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The objective of this study was to investigate the performance and emissions of a diesel engine fueled by coal-based diesel fuels and their blends with oxygenated fuel polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODEn). First, coal-based Fischer–Tropsch (FT) diesel fuel was blended with hydrogenated diesel fuel at three volume ratios of 40%/60%, 50%/50%, and 60%/40%, denoted as T6W4, T5W5, and T4W6, respectively. Then, PODEn were added into the T4W6 fuel with the volume ratios of 10%, 20%, and 30% to evaluate its effects on the performance and emissions of a coal-based diesel engine. The results showed that the output torques and powers of the three coal-based diesel blends were slightly lower than those of the petroleum diesel fuel. The brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the coal-based diesel fuels was almost the same as that of the petroleum diesel fuel. The brake thermal efficiencies (BTE) of the coal-based diesel blends were slightly lower than that of the petroleum diesel fuel, and the maximum reduction was 1.59%. The pollutant emissions of T5W5 were the closest to those of petroleum diesel fuel. The nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions of T4W6 were lower, with a maximum decrease of 11.18% compared with the petroleum diesel. The carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions of T6W4 were the highest, with maximum increases of 36.79% and 29.05%, respectively. The smoke emissions of T4W6 and T6W4 were higher than those of petroleum diesel fuel. Adding PODEn into T4W6 lowered the engine power and torque but increased the BSFC and BTE. The output torque and power of the diesel engine were further reduced when PODEn were blended with T4W6, with the maximum reductions of 17.76% and 16.96%, respectively. With an increase in the PODEn blending ratio, BSFC and BTE increased gradually, and the maximum increase in the BTE was 1.57%. Blending PODEn with the fuel effectively improved the emission characteristics of the coal-based diesel fuels. The NOx emissions increased slightly, but the emissions of HC, CO, and smoke were reduced significantly, with maximum reductions of 24.42%, 31.67%, and 82.35%, respectively.

Aqueous zinc metal batteries are a viable candidate for cost-effective energy storage. However, the cycle life of the cell is adversely affected by the morphological evolution of the metal electrode surface upon prolonged cycling. Here, we investigate different electrochemical protocols to favour the formation of stable zinc metal electrode surface morphologies. By coupling electrochemical and optical microscopy measurements, we demonstrate that an initial zinc deposition on the metal electrode allows homogeneous stripping and plating processes during prolonged cycling in symmetric Zn||Zn cell. Interestingly, when an initially plated zinc metal electrode is tested in combination with a manganese dioxide-based positive electrode and a two molar zinc sulfate aqueous electrolyte solution in coin cell configuration, a specific discharge capacity of about 90 mAh g−1 can be delivered after 2000 cycles at around 5.6 mA cm−2 and 25 °C.

Recent studies demonstrated that a functional brain network could be regarded as a complex network. With the help of network theory, neuroscientists can identify common organizational principles of the functional brain networks. As a consequence, some non-random organizational features, such as “small world” (most of the nodes are not connected directly but can communicate with few intermediate relay steps) and “rich club” (nodes that are rich in connections tend to form strongly interconnected clubs), have been found in functional brain network. Recently, the “small world” organizational feature of neuronal functional networks in vitro was found to be influenced by external applications. However, little is known about the influence of chronic electrical stimulation on functional networks of dissociated cortical cultures during network development. In the present study, cortical cultures were electrically stimulated at a frequency of 0, 0.02, and 0.2 Hz, between 7 and 26 days in vitro (DIV). The spontaneous activity of the cortical cultures was recorded using MEAs. Next, a cross-covariance method and graph theory were applied to investigate organizational feature of functional networks. Our results showed that over 3 weeks of stimulation, the network density significantly increased with maturation in the control and 0.02 Hz stimulation groups, but not in 0.2 Hz stimulation groups. Moreover, all the cultures had a small-world topology at 14, 18, 22, and 26 DIV, free from the effect of chronic electrical stimulation. Besides, we found an asymmetry effect that partial electrical stimulation inhibited the formation of node connections in stimulated areas. This effect was more pronounced at 0.2 Hz than at 0.02 Hz stimulation. Our results suggest that electrical stimulation does not affect the small-world properties of neural cultures. Instead, electrical stimulation modulates connectivity patterns, and neurons within the stimulated area are less connected than neurons outside the stimulated area.

Motor timing is an important part of sensorimotor control. Previous studies have shown that beta oscillations embody the process of temporal perception in explicit timing tasks. In contrast, studies focusing on beta oscillations in implicit timing tasks are lacking. In this study, we set up an implicit motor timing task and found a modulation pattern of beta oscillations with temporal perception during movement preparation. We trained two macaques in a repetitive visually-guided reach-to-grasp task with different holding intervals. Spikes and local field potentials were recorded from microelectrode arrays in the primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. We analyzed the association between beta oscillations and temporal interval in fixed-duration experiments (500 ms as the Short Group and 1500 ms as the Long Group) and random-duration experiments (500 ms to 1500 ms). The results showed that the peak beta frequencies in both experiments ranged from 15 Hz to 25 Hz. The beta power was higher during the hold period than the movement (reach and grasp) period. Further, in the fixed-duration experiments, the mean power as well as the maximum rate of change of beta power in the first 300 ms were higher in the Short Group than in the Long Group when aligned with the Center Hit event. In contrast, in the random-duration experiments, the corresponding values showed no statistical differences among groups. The peak latency of beta power was shorter in the Short Group than in the Long Group in the fixed-duration experiments, while no consistent modulation pattern was found in the random-duration experiments. These results indicate that beta oscillations can modulate with temporal interval in their power mode. The synchronization period of beta power could reflect the cognitive set maintaining working memory of the temporal structure and attention.

Effective removal of antibacterial drugs attracts more and more attentions with the rapid development of pharmacy industry, while still facing large challenge in removal efficiency to date. Herein, porous MIL-101 and SO3H-MIL-101 were systematically studied for their adsorption performances toward two common antibacterial drugs, gemifioxacin mesylate (GEM) and moxifloxacin hydrochloride (MOX). It was found that SO3H-MIL-101 can exhibit high adsorption capacities of 528 mg g−1 and 447 mg g−1 for GEM and MOX at natural pH respectively, superior to those of MIL-101 and other common MOFs-based adsorbents. The adsorption kinetics study indicates that the adsorption onto SO3H-MIL-101 follows pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, it was found that the adsorption capacity of SO3H-MIL-101 increased at pH range of 2.0–7.0 and decreased at pH range of 7.0–10.0. Further study indicates that the two MOFs can be easily regenerated even after four cycles. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that surface potentials of the MOFs play critical effects on the adsorption processes for the amphipathic drugs and the introduction of –SO3H groups can effectively regulate the adsorption performance of the MOF. This work may provide an effective approach to modify the adsorption behaviour of the MOFs.

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours worldwide. however, emerging immunotherapy and targeted therapies continue to show limited efficacy. In the search for new targets for lung cancer treatment, exosomes have become a major focus of research. Exosomes play an important role in the tumour microenvironment (TME) of lung cancer and affect invasion, metastasis, and treatment responses. This review describes our current understanding of the release of exosomes derived from different cells in the TME, the effects of exosomes on T/Tregs, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumour-associated macrophages, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells, and the role of exosomes in the endothelial–mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, and cancer-associated fibroblasts. In particular, this review focuses on the potential clinical applications of exosomes in the lung cancer microenvironment and their prognostic and diagnostic value.

Aqueous graphite-based dual ion batteries have unique superiorities in stationary energy storage systems due to their non-transition metal configuration and safety properties. However, there is an absence of thorough study of the interactions between anions and water molecules and between anions and electrode materials, which is essential to achieve high output voltage. Here we reveal the four-stage intercalation process and energy conversion in a graphite cathode of anions with different configurations. The difference between the intercalation energy and hydration energy of bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide makes the best use of the electrochemical stability window of its electrolyte and delivers a high intercalation potential, while BF4− and CF3SO3− do not exhibit a satisfactory potential because the graphite intercalation potential of BF4− is inferior and the graphite intercalation potential of CF3SO3− exceeds the voltage window of its electrolyte. An aqueous dual ion battery based on the intercalation behaviors of bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide anions into a graphite cathode exhibits a high voltage of 2.2 V together with a specific energy of 242.74 Wh kg−1. This work provides clear guidance for the voltage plateau manipulation of anion intercalation into two-dimensional materials., The interactions between water molecules, electrode materials and anions are essential yet challenging for aqueous dual ion batteries. Here, the authors demonstrate the voltage manipulation of dual ion batteries through matching intercalation energy and solvation energy of different anions.

There exist two ways of defining regular variation of a time series in a star-shaped metric space: either by the distributions of finite stretches of the series or by viewing the whole series as a single random element in a sequence space. The two definitions are shown to be equivalent. The introduction of a norm-like function, called modulus, yields a polar decomposition similar to the one in Euclidean spaces. The angular component of the time series, called angular or spectral tail process, captures all aspects of extremal dependence. The stationarity of the underlying series induces a transformation formula of the spectral tail process under time shifts.

Studies have shown that the stress tolerance of cereal plants to osmotic or salinity stresses can be improved to varying degrees by the overexpression of an introduced betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) gene. In the present study, the HvBADH1 gene from Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f., encoding a cytosolic BADH, was transferred into Triticum aestivum via traditional Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Molecular methods, such as PCR, Southern blot analysis, and real-time quantitative RT-PCR were used to identify the successful integration and expression of the HvBADH1 transgene in genetically transformed wheat lines. To detect the efficacy of the HvBADH1 transgene in the transformants, some pivotal physiological indicators that reflected abiotic stress tolerance were measured in individual transgenic plant lines. These indicators included intracellular K+ and Na+ contents or K+/Na+ ratio, relative conductivity, and malondialdehyde and glycine betaine (GB) concentrations in cells. The results revealed that all the tested transgenic lines could significantly increase the recruitments of K+ in their cytosol than the wild-type seedlings. Similarly, 11.59- to 21.82-fold greater accumulation of GB, 2.11–2.56 times higher calli relative growth rates, and 26.2–29.1% seedling survival rates were found in transgenic lines under 150 mM NaCl stressed conditions. Our results demonstrated that by overexpressing the HvBADH1 transgene in genetically transformed wheat, the overall salt tolerance of the target plants was significantly increased, and the damaging effects of high salinity were significantly reduced.

This paper investigates the global exponential stability for a stochastic bidirectional associative memory (BAM) neural network with time-varying delays. Based on the principle of graph theory, a new method for pth moment exponential stability is derived by combining some inequalities, Lyapunov method and stochastic analysis. The obtained criteria have close relations to the topology property of the BAM neural network. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the theoretical results.

The solid-state reaction method is used to prepare the 0.94(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–0.06BaTiO3 modified by WO3 lead-free ceramic. The unpoled (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06Ti1−(3/2)x W x O3 with pseudo-cubic structure undergoes transition from ferroelectric to relaxor ferroelectric that happens in the T d. The maximum reversible temperature change |ΔT| = 0.8 K occurs at the room temperature due to the decline of temperature. In addition, |ΔT| = 0.15 K at the (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06Ti1−(3/2)x W x O3 with x = 0.75 mol% exhibits good thermal stability at the temperature range of 303–413 K.

Pyruvate kinase acts as an allosteric enzyme, playing a crucial role in the catalysis of the final step of the glycolytic pathway. In this study, site-specific mutagenesis and tryptophan fluorescence quenching were used to probe the catalytic allosteric mechanism of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase. Movement of the B domain was found to be essential for the catalytic reaction. Rotation of the B domain in the opening of the cleft between domains B and A induced by the binding of activating cations allows substrates to bind, whereas substrate binding shifts the rotation of the B domain in the closure of the cleft. Trp-157 accounts for the differences in tryptophan fluorescence signal with and without activating cations and substrates. Trp-481 and Trp-514 are brought into an aqueous environment after phenylalanine binding.

Drought and salinity are two major limiting factors of plant growth and agricultural productivity. An efficient way to improve salt tolerance of plants is by expression of the Na+/H+ antiporter gene AtNHX1 from Arabidopsis thaliana, introduced via genetic transformation. Similarly, expression of the coding genes of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) cloned from Graminaceous or Chenopodiaceous weeds appears to increase salt tolerance of plants. Unlike AtNHX1 gene, the transformation of BADH genes additionally enhances osmotic stress tolerance to the transformants. To better understand the differences of their capacities in promoting plant salt tolerance, the HvBADH1 gene from Hulless barley and the AtNHX1 gene, were introduced into a glycophyte species Cichorium intybus L. We investigated the traits of osmotic adjustment and antioxidation ability in the transformed plants under salt stress condition. The results indicated that both AtNHX1 and HvBADH1-transformed plants showed similar Na+ and K+ accumulations, but HvBADH1-transformed plants exhibited better osmotic adjustments to salt stress. And the AtNHX1 overexpression lines exhibited superior membrane protection and relative calli growth, delivering better NaCl tolerance to the plants under conditions of severe salt stress.

Recently, carbon nanotubes together with other types of conductive materials have been used to enhance the viability and function of cardiomyocytes in vitro. Here we demonstrated a paradigm to construct ECTs for cardiac repair using conductive nanomaterials. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were incorporated into gelatin hydrogel scaffolds to construct three-dimensional ECTs. We found that SWNTs could provide cellular microenvironment in vitro favorable for cardiac contraction and the expression of electrochemical associated proteins. Upon implantation into the infarct hearts in rats, ECTs structurally integrated with the host myocardium, with different types of cells observed to mutually invade into implants and host tissues. The functional measurements showed that SWNTs were essential to improve the performance of ECTs in inhibiting pathological deterioration of myocardium. This work suggested that conductive nanomaterials hold therapeutic potential in engineering cardiac tissues to repair myocardial infarction.

Nature 485, 459–464 (2012); doi:10.1038/nature11088 In the author list of this Article, the names of Gerben van Ooijen and Maria Olmedo should also have been asterisked, indicating their equal contributions. This error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the original paper.