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Historical buildings have inhabited every epoch of history. Some of these built legacies are now in ruins and dying whilst others are somewhat undamaged. Knowledge of conservation techniques available today has allowed us to understand more innovative ways of conserving the built heritage. Such techniques are, however, incompatible with the building materials available in our historical epoch and environment. People seek to reclaim the forgotten cultural heritage in the midst of the heritage conservation era while bearing in mind that previous work seldom takes into account the inventive preservation methods of today. This study aims to explore the innovative built heritage conservation practice in the Kano metropolis, to detect deterioration and incorporate traditional wisdom and contemporary innovation according to modern urban development. The study adopted qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The descriptive research explains, examines, and interprets prevailing practices, existing situations, attitudes, reasons, and on-going processes, while the qualitative research approach uses spatial analysis methods (direct assessment of physical characteristics of the selected buildings) and focus group discussion (FGD) sessions with the custodians, prominent elderly persons, or ward head (Mai Unguwa) from each of the selected buildings. In this work, we found it necessary to survey 29 historical buildings of which three of the historic buildings from pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial architecture were purposively sampled for inclusion. This is on the basis of their value formation, processes, phenomena, and typology. The findings reveal that deterioration is due to decaying plaster and paint, moist walls, deformed openings, sagging roofs, wall cracks, roof leakages, exit spouts, stains, and corrosion. Other factors include microbes and termite attacks, inappropriate use and neglect, civilization, and inappropriate funding. Conservation was performed to avert the amount of decay while the techniques in practice are documentation methods and treatment interventions with no implementation of diagnostic methods. It further unveils the potential benefits of local treatment, as evidenced by the intervention at the Dorayi palace segment, the use of “makuba” (milled locust bean pod) to stabilize the geotechnical performance of “tubali” (local mud bricks) to improve its potency. This milled locust bean pod also serves as the water repellent consolidant in “laso” (local) plaster, which has proven to be eco-friendly, non-toxic, and effective in wall rendering. The need for immediate implementation of diagnosis techniques in the conservation of architectural heritage in the municipality and elsewhere in Nigeria and beyond is eminent. Intervention and implementation of policies, appropriate funding, and mobilization, raising awareness and sensitization on the value, significance, and state of affairs of our cultural heritage is also paramount.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries (RAZBs) are emerging candidates for large‐scale energy storage. However, the lack of high‐capacity cathodes because of the electrostatic interactions between Zn2+ and cathode and the inferior electronic conductivity restricts their performance. The operating voltage limitation imposed by water is another barrier for RAZBs. Herein, manganese oxide (MnO) nanocrystals embedded in a spindle carbon matrix (MnO@C) synthesized from a metal–organic framework are used as a cathode. The uniform distribution of fine‐sized MnO (≈100 nm) in the carbonized matrix (≈5 μm) and the intimate connection between them not only increase the utilization of electroactive material but also eliminate the use of conductive additive. By utilizing the molten hydrate electrolyte, ZnCl2·2.33H2O, a discharge voltage plateau approaching 1.60 V and a high reversible capacity of 106 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles are achieved. This research proposes an approach for affordable RAZBs to fulfill large‐scale energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical buildings have inhabited every epoch of history. Some of these built legacies are now in ruins and dying whilst others are somewhat undamaged. Knowledge of conservation techniques available today has allowed us to understand more innovative ways of conserving the built heritage. Such techniques are, however, incompatible with the building materials available in our historical epoch and environment. People seek to reclaim the forgotten cultural heritage in the midst of the heritage conservation era while bearing in mind that previous work seldom takes into account the inventive preservation methods of today. This study aims to explore the innovative built heritage conservation practice in the Kano metropolis, to detect deterioration and incorporate traditional wisdom and contemporary innovation according to modern urban development. The study adopted qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The descriptive research explains, examines, and interprets prevailing practices, existing situations, attitudes, reasons, and on-going processes, while the qualitative research approach uses spatial analysis methods (direct assessment of physical characteristics of the selected buildings) and focus group discussion (FGD) sessions with the custodians, prominent elderly persons, or ward head (Mai Unguwa) from each of the selected buildings. In this work, we found it necessary to survey 29 historical buildings of which three of the historic buildings from pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial architecture were purposively sampled for inclusion. This is on the basis of their value formation, processes, phenomena, and typology. The findings reveal that deterioration is due to decaying plaster and paint, moist walls, deformed openings, sagging roofs, wall cracks, roof leakages, exit spouts, stains, and corrosion. Other factors include microbes and termite attacks, inappropriate use and neglect, civilization, and inappropriate funding. Conservation was performed to avert the amount of decay while the techniques in practice are documentation methods and treatment interventions with no implementation of diagnostic methods. It further unveils the potential benefits of local treatment, as evidenced by the intervention at the Dorayi palace segment, the use of "makuba" (milled locust bean pod) to stabilize the geotechnical performance of "tubali" (local mud bricks) to improve its potency. This milled locust bean pod also serves as the water repellent consolidant in "laso" (local) plaster, which has proven to be eco-friendly, non-toxic, and effective in wall rendering. The need for immediate implementation of diagnosis techniques in the conservation of architectural heritage in the municipality and elsewhere in Nigeria and beyond is eminent. Intervention and implementation of policies, appropriate funding, and mobilization, raising awareness and sensitization on the value, significance, and state of affairs of our cultural heritage is also paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐complex‐based materials for lithium storage have attracted great interest due to their highly designable structures with multiple active sites and well‐defined lithium transport pathways. Their cycling and rate performances, however, are still constrained by structural stability and electrical conductivity. Herein, we present two hydrogen‐bonded complex‐based frameworks with excellent lithium storage capability. Multiple hydrogen bonds among the mononuclear molecules result in three‐dimensional frameworks that are stable in electrolyte. The origin of the remarkable lithium storage performance of this family was revealed through kinetic analysis and DFT calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have shown that microRNA-375 (miR-375) is frequently downregulated in several types of human cancer including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer and oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the role of miR-375 in human esophageal cancer remains unknown. In the current study, the expression level of miR-375 was analyzed in 43 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue and matched adjacent normal tissue samples from patients with ESCC by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the expression level of miR-375 was analyzed in ESCC cell lines (KYSE450 and KYSE150) and the human esophageal epithelial cell line Het-1A by the same method. The expression level of miR-375 was significantly downregulated in ESCC tissue samples and cell lines compared with adjacent normal tissue samples and the human esophageal epithelial cell line, respectively. The effect of miR-375 on ESCC cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays. miR-375 overexpression significantly decreased ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict specificity protein 1 (SP1) as a target gene of miR-375 in ESCC, and this was verified by dual-luciferase assay. The present study demonstrated that SP1 regulates ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation through direct interaction with miR-375. In addition, the overall survival of patients with ESCC was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The results indicated that patients with ESCC with high miR-375 expression had a better survival rate compared with patients with ESCC with low miR-375 expression. Taken together, these results suggest that downregulated miR-375 promotes ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation via direct targeting of SP1, and this association may contribute to ESCC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: Hydrogen-bonded Complex-based Frameworks for Stable Lithium Storage (Chem. Lithium-ion battery, Metal-organic complex, Hydrogen-bonded framework, Dimensional design Keywords: Lithium-ion battery; Metal-organic complex; Hydrogen-bonded framework; Dimensional design EN Lithium-ion battery Metal-organic complex Hydrogen-bonded framework Dimensional design 1 1 1 07/05/23 20230703 NES 230703 B Hydrogen-bonded complex-based frameworks b were applied for the development of high-performance anode materials of lithium-ion batteries. [Extracted from the article]

Gene regulatory networks within cells modulate the expression of the genome in response to signals and changing environmental conditions. Reconstructions of gene regulatory networks can reveal the information processing and control principles used by cells to maintain homeostasis and execute cell-state transitions. Here, we introduce a computational framework, D-SPIN, that generates quantitative models of gene regulatory networks from single-cell mRNA-seq datasets collected across thousands of distinct perturbation conditions. D-SPIN models the cell as a collection of interacting gene-expression programs, and constructs a probabilistic model to infer regulatory interactions between gene-expression programs and external perturbations. Using large Perturb-seq and drug-response datasets, we demonstrate that D-SPIN models reveal the organization of cellular pathways, sub-functions of macromolecular complexes, and the logic of cellular regulation of transcription, translation, metabolism, and protein degradation in response to gene knockdown perturbations. D-SPIN can also be applied to dissect drug response mechanisms in heterogeneous cell populations, elucidating how combinations of immunomodulatory drugs can induce novel cell states through additive recruitment of gene expression programs. D-SPIN provides a computational framework for constructing interpretable models of gene-regulatory networks to reveal principles of cellular information processing and physiological control., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests The work was supported in part by funds from a Caltech Amgen Research Collaboration Award and reagent gifts from 10x Genomics. MWT received funding from Adaptive Biotechnologies for unrelated work. MWT is a member of the advisory board of Cell Systems. MWT is a co-founder of CognitiveAI and YurtsAI. ZJG is a co-founder of Scribe Biosciences. The Regents of the University of California with ZJG and CSM as inventors have filed patent applications related to MULTI-seq.

The antibodies to the microtubule-associated protein tau play a role in basic and clinical studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. With the recombinant human tau441 as the immunogen, the hybridoma cell strains secreting the anti-human tau N-terminal domain (NTD-tau) monoclonal antibodies were generated by cell fusion and screened by limiting dilution. The purified monoclonal antibodies were obtained by inducing the mouse ascites and affinity chromatography. The sensitivity and specificity of the monoclonal antibodies were examined by indirect ELISA and Western blotting, respectively. A double antibody sandwich ELISA method for detecting human tau protein was established and optimized. The results showed that the positive cloning rate of hybridoma cells was 83.6%. A stable cell line producing ZD8F7 antibodies was established, and the antibody titer in the supernatant of the cell line was 1:16 000. The antibody titer in the ascitic fluid was higher than 1:256 000; and the titer of purified ZD8F7 monoclonal antibodies was higher than 1:128 000. The epitope analysis showed that the ZD8F7 antibody recognized tau21-37 amino acid in the N-terminal domain. The Western blotting results showed that the ZD8F7 antibody recognized the recombinant human tau protein of 50-70 kDa and the human tau protein of 50 kDa in the brain tissue of transgenic AD model mice (APP/PS1/tau). With ZD8F7 as a capture antibody, a quantitative detection method for human tau protein was established, which showed a linear range of 7.8-500.0 pg/mL and could identify human tau protein in the brain tissue of AD transgenic mice and human plasma but not recognize the mouse tau protein. In conclusion, the human NTD-tau-specific monoclonal antibody and the double antibody sandwich ELISA method established in this study are highly sensitive and can serve as a powerful tool for the detection of tau protein in neurodegenerative diseases.