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The selective hydrogenation of the biomass platform molecule furfural (FAL) to produce furfuryl alcohol (FA) is of great significance to alleviate the energy crisis. Cu-based catalysts are the most commonly used catalysts, and their catalytic performance can be optimized by changing the preparation method. This paper emphasized the effect of calcination atmosphere on the performance of a Cu/Al2O3 catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of FAL. The precursor of the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by the ammonia evaporation method was treated with different calcination atmospheres (N2 and air). On the basis of the combined results from the characterizations using in situ XRD, TEM, N2O titration, H2-TPR and XPS, the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst calcined in the N2 atmosphere was more favorable for the dispersion and reduction of Cu species and the reduction process could produce more Cu+ and Cu0 species, which facilitated the selective hydrogenation of FAL to FA. The experimental results showed that the N2 calcination atmosphere improved the FAL conversion and FA selectivity, and the FAL conversion was further increased after reduction. Cu/Al2O3-N2-R exhibited the outstanding performance, with a high yield of 99.9% of FA after 2 h at 120 °C and an H2 pressure of 1 MPa. This work provides a simple, efficient and economic method to improve the C=O hydrogenation performance of Cu-based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many effective methods extract and fuse different protein features to study the relationship between protein sequence, structure, and function, but different methods have preferences in solving the research of protein structure and function, which requires selecting valuable and contributing features to design more effective prediction methods. This work mainly focused on the feature selection methods in the study of protein structure and function, and systematically compared and analyzed the efficiency of different feature selection methods in the prediction of protein structures, protein disorders, protein molecular chaperones, and protein solubility. The results show that the feature selection method based on nonlinear SVM performs best in protein structure prediction, protein solubility prediction, protein molecular chaperone prediction, and protein solubility prediction. After selection, the accuracy of features is improved by 13.16% ~71%, especially the Kmer features and PSSM features of proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug-disease correlations play an important role in revealing the mechanism of disease, finding new indications of available drugs, or drug repositioning. A variety of computational approaches were proposed to find drug-disease correlations and achieve good performances. However, these methods used a variety of network information, but integrated networks were rarely used. In addition, the role of known drug-disease association data has not been fully played. In this work, we designed a combination algorithm of random walk and supervised learning to find the drug-disease correlations. We used an integrated network to update the model and selected a gene set as the start of random walk based on the known drug-disease correlations data. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively find the correlation between drugs and diseases, and the prediction accuracy is 82.7%. We found that there are 8 pairs of drug-disease relationships that have not yet been reported, and 5 of them have pharmacodynamic effects on Parkinson's disease. We also found that a key linkage between Parkinson's disease and phenylhexol, a drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease α-synuclein and tau protein, provides a useful exploration for the effectiveness of the treatment of Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bitterlings are carp‐like teleost fish (Cypriniformes: Acheilanathidae) known for their specialized brood parasitic lifestyle. Bitterling embryos, in fact, develop inside the gill chamber of their freshwater mussel hosts. However, little is known about how their parasitic lifestyle affects brain development in comparison to nonparasitic species. Here, we document the development of the brain of the rosy bitterling, Rhodeus ocellatus, at four embryonic stages of 165, 185, 210, 235 hours postfertilization (hpf) using micro‐computed tomography (microCT). Focusing on developmental regionalization and brain ventricular organization, we relate the development of the brain divisions to those described for zebrafish using the prosomeric model as a reference paradigm. Segmentation and three‐dimensional visualization of the ventricular system allowed us to identify changes in the longitudinal brain axis as a result of cephalic flexure during development. The results show that during early embryonic and larval development, histological differentiation, tissue boundaries, periventricular proliferation zones, and ventricular spaces are all detectable by microCT. The results of this study visualized with differential CT profiles are broadly consistent with comparable histological studies, and with the genoarchitecture of teleosts like the zebrafish. Compared to the zebrafish, our study identifies distinct developmental heterochronies in the rosy bitterling, such as a precocious development of the inferior lobe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause condyloma acuminatum and cervical cancer. Some mutations of these viruses are closely related to the persistent infection of cervical cancer and are ideal cancer vaccine targets. Several databases have been developed to collect HPV sequences, but no HPV mutation database has been published. This paper reports a Chinese HPV mutation database (HPVMD-C), which contains 149 HPV genotypes, 468 HPV mutations, 3409 protein sequences, 4727 domains and 236 epitopes. We analyzed the mutation distribution among HPV genotypes, domains and epitopes. We designed a visualization tool to display these mutations, domains and epitopes and provided more detailed information about the disease, region and related literature. We also proposed an HPV genotype prediction tool, which can predict HPV carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risk genotypes. We expect that HPVMD-C will complement the existing database and provide valuable resources for HPV vaccine research and cervical cancer treatment. HPVMD-C is freely available at Database URL : http://bioinfo.zstu.edu.cn/hpv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessively activated microglia exhibit increased migration, resulting in tissue damage and chronic inflammation. Src was confirmed to play an important role in regulation of cell motility following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. SET8 plays an important part in multiple cellular signal pathways. In this study, we speculated that SET8 is involved in LPS-induced microglial migration via regulation of Src expression. Our study showed that LPS promoted cell migration via augmentation of Src expression in BV2 cells. Moreover, LPS treatment decreased SET8 expression and upregulated the expression of the transcription factor ETS proto-oncogene 1 (ETS1). Overexpression of both SET8 and small interfering ETS1 reversed LPS-induced Src expression and cell migration. The effects of short hairpin SET8 (shSET8) and ETS1 overexpression are the same as the effects of LPS treatment. Decrease of Src expression reversed the shSET8-induced and ETS1 overexpression–induced migration of BV2 cells. Furthermore, SET8 was observed to associate with ETS1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated H4K20me1, a downstream target of SET8, in addition to ETS1, was enriched at the Src promoter region. Furthermore, shSET8 increased Src promoter activity and also increased the positive effect of ETS1 overexpression on Src promoter activity. This study shows that SET8 associates with ETS1 to regulate Src expression, which is involved in LPS-induced BV2 cell migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Astrocytes play both protective and detrimental roles in MS and EAE. • The functions of astrocytes in MS and EAE are decided by the stimuli provided by the local milieu. • Astrocytes may become a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of MS. Neuropathology in the human autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered to be mediated by autoreactive leukocytes, such as T cells, B cells, and macrophages. However, the inflammation and tissue damage in MS and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is also critically regulated by astrocytes, the most abundant cell population in the central nervous system (CNS). Under physiological conditions, astrocytes are integral to the development and function of the CNS, whereas in CNS autoimmunity, astrocytes influence the pathogenesis, progression, and recovery of the diseases. In this review, we summarize recent advances in astrocytic functions in the context of MS and EAE, which are categorized into two opposite aspects, one being detrimental and the other beneficial. Inhibition of the detrimental functions and/or enhancement of the beneficial functions of astrocytes might be favorable for the treatment of MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus ( HCV) induces a high rate of chronic infection via dysregulation of host immunity. We have previously shown that T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain protein-3 (Tim-3) is up-regulated on monocyte/macrophages (M/M φ) during chronic HCV infection; little is known, however, about the transcription factor that controls its expression in these cells. In this study, we investigated the role of transcription factor, T-box expressed in T cells (T-bet), in Tim-3 expression in M/M φ in the setting of HCV infection. We demonstrate that T-bet is constitutively expressed in resting CD14+ M/M φ in the peripheral blood. M/M φ from chronically HCV-infected individuals exhibit a significant increase in T-bet expression that positively correlates with an increased level of Tim-3 expression. Up-regulation of T-bet is also observed in CD14+ M/M φ incubated with HCV+ Huh7.5 cells, as well as in primary M/M φ or monocytic THP-1 cells exposed to HCV core protein in vitro, which is reversible by blocking HCV core/ gC1qR interactions. Moreover, the HCV core-induced up-regulation of T-bet and Tim-3 expression in M/M φ can be abrogated by incubating the cells with SP600125 - an inhibitor for the c-Jun N-terminal kinase ( JNK) signalling pathway. Importantly, silencing T-bet gene expression decreases Tim-3 expression and enhances interleukin-12 secretion as well as signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 phosphorylation. These data suggest that T-bet, induced by the HCV core/ gC1qR interaction, enhances Tim-3 expression via the JNK pathway, leading to dampened M/M φ function during HCV infection. These findings reveal a novel mechanism for Tim-3 regulation via T-bet during HCV infection, providing new targets to combat this global epidemic viral disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into its β-sheet-rich scrapie isoform (PrPSc) causes fatal prion diseases, which are also called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Recent studies suggest that the expression of PrPC by the PRNP gene is crucial for the development of TSEs. Therefore, the identification of the exogenous and endogenous stimulating factors that regulate PRNP expression would help to understand the pathogenesis of TSEs. Here, we demonstrate that forkhead box O3a (FOXO3a) negatively regulates PRNP expression by binding to the PRNP promoter, which is negatively regulated by insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Our results show that the IGF-1-induced enhancement of PRNP mRNA and protein levels is due to the activation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. The activation of Akt then induces the phosphorylation of FOXO3a, leading to its translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and preventing its binding to the PRNP promoter. Treatment with the PI3K-Akt inhibitor LY294002 induces the nuclear retention of FOXO3a, which leads to a decrease in PRNP expression. We present a new IGF-1-PI3K-Akt-FOXO3a pathway, which influences PRNP expression. The results of this work are vital for understanding the function of PrPC and for future therapeutic approaches to human TSEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The substitutional effects of shared mobility result in 371 thousand toe energy savings, and 518 thousand tons CO 2 emission reductions in year 2018. • The activity increase effects of shared mobility raise the energy consumption and emissions. • Shared mobility changes the travelling structure by increasing the rail trips and reducing public bus trips. • Though the share for vehicle kilometers travelled is limited, electric vehicles on the shared platform produce significant environmental benefits, and mutual promotion exists. The shared mobility, as an emerging shared economy business mode, has been changing the travelling style of Chinese citizens. This study draws the annual data in year 2018 from DiDi Chuxing, as well as other survey and statistical data, to evaluate the shared mobility influence on energy consumption, emission and transportation structure, in the comprehensive national level. The results indicate that the substitution effects of shared mobility are conducive to energy saving and emission reduction, by the number of 371 thousand toe for energy savings, as well as 518 thousand tons CO 2 emission reductions, respectively in year 2018. The shared mobility platform could prioritize the transportation structure, and promote the penetration of electric vehicles with better cost returns. The big data from the platform now is used for smart traffic light control, ending up with 47 toe energy savings in 8 applied cities, and other emission reduction benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence ofRhodeus fangiis 16,733 bp in length. It consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosome RNA genes and 2 non-coding regions. Base composition of the genome is A (28.54%), G (17.67%), C (27.03%) and T (26.76%) with an A + T-rich hallmark as that of other vertebrate mitochondrial genomes. The complete mitogenome of theR. fangican provide a basic data for phylogenetic relationship study and useful information for taxonomic identification of theR. smithiicomplex in genusRhodeus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni supported on the ordered mesoporous Ce x Zr 1−x O 2 with various Ce/Zr molar ratios prepared by a programmed evaporation-induced self-assembly method were employed for dry reforming of methane. The systematical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, N 2 physisorption, Raman, transmission electron microscope, chemisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermogravimetric analysis, etc. were used to clarify the structure-activity relationship. It was found that the prepared catalysts all had highly ordered mesoporous structures, and compared to the sole ZrO 2 and CeO 2 , the CeO 2 -ZrO 2 composites exhibited the best thermal stability, stronger basicity, and greater oxygen migration. Especially, the composite with Ce/Zr ratio of 1/4 possessed the suitable basicity and most oxygen vacancies, which were closely related to the excellent anti-carbon ability. Moreover, its supported catalyst had the strongest metal-support interaction and highest Ni dispersion. Expectedly, the catalyst showed the superior activity and the robust stability for at least 1800 min [Display omitted] • Ce x Zr 1−x O 2 were prepared by programmed evaporation-induced self-assembly method. • Composites had higher thermal stability, stronger basicity, greater oxygen migration. • C1Z4 possessed suitable basicity, most oxygen vacancies, highest anti-carbon ability. • NC1Z4 showed the superior activity and the long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CuO/RuO 2 electrode was prepared by the two-step thermal decomposition method for the first time. • Compared with the ordinary RuO 2 electrode, the selectivity of CER of CuO/RuO 2 electrode is remarkably improved. • During the preparation of AEW, the HClO content of AEW2 (prepared by CuO/RuO 2) is 2.5 times that of AEW1 (prepared by RuO 2). • In the sterilization experiments on E. coli and B. subtilis , the germicidal efficacy of AEW2 is obviously superior to that of AEW1. Electrochemical chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is one of the most important practical applications of electrochemical reaction, which can be used for electrochemical disinfection. The electrochemical disinfectant of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) is obtained by electrolyzing extremely dilute chlorine-containing solution in ion-exchange membrane electrolyzer. In the anode area, HClO is produced by CER, which has a strong bactericidal effect. Due to the low concentration of chloride ion, it is necessary to improve the CER selectivity of the electrode in order to improve the efficiency of chlorine electrolysis. In this paper, CuO/RuO 2 electrode was prepared by the two-step thermal decomposition method, and the surface morphology and electronic structure of RuO 2 electrode were modified. Compared with the ordinary RuO 2 electrode, the CER activity of CuO/RuO 2 electrode is improved. For the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the activity of CuO/RuO 2 electrode is significantly lower than that of RuO 2 electrode. The CER mechanism of CuO/RuO 2 electrode is the second electron transfer, and the OER mechanism is the formation and transformation of OH ads. The potential difference between CER and OER of CuO/RuO 2 -3 electrode is 105 mV, which is 52 mV higher than that of RuO 2 electrode, so the selectivity of CER of CuO/RuO 2 electrode is remarkably improved. During the preparation of AEW, the HClO of AEW2 (prepared by CuO/RuO 2 -3 electrode) is 0.72 mmol/L, which is 2.5 times that of AEW1 (prepared by RuO 2 electrode). In the sterilization experiments on E. coli and B. subtilis , the germicidal efficacy of AEW2 (3.71 and 2.99 log 10 CFU/mL) is obviously superior to that of AEW1 (0.76 and 0.61 log 10 CFU/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Battery transport and logistics to increase renewable use and system flexibility. • Full train transport and carpooling to improve the economics of battery use. • Levelized cost of energy of battery transport & logistics is $0.045/kWh averagely. High share of variable renewable energy is challenging to the traditional power system technically and economically. This calls for a significant increase to the system flexibility, which might result in the costs associated with energy storage and costly upgrades to the traditional transmission and distribution system. This paper presents a multi-stage battery transportation and logistics optimization method to increase the renewable energy consumptions, economics, and mobilities of the battery utilization. A new approach is proposed in which the batteries are charged in the renewable power plants and transported back and forth by railways between the renewable power plants and cities. Based on the forecasts of battery supplies/demands, multiple optimization stages (full train transport and carpooling) are designed by the branch-and-bound algorithm and genetic algorithm respectively. The proposed battery transportation and logistics concept and model are performed using the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China as an example. The results show that the levelized cost of energy of the battery transportation and logistics model is $0.045/kWh averagely. Also, by the use of mobilized batteries, the proposed battery transportation and logistics model increases the system flexibilities and renewable energy deliveries to the end users without the reinforcement of transmission and distribution system and any constraint from a highly penetrated power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astrocytes are critical regulators of neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Growing evidence indicates that ubiquitination of signaling molecules is an important cell‐intrinsic mechanism governing astrocyte function during MS and EAE. Here, we identified an upregulation of the deubiquitinase OTU domain, ubiquitin aldehyde binding 1 (OTUB1) in astrocytes during MS and EAE. Mice with astrocyte‐specific OTUB1 ablation developed more severe EAE due to increased leukocyte accumulation, proinflammatory gene transcription, and demyelination in the spinal cord as compared to control mice. OTUB1‐deficient astrocytes were hyperactivated in response to IFN‐γ, a fingerprint cytokine of encephalitogenic T cells, and produced more proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines than control astrocytes. Mechanistically, OTUB1 inhibited IFN‐γ‐induced Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling by K48 deubiquitination and stabilization of the JAK2 inhibitor suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1). Thus, astrocyte‐specific OTUB1 is a critical inhibitor of neuroinflammation in CNS autoimmunity. Synopsis: The deubiquitinating enzyme OTUB1 regulates cell signaling by blocking ubiquitin transfer from E2 conjugating enzymes to E3 ligases or by cleavage of ubiquitin chains from target proteins, but the in vivo cell type‐specific function of OTUB1 is largely unknown. During CNS autoimmunity, human and murine astrocytes upregulate OTUB1, which limits CNS pathology by inhibiting IFN‐γ‐induced activation of the JAK2/STAT1 pathway and concomitant chemokine and cytokine production in astrocytes. OTUB1 expression of astrocytes is induced in the CNS of treatment‐naïve patients with multiple sclerosis and in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.OTUB1 inhibits IFN‐γ‐induced JAK2/STAT1 signaling by K48 deubiquitination and stabilization of the JAK2 inhibitor SOCS1.OTUB1‐dependent inhibition of the JAK2/STAT1 signaling limits IFN‐γ‐induced cytokine and chemokine production of astrocytes.OTUB1 expression in astrocytes ameliorates the clinical severity of murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by limiting astrocytic cytokine and chemokine production, recruitment of encephalitogenic T cells to the CNS, and demyelination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The added Y could enhance metal-support interaction and improve Ni dispersion. • With increasing Y content, surface oxygen species promoting CO 2 activation enriched. • Ni/Y 2 O 3 catalyst exhibited the superior performance and the active carbon deposition. • Pathways of CH 4 dissociation and CO 2 activation were explored by in situ techniques. • Bicarbonate species were reactive intermediates that could become CO and carbonates. Dry reforming of methane is an alternative route to realize the efficient recycling of carbon resources. This work aims to unravel the effects of the Y/Zr molar ratio in the Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 supports on metal-support interaction (MSI) and surface oxygen species, where the former is related to Ni dispersion and the anti-sintering ability and the latter is corresponded to CO 2 activation and anti-carbon deposition ability. Interestingly, the characterization results reveal that increasing Y content in the catalyst effectively enhances MSI, improves Ni dispersion, and enriches the surface oxygen species. Also, the higher Y content in the catalyst makes carbon deposition more active and easier to be removed, and the nature of carbon deposition, rather than the amount, is the crucial factor for catalyst deactivation. As a result, the catalyst with high Y content shows the superior performance. Specially, Ni/Y 2 O 3 exhibits the highest CH 4 and CO 2 conversion (∼80 % and 85 %, respectively) among the representative catalysts at 700 °C, and its activity (CH 4 conversion: ∼88 %, CO 2 conversion: ∼93 %) can maintain at least 3600 min at 750 °C. Moreover, the origin of the excellent performance over the catalyst with high Y content is elucidated and the reaction mechanisms are discussed using in situ experiment techniques. The metallic Ni species are active sites to dissociate CH 4 and the oxygen species react with the carbonaceous species derived from CH 4 cracking to produce CO or CO 2. After consuming the adsorbed oxygen species, the re-exposed oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups adsorb CO 2 to form the active intermediates again, including the bicarbonate and carbonate species. Furthermore, the bicarbonate species are verified to be more active than the other carbonates, and they can react with the carbonaceous species to produce CO or transform into the carbonates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a petroleum biotechnology for manipulating function and/or structure of microbial environments existing in oil reservoirs for prolonged exploitation of the largest source of energy. In this study, an Enterobacter cloacae which is capable of producing water-insoluble biopolymers at 37°C and a thermophilic Geobacillus strain were used to construct an engineered strain for exopolysaccharide production at higher temperature. The resultant transformants, GW3-3.0, could produce exopolysaccharide up to 8.83gl−1 in molasses medium at 54°C. This elevated temperature was within the same temperature range as that for many oil reservoirs. The transformants had stable genetic phenotype which was genetically fingerprinted by RAPD analysis. Core flooding experiments were carried out to ensure effective controlled profile for the simulation of oil recovery. The results have demonstrated that this approach has a promising application potential in MEOR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]