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The use of environmentally friendly and non-toxic biomass-based interfacial solar water evaporators has been widely reported as a method for water purification in recent years. However, the poor stability of the water transport layer made from biomass materials and its susceptibility to deformation when exposed to harsh environments limit its practical application. To address this issue, water-driven recovery aerogel (PCS) was prepared by cross-linking epoxy-based polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (EP-POSS) epoxy groups with chitosan (CS) amino groups. The results demonstrate that PCS exhibits excellent water-driven recovery performance, regaining its original volume within a very short time (1.9 s) after strong compression (ε > 80%). Moreover, PCS has a water absorption rate of 2.67 mm s−1 and exhibits an excellent water absorption capacity of 22.09 g g−1 even after ten cycles of absorption-removal. Furthermore, a photothermal evaporator (PCH) was prepared by loading the top layer with hydrothermally reacted tannins (HAs) and Zn2+ complexes. The results indicate that PCH achieves an impressive evaporation rate of 1.89 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun illumination. Additionally, due to the antimicrobial properties of Zn2+, PCH shows inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, thereby extending the application of solar water evaporators to include antimicrobial purification in natural waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hippocalcin‐like 1 (HPCAL1) is involved in the development of several cancer types. However, our understanding of the HPCAL1 activity in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains limited. Methods: Two microarray datasets were used to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the development of CCA. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)/Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was integrated to determine the prognostic significance of DEGs in CCA. The association between clinical characteristics and HPCAL1 expression levels was initially explored to assess the clinical profile of CCA. The prognostic value of HPCAL1 overexpression in the validation cohort was analyzed, followed by Gene Ontology (GO) term analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of HPCAL1. Results: Three upregulated genes and 10 downregulated genes were detected from two microarray‐based screenings. High expression of HPCAL1 as a poor prognostic factor of CCA was validated using TCGA/GEO integrated database and our database. Univariate and multivariate analyses along with Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that high HPCAL1 expression was an independent factor affecting the overall survival and relapse‐free survival in patients with CCA. The high expression of HPCAL1 was significantly associated with cancer antigen 125 (CA‐125) levels, number of tumors, lymph node invasion, and TNM stage. Analysis of the enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways revealed that the high expression of HPCAL1 was involved in the critical biological processes and molecular pathways, including modulation by a host of symbiont processes, the clathrin coat, actinin binding, and Rap1 signaling pathways. Conclusion: HPCAL1 was enriched in CCA in our study and has the potential to be applied in the identification of patients with CCA with an unfavorable prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When sowing summer corn without tillage, it is necessary to ensure that the furrow opener is free from straw congestion and that the spacing of the sowing can be adjusted according to the breeds of corn and the preset seeding rate per acre. On the basis of the structural features of newly developed no-tillage corn fertilizers, an intelligent fuzzy monitoring system for corn planters was developed in this study. The system facilitates automatic control of the spacing adjustment and the status monitor for the fertilizer tank, seed tank, and seeding orifice. According to the preset number of rows, line spacing, number of plants per acre, and seed germination rate, the control rate can be calculated through designing in surveillance software. The control rate is output to the fuzzy controller through the digital output module of the CAN bus. Fuzzy control is applied to the DC motor for stepless adjustment of the spacing. A system for video surveillance of the working status of a planter is developed for displaying a real-time video image of the planter operation and achieving an anti-congestion status monitoring of a no-tillage planting operation in a dusty environment. Through field trials, the detection accuracy was 91.4%. The seed-clogging fault-alarm accuracy was 96.0%. The entire system remained stable and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is dysregulated in various liver diseases. Previously, we had shown that the major endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) promoted tumorigenesis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). However, biosynthesis regulation and clinical significance of 2-AG remain elusive. In the present study, we quantified 2-AG by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and showed that 2-AG was enriched in patients with ICC samples as well as in thioacetamide-induced orthotopic rat ICC model. Moreover, we found that diacylglycerol lipase β (DAGLβ) was the principal synthesizing enzyme of 2-AG that significantly upregulated in ICC. DAGLβ promoted tumorigenesis and metastasis of ICC in vitro and in vivo and positively correlated with clinical stage and poor survival in patients with ICC. Functional studies showed that activator protein-1 (AP-1; heterodimers of c-Jun and FRA1) directly bound to the promoter and regulated transcription of DAGLβ , which can be enhanced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). miR-4516 was identified as the tumor-suppressing miRNA of ICC that can be significantly suppressed by LPS, 2-AG, or ectopic DAGLβ overexpression. FRA1 and STAT3 were targets of miR-4516 and overexpression of miRNA-4516 significantly suppressed expression of FRA1 , SATA3 , and DAGLβ . Expression of miRNA-4516 was negatively correlated with FRA1 , SATA3 , and DAGLβ in patients with ICC samples. Our findings identify DAGLβ as the principal synthesizing enzyme of 2-AG in ICC. DAGLβ promotes oncogenesis and metastasis of ICC and is transcriptionally regulated by a novel AP-1/DAGLβ/miR4516 feedforward circuitry. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Dysregulated endocannabinoid system (ECS) had been confirmed in various liver diseases. However, regulation and function of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and diacylglycerol lipase β (DAGLβ) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated that 2-AG was enriched in ICC, and DAGLβ was the principal synthesizing enzyme of 2-AG in ICC. DAGLβ promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis in ICC via a novel activator protein-1 (AP-1)/DAGLβ/miR4516 feedforward circuitry.