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Cu0.27Co2.73O4 nanooctahedrons enclosed by polar {111} planes have been prepared through the selective adsorption of Cl-. Hydrogenation has been successfully used to enhance the responses of the Cu0.27Co2.73O4 nanooctahedron sensors to acetone, ethanol, and n-butylamine. The enhancement of the response results from the increase in the number of 3-coordinated Co/Cu atoms (Co3c/Cu3c) at the (111) plane of Cu0.27Co2.73O4 through removing O-H groups and Cl- ions at the surface by hydrogenation. The Co3c/Cu3c atoms on the (111) plane of Cu0.27Co2.73O4 are considered to function as the gas response active centers. These Co3c/Cu3c active atoms have three functions: generating electrons, adsorbing oxygen from air, and catalyzing the sensing reactions. The hydrogenation polar surface approach can be applied to improve the performances of other sensing materials. Such sensing mechanisms of the Co3c/Cu3c unsaturated atoms as the active centers can be conducive to understanding the gas-sensing essence and the development of sensing materials with high performances.

Objective Human variants in voltage‐gated sodium channel (VGSC) α and β subunit genes are linked to developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). Inherited, biallelic, loss‐of‐function variants in SCN1B, encoding the β1/β1B subunits, are linked to early infantile DEE (EIEE52). De novo, monoallelic variants in SCN1A (Nav1.1), SCN2A (Nav1.2), SCN3A (Nav1.3), and SCN8A (Nav1.6) are also linked to DEEs. While these VGSC‐linked DEEs have similar presentations, they have diverse mechanisms of altered neuronal excitability. Mouse models have suggested that Scn2a‐, Scn3a‐, and Scn8a‐linked DEE variants are, in general, gain of function, resulting in increased persistent or resurgent sodium current (INa) and pyramidal neuron hyperexcitability. In contrast, Scn1a‐linked DEE variants, in general, are loss‐of‐function, resulting in decreased INa and hypoexcitability of fast‐spiking interneurons. VGSC β1 subunits associate with Nav1.1, Nav1.2, Nav1.3, and Nav1.6 and are expressed throughout the brain, raising the possibility that insults to both pyramidal and interneuron excitability may drive EIEE52 pathophysiology. Methods We investigated excitability defects in pyramidal and parvalbumin‐positive (PV +) interneurons in the Scn1b −/− model of EIEE52. We also used Scn1bFL/FL mice to delete Scn1b in specific neuronal populations. Results Scn1b −/− cortical PV + interneurons were hypoexcitable, with reduced INa density. Scn1b −/− cortical pyramidal neurons had population‐specific changes in excitability and impaired INa density. Scn1b deletion in PV + neurons resulted in 100% lethality, whereas deletion in Emx1 + or Camk2a + neurons did not affect survival. Interpretation This work suggests that SCN1B‐linked DEE variants impact both excitatory and inhibitory neurons, leading to the increased severity of EIEE52 relative to other DEEs.

Missense variants in the SCN8A voltage-gated sodium channel gene are linked to early-infantile epileptic encephalopathy type 13, also known as SCN8A-related epilepsy. These patients exhibit a wide spectrum of intractable seizure types, severe developmental delay, movement disorders, and elevated risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. The mechanisms by which SCN8A variants lead to epilepsy are poorly understood, although heterologous expression systems and mouse models have demonstrated altered sodium current properties. To investigate these mechanisms using a patient-specific model, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells from three patients with missense variants in SCN8A: p.R1872>L (Patient 1); p.V1592>L (Patient 2); and p.N1759>S (Patient 3). Using small molecule differentiation into excitatory neurons, induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from all three patients displayed altered sodium currents. Patients 1 and 2 had elevated persistent current, while Patient 3 had increased resurgent current compared to controls. Neurons from all three patients displayed shorter axon initial segment lengths compared to controls. Further analyses focused on one of the patients with increased persistent sodium current (Patient 1) and the patient with increased resurgent current (Patient 3). Excitatory cortical neurons from both patients had prolonged action potential repolarization. Using doxycycline-inducible expression of the neuronal transcription factors neurogenin 1 and 2 to synchronize differentiation of induced excitatory cortical-like neurons, we investigated network activity and response to pharmacotherapies. Both small molecule differentiated and induced patient neurons displayed similar abnormalities in action potential repolarization. Patient induced neurons showed increased burstiness that was sensitive to phenytoin, currently a standard treatment for SCN8A-related epilepsy patients, or riluzole, an FDA-approved drug used in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and known to block persistent and resurgent sodium currents, at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Patch-clamp recordings showed that riluzole suppressed spontaneous firing and increased the action potential firing threshold of patient-derived neurons to more depolarized potentials. Two of the patients in this study were prescribed riluzole off-label. Patient 1 had a 50% reduction in seizure frequency. Patient 3 experienced an immediate and dramatic seizure reduction with months of seizure freedom. An additional patient with a SCN8A variant in domain IV of Nav1.6 (p.V1757>I) had a dramatic reduction in seizure frequency for several months after starting riluzole treatment, but then seizures recurred. Our results indicate that patient-specific neurons are useful for modelling SCN8A-related epilepsy and demonstrate SCN8A variant-specific mechanisms. Moreover, these findings suggest that patient-specific neuronal disease modelling offers a useful platform for discovering precision epilepsy therapies.

Co3O4 octahedrons enclosed by {111} facets were synthesized using Cl− ions as a crystal facet control agent. The Co3O4 octahedrons show higher responses than Co3O4 commercial particles to ethanol, methanol, acetone and triethylamine, and the responses are further enhanced by increasing the numbers of 3-coordinated Co atoms (Co3c) with one dangling bond at Co–Co3O4 (111) plane by eliminating surface Cl− ions and OH groups. Accordingly, we deem that the Co3c atom at (111) plane acts as an active center for sensing reaction and present an atomic and molecular level sensing mechanism. The Co3c atoms can produce free electrons, absorb O2 molecules and catalyze the gas-sensing reactions. The surface engineering may be used to bolster gas-sensing properties of other metallic oxides. The concept of Co3c atom as an active center will contribute to understand the true nature of the gas sensing and provide guidance on designing highly performance sensing materials.

The optical force is a miniscule force originating from light–matter interactions and ranging from a few nano-Newtons to micro-Newtons. This study demonstrates that this force can be enhanced or changed using structured surfaces. The mechanism is studied through a resonant-excited electromagnetic field on a periodic nano-structured surface. The quantitative relationship between the periodic structure and the resultant force is determined using finite element analysis, and the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. Compared to planar reflectors, the optical force can be greatly amplified on periodic cavity structures, depending on the cavity parameters. The findings of this study can serve a wide range of applications, such as opto-mechanical systems and sensitive detection of laser power.

We report a versatile platform for the synthesis of shape-tunable nanosilica based on a thermally induced deformable template with diverse morphologies ranging from spheres, horns, ultrathin nanosheets, and rings to belts. This was realized by creating soft templates from a pair of anionic/cationic surfactants.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is well-known to be an environmental and promising biotechnology. However, the natural enrichment of anammox bacteria is still a challenging topic. In this study, partial S(0)-driven autotrophic denitrification (PSAD) was developed to stably supply nitrite, and natural enrichment of anammox bacteria was rapidly realized in a single sequencing moving bed biofilm reactor at room temperature. With the initiation of PSAD, anammox bacteria spontaneously emerged within 12 days, and PSAD-anammox coupling system was realized successfully. And then, the influent concentration of ammonium continuously increased to the same concentration as the nitrate, and the mean total nitrogen removal efficiency reached 92.77 %, which was mainly contributed by anammox. Moreover, the coupling of PSAD and anammox reduced the risk of sulfate emissions. cDNA high throughput sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of Candidatus Brocadia and Thiobacillus reached 39.03 % and 13.48 % at the 88th day. Oligotyping analysis illustrated that GATTTAAT and GTCCCA were the dominant Ca. Brocadia and Thiobacillus oligotypes in PSAD-anammox coupling system, respectively. DNA-based stable isotope probing further deciphered that Thiobacillus was the actual performer of PSAD and supported the nitrite for anammox bacteria in PSAD-anammox coupling system. Overall, this work provided a new strategy to naturally enrich anammox bacteria.

Cu

GNAO1 encodes Gαo, a heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit in the Gi/o family. In this report, we used a Gnao1 mouse model “G203R” previously described as a “gain-of-function” Gnao1 mutant with movement abnormalities and enhanced seizure susceptibility. Here, we report an unexpected second mutation resulting in a loss-of-function Gαo protein and describe alterations in central synaptic transmission.Whole cell patch clamp recordings from Purkinje cells (PCs) in acute cerebellar slices from Gnao1 mutant mice showed significantly lower frequencies of spontaneous and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs and mIPSCs) compared to WT mice. There was no significant change in sEPSCs or mEPSCs. Whereas mIPSC frequency was reduced, mIPSC amplitudes were not affected, suggesting a presynaptic mechanism of action. A modest decrease in the number of molecular layer interneurons was insufficient to explain the magnitude of IPSC suppression. Paradoxically, Gi/o inhibitors (pertussis toxin), enhanced the mutant-suppressed mIPSC frequency and eliminated the difference between WT and Gnao1 mice. While GABAB receptor regulates mIPSCs, neither agonists nor antagonists of this receptor altered function in the mutant mouse PCs. This study is the first electrophysiological investigation of the role of Gi/o protein in cerebellar synaptic transmission using an animal model with a loss-of-function Gi/o protein.Significance StatementThis is the first report on the electrophysiological mechanisms of a movement disorder animal model with monoallelic Gnao1 loss. This study illustrates the role of Gαo protein in regulating GABA release in mouse cerebellum. This study could also facilitate the discovery of new drugs or drug repurposing for GNAO1-associated disorders. Moreover, since GNAO1 shares pathways with other genes related to movement disorders, developing drugs for the treatment of GNAO1-associated movement disorders could further the pharmacological intervention for other monogenic movement disorders.

We demonstrated a new approach to increasing response of Fe2O3 nanoparticles and sea urchin-like nanostructures towards methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde, acetone, triethlamine and n-Butylamine by increasing number of surface Fe atoms having dangling bonds through hydrogenation. The surface Fe atoms having dangling bonds are believed to serve as the reactive atoms for sensing reaction, thus, a gas sensing mechanism at atomic and molecular level is presented for the first time. The surface unsaturated active Fe atoms can adsorb oxygen molecules, produce electrons and catalyze the chemical reaction of the adsorbed oxygen with target gas. Hydrogenation may be a universal approach to increasing gas sensing performances of metal oxides. The gas sensing mechanism can deepen comprehending electron transfer during the gas sensing process and offer guidance to design the gas sensing materials with higher performances.

Sensing reaction mechanism is decisive for improvement of the sensing property of metal oxide sensing materials. Herein, we demonstrated a conceptually different approach to improving sensing property of ZnO nanoparticles by increasing quantity of the surface unsaturated 3-coordinated Zn atoms through hydrogenation. The surface 3-coordinated Zn atoms play a pivotal role in sensing reaction. They can produce electrons, adsorb O2 and catalyze the gas sensing reaction between the adsorbed oxygen and test gas. A sensing mechanism of the unsaturated Zn atom serving as a sensing reactive site is presented for the first time. The mechanism provides a deep understanding for sensing and catalytic reaction mechanisms. In addition, the sensing performance of other sensing materials and reactive activity of catalysts may be enhanced by increasing concentration of surface unsaturated metal atom through hydrogenation.

The ZnO foam structure assembled from nanoflakes with exposed {001} facets has been successfully prepared by heating aqueous Zn(NO3)2-polyvinyl pyrrolidone mixed solution. Response of the ZnO foam structure towards ethanol, acetone and n-Butylamine was observably increased by increasing the amounts of 3-coordinated Zn (Zn3c) atoms on the ZnO (001) surface through hydrogenation. The unsaturated Zn3c atoms are regarded as the reaction active sites and they contribute to generating free electrons, adsorbing oxygen molecules and catalyzing the reaction of the target gas with chemisorbed oxygen. The sensing mechanism will be instructive for the understanding of the gas sensing and heterogeneous catalytic reactions and the design of high performance sensing materials and catalysts. The hydrogenation optimizing surface-structural engineering may be a general strategy to enhancing sensing and catalytic properties.

The NiO foam structures assembled from NiO nanoflakes with exposed {1 1 1} and {0 2 2} facets were successfully prepared by heating aqueous Ni(NO3)2 solution containing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) at 450–650 °C. The NiO foam structures with exposed {1 1 1} facets obtained at 650 °C show significantly higher response values to ethanol, formaldehyde and triethylamine than NiO particles and NiO foam structures with exposed {0 2 2} facets obtained at 450 and 550 °C. The excellent sensing performances can be ascribed to the exposed Ni NiO (1 1 1) crystal facets terminated with Ni atoms. We consider that the surface 3–coordinated Ni atoms function as the active sites for gas sensing reaction and present a new sensing mechanism. The 3–coordinated unsaturated Ni atoms can absorb O2 molecules, generate free electrons and catalyze the chemical reaction between O2 with test gas. The sensing mechanism of the 3–coordinated unsaturated Ni atoms functioning as the reaction active sites can deepen understanding of the sensing and other catalytic reactions and offers a guidance to design sensing and catalytic materials with excellent performances.

BACKGROUND With aging, the facial contour shows a double-concave deformity. Conventional facial contouring procedure, including face lifting and fat grafting, cannot yield a smooth facial contour line. This study was the first to propose a combination of reduction malarplasty and 2nd-stage autologous fat grafting so as to achieve the aesthetic goals of facial contour rejuvenation. METHODS The study group comprised patients seeking facial contour rejuvenation from January 2017 to May 2018 (28 patients: 28 females and 0 males) at the Department of Plastic Surgery, Tian Tan Pu Hua Hospital. All of the cases underwent bilateral malarplasty with 2nd-stage autologous facial fat grafting. Radiologic and photographic documentation was completed preoperatively. The mean follow-up period was 12 months. Patients' pre-op photographs and 3 months follow-up pictures were blindly assessed. RESULTS Most of the patients were satisfied with their results after 1-time fat grafting. Eleven patients demanded re-injection after the 1st fat grafting in temporal area, and 6 patients demanded 3rd time fat grafting in temporal area. Eleven patients demanded re-injection insubmalar area, and 8 patients demanded 3rd time fat grafting in submalar area. Meanwhile, 9 of those patients underwent fat grafting in other sites other than temporal and submalar region. The amount of fat injected was also recorded in this study. The appearance of double-concave deformity was greatly improved in all cases. Complications included infection (3.6%), hematoma (7.1%), and malar prominence relapse (7.1%), and so on. CONCLUSION Reduction malarplasty combined with several times of fat grafting could effectively overcome the malar prominence and soft tissue deflation. Complications were minimal after these procedures. Therefore, this technique is useful to restore the youthful facial contour in Asian patients with aging double-concave deformity.

The response of the gas sensors based on α-Fe2O3 nanosheets with exposed {104} facets towards C2H5OH, CH3COCH3 and N(C2H5)3 vapors is effectively increased by increasing density of the 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 coordinated Fe atoms on the Fe-α-Fe2O3 (104) surface through hydrogenation. The 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 coordinated Fe atoms with dangling bonds were considered to act as an active site for sensing reaction, and a sensing reaction molecule mechanism is presented. The 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 coordinated unsaturated Fe atoms not only can adsorb oxygen molecules, generate free electrons, but also catalyze the sensing reaction of the test gas with chemisorbed oxygen. The hydrogenation activating surface engineering may be an effective strategy to improve gas sensing and catalytic properties of metal oxides.

Nanotubes/nanowires assembled from TiO2 nanoflakes with exposed {111} facets were prepared via heating a mixture of titanium(IV) oxysulfate–sulfuric acid hydrate, glacial acetic acid and water. The photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity of the as-prepared TiO2 nanoflake based nanotubes/nanowires was remarkably increased through hydrogenation. The apparent quantum yield for CH4 evolution of the hydrogenated TiO2 nanotubes/nanowires is as high as 17.4%, which is higher than that of all the TiO2 based photocatalysts reported until now. The excellent photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the exposed clean TiO2 {111} facets and enhanced solar absorption. On the basis of the polar structure of the exposed TiO2 {111} crystal facets, we proposed a separation mechanism of photocreated electrons and holes. A spontaneous electric field (Es) is created between polar TiO2 (111) and () planes. Under Es, the photocreated electrons and holes transit to TiO2 (111) and () surfaces, respectively. Redox reactions selectively take place at the Ti–TiO2 (111) and O–TiO2 () polar planes. The charge separation mechanism provides a clear insight for understanding the photocatalysis of high performance semiconductor nanocrystals and offers guidance for the design of high performance photocatalysts for CO2 reduction.

As occupancy sensing technologies become mature, various occupancy sensors are increasingly deployed in commercial buildings for pervasive occupancy monitoring. These sensors provide occupant-count data, which contains rich spatiotemporal information about occupancy patterns. With long-term occupant-count data collected from a commercial building, we design three different predictive models that capture the occupancy dynamics and examine how a model predictive control of the HVAC system benefits from actual occupancy count prediction. Our analysis reveals that mispredictions of occupancy states, especially false positives and false negatives, may introduce inefficient control that leads to energy waste or user discomfort. To address this issue, we take a step further to design an adaptive model predictive controller that minimizes inefficient control actions according to misprediction types and distributions. A comprehensive evaluation is performed in OpenBuild and EnergyPlus simulators to study the effectiveness of the proposed end-to-end control strategy. The evaluation shows that the proposed solution reduces energy consumption by 29.5% while improving the average weighted occupants comfort by 86.7% in Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) over the fixed schedule strategy.

Spinal motor neurons (MNs) are susceptible to glutamatergic excitotoxicity, an effect associated with lumbar MN degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MN susceptibility to environmental toxicant exposure, one prospective contributor to sporadic ALS, has not been systematically studied. The goal of this study was to test the ability of a well-known environmental neurotoxicant to induce hyperexcitability in mouse lumbar MNs. Methylmercury (MeHg) causes neurotoxicity through mechanisms involving elevated intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), a hallmark of excitotoxicity. We tested whether acute exposure to MeHg induces hyperexcitability in MNs by altering synaptic transmission, using whole cell patch-clamp recordings of lumbar spinal MNs in vitro. Acute MeHg exposure (20 μM) led to an increase in the frequency of both spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and miniature EPSCs. The frequency of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) was also increased by MeHg. Action potential firing rates, both spontaneous and evoked, were increased by MeHg, despite increases in both EPSCs and IPSCs, indicating a shift toward hyperexcitability. Also consistent with hyperexcitability, fluo 4-AM microfluorimetry indicated that MeHg exposure induced an increase in [Ca2+]i. Spinal cord hyperexcitability is partially mediated by Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors, as MeHg-dependent increases in EPSCs were blocked by 1-napthyl spermine. Therefore, spinal MNs appear highly susceptible to MeHg exposure, leading to significant increases in spontaneous network excitability and disruption of normal function. Prolonged hyperexcitability could lead to eventual neurodegeneration and loss of motor function as observed in spinal cord after MeHg exposure in vivo and may contribute to MeHg-induced acceleration of ALS symptoms. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Spinal motor neurons (MN) are susceptible to glutamatergic excitotoxicity, an effect associated with lumbar MN degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study investigated MN susceptibility to environmental toxicant exposure, one prospective contributor to sporadic ALS. Spinal MNs appear highly susceptible to methylmercury exposure, leading to significant increases in spontaneous network excitability and disruption of normal function. Prolonged hyperexcitability could lead to neurodegeneration and loss of motor function as observed in ALS spinal cord symptoms.

GABAergic circuits are critical for the synchronization and higher order function of brain networks. Defects in this circuitry are linked to neuropsychiatric diseases, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. Work in cultured neurons has shown that ankyrin-G plays a key role in the regulation of GABAergic synapses on the axon initial segment and somatodendritic domain of pyramidal neurons, where it interacts directly with the GABAA receptor-associated protein (GABARAP) to stabilize cell surface GABAA receptors. Here, we generated a knock-in mouse model expressing a mutation that abolishes the ankyrin-G/GABARAP interaction (Ank3 W1989R) to understand how ankyrin-G and GABARAP regulate GABAergic circuitry in vivo. We found that Ank3 W1989R mice exhibit a striking reduction in forebrain GABAergic synapses resulting in pyramidal cell hyperexcitability and disruptions in network synchronization. In addition, we identified changes in pyramidal cell dendritic spines and axon initial segments consistent with compensation for hyperexcitability. Finally, we identified the ANK3 W1989R variant in a family with bipolar disorder, suggesting a potential role of this variant in disease. Our results highlight the importance of ankyrin-G in regulating forebrain circuitry and provide novel insights into how ANK3 loss-of-function variants may contribute to human disease.

In this work, we successfully developed a strategy for enhancing sensing performances of WO3 nanoparticles by increasing density of the 5-fold coordinated unsaturated W atoms at the surface of WO3 nanoparticles through hydrogenation. Responses of the hydrogenated WO3 nanoparticles sensors towards alcohol, methanol and formaldehyde were found to be 2–3 times higher than that of the WO3 nanoparticles without hydrogenation. We believed that the 5-fold coordinated W atoms function as the sensing reactive sites and elaborated the sensing reaction mechanism at atomic and molecule level. The 5-fold coordinated W atoms can absorb O2 molecules, create conductive electrons and catalyze the sensing reaction between the chemisorbed oxygen species with the detected gas. The concept of unsaturated 5-fold coordinated W atoms acting as the reaction active sites will be instructive for the in-depth understanding of sensing and other catalytic reaction as well as design of sensing materials and catalysts with outstanding performance. In addition, the hydrogenation activating surface strategy can be applied to increasing sensing and catalytic properties of other metallic oxides.

TiO2 nanosheet based flowerlike architectures with a surface area as high as 171 m2 g−1 were prepared through a solvothermal method. The sensing performance of TiO2 nanosheet based flowerlike architectures is enhanced by increasing density of surface unsaturated Ti atoms with dangling bonds through hydrogenation. We proposed a concept of the unsaturated Ti atoms serving as the sensing reaction active sites, and described in detail the sensing mechanism at the atomic and molecular level. The unsaturated Ti atoms not only generate non-contributing (free) electrons and adsorb oxygen molecules, but also catalyze the sensing reaction. In principle, the hydrogenation strategy may be used to improve sensing performances and catalytic activities of other metal oxides. The concept of the unsaturated metal Ti atoms serving as active sites can deepen understanding of the sensing and other catalytic reaction mechanisms, and provides a new insight to the design and fabrication of advanced sensing materials, catalysts and electronic devices.