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Sarcopenia (low muscle mass, i.e., quantity) is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). In this study, we aimed to illustrate the clinical prognostic value of myosteatosis (muscle fat infiltration) for short-term mortality in patients with ACLF. We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ACLF between January 2019 and January 2022. Computed tomography-based body composition analysis was performed at the third lumbar vertebral level to determine skeletal muscle radiation attenuation. Fine and Gray’s competing risk regression model, with liver transplantation as a competing risk, was used to assess the factors associated with 90-day mortality. A total of 431 patients with ACLF were included. Myosteatosis and sarcopenia were observed in 261 (60.6%) and 87 (20.2%) patients, respectively. Competitive risk regression showed that age (HR 1.021, 95% CI 1.000–1.043, P = 0.042), APASL ACLF Research Consortium (AARC) score (HR 1.498, 95% CI 1.312–1.710, P < 0.001), and sarcopenia (HR 1.802, 95% CI 1.062–3.060, P = 0.029) were independently associated with increased 90-day mortality. Subgroup analysis of male patients with HBV-ACLF revealed that myosteatosis (HR 2.119, 95% CI 1.101–4.078, P = 0.025) was promising prognostic factors for 90-day mortality after being adjusted for ascites, acute kidney injury, AARC score, and sarcopenia. Myosteatosis is predictive of short-term outcomes in male patients with HBV-ACLF. Our results emphasise the importance of focusing on muscle fat infiltration in patients with HBV-ACLF. Further studies are warranted to investigate the underlying mechanisms and potential therapies for myosteatosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing interest in wearable smart healthcare systems has sparked considerable attention toward flexible sensors owing to their high sensitivity and flexibility. However, these sensors still face challenges in terms of performance imbalances and instability. To address these issues, graphene-based conductive materials with exceptional mechanical and electrical properties have been incorporated into flexible sensors. Despite the potential of graphene, a comprehensive understanding of the sensing mechanisms and influence of fabrication methods on the performance of graphene-based flexible sensors is lacking. This article aims to bridge this gap by providing an overview of the latest research progress in flexible graphene sensors. We begin by analyzing the main properties of graphene materials, including tensile strength, specific surface area, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity. These properties highlight the superior characteristics of graphene for flexible sensor applications. The sensing mechanisms of strain/pressure, gas, and temperature flexible sensors are reviewed, with a focus on innovations in graphene composites, regular microstructures, and emerging preparation methods that enable an effective balance of the individual properties of a single flexible sensor. Furthermore, the article discusses graphene-based multifunctional flexible sensors that allow for the simultaneous monitoring of multiple stimuli, self-powered performance studies, and wireless communication performance studies. Performance analysis of these sensors in the context of flexible systems is provided. Finally, this article presents a comprehensive summary of flexible graphene sensors and offers an outlook for the future. We aim to provide theoretical guidance and technical support for the realization of individual whole-life physical sign detection using flexible graphene-based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes are endosome-derived extracellular vesicles about 100 nm in diameter. They are emerging as promising delivery platforms due to their advantages in biocompatibility and engineerability. However, research into and applications for engineered exosomes are still limited to a few areas of medicine in mammals. Here, we expanded the scope of their applications to sex-determining gene studies in early vertebrates. An integrated strategy for constructing the exosome-based delivery system was developed for efficient regulation of dmrt1 , which is one of the most widely used sex-determining genes in metazoans. By combining classical methods in molecular biology and the latest technology in bioinformatics, isomiR-124a was identified as a dmrt1 inhibitor and was loaded into exosomes and a testis-targeting peptide was used to modify exosomal surface for efficient delivery. Results showed that isomiR-124a was efficiently delivered to the testes by engineered exosomes and revealed that dmrt1 played important roles in maintaining the regular structure and function of testis in juvenile fish. This is the first de novo development of an exosome-based delivery system applied in the study of sex-determining gene, which indicates an attractive prospect for the future applications of engineered exosomes in exploring more extensive biological conundrums. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources management and planning traditionally focus on visible liquid or blue water. However, green water also maintains social development and ecosystem services. Therefore, blue and green water should be incorporated into the watershed management system for evaluating water resources. To analyze the water resources of the Hanjiang River Basin, the SWAT model was set up using long-term and high-precision geographic data. The methods of wavelet analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to explore the influence mechanism of climate and vegetation changes on the blue and green water flow (BWF and GWF) of the main ecosystems in the basin. The results showed that: (1) The spatial–temporal distribution of the BWF and GWF in the main ecosystems of the basin over the past 50 years was uneven. Forest ecosystems and farmland ecosystems have a greater concentration of water resources in the south, while grassland ecosystems have a greater concentration of water resources in the east. (2) Climate dominates the BWF and GWF changes in the main ecosystems of the basin. The BWF and the precipitation change cycle are synergistic, and the GWF and the temperature change cycle are synergistic. (3) The correlation between vegetation and BWF and GWF in the farmland ecosystem is significant. Vegetation affects the hydrological change process of the BWF and GWF at the microscale. This study can provide data support and scientific rules for ecosystem water resource management in the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing economic and acid-compatible oxygen evolution electrocatalysts is vital for their practical application in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers, which has drawn worldwide attention. Herein, Li doped RuO2 NSs with abundant lattice distortions were successfully prepared and used as highly active and durable oxygen evolution electrocatalysts. In particular, Li doped RuO2 NS electrodes exhibit excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity under acidic conditions with a low overpotential of 169 mV at 10 mA cm−2, which is about a 20-fold enhancement in catalytic activity in comparison with pristine RuO2. As evidenced by HRTEM and EDLC measurements, the enhancement is mainly due to the incorporation of extraneous Li atoms in RuO2 induced rich lattice distortions and increased active site exposure. This work may provide a simple avenue for the synthesis of efficient acidic OER catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with its major complication, pulmonary embolism, is a global health problem. Endothelial dysfunction is involved in the pathogenesis of DVT. We have previously demonstrated that endothelial specific deletion of Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1) ameliorates atherosclerosis and aneurysm in animal models. Whether endothelial BRG1 contributes to DVT development remains undetermined. DVT was induced in mice by ligation of inferior vena cava. Deletion of BRG1 in endothelial cells was achieved by crossing the Cdh5 -ERT-Cre mice with the Brg1 loxp/loxp mice. Here we report that compared to the wild type mice, BRG1 conditional knockout (CKO) mice displayed substantially decreased DVT susceptibility characterized by decreased weight and size of thrombus and reduced immune infiltration. In endothelial cells, thrombomodulin (THBD) expression was significantly decreased by TNF-α stimulation, while BRG1 knockdown or inhibition recovered THBD expression. Further analysis revealed that BRG1 deficiency decreased the CpG methylation levels of the THBD promoter induced by TNF-α. Mechanistically, BRG1 directly upregulated DNMT1 expression after TNF-α treatment in endothelial cells. More importantly, administration of a small-molecule BRG1 inhibitor PFI-3 displayed potent preventive and therapeutic potentials in the DVT model. Our findings implicate BRG1 as an important regulator of DVT pathogenesis likely through epigenetic regulation of THBD expression in endothelial cells and provide translational proof-of-concept for targeting BRG1 in DVT intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • LMA capping combined with macrophyte (Vallisneria natans) enhanced the immobilization of P in sediments. • A new sediment–water interface was generated after LMA capping, which promoted the growth of Vallisneria natans roots. • Mobile P in black odorous sediments had the highest reduction rates when capping with LMA. As a kind of phosphorus (P) inactivating agent, lanthanum-modified attapulgite (LMA) has effectively been used for controlling the release of P from sediments. However, the effects of LMA on sediments from different types of ecological environments, especially in the rhizosphere of macrophyte, have not yet been studied. In this study, sediments from black-odor rivers (Black-S), cyanobacteria blooms-dominated lake (Algal-S) and macrophyte-dominated lake (Phytic-S) were collected for laboratory-scale microcosmic experiments. The results indicated that LMA had a good inactivation effect on mobile P (sum of Labile-P, Fe-P and organic-P) in three types of sediments, and significantly reduced soluble and labile P in pore water. The rates of reduction of mobile P in Black-S and Algal-S were much higher than that in Phytic-S. LMA capping generated a new sediment water interface, which significantly promoted the growth of roots, the release of oxygen from Vallisneria natans , and the secretion of organic acids to improve the rate of utilization of P in sediments. Meanwhile, the addition of LMA increased the relative abundance of Sideroxydans in the rhizosphere of Vallisneria natans. The study provides a new insight into the applications of LMA capping combined with macrophyte in the restoration of sediments obtained from different ecological settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a new method for obtaining the precise stationary state solutions of the Generalized Langevin Equation (GLE). The method combines Mori–Zwanzig formalism and diffusion approximation theory to provide an accurate analytical method for exploring the non-Markovian GLE. We demonstrate that the above-mentioned method can capture well the stationary state solutions of the GLE with memory kernel control and provide a valuable tool for studying the anomalous diffusion events. Numerical simulations confirm the accuracy of such Mori–Zwanzig formalism and diffusion approximation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Adsorbent characteristics under various CO 2 capture process was summarized. • CO 2 capture should comprehensively assess adsorbent, reactor and regeneration. • Adsorption capacity, thermal stability, multi-cycle durability, resistance to moisture are the development direction of CO 2 adsorbent. Over the past decade, CO 2 adsorption technology has rapidly gained prominence and played a pivotal role in achieving net-zero emissions. The adsorption pathway has great potential for capturing CO 2 , and there are three main factors affecting its competitiveness: adsorbent performance, reactor system and regeneration process. Working mechanisms, merits and demerits of different post-combustion CO 2 capture technology (PSA, VSA, VPSA, TSA, VTSA) were systematically described, and the performances of three major adsorbents (carbon-based, zeolites and MOFs) were summarized in the aspects of CO 2 purity, recovery rates and energy consumption. As solid adsorbents, they show significant potential for capturing CO 2 from flue gas in terms of renewable energy and cost savings. Limitations and challenges also need to be overcome for large-scale technological implementation. Working adsorption capacity, production costs, cycle life, thermal stability, resistance to moisture/impurities and multi-cycle durability are the development direction. Besides, optimize the combination of reactor system and regeneration mode will efficiently maximize CO 2 capture capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: maize; CRISPR/Cas9; Fusarium ear rot; ZmFER1 EN maize CRISPR/Cas9 Fusarium ear rot ZmFER1 2045 2047 3 11/01/22 20221101 NES 221101 I Fusarium i ear rot (FER), a fungal disease caused by I Fusarium i spp., leads to great yield losses to maize worldwide and to mycotoxin contamination, which seriously threatens human and animal health (Yao I et al i ., 2020). Maize, CRISPR/Cas9, Fusarium ear rot, ZmFER1. [Extracted from the article]

Emerging contaminants, including antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs), have been detected in large numbers in the aquatic environment. The effects of emerging contaminants on bacterial communities in marine sediments are not well studied. In this study, the effects of emerging contaminants (antibiotics, ARB, and eARGs) on the variations of bacterial populations in marine sediments of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea were investigated. The results showed that the abundance of the host bacterial phylum Probacteria in the marine sediments of the Bohai Sea was the lowest among the four seas after exposure to different antibiotics, ARB, and eARGs. The inputs of exogenous antibiotics and resistance genes significantly affected the community function, resulting in significant differences in community abundance at the genus level. The abundance of Halomonas , Sulfitobacter , and Alcanivorax in the four sea areas displayed noteworthy differences in response to the addition of exogenous antibiotics and eARGs. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between emerging contaminants and the dynamics of bacterial communities in natural ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Microbial community structure was more altered under antibiotic conditions than antibiotic resistance. • Stochastic processes dominated the assembly of marine community in exogenous stress environments. • Halomonas , Sulfitobacter , and Alcanivorax were differed exposure to antibiotic and antibiotic resistance. • The lowest abundance of Proteobacteria was found in the East China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • H 2 SO 4 pickling markedly improved redox capacity of the PbO-doped Mn-Ce/Ti-bearing blast furnace slag catalyst. • Optimal conditions for the poisoned catalyst cleaning were 1.5 mol/L H 2 SO 4 pickling at 30 °C for 2 h. • MnO x -CeO 2 replenishment enhanced chemisorbed oxygen content while facilitated Mnn+/Cen+ electronic transfers on the catalyst. The NH 3 -SCR of NO x from sintering flue gas can be hindered by PbO, deactivating catalysts and making its regeneration a significant challenge. To address this issue, a novel MnO x -CeO 2 /Ti-bearing blast furnace slag catalyst was developed and its Pb poisoning mechanism was previously elucidated. In this work, regeneration of Pb-poisoned catalyst was systematically evaluated, including washing with different agents and replenishing MnO x -CeO 2 components. The optimal conditions for catalyst cleaning were 1.5 mol/L H 2 SO 4 pickling at 30 °C for 2 h. The doped SO 4 2− could interact with catalyst ingredients, generating sulfate substances that partly transformed into various active sulfur-bearing species. These species enriched the catalyst surface and led to the formation of new S-OH/S = O chemical bonds. Loading MnO x -CeO 2 further improved the catalyst's redox capacity by facilitating electronic conversions and increasing chemisorbed oxygen O α content. The regeneration process also enhanced catalyst surface acidity by generating new N = O and N-OH bonds (N = Mn, Ce), intensifying the adsorption and activation of gaseous NH 3. The present work offers new insights into the regeneration of MnO x -CeO 2 /Ti-bearing blast furnace slag catalyst, particularly for their application in flue gas streams with high Pb content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swine influenza is an economically important respiratory disease in swine, but it also constantly poses a threat to human health. Therefore, developing rapid, sensitive, and efficient detection methods for swine influenza virus (SIV) is important. By aligning the haemagglutinin (HA) gene sequences of SIVs circulating in China over a 10-year period, an H1 primer-probe set targeting both Eurasian avian-like H1N1 (EA H1N1) and pandemic 2009 H1N1 ((H1N1)pdm09) lineages plus a H3 primer-probe set targeting the prevalent human-like H3N2 (HL H3N2) subtype were designed. Subsequently, a TaqMan-MGB-based duplex one-step real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) assay was established and evaluated. The duplex RT-qPCR has a detection limit of 5 copies/μL of HA plasmid for EA H1N1, (H1N1)pdm09, and HL H3N2 subtype SIVs, and its overall detection sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 91.67% matches that of traditional virus isolation through chicken embryo inoculation using experimentally infected mouse lung samples. The method showed high repeatability both within run and between runs, and there was no cross-reactivity against several other porcine viruses that are commonly circulating in China. Furthermore, the duplex RT-qPCR method revealed a higher prevalence of subtype H1 than subtype H3 in 166 nasal swabs from pigs collected from one slaughterhouse between October and December 2019. This assay could be very helpful in the rapid differential detection and routine surveillance of EA H1N1, (H1N1)pdm09, and HL H3N2 SIVs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) was identified as the major pathogen causing MRDD in maize ( I Zea mays i ) and dwarfing disease in other cereal crops, seriously threatening crop production in Asia (Bai I et al i ., 2002). Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; Maize rough dwarf disease; rice black-streaked dwarf virus; ZmGDI EN CRISPR/Cas9 Maize rough dwarf disease rice black-streaked dwarf virus ZmGDI 803 805 3 05/04/22 20220501 NES 220501 Introduction Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD) is a worldwide disease caused by a virus (Bai I et al i ., 2002; Harpaz, 1959). Targeted generation of Null Mutants in ZmGDI confers resistance against maize rough dwarf disease without agronomic penalty. [Extracted from the article]

Although hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest health burdens worldwide, few drugs are available for its clinical treatment. However, in recent years, major breakthroughs have been made in the development of new drugs due to intensive fundamental research and numerous clinical trials in HCC. Traditional systemic therapy schemes and emerging immunotherapy strategies have both advanced. Between 2017 and 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a variety of drugs for the treatment of HCC, including multikinase inhibitors (regorafenib, lenvatinib, cabozantinib, and ramucirumab), immune checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab and pembrolizumab), and bevacizumab combined with atezolizumab. Currently, there are more than 1000 ongoing clinical trials involving HCC, which represents a vibrant atmosphere in the HCC drug research and development field. Additionally, traditional Chinese medicine approaches are being gradually optimized. This review summarizes FDA-approved agents for HCC, elucidates promising agents evaluated in clinical phase I/II/III trials and identifies emerging targets for HCC treatment. In addition, we introduce the development of HCC drugs in China. Finally, we discuss potential problems in HCC drug therapy and possible future solutions and indicate future directions for the development of drugs for HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FeO x showed promotional performance on Pb poisoning resistance of MC/ATS catalyst. • Fen+ promoted Mnn+ electron transfer and improved the reactivity of adsorbed-NH 3. • Doping FeO x could inhibit Pb from reacting with catalyst components. Mitigating Pb poisoning effect on NH 3 -SCR catalysts in sintering flue gas denitrification poses an intractable challenge. To address this issue, a novel MnO x -CeO 2 /Ti-bearing blast furnace slag catalyst (MC/ATS) was developed and its Pb poisoning mechanism was previously studied. Herein, the promotional effect of FeO x doping on Pb resistance of MC/ATS catalyst was analyzed and the anti-Pb poisoning mechanism was systematically elucidated. Fe-MC/ATS catalyst achieved nearly 100 % NO conversion at 175 °C. Compared with that before Fe doping, resistance of the modified catalyst to PbO and PbCl 2 poisoning markedly increased by 41.0 % and 47.1 %, respectively. FeO x , with high electronegativity and acidity, could replenish more active acid sites, so that the NH 3 adsorption capacity and SCR efficiency of Fe-MC/ATS catalyst were greatly improved. By consuming surface chemisorbed oxygen on the catalyst, FeO x could participate in Mnn+ electron transfers cycle in the forms of different Fen+ valences. This process increased the surface Mn4+ content, improved the redox capacity and reactivity of adsorbed NH 3 species, which consequently boosted the catalyst Pb poisoning resistance. Hopefully, the efficient protection mechanism provides a new insight into developing novel catalysts with outstanding resistance to heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical report generation can be treated as a process of doctors' observing, understanding, and describing images from different perspectives. Following this process, this paper innovatively proposes a Transformer-based Semantic Query learning paradigm (TranSQ). Briefly, this paradigm is to learn an intention embedding set and make a semantic query to the visual features, generate intent-compliant sentence candidates, and form a coherent report. We apply a bipartite matching mechanism during training to realize the dynamic correspondence between the intention embeddings and the sentences to induct medical concepts into the observation intentions. Experimental results on two major radiology reporting datasets (i.e., IU X-ray and MIMIC-CXR) demonstrate that our model outperforms state-of-the-art models regarding generation effectiveness and clinical efficacy. In addition, comprehensive ablation experiments fully validate the TranSQ model's innovation and interpretation. The code is available at https://github.com/zjukongming/TranSQ. • We proposed a novel Transformer-based semantic query model for MRG task. • We propose a bipartite matching-based intention embedding learning strategy. • The proposed TranSQ achieves SOTA performance on two well-known MRG benchmarks. • The proposed TranSQ provides accurate sentence-level interpretation information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four DyIII complexes, [Dy2(NO3)4(L)2(H2O)2]·2MeCN (1), [Dy2(NO3)4(L)2(H2O)2]·2(NO3)·DMBD·2MeOH (2), [Dy2(NO3)4(L)2(TPO)2]·2MeCN (3) and [Dy2(L′)6(H2O)2]·4MeCN (4), were elaborately synthesized, structurally characterized and magnetically investigated (HL = 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, HL′ = 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, DMBD = 1,1′-dimethyl-[4,4′-bipyridine]-1,1′-diium and TPO = phosphine triphenyl oxide). In 1–3, the nearly planar molecular structures consisting of two DyIII ions and two L ligands are almost perpendicular to four nitrate ligands, which provides an opportunity to introduce auxiliary ligands (H2O or TPO) at the terminal position along the Dy⋯Dy orientation of [Dy2]. The slightly discrepant coordination environment around the DyIII ion with different terminal ligands plays a key role in tuning the magnetic anisotropy, and further strongly affects the magnetic properties of 1–4. The magnetic studies reveal that they all behave as single-molecule magnets (SMMs) at zero dc field with ferromagnetic dipole–dipole interaction between DyIII ions. The dynamic magnetic investigations give the energy barriers of 107.5 (1), 127.1 (2), 168.7 (3) and 251.9 K (4), respectively. The magnetic axis orientation of the ground state gradually verges on the Dy–Oaux bond from 1 to 4, leading to the stronger uniaxial anisotropy of DyIII ions and better SMM properties of 3 and 4. In addition, complexes 3 and 4 possess higher energy barriers than reported dinuclear DyIII-SMMs also constructed from HL or HL' with β-diketone. It is believed that the ligands coordinating to the DyIII ion at both terminals of the Dy⋯Dy linkage improve the SMM properties of dinuclear DyIII complexes. This design may provide a new strategy for obtaining dinuclear DyIII-based SMMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photochromic and magnetic properties of two dithienylethene (DTE)-based complexes, [Dy(NO3)3(Lo)2(MeOH)] (1-o) and [Dy(NO3)3(Lo)3] (2-o) (Lo = 4,5-bis(2,5-dimethylthiophen-3-yl)-1,3-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazol-2-one), were experimentally studied in detail with the help of theoretical calculations. Both complexes exhibit an instantaneous and strong reversible photochromic response to UV/Vis irradiation, as evidenced from spectroscopic tests, and complex 1-o behaves as a typical field-induced single-molecule magnet (SMM). By controlling the reaction ratio of Lo and Dy(NO)3, Lo replacing a coordinated methanol molecule in 1-o results in the production of complex 2-o, whose single-molecule behavior is off. Upon irradiation with 254 nm light, the SMM properties of 1-o deteriorate with the energy barrier decreasing from 68.1 to 44.3 K while the magnetic dynamics of complex 2-o shows no response to irradiation. Ab initio calculations reveal that the quantum tunnelling of magnetization between the ground Kramers doublets in 2-o is quite strong, leading to the disappearance of SMM behavior. For complex 1-o, the strong magnetic anisotropy and moderate quantum tunnelling of magnetization relative to 2-o give rise to an appropriate energy barrier for SMM. On the other hand, the decrease in energy barriers for 1-o after irradiation results from the weakening of magnetic anisotropy, which is caused by the stronger charge delocalization of the coordinated carbonyl oxygen atom of the ring-closed DTE ligand. By regulating the reactant ratio, two photochromic DTE-based Dy(III) complexes are obtained and the SMM properties of complex 1-o can be tuned by the light-induced isomerization of the dithienylethene ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five β-diketone based Dy(III) single-ion magnets (SIMs), [DyIII(TTA)3(AIP)]·0.5CH3CH2OH·0.5H2O (1), [DyIII(TTA)3(APIP)]·2CH3OH·H2O (2), [DyIII(TTA)3(DPP)] (3), [DyIII(TTA)3(BPP)]·0.5CH3CH2OH (4) and [DyIII(TTA)3(AIP)]·1.5H2O (5), were fully synthesized through alteration of their phenanthroline derivates (AIP = 2-(anthracen-9-yl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, APIP = 2-(4-(anthracen-9-yl)phenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, DPP = 2,3-diphenylpyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline and BPP = 2,3-bis(2,5-dimethylthiophen-3-yl)pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline). Magnetic investigations reveal that all the complexes perform as SIMs, with notably different effective barriers of 69.4 K (1), 147.3 K (2), 122.1 K (3) and 234.2 K (4) in zero direct current (dc) field. Complexes of 2 and 4 possess almost twofold higher effective barriers compared to 1 and 3. By analyzing the crystal structures, the distinct magnetic dynamics was found to stem from the variation in intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions and charge delocalization of auxiliary ligands. With the help of ab initio calculations, a change of auxiliary ligand brings about varying intensities of quantum tunnelling magnetization (QTM), which account for the distinguishable magnetic dynamics. With a combination of experimental and theoretical analyses, this work provides a visual and instructive perspective to the understanding of fine tuning auxiliary ligands to design structurally modulated SIMs of mononuclear β-diketone dysprosium(III) complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans-differentiation, or activation, of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a hallmark event in liver fibrosis although the underlying mechanism is not fully appreciated. Serum response factor (SRF) is a pleiotropic sequence-specific transcription factor with a ubiquitous expression pattern. In the present study, we investigated the effect of HSC-specific ablation of SRF on liver fibrosis in vivo and the underlying mechanism. We report that SRF bound to the promoter regions of pro-fibrogenic genes, including collagen type I (Col1a1/Col1a2) and alpha smooth muscle actin (Acta2), with greater affinity in activated HSCs compared to quiescent HSCs. Ablation of SRF in HSCs in vitro downregulated the expression of fibrogenic genes by dampening the accumulation of active histone marks. SRF also interacted with MRTF-A, a well-documented co-factor involved in liver fibrosis, on the pro-fibrogenic gene promoters during HSC activation. In addition, SRF directly regulated MRTF-A transcription in activated HSCs. More importantly, HSC conditional SRF knockout (CKO) mice developed a less robust pro-fibrogenic response in the liver in response to CCl4 injection and BDL compared to wild-type littermates. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that SRF may play an essential role in HSC activation and liver fibrosis. Key messages: • SRF deficiency decelerates activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in vitro. • SRF epigenetically activates pro-fibrogenic transcription to promote HSC maturation. • SRF interacts with MRTF-A and contributes to MRTF-A transcription. • Conditional SRF deletion in HSCs attenuates BDL-induced liver fibrosis in mice. • Conditional SRF ablation in HSCs attenuates CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3 V catalyst presents the best performance for both NO x reduction and K+ resistance ability. • Increasing V 2 O 5 content reduces the Lewis acid sites, but increases the amount of BrØnsted acid sites. • Isolated vanadyl (V = O) are advantageous to high-temperature catalytic activity. • Polymeric vanadia species present priority to ammonia adsorption and K+ occupation. The effect of vanadium content on the resistance to K+ deactivation of V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 SCR catalyst in biomass-fired flue gas was investigated. Catalytic activity and ammonia oxidation were measured, and the properties of fresh and K+-deactivated catalysts were characterized by XRD, N 2 physisorption, H 2 -TPR, NH 3 -TPD and NH 3 -DRIFT. The BET surface area decreases with increased vanadium content for both fresh and K+-poisoned samples, but it is not responsible for catalyst deactivation. Ammonia oxidation starts from 300 °C and becomes more important with increasing vanadium content and at higher temperature. K+ can inhibit ammonia oxidation, but inactivates the newly generated NO 2 to be reduced. The increase of vanadium content reduces mainly the Lewis acid sites, while the amount of BrØnsted acid sites increases. Monomeric and polymeric vanadium are the dominant species on the TiO 2 support, and the amount of isolated vanadyl (V = O) species decreases with V 2 O 5 content while the amount of V-OH species in polymeric vanadia increases. Isolated vanadyl species are advantageous to high-temperature catalytic activity while polymeric vanadia species increase ammonia and K+ adsorption. The (3 wt% V 2 O 5)-WO 3 /TiO 2 catalyst shows the best performance for both NO reduction and K+ resistance due to it containing both monomeric and polymeric vanadia species (or V = O and V-OH). Catalysts with 3 wt% V 2 O 5 are preferable for flue gases with high alkali metal contents. Finally, the mechanism of reaction for different vanadium contents and corresponding K+-poisoning are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlN/SiO2 nanomultilayers with different SiO2 thicknesses were synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure, and nanoindentation technology was used to measure the mechanical properties of the multilayers. The crystallization of SiO2 as well as its influences on the growth and mechanical properties of the multilayers was studied. Results showed that due to the template effects of hcp AlN, amorphous SiO2 was forced to crystallize to a hcp pseudocrystal structure when its thickness was below 0.6 nm. The SiO2 epitaxially grew with AlN in the multilayer with coherent interfaces. At this time, a tensile and compressive alternate stress field was developed corresponding to the modulation structure. The hardness of the multilayers was enhanced as a result. Calculation revealed that alternate stress field played an important role in multilayers’ reinforcement. As thickness increases, SiO2 grew into amorphous again, resulting in the blockade of epitaxial growth in the multilayers and disappearing of the hardness enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Clarify whether the primary social relationships of Tibetan adolescents can positively influence their prosocial behavior. • Reveal the mechanism by which the parent–child, teacher–student, and peer relationships of Tibetan adolescents affect their prosocial behavior through the pathway of social support. • Explore the boundary conditions under which Tibetan adolescents' primary social relationships act on their prosocial behavior from the perspective of psychological resilience. Tibetan adolescents in the Tibet Autonomous Region are gradually becoming the mainstay of the development and construction of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the construction of a harmonious society, and it is necessary to explore the positive attitudes and behaviors of this group. For this reason, this study collected 544 valid teacher-student paired questionnaires through the questionnaire survey method, and based on social support theory, explored the influence of the main social relationships (parent–child, teacher–student, and peer relationships) of Tibetan adolescents on their prosocial behaviors as well as the mechanism underlying this influence. The results showed that (1) the main social relationships of Tibetan adolescents were unique; (2) the parent–child, teacher–student, and peer relationships of Tibetan adolescents had significant positive effects on their prosocial behaviors and the teacher-student relationship had the greatest effect; (3) social support mediated the relationship between parent–child, teacher–student, and peer relationships of Tibetan adolescents, on the one hand, and their prosocial behaviors on the other; and (4) the psychological resilience of Tibetan adolescents positively moderated the relationship between their parent–child, teacher–student, and peer relationships and social support, while psychological resilience had a positive moderating effect on the mediating effect. This study conducts empirical research based on detailed data on Tibetan adolescents to provide scientific guidance for stimulating positive behaviors in this group. Moreover, based on the social support theory, it helps to understand the mechanisms of the main social relationships of Tibetan adolescents on their prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the hallmark events during liver fibrosis is the transition of quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSC) into activated myofibroblasts, which are responsible for the production and deposition of pro-fibrogenic proteins. The epigenetic mechanism underlying HSC trans-differentiation is not fully understood. In the present study we investigated the contribution of histone H3K9 demethylase KDM4 in this process. We report that expression levels of KDM4 were down-regulated during HSC activation paralleling the up-regulation of alpha smooth muscle cell actin (Acta2), a marker of mature myofibroblast. Furthermore, HSCs isolated from mice induced to develop liver fibrosis exhibit lowered KDM4 expression compared to the control mice. In accordance, KDM4 depletion with siRNA accelerated HSC activation. Of interest, the loss of KDM4 was mirrored by the repression of miR-29, an antagonist of liver fibrosis, during HSC activation both in vitro and in vivo. KDM4 knockdown resulted in the down-regulation of miR-29 expression. Mechanistically, the sequence-specific transcription factor SREBP2 interacted with KDM4 to activate miR-29 transcription. In conclusion, our data delineate a novel epigenetic mechanism underlying HSC activation. Targeting this axis may yield potential therapeutics against liver fibrosis. • KDM4 levels are down-regulated in activated HSCs both in vitro and in vivo. • KDM4 suppresses HSC activation. • SREBP2 is down-regulated in activated HSCs and suppresses HSC activation. • KDM4 interacts with SREBP2 to activate miR-29 transcription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Our study illustrated the ecological conditions in the rivers of Lake Taihu Basin (LTB) using an index of biotic integrity based on phytoplankton (P-IBI), and its performance was compared with the previously developed water quality index (WQI). Samples were collected seasonally at 96 sites covering the major rivers from September 2014 to January 2016. Three critical ecological indices, i.e., phytoplankton density, chlorophyll a (chl a), and Menhinick, were selected from a pool of 22 candidate indices mainly according to the correlations among indices and environmental parameters. The results indicated that the ecological status of LTB based on P-IBI was significantly different at spatial (especially between Tiaoxi and the other 5 river systems) and seasonal scales. Furthermore, the proposed P-IBI effectively identified the major environmental parameters (total nitrogen, ammonium, total phosphorus, and permanganate index) associated with each level (bad, low, and moderate). Moreover, the P-IBI was closely and positively correlated with the WQI at the spatial scale regardless of season. However, the ecological conditions were significantly worse according to the P-IBI at both the spatial (P < 0.001) and seasonal scales (P values of 0.018 in winter and < 0.001 in other seasons, respectively), and the seasonal distribution pattern differed between the two methods. Our study suggests that the P-IBI provides an essential supplement for the assessment of ecological conditions of rivers and that the selected critical indices (phytoplankton density, chl a , and Menhinick) are suitable for river ecosystems. Additionally, compared with WQI, the water quality condition was generally worse when using P-IBI, and this phenomenon requires further attention during water quality assessments, as well as different seasonal distribution patterns. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Phytoplankton density, chl a and Menhinick are selected in the P-IBI establishment. • The proposed P-IBI was closely correlated with the previously developed WQI. • The P-IBI assessment results were generally worse than the WQI. • The seasonal distribution pattern differed between the P-IBI and WQI methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of this study was to develop an effective cell sheet translocation method using a cell adhesive and temperature-responsive hydroxybutyl chitosan hydrogel (HBC). The polydopamine (PD)-coated HBC hydrogels were prepared by the dopamine self-polymerization on the surface of HBC hydrogel with different coating time, termed as P30, P60 and P120, respectively. Gelling property of HBC was not affected by PD coating. The PD-coated HBC hydrogels promoted the attachment and proliferation of mouse fibroblast cells (L929) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and allowed formation of monolayer cell sheet. In vitro translocation of HUVECs sheet could be obtained successively through phase transition of PD coated HBC hydrogel from gel to sol, and the cells sheet transferred from P30 hydrogel to a round cell coverglass maintained relatively complete monolayer and normal cell morphology. The results showed that P30 hydrogel has the potential to be used for cell transplantation therapy. Highlights • The PD-coated hydrogels emerged a special porous structure with a small surface pore size. • The PD-coated hydrogels had phase transition between gels-sols. • The L929 and HUVECs cells could attach and proliferate in the surface of the PD-coated hydrogels. • The transferred cells sheet maintained relatively complete monolayer and normal cell morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a series of multifunctional oxethyl triphenylamine substitutional terpyridyl analogues ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 ) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE), two-photon absorption (2PA) and specially targeted mitochondria were presented. Their photophysical properties were systematically explored by two-photon excited fluorescence measurements and theoretical calculations. Importantly, the AIE mechanism was explained relying on their crystal structural information. It indicated that the introducing of oxethyl and π bridge of phenyl caused the fluorescence quenching in organic solvent and AIE in mixed solvent of ethanol and water. The nonlinear optical test revealed that strong ICT with a large dipole moment and high asymmetry of the terpyridyl analogue molecules were benefited for 2PA. Finally, based on their photophysical properties, the biological imaging applications were carried out, which indicated that the terpyridyl analogues may be potential biological probe for targeting mitochondria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose represents the most frequent cause of acute liver failure. The underlying epigenetic mechanism is not fully understood. In the present study we investigated the mechanism whereby the chromatin remodeling protein brahma related gene 1 (Brg1) regulates APAP induced liver injury in mice. We report that hepatocyte-specific deletion of Brg1 attenuated APAP induced liver injury in mice as evidenced by reduced plasma ALT and AST levels, decreased liver necrosis, amelioration of GSH depletion, and prolonged survival. Brg1 regulated APAP-induced liver injury likely by stimulating the transcription of Cyp3a11, a key cytochrome enzyme involved in APAP metabolism. Immunoprecipitation coupled with DNA affinity microarray identified hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF4) as a novel binding partner for Brg1. HNF4 recruited Brg1 to the Cyp3a11 promoter and formed a complex with Brg1 to trans-activate Cyp3a11. In contrast, BRG1 deficiency attenuated HNF4 binding to the Cyp3a11 promoter and dampened Cyp3a11 transcription. Therefore, our data suggest that Brg1 might play an essential role mediating APAP induced liver injury in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different potassium species, including K 2 O, KCl and K 2 SO 4 , on the deactivation of V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 catalysts were measured in the research. Potassium species were supplied by impregnating catalyst with corresponding KNO 3 , KCl and K 2 SO 4 aqueous solution. Catalytic activity was also measured and the physical and chemical properties of fresh and poisoned catalysts were characterized by XRD, N 2 physisorption, NH 3 -TPD, H 2 -TPR, XPS and NH 3 -DRIFTS. Deactivation could be observed in the potassium-containing catalysts and the deactivation rate follows KCl > K 2 O > K 2 SO 4 . The surface chemisorbed oxygen was also reduced and the downward trend was in good accordance with the SCR activity. In addition, both the amount and stability of the Brønsted and Lewis acid sites dropped after potassium introduction, and the reducibility of surface active species decreased. The introduction of SO 4 2− created new Brønsted acid sites and performed advantages to ammonia adsorption and NO reduction. Cl − could react with vanadia active sites to form -O-V-Cl bond, which provided some new ammonia adsorption sites, but these newly generated sites could not revitalize the adsorbed ammonia and were helpless to catalytic activity promotion. Besides, KCl presented the maximum impact on catalyst reducibility was another contribution to its largest activity decline. Finally, the probable poisoning mechanisms of different potassium species over V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 catalysts were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncontrolled inflammatory response and augmented lipid accumulation represent two key pathophysiological events in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NF-κB and SREBP1c program transcriptional regulation of cellular inflammatory response and lipid metabolism, respectively. The epigenetic mechanism underlying NF-κB-dependent pro-inflammatory transcription and SREBP1c-dependent pro-lipogenic transcription remains incompletely understood. In the present study we investigated the involvement of Brg1, a chromatin remodeling protein, in NASH pathogenesis in a methionine-and-choline deficient diet (MCD) induced mouse model. Brg1 expression was up-regulated in the liver in mice fed on the MCD diet and in primary hepatocytes exposed to free fatty acids. Liver injury and hepatic inflammation attenuated in hepatocyte-specific Brg1 knockout (CKO) mice fed on the MCD diet compared to the wild type (WT) littermates. Likewise, synthesis of pro-inflammatory mediators was down-regulated in primary hepatocytes isolated from CKO mice compared to WT mice, which resulted in reduced macrophage chemotaxis. Brg1 contributed to the transcription of pro-inflammatory mediators possibly by regulating the interaction between NF-κB and its co-factor MRTF-A. On the other hand, accumulation of triglyceride and cholesterol was ameliorated in MCD-fed CKO mice with a concomitant reduction of SREBP1c target genes. Brg1 interacted with SREBP1c and modulated the transcription of SREB1c target genes in the liver in response to MCD feeding by influencing active histone modifications. In conclusion, targeting Brg1 may yield novel anti-NASH therapeutics by simultaneously normalizing hepatic inflammatory status and metabolic profile in NASH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baculoviruses are double-stranded circular DNA viruses that infect arthropods via the midgut. Because of their superiority as eukaryotic expression systems and their importance as biopesticides, extensive research on the functions of baculovirus genes as well as on the host response to baculovirus infection has been carried out, including transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of the midgut. The morphological and cellular changes caused by baculovirus infection are also important to better understand the infection pathway. Thanks to these previous studies, we now have a clearer picture of the mechanisms of action of the virus and of host immunity. In this paper, we systematically reviewed studies on the interaction between baculoviruses and their insect hosts. By better understanding these interactions, baculoviruses can be developed for use as more efficient biopesticides to improve agricultural development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Radix Paeoniae Alba ( Baishao , BS), one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, has many pharmacological effects including analgesic activity. Previous studies found that sulfur-fumigation, a post-harvest handling process developed to prevent mold contamination of medicinal herbs, altered the quality of BS. However, whether sulfur-fumigation affects the pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of BS warrants further investigation. Aim of the study To evaluate the feasibility of sulfur-fumigation as a post-harvest handling process of BS from the viewpoints of pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy. Materials and methods The pharmacokinetic behaviors of four active components of BS and one characteristic component of sulfur-fumigated BS (S-BS) were evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-TQ-MS/MS). The safety was investigated using ultra high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based metabolomics approach after intragastric (i.g.) administration of non-fumigated BS (N-BS) and S-BS in rats. The analgesic efficacy was compared using hot-plate test in mice, after i.g. administration of N-BS and S-BS, at both high and low dosages. Results Systemic exposures of paeoniflorin and oxypaeoniflorin, two analgesic components of BS, were significantly decreased in the S-BS treated group compared to the N-BS treated group, while paeoniflorin sulfonate, one of the sulfur-containing derivatives of S-BS, was detected in all time-points of S-BS treated group with the area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC 0−t ) and the maximum plasma concentration (C max ) as high as 7077.06 ± 2232.97 ng/mL*h and 1641.42 ± 634.79 ng/mL respectively, which indicated that sulfur-fumigation altered the pharmacokinetic behaviors of BS. Besides, paeoniflorin sulfonate and its four metabolites with ambiguous toxicities, as well as one endogenous metabolite p-cresol glucuronide, the biomarker of disordered homeostasis of intestinal bacteria and bile acid, were identified as the characteristic metabolites in S-BS administered rats, suggesting that sulfur-fumigation reduced the safety of BS. Furthermore, the analgesic effects at both low and high dosages were decreased in different extent when compared to N-BS administered groups, indicating that sulfur-fumigation weakened the efficacy of BS. Conclusion Sulfur-fumigation altered the pharmacokinetics, as well as reduced the safety and efficacy of BS, suggesting that sulfur-fumigation is not recommended for post-harvest handling of BS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combustion behaviours of single particles (125–150 μm) of eucalyptus, pine and olive residue were investigated by means of a transparent visual drop-tube furnace, electrically heated to 1073 K, and a high-speed camera coupling with a long distance microscope. All three types of biomass samples were found to have two evident combustion phases, i.e., volatile combustion in an envelope flame and subsequent char combustion with high luminance. Yet, due to differences in chemical compositions and properties, their combustion behaviours were also seen somewhat discrepant. The volatile flame of the olive residue was fainter than that of pine and eucalyptus due to its high ash mass fraction. During the char combustion phase, fragmentation took place for most pine particles but only for a few particles of olive residue and eucalyptus. For all three types of biomass samples, the flame size and the average luminous intensity profiles were deduced from the captured combustion video images whilst the combustion burnout times of the volatile matter and char were also calculated and estimated. There were two peak values clearly shown on the profiles of both the flame size and the average luminous intensity during the volatile combustion process of pine and eucalyptus particles, which, according to literature, could not be observed by optical pyrometry. The observed peaks correspond to the devolatilisation of hemicellulose and cellulose. The ratio between the estimated char burnout time and volatile combustion time increases quadratically with the fixed carbon to volatile matter mass ratio, confirming char combustion is much slower than volatile combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma), a commonly-consumed food supplement, is often sulphur-fumigated during post-harvest handling, but it remains unknown if sulphur fumigation induces chemical transformations in ginger. In this study, the effects of sulphur fumigation on ginger chemicals were investigated by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS)-based metabolomics. The results showed that sulphur fumigation significantly altered the holistic chemical profile of ginger by triggering chemical transformations of certain original components. 6-Gingesulphonic acid, previously reported as a naturally-occurring component in ginger, was revealed to be a sulphur fumigation-induced artificial derivative, which was deduced to be generated by electrophilic addition of 6-shogaol to sulphurous acid. Using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS extracting ion analysis with 6-gingesulphonic acid as a characteristic chemical marker, all the commercial ginger samples inspected were determined to be sulphur-fumigated. The research outcomes provide a chemical basis for further comprehensive safety and efficacy evaluations of sulphur-fumigated ginger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clays are increasingly used as hosting materials to develop cost-effective adsorbents for pollutant removal from water. This is especially urgent for arsenic purification in rural and undeveloped areas. However, the fine powder form of modified clay cannot be used directly in water treatment due to the separation difficulty. Herein, a simple and easy method was used to prepare a low-cost arsenic adsorbent through loading hydrated iron oxide into porous charred granulated attapulgite. The results show that iron impregnation can increase the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and micropore volume of charred granulated attapulgite, which was possibly caused by the nano-sized iron formed in the channel of charred granulated attapulgite. Batch studies indicate that As(Ⅲ) (arsenite) and As(Ⅴ) (arsenate) sorption on the prepared adsorbent fit well with the Langmuir equation as the maximum sorption capacities were 3.25 and 5.09 mg/g, respectively, which were higher than the reported low-cost arsenic adsorbent. The arsenic sorption rate on the iron impregnated sorbents varied with initial arsenic concentrations, but all can be described by a pseudo-second-order model. The iron modified charred granulated attapulgite performed well with a wider pH value (5–9). However, inhibition effects of arsenic sorption by coexisting ions SO 4 2− , HCO 3 − and PO 4 3− increased with the increase of their concentrations. Of these, PO 4 3− exerted the largest effect. The arsenic adsorbed sorbent can be regenerated by 0.5 mol/L NaOH four times with an approximate 11.3% and 25.6% sorption capacity lost for As (Ⅴ) and As (Ⅲ), respectively. A fixed bed column experiment showed that iron-modified charred granulated attapulgite can treat 397 BV for As (V) and 175 BV for As (III) of arsenic contaminated water below 10 μg/L. These results indicated that the first reported low-cost iron modified charred granulated attapulgite is very promising for arsenic contaminated water purification in rural and developing area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan based nanogels with pH/redox sensitivities tunable to stepwise response to intracellular delivery kinetics were developed. The nanogels were simply constructed by ionic gelation first, between O-Carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMCS) and thiolated chitosan (TCS), and then oxidation to form disulfide bonds for CMCS-TCS nanogels (CTNGs). Doxorubicin loaded nanogels (DOX/CTNGs) exhibited desirable stability under physiological pH with a mean size of 150.5 nm, and quickly aggregated at pH 5.5 (mimic endo/lysosomes) due to protonation of the carboxyl groups on CMCS. DOX/CTNGs would maintain their TCS skeleton in acidic pH and compromised as treated with 10 mM glutathione (mimic cytosol). In agreement with the structural variation, release of DOX was dramatically enhanced by the synergetic effects of acidic pH and reductive potential. Stepwise responses to intracellular delivery kinetics were evidenced by laser confocal images showing that DOX/CTNGs underwent efficient cellular internalization through endocytosis, endo/lysomse escape via self-precipitation, cleavage of disulfide linkage in cytosol and disintegration in nucleus, achieving enhanced nuclear delivery and rapid release of doxorubicin. DOX/CTNGs exerted comparable or higher anticancer efficacies than that of free DOX against hela cells. The simple construction of the nanogels and their capacity of enhancing anticancer activities of DOX are potential for translational applications in cancer chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

pH-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) comprised of degradable carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) crosslinked with CaCl 2 were simply prepared via ionic gelation. Fabrication conditions including insulin dosage, CMCS concentration, and crosslinking density were systematically investigated for insulin loading and release in vitro . The encapsulation efficiencies (EE), loading capacity (LC) and average size of the NPs decreased with the increasing insulin concentrations (<0.192 mg/mL), while they notably increased as the insulin dosage was above 0.192 mg/mL. When the concentration of CMCS increased from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/mL, the EE of the NPs reduced while the size of the NPs increased. We further demonstrated that crosslinking density offered a simple method for tuning the properties of the NPs towards various insulin concentrations. The mass ratio 10:5 of CMCS to CaCl 2 exhibited the optimal performance at higher insulin concentration, whereas a higher crosslinking density of 10:7 (m:m) gave the optimal performance at low insulin concentration. The cumulative release of insulin from insulin loaded NPs decreased with the elevating crosslinking density. These findings not only provided a better understanding of the synthesis of CMCS NPs but also contributed to the practical applications of insulin loading and release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brushless doubly‐fed motor (BDFM) is versatile and can perform under several modes of operation. Other than the commonly used doubly‐fed mode, BDFM can also operate in an asynchronous mode wherein the control winding of the motor is short circuited. The proposed study first analysed the mechanical characteristics of BDFM operation under this mode, whereby it was noted that there exist two induction torque components corresponding to different pole pairs within the motor. The motor, therefore, behaved as a conventional induction machine. Based on the above analysis and by introducing the concept of equivalent resistance of the machine‐side inverter, an asynchronous soft‐starting method for BDFM is proposed herein. By switching one side of the inverter bridge arms to the off state and adjusting the duty cycle on the other side, a controllable equivalent resistance is obtained and inserted into the control winding of BDFM. Consequently, the starting characteristic of BDFM can be improved to achieve soft start‐up of the motor. Finally, experiments were conducted on a 30 kW BDFM prototype, of which, the results verify the accuracy of the torque analysis and improved performance of the proposed soft‐starting method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel intelligent nanocarrier with pH and redox sensitivities was developed based on Carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMCS) and thioglycolic acid conjugated chitosan (TCS) to provide precise spatiotemporal control for efficient intracellular delivery. Doxorubicin (DOX) loaded nanocarriers (DOX/CMCS-TCS NPs) were simply prepared by ionic gelation and then oxidation crosslink. The nanocarriers exhibited decent stability at pH 7.4 for up to 3 days and underwent aggregation under acidic pH (5.5) due to protonation of the carboxyl groups on CMCS. The TCS skeleton was stable at pH 5.5 (mimic endo/lysosomes) but disintegrated in the presence of 10 mM glutathione (GSH) at pH 7.4 (mimic cytosol). In vitro DOX release from DOX/CMCS-TCS NPs was enhanced at pH 5.5 compared with physiological condition, with 64.2% and 31.6% DOX released in 2 h, respectively. While 85.2% of DOX was released within 2 h as treated with 10 mM GSH, suggesting the release was closely associated with structural disintegration of nanocarriers. The maximum release of DOX was obtained at 10 mM GSH and pH 5.5 with 92.3% of DOX released in 5 h. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observation indicated that DOX/CMCS-TCS NPs efficiently escaped from endo/lysosomes within 1 h incubation with MCF-7 cells and gave the best performance in delivering DOX into nucleus in 2 h. Anticancer activity assay revealed that DOX/CMCS-TCS NPs had comparable or even better inhibition of cell viability at high drug concentrations than free DOX, with the IC 50 of 0.6 μg/mL following 48 h incubation. In summary, the simply constructed DOX/CMCS-TCS NPs could not only respond to intracellular delivery temporally, they also achieve rapid release spatially in nucleus, which provide a precise spatiotemporal control of drug delivery for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have demonstrated the crucial role of emotion in moral judgment, and some researchers have begun to pay attention to the association between emotion regulation and moral judgment. This study focused on the influence of individual differences in emotion regulation difficulties. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and scenarios in five moral domains from Moral Foundations Vignettes were administrated to 218 college students. The results indicated emotional regulation difficulties could significantly predict immorality judgment in all the five domains, and emotional valence and arousal mediated the effects in the domains of Harm, Fairness and Sanctity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal epithelium is a major barrier limiting the absorption of oral insulin owing to the presence of intercellular tight junctions (TJs). Previous studies proved that carboxymethyl chitosan/chitosan-nanoparticles (CMCS/CS-NPs) exhibited surface charge depending promotion of intestinal absorption. This study further confirmed the better performances of insulin:CMCS/CS-NPs(−) in enhancing epithelial permeation, increasing bioavailability and extending blood duration of insulin than insulin:CMCS/CS-NPs(+). Immunohistochemistry sections found that TJs on jejunum epithelium completely disappeared in insulin:CMCS/CS-NPs(−) group, partially existed in insulin:CMCS/CS-NPs(+) group and appeared no change in control. Surface charges of CMCS/CS-NPs triggered intestinal epithelial TJs opening through different mechanisms. Although a down-regulation of TJs protein claudin-4 was detected in both nanoparticles groups, for phosphorylated claudin-4, the activating form, whose down-regulation occurred only in insulin:CMCS/CS-NPs(−) group. Counting upon synergetic effects of Ca 2+ deprivation from adherens junctions and claudin-4 dephosphorylation and degradation, CMCS/CS-NPs(−) triggered more extensive disintegration of TJs and stronger paracellular permeability than the positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One promising method for mitigating low-temperature and low-concentration NO 2 pollution is selective adsorption using porous solid materials. However, the corrosive nature of NO 2 renders the development of an adsorbent with high and cyclable NO 2 uptake a formidable challenge. Herein, we attempted to address this challenge by developing a microporous covalent triazine framework (CTF) as effective adsorbents for NO 2 capture, achieving unprecedented high cyclable capacity enabled by simultaneous high adsorbent stability and moderate adsorption affinity via tuning specific binding sites. Using dynamic column breakthrough experiments, we demonstrated that the pristine CTF exhibited a high NO 2 adsorption capacity (dry: 3.83 mmol/g; wet: 5.26 mmol/g) overtaking most reported solid adsorbents, thanks to abundant active sites (e.g., nitrogen/carbon/triazine rings). Post-synthesis converted the surface nitrogen to protonated nitrogen site and further to transition metal site affording more effective binding sites that allows for moderately strong adsorption, resulting in elevated NO 2 adsorption capacity (dry: 6.11 mmol/g; wet: 8.97 mmol/g) and a highest reversible NO 2 adsorption (retaining 91 % and 64 % at dry and wet conditions after five cycles, respectively), as illustrated by our mechanistic study using in situ DRIFTS and DFT calculations. This work affords not only promising adsorbents for real-world applications in mitigating NO 2 pollution, but also a strategy of developing robust adsorbents with desired affinity generally applicable to adsorptive capture of corrosive and toxic gases. [Display omitted] • Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) were firstly demonstrated as effective NO 2 adsorbents with highly reversible capacity. • Various active bindings sites were rationally introduced to CTFs via postsynthesis. • The functionalized CTFs exhibited the highest cyclable NO 2 capacity (5.74 mmol/g after 5th cycle) to date. • Combined in situ DRIFTS and DFT calculations revealed the NO 2 adsorption mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of octacyanotungstate(iv)-based iron(ii) complexes with the general formula FeII2(L)8[WIV(CN)8]·nH2O [L = (3-pyridyl)methanol (1, 2), 3-methylpyridine (3), (4-pyridyl)methanol (4), and 4-methylpyridine (5); n = 4 for 1, and n = 0 for 2–5] have been synthesized and characterized. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the FeII ions lie in the centre of the compressed [FeN6] octahedron in all complexes. FeII and WIV ions are alternately bridged by cyano groups forming a three-dimensional (3D) bimetallic framework. Magnetic investigation shows that 1 displays a gradual spin-crossover (SCO) phenomenon with a spin transition temperature (T1/2) of 200 K, and such SCO behaviour is obviously correlated with the lattice water content of the sample. The magnetic measurements of dehydrated samples show that the fractional conversion from the high-spin (HS) to the low-spin (LS) state is reduced with the increasing of dehydration temperature. Complexes 2–5 are in the HS state and do not exhibit SCO properties in the range of 2–300 K. Comparing the octahedral geometry of [FeN6] of five complexes, quantified by using continuous shape measures, the distortion of complex 1 is the highest as a result of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds, which shorten the Fe–N bond distances and thus increase the ligand field strength at the FeII sites. The analysis of correlations between the structural characteristics and magnetic behaviour of 1–5 suggests that the SCO is mainly tuned by the octahedral distortion of the [FeN6] core caused by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. There is an exact correlation between SCO behaviour and the amount of lattice water molecules existing in the crystal. The spin crossover behaviour of these complexes has been computationally studied using the DFT method. The results of the calculations are consistent with the experiments, which prove that complex 1 with severe distortion of the coordination sphere of FeII is prone to exhibit SCO in theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, HgCl 2 was loaded by impregnation method to study its property influence and poisoning mechanism on V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 SCR-DeNO x catalyst. For HgCl 2 -containing catalysts, deactivation was observed in simulated gas stream, and its catalytic activity declined with the increase of HgCl 2 loadings. Brønsted acid sites (V OH) and V O bond were affected evidently by HgCl 2 , new NH 3 adsorption site Cl V O H was generated after HgCl 2 addition. Interactions between HgCl 2 and V 2 O 5 resulted in the loss of SCR active sites, and –HgCl existed as the stable form on the bridge site. Finally, the probable schematic diagram of HgCl 2 poisoning mechanism was also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid nodule diagnosis from ultrasound images is a critical computer-aided diagnosis task. Previous works tried to imitate the doctor's diagnosis logic by considering the key attributes to improve the diagnosis performance and explaining the conclusion. However, their clinical feasibilities are still ambiguous because of the ignorance of the correlation between attribute features and global characteristics, as well as the lack of clinical effectiveness evaluation of result interpretations. Following the common logic of ultrasonic investigation, we design a novel Attribute-Aware Interpretation Learning (AAIL) model, consisting of attribute properties discovery module and attribute-global feature fusion module. Adequate result interpretation ensures reliability and transparency of diagnostic conclusions, including the visualization of attribute features and the relationship between attributes and the global feature. Extensive experiments on a practical dataset demonstrate the model's effectiveness, and an innovative human-computer collaborative experiment demonstrates the auxiliary diagnostic ability of the interpretations that can benefit professional doctors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gelling behaviors of thiolated chitosan (TCS) in alkaline condition were investigated. Thioglycolic acid was conjugated onto chitosan backbone through amide bond formation. The variations of thiol group content were monitored in presence of H 2 O 2 or different pH values (pH 7.0, 8.0, 9.0) in dialysis mode. Different from the decreasing thiol group content upon time in acidic condition, increasing amount of thiol groups was detected in alkaline pH during 120 min dialysis attributed to alkaline hydrolysis of intra-molecular disulfide bonds. The extent of which was larger at higher pH values. Higher degree of thiolation, thiomer concentration or pH values promoted gelation of TCS. Entanglement and coagulation of chitosan molecule chains and re-arrangement of disulfide bonds acted closely and dynamically in the gelation process. Disulfide bonds, especially inter-molecular type, are formed by synergetic effects of thiol/disulfide interchange and thiol/thiol oxidation reactions. TCS coated vascular stent displayed wave-like microstructure of parallel ridges and grooves, which favored HUVECs adhesion and proliferation. The biocompatibility, peculiar morphology and thiol moieties of TCS as stent coating material appear application potential for vascular stent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance impact and poisoning mechanism of arsenic on commercial V 2 O 5 –WO 3 /TiO 2 SCR catalysts were studied. XRD, BET, FT-IR and XPS were used to characterize its physical–chemical properties. The results showed that As 2 O 3 would be adsorbed on the catalyst surface and most oxidized by surface chemisorption oxygen to ultimately form As 2 O 5 . Lattice oxygen of V 2 O 5 may also be transformed into surface sorption oxygen to oxidize As 2 O 3 , but tungsten and titanium species showed no changes in this progress. The creating As 2 O 5 formed dense layer on catalyst surface, preventing NH 3 adsorption and active sites recovery, which finally resulted in catalytic deactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the variations of equivalent electrical permittivity with different phase concentrations in two-phase or multiphase flow, the capacitance sensor has been successfully used for the phase concentration measurement due to its advantages of non-invasion, low-cost, high reliability and non-radiation. However, solid particles are charged due to the collisions between particles and pipe wall in gas–solid flow system. The charge carried by solid particles will induce a certain amount of charge on the electrode of capacitance sensor, which causes an additional output in the capacitance measurement circuit. Hence, the particle electrification causes errors in capacitance measurements, and even leads to the failure of the measurement system for solid concentration and tomography system based on capacitance sensor. In this paper, the influence of particle electrification on the AC-based capacitance measurement circuit is theoretically and experimentally investigated based on a capacitance sensor with helical surface-plate electrodes. The results indicated that the capacitance signal and the electrostatic induction signal have different frequency band ranges. The influence of charge on capacitance measurements can be eliminated by rationally designing the capacitance measurement circuit, and further accurate and reliable capacitance measurement can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]