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Gel electrolytes have attracted great attention due to the high ionic conductivity and superior mechanical strength. However, poor interfacial stability between Li metal and gel electrolytes hinder...

An ionogel polymer electrolyte (IGPE), which combines the merits of high ionic conductivity and excellent safety property of a liquid electrolyte and a solid electrolyte, respectively, has shown great prospects in the application of a new generation of lithium secondary batteries. However, the increase in the ionic conductivity of IGPE will inevitably be at the expense of reduced mechanical strength, and this dilemma limits its application and market promotion. Here, an IGPE with a semi-interpenetrating cross-linked network structure was synthesized by UV-cross-linking to tackle this plight. The optimal sample ME82 shows an excellent ionic conductivity of 1.19 mS cm-1 at room temperature and robust mechanical strength (breaking strength: 1.55 MPa, elongation at break: 259%). Therefore, the assembled LiFePO4/ME82/Li cion cell displays an outstanding initial specific discharge capacity of 160.9 mAh g-1 at 55 °C 0.5 C, with a capacity retention of 94.00% after 200 cycles. In addition, ME82-based flexible batteries can withstand bending, folding, and even shearing abuse, which indicates that ME82 has application potentials in flexible electronic devices.

In this study, a novel oxygen vacancy-rich BiOCl/ZnMoO4 composites were successfully prepared by a simple two-step method. Experimental results indicated that the content of BiOCl with oxygen vacancies played an important role in photocatalytic performance of OBZM heterostructures. OBZM-5 exhibited a highly enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation compared to pure BiOCl, Ov-BiOCl, ZnMoO4 and other OBZM composites, which can be attributed to the efficient separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carrier. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of rhodamine B (RhB) can reach 99% within 40 min and almost all of norfloxacin (NOR) can be degradated after 100 min by OBZM-5. In addition, OBZM-5 displayed a good stability during the photocatalytic process, which favored a long-term use. Moreover, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the active species trapping experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) tests, verifying that the photogenerated holes (h+) and ·O2− radicals were the dominating active species.

Detailed information about the influences of the cooperative motion of water and methanol molecules on practical solid-liquid heterogeneous photocatalysis reactions is critical for our understanding of photocatalytic reactions. The present work addresses this issue by applying operando nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations, to investigate the dynamic behaviors of heterogeneous photocatalytic systems with different molar ratios of water to methanol on rutile-TiO2 photocatalyst. The results demonstrate that methanol and water molecules are involved in the cooperative motions, and the cooperation often takes the form of methanol-water clusters that govern the number of methanol molecules reaching to the active sites of the photocatalyst per unit time, as confirmed by the diffusion coefficients of the methanol molecule calculated in the binary methanol-water solutions. Nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy experiments reveal that the clusters are formed by the hydrogen bonding between the -OH groups of CH3OH and H2O. The formation of such methanol-water clusters is likely from an energetic standpoint in low-concentration methanol, which eventually determines the yields of methanol reforming products.

Thousands of proteins undergo arginine methylation, a widespread post-translational modification catalyzed by several protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). However, global understanding of their biological functions is limited due to the lack of a complete picture of the catalytic network for each PRMT. Here, we systematically identified interacting proteins for all human PRMTs and demonstrated their functional importance in mRNA splicing and translation. We demonstrated significant overlapping of interactomes of human PRMTs with the known methylarginine-containing proteins. Different PRMTs are functionally redundant with a high degree of overlap in their substrates and high similarities between their putative methylation motifs. Importantly, RNA-binding proteins involved in regulating RNA splicing and translation contain highly enriched arginine methylation regions. Moreover, inhibition of PRMTs globally alternates alternative splicing (AS) and suppresses translation. In particular, ribosomal proteins are extensively modified with methylarginine, and mutations in their methylation sites suppress ribosome assembly, translation, and eventually cell growth. Collectively, our study provides a global view of different PRMT networks and uncovers critical functions of arginine methylation in regulating mRNA splicing and translation.

High-performance production of biosurfactant surfactin is very important for real applications of surfactin but still exhibits significant challenges. In this study, an efficient fermentation process with enhanced cell density is developed to improve the surfactin production by Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332. The addition of 0.2 mM EDTA–Fe2+ complex resulted in the highest surfactin yield of 5.67 g/L within 3 days, which is 7.8 times higher than that obtained by regular fermentation in the absence of this complex. This significantly improved surfactin production is related to the remarkably increased cell density which was stimulated by the addition of EDTA-Fe2+ complex at molar ratio of 1:1, was significantly better than that obtained by the addition of Fe2+, Fe3+ or EDTA alone. Furthermore, a modified repeated fed-batch fermentation process sustained the high-performance fermentation of surfactin at 1.345 g/L d, and the overall surfactin yield reached 9.414 g/L within a fermentation period of 7 days.

The rational design of continuous covalent organic framework (COF)-based membranes is challenging for desalination applications, mainly due to the larger intrinsic pore size of COFs and defects in the crystalline film, which lead to a negligible NaCl rejection ratio. In this work, we first demonstrated a COF-based desalination membrane with in situ cross-linking of a COF-TpPa layer by trimesoyl chloride (TMC) to stitch the defects between COF crystals and cross-link the COF cavity with high-cross-linking degree networks to enhance NaCl rejection. With the addition of TMC monomers, both small spherical nodules and some elongated "leaf-like" features were observed on the membrane surface due to the appearance of nanovoids during cross-linking. The resulting COF-based desalination membrane had a water permeability of approximately 0.81 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 and offered substantial enhancement of the NaCl rejection ratio from being negligible to 93.3% at 5 bar. Mechanistic analysis indicated that the amidation reaction of the secondary amine in keto COF with TMC induced the formation of a highly porous network structure both in the cavity and on the exterior of COF, thereby successfully forming a continuous and nanovoid-containing selective layer for desalination. In addition, the membrane exhibited excellent desalting performance for real industrial wastewater with both low and high salinity. This study proposed that the introduction of a cross-linker to react with the terminal amine group and secondary amine in the backbone of the keto form of COF or its derivatives could provide a facile and scalable approach to fabricate a COF-based membrane with superior NaCl rejection. This opens a new fabrication route for COF-based desalination membranes, as well as extended applications in water desalination.

The inherent safety issues of commercial organic liquid electrolytes make it hard to deploy them in lithium metal batteries. By contrast, nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NCPEs) can not only sup...

A facile two-step approach is employed to prepare novel Ni2P@CNT hybrid photocatalyst, which is assembled by nickel phosphide (Ni2P) nanoparticles on the inner wall of graphitic carbon nitride tube (CNT). This unique microstructure endows Ni2P@CNT with close interfacial interaction, promotes efficient separation of photoexcited charge carriers and provides enriched sites for photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, the hybrid system is found to exhibit more superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity than pure CNT and Pt-decorated CNT (Pt@CNT). As a consequence, the work illustrates the essential role of experimental process on the final morphology and performance, which is expected to pave a new method to construct various kind of excellent photocatalyst.

Bifenthrin is one of the most commonly used synthetic pyrethroid insecticides. It targets the nervous system of insects, mainly acting on sodium channels in nerve cell membranes. The high use of bifrenthrin may lead to an increase in pest insect resistance. Additionally, there are only a few studies describing its cytotoxic action. A series of bioassays were carried out, and the results showed that bifenthrin has a significant ability to induce DNA damage and the inhibition of viability in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. Monodansylcadaverine staining and transmission electron microscope assays were used to observe significant levels of autophagosomes and mitochondrial dysfunction in the cytoplasm. Additionally, western blot analysis showed an upregulation in LC3-II and beclin-1 protein expression and a downregulation in p62 expression, which contributed to the cytotoxic effect of bifenthrin on Sf9 cells. Overall, bifenthrin significantly impacts the viability of Sf9 cells by inducing DNA damage and autophagy. These results provide a theoretical basis for understanding bifrenthin's mechanism of cytotoxicity.

Rational design of earth-abundant transition metal oxides catalysts is highly desirable for developing sustainable chemical processes. Herein, we demonstrate a prospective interstitial nitrogen engineering for fabricating oxygen vacancies (OVs)-rich nitrogen-doped-MnxCo3−xO4 (N-MnxCo3−xO4) oxide catalyst, in which the ratio of OVs concentration of N-MnxCo3−xO4 to Mn species is as high as 1:1, according to the characterizations of X-ray absorption (XAS) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies. The promising strategy of interstitial nitrogen engineering through lattice distortion caused by the Jahn-Teller effect can significantly increase the amount of interstitial nitrogen. The resulting catalyst enables an additive-free aerobic dehydrogenation coupling of aromatic amine to afford azo compounds with > 99% yield and > 99% selectivity at 60 °C. We observed the superb catalytic activity is promoted by the enhanced oxygen mobility in OVs, which were created by the interstitial nitrogen in the catalyst matrix. The presence of interstitial nitrogen in transition metal oxides in this study shows how the manipulation of catalyst matrix can increase the OV sites to promote aerobic oxidation reaction.

Solvents made from a reactive ionic liquid, with an imidazolium cation and pyrrolide anion, and ethylene glycol at a wide compositional range were studied for separations of CO2 at low partial pres...

A metal-free and oxidant-free procedure for the sulfonylation of Baylis–Hillman acetates with sulfonyl hydrazides under the irradiation of visible light and open-air conditions at room temperature is described. This transformation has high yields (up to 92%), excellent stereoselectivity, broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, and mild reaction conditions. Moreover, mechanistic studies indicate that a sulfonyl radical pathway is involved in this reaction.

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are usually diagnosed at the later stages and have poor survival outcomes. New molecules are urgently needed for the prognostic predication and individual treatment. Our study showed that high levels of NQO1 expression frequently exist in HCC with an obvious cancer‐specific pattern. Patients with NQO1‐high tumors are significantly associated with poor survival outcomes and serve as independent predictors. Functional experiments showed that NQO1 promotes the growth and aggressiveness of HCC in both in vitro and in vivo models, and the underlying mechanism involved NQO1‐derived amplification of ERK/p38‐NRF2 signaling. Combined block of ERK and NRF2 signaling generated stronger growth inhibition compared with any single block, especially for HCC with high‐NQO1. Therefore, NQO1 is a potential biomarker for HCC early diagnosis and prognosis prediction, and also attractive for cancer‐specific targets for HCC treatment., Patients with NQO1‐high tumors are significantly associated with poor survival outcomes. NQO1 promotes the growth and aggressiveness of HCC in both in vitro and in vivo models; the underlying mechanism involves NQO1‐derived amplification of ERK/p38‐NRF2 signaling. NQO1 is a potential biomarker for HCC early diagnosis and prognosis prediction, and also attractive for cancer‐specific targets for HCC treatment.

Nanomechanical properties are extremely critical to the applications of flexible electric devices and energy harvester; however, the direct mechanical measurement of composite nanofibers is challenging and rarely explored. In this work, we apply an effective method to obtain the elastic modulus distribution of lead zirconium titanate (PZT)-doped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers via bimodal amplitude modulated-frequency modulated scanning probe microscopy (AM-FM SPM). All the samples exhibit obvious piezoelectric properties, and the mechanical properties are clearly enhanced through doping of PZT. Compared with pure PVDF nanofibers, the composite nanofibers with PZT doping show higher elastic modulus which indicates superior stability under the same bending condition. The enhancement of mechanical properties in composite nanofibers via filler doping pave a way to the design of stable and flexible sustainable energy harvesters.

Five new polyketides, asperochrapyran (1) and asperochralactones A-D (2-5), along with 12 known polyketides (6-17), were obtained from the fungal strain Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis. Structures of all isolates were elucidated by their spectroscopic parameters. The relative configurations of the new compounds were deduced by the data of coupling constants and NOESY spectra. The absolute configurations were determined by the comparison of experimental and calculated ECD spectra. Moreover, the plausible biosynthesis pathway of major isolates was proposed as well. Anti-inflammatory activity of compounds 5 and 7-17 were evaluated with human neutrophils in response to the stimulation of formyl-methionyl-leucyl phenylalanine (fMLP). Asperlactone (9), aspyrone (13), and (-)-(3R)-mellein (14) exerted superoxide anion inhibition at 30 ± 9%, 29 ± 9%, and 26 ± 12%, respectively, at 10 μM. The capacities of asperlactone (9), aspilactonol B (10), penicillic acid (12), and (-)-(3R)-mellein (14) in elastase release inhibition were revealed as 25 ± 4%, 38 ± 8%, 25 ± 5%, and 34 ± 9%, respectively, at 10 μM.

In this work, we demonstrate a simple electrochemical approach to convert copper foil into a cost-effective and stable cobalt-doped hollow-structured CuBr@CuO electrocatalyst with high surface poro...

The traditional electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries is a combination of 1 M LiPF6 with a cyclic carbonate-based solvent (for example, ethylene carbonate). The lack of a suitable alternative solvent has hindered further exploration of new functional electrolytes. Here we design and synthesize a fluorinated cyclic phosphate solvent, 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane 2-oxide (TFEP), for use in lithium-ion batteries. Our design rationale is that this solvent molecule has a fused chemical structure of cyclic carbonates that can form a stable solid electrolyte interphase and organic phosphates that can trap hydrogen radicals and prevent combustion. An electrolyte formula composed of 0.95 M LiN(SO2F)2 in TFEP/2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methyl carbonate shows excellent non-flammability with zero self-extinguishing time and enables the highly stable operation of graphite anodes (~0.1 V versus lithium) and high-voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathodes (~4.7 V versus lithium), and thereby outperforms traditional electrolytes. This work opens up new frontiers in electrolyte developments towards safe lithium-ion batteries with higher energy densities. Non-flammable high-performance electrolytes are in high demand for rechargeable batteries. Here the authors design cyclic phosphate-based electrolytes to enable stable operations of graphite anodes and high-voltage cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Heterostructured bimetal nanocrystals with a component having localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property are promising photocatalysts for a series of reactions. In this work, kinetic products of Pd-Ag with a screwdriver-like heterostructure have been successfully fabricated via the selective epitaxial growth of Ag on Pd nanowires (NWs). It was confirmed that the deposition rate (Vdeposition) of Ag is much more sensitive to the temperature, compared to the surface diffusion rate (Vdiffusion) which can be effectively reduced by the binding of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) molecules. Then the magnitude of Vdeposition/Vdiffusion has been well tailored for the formation of a kinetic growth environment. The interactions between the components of the as-prepared Pd-Ag heterostructures resulted in intensified LSPR effects. As a result, they gained better photocatalytic performance toward solvent free aerobic oxidation of toluene than Pd NWs, Ag NWs and the mixture of them. Additionally, the Pd-Ag heterostructured nanocrystals exhibited excellent catalytic stability for recycling. This work not only presents an idea for realizing kinetic growth but also supports that LSPR effect is a good tool for improving the photocatalytic activity.

Objective: The possible effect of NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor)-NMNAT1/2 (nicotinamide/nicotinic acid mono-nucleotide adenylyltransferase) signaling pathway on the neuronal cell dam...

By incorporating the F substituent in tetrazolate–carboxylate ligands and combining the dipyridyl co-linkers, novel Zn-MOF, [(CH3)2NH2][Zn1.5(μ3-O)0.5(F-tzba)1.25(bpy)0.25(μ2-F)0.5]·2DMF·2H2O (1) (F-H2tzba = 2-F-4-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) benzoic acid, bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine), was constructed. 1 was based on an unprecedented 12-connected hexanuclear cluster and formed an fcu topological framework, which contained intriguing 3D polar pores formed by intersected octahedral and tetrahedral cages with the modification using F. The framework not only showed high adsorption capacity for CO2, C2H2, and C2H6 but also exhibited excellent selective capture for CO2, C2H2, and C2H6 over CH4 and C2H2 over CO2 at 298 K. The framework as a Lewis acid heterogeneous catalyst also displayed highly efficient catalytic activity in the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 with different epoxides to produce cyclic carbonate chemicals. Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations were studied to identify the different CO2, C2H2 and C2H6 binding sites as well as the catalytic interactions between the framework and the propylene oxide substrate. Simultaneously, the MOF could selectively adsorb the methylene blue (MB) dye from other organic dyes.

While heterogeneous photocatalysis is regarded as a sustainable strategy to achieve organic reactions for the production of high-value-added organics, photocatalytic efficiency is generally limited by poor charge separation, dull surface catalytic activity and the consequently caused insufficient generation of active species. Herein, the hybrid structures of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) incorporated with Pd ultrasmall nanocrystals are synthesized, and their photocatalytic performance is evaluated by the oxidative coupling of benzylamine as a model reaction. The photocatalytic activity of the Pd/MIL-125-NH2 hybrid material with an optimal Pd loading is greatly superior to that of the pristine MIL-125-NH2, achieving a high benzylamine conversion rate of 3136 μmol h−1 gcat−1 at 94.08% conversion. The enhanced charge transfer and separation in Pd/MIL-125-NH2 are verified by photoluminescence spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical experiments. Photogenerated reactive oxygen species are probed by 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as an indicator and the reactive intermediates in the photocatalytic systems are identified by in situ ESR detection. The results confirm that the optimized Pd/MIL-125-NH2 hybrid catalyst possesses higher ability for molecule activation and that both superoxide radical (˙O2−) and singlet oxygen (1O2) are the dominant oxidative species in the present photocatalytic system. Therefore, the dual advantages of Pd/MIL-125-NH2 hybrid structures for promoting the photogenerated charge transfer/separation and providing highly catalytic sites for molecule activation contribute to higher photocatalytic activity.

Targeting drug delivery to macrophage/foam cells is challenged owing to the poor cell permeability and fluidity resulting from the massive accumulation of intracellular cholesterol in atherosclerosis (AS). Discoidal reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (d-rHDL) has been well regarded as a potential drug delivery system for AS by virtue of its plaque-targeting and cholesterol removal abilities, while the latter is compromised by the high activation energy of cholesterol efflux. It is reported that a low concentration of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) can function as a cholesterol shuttle to promote cholesterol efflux from cells to the extracellular acceptors (cholesterol sink, such as HDL particles), but it is still unknown whether the combination of β-CD with a drug-loaded d-rHDL can function as a shuttle/sink model to promote the remodeling and drug release of the d-rHDL carrier after accelerating the cholesterol efflux. Furthermore, it is interesting to investigate whether enhanced cholesterol efflux can improve the cellular drug uptake by restoring the permeability and fluidity of the cell membrane. Here, simvastatin-loaded d-rHDL (ST-d-rHDL) was combined with different concentrations of β-CD. Compared with ST-d-rHDL alone, the cholesterol removal ability of ST-d-rHDL combined with 0.5 mM of β-CD increased by 31-fold after incubation for 6 h and the cumulative drug release of ST-d-rHDL increased by two-fold during the initial 1 h in an acellular mimetic system. In macrophage/foam cells, 0.5 mM of β-CD showed superior promoting effects in the cholesterol removal ability and remodeling of ST-d-rHDL compared to 0.1 mM of β-CD. The high concentration of β-CD at 2 mM displayed a low efficiency for accelerating cholesterol efflux, which might function as a cholesterol sink rather than a cholesterol shuttle. Moreover, the permeability and fluidity of the cell membrane were improved by combining 0.5 mM of β-CD with ST-d-rHDL, which exhibited an enhanced cellular drug uptake and inhibiting effect on the intracellular lipid deposition and secretion of inflammatory cytokine. Collectively, combination of β-CD and ST-d-rHDL as a shuttle/sink model could enhance cholesterol efflux and drug uptake to suppress inflammation in macrophage/foam cells.

In wastewater treatment, biological nitrogen removal is an important topic, and the optimal condition for it is a mesophilic environment. This study developed a thermophilic microbial fuel cells (thermo-MFCs) equipped with a hydrophobic membrane electrode to remove and recover ammonia and water from leachate. The results were compared with those of the mesophilic MFCs (meso-MFCs) and they show that the current and power densities for meso-MFCs are higher. The ammonia removal efficiencies of thermo-MFCs are 83% (closed circuit) and 60% (open circuit), higher than those of closed- and open-circuit meso-MFCs (48 and 38%, respectively). Water vapor, the main recovery water flux for the thermo-MFCs, provided 36.5 L m− 2 d− 1 using the closed-circuit mode without applied energy. Moreover, thermo-MFCs and meso-MFCs can be restored within 24 h even under inhibition by using 7200 mg L− 1 ammonia. The proposed process presents an economic and ecofriendly method to not only recover water and ammonia from leachate but also alleviate ammonia inhibition.

Preventing bacterial infection of bone implants is a major challenge for developing functional biomedical materials at present. With more significant emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, exploration of antimicrobial materials has become increasingly important and urgent. More and more researchers have devoted their work to the study of a kind of antimicrobial material for improving inhibition of drug-resistant bacteria, and other bioproperties as well. In this work, we first introduced ε-polylysine (ε-PL), which possessed a broad antibacterial spectrum and negligible cytotoxicity to the human body, into an octacalcium phosphate (OCP) coating on a titanium surface by electrochemical codeposition (ED). The measurements of the structure and composition of the OCP/ε-PL composite coating demonstrated that ε-PL had succeeded in combining with OCP. The bioactivity assessment of all samples indicated that the OCP/ε-PL composite film had owned good biological mineralization capability. In vitro, it also had better ability to promote cell proliferation and differentiation when the concentration of ε-PL was 10 mg/mL compared with other concentrations. In the meanwhile, the antibacterial test indicated that the ε-PL introduced to OCP was able to markedly improve the antibacterial property against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The Bengalese finch was domesticated more than 250 years ago from the wild white-rumped munia (WRM). Similar to other domesticated species, Bengalese finches show a reduced fear response and have lower corticosterone levels, compared to WRMs. Bengalese finches and munias also have different song types. Since oxytocin (OT) has been found to be involved in stress coping and auditory processing, we tested whether the OT sequence and brain expression pattern and content differ in wild munias and domesticated Bengalese finches. We sequenced the OT from 10 wild munias and 11 Bengalese finches and identified intra-strain variability in both the untranslated and protein-coding regions of the sequence, with all the latter giving rise to synonymous mutations. Several of these changes fall in specific transcription factor-binding sites, and show either a conserved or a relaxed evolutionary trend in the avian lineage, and in vertebrates in general. Although in situ hybridization in several hypothalamic nuclei did not reveal significant differences in the number of cells expressing OT between the two strains, real-time quantitative PCR showed a significantly higher OT mRNA expression in the cerebrum of the Bengalese finches relative to munias, but a significantly lower expression in their diencephalon. Our study thus points to a brain region-specific pattern of neurochemical expression in domesticated and wild avian strains, which could be linked to domestication and the behavioral changes associated with it.

Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to the development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is characterized by oxidative damage, inflammation, and impaired intestinal barrier function. To evaluate the effect of exopolysaccharides (EPS) from Sporidiobolus pararoseus on ALD, alcohol was used in this study to cause liver damage in mice. Then, the antioxidant and anti-inflammation activities and protective effect of EPS on the intestinal barrier function were further explored in an ALD model. The results show that the histopathological change and liver injury were significantly improved in the EPS group. EPS treatment significantly increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (P

Natto is a popular food because it contains a variety of active compounds, including nattokinase. Previously, we discovered that fermenting natto with the combination of Bacillus subtilis GUTU09 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BZ25 resulted in a dramatically better sensory and functional quality of natto. The current study further explored the effects of different fermentation parameters on the quality of natto fermented with Bacillus subtilis GUTU09 and Bifidobacterium BZ25, using Plackett–Burman design and response surface methodology. Fermentation temperature, time, and inoculation amount significantly affected the sensory and functional qualities of natto fermented with mixed bacteria. The optimal conditions were obtained as follows: soybean 50 g/250 mL, triangle container, 1% sucrose, Bacillus subtilis GUTU09 to Bifidobacterium BZ25 ratio of 1:1, inoculation 7%, fermentation temperature 35.5 °C, and fermentation time 24 h. Under these conditions, nattokinase activity, free amino nitrogen content, and sensory score were increased compared to those before optimization. They were 144.83 ± 2.66 FU/g, 7.02 ± 0.69 mg/Kg and 82.43 ± 5.40, respectively. The plate thrombolytic area and nattokinase activity both increased significantly as fermentation time was increased, indicating that the natto exhibited strong thrombolytic action. Hence, mixed-bacteria fermentation improves the taste, flavor, nattokinase activity, and thrombolysis of natto. This research set the groundwork for the ultimate manufacturing of natto with high nattokinase activity and free amino nitrogen content, as well as good sensory and thrombolytic properties.

Aroma is an essential quality indicator of oolong tea, a tea derived from the Camellia sinensis L. plant. Carboxylic 6 (C6) acids and their derivative esters are important components of fatty acid (FA)-derived volatiles in oolong tea. However, the formation and regulation mechanism of C6 acid during postharvest processing of oolong tea remains unclear. To gain better insight into the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of C6 compounds in oolong tea, a combined analysis of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity, CsADH2 key gene expression, and the FA-derived metabolome during postharvest processing of oolong tea was performed for the first time, complemented by CsHIP (hypoxia-induced protein conserved region) gene expression analysis. Volatile fatty acid derivative (VFAD)-targeted metabolomics analysis using headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HS-SPEM-GC-TOF-MS) showed that the (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol content increased after each turnover, while the hexanoic acid content showed the opposite trend. The results further showed that both the ADH activity and CsADH gene expression level in oxygen-deficit-turnover tea leaves (ODT) were higher than those of oxygen-turnover tea leaves (OT). The C6-alcohol-derived ester content of OT was significantly higher than that of ODT, while C6-acid-derived ester content showed the opposite trend. Furthermore, the HIP gene family was screened and analyzed, showing that ODT treatment significantly promoted the upregulation of CsHIG4 and CsHIG6 gene expression. These results showed that the formation mechanism of oolong tea aroma quality is mediated by airflow in the lipoxygenase–hydroperoxide lyase (LOX-HPL) pathway, which provided a theoretical reference for future quality control in the postharvest processing of oolong tea.

With increasing demands on long-term storage of cells, cryopreservation of cells is gaining more importance in cell-based research and applications. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a commonly used&nbsp, chemical cryoprotectant, providing increased cell survival during the freezing process. However, its use is limited in clinical applications due to its low biocompatibility above cryogenic temperatures. Herein, we present a new approach for reducing the use of DMSO in cryopreservation by using biodegradable hyaluronic acids (HAs). By adding HAs into cryoprotectant media containing a low concentration of DMSO, higher cell viability and cell proliferation rate were observed upon thawing after cryopreservation. The HA-supplemented cryopreservation media did not reduce the size of the ice crystal, which significantly influenced cell viability during cell freezing, but decreased the Ras homolog family member A (RhoA)/Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling pathway related to apoptosis. The cell-interactive cryoprotectants containing HA can be applied to the development of a new cryoprotectant that reduces the adverse effect of DMSO.

Natural pyrethrins are one variety of botanical pesticide, and are commonly used in organic and ecological agriculture. However, the hepatotoxicity of natural pyrethrins is unknown. In this study, the impact of natural pyrethrins on human HepG2 cells, which are prominent cell model for toxic-induced hepatotoxicity evaluations, was investigated in accordance with the ROS production and the mechanism of DNA damage and repair. And we report the liver toxicity of natural pyrethrins in zebrafish. Our result revealed a significant increase in ROS production, suggesting oxidative stress. Besides, the most notable genotoxic effect of oxidation-induced DNA damage was observed for natural pyrethrins, as detected by neutral comet assay and γH2AX/8-oxoG staining. As revealed by the results, oxidative DNA damage is responsible for the cytotoxic exposure of natural pyrethrins to HepG2 cells in humans. The observed damage is chronic toxicity, which may cause irreversible DNA damage and more severe toxic effects on human HepG2 cells. This can account for the complicated response to DNA impairment. Visual observations of zebrafish liver and oil red staining also demonstrated that natural pyrethrins induced liver degeneration, liver size changes and liver steatosis in zebrafish. In conclusion, the health of humans can be endangered by natural pyrethrins as a result of hepatotoxicity.

Despite its success against cancer, photothermal therapy (PTT) (>50 °C) suffers from several limitations such as triggering inflammation and facilitating immune escape and metastasis and also damage to the surrounding normal cells. Mild-temperature PTT has been proposed to override these shortcomings. We developed a nanosystem using HepG2 cancer cell membrane-cloaked zinc glutamate-modified Prussian blue nanoparticles with triphenylphosphine-conjugated lonidamine (HmPGTL NPs). This innovative approach achieved an efficient mild-temperature PTT effect by downregulating the production of intracellular ATP. This disrupts a section of heat shock proteins that cushion cancer cells against heat. The physicochemical properties, anti-tumor efficacy, and mechanisms of HmPGTL NPs both in vitro and in vivo were investigated. Moreover, the nanoparticles cloaked with the HepG2 cell membrane substantially prolonged the circulation time in vivo. Overall, the designed nanocomposites enhance the efficacy of mild-temperature PTT by disrupting the production of ATP in cancer cells. Thus, we anticipate that the mild-temperature PTT nanosystem will certainly present its enormous potential in various biomedical applications.

The editors are publishing this note to alert readers to a concern about [this article][1] ([1][2]). Four sets of identical representative images exist: Fig. 4B Hec-1A/Control and Fig. 4B Hec-1A SD+PDGF-AA+HmIgG; Fig. 5B CD31/3G3 and Supplementary Fig. S2 CD31/Paclitaxel; Fig. 5B TUNEL/PBS and

Pyrophosphate synthetase-1(PRS-1) is a crucial enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) with substrate: adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ribose-5-phophate(R5P) in the de novo pathways of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. Mutation in PRPS1 can result in a series of diseases of purine metabolism, which includes PRS-1 superactivity. The common clinical phenotypes are hyperuricemia and hyperuricosuria. We identified a novel missense mutation in X-chromosomal gene PRPS1 in a young Chinese woman while her mother has heterogeneous genotype and phenotype. A 24-year-old Chinese female patient suffered hyperuricemia, gout, and recurrent hyperpyrexia for more than 6 years, and then was diagnosed with hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance (IR), and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A novel missense mutation, c.521(exon)G>T, p.(Gly174Val) was detected by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and confirmed by Sanger sequencing in the patient and her parents. Interestingly, her mother has the same heterozygous missense mutation but without uric acid overproduction which can be explained by the phenomenon of the skewed X-chromosome inactivation. The substituted amino acid Val for Gly174 is positioned in the pyrophosphate (PPi) binding loop, and this mutation impacts the binding rate of Mg2+-ATP complex to PRS-1, thus the assembling of homodimer is affected by changed Val174 leading to the instability of the allosteric site. Our report highlights the X-linked inheritance of gout in females caused by mutation in PRPS1 accompanied with severe metabolic disorders and recurrent hyperpyrexia.

As the zero-dimension nanomaterials, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have excellent characteristics of graphene as well as photoluminescence (PL) features that ordinary graphene does not possess for its virtue of quantum confinement effect and boundary effect, and attract lots of researchers interested in the field of biomedical applications. In this work, we found GQDs can be internalized into SGC-7901 cells, and the labeled cells exhibited bright yellow fluorescence in the form of aggregated dots. Meanwhile, GQDs effectively mitigated the injury hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced in SGC-7901 cells including cytotoxicity and apoptosis. While H2O2 exposure increased ROS and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, it could be arrested by GQDs. Furthermore, GQDs showed protective effects against the reduction of the ratio of mitochondrial apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2/ Bax in SGC-7901 cells. Our works revealed that GQDs had the antioxidant ability against oxidative stress, which meant they had the potenti...

A mixture of n-methyl-n-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [PYR13][TFSI] and n-propyl-n-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, [PYR13][FSI] ionic liquids (ILs) is investigated for lithium–metal batteries. Specifically, the relation among conductivity, solvation structure, and Li⁺ mobility is investigated in a Li/IL/IL type ternary mixture. Li⁺ anion coordination numbers with both [TFSI] and [FSI] in the ternary mixtures are derived from Raman analysis. The Li⁺ transference number was measured by a combination of potentiostatic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The electrochemical stability and transport property of the developed ternary mixture were confirmed with Li–Li symmetrical and Li–LiFePO₄ cells. The ternary system exhibited improved rate capability compared to binary parent electrolytes as well as the state-of-the art carbonate-based electrolyte at −20 °C, and slightly better cycling stability at 25 °C. This study demonstrates the flexibility in tailoring physical properties and the Li⁺ solvation environment by ternary Li/IL/IL mixtures for enhanced battery performance.

Solid-liquid heterogeneous catalysis reactions play key roles in industrial catalytic reactions, throughout pollution control, fuel cell, methanol reforming and so on. But, few operando techniques have been performed to track the complex reaction processes, especially those in bulk liquid environment containing two or more liquid reactants, thus leaving a gap in our understanding of the reaction mechanisms deep into the working conditions. Here, we demonstrate an approach, using operando nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to probe the dynamics and kinetics of the methanol heterogeneous photochemistry processes in liquid condition with and without bulk water (H2O). It shows that not only can bulk H2O affect the types of methanol reforming products, but also its participation way can vary from H2O molecule to H-atom. Furthermore, the productivities of the main products - methylene glycol (HOCH2OH) and hemiacetal (CH3OCH2OH) – show different dependency on the H2O concentration, which is further supported by the density functional theory calculations (DFT). The operando NMR method opens up exciting opportunities for the mechanism studies of heterogeneous catalysis reaction in bulk liquid.

Novel carbon self-doped graphitic carbon nitride tube (denoted as C-CNT) was fabricated by the means of a facile in situ solvothermal method with melamine and glucose as precursor and additive, respectively. The C-CNT not only remained unique hexagonal tubular structure obtained from supramolecular self-assembly method, but also introduced aromatic carbon into CN framework under the glucose-assisted hydrothermal conditions. The as-prepared C-CNT exposed abundant nitrogen defects and dramatically improved the valid separation of photoexcited charge carriers, hence achieving excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity (32.3 μmol h−1, λ > 420 nm), which was up to 4.24 and 12-folds higher than pristine carbon nitride tube (CNT) and traditional bulk counterpart (BCN), respectively. Therefore, this work highlights an assisted hydrothermal approach to successfully prepare carbon-rich graphitic carbon nitride with hexagonal tubular structure.

Background Alopecia has become a very common disease that many people around the world are suffered. Minoxidil (MXD) is the most well-known commercialized drug in its treatment. However, in the case of MXD administration, there are some problems with low efficiency of transdermal delivery and additional side effects. Method MXD and Rhodamine B (Rho B) are encapsulated in poly(Lactide-co-Glycolide) grafted hyaluronate nanoparticles (HA-PLGA/MXD NPs, HA-PLGA/Rho B NPs) which is prepared with W/O/W solvent evaporation method. After then, the investigation is carried out to confirm the feasibility of NPs in alopecia treatment. Results Both of HA-PLGA/MXD NPs and HA-PLGA/Rho B NPs are successfully prepared. In addition, it is confirmed that HA-PLGA NPs sufficiently delivered to cells without any significant cytotoxicity by cell viability, cellular uptake and skin permeation test. Conclusion Taken together, HA-PLGA NPs as a transdermal delivery carrier to hair follicle cells can be exploited to develop the efficient and effective platform of transdermal drug delivery for the treatment of various diseases.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy is a novel cellular immunotherapy that is widely used to treat hematological malignancies, including acute leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Despite its remarkable clinical effects, this therapy has side effects that cannot be underestimated. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is one of the most clinically important and potentially life-threatening toxicities. This syndrome is a systemic immune storm that involves the mass cytokines releasing by activated immune cells. This phenomenon causes multisystem damages and sometimes even death. In this study, we reported the management of a patient with recurrent and refractory multiple myeloma and three patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia who suffered CRS during CAR-T treatment. The early application of tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, according to toxicity grading and clinical manifestation is recommended especially for patients who suffer continuous hyperpyrexia, hypotensive shock, acute respiratory failure, and whose CRS toxicities deteriorated rapidly. Moreover, low doses of dexamethasone (5-10 mg/day) were used for refractory CRS not responding to tocilizumab. The effective management of the toxicities associated with CRS will bring additional survival opportunities and improve the quality of life for patients with cancer.

The extensive use of pesticide caused an amount of pressure on the environment and increased the potential human health risk. Glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) is one of the most widely used pesticides based on a 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase target, which does not exist in vertebrates. Here, we study autophagic effects of the most famous commercial GBH Roundup (RDP) on human A549 cells in vitro. Intracellular biochemical assay indicated opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore, LC3-II conversion, up-regulation of beclin-1, down-regulation of p62, and the changes in the phosphorylation of AMPK and mTOR induced by RDP in A549 cells. Further experimental results indicated that all the effects induced by RDP were related to its adjuvant polyethoxylated tallow amine, not its herbicidal active ingredient glyphosate isopropylamine salt. All these results showed that RDP has the ability to induce AMPK/mTOR-mediated cell autophagy in human A549 cells. This study would provide a theoretical basis for understanding RDP's autophagic effects on human A549 cells and attract attention on the potential human health risks induced by the adjuvant.

Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are the most widely used pesticides in the world. The extensive use of them increases the potential human health risk, including the human inhalation toxicity risk. We studied the effect of the most famous GBH Roundup® (RDP) in the concentration range from 50 to 125 μg/mL on Mitochondria-Associated apoptosis and DNA damage in Human alveolar carcinoma cells (A549 cells). Alkaline comet assay, immunofluorescence assay and Flow Cytometric Analysis assay were employed to detect DNA damages and apoptosis of A549 cells. We found RDP caused concentration-dependent increases in DNA damages and proportion of apoptotic cells in A549 cells. RDP induced the DNA single-strand breaks and double-strand breaks; the collapse of mitochondrial membrane by increasing Bax/Bcl-2, resulting in the release of cytochrome c into cytosol and then activated caspase-9/-3, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in human lung tissue cells. The results demonstrate that RDP can induce A549 cells cytotoxic effects in vitro at the concentration lower than the occupational exposures level of workers, which means RDP has a potential threat to human health.

The WO3 nanosheet@reduced graphene oxide (WO3 nanosheet@rGO) square particles have been synthesized successfully by a hydrothermal method. The structure and polymorphy of the particle are well characterized by XRD, FT-IR, XPS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, Raman spectra and BET analysis. The electrochemical behaviors are researched by using CV, galvanostatic cycle and EIS. The results indicate that the special combination about the two-dimension WO3 nanoplate and graphene scales can promote the electrochemical properties of the metallic oxide effectively. Compared with the pure WO3, a higher initial discharge capacity of the WO3 nanosheet@rGO composite is 1143 mA h g−1, the reversible capacity can also maintain in 1005.7 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles in the condition of 100 mA g−1 and 0.01–3 V. The outstanding electrochemical performances composite demonstrates that WO3 nanosheet@rGO synthesized by this method is feasible and could be used as a promising anode material for LIBs.