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Abstract Background In clinical practice, alterations in the internal environment of type 2 diabetes can significantly affect bone quality. While the increased risk of fractures among diabetic patients is well-established, the precise mechanisms by which hyperglycemia influences bone quality remain largely unclear. Methods Western blotting, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and micro-CT were used to examine ferroptosis-related protein expression and bone morphology changes in the bone tissues of type 2 diabetic mice. The CCK8 assay determined the optimal conditions for inducing ferroptosis in osteoblasts by high glucose and high fat (HGHF). Ferroptosis phenotypes in osteoblasts were analyzed using flow cytometry, Western blotting, and two-photon laser confocal microscopy. Transcriptomic sequencing of the control and HGHF groups, followed by bioinformatic analysis, identified and validated key genes. TIMP1 was knocked down in osteoblasts to assess its impact on ferroptosis, while TFRC expression was inhibited and activated to verify the role of TIMP1 in regulating ferroptosis through TFRC. The therapeutic effect of TIMP1 inhibition on osteoporosis was evaluated in a type 2 diabetic mouse model. Results The expression of TIMP1 is increased in type 2 diabetic osteoporosis. In vitro, TIMP1 knockout inhibited ferroptosis in osteoblasts induced by high glucose and high fat (HGHF). However, overexpression of TFRC reversed the ferroptosis inhibition caused by TIMP1 knockout. Suppression of TIMP1 expression alleviated the progression of osteoporosis in type 2 diabetic mice. Mechanistic studies suggest that TIMP1 regulates HGHF-induced ferroptosis in osteoblasts through TFRC. Conclusion This study demonstrates that TIMP1 expression is increased during type 2 diabetic osteoporosis and that TIMP1 promotes ferroptosis in osteoblasts by regulating TFRC. These findings suggest that TIMP1 is a promising novel therapeutic target for type 2 diabetic osteoporosis.

This study explores the role of disulfidptosis in monocytes and its relation to postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). Using single-cell RNA sequencing and microarray assays, we identified key genes: LONRF1, ACAP2, IPO9, and PGRMC2. Through differential analysis, Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), and machine learning, these genes were linked to PMOP. Functional enrichment and ROC curve analysis demonstrated their effectiveness in distinguishing postmenopausal fracture patients from healthy individuals. Notably, PGRMC2 exhibited significant expression differences, highlighted by a notable Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.665. Further investigation involved Western blotting and immunohistochemical assays, revealing decreased PGRMC2 expression in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. This decrease was consistent across both experimental methods, emphasizing PGRMC2's role in PMOP. Moreover, PGRMC2 was predominantly present in macrophages compared to monocytes within bone tissue and was significantly located in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in PMOP patients. It was also abundantly found in osteoblasts and adipocytes. Additionally, a Mendelian randomization analysis using the TwoSampleMR R package, with data from decode and GWAS databases, was conducted. This analysis showed a significant impact of PGRMC2 on osteoporosis risk (p = 0.0048, OR = 0.6836), suggesting a potential protective effect against the disease. Our results suggest that PGRMC2 may facilitate the differentiation of monocytes into macrophages in bone tissue, influencing the behavior of BM-MSCs. This, in turn, could impact the progression and severity of PMOP. The study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying postmenopausal osteoporosis and highlights the potential of PGRMC2 as a therapeutic target or biomarker for this condition.

Abstract In this paper, the vector extension operation is proposed to replace the de Boor‐Cox formula for a fast algorithm to B‐spline basis functions. This B‐spline basis function based on vector extending operation is implemented in the class and shape transformation (CST) parameterization method in place of the traditional Bézier polynomials to enhance the local ability of control and accuracy to represent an airfoil shape. To calculate the k‐degree B‐spline function's nonzero values, the algorithm can improve the computing efficiency by 2k+1 times.

Abstract Senile osteoporosis is mainly caused by osteoblasts attenuation, which results in reduced bone mass and disrupted bone remodeling. Numerous studies have focused on the regulatory role of m6A modification in osteoporosis; however, most of the studies have investigated the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), while the direct regulatory mechanism of m6A on osteoblasts remains unknown. This study revealed that the progression of senile osteoporosis is closely related to the downregulation of m6A modification and methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3). Overexpression of METTL3 inhibits osteoblast aging. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) revealed that METTL3 upregulates the stability of Hspa1a mRNA, thereby inhibiting osteoblast aging. Moreover, the results demonstrated that METTL3 enhances the stability of Hspa1a mRNA via m6A modification to regulate osteoblast aging. Notably, YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2) participates in stabilizing Hspa1a mRNA in the METTL3-mediated m6A modification process, rather than the well-known degradation function. Mechanistically, METTL3 increases the stability of Hspa1a mRNA in a YTHDF2-dependent manner to inhibit osteoblast aging. Our results confirmed the significant role of METTL3 in osteoblast aging and suggested that METTL3 could be a potential therapeutic target for senile osteoporosis.

Industrial water splitting has long been suppressed by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which requires a catalyst to be efficient. Herein, we propose a molecular-level proton acceptor strategy to produce an efficient OER catalyst that can boost industrial-scale water splitting. Molecular-level phosphate (-PO4) group is introduced to modify the surface of PrBa0.5Ca0.5Co2O5+δ (PBCC). The achieved catalyst (PO4-PBCC) exhibits significantly enhanced catalytic performance in alkaline media. Based on the X-ray absorption spectroscopy results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the PO4 on the surface, which is regarded as the Lewis base, is the key factor to overcome the kinetic limitation of the proton transfer process during the OER. The use of the catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is further evaluated for industrial-scale water splitting, and it only needs a low voltage of 1.66 V to achieve a large current density of 1 A cm−2. This work provides a new molecular-level strategy to develop highly efficient OER electrocatalysts for industrial applications.

Abstract Mitochondrial metabolism has been shown to play a key role in immune cell survival and function, but mitochondrial creatine kinase 2 (CKMT2) has been relatively little studied about tumor immunity. We aimed to explore the prognostic value of CKMT2 in 33 cancer types and investigate its potential immune function. We used a range of bioinformatics approaches to explore the potential carcinogenic role of CKMT2 in multiple cancers. CKMT2 was lowly expressed in 14 tumor tissues and highly expressed in 4 tumor tissues. Immunohistochemical assays showed overexpression of CKMT2 in colon cancer and rectal cancer. CKMT2 overexpression was positively correlated with the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma and prostate cancer. CKMT2 overexpression is mainly enriched in the adaptive immune system and immune regulatory pathways of immunoglobulins. Seven cancers were positively correlated with low CKMT2 expression in tumor microenvironment analysis. Among the five cancers, low expression of CKMT2 resulted in better immunotherapy treatment outcomes. There was a strong correlation between CKMT2 and most immune-related genes in specific cancer types. CKMT2 plays an important role in tumorigenesis and cancer immunity and can be used as a prognostic biomarker and potential target for cancer immunotherapy.

BackgroundPostmenopausal osteoporosis is a prevalent disease that affects the bone health of middle-aged and elderly women. The link between gut microbiota and bone health, known as the gut-bone axis, has garnered widespread attention.MethodsWe employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to assess the associations between gut microbiota with osteoclasts and postmenopausal osteoporosis, respectively. Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the composition of gut microbiota were used as instrumental variables. By analyzing large-scale multi-ethnic GWAS data from the international MiBioGen consortium, and combining data from the eQTLGen consortium and the GEFOS consortium, we identified microbiota related to osteoclasts and postmenopausal osteoporosis. Key genes were further identified through MAGMA analysis, and validation was performed using single-cell data GSE147287.ResultsThe outcomes of this study have uncovered significant associations within the gut microbiome community, particularly with the Burkholderiales order, which correlates with both an increase in osteoclasts and a reduced risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis. with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.400, and a P-value of 0.011. Further analysis using single-cell data allowed us to identify two key genes, FMNL2 and SRBD1, that are closely linked to both osteoclasts and osteoporosis.ConclusionThis study utilizing Mendelian randomization and single-cell data analysis, provides new evidence of a causal relationship between gut microbiota and osteoclasts, as well as postmenopausal osteoporosis. It was discovered that the specific microbial group, the Burkholderiales order, significantly impacts both osteoporosis and osteoclasts. Additionally, key genes FMNL2 and SRBD1 were identified, offering new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Abstract Transition metal oxides are promising electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries, yet surface reconstruction caused by the adsorbate evolution mechanism, which induces zinc-ion battery behavior in the oxygen evolution reaction, leads to poor cycling performance. In this study, we propose a lattice oxygen mechanism involving proton acceptors to overcome the poor performance of the battery in the OER process. We introduce a stable solid base, hydroxy BaCaSiO4, onto the surfaces of PrBa0.5Ca0.5Co2O5+δ perovskite nanofibers with a one-step exsolution strategy. The HO-Si sites on the hydroxy BaCaSiO4 significantly accelerate proton transfer from the OH* adsorbed on PrBa0.5Ca0.5Co2O5+δ during the OER process. As a proof of concept, a rechargeable zinc-air battery assembled with this composite electrocatalyst is stable in an alkaline environment for over 150 hours at 5 mA cm–2 during galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. Our findings open new avenues for designing efficient OER electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

Abstract In this study, we simulated the spatial and temporal processes of a particulate matter (PM) pollution episode from December 10–29, 2019, in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, China, which has a large population and severe PM pollution. As winter is the high incidence period of particulate pollution, winter statistical data were selected from the pollutant observation stations in the study area. During this period, the highest concentrations of PM2.5 (atmospheric PM with a diameter of less than 2.5 µm) and PM10 (atmospheric PM with a diameter of less than 10 µm) peaked at 283 μg m-3 and 316 μg m-3, respectively. The contribution rates of local and surrounding regional emissions within Henan (emissions from the regions to the south, northwest, and northeast of Zhengzhou) to PM concentrations in Zhengzhou were quantitatively analyzed based on the regional Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem). Model evaluation showed that the WRF/Chem can accurately simulate the spatial and temporal variations in the PM concentrations in Zhengzhou. We found that the anthropogenic emissions south of Zhengzhou were the main causes of high PM concentrations during the studied episode, with contribution rates of 14.39% and 16.34% to PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The contributions of anthropogenic emissions from Zhengzhou to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou were 7.94% and 7.29%, respectively. The contributions of anthropogenic emissions from the area northeast of Zhengzhou to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou were 7.42% and 7.18%, respectively. These two areas had similar contributions to PM pollution in Zhengzhou. The area northeast of Zhengzhou had the lowest contributions to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou (5.96% and 5.40%, respectively).

Solving trajectories of multi-phase dynamic advanced vehicles is difficult due to the coexistence of discontinuous aerodynamics, long-range and multi-peak features. Despite traditional phase-by-phase solving method for trajectory is expressive and easy to optimize, it loses global optimality to some extent and the state estimation between phases is cumbersome. In contrast, an all-in-one solution method for the whole trajectory can carry out global search and avoid the inter-phase state estimation, but the expression of the problem formulation is more complicated, and it is difficult to converge to a feasible solution. In this paper, we formulate the whole trajectory solving problem based on a representative vehicle and propose a constraints maintaining mesh refinement method based on the pseudo-spectral method to solve the whole trajectory all-in-one. First, the proposed method presets a knot on the trajectory to construct an optimal control problem with a two-phase dynamic constraint, which maintains continuity of variables between the discontinuous aerodynamics. Second, ph-refinement is used to deal with long-range and multi-peak features throughout the trajectory. Third, to make mesh refinement and iterative solution feasible under discontinuous aerodynamics, an interval extending operator is proposed to maintain the consistency of constraints during the process of mesh refinement. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method for solving the whole trajectory is verified by 7 comparison experiments. The results show that the proposed method can effectively handle the whole trajectory problem of discontinuous aerodynamics, as evidenced by feasibility, convergence, optimality, and superiority.

The environmentally responsible behaviors of residents and tourists are great significance to the protection of natural resources and sustainable development of ecotourism. This paper takes China's Qilian Mountains National Park as the case place. By constructing a theoretical model of perceived value on environmentally responsible behavior and studying the relationship between residents' and tourists' perceived value, satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavior from both subject and object perspectives, the study shows that. Educational level and occupational distribution have significant effects on residents' and tourists' perceptions of ecotourism environmentally responsible behaviors, but age only has a significant effect on residents' perceptions of ecotourism environmentally responsible behaviors. Gender differences do not affect residents' and tourists' perceptions of ecotourism environmentally responsible behaviors. The theoretical model between residents' perceptions of environmentally responsible behaviors, environmentally responsible behaviors, and satisfaction was basically confirmed. Perceived environmentally responsible behaviors of tourists does not affect satisfaction. Satisfaction has a positive effect on tourists' environmentally responsible behaviors. Perceived environmental responsibility of tourists has a significant positive effect on tourists' environmentally responsible behaviors. The overall level of residents' perception of environmentally responsible behaviors in ecotourism is higher than tourists' perception. Residents and tourists have a poor perception of ecological and environmental protection policies. This paper expects to strengthen residents' and tourists' perceptions of ecologically responsible behaviors. Establishing the sentiment of satisfaction and commitment to environmental protection motivates residents and tourists to implement environmentally responsible behaviors and contribute to the sustainable development of ecotourism.

Litter decomposition promotes soil carbon and nitrogen cycling and is driven by litter quality, the soil environment and enzyme activities. The relative importance of these factors may change during the litter decomposition, however, very few studies have emphasized the temporal dynamics of these factors across plantation ecosystem, which limits our understanding of litter decomposition. To evaluate the temporal dynamic of above-mentioned litter decomposition drivers, we collected leaf and fine root litters from four different years of restoration of Robinia pseudoacacia on the Loess plateau of China and placed them on soil from the corresponding sites to incubate for 210 days. We constructed successive litter decomposition stages according to litter mass-loss interval, and we also used partial least squares path modelling (PLSPM) to evaluate the relative importance of these drivers. Our results showed that the C and N losses in leaf litter were significantly higher than those in root litter regardless of stand age. Leaf litter C and N losses increased with restoration duration, while root litter C and N showed an opposing trend with restoration duration, with the lowest levels of losses occurring at older stand ages. The initial litter quality, litter quality and the soil environment regulated leaf and root litter C loss, and enzyme activity also determined root C loss. Litter quality, the soil environment and enzyme activity influence leaf litter N loss, while root N loss was controlled by initial litter quality and the soil environment. Overall, enzyme activities had a relatively weak influence on litter C and N losses, and they impacted litter C and N losses only during the early stages. Therefore, our results revealed substantial differences in different restoration durations and litter types at the different decomposition stages, which has important significance for understanding carbon and nitrogen cycling on the Loess Plateau of China.

To better understand the possible role of projected land use and cover change (LUCC) in future regional climate projections, we explored the regional climate change response from land use/cover change under different climate scenarios. To do so, we propose a research framework based on different SSP-RCPs to simulate and explore the impacts of future land use/cover changes on the future climate of Zhengzhou City, China, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with land use/cover and meteorological data under different SSP-RCP scenarios based on CMIP6. Two scenarios, SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, were compared and analyzed by simulating changes in future climate factors of temperature at 2 m height above ground(T2) and precipitation. The results show that T2 is higher for all 4 months by the year 2060 compared to that in the year 2030. Furthermore, a comparison of the abovementioned years showed that the mean temperatures of January and July were higher than those of SSP2-4.5 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario in both years, but in 2030, the mean T2 of April and October were lower than those of SSP2-4.5 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. In terms of precipitation, both scenarios have no significant precipitation in July in 2030 and 2060, but there is an unusual increase in January and October.

Accurate determination of Sarcosine (SAR) in urine with high sensitivity and selectivity is important, because it was recently recommended as a prospective biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa) and significant for the early identification of PCa. In this study, an electrochemical sensor based on Fe3O4 incorporated metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) @molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was constructed for SAR detection. Magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles embedded zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was used as the support of MIP. MIP provides specific recognition sites for template molecules SAR and MOFs increase the rate of mass transfer and adsorption capacity due to the porous structure. The synthesized super-magnetic Fe3O4@ZIF-8@MIP was self-assembled onto an Au electrode in magnetic field and used as the sensing unit of electrochemical sensor. Cyclic voltammetry was used to monitor the electrochemical behavior, and the binding of SAR resulted in a reduction in the measured current. The results revealed a wide linear range from 1 to 100 pM towards trace SAR determination, with extremely low limit of detection down to 0.4 pM. In conclusion, the Fe3O4@ZIF-8@MIP based sensor provides a selective, sensitive, and convenient method for SAR diagnosis and other cancer marker detection.

Background: Arthritis with severe varus deformity remains a challenge in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Until recently, surgeons aimed at a neutral lower limb alignment when performing a TKA. However, the impact of TKA on the ankle joint has been ignored. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to assess the clinical and radiological changes in the ankle joint after TKA on knees with severe varus deformity.Methods: A systematic search was conducted in four English (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and four Chinese (CBM, VIP, CNKI, and Wan Fang Database) databases. Screening of literature and extraction of data were independently performed by two researchers. The modified methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS) was used to assess the quality.Results: A total of eight studies were eligible, namely, four prospective and four retrospective studies. TKA resulted in a negative clinical effect in the ankle joint in patients with ankle osteoarthritis. Seven studies reported changes in the mechanical tibiofemoral angle, and four studies reported radiological changes in the hindfoot. The mean score of the MINORS was 9.8 out of eight (9–11).Conclusion: As a result of the correction of the knee osteoarthritis with severe varus deformity following mechanically aligned TKA, the radiological malalignment of the ankle joint was improved. However, some patients experience increased ankle pain after undergoing TKA, especially, if there was a residual knee varus deformity, a stiff hindfoot with varus deformity, or ankle arthritis.

As the main driving force of global climate change, land use and land cover change (LUCC) can affect the surface energy balance and the interaction between the surface and atmosphere. This effect will cause further surface temperature changes. The Yellow River Basin is an important ecological security barrier in China. Therefore, exploring the impact of its LUCC on temperature changes can provide certain help for future land-use planning in the Yellow River Basin. Here, we conducted two numerical simulation experiments (Case2015 and Case1995) by using the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model to quantify the effect of LUCC in the Yellow River Basin on the summer 2 m air temperature (T2 m). The results showed that LUCC led to an overall warming trend in T2 m in the Yellow River Basin. Urban expansion caused T2 m to rise by approximately 0.3 °C to 0.6 °C. A warming effect was also identified in the areas where farmland and bare areas were converted to grassland, with T2 m increasing by around 0.4 °C.

The efficient utilization of photocatalytic technology is essential for clean energy. Bismuth-based multimetal oxides (Bi2WO6, Bi2MoO6, BiVO4 and Bi4Ti3O12) have aroused widespread attention as a visible light responsive photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution due to their low cost, nontoxicity, modifiable morphology, and outstanding optical and chemical properties. Nevertheless, the photocatalytic activities of pure materials are unsatisfactory because of their relative small specific surface area, poor quantum yield, and the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers. Therefore, some modification strategies, including morphological control, semiconductor combination, doping, and defect engineering, have been systematically studied to enhance photocatalytic H2 evolution activity in the past few years. Herein, we summarize the recent research progress on bismuth-based photocatalysts, pointing out the prospects, opportunities and challenges of bismuth-based photocatalysts. Eventually, we aims to put forward valuable suggestions for designing of bismuth-based photocatalysts applied in hydrogen production on the premise of consolidating the existing theoretical basis of photocatalysis.

As one of the main driving forces for the change in surface energy balance, land use and cover change affects the ecological climate through different levels of biogeochemical and physical processes. However, many studies on the surface energy balance are conducted from the perspective of biogeochemistry, ignoring biogeochemical processes. By using core methods such as the surface energy balance algorithm and Mann-Kendall trend test, we analyzed the surface energy balance mechanism and ecological climate effects of five land use types in the Huang-Huai-Hai Basin in China. The results showed that: (1) the net radiation and latent heat flux in the five land use types increased significantly, and their highest values were located in cropland areas and urban expansion areas, respectively. (2) The influence of net radiation on surface energy absorption was greater than latent heat flux. This relationship was more obvious in land use types that were greatly influenced by human activities. (3) The net surface energy intake in the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin showed a decreasing trend and decreased with the increase in human influence intensity, indicating that human activities weakened the positive trend in net surface energy intake and increased the warming effect. This study reveals the difference in energy budgets of different land use types under the influence of human activities. It is helpful for understanding how to formulate sustainable land management strategies, and it also provides a theoretical basis for judging the climate change trends and urban heat island effects in the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin from a biogeophysical perspective.

Land cover is a key factor affecting dust emissions. Substantial changes in land cover have occurred due to human activities and climate change in northern China. However, the extent to which these changes influence dust emissions is still controversial. Here, we explored the specific impact of land use type transformation on dust emissions between 2000 and 2020 by using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) from the perspective of land cover changes. Two scenarios were set up and compared to quantify this impact. One scenario was using the land cover data in 2000, and the other scenario was to use the land cover data in 2020. Both scenarios were driven by the initial meteorological conditions in 2020. Results indicated that the land cover changes between 2000 and 2020 reduced dust emissions in northern China, but the weakened intensity showed obvious spatial differences. Different land use conversion types had significant differences in their impact on dust emissions. Transforming bare areas to water bodies can reduce dust emissions by up to -3.62 g m-2 year-1. This is followed by the change from bare areas to sparse vegetation areas, which can decrease dust emissions by -2.9 g m-2 year-1, and then by the conversion from bare areas to cropland, with a reduction of -2.57 g m-2 year-1. These findings can offer methodologies and data support for the quantitative evaluation of the effects of land cover changes on dust emissions. They can also serve as a reference for environmental management when formulating land use policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]