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Highlights: Derived from silica photonic crystals, inverse opal microspheres have a regularly connected porous structure and inherit structural color properties. Combined with the stable scaffold and the photothermal phase-transition of the secondary filling material, the inverse opal composite microspheres are endowed with self-healing properties and the ability for controllable drug release. Inverse opal microspheres were significantly treated for diabetic wound, via promoting tissue regeneration, collagen deposition and angiogenesis. Meanwhile, the release of drugs could be monitored by the structural color characteristic. Chronic diabetic wounds confront a significant medical challenge because of increasing prevalence and difficult-healing circumstances. It is vital to develop multifunctional hydrogel dressings, with well-designed morphology and structure to enhance flexibility and effectiveness in wound management. To achieve these, we propose a self-healing hydrogel dressing based on structural color microspheres for wound management. The microsphere comprised a photothermal-responsive inverse opal framework, which was constructed by hyaluronic acid methacryloyl, silk fibroin methacryloyl and black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs), and was further re-filled with a dynamic hydrogel. The dynamic hydrogel filler was formed by Knoevenagel condensation reaction between cyanoacetate and benzaldehyde-functionalized dextran (DEX-CA and DEX-BA). Notably, the composite microspheres can be applied arbitrarily, and they can adhere together upon near-infrared irradiation by leveraging the BPQDs-mediated photothermal effect and the thermoreversible stiffness change of dynamic hydrogel. Additionally, eumenitin and vascular endothelial growth factor were co-loaded in the microspheres and their release behavior can be regulated by the same mechanism. Moreover, effective monitoring of the drug release process can be achieved through visual color variations. The microsphere system has demonstrated desired capabilities of controllable drug release and efficient wound management. These characteristics suggest broad prospects for the proposed composite microspheres in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteostasis is fundamental for maintaining organismal health. However, the mechanisms underlying its dynamic regulation and how its disruptions lead to diseases are largely unclear. Here, we conduct in-depth propionylomic profiling in Drosophila, and develop a small-sample learning framework to prioritize the propionylation at lysine 17 of H2B (H2BK17pr) to be functionally important. Mutating H2BK17 which eliminates propionylation leads to elevated total protein level in vivo. Further analyses reveal that H2BK17pr modulates the expression of 14.7–16.3% of genes in the proteostasis network, and determines global protein level by regulating the expression of genes involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In addition, H2BK17pr exhibits daily oscillation, mediating the influences of feeding/fasting cycles to drive rhythmic expression of proteasomal genes. Our study not only reveals a role of lysine propionylation in regulating proteostasis, but also implements a generally applicable method which can be extended to other issues with little prior knowledge. The development of a new smallsample learning framework, KprFunc, leads to the discovery of an important role for lysine propionylation in determining global protein homeostasis, mediated by a critical propionylation site on histone H2B, H2BK17pr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how a thermophilic microbial agent altered nitrogen transformation, nitrogen functional genes, and bacterial communities during bean dregs composting with (T) and without (CK) a thermophilic microbial agent for 15 days. The results showed that the maximum temperature in T reached 73 °C and remained above 70 °C for 8 days, while that in CK was only 65 °C. The pH in T had essentially stabilized on day 7, while that in CK was still increasing. On day 15, the seed germination index (GI) of T (95%) reached maturity (defined by GI ≥ 85%), while the GI of CK was only 36%. The concentrations of total nitrogen, water-soluble nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen in T (2.5%, 18.9 g/kg, 8.75 g/kg, and 1.69 g/kg) were all lower than those in CK (3.6%, 28.9 g/kg, 12.75 g/kg, and 6.82 g/kg). During composting, Bacillus played a major role in nitrogen reduction, nitrogen mineralization, denitrification, and the conversion between nitrite and nitrate. Weissella played a major role in nitrogen assimilation. Komagataeibacter and Bacillus played a major role in nitrogen fixation in CK and T, respectively. Nitrification was not observed during composting. The nosZ gene, which converts nitrous oxide to nitrogen, was found only in T. Network analysis suggested that the average number of neighbours in T was 3.30% higher than that in CK and the characteristic path length in T was 14.15% higher than that in CK. Therefore, the thermophilic microbial agents could cause nitrogen loss but promote the maturity of bean dregs, which have great potential application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China has been increasingly subject to significant acid rain, which has negative impacts on forest ecosystems. Recently, the concentrations of NO3− in acid rain have increased in conjunction with the rapid rise of nitrogen deposition, which makes it difficult to precisely quantify the impacts of acid rain on forest ecosystems. Methods: For this study, mesocosm experiments employed a random block design, comprised of ten treatments involving 120 discrete plots (0.6 m × 2.0 m). The decomposition of fine roots and dynamics of nutrient loss were evaluated under the stress of three acid rain analogues (e.g., sulfuric (SO42−/NO3− 5:1), nitric (1:5), and mixed (1:1)). Furthermore, the influences of soil properties (e.g., soil pH, soil total carbon, nitrogen, C/N ratio, available phosphorus, available potassium, and enzyme activity) on the decomposition of fine roots were analyzed. Results: The soil pH and decomposition rate of fine root litter decreased when exposed to simulated acid rain with lower pH levels and higher NO3− concentrations. The activities of soil enzymes were significantly reduced when subjected to acid rain with higher acidity. The activities of soil urease were more sensitive to the effects of the SO42−/NO3− (S/N) ratio of acid rain than other soil enzyme activities over four decomposition time periods. Furthermore, the acid rain pH significantly influenced the total carbon (TC) of fine roots during decomposition. However, the S/N ratio of acid rain had significant impacts on the total nitrogen (TN). In addition, the pH and S/N ratio of the acid rain had greater impacts on the metal elements (K, Ca, and Al) of fine roots than did TC, TN, and total phosphorus. Structural equation modeling results revealed that the acid rain pH had a stronger indirect impact (0.757) on the decomposition rate of fine roots (via altered soil pH and enzyme activities) than direct effects. However, the indirect effects of the acid rain S/N ratio (0.265) on the fine root decomposition rate through changes in soil urease activities and the content of litter elements were lower than the pH of acid rain. Conclusions: Our results suggested that the acid rain S/N ratio exacerbates the inhibitory effects of acid rain pH on the decomposition of fine root litter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bean dregs can be prepared into organic fertilizer by microbial fermentation. Geobacillus toebii GT-02, which has promoting effect on bean dregs fermentation, was isolated from horse dung and it grows within a range of 40–75 °C and pH 6.50–9.50. The effectiveness of GT-02 addition on composition transformations and the microbial community in bean dregs thermophilic fermentation at 70 °C for 5 days was investigated (T1). Fermentation of bean dregs without GT-02 served as control (CK). The results showed that T1 (the germination index (GI) = 95.06%) and CK (GI = 86.42%) reached maturity (defined by GI ≥ 85%) on day 3 and day 5, respectively. In addition, the total nitrogen loss of T1 (18.46%) on day 3 was lower than that in CK (24.12%). After thermophilic fermentation, the total organic carbon and dry matter loss of T1 (53.51% and 54.16%) was higher than that in CK (41.72% and 42.82%). The mean microbial number in T1 was 4.94 × 107 CFUs/g dry matter, which was 5.37 times higher than that in CK. 16S rDNA sequencing identified Bacillus, Geobacillus and Thermobacillus as dominant in CK, while Bacillus, Ammoniibacillus and Geobacillus were dominant in T1. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that Geobacillus and Ammoniibacillus were positively correlated with the GI. Thus, thermophilic fermentation with GT-02 can promote the maturity of bean dregs, which indicated the potential application value of GT-02 in thermophilic fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here the "e-Portfolio" concept, which aims to provide access to documented design case studies of design researchers' practices. Our e-Portfolio has its origins in Grounded Design. We examine here how the e-Portfolio concept grew out of Grounded Design, the way it instantiates values, and how it contributes to our understanding of the ways in which shifting values in practice can have an impact beyond the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemerin exhibits an inhibitory effect on hepatocellular carcinoma; however, the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, low chemerin expression was confirmed in samples of liver cancer patients and hepatoma cells. Chemerin altered hepatoma cell morphology but had no effect on normal hepatocytes. Chemerin inhibited proliferation of several human hepatoma cell lines. Real-time PCR detection of hepatocellular carcinoma markers showed that mRNA levels of albumin and A-type gamma-glutamyl transferase increased whereas those of alpha-fetoprotein, alkaline phosphatase, B-type gamma-glutamyl transferase, insulin-like growth factor II, and human telomerase reverse transcriptase decreased in chemerin-treated SMMC7721 cells. Western blotting revealed that chemerin up-regulated albumin and vimentin expressions, and downregulated alpha-fetoprotein expression. Phosphorylated STAT3 was significantly up-regulated, whereas phosphorylated ERK and AKT were significantly downregulated by chemerin. Chemerin decreased phosphorylated ERK and AKT expression and the cell proliferation induced by PI3K activator 740 Y-P but could not significantly alter phosphorylated STAT3 expression and the cell growth induced by STAT3 inhibitor NSC74859. In conclusion, chemerin reversed the malignant phenotype and induced SMMC7721 cell differentiation by inhibiting MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling; growth inhibition by chemerin is not directly related to the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Our study provides novel evidence that chemerin could be utilized for liver cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria significantly improve the efficiency and reduce cost of nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants. However, their slow growth and vulnerable activity limit the application of anammox technology. In this paper, the enhancement of biotin on the nitrogen removal activity of anammox bacteria in short-term batch experiments was studied. We found that biotin played a significant role in promoting anammox activity within a biotin concentration range of 0.1–1.5 mg/L. At a biotin concentration of 1.0 mg/L, the total nitrogen removal rate (NRR) increased by 112%, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion and heme production significantly improved, and anammox bacterial biomass increased to maximum levels. Moreover, the predominant genus of anammox bacteria was Candidatus Brocadia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Open Science (OS) agenda has potentially massive cultural, organizational and infrastructural consequences. Ambitions for OS-driven policies have proliferated, within which researchers are expected to publish their scientific data. Significant research has been devoted to studying the issues associated with managing Open Research Data. Digital curation, as it is typically known, seeks to assess data management issues to ensure its long-term value and encourage secondary use. Hitherto, relatively little interest has been shown in examining the immense gap that exists between the OS grand vision and researchers' actual data practices. Our specific contribution is to examine research data practices before systematic attempts at curation are made. We suggest that interdisciplinary ethnographically-driven contexts offer a perspicuous opportunity to understand the Data Curation and Research Data Management issues that can problematize uptake. These relate to obvious discrepancies between Open Research Data policies and subject-specific research practices and needs. Not least, it opens up questions about how data is constituted in different disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts. We present a detailed empirical account of interdisciplinary ethnographically-driven research contexts in order to clarify critical aspects of the OS agenda and how to realize its benefits, highlighting three gaps: between policy and practice, in knowledge, and in tool use and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]