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Understanding salt and water transport mechanisms in reverse osmosis (RO) under high pressures and salinities is critical to advancing RO-based brine management technologies. In this study, we investigate the dependence of salt permeance and partitioning on feed salinity and applied pressure. Salt partitioning coefficients were determined using a novel high-pressure quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and salt permeances were collected using a lab-scale high-pressure dead-end cell. Our results show that salt permeance decreases with respect to feed concentration, in contrast to conventional theories for charged RO membranes. We further show salt partitioning coefficients do not change with applied hydrostatic pressure but are dependent on feed salt concentration. We use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to show that these trends are explained by salinity and pressure-induced changes to the structure of the polyamide layer, namely osmotic deswelling and compaction. Changes in the polyamide layer thickness and pore size alter the frictional interactions of ions, affecting membrane performance at larger salinities and pressures. These results provide new insights on how structure-performance relationships affect salt transport at higher pressures.

The stability issue of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has long been of concern to researchers. Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is commonly used as a hole transport layer (HTL) in the inverted PSCs to achieve efficient and stable performance. However, PEDOT:PSS can corrode ITO, affecting device efficiency. Moreover, the hydrophilic nature of PEDOT:PSS compromises device stability. In this work, Poly (3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), known for its good hydrophobicity, was used to modify the surface of PEDOT:PSS, reducing its water absorption and thereby enhancing the efficiency and stability of PSCs. The results reveal that incorporating P3HT effectively enhances the hydrophobicity of PEDOT:PSS. Furthermore, it fosters the development of large-grain perovskite film on the PEDOT:PSS/P3HT bilayer. This enhancement leads to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.78% for PSCs, with an increase by 16% than that of reference cells (17.04% of PCE). Following a duration of 1000 h, the PCE for the device modified with P3HT remains above 90%, while the PCE of the reference device is below 70%. These findings suggest that using P3HT in conjunction with PEDOT:PSS as a bilayer HTL can concurrently and proficiently improve the efficiency and stability of PSCs.

Carbon fiber-reinforced composites have been widely used in the aerospace industry because of their superior comprehensive performance, including high strength, low density, fatigue resistance, long service life, etc. The interface between the fiber reinforcement and the matrix is one of the key factors that determines the performance of the composites. The construction of covalent bonding connections between the components has proven to be an effective strategy for improving the interfacial bonding strength but always reduces the toughness. In this work, dual silane coupling agents are applied to covalently connect cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) onto carbon fibers, constructing hierarchical interfacial connections between the fibers and the epoxy matrix and significantly improving the interfacial bonding strength. As a result, the tensile strength of the epoxy composites increased from 519 MPa to nearly 900 MPa, which provides a potential approach for significantly improving the mechanical performance of composites.

The fault diagnosis of rolling bearing acoustic radiation signals holds significant importance in industrial equipment maintenance. It effectively prevents equipment failures and downtime, ensuring the smooth operation of the production process. Compared with traditional vibration signals, acoustic radiation signals have the advantage of non-contact measurement. They can diagnose faults in special conditions where sensors cannot be installed and provide more comprehensive equipment status information. Therefore, to extract the fault characteristic information of rolling bearings from complex acoustic signals, this paper proposes an advanced deep learning model combining Gramian Angular Field (GAF), ResNet1D, ResNet2D, and multi-head attention mechanism, named CRAMNet (Combined ResNet Attention Multi-Head Net), to diagnose the faults of rolling bearing acoustic radiation signals. Firstly, this method includes converting one-dimensional signals into GAF images and performing data standardization and segmentation. Then, the method utilizes ResNet1D to extract features from one-dimensional signals and ResNet2D to extract features from GAF images. Further, it combines the multi-head attention mechanism to enhance feature representation and capture dependencies between different channels. Finally, this paper compares the proposed method with several traditional models (including CNN, LSTM, DenseNet, and CNN-Transformers). Experimental results show that the proposed method performs outstandingly in terms of accuracy and robustness. The combination of residual networks and multi-head attention mechanism in the model significantly enhances its ability to accurately diagnose rolling bearing faults, proving the superiority of the algorithm.

Activating FLT3 mutations plays a crucial role in leukemogenesis, but identifying the optimal candidates for FLT3 inhibitor therapy remains controversial. This study aims to explore the impacts of FLT3 mutations in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to compare the mutation profiles between the two types to inspire the targeted application of FLT3 inhibitors. We retrospectively analyzed 243 ALL and 62 AML cases, grouping them into FLT3-mutant and wild-type categories, respectively. We then assessed the associations between FLT3 mutations and the clinical manifestations, genetic characteristics, and prognosis in ALL and AML. Additionally, we compared the distinct features of FLT3 mutations between ALL and AML. In ALL patients, those with FLT3 mutations predominantly exhibited hyperdiploidy (48.6% vs. 14.9%, p < 0.001) and higher FLT3 expression (108.02 [85.11, 142.06] FPKM vs. 23.11 [9.16, 59.14] FPKM, p < 0.001), but lower expression of signaling pathway-related genes such as HRAS, PIK3R3, BAD, MAP2K2, MAPK3, and STAT5A compared to FLT3 wild-type patients. There was no significant difference in prognosis between the two groups. In contrast, AML patients with FLT3 mutations were primarily associated with leucocytosis (82.90 [47.05, 189.76] G/L vs. 20.36 [8.90, 55.39] G/L, p = 0.001), NUP98 rearrangements (30% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.018), elevated FLT3 expression (74.77 [54.31, 109.46] FPKM vs. 34.56 [20.98, 48.28] FPKM, p < 0.001), and upregulated signaling pathway genes including PIK3CB, AKT1, MTOR, BRAF, and MAPK1 relative to FLT3 wild-type, correlating with poor prognosis. Notably, internal tandem duplications were the predominant type of FLT3 mutation in AML (66.7%) with higher inserted base counts, whereas they were almost absent in ALL (6.3%, p < 0.001). In summary, our study demonstrated that the forms and impacts of FLT3 mutations in ALL differed significantly from those in AML. The gene expression profiles of FLT3-related pathways may provide a rationale for using FLT3 inhibitors in AML rather than ALL when FLT3 mutations are present.

Understanding the mechanisms that regulate plant root growth under soil drying is an important challenge in root biology. We observed that moderate soil drying promotes wheat root growth. To understand whether metabolic and hormonic changes are involved in this regulation, we performed transcriptome sequencing on wheat roots under well-watered and moderate soil drying conditions. The genes upregulated in wheat roots under soil drying were mainly involved in starch and sucrose metabolism and benzoxazinoid biosynthesis. Various plant hormone-related genes were differentially expressed during soil drying. Quantification of the plant hormones under these conditions showed that the concentrations of abscisic acid (ABA), cis-zeatin (CZ), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) significantly increased during soil drying, whereas the concentrations of salicylic (SA), jasmonic (JA), and glycosylated salicylic (SAG) acids significantly decreased. Correlation analysis of total root length and phytohormones indicated that CZ, ABA, and IAA are positively associated with wheat root length. These results suggest that changes in metabolic pathways and plant hormones caused by moderate soil drying help wheat roots grow into deeper soil layers.

The mitigation mechanisms of a kind of controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer (sulfur-coated controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer, SCNF) in response to O3 stress on a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) variety (Nongmai-88) were studied in crop physiology and soil biology through the ozone-free-air controlled enrichment (O3-FACE) simulation platform and soil microbial metagenomics. The results showed that SCNF could not delay the O3-induced leaf senescence of winter wheat but could enhance the leaf size and photosynthetic function of flag leaves, increase the accumulation of nutrient elements, and lay the foundation for yield by regulating the release rate of nitrogen (N). By regulating the soil environment, SCNF could maintain the diversity and stability of soil bacterial and archaeal communities, but there was no obvious interaction with the soil fungal community. By alleviating the inhibition effects of O3 on N-cycling-related genes (ko00910) of soil microorganisms, SCNF improved the activities of related enzymes and might have great potential in improving soil N retention. The results demonstrated the ability of SCNF to improve leaf photosynthetic function and increase crop yield under O3-polluted conditions in the farmland ecosystem, which may become an effective nitrogen fertilizer management measure to cope with the elevated ambient O3 and achieve sustainable production.

Ischemic stroke is a serious neurological disease involving multiple complex physiological processes, including vascular obstruction, brain tissue ischemia, impaired energy metabolism, cell death, impaired ion pump function, and inflammatory response. In recent years, there has been significant interest in cell membrane-functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles as a novel therapeutic approach. This review comprehensively explores the mechanisms and importance of using these nanoparticles to treat acute ischemic stroke with a special emphasis on their potential for actively targeting therapies through cell membranes. We provide an overview of the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke and present advances in the study of biomimetic nanoparticles, emphasizing their potential for drug delivery and precision-targeted therapy. This paper focuses on bio-nanoparticles encapsulated in bionic cell membranes to target ischemic stroke treatment. It highlights the mechanism of action and research progress regarding different types of cell membrane-functionalized bi-onic nanoparticles such as erythrocytes, neutrophils, platelets, exosomes, macrophages, and neural stem cells in treating ischemic stroke while emphasizing their potential to improve brain tissue’s ischemic state and attenuate neurological damage and dysfunction. Through an in-depth exploration of the potential benefits provided by cell membrane-functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles to improve brain tissue’s ischemic state while reducing neurological injury and dysfunction, this study also provides comprehensive research on neural stem cells’ potential along with that of cell membrane-functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles to ameliorate neurological injury and dysfunction. However, it is undeniable that there are still some challenges and limitations in terms of biocompatibility, safety, and practical applications for clinical translation.

Currently, the use of nanotechnology to repurpose traditional drugs has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment. Quercetin (Qu), a chemotherapy molecule, has excellent antitumor activity, and IR780, a photosensitizer, possesses sound tumor phototherapy effects. However, both compounds have poor water solubility and other drawbacks that hinder their extensive clinical applications. To effectively utilize two molecules in the fight against cancer, a new multifunctional chemical-phototherapy nanoplatform with tumor target and glutathione (GSH) response was designed. By modifying hyaluronic acid (HA), the amphiphilic molecule carrying biotin and IR780 was obtained, which self-assembled to load the antitumor active molecule Qu, namely Qu@BHSI. In addition to addressing the hydrophobic issue of Qu and IR780, the prepared nanoparticles can rapidly release Qu with high concentrations of GSH present and generate heat and cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) under near-infrared light. The biological function research showed that Qu@BHSI nanoparticles had the ability to suppress the growth of A549 cells, induce cell apoptosis, stimulate ROS production in zebrafish, and inhibit angiogenesis in transgenic zebrafish. The construction of nanosystems provides new or alternative strategies and approaches for effectively repurposing classical drug molecules including photosensitizers and chemotherapy drugs.

NIBV is an acute and highly contagious virus that has a major impact on the poultry industry. Wogonin, as a flavonoid drug, has antiviral effects, but there have been no reports indicating its role in renal injury caused by NIBV infection. The aim of this study is to investigate the antiviral effect of wogonin against NIBV. Renal tubular epithelial cells were isolated and cultured, and divided into four groups: Con, Con+Wog, NIBV and NIBV+Wog. We found that wogonin significantly inhibited the copy number of NIBV and significantly alleviated NIBV-induced cell apoptosis and necrosis. Moreover, wogonin inhibited the reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and the aberrant opening of mPTP caused by NIBV. In conclusion, wogonin can protect renal tubular epithelial cells from damage by inhibiting the replication of NIBV and preventing mitochondrial apoptosis and necroptosis induced by NIBV.

Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK) is a kind of special engineering plastic with excellent properties such as high-temperature resistance, self-lubrication, wear resistance, and high mechanical strength. However, its blending or composite modification applications still face numerous challenges. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the friction and wear performance of a three-layer self-lubricating bearing bush, which was made from a modified material containing short carbon fiber and Poly Ether Ether Ketone (SCF/PEEK). The bearing bush is used as a surface contact layer on the pistons of a hydraulic motor in the interface with the cam roller. The bearing bush was processed using a 15% SCF-modified PEEK material, and the friction and wear test was conducted using a self-built friction test machine. This study aimed to assess the frictional and wear characteristics of the SCF/PEEK-modified material in the bearing bush. The results show that as the experimental pressure rises from 15 MPa to 25 MPa, the friction coefficient of the SCF-modified bearing bush experiences a significant decrease from 0.420 to 0.296. Furthermore, the stability of the frictional morphology of carbon fibers indicates its effective adaptability to low speed and high load conditions.

Loop closure detection (LCD), also known as place recognition, is a crucial component of visual simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM) systems, aiding in the reduction of cumulative localization errors on a global scale. However, changes in environmental appearance and differing viewpoints pose significant challenges to the accuracy of the LCD algorithm. Addressing this issue, this paper presents a novel end-to-end framework (MetricNet) for LCDs to enhance detection performance in complex scenes with distinct appearance variations. Focusing on deep features with high distinguishability, an attention-based Channel Weighting Module(CWM) is designed to adaptively detect salient regions of interest. In addition, a patch-by-patch Similarity Measurement Module (SMM) is incorporated to steer the network for handling challenging situations that tend to cause perceptual aliasing. Experiments on three typical datasets have demonstrated MetricNet’s appealing detection performance and generalization ability compared to many state-of-the-art learning-based methods, where the mean average precision is increased by up to 11.92%, 18.10%, and 5.33% respectively. Moreover, the detection results on additional open datasets with apparent viewpoint variations and the odometry dataset for localization problems have also revealed the dependability of MetricNet under different adaptation scenarios.

Evacuation rules for pedestrians in emergencies are of great significance for the design of building exits, exit management, and evacuation facilities. Based on the mixed reality evacuation LVC simulation system we developed, in this paper, three kinds of pedestrian exit selection experiments were carried out, in which the influence of distance and exit selection on pedestrian exit selection was studied. In line with common sense, during the single-factor control tests, the participants preferred the exit with fewer people and at a closer distance. The two-factor combined effect of the above two factors was also studied. It can be found that the participants preferred to choose the least crowded exit with a closer distance for evacuation. Among these two factors, the participants would give priority to the number of people at the exit. In addition, participants show different trajectories for the difference in the number of people at the two exits. Their walking trajectory was close to an arc line in the case of an equal number of people at two exits. The results of this paper provide a theoretical basis for research on designing evacuation facilities and guiding evacuees, and allows us to explore a new approach for mixed reality evacuation research by conducting virtual crowd experiments in a real environment.

Berberine (BBR) is used to treat cancer, inflammatory conditions, and so on. But the side effects of BBR causing constipation should not be ignored. In clinical application, the combination of Amomum villosum Lour. (AVL) and BBR can relieve it. However, the effective ingredients and molecular mechanism of AVL in relieving constipation are not clear. A small intestine propulsion experiment was conducted in constipated mice to screen active ingredients of AVL. We further confirmed the molecular mechanism of action of the active ingredient on BBR-induced constipation. Quercetin (QR) was found to be the effective ingredient of AVL in terms of relieving constipation. QR can efficiently regulate the microbiota in mice suffering from constipation. Moreover, QR significantly raised the levels of substance P and motilin while lowering those of 5-hydroxytryptamine and vasoactive intestinal peptide; furthermore, it also increased the protein expression levels of calmodulin, myosin light-chain kinase, and myosin light chain. The use of QR in combination with BBR has an adverse effect-reducing efficacy. The study provides new ideas and possibilities for the treatment of constipation induced by BBR.

The working environment of mining electric locomotives is wet and muddy coal mine roadway. Due to low friction between the wheel and rail and insufficient utilization of creep rate, there may be idling or slipping between the wheels and rails of mining electric locomotives. Therefore, it is necessary to control the creep rate within a reasonable range. In this paper, the autonomous control algorithm for mining electric locomotives based on improved ε-greedy is theoretically proven to be convergent and effective firstly. Secondly, after analyzing the contact state between the wheel and rail under wet and slippery road conditions, it is concluded that the value of creep rate is an important factor affecting the autonomous driving of mining electric locomotives. Therefore, the autonomous control method for mining electric locomotives based on creep control is proposed in this paper. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through simulation. The problem of wheel slipping and idling caused by insufficient friction of mining electric locomotives in coal mining environments is effectively suppressed. Autonomous operation of vehicles with optimal driving efficiency can be achieved through quantitative control and utilization of the creep rate between wheels and rails.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common metabolic disease of the liver, characterized by hepatic steatosis in more than 5% of hepatocytes. However, despite the recent approval of the first drug, resmetirom, for the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, decades of target exploration and hundreds of clinical trials have failed, highlighting the urgent need to find new druggable targets for the discovery of innovative drug candidates against MASLD. Here, we found that glutathione S-transferase alpha 1 (GSTA1) expression was negatively associated with lipid droplet accumulation in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of GSTA1 significantly attenuated oleic acid-induced steatosis in hepatocytes or high-fat diet-induced steatosis in the mouse liver. The hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory drug bicyclol also attenuated steatosis by upregulating GSTA1 expression. A detailed mechanism showed that GSTA1 directly interacts with fatty acid binding protein 1 (FABP1) and facilitates the degradation of FABP1, thereby inhibiting intracellular triglyceride synthesis by impeding the uptake and transportation of free fatty acids. Conclusion: GSTA1 may be a good target for the discovery of innovative drug candidates as GSTA1 stabilizers or enhancers against MASLD.

Salinity stress is a type of abiotic stress which negatively affects the signaling pathways and cellular compartments of plants. Melatonin (MT) has been found to be a bioactive compound that can mitigate these adverse effects, which makes it necessary to understand the function of MT and its role in salt stress. During this study, plants were treated exogenously with 100 µM of MT for 7 days and subjected to 200 mM of salt stress, and samples were collected after 1 and 7 days for different indicators and transcriptome analysis. The results showed that salt reduced chlorophyll contents and damaged the chloroplast structure, which was confirmed by the downregulation of key genes involved in the photosynthesis pathway after transcriptome analysis and qRT-PCR confirmation. Meanwhile, MT increased the chlorophyll contents, reduced the electrolyte leakage, and protected the chloroplast structure during salt stress by upregulating several photosynthesis pathway genes. MT also decreased the H2O2 level and increased the ascorbic acid contents and APX activity by upregulating genes involved in the ascorbic acid pathway during salt stress, as confirmed by the transcriptome and qRT-PCR analyses. Transcriptome profiling also showed that 321 and 441 DEGs were expressed after 1 and 7 days of treatment, respectively. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that 76 DEGs were involved in the photosynthesis pathway, while 35 DEGs were involved in the ascorbic acid metabolism pathway, respectively. These results suggest that the exogenous application of MT in plants provides important insight into understanding MT-induced stress-responsive mechanisms and protecting Brassica campestris against salt stress by regulating the photosynthesis and ascorbic acid pathway genes.

Ni(OH)2 has been extensively studied as a promising electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, enhancing its OER properties is still required and challenging. Here we reported that the OER activity of Ni(OH)2 can be improved with the structure modulation by glutamic acid (GA) through a simple co-electrodeposition process. The coordination effect of GA leads to the reduction of Ni2+ ions and enhances the generation of NiOOH sites during the activation process by cyclic voltammetry. The Ni(OH)2-GA anode shows remarkably enhanced OER activity than pristine Ni(OH)2 in alkaline media. Additionally, Fe-doping realizes further improvement in the OER activity of Ni(OH)2-GA, suggesting the possibility of achieving highly efficient electrocatalysts with cheap materials and an easy fabrication process.

A possible approach to addressing the challenges of energy scarcity and the effects of global warming through the decrease of greenhouse gases is the manufacture of hydrocarbons, particularly fuel from the photoreduction of CO2. Here, the determination of activity/selectivity of produced hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and oxygen in the gas phase was demonstrated in the absence and presence of O2 in an aqueous slurry on TiO2. The conversion increases with reaction time up to the first hour but then begins to become unchanged in the presence of oxygen, suggesting catalyst deactivation. In contrast, the reaction rate and CO2 conversion increased over 4 h when there was no oxygen, demonstrating that oxygen can be the cause of TiO2 deactivation. Intriguingly, light-induced O2 uptake rather than evolution was seen during optical oxygen detection investigations in photoreactions with a peak region of O2/CO2. H2 production is suppressed by the presence of oxygen. Additionally, the sudden increase in hydrogen generation when oxygen is absent demonstrated that oxygen consumption and hydrogen production are taking place at the reduction site. The availability of oxygen reduced hydrocarbon productivity and H2 production.

Hydrogels containing dynamically crosslinked networks through covalent bonds have garnered substantial attention in both academia and technology sectors. This interest stems from their impressive mechanical stability and their unique spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics. Among the various type of dynamic covalent bonds used for preparation hydrogel, the 5-methylene pyrrolones (5MP) and thiol reaction stands out as one of the most prevalent. Given its reliability, efficiency and selectivity, thiol-5MP reaction has long been recognized as some of the most efficient Micheal additions. In this work, by utilizing thiol-5MP Michael addition with improved stability and specificity, a new type of dynamic hydrogel is easily prepared. Notably, the mechanical attributes of the resultant thiol-5MP hydrogels can be finely tuned by modulating the pH during their preparation process. Furthermore, hydrogels formulated under neutral (pH 7.5) or alkaline (pH 8.5) conditions display enhanced stress-relaxation response and superior self-healing capabilities compared to those generated under acidic conditions (pH 6.5). As revealed by single-molecule force spectroscopy assays, the pH-tunable mechanical properties are attributed to the pH-dependent dynamics of thiol-5MP bonds. This work showcases an innovative avenue for crafting dynamic hydrogels featuring pH-adjustable bulk characteristics, highlighting the versatility of thiol-5MP bonds as fundamental building blocks for the design of functional hydrogel materials.

The extraction of indole from wash oil is of economic value and practical significance. In this study, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are investigated to extract indole from wash oil. Initially, density functional theory calculations were used to explore the association of indole with aromatic compounds in wash oil, and the feasibility of indole extraction with a tetraethylammonium chloride/p-toluenesulfonic acid (TEAC/2TsOH) DES. Then, the influence of the temperature, stirring time, DESs dose, initial indole concentration, and amount of water added were investigated, followed by discussions on the comparison with other extractants and the performance of extracting of indole from real wash oil. The results show that indole associates with aromatic compounds in wash oil through π−π interactions, but that a large electrostatic interaction energy of −52.8 kJ/mol between indole and the DESs is the main driving force for the extraction process. Under optimal conditions, TEAC/2TsOH extracts more than 63.5 ± 3% of indole from wash oil, and its extraction capacity is superior to other extractants.

MoS2 with 2D structure shows efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance because undercoordinated Mo–S edges have ideal hydrogen adsorption free energy. MoS2 usually does not satisfy the bifunctional catalysts because of the poor intrinsic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activity. Herein, it is proposed to construct heterostructure with OER active components to induce efficient bifunctional catalytic activity along with heteroatom doping to modify the electronic structure to optimize the adsorption and desorption capabilities of reaction intermediates. La‐doped Ni3S2/MoS2 grown on nickel foam (La‐NMS@NF) is synthesized as bifunctional catalyst taking advantage of the excellent OER performance of Ni3S2. La‐NMS@NF evolves into nanoflower‐like structures with the addition of La dopant, which provides abundant pore channels to facilitate mass transfer and exposure of active sites. Density functional calculations reveal that the La‐doped Ni3S2/MoS2 heterointerface can optimize the water adsorption and H* adsorption/desorption, improving the HER performance. The La‐NMS@NF exhibits an overpotential of 154 and 300 mV for HER and OER at 100 mA cm−2 in 1.0 m KOH. Herein, a heteroatom‐driven heterostructure activation strategy for electron rearrangement and structural evolution in electrocatalysts to decrease energy consumption in overall water splitting is demonstrated.

Transcranial magneto-acoustic stimulation (TMAS), which is characterized by high spatiotemporal resolution and high penetrability, is a non-invasive neuromodulation technology based on the magnetic–acoustic coupling effect. To reveal the effects of TMAS treatment on amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque and synaptic plasticity in Alzheimer’s disease, we conducted a comparative analysis of TMAS and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) based on acoustic effects in 5xFAD mice and BV2 microglia cells. We found that the TMAS-TUS treatment effectively reduced amyloid plaque loads and plaque-associated neurotoxicity. Additionally, TMAS-TUS treatment ameliorated impairments in long-term memory formation and long-term potentiation. Moreover, TMAS-TUS treatment stimulated microglial proliferation and migration while enhancing the phagocytosis and clearance of Aβ. In 5xFAD mice with induced microglial exhaustion, TMAS-TUS treatment-mediated Aβ plaque reduction, synaptic rehabilitation improvement, and the increase in phospho-AKT levels were diminished. Overall, our study highlights that stimulation of hippocampal microglia by TMAS treatment can induce anti-cognitive impairment effects via PI3K-AKT signaling, providing hope for the development of new strategies for an adjuvant therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

With the rapid development of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and deep learning, educational informatization has entered a new era. However, the explosion of information has brought numerous challenges. Knowledge graphs, as a crucial component of artificial intelligence, can contribute to the quality of teaching. This study proposes an educational knowledge graph based on course information named CourseKG for precision teaching. Precision teaching seeks to individualize the curriculum for each learner and optimize learning efficiency. CourseKG aims to establish a correct and comprehensive curriculum knowledge system and promote personalized learning paths. CourseKG can address the issue that current general-purpose knowledge graphs are not suitable for the education field. Particularly, this study proposes a framework for educational entity recognition based on the pre-trained BERT model. This framework captures relevant information in the educational domain using the BERT model and combines it with the BiGRU and multi-head self-attention mechanism to extract multi-scale and multi-level global dependency relationships. In addition, the CRF is used for character-label decoding. Further, a relationship extraction method based on the BERT model, which integrates sentence features and educational entities and estimates the similarity between knowledge pairs using cosine similarity, is proposed. The proposed CourseKG is verified by experiments using real-world C programming course data. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of CourseKG. Finally, the results show that the proposed CourseKG can significantly enhance the precision teaching quality and realize multi-directional adaptation among teachers, courses, and students.

Pak choi exhibits a diverse color range and serves as a rich source of flavonoids and terpenoids. However, the mechanisms underlying the heterosis and coordinated regulation of these compounds—particularly isorhamnetin—remain unclear. This study involved three hybrid combinations and the detection of 528 metabolites from all combinations, including 26 flavonoids and 88 terpenoids, through untargeted metabolomics. Analysis of differential metabolites indicated that the heterosis for the flavonoid and terpenoid contents was parent-dependent, and positive heterosis was observed for isorhamnetin in the two hybrid combinations (SZQ, 002 and HMG, ZMG). Moreover, there was a high transcription level of flavone 3′-O-methyltransferase, which is involved in isorhamnetin biosynthesis. The third group was considered the ideal hybrid combination for investigating the heterosis of flavonoid and terpenoid contents. Transcriptome analysis identified a total of 12,652 DEGs (TPM > 1) in various groups that were used for comparison, and DEGs encoding enzymes involved in various categories, including “carotenoid bio-synthesis” and “anthocyanin biosynthesis”, were enriched in the hybrid combination (SZQ, 002). Moreover, the category of anthocyanin biosynthesis also was enriched in the hybrid combination (HMG, ZMG). The flavonoid pathway demonstrated more differential metabolites than the terpenoid pathway did. The WGCNA demonstrated notable positive correlations between the dark-green modules and many flavonoids and terpenoids. Moreover, there were 23 ERF genes in the co-expression network (r ≥ 0.90 and p < 0.05). Thus, ERF genes may play a significant role in regulating flavonoid and terpenoid biosynthesis. These findings enhance our understanding of the heterosis and coordinated regulation of flavonoid and terpenoid biosynthesis in pak choi, offering insights for genomics-based breeding improvements.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes, and its progression is influenced by factors like oxidative stress, inflammation, cell death, and fibrosis. Compared to drug treatment, exercise offers a cost-effective and low-risk approach to slowing down DN progression. Through multiple ways and mechanisms, exercise helps to control blood sugar and blood pressure and reduce serum creatinine and albuminuria, thereby alleviating kidney damage. This review explores the beneficial effects of exercise on DN improvement and highlights its potential mechanisms for ameliorating DN. In-depth understanding of the role and mechanism of exercise in improving DN would pave the way for formulating safe and effective exercise programs for the treatment and prevention of DN.

Abscisic acid-responsive element-binding factor 1 (ABF1), a key transcription factor in the ABA signal transduction process, regulates the expression of downstream ABA-responsive genes and is involved in modulating plant responses to abiotic stress and developmental processes. However, there is currently limited research on the feedback regulation of ABF1 in ABA signaling. This study delves into the function of BcABF1 in Pakchoi. We observed a marked increase in BcABF1 expression in leaves upon ABA induction. The overexpression of BcABF1 not only spurred Arabidopsis growth but also augmented the levels of endogenous IAA. Furthermore, BcABF1 overexpression in Arabidopsis significantly decreased leaf water loss and enhanced the expression of genes associated with drought tolerance in the ABA pathway. Intriguingly, we found that BcABF1 can directly activate BcPYL4 expression, a critical receptor in the ABA pathway. Similar to BcABF1, the overexpression of BcPYL4 in Arabidopsis also reduces leaf water loss and promotes the expression of drought and other ABA-responsive genes. Finally, our findings suggested a novel feedback regulation mechanism within the ABA signaling pathway, wherein BcABF1 positively amplifies the ABA signal by directly binding to and activating the BcPYL4 promoter.

Silica (SiO2), accounting for the main component of fly ash, plays a vital role in the heterogeneous formation of polychlorinated thianthrenes/dibenzothiophenes (PCTA/DTs) in high-temperature industrial processes. Silica clusters, as the basic units of silica, provide reasonable models to understand the general trends of complex surface reactions. Chlorothiophenols (CTPs) are the most crucial precursors for PCTA/DT formation. By employing density functional theory, this study examined the formation of 2-chlorothiophenolate from 2-CTP adsorbed on the dehydrated silica cluster ((SiO2)3) and the hydroxylated silica cluster ((SiO2)3O2H4). Additionally, this study investigated the formation of pre-PCTA/DTs, the crucial intermediates involved in PCTA/DT formation, from the coupling of two adsorbed 2-chlorothiophenolates via the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) mechanism and the coupling of adsorbed 2-chlorothiophenolate with gas-phase 2-CTP via the Eley–Rideal (E–R) mechanism on silica clusters. Moreover, the rate constants for the main elementary steps were calculated over the temperature range of 600–1200 K. Our study demonstrates that the 2-CTP is more likely to adsorb on the termination of the dehydrated silica cluster, which exhibits more effective catalysis in the formation of 2-chlorothiophenolate compared with the hydroxylated silica cluster. Moreover, the E–R mechanism mainly contributes to the formation of pre-PCTAs, whereas the L–H mechanism is prone to the formation of pre-PCDTs on dehydrated and hydroxylated silica clusters. Silica can act as a relatively mild catalyst in facilitating the heterogeneous formation of pre-PCTA/DTs from 2-CTP. This research provides new insights into the surface-mediated generation of PCTA/DTs, further providing theoretical foundations to reduce dioxin emission and establish dioxin control strategies.

Heterosis plays a significant role in enhancing variety, boosting yield, and raising economic value in crops, but the molecular mechanism is still unclear. We analyzed the transcriptomes and 3D genomes of a hybrid (F1) and its parents (w30 and 082). The analysis of the expression revealed a total of 485 specially expressed genes (SEGs), 173 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) above the parental expression level, more actively expressed genes, and up-regulated DEGs in the F1. Further study revealed that the DEGs detected in the F1 and its parents were mainly involved in the response to auxin, plant hormone signal transduction, DNA metabolic process, purine metabolism, starch, and sucrose metabolism, which suggested that these biological processes may play a crucial role in the heterosis of Brassica rapa. The analysis of 3D genome data revealed that hybrid F1 plants tend to contain more transcriptionally active A chromatin compartments after hybridization. Supplementaryly, the F1 had a smaller TAD (topologically associated domain) genome length, but the number was the highest, and the expression change in activated TAD was higher than that of repressed TAD. More specific TAD boundaries were detected between the parents and F1. Subsequently, 140 DEGs with genomic structural variants were selected as potential candidate genes. We found two DEGs with consistent expression changes in A/B compartments and TADs. Our findings suggested that genomic structural variants, such as TADs and A/B chromatin compartments, may affect gene expression and contribute to heterosis in Brassica rapa. This study provides further insight into the molecular mechanism of heterosis in Brassica rapa.

To handle the task of pointer meter reading recognition, in this paper, we propose a deep network model that can accurately detect the pointer meter dial and segment the pointer as well as the reference points from the located meter dial. Specifically, our proposed model is composed of three stages: meter dial location, reference point segmentation, and dial number reading recognition. In the first stage, we translate the task of meter dial location into a regression task, which aims to separate bounding boxes by an object detection network. This results in the accurate and fast detection of meter dials. In the second stage, the dial region image determined by the bounding box is further processed by using a deep semantic segmentation network. After that, the segmented output is used to calculate the relative position between the pointer and reference points in the third stage, which results in the final output of reading recognition. Some experiments were conducted on our collected dataset, and the experimental results show the effectiveness of our method, with a lower computational burden compared to some existing works.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a serious inflammatory disease with high morbidity and mortality. Rosavin is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phenylpropanoid and glucoside, which is isolated from Rhodiola rosea L. However, its potential molecular mechanisms and whether it has protective effects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI remain to be elucidated. To assess the in vitro anti-inflammatory effects and anti-lung injury activity of rosavin, RAW264.7 and A549 cells were stimulated using 1 μg/mL LPS. Rosavin attenuated LPS-induced activation of the TLR-4/NF-κB signaling pathway in RAW264.7 cells and inhibited LPS-induced release of inflammatory factors in A549 cells. A mouse model of acute lung injury was constructed by intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg LPS to observe the therapeutic effect of rosavin. Transcriptomics analysis and Western blot assays were utilized to verify the molecular mechanism, rosavin (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) dose-dependently ameliorated histopathological alterations, reduced the levels of inflammatory factors, and inhibited the TLR-4/NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway and apoptosis activation. Rosavin is a promising therapeutic candidate for acute lung injury by inhibiting the TLR-4/NF-κB/MAPK pathway.

Tiebangchui, which mainly originates from the dried root of Aconitum pendulum Busch, is an important traditional Tibetan medicine and has long been used for the treatment of various types of cold and pain. However, the excellent pharmacological activities of Tiebangchui are accompanied by high toxicity caused by Aconitum alkaloids. To ensure clinical medication safety, Tiebangchui is only used after processing. Stir-frying with Zanba is an effective and unique processing method in traditional Tibetan medicine, but chemical variations in raw and processed Tiebangchui are rarely reported. In this study, an integrated method combining ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) was applied to explore chemical constituent variations, transformation mechanisms, and in situ spatial distributions of metabolites in raw Tiebangchui and its series of processed products. Three important diterpenoid alkaloids were quantified by HPLC. Results revealed visible differences between raw Tiebangchui and its Zanba stir-fried products, and 60 min was demonstrated to be the proper processing time. A total of 64 components were detected, and 32 of them were considered as metabolic markers to distinguish raw Tiebangchui and its processed products stir-fried for different time. Chemical changes were also visualized by DESI-MSI: the contents of aconitine and 3-deoxyaconitine significantly decreased, and those of benzoylaconine, benzoyldeoxyaconine, 16-epi-pyrodeoxyaconitine, and 16-epi-pyroaconitine markedly increased. Transformations from diester-diterpenoid alkaloids to monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids through hydrolysis and pyrolysis were found to be the major detoxication processes during Zanba stir-frying. In summary, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS based metabolomics, DESI-MSI, and quantitative combined approach could be an efficient method to characterize chemical variations in Tiebangchui and its Zanba processed products with different stir-frying time. The wide application of this method would contribute to the process monitoring and safe control of Tiebangchui and other toxic Aconitum medicine.

Natural products are one of the essential sources of innovative drugs. Trigothysoid N, a natural daphnane diterpenoid obtained from Trigonostemon thyrsoideus, possessed the strong ability to inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells. Besides interrupting the cell cycle, the mechanism examination revealed that trigothysoid N can inhibit tumor proliferation and migration by targeting mitochondria, regulating the STAT3/FAK signal pathway, and suppressing angiogenesis. In addition to the possible mechanism, in vivo antitumor experiments were performed to explore the potential of trigothysoid N for treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Collectively, these findings supported the great potential of trigothysoid N as a hopeful therapeutic agent against NSCLC.

Efflux pumps play important roles in bacterial detoxification and some of them are stress-response elements that are up-regulated when the host is treated with antibiotics. However, efflux pumps that are down-regulated by stimulations are rarely discovered. Herein, we analyzed multiple transcriptome data and discovered a special (Major Facilitator Superfamily) MFS efflux pump, KpsrMFS, from Klebsiella pneumoniae, which was down-regulated when treated with antibiotics or extra carbon sources. Interestingly, overexpression of kpsrmfs resulted in halted cell growth in normal conditions, while the viable cells were rarely affected. The function of KpsrMFS was further analyzed and this efflux pump was determined to be a proton-driven transporter that can reduce the intracellular tetracycline concentration. In normal conditions, the expression of kpsrmfs was at a low level, while artificial overexpression of it led to increased endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Moreover, by comparing the functions of adjacent genes of kpsrmfs, we further discovered another four genes that can confer similar phenotypes, indicating a special regulon that regulates cell growth. Our work provides new insights into the roles of efflux pumps and suggests a possible regulon that may regulate cell growth and endogenous ROS levels.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinases (PIP5Ks), essential enzymes in the phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway, are crucial for the abiotic stress responses and the overall growth and development of plants. However, the GhPIP5Ks had not been systematically studied, and their function in upland cotton was unknown. This study identified a total of 28 GhPIP5Ks, and determined their chromosomal locations, gene structures, protein motifs and cis-acting elements via bioinformatics analysis. A quantitative real-time PCR (qRT‒PCR) analysis showed that most GhPIP5Ks were upregulated under different stresses. A virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assay indicated that the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities were significantly decreased, while malondialdehyde (MDA) content were significantly increased in GhPIP5K2- and GhPIP5K22-silenced upland cotton plants under abiotic stress. Furthermore, the expression of the stress marker genes GhHSFB2A, GhHSFB2B, GhDREB2A, GhDREB2C, GhRD20-1, GhRD29A, GhBIN2, GhCBL3, GhNHX1, GhPP2C, GhCBF1, GhSnRK2.6 and GhCIPK6 was significantly decreased in the silenced plants after exposure to stress. These results revealed that the silencing of GhPIP5K2 and GhPIP5K22 weakened the tolerance to abiotic stresses. These discoveries provide a foundation for further inquiry into the actions of the GhPIP5K gene family in regulating the response and resistance mechanisms of cotton to abiotic stresses.

Polysaccharides are the main nutritional constituents in the Armillaria mellea fruiting bodies. The structure and immunoactivity of Armillaria mellea polysaccharide are valuable to be determined for development. In the present study, two polysaccharides, including Armillaria mellea neutral polysaccharide (AMPN) and Armillaria mellea acidic polysaccharide (AMPA), were prepared and determined. AMPN and AMPA were separated and refined by the ion exchange column and gel chromatographycolumn. Analysis of AMPN and AMPA revealed molecular weights of 4.432 × 103 Da and 7.323 × 103 Da. The monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that AMPN was mainly composed of 68.3%glucose, while AMPA consisted primarily of glucose, mannose, and galactose, accompanied by 8.9% galacturonic acid and 3% fucose. Then, infrared spectra analysis, Congo red staining, methylation, and NMR spectroscopy analysis were conducted as a means to clarify the structure of AMPN and AMPA. The NMR spectra demonstrated that the two polysaccharides included both α and β-configuration glycosidic bonds. The Congo red experiment suggests that AMPN and AMPA all had obvious triple helix structures.The effects of AMPN and AMPA on immune repair ability were compared by immune deficiency mice. The activity experiment showed that AMPN and acidic polysaccharides extracted from the Armillaria fruiting body have biological immune activity. Among them, AMPA showed higher immune activity. These findings suggest that Armillaria mellea fruiting bodies may be used as a source of dietary supplements and functional products.

Magnetic fluids, a new type of energy transfer fluid with tunable properties, have garnered significant interest from researchers worldwide. Hybrid magnetic fluids prepared by adding different types of nanoparticles exhibit superior thermophysical properties and functional characteristics. In this paper, we prepared a water-based magnetic fluid loaded with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu) to enhance thermal conductivity. Using a transient double hot-wire method, we designed and built an experimental measurement system for the thermal conductivity of magnetic fluids with an average measurement error of less than 5%. We studied the thermal conductivity of hybrid magnetic fluids under different conditions and evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of various models, including the Maxwell model, H&C model, Tim model, Y&C model, and Evans model. Our results show that MF+MCNTs, MF+Ag, and MF+Cu nanofluids can all improve the thermal conductivity of the carrier fluid, with MF+MCNTs exhibiting the best improvement effect of 10.93%. Among the five models evaluated, the Evans model had the best predictive effect with a deviation range within 5%. This work provides theoretical and practical reference for enhancing the thermal conductivity of magnetic fluids and provides a more accurate theoretical model for calculating the thermal conductivity of hybrid magnetic fluids.

Abstract Supramolecular architectures are constructed by the self‐assembly of small building blocks via the use of metal‐ligand coordination, π–π stacking interactions, hydrogen bonding, host‐guest interactions, and other noncovalent driving forces, which confer unique dynamic reversibility and stimulus responsiveness to the supramolecular materials and also lead to the demand of expensive and complex equipment for the characterization of supramolecular assembly processes. Fortunately, the self‐assembly processes bring the monomeric chromophores together, offering possibilities to establish ties between the supramolecular assembly and aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) techniques. Compared to conventional luminescent molecules, AIE luminogens (AIEgens) exhibit significant fluorescence enhancement upon the restriction of molecular motions, thus displaying the advantages of signal amplification and low background noises. Given the above, the real‐time, sensitive, and in situ visualization of the formation of self‐assemblies and their stimuli responsiveness based on AIE becomes accessible. Here, we review recent works that encompass the visualization of supramolecular assembly‐related behaviors by means of AIE characteristics of chromophores. The organization of this review will be by different types of supramolecular architectures, including metallacycles/cages, micelles/vesicles, supramolecular polymers, and supramolecular gels. An overview of future opportunities and challenges for the real‐time monitoring of supramolecular assembly by AIE is also provided.

Abstract Kasha's rule, which states that all exciton emissions occur from the lowest excited state and are independent of excitation energy, makes high‐energy excitons difficult to use and severely hinders the widespread applications of organic photoluminescent materials in the real world. For decades, scientists have tried to break this rule to unleash the power of high‐energy excitons, but only minimal progress has been achieved, with no rational guiding principles provided, and few applications developed. So far, breaking Kasha's rule has remained a purely academic concept. In this paper, we introduce a design principle for a purely organic anti‐Kasha system and synthesise a series of compounds based on the design rule. As predicted, these compounds all display evident S2 emissions in dilute solutions. In addition, we introduce a highly accurate (over 90%) convolutional neural network as an assistant for the classification of cells using anti‐Kasha luminogens, thereby providing a new application direction for anti‐Kasha systems.

NanoSIMS has been widely used for in-situ sulfur isotopic analysis (32S and 34S) of micron-sized grains or complex zoning in sulfide in terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples. However, the conventional spot mode analysis is restricted by depth effects at the spatial resolution < 0.5–1 μm. Thus sufficient signal amount cannot be achieved due to limited analytical depths, resulting in low analytical precision (1.5‰). Here we report a new method that simultaneously improves spatial resolution and precision of sulfur isotopic analysis based on the NanoSIMS imaging mode. This method uses a long acquisition time (e.g., 3 h) for each analytical area to obtain sufficient signal amount, rastered with the Cs+ primary beam of ∼100 nm in diameter. Due to the high acquisition time, primary ion beam (FCP) intensity drifting and quasi-simultaneous arrival (QSA) significantly affects the sulfur isotopic measurement of secondary ion images. Therefore, the interpolation correction was used to eliminate the effect of FCP intensity variation, and the coefficients for the QSA correction were determined with sulfide isotopic standards. Then, the sulfur isotopic composition was acquired by the segmentation and calculation of the calibrated isotopic images. The optimal spatial resolution of ∼ 100 nm (Sampling volume of 5 nm × 1.5 μm2) for sulfur isotopic analysis can be implemented with an analytical precision of ∼1‰ (1SD). Our study demonstrates that imaging analysis is superior to spot-mode analysis in irregular analytical areas where relatively high spatial resolution and precision are required and may be widely applied to other isotopic analyses.

Summary: Epoxy resin is widely used in various fields of the national economy due to its excellent chemical and mechanical properties. Lignin is mainly derived from lignocelluloses as one of the most abundant renewable bioresources. Due to the diversity of lignin sources and the complexity as well as heterogeneity of its structure, the value of lignin has not been fully realized. Herein, we report the utilization of industrial alkali lignin for the preparation of low-carbon and environmentally friendly bio-based epoxy thermosetting materials. Specifically, epoxidized lignin with substituted petroleum-based chemical bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) in various proportions was cross-linked to fabricate thermosetting epoxies. The cured thermosetting resin revealed enhanced tensile strength (4.6 MPa) and elongation (315.5%) in comparison with the common BADGE polymers. Overall, this work provides a practicable approach for lignin valorization toward tailored sustainable bioplastics in the context of a circular bioeconomy.

Akebia quinata is a traditional medicinal plant distributed in East Asia and its fruits are applicated in food and pharmaceutical fields. Herein, a novel polysaccharide (AQP70-2A) with a molecular weight of 1.49 × 104 Da was isolated from the fruits of A. quinata. Results of the chemical and spectroscopic analysis indicated that AQP70-2A was an arabinofuranan with a backbone mainly consisting of → 5)-α-l-Araf-(1→, →3,5)-α-l-Araf-(1→, and → 2,3,5)-α-l-Araf-(1→, and it also contained two types of branch chains. At the cellular level, AQP70-2A did not show significant antitumor properties, while selenylation significantly made the inhibitory effect of this natural macromolecule on HepG2 cells to be increased. Furthermore, the zebrafish xenograft model confirmed that selenized polysaccharide Se-AQP70-2A effectively blocked hepatocellular carcinoma cells invasion and metastasis. Meanwhile, the inhibition of Se-AQP70-2A on development of intersegmental vessels revealed its antiangiogenic activity.