of the Si PDs at 200–400 nm was significantly enhanced. In particular, the responsivity of Sm3+-doped CsPbCl 2 Br 1 PNG-coated Si PDs at 320 nm reaches 7.5 times that of bare Si PDs. Furthermore, Sm3+-doped CsPbCl 2 Br 1 PNG-coated Si PDs displayed good photocurrent stability, with a decrease of only 1.5% after 60 days of operation. Additionally, after integrating 10% Sm3+-doped CsPbCl 2 Br 1 PNG with InGaAs PDs, a broadband response in the ultraviolet to the infrared region is successfully achieved. This study attempts to fabricate perovskite nanocrystal glasses and provides a new perspective for next-generation high-performance UV PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a risk factor for early recurrence and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Preoperative assessment of MVI status is beneficial for clinical therapy and prognosis evaluation. A total of 305 surgically resected patients were included retrospectively. All recruited patients underwent plain and contrast-enhanced abdominal CT. They were then randomly divided into training and validation sets in a ratio of 8:2. Self-attention-based ViT-B/16 and ResNet-50 analyzed CT images to predict MVI status preoperatively. Then, Grad-CAM was used to generate an attention map showing the high-risk MVI patches. Using five-fold cross validation, the performance of each model was evaluated. Among 305 HCC patients, 99 patients were pathologically MVI-positive and 206 were MVI-negative. ViT-B/16 with fusion phase predicted the MVI status with an AUC of 0.882 and an accuracy of 86.8% in the validation set, which is similar to ResNet-50 with an AUC of 0.875 and an accuracy of 87.2%. The fusion phase improved performance a bit as compared to the single phase used for MVI prediction. The influence of peritumoral tissue on predictive ability was limited. A color visualization of the suspicious patches where microvascular has invaded was presented by attention maps. ViT-B/16 model can predict preoperative MVI status in CT images of HCC patients. Assisted by attention maps, it can assist patients in making tailored treatment decisions. Lay Summary: Vision Transformer (ViT) based pure self-attention can predict preoperative microvascular invasion status inputting CT images of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with an AUC of 0.882 and an accuracy of 86.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photo-induced degradation of dimethylmercury (DMHg) is considered to be an important source for the generation of methylmercury (MMHg). However, studies on DMHg photodegradation are scarce, and it is even debatable about whether DMHg can be degraded in natural waters. Herein, we found that both DMHg and MMHg could be photodegraded in three natural waters collected from the Yellow River Delta, while in pure water only DMHg photodegradation occurred under visible light irradiation. The effects of different environmental factors on DMHg photodegradation were investigated, and the underlying mechanisms were elucidated by density functional theory calculations and a series of control experiments. Our findings revealed that the DMHg degradation rate was higher in the tidal creek water compared to Yellow River, Yan Lake, and purified water. NO 3 -, NO 2 -, and DOM could promote the photodegradation with DOM and NO 3 - showing particularly strong positive effects. Different light sources were employed, and UV light was found to be more effective in DMHg photodegradation. Moreover, MMHg was detected during the photodegradation of DMHg, confirming that the photochemical demethylation of DMHg is a source of MMHg in sunlit water. This work may provide a novel mechanistic insight into the DMHg photodegradation in natural waters and enrich the study of the global biogeochemical cycle of Hg. [Display omitted] • DMHg was photodegradable in natural waters from Yellow River Delta and pure water. • DFT calculations revealed why only DMHg could be photodegraded in pure water. • DOM and NO 3 - led to the higher DMHg degradation rate in the tidal creek water. • MMHg production and degradation occurred simultaneously in DMHg photodegradation. • Plausible reaction pathways for DMHg photodegradation were explored and proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient hydrogen production via water splitting is significant because of the zero-carbon emission property. Developing low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key half-reaction of water splitting, is critical. Herein, we designed Cu(OH) 2 @NiCo layered double hydroxide core-shell nanoarray supported on copper foam (CF) with different La doping amount (abbreviated as Cu(OH) 2 @NiCoLa LDH/CF) via the facile electrodeposition method. Owing to the synergistic effect between La and NiCo LDH by electronic structure tuning, Cu(OH) 2 @NiCoLa LDH/CF shows excellent OER performance with the lowest overpotential of 254 mV to drive the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and outstanding long-term durability for 24 h. The idea of doping rare-earth metal into non-noble NiCo-based LDHs core-shell nanoarray structure in this work can inspire the design of other efficient electrocatalysts. • Efficient catalyst design is imperative to improve the kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction. • Cu(OH) 2 @NiCoLa LDH core-shell structures are designed via the electrodeposition method. • The core-shell unique structure promotes the accessibility of active sites. • La doping facilitates the electronic structure tuning. • The design idea is applicable to prepare other efficient electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Host-featured blue TADF emitter CZ-MPSPO is developed for high-performance WOLED. • The steric hindrance and inductive effect of DPPO enhance the host characteristic. • CZ-MPSPO and 4CzTPNBu are complementary in exciton utilization. • EQE up to 20% is achieved for the single-EML pure-TADF WOLEDs. Significant efforts have been recently devoted to develop simply structured white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) based on purely thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) with a single-emissive-layer and heavy-doping configuration. Herein, through introducing a diphenylphosphine oxide group on thiaxanthene S , S -dioxide acceptor, we integrate host characteristics to blue TADF emitter CZ-MPSPO , which is beneficial to balanced exciton allocation and quenching suppression in single emissive layers of TADF WOLEDs for high performance. After co-doping with a conventional yellow TADF emitter, TADF performance of CZ-MPSPO is preserved, but external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of WOLEDs are remarkably improved through the synergistic singlet and triplet exciton harvesting by CZ-MPSPO and 4CzTPNBu. The steric hindrance of CZ-MPSPO also mitigates emission quenching by 4CzTPNBu, leading to the favourable EQE up to ∼20 % of single-EML pure TADF WOLEDs with the doping concentration of CZ-MPSPO as high as 70 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Alhagi honey polysaccharide (AHP) exhibits notable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties, positioning it as a promising candidate in traditional Chinese medicine. In this investigation, we successfully isolated and purified a neutral AHP, designated AHPN50-1a, subsequently elucidating its structural attributes. AHPN50-1a was found to have a molecular weight of 1.756 × 106 Da, featuring a structural motif characterized by a recurring (1→6)-α-GlcP linker. To comprehensively evaluate its therapeutic potential, we explored the protective effects of AHPN50-1 in a murine model of dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis. Administration of AHPN50-1 at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg/day resulted in improved food intake, increased body weight, and increased colon length in mice with acute colitis. Simultaneously, a reduction in the disease activity index and histological scores was observed. AHPN50-1 effectively mitigated colon tissue damage, down-regulated the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) in colon tissue, restored intestinal microbiota diversity, and concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) of gut microbiota metabolites, thus alleviating intestinal inflammation in mice. In summary, our findings underscore the promise of AHPN50-1 as a valuable nutritional or dietary supplement for the treatment and prevention of inflammatory bowel disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an STN (Spatial Transformer Network)-enhanced message passing module guided by adversarial learning is proposed for human pose estimation. Transformations performed on the predicted heatmaps mean to modify the raw predictions and conduct the message passing among human joints in an elegant way. Firstly, we employ STN submodule to transform the predicted heatmap of one human joint to heatmap of its neighboring joint to remove ambiguity of its neighboring predictions. STN submodule automatically learns the geometric information between adjacent joints and thus builds related neighboring associations among them. Nevertheless, it seems difficult for STN submodule to learn inherent geometric information from a single RGB image alone. Secondly, limb guidance is introduced to assist STN in predicting corresponding correlations. Since quality of limb predictions poses great significance for the guidance, we propose to exploit adversarial learning to improve the quality of limb heatmaps which are easier to learn than precise keypoint location. Hence, the precision of STN transformation improves owing to more precise prior instructions. However, STN submodule might be confused when performing the transformation due to massive noises of the heatmaps. To circumvent this dilemma, at last, we propose to utilize Weighted Mean Square Error (WMSE) loss and convolutional random walk (CRW) which improve the performance further. Our method achieves competitive results on both MPII and LSP benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose to perform mutual learning inside the compositional model for human pose estimation. We conduct inference of the human pose in a compositional model which is composed of parts and subparts networks to better capture intrinsic prior knowledge. A macro–micro mutual learning mechanism is put forward to promote the information interaction between human limbs (parts) and joints (subparts). At first, a macro mutual learning module is proposed to conduct the information interaction macroscopically. Features representing the whole human body are leveraged in this case. Secondly, a micro mutual learning module is proposed to promote the information interaction within each limb triplet group to refine corresponding features microcosmically. Combining the macro and micro mutual learning modules promotes the information interaction across different levels. Besides, a novel Balanced Masked Mean Square Error (BMMSE) loss is put forward to solve the positive–negative samples imbalance problem which is more apparent in compositional model. Effectiveness of the method is evaluated on MPII, LSP and COCO benchmarks. Our algorithm achieves leading positions on the leader board of these three datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus and is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic patients. The pathogenesis of DR is still unclear. The complement system, as an important component of the innate immune system in addition to defending against the invasion of foreign microorganisms, is involved in the occurrence and development of DR through 3 widely recognized complement activation pathways, the complement regulatory system, and many other pathways. Molecules such as C3a, C5a, and membrane attacking complex, as important molecules of the complement system, are involved in the pathologenesus of DR, either through direct damaging effects or by activating cells (microglia, macroglia, etc.) in the retinal microenvironment to contribute to the pathological damage of DR indirectly. We review the integral association of the complement system and DR to further understand the pathogenesis of DR and possibly provide a new strategy for itstreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent outbreaks of infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens have sounded a piercing alarm for the need of new effective antimicrobial agents to guard public health. Among different types of candidates, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and the synthetic mimics of AMPs (SMAMPs) have attracted significant enthusiasm in the past thirty years, due to their unique membrane-active antimicrobial mechanism and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. The extensive research has brought many drug candidates into clinical and pre-clinical development. Despite tremendous progresses have been made, several major challenges inherent to current design strategies have slowed down the clinical translational development of AMPs and SMAMPs. However, these challenges also triggered many efforts to redesign and repurpose AMPs. In this review, we will first give an overview on AMPs and their synthetic mimics, and then discuss the current status of their clinical translation. Finally, the recent advances in redesign and repurposing AMPs and SMAMPs are highlighted. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic process represents a promising approach to overcome the pollution challenge associated with the antibiotics-containing wastewater. This study provides a green, efficient and novel approach to remove cephalosporins, particularly cefoperazone sodium (CFP). Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 was chosen for the first time to systematically study its degradation for CFP, including the analysis of material structure, degradation performance, the structure and toxicity of the transformation products, etc. The degradation rate results indicated that Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 had an excellent catalytic activity leading to 78% CFP removal compared with the pure BiOBr (38%) within 120 min of visible light irradiation. In addition, the Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 presents high stability and good organic carbon removal efficiency. The effects of the solution pH (3.12 - 8.75) on catalytic activity revealed that CFP was mainly photocatalyzed under acidic conditions and hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions. Combined with active species and degradation product identification, the photocatalytic degradation pathways of CFP by Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 was proposed, including hydrolysis, oxidation, reduction and decarboxylation. Most importantly, the identified products were all hydrolysis rather than oxidation byproducts transformed from the intermediate of β-lactam bond cleavage in CFP molecule, quite different from the mostly previous studies. Furthermore, the final products were demonstrated to be less toxic through the toxicity analysis. Overall, this study illustrates the detailed mechanism of CFP degradation by Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 and confirms Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 to be a promising material for the photodegradation of CFP. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In stream learning, data continuously arrives over time, often at a very high rate. For imbalanced data streams with concept drift, it becomes essential to simultaneously address classification accuracy and time efficiency. However, existing algorithms currently either demand excessive computational time or exhibit relatively lower classification performance. To address these issues, in this paper, a cost-sensitive continuous ensemble kernel learning method (CCEKL) is proposed to deal with the imbalanced data streams with concept drift. Firstly, for two-class data streams, a novel misclassification cost is proposed to adapt to the changing imbalance rate. Secondly, based on the modified loss function, a continuous kernel learning method is applied to adapt to the changing data distribution. Furthermore, the two-class method is extended to multi-class classification to deal with multi-class dynamic imbalance problems. Finally, we use an ensemble approach to address the proposed algorithm sensitivity to the initial kernel width. To further improve efficiency, a parallel approach is applied to simultaneously train multi-classifiers with different initial kernel widths. Experimental results on 30 data streams reveal that, for binary classification, CCEKL achieves superior balanced accuracy in a shorter training time. For multi-class classification, CCEKL attains better balanced accuracy without requiring excessive training time, surpassing the most of the state-of-the-art baseline algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High-purity DMHg was prepared in a facile and safe way for analysis and study. • GC-AFS method was established and optimized for DMHg separation and measure. • Accurate DMHg analysis was realized in the presence of Hg0 and MMHg. • Developed method was validated via measuring DMHg spiked in natural waters. Transformations between dimethylmercury (DMHg) and other mercury (Hg) species have been one of the critical knowledge gaps in the Hg global biogeochemical cycle due to the lack of detailed studies. The preparation and measurement of DMHg are challenging due to the high toxicity and volatility of DMHg. In this work, we invented a new DMHg generator for successfully preparing high-purity DMHg in a highly controllable and safe way. The DMHg could be spontaneously volatilized and diffused from the original preparation solution to the solution to be studied. The parameters for generating DMHg were optimized to be the pH value of 4.0 with a MeCo/Hg2+ molar ratio of 10 at 20 °C. The following measurement method of DMHg in the presence of various species of Hg was also investigated and optimized. Hg0 and DMHg could be separated effectively with the carrier gas flow rate of 15 mL min−1 and the gas chromatography column temperature of 30 °C. The interferences of Hg0, monomethylmercury and other species were excluded by systematic control experiments. A sensitive and reliable approach for quantifying trace DMHg in water was developed. Under the optimal conditions, the limits of detection for Hg0, MMHg and DMHg were 0.03, 0.002 and 0.024 ng L−1, respectively, with the relative standard deviation below 8.2%. The developed method was validated by the determination Hg species of different natural water samples. This work is expected to provide a new and safe strategy for DMHg preparation and a verified method for DMHg measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biocompatible and positively charged nanohydroxyapatite combined with carbon nanotube was used as anode modified material. • nHA/CNTs formed reticular porous structure and exhibited improved bacteria adsorption ability and electrochemical activity. • nHA/CNTs/CB anode facilitated the extracellular electron transfer and realized low electron transfer resistance. • nHA/CNTs modification promoted the anodic biofilm formation. • nHA/CNTs favored the enrichment of electroactive bacteria and dechlorinating bacteria during 322 days of operation. Anode material and surface properties have a crucial impact on the performance of MFCs. Designing and fabricating various modified carbon-based anodes with functional materials is an effective strategy to improve anode performance in MFCs. Anode materials with excellent bioaffinity can promote bacterial attachment, growth, and extracellular electron transfer. In this study, positively charged nano hydroxyapatite (nHA) with remarkable biocompatibility combined with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with unique structure and high conductivity were used as anode modifying material. The nHA/CNTs modified carbon brush (CB) exhibited improved bacteria adsorption capacity, electrochemical activity and reticular porous structure, thus providing abundant sites and biocompatible microenvironment for the attachment and growth of functional microbial and accelerating extracellular electron transfer. Consequently, the nHA/CNTs/CB-MFCs achieved the maximum power density of 4.50 ± 0.23 mW m−2, which was 1.93 times higher than that of the CB-MFCs. Furthermore, diclofenac sodium (DS), which is a widely used anti-inflammatory drug and is also a persistent toxic organic pollutant constituting a serious threat to public health, was used as the model organic pollutant. After 322 days of long-term operation, enhanced diclofenac sodium removal efficiency and simultaneous bioelectricity generation were realized in nHA/CNTs/CB-MFCs, benefiting from the mature biofilm and the diverse functional microorganisms revealed by microbial community analysis. The nHA/CNTs/CB anode with outstanding bioaffinity, electrochemical activity and porous structure presents great potential for the fabrication of high-performance anodes in MFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, many methods have united low-level and high-level features to generate the desired accurate high-resolution prediction for human parsing. Nevertheless, there exists a semantic-spatial gap between low-level and high-level features in some methods, i.e., high-level features represent more semantics and less spatial details, while low-level ones have less semantics and more spatial details. In this paper, we propose a Semantic-Spatial Fusion Network (SSFNet) for human parsing to shrink the gap, which generates the accurate high-resolution prediction by aggregating multi-resolution features. SSFNet includes two models, a semantic modulation model and a resolution-aware model. The semantic modulation model guides spatial details with semantics and then effectively facilitates the feature fusion, narrowing the gap. The resolution-aware model sufficiently boosts the feature fusion and obtains multi-receptive-fields, which generates reliable and fine-grained high-resolution features for each branch, in bottom-up and top-down processes. Extensive experiments on three public datasets, PASCAL-Person-Part, LIP and PPSS, show that SSFNet achieves significant improvements over state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, SiamFC-based trackers have received much attention because of their great potentials in balancing tracking accuracy and speed. However, the robustness of most such trackers is greatly affected by the large deformations of targets. We argue that in the cross-correlation operation which is widely used by modern SiamFC-based trackers, the static correlation between the template kernel and the feature maps of test sample is difficult to adapt to the large deformation of the target object. In this paper, we propose a Siamese deformable cross-correlation network (SiamDCN), which introduces the deformable cross-correlation operation into SiamFC in an online self-adaptive way, for robust visual tracking. Compared to the previous SiamFC-based trackers, our SiamDCN is more robust to the large deformations of targets through dynamically and adaptively adjusting the location of correlation calculation for each element of the template kernel in the cross-correlation operation. Moreover, we build a twofold Siamese network, named SiamDCN+, which consists of a SiamDCN branch and a SiamFC branch, for accurate and real-time visual tracking after observing that the features learned in SiamFC are static and discriminative, whereas those in SiamDCN are dynamic and robust, and they complement each other. Extensive experiments on three public benchmarks, OTB2015, VOT2016, and VOT2017, show that the proposed SiamDCN achieves superior localization accuracy than its baseline tracker SiamFC and the proposed SiamDCN+ achieves competitive performance compared to state-of-the-art real-time trackers, while running beyond 40 FPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Single chain insulin (SCI) is delivered by bacteria bacterium like particles (BLPs). • Oral vaccination with BLPs-SCI-59 efficiently induces. antigen-specific tolerance. • Oral vaccination with BLPs-SCI-59 efficiently prevents diabetes in NOD mice. • BLPs may be used as an antigen delivery vehicle to induce immune tolerance. Oral tolerance, induced by oral administration of autoantigens, is a promising therapeutic approach to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). However, the degradation of antigens passing through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) leads to low induction efficiency. Based on our previous study, a single-chain insulin (SCI-59) analog, bound to the surface of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) bacterium-like particles (BLPs), was more stable in the simulated gastric fluid, compared to free SCI-59 and insulin. Based on the analysis of diabetes progression, a significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes was observed in mice fed BLPs-SCI-59. Oral administration of BLPs-SCI-59 can enhance glucose tolerance in NOD mice and this effect may result from the protection of pancreatic islet beta cells, as compared to the free SCI-59 group and BLPs group. Oral administration of BLPs-SCI-59 can significantly reduce insulitis and preserve the ability of insulin secretion in treated mice. Oral vaccination with BLPs-SCI-59 induced SCI-59 specific T cell tolerance in treated mice, which may due to the repair of Th1/Th2 imbalance and increased CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). These results show that oral vaccination with BLPs-SCI-59 is a promising way to prevent T1DM in NOD mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease and a severe form of pulmonary fibrosis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of alveolar epithelial cells is induced in response to epithelial injury, which leads to the accumulation of extracellular matrix in the lung parenchyma and contributes to pulmonary fibrosis. NPAS2 (neuronal PAS domain protein 2) is significantly increased in the lung tissues of IPF patients according to microarray dataset GSE10667 and NPAS2 is downregulated in differentiated human pulmonary type 2 epithelial cells in vitro based on microarray dataset GSE3306 from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). In this study, we demonstrated that NPAS2 was increased in bleomycin (BLM)- induced fibrotic lungs in mice. Knockdown of NPAS2 inhibited EMT in primary mouse lung alveolar type 2 epithelial (pmATII) cells and human lung alveolar type 2 epithelial cell line A549 cells under BLM challenge in vitro. Moreover, the silence of NPAS2 alleviated the BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in a murine model. Mechanistically, NPAS2 promotes EMT through positively regulating hairy and enhancer of split 1 (HES1) expression. In this study, we present novel findings that have not been previously reported, emphasizing that p53 transcriptionally activates NPAS2 in ATII cells and overexpression of NPAS2 weakens the effects of TP53 knockdown on EMT of pmATII and A549 cells. Our results suggest NPAS2 is a novel target gene of p53 in regulating BLM-mediated EMT in ATII cells and pulmonary fibrosis. [Display omitted] • NPAS2 is upregulated in the lung tissues of IPF patients. • NPAS2 is increased in the bleomycin (BLM)- induced fibrotic lungs in mice. • NPAS2 is a novel target gene of p53 in regulating BLM-induced EMT in ATII cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CALYPSO crystal structural search in combination with first-principles calculations are performed to explore the crystalline structures and elastic properties, and superconductivity of Mg-Sn compounds. A novel stoichiometry of Mg 4 Sn with space group Cmmm has been predicted for the first time, which is different from the previously reported structures of Mg 3 Sn and Mg 2 Sn. Compared with P 63 /mmc -Mg 3 Sn and Mg 2 Sn, the Mg 4 Sn and Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn possess excellent ductility. Calculated elastic anisotropy index, 3D shear and Young's modulus imply that these four Mg-Sn compounds are anisotropic. More importantly, Mg 4 Sn and Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn can be the potential superconductors. The superconducting transition temperature of Mg 4 Sn is predicted to be 2.49K at 0 GPa, which is similar to other binary compound of SnSb (below 1.50K) [Phys. Rev. Mater. 3 (2019) 084603], and slightly lower than 5.03K of Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn. In addition, the favorable adsorption site for Mg 2 Sn(001) and Mg 4 Sn(001) surfaces is hollow site, whereas for Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn(001) and P 63 /mmc -Mg 3 Sn(001) surfaces is top sites (T 1). • A novel stoichiometry of Mg 4 Sn with space group Cmmm has been first predicted. • The Mg 4 Sn and Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn possess excellent ductility. • The Tc of Mg 4 Sn is predicted to be 2.49K at 0 GPa and slightly lower than 5.03K of Pm- 3 m -Mg 3 Sn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The delivery of cures for retinal diseases remains problematic. There are four main challenges: passing through multiple barriers of the eye, the delivery to particular retinal cell types, the capability to carry different forms of therapeutic cargo and long-term therapeutic efficacy. Lipid-based nanoparticles (LBNPs) are potent to overcome these challenges due to their unique merits: amphiphilic nanoarchitectures to pass biological barriers, vary modifications with specific affinity to target cell types, flexible capacity for large and mixed types of cargos and slow-release formulations for long-term treatment. We have reviewed the latest research on the applications of LBNPs for treating retinal diseases and categorized them by different payloads. Furthermore, we identified technical barriers and discussed possible future development for LBNPs to expand the therapeutic potential in treating retinal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of increasing environmental contamination and scarcity of natural resources require innovative solutions to ensure a sustainable future. Recent breakthroughs in synthetic biology and protein engineering provide promising platform technologies to develop novel engineered biological materials for beneficial applications towards environmental sustainability. In particular, biocatalysis and biosorption are receiving increasing attention as sustainable approaches for environmental remediation and resource recovery from wastes. This review focuses on up-to-date advances in engineering biocatalytic and biosorptive materials that can degrade persistent organic contaminants of emerging concern, remove hazardous metal pollutants, and recover value-added metals. Opportunities and challenges for future research are also discussed. Advances in synthetic biology and protein engineering provide promising platform technologies for engineering renewable biomaterials with biocatalytic or biosorptive capabilities to address the crucial challenges of environmental pollution and natural resource scarcity. Biocatalytic materials that harness the function of various biological enzymes to degrade recalcitrant contaminants to environmentally benign compounds can be developed using molecular biology techniques and physicochemical processes; these materials demonstrate great potential for environmental remediation applications. Biosorptive materials engineered by decorating microbial cells with specific metal-binding proteins/peptides using genetic engineering can be used for hazardous metal removal and valuable metal recovery with high selectivity and binding efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Transition metal oxides have received considerable attention as promising electrode materials for the next generation high performance lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. However, transition metal oxides electrodes usually suffer from severe volume expansion and poor electrical conductivity, leading to fast capacity fading and low rate capability, which limit their commercialization in energy storage devices. Herein, we develop a bifunctional ZnO NiO microsphere electrode with yolk-shelled structure for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors by annealing tetracyanide-metallic-frameworks precursor of Zn[Ni(CN) 4 ]. Benefiting from its unique structure and composition, the yolk-shelled ZnO NiO microspheres as anode for lithium-ion batteries exhibits a high lithium storage capacity (978 mAh g−1 at 0.25 C) and superior rate performance (628 mAh g−1 at 2.5 C after 300 cycles). While for supercapacitors electrode, it delivers a high specific capacitance of 1350 F g−1 at a current density of 3.0 A g−1 and an excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 92.8% over 6000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance is ascribed to the synergistic effect between ZnO and NiO, and the yolk-shelled structure, which can provide rich active sites for electrochemical reaction, and effectively alleviate the volume expansion and structural pulverization of the electrode during charge-discharge cycling. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Yolk-shelled ZnO NiO bifunctional electrode was prepared by Zn[Ni(CN) 4 ] precursor. • It shows enhanced cycle performances with 628 mAh g−1 at 2.5 C after 300 cycles. • It exhibits high specific capacitance and an ultralong cycling lifetime for SCs. • The excellent performance is due to the unique structure and synergistic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Reading text in the wild is a challenging task in computer vision. Existing approaches mainly adopt connectionist temporal classification (CTC) or attention models based on recurrent neural network (RNN), and are computationally expensive and hard to train. In this paper, instead of the chain structure of RNN, we propose an end-to-end fully convolutional network with the stacked convolutional layers to effectively capture the long-term dependencies among elements of scene text image. The stacked convolutional layers are much more efficient than bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) in modeling the contextual dependency. In addition, we design a discriminative feature encoder by incorporating the residual attention blocks into a small densely connected network to enhance the foreground text and suppress the background noise. Extensive experiments on seven standard benchmarks, the Street View Text, IIIT5K, ICDAR03, ICDAR13, ICDAR15, COCO-Text and Total-Text, validate that our method not only achieves state-of-the-art or highly competitive recognition performance, but significantly improves the efficiency and reduces the number of parameters as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Effect of turbidity on the removal of organic micropollutant (carbamazepine, CBZ) through magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) resin combined with ultrafiltration (UF) was investigated in this study. The purification behaviors of the MIEX/UF processes were studied through scanning electron microscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, zeta potential and particle size distribution analyses. The experimental results show that 64–74% of CBZ in different turbidities could be removed by MIEX resin under the optimum dose and contact time, while water sample with turbidity of 20 ± 1.1 NTU present minimum CBZ removal rate of 64% and turbidity of 60 ± 1.0 NTU led to maximum removal efficiency of 74%. The results of UF experiments showed that UF could not efficiently remove CBZ. Alternatively, UF was more suitable for removing turbidity than MIEX resin. In a separate UF system, the turbidity (20 ± 1.1 NTU) led to a flux reduction of 60% at the first filtration cycle, while the reduction for 1.0 ± 0.1 NTU, 40 ± 1.0 NTU and 60 ± 1.0 NTU were 48%, 52% and 45%, respectively. For the water samples with different turbidities, obvious decrease in membrane fouling was observed after MIEX pretreatment, meanwhile the CBZ/turbidity removal could be improved. The UF membrane was used four times after backwashing to research the reusability of membrane. The integrated processes combining MIEX resin with UF could significantly improve membrane recycling effect and prevent secondary pollution caused by resin. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • The hybrid system removed CBZ (by 35-7 9%) more efficiently than UF alone (<15%). • MIEX exhibited higher affinity toward CBZ than toward suspended particles. • Different turbidities can present two opposite effects on the membrane resistance. • R a and R c were chiefly affected by cake layer compact degree instead of particle size. • The fluxes were sensitive to the turbidity or pretreatment of MIEX resin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This work was designed to compare the effectiveness of in-situ coagulation and MIEX as pre-treatments prior to ultrafiltration (UF) to improve organic matter (OM) removal and mitigate membrane fouling. Three kinds of OMs, i.e. salicylic acid (SA), humic acid (HA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were employed. The experimental results show that coagulation-UF led to most effective removal of HA (almost 90%), while the SA was uncoagulated and least removable, with the rejection rate of about 55%. Conversely, MIEX present superior ability for removing SA, contributing to additional efficiency of 71.95–77.21% than UF alone. Proper dosage of Al-based coagulants could alleviate flux loss, especially in the cases of HA and BSA. Increasing coagulant dose resulted in continuous decrement of irreversible resistance (R ir), which dominated the membrane fouling development by the SA water. For HA and BSA waters, alternatively, variations of R r determined the flux declines. Floc compact degree was the decisive factor for R r for coagulated SA; while for HA and BSA, R r was most related to the floc size and foulant-foulant interaction. MIEX was most effective for alleviating flux loss when treating the hydrophilic SA with small molecules and for all the cases, MIEX exerted little influence on the R r values. Graphical abstract Schematic diagram of the coagulation/MIEX-ultrafiltration hybrid test setup. Image 1 Highlights • Coagulation improved removal rate and UF flux more significantly for HA and BSA. • MIEX is preferable to coagulation combined with UF when treating hydrophilic SA. • R r and R ir determined UF fluxes by coagulated HA/BSA and SA, respectively. • Coagulation reduced R ir by promoting floc growth and restraining pore blockage. • MIEX imposed slighter effect on particle size and fouling resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Oxidation of aryl alkyl ketones and secondary benzylic alcohols into aryl carboxylic acids. • Iodine and Fe(NO 3) 3 ·9H 2 O as the catalysts, DMSO and oxygen as the oxidants. • Moderate to excellent yields can be obtained (up to 91%). Abstract An interesting and convenient procedure for the oxidative transformation of aryl alkyl ketones and secondary benzylic alcohols to aryl carboxylic acids has been developed. By using iodine and Fe(NO 3) 3 ·9H 2 O as the catalysts, DMSO and oxygen as the oxidants, the desired aryl carboxylic acids were synthesized in moderate to excellent yields (up to 91%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Natural organic matter (NOM) in aquatic environments have a significant impact on NOM-organic compound interactions, which could strongly affect the distribution and transformation of organic compounds during water treatment. This study focused on the removals of NOM (humic acid, HA) and synthetic organic matter (ibuprofen, IBP) through enhanced coagulation and magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) resin adsorption in single and bi-component systems. Two coagulants, traditional aluminum sulfate (AS) and lab-prepared polyaluminum chloride (PACl), were employed. The charge properties, particle size distribution, and fractal dimension (D f) during organic matter removal were studied in both the single and bi-component systems to explore the purification behaviors and mechanistic effects of interactions between coagulants, MIEX, and organic matters. The experimental results indicated that the Al-based coagulants could remove over 80% of HA in both the single and IBP-HA combined systems, while the presence of HA could considerably improve the IBP removal rate. The aggregates formed during single-component coagulation were larger, but weaker and more loosely structured than those formed in the bi-component system under the same coagulation conditions. In the single-component system, the maximum removal efficiencies of IBP and HA by MIEX adsorption were 65% and 72%, respectively, at a resin dosage of 20.0 mL/L and mixing time of 60 min. Under the same conditions, the removals of these components in the bi-component system were improved to 68% and 98%, respectively. The reaction rate between IBP and MIEX resin was found faster than that between HA and MIEX resin. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Although AS and PACl can efficiently remove HA, they could not efficiently remove IBP. • Co-existence of IBP and HA created a synergetic removal effect in individual coagulation/MIEX resin treatment. • In bi-component systems, AS could remove IBP better due to adsorption or coprecipitation of the compound with hydrolyzate. • IBP and MIEX resin reaction rate was faster than that of HA and MIEX resin. • Larger flocs but lower D f were noted in the single-component system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From August to October 2010 lidar measurements of aerosols in the troposphere were performed at Otlica observatory, Slovenia, using a vertical scanning elastic lidar. The lidar data sample, which contains 38 nighttime vertical profiles of the mean aerosol extinction, was combined with continuous ozone concentration (O 3 ), particulate matter concentrations (PM) and daily radiosonde data. The obtained radiosonde- and lidar-derived heights of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), which varied considerably from day to day, were found to be in good agreement. The mean values of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 355 nm, were calculated separately for the ABL and for the free troposphere (FT). A ten-fold increase of the FT AOD was observed during the days with predicted presence of Saharan dust above the lidar site. To correlate AOD values with the type and origin of aerosols, backward trajectories of air-masses above Otlica were modeled using the HYSPLIT model and clustered. High ABL AOD values were found to be correlated with local circulations and slowly approaching air masses from the Balkans and low values with northwestern flows. The highest values correlated with southwestern flows originating in northern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a key environmental factor limiting the growth and development of desert plants. In this experiment, we investigated the response of photosynthesis in the ephemeral plant E. oxyrhinchum to progressive drought conditions in its natural habitat. In response to drought stress, the mechanism for photosynthesis regulation in E. oxyrhinchum is switched from stomatal to non-stomatal limitations. One notable characteristic of E. oxyrhinchum is its ability to sustain photosynthesis under severe drought conditions. This is because the transition from stomatal to non-stomatal limitation occurred at a much lower leaf water content (56.51% ± 8.53%), compared to that in other plant species. With the drought treatment, the net photosynthetic rate was maintained or even increased to a much higher value to that of the control (33.65 ± 1.72 vs. 17.65 ± 2.35 μmol CO 2 m-2s-1), which coincided with the increased stomatal conductance. During the entire stomatal limitation to the photosynthesis stage, the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) remained unchanged. Additionally, the prompt Chl a fluorescence induction was stable, which indicated an intact photosystem II structure and a balanced redox state of the plastoquinone pool. The variation partition analysis revealed that the substantial increase in antioxidant activities and sensitive response to nonphotochemical quenching during this stage contributed significantly to maintaining a stable Fv/Fm value. To conclude, we have not only provided novel information regarding the drought-escape E. oxyrhinchum species but also concluded that PSII activity modulates the switch from stomatal to non-stomatal photosynthesis limitation under progressive drought conditions. • The drought-treated ephemeral plant E. oxyrhinchum sustained stomatal limiting photosynthesis at a much lower LWC (56.51% ± 8.53%). • The increased net photosynthesis correlated with increased stomatal conductance at the beginning of drought. • Redox state of PQ pool mediated stomata response to progressive drought in E. oxyrhinchum. • Antioxidant activities ultimately play important roles in the regulation of photosynthetic activities in E. oxyrhinchum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 70 % of the earth's surface is water, though people are facing a shortage of clean water. Desalination and purification plants have been utilizing inexhaustible saline and dirty water for decades, but here we present a portable solar-powered device that works during the journey. The independent steam generator is based on a novel wooden material coated with carbonized carbon dots (CCD). A facile hydrothermal treatment is applied to the balsa wood to produce a superhydrophilic, salt-resisting, and self-insulated wooden sponge. The CCD microspheres show broad absorption over the solar spectrum while the wooden sponge provides a rapid water supply and heat localization. The floating CCD@wooden sponge evaporator generates steam at the rate of 2.24 kg m−2 h−1 and has an energy efficiency of 85.0 % under 1 sun irradiation. With a unique design of portable water purifier, a traveler could easily obtain clean water after collecting and purifying undrinkable water such as seawater and wastewater on the move as long as the sun shines. [Display omitted] • Massively synthesized carbon dots were calcined to produce porous carbon spheres with broadband absorption. • Facile hydrothermal treatment was applied to the wood for superhydrophilic and self-thermal-insulation properties. • The evaporator based on carbon spheres and wood has an evaporation at 2.24 kg m-2 h-1 and an energy efficiency of 85 %. • A portable purifier is capable of both seawater desalination and wastewater purification without static conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Janus-type CNH@GMC hygroscopic hydrogel (CGH) is successfully constructed by combining combining lyophilization and spray coating. • Janus-type CGH presents a high record of moisture absorption 459.3% of its own weight and desorption 82.5% of the absorbed water via effective solar thermal evaporation. • Janus-type CGH can dehumidify 97.1% RH to 39.2% RH in a channel under flowing wind. • Janus-type CGH is reusable for sustainable and environmentally friendly dehumidification. High humidity can lead to hazards such as disruptions in basic human metabolism, machines corrosion, bacteria breeding and so on, which make it an urgent need to develop efficient, reusable, and environmentally friendly dehumidifying materials. Herein, a reusable Janus-type cellulose nanofibrillated based hydrogel (CNH) @ graphene oxide matrix photothermal composite (GMC) hygroscopic hydrogel with porous three-dimensional network and solar thermal surface is manufactured by combining lyophilization and spray coating. The outstanding hygroscopic property of lithium chloride and excellent water storage capacity of biomass-based cellulose nanofibrillated three-dimensional network endow the Janus-type CNH@GMC hygroscopic hydrogel (CGH) with robust air dehumidification performance, while the evenly dispersed GMC with excellent photothermal properties provides the CGH with efficient solar thermal desorption performance. Consequently, the CGH can efficaciously achieve a moisture absorption of 459.3% of its weight and desorption of 82.5% of the absorbed water in static circumstances. More interestingly, a channel with flowing wind is constructed to explore the dynamic dehumidification effect of CGH, finding that the CGH can reduce the relative humidity in the danamic channel from 97.1% to 39.2%. These results mean that CGH can dehumidify air in both static and dynamic circumstances, highlighting its potential for reusable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly dehumidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymers have attracted attention as luminophores due to their excellent electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties. However, the current research and application of polymers mainly focus on anode emission, and ECL efficiency is not high enough, thus showing a limited application. This work exploited the persulfate-mediated dual-emission characteristics of poly[2,5-dioctyl-1,4-phenylene] polymer nanoparticles (PDP PNPs). The two ECL emissions were collected synchronously at − 2.0 V and + 1.0 V with persulfate (S 2 O 8 2-) as cathodic coreactant and 3-(dibutylamino) propylamine (TDBA) as anodic coreactant, respectively. Interestingly, S 2 O 8 2- can simultaneously mediate the double emissions, significantly enhancing both cathode emission and anode emission. The dual-emission mechanism was explored carefully and enhancement mechanism of cathodic coreactant S 2 O 8 2- to anodic emission was hypothesized to be attributed to SO 4 ∙ − radicals, which was produced from S 2 O 8 2- during cathodic potential scanning and oxidized PDP PNPs to generate more cation radical, thus enhancing anodic emission of PDP PNPs. Moreover, the black hole quencher-2 (BHQ2) was exploited as dual-function moderator to quench dual emissions of PDP PNPs synchronously. PDP PNPs coupled with BHQ2 to build ECL ratiometric system for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RdRp gene and its limit of detection was 25.1 aM. Persulfate-mediated double emissions provided a new way to improve the efficiency of ECL emission from polymers and expand their application. The clever integration of dual-emitting PDP PNPs and dual-regulating BHQ2 created a promising single-luminophore-based ratiometric ECL platform, developed an attractive ECL method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RdRp gene. • This work exploited the persulfate-mediated dual-emission characteristics of PDP PNPs. • S 2 O 8 2- can simultaneously enhance the double emissions of PDP PNPs. • BHQ2 were developed as dual-function quencher of PDP PNPs. • PDP PNPs coupled with BHQ2 constructing ECL ratiometric system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good quality Zr:GdTaO 4 single crystal with an 8.84 g/cm3 density, higher than the well-known dense scintillator PbWO 4 , was successfully synthesized by the Czochalski method for the first time. The effective segregation coefficient of Zr in Zr:GdTaO 4 is 0.288. The light yield and the energy resolution of Zr:GdTaO 4 are approximately the same as GdTaO 4. The scintillation decay time of Zr:GdTaO 4 contains a fast decay of 9.51 ns, close to the fast scintillator PbWO 4 , and a slow decay of 755.61 ns, which is much faster than that of GdTaO 4 whose fast decay time is 101.82 ns and slow decay time is 3290.52 ns. With Zr4+ doping, the photoluminescence band of GdTaO 4 is blueshifted and the traps are shallowed, which may help accelerate the scintillation decay. As far as we know, the Zr:GdTaO 4 single crystal is the densest scintillator with a less than 10 ns scintillation decay time, which can be used in electromagnetic calorimeters. • A Zr:GdTaO 4 single crystal with an 8.84 g/cm3 density was first synthesized. • Zr:GdTaO 4 crystal contains a fast scintillation decay of 9.51 ns, close to PbWO 4. • Blueshifted luminescence band and shallowed trap accelerate the scintillation decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocatalytic cells displaying functional enzymes on their surface have the ability to catalyze the degradation of persistent micropollutants with high enzyme accessibility and stability. However, the high migration and limited processing capability of suspended biocatalytic cells remain major challenges for practical applications in water treatment. In this study, we fabricated biocatalytic membranes (BCMs) by immobilizing biocatalytic cells, i.e., Baker's yeast with cell surface display laccase (SDL), on microporous membranes via inkjet printing and chemical crosslinking. The incorporation of SDL biocatalytic cells on the surface of the membranes was confirmed by microscopy, elemental analysis, and enzyme assay tests. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the number of SDL cells incorporated and therefore, the enzyme activity of the BCMs, could be systematically controlled by altering the printing parameters. The viability, regeneration, and high storage stability of SDL cells were maintained in the BCM platform. Furthermore, the BCMs could be reused with high stability as they retained 76% of their initial activity after ten repeated reaction cycles. In comparison, the activity of freely-suspended SDL cells declined to 42% of their initial activity after ten reaction cycles. Finally, the effectiveness of BCMs in treating emerging contaminants was confirmed using bisphenol A and acetaminophen as substrates in proof-of-concept experiments. The results of this study establish that BCMs can address concerns related to the utilization of suspended biocatalytic cells by fixing them on a microporous substrate. With further study and optimization, BCMs have the potential to be incorporated into membrane-based separation and pollutant degradation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkalinized graphitic carbon nitride (CNK-OH) has been synthesized by one-step thermal poly-condensation method, and Cu-modified alkalinized g -C 3 N 4 (Cu-CNK-OH) has been prepared by impregnation approach over CNK-OH. These copper species in Cu-CNK-OH are embedded in the frame of CNK-OH mostly via the Cu-N bonds. Cu-CNK-OH has been employed as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst to degrade rhodamine B (RhB). Both the production efficiency of hydroxyl radicals and the transformation rate of Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox pair increase under visible-light irradiation. As a result, Cu-CNK-OH exhibits improved Fenton-like catalytic activity on the degradation of RhB. The synergetic interaction between Fenton-like process and photocatalytic process also contributes such improvement. The hydroxyl radicals and holes are the major reactive species in the photocatalytically assisted Fenton-like process. This study provides a valuable strategy for metal modification of alkalinized g -C 3 N 4 with enhanced Fenton-like catalytic performance for the degradation of organic contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal nanofluids, the engineered fluids with dispersed functional nanoparticles, have exhibited extraordinary thermophysical properties and added functionalities, and thus have enabled a broad range of important applications. The poor dispersion stability of thermal nanofluids, however, has been considered as a long-existing issue that limits their further development and practical application. This review overviews the recent efforts and progresses in improving the dispersion stability of thermal nanofluids such as mechanistic understanding of dispersion behavior of nanofluids, examples of both water-based and oil-based nanofluids, strategies to stabilize nanofluids, and characterization techniques for dispersion behavior of nanofluids. Finally, on-going research needs, and possible solutions to research challenges and future research directions in exploring stably dispersed thermal nanofluids are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cassiae Semen, belonging to the family Leguminosae, is derived from the dry mature seeds of Cassia obtusifolia L. or Cassia tora L. and has long been used as a laxative, hepatoprotective, improve eyesight, and antidiabetic complications medicine or functional food in Asia. This review summarizes the integrated research progress of botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, and quality control of Cassiae Semen. Additionally, the emerging challenges and possible developing directions are discussed as well. The information on Cassiae Semen was collected from published scientific materials, including ancient books of traditional Chinese Medicine; Ph.D. and M. Sc. dissertations; monographs on medicinal plants; pharmacopoeia of various countries and electronic databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, ACS, Science Direct, J-STAGE, Springer link, Taylor, CNKI and Google Scholar, etc. First, the traditional uses and plant origins of Cassiae Semen are outlined. Secondly, approximately 137 compounds, including anthraquinones, naphthopyranones, naphthalenes, flavones, polysaccharides and other compounds, have been isolated and identified from Cassia obtusifolia L. and Cassia tora L. Third, the pharmacological activities and mechanisms of crude extract of Cassiae Semen and its main bioactive compounds are summarized. Moreover, the processing, toxicity, and quality control are introduced briefly. Cassiae Semen is a frequently used Chinese Materia Medica with pharmacological effects that mainly affect the digestive system, cardiovascular systems and nervous system. This review summarized its botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology, it also exhibited recent scientific research advances and gaps, which provide a deeper insight into the understanding and application of Cassiae Semen. In future research on Cassiae Semen, more attention should be given to the pharmacological activities of naphthopyranones and polysaccharides and the mechanism of action for improving eye diseases. Meanwhile, it is essential to focus on strengthening the study on the pharmacokinetics research and the safety evaluation of related health products research. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dislocation, thermal and mechanical properties, and crystal growth stress of the new heavy scintillator Zr:GdTaO 4 (Zr:GTO) grown by the Czochralski method were systematically studied. The chemical etching experiment exhibits that the dislocation morphology of Zr:GTO is quadrilateral, whose causes were explained by the surface energy of the crystal faces calculated with the first principle. The thermal diffusivities of Zr:GTO along <1 0 0> and <0 0 1> directions are similar to each other and larger than that along <0 1 0> direction. The thermal expansion coefficient of Zr:GTO crystal along the crystalline axis presents a large anisotropic feature. And the thermal expansion curves demonstrate that the phase of Zr:GTO is transformed at 1650 K, which suggests that its annealing temperature should be lower than 1650 K to avoid crystal cracking. The thermal and mechanical properties are anisotropic, which causes the crystal to crack during growth and cooling. The thermal stress of Zr:GTO crystal during the growth and cooling stages was studied by numerical simulation for the first time. The results indicate that the thermal stress results in seed bending and cracking near the interface of the iridium rod and the crystal seed, and the crystal seed should be as short as possible to reduce thermal stress. Meanwhile, the cooling rate after crystal growth was optimized numerically. For Zr:GTO crystal with a size of Ø25 mm × 30 mm, uniform cooling for 48 h may be optimal. All the obtained results are of great significance for the growth and applications of high-quality Zr:GTO scintillator. • Dislocation morphology of Zr:GTO is explained by surface energy of crystal faces. • Thermal expansion curves confirm that the phase of Zr:GTO is transformed at 1650 K. • Numerical calculation shows that the seed should be short to reduce thermal stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite precipitation products can provide alternative data in remote areas with sparse surface observations, but the performance of these products must be evaluated before hydrometeorological applications. The western Tibetan Plateau (WTP) covers an area of nearly 1,500,000 km2, where China Meteorological Administration stations are very sparse due to the harsh natural environment. Therefore, previous evaluations of satellite precipitation products have resulted in a gap on the WTP. In this study, hourly data collected from 29 newly established rain gauges on the WTP were applied to evaluate the performance of four Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)-Era precipitation products without calibration (IMERG-UC and GSMaP-MVK) and with calibration (IMERG-C and GSMaP-Gauge). The evaluation results for the WTP were compared with those for the eastern Tibetan Plateau (ETP). (1) The effect of the calibration of satellite products highly depends on the temporal resolution of precipitation data used for calibration. The GSMaP-Gauge, which are calibrated with daily data, outperforms the IMERG-C, which are calibrated with monthly data, on both monthly scale and daily scale. (2) The calibration effect of the satellite products is not positive in reproducing the precipitation amount on the WTP due to few observations available for calibration but was notable on the ETP. (3) None of the four satellite precipitation products can reproduce the hourly precipitation frequency-intensity structure well. Both IMERG and GSMaP produce too much light precipitation events on the WTP. In addition, the four products produce too early timing of diurnal precipitation peak on the WTP. The calibration does not improve the timing phase of precipitation amount but affects the intensity of diurnal precipitation peaks on the WTP. These new findings provide important information on the accuracy of the four widely used satellite precipitation products on the WTP and thus can be a solid reference for hydrometeorological applications on the WTP. • The GPM-Era precipitation products were evaluated for the first time on the western Tibetan Plateau (WTP) based on hourly data from 29 newly established gauges. • The calibration of the satellite products is not positive on the WTP, where few observations are available. • None four satellite products well reproduce hourly frequency-intensity structure and diurnal peaks of precipitation on WTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamical, mechanical, anisotropic, and thermodynamic properties of Mg-XL-Y (XL = Zn, Al) alloys based on three long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases (ie, 10H, 14H, and 18R) have been investigated systematically by first-principles calculations. The LPSO phases of Mg-XL-Y (XL = Zn, Al) alloys are thermodynamically, dynamically, and mechanically stable. The each LPSO phase of Mg–Al–Y alloys has superior mechanical properties with larger resistances to deformation under applied stress and shear pressure, stiffness, as well as hardness than those of corresponding to LPSO phases of Mg–Zn–Y alloys. According to universal elastic anisotropic index, percent shear anisotropy, 3D surface structures of Young's moulus, and sound velocities, the LPSO phases of Mg-XL-Y (XL = Zn, Al) alloys exhibit obvious anisotropy. Besides, all LPSO phases of Mg-XL-Y (XL = Zn, Al) alloys possess low lattice thermal conductivity due to the strong anharmonicity. The calculated adsorption energies indicate that the 14H(001) surface of Mg–Al–Y system at the hollow site is more sensitive to absorb O atom. • Three long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases (ie, 10H, 14H, and 18R) are thermodynamically, dynamically, and mechanically stable. • Each LPSO phase of Mg–Al–Y alloys has superior mechanical properties with larger resistances to deformation under applied stress and shear pressure, stiffness, as well as hardness than those of corresponding to LPSO phases of Mg–Zn–Y alloys. • LPSO phases of Mg-XL-Y (XL = Zn, Al) alloys exhibit obvious anisotropy and low lattice thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical porous microflowers composed of porous Fe 2 O 3 /NiO nanoplates were synthesized via a facile cyanometallic framework-templated strategy. The synthesized Fe 2 O 3 /NiO microflowers were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer Emmet Teller adsorption-desorption analysis. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the Fe 2 O 3 /NiO microflowers exhibit excellent electrochemical performance in terms of great lithium storage capacity (1652.6 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 ) and good cycling stability (1210.4 mAh g −1 capacity retention at 50th cycle). This result can be attributed to the hierarchical porous structure of the Fe 2 O 3 /NiO microflowers, which could increase active sites for lithium ions storage, accommodate the volume expansion/contraction during charge-discharge cycles, and the synergistic effect between Fe 2 O 3 and NiO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-inorganic perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) hold tremendous prospect in optoelectronics, while the instability has always troubled us to the wide application of perovskite materials. Here, the dual-phase CsPb 2 Br 5 /CsPbBr 3 PNCs were precipitated in the phosphosilicate glass matrix by a melt-quenching method for the first time. Impressively, the introduction of alkaline earth metal oxide CaO was utilized to adjust glass structure, and successfully realizing the conversion between the two phases. To our surprise, the CsPb 2 Br 5 /CsPbBr 3 @glass (PNG) owned the optical characteristics such as narrowband emission, high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY ∼ 52%) and tunable PL emission (505–526 nm). In addition, the obtained CsPb 2 Br 5 /CsPbBr 3 @glass exhibited excellent thermal, water and light stabilities. More excitingly, a conceptual experiment was carried out through commercial TFT-LCD devices, and the color gamut of the prepared PNG@PET yellow-emitting composite film covered 130% of National Television System Committee (NTSC) and 97% of Rec.2020, and maintained excellent display performance even after 72 h of continuous operation. This work undoubtedly not only provided a new avenue to control the precipitate composite perovskites in glass, but also demonstrated composite perovskites materials have great potentials for future practical backlit display applications. • Two-phase perovskite CsPbBr 3 /CsPb 2 Br 5 @glass was precipitated in glass matrix for the first time. • Introduction of alkaline earth metal oxide CaO successfully realized the conversion between the two phases. • The obtained CsPb 2 Br 5 /CsPbBr 3 @glass exhibited excellent thermal, water and light stabilities. • The obtained wide color gamut reached 130% of the NTSC standard color gamut, covered 97% of the Rec.2020 color gamut. • After 72 h of continuous operation, the display performance was almost unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structures, mechanical properties, anisotropic properties, and lattice thermal conductivities of Mg–Bi alloys have been investigated by particle swarm optimization structure prediction method and first-principles calculations. Apart from the well-known stoichiometry of Mg 3 Bi 2 , the novel stable stoichiometry of Mg 4 Bi, as well as several metastable stoichiometries (i.e., Mg 3 Bi, Mg 2 Bi, and MgBi) are predicted. Meanwhile, the calculated phonon dispersion curves and elastic constants show that the above five Mg–Bi alloys are dynamically and mechanically stable, respectively. Moreover, the calculated mechanical properties indicate that the studied Mg–Bi alloys with various stoichiometries behave ductility. Simultaneously, they exhibit obvious anisotropic characters and the degree of anisotropy follows the order of MgBi > Mg 2 Bi > Mg 3 Bi > Mg 4 Bi > Mg 3 Bi 2. More importantly, the minimum lattice thermal conductivities of MgBi and Mg 2 Bi are smaller than that of the well-known Mg 3 Bi 2. The adsorption of O atom on the Mg 3 Bi (001) surface is more sensitive compared with other four Mg–Bi (001) surfaces. • Apart from the well-known stoichiometry of Mg 3 Bi 2 , the novel stable stoichiometry of Mg 4 Bi, as well as several metastable stoichiometries (i.e., Mg 3 Bi, Mg 2 Bi, and MgBi) are predicted. • The five Mg–Bi alloys are dynamically and mechanically stable. • The five Mg–Bi alloys behave ductility and obvious anisotropy. • The minimum lattice thermal conductivities of MgBi and Mg 2 Bi are smaller than that of Mg 3 Bi 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like receptor 4, a highly conserved protein of innate immunity, is responsible for the regulation and maintenance of homeostasis. It has been implicated in the progression of ulcerative colitis (UC) by interacting with its downstream pathway myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a specific inhibitor of toll-like receptor 4, TLR4-IN-C34 on gut microbiota to elucidate its mechanism in UC mice. Dextran sulfate sodium significantly induced weight loss, diarrhea and rectal bleeding, and colonic damage in mice, which occurred concomitant with dysbiosis of intestinal flora. Intestinal dysbiosis were partially ameliorated by TLR4-IN-C34. Meanwhile, a reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration, enhanced antioxidant activity in colon tissues, and reconstruction of intestinal barrier were observed in mice administrated with TLR4-IN-C34. MyD88 and NF-κB were significantly reduced after TLR4-IN-C34 treatment. MyD88−/− mice were found with improved dysbiosis of intestinal flora, which was mitigated by overexpression of NF-κB. Collectively, our results suggest that TLR4-IN-C34 alleviates UC in mice by blocking the MyD88/NF-κB pathway to improve intestinal flora dysbiosis, inflammatory infiltration, oxidative stress and intestinal barrier function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel random feature map is provided to improve the flexibility of kernel function, which can make the training samples linearly or approximately linear separable in high dimensional feature space. • Random features based online adaptive kernel learning is proposed to deal with large-scale nonlinear classification, which guarantees the learning model can better adapt to the change of data distribution shape when data is coming one by one. • The experiment results are conducted on twelve data sets and the results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art online methods on most data sets. Besides, the test accuracy of RF-OAK is comparable with that of offline deep learning algorithm on most data sets. In the field of support vector machines, online random feature map algorithms are very important methods for large-scale nonlinear classification problems. At present, the existing methods have the following shortcomings: (1) If only the hyperplane vector is updated during learning while the random feature components are fixed, there is no guarantee that these online methods can adapt to the change of data distribution shape when the data is coming one by one. (2) When the kernel is selected improperly, the samples mapped to an inappropriate space may not be well classified. In order to overcome these shortcomings, considering the fact that iteratively updating random feature components can make data better fit in the current space and lead to the flexible adjustment of the kernel function, random features based online adaptive kernel learning (RF-OAK) is proposed for large-scale nonlinear classification problems. Theoretical analysis of the proposed algorithm is also provided. The experimental results and the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test show that in terms of test accuracy, the proposed method is significantly better than the state-of-the-art online feature mapping classification methods. Compared with the deep learning algorithms, the training time of RF-OAK is shorter. In terms of test accuracy, RF-OAK is better than online algorithm and comparable with offline algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence of an association between exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and female ovarian dysfunction in adults. However, it is not fully clear whether maternal exposure to PM2.5 negatively affects the ovarian function in offspring. The size of primordial follicle pool, definitely assembled during fetal life, determines ovarian reserve and ovarian function. In this study, female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to either ambient PM2.5 (mean daily concentration 49 µg/m3) or filtered air through a whole-body exposure system for 4 weeks before mating, and remained exposed until postpartum. We found that maternal exposure to PM2.5 reduces the initial size of primordial follicle pool and impairs its development in offspring mice. The number of primordial follicles and total follicles was decreased in PM2.5-exposed offspring mice on postnatal day 3 (PND3) and postnatal day 7 (PND7). Maternal PM2.5 exposure promoted the activation of primordial follicles and upregulated the level of p-AKT in offspring mice, accelerating the depletion of primordial follicle pool. While LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K, reversed the overactivation of primordial follicles induced by PM2.5. Besides, maternal PM2.5 exposure induced follicular atresia and granulosa cell apoptosis, increased the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products 4-HNE, and elevated the expression of oxidative stress-related genes and p-p65, p-IκBα in offspring mice. While N-acetylcysteine (NAC) pretreatment abolished the increases of apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), p-p65 and p-IκBα levels in ovarian granulosa COV434 cells induced by PM2.5 exposure. These findings reveal that maternal exposure to PM2.5 decreases the initial size of primordial follicle pool, and impairs ovarian follicular development in offspring mice. Our data suggest that this involves the activation of the PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathway and the ROS-dependent NF-κB pathway. Our study implicates a link between maternal PM2.5 exposure and ovarian reserve in offspring, and improves our understanding of the effects of PM2.5 on reproductive health. [Display omitted] • Maternal PM2.5 exposure reduces ovarian reserve. • Maternal PM2.5 exposure accelerates primordial follicle activation through the PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathway. • Maternal PM2.5 exposure induces follicular atresia through ROS-dependent NF-κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior studies have proposed some smart city index systems, they primarily focus on generic indicators connected to urban development and fail to reflect the properties of intelligence. To fill this gap, we develop a new index system involving three dimensions of digital infrastructure, smart living, and digital economy. Moreover, compared with studies that use subjective weighting methods to rank the smartness of cities, we combine the Shannon entropy weighting method with three multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to show the objectiveness of the evaluation process. Through analyzing the quantitative data from nine cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in China, we find that digital infrastructure is the most important first-level indicator, accounting for 46.92%, followed by the digital economy and smart life accounting for 32.48% and 20.60% respectively. More importantly, when the nine cities in the PRD region are ranked by three MCDM methods, the correlation between the results is over 90%, thus proving robustness. We contribute to the current smart city literature by enriching the components of the smart city index system, as well as evaluation methods. Our findings also guide decision-makers in formulating more targeted smart city construction plans. • Develop a new smart city index system involving three dimensions of digital infrastructure, smart living, and digital economy • Use three multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to rank the smartness of cities • Data were gathered from online platforms in the Pearl River Delta Region, China. • The correlation between the results from different MCDM methods is >90%. • The practical implications are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]