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The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a key technology for hydrogen production and plays a significant role in advancing sustainable energy conversion. This study successfully anchored platinum (Pt) nanoparticles onto monolayer VS 2 nanosheets via a colloidal chemistry method to enhance their HER performance under acidic conditions. The monolayer VS 2 nanosheets provide a stable substrate, with their large surface area and high in-plane electrical conductivity effectively enhancing the interfacial electron transfer and electrochemical contact of the Pt nanoparticles. The Pt/VS 2 composite material significantly reduces the energy barrier required for HER and enhances electrochemical activity, while also lowering the cost of the catalyst. At a current density of 10 mA cm−2, the composite material with Pt nanoparticles anchored onto VS 2 nanosheets achieved an overpotential of just 26 mV and exhibited a high mass activity of 23.7 A/mg Pt. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental analyses further elucidated the critical role of interfacial electronic effects and sulfur vacancy modulation in enhancing catalytic efficiency. These findings highlight the potential of interface engineering to control electronic structure and sulfur vacancies, significantly enhancing the hydrogen production efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Pt-based catalysts even at low Pt loadings under acidic conditions. By anchoring platinum (Pt) nanoparticles onto monolayer VS 2 via a two-step colloidal chemistry method, the electronic configuration was effectively modified, significantly enhancing the electrocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under acidic conditions. These modifications optimize the electronic structure, enhance interfacial electron transfer, and reduce energy barriers, contributing to the increased availability of active sites and improved charge dynamics. [Display omitted] • Monolayer VS 2 nanosheets anchored Pt nanoparticles. • The electronic interaction between Pt and VS 2 improved the electrocatalytic hydrogen precipitation performance. • The mass activity of the Pt/VS 2 composite was 23.7 A/mgPt at 70 mV overpotential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although upconversion luminescence (UCL) materials have attracted considerable attention in biomedical, lighting, anti-counterfeiting, and solar cells due to their excellent fluorescence properties, reports of the dibarium gadolinium aluminum oxide (Ba 2 GdAlO 5) are scarce. Herein, we synthesized the single-phase Ba 2 GdAlO 5 material with non-stoichiometric Ba 2 Gd 1.06 Al 0.94 O 5 (denoted as BGAO, hereafter). The X-ray Rietveld refinement reveals that the substitution of Gd for Al accounts for the non-stoichiometry. Notably, the UCL properties of BGAO are realized by doping with Yb3+ and Er3+ ion pair, and it can be further enhanced significantly by co-doping with appropriate Zn2+ ions. The SEM images show that the particle size increases as the concentration of Zn2+ ions increases. The X-ray Rietveld refinement results of the Zn-doped BGAO: 0.1 Yb3+, 0.03Er3+ phosphor indicate the substitution of Zn2+ for Ba2+ and Al3+ ions simultaneously. Grain growth and lattice distortion account for the improvement of UCL properties after Zn2+ ions doping. In addition, the temperature sensing performance of the Zn2+-doped sample has been researched based on the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique, and the maximum absolute and relative sensitivities (S A-max and S R-max) are obtained to be 4.8 × 10−3 K−1 at 498 K and 1.1% K−1 at 298 K, respectively. This work provides a candidate with high UCL intensity for potential applications in optical temperature sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual NIR fluorescent probe Cy-ND is developed for viscosity sensing with λex/em = 766/806 nm, making it apt for biological analysis, whose response is validated through DFT and TDDFT computations. Cy-ND successfully detected viscosity changes amidst acute alcohol-induced liver injury and liver ischemia-reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) has played an extensive role in interpreting brain activity, which has been applied in studies with modalities such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG). The advent of wearable MEG systems based on optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs), i.e., OP-MEG, has broadened the application of bio-magnetism in the realm of neuroscience. Nonetheless, it also raises challenges in temporal decoding analysis due to the unique attributes of OP-MEG itself. The efficacy of decoding performance utilizing multimodal fusion, such as MEG-EEG, also remains to be elucidated. In this regard, we investigated the impact of several factors, such as processing methods, models and modalities, on the decoding outcomes of OP-MEG. Our findings indicate that the number of averaged trials, dimensionality reduction (DR) methods, and the number of cross-validation folds significantly affect the decoding performance of OP-MEG data. Additionally, decoding results vary across modalities and fusion strategy. In contrast, decoder type, resampling frequency, and sliding window length exert marginal effects. Furthermore, we introduced mutual information (MI) to investigate how information loss due to OP-MEG data processing affect decoding accuracy. Our study offers insights for linear decoding research using OP-MEG and expand its application in the fields of cognitive neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 2D In 2 O 3 is decorated on 2D BiOBr to form a Z-scheme heterojunction. • This work achieves improved internal electric field and charge separation. • The B 3 I 1 composite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity. • The mechanism of photocatalytic CO 2 reduction into CO is proposed. CO 2 photocatalytic reduction is an excellent strategy for promoting solar-to-chemical energy conversion and alleviating the severe environmental crisis. In this study, 2D indium oxide (IO) is decorated on 2D bismuth oxybromide (BOB) nanosheets to gain BOB/IO (B x I y) heterojunction. The optimal B 3 I 1 composite affords a CO production rate of 54.2 μmol⋅g−1, about 2.2 times and 11.3 times higher than those of the pristine BOB and IO, respectively. The introduction of IO significantly enhances the internal electric field (IEF), leading to accelerated charge transfer and prolonged lifetime of the photogenerated carriers. In the B x I y composite, the BOB and IO serve as the electron acceptor and donor, respectively, facilitating the reduction of CO 2 and oxidation of H 2 O. In-situ DRIFTs spectra are used to confirm the catalytic active sites and provide insights into the mechanism of CO 2 photoreduction. The results suggest *COOH and *CO 2 – species played a crucial role in the formation of CO. This work presents a valuable perspective on understanding the charge transfer route and developing highly efficient photocatalysts for CO 2 photoreduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A class of algorithms based on subspace projection is widely used in the denoising of magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. Setting the dimension of the interference (external) subspace matrix of these algorithms is the key to balancing the denoising effect and the degree of signal distortion. However, most current methods for estimating the dimension threshold rely on experience, such as observing the signal waveforms and spectrum, which may render the results too subjective and lacking in quantitative accuracy. Therefore, this study proposes a method to automatically estimate a suitable threshold. Time–frequency transformations are performed on the evoked state data to obtain the neural signal of interest and the noise signal in a specific time–frequency band, which are then used to construct the objective function describing the degree of noise suppression and signal distortion. The optimal value of the threshold in the selected range is obtained using the weighted-sum method. Our method was tested on two classical subspace projection algorithms using simulation and two sensory stimulation experiments. The thresholds estimated by the proposed method enabled the algorithms to achieve the best waveform recovery and source location error. Therefore, the threshold selected in this method enables subspace projection algorithms to achieve the best balance between noise removal and neural signal preservation in subsequent MEG analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ATR has emerged as a promising target for anti‐cancer drug development. Several potent ATR inhibitors are currently undergoing various stages of clinical trials, but none have yet received FDA approval due to unclear regulatory mechanisms. In this study, we discovered a potent and selective ATR degrader. Its kinase‐independent regulatory functions in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells were elucidated using this proteolysis‐targeting chimera (PROTAC) molecule as a probe. The ATR degrader, 8 i, exhibited significantly different cellular phenotypes compared to the ATR kinase inhibitor 1. Mechanistic studies revealed that ATR deletion led to breakdown in the nuclear envelope, causing genome instability and extensive DNA damage. This would increase the expression of p53 and triggered immediately p53‐mediated apoptosis signaling pathway, which was earlier and more effective than ATR kinase inhibition. Based on these findings, the in vivo anti‐proliferative effects of ATR degrader 8 i were assessed using xenograft models. The degrader significantly inhibited the growth of AML cells in vivo, unlike the ATR inhibitor. These results suggest that the marked anti‐AML activity is regulated by the kinase‐independent functions of the ATR protein. Consequently, developing potent and selective ATR degraders could be a promising strategy for treating AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ATR has emerged as a promising target for anti‐cancer drug development. Several potent ATR inhibitors are currently undergoing various stages of clinical trials, but none have yet received FDA approval due to unclear regulatory mechanisms. In this study, we discovered a potent and selective ATR degrader. Its kinase‐independent regulatory functions in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells were elucidated using this proteolysis‐targeting chimera (PROTAC) molecule as a probe. The ATR degrader, 8 i, exhibited significantly different cellular phenotypes compared to the ATR kinase inhibitor 1. Mechanistic studies revealed that ATR deletion led to breakdown in the nuclear envelope, causing genome instability and extensive DNA damage. This would increase the expression of p53 and triggered immediately p53‐mediated apoptosis signaling pathway, which was earlier and more effective than ATR kinase inhibition. Based on these findings, the in vivo anti‐proliferative effects of ATR degrader 8 i were assessed using xenograft models. The degrader significantly inhibited the growth of AML cells in vivo, unlike the ATR inhibitor. These results suggest that the marked anti‐AML activity is regulated by the kinase‐independent functions of the ATR protein. Consequently, developing potent and selective ATR degraders could be a promising strategy for treating AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disease. The accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques is a distinctive pathological feature of AD patients. The aims of this study were to evaluate the therapeutic effect of chicoric acid (CA) on AD models and to explore its underlying mechanisms. APPswe/Ind SH-SY5Y cells and 5xFAD mice were treated with CA. Soluble Aβ1–42 and Aβ plaque levels were analyzed by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Transcriptome sequencing was used to compare the changes in hippocampal gene expression profiles among the 5xFAD mouse groups. The specific gene expression levels were quantified by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. It was found that CA treatment reduced the Aβ1–42 levels in the APPswe/Ind cells and 5xFAD mice. It also reduced the Aβ plaque levels as well as the APP and BACE1 levels. Transcriptome analysis showed that CA affected the synaptic-plasticity-related genes in the 5xFAD mice. The levels of L1CAM, PSD-95 and synaptophysin were increased in the APPswe/Ind SH-SY5Y cells and 5xFAD mice treated with CA, which could be inhibited by administering siRNA-L1CAM to the CA-treated APPswe/Ind SH-SY5Y cells. In summary, CA reduced Aβ levels and increased the expression levels of synaptic-function-related markers via L1CAM in AD models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a numerical study of non-isothermal flow and heat transfer in an enclosed rotor–stator disk cavity. Wall-resolved large-eddy simulation is implemented with attention focused on the Reynolds number effect ( Re ϕ = 10 5 and 5 × 10 5 ) and non-isothermal effects, including different thermal Rossby numbers (β Δ T = 0.05 – 0.25) and heat convection types (axial heat convection, axial and radial heat convection). Verification and validation are implemented by comparing with available experimental data and examining the resolution of the present LES. Although the Batchelor flow type is unchanged, the non-isothermal effect is found to be responsible for the acceleration of flow in both disk boundary layers and cavity core. Temperature in the cavity is negatively correlated with the Rayleigh number. The radial inward temperature gradient is found to be responsible for destabilizing the flow near the cylinders, due to the effect of centrifugal buoyant force. Transition from laminar to turbulent is shown in the rotor boundary layer for Re ϕ = 5 × 10 5 conditions. The non-isothermal effect increases flow unsteadiness in both rotor and stator boundary layers, but it has little to no effect on the transition position, as well as the kinematic and thermal boundary layer thicknesses, which are mainly controlled by Re ϕ . Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition is implemented to explore the Reynolds number effect. Analyzing the most energetic mode and its energy spectra provides some insights into the understanding of non-isothermal rotor–stator disk cavity flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uveitis is a major cause of vision impairment worldwide. Current treatments have limited effectiveness but severe complications. Mannose binding lectin (MBL) is an important protein of the innate immune system that binds to TLR4 and suppresses LPS‐induced inflammatory cytokine secretion. MBL‐mediated inhibition of inflammation via the TLR4 pathway and MBL‐derived peptides might be a potential therapeutics. In this study, we designed a novel MBL‐derived peptide, WP‐17, targeting TLR4. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted for the sequence, structure and biological properties of WP‐17. The binding of WP‐17 to THP‐1 cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. Signaling molecules were analyzed by western blotting, and activation of NF‐κB was measured by immunofluorescence‐histochemical analysis. Effects of WP‐17 were studied in vitro using LPS‐stimulated THP‐1 cells and in vivo in endotoxin‐induced uveitis (EIU). Our results showed that WP‐17 could bind to TLR4 expressed on macrophages, thus downregulating the expression levels of MyD88, IRAK‐4, and TRAF‐6, and inhibiting the downstream NF‐kB signaling pathway and LPS‐induced expression of TNF‐α and IL‐6 in THP‐1 cells. Moreover, in EIU rats, intravitreal pretreatment with WP‐17 demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on ocular inflammation, attenuating the clinical and histopathological manifestations of uveitis, reducing protein leakage and cell infiltration into the aqueous humor, and suppressing TNF‐α and IL‐6 production in ocular tissues. In summary, our study provides the first evidence of a novel MBL‐derived peptide that suppressed activation of the NF‐кB pathway by targeting TLR4. The peptide effectively inhibited rat uveitis and may be a promising candidate for the management of ocular inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective bifunctional Pd/SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -30 catalyst was synthesized for the selective hydrogenation-etherification of furfural to furfuryl ether and exhibited 86.2% 2-(isopropoxymethyl)furan yield with the synergistic catalysis of Pd particles and Brønsted–Lewis acid sites. [Display omitted] • An effective bifunctional Pd/SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -30 catalyst was synthesized successfully. • The catalyst exhibited 86.2% 2-(isopropoxymethyl)furan yield. • The incorporation of Si suppressed the furan ring hydrogenation. • The formation of Brønsted acid centers catalyzed the etherification step. • A Pd-Brønsted-Lewis acid synergistic catalysis mechanism was proposed. Production of ethers from biomass-derived platform compounds is a substantial scientific challenge and industrial pursuit. In this study, an effective bifunctional Pd/SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -30 catalyst was synthesized for the selective hydrogenation-etherification of furfural (FAL) to furfuryl ether and exhibited an 86.2% 2-(isopropoxymethyl)furan yield with the synergistic catalysis of Pd particles and Brønsted–Lewis acid sites. The incorporation of Si with Al 2 O 3 in the catalysts weakened the metal-support interaction and resulted in larger Pd particles, which inhibited the hydrogenation of the furan ring. Meanwhile, the formation of Brønsted acid centers catalyzed the etherification step and promoted the selectivity to corresponding ethers. Furthermore, extensive reaction results and characterizations uncovered the metal-acid synergistic catalysis mechanism for the selective hydrogenation-etherification of FAL. This work provides an innovative strategy for preparing effective metal-acid bifunctional catalysts for the hydrogenation-etherification of bio-aldehydes to ethers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images have special physical scattering characteristics owing to their unique imaging mechanism. Traditional deep learning algorithms usually extract features from real-valued SAR images in a purely data-driven manner, which may ignore some important physical scattering characteristics and sacrifice some useful target information in SAR images. This undoubtedly limits the improvement in performance for SAR target recognition. To take full advantage of the physical information contained in SAR images, a complex-valued network guided with sub-aperture decomposition (CGS-Net) for SAR target recognition is proposed. According to the fact that different targets have different physical scattering characteristics at different angles, the sub-aperture decomposition is used to improve accuracy with a multi-task learning strategy. Specifically, the proposed method includes main and auxiliary tasks, which can improve the performance of the main task by learning and sharing useful information from the auxiliary task. Here, the main task is the target recognition task, and the auxiliary task is the target reconstruction task. In addition, a complex-valued network is used to extract the features from the original complex-valued SAR images, which effectively utilizes the amplitude and phase information in SAR images. The experimental results obtained using the MSTAR dataset illustrate that the proposed CGS-Net achieved an accuracy of 99.59% (without transfer learning or data augmentation) for the ten-classes targets, which is superior to the other popular deep learning methods. Moreover, the proposed method has a lightweight network structure, which is suitable for SAR target recognition tasks because SAR images usually lack a large number of labeled data. Here, the experimental results obtained using the small dataset further demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed CGS-Net. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) is widely used in engineering fields involving aerospace, energy, transportation, etc. If internal buried defects occur due to hostile environments during fabrication and practical service, the structural integrity and safety of GFRP structures would be severely undermined. Therefore, it is indispensable to carry out effective quantitative nondestructive testing (NDT) of internal defects buried within GFRP structures. Along with the development of composite materials, microwave NDT is promising in non-intrusive inspection of defects in GFRPs. In this paper, quantitative screening of the subsurface impact damage and air void in a unidirectional GFRP via microwave reflectometry was intensively investigated. The influence of the microwave polarization direction with respect to the GFRP fiber direction on the reflection coefficient was investigated by using the equivalent relative permittivity calculated with theoretical analysis. Following this, a microwave NDT system was built up for further investigation regarding the imaging and quantitative evaluation of buried defects in GFRPs. A direct-wave suppression method based on singular-value decomposition was proposed to obtain high-quality defect images. The defect in-plane area was subsequently assessed via a proposed defect-edge identification method. The simulation and experimental results revealed that (1) the testing sensitivity to buried defects was the highest when the electric-field polarization direction is parallel to the GFRP fiber direction; and (2) the averaged evaluation accuracy regarding the in-plane area of the buried defect reached approximately 90% by applying the microwave reflectometry together with the proposed processing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylanolytic enzymes, with both endo‐xylanase and arabinoxylan arabinofuranohydrolase (AXH) activities, are attractive for the economically feasible conversion of recalcitrant arabinoxylan. However, their characterization and utilization of these enzymes in biotechnological applications have been limited. Here, we characterize a novel bifunctional enzyme, rAbf43A, cloned from a bacterial consortium that exhibits AXH and endo‐xylanase activities. Hydrolytic pattern analyses revealed that the AXH activity belongs to AXHd3 because it attacked only the C(O)‐3‐linked arabinofuranosyl residues of double‐substituted xylopyranosyl units of arabinoxylan and arabinoxylan‐derived oligosaccharides, which are usually resistant to hydrolysis. The enzyme rAbf43A also liberated a series of xylo‐oligosaccharides (XOSs) from beechwood xylan, xylohexaose and xylopentaose, indicating that rAbf43A exhibited endo‐xylanase activity. Homology modelling based on AlphaFold2 and site‐directed mutagenesis identified three non‐catalytic residues (H161, A270 and L505) located in the substrate‐binding pocket essential for its dual‐functionality, while the mutation of A117 located in the −1 subsite to the proline residue only affected its endo‐xylanase activity. Additionally, rAbf43A showed significant synergistic action with the bifunctional xylanase/feruloyl esterase rXyn10A/Fae1A from the same bacterial consortium on insoluble wheat arabinoxylan and de‐starched wheat bran degradation. When rXyn10A/Fae1A was added to the rAbf43A pre‐hydrolyzed reactions, the amount of released reducing sugars, xylose and ferulic acid increased by 9.43% and 25.16%, 189.37% and 93.54%, 31.39% and 32.30%, respectively, in comparison with the sum of hydrolysis products released by each enzyme alone. The unique characteristics of rAbf43A position it as a promising candidate not only for designing high‐performance enzyme cocktails but also for investigating the structure–function relationship of GH43 multifunctional enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rim seal structures and sealing flows are essential in aero engines for preventing hot gas ingestion from mainstream to turbine disk cavities. A novel design method of rim sealing flow path based on auxiliary sealing holes and sealing air re-distributions has been proved to improve sealing effectiveness. The present paper uses this method to re-design the axial rim sealing flow in a high-pressure turbine front cavity in an engine turbine. The incidence angle of the auxiliary sealing air has been proved to have a significant influence on sealing performance. Three different incidence angles, 0-deg, 35-deg, and 70-deg, with the maximum angle close to the vane exit flow angle, are investigated using unsteady computational fluid dynamics methods validated by experimental data. Sealing effectiveness, swirl ratio, unsteady flow structures in both rim clearance and wheel space cavity are considered. The auxiliary sealing air with a swirl in the circumferential direction is proved to improve and uniform swirl ratio and suppress flow instabilities. This results in a reduction in hot gas ingestion and a considerable improvement in sealing effectiveness. The mechanisms of improving sealing effectiveness using this novel method are explained. The conclusions may support the understanding of the complex flow mechanisms near the rim seal, provide references for the design of this novel structure and give possibilities to improve rim seal performance and engine efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the elimination of gaseous pollutants—particularly nitrogen oxides—has emerged as a significant concern. Among various deNOx technologies, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has gained prominence as the primary approach for NOx abatement, owing to its superior performance. In this study, novel low-temperature SCR catalysts were developed by regulating the pH value and doping cobalt based on a V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 (VMT) catalyst. The results show an increased SCR performance with 82.8% and 91.1% for catalysts after pH (=10) modification (VMT-10) and (1 wt%) Co/pH (=10) modification (1CoVMT-10), respectively. H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, XPS and DRIFTS confirmed that the pH regulation transformed polymerization V species into isolated V5+=O, thus leading to an increase in the number of acid sites, which enhanced the NH3 and NO2 adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the DRIFTS study indicated that the NH3-SCR reaction over 1CoVMT-10 followed the E–R and L–H mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The maculopathy in highly myopic eyes is complex. Its clinical diagnosis is a huge workload and subjective. To simply and quickly classify pathologic myopia (PM), a deep learning algorithm was developed and assessed to screen myopic maculopathy lesions based on color fundus photographs. Methods: This study included 10,347 ocular fundus photographs from 7606 participants. Of these photographs, 8210 were used for training and validation, and 2137 for external testing. A deep learning algorithm was trained, validated, and externally tested to screen myopic maculopathy which was classified into four categories: normal or mild tessellated fundus, severe tessellated fundus, early-stage PM, and advanced-stage PM. The area under the precision–recall curve, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and Cohen's kappa were calculated and compared with those of retina specialists. Results: In the validation data set, the model detected normal or mild tessellated fundus, severe tessellated fundus, early-stage PM, and advanced-stage PM with AUCs of 0.98, 0.95, 0.99, and 1.00, respectively; while in the external-testing data set of 2137 photographs, the model had AUCs of 0.99, 0.96, 0.98, and 1.00, respectively. Conclusions: We developed a deep learning model for detection and classification of myopic maculopathy based on fundus photographs. Our model achieved high sensitivities, specificities, and reliable Cohen's kappa, compared with those of attending ophthalmologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This single-arm, prospective, exploratory study investigated the effectiveness of ultra-low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of ocular adnexal lymphoma (OAL). Patients and methods: Patients with pathologically confirmed ocular adnexal low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (predominantly mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, MALT or follicular lymphoma) were included and treated with ultra-low-dose radiotherapy consisting of 2 successive fractions of 2 Gy at our institution between 2019 and 2021. Disease response was assessed clinically and radiographically within 4 months and at 3 to 6-month intervals after treatment. Data collected included rates of overall response, complete response (CR), partial response (PR), lesion size, and acute/chronic ocular toxic effects. Results: Sixteen patients with median age of 63 years (range 23–86 years) were included in the study. The histological subtypes included MALT (11 patients; 69%); follicular lymphoma (2 patients; 12%); Lymphoid hyperplasia (3 patient, 19%). At a median follow-up time of 15.5 months (range 5.0–30.0 months), the overall response rate was 88%, with a CR rate of 75% (n = 12) and a PR rate of 13% (n = 2). The average lesion area was reduced from 117.9 ± 60.4 mm2 before radiation therapy to 38.7 ± 46.0mm2 at initial evaluation post radiation therapy (P = 0.002, n = 16), and to 8.5 ± 21.2 mm2 (P < 0.001 compared with postoperative lesion area) in patients with response at one year (n = 11). Disease progression was noted in 2 patients (12%). The 1-year rates of local progression-free survivals (LPFS) and overall survival (OS) were 85% and 100%, respectively. No distant relapses were observed in any of the patients. No acute or late toxic effects were noted. Conclusion: Ultra–low-dose radiotherapy in patients with OAL is associated with excellent local disease control and long-term survival with no significant acute or late toxicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the emission factor method and LMDI-LEAP model, this paper systematically studies the current situation, influencing factors and changing trend of carbon emissions from rural buildings in a typical village located in southern China. The results showed that (1) the per capita carbon emissions generated by the energy consumption of rural buildings is 2.58 tCO2/a. Carbon emissions from electricity consumption in buildings account for about 96.07%; (2) the per capita building area, building area energy intensity, population size, population structure and carbon emission coefficient affect rural building carbon emissions, with contribution rates of 70.13%, 31.27%, 0.61%, −1.21% and −0.80%, respectively; (3) from 2021 to 2060, the carbon emissions of rural buildings are expected to increase first and then decrease. In 2021, the base year, carbon emissions from buildings were 2755.49 tCO2. The carbon emissions will peak at 5275.5 tCO2. Measures such as controlling the scale of buildings and improving the utilization rate of clean energy can effectively reduce carbon emissions, in which case the peak can be reduced to 4830.06 tCO2. Finally, the countermeasures and suggestions about rural building energy saving and emission reduction are proposed, including improving the construction management, raising energy efficiency standards in buildings, increasing the proportion of clean energy and raising residents' awareness of energy conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to attractive properties, such as defect tolerance, broad bandgap tunability, high quantum yields, and large absorption coefficient, perovskites have emerged as a star material in the past decade. Meanwhile, optical nano/microstructures made of perovskites offer a facile and efficient strategy to improve light‐harvesting performance and sensitivity of polarization. However, there is no low‐cost, high‐accuracy, and reproducibility technique for large‐scale fabrication of perovskite nano/microstructures. Here, femtosecond laser direct writing technique is introduced to fabricate FAPbI3 perovskite micro‐grating. Based on precise spatial and power control of femtosecond laser, micro‐grating with different structure parameters (period and depth) can be processed and investigated. Triangular micro‐grating of perovskite exhibits excellent emission properties (up to 67 times enhancement) owing to low reflectance and high absorption intensity. Strikingly, the outstanding performance of perovskite triangle grating photodetectors is obtained. The responsivity and detectivity reach 11.7 A W−1 and 7.8 × 1012 Jones, which are ≈3 and 12 times larger than the control devices; they also exhibit lower noise and decent polarization sensitivity. Taking the advantages of low cost, high accuracy, and reproducibility, the femtosecond laser direct writing technique endows perovskite materials with micro‐photonic concept and remarkably enhances the devices' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for all organisms. Phosphate (Pi) deficiency reduces grain yield and quality in wheat. Understanding how wheat responds to Pi deficiency at the global transcriptional level remains limited. We revisited the available RNA‐seq transcriptome from Pi‐starved wheat roots and shoots subjected to Pi starvation. Genome‐wide transcriptome resetting was observed under Pi starvation, with a total of 917 and 2338 genes being differentially expressed in roots and shoots, respectively. Chromosomal distribution analysis of the gene triplets and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed that the D genome displayed genome induction bias and, specifically, the chromosome 2D might be a key contributor to Pi‐limiting triggered gene expression response. Alterations in multiple metabolic pathways pertaining to secondary metabolites, transcription factors and Pi uptake‐related genes were evidenced. This study provides genomic insight and the dynamic landscape of the transcriptional changes contributing to the hexaploid wheat during Pi starvation. The outcomes of this study and the follow‐up experiments have the potential to assist the development of Pi‐efficient wheat cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Addition of nZVI improve the methane production and the stability of AD system. • nZVI did not significantly contribute to the hydrolysis and acidification stages, but promoted the methanogenic stag. • The corrosion hydrogen production efficiency of nZVI during AD first increased and then decreased with the increase of nZVI addition. • nZVI addition results in the increase of hydrogenotrophic methanogens and DIET- associated methanogens. Food waste (FW) is prone to accumulate volatile fatty acids (VFAs) during anaerobic digestion (AD). In this study, nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) was used to enhance AD system stability and improve methane production efficiency. Results showed that nZVI facilitated the AD obviously. The highest cumulative methane production of 195.63 ± 5.38 mL/g VS was obtained at the nZVI dosage of 1.0 g/L, which was 22.6 % higher than that of the control. The appropriate addition of nZVI mainly strengthened the methanogenic stage of AD of FW, reduced the accumulation of VFAs and alleviated the pH fluctuation of the system. The corrosion hydrogen production efficiency of nZVI during AD first increased and then decreased with the increase of nZVI addition. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that the addition of nZVI mainly increased the abundance of hydrotropic methanogens and DIET-associated methanogens, and promoted the growth of bacteria in a symbiotic relationship with methanogens. In summary, the nZVI addition supplied a promising approach to improve the methane production efficiency from AD of FW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood–brain barrier (BBB)‐crossing ability of drugs is of paramount importance for the treatments of central nervous system diseases. However, the known methods for drug transport across the BBB are generally complicated and inefficient, and exhibit serious side effects in some cases. Herein, we report an exciting finding that fluorination and betaine modification can significantly augment the BBB‐crossing ability of cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs), which was demonstrated by the comparison with the CPBs modified with alkyl and poly(ethylene glycol) chains, respectively. We surmise that fluorination enhances the BBB penetration of the CPBs by increasing the hydrophobicity and reducing the surface energy, and betaine medication achieves this function via a betaine transporter BGT1 expressed on brain capillaries. By means of an in vitro BBB model, we demonstrated that the CPBs penetrated the BBB through transendothelial transport. This work provides a novel strategy for enhancing the BBB‐crossing ability of nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood–brain barrier (BBB)‐crossing ability of drugs is of paramount importance for the treatments of central nervous system diseases. However, the known methods for drug transport across the BBB are generally complicated and inefficient, and exhibit serious side effects in some cases. Herein, we report an exciting finding that fluorination and betaine modification can significantly augment the BBB‐crossing ability of cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs), which was demonstrated by the comparison with the CPBs modified with alkyl and poly(ethylene glycol) chains, respectively. We surmise that fluorination enhances the BBB penetration of the CPBs by increasing the hydrophobicity and reducing the surface energy, and betaine medication achieves this function via a betaine transporter BGT1 expressed on brain capillaries. By means of an in vitro BBB model, we demonstrated that the CPBs penetrated the BBB through transendothelial transport. This work provides a novel strategy for enhancing the BBB‐crossing ability of nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the characteristics of macular outward scleral height (MOSH) in different grades of myopic tractional maculopathy (MTM) and explore the risk factors for MTM. Methods: A total of 188 eyes (188 participants) with high myopia were divided into the no MTM (nMTM) group and the MTM group, which was further graded into foveoschisis, foveal detachment, full-thickness macular hole, and macular hole with retinal detachment. Swept-source optical coherence tomography was used to measure the MOSH. Results: No significant differences were found in axial length between the nMTM and MTM groups (p = 0.295). The MOSH was significantly higher in the MTM group (p < 0.001), which was identified as a risk factor for MTM (OR = 1.108, p < 0.001). The proportion of eyes with severe atrophic myopic maculopathy (AMM) was higher in the MTM group (28.48%) (p = 0.003). The macular hole with foveoschisis (MH/FS+) subgroup presented a higher average MOSH (p = 0.012) and more severe AMM (p = 0.009) than the macular hole without foveoschisis (MH/FS−) subgroup. Conclusion: MOSH would be more suitable for estimating MTM occurrence than axial length. The grading of AMM helps to evaluate the severity of MTM. The categorization of MH/FS− as a distinct grade from MH/FS+ might be preferable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Exploiting highly-efficient and metal-free photocatalyst for CO 2 conversion into useful chemicals is a promising pathway to solve the energy and environmental crises. In this work, through a facile exfoliation process, an ultra-thin and short-range order g-C 3 N 4 nanosheet with rich terminal oxygen defects is successfully constructed, which presents total electron yield of 36.30 μmol g-1h−1, 3.05 times higher than that of bulk one. The results affirms that both the van der Waals forces between the C 3 N 4 layers and the C N bonds on the periodic heptazine units could be disrupted during the sonication process, thus achieving the ultra-thin and ultra-small g-C 3 N 4 nanosheet, which enables the improvement of optical absorption and carrier separation abilities. The π-conjugated triazine rings structure is still remained but the terminal active C radicals tend to transform into oxygen defects which become the sites to bind and activate CO 2. The in-situ DRIFTS provides the direct evidence that the size regulation and oxygen-defects design strategy can effectively promote the CO 2 adsorption and activation process upon the photocatalyst, thus turning out to boost the reactivity toward CO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optically pumped magnetometer magnetoencephalography (OPM-MEG) holds significant promise for clinical functional brain imaging due to its superior spatiotemporal resolution. However, effectively suppressing metallic artifacts, particularly from devices such as orthodontic braces and vagal nerve stimulators remains a major challenge, hindering the wider clinical application of wearable OPM-MEG devices. A comprehensive analysis of metal artifact characteristics from time, frequency, and time–frequency perspectives was conducted for the first time using an OPM-MEG device in clinical medicine. This study focused on patients with metal orthodontics, examining the modulation of metal artifacts by breath and head movement, the incomplete regular sub-Gaussian distribution, and the high absolute power ratio in the 0.5–8 Hz band. The existing metal artifact suppression algorithms applied to SQUID-MEG, such as fast independent component analysis (FastICA), information maximization (Infomax), and algorithms for multiple unknown signal extraction (AMUSE), exhibit limited efficacy. Consequently, this study introduced the second-order blind identification (SOBI) algorithm, which utilized multiple time delays for the component separation of OPM-MEG measurement signals. We modified the time delays of the SOBI method to improve its efficacy in separating artifact components, particularly those in the ultralow frequency range. This approach employs the frequency-domain absolute power ratio, root mean square (RMS) value, and mutual information methods to automate the artifact component screening process. The effectiveness of this method was validated through simulation experiments involving four subjects in both resting and evoked experiments. In addition, the proposed method was also validated by the actual OPM-MEG evoked experiments of three subjects. Comparative analyses were conducted against the FastICA, Infomax, and AMUSE algorithms. Evaluation metrics included normalized mean square error, normalized delta band power error, RMS error, and signal-to-noise ratio, demonstrating that the proposed method provides optimal suppression of metal artifacts. This advancement holds promise for enhancing data quality and expanding the clinical applications of OPM-MEG. [Display omitted] • The atomic magnetometers are getting more and more attention. • The metallic artifacts hinder the clinical application of wearable OPM-MEG. • The proposed method in this article can effectively suppress the dental metal artifact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel ultra-sensitive electrochemical aptasensor based on AgPdNPs/PEI-GO. • Pt@Ni-CoHNBs/Apt accurately quantify the signal by quantitatively combining. • The constructed sensor exhibits higher sensitivity towards PCM. • The designed PCM aptasensor has the ability to detect real samples. Herein, an aptasensor based on a signal amplification strategy was developed for the sensitive detection of procymidone (PCM). AgPd nanoparticles/Polenimine Graphite oxide (AgPdNPs/PEI-GO) was weaned as electrode modification material to facilitate electron transport and increase the active sites on the electrode surface. Besides, Pt@Ni-Co nanoboxes (Pt@Ni-CoHNBs) were utilized to be carriers for signaling tags, after hollowing ZIF-67 and growing Pt, the resulting Pt@Ni-CoHNBs has a tremendous amounts of folds occurred on the surface, enables it to carry a larger quantity of thionine, thus amplify the detectable electrochemical signal. In the presence of PCM, the binding of PCM to the signal probe would trigger a change in electrical signal. The aptasensor was demonstrated with excellent sensitivity and a low detection limit of 0.98 pg·mL−1, along with a wide linear range of 1 μg·mL−1 to 1 pg·mL−1. Meanwhile, the specificity, stability and reproducibility of the constructed aptasensor were proved to be satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of centrifugal convection in a closed rotating cavity with different thermal boundary conditions are presented for Rayleigh numbers (Ra) 10 7 ∼ 10 9. Previous results for radial convection with a positive radial temperature gradient and for axial convection with low Ra are confirmed. For axial convection, turbulence develops in the core flow at R a = 10 9 , but is considerably weaker than the turbulence for the radial and mixed convection. In mixed convection, the mean core temperature shows little radial variation as in radial convection, but has a significant axial temperature gradient as in axial convection. Compared to the radial and axial convection cases, both shroud and disc heat transfer are increased in mixed convection. Changes in disc heat transfer from the axial convection case are particularly strong. In all the conditions, laminar kinematic Ekman layers occur on the discs, but the disc thermal boundary layers for axial and mixed convection are considerably thicker. • Open-source CFD code is applied to the pure centrifugal buoyant driven flow with critical comparisons to previous data. • Large-eddy simulations are extended to axial convection and mixed convection with Rayleigh numbers up to 109. • Axial and mixed convection show axial temperature gradients and mean flow circulation in the cavity. • Mixed convection increases flow turbulence and heat transfer on the shroud and discs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upconversion luminescence (UCL) materials with narrow emission peaks, long fluorescence lifetime, and large anti-Stokes shift have attracted considerable attention in biomedical, display, anti-counterfeiting, and solid-state lasers. This study presents a new synthesis method, combining air sintering and vacuum annealing, to obtain intense green UCL emission β-Ba 2 ScAlO 5 : 0.15 Yb3+, 0.005Ho3+ phosphor. After vacuum annealing, the green, red, and near-infrared emissions of Ho3+ are enhanced by factors of 40, 133, and 37, respectively. The diffuse reflectance spectra demonstrate that there is a defect energy band ranging from 330 to 860 nm in the air-treated samples, and it is reduced dramatically after vacuum annealing. This defect band covers the three wavelengths of Ho3+ emissions in the visible range and results in the reabsorption of UCL by the host lattice. X-ray Rietveld refinements and EPR spectra reveal the difference in the oxygen defects of the air-synthesized and vacuum-annealed phosphors and reflect that the absorption band is related to the oxygen defects. This research provides a new approach to obtain intense UCL emission of β-Ba 2 ScAlO 5 hosted phosphors and offers an excellent green phosphor for application in anti-counterfeiting or displays. • Efficient UCL material was obtained by combining with air sintering and vacuum annealing. • The green, red, and near-infrared emissions have been enhanced by factors of 40, 133, and 37, respectively. • The disappearance of the defect energy band ranging from 330 to 860 nm accounts for the enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, acid-ached carbon fibers decorated by plasmonic Ag nanoparticles (denoted as Ag NPs/ACFs) were facile fabricated and acted as photocatalyst to convert CO2 into high value-added CH3OH. Such photocatalyst afforded a CH3OH evolution rate of 13.9 μmol g−1 h−1 without any sacrifice reagent under visible light (> 420 nm), which is 2.5 times higher than that of Ag NPs/CFs (5.5 μmol g−1 h−1). This excellent performance is ascribed to the accelerated e−/h+ pairs separation and a strong interaction between Ag NPs and carbon fibers resulted by the generation of more oxygen-containing functional groups on carbon fibers, which is caused by acid acid-aching. This study may provide an important reference for plasmonic photocatalyst in potential photocatalytic applications. The Ag NPs/ACFs was prepared by acid aching process coupled with an ultrasonic treatment, which behaved a much higher CH3OH yield than Ag NPs/CFs without acid treatment. The increased polarized oxygen-containing functional group and the favorable interaction between Ag NPs and carbon fibers should be responsible for the significant enhancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural engineering of highly efficient electrocatalysts based on 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great significance for sustainable energy conversion processes. Herein, a novel basal-plane engineering of 2D colloidal VSe 2 nanosheets has been developed for highly enhanced HER performance via a synergistic combination of atmosphere plasma (AP) treatment and Co basal-plane doping. Systematic experiments and theoretical calculations show that the AP treatment not only efficiently removes the organic ligands, but also introduces defects and cracks as more active sites on the basal plane; while the Co basal-plane doping and defects further optimize Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorbed on the Se sites. Such AP treated 5 % Co doped VSe 2 electrocatalyst exhibits onset overpotential of only 160 mV, Tafel slope of 42 mV/decade and turnover frequency (TOF) of 6.4 S−1 at 260 mV, comparable to the most active TMDs electrocatalysts. This work provides fresh insights into the utilization of "clean surface", defects/cracks and heteroatom doping on basal plane of 2D nanosheets for catalytic application. A synergistic structure engineering of colloidal 2D VSe 2 nanosheets via a combination of atmosphere plasma (AP) treatment and Co basal-plane doping is developed for enhanced hydrogen evolution. The AP treatment not only efficiently removes the organic ligand, but also introduces defects and cracks as more active sites on the basal plane; and the Co doping and defects further optimize Gibbs free energy, which contributes to improving the HER activity of VSe 2 basal plane. [Display omitted] • Co atoms incorporated into VSe 2 substrates were synthesized. • Co doping and atmosphere plasma treatment activate the lazy inner plane of VSe 2. • The optimum catalyst has excellent performance in electrocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Double-cooling and double-heating system was proposed for residential buildings. • Buildings integrated with the proposed system have high energy efficiencies. • Hydraulic-driven ventilation device was designed for the proposed passive system. • Passive system can be run without energy supply, under clear and rainy weathers. • Proposed passive system improves to the building energy saving rate of 39%. There are a substantial number of residential buildings situated in summer hot and winter cold climate zone of China, with tremendous energy consumption. In this work, we proposed a novel passive double-heating and double-cooling system, and integrated it into the residential buildings within this climate zone, aiming at improvement of the building energy efficiency. The proposed passive system includes a passive double-heating system (i.e., solar heating and water-to-air heating) and a passive double-cooling system (i.e., vegetation transpiration cooling and water-to-air cooling). Furthermore, a stand-alone residential building was selected as the study building, to evaluate its energy efficiency by applying the proposed passive system. Due to the passive system with double-heating and double-cooling functions, the indoor thermal comfort in the study building can be improved more significantly, in comparison with the base case. Moreover, a novel hydraulic-driven ventilation device was designed as an air-driven apparatus for the proposed passive system. Through air movement driven by the solar chimney and the hydraulic-driven ventilation device, the proposed passive system can be run without energy supply, under both the clear and rainy weather conditions. According to the numerical modeling, a total annual energy saving of 5523.42 kWh (i.e., energy saving rate of 39%) was achieved in the novel building, compared to the base case. This work focused on the passive double-heating and double-cooling system is expected to fill the knowledge gap in the building energy saving field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of hollow nanostructure and controllable phase of mixed metal oxides for improving performance in supercapacitor applications is highly desirable. Here we demonstrate the rational design and synthesis of Mn3−xFexO4 hollow nanostructures for supercapacitor applications. Owing to high porosity and the specific surface area that provides more active sites for electrochemical reactions, the electrochemical performance of Mn3−xFexO4 hollow nanostructure substantially enhanced comparing with pristine Mn3O4. Particularly, in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte, Mn0.16Fe2.84O4 with a typical diameter of 20 nm exhibits excellent specific capacitance of 2675, 2320, 1662, 987 F g−1 at current densities of 1, 2, 5, 10 A g−1, respectively, which is significantly superior to those of other transition metal oxides. Besides, an asymmetric supercapacitor is assembled by using Mn0.16Fe2.84O4 and activated carbon as a positive and a negative electrode, respectively. Electrochemical results indicate a high energy density of 42 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 0.75 kW kg−1, which makes this hollow nanostructure a highly promising electrode for achieving high‐performance next‐generation supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we synthesized an oxygen- and nitrogen-containing carbonaceous structure (ONCS). This ONCS possessed exceptional light-harvesting ranging from the visible to NIR light region. Characterization results confirmed that the ONCS was an n-type semiconductor. The ONCS can efficiently catalyze hydrogen photosynthesis and benzyl alcohol oxidation under visible light, even under NIR light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness among the working-age population. Although controlling blood glucose levels effectively reduces the incidence and development of DR to less than 50%, there are currently no diagnostic biomarkers or effective treatments for DR development in glucose-well-controlled diabetic patients (GW-DR). In this study, we established a prospective GW-DR cohort by strictly adhering to glycemic control guidelines and maintaining regular retinal examinations over a median 2-year follow-up period. The discovery cohort encompassed 71 individuals selected from a pool of 292 recruited diabetic patients at baseline, all of whom consistently maintained hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels below 7% without experiencing hypoglycemia. Within this cohort of 71 individuals, 21 subsequently experienced new-onset GW-DR, resulting in an incidence rate of 29.6%. In the validation cohort, we also observed a significant GW-DR incidence rate of 17.9%. Employing targeted metabolomics, we investigated the metabolic characteristics of serum in GW-DR, revealing a significant association between lower levels of ethanolamine and GW-DR risk. This association was corroborated in the validation cohort, exhibiting superior diagnostic performance in distinguishing GW-DR from diabetes compared to the conventional risk factor HbA1c, with AUCs of 0.954 versus 0.506 and 0.906 versus 0.521 in the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. Furthermore, in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat model, ethanolamine attenuated diabetic retinal inflammation, accompanied by suppression of microglial diacylglycerol (DAG)-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) pathway activation. In conclusion, we propose that ethanolamine is a potential biomarker and represents a viable biomarker-based therapeutic option for GW-DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bad channels result from the inherent instability of wearable optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs). These unreliable channels significantly impede subsequent signal analysis. The signal space separation method for OPMs, which relies on time-domain features such as the z-score, cannot accurately identify these unreliable channels. We introduce a novel approach for automatic bad channel identification in OPMs, utilizing frequency domain features. Box-plot technique enables predicting the number of unreliable channels. The predicted ratio of unreliable channels is incorporated as a crucial parameter in the Isolation Forest algorithm to achieve the automated identification of bad channels. To evaluate the effectiveness of our method, we employed three accuracy metrics and conducted comparative assessments via the following methods: box-plot, density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise, and local outlier factor. Our approach is validated via simulation experiments and real measurements using OPM-magnetoencephalography data. The efficiency of subsequent OPM-MEG preprocessing and source location analysis is improved. • At present, bad channel identification mainly relies on manual experience. • The SSS for OPM cannot achieve satisfactory accuracy in identifying bad channels. • The proposed method is verified to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fufang Zhenzhu TiaoZhi (FTZ), a Chinese medicinal decoction, has continuously been used to treat metabolic syndrome. Atherosclerosis is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular disease. The N6 methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a highly dynamic and reversible process involving a variety of important biological processes. Here, we investigated the therapeutic effects and mechanism of FTZ in diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis. Doppler ultrasonography was used to examine the carotid intima-media thickness and plaque area in diabetic atherosclerosis patients. HFD mice were injected with streptozotocin to induce diabetes. HE and Oil red O staining were used to assess the effect of FTZ on lipid deposition. HUVECs were induced with HG/ox-LDL as a model of diabetic atherosclerosis. Furthermore, application of m6A methylation level kit, qRT-PCR, Western blot, tunel staining, reactive oxygen species staining and mPTP staining were performed to analyze the detailed mechanism. Clinical trials of FTZ have shown obvious effect of lowering blood glucose and blood lipids. These effects were reversed after FTZ intervention. Compared with the control, lipid deposition decreased significantly after FTZ administration. FTZ reduced endothelial cell apoptosis. At the same time, we found that FTZ reversed the increase of methylation reader YTHDF2 caused by ox-LDL treatment. Subsequently, we discovered that YTHDF2 degraded SIRT3 mRNA, leading to endothelial cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. FTZ attenuated diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis by decreasing blood glucose and serum lipids levels, and increased endothelial cell antioxidant capacity, inhibited endothelial cell apoptosis via inhibiting YTHDF2-mediated m6A modification of SIRT3 mRNA, which reduced mRNA degradation. [Display omitted] • FTZ plays a significant inhibitory role in diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis via YTHDF2-dependent m6A manner. • FTZ mediates m6A modification via regulating YTHDF2. • SIRT3 is one of the underlying targets for the therapeutic effect of FTZ on diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe), an essential micronutrient, participates in photosynthesis, respiration, and many other enzymatic reactions. Cadmium (Cd), by contrast, is a toxic element to virtually all living organisms. Both Fe deficiency and Cd toxicity severally impair crop growth and productivity, finally leading to human health issues. Understanding how plants control the uptake and homeostasis of Fe and combat Cd toxicity thus is mandatory to develop Fe-enriched but Cd-cleaned germplasms for human beings. Recent studies in Arabidopsis and rice have revealed that IRON MAN (IMA) peptides stand out as a key regulator to respond to Fe deficiency by competitively interacting with a ubiquitin E3 ligase, thus inhibiting the degradation of IVc subgroup bHLH transcription factors (TFs), mediated by 26 S proteasome. Elevated expression of IMA confers tolerance to Cd stress in both Arabidopsis and wheat by activating the iron deficiency response. Here, we discuss recent breakthroughs that IMA peptides function in the Fe-deficiency response to attain Fe homeostasis and combat Cd toxicity as a potential candidate for phytoremediation. • The function of IMAs might be conserved across land species. • IMA peptides win the competitive interaction with BTS/HRZ ubiquitin E3 ligase thus alleviating the degradation of IVc bHLH TFs by these ligases. • Elevated expression of IMA peptides activates Fe deficiency response. • High Fe contents will decrease Cd absorption but increase Cd sequestration. • Recent findings pave the way for use of IMA peptides to design gold crops of a concurrent biofortification of essential microelements but toxic Cd mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Recently, a large-scale novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) outbreak swept China. As of Feb. 9, 2020, a total of 40,260 patients have been diagnosed with NCP, and 23,589 patients were suspected to have infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which puts forward a great challenge for public health and clinical treatment in China. Until now, we are in the high-incidence season of NCP. Thus, the analysis of the transmissibility change of NCP and its potential factors may provide a reliable reference for establishing effective prevention and control strategies. Method. By means of the method of calculating the instantaneous basic reproduction number R 0 t proposed by Cori et al. (2013), we use R 0 t to describe the transmissibility change of COVID-19 in China, 2019-2020. In addition, the Baidu Index (BDI) and Baidu Migration Scale (BMS) were selected to measure the public awareness and the effect of Wuhan lockdown (restricted persons in Wuhan outflow from the epidemic area) strategy, respectively. The Granger causality test (GCT) was carried out to explore the association between public awareness, the effect of the Wuhan lockdown strategy, and the transmissibility of COVID-19. Results. The estimated averaged basic reproduction number of NCP in China was 3.44 with 95% CI (2.87, 4.0) during Dec. 8, 2019, to Feb. 9, 2020. The instantaneous basic reproduction numbers ( R 0 t ) have two waves and reaching peaks on Jan. 8 and Jan. 27, respectively. After reaching a peak on Jan. 27, R 0 t showed a continuous decline trend. On Feb. 9, R 0 t has fallen to 1.68 (95% CI: 1.66, 1.7), but it is still larger than 1. We find a significantly negative association between public awareness and the transmissibility change of COVID-19, with one unit increase in cumulative BDI leading to a decrease of 0.0295% (95% CI: 0.0077, 0.051) R 0 t . We also find a significantly negative association between the effect of the Wuhan lockdown strategy and the transmissibility change of COVID-19, and a one unit decrease in BMS may lead to a drop of 2.7% (95% CI: 0.382, 4.97) R 0 t . Conclusion. The current prevention and control measures have effectively reduced the transmissibility of COVID-19; however, R 0 t is still larger than the threshold 1. The results show that the government adopting the Wuhan lockdown strategy plays an important role in restricting the potential infected persons in Wuhan outflow from the epidemic area and avoiding a nationwide spread by quickly controlling the potential infection in Wuhan. Meanwhile, since Jan. 18, 2020, the people successively accessed COVID-19-related information via the Internet, which may help to effectively implement the government's prevention and control strategy and contribute to reducing the transmissibility of NCP. Therefore, ongoing travel restriction and public health awareness remain essential to provide a foundation for controlling the outbreak of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region locates on the eastern coast of China, and it has suffered severe O 3 pollutions due to high and mixed emissions of air pollutants. There are 3 different emission sectors for O 3 precursors in the region, including anthropogenic VOC S and NO X emissions, ship emissions (mainly NO X), and biogenic emissions from a large forest (biogenic VOC S). This unique emission mixture produces complicated chemical processes in studying the O 3 pollutions in the region. This study aims to identify the contribution of the ship emissions to O 3 pollutions, as well as the effect of mixing emissions on O 3 pollutions in YRD. To identify the individual emission effect, the WRF-Chem model is used in this study. The model generally performs well in simulating meteorological parameters and air pollutants against observations in YRD. Sensitive study suggests that the ship emissions have important effects on the O 3 concentrations over ocean and inland, with a maximum increase of 30–50 μg m−3 occurred mainly in the ship track regions. However, the ship emissions have a very complicated effect on the in-land O 3 concentrations. In the north of Shanghai, the NO X concentrations are high due to high anthropogenic emissions, and a further increase in NO X emissions from ship results in depressing O 3 chemical production. In contrast, in the south of Shanghai, there are high biogenic VOC emissions (mainly isoprene) and low NOx concentrations. As a result, the O 3 concentrations are enhanced by 30–50 μg m−3, due to the mixing between ship and forest emissions. This study suggests that ship emissions play important roles in controlling O 3 pollutions in YRD. Furthermore, the mixing emissions between ship, anthropogenic, and biogenic emissions in YRD produce a complicated O 3 chemical production and need to be carefully considered in controlling strategy of O 3 pollution in the region. Unlabelled Image • The effect of ship emission in YRD on O 3 formation • Complex mixing emissions among the ship, anthropogenic, and biogenic emissions in YRD • The mixing between ship and anthropogenic emissions could depress O 3 in northern YRD. • The mixing between ship and biogenic emissions could enhance O 3 in southern YRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delafossite CuFeO 2 is a promising material for heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS), while effect of different crystal types on its activity has not been reported. In this work, pure rhombohedral CuFeO 2 (3R-CFO) and a mixture of rhombohedral and hexagonal phases CuFeO 2 ((3R + 2H)-CFO) are successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method, and an efficient PMS activation system is set up. Compared with pure 3R-CFO, the introduction of hexagonal phase (2H-CFO) markedly enhances the removal of Orange I (OI). Visible-light response accelerating PMS conversion is observed, and 3R-CFO plays a critical role in such synergetic reaction under natural light illumination. Moreover, it is uncovered that the mixed (3R + 2H)-CFO crystals enhance the exposed Lewis sites of Cu+ and Fe3+, the concentration of surface hydroxyl groups, and the electron transfer. These are important for excellent activity of (3R + 2H)-CFO. SO 4 − and OH both take part in the oxidation process, accompanying the dominant contribution of SO 4 −. The electron transfer of Cu2+/Cu+ and Fe3+/Fe2+ cycles facilitates the decomposition of PMS to generate reactive radicals. Unlabelled Image • Mixed phases CuFeO 2 are synthesized as a heterogeneous catalyst. • This catalyst shows a high catalytic activity towards PMS activation. • The synergistic effect of Cu+ and Fe3+ accelerate PMS activation and OI removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sodium alginate/silk sericin (SA/SS) film was modified with glycerin (GI) and Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharide@silver nanoparticles (PSP@AgNPs) to create a SA/SS/GI/PSP@AgNP composite film with antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The physicochemical properties of the SA/SS/GI/PSP@AgNP composite film were analyzed, and its cytocompatibility, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial properties were investigated. The optimum conditions for the preparation of the SA/SS/GI/PSP@AgNP composite film were 2 % SA, 2 % SS, 20 % GI, and 40 μg/mL of PSP@AgNPs. The addition of GI improved the surface smoothness of the composite films, while the presence of PSP@AgNPs did not significantly alter it. Spectroscopic characterization demonstrated that GI and PSP@AgNPs were physically bound to SA/SS. Approximately 53 % of the PSP@AgNP was released from the SA/SS/GI/PSP@AgNP composite film over 24 h of soaking in aqueous solution. The resulting leaching solution did not cause hemolysis or cytotoxicity, indicating its biocompatibility. Additionally, the SA/SS/GI/PSP@AgNP composite film exhibited strong antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and it promoted healing of mouse wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally stable upconversion luminescence is highly expected for applications in high-temperature environments. Herein, the mechanism of the phase transition inducing near-zero thermal quenching in upconversion green light is reported. The phosphor Ba 3 Gd 0.78 Yb 0.2 Er 0·02 Al 2 O 7.5 is synthesized by the conventional high-temperature solid-state method and quenched in air during cooling. In-situ XRD and DSC curves demonstrate the polymorphic phase transition in the subsequent heating. The temperature-dependent upconversion luminescence exhibits stable green emission instead of thermal quenching when the material is excited by a 980 nm near-infrared laser. The more intense green emission resulting from the low symmetry of the low-temperature phase and its increase in the phase content with temperature are responsible for the thermal stability in the luminescence of the material. This research provides an approach to utilizing phase transformation to obtain stable emissions in upconversion phosphors. • Near-zero thermal quenching of UC green emission has been implemented. • The green emission intensity can maintain 110% of the room-temperature value till 478 K. • The polymorphic phase transition is responsible for excellent thermal stability.Credit author statement [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C14H18N4O4S, triclinic, P1 (no. 2), a = 9.027(1) Å, b = 10.658(1) Å, c = 16.358(1) Å, α = 90.083(6)°, β = 92.278(6)°, γ = 103.085(6)°, V = 1531.66(19) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0419, wRref(F2) = 0.1175, T = 110.9(3) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is one of the perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and has been used in industrial and consumer products. It has already been shown that PFOS could be detected in the environmental media and biological species including humans, due to its resistance to environmental degradation. PFOS is known to induce a series of adverse impacts on human health, e.g., as a potential neurotoxic substance. Recent studies suggest that astrocytes act as the mediator in PFOS-induced neurotoxicity; however, the underlying molecular mechanism needs further investigation. Under the physiological condition, astrocytes play an important role in maintaining brain functions through releasing and up-taking of neurotransmitters between astrocytes and neurons. In the present study, astrocytes-derived d -serine was shown to be involved in PFOS-induced apoptosis and death in the rat primary hippocampal neurons. Significant alterations in d -serine were found in astrocytes, mediated by the molecules in d -serine synthesis (serine racemase), metabolism (d -amino acid oxidase) and delivery (calcium, vacuolar type H+-ATPase, alanine–serine–cysteine transporter and connexin 43 hemichannels). Meanwhile, the N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunits (NR1, NR2 A and NR2B) gene and protein expressions were significantly increased in the hippocampal neurons exposed to the PFOS-activated astrocytes-conditional medium (ACM). Further, the adverse effects of PFOS could be attenuated by the fluorocitrate (an inhibitor for d -serine up-taken by the glial cells) application. Our data indicated that astrocytes-derived d -serine was involved in PFOS-induced neurotoxicity through the NMDARs in the rat primary hippocampal neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract ZnO/CdS/PbS nanotube arrays with multi-heterojunctions were synthesized for efficient visible-light-driven photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution. Highlights • Top-opened ZnO/CdS/PbS nanotube arrays film with multi-heterojunction is prepared. • The film exhibits remarkable visible-light photocatalytic activity and good stability. • The top-opened nanotube structure enhances light absorption and specific surface area. • Matched band energy edge of the multi-heterojunction enhance e−-h+ pair separation. Abstract High performance, low cost and sustainable photocatalytic evolution of hydrogen is a promising energy supply alternative for modern society to resolve the depletion crisis of fossil fuel. The design of multi-heterojunction visible-light photocatalysts combined with electrochemical means is considered one of the most attractive options in recent years. In this work, a photoanode composed of top-opened ZnO/CdS/PbS nanotube arrays (ZnO/CdS/PbS ONTs) with multi-heterojunctions was synthesized via a three-step process, i.e. hydrothermal treatment, chemical bath deposition and successive ionic layer adsorption reaction (SILAR). This as-prepared photoanode exhibited remarkable photoelectrochemical activity under visible light irradiation. The photocurrent density and photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution efficiency of the optimized ZnO/CdS/PbS ONTs reached up to 14.2 mA cm−2 and 5.5 mL cm−2 h−1 at 0.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. The efficiency was 3.1 times that of top-closed ZnO/CdS nanotubes (1.8 mL cm−2 h−1). The experimental results suggest that the high photoelectrochemical activity can be ascribed to the inherent advantages of the structural and successive energy level relays design: on the one hand, the top-opened nanotube structure significantly enlarges surface area of the nanostructure, which facilitates efficient light absorption and rapid mass transport; on the other hand, the well-matched band energy edge of the multi-heterojunction interfaces literally build efficient electron highways to deliver electrons to reaction sites and reduce the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A mild, metal-free and efficient synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted acrylonitriles and α-iminonitriles through radical ring opening reaction of pyridine fused heterocycles has been developed. The tetra- n -butylammonium iodide catalyst acts as a formal one-electron donor. Compared to the previous methods, which require excessive amounts of highly explosive azide sources and the addition of oxidants, this is a safe and convenient transformation. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Radical ring opening reaction of pyridine fused heterocycles with IBA-N 3. • The synthesis of acrylonitriles and α-iminonitriles at room temperature. • Clean reaction, ease of product isolation and a simple experimental procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]