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EMT dysfunction is a dominant mechanisms of hypospadias. Thus, identification of EMT‐related lncRNAs based on transcriptome sequencing data of hypospadias might provide novel molecular markers and therapeutic targets for hypospadias. First, the microarray data related to hypospadias were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Besides, the differentially expressed lncRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) related to EMT were screened to construct lncRNA‐mRNA co‐expression interaction pairs. In addition, the microRNA (miRNA) prediction analysis was performed through bioinformatics methods to construct a ceRNA network. Moreover, function prediction and function enrichment and pathway analyses were also performed. Finally, the core EMT‐related lncRNAs were verified based on mRNA expression changes and cell functions. A total of 6 EMT‐related lncRNAs were identified and 123 mRNA‐lncRNA co‐expression interaction pairs were screened in this study. Additionally, a ceRNA regulatory network comprising 17 mRNAs, 4 lncRNAs, and 28 miRNAs was constructed based on the prediction of hypospadias‐related miRNAs. The validation results of the dataset GSE121712 revealed that only BEX1 was positively correlated with the expression of the lncRNA GNAS‐AS1 (r = 0.874, P < 0.01), both of which had high expression. The cell experiment results demonstrated that interfering with the expression of GNAS‐AS1 significantly promoted the proliferation, migration, and EMT of cells. Importantly, it was confirmed that GNAS‐AS1 can serve as a ceRNA and play an important role in the EMT of hypospadias. Hence, it may be considered as a potential target in the treatment of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous catalysts for catalytic ozonation are elaborately designed with commendable intrinsic activity, while their industrial applications are limited by inadequate mass transfer of ozone (O3). In this work, it is demonstrated that engineering the surface aerophilicity of heterogeneous catalyst enables fast mass transfer of O3 reactant, giving rise to much enhanced catalytic ozonation performance. Taking active 4A zeolite catalyst as an example, the aerophilicity of spherical 4A zeolite can be greatly enhanced by coating polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with low surface energy, and the optimized sample exhibits a 99.5% removal of atrazine (ATZ) within 20 min (corresponding to a k of 0.269 min−1), much better than 4A zeolite without surface aerophilicity engineering (k≈0.156 min−1). The PTFE coating does not change the ozone activation mechanism and degradation pathways for ATZ, further demonstrating that the enhanced ozonation activity is attributed to the enhanced mass transfer process. In addition, the general applicability of this surface aerophilicity and the potential ozonation application for industrial wastewater treatment are both demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs)-based nanoreactors have attracted broad interest in many fields due to their void-confinement effects. However, the inherent drawback of conventional nanoreactors is the lack of internal active sites, which limits their widespread utilization. Herein, we report the construction of hierarchical COF (EB-TFP) nanoreactor with pre-synthesized polyoxometalates (POM, [PV2W10O40]5− (PV2W10)) clusters encapsulated inside of COF (POM@COF). PV2W10@EB-TFP anchors nucleophilic-group (Br− ions) and PV2W10 anion cluster within the COF framework via electrostatic interactions, which not only simplifies the reaction system but also enhances catalytic efficiency. The reaction performance of the PV2W10@EB-TFP nanoreactor can be tuned to achieve excellent catalytic activity in CO2 cycloaddition reaction (CCR) for ∼ 97.63% conversion and ∼ 100% selectivity under visible light irradiation. A mechanistic study based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and in-situ characterization was also carried out. In summary, we have reported a method for achieving the uniform dispersion of POM single clusters into COF nanoreactor, demonstrating the potential of POM@COF nanoreactor for synergistic photothermal catalytic CO2 cycloaddition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing efficient and bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting conforms to the concept of energy conservation and emission reduction but remains challenging now. Herein, the fabrication of a heterostructure by anchoring cobalt‐polyoxometalates (Co‐POM) on NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe‐LDH) nanoplates in situ on nickel foam (NF) is first reported (Co‐POM@LDH/NF). The surface area, electron transfer ability, and stability of the heterostructure are increased due to the synergistic effect between Co‐POM and NiFe‐LDH. Particularly, Co‐POM@LDH/NF can deliver a current density of 100 mA cm−2 with an overpotential of only 220 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 226 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1.0 m KOH electrolytes. Impressively, the outstanding stability of Co‐POMs in heterostructures is verified by the experimental observations after electrolysis, indicating the successful construction of stable POMs‐based heterogeneous electrocatalysts. More attractively, the electrolyzer composed by Co‐POM@LDH/NF as anode and cathode shows a much lower operating voltage of 1.51 V at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 for overall water splitting. This study provides a feasible and extensible idea for the design of the POM‐based heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study deals with the state observer design for a class of linear time‐delay distributed parameter systems (DPSs) modeled by a parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) via mobile sensors. Initially, under the assumption that the spatial domain is decomposed into multiple subdomains according to the number of mobile sensors, the estimation scheme including a state observer and the guidance of mobile sensors is proposed for the linear time‐delay DPS. Then, by using Lyapunov direct technique and the projection modification algorithm, a design of the state observer plus mobile sensor guidance laws is developed, such that the resulting state estimation error system is exponentially stable and the mobile sensor guidance can improve the transient response of state estimation error. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing high-efficiency electrocatalysts for nitrate-to-ammonia transformation holds significant promise for the production of ammonia, a crucial component in agricultural fertilizers and as a carbon-free energy carrier. In this study, we propose a viable strategy involving sulfur doping to modulate both the microstructure and electronic properties of CoSe 2 for nitrate reduction. This approach remarkably enhances the conversion of nitrate to ammonia by effectively regulating the adsorption capability of nitrogenous intermediates. Specifically, sulfur-doped CoSe 2 nanowires (S-CoSe 2 NWs) exhibit a peak faradaic efficiency of 93.1% at -0.6 V vs. RHE and achieve the highest NH 3 yield rate of 11.6 mg h -1 cm -2 . Mechanistic investigations reveal that sulfur doping facilitates the creation of highly charged active sites, which enhance the adsorption of nitrite and subsequent hydrogenation, leading to improved selectivity towards ammonia production.

A significant challenge in direct seawater electrolysis is the rapid deactivation of the cathode due to the large scaling of Mg(OH) 2 . Herein, we synthesized a Pt-coated highly disordered NiCu alloy (Pt-NiCu alloy) electrode with superior solidophobic behavior, enabling stable hydrogen generation (100 mA cm -2 , >1000 h durability) and simultaneous production of Mg(OH) 2 (>99.0% purity) in electrolyte enriched with Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ . The unconventional solidophobic property primarily stems from the high surface energy of the NiCu alloy substrate, which facilitates the adsorption of surface water and thereby compels the bulk formation of Mg(OH) 2 via homogeneous nucleation. The discovery of this solidophobic electrode will revolutionarily simplify the existing techniques for seawater electrolysis and increase the economic viability for seawater electrolysis.

Developing catalysts with high catalytic activity and stability in acidic media is crucial for advancing hydrogen production in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). To this end, a self-supported WO 3 @RuO 2 nanowire structure was grown in situ on a titanium mesh using hydrothermal and ion-exchange methods. Despite a Ru loading of only 0.098 wt %, it achieves an overpotential of 246 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a current density of 10 mA·cm -2 in acidic 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 while maintaining excellent stability over 50 h, much better than that of the commercial RuO 2 . After the establishment of the WO 3 @RuO 2 heterostructure, a reduced overpotential of the rate-determining step from M-O* to M-OOH* is confirmed by the DFT calculation. Meanwhile, its enhanced OER kinetics are also greatly improved by this self-supported system in the absence of the organic binder, leading to a reduced interface resistance between active sites and electrolytes. This work presents a promising approach to minimize the use of noble metals for large-scale PEMWE applications.