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Recently, incentives have been provided in developed countries for promoting commercialization of biochar production for usage in construction industry. One of the main reasons for such incentives is the carbon sequestration capacity of biochar, which can be highly useful for countries to meet their goals of carbon emission reduction by 2030. In this regard, chemical modification of biochars has also been done to enhance their surface area and functionality, which is useful for adsorption of pollutants. However, rarely any studies are conducted to explore the effect of chemical treatment of biochar on soil cracking and water retention. The major objective of this study is to explore the crack and water retention properties of chemically modified biochar amended soil. Pig manure biochar (PMB) and peach shell biochar (PSB) with contrasting compositions were modified with H3PO4 and KOH. Soils were mixed with modified biochars at four dosages (0, 2, 5, and 8%). Crack intensity factor (CIF) and moisture content were measured during drying-wetting cycles. Results showed that H3PO4-modified biochar has been found to have a higher impact on water retention as compared to KOH-modified biochar. KOH modification instead tends to reduce hydrophilic functional groups on surface of biochar. Pig manure biochar appears to have a higher crack suppression capacity than even functional biochars. In most cases, 5–8% biochar dosage is generally found to be an optimal range for reducing cracks and improving water retention. Based on the given testing conditions, the effect of chemical modification of biochar on cracking appears to be inconclusive. It should be noted that the results in this study are based on a given testing conditions and generalization requires further studies on different types of soils.

The Li4Ti5O12@rGO (LTO@rGO) mesoporous hybrid spheres have been successfully synthesized by an in-situ conversion route in aqueous LiOH solution using TiO2 spheres as precursor, which was followed by annealing process in Ar atmosphere. The LTO@rGO composites possess a uniform mesoporous spherical structure with diameter of approximately 800 nm, which are assembled by many interconnected nanoparticles with a thin rGO conductive coating. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of the unique nanostructure hybrids, it is proved that the porous can offer large surface area which has high intrinsic interfacial reactivity with the electrolyte, extra space for the storage of Li+, and short transport distances for both e− and Li+. Meanwhile, the rGO coating could enhance effectively the interfacial contact between particles and create a three-dimensional conductive network to greatly facilitate fast transport of e− and Li+, which can improve the rate capacity. Compared with pure LTO, the as-prepared LTO@rGO mesoporous hybrid spheres deliver a higher reversible capacity of 260.1 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C after 500 cycles with highly stable capacity retention of even more than 100%, and the high rate discharge capacity reach 125.9 mAh g−1 at 10 C. Therefore, the LTO@rGO composites display superior high-rate property and ultralong cycling stability, which can provide a potential anode material for LIBs.

Hematopoietic differentiation is controlled by both genetic and epigenetic regulators. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to be important for normal hematopoiesis, but their function in erythropoiesis needs to be further explored. We profiled the transcriptomes of 16 murine hematopoietic cell populations by deep RNA sequencing and identified a novel lncRNA, Gm15915, that was highly expressed in erythroid-related progenitors and erythrocytes. For this reason, we named it lncEry. We also identified a novel lncEry isoform, which was the principal transcript that has not been reported before. lncEry depletion impaired erythropoiesis, indicating the important role of the lncRNA in regulating erythroid differentiation and maturation. Mechanistically, we found that lncEry interacted with WD repeat–containing protein 82 (WDR82) to promote the transcription of Klf1 and globin genes and thus control the early and late stages of erythropoiesis, respectively. These findings identified lncEry as an important player in the transcriptional regulation of erythropoiesis.

Hematopoietic differentiation is controlled by both genetic and epigenetic regulators. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to be important for normal hematopoiesis, but their function in erythropoiesis needs to be further explored. We profiled the transcriptomes of 16 murine hematopoietic cell populations by deep RNA-sequencing and identified a novel lncRNA, Gm15915, that was highly expressed in erythroid-related progenitors and erythrocytes. For this reason, we named it lncEry. We also identified a novel lncEry isoform, which was also the principal transcript that has not been reported before. LncEry depletion impaired erythropoiesis, indicating the important role of the lncRNA in regulating erythroid differentiation and maturation. Mechanistically, we found that lncEry interacted with WD repeat-containing protein 82 (WDR82) to promote the transcription of Klf1 and globin genes and thus control the early and late stages of erythropoiesis, respectively. These findings identified lncEry as an important player in the transcriptional regulation of erythropoiesis.

Wang et al provide insight into how epigenetic regulation of the transcriptome can rewire cell fate decisions by mapping the RNA-editing landscape during hematopoiesis. They report that adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing of antizyme inhibitor 1 (Azin1) is a novel regulator of hematopoietic cell fate, capable of influencing self-renewal and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells. This work sets the scene for developing RNA editing–targeted therapeutics for stem cell expansion and modulating AZIN1-induced cancer stem cell generation., Key Points Deep RNA-sequencing reveals the global landscape of RNA editing in the mouse hematopoietic system.Azin1 is an editable and functional gene in hematopoietic stem cells., Visual Abstract, Adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing and the catalyzing enzyme adenosine deaminase are both essential for hematopoietic development and differentiation. However, the RNA editome during hematopoiesis and the underlying mechanisms are poorly defined. Here, we sorted 12 murine adult hematopoietic cell populations at different stages and identified 30 796 editing sites through RNA sequencing. The dynamic landscape of the RNA editome comprises stage- and group-specific and stable editing patterns, but undergoes significant changes during lineage commitment. Notably, we found that antizyme inhibitor 1 (Azin1) was highly edited in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Azin1 editing results in an amino acid change to induce Azin1 protein (AZI) translocation to the nucleus, enhanced AZI binding affinity for DEAD box polypeptide 1 to alter the chromatin distribution of the latter, and altered expression of multiple hematopoietic regulators that ultimately promote HSPC differentiation. Our findings have delineated an essential role for Azin1 RNA editing in hematopoietic cells, and our data set is a valuable resource for studying RNA editing on a more general basis.

The hollow TiO2@rGO hybrid spheres are in-situ synthesized by using TiO2 spheres as a precursor and a simple hydrothermal route with subsequent annealing. The unique hollow structure has large special surface areas, and the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer can accelerate transfer of lithium ions and electrons and efficiently enhance the structural stability. The prepared hollow TiO2@rGO hybrid spheres exhibit better electrochemical performance than pure TiO2 hollow microspheres. It exhibits a high special capacity of 254.3 mA h g−1 at 1C after 600 cycles and highly stable capacity retention, and superior rate capacity of 159.1 mAh g−1 at 10C after 3000 cycles. Moreover, the hollow TiO2@rGO hybrid spheres have high surface area, superior structural stability, and excellent high-rate and long-life cycle property as anode material for LIBs.

The hierarchical Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 (LTO-TO) microspheres assembled by nanosheets have been in-situ synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method. The hierarchical LTO-TO microspheres have an average size of about 800 nm and the nanosheets with thickness of about 10 nm. Benefiting from the special two-dimensional nanostructure with large contact surface areas with the electrolyte and significantly shortened transport lengths of lithium ions, which are critical for enhancing cycle performance and rate capability of LIBs. The prepared product exhibits excellent cycling performance which delivers a stable reversible specific capacity of 177.3 mAh g−1 at a current rate of 0.5 C after 660 cycles, and the high rates capacity is 113.7 mAh g−1 at 10 C.

To remove tar and produce environment-friendly H2, one of the promising routes is the sorption-enhanced steam reforming (SESR) process, in which the CO2 sorbent is a key element. We prepared the CO2 sorbents with Ca12Al14O33 as carrier with various methods. Their characterizations were examined, and the sample prepared by solgel (SG) method showed the strongest CaO and Ca12Al14O33 phases and the most excellent pore structure among all the samples. Then, a thermogravimetric experiment was conducted, and the results showed that the sample prepared by sol-gel (SG) method had the best CO2 adsorption capacity and excellent long-term cyclic stability. Finally, the sorbent was used into the steam reforming experiments of tar. Under the action of the sorbent, the reforming reaction was enhanced in-situ, with the H2 yield and concentration improved obviously, and especially, H2 concentration can reach over 98.85%.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primer sequences used in real-time PCR. Figure S1. Bioluminescent labeling of EVs. (A-B) Ex vivo imaging of Gluc-labeled EVs exhibited increasing bioluminescence signals with concentrations of EVs (R2 = 0.9907). Figure S2. DFLs isolation in vitro. (A) The image showed the separation of dermis (left) and epidermis (right) of newborn mice skin after Dispase II treatment. (B) Representative image showed fibroblasts crawled out from the edges of the skin dermal tissue by tissue-block cultivation. Scale bar, 200 μm. Figure S3. Quantitative statistical results of western blots. (A) Quantification of protein levels normalized to tubulin (n = 3; *P

Background: The senescence of dermal fibroblasts (DFLs) leads to an imbalance in the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, presenting so-called senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which ultimately leads to skin aging. Recently increasing evidence has supported the idea that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) opened a new avenue for treating skin aging.Methods: In this study, we utilized chitosan (CS) hydrogel for effective loading and sustained release of EVs. In vitro, we explored the rejuvenation effects of CS hydrogel-incorporated EVs (CS-EVs) on replicative senescence DFLs through a series of experiments such as senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, RT-PCR, and western blots. Besides, we employed local multi-site subcutaneous injection to treat the back skin of naturally aging mice with CS-EVs and used DiI fluorescent dye to label EVs to achieve in vivo real-time tracking.Results: CS-EVs can significantly improve the biological functions of senescent fibroblasts, including promoting their proliferation, enhancing the synthesis of ECM proteins, and inhibiting the overexpression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Moreover, CS hydrogel could prolong the release of EVs and significantly increase the retention rate of EVs in vivo. After CS-EVs subcutaneous injection treatment, the aging skin tissues showed a state of rejuvenation, which was specifically manifested as enhanced expression of collagen, decreased expression of SASP-related factors, and restoration of tissue structures.Conclusions: CS hydrogel-encapsulated EVs could delay the skin aging process by ameliorating the function of aging DFLs. Our results also highlight the potential of CS hydrogel-encapsulated EVs as a novel therapeutic strategy for ameliorating aging skin to rejuvenation.

Interleukin-35(IL-35), a newly identified immunosuppressive cytokine, has recently been shown to play a significant role in the progression of various autoimmune diseases and malignant tumors. The liver is the largest organ in the body and is generally regarded as an important lymphoid organ by an increasing number of immunologists. A number of reports have demonstrated that IL-35 plays essential roles in maintaining the immune homeostasis of the liver microenvironment. This review summarizes the existing studies of IL-35 in liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, immune liver injury, liver cirrhosis and carcinoma. We aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the vital roles of IL-35 in hepatic damage and explore new alternative therapeutic targets for these diseases.

Background Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune disease, and an increasing number of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cases are being diagnosed in HT patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the proportion and function of different T cell subtypes in peripheral blood, especially CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), in PTC with and without HT. We also studied the effect of HT on PTC. Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportions of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+Foxp3+ Tregs, and the level of interleukin-10 (IL-10) secreted by CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood of PTC patients with and without HT. AimPlex bead-based immunoassays were used to determine serum cytokine levels. Results No significant differences were observed in the proportion of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in the two groups of PTC patients. The percentage of CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs and their levels of IL-10 were significantly lower in PTC patients with HT than in those without HT. Conclusions Our findings suggest that CD4+Foxp3+ Tregs have vital regulatory functions in the initiation and progression of PTC by secreting the inhibitory cytokine IL-10.

Online product reviews nowadays are increasingly prevalent in E-commerce websites. People often refer to product reviews to evaluate the quality of a product before purchasing. However, there have been a large number of review spammers who often work collaboratively to promote or demote target products, which severely harm the review system. Much previous work exploits machine learning approaches to detect suspicious reviews/reviewers. In this paper, we introduce a top-down computing framework, namely GGSpam, to detect review spammer groups by exploiting the topological structure of the underlying reviewer graph which reveals the co-review collusiveness. A novel instantiation of GGSpam, namely GSBC, is designed by modeling spammer groups as bi-connected graphs. Given a reviewer graph, GSBC identifies all the bi-connected components whose spamicity scores exceed the given spam threshold. For large unsuspicious bi-connected graphs, the minimum cut algorithm is used to split the graph, and the smaller graphs are further processed recursively. A variety of group spam indicators are designed to measure the spamicity of a spammer group. Experimental study shows that the proposed approach is both effective and efficient and outperforms several state-of-the-art baselines, including graph based and non-graph based, by a large margin.

Herein, nanosheet-assembled Li4Ti5O12–TiO2 (LTO–TiO2) microspheres were successfully obtained via a hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the composite were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Subsequently, the electrochemical performance of the product was determined by an electrochemical workstation and a LAND CT2001A (Land, China) battery testing system. The experimental results demonstrated that both the formation of a composite with anatase TiO2 and the extension of the discharge voltage range were beneficial for the enhancement of the specific capacity of Li4Ti5O12. When the discharge cut-off voltage was decreased to 0 V, the LTO–TiO2 composites exhibited a higher discharge specific capacity of 411.3 mA h g−1 during the first cycle in comparison with pure LTO, which was mainly attributed to the intercalation of more lithium ions into the LTO–TiO2 composites at a low potential (

We made a systematic study of the boson peak for six different Zr-based metallic glasses and found a universal correlation between average local atomic structure and boson peak. It is found that the boson peak can be decomposed into six characteristic vibratory modes, i.e., Debye’s vibratory mode and five Einstein’s vibratory modes. By using the Ioffe–Regel condition over all studied Zr-based metallic glasses, we reveal that atomic pair correlation function exactly maps on the low-temperature dynamics and the origin of the boson peak, which is the sum of vibrations of local density fluctuation domains in the glasses. In addition, it is found that the Debye’s type oscillators are the major contributors to the low-temperature specific heat capacities. This study opens a new way of understanding the relationship of the physical properties with the atomic arrangements in glasses.

Stem cell therapy is a promising alternative approach to the treatment of a number of incurable degenerative diseases. However, low cell retention and survival after transplantation limit the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells for clinical translational applications. The utilization of biomaterials has been progressively successful in controlling the fate of transplanted cells by imitating the cellular microenvironment for optimal tissue repair and regeneration. This review mainly focuses on the engineered microenvironments with synthetic biomaterials in modification of stem cell behaviors. Moreover, the possible advancements in translational therapy by using biomaterials with stem cells are prospected and the challenges of the current restriction in clinical applications are highlighted.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes have been recognized as new candidates for cell-free treatment of various diseases. However, maintaining the retention and stability of exosomes over time in vivo after transplantation is a major challenge in clinical application of MSC-derived exosomes. Here, we investigated if human placenta-derived MSCs (hP-MSCs) derived exosomes incorporated with chitosan hydrogel could boost the retention and stability of exosomes and further enhance their therapeutic effect. Our results demonstrated that chitosan hydrogel notably increased the stability of proteins and microRNAs in exosomes, as well as augmented the retention of exosomes in vivo as confirmed by Gaussia luciferase imaging. In addition, we evaluated the therapeutic function of hP-MSCs derived exosomes incorporated with chitosan hydrogel in a murine model of hindlimb ischemia. Our data demonstrated that chitosan hydrogel could enhance the retention of exosomes and further augment the therapeutic effects for hindlimb ischemia as revealed by firefly luciferase imaging of angiogenesis. The strategy used in this study may facilitate the development of easy and effective approaches for assessing and enhancing the therapeutic effects of stem cell-derived exosomes.

Hematopoietic differentiation is controlled by both genetic and epigenetic regulators. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to be important for normal hematopoiesis, but their function in erythropoiesis needs to be further explored. Here, we profiled the transcriptome of 17 murine hematopoietic cell populations by deep sequencing and identified a novel lncRNA, that was highly expressed in erythroid-related progenitors and erythrocytes. For this reason, we named it lncEry. We also identified a novel lncEry isoform, which was the principal transcript and has not been reported before. Furthermore, we found that nearly 90% of lncEry molecules localized to the nucleus. Next, we performed knockdown and knockout assays to study the function of lncEry, and found that lncEry depletion impaired erythroid differentiation. RNA sequencing analysis showed that lncEry depletion decreased the expression of erythrocyte homeostasis or differentiation related genes, including globin genes, thus indicating its important role in regulating erythroid differentiation. Mechanistically, we performed RNA-pulldown assays and found that lncEry could interact with Wdr82, a component of the Set1A histone H3-Lys4 methyltransferase complex. In addition, a series of molecular assays indicated that lncEry could stabilize the localization of Set1A/Wdr82 complex to facilitate H3K4me3 on the promoter region of globin genes and participate in regulating erythropoiesis. These findings identify lncEry as an important player in the transcriptional regulation of globin genes to coordinate erythropoiesis. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

In this study, a simple targeted etching approach was developed for the controlled fabrication of mesoporous Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) hollow spheres, which can be used as an advanced anode material in lithium-ion batteries. We investigated the controllable synthesis of mesoporous LTO hollow spheres with various hollow structures based on different compositions, such as yolk-shelled and hollow structures with porous shells. The as-prepared mesoporous LTO hollow spheres had several main structural advantages, including high intrinsic interfacial reactivity with the electrolyte due to a high specific surface area, extra space for the storage of lithium ions, and reduced transport path lengths for both e– and Li+, thereby leading to excellent rate performance. Moreover, the high reversible capacity of the mesoporous LTO hollow spheres was 229.2 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 0.5C and the highest rate discharge capacity was 114.2 mA h g−1 at 10 C, thereby indicating the outstanding cycle stability and rate performance of LTO as an anode in lithium-ion batteries.

The algorithm presented here is used on unmanned aerial vehicles system. In 2013,C.Stentousmis proposed a matching cost computation model(or function), This matching cost model combined three kinds of constraints, the cost function is formulated by combining three individual costs:a cost computed on an extended census transformation of the images, the absolute difference cost, taking into account information from colour channels, and a cost based on the principal image derivatives.Experiments show that the cost function is excellent performance in similar estimates.Apply it to the stereo matching of ancient buildings, it is favorable for practical. However, this experiment, in color mutated region, leaded to blurred border.Therefore, our proposed method added color space structural information, which based on HVS Weber's law, to the cost function. we use the differential excitation of WLD reflects the structure of color space.This robust cost measures can reduce percent of bad pixels in mutated color region. The proposed method use color image, which is used after epipolar line rectification.

An optical phase modulator based on novel n-i-n InGaAlAs/InAlAs multiple-quantum-barrier (MQBs) is proposed to reduce the waveguide loss and enhance the modulation efficiency. Efficient bias loading with low leakage current is realized by taking advantages of the large conduction band discontinuity in InGaAlAs/InAlAs heterostructure and high electron reflection by MQBs. Low optical transmission loss of 2.3 dB/cm and improved modulation performance with a voltage length product of 1.06 V⋅cm are demonstrated for TE mode at 1550 nm. The linear and quadratic electro-optic coefficients of the fabricated device are estimated to be 1.0 pm/V and 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁹ m²/V², respectively.