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[Display omitted] • Four coumarin-carbazole-based oxime esters were synthesized as photoinitiators (PIs). • PIs exhibit excellent adsorption and initiation ability than commercial OXE 02. • PIs can effectively initiate one/two-photon polymerization of LEDs/NIR light. • PIs have outstanding migration stability and cytocompatibility. • PIs with CF 3 group have higher two-photon lithography capability. Photocuring has developed rapidly in recent years owing to its unique "5E" characteristics, especially in the industrial and manufacturing fields, where photoinitiators (PIs) are essential components of the polymerization system. However, most PIs have limited applications in fields that directly contact the human body, such as food packaging or biomedicine, due to migration stability and toxicity. Here, four oxime esters were designed as PIs by using coumarin-carbazole as the conjugate structure, and their properties were optimized by multisite modification of the molecular structure. First, substituents with different electronic properties were introduced at the 4-position of coumarin. The introduction of electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl redshifted the molecule and better matched the light-emitting diode (LED) emission spectra (i.e., 365–450 nm). In addition, the introduction of long and branched alkyl chains on carbazole increased the solubility of the four PIs. The initiation efficiency of the PIs was improved by inserting long or cyclized alkyl chains at the α-position of C = N double bond. The experimental results demonstrated that these four PIs are superior to the commercial oxime ester OXE 02 in terms of light absorption and initiation ability under LED irradiation. The migration stability and cytocompatibility of these PIs were validated, ensuring a green and safe application in photocuring applications. Furthermore, these PIs exhibited a considerable writing speed and remarkable nanopatterning capabilities under 780 nm laser in two-photon polymerization. These outstanding properties indicated their great potential for applications in diverse areas of photocuring, especially in food packaging, bio-3D printing, tissue engineering, and nano-additive manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-walking is a molecular tool used to unveil uncharacterized DNA regions flanking a known DNA, which has been widely used in bioscience and related areas. This study developed a reliable and efficient PCR-based genome-walking approach, named as single primer site-specific nested PCR (SPN-PCR). A SPN-PCR set sequentially consists of three single-primer nested PCR amplifications. The primary relaxed thermal cycle promotes outmost nested site-specific primer (NSSP) to partially combine with numerous places on DNA template, synthesizing many single-stranded DNAs (ssDNA). Among them, the target ssDNA is exponentially amplified in the subsequent stringent cycles, as its 3′ part possesses the outmost NSSP complement; but a non-target ssDNA cannot be amplified, because it does not possess such a complement. Stringent secondary and tertiary PCRs also exclusively enrich this target DNA. Finally, the target DNA product becomes predominant. The feasibility of SPN-PCR was validated by genome-walking several selected genes from two divergent species. • Each round of SPN-PCR is driven by a single NSSP. • Inner NSSP can partially anneal to an unknown region of interest at 60 °C. • Two rounds of SPN-PCRs suffice to give a positive genome-walking result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Sub nanostructured Cu-MOF NFs were first applied the electrochemical detection for CAP. • Cu-MOF NFs exhibited the ultralow limit of detection and wide detection range. • Cu-MOF NFs exhibited an excellent accuracy and repeatability in real samples. Precise detection of antibiotics in aquatic environments is significant for human health and ecological environment development due to the excessive use of antibiotics. However, the accurate detection of ultralow-level antibiotics, such as picomolar level, has always been an extremely challenging task. Herein, we synthesized the sub-10 nm copper-based metal–organic framework nanofibers (Cu-MOF NFs) with a large specific area and high conductivity for achieving the electrochemical detection of picomolar-level chloramphenicol (CAP) in real water samples. As a result, by optimization of synthesis time and detection conditions, Cu-MOF NFs with a diameter of about 5 nm exhibited the ultralow limit of detection with 0.03 pM and wide detection range with 0.1––1.0 × 106 pM for CAP detection, as well as the designed sensor electrode has the excellent specificity, reproducibility, and stability. Importantly, the prepared sensor electrode exhibits reliable analytical results for CAP in real water samples, such as tap water, bottled water, and milk, indicating that designed sensor electrode has great application potential for the precise detection of antibiotics in practical samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new method for accurately predicting the remaining life of a lithium-ion battery. • A residual life prediction method based on variational modal decomposition with double broad learning (VMD-DBL) is proposed. • DBL performs feature fusion and prediction to obtain the prediction results. • The accuracy and robustness of the VMD-DBL model was verified by predicting the NASA battery dataset. Predicting the remaining life of lithium-ion battery equipment is becoming increasingly important as enterprises transition to smart manufacturing. Accurate prediction results can be used to effectively determine the battery's health status and improve operational safety. However, during the decline process, lithium-ion battery capacity regeneration occurs, resulting in significant fluctuations in the degradation data that can easily lead to insufficient prediction accuracies. At the same time, a factor influencing the prediction results is the unification of modal information and insufficient feature extraction of the battery capacity data in the prediction process. Therefore, in this paper, a novel model based on variational modal decomposition and double broad learning (VMD-DBL) is proposed. First, we use VMD to perform adaptive decomposition of the degraded data to form intrinsic mode function (IMF) components and residual components to solve the data noise problem. Second, these two modal data of the feature extraction and modal fusion are inputted into the trained DBL model. Finally, the two modes are connected to the output layer to obtain the predicted result. The NASA dataset is used for experimental validation in this paper, and the results show that our proposed method outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy and feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures provide valuable social experimental opportunities for exploring the factors that affect changes in the urban tourism carbon footprint (TCF u). The study uses the carbon emission coefficient and energy consumption coefficient to calculate the TCF u of the transport, accommodation, catering, and recreational activity sectors, taking Xi'an from 2014 to 2020 as a case study. It analyzes the characteristics of the carbon footprint changes and their drivers in each sector. The results show that compared to before the outbreak of the pandemic, in the period afterwards, the TCF u decreased by 60.46%. The carbon footprint of tourism transport decreased the most. Carbon intensity has a significant inhibitory effect on the TCF u growth, and as drivers, the consumption level and population size shifted from promoting to inhibiting the TCF u. It emphasizes the importance of developing low-carbon tourism transportation to reduce the TCF u , providing a scientific basis for promoting the green transformation of urban tourism. [Display omitted] • The TCF u changes before and after the pandemic were analyzed. • Carbon intensity has a restraining effect on the growth of the TCF u. • The tourism transport carbon footprint is the most affected by the pandemic. • The effect of consumption level and population size on the TCF u has shifted. • Emphasize the importance of preventing retaliatory growth on of the TCF u. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Netrin-1 is an extracellular guidance cue of neuronal navigation, mediated through interaction with its main receptors, and is known to be crucial in the development of multiple chronic inflammatory diseases. However, the expression pattern and mechanism of netrin-1 in endometriosis are currently undefined. Here we report that netrin-1 expression peaked in peritoneal macrophages found in endometriosis. Netrin-1 induced angiogenesis in ovarian endometriomas through interaction with CD146 in vascular endothelial cells. Through another receptor, neogenin, netrin-1 promoted neurite growth and sensitization in endometriosis through the up-regulation of MAP4, TAU, and CGRP. Targeted knockdown of neogenin in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nerve cells compromised its response to netrin-1 through inhibiting phosphorylation of ERK1/2. The inhibition of netrin-1 using a neutralizing antibody reduced vascular and nerve infiltration in rat endometriotic lesions. In summary, our results suggest that netrin-1 is an important factor that promotes neuroangiogenesis in endometriosis. • Netrin-1 is overexpressed in macrophages found in endometriosis. • Netrin-1 promotes neuroangiogenesis, thereby fostering the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis. • Netrin-1 facilitates sensory nerve infiltration and sensitization via its receptor neogenin through the MAPK pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning from imbalanced datasets is a nontrivial task for supervised learning community. Traditional classifiers may have difficulties to learn the concept related to the minority class when addressing imbalanced classification and the issues can become more deteriorated in the presence of other complicated aspects: overlapping, outliers and small disjuncts, etc. In this paper, we propose a self-adaptive oversampling algorithm based on the complexity of minority data for dealing with imbalanced datasets classification problems. In the proposed algorithm, various hyperspheres with different radii determined by imbalance ratio and the distances to the nearest enemy neighbors are firstly generated to cover all minority instances provided that they cannot contain any majority instance. Subsequently, the oversampling process is conducted only within these hyperspheres and thus the generated synthetic minority instances cannot intervene within the majority space, eventually avoiding overlapping issues during achieving between-class balance. In addition, a self-adaptive assignment strategy of oversampling sizes is developed based on the minority data complexity, where the hyperspheres with small radii and few instances in them are provided more chances to be oversampled. The strategy will favor addressing the outliers and small disjuncts issues since the hyperspheres covering the outliers and small disjuncts are usually of small sizes and contain few instances, which makes them have more chances to generate synthetic instances and thus eliminate within-class imbalance due to lack of density. Moreover, since the hyperspheres covering boundary minority instances are relatively small and thus are assigned with larger oversampling sizes, the proposed approach can also strengthen the boundary information of minority class, thus favoring the later learning tasks. The extensive experimental results on various simulated and real-world imbalanced datasets show that the proposed method significantly outperforms other state-of-the-art oversampling ones. • A self-adaptive oversampling method based on minority data complexity is presented. • Hyperspheres covering the minority data are used to denote minority data distribution. • Oversampling within hyperspheres can avoid overlapping when balancing class numbers. • The proposed oversampling size assignment strategy favors addressing within-class imbalance. • The borderline instances can be more oversampled thus enhancing boundary information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel hyperbranched polymers that contained cationic polymerizable groups both on and around the hyperbranched framework were designed and synthesized as macromers. The hyperbranched macromers can polymerize from both inside and outside, resulting in a denser and more uniform structure of the cross-linked network, thus improving the performance of the photocured coatings. [Display omitted] • A series of hyperbranched polymers containing oxetane groups on and around the hyperbranched framework were designed and synthesized. • The newly synthesized hyperbranched polymers, as a new type of macromer, have excellent photopolymerization performance. • The addition of hyperbranched macromers allows the UV curing to form a more compact crosslinked structure. • The optimized macromer has good performance and application prospects in the UV curing coatings. On the basis of aliphatic nucleophilic substitution polycondensation reactions, a series of hyperbranched macromers that contained cationic polymerizable groups, e.g., oxetane, internally and peripherally, was prepared using 3,3-dibromomethyl-1-oxetane and 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as A 2 and CB 2 monomers, respectively. The structures of these macromers were confirmed via proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and gel permeation chromatography analyses. The effect of the hyperbranched macromers on the ultraviolet (UV) curing of commercial resin was investigated via photo-differential scanning calorimetry and rheological experiments. The addition of hyperbranched macromers substantially improves the performance of the coating, such as its mechanical properties, pencil hardness, adhesive force, and thermogravimetric stability. It is superior to the addition of small molecule monomers, linear macromers, and hyperbranched macromers with oxetane only at the periphery under the same conditions. The best overall performance of the coating is achieved when the molar ratio of A 2 to CB 2 is 1.4. Results show that because hyperbranched internal units can also participate in crosslinking during the curing process, such macromers may be good candidates for high-performance UV curing coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CoPB-MXene/GCE shows an ultralow LOD for Pb2+ detection. • CoPB-MXene/GCE exhibits an outstanding anti-interference for Pb2+ detection. • CoPB-MXene/GCE exhibits a good repeatability, reproducibility and stability. • CoPB-MXene/GCE exhibits an excellent accuracy in real samples. Lead ion (Pb2+) is a significant environmental pollutant and severely harmed human health. Therefore, a direct and real-time detection for trace levels of Pb2+ appear to be particularly important in environmental waters. In this work, we developed a portable electrochemical Pb2+ sensor based on 2D MXene loading Co-doped Prussian blue, and CoPB-MXene/GCE exhibited a wide linear range of 1 to 200 nM and an ultralow detection limit of 0.97 nM under the low deposition potential of − 1.3 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). In addition, we investigated the various operating conditions, such as deposition time, buffer solution, and pH. Under the optimal conditions, the CoPB-MXene/GCE showed a high anti-interference, a good repeatability, an excellent reproducibility. Even more, CoPB-MXene/GCE still remains 89.23% of initial response current after four weeks, and exhibited an outstanding accuracy in real samples of bottle water, tap water, and lake water for Pb2+ detection, which indicated the CoPB-MXene/GCE possessed an enormous potential for Pb2+ detection in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing, as the capital of China, is one of the most populous cities in the world. With the fine particulate matter pollution being increasingly serious, daily exposure to hazardous ingredients caused more and more attention. Current research concerning risk evaluation in Beijing was relative less. In November, 2013, samples were collected in seven different functional areas of Beijing, so as to better understand the risk to human health caused by particle matter pollution in this region. PM2.5 pollution in rural and urban Beijing was relative high under haze–fog days in comparison with non haze–fog value. Zn and Ba showed the highest concentration levels among non-carcinogenic metals. The non-carcinogenic metal concentration at all the sites ranged in the same order: Ce, Pb, Cu, V and Sb. Higher ring PAHs (with four to six rings) were the dominant species and constituted more than 90% of the Σ 14 PAHs. Pb (4.34 × 10 − 4 for men, 3.73 × 10 − 4 for women) presented the maximum risk level for non-carcinogenic heavy metals in the whole study area. While, risk levels of Cr at residential areas, schools, Olympic Park and rural countryside exceeded the limit for adults. In haze–fog days, the carcinogenic PAH risk level in each functional area ranged in the order: rural countryside > inner suburban district > Olympic Park > city central > schools > ecological reserve > residential areas. To some extent, benzo(a)pyrene may had a potential risk to adults, and other carcinogenic PAHs were all under average risk acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles-based antioxidative therapy has been highlighted in a series of diseases triggered by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs), as a representative artificial nanozyme, have been proved as highly effective ROS scavengers. However, its detailed intracellular antioxidant mechanism is not clear yet. Herein, a series of PBNPs with different particle sizes were synthesized and their intracellular antioxidant activities were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) from a biomechanical perspective. We first validated the ROS scavenging ability of PBNPs in vitro. It indicated that PBNPs had great scavenging effect on multiple ROS, such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH), superoxide radicals (O 2 •−) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2). By observing the changes in morphology and mechanical properties of human umbilical vascular endothelium cells (HUVECs), it was further found that PBNPs could apparently alleviate the decrease of Young's modulus caused by oxidative stress damage and kept cells in their normal morphology. In addition, the distribution of F-actin revealed that the enhancement of cytoskeleton stability by PBNPs might be a key way to protect HUVECs from oxidative damage. Importantly, the antioxidant activities of PBNPs were found to be size-dependent, which indicated the smaller particle size had better antioxidant activities compared with the larger particle size. This study serves as a novel medium to reveal the mechanism of nanoparticles on cells at the single-cell level and demonstrates the great potential of atomic force microscopy in studying the application of nanoparticles in cell biology. [Display omitted] • PBNPs with different particle sizes were prepared based on regulated ethanol aqueous solution. • PBNPs had excellent ROS scavenging activity with size dependence. • PBNPs mitigated the shrinkage of cell morphology and the decrease of cell modulus caused by excess ROS. • AFM was utilized as a promising tool for exploring the antioxidant mechanism of nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal amplification strategies are essential to boost the sensitivity of detecting targeted ions or molecules with important biological functions, while few studies take advantage of signal amplification strategies more than two. As a "proof-of-concept" demonstration, we present the ultrasensitive electrochemical aptasensor for picomolar thrombin detection by synchronous coordination of triple signal amplification strategy. The porous MXene framework (PMXF) with secondary pores is constructed as carrier to increase electrons transfer channels, and thionine (as redox indicator) labelled Au nanorod (AuNR) and hollow Cu–Pt alloy (HCuPtA) are synthesized as the electrical signal amplifiers to enhance the response signals. In the presence of picomolar-level thrombin, catalytic hairpin assembly reactions of DNA are triggered to bridge thionine labelled AuNR or HCuPtA nanoprobes on the PMXF with controllablly scondary pore structures. Under the optimal conditionals, the sandwich-typed aptasensor based on PMXF-5/AuNR shows a more low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.67 pM with a linear range from 2 pM to 10 nM, while PMXF-5/HcuPtA exhibits a more wide linear range from 50 pM to 50 nM with a LOD of 16.67 pM for thormbin. This sensing platform can be customized to analyze other biological or environmental substances at an ultrahigh level by rationally designing DNA sequences of target-binding aptamer. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable biochemical sensors have received substantial attention in recent years due to their great potential to provide insights into the physical condition of individuals. Based on the innovative biochemical sensing mechanisms and the recent advances in material science, the integrated biosensors are moving toward soft and small on-body electronic systems that can smartly and persistently monitor tiny changes in biochemical markers. They are beginning to transform almost every aspect of healthcare. This review looks into the state-of-the-art advances in this rising field by connecting the noninvasive biochemical sensing principles, materials science, advanced integration methods and the most representative cases of health monitoring wearable biosensors. Specifically, starting with a brief overview of the trends in wearable healthcare devices, we introduce the fundamental of chemistry for bio-sensing. The subsequent content highlights the contributions of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in integrating and achieving on-body bio-sensing systems. We also discuss the key issues emerging in this area from a biocompatibility and material perspective. In the end, the review concludes with a summary of opportunities where advances in biochemistry and nanotechnology will be significant for future progress. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The push–pull electronic properties of substituents affect the photophysical properties and photoreactivity of oxime esters (OXEs). Decreasing the polarity of solvents increases the photolysis rate of the OXEs, especially for the D-π-A type. These OXEs can effectively initiate free radical polymerization under LED irradiation. [Display omitted] • Three stilbene based oxime esters were synthesized as novel photoinitiators (PIs). • The PIs exhibit excellent absorption under exposure to LEDs (365 nm ~ 405 nm). • The PIs can effectively initiate free radical polymerization. • A-π-A type PIs have superior photoreactivity to the D-π-A type PIs. • For these PIs, the polarity of the solvent can influence the photolysis rate. Three novel oxime esters based on the π-conjugated trans -stilbene group were designed and synthesized as photoinitiators (PIs) for light-emitting diode (LED) photopolymerization. Three substituents (thioether, sulfoxide, and sulfone) with different electron pushing and withdrawing abilities were introduced into the chromophore to constitute D-π-A (OXE-S) and A-π-A (OXE-SO, OXE-SO 2) type structures of PIs to rationalize their relevant effects on free radical photoinitiation ability. Structure-activity relationship, electronic properties, and photodissociation mechanism were investigated using steady-state photolysis, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and real-time 1H NMR. The compounds show good absorption under exposure to LED irradiation wavelength (i.e., 365–405 nm). The polarity of solvent influences the photoreactivity of this series of oxime esters. The photolysis rates and free radical generation quantum yields for the three PIs increase from polar to nonpolar solvent. For D-π-A type OXE-S, the photolysis rate increases 70 times from acetonitrile to toluene. The three PIs can efficiently initiate the polymerization of acrylate monomer under exposure to LED irradiation at 365–405 nm. The excellent absorption and efficient photoinitiation properties of the PIs demonstrate their great potential in photocuring applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The metasurfaces with EIT resonant mode are fabricated and the resonant mechanism of this mode is investigated. • Utilizing such a design as metasensors to detect the MDK concentration, the biosensing properties of metasensors is resolved from time-frequency double domains. • A set of pseudo-spectra obtained by implementing Fourier transform twice on full-spectral amplitude difference (FSAD) confirm that the limit of detection (LOD) of metasensors can at least reach 0.5 µg/mL, and the measurement time shortens to smaller than 5 minutes. • The 2D mappings derived from CWT serve as an effective visualized output of MDK expression level and unique biological characteristics, showing vigorous functionality of EIT metasensors in future label-free detection in cancer diseases. The overexpression level of Midkine (MDK) indicates the malignant degree of cancer cells, being a potential indicator and biomarker for cancer diseases. However, traditional biological methods such as Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) suffers inevitable disadvantages of long measurement time and false positive problems. In this study, the metasurfaces with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonant mode are utilized as metasensors to detect the MDK concentration, and its biosensing properties are resolved from time-frequency double domains. The resonant frequency shift and amplitude difference are demonstrated as indicators for MDK concentration level. A set of pseudo-spectra obtained by implementing Fourier transform twice on full-spectral amplitude difference (FSAD) further confirm that the limit of detection (LOD) of metasensors at least reaches 0.5 µg/mL, and the measurement time shortens to smaller than 5 minutes. The 2D mappings derived from continuous wavelet transform (CWT) clearly recognize different solutions without arousing confusion. Moreover, these label-free mappings with double domains similar to fluorescence pictures of traditional ELISA serve as an effective visualized output of MDK expression level and supply unified measurement standard, showing vigorous functionality of EIT metasensors in future label-free detection in cancer diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jellium model is well known and used to understand the neutralization of alkali-metal ions on metal surfacesbut we find it cannot explain our experiments for the neutralization of 0.4 keV and 0.8 keV Na+ ions on Al(1 1 1) and Cu(1 1 0) surfaces in grazing incidence. As the exit angle increases neutral fractions on Cu(1 1 0) surface decreases first and then increases which is similar to our previous results at large scattering angles. While for the Al(1 1 1) surface we observe opposite characteristics. This anomalous bell-shaped feature cannot be explained by the Jellium model. One possible explanation is the inner 2p electron promotion at smaller exit angles this may cause the Na* excited states to be generated and produce excess Na+ ions while the similar electronic excitation process is inefficient for the Cu(1 1 0) surface in the present energy range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five novel iodonium salts (acceptors) and two amines (donors) can effectively form CTCs for photochemical/thermal initiators for single/two-photon photopolymerization. [Display omitted] • Iodonium salts and amines can effectively form CTC as novel long wavelength photoinitiators. • The newly photoinitiators are highly sensitive to UV–Vis LEDs @395–425 nm. • The optimized CTC can initiate radical polymerization as well as two-photon polymerization. • CTC have good performance as PIs and application prospects in the single/two-photon photopolymerization. Charge transfer complexes (CTCs), as a new type of photoinitiator system, exhibit excellent initiating abilities and are widely used in free radical polymerization. The reason is that it has safe photo or photo/thermal or dual initiator properties, which cannot be achieved by classical initiators. Thus, five novel iodonium salts (acceptors) and two amines (donors) capable of initiating thermal and photochemical polymerizations were investigated. The formations of the CTCs were assessed through their UV–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra. The theoretical model study also attempted to show the relationship among the structure, reactivity, and efficiency of CTCs. Further explanation of the cause of this mechanism was provided by 1H NMR. The UV–vis photoinitiation ability of radical photopolymerization was also studied by real-time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and photo-DSC under LED@395–425 nm. The application of the newly developed initiating system in laser direct writing experiments at two-photon polymerization (780 nm) shows excellent spatial resolution performance. Such characteristic demonstrates that potential versatility can be applied in single/two-photon polymerization to manufacture high-precision materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron-copper nanocomposites composed of cracked nZVI and Cu aggregates (CnZVI/Cu) can efficiently removing Cr(VI) from water with low-cost, convenience, and eco-friendliness via the synergistic effect of galvanic reactions and engineered nanoconfinement at different pHs. [Display omitted] • Highly-efficient remediation of Cr(VI)-polluted acidic/alkaline water is attained. • Fe-Cu nanocomposites (CnZVI/Cu) show promoted reactivity and adsorption ability. • Galvanic reactions in the formed Fe-Cu primary battery dominate the remediation. • Nanoconfinement effect works especially at alkaline conditions. • CnZVI/Cu possesses excellent biosafety, stability, and convenience with low-cost. To eliminate trace toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from water with different pHs, researchers focused on adsorption, reduction of Cr(VI) to trivalent chromium with followed precipitation while the complex and costly reactivity regulations via adjusting pHs was inevitable. Here we exploit Fe-Cu nanocomposites (CnZVI/Cu) with galvanic reactions and engineered nanoconfinement effect for removing Cr(VI) from acidic/alkaline water directly, consisting of phosphorylated cracked nanoscale zero-valent iron (CnZVI, crack width of 1–2 nm) anode and Cu aggregates cathode. The formed primary battery exhibits strong electrostatic interactions towards ions and outstanding reactivity of reduction and precipitation at acidic/alkaline conditions. The pH inside the cracks at neutral or alkaline conditions is calculated to turn lower for enhancing the dynamics relevant to remediation. Benefiting from those two effects, the removal efficiencies of Cr(VI) through CnZVI/Cu attain more than 99.5 % at pH ≤ 8 and even 96 % at pH of 12 in only 30 min, outperforming the previous works. Its protection on beings (water spinach, zebrafish, and cell) from suffering poisonous Cr(VI), control of adsorbed Cr from migration, and magnetic collectability demonstrate the admirable removal performance, biosafety, and stability, respectively. This work proposes highly-efficient, eco-friendly, convenient, and low-cost technology to scavenge Cr(VI) from acidic/alkaline water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • For both surfaces, the neutral fractions decrease as the incident energy increases. • Neutral fraction on H 2 O/Cu(1 1 0) is lower than that of Cu(1 1 0). • The work function of H 2 O/Cu(1 1 0) is lightly greater than that of clean Cu(1 1 0). keV-energy Na+ ions are scattered from clean and water covered Cu(1 1 0) surfaces in grazing incidence. For both surfaces the pronounced Na° fractions decrease with incident energy. In particular, the lower Na° fraction has been observed for the water covered Cu(1 1 0) surface. The simple calculations using rate equation are presented to compare with the experimental data. The calculation is in agreement with the experimental data. It indicates that the water covered Cu(1 1 0) surface has the slightly higher work function due to water molecules dissociation and forming hydroxyl groups, so that the neutral fraction on water covered Cu(1 1 0) is lower than that on the clean surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates that the crosstalk between endometrial cells and mast cells promotes the migratory ability of endometrial epithelial and stromal cells and angiogenesis via CCL8/CCR1, thereby contributing to the development of endometriosis. • Endometrial cells promote the secretion of CCL8 from mast cells by their crosstalk. • CCL8 promotes the migratory ability of endometrial cells and novel angiogenesis. • CCL8 takes its effects via CCL8/CCR1. • CCR1 antagonist suppresses the development of endometriosis. The density and the activity of mast cells are associated with endometriosis. However, the role of mast cells on the pathogenesis of endometriosis remains unclear. Our study aims to investigate whether endometrial cells interact with mast cells and the involvement of their crosstalk in the development of endometriosis. The transwell assay was applied to investigate the effect of mast cells on the migratory ability of human primary endometrial cells. Mast cells were cocultured with endometrial epithelial and stromal cells respectively and total RNAs were isolated and subjected to mRNA sequencing. Next, the transwell assay, CCK-8, and tube formation were applied to study the role of CCL8 on the endometrial and endothelial cells in vitro. The mouse model was also established to confirm the role of CCL8 in the development and angiogenesis of endometriosis. CCL8 was up-regulated in mast cells when cocultured with endometrial cells. CCL8 was highly expressed in the ectopic endometrium and the serum of patients with endometriosis. CCL8 promoted the migratory ability of endometrial epithelial and stromal cells and increased the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of endothelial cells. CCR1, the receptor of CCL8, was over-expressed in the ectopic endometrium and colocalized with blood vessels in ovarian endometriomas. The inhibition of CCR1 suppressed the development and angiogenesis of endometriosis in vivo. The crosstalk between endometrial cells and mast cells in the development of endometriosis via CCL8/CCR1 was demonstrated, thereby providing a new treatment strategy for endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although surgery is an important treatment for laryngeal cancer, surgery has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of patients, and many patients have poor tolerance to surgery. Therefore, alternative chemotherapeutic drugs are an important research hotspot. Chidamide is a histone deacetylase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the expression of type I and IIb histone deacetylases (1, 2, 3 and 10). It has a significant anticancer effect on a variety of solid tumours. This study verified the inhibitory effect of chidamide on laryngeal carcinoma. We conducted a variety of cellular and animal experiments to explore how chidamide inhibits the development of laryngeal cancer. The results showed that chidamide had significant antitumour activity against laryngeal carcinoma cells and xenografts and could induce cell apoptosis, ferroptosis and pyroptosis. This study provides a potential option for the treatment of laryngeal cancer. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic acids are important active components of certain Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) and have a wide range of biological effects. Separation and purification of phenolic acids remains challenging due to difficulties with quality control using existing chromatographic methods The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different chromatographic columns and conditions for the separation of phenolic acids. The BEH column was determined to be optimal, providing efficient separation in the shortest time (17.00 min) using gradient elution with carbon dioxide as the mobile phase, methanol/acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) with 1% TFA as the modifier, and a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Good peak shapes were obtained, and the peak asymmetry values were close to 1.00 for all phenolic acids. The resolution was more than 2.83 for all separated peaks. The developed method was subsequently applied to the determination of phenolic acids in Xanthii Fructus . These results are beneficial for quality control and standardization of herbal drugs using UPC 2 , providing an efficient, rapid and environmentally friendly scientific basis for future analysis of phenolic acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examines the distributions and potential environmental risk posed by trace elements in various particle size fractions. Element concentrations in soil samples from the study site exceed those of background levels in Beijing, except for Pb and As. The element concentrations generally increased with the decrease of particle size. Both correlation and linear analyses showed positive correlations between element concentrations and organic matter content. The PCA and CA analyses showed that: (1) Cu, Co, Zn, Cd, and V originated from mixed sources; (2) Be, Pb and As came from natural sources and were mainly affected by weathering and erosion of parent rock material; (3) Cr, Ni, and Ba resulted from fine particle pollution; and (4) Hg originated from anthropogenic sources, mainly driven by mining, beneficiation, smelting and acid mine drainage. The Enrichment Factor and Potential ecological harm-indices suggested that the enrichment degree of RI and Er i, increased with the decrease of the particle size, especially for Hg and Cd. This conclusion provides a scientific basis for the prevention of environmental pollution from mining and the protection of the Miyun Reservoir in Beijing. It also provides reference for the further study of trace elements in various particle size fractions internationally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Immunotherapy has emerged as an effective treatment modality for cancer. The interaction of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) plays a key role in tumor-related immune escape and has become one of the most extensive targets for immunotherapy. Herein, we investigated the interaction of PD-L1 with its antibody and PD-1 using atomic force microscopy-based single molecule force spectroscopy for the first time. It was found that the PD-L1/anti-PD-L1 antibody complex was easier to dissociate than PD-L1/PD-1. The unbinding forces of specific interaction of PD-L1 on T24 cells with its antibody and PD-1 were quantitatively measured and similar to those on substrate. In addition, the location of PD-L1 on T24 cells was mapped at the single-molecule level by force-volume mapping. The force maps revealed that PD-L1 randomly distributed on T24 cells surface. The recognition events on cells obviously increased after INF-γ treatment, which proved that INF-γ up-regulated the expression of PD-L1 on T24 cells. These findings enrich our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which PD-L1 interacts with its antibody and PD-1. It provides useful information for the physical factors that is needed to be considered in the design of inhibitors for tumor immunology. [Display omitted] • The interaction of PD-L1 with its antibody and PD-1 was investigated by AFM. • The distribution of PD-L1 on cells was visualized at the single-molecule level. • The effect of INF-γ on PD-L1 expression on cells was quantitatively characterized. • This work provides new insights into the biophysical properties of PD-L1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins from adsorption working pairs: water and ethanol were selected as refrigerants; 13x molecular sieve, silica gel, activated carbon, adsorbent NA and NB, proposed by authors, were selected as adsorbents, and the performance of adsorption working pairs in adsorption refrigeration cycle was studied. The adsorption isotherms of adsorbents (NA and NB) were obtained by high-vacuum gravimetric method. Desorption properties of adsorbents were analyzed and compared by thermal analysis method. The performance of adsorption refrigeration was studied on simulation device of adsorption refrigeration cycle. After presentation of adsorption isotherms, the thermodynamic performance for their use in adsorption refrigeration system was calculated. The results show: (1) the maximum adsorption capacity of water on adsorbent NA reaches 0.7 kg/kg, and the maximum adsorption capacity of ethanol on adsorbent NB is 0.68 kg/kg, which is three times that of ethanol on activated carbon, (2) the refrigeration capacity of NA–water working pair is 922 kJ/kg, the refrigeration capacity of NB–ethanol is 2.4 times that of activated carbon–methanol, (3) as environmental friendly and no public hazard adsorption working pair, NA–H2O and NB–ethanol can substitute activated carbon–methanol in adsorption refrigeration system using low-grade heat source. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]