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Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are attractive for biomedical applications based on their intrinsic properties in relation to bacteria and vesicles. However, their widespread use is hampered by low yields and purities. In this study, EVscore47 multifunctional chromatography microspheres were synthesized and used to efficiently isolate functional OMVs from Escherichia coli. Through this technology, OMV loss can be kept to a minimum, and OMVs can be harvested using EVscore47 at 11-fold higher yields and ~13-fold higher purity than those achieved by means of ultracentrifugation. Based on the results presented here, we propose a novel EVscore47-based isolation of OMVs that is fast and scalable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of a superhydrophobic surface on metal can improve the self-cleaning, anti-fouling, and anti-bacterial properties of the surface. At present, the superhydrophobicity of the sample surface is mostly obtained by modifying the rough surface with fluorine-containing modifiers, which is unfavorable to the environment. Therefore, developing superhydrophobic surfaces without environmental pollution has become a research hotspot. Based on laser etching technology, the rough surface with a micro-nano dual-scale structure was prepared on aluminum alloy, and then a green and natural saturated fatty acid — myristic acid was used to modify the rough surface. Contact angle measuring instrument, depth of field microscope, scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer were used to characterize the wettability, surface morphology, and chemical composition of the modified rough surface (S1). Self-cleaning, anti-contamination, antibacterial, mechanical durability, and thermal stability of the S1 surface were tested experimentally. The wetting of droplets on hydrophobic surface was simulated by using COMSOL Multiphysics software, and a computational model was established to compare different functional structures, so as to understand the influence of parameters on the enhancement of hydrophobic properties of material surface. The results showed that the static contact angle (WCA) of the surface modified by myristic acid reached 152.3°, and the hydrophobic index was -0.808, and the WCA value first increased and then decreased with the change of modification time and concentration. With the increase of myristic acid concentration, the peak value of the contact angle WCA of S1 was negatively correlated with modification time. The self-cleaning rate, anti-stain rate, and antibacterial rate of S1 were 91.4%, 83.6% and 88.4%, respectively, showing excellent self-cleaning, anti-stain, and antibacterial ability. In the mechanical durability test, the S1 surface can resist at least 50 times tape peeling, 30 times steel wool friction and wear, the and 180 g sand falling impact test still keeps superhydrophobic. In the thermal stability test, the S1 surface remains superhydrophobic after heat treatment at 100–200°C for 30 h. In this study, the multifunctional superhydrophobic surface was obtained on aluminum alloy by laser etching technology combined with a green fluorine-free modifier, which provided some meaningful ideas and references for the green preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces and the application and development of superhydrophobic surfaces in biomedical metals. A multifunctional superhydrophobic surface with contact angle of 152.3∘ was prepared on aluminum alloy surface by laser etching combined with green fluorine-free modifier. The surface has excellent self-cleaning, stain resistance, antibacterial property, mechanical durability and thermal stability. This study provides some meaningful ideas and references for the green preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces, and the application and development of superhydrophobic surfaces in biomedical metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qilian Mountains (QMs) act as the "water tower" of the Hexi Corridors, playing an important role in the regional ecosystem security and economic development. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the spatiotemporal characteristics of precipitation in the QMs. This study evaluated the performance of 21 models of phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) from 1959 to 1988 based on ERA5 and in situ datasets. In addition, the precipitation changing trend from 2015 to 2100 was projected according to four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs): namely, SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585. The results have shown the following: (1) all CMIP6 models could reflect the same precipitation changing trend, based on the observed datasets (−2.01 mm·10a−1), which was slightly lower than that of ERA5 (2.82 mm·10a−1). Multi-mode ensemble averaging (MME) showed that the projected precipitation-change trend of the four scenarios was 5.73, 9.15, 12.23, and 16.14 mm·10a−1, respectively. (2) The MME and ERA5 showed the same precipitation spatial pattern. Also, during the period 1959–1988, the MME in spring, summer, autumn and winter was 130.07, 224.62, 95.96, and 29.07 mm, respectively, and that of ERA5 was 98.57, 280.77, 96.85, and 22.64 mm, respectively. The largest precipitation difference in summer was because of strong convection and variable circulation. (3) From 2015 to 2100, the snow-to-rain ratio was between 0.1 and 1.1, and the snow-to-rain ratio climate tendency rate was concentrated in the range of −10~0.1 mm·10a−1. Both of these passed the significance test (p < 0.05). The projected rainfall of all four SSPs all showed an increasing trend with values of 6.20, 11.31, 5.64, and 20.41 mm·10a−1, respectively. The snowfall of the four SSPs all showed a decreasing trend with values of 0.42, 2.18, 3.34, and 4.17 mm·10a−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integral fin with micro-channels have been widely used in small free piston Stirling engines heater due to their high heat transfer rate, low flow loss, and high machining accuracy. A β-type free piston Stirling engine heater with composite cross section mini channels(CCSMH) is designed for heat transfer enhancement applying to solar dish power generation system. Investigation on heat transfer performance of the heater under oscillating flow is carried out by CFD method, which is compared with smooth annular tube heater. The influence of geometry parameters on the performance of heat transfer and pressure loss is investigated. A improved performance evaluation criteria PEC is proposed for the condition of equal flow velocity to evaluate the enhanced heat transfer performance of the heater. The results show that the maximum value of the comprehensive performance evaluation index PEC can reach 3.14, the maximum mean pressure drop increment of CCSMH compared with the smooth tube heater is 38.4 Pa, which is much lower than the minimum pressure of 2.3 MPa and can be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse comprehension involves the construction of a mental representation of the situation model as well as a continuous update of this representation. This mental update is cognitively demanding and likely engages the multiple‐demand network. However, there is little evidence for the involvement of the multiple‐demand network during situation updating. In this study, we used fMRI to test whether situation updating based on the change of spatial location activated the multiple‐demand network. In a discourse comprehension task, readers read two‐sentence discourses in which the second sentence either continues or introduces a shift of the spatial location information presented in the first sentence. Compared to situation continuation, situation updating reliably activated the right superior parietal lobule. This area is a part of the multiple‐demand network as defined by a digit N‐back localizer task and locates within the dorsal attention network as defined in the previous study by Yeo et al. in 2011. Our results provide evidence for the reliable involvement of a specific area of the multiple‐demand network in situation updating during high‐level discourse processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ocean acoustic tomography (OAT) experiment conducted in the northern South China Sea in 2021 measured a month-long record of acoustic travel times along paths of over one hundred kilometers in range. A mesoscale eddy passed through the experimental region during the deployment of four acoustic moorings, providing unique OAT data for examining the deep temperature change in the eddy and for comparison with the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) data. The existence of the eddy is first confirmed by the merged sea level anomaly (MSLA) image and HYCOM data and it can exceed the depth of the sound channel axis. The temperature changes measured by temperature and depth (TD)/conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) loggers and by the OAT sound speed are in accordance with those reflected on the MSLA image during the movement of the eddy. However, the eddy movement prompted by temperature changes in the HYCOM data is different from that measured by TD/CTD. The modeled eddy intensity is at least two times less than the measured eddy intensity. At the sound channel axis depth, a factor of approximately 4.17 ms−1 °C−1 can be used to scale between sound speed and temperature. The transmission/reception path-averaged temperature of the eddy derived from the OAT-computed sound speed at the depth of the sound channel axis is five times greater than those in the HYCOM data. OAT is feasible as a tool to study mesoscale eddy properties in the deep ocean, while HYCOM data are not accurate enough for this mesoscale eddy at the sound channel axis depth. It is suggested that the model be refined by the OAT path-averaged temperature as constraints when the HYCOM data capture the mesoscale eddies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of environmental and human influences, several types of surface deterioration emerge on historic buildings, resulting in a decline in the quality of these structures and even threats to their safety. In the conventional approach, assessing the surface damage on a structure involves the time-consuming and labor-intensive judgment and evaluation of trained professionals. In this study, it is suggested that the YOLOv4 machine learning model be used to automatically find five types of damage to historical gray-brick buildings. This would make the job go more quickly. This study uses the gray-brick wall buildings in the buffer zone of the global cultural heritage in Macau as an example. In total, 1355 photographs were taken on-site of the gray-brick walls, and the five most common types of damage were identified. By slicing and labeling the photos, a training set of 1000 images was created, and through 200-generation model training, the model can accurately identify and effectively identify the damage state of the gray bricks and enhance the quality judgment and evaluation of the exterior walls of historical buildings. Experiments allow us to reach the following conclusions: (1) The damage to the gray-brick ancient buildings in Macau is affected by the subtropical maritime climate. Missing paint, stains, and cracks are the main contributors to gray-brick wall damage. (2) Machine learning can help determine the type of damage to old gray-brick buildings, which is useful for managing and protecting historical buildings. (3) The model in this study can identify five types of damage: missing, cracking, plant or microbial erosion, yellowing, and pollution on the exterior walls of ancient gray-brick buildings. It is helpful to accurately identify and evaluate the damaged condition of the gray-brick wall and formulate corresponding protection schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of hydrometry, river discharge monitoring plays an irreplaceable role in the planning and management of water resources and is an essential element and necessary means of river management. Due to its benefits of simplicity, efficiency and safety, Space-Time Image Velocimetry (STIV) has attracted attention from all around the world. The most crucial component of the STIV is the detection of the Main Orientation of Texture (MOT), and the precision of detection directly affects the results of calculations. However, due to the complicated river flow characteristics and the harsh testing environment in the field, a large amount of noise and interfering textures show up in the space-time images, which affects the detection results of the MOT. In response to the shortage of noise and interference texture, a new non-contact image analysis method is developed. Firstly, Multi-scale Retinex (MSR) is proposed to pre-process the images for contrast enhancement; secondly, a fourth-order Gaussian derivative steerable filter is employed to enhance the structure of the texture; next, based on the probability density distribution function and the orientations of the enhanced images, the noise suppression function and the orientation-filtering function are designed to filter out the noise to highlight the texture. Finally, the Fourier Maximum Angle Analysis (FMAA) is used to filter out the noise further and obtain the clear orientations to achieve the measurement of velocity and discharge. The experimental results show that, compared with the widely used image velocimetry measurements, the accuracy of our method in the average velocity and flow discharge is significantly improved, and the real-time performance is excellent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musical expertise is known to affect speech perception at units below clause/sentence. This study investigated whether the musician's advantage extends to a higher and more central level of speech processing (i.e., clause segmentation). Two groups of participants (musician vs. nonmusician) were presented with sentences that contain an internal clause boundary. The acoustic correlates of the boundary were manipulated in six conditions: all-cue, pause-only, final-lengthening-only, pitch-reset-only, pause-and-final-lengthening-in-combination, and no-cue conditions. Participants were asked to judge whether the sentence they heard had an internal boundary. Results showed that the musicians detected more boundaries than the nonmusicians in the all-cue and the pause-only conditions, but fewer boundaries in the no-cue condition. Further analyses of cue weight showed that both musicians and nonmusicians placed more importance on pause than the other two cues, but this weighting bias was more pronounced for the musicians. These results suggest that music training is associated with increased perceptual acuity not only to the acoustic markings of speech boundaries but also to the weighting of the cues. Our findings extend the role of musical expertise to sentence-level speech processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) hold great promise for photocatalytic application owning to their low production cost, unique optical properties, as well as excellent stability and conductivity. Integrating CDs in graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) nanosheets helps to broaden visible light absorption, retard charge recombination and promote photoelectrons transport. Herein, we demonstrated a simple strategy to introduce CDs on g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets by hydrothermal treatment of ginkgo leaves followed by thermal polymerization of urea. We found that there was were two volcano-trends in the photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate with the increase of CDs loading. As a result, the optimized CDs/g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites demonstrated a superior hydrogen evolution rate as high as 3.12 mmol g−1·h−1 and 14.4% apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) was achieved at 420 nm visible light irradiation. The contribution of CDs towards the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution enhancement was discussed in depth via experiment characterization and Density functional theory (DFT) calculation. This work may shed light on the rational design and bottom-up synthesis of eco-friendly energy conversion materials with high-performance and low cost. CDs modified g-C 3 N 4 hybrid was prepared by hydrothermal treatment of ginkgo leaves followed by thermal polymerization of urea. The H 2 evolution rate of g-C 3 N 4 improved 4.81 times after modified with CDs due to fast charge separation and the increase of surface-active sites. [Display omitted] • The CDs/g-C 3 N 4 photocatalysts were prepared from ginkgo leaves and urea. • There was a fluctuation in H 2 evolution rate with the increase of CDs loading. • The optimized CDs/g-C 3 N 4 demonstrated a superior HER as high as 3.12 mmol⋅g−1⋅h−1. • The formed micro-heterojunctions enhance charge transfer and light absorption. • The amount of CDs was relative to the active reaction sites of the photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water body mapping is an effective way to monitor dynamic changes in surface water, which is of great significance for water resource management. Super-resolution mapping is a valid method to generate high-resolution dynamic water body maps from low-spatial-resolution images. However, the accuracy of existing super-resolution mapping methods is not high due to the low accuracy of fraction images and the insufficiency of spatial pattern information. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a spectral similarity scale-based multiple-endmember spectral mixture analysis (SSS-based MESMA) and a multiscale spatio-temporal dependence method based on super-resolution mapping (MESMA_MST_SRM) for water bodies. SSS-based MESMA allows different coarse pixels to have different endmember combinations, which can effectively improve the accuracy of spectral unmixing and then improve the accuracy of fraction images. Multiscale spatio-temporal dependence adopts both pixel-based and subpixel-based spatial dependence. In this study, eight different types of water body mappings derived from the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Google Earth images were employed to test the performance of the MESMA_MST_SRM method. The results of the eight experiments showed that compared with the other four tested methods, the overall accuracy (OA) value, as well as the overall distribution and detailed information of the water map generated by the MESMA_MST_SRM method, were the best, indicating the great potential and efficiency of the proposed method in water body mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) are the most common congenital defects in the oral and maxillofacial regions. It is mainly diagnosed prenatally through fetal ultrasonography. However, the accuracy of ultrasonography for NSOFC is unreliable. Maternal serological screening is a noninvasive method for the diagnosis of fetal malformations. In our study, we sought to identify specific biomarkers in maternal serum for predicting NSOFC prenatally. We quantified the alterations in maternal serum protein profiles between 20 pregnant women with NSOFC fetuses and 20 pregnant women with healthy fetuses by using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation‐based mass spectrometry (MS). The serum levels of 75 elevated and 50 decreased proteins in the NSOFC group were detected. Twenty‐eight candidate biomarkers were selected for further confirmation by multiple reaction monitoring‐MS; of these, 16 proteins were found to be significantly different. More importantly, the levels of three proteins (APOA, HPT, and CRP) were verified by ELISAs to be obviously altered in serum from pregnancies carrying fetuses with NSOFC. Our results indicate that analysis of the maternal serum proteome is a feasible strategy for biomarker discovery of NSOFC, and APOA, HPT, and CRP proteins are potential serum biomarkers for prenatal diagnosis of NSOFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Babesia is a common protozoan parasite that infects red blood cells. In mice infected with Babesia microti, the red blood cells were lysed, resulting in decreased oxygen-carrying capacity. To compensate for low blood oxygen levels, stress on the heart was greatly increased. Babesiosis induces a variety of pathologies; meanwhile, heart tissues initiate self-repair responses to babesiosis-induced tissue damage to restore heart function. Methods: To discover the molecular mechanisms of the damage and self-repair in the heart after B. microti infection in mice, we investigated the changes in protein expression and phosphorylation modification levels in heart tissues at 0, 5, 8, 11, and 19 days post-infection using data-independent acquisition (DIA) quantitative proteomics. Results: The numbers of global proteins we identified were 1934, 1966, 1984, 1989, and 1955 and of phosphopeptides were 5118, 5133, 5130, 5133, and 5140 at 0, 5, 8, 11, and 19 days, respectively, in heart cells after infection with B. microti. The results showed that after B. microti infection the differentially expressed proteins in mice mainly include fibrinogen α (Fgα), fibrinogen β (Fgβ), Serpina1b, Serpina1c, cathepsin Z, cytochrome c oxidases (COXs), RPS11, and RPS20. The proteins with phosphorylation changes mainly include 20-kDa light chain of myosin II (MLC20), myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), and Akt1. These proteins were mainly involved in coagulation processes, cell apoptosis, oxidative phosphorylation, and ribosomes. Conclusions: The coagulation cascade-related proteins, apoptosis-related proteins, oxidative phosphorylation-related proteins, and other types of proteins are all involved in the damage and self-repair process in the heart after B. microti infection. These results offer a wealth of new targets for further exploration into the causes of heart disease induced by Babesia infection and are of great significance for novel drug development and new opportunities for targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared by calcination of Citrus limetta leaves and then modified by copper-ferrite nanoparticles (CuFe2O4). Afterward, AC/CuFe2O4 composite was used to remove methyl violet 2B (MV2B) dye from aqueous solution. Structural properties of AC/CuFe2O4 composite was determined by BET, SEM, EDX/Mapping, FTIR, Raman, TGA and DLS analyses. The specific surface area of the AC/CuFe2O4 composite was obtained 91.4 m2/g. Also, the maximum uptake efficiency of MV2B dye was obtained to be 97.85%, which achieved at pH 7, contact time of 120 min, temperature of 25°C, initial dye concentration of 10 mg/l and adsorbent dosage of 10 g/L. Moreover, the kinetic study showed that the adsorption data are more consistent with the quasi-second order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999). In addition, the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.981) better described the equilibrium behavior of the sorption process. Furthermore, the maximum uptake capacity was obtained to be 80.65 mg/g, which is a significant amount. Besides, thermodynamic data showed that the adsorption of MV2B using the AC/CuFe2O4 composite was spontaneous and exothermic. Also, the reusability of the AC/CuFe2O4 composite showed that the composite can be reused for up to four cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), a naturally occurring ecdysteroid hormone in arthropods, was administered by injection to female Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks that were partially fed virgin ticks or replete and mated to assess its effect on vitellogenesis. Injection of 20E into the partially fed virgin ticks stimulated vitellogenesis, as determined by significant increases in ovary development, increased amount of vitellogenin (Vg) in fat body, haemolymph Vg accumulation, and ovarian vitellin (Vn) accumulation. Replete mated ticks injected with 20E showed no differences from untreated ticks in the ovary weights or concentrations of fat body Vg, haemolymph Vg, and ovarian Vn. These results demonstrated that 20E administration stimulated vitellogenesis in partially fed virgin ticks but had no effect on replete mated ticks. The implications of these findings on the regulation of vitellogenesis in H. longicornis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Redox-regulating strategy enables tumor robust ferroptosis. • Various ferroptosis-based nanotherapeutics display favorable therapeutic efficacy. • Ferroptosis-driven nanomedicines offer a novel cancer treatment modality. Ferroptosis has garnered considerable attention benefiting from its remarkable potential in fighting malignant tumors. Its occurrence largely relies the overwhelming accumulation of lethal lipid peroxides accompanied by redox dyshomeostasis and irreversible oxidative damage to tumor cells. Given that intracellular redox homeostasis is closely associated with ferroptosis, numerous redox homeostasis-modulating nanomedicines have been developed for ferroptosis-driven antitumor therapy in recent years. As a new biomedical research hotspot, it's timely to outline the latest advances in redox-regulating nanotherapeutics potentiating ferroptosis-driven cancer treatment. Herein, we aim to present the emerging breakthroughs in this exciting field at the intersection of redox homeostasis, ferroptosis, nanotechnology, and cancer treatments. This review focuses on several ferroptosis-related redox homeostasis regulation strategies, including amplification of reactive oxygen species generation, suppression of antioxidant defense systems, bidirectional modulation of redox homeostasis, and ferroptosis-based multimodal modalities. Finally, we highlight the rationale, superiorities, and challenges of redox dyshomeostasis-evoked ferroptosis anticancer nanotherapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The W skeletons were pressed by the cold isostatic pressing process, and CuW alloys with different TiB 2 contents were prepared by the sintering and infiltration method. The effects of TiB 2 addition on the microstructures, properties, vacuum breakdown performance, and arc motion characteristics of CuW alloys were investigated. The results show that the conductivity of CuW alloy decreases with the addition of TiB 2 , while the hardness increases. Compared with CuW alloy, this method improves the breakdown strength, reduces the chopping current and extends the arc life of CuW alloy. The anti-arc erosion performance of CuW alloy with the addition of TiB 2 was enhanced. For CuW alloy containing TiB 2 , the electric breakdown occurs on the TiB 2 phase at the edge of the W phase, the cathode spots are split, the arc is effectively scattered, and the ablation area after multiple breakdowns is larger, but the erosion pits are shallow and dispersed. • The hardness of CuW alloys increases with the addition of TiB 2. • TiB 2 addition has increased breakdown strength, decreased chopping current, and prolonged arcing life of CuW alloys. • For CuW alloys containing TiB 2 , the breakdown occurs on the TiB 2 phase, the cathode spots is split, the arc is effectively dispersed, and the erosion pits are shallow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbohydrate-Active enZYme (CAZY) GH89 family enzymes catalyze the cleavage of terminal α-N-acetylglucosamine from glycans and glycoconjugates. Although structurally and mechanistically similar to the human lysosomal α-N-acetylglucosaminidase (hNAGLU) in GH89 which is involved in the degradation of heparan sulfate in the lysosome, the reported bacterial GH89 enzymes characterized so far have no or low activity toward α-N-acetylglucosamine-terminated heparosan oligosaccharides, the preferred substrates of hNAGLU. We cloned and expressed several soluble and active recombinant bacterial GH89 enzymes in Escherichia coli. Among these enzymes, a truncated recombinant α-N-acetylglucosaminidase from gut symbiotic bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ∆22Bt3590 was found to catalyze the cleavage of the terminal α1–4-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) from a heparosan disaccharide with high efficiency. Heparosan oligosaccharides with lengths up to decasaccharide were also suitable substrates. This bacterial α-N-acetylglucosaminidase could be a useful catalyst for heparan sulfate analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of averaged interactive fields, this research discovered a new relation between averaged binary potential field (ABPF) and sound speed. Then, the ABPFs of five noble gases were modeled using an extended Lennard–Jones potential function. The derived equation based on the ABPF and the model potential accurately described the sound speed data of the five noble gases from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Later, the surface of the ABPF was determined from the data, which indicated that the ABPF principally exhibited the conventional Lennard–Jones' potential at low temperatures, but performed as a soft sphere potential at high temperatures. This temperature-based shift represents new knowledge regarding intermolecular interactions. The derived equation also provided a novel and practical method to calculate the sound speed from temperature and density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing effective photo electrode for photo-electrochemical (PEC) water splitting is highly demanded yet challengeable because of the limited sunlight utilization and retarded redox reaction kinetics. This work introduces a feasible one-pot hydrothermal strategy of fabricating MoS 2 /NiFe LDH p-n heterojunctions on conductive porous nickel foam as an efficient photoanode for PEC water splitting. A great enhancement for PEC water oxidation is achieved because of the improved sunlight absorption and the increased photo-excited charge separation. The optimal 10% MoS 2 /Ni 0.9 Fe 0.1 LDH/nickel foam photoanode demonstrates 3.8 times enhanced PEC activity than the Ni 0.9 Fe 0.1 LDH/NF counterpart and a low Tafel plot of 54 mV dec−1. The bandgap modulation and the Z -scheme charge transfer dynamics due to the formation of MoS 2 /NiFe LDH p-n heterostructure, along with the high conductivity of porous nickel foam account for the increased photo-current conversion efficiency and the boosted charge transfer. Schematic diagram on PEC charge transfer in MoS 2 /Ni 0.9 Fe 0.1 LDH/Foam Nickel photoanode through Z scheme p-n heterojunctions. [Display omitted] • MoS 2 /NiFe-LDH/NF photoanodes were prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal strategy. • MoS 2 /NiFe LDH p-n heterojunction was formed by electrostatic self-assembly. • The optimal MoS 2 /NiFe- LDH /nickel foam photoanode exhibited 3.8 times enhanced IPCE. • The Z-scheme heterointerface contributes to the enhanced charge transfer and light absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The optimization parameters have important influence on the topology structure. • With different volume ratios, the topological structures are clear and complete, and all have good radial extensibility. • The heat transfer area is larger and the heat transfer path is more reasonable, which is conducive to heat transfer. • The topology structure has good heat transfer characteristics. In the latent heat storage (LHS) system, topology optimization was applied to the design of the fin structure, and the material variable density interpolation method was adopted. Given the effect of natural convection heat transfer on heat transfer characteristics, the buoyancy source term and resistance source term were introduced in the momentum conservation equation to establish a mathematical model of heat transfer and topology of the heat storage system. To obtain a reasonable topology, we analyzed the effects of optimization parameters such as penalty factor, filter radius, steepness factor and threshold value on the topology. Then, four typical topologies were selected for heat transfer and flow analysis. The results show that at 500 s, Case 1 is nearly half melted, while Case 4 is almost completely melted. It can be seen that more branch structures and radial extension in Case 4 provide a larger heat transfer area and a more reasonable heat transfer path, which improves the uniformity of the temperature field and significantly increases the heat transfer rate. This study can provide a theoretical basis for topology optimization in the structural distribution of fins in the LHS system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracellular methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is extremely difficult to remove by common antibiotics, leading to infection recurrence and resistance. Herein we report a novel exosome-based antibiotic delivery platform for eradicating intracellular MRSA, where mannosylated exosome (MExos) is employed as the drug carrier and preferentially taken up by macrophages, delivering lysostaphin (MExoL) and vancomycin (MExoV) to intracellular pathogens. Combination of MExoL and MExoV eradicated intracellular quiescent MRSA. Moreover, MExos rapidly accumulated in mouse liver and spleen, the target organs of intracellular MRSA, after intravenous (IV) administration. Thus, the MExos antibiotic delivery platform is a promising strategy for combating intracellular infection. Unlabelled Image • Mannosylated exosomes targeting macrophage were developed by the metabolic labeling and click chemistry. • This mannosylated exosome could enhance the delivery of antibiotics to intracellular pathogens. • Combination of vancomycin and lysostaphin loaded exosomes displayed pronounced eradication of intracellular quiescent MRSA. • These antibiotics loaded exosomes showed no toxicity. • The exosomes encapsulated antibiotics will reduced the dose of vancomycin, followed by decreased toxicity and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we investigated whether processing good-fit anomalies is modulated by contextual accessibility during discourse comprehension. Five-sentence discourses were used as the materials. The fifth sentence of each discourse contained a critical word that was highly semantically associated with the local sentence context. Three conditions were constructed: congruent, incongruent/short-distance and incongruent/long-distance conditions. For the incongruent/short-distance and incongruent/long-distance conditions, the critical words were semantically incongruent with the contextual information in the third and first sentence of the discourse, respectively. The results showed that the incongruent/short-distance and incongruent/long-distance conditions failed to elicit the N400 effect compared to the congruent condition. Moreover, a post-N400 positivity effect was found in the incongruent/short-distance condition, and this effect was strongly reduced in the incongruent/long-distance condition, indicating that the good-fit anomalies were ultimately detected and that lower contextual accessibility could lead to more difficulty in detecting semantic incongruence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosynthesis of Nylon 12 monomer using dodecanoic acid (DDA) or its esters as the renewable feedstock typically involves ω-hydroxylation, oxidation and ω-amination. The dependence of hydroxylation and oxidation-catalyzing enzymes on redox cofactors, and the requirement of L-alanine as the co-substrate and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) as the coenzyme for transamination, raise the issue of redox imbalance and cofactor shortage, challenging the development of efficient biocatalysts. Simultaneous regeneration of the redox equivalents, PLP and L-alanine required in the artificial pathway was enabled by its interfacing with the native metabolism of the host using glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), L-alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) and an exogenous ribose 5-phosphate (R5P)-dependent PLP synthesis pathway as bridges. Further engineering of the host by blocking β-oxidation and enhancing substrate uptake improved the ω-aminododecanoic acid (ω-AmDDA) yield to 96.5%. This study offers a strategy to resolve the cofactor imbalance issue commonly encountered in whole-cell biocatalysis and meanwhile lays a solid foundation for Nylon 12 bioproduction. Image 1 • Artificial enzyme cascade design combined with metabolic engineering of the chassis. • Regeneration of redox cofactors, co-substrate and coenzyme in whole-cell biocatalyst. • Coupling synthetic pathway with the central metabolism for cofactors regeneration. • Production of Nylon 12 monomer from dodecanoic acid at yields of up to 96.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations were carried out to study the heat transfer and friction characteristics for Stirling engine heater tubes with three-dimensional internal extended micro-rib. During the numerical simulations, phase angle in a cycle ranged from 0° to 360°. The results represent that the friction factor (f) increased with micro-rib length (L) and micro-rib height (H) for enhanced tube within the range of parameters in this study. For the micro-rib heat tube of L = 60 mm and H = 0.9 mm, the j was equal to 1.44 and the average Stanton number St was significantly improved up to 1.287 compared to smooth tube, the friction factor f was also increased by almost 2.32. The outlet pressure from 0.7 Mpa to 1 Mpa with the cosine change is presented as the phase angle increases. Therefore the benefits are apparent for micro-rib heat tube in Stirling engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cytokine-like 1 (Cytl1) is first identified in bone marrow cells and preferentially expressed in cartilaginous tissue, and showed chondrogenic effects in mesenchymal cells, not essential for cartilage or bone development as in Cytl1 knock-out mice but associated with cartilage inflammatory and destruction. Here, we show the involvement of Cytl1 in chondrogenesis. Using specified chondrogenic embryonic skeleton and adult cartilage, the Cytl1 gene expression was investigated with associated chondrogenic factors by quantitative RT-PCR. The effect of Cytl1 protein (rCytl1) on cultured chondrocytes to regulate expression of key factors and phenotypic markers was studied. The results revealed that Cytl1 was highly expressed in chondrogenic process in embryos and adult cartilage. The rCytl1 increased the expression of Sox9 and Col2α1 with stabilized Col1α1 in cultured chondrocytes (redifferentiation). The Cytl1 was expressed and involved at all stages of cartilage development. Furthermore, Cytl1 expression shared similar patterns as other chondrogenic factors, implying interactions with other factors in chondrogenic process. Cytl1 is involved in cartilage development and matrix homeostasis, which defines the dedifferentiation phenotype of chondrocytes, essential to forming of functional cartilage in both physiologic remodeling and pathologic regeneration. • Cytl1 promotes chondrogenesis in mesenchymal cells, not for cartilage development. • The cytokine is expressed in chondrogenic embryos, adult cartilage and chondrocytes. • The Cytl1 was synergistically expressed with Sox9 and Cal2α1 during chondrogenesis. • Expression of the fibroblastic Cal1α1 was restrained in cultured chondrocytes by Cytl1. • Cytl1 is involved in cartilage development and matrix homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of music training on the processing of temporal order in Mandarin sentence reading using event-related potentials (ERPs). Two-clause sentences with temporal connectives ("before" or "after") were presented to both musicians and non-musicians. Additionally, a verbal N-back task was utilized to evaluate the participants' working memory capacities. The findings revealed that musicians, but not nonmusicians, demonstrated a more negative amplitude in the second clauses of "before" sentences compared with "after" sentences. In the N-back task, musicians exhibited faster reaction times than nonmusicians in the two-back condition. Furthermore, a correlation was observed between the ERP amplitude differences (before vs. after) and reaction time differences in the N-back task (0-back vs. 2-back) among musicians. These findings suggested that music training enhances the depth of temporal order processing, potentially mediated by improvements in working memory capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report first-principles studies the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the forsterite Mg2SiO4 in orthorhombic structure, including pressure dependence of structural parameters, band structures, density of states, and optical constants up to 30 GPa. The non-uniform pressure dependence of the lattice parameters may also mean that the forsterite Mg2SiO4 undergoes anisotropic compression. Meanwhile, the pressure dependence of the electronic band structure, density of states and partial density of states of forsterite Mg2SiO4 up to 30 GPa were presented. Moreover, the evolution of the dielectric function, absorption coefficient ( α (ω)), reflectivity ( R (ω)), and the real part of the refractive index ( n (ω)) at high pressure are also presented. According to our work, we found that the optical properties of forsterite Mg2SiO4 undergo a blue shift with increasing pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combinatorial modulation of inter- and intra-subunit interactions of decameric D -fructose-6-phosphate aldolase A (FSAA) generated a triple-site variant I31T/Q59T/I195Q FSAA with 27- to 278-fold improvement in activity towards target heteroaromatic aldehydes. X-ray crystallographic data and molecular dynamics simulations ascribed the enhanced activity to the pronounced flexibility of the interface region between subunits, the expanded substrate entrance and binding pocket, and enhanced proton transfer, unambiguously demonstrating the efficiency of this strategy for engineering multimeric enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate how predicting upcoming words differ when contextual information used to generate the prediction is from the immediately preceding sentence context versus an earlier discourse context. Four-sentence discourses were presented to participants, with the critical words in the last sentences, either predictable or unpredictable based on sentence- or discourse-level contextual information. At the sentence level, the crucial contextual information for prediction was provided by the last sentence, where the critical word was embedded (e.g., Xiaoyu came to the living room. She made a cup of lemon tea. Then she sat down in a chair. She opened a box/an album to look at the pictures.), and at the discourse level by the first sentence (e.g., Xiaoyu took out a box/an album. She made a cup of lemon tea. Then she sat down in a chair. She leisurely looked at the pictures.). Results showed reduced N400 for predictable words compared to unpredictable counterparts at sentence and discourse levels and also a post-N400 positivity effect of predictability at sentence level. This suggests that both sentence- and discourse-level semantic information help readers predict upcoming words, but supportive sentence context more than discourse context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyraoxystrobin is a novel strobilurin fungicide that is widely used on many crops. The high log Kow of pyraoxystrobin implies that it tends to accumulate in aquatic organisms. This study optimized the sorbents of QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) using 13C-labelled pyraoxystrobin as the internal standard (IS). It has been established a QuEChERS-LC-MS/MS IS method to study the bioconcentration and elimination of pyraoxystrobin in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The results indicated that the method had satisfactory linearity between 0.234 and 15 μg L−1 (R2 = 0.9996). The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for pyraoxystrobin were 0.01 and 0.03 μg L−1, respectively. The LOQs of the method for water and zebrafish were 0.05 μg L−1 and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The mean recovery of pyraoxystrobin in zebrafish and water at fortification levels of 0.01–0.3 mg kg−1 and 0.05–1.5 μg L−1 ranged from 98.31 to 105.61% and 101.87 to 108.48%, respectively, with a % RSD (relative standard deviation) of 0.94–3.57%. The bioconcentration has been evaluated. The bioconcentration factors for pyraoxystrobin in zebrafish were 1,792 and 3,505 after exposure to 0.5 μg L−1 for 168 h and 0.05 μg L−1 for 216 h, respectively. The half-life of pyraoxystrobin in zebrafish was 9.0–9.5 d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Designed the solar thermal-photovoltaic vacuum fiber membrane distillation system. • Applied the response surface methodology to optimize the operation parameters in solar thermal-photovoltaic membrane distillation system. • Applied the ANOVA to analyze and verify the RSM mathematical model. • Obtained the optimal operation conditions, the corresponding permeate flux and energy consumption in RSM model and the experiments. Response surface methodology is used in this study to model and optimize a solar thermal-photovoltaic vacuum membrane distillation (STPVMD) system with PVDF hollow fiber membrane. Regression models have been developed to forecast the effect of various operation factors on the permeate flux and the energy consumption. The operation factors in the model include the feed inlet temperature, the feed flow rate and the vacuum pressure. Analysis of variance is used to statistically validate the regression models. With permeate flux as the objective function of optimization, the optimal operation parameters are found to be 63 °C for the feed inlet temperature, 237 L / h for the feed flow rate, and 750 kPa for the vacuum pressure. Experimental tests show that the resulting permeate flux is 6.26 L / m 2 · h , which is slightly higher than the predicted value of 6.05 L / m 2 · h. The corresponding energy consumption is predicted to be 12.52 L / kW · h , demonstrating the effectiveness and reliability of the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The viscosity of natural gas has considerable theoretical and practical significance in the design and operation of gas transportation, production, and processing. In order to quickly and cheaply obtain the viscosity data of natural gas, an alternate predictive model was developed based on corresponding states and Lennard-Jones averaged intermolecular potential field. Then, the accuracy of the model was assessed with 2389 experimental data points from 15 natural gas specimens after 2000, which sat in temperature and pressure ranges: 241–454 K, 0.1–140 MPa. The result shows that the averaged absolute percent deviation was less than 2.1%, wherein for the 793 data points measured via the same device within 0.5% relative uncertainty, the averaged and maximum absolute percent deviation were ≤ 0.72% and 2.7%. While comparing against ten existing models, the new model had the advantages of simplicity, accuracy, convenience, and theoretical background. In the natural gas viscosity analysis, calculation, and design, the use of the new model is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We planned to dig the carcinostasis activity of physcion 8-O-β-glucopyranoside (PG) in ovarian cancer cells and explored whether long non-coding RNA NORAD was the potential cause of the carcinostasis impact of PG. The impacts of PG on the tumour cell behaviours (including cell viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion) of SKOV3 cells were grabbed. The levels of NORAD in cancer tissues and cell lines were determined; afterwards, the impacts of abnormal expression of NORAD on the tumour cell behaviours of SKOV3 cells were assessed. Moreover, we explored whether NORAD modulated the level of STAT3 by competitively sponging miR-608, thus mediating the antineoplastic effects of PG on ovarian cancer cells. PG suppressed cell viability, enhanced apoptosis and lessened migration and invasion of SKOV3 cells. NORAD was upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cells. Silencing of NORAD lessened cell viability, migration and invasion, but induced apoptosis of SKOV3 cells, whereas overexpression of NORAD had opposite effects. Moreover, PG decreased the expression of NORAD. Overexpression of NORAD reversed the effects of PG treatment on the cell biological performances of SKOV3 cells, which were further reversed after overexpression of miR-608 simultaneously. Furthermore, STAT3 was tested as a target gene of miR-608, and the impact of NORAD in PG-treated SKOV3 cells were through the miR-608-mediated STAT3. Our findings reveal that NORAD/miR-608/STAT3 axis is pivotal in mediating the antineoplastic impacts of PG on ovarian cancer cells, which may offer a novel explanation in the therapy of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method to predict velocity profile in rod bundle has been proposed. • Gas velocity distribution can be simplified to turbulent velocity distribution. • Liquid velocity distribution can be derived by interfacial shear stress correlation. • The predictions show reasonable agreement with data. Annular flow in rod bundle occurs frequently in boiling water reactor (BWR) under normal operation and in pressurized water reactor (PWR) under accident conditions. When annular flow occurs, rod film thickness is one of the most important parameters for safety concern. In order to calculate rod film thickness distribution inside rod bundle, both gas and liquid velocity distribution inside rod bundle is necessary. Also, flow distribution inside rod bundle is of importance for calculation of interfacial shear stress and other parameters in each sub-channel. However, entrained droplets in gas core can sharpen the gas velocity profile while existing rods can flatten the gas velocity profile, making it different from that of single phase flow. The liquid velocity distribution inside rod bundle is hard to obtain from experiment because of the complex structure of its geometry. Due to these reasons, this paper deducts gas and liquid velocity profiles from existing adiabatic rod film thickness data. Even the gas velocity profiles for different flow conditions are different, there exists a gas velocity profile that can be applied to all current flow conditions with minimum uncertainties. Based on that gas velocity profile, liquid velocity profile can be calculated. From these flow velocity profiles, film thickness on each rod and interfacial shear stress in each sub-channel can be calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is a highly infectious, zoonotic pathogen. Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) is an important virulence component of the outer membrane of P. multocida. OmpA mediates bacterial biofilm formation, eukaryotic cell infection, and immunomodulation. It is unclear how OmpA affects the host immune response. We estimated the role of OmpA in the pathogenesis of P. multocida by investigating the effect of OmpA on the immune cell transcriptome. Changes in the transcriptome of rat alveolar macrophages (NR8383) upon overexpression of P. multocida OmpA were demonstrated. A model cell line for stable transcription of OmpA was constructed by infecting NR8383 cells with OmpA-expressing lentivirus. RNA was extracted from cells and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq platform. Key gene analysis of genes in the RNA-seq dataset were performed using various bioinformatics methods, such as gene ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, and Protein–Protein Interaction Analysis. Our findings revealed 1340 differentially expressed genes. Immune-related pathways that were significantly altered in rat alveolar macrophages under the effect of OmpA included focal adhesion, extracellular matrix and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathways, antigen processing and presentation, nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. The key genes screened were Vegfa , Igf2r , Fabp5 , P2rx1 , C5ar1 , Nedd4l , Gas6 , Cxcl1 , Pf4 , Pdgfb , Thbs1 , Col7a1 , Vwf , Ccl9 , and Arg1. Data of associated pathways and altered gene expression indicated that OmpA might cause the conversion of rat alveolar macrophages to M2-like. The related pathways and key genes can serve as a reference for OmpA of P. multitocida and host interaction mechanism studies. • P. multocida OmpA was transcriptionally overexpressed in rat alveolar macrophages. • Dysfunction and polarization of alveolar macrophages. • Significant functional changes in tissue repair, angiogenesis and immunosuppression were found in RNA-seq bioinformatics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) and its interaction with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and shikonin on the proliferation, and apoptosis of HaCaT cell line. Materials and Methods: HaCaT cells were cultured under different concentrations of EGF and shikonin, and to calculate their optimal effect dosages. The transfection was performed using Lipofectamine2000, and then gene expression of miR-21 was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). MTT assay and flow cytometry were applied to test cell proliferation and apoptosis. Western blot and RT-PCR were used to detect the proliferation (proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA], NF-κB/IKKβ) and apoptosis (caspase-3/caspase-9, bcl-2) signals of HaCaT cell. Results: MTT assay showed that miR-21 mimic and EGF promoted, whereas, shikonin and miR-21 inhibitor inhibited cell viability of HaCaT cell. MiR-21 was upregulated by miR-21 mimic and EGF, while downregulated by shikonin and miR-21 inhibitor. Besides, EGF and miR-21 mimic promoted proliferation-associated signals (PCNA, NF-κB/IKKβ) expression, which were suppressed by shikonin and miR-21 inhibitor. Yet, shikonin and miR-21 inhibitor induced apoptosis-related signals (caspase-3/caspase-9, bcl-2) expression while reversed by EGF and miR-21 mimic which were confirmed by the result of flow cytometry. Conclusions: MiR-21 promotes the process of EGF-induced cell growth of HaCaT. The antagonized effect of shikonin in EGF-induced proliferation and apoptosis might be mediated by suppressing the expression of miR-21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nannocystin A is a novel 21-membered macrocyclic lactam that targets eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1α (eEF1A) and displays potent antiproliferative activities. Herein, a series of nannocystin A analogues were synthesized and their structure–activity relationship (SAR) were established based on the MTT assay and western blotting analysis. The SAR enabled us to identify a structurally simplified nannocystin A analogue LQ18 , which exhibited potent antiproliferative activities with IC 50 values ranging from 4.3 to 48 nM against the tested cell lines, and inhibited eEF1A1 expression in A549 cell line. LQ18 arrested cell cycle at G2 phase and induced A549 cell apoptosis via up-regulation of caspase-3, caspase-9 and bax protein expressions in a dose-dependent manner, while it significantly decreased the bcl-2 expression. Collectively, these data demonstrated that LQ18 could be a promising lead for the development of structurally novel eEF1A1 inhibitor for cancer treatment. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • SAR was established based on the MTT assay and Western blotting analysis. • LQ18 exhibited potent antiproliferative activities with IC 50 values ranging from 4.3 to 48 nM. • LQ18 inhibited eEF1A expression in A549 cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 1D AgNWs@TiO 2 core-shell nanocomposites were prepared by a sol-gel method and an open-air hydrothermal method. • The AgNWs@TiO 2 core-shell structure show excellent response and selectivity to ammonia due to its unique structure. • High sensing performance can be attributed to high surface area and the Schottky barrier at the interface of Ag NWs@TiO 2. • The excellent conductive properties of 1D Ag nanowires core play important roles in enhancing sensing performance. Abstract This study demonstrates a novel one-dimensional core-shell structure based on the coating of silver nanowires (Ag NWs) with a layer of titanium oxide (TiO 2) nanoparticles. This approach for generating core-shell structures is facile and straightforward, utilizing a sol-gel method followed by the crystallization of TiO 2 using a simple open-air hydrothermal method. The Ag nanowires are ˜10 μm in length and have a diameter of 100 nm, and their TiO 2 polycrystalline shell is 10–15 nm in thickness. These novel structures offer large surface area and high stability, which are qualities that favor gas sensing performance. Gas sensing tests have demonstrated that the generated Ag NWs@TiO 2 core-shell nanocomposites exhibit better sensing properties (response, selectivity, optimized working temperature, minimum concentration, and response and recovery time) when compared to sensors containing pure TiO 2 nanoparticles. The mechanism of sensing enhancement can be attributed to the Schottky barrier that exists at the interface between the Ag NWs and the TiO 2. The Ag core has an excellent conductive property for electronic transfer and further accelerates the oxygen ionization and surface redox reactions. These results may shed light on the design and construction of TiO 2 -based nanocomposites for gas sensor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper developed a novel approach to determine averaged binary potential field (ABPF) from compressibility factor. After the concepts of intermolecular potential field and idealized symmetric fluid were introduced, relevant thermodynamical analytical expressions for the fluid were derived. Especially, a new equation relating the compressibility factor with the ABPF was obtained. And then, the obtained equation was applied to five typical fluids: argon, methane, methanol, benzene and water, which covers spherical, nonpolar and polar molecules. It was found that all the ABPFs of the five fluids exhibited a combination of the potential of soft sphere ball and/or the potential of standard Lennard-Jones' form taught in textbooks, and can be accurately fitted to the linear combination of odd Chebyshev polynomials up to the fifth degree. These results have not only shown the fruitfulness and application value of the approach, but also suggested an alternative way to explore the intermolecular interactions in the averaged field's manner. Highlights • A novel approach to determine averaged binary potential field (ABPF) from compressibility factor was developed. • A new equation relating the compressibility factor with the ABPF was obtained. • The ABPFs of five simple fluids exhibited a combination of the potentials of soft sphere ball and/or Lennard-Jones' form. • These ABPFs can be accurately described with the linear combination of odd Chebyshev polynomials up to the fifth degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies indicate that genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). To evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of genes and IgAN risk, we performed a case-control study in a Chinese Han population. Materials: Twelve SNPs were selected and genotyped in 384 IgAN patients and 357 healthy controls. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by logistic regression adjusted for age and gender. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was used to analyze the interaction of SNP-SNP with IgAN risk. Results: Our study demonstrated that IL-16 rs859 (OR = 0.75, p = 0.040) and CYP19A1 rs4646 (OR = 2.58, p = 0.017) polymorphism were related to the risk of IgAN. In stratified analyses by gender, CYP19A1 rs4646 (OR = 2.96, p = 0.015) and BACH1 rs372883 (OR = 1.81, p = 0.038) polymorphisms conferred susceptibility to IgAN in males. Besides, rs372883 reduced IgAN risk in females (OR = 0.44, p = 0.042). We also found rs859 polymorphism was correlated with grade I-II (OR = 0.42, p = 0.028) in subgroup analysis of Lee's classification. Additionally, we found rs4646 polymorphism was correlated with serum creatinine (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Our results suggested that the IL-16 rs859, CYP19A1 rs4646, and BACH1 rs372883 polymorphisms have potential roles in the genetic susceptibility to IgAN in Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aims CAA45 is a calothrixin A (CAA) analogue with anti-cancer activity at nanomolar concentration. This study aimed to investigate the anti-lung cancer activity of CAA45 and explore its mechanisms of actions. Main methods CAA and CAA45 were synthesized and their inhibition on DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I) performed by evaluating the relaxation of supercoiled pBR322 plasmid DNA and their anti-lung cancer capacity determined by cytotoxic assays, cell migration, cell cycle, cell apoptosis, cell autophagy and related signaling proteins expression by western blot. Key findings CAA45 significantly inhibited human non-small cancer cell A549 and NCI-H1650 cells growth with IC 50 values of 110 and 230 nM, respectively. In the A549 xenograft models, CAA45 displayed strong antitumor activities at a dose of 10 mg/kg. CAA45 inhibited Topo I activity and caused the cell cycle arrest at S phase, which also reduced A549 cell migration by inhibiting MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions. Furthermore, CAA45 induced A549 cell apoptosis and autophagy. The apoptosis pathway was involved in the release of cytochrome c and caspase activation. CAA45 also inhibited Akt, activated JNK and up-regulated p53 signals in A549 cells, which may serve as a modulator to induce apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells. Significance CAA45 exerted its anti-lung cancer effect via inhibition of Topo I, resulting in cell cycle arrest and cell migration, induction of mitochondria mediated cell apoptosis and autophagy via PI3K/Akt/JNK/p53 pathway. All these observations suggested that CAA45 could be a promising lead for anti-cancer drug discovery. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study developed an innovative two-step method to synthesize hybrid gold decorated nanosheet-assembled V 2 O 5 microflowers (Au/V 2 O 5), through in-situ reduction of Au nanoparticles on nanosheet-assembled V 2 O 3 microflowers at room temperature in aqueous solution and further thermal oxidization as V 2 O 5. Various characterization techniques were employed, such as SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, XPS, and BET, to reveal that Au nanoparticles (diameter of ~10 nm) evenly attached on the surface of nanosheet-assembled V 2 O 5 nanoparticles (diameters of ~1–2 μm). This method shows several advantages in generating such nanocomposites: low cost, highly efficient, room-temperature and easy operation, as well as no need for extra reducing agents and surfactants. The gas sensing properties of the Au/V 2 O 5 composites were investigated toward toxic 1-butylamine, an important marker compound in food and medical industries, showing that the Au modification can effectively enhance the sensing performance: high response (100 ppm of 1-butylamine), high selectivity, and low working temperature (~240 °C), compared to bare V 2 O 5 microflowers. The effect of the molar ratio of Au to V 2 O 5 on nanostructure and sensing property was also investigated. The findings may bring a new insight into the fabrication of noble metal(s) modified V 2 O 5 composites with high sensing performance. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Au/V 2 O 5 microflowers are prepared by a simple method at room temperature. • The Au/V 2 O 5 microflowers show excellent response and selectivity to 1-butylamine. • The working temperature of the microflowers is lowered to 240 °C by loading Au. • The enhanced sensing mechanism is due to the excellent catalytic activity of Au. • The electron depletion layer at the Au/V 2 O 5 interface is critical for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Both physiologic remodeling and pathologic regeneration of cartilage tissue rely upon chondrocyte functions and are benefited from factors that promote viability and inhibit apoptosis of the cell, and associated mechanisms. High level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory cytokines activate apoptosis signaling and initiate cell death, which can be attenuated by antioxidants. This study examined the effect of catalase (CAT) on ROS and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced apoptosis in human C28/I2 chondrocytes cultured in monolayer. Methods: Chondrocytes were treated with diluted CAT in the presence or absence of TNF-α and compared to untreated cells. Levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) were measured using fluorescent labeling, cell apoptosis was assayed by flow cytometry using Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining, gene expression was detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and the proteins were investigated by Western blotting. Results: CAT effectively reduced the intracellular ROS caused by the monolayer culture system, enhanced the Δψm depending on the presence of TNF-α and promoted morphological features at sub-cellular level. CAT also attenuated the TNF-α-upregulated expression of factors/mediators of extrinsic cell death cascade and apoptotic caspases, ultimately resulted in promoted cellular viability. Conclusion: The anti-apoptotic effect of CAT on chondrocytes via scavenging ROS and suppressing TNF-α-induced cell apoptosis by TNF/TNF receptor (TNFR) mediated death signaling pathway and potentiate CAT as a complementary agent beneficial to cartilage remodeling and regeneration in vivo, and cell-based therapies of cartilage repair demanding viable cells expanded ex vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Experiments have been performed to measure the film thickness on individual rods as well as the casing wall in the annular flow regime in 8 × 8 rod bundle. • On the same axial level, the minimum rod film thickness happens at the center rod and the maximum film thickness happens at the corner rod. • The presence of a rod and casing wall increases the wall film thickness compared to rod gap under the same flow conditions. • The current spacer grid design has the effect of reducing the rod and wall film thickness downstream of the spacer. Abstract In order to develop detailed model of the annular two-phase flow the average liquid film thickness is an important parameter. It can significantly affect the occurrence of dryout and post-dryout phenomenon on heater surfaces. Most research on film thickness has been focused on pipe flows. Data in rod bundle geometry are very limited. However data in rod bundle geometry is much more valuable for reactor safety modeling and calculations. Because of this, an experiment to measure liquid film thickness has been performed for the air-water annular flow in a 8 × 8 BWR rod bundle. Film thickness data were obtained both on the rods and on the channel wall. Data were recorded at four axial locations within the rod bundle. This included locations just before and just after a spacer grid. This allowed the spacer grids effect on the film thickness to be evaluated. The minimum film thickness was on the center rod. Also, the presence of the spacer grid resulted in reduced film thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional algorithm does not take account of the authentication problem of terminal and server. It has poor security, heavy computation of encryption or decryption, and low efficiency. To address these problems, a new intelligent encryption algorithm for network communication parallel data of information release terminal is proposed in this paper. After users' registration, the registered ID, user password, and two random numbers are entered. The first authentication data is obtained by calculating and then transferred through a secure channel to the server for the first authentication. After the success of the identity authentication in the information release terminal and the server, the user of the information release terminal obtains the release authority. Self-inverse key matrix is generated with MapReduce parallel mechanism. Source release information data file is divided into blocks in the communication process, and each block is encrypted with key matrix. After dividing the plaintext matrix and the key matrix, the plaintext is encrypted according to the Hill encryption principle. After obtaining the ciphertext and key matrix, the plaintext is decrypted according to the principle of Hill decryption principle. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has high security and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a continuous discourse, the importance of information can be conveyed both implicitly and explicitly. Global discourse hierarchy can convey importance implicitly, such that information at higher hierarchy levels is more important than those at lower hierarchy levels. In contrast, focus can mark importance explicitly, with information in focused positions being more important than that in non-focused positions. In this event-related potential study, we investigated whether the processing of implicitly highlighted information and explicitly highlighted information involved different neural mechanisms during online discourse processing. Three-clause discourses were constructed to implement hierarchy manipulation. For the discourses in the high-level condition, the first two clauses were subordinate clauses that formed a sentence, while the last clause formed a sentence independently. Whereas for the discourses in the low-level condition, the first clause formed a sentence independently while the following two clauses formed a sentence together. The last clause of each discourse thus differed in its status in the high and low-level condition and within it a critical word was embedded. For each discourse, a preceding wh-question was added to project a focus position in the discourse so that the critical word was either in the focused or non-focused position. Our results showed that the critical words elicited a smaller N400 when they were located at the higher than at the lower hierarchy level, whereas they elicited enhanced P2 and P3b when they were located in the focused than in the non-focused position. These results suggest that both hierarchy and focus facilitated the integration of highlighted information in the discourse. However, these factors influenced discourse integration in different temporal dynamics and involved different cognitive processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In situ self-assembled strategy enables deep tumor penetration and drug enrichment. • Tumor stimuli-triggered in situ nanoassembly confers theranostic advantages. • In situ self-assembled nanomedicines offer new therapeutic modalities for cancer. Nanomedicines have emerged as a dependable modality for cancer theranostics. However, the limited tumor penetration of conventional nanocarriers poses significant challenges in achieving accurate diagnosis and treatment of cancer, particularly solid tumors. The approach of in situ self-assembly relies on the influence of exogenous molecules on particular physiological and pathological settings, provoking spontaneous self-assembly of drug molecules into sophisticated nanostructures with distinct biological functions. Recently, mounting evidence has demonstrated that the in situ self-assembled strategy facilitates effective enrichment of nanodrugs into deep tumors, showcasing unique advantages in precise tumor imaging and therapy. In this review, we highlight recent breakthroughs in the intersection of in situ self-assembly, cancer treatment, and biomedical nanotechnology. Specifically, we introduce the principles and techniques of in situ nanoassembly and summarize emerging in situ self-assembled nanosystems for precise tumor imaging and high-efficiency cancer therapy. In addition, this study presents in situ nanoassembly-based multimodal therapy. Ultimately, the potential and obstacles associated with in situ self-assembled nanomedicines for anticancer theranostic applications are illuminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active S atoms of sulfides play key roles in photocatalytic H 2 production. This study reports a visible-light-driven ZnIn 2 S 4 photocatalyst with abundant active S atoms achieved by exposing more (110) plane via adjusting S contents in reactants. The prepared samples exhibit flower-like microparticles aggregated by nanosheets (∼10 nm thick). The aggregation increases with the S contents. XRD and XPS results indicate that ZIS-1 exposes more (110) planes and active S atoms than other samples. Photocatalytic H 2 production tests indicate that ZIS-1 exhibits the highest H 2 production rate (19.81 mmol g−1 h−1) and AQY value (19.36 %) among the prepared samples. The underlying reason for the high performance of ZIS-1 is attributed to the active S mechanism, which is confirmed by the phenomenon that the photocatalytic performance decreases when secondary materials are modified on its surface. Furthermore, the optical and electrochemical experiments suggest that the ZIS-1 owns more photogenerated electrons, less electron-hole recombination rates, higher donor density, and better charge transfer ability. This study may provide a new idea for rational design and simple synthesis of high-performance and cost-effective metal sulfide semiconductor photocatalysts for solar-hydrogen energy conversion. [Display omitted] • ZnIn 2 S 4 microflowers with various amounts of active S atoms were prepared. • ZIS-1 shows the highest H 2 production rate under visible light irradiation. • Exposing more (110) planes leads to the higher amount of active S atoms. • More active S atoms are mainly responsible for the high performance of ZIS-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel azacalix[2]arene[2]pyrimidines were synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against A549, MCF7, SH-SY5Y and CNE human cancer cell lines in vitro by using the CCK-8 assay. A number of compounds showed low micromolar antiproliferative activities against MCF7 cell line. Compound 4j , containing a pyrrolidine moiety, exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity with an IC 50 value of 0.58 μM. Furthermore, breast cancer cells were used to explore the inhibition mechanism of these azacalix[2]arene[2]pyrimidines. The results suggested these compounds were involved in inducing cell apoptosis via up-regulation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 protein expression, and the cell cycle was arrested at the S phase. Our reports here represent the first studies on the biological activities of azacalix[2]arene[2]pyrimidines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]