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CD36 is a transmembrane glycoprotein receptor for oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL) and other endogenous danger signals and promotes athero-thrombotic processes. CD36 has been shown to associate physically with other transmembrane proteins, including integrins, tetraspanins, and toll-like receptors, which modulate CD36-mediated cell signaling. The CD36 N-terminal transmembrane domain (nTMD) contains a GXXXG sequence motif that mediates protein-protein interactions in many membrane proteins. We thus hypothesized that the nTMD is involved in CD36 interactions with other membrane proteins. CD36 interactions with partner cell surface proteins on murine peritoneal macrophages were detected with an immunofluorescence-based proximity ligation cross linking assay (PLA) and confirmed by immunoprecipitation/immunoblot. Prior to performing these assays, cells were incubated with a synthetic 29 amino acid peptide containing the 22 amino acid of CD36 nTMD or a control peptide in which the glycine residues in GXXXG motif were replaced by valines. In functional experiments, macrophages were preincubated with peptides and then treated with oxLDL to assess LDL uptake, foam cell formation, ROS formation and cell migration. CD36 nTMD peptide treated cells compared to untreated or control peptide treated cells showed decreased CD36 surface associations with tetraspanin CD9 and ameliorated pathologically important CD36 mediated responses to oxLDL, including uptake of DiI-labeled oxLDL, foam cell formation, ROS generation, and inhibition of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) brings environmental benefits, but their hard-to-estimate stochastic charging behaviors places additional diversity on grid load management. This paper proposes a procedure to identify typical charging load profiles (CLPs) via large scale charging session data from charging stations (CSs). The daily CLPs are computed from charging sessions, and a comprehensive similarity metric based on the weighting of Euclidean and Pearson correlation coefficient is proposed to achieve better clustering. The clustering is performed using the Clustering LARge Applications (CLARA) algorithm to accommodate large sample scenarios. Subsequently, hierarchical clustering of CSs is performed based on possible CLPs，and their CLPs are estimated by Monte Carlo simulation. The performance of the proposed method is tested and evaluated with over 340,000 charging sessions from 109 CSs in Wuhan at central China, and seasonal differences in CLPs are explored. The results show that the method of mining typical CLPs from charging sessions is effective, 17 typical CLPs are identified in different seasons, which provide effective information on the fluctuation and magnitude of daily power demand, the charging power demand also shows significant seasonal differences, and good accuracy is achieved by dividing the CSs into different groups for load estimation. • A method for identifying typical charging load profiles from charging session data is proposed. • 17 typical charging load profiles for charging stations in Wuhan are reported. • Monte Carlo simulation combined with typical charging load profiles enables good estimation of charging loads. • Seasonal differences in charging loads are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational design of high-efficiency heterostructure photocatalyst is an effective strategy to realize photocatalytic H 2 evolution from pure water, but remains still a considerable challenge. Herein, an anatase/rutile TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 (A/R/CN) multi-heterostructure photocatalyst was prepared by a facile thermoset hybrid method. The combination of two type-II semiconductor heterostructures (i.e., A/R and R/CN) significantly improve the separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated carriers of anatase TiO 2 , rutile TiO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 , and A/R/CN photocatalyst with high activity is obtained. The optimal A/R/CN photocatalyst exhibits significantly increased photocatalytic overall water splitting activity with a rate of H 2 evolution of 374.2 μmol g−1h−1, which is about 8 and 4 times that of pure g-C 3 N 4 and P25. Moreover, it is demonstrated to be stable and retained a high activity (ca. 91.2%) after the fourth recycling experiment. This work comes up with an innovative perspective on the construction of multi-heterostructure interfaces to improve the overall photocatalytic water splitting performance. Image 1 • Anatase/rutile TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 (A/R/CN) multi-heterostructure was prepared. • The heterostructure can effectively separate and transfer photogenerated carriers. • The A/R/CN hybrids exhibite efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting. • The A/R/CN shows excellent stability and reusability. [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]

Urban form significantly influences building energy consumption. However, most research has primarily focused on quantifying the relationship between the two factors, with limited exploration of optimizing urban form to enhance building energy performance. Moreover, studies often fail to consider multiple performance objectives simultaneously. This study proposes a multi-objective optimization framework for early urban design stage to improve energy and environmental performance in residential block layouts. The performance objectives include energy consumption, photovoltaic energy potential, and sunlight hours. The framework is implemented using the parametric platform Rhino & Grasshopper, where a parametric model controls the layout of blocks. Ladybug Tools plugin is employed for performance simulation, and Wallacei is used for optimization. An ideal residential block in Jianhu City, China, is taken as a case study. The study generates a total of 1896 valid solutions, including 58 Pareto solutions. The performance of the Pareto solutions demonstrates considerable improvements, indicating the effectiveness of optimizing urban form for enhancing energy and environmental performance. Compared to the initial solution, a typical Pareto solution showcases a 1.5% reduction in energy consumption, a 52.7% increase in photovoltaic energy potential, and a 50% increase in sunlight hours. These findings underscore the pivotal role of urban block morphology in influencing energy consumption, photovoltaic potential, and daylighting. The proposed multi-objective framework in this study enhances and facilitates sustainable block form design, which is expected to provide technical support for energy-efficient or low-carbon urban design. • A multi-objective optimization framework for designing urban block forms is proposed. • Constructing parametric urban block models based on typical local building types. • Daylighting, energy consumption, and PV energy potential are selected as objectives. • The performance of the Pareto solutions is improved compared to the initial solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As artificial extracellular matrix-like materials, silk-elastin-like protein (SELP) hydrogels, with excellent mechanical properties, high tunability, favorable biocompatibility, and controlled degradability, have become an important candidate in biomedical materials. In this study, SELP is composed of silk-like (GAGAGS) and elastin-like (GXGVP) tandem repeats, in which X residues are set as tyrosine and lysine. Furthermore, SELP polymers are prepared via SpyTag/SpyCatcher. To explore a gentler and more efficient enzymatic crosslinking method, an innovative method was invented to apply laccase to catalyze the formation of SELP hydrogels. Gelation could be successfully achieved in 2–5 min. SELP hydrogels mediated by laccase had the characteristic of low swelling rate, which could maintain a relatively stable shape even when immersed in water, and hence had the potential to be further developed into injectable biomaterials. Additionally, SELP hydrogels cross-linked by laccase showed excellent biocompatibility verified by L929 and HEK 293 T cells with cell viability >93.8 %. SELP hydrogels also exhibit good properties in sustained drug release and cell encapsulation in vitro. This study demonstrates a novel method to construct SELP hydrogels with excellent biocompatibility and expands the possibility of SELP-based material applications in biomedical fields. [Display omitted] • Ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) silk-elastin-like protein (SELP) was obtained by protein polymerization mediated by SpyTag/SpyCatcher. • As a novel green catalyst, laccase could catalyze the formation of SELP hydrogels in 2–5 min. • SELP hydrogels formed by laccase-mediated reactions demonstrated good cytocompatibility and exhibited good swelling properties. • Laccase-mediated SELP hydrogels showed excellent performance in cell encapsulation and sustained drug release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a cost-effective and well-developed material, graphite is a promising anode material for potassium ion battery due to its high capacity, high tap density, high conductivity and plateau-typed charge curve characteristic. However, graphite suffers from severe capacity fading and poor rate capability. The related research mainstream focuses on electrolyte or binder, aiming at a more robust passivation layer. In contrast, it is not common to transform or modify graphite directly, due to its rigid structure and inert property, which is resistant to gentle chemical treatment. Adjusting coherence length of graphite and its effect on cyclability and rate ability has not been studied yet. Herein, we come up with a strategy of crippling the crystallinity of graphite by strong oxidation first, followed by adjusting coherence length under different pyrolysis temperatures. In the battery test, the expanded graphite pyrolyzed at 750 °C delivers a reversible capacity of 303 mAh/g at a current density of 10 mA/g and 105 mAh/g at a current density of 1000 mA/g. In the long cycling test, a capacity of 160 mAh/g can be maintained after 1000 cycles, with a capacity decay of only 0.02% per cycle. Based on the analysis between coherence length and battery performance, we find that decreasing the coherence length along ab plane contributes to improving rate capability, from both intercalation and pseudo capacitance perspective. Moreover, decreasing the coherence length along c axis contributes to the cyclability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gold nanoparticles in size of about 10nm was used to label goat anti-human complement 3 (anti-C3) to obtain a sensitive and selective immunoresonance scattering spectral probe for C3. It was based on the immune reaction between labeled anti-C3 and C3 in the pH 5.6 Na2HPO4–citric acid buffer solutions and in presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The resonance scattering (RS) intensity at 560nm enhanced greatly with C3. Well linear relationships between the enhanced RS intensity (△I RS) and the C3 concentration in the range of 8.33–200ngml−1 were obtained, with a detection limit of 2.8ngml−1 and the limit of quantification 8.51ngml−1 for C3. The convenient and selective and sensitive assay was applied to quantification of C3 in human sera, with satisfactory results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Strand displacement DNA synthesis is essential for DNA replication. Gp90, the sole DNA polymerase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage 1, can bypass multiply DNA lesions. However, whether it can perform strand displacement synthesis is still unknown. In this work, we found that gp90 exo― could perform strand displacement synthesis, albeit its activity and processivity were lower than those of primer extension. Gp90 exo― itself could not unwind Y-shaped or fork DNA. Tail and gap at DNA fork were necessary for efficient synthesis. High GC content obviously inhibited strand displacement synthesis. Consecutive GC sequence at the entrance of fork showed more inhibition effect on DNA synthesis than that in the downstream DNA fork. The fraction of productive polymerase and DNA complex (A values) was higher for fork than gap; while their average extension rates (k p values) were similar. However, both A and k p values were lower than those for the primer/template (P/T) substrate. The binding of gp90 exo― to fork was tighter than P/T or gap in the absence of dATP. In the presence of dATP to form ternary complex, the binding affinity of gp90 exo― to P/T or gap was increased compared with that in the binary complex. Abasic site, 8-oxoG, and O 6-MeG inhibited and even blocked strand displacement synthesis. This work shows that gp90 exo― could perform strand displacement DNA synthesis at DNA fork, discovering the presence of new functions of PaP1 DNA polymerase in DNA replication and propagation of PaP1. • Gp90 exo― could perform strand displacement DNA synthesis. • Tail and gap at DNA fork were necessary for efficient synthesis. • High GC content and DNA lesions obviously inhibited strand displacement synthesis. • E. coli Pol I KF exo― and Pol T7 ― could perform this synthesis, but Dpo4 and hPol ι could nearly not. • This work discovers new functions of polymerase in DNA replication and propagation of PaP1. [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]

Person re-identification (Re-ID) has demonstrated remarkable performance when trained on accurately annotated data. However, in practical applications, the presence of annotation errors is unavoidable, which can undermine the accuracy and robustness of the Re-ID model training. To address the adverse impacts of label noise, especially in scenarios with limited training samples for each identity (ID), a common approach is to utilize all the available sample labels. Unfortunately, these labels contain incorrect labels, leading to the model being influenced by noise and compromising its performance. In this paper, we propose an Instance Credibility-based Label Refinement and Re-weighting (ICLR) framework to exploit partially credible labels to refine and re-weight incredible labels effectively. Specifically, the Label-Incredibility Optimization (LIO) module is proposed to optimize incredible labels before model training, which partitions the samples into credible and incredible samples and propagates credible labels to others. Furthermore, we design an Incredible Instance Re-weight (I 2 R) strategy, aiming to emphasize instances that contribute more significantly and dynamically adjust the weight of each instance. The proposed method seamlessly reinforces accuracy without requiring additional information or discarding any samples. Extensive experimental results conducted on Market-1501 and Duke-MTMC datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, leading to a substantial improvement in performance under both random noise and pattern noise settings. Code will be available at https://github.com/whut16/ReID-Label-Noise. • Inevitable label noise affects the performance of Re-ID. • All samples are partitioned and optimized before training, emphasizing the cleanliness of the data. • Dynamically adjusting the weight of each instance fosters the reuse and re-weighting of all available samples. • The improvement achieved by our proposal under random and pattern noise is noteworthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Superhydrophobic surface is prepared with desired anti-icing property. • Micro/nano-structures and organic layer are developed on the surface. • Water contact angle of 161° is obtained, with the freezing delay time of 93 min. • Well-designed cool material with anti-icing property is successfully prepared. • Cooling property of 8 °C with the NIR reflectance of 75.6% is achieved. Micron/nano-structures and surface layer enriched with organic groups were flexibly obtained through the non-solvent induced phase separation method. A combination of surface roughness and surface chemistry enabled the surface with superhydrophobic performance, which contributed to excellent anti-icing property. Herein, the simultaneous application of fluorine-modified titanium dioxide (TiO 2) and fumed silicon (SiO 2) contributed to the superhydrophobicity with the water contact angle of 161°, as well as the freezing delay time of about 93 min. Simultaneously, this desirable anti-icing property based on the superhydrophobic surface was combined with excellent reflective performance to fabricate well-designed cool materials. The cooling property of the as-prepared cool material, which presented high solar reflectance of 101.1% in visible (VIS) light wavelength and 75.6% in the near infrared (NIR) light wavelength, was estimated to be 8 °C lower than that of pristine polymer matrix. Hence, superhydrophobic surface with desirable anti-icing property was successfully obtained, and the simultaneous cooling property might highlight its outdoor applicability in the locations both experiencing cold winter and sunny summer. For instance, the superhydrophobic material combined with the anti-icing and cooling performance is expected to be utilized as roofing materials, as well as station antenna covers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Under bare-dry cultivation and medium nitrogen rate, upland rice and paddy rice can get the higher yield. • The appearance quality and nutrition quality of upland rice can be improved by bare-dry cultivation and medium and upper-middle nitrogen rate. • The effect of increasing nitrogen application on 1000-grain weight of upland rice and paddy rice is different. • Yield and the cooking and nutrition quality of upland rice were less sensitive to nitrogen than that of paddy rice. The study of water-nitrogen (N) interaction to improve crop drought resistance and reduce environmental pollution has increasingly become a hot topic. However, the response of yield and quality of paddy rice and upland rice to N nutrition under different irrigation regimes is little known. Continuous flooding cultivation (CF, control) and bare-dry cultivation (BD) were used to cultivate paddy rice cultivar Yangjing 687 (japonica) and upland rice cultivar Zhonghan 3 (japonica), and 3 N application rates, 140 (low N, LN), 210 (normal N, NN) and 280 kg ha−1(high N, HN), were set for each irrigation regime. The results showed that under BD and CF irrigation regimes, the yield of paddy rice was the highest at NN, while that of upland rice was the highest at BD with NN and at CF with HN, breakdown viscosity was the highest and setback viscosity was the lowest for paddy rice at LN and for upland rice at NN. Increasing N application, the chalky kernels percentage and the chalkiness of upland rice increased first and then decreased, while that of paddy rice decreased under BD and increased under CF. Compared with CF, BD made the seed setting percentage and 1000-grain weight of upland rice and paddy rice different, and improved the appearance and nutritional quality of upland rice. The correlation between the cooking and nutritional quality and leaf N content of upland rice was lower than that of paddy rice. These results suggest that the yield and cooking quality of upland rice were high under BD with NN, and the paddy rice yield was high under BD with NN or CF with NN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among human four Y-family DNA polymerases, hPol ι is exceptionally error-prone in DNA synthesis. 6 mA plays significant roles in epigenetic regulation of numerous biological processes. Nonetheless, its effects on DNA replication by hPol ι is still unclear. In this work, we found that 6 mA and Hyp, the intermediate of 6 mA, inhibited the replication of DNA by hPol ι. 6 mA lost priority in extension beyond 6 mA:T pair, partially reducing dTTP incorporation efficiency and inhibiting next-base extension. Hyp was prone to dCTP incorporation and extension beyond Hyp:C instead of Hyp:T pair. Statistically, 6 mA primarily reduced the burst incorporation rate (k pol) and slightly increased the dissociation constant (K d,dTTP). However, Hyp mainly increased the K d,dCTP yet did not affect the k pol , both reducing the burst incorporation efficiency (k pol / K d,dCTP). 6 mA together with Hyp weakened the binding affinity of hPol ι to DNA in binary or ternary complex. The misincorporation opposite 6 mA or Hyp further weakened this binding affinity. The methyl group in 6 mA doesn't almost affect the H-bond formation with dTTP, therefore mildly inhibiting dTTP incorporation. As an analogue of G, Hyp can form only two H-bonds with dCTP, thus reducing dCTP incorporation. This work provides a new insight in how the epigenetically modified 6 mA and its intermediate Hyp affect replication of DNA by human DNA polymerase ι. Image 1 • 6 mA and its intermediate Hyp inhibited DNA replication by hPol ι. • 6 mA reduced dTTP incorporation efficiency and lost extension priority. • Hyp was prone to dCTP incorporation and extension beyond Hyp:C pair. • 6 mA and Hyp weakened the binding affinity of hPol ι to DNA. [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]