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Emerging evidence shows that some Lactobacillus fermentum strains can contribute to the prevention and treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, 105 isolates of L. fermentum strains were separated from fecal samples of populations in different regions in China and their draft genomes were sequenced. Pan-genomic and phylogenetic characterizations of these strains and four model strains (L. fermentum 3872, CECT5716, IFO3956 and VRI003) were performed. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that there was no significant adaptive evolution between the genomes of L. fermentum strains and the geographical location, sex, ethnicity and age of the hosts. Three L. fermentum strains (FWXBH115, FGDLZR121, and FXJCJ61) from different branches of the phylogenetic tree and strain type L. fermentum CECT5716 were selected and their anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory activities in a dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model were further investigated. Both L. fermentum FXJCJ61 and CECT5716 significantly alleviated UC by reducing all colitis-associated histological indices, maintaining mucosal integrity, and stimulating replenishment of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), while the other two strains failed to offer similar protection. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of L. fermentum FXJCJ61 and CECT5716 were related to the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathway activation and enhancement of interleukin 10 (IL-10) production. Comparative genomic analysis of these strains identified candidate genes that may contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of specific L. fermentum strains.

The stable carbon isotope composition of the structural carbonate derived from animal bone hydroxylapatite (δ13CB-HA) could record an animal’s diet. These records provide critical evidence for different paleontological disciplines, e.g., paleodiet analyses, and paleoclimate reconstructions. Compared to those of other body tissues, such as bone collagen or teeth enamel hydroxylapatite, δ13CB-HA values record information on the whole diet of an animal in its last years. δ13CB-HA can be applied to fossil animals of various body sizes. The δ13C analytical instruments available only require that prepared bone samples be approximately 2–5 mg for precise measurement, allowing δ13CB-HA analysis to be feasible on most vertebrate fossils without destructive sampling, especially on small mammals or birds whose teeth are not large enough for sampling or are lost. Moreover, δ13CB-HA can be used from different times or under less than ideal burial environments. For fossils dating back to Devonian or buried in hot and humid regions, dietary information has been completely lost in bone collagen during post-depositional processes but still remained in the δ13CB-HA values because hydroxylapatite is less influenced by diagenetic effects after deposition. In addition, systematic methods such as X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have been developed to qualitatively or semiquantitatively assess the influence of diagenesis on bone hydroxylapatite to ensure the credibility of the δ13CB-HA values. With the above merits, δ13CB-HA analysis is therefore becoming an increasingly important method in paleodiet-related research. Currently, applications of the δ13CB-HA method on fossil animals are primarily focused on two aspects, namely, paleodietary reconstruction of fossil animals with uncertain diets and paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on the δ13CB-HA values of fossil herbivores. The published researches, combined with our new results from early birds, demonstrate the considerable significance of the δ13CB-HA method in paleontological and paleoenvironmental research. Notably, the δ13CB-HA-based paleodietary analysis of early vertebrates, especially the large number of small birds or mammals discovered in the past decades would be an important work in the near future.

The design of efficient, stable, and economical electrocatalysts for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reaction (OER and HER) is a major challenge for overall water splitting. Herein, a hierarchical structured CoP/carbon nanofibers (CNFs) composite was successfully synthesized and its potential application as a high-efficiency bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall splitting water was evaluated. The synergetic effect of two-dimensional (2D) CoP nanosheets and one-dimensional (1D) CNFs endowed the CoP/CNFs composites with abundant active sites and rapid electron and mass transport pathways, and thereby significantly improved the electrocatalytic performances. The optimized CoP/CNFs delivered a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at low overpotential of 325 mV for OER and 225 mV for HER. In the overall water splitting, CoP/CNFs achieved a low potential of 1.65 V at 10 mA cm−2. The facile strategy provided in the present work can facilitate the design and development of multifunctional non-noble metal catalysts for energy applications.

Diabetes is one of the most disturbing chronic diseases in the world. The improvement of treatment efficiency brought by self-monitoring of blood glucose can relieve symptoms and reduce complications, which is considered as the gold standard of diabetes diagnosis and nursing. Compared to the traditional finger pricking measurement with painful and discontinuous processes, continuous blood glucose monitoring (CGM) presents superior advantages in wearable and continuous assessment of blood glucose levels. However, widely used implantable CGM systems at present require implantation operation and are highly invasive, so it is hard to be accepted by users. Except for the blood, available fluids in humans, such as interstitial fluid (ISF), sweat, tears and saliva, also contain glucose associated with blood sugar and can be extracted more easily. Therefore, these more accessible fluids are expected to realize minimized traumatic blood glucose monitoring. This review introduces the latest development of wearable minimally-/non-invasive CGM device, focusing on the types of blood substitute biological fluid and suitable monitoring approaches. We also analysis the merits and drawbacks of each method, and discuss the properties such as sensitivity, stability and convenience of each meter. Beyond highlighting recent key work in this field, we discuss the future development trend of wearable minimally-/non-invasive glucose meters.

The demand for sustainable energy sources urges the development of efficient and earth-abundant electrocatalysts. Herein, chlorine assisted ion-exchange and in-situ sulfurization processes were combined to construct CuCo2S4@(Cu,Co)2Cl(OH)3 heterostructures from Cu(OH)2 nanoarrays. Chlorine element in the cobalt source stimulated the formation of (Cu,Co)2Cl(OH)3 precursor, and further facilitated partial transformation of the precursor to CuCo2S4 on the surface to achieve composite structure. The mixed valences of Co element (Co3+ in CuCo2S4 and Co2+ in (Cu,Co)2Cl(OH)3) and O S interpenetrated nanointerface in the composite catalysts provided low electron transfer resistance for good alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities. In 1 mol L−1 KOH electrolyte, the overpotentials of the optimal composite catalyst reached 253 and 290 mV respectively at the current density of 20 and 50 mA cm−2, which is comparable to the activity of commercial Ir/C (281 mV@20 mA cm−2). These findings could provide opportunities for designing effective and inexpensive composite electrocatalysts through nanointerface engineering strategy.

Rational design of electrode with hierarchical charge-transfer structure and good electronic conductivity is important to achieve high specific capacitance and energy density for supercapacitor, but it still remains a challenge. Herein, a nitrogen, sulfur co-doped pollen-derived carbon/graphene (PCG) composite with interconnected “sphere-in-layer” structure was fabricated, in which hierarchically pollen-derived carbon microspheres can serve as “porous spacers” to prevent the agglomeration of graphene nanosheets. The optimized PCG composite prepared with 0.5 wt% of graphene oxide (PCG-0.5) exhibited high specific capacitance (420 F g−1 at 1 A g−1), rate performance (280 F g−1 at 20 A g−1), and excellent cycling stability with 94% of capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. The symmetrical device delivered a remarkable energy density of 31.3 Wh kg−1 in neutral medium. Moreover, density functional theory calculation revealed that PCG electrode possessed the accelerated charge transfer and enhanced electronic conductivity, thus ensuring a remarkable electrochemical performance. This work may afford an effective strategy for the development of biomass-derived carbon electrodes with novel charge-transfer structure toward supercapacitor applications.

Developing low-cost and high-efficiency bifunctional electrocatalysts for both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions is urgent to fulfill the practical application of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). However, to explore the high catalytic performance of air electrocatalysts still remains a challenge. In response, a three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) Co3O4 electrocatalyst is designed and synthesized through a nanocasting strategy. A well-controlled phosphorization treatment is further conducted to induce defect engineering on the resulting P-doped Co3O4–δ (3DOM P-Co3O4–δ). With the oxygen vacancy (Vo) tailoring, partial reduction from Co3+ to Co2+ is verified as the key to improving the intrinsic electrocatalytic bifunctionality. By incorporating the geometric and electronic merits, 3DOM P-Co3O4–δ possesses an ORR half-wave potential of 0.82 V and an OER overpotential of 366 mV to achieve 10 mA cm–2, which is comparable to noble-metal benchmarks. Particularly, under galvanostatic cycling measurements, ZABs using 3DOM P-Co3O4–δ containing air cathode showcase a potential gap of 0.84 V with negligible voltage fading over 250 h at 10 mA cm–2.

Herein, a series of alpha-Co(OH)2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) microfilms and film-based nanodevices were developed via a new scalable technique. Due to the unique hexagonal nanoplates of ultrathin alpha-Co(OH)2 and the intrinsically conductive nature of rGO sheets, such thin films not only can improve the conductivity of alpha-Co(OH)2 and prevent the re-stacking of alpha-Co(OH)2 and rGO sheets but also short the transport routes of electrons and ions between the electrode and the electrolyte. The optimized alpha-Co(OH)2/rGO flexible electrode presents high specific capacitance (273.86 mF/cm2 at 0.1 mA/cm2), advanced rate capability, and excellent coulombic efficiency. Simultaneously, in-sandwich symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitors assembled with polyvinyl alcohol-KOH gel as the solid-state electrolyte achieved high areal and volumetric specific capacitances. Furthermore, a self-assembled planar alpha-Co(OH)2/rGO micro-supercapacitor (MSC) delivers high specific area capacitance (130F/cm2 at 0.5 mA/cm2) and excellent energy density (20 mWh/cm3@56 mW/cm3), which are superior to most of the recently reported carbon-based and metal hydroxides/oxides/sulfides-based planar MSCs. Also, our planar MSC shows excellent cycling performance, good flexibility, and mechanical stability. This work promotes the syntheses of other two-dimensional metal hydroxides/rGO composite film for high-performance flexible micro-electronics.

In this work, we report a facile dealloying strategy to tailor the surface state of nanoporous TiO2 towards high-efficiency sulfur host material for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. When used as a sulfur cathode material, the oxygen-deficient TiO2-x exhibits enhanced lithium polysulfides (LiPS) adsorption and conversion kinetics that effectively tackle the shuttle effect in lithium-sulfur batteries. The excellent ability of the oxygen vacancy sites on TiO2-x surface to trap LiPS is proved by experimental observations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Meanwhile, it also promotes conversion kinetics of lithium polysulfides, as verified by the asymmetric cell experiment. Accordingly, compared with the S/TiO2 cathode, the oxygen-deficient S/TiO2-x electrode exhibits preeminent rate and cycling performance in lithium-sulfur batteries: it delivers an ultra-low capacity decay of 0.039 % per cycle after 1000 cycles at 1 C. Tunning the surface state of metal oxides by dealloying method offers a new facile strategy to design efficient sulfur cathode materials for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Hexokinase (HXK) is the first irreversible catalytic enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, which not only provides energy for plant growth and development but also serves as a signaling molecule in response to environmental changes. However, the evolutionary pattern of the HXK gene family in apple remains unknown. In this study, a total of nine HXK genes were identified in the Malus×domestica genome GDDH13 v1.1. The physiological and biochemical properties, exonintron structures, conserved motifs, and cis-elements of the MdHXK genes were determined. Predicted subcellular localization indicated that the MdHXK genes were mainly distributed in the mitochondria, cytoplasm, and nucleus. Gene duplication revealed that whole-genome duplication (WGD) and segmental duplication played vital roles in MdHXK gene family expansion. The ω values of pairwise MdHXK genes indicated that this family was subjected to strong purifying selection during apple domestication. Additionally, five subfamilies were classified, and recent/old duplication events were identified based on phylogenetic tree analysis. Different evolutionary rates were estimated among the various HXK subfamilies. Moreover, divergent expression patterns of the MdHXK genes in four source-sink tissues and at five different apple fruit developmental stages indicated that they play vital roles in apple fruit development and sugar accumulation. Our study provides a theoretical basis for future elucidation of the biological functions of the MdHXK genes during apple fruit development.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have drawn a lot of attention owing to the high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh g-1, environmental friendliness and relative abundance of sulfur. Nevertheless, the severe dissolution and migration of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and poor conductivity of sulfur greatly hinder the practical application of Li-S batteries. In this work, Fe-Ni-P@nitrogen-doped carbon (named as Fe-Ni-P@NC) derived from Fe-Ni Prussian blue analog (Fe-Ni PBA) was used as highly efficient sulfur host for Li-S batteries. The Fe-Ni-P particles not only enhance the adsorption of LiPSs but also effectively promote the conversion of LiPSs. In addition, the CN- of PBAs can readily generate nitrogen-doped carbon during pyrolysis, which can improve the conductivity of composites. Due to these advantages, Li-S batteries using S@Fe-Ni-P@NC composites cathodes exhibited good electrochemical performance with outstanding rate capability and stable cycling over 500 cycles with a lower capacity fading rate of 0.08% per cycle at 1 C.

Fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (F-POSS) is one of the most popular candidates at present for superhydrophobic coating. Because of its ultralow surface energy, F-POSS has usually been dissolved with expensive fluoro-solvents, and the melting temperature of F-POSS is not high (122–140 °C), which will cause its loss during use. So trying to polymerize/crosslink F-POSS molecules and/or directly graft F-POSS to substrate is important. In this work, we report the SI-eATRP grafting of methacryl POSS (MA-POSS) on cotton and the subsequent amine catalyzed thiol-methacrylate Michael addition reaction of poly(MA-POSS) with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorododecyl-1-thiol (PFDT) for the fabrication of a durable poly(MA-POSS)-PFDT coating. The cotton fabric coated with poly(MA-POSS) was nearly superhydrophobic after 4 h of SI-eATRP process under potentiostatic condition of −0.40 V. Although the water contact angle (WCA) was ~148°, water droplets tended to adhere to the cotton fabric surface even when the fabric was turned upside down. After fluorination, WCA was increased to ~160°, and water drops could slide off when the fabric was slightly tilted. The sliding angle (SA) was ~10°. The as-prepared poly(MA-POSS)-PFDT coating was durable against repeated washing and physical abrasion. After 30 accelerated washing cycles (equals to 150 home laundering cycles), the coated fabric still showed superhydrophobicity. After 800 abrasion cycles over sandpaper, the WCA was still as high as 149°. In addition, the coated fabric had self-healing ability and could restore its superhydrophobicity after plasma etching through heat treatment. After 10 cycles of plasma etching and heat-induced healing process, the WCA of the coated fabric kept at ~154°. Such a durable superhydrophobic fabric coating may find applications in the development of functional clothing for a variety of purposes.

Stimuli-responsive surfaces with wettability change between superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic are susceptible to oil contamination which often ruins the surface. Herein, a coating with pH-switchable wettability transition between superamphiphobic and superhydrophilic-superoleophobic is achieved by rationally designing oleophobic/pH-responsive polymer heterogeneous chemistry. Fabrics modified with this coating show repellency to both water and oils, while upon exposure to acidic water (pH = 1) the fabrics change to be superhydrophilic-superoleophobic within a short response time of5 s. More importantly, the superamphiphobicity of the fabric can be restored under mild alkaline condition (pH = 10), and the transition is reversible for many cycles. The effective in situ or ex situ wettability change under acidic/alkaline water treatment makes the coated fabric capable of separating oil-water mixture or even some mixtures of immiscible organic solvents. In addition, the coated fabric is also demonstrated to be promising as a new class of functional fabrics that provide protection against water and many oils in one condition, and can change to be hygroscopic, anti-static, oil-repellent and anti-oil-fouling in the other condition for improved wear comfort and self-cleaning.

The selection of the most suitable crystal structure for ions storage and the investigation of the corresponding reaction mechanism is still an ongoing challenge for the development of Mg-based batteries. In this article, high flexible graphene network supporting different crystal structures of Nb2O5 (TT-Nb2O5@rGO and T-Nb2O5@rGO) are successfully synthesized by a spray-drying-assisted approach. The three-dimensional graphene framework provides high conductivity and avoids the aggregation of Nb2O5 nanoparticles. When employed as electrode materials for energy storage applications, TT-Nb2O5 delivers a higher discharge capacity of 129.5 mAh g−1, about twice that of T-Nb2O5 for Mg-storage, whereas, T-Nb2O5 delivers a much higher capacity (162 mAh g−1) compared with TT-Nb2O5 (129 mAh g−1) for Li-storage. Detailed investigations reveal the Mg intercalation mechanism and lower Mg2+ migration barriers, faster Mg2+ diffusion kinetics of TT-Nb2O5 as cathode material for Mg-storage, and the faster Li+ diffusion kinetics, shorter diffusion distance of T-Nb2O5 as cathode material for Li-storage. Our work demonstrates that exploring the proper crystal structure of Nb2O5 for different ions storage is necessary.

Genetic basis and network studies underlying synergistic biomass accumulation of roots and shoots (SBA) are conducive for rational design of high-biomass rice breeding. In this study, association signals for root weight, shoot weight, and the ratio of root-to-shoot mass (R/S) were identified using 666 rice accessions by genome-wide association study, together with their sub-traits, root length, root thickness and shoot length. Most association signals for root weight and shoot weight did not show association with their sub-traits. Based on the results, we proposed a top-to-bottom model for SBA, i.e. root weight, shoot weight and R/S were determined by their highest priority in contributing to biomass in the regulatory pathway, followed by a lower priority pathway for their sub-traits. Owing to 37 enriched clusters with more than two association signals identified, the relationship among the six traits could be also involved in linkage and pleiotropy. Furthermore, a discrimination of pleiotropy and LD at sequencing level using the known gene OsPTR9 for root weight, R/S and root length was provided. The results of given moderate correlation between traits and their corresponding sub-traits, and moderate additive effects between a trait and the accumulation of excellent alleles corresponding to its sub-traits supported a bottom-to-top regulation model for SBA. This model depicted each lowest-order trait (root length, root thickness and shoot length) was determined by its own regulation loci, and competition among different traits, as well as the pleiotropy and LD. All above ensure the coordinated development of each trait and the accumulation of the total biomass, although the predominant genetic basis of SBA is still indistinguishable. The presentation of the above two models and evidence of this study shed light on dissecting the genetic architecture of SBA.

Biorefining of Chinese food waste (FW) into transport fuels was assessed in terms of amount of fuel produced and over all Global Warming Potential (GWP) for six different scenarios including biogas, biomethane, bioethanol and biodiesel in different combinations. The life-cycle perspective used included GWP aspects of material and energy use, emissions during biorefining and management of residues, as well as substitution of fossil fuels according to the energy content of biofuels. All of the six FW biorefineries revealed savings in GWP ranging from −19 to −138 kg CO2 eqv. per ton of wet FW. Compared to the reference scenario with only anaerobic digestion (S0), introducing biogas upgrading to biomethane (S1) improved the GWP by 37%; while producing bioethanol prior to anaerobic digestion (S2) decreased the savings in GWP. Introducing biodiesel prior to anaerobic digestion (S3) revealed around 60% improvement in GWP, while combining biodiesel and biomethane gave the largest improvement in GWP, 84% compared to the reference scenario, and the most fuels (around 2400 MJ in terms of 30 kg biodiesel and 35 kg biomethane per ton of wet FW). A sensitivity analysis revealed that the electricity production based on the biogas was an important parameter and appears in all refineries, while the results was less sensitive to the production of biodiesel and biomethane. The residue management contributed also to the GWP, but did not vary much among the biorefinery scenarios.

Na 3 V 2 O 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F (NVOPF) as an attractive electrode material has received much attention based on the one-electron reaction of V 4+ /V 5+ . However, the electrochemical reactions involving lower vanadium valences were not investigated till now. Herein, we firstly synthesized a composite of graphene decorated nanosheet-assembled NVOPF microflowers (NVOPF/G) and conducted the multi-electron reaction of NVOPF/G by controlling the operation voltage windows. The reaction mechanism, structural changes and vanadium valences during the insertion/extraction of Li ions (from two to six) were elucidated clearly by in-situ X-ray diffraction and ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations. Theoretical computations also reveal the Li ions locations in the structure of NaV 2 O 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F. Due to the additional redox couple of V 3+ /V 4+ , NVOPF/G displays a much higher initial capacity of 183.3 mAh g -1 in the wider voltage window of 1.0-4.8 V than that of 2.5-4.8 V (129.3 mAh g -1 ). Moreover, excellent Li-storage performance of NVOPF/G at a lower voltage (≤2.5 V) with the active reaction of V 2+ /V 3+ /V 4+ was obtained for the first time, demonstrating the high potential of NVOPF/G as an anode material for Li ion storage.

Porous media with directional water-transport capability have great applications in oil-water separation, moisture-harvesting, microfluidics, and moisture-management textiles. However, the previous directional water-transport materials chiefly work in the air. The materials with directional water-transport capability in the oil phase have been less reported. Here, we fabricated a novel Janus fabric with amphibious directional water-transport capability that can work both in the air and oil phases. It was prepared using dip coating and spraying to develop an oleophobic-hydrophobic to oleophobic-hydrophilic gradient across the thickness of the fabric substrate. The fabric allowed water droplets to rapidly transport from the hydrophobic to the hydrophilic side when the fabric was either in the air environment or fully immersed in oil. However, it hindered water transport in the opposite direction. More importantly, the fabric can overcome gravity to capture water from oil. Such an air-oil amphibious water-transport fabric showed excellent water collecting capability. In oil, it does not require any prewetting or extra pressure to perform directional water transport, which is vital for water-oil separation and microfluidics. Such amphibious directional water-transport function may be useful for the development of smart membranes and directional liquid delivery.

The built-in electric field generated by polar materials is one of the most effective strategies to promote the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in the field of photocatalysis. However, because of the complexity and diversity of the built-in electric field in polar materials, it is not clear how to enhance the photocatalytic performance and how to control the polar electric field effectively. To this end, four-layered bismuth oxyhalides, BiOX, and BiOXO3 (X = Br, I) were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that they all have the structure characteristics of a sillenite phase. Scanning electron microscopy images show that they all have the morphology of nanosheets. Among them, BiOBrO3 was successfully synthesized and characterized for the first time in the present work. The order of photocatalytic performance (including carrier's lifetime, photocurrent density, and H2 evolution rate) of the four compounds is listed as follows: BiOBrO3 > BiOI > BiOIO3 > BiOBr. In the bulk of the BiOXO3 photocatalyst, the spontaneous polar built-in electric field along the [001] direction is the crucial factor to inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, while the surface polar electric field in BiOI can outstandingly inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs due to the breaking of the mirror symmetry. Therefore, regulating the microstructure and composition of the structure unit, which generates the built-in electric field, can indeed control the magnitude, direction, and effects of built-in electric fields. In practice, we should carefully adjust the strategy according to the actual situation so as to reasonably design and use the polar electric field, giving full play to its role and enhancing the photocatalytic performance.

A robust prediction system should monitor all possible hydraulic transients, which is significant for the appropriate and safe operation of pipe systems. A second-order finite volume method (FVM) Godunov-type scheme (GTS) considering unsteady friction factors is introduced to simulate hydraulic transients, which was rarely involved in previous work. One explicit-solution source item approach developed in this work is crucial for the proposed GTS to easily incorporate various forms of the existing unsteady friction models, including original convolution-based models (Zielke model and Vardy–Brown model), simplified convolution-based model (Trikha–Vardy–Brown (TVB) model), and Brunone instantaneous acceleration-based model. Results achieved by the proposed models are compared with experimental data as well as predictions by the classic Method of Characteristics (MOC). Results show that the MOC scheme may produce severe numerical attenuation in the case of a low Courant number. The proposed second-order GTS unsteady friction models are accurate, efficient, and stable even for Courant numbers less than one and sparse grid, and only need much less grid number and computation time to reach the same numerical accuracy. The TVB convolution-based model and Brunone model in the second-order GTS are suggested for further applications in hydraulic transients due to their high accuracy and efficiency. HIGHLIGHTS A Godunov-type scheme involving unsteady pipe friction is developed.; An explicit-solution source item approach is introduced to incorporate unsteady friction.; The numerical models are validated by the experimental data.; The proposed models are accurate, efficient, and stable for transient pipe flow.; A Brunone unsteady friction model is more efficient than the convolution-based model.

Waste sugar solution (WSS), a waste by-product of manufacturing vitamin C, contains abundant waste acids and organics. In this work, a N/O-enriched copolymer was synthesized via a facile polymerization via the hydrogen bonding of O-containing functional groups and melamine and the crosslinking of aldehyde groups. Subsequently, N-doped carbon spheres were prepared by a typical carbonation/activation method. Remarkably, benefiting from an ultrahigh specific surface area (3612 m2/g) and rich heteroatom content (4.3% for N, 8.8% for O), the carbon spheres deliver a high specific capacitance of 387 F/g at 50 mA/g and 283 F/g at 5 A/g with 6 M KOH in two-electrode system. The assembled symmetric electric double-layer capacitor exhibits high energy density of 10.83 Wh/kg at 11.10 W/kg. This research provides a facile method for preparing N/O-doped carbon spheres by WSS, and confirms the excellent electrochemical performance of WSS-derived carbons in energy storage applications.

A new intercalation-type anode material is reported herein to improve the lithium storage kinetics for high-rate lithium ion capacitors. The crystal structure of orthorhombic NaNbO3 indicates two possible tunnels for lithium ions insertion into NaNbO3 host along the and directions. Moreover, in situ XRD is conducted to investigate the lithium storage mechanism and structural evolution of the NaNbO3 anode, demonstrating its intercalation behavior through (101) and (141) planes. Furthermore, the rGO nanosheets are introduced to facilitate the charge transfer, which also effectively prevent the aggregation of NaNbO3 nanocubes. As expected, the NaNbO3/rGO nanocomposites possess remarkable reversible capacity (465 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), superior rate capability (325 mA h g−1 at 1.0 A g−1) and cycling stability, attributed to their synergistic effect and high Li+ diffusion coefficient DLi [D(NaNbO3/rGO)/D(NaNbO3) ≈ 31.54]. Remarkably, the NaNbO3/rGO-based LIC delivers a high energy density of 166.7 W h kg−1 at 112.4 W kg−1 and remains 24.1 W h kg−1 at an ultrahigh power density of 26621.2 W kg−1, with an outstanding cycling durability (90% retention over 3000 cycles at 1.0 A g−1). This study provides new insights on novel intercalation-type anode material to enrich the materials system of LICs. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20170549), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21706103) and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. 2019K295).

Proteins are involved in practically every single biological process. The many enzymes involved in their synthesis, cleavage, and posttranslational modification (PTM) carry out highly specific tasks with no usage of protecting groups. Yet, the chemists’ strategy of protection/deprotection potentially can be highly useful, for example, when a specific biochemical reaction catalyzed by a broad‐specificity enzyme needs to be inhibited, during infection of cells by enveloped viruses, in the invasion and spread of cancer cells, and upon mechanistic investigation of signal‐transduction pathways. Doing so requires highly specific binding of peptide substrates in aqueous solution with biologically competitive affinities. Recent development of peptide‐imprinted cross‐linked micelles allows such protection and affords previously impossible ways of manipulating peptides and proteins in enzymatic transformations., Highly specific enzymes make protecting groups unnecessary in biology but some enzymes including proteases and kinases have multiple biological substrates and there is strong interest to stop a specific enzyme‐catalyzed reaction without inhibiting the enzyme itself. Recent developments in peptide‐imprinted nanoparticles allow precise protection of peptide substrates and open up previously impossible ways to manipulate enzymatic reactions.

The notorious “shuttle effect” of polysulfide during charge–discharge process induces grievous capacity fading, while the sluggish polysulfide conversion kinetics significantly hinders the development of practically viable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a novel ZIF-7@carbon composite with ZIF-7 sheets vertically rooted on carbon cloth was developed as multifunctional interlayer to address these issues. The composite shows directional layered structure with outstanding compactness, and thus can provide massive active sites for accelerated redox reactions. The pore channels are perpendicular to the square surface, resulting in extremely high utilization of one-dimensional channels. Therefore, this structure can not only maintain the structural stability during the charge–discharge process by providing enough space for volume expansion, but also contribute to efficient exposure and utilization of active sites for the physical/chemical adsorption and catalytic conversion of polysulfide. As a result, Li-S batteries with the as-developed interlayer deliver a considerable areal capacity of 4.75 mAh cm−2 at an elevated sulfur loading of 5.5 mg cm−2, and an impressive cyclability with an extremely low capacity-fading rate of merely 0.04% per cycle over 500 cycles at 1 C.

Delphinidin is an anthocyanin that belongs to the group of flavonoids that exert numerous biological activities. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of delphinidin remain poorly understood. In our study we analyzed delphinidin modulate STAT-3 and MAPKinase signaling thereby inhbits cell proliferation and promote apoptosis. Our study demonstrated that delphinidin treatment significantly reduced the viability of human colon cancer HCT116 in a concentration-dependent manner. We noticed that delphinidin effectively induced oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis by generating intracellular ROS, decreasing antioxidant levels, inducing lipid peroxidation, and single-strand break on colon cancer cells. In this study, we observed that delphinidin treatment alters the mitochondrial membrane potential, thereby induces apoptosis was closely associated with the induction of pro-apoptotic Bax, Caspase- 3,8 & 9, cytochrome C, and inhibition of anti-apoptotic protein expression. Studies on STAT-3 and MAPKinase signaling showed delphinidin inhibited the phosphorylation of these transcription factors' activity. Inhibition of STAT-3, p38, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation and modulation pro-apoptotic protein expression might be responsible for the anticancer activity of delphinidin in colon cancer cells.

Due to the demands for high performance and ecological and economical alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), the development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with remarkably higher theoretical capacity (1675 mA h g−1) has become one of the extensive research focus directions worldwide. However, poor conductivity of sulfur, critical cyclability problems due to shuttle of polysulfides as intermediate products of the cathodic reaction, and large volume variation of the sulfur composite cathode upon operation are the major bottlenecks impeding the implementation of the next-generation Li-S batteries. In this work, a unique three-dimensional (3D) interconnected macrocellular porous carbon (PC) architecture decorated with metal Ni nanoparticles was synthesized by a simple and facile strategy. The as-fabricated Ni/PC composite combines the merits of conducting carbon skeleton and highly adsorptive abilities of Ni, which resulted in efficient trapping of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and their fast conversion in the electrochemical process. Owing to these synergistic advantageous features, the composite exhibited good cycling stability (512.3 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1 C with an extremely low capacity fading rate 0.03 % per cycle), and superior rate capability (747.5 mA h g−1 at 2 C). Accordingly, such Ni nanoparticles embedded in a renewable puffed corn-derived carbon prepared via a simple and effective route represent a promising active type of sulfur host matrix to fabricate high-performance Li-S batteries.

The influence of cooling rate on the mechanical properties of resistance-welded continuous carbon fiber/poly-ether-ether-ketone (CF/PEEK) joints and crystallization behavior of PEEK in the heating elements (HEs) was investigated. 6 kinds of joints with different cooling rates were designed and prepared in resistance welding processes. A lap shear strength (LSS) improvement of 28% was reported for joints with lower cooling rates relative to joints without controlled cooling process, and the crystallinity degrees measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of lower-cooling-rate joints were also higher. The fatigue performances showed the same trend. The polarized optical microscope (POM) images showed that stainless steel (SS) wires in the HEs acted as heterogeneous nucleating agents, promoting high-density nucleation sites and accelerating formation of transcrystallinity at a cooling rate lower than 80 °C/min, and the transcrystallinity was hardly observed at higher cooling rates. The results of crystallization kinetics also showed that the Avrami exponent n reduced with cooling rate increasing, indicating that a two-dimensional growth of transcrystallinity dominated at lower cooling rates. It was suggested that qualities of resistance-welded joints were significantly affected by crystallinity and morphology which were both controlled by the cooling rate.

In this study, ZnO ceramics with two types of TPMS structure (Gyroid structure and Schwartz P structure) were fabricated by 3D printing. The solid content of ZnO ceramics powder was 38 wt%. The solid content of SR454NS Acrylic was 57 wt%. The other components of the slurry were photoinitiator, dispersant and sintering additive. The ZnO ceramics with high densification could be achieved after sintering at 1250 °C for 2 h. The average grain size was 37 μm and the true density of the printed ZnO ceramics was 4.95 g/cm3. The shape of printed ZnO ceramics can be controlled and the minimum size of thin rod is 200 μm. The compressive strength for Gyroid structural ZnO ceramic with 55% porosity and the Schwartz P structural ZnO ceramic was approximately 6.87 MPa and 4.02 MPa, respectively. The result shows that the Gyroid structural ZnO ceramics can bear much more deformation than the Schwartz P structure during the compression tests. The TPMS structural ZnO ceramics can be used in the field of sensing and detection in the future.

The practical application of lithium (Li) metal anode has been hindered by the fast Li depletion and shallow cycling conditions. Herein, a universal and scalable approach for current collectors combining an enhanced lithiophilic surface and a conductive inner core enables a promising pathway for high−performance Li metal battery (LMB). The interface between anode and electrolyte accelerates Li ions self−concentration and enhances the electrokinetic surface conduction with suppressed Li concentration polarization. With Cu@Cu3N as an example, a fast Li plating/stripping at 20 mA cm−2 for 10,000 cycles and a stable full cell under the near realistic conditions with a high active material loading (19.1 mg cm−2), a low electrolyte/active materials ratio (2.3), and a limited Li resource (10.24 mAh cm−2: equivalent to 50 µm Li foil) are achieved for broadening the commercialization of LMB.

Non-random gene organization in eukaryotes plays a significant role in genome evolution. Here, we investigate the origin of a biosynthetic gene cluster for production of defence compounds in oat—the avenacin cluster. We elucidate the structure and organisation of this 12-gene cluster, characterise the last two missing pathway steps, and reconstitute the entire pathway in tobacco by transient expression. We show that the cluster has formed de novo since the divergence of oats in a subtelomeric region of the genome that lacks homology with other grasses, and that gene order is approximately colinear with the biosynthetic pathway. We speculate that the positioning of the late pathway genes furthest away from the telomere may mitigate against a ‘self-poisoning’ scenario in which toxic intermediates accumulate as a result of telomeric gene deletions. Our investigations reveal a striking example of adaptive evolution underpinned by remarkable genome plasticity., The genomic organization and origin of the avenacin biosynthetic gene cluster remain unknown. Here, the authors assemble the genome of diploid oat Avena strigosa, reveal the structure and organization of the consecutive genes, characterize the last two missing pathway steps, and investigate the origin of the pathway in cereals.

PREMISE Current knowledge about defense strategies in plants under herbivore pressure is predominantly based on vascular plants. Bryophytes are rarely consumed by herbivores since they have ample secondary metabolites. However, it is unknown whether bryophytes have induced defenses against herbivory and whether there is a trade-off between growth and defense in bryophytes. METHODS In an experiment with two peatland bryophytes, Sphagnum magellanicum Brid. and S. fuscum (Schimp.) H. Klinggr., two kinds of herbivory, clipping with scissors and grazing by mealworms (Tenebrio molitor L.) were simulated. At the end of the experiment, we measured growth traits, carbon-based defense compounds (total phenolics and cellulose) and storage compounds (total nonstructural carbohydrates) of these two Sphagnum species. RESULTS Grazing but not clipping increased total phenolics and C:N ratio and reduced biomass production and height increment. A negative relationship between biomass production and total phenolics was found in S. magellanicum but not in S. fuscum, indicating a growth-defense trade-off that is species-specific. Grazing reduced the sugar starch content of S. magellanicum and the sugar of S. fuscum. Either clipping or grazing had no effect on chlorophyll fluorescence (including actual and maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II) except that a significant effect of clipping on actual photochemical efficiency in S. fuscum was observed. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that Sphagnum can have induced defense against herbivory and that this defense can come at a cost of growth. These findings advance our knowledge about induced defense in bryophytes, the earliest land plants.

Arctigenin(ARG) , a natural lignans compound isolated from Arctium lappa L. In this study, the anti-tumor effect of ARG on prostate cancer cell PC-3M and the mechanism of apoptosis and autophagy induced by PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway were discussed, and further confirmed by the joint treatment of ARG and PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Here, the effect of ARG on cell viability was evaluated in PC-3M cells by CCK-8 assay. After the treatment of ARG, colony formation assay was used to detect the anti-proliferation effect. Annexin V-FITC/PI kit and DAPI staining were used to detect the apoptosis level, and cell cycle changes were analyzed by flow cytometry. The expression of autophagy was detected by acridine orange staining. In addition, the expression levels of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were analyzed by western blot. The result showed that different concentrations of ARG inhibited the proliferation of PC-3M cells. DAPI staining and flow cytometry showed that ARG induced PC-3M cell apoptosis and arrested cell in G0/G1 phase. Acridine orange staining showed that ARG induced autophagy in PC-3M cells. Western blot experiments showed that ARG inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 , promoted the expression of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. At the same time, the expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3B-II and Beclin-1 increased after ARG treatment, but P62 decreased. In addition, further studies have shown that treatment with LY294002 enhanced the effects of ARG on the expression of proteins associated with apoptosis and autophagy , indicating that ARG may induce apoptosis and autophagy through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

In this paper, a delayed feedback controller with the delay-dependent coefficient is introduced into a multiple delay phytoplankton-zooplankton system. For uncontrolled system, choosing delays as the bifurcation parameters, we prove that Hopf bifurcation can occur when the delays change and cross some values. Then, the delays are still chosen as the bifurcation parameters to research the dynamic behaviors of the controlled system. Under this control mechanism, the onset of Hopf bifurcation can be delayed by selecting the appropriate control parameters and the stability domain can be extended as feedback gain (the decay rate) decreases (increases), and the influence of the decay rate cannot be ignored. Furthermore, using the crossing curve methods, the stable changes of equilibrium in two delay plane can be obtained. Some numerical simulations are given to verify the correctness and validity of the delayed feedback controller in the bifurcation control.

In order to be used as matrix of lubricating material, epoxy resin needs to be modified to enhance its tribological properties. In this study, polyetheramine-functionalized graphene oxide was used to prepare epoxy composite. The mechanical properties, thermal properties and friction properties of composite materials with different types and contents of fillers were studied. 0.2 wt% polyetheramine-functionalized graphene oxide/epoxy composite exhibited the best tribological performance, that is, friction coefficient decreased by 54% and wear rate dropped by 94% compared with pure resin. The wear rate was reduced by 67%–94% in a wide content range (from 0.1 wt% to 0.4 wt%). Simultaneously, modified GO also enhanced thermal stability, and mechanical properties, including tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break and microhardness due to enhanced dispersity and interface interaction in matrix. The excellent lubrication and anti-wear properties was attribute to the benign interaction of the composite and transfer film. It was further proved that polyetheramine modified graphene could improve the tribological properties of epoxy resin under heavy load and high slipping speed. The results showed a prospect to the practical applications of graphene and solve wear-related mechanical failures of epoxy resin.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) polysiloxane has attracted growing attention in recent years due to its outstanding biocompatibility. However, polysiloxane usually requires high-energy UV light for excitation and exhibits monochromatic blue emission. Moreover, the experimental selection process of polysiloxane with designed features is time-consuming and laborious. So, in this paper, we developed a new molecular structure selection strategy using theoretical calculations instead of experiments, and a linear disulfide-containing polysiloxane (L1) is selected and synthesized. To our surprise, L1 can be excited by low-energy visible light (Ex = 508 nm and Em = 588 nm) and emit multicolor fluorescence under different excitation wavelengths. A further study of the luminescence mechanism was carried out through calculations about the quantum states of L1. Moreover, L1 shows multiple stimuli-responsiveness, such as redox, pH, metal ions, and solvent. This work provides an integrated route for the molecular design of macromolecular AIE luminogens with attractive fluorescence properties.

Can the active kernels in ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (nanoclusters, NCs) react with one another, or can the internanocluster reaction occur when they are in close enough proximity? To resolve this fundamental issue, we investigated the solid-state internanocluster reaction of the most studied gold NC Au 25 (SR) 18 (SR: thiolate) and revealed that a novel NC was produced by increasing the pressure to 5 GPa, whose composition was determined to be Au 32 (SC 2 H 4 Ph) 24 by mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis. As revealed by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, the structure consisting of a bicuboid Au 14 kernel and three pairs of interlocked trimetric staples, has not been previously reported and endows the NC with obvious photoluminescence. DFT calculations also indicate the staples contribute substantially to the absorption properties. Further experiments reveal the pressure (internanocluster distance) can tune the internanocluster reaction, and the resulting product is not necessarily the thermodynamic product. Thus, the introduced high-pressure method would have great potential for synthesizing unconventional metal NCs with enhanced properties for applications.

Green tides have been increasing in frequency and severity in coastal areas in recent years, and thus, the adverse effects of green tides on the environment have attracted much research attention. Allelopathy is one of the most significant effects of green tide algae on the surrounding organisms. In this study, a series of experiments were developed to fully investigate the allelopathic effects of the green tide alga Ulva linza on two common coastal phytoplankton species and to isolate and identify the chemical compositions of the allelochemicals. Our results indicated that the fresh tissue, dry powder, and aqueous extracts all inhibited the population growth of the two experimental phytoplankton species, indicating the occurrence of allelopathy; further analysis of the allelochemicals identified multiple kinds of fatty acids as allelopathic compounds, in which the most abundant ones were hexadecanoic acid; 9Z, 12Z, 15Z-octadecatetrienoic acid; and 9E-octadecenoic acid. Our findings enrich the database for research on allelopathy between marine green tide algae and phytoplankton. Both algae and phytoplankton could increase their own competitive abilities during bloom formation, thereby changing the phytoplankton community structure.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is a conductive polymer complex integral to both established and next-generation electronic devices. Density functional theory (DF...

The microscopic structure of a macroscopic material assembled from a nanoscale determines its performance in practical functional applications. The rapid, effective, and in situ characterization of...

Amorphous transition-metal compounds (a-TMC) have attracted more and more attention due to their high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, it is still a challenge to in situ synthesize a-TMC-carbon nanocomposites at elevated temperature and figure out the exact advantages of the amorphous structure. Here, an amorphous iron-doped nickel phosphate–carbon hollow nanocomposite (a-NiFePO-C) has been simply prepared by coprecipitation of metal ions and phytic acid, followed by a controllable annealing process. The results show that a-NiFePO-C can achieve a low overpotential of 268 mV at 10 mA/cm² and maintain 91.3% of the initial current density after a 9 h chronoamperometry test in a 1 M KOH solution with low mass loading of 0.1 mg/cm². The excellent performance of a-NiFePO-C is attributed to the low charge-transfer resistance, bulk self-reconstruction, and synergetic oxidation of the bimetallic sites during cyclic voltammetry (CV) activation, resulting in the formation of a highly OER-active Fe(III)-Ni(oxy)hydroxide-carbon nanocomposite. Moreover, the rechargeable Zn–air batteries powered by the a-NiFePO-C + Pt/C electrode can present a lower charging voltage and superior cycle performance than that powered by a commercial RuO₂ + Pt/C electrode.

In order to achieve the degradation of Congo red dye in wastewater, a new type of three-dimensional porous composite catalyst PW7Mo3Cu2/PANI/MnO2 was prepared by using heteropoly acid [TBA]4H3[PW7Mo3Cu2O38(H2O)2] doped intermediate PANI/MnO2. Using IR, UV, SEM, XPS and other characterization techniques, it was confirmed that the heteropoly acid [TBA]4H3[PW7Mo3Cu2O38(H2O)2] was successfully doped into the intermediate PANI/MnO2 to form a three-dimensional porous structure. The results of N2 adsorption–desorption experiment indicated that the composite catalyst belongs to the type IV (a) mesoporous structure material and has a large pore size and specific surface area. Then, the composite catalyst PW7Mo3Cu2/PANI/MnO2 was used to photocatalyze the degradation of Congo red dye. Under the best photocatalytic conditions, the decolorization rate of Congo red dye reached 93.84%. After recovering and repeating the photocatalysis experiment three times, the decolorization rate of Congo red dye was 73.18%. The experimental results proved that the novel composite catalyst has a strong ability to degrade Congo red dye and reusability, and has potential application value.

Miscanthus, a rhizomatous perennial plant, has great potential for bioenergy production for its high biomass and stress tolerance. We report a chromosome-scale assembly of Miscanthus lutarioriparius genome by combining Oxford Nanopore sequencing and Hi-C technologies. The 2.07-Gb assembly covers 96.64% of the genome, with contig N50 of 1.71 Mb. The centromere and telomere sequences are assembled for all 19 chromosomes and chromosome 10, respectively. Allotetraploid origin of the M. lutarioriparius is confirmed using centromeric satellite repeats. The tetraploid genome structure and several chromosomal rearrangements relative to sorghum are clearly demonstrated. Tandem duplicate genes of M. lutarioriparius are functional enriched not only in terms related to stress response, but cell wall biosynthesis. Gene families related to disease resistance, cell wall biosynthesis and metal ion transport are greatly expanded and evolved. The expansion of these families may be an important genomic basis for the enhancement of remarkable traits of M. lutarioriparius., The genus Miscanthus has great potential for bio-energy production due to its high biomass yield and strong stress resistance. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of the diploid M. lutarioriparius, showing it has an allotetraploid origin and an expanded number of genes in families related to stress resistance.

Thin film thermocouple (TFTC) is widely used in high temperature measurement, which is of short response time, less heat residual and integrated structure. Due to the ultra-thin structure of TFTC, the interfacial diffusion has a great influence on its reliability when exposed to high temperature environment, which leads to its performance degradation. Taking thermocouple on the turbine blade as research object, the parallel diffusion model of multilayer thermocouple is proposed based on Fick’s law. The reliability model of the protective layer, the sensitive layer and the insulating layer are established in the basis of the parallel diffusion model. According to the logical correlation among the multilayer films of TFTC, the TTF model of TFTC is given. Finally, an example of reliability model based on multilayer diffusion is simulated by Monte Carlo method, which demonstrates the feasibility of the method and model.

Loess is prone to collapse upon wetting due to its open metastable structure, which poses a considerable threat to the environment, construction processes and human life. In this study, double oedometer tests and scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry analyses were conducted on loess from Yan’an to study the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of loess wetting deformation and the underlying mechanism. The wetting collapse of loess under loading depends on the changes in different microstructure levels and elements. This collapse chain reaction is manifested by the dissipation, scattering and recombination of the cementation, deformation and reorganization of the particles, blocking of the pore channels, decrease in the dominant size and volume of unstable macropores (>14 µm) and abundant mesopores (2.5–14 µm), increase in the volume of small pores (0.05–2.5 µm), and volume contraction at the macroscale. This process is dependent on the initial water content, stress level and wetting degree. These findings can facilitate collapsible loess hazard prevention and geological engineering construction.

Background Carbon dots (CDs) with multifaceted advantages have provided hope for development brand-new nanodrug for treating thorny diseases. This study developed a green and simple calcination method to prepare novel CDs as promising drug for psoriasis treatment. The as-prepared CDs using Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex (PCC) as sole precursor were characterized by a series of methods, mainly including electron microscopy, optical technology and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results Results displayed that fluorescence (Quantum yield = 5.63%) and nontoxic PCC-based CDs (PCC-CDs) with abundant chemical groups exhibited solubility and tiny sizes at average of (1.93 ± 0.53) nm, which may be beneficial for its inherent biological activity. Moreover, by using the typical imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like skin mouse model, we firstly demonstrated the pronounced anti-psoriasis activity of as-prepared PCC-CDs on ameliorating the appearance, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores as well as histopathological morphology of both back skin tissues and right ears in IMQ-induced mouse. Further potential mechanisms behind the anti-psoriasis activities may be related to suppress M1 polarization and relatively promote M2 polarization of macrophage both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion These results suggested that PCC-CDs have potential to be an anti-psoriasis candidate for clinical applications to treat psoriasis, which not only provided an evidence for further broadening the biological application of CDs, but also provided a potential hope for application nanodrugs to treat thorny diseases. Graphic Abstract

In this paper, we obtain some characterizations on the Reeb vector field for a trans-Sasakian manifold to be proper.

Proteolysis of proteins and peptides is involved in the infection of cells by enveloped viruses and also in the invasion and spread of cancer cells. Shutting down broad‐specificity proteases, however, is problematic because normal functions by these proteases will be affected. Herein, nanoparticle receptors were prepared from molecular imprinting for complex biological peptides. Their strong and selective binding enabled them to protect their targeted sequences from proteolysis in aqueous solution at stoichiometric amounts. Generality of the method was demonstrated by the protection of hydrophobic and hydrophilic peptides from different proteases, selective protection of a segment of a long peptide, and selective protection of a targeted peptide in a mixture. Most interestingly, two receptors targeting different parts of a long peptide could work in cooperation to protect the overall sequence, highlighting the versatility of the method., Synthetic nanoparticles act as protecting agents for peptides from enzymatic action, enabling selective proteolysis of peptides in a mixture and selective hydrolysis at degenerate cleavage sites.

Inhibition of murine double minute 2 (MDM2)-p53 protein-protein interaction with small molecules has been shown to reactivate p53 and inhibit tumor growth. Here, we describe rational, structure-guided, design of novel isoindolinone-based MDM2 inhibitors. MDM2 X-ray crystallography, quantum mechanics ligand-based design, and metabolite identification all contributed toward the discovery of potent in vitro and in vivo inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 interaction with representative compounds inducing cytostasis in an SJSA-1 osteosarcoma xenograft model following once-daily oral administration.

The myeloblastosis (MYB) transcription factors are essential for plant stress responses. They can enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity, and cold) via improved physiological and biochemical responses including the accumulation of metabolites. In this study, we constructed a Panax ginseng MYB4 (PgMYB4) gene expression vector and established the stable transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana lines to study the effects of this gene on plant stress tolerance. The germination rate and seedling taproot length were greater for the PgMYB4-overexpressing plants than for the wild-type plants. Accordingly, the overexpression of PgMYB4 in Arabidopsis enhanced seedling tolerance to drought, salt, and cold conditions. Under drought stress, the relative chlorophyll content decreased less, the proline content increased more, and the water loss rate decreased more in the transgenic plants than in the wild type. The expressions of stress-related genes responsive to dehydration 19A, responsive to dehydration 22, responsive to desiccation 29A, cold-regulated 15A, cold-regulated 47, and pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase 1 were significantly upregulated in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Under high salt stress, the kinesin 1 (KIN1) expression was significantly upregulated in the transgenic plants. In response to the low temperature stress, the dehydration-responsive element binding protein 2A and KIN1 expressions increased dramatically in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Thus, PgMYB4 positively regulated the stress tolerance gene networks, which promoted the expression of anti-stress effector genes. This gene may be useful for ginseng breeding programs aiming to develop new cultivars with enhanced stress tolerance.

A hitherto unreported heterocyclic imide, thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline-fused acenaphthenequinone imide acceptor (TQAI), is designed and synthesized by incorporating an auxiliary electron-deficient...