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Copper pollution has become global environmental concern. Widespread Cu pollution results in excessive Cu exposure in human. Epidemiological studies and animal experiments revealed that Cu exposure might have reproductive toxicity. Cuproptosis is a newly reported Cu-dependent and programmed cell death formTsvetkov et al., 2022. However, whether copper exposure at real environmental exposure dose might cause placental cuproptosis and induce miscarriage was completely unexplored. In this study, we found that Cu exposure during pregnancy induced miscarriage or complete pregnancy loss by inducing placenta cuproptosis in CuCl 2 -exposed pregnant mice. Notably, Cu exposure at 1.3 mg/kg/d (a real environmental exposure dose) was enough to cause placenta cuproptosis. CuCl 2 exposure disrupts the TCA cycle, causes proteotoxic stress, increases Cu2+ ion import/decreases Cu2+ export, and results in the loss of Fe–S cluster proteins in mouse placenta, which induces placenta cuproptosis. Moreover, we also identified that Cu exposure down-regulates the expression levels of mmu-miR-3473b, which interacts with Dlst or Rtel1 mRNA and simultaneously positively regulates Dlst or Rtel1 expression, thereby disrupting the TCA cycle and resulting in the loss of Fe–S cluster proteins, and thus epigenetically regulates placental cuproptosis. Treatment with TTM (a cuproptosis inhibitor) suppressed placental cuproptosis and alleviated miscarriage in CuCl 2 -exposed mice. This work provides novel reproductive toxicity of Cu exposure in miscarriage or complete pregnancy loss by causing placental cuproptosis. This study also provides new ways for further studies on other toxicological effects of Cu and proposes a new approach for protection against Cu-induced reproductive diseases. [Display omitted] • Cu exposure during pregnancy induces mice placenta cuproptosis and miscarriage. • Cu down-regulates mmu-miR-3473b. • Mmu-miR-3473b up-regulates Dlst or Rtel1 expression and regulates cuproptosis. • Treatment with TTM suppressed placental cuproptosis and alleviated miscarriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Applied an extra current excitation to reduce polarization voltage. • Analyzed parametric sensitivity of current excitation to model parameters. • Developed a method to determine the parameters for the current excitation. • Shortened the test time due to the active polarization voltage reduction. • Validated the feasibility and superiority with experiments. Abstract The correlation between state of charge (SoC) and open-circuit voltage (OCV) is a crucial characteristic parameter in many aspects of the battery management system (BMS). However, it is a challenging task to obtain the accurate SoC-OCV correlation with a high test efficiency. In this paper, an improved OCV characterization test is proposed to actively reduce the polarization voltage. Based on the third-order equivalent circuit model (ECM), two sets of current pulses are applied to accelerate the convergence of the battery terminal voltage, thus the test time is effectively shortened compared to the conventional incremental OCV characterization test. Furthermore, the parametric sensitivity of the imposed current excitation to battery model parameters is analyzed. Subsequently, the parametric determination method for the imposed current excitation is provided. Experiments are conducted on a lithium-ion polymer battery to prove the feasibility of the proposed test procedure. Comparison with the conventional OCV characterization test further demonstrated the superiority of the proposed test procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retinoic acid receptors (RAR) belong to the same nuclear receptor superfamily as thyroid hormone receptors (TR) that were previously shown to be modulated by dietary soy protein isolate (SPI). This study has examined the effect of dietary SPI and isoflavones (ISF) on hepatic RAR gene expression and DNA binding activity. In Expt. 1, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% casein or 20% alcohol-washed SPI in the absence or presence of increasing amounts of ISF (5-1250 mg/kg diet) for 70, 190, or 310 d. In Expt. 2, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% casein with or without supplemental ISF (50 mg/kg diet) or increasing amounts of alcohol-washed SPI (5, 10, and 20%) for 90 d. Intake of soy proteins significantly elevated hepatic RARbeta2 protein content dose-dependently compared with a casein diet, whereas supplemental ISF had no consistent effect. Neither RARbeta protein in the other tissues measured nor the other RAR (RARalpha and RARgamma) in the liver were affected by dietary SPI, indicating a tissue and isoform-specific effect of SPI. RARbeta2 mRNA abundances were not different between dietary groups except that its expression was markedly suppressed in male rats fed SPI for 310 d. DNA binding activity of nuclear RARbeta was significantly attenuated and the isoelectric points of RARbeta2 were shifted by dietary SPI. Overall, these results show for the first time, to our knowledge, that dietary soy proteins affect hepatic RARbeta2 protein content and RARbeta DNA binding activity, which may contribute to the suppression of retinoid-induced hypertriglyceridemia by SPI as reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core-shell structure particles are synthesized by seeded nucleation, core enlarged polymerization and grafting reaction in the system, which could be tunable by pre-emulsion semi-continuous polymerization. • The particle sizes by batch and pre-emulsion semi-continuous method were compared. • Mechanism of enlarged seed particles process in semi-continuous strategy were explored. • Core shell particles with 380-nm-core provided optimal comprehensive performance. The core-shell polymeric polyacrylate-graft-poly(acrylonitrile-ran-styrene) (ASA) has been explored for the polymer industry due to its excellent properties. However, it has been a longstanding challenge to synthesize large size-tunable particles by the conventional batch polymerization. In this paper, an accurate method, i.e. pre-emulsion semi-continuous polymerization, is applied to prepare ASA polymeric particles, which makes a series of different particle sizes (100–450 nm) of the crosslinked poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) inner core coated with a hard shell using the poly(acrylonitrile-ran-styrene) (AS) copolymer. Specifically, the feed modes and proportion of seed are investigated to tune the particle size. The results show that the PBA seed microsphere in pre-emulsion semi-continuous polymerization is enlarged by accurate feed rate, but not in batch polymerization. A possible mechanism for the growth of the PBA core is proposed that secondary particles from homogeneous nucleation in semi-continuous feed mode is less than that of batch mode, which attenuate the impact on the growth of core particle. The size and morphology of resulting particles are characterized using various analytical techniques including the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the dynamic light scattering (DLS). Core-shell separates phase corresponding to different glass transition temperatures is evaluated using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analyses indirectly. Moreover, the mechanical properties including impacts and tensile strengths are also analyzed. This study thus highlights a detailed strategy to tune polymeric particles related to different properties and the nucleating mechanism of seed emulsion polymerization that governs structure, particle size and distribution of ASA polymer with a bespoke structure for various application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Battery state-of-health (SoH) estimation is a critical function in a well-designed battery management system (BMS). In this paper, the battery SoH is detected based on the dynamic characteristic of the charging current during the constant-voltage (CV) period. Firstly, according to the preliminary analysis of the battery test data, the time constant of CV charging current is proved to be a robust characteristic parameter related to the battery aging. Secondly, the detailed expression of the current time constant is derived based on the first order equivalent circuit model (ECM). Thirdly, the quantitative correlation between the normalized battery capacity and the current time constant is established to indicate the battery SoH. Specifically, for the uncompleted CV charging process, the logarithmic function-based current time constant prediction model and the reference correlation curve are established to identify the battery capacity fading. At last, experimental results showed that regardless of the adopted data size, the correlation identified from one battery can be used to indicate the SoH of other three batteries within 2.5% error bound except a few outliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BPDE up-regulates lnc-HZ11, which down-regulates EGR1/NF-κB/CXCL12 pathway and suppresses trophoblast cell migration/invasion at intracellular levels. BPDE promotes donor trophoblast cells to secrete more EV-HZ11, which suppresses migration/invasion of the recipient trophoblast cells at intercellular levels, and is associated with unexplained miscarriage. Knockdown of murine lnc-Hz11 by EV-AS-Hz11 could efficiently alleviate miscarriage in BaP-exposed mice. The levels of EV-HZ11 in serum could predict the risk of miscarriage. [Display omitted] • BPDE up-regulates lnc-HZ11, which suppresses EGR1/NF-κB/CXCL12 and migration/invasion of trophoblast cells. • BPDE or lnc-HZ11 promotes trophoblast cells to secrete more EV-HZ11. • EV-HZ11 is transferred from donor cells to recipient cells and suppresses their migration/invasion. • Lnc-HZ11 and EV-HZ11 are closely associated with miscarriage. • Knockdown of murine lnc-Hz11 recovers migration/invasion and alleviates mouse miscarriage. • EV-HZ11 in serum predicts miscarriage risk. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate the intercellular crosstalk by transferring functional cargoes. Recently, we have discovered that BaP/BPDE exposure suppresses trophoblast cell migration/invasion and induces miscarriage, which are also regulate by lncRNAs at intracelluar levels. However, the EVs-mediated intercellular regulatory mechanisms are completely unexplored. Specifically, whether EVs might transfer BPDE-induced toxic lncRNA to fresh recipient trophoblast cells and suppress their migration/invasion to further induce miscarriage is completely unknown. In this study, we find that BPDE exposure up-regulates a novel lnc-HZ11, which suppresses EGR1/NF-κB/CXCL12 pathway and migration/invasion of trophoblast cells. Intercellular studies show that EV-HZ11 (lnc-HZ11 in EVs), which is highly expressed in BPDE-exposed donor cells, suppresses EGR1/NF-κB/CXCL12 pathway and migration/invasion in recipient cells by transferring lnc-HZ11 through EVs. Analysis of villous tissues collected from UM (unexplained miscarriage) patients and HC (healthy control) group shows that the levels of BPDE-DNA adducts, lnc-HZ11 or EV-lnc-HZ11, and EGR1/NF-κB/CXCL12 pathway are all associated with miscarriage. Mouse assays show that BaP exposure up-regulates the levels of lnc-Hz11 or EV-Hz11, suppresses Egr1/Nf-κb/Cxcl12 pathway, and eventually induces miscarriage. Knockdown of lnc-Hz11 by injecting EV-AS-Hz11 could effectively alleviate miscarriage in BaP-exposed mice. Furthermore, EV-HZ11 in serum samples could well predict the risk of miscarriage. Collectively, this study not only discovers EVs-HZ11-mediated intercellular mechanisms that BaP/BPDE suppresses trophoblast cell migration/invasion and induces miscarriage but also provides new approach for treatment against unexplained miscarriage through EV-HZ11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodynamic therapy (PDT)-mediated antitumor immune response depends on oxidative stress intensity and subsequent immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, yet the inherent antioxidant system restricts reactive oxygen species (ROS)-associated oxidative damage, which is highly correlated with the upregulated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the downstream products, such as glutathione (GSH). Herein, to overcome this dilemma, we designed a versatile nanoadjuvant (RI@Z-P) to enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to oxidative stress via Nrf2-specific small interfering RNA (siNrf2). The constructed RI@Z-P could significantly amplify photooxidative stress and achieve robust DNA oxidative damage, activating the stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-dependent immune-sensing to produce interferon-β (IFN-β). Additionally, RI@Z-P together with laser irradiation reinforced tumor immunogenicity by exposing or releasing damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), showing the prominent adjuvant effect for promoting dendritic cell (DC) maturation and T-lymphocyte activation and even alleviating the immunosuppressive microenvironment to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 Z-scheme composites were synthesized by in-situ calcination and hydrothermal method and the novel g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs was constructed by introducing nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQs) on the interface of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 catalyst. UV–vis spectroscopy data showed that the improved visible light utilization efficiency of the catalyst is attributed to the composition of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 Z-scheme heterojunction and the addition of NCQs. Photocurrent response analysis and fluorescence intensity measurements showed that the high separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in the g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs composite. In addition, the excellent structural stability of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs can be proved by the analysis data of cycle experiments and XRD diffraction peaks of catalysts before and after experiments. Obviously, the above experimental data and analysis demonstrated the outstanding photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs. Free radical capture experimental data analysis confirmed that superoxide ion radicals (·O 2 −) and holes (h+) play a major role in the reaction process, and the possible photocatalytic mechanism of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs was proposed to further understand its enhanced photocatalytic activity. Image 1 • g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs was synthesized by in-situ calcination and physical deposition. • The excited electron-hole pairs of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 /NCQs were effectively separated. • The introduction of NCQs greatly improved the catalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6. • The possible migration pathways of charge carriers were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]