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Phosphate (Pi) serves countless metabolic pathways and is involved in macromolecule synthesis, energy storage, cellular signaling, and bone maintenance. Herein, we describe the coordination of Pi uptake and efflux pathways to maintain mammalian cell Pi homeostasis. We discover that XPR1, the presumed Pi efflux transporter, separately supervises rates of Pi uptake. This direct, regulatory interplay arises from XPR1 being a binding partner for the Pi uptake transporter PiT1, involving a predicted transmembrane helix/extramembrane loop in XPR1, and its hitherto unknown localization in a subset of intracellular LAMP1-positive puncta (named "XLPVs"). A pharmacological mimic of Pi homeostatic challenge is sensed by the inositol pyrophosphate IP 8 , which functionalizes XPR1 to respond in a temporally hierarchal manner, initially adjusting the rate of Pi efflux, followed subsequently by independent modulation of PiT1 turnover to reset the rate of Pi uptake. These observations generate a unifying model of mammalian cellular Pi homeostasis, expanding opportunities for therapeutic intervention. [Display omitted] • Organellar XPR1 regulates cellular Pi fluxes • XPR1 physically interacts with PiT1 to temporally coordinate Pi uptake and Pi efflux • The IP 8 /XPR1 signaling axis determines PiT1 protein expression and hence Pi uptake Li et al. demonstrate that organellar XPR1 regulates inorganic phosphate fluxes in mammalian cells. Control of phosphate influx by XPR1 is mediated through its interaction with the phosphate transporter PiT1 that prevents PiT1 degradation. The signaling molecule IP 8 functionalizes XPR1-dependent regulation of PiT1 expression to supervise cellular phosphate homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for high energy density in lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles poses a challenge to maintaining its optimum operating temperature while reducing the risk of thermal runaway (TR) propagation. This study proposes a novel hybrid TR propagation mitigation system that balances heat transfer and thermal insulation requirements using low and high thermal conductivity phase change materials (PCM), heat pipes (HP), and air-cooling. The design and optimization of such a mitigation system are complex due to the many design parameters involved. The Adaptive-Kriging-High dimensional model representation (Adaptive-Kriging-HDMR) is used to establish a surrogate model of the system, and the sensitivity of the system's design parameters is evaluated with the maximum battery temperature and the system weight as the targets, thereby improving the efficiency of model calculation and reducing the dimension of optimization parameters. Then, the design of the sensitive parameters is optimized using an extended elitist non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm (E-NSGA-II) multi-objective optimization algorithm. The results show that the modeling difficulty and optimization calculation time are significantly reduced by using a surrogate model. The calculation time for a single surrogate model only takes a few seconds instead of several hours for the original three-dimensional heat transfer and flow calculation. The thermal conductivity of high thermal conductivity-PCM, the distance between battery and low thermal conductivity-PCM, the battery spacing, and the HP length significantly affect the system. The optimized system substantially reduces the overall weight of the battery system while ensuring its good heat dissipation capability. In the case of TR in a single battery, the system succeeds in limiting the TR propagation to the same row, with the maximum battery temperature in the second row being only 64.3 °C, well below the battery TR trigger point. Under more severe conditions, such as TR occurring in two batteries simultaneously, the maximum battery temperature in the second row is 155.5 °C, and no TR spreads to the adjacent row. This study provides a rapid and effective method for designing a TR propagation mitigation system. It can serve as a reference for the engineering design and optimization of battery thermal management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inositol pyrophosphates (PP-IPs) are specialized members of the wider inositol phosphate signaling family that possess functionally significant diphosphate groups. The PP-IPs exhibit remarkable functionally versatility throughout the eukaryotic kingdoms. However, a quantitatively minor PP-IP – 1,5 bisdiphosphoinositol tetrakisphosphate (1,5-IP 8) – has received considerably less attention from the cell signalling community. The main purpose of this review is to summarize recently-published data which have now brought 1,5-IP 8 into the spotlight, by expanding insight into the molecular mechanisms by which this polyphosphate regulates many fundamental biological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The synthesis of symmetrical functional monomer flame retardant with benzene ring was reported. • It is found that the amount of flame retardants introduced is not proportional to the flame retardancy. • The influence of flame retardants in a certain range on mechanical properties unchanged. • Synthesis of intrinsic flame retardant PET. In this paper, a kind of symmetric functionalized monomer is presented, and a polyester with flame retardancy and mechanical properties is obtained. Magnesium hydroxide was modified with phenylphosphonic acid to give a novel inorganic–organic monomer (MH-PPOA) with intrinsic flame retardancy. MH-PPOA was incorporated into the main chain of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in varying amounts (n, wt% relative to terephthalic acid) to give a series of co-polyesters (MH-PPOA n -co-PET), and the effects of the monomer on their flame retardancy and mechanical properties were determined. The structure and morphology of the hybrid monomer was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, and its successful introduction into the polyester chain of PET was verified by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The thermal characteristics, flame retardancy and burning behavior of the synthesized copolymers were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, measurement of the limiting oxygen index (LOI), Underwriters Laboratory vertical burning (UL-94) test, and cone calorimetry. The mechanical properties were measured by tensile testing. This study provides a new direction for the introduction of intrinsic flame retardants and demonstrates that the incorporation of a symmetrical phenylphosphonic acid modified magnesium hydroxide monomer can also improve the mechanical properties of the PET copolymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general method for accessing 5-alkyl-5-aryl-γ-lactams has been developed using readily available aryl bromides, nitroalkanes, and methyl acrylate as the starting materials. The palladium-catalyzed arylation of nitroalkanes gave the 1-aryl-substituted nitroalkanes, which underwent the DBU-mediated Michael addition with methyl acrylate at room temperature to afford the methyl 4-aryl-4-nitroalkanoates. The latter were then subjected to the nitro reduction using NaBH4–NiCl2·6H2O in MeOH at 0 °C to furnish, after treatment with aqueous K2CO3 at room temperature, the 5-alkyl-5-aryl-γ-lactams in good to excellent overall yields. Selected examples of N-alkylation of the γ-lactams were also illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serine synthesis pathway (SSP) involving metabolic enzymes phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 (PSAT1), and phosphoserine phosphatase (PSPH) drives intracellular serine biosynthesis and is indispensable for cancer cells to grow in serine-limiting environments. However, how SSP is regulated is not well understood. Here, we report that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is crucial for transcriptional activation of SSP upon serine deprivation. ATF3 is rapidly induced by serine deprivation via a mechanism dependent on ATF4, which in turn binds to ATF4 and increases the stability of this master regulator of SSP. ATF3 also binds to the enhancers/promoters of PHGDH , PSAT1 , and PSPH and recruits p300 to promote expression of these SSP genes. As a result, loss of ATF3 expression impairs serine biosynthesis and the growth of cancer cells in the serine-deprived medium or in mice fed with a serine/glycine-free diet. Interestingly, ATF3 expression positively correlates with PHGDH expression in a subset of TCGA cancer samples. [Display omitted] • Serine deprivation induces ATF3 via an ATF4-dependent mechanism • ATF3 in turn binds to ATF4 and regulates its stability • ATF3 recruits p300 to promote expression of the serine synthesis pathway genes • ATF3 promotes serine biosynthesis and tumor growth under serine-limiting conditions Activation of the serine synthesis pathway is important for cancer cell growth, but how this pathway is regulated is not well understood. Li et al. report that ATF3 is an important regulator of this pathway and can promote serine biosynthesis and tumor growth under serine-limiting conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Co 3 O 4 crystals with different shapes and surface structures were synthesized. • Catalysis of the Co 3 O 4 crystals in persulfate was structure-dependent. • The Co 3 O 4 nanocubes had the highest catalytic activity in persulfate activation. • 1O 2 was dominantly contributed to the OG degradation. • The exposed plane of (1 1 1) was responsible for 1O 2 generation. Co 3 O 4 crystals with different shapes and surface structures were successfully synthesized. The shapes obtained included flower-like nanoplates (FN), nanocubes (NC), nanosheets (NS) and flake-stacked microsphere (FM). The shapes and surface structures of the Co 3 O 4 catalysts significantly affected their catalytic activity. Among the as-synthesized Co 3 O 4 catalysts, the NC sample displayed the highest catalytic activity in persulfate (PS) activation, achieving almost complete removal of 30 mg L−1 orange G (OG) within 10 min at the reaction conditions of 0.5 g L−1 catalyst and 8.0 mM PS. The excellent catalytic performance of NC sample could be ascribed to dominant exposed crystal plane and abundant surface hydroxyl groups. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and radical quenching tests demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) including sulfate radical (· SO 4 −), hydroxyl radical (· OH), superoxide radical (· O 2 –) and singlet oxygen (1O 2) were generated in the NC/PS system, while 1O 2 was dominantly attributed to the OG degradation. The exposed plane of (1 1 1) may be responsible for the generation of 1O 2. The study dedicates a novel mechanism of PS heterogeneous activation by Co 3 O 4 crystals and provides an ideal catalyst for efficient removal of organic pollutants in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes has become a global and serious health issues which causes a variety of complications. This study aims to explore the hypoglycemic effect of Crassostrea gigas polysaccharide (CGPS) and the dynamic changes in the endogenous small molecule metabolites of urine from normal group, model group and CGPS high dose group by metabolomic approach (UPLC–Q-TOF-MS). In our study, the CGPS treatment could reduce the fasting blood glucose levels and recover the triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and glycosylated serum protein (GSP) levels in serum of diabetic mice. Urine samples in normal group, model group and CGPS high dose group were dispersed in the PLS-DA score plots. Nineteen metabolites in urine such as l -carnitine, hippuric acid, pantothenate and ornithine were selected as potential therapeutic biomarkers and related metabolic pathways of CGPS for treating diabetes. They were mainly involved in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and purine metabolism. These data suggested that CGPS has antidiabetic activity and urine metabolites provided new understanding of CGPS for treating diabetes and its complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal runaway propagation of the power battery pack is an essential factor affecting the safety of electric vehicles. The commonly adopted propagation inhibition methods mainly include adding heat insulation materials and enlarging battery spacing, which could cause problematic heat dissipation and lower the system energy density. Herein, an innovative battery thermal management system composed of non-uniform thermal conductivity phase change materials and assisted liquid cooling is proposed. Combining the phase change materials with high and low thermal conductivity balances heat transfer and heat insulation requirements. The cooling performance and the ability of thermal runaway propagation mitigation of the proposed schemes are numerically studied. The results show that the proposed strategy can meet the heat dissipation requirements under normal operation and control the thermal runaway in a safe range by transferring the heat generated from the battery thermal runaway in the set direction. The maximum battery temperature and the temperature difference are 38.1 °C and 2.1 °C, respectively, under 3C discharge. Under thermal runaway conditions, the strategy successful confines the thermal runaway propagation within the middle row. The maximum battery temperature in other rows can be controlled under the irreversible thermal runaway reaction temperature of 200 °C. Further study found that increased thermal conductivity benefits the battery heat dissipation and reduces the risk of thermal runaway. However, it propagates faster and broader once the thermal runaway is triggered. In comparison, the decrease of thermal conductivity is beneficial to the mitigation of propagation but may reduce the overall heat dissipation of the battery module. This study can provide a new way to solve the contradiction between battery temperature control and thermal runaway spread suppression. • An innovative strategy is proposed to mitigate thermal runaway propagation. • Non-uniform phase change materials with different thermal conductivity are adopted. • The thermal runaway generated heat can be limited to transfer in a specific direction. • A suitable combination of high and low thermal conductivity for PCM is necessary. • Temperature control and thermal runaway suppression can be achieved simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsPs) are a unique subgroup of intracellular signals with diverse functions, many of which can be viewed as reflecting an overarching role in metabolic homeostasis. Thus, considerable attention is paid to the enzymes that synthesize and metabolize the PP-InsPs. One of these enzyme families - the diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases (PPIP5Ks) - provides an extremely rare example of separate kinase and phosphatase activities being present within the same protein. Herein, we review the current state of structure/function insight into the PPIP5Ks, the separate specialized activities of the two metazoan PPIP5K genes, and we describe a phylogenetic analysis that places PPIP5K evolutionary origin within the Excavata, the very earliest of eukaryotes. These different aspects of PPIP5K biology are placed in the context of a single, overriding question. Why are they bifunctional: i.e., what is the particular significance of the ability to turn PP-InsP signaling on or off from two separate 'switches' in a single protein? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Nanoparticle blended biodiesel fuel (NBF) production and its properties are involved. • Factors affecting the NBF stability and improvement methods are summarized. • The effects of metal and non-metal nanoparticles are presented separately. • Significant improvements in engine performance and emissions are noted using NBF. In recent years, environmental problems and energy shortages have prompted the search for new alternative fuels to diesel engines. Biodiesel is recognized as one of the most promising alternative fuels, with the advantages of being renewable, environmentally friendly and biodegradable. However, some properties of biodiesel, such as lower calorific value and higher viscosity may lead to a long ignition delay, high fuel consumption and increased NOx emission. To optimize the properties of biodiesel and make it suitable for internal combustion engines (ICEs), the fuel modification technology has emerged in recent years, among which the nano-fuel technology has gained considerable development. Nanoparticles have many superior properties, such as high specific surface area, better heat transfer capability and high catalytic properties, which can facilitate combustion and reduce emissions for ICEs. Therefore, it is particularly important to make it clear that the impact of nanoparticles in biodiesel and its blends. This study aims to review the effect of nanoparticles on diesel engines driven by biodiesel and its blends. The article begins with a review of the preparation of nanoparticle-blended biodiesel fuels and the fuel stability studies are also summarized. Then, the article discusses the effects of nanoparticles (metal and non-metal) on the improvement of engine performance and emissions, respectively. The results show that nanoparticles have a positive effect on the improvement of engine performance and emissions. Nevertheless, there are still a few issues that need to be addressed before this new fuel can be formally introduced into service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal Runaway Propagation (TRP) of lithium-ion battery packs has serious hazards. However, the TRP prediction is challenging because of the substantial uncertainty and hard-to-acquire data. To solve this problem, a fuzzy system and multi-task CNN-LSTM method are proposed to predict TRP multiple steps ahead. The TRP dataset is constructed by 25 sets of experiments and 130 sets of simulations. The uncertain SoC, charging and discharging conditions, and thermal runaway (TR) trigger points are considered in both experiments and simulations. Then, the fuzzy system is introduced to reason about the TR probability of the battery and optimized by a sparrow search algorithm (SSA). A multi-task CNN-LSTM model is proposed to extract fuzzy and physical information by employing a convolutional neural network (CNN) and multiple long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks, respectively, and output the temperature of multiple cells simultaneously. Finally, the models are evaluated in the simulation and experimental validation sets with different window lengths and time resolutions. The results show that the fuzzy information significantly improves the prediction accuracy of the method, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 98.48% for the 3s prediction horizon and 97.27% for the 18s prediction horizon in the experimental validation set. • A data-driven method for predicting thermal runaway propagation is developed. • Uncertain initial SoCs, charging or discharging, and TR points are considered. • A fuzzy system optimized by SSA is introduced to reason about uncertainty. • A multi-task CNN-LSTM model is proposed for simultaneous temperature prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phytochemical study on Euphorbia fischeriana , a folk medicinal plant in China, led to the isolation of eight undescribed glycosides, including two diterpene glycosides, three acetophenone glycosides and three tannins together with eight known ones. Their planar structures were elucidated by extensive analyses of 1D, 2D NMR experiments and HRESIMS. The absolute configurations were determined by NOESY experiments, ECD calculations. All undescribed compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity and antibacterial activities in vitro. Two diterpene glycosides (1–2) showed cytotoxic activity with IC 50 values ranging from 5.4 to 16.2 μM toward Hep-G2, Hep-3B, A549, NCI–H460 and AGS cells. Tannins (6–8) showed the significant antibacterial activity with MIC values in the range of 1.56–6.25 μg/mL. [Display omitted] • Eight undescribed glycosides were isolated from the Euphorbia fischeriana. • The absolute configuration of 1 and 2 was determined by ECD calculation. • Cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of compounds 1–8 was tested in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-mode and multi-task data-driven method is proposed to predict thermal runaway propagation in battery modules. • A thermal runaway propagation simulation model is developed to supplement the thermal runaway experimental data. • The proposed thermal propagation prediction model is validated in 18,650 batteries with different chemical compositions. • The proposed warning strategy is effective for different state of charge and different model window lengths. Thermal runaway (TR) propagation is triggered in a battery pack by abnormalities such as a cell fire or explosion, which leads to severe consequences. Predicting the TR propagation is challenging due to the complex, high non-linearity, and uncertain disturbances of TR. This paper establishes an electro-thermal coupling simulation model of TR propagation to supplement experimental data and public datasets for model training and verification. Then, a data-driven fusion model named Multi-Mode and Multi-Task Thermal Propagation Forecasting Neural Network (MMTPFNN) is established quantitative advance multi-step prediction of TR propagation in Li-ion battery modules, and a temperature-based TR propagation grading warning strategy is proposed. The TR propagation is mainly influenced by the thermal characteristics of surrounding batteries, and the temperature distribution in the entire battery module is of great significance to the prediction of TR propagation. Herein, the model is presented by using the thermal image and the discrete operating data of cells. Furthermore, because TR is a small probability event, obtaining the thermal image of the battery module requires additional system memory and computational resources. A switching strategy of the prediction model is established to improve the applicability of the model with the temperature threshold of 60 °C. When the battery is in a safe temperature range (below 60 °C), the long short-term memory (LSTM) model is run to predict the battery temperature. Once the battery temperature is detected above 60 °C, the thermal image is captured, and the MMTPFNN model is run to predict the TR propagation. In the validation section, different network structures are discussed, and different time resolutions and different window settings of the MMTPFNN are compared. Finally, the early warning strategy with three alert levels is introduced, and the effectiveness of the warning strategy with different window settings and initial SoCs is further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]