Search

The study investigates the global impact of land property rights on land use efficiency (LUE), as measured by the key indicator for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11.3.1, namely Land Consumption Rate to Population Growth Rate. By utilizing human-land change data from 165 countries spanning the period between 1990 and 2020, we have developed a fixed effects model and employed legal origins as an instrumental variable to examine the influence of land property rights security on LUE. Our findings demonstrate that the security of land property rights significantly influences LUE, with common law countries exhibiting higher levels of LUE compared to civil law countries while controlling for other variables. Stability in property rights encourages long-term investments in infrastructure and sustainable land management practices, thereby enhancing land productivity and mitigating urban sprawl. Furthermore, safeguarding property rights limits governments' power to expropriate lands, facilitating rational and efficient land transactions that contribute towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The study examines how land property rights impact land use efficiency (LUE) globally, based on the SDG 11.3.1 indicator. Secure rights improve LUE, with common law countries outperforming civil law countries, supporting sustainable land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Environmental pollution and energy poverty have always been serious challenges for the global energy system. Results: Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020, this paper uses FE and sys-GMM models to explore the impact of environmental regulations and climate change on energy poverty. The results show that climate change increases energy poverty, with rising energy for cooling in hot summers, and unchanged income in the short term. Moreover, environmental regulation plays a moderating role between climate change and energy poverty. Specifically, economical environmental regulation has a negative moderating effect, while legal and supervised environmental regulations have positive moderating effects. Finally, the national basic energy poverty line used is lower than that in the eastern region, higher than that in the western region, and close to that in the central region, which reflects the heterogeneity of energy poverty in different regions of China. Conclusions: The findings in this paper clarify the nexus between climate change, environmental regulation, and energy poverty, addressing in this way a gap in existing research, which has great significance for environmental and energy policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep-sea harbors abundant prokaryotic biomass is a major site of organic carbon remineralization and long-term carbon burial in the ocean. Deep-sea trenches are the deepest part of the ocean, and their special geological and morphological features promoting the accumulation of organic matter and active organic carbon turnover. Despite the expanding reports about the organic matter inputs, limited information is known regarding microbial processes in deep-sea trenches. In this study, we investigated the species composition and metabolic potential in surface sediment of the New Britain Trench (NBT), using a metagenomic approach. The predominant microbial taxa in NBT sediment include Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria and Chloroflexota. The microbial communities showed highly diverse metabolic potentials. Particularly, genes encoding enzymes for degradation of aromatic compounds, as well as those encoding haloalkane dehalogenase and haloacetate dehalogenase were annotated in the NBT surface sediment, which indicate the potential of microorganisms to degrade different types of refractory organic matter. The functional genes encoding enzymes for dissimilatory nitrate reduction, denitrification, and nitrification were also represented in the NBT metagenome. Overall, the microbial communities show high diversity of heterotrophic lineages and metabolic features, supporting their potential contributions in organic carbon metabolism. Meanwhile, Nitrosopumilus, a dominant genus in the surface sediment of the NBT, is a typical ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), with autotrophic CO2 fixation pathways including the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutylate (3HP/4HB) cycle, the reductive TCA (rTCA) cycle. The results demonstrate that autotrophic metabolic processes also play an important role in the surface sediment, by providing newly synthesized organic matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health problem that substantially increases the risk of developing liver disease. The development of a novel strategy to induce anti-HB seroconversion and achieve a long-lasting immune response against chronic HBV infection remains challenging. Here, we found that chronic HBV infection affected the signaling pathway involved in STING-mediated induction of host immune responses in dendritic cells (DCs) and then generated a lymph node-targeted nanovaccine that co-delivered hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) (named the PP-SG nanovaccine). The feasibility and efficiency of the PP-SG nanovaccine for CHB treatment were evaluated in HBV-carrier mice. Serum samples were analyzed for HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBV DNA, and alanine aminotransferase levels, and liver samples were evaluated for HBV DNA and RNA and HBcAg, accompanied by an analysis of HBV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses during PP-SG nanovaccine treatment. The PP-SG nanovaccine increased antigen phagocytosis and DC maturation, efficiently and safely eliminated HBV, achieved a long-lasting immune response against HBV reinjection, and disrupted chronic HBV infection-induced immune tolerance, as characterized by the generation and multifunctionality of HBV-specific CD8+ T and CD4+ T cells and the downregulation of immune checkpoint molecules. HBV-carrier mice immunized with the PP-SG nanovaccine achieved partial anti-HBs seroconversion. The PP-SG nanovaccine can induce sufficient and persistent viral suppression and achieve anti-HBs seroconversion, rendering it a promising vaccine candidate for clinical chronic hepatitis B therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted polishing (UVAP) has important research value in improving polishing efficiency and polishing quality. The material removal function also has an important contribution to the optimization of process parameters and prediction of surface topography. In previous studies, few studies combined UVAP material removal functions with intelligent algorithms. Therefore, a prediction method of the UVAP material removal model (MRM) based on the GWO-BP algorithm is proposed in this paper. The material removal profile (MRP) was predicted using the GWO-BP algorithm based on the established UVAP material removal model for convex and concave cylindrical polishing tool tilts. The results show that the material removal model predicts the material removal depth (MRD) and material removal rate (MRR) with an error of less than 10%. Compared with the traditional BP algorithm, the average error of the GWO-BP algorithm prediction was reduced by more than 20%, and the prediction error of the surface Sa value was 5.51%. This method provides a good guide for analyzing the mechanism of UVAP and the rapid prediction of machined surface topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI) is a common neurological disorder, characterized by progressive cognitive impairment. Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) represents a modern acupuncture form that has shown neuroprotective effects; nevertheless, its effects on CCI and the mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we aimed to explore the therapeutic action of ACE in CCI-induced cognitive impairment and its mechanisms. The cognitive function of CCI rats was determined using Morris water maze test, and histopathological changes in the brain were assessed through hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining. To further explore the molecular mechanisms, the expression levels of oxidative stress markers and the Ang II/AT1R/NOX axis-associated molecules in the hippocampus were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Here, we observed that ACE treatment alleviated cognitive dysfunction and histopathological injury in CCI rats. Intriguingly, candesartan (an AT1R blocker) enhanced the beneficial effects of ACE on ameliorating cognitive impairment in CCI rats. Mechanistically, ACE treatment blocked the Ang II/AT1R/NOX pathway and subsequently suppressed oxidative stress, thus mitigating cognitive impairment in CCI. Our findings first reveal that ACE treatment could suppress cognitive impairment in CCI, which might be partly due to the suppression of Ang II/AT1R/NOX axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu) and nitrogen (N) co-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) loaded catalysts were synthesized through the sol–gel process. Butyl titanate was used as the precursor, while urea and blue vitriol served as the N and Cu sources, respectively. These materials were applied to foam ceramics using the dip-coating method, which was followed by a photocatalytic oxidation test was carried out using an RhB solution to simulated dye wastewater. The catalysts were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry. The results revealed that the modified TiO2 was well dispersed on the foam ceramic surface, with all nanoparticles exhibiting an anatase phase structure. Additionally, the visible light responsiveness of the TiO2 was optimal. The study further investigated the effects of Cu and N–TiO2 catalysts on the photocatalytic oxidation of dyeing wastewater under UV light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traits of rural domestic sewage emission are unclear, negatively affecting rural domestic sewage treatment and sewage management. This study used data from the Second National Pollution Source Census Bulletin to establish a data set. The spatial distribution characteristics and main factors influencing rural sewage discharge in the Northern Region were studied using spatial autocorrelation analysis and structural equations. The findings demonstrated that (1) a significant Spearman correlation between drainage water volume (DWV), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) and that the correlation coefficients between DWV and COD, NH3–N, TN and TP were 0.87**, 1.0**, 0.99**, 0.99**, respectively; (2) rural sewage discharge showed spatial autocorrelation, and rural domestic sewage discharge in the districts and counties with an administration was significantly higher than in the surrounding areas; and (3) social development was the main driver rural domestic sewage changes (path coefficient was 0.407**), and the main factors influencing rural domestic sewage discharge were the urbanization rate, years of education, and population age structure. This study obtained the spatial variation law and clarified the main influencing factors of rural domestic sewage to provide data support and a theoretical basis for subsequent rural sewage collection and treatment. Use of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China as a typical case, provides a theoretical foundation for scientific decision-making on rural domestic sewage treatment at the national and regional levels and offers new perspectives for managing pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu) and nitrogen (N) co-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) loaded catalysts were synthesized through the sol–gel process. Butyl titanate was used as the precursor, while urea and blue vitriol served as the N and Cu sources, respectively. These materials were applied to foam ceramics using the dip-coating method, which was followed by a photocatalytic oxidation test was carried out using an RhB solution to simulated dye wastewater. The catalysts were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry. The results revealed that the modified TiO2 was well dispersed on the foam ceramic surface, with all nanoparticles exhibiting an anatase phase structure. Additionally, the visible light responsiveness of the TiO2 was optimal. The study further investigated the effects of Cu and N–TiO2 catalysts on the photocatalytic oxidation of dyeing wastewater under UV light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cnidium monnieri, a medicinal herb of the Cnidium genus and the Apiaceae family, is among the most important traditional Chinese medicines and is widely distributed in China. However, to date, no C. monnieri-related genomic information has been described. In this study, we assembled the C. monnieri genome of approximately 1210.23 Mb with a contig N50 of 83.14 Mb. Using PacBio HiFi and Hi-C sequencing data, we successfully anchored 93.86% of the assembled sequences to 10 pseudochromosomes (2n = 20). We predicted a total of 37,460 protein-coding genes, with 97.02% of them being functionally annotated in Non-Redundant, Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and other databases. In addition, we identified 2,778 tRNAs, 4,180 rRNAs, 258 miRNAs, and 1,700 snRNAs in the genome. This is the first reported C. monnieri genome. Hopefully, the availability of this chromosome-level reference genome provides a significant basis for upcoming natural product-related biosynthetic pathway assessment in C. monnieri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer models play critical roles in basic cancer research and precision medicine. However, current in vitro cancer models are limited by their inability to mimic the three-dimensional architecture and heterogeneous tumor microenvironments (TME) of in vivo tumors. Here, we develop an innovative patient-specific lung cancer assembloid (LCA) model by using droplet microfluidic technology based on a microinjection strategy. This method enables precise manipulation of clinical microsamples and rapid generation of LCAs with good intra-batch consistency in size and cell composition by evenly encapsulating patient tumor-derived TME cells and lung cancer organoids inside microgels. LCAs recapitulate the inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity, TME cellular diversity, and genomic and transcriptomic landscape of their parental tumors. LCA model could reconstruct the functional heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts and reflect the influence of TME on drug responses compared to cancer organoids. Notably, LCAs accurately replicate the clinical outcomes of patients, suggesting the potential of the LCA model to predict personalized treatments. Collectively, our studies provide a valuable method for precisely fabricating cancer assembloids and a promising LCA model for cancer research and personalized medicine. Realistic tumour models are critical for the development of clinically relevant treatments. Here, the authors develop a lung cancer assembloid model which recapitulates key components of the primary tumour, and can be used to predict clinical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological nitrogen fixation by free-living bacteria and rhizobial symbiosis with legumes plays a key role in sustainable crop production. Here, we study how different crop combinations influence the interaction between peanut plants and their rhizosphere microbiota via metabolite deposition and functional responses of free-living and symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Based on a long-term (8 year) diversified cropping field experiment, we find that peanut co-cultured with maize and oilseed rape lead to specific changes in peanut rhizosphere metabolite profiles and bacterial functions and nodulation. Flavonoids and coumarins accumulate due to the activation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in peanuts. These changes enhance the growth and nitrogen fixation activity of free-living bacterial isolates, and root nodulation by symbiotic Bradyrhizobium isolates. Peanut plant root metabolites interact with Bradyrhizobium isolates contributing to initiate nodulation. Our findings demonstrate that tailored intercropping could be used to improve soil nitrogen availability through changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and its functions. Sustainability in agriculture can be improved harnessing biological N2 fixation in legumes. Here, the authors combine different crops with peanut plants finding that maize and oilseed rape are the most successful combinations which have potential to enhance rhizosphere microbiota N2 fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Currently, there remains a scarcity of established preoperative tests to accurately predict the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status in clinical scenarios, with limited research has explored the potential synergistic diagnostic performance among metabolite, perfusion, and diffusion parameters. To address this issue, we aimed to develop an imaging protocol that integrated 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) by comprehensively assessing metabolic, cellular, and angiogenic changes caused by IDH mutations, and explored the diagnostic efficiency of this imaging protocol for predicting IDH mutation status in clinical scenarios. Methods: Patients who met the inclusion criteria were categorized into two groups: IDH-wild type (IDH-WT) group and IDH-mutant (IDH-MT) group. Subsequently, we quantified the 2HG concentration, the relative apparent diffusion coefficient (rADC), the relative true diffusion coefficient value (rD), the relative pseudo-diffusion coefficient (rD*) and the relative perfusion fraction value (rf). Intergroup differences were estimated using t-test and Mann–Whitney U test. Finally, we performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and DeLong's test to evaluate and compare the diagnostic performance of individual parameters and their combinations. Results: 64 patients (female, 21; male, 43; age, 47.0 ± 13.7 years) were enrolled. Compared with IDH-WT gliomas, IDH-MT gliomas had higher 2HG concentration, rADC and rD (P < 0.001), and lower rD* (P = 0.013). The ROC curve demonstrated that 2HG + rD + rD* exhibited the highest areas under curve (AUC) value (0.967, 95%CI 0.889–0.996) for discriminating IDH mutation status. Compared with each individual parameter, the predictive efficiency of 2HG + rADC + rD* and 2HG + rD + rD* shows a statistically significant enhancement (DeLong's test: P < 0.05). Conclusions: The integration of 2HG MRS and IVIM significantly improves the diagnostic efficiency for predicting IDH mutation status in clinical scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel helical poly(phenylisocyanide)-supported catalyst bearing (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine pendant (poly-2m) was synthesized. The chiral cyclohexanediamine polymer catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity and stereoselectivity in the Michael addition reaction. The polymer poly-2200 catalyzed the Michael addition reaction of cyclohexanone with trans-nitrosostyrene in methanol at the presence of benzoic acid with an enantiomeric excess (ee) value up to 97% and diastereoselectivity (dr) value of 79/21. In addition, the chiral polymer catalyst can be recycled for 3 times in the asymmetric Michael addition reaction without significantly lossing the catalytic activity of the catalyst. Moreover, the chiral cyclohexanediamine catalyst poly-2200 can also catalyze the Aldol reaction of p-nitrobenzaldehyde with cyclohexanone, with ee value of 49% and dr value of 60/40. Asymmetric Michael addition reaction and Aldol reaction catalyzed by poly-2m [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cinchonine as a raw material, a cinchonine-based isonitrile monomer was prepared after multistep transformation, and finally cinchonine-based catalyst was prepared by polymerization initiated by 4-methoxyphenylethynyl(chloro)bis(triethylphosphine)palladium(II). The new catalyst was used to catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions between cyclohexanone and aromatic aldehydes with different substituent groups. The reaction of cyclohexanone and 3-nitrobenzaldehyde in methanol afforded an enantiomeric excess (ee) value of up to 55% and a diastereomeric ratio (dr) of up to 30:70, indicating high performance of the catalyst. The synthesized compounds were characterized by HPLC, IR, and 1H NMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate building extraction is crucial for urban understanding, but it often requires a substantial number of building samples. While some building datasets are available for model training, there remains a lack of high-quality building datasets covering urban and rural areas in China. To fill this gap, this study creates a high-resolution GaoFen-7 (GF-7) Building dataset utilizing the Chinese GF-7 imagery from six Chinese cities. The dataset comprises 5,175 pairs of 512 × 512 image tiles, covering 573.17 km2. It contains 170,015 buildings, with 84.8% of the buildings in urban areas and 15.2% in rural areas. The usability of the GF-7 Building dataset has been proved with seven convolutional neural networks, all achieving an overall accuracy (OA) exceeding 93%. Experiments have shown that the GF-7 building dataset can be used for building extraction in urban and rural scenarios. The proposed dataset boasts high quality and high diversity. It supplements existing building datasets and will contribute to promoting new algorithms for building extraction, as well as facilitating intelligent building interpretation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dolichospermum, a typical model filamentous of cyanobacteria, has the potential to cause severely bloom. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) are considered to influence the aggregation of the algae, and temperature is a significant factor affecting EPSs secretion. However, the mechanism of how EPSs affects the aggregation of Dolichospermum is still unclear because the structure and composition of EPSs are complex. In this study, the effects of EPSs on the aggregation of Dolichospermum during the rise of temperature (7–37 °C) were determined. The results showed that the concentration of extracellular polysaccharides and proteins changed significantly with increasing temperature (P<0.01). Firstly, during the increasing temperature, the polysaccharide content of EPSs increased from 20.34 to 54.64 mg/L, and the polysaccharides in the soluble EPS (S-EPS) layer changed significantly. The protein content reached maximum value at 21 °C (14.52 mg/L) and varied significantly in S-EPS and loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS). In the EPSs matrix, humus substances and protein were main components of S-EPS and LB-EPS, and protein was the main component of tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). Secondly, the cell density of Dolichospermum increased during the temperature rise while the aggregation ratio decreased. Moreover, zeta potential and surface thermodynamic analysis of Dolichospermum revealed that the interfacial free energy and electrostatic repulsion increased gradually with increasing temperature, which further reduced the aggregation of Dolichospermum. Finally, principal component analysis (PCA) analysis showed the aggregation of Dolichospermum was directly related to the changes of protein in EPSs (especially S-EPS and LB-EPS) and zeta potential, and polysaccharides in EPSs inhibited the aggregation of Dolichospermum. Based on these results, it was illustrated that the composition and concentration of EPSs affected the cell surface properties of Dolichospermum with the change of temperature and thus affected the aggregation of Dolichospermum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic vibration polishing (UVP) which integrates mechanical polishing and ultrasonic vibration technologies is applied to process monocrystalline silicon. The predictive model for material removal rate (MRR) is developed which includes the microscopic contact among the workpiece, abrasive grains, and polishing pad, the scratch effect of embedded abrasive grains, and the impact removal of free abrasive grain on the workpiece surface. This model unveils the reasons for the enhancement of MRR and the effect of different parameters on MRR during UVP. UVP experiments of monocrystalline silicon were carried out to validate this model. It is found that the MRR model is in excellent consistency with the measured MRR and the error rates could be controlled to less than 10%. The increase in spindle speed and ultrasonic amplitude increases the kinetic energy of the abrasive grains. The increase in abrasive grain size improves the contact area between the abrasive grains and the workpiece. Therefore, these contribute to the MRR of the UVP. In addition, different polishing parameters (spindle speed, ultrasonic amplitude, and abrasive grain size) were analyzed and compared on the surface roughness and microscopic local morphology. This work not only offers a novel method for predicting the machining efficiency of UVP but also provides an excellent reference for the evolution of ultrasonic vibration-assisted technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inadequate lubrication of the two touching surfaces during friction can lead to severe wear, especially in metal cutting. Therefore, a surface with synergistic anti-friction effect of texture and solid lubricant was proposed to improve lubrication. A mesh texture with excellent wettability was prepared on the high-speed steel (HSS) surface by laser, and then nylon fibers were vertically implanted into the grooves of the texture using the electrostatic flocking technology. The friction and wear state of different surfaces (smooth, textured, flocking) under dry/oil-lubricated were studied by a linear reciprocating wear tester. The coefficient of friction (COF) under different working conditions was used to analyze the anti-friction properties, and the wear rate was used to evaluate the wear resistance of the surface. The results showed that the tribological properties of flocking surfaces were better than those of the other two surfaces. This is because the addition of nylon fibers eases shear at the edges of the texture. The broken fibers form a solid lubricating film on the specimen surface, which prevents the surface from being scratched by debris. In addition, it is found that COF decreases with increasing load. Finally, the rapid wettability of the oil droplets on the flocking surface shows the great potential of the surface for lubrication and anti-friction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change caused by massive greenhouse gas emissions emerging as an issue of global concern, it is urgent to improve carbon emission efficiency (CEE) for countries along the Belt and Road (BRI). Considering the resource endowment characteristics of green development in BRI countries, the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model is adopted to evaluate the current status and tendency of CEE in 60 BRI countries, while the Global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) index to quantify the spatial and temporal variation and dynamic evolution of CEE. Subsequently, from the perspective of energy development and utilization, the spatial Durbin model (SDM) and the mediating effect model are employed to empirically examine the spillover effects and driving mechanisms of renewable energy investment and energy resource endowment on CEE. Empirical results reveal that (1) from a static perspective, the CEE of BRI countries is generally poor and unevenly distributed in terms of temporal and spatial dimensions, with significant room for enhancement. (2) Referring to the dynamic level, the GML index featured a U-shaped fluctuation, with technological progress contributing to the improvement of CEE. (3) There is a significant positive effect of renewable energy investment on CEE in the home country and neighboring countries, while energy resource endowment presents a remarkable adverse correlation. Consequently, it is suggested that inter-regional cooperation among BRI countries should be strengthened to reinforce renewable energy investment, exert the technology and knowledge spillover effect sufficiently, and break the resource curse in the environmental field. (4) The mediating effect model confirms the significant mediating mechanism of technological innovation. Renewable energy investment can enhance the CEE of BRI members by promoting the positive mediating effect of technological innovation, while energy resource endowment can inhibit the local level of technological innovation and indirectly inhibit the CEE of BRI members. The findings provide new ideas on the green development and ecological sustainability of the energy industry in BRI members and other economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High concentration of H2S in acidic natural gas will lead to poisoning of catalysts for hydrogen production by methane steam reforming, thus limiting the further use of natural gas. Reforming CH4 by H2S can be considered as an alternative route to hydrogen production from methane. This process not only achieves the removal of H2S but also obtains chemical raw material CS2 and clean energy H2. By impregnating the Mo source on SiO2 treated with hydrogen peroxide and then using the catalyst in the CH4/H2S reforming reaction, we surprisingly found that the conversion rate of CH4 and H2S increased from 28 and 32% to 34% and 43%, respectively, after hydrogen peroxide treatment. The H2 production rate and the yield of CS2 increased from 20 mmolH2/(gMo*min) and 52% to 30 mmolH2/(gMo*min) and 65%, respectively. Combining with characterization methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), 1H-based solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (1H MAS NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectra (RS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we found that the hydroxyl concentration of the support increased after hydrogen peroxide treatment, which led to the strengthening of the force between the metal and the support, which was easy to form low-level and small-size MoS2, exposing more active sites, and further improving the catalytic activity. This method provides a new idea for hydrogen production by CH4/H2S reforming and the development of high-performance MoS2-based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel metal sulfide NaTS-2 was prepared using a simple one-step hydrothermal method to remove strontium ions from the simulated radioactive wastewater, in which metal tin was replaced by tin salts to reduce the cost of the raw materials. NaTS-2 has a layered structure with an approximate molar ratio of Na:Sn:S of 1.94:2.87:7. NaTS-2 could rapidly remove Sr2+ with a removal efficiency of 99.3% ± 0.23% within 1 min and at an equilibrium of 60 min, followed by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 88.9 ± 0.81 mg/g at 298 K. NaTS-2 exhibited an outstanding affinity for Sr2+ (Kd ≥ (3.0 ± 0.10) × 105 mL/g) over a broad pH range of 3–11, also displayed significant affinity (Kd ≥ (1.0 ± 0.15) × 105 mL/g) and excellent removal efficiency (≥ 98.5% ± 0.48%) for typical activated corrosion products (Co2+, Mn2+ and Ni2+). NaTS-2 is a promising adsorbent in the field of radioactive wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic transcription profile of brain ischemic and reperfusion injury remains elusive. To address this, we used an integrative analysis approach including differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis, weighted-gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and pathway and biological process analysis to analyze data from the microarray studies of nine mice and five rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and six primary cell transcriptional datasets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). (1) We identified 58 upregulated DEGs with more than 2-fold increase, and adj. p < 0.05 in mouse datasets. Among them, Atf3, Timp1, Cd14, Lgals3, Hmox1, Ccl2, Emp1, Ch25h, Hspb1, Adamts1, Cd44, Icam1, Anxa2, Rgs1, and Vim showed significant increases in both mouse and rat datasets. (2) Ischemic treatment and reperfusion time were the main confounding factors in gene profile changes, while sampling site and ischemic time were not. (3) WGCNA identified a reperfusion-time irrelevant and inflammation-related module and a reperfusion-time relevant and thrombo-inflammation related module. Astrocytes and microglia were the main contributors of the gene changes in these two modules. (4) Forty-four module core hub genes were identified. We validated the expression of unreported stroke-associated core hubs or human stroke-associated core hubs. Zfp36 mRNA was upregulated in permanent MCAO; Rhoj, Nfkbiz, Ms4a6d, Serpina3n, Adamts-1, Lgals3, and Spp1 mRNAs were upregulated in both transient MCAO and permanent MCAO; and NFKBIZ, ZFP3636, and MAFF proteins, unreported core hubs implicated in negative regulation of inflammation, were upregulated in permanent MCAO, but not in transient MCAO. Collectively, these results expand our knowledge of the genetic profile involved in brain ischemia and reperfusion, highlighting the crucial role of inflammatory disequilibrium in brain ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with convergence of stochastic gradient algorithms with momentum terms in the nonconvex setting. A class of stochastic momentum methods, including stochastic gradient descent, heavy ball and Nesterov's accelerated gradient, is analyzed in a general framework under mild assumptions. Based on the convergence result of expected gradients, the authors prove the almost sure convergence by a detailed discussion of the effects of momentum and the number of upcrossings. It is worth noting that there are not additional restrictions imposed on the objective function and stepsize. Another improvement over previous results is that the existing Lipschitz condition of the gradient is relaxed into the condition of Hölder continuity. As a byproduct, the authors apply a localization procedure to extend the results to stochastic stepsizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A graded inverted solar cell configuration is developed by hole-transport management aiming to suppress interface defects-induced non-radiative recombination for efficient hole transport. NiOx-based inverted PSCs present a power-conversion-efficiency over 23% with a high fill factor of 0.84 and open-circuit voltage of 1.162 volts, one of the best performances reported so far for 1.56-electron volt bandgap formamidinium-based triple-halide perovskites. Devices show high operational stability over 1,200 h during T90 lifetime measurement under 1-sun illumination in ambient-air conditions. NiOx-based inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have presented great potential toward low-cost, highly efficient and stable next-generation photovoltaics. However, the presence of energy-level mismatch and contact-interface defects between hole-selective contacts (HSCs) and perovskite-active layer (PAL) still limits device efficiency improvement. Here, we report a graded configuration based on both interface-cascaded structures and p-type molecule-doped composites with two-/three-dimensional formamidinium-based triple-halide perovskites. We find that the interface defects-induced non-radiative recombination presented at HSCs/PAL interfaces is remarkably suppressed because of efficient hole extraction and transport. Moreover, a strong chemical interaction, halogen bonding and coordination bonding are found in the molecule-doped perovskite composites, which significantly suppress the formation of halide vacancy and parasitic metallic lead. As a result, NiOx-based inverted PSCs present a power-conversion-efficiency over 23% with a high fill factor of 0.84 and open-circuit voltage of 1.162 V, which are comparable to the best reported around 1.56-electron volt bandgap perovskites. Furthermore, devices with encapsulation present high operational stability over 1,200 h during T90 lifetime measurement (the time as a function of PCE decreases to 90% of its initial value) under 1-sun illumination in ambient-air conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) play regulatory roles in cell adhesion, migration and proteolysis. To explore the origin and evolution of ADAMs, this study identified the homologs of adam10 and adam17 in Lampetra morii and Lampetra japonica. Sequence analysis revealed that they share the same genomic structures with their counterparts in jawed vertebrates. The putative proteins possess conserved motifs, including a furin cut site (RXXR) for precursor processing, an enzyme catalytic motif (HEXGEHXXGXXH) for hydrolysis, and a Ca2+-binding motif (CGNXXXEXGEXCD) for stabilizing protein structure. In addition, a substrate recognition domain is present at the membrane-proximal region of lamprey ADAM17. The cytoplasmic region of lamprey ADAM10 contains a potential threonine phosphorylation site which has been shown to be activated by protein kinase C (PKC) in mammals. Both the adam10 and adam17 genes were constitutively expressed in the brain, kidney, and gills and were differentially regulated in the primary blood leukocytes by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Adam10 was induced by LPS but not PWM; conversely, adam17 was induced by PWM but not LPS. Taken together, our results suggest that the activation pathways and functions of ADAM10 and ADAM17 are conserved in agnathans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BK7 glass is widely used in various optical instruments as a common ceramic material. However, there are still several difficulties in the polishing process due to its material properties. Ultrasonic vibration–assisted polishing (UVAP) is used widely for its excellent material removal properties. However, there are few researches on the model of UVAP material removal for tilted. Therefore, this paper investigates this problem. A model of UVAP material removal was established for titled column polishing; The pressure distribution and velocity distribution in the contact zone were modeled by means of experiments and geometric analysis. A series of orthogonal experiments were conducted, and the experimental results showed that the coefficient of determination was above 0.9 after fitting the actual profile to the predicted profile. The results of the orthogonal experiments were also analyzed by ANOVA. The predict error of maximum removal depth was less than 13.12%. The error of material removal rate (MRR) was less than 9.24%. By power spectral density (PSD) analysis, it was found that the introduction of ultrasonic amplitude has a good effect on suppressing the medium and high-frequency errors on the machined surface. The novel model can be used to optimize machining parameters and provide theoretical support for complex parts polishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving carbon emission efficiency (CEE) has emerged as a critical way for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members to promote carbon reduction in the context of climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality. The super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model, which considers non-desired outputs, is adopted to comprehensively assess the current state and trend of CEE in 15 RCEP countries from a spatio-temporal dynamic perspective, and the global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) index is coupled to quantify the spatial and temporal differences and dynamic changes. Following that, taking into account the spatial characteristics of CEE, the extended STIRPAT model and the spatial Durbin model are combined to further investigate the primary influencing factors of CEE. It is found that (1) the CEE of RCEP members is generally poor and unevenly distributed in temporal and spatial dimensions, with significant room for improvement and an overall positive spatial autocorrelation; (2) CEE varies considerably among RCEP members, with developed countries far outstripping developing countries in terms of both the current status and trend of CEE; (3) on a dynamic level, the GML index exhibits W-shaped fluctuations, with technological progress acting as the dominant force; and (4) in terms of spillover effects, affluence and economic agglomeration inhibit CEE enhancement, whereas technology level and investment capacity facilitate it. The findings will be useful in developing carbon–neutral plans for various countries as well as coordinated sustainable development for RCEP regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-renewable energy complementary system (MRECS) is a good plan that can effectively support the accomplishment of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality on schedule and take full advantage of renewable resources in rural areas. This research investigates the techno-economic feasibility of MRECS in rural areas to promote its large-scale implementation. A MRECS with integrated solar, wind, and biomass energy is proposed for a rural economic development zone. First, a scientific evaluation of the potential for renewable resources in rural areas is done. Second, a case study of the Jize Economic Development Zone is applied to examine the optimal MRECS configuration. Finally, an economic evaluation model that takes environmental benefits into account was created based on life cycle costs (LCCs). For the techno-economic analysis, the net present value (NPV), dynamic investment payback period, and internal rate of return (IRR) are also employed. Findings reveal that (1) the Jize Economic Development Zone has considerable development potential due to its abundance of renewable energy resources and ability to plan for 168.42 MW of renewable energy units; (2) to meet the demand for continuous power generation and realize the sensible use of renewable energy, a combination of 10 MW photovoltaic power generation (PV), 25 MW wind power generation (WT), 2 MW biogas power generation (BG), and 1 MW straw direct combustion power generation (SDC) is able to be implemented; (3) the provided renewable energy system can save indirect expenses up to 10.60 million RMB/year, with significant environmental advantages, when compared to grid extension; and (4) the NPV of the dynamic investment reaches RMB 322.44 million after accounting for the environmental advantages in the income of MRECS. The dynamic investment payback period is 6.42 years, and the IRR is 21.44%. According to the findings, the MRECS is economically viable, and capitalizing on the environmental advantages can increase those advantages even more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports new analytic free in-plane vibration solutions for orthotropic non-Lévy-type rectangular plates, i.e., those without two opposite edges simply supported, by the symplectic superposition method (SSM), which has never been applied to in-plane elasticity problems in any existing works. Such analytic solutions are not accessible through conventional analytic methods as seeking analytic solutions that meet both the governing partial differential equations and various non-Lévy-type boundary conditions is an acknowledged challenge in mechanical analysis of plates. The clamped and free plates are considered as two most representative cases of non-Lévy-type plates. The SSM is implemented in the Hamiltonian system-based symplectic space, where the separation of variables and the symplectic eigen expansion prove to be well-grounded. These two mathematical treatments are adopted to first gain the analytic solutions of two elementary problems. The final analytic free in-plane vibration solutions are obtained by superposition of the two elementary problems. Comprehensive new natural frequencies and vibration modes are studied and validated by reference solutions from the finite element method or other approaches. The rigorous solution procedure, fast convergence, and highly accurate results render the present framework capable of serving as benchmarks for future comparison and applicable to analytic investigation of more plate problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, three double-plate connected L-shaped concrete-filled steel tube composite (LCFST-D) columns were subjected to axial and eccentric loading tests using spherical-hinge supports to relieve the bidirectional rotation constraints. By analyzing the failure phenomenon of the LCFST-D specimen, the rotation of the endplate, and the comparison of similarities and differences between the support of the knife-edge and the support of the spherical-hinge, the bidirectional eccentric loading performance of the LCFST-D column when the bidirectional rotation constraint was released was studied. The test results show that when the spherical-hinge support was loaded, the out-of-the-plane deflection was more evident than the knife hinge. The bearing capacity of the LCFST-D specimen decreases as the eccentricity increased. When the end rotation constraints were relieved, the failure mode of the axial and eccentric loading was nontorsional bidirectional instability. In addition, the loading tests using spherical-hinge supports were verified to effectively release end rotation constraints. A finite element model for the LCFST-D column was established, and its accuracy was confirmed. From the failure mode, deflection, bearing capacity, and rotation of the endplate, the differences between spherical-hinge, knife-edge hinge, and rigid pad loading supports and their influence on bidirectional eccentric loading tests performed on special-shaped columns were investigated. The results show that the bidirectional eccentric loading performance of the LCFST-D column can be reflected by spherical-hinge supports. The theoretical formula was used simultaneously to verify the data from the finite element model and the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is vital to determine the changing spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) in order to design scientific policies to promote energy efficiency in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) region. From 2010 to 2019, the super-efficient SBM model and the global Malmquist-Luenberger index provide an appropriate framework for measuring the spatiotemporal evolution of GTFEE and the dynamics of energy productivity in RCEP countries. With the coefficient of variation and the Thiel index, an extensive view of the spatiotemporal variance in GTFEE is offered, taking regional heterogeneity into account. Furthermore, the Tobit model is introduced to investigate the factors influencing the GTFEE of RCEP members, which may address the restricted values of the dependent variable when compared to the least squares regression model. Findings suggest that (1) The GTFEE of RCEP members tends to be low and unevenly distributed spatially and temporally, with much room for improvement. (2) The energy productivity index fluctuates strongly, and the improvement primarily comes from technological progress. (3) The Non-ASEAN region possesses higher GTFEE than the ASEAN region, albeit regional variations are diminishing. (4) In terms of the major factors influencing the regional GTFEE, the non-ASEAN region looks to be distinct from the ASEAN region. The findings shed light on the trends and influencing factors of GTFEE in RCEP and serve as a resource for international energy cooperation and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in biomass-carbon of forest can substantially impact the prediction of global carbon dynamics. The allometric models currently used to estimate forest biomass face limitations, as model parameters can only be used for the specific species of confirmed sites. Here, we collected allometric models LnW = a + b*Ln(D) (n = 817) and LnW = a + b*Ln(D2H) (n = 612) worldwide and selected eight variables (e.g., mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), altitude, aspect, slope, soil organic carbon (SOC), clay, and soil type) to predict parameters a and b using Random Forest. LnW = a + b*Ln(D), drove mainly by climate factors, showed the parameter a range from − 5.16 to − 0.90 [VaR explained (model evaluation index): 66.21%], whereas parameter b ranges from 1.84 to 2.68 (VaR explained: 49.96%). Another model LnW = a + b*Ln(D2H), drove mainly by terrain factors, showed the parameter a range from − 5.45 to − 1.89 (VaR explained: 69.04%) and parameter b ranges from 0.43 to 1.93 (VaR explained: 69.53%). Furthermore, we captured actual biomass data of 249 sample trees at six sites for predicted parameters validation, showing the R2 (0.87) for LnW = a + b*Ln(D); R2 (0.93) for LnW = a + b*Ln(D2H), indicating a better result from LnW = a + b*Ln(D2H). Consequently, our results present four global maps of allometric model parameters distribution at 0.5° resolution and provides a framework for the assessment of forest biomass by validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new adsorbent with chromium removal function was synthesized by carbon thermal method using iron-containing waste Fenton sludge and carbon-containing solid waste fly ash to treat high pH scoring wastewater generated from industrial processes. The results showed that the adsorbent used T = 273.15 K, pH = 10, t = 1200 min, C0 = 100 mg/L, had a removal rate of Cr(VI) of more than 80%, and the adsorption capacity could reach 393.79 mg/g. The characterization results show that the synthesized mesoporous nitrogen-doped composite material has a large specific surface area and mesoporous structure, and the surface of the material is rich in oxygen-containing functional groups and active sites. Compared with other studies, the adsorption capacity of the material is larger, which indicates that the removal effect of Cr(VI) in this study is better. The adsorption kinetic results show that the adsorption follows a pseudo second kinetic model, and the adsorption process is a chemisorption involving electron sharing or electron exchange. This experiment designed a simple method to synthesize mesoporous nitrogen-doped composites using industrial solid waste, with raw materials from cheap and easily available industrial solid waste, and solved the dual problems of heavy metals in wastewater and solid waste, providing a new idea for the resource utilization of Fenton sludge while not producing secondary pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of digital dental casts from plaster cast scanning (PCS), impression scanning (IPS), intraoral scanning (IOS), and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning (CCS) methods. The maxillary and mandibular dental casts of 15 patients who needed CBCT scans for oral examination or treatment were digitized via four methods. 12 linear distance measurements of all digital dental casts were selected and acquired with software and compared to those of the reference plaster cast to evaluate the dimensional accuracy. Three-dimensional deviation analysis of the IPS, IOS and CCS groups with respect to the reference PCS group was performed to evaluate the morphological accuracy. The discrepancy in linear distances between the digital dental casts and reference plaster casts was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The dimensional accuracies of the PCS (0.06 ± 0.12 mm) and IPS (0.03 ± 0.05 mm) casts were better than those of the IOS (0.37 ± 0.30 mm) and CCS (0.54 ± 0.40 mm) casts. The one-sample t test showed that there were statistically significant differences between the discrepancies in 8 of the linear distances for the PCS group and 9 of the linear distances for the IPS group between the digital dental casts and reference plaster casts, with an ideal error of 0.00 (p < 0.05). The sequence of morphological accuracy from good to poor was maxillary and mandibular IPS, mandibular IOS; maxillary IOS; and maxillary and mandibular CCS. The accuracy of the digital dental casts from the PCS and IPS methods was greater than that of IOS and CCS methods. Although accuracy of the digital dental cast from IOS was low, it satisfied the clinical requirements for fixed restorations in small units. The accuracy of the digital dental cast from CCS was poorest and could only be used for procedures with lower accuracy requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to give full play to the alkaline neutralization value of carbide slag and reduce the environmental hazards of carbide slag, it is of great practical significance to study the resource utilization of carbide slag. The adsorption of sulfur compounds on carbide slag was studied in the laboratory, and the process parameters of carbide slag desulfurization were explored and optimized. The specific surface area, pore distribution, and other physicochemical parameters were analyzed by XRD and SEM, which explained the changes of products and carbide slag before and after desulfurization. The test results show that carbide slag and limestone have almost the same desulfurization effect. The kinetics of carbide slag desulfurization process conforms to pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the sulfur content of calcium carbide slag reaches to 1000 mgSO2·g−1. A project demonstration was carried out in the gold smelting Tielu Plant of Zhenyuan Huashuo Precious Metals Development Co., Ltd., in Yunnan. The results of the 2-year demonstration project showed that the desulphurization efficiency of the four-stage series desulphurization tower exceeds 95%. The concentration of sulfur dioxide in the discharged flue gas is reduced to less than 20 mg·m−3, which meets the requirements of ultra-low emission standard in China. Therefore, whether from theoretical research or engineering practice analysis, it is feasible to replace limestone with calcium carbide slag for flue gas desulfurization. The paper also discusses the problems existing in the demonstration project, and provides a new idea of "using waste to treat waste" in order to solve the problem of carbide slag disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CFRP/Al stacks have shown a wide range of applications in the aviation industries. Component assembly requires an enormous number of holes to be drilled. In consideration of the quality and efficiency of the drilling process, it is preferred to change process parameters in real-time according to the different material properties of each ply, namely varying-parameter control. Since variable thickness designs are quite common in aviation structures, the interface of the stack is hard to define before the drilling process, which poses a challenge to interface recognition and parameter modification methods. Accordingly, a state-of-art self-adaptive drilling method based on the analysis of the equivalent impedance of a longitudinal-torsional–vibration-assisted drilling device is described in the paper. The research was carried out to implement online recognition of stack interface without using any sensors, as well as the following modification of process parameters. First, the equivalent impedance model was established by analyzing the characteristic signal of the piezoelectric transducer changing with the dynamic load. The representational capacity of equivalent impedance was verified through a drilling test, which showed five drilling stages could be divided using the established model. Furthermore, based on the mutation characteristic of equivalent impedance near the material interface, a threshold-based interface recognition algorithm was promoted. Modification of process parameters was also realized with a communication program. Finally, the self-adaptive drilling experiments were conducted. An average recognition depth error of 3.25% was observed, which meant the average thickness of 0.325 mm of the CFRP/Al stack was influenced by system response delay. The stability of the self-adaptive drilling system was verified under severe tool wear. The standard deviation of the recognition depth error was 0.112 mm. Compared with conventional vibration-assisted drilling, diameter deviation and surface quality of holes were considerably improved by 68.1% and 35.0%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on children and adolescent health outcomes have been attracted more and more attention. In the present study, we seek to examine the gender-specific difference association of environmental smoke exposure biomarkers and developmental disorders in children and adolescents aged 6–15 years. US nationally representative sample collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2014 was enrolled (N = 4428). Developmental disorders (DDs) are defined as a positive answer to the question, "Does your child receive special education or early intervention services?" Serum cotinine and urinary 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) were utilized as acute and chronic exposure biomarkers of ETS, respectively. Participants with serum cotinine >0.015 ng/mL were considered as with acute ETS exposure, and participants with creatinine-adjusted NNAL >0.0006 ng/mL were considered as with chronic ETS exposure. A survey logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between ETS exposure biomarkers and DDs. Additive interaction was utilized to examine the interaction of gender and biomarkers of ETS. Overall, approximately 9% of children were defined as DDs, and 65% of children had serum cotinine and urinary NNAL levels above the limit of detection. In the adjusted models, the association of ETS exposure biomarkers with DDs was only observed in girls. Girls with low cotinine levels and high urinary NNAL levels had 2.074 (95% CI: 1.012–4.247) and 1.851 (95% CI: 1.049–3.265) times higher odds of being DDs than those without ETS exposure, respectively. However, the effects of boys and NNAL exposure on DDs have additively interacted. Our findings first provided strong evidence for gender differences in the association between two tobacco metabolites and DDs in children, disclosing the public health implications and economic burdens of environmental tobacco smoke exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serine/threonine protein kinases (STKs) are important for signal transduction and involved in multiple physiological processes, including cell growth, central metabolism, and sporulation in bacteria. However, the role of STKs in solventogenic clostridia remains unclear. Here, we identified and comprehensively investigated six STK candidates in Clostridium beijerinckii. These STKs were classified into four groups with distinct characteristics via analysis of genetic organizations, prediction of protein domains, and multiple sequence alignment. Cbei0566 is a member of the PrkA family with 41% identity to PrkA from Bacillus subtilis, and both Cbei0666 and Cbei0813 are two-component-like STKs. Cbei1151 and Cbei1929 belong to the Hanks family STKs and consist of a cytoplasmic catalytic domain, a transmembrane region, and extracellular sensor domains. In-frame deletion mutants of cbei0566, cbei0666, cbei1929, and cbei2661 displayed similar cell growth with wild type. Both Δcbei0666 and Δcbei2661 improved acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) production by 14.3% (19.2 g/L vs. 16.8 g/L), and the sporulation frequencies of Δcbei0566, Δcbei1929, and Δcbei2661 significantly decreased to 35.5%, 55.1% and 44.8%, respectively. The restored phenotypes after genetic complementation demonstrated their direct link to STKs deletion. Remarkably, overexpressing cbei0566 contributed to 41.5% more spore formation and cbei1929 overexpression enhanced ABE production from 19.3 to 24.2 g/L, along with 25% less acids. These results revealed that Cbei0566 and Cbei1929 had prominent regulatory functions. This study expands the current knowledge of the existence and functions of STKs in prokaryotes and highlights the importance of STK-mediated signaling networks in developing superior strains. Key points: • First reported serine/threonine protein kinases in solventogenic clostridia • Six STKs with distinct properties possessed diverse functions in C. beijerinckii • Cbei1929 and Cbei0566 remarkably regulated solventogenesis and sporulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality has been proposed as a solution for the current severe energy and climate crisis caused by the overuse of fossil fuels, and machine learning (ML) has exhibited excellent performance in accelerating related research owing to its powerful capacity for big data processing. This review presents a detailed overview of ML accelerated carbon neutrality research with a focus on energy management, screening of novel energy materials, and ML interatomic potentials (MLIPs), with illustrations of two selected MLIP algorithms: moment tensor potential (MTP) and neural equivariant interatomic potential (NequIP). We conclude by outlining the important role of ML in accelerating the achievement of carbon neutrality from global-scale energy management, unprecedented screening of advanced energy materials in massive chemical space, to the revolution of atomic-scale simulations of MLIPs, which has the bright prospect of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction-responsive disulfide bonds have been widely used as bioactive linkages to facilitate a rapid release of anticancer drugs into tumor cells. However, the activation can be hindered by the kinetics of the thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. Supplementing with an additional reductant is a promising strategy to further boost drug release. Herein, inspired by the specific absorption mechanism of triglyceride fat, structured lipid-mimetic oral prodrugs of 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) were designed to improve intestinal permeability and bypass the first-pass effect. SN38 prodrugs were prepared into lipid formulations that could self-emulsify into nano-sized particles after entering the gastrointestinal tract. Surprisingly, we found that the oral bioavailability of the prodrug lipid formulation could be up to 2.69-fold higher than that of the parent SN38, indicating an effective oral delivery. In addition, the reduction-responsive disulfide bond was used as a linker, and ascorbic acid (ASC) was coadministrated to further promote the efficient release of SN38 from the prodrug. ASC enhanced the oral antitumor effect of the reduction-responsive oral prodrug and exhibited good safety. In summary, the combination of a structured lipid-mimetic prodrug and ASC was firstly demonstrated to boost the oral chemotherapy effect of the difficult-for-oral chemotherapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciton is a bosonic quasiparticle consisting of a pair of electron and hole, with promising potentials for optoelectronic device applications, such as exciton transistors, photodetectors and light emitting devices. However, the charge-neutral nature of excitons renders them challenging to manipulate using electronics. Here we present the generation of trions, a form of charged excitons, together with enhanced exciton resonance in monolayer WSe2. The excitation of the trion quasiparticles is achieved by the hot carrier transport from the integrated gold plasmonic nanocavity, formed by embedding monolayer WSe2 between gold nanoparticles and a gold film. The nanocavity-induced negatively charged trions provide a promising route for the manipulation of excitons, essential for the construction of all-exciton information processing circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective method of iron extraction from bauxite residue was explored, and iron was used to prepare iron carbon composite material, which have a good adsorption effect on the heavy metal cadmium. After acid washing, acid leaching, Fe(III) reduction and ferrous oxalate decomposition, FeSO4·H2O(RM) was successfully extracted from bauxite residue, and the iron loss was only 4.35%. FexOy-BC(RM) nanocomposite materials were prepared by loading FeSO4·H2O(RM) onto walnut shell biochar (BC) (a kind of agricultural and forestry waste) by an in situ reduction and oxidation method. The results showed that the adsorption effect of FexOy-BC(RM) on Cd(II) was better than that of commercial FexOy-BC. XPS, TEM, SEM characterization analysis showed that FexOy-BC(RM) immobilized Cd(II) by adsorption, complexation, etc.to achieve a highly efficient adsorption of heavy metal Cd(II) in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coupled thermo-mechanical self-consistent constitutive model is proposed for elasto-viscoplastic polycrystalline materials with imperfect interfaces. In the developed model, a new linearization equation is adopted, and the self-consistent model is improved by introducing the thermal strain term and considering the imperfect interfaces between grains. The developed model is compiled and employed in finite element analysis by calculating the algorithmic tangent operator, affine strain increment, and thermal strain increment locally and globally. The effective elastic moduli of isotropic and cubic grains are analyzed to show the influence of the imperfect interface. The developed constitutive model is used to simulate the strain rate jump tests of 96Sn-4Ag alloy at constant temperatures. The parameters adopted in the model are calibrated and determined by fitting the experimental stress–strain curves. Without changing these parameters, the model is then applied to predict the deformation responses of 96Sn-4Ag alloy in total constraint, in-phase, and out-of-phase thermal cycling experiments. In addition, the implementation scheme of local grains is modified to describe the deformation characteristic of the 96Sn-4Ag alloy under coupled thermo-mechanical loads better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peri-implantitis is the main cause of dental implant failure, which is associated with pyroptosis. The roles of D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) on pyroptosis and the mechanism of the protective effect of D-Asp on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) remain unknown. This study investigated the effects of D-Asp on the pyroptosis of HGFs induced by high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). Methods: The cytotoxic effects of D-Asp on HGFs was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, the membrane permeability was investigated by propidium iodide/ Hoechst 33,342 double staining, flow cytometry analysis, and lactate dehydrogenase releasing, The gene and protein expression levels were detected by real-time quantitative PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot, respectively. Results: Cell viability analysis showed that D-Asp ≤ 30 mM had no cytotoxicity to HGFs. HMGB1 drastically raised the membrane permeability of HGFs, while 1/10/30 mM D-Asp suppressed the permeability and remained the integrity of the membrane. HMGB1 promoted the mRNA expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18, and the protein expression of IL-1β, IL-18, caspase-1, GSDMD, and NLRP3. Conclusions: With the pretreatment of HGFs with D-Asp of 1/10/30 mM for 24 h, the cell membrane permeability was reduced and the expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 was significantly decreased compared with the HMGB1 group, indicating the competitive antagonism of D-Asp against HMGB1 on the binding with toll-like receptors. Hence, this study may provide a novel insight into preventing pyroptosis and propose a new strategy for the treatment of peri-implantitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]