Search

Curcuma kwangsiensis, one species of Curcumae zedoaria Ros. c, is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma and inflammation. Polar compounds are abundant in water decoction, which would be responsible for critical pharmacological effects. However, current research on polar compounds in Curcumae zedoaria Ros. c remains scarce. In this study, the polar fraction from Curcuma kwangsiensis was firstly profiled on G protein-coupled receptor 109A (GPR109A), β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR), neurotensin receptor (NTSR), muscarinic-3 acetylcholine receptor (M3) and G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35), which were involved in its clinical indications and exhibited excellent β2-AR and GPR109A receptor activities. Then, an offline two-dimensional reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) coupled with the hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) method was developed to separate polar compounds. By the combination of a polar-copolymerized XAqua C18 column and an amide-bonded XAmide column, an orthogonality of 47.6% was achieved. As a result of coupling with the mass spectrometry (MS), a four-dimensional data plot was presented in which 373 mass peaks were detected and 22 polar compounds tentatively identified, including the GPR109A agonist niacin. Finally, molecular docking of these 22 identified compounds to β2-AR, M3, GPR35 and GPR109A receptors was performed to predict potential active ingredients, and compound 9 was predicted to have a similar interaction to the β2-AR partial agonist salmeterol. These results were supplementary to the material basis of Curcuma kwangsiensis and facilitated the bioactivity research of polar compounds. The integration of RPLC×HILIC-MS and molecular docking can be a powerful tool for characterizing and predicting polar active components in TCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anti-Ramsey number A R (G , H) is the maximum number of colors in an edge-coloring of a graph in the family G without any rainbow copy of H. The anti-Ramsey number for matchings has been studied extensively in several graph families, while the problem for perfect matchings was only solved in complete graphs. The anti-Ramsey number of matchings in the family of regular bipartite graphs of order large enough was determined by Li and Xu. Jin improved their bounds on the order of 3-regular bipartite graphs. In this paper, we consider the problem for perfect matchings in 3-regular bipartite graphs. Let G be the family of 3-regular bipartite graphs with m vertices in each partite set. First, we characterize the structure of extremal graphs for the Turán number of perfect matchings in graphs with maximum degree three. Using this characterization, we show that A R (G , m K 2) = 3 m − 3. Moreover, we show that A R (F , m K 2) = 3 m − 5 , where F is the subfamily of 3-edge-connected graphs in G. In order to prove this result, we characterize the structure of bipartite graphs, which contains no perfect matchings, with maximum degree three and size Turán number minus one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qingfei Paidu Decoction is a Chinese medicine formula that has been proved effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019. However, the comprehensive separation and characterization of Qingfei Paidu Decoction are of a great challenge due to the diversity of chemical components in a wide range of polarity. In this study, a triplex off‐line two‐dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry is developed for the analysis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. One reversed‐phase liquid chromatography×hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography system and two reversed‐phase liquid chromatography×reversed phase liquid chromatography systems were constructed to separate polar components and weak‐polar components in Qingfei Paidu Decoction, respectively. Benefiting from the good orthogonality of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography and high sensitivity of quadrupole time‐of‐flight MS, chemical components with different polarities and content were discovered. A total of 749 peaks were detected in positive and negative ionization mode and presented as a four‐dimensional data plot. Meanwhile, 498 compounds belonging to 14 categories were tentatively identified. These results provide good supplementary to elucidate the material basis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. The triplex off‐line two‐dimensional liquid chromatography‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry strategy can be a powerful and efficient tool for the separation and characterization of chemical substances in traditional Chinese medicine formulas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To account for the nonlinear dynamic effects of flexible sandwich plates undergoing large deformation, a computational method for dynamic analysis of flexible sandwich plates is studied. According to the characteristics of sandwich plates, a simplified plate model is proposed based on the Kirchhoff plate theory, in which the shear stiffness of the core plate is neglected and the stiffness for the whole plate is derived. For the dynamic problem of flexible multibody systems, a thin plate element has been studied based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). Meanwhile, a method based on invariant tensors is proposed for calculating elastic forces and their Jacobians, which can be calculated during preprocessing and applied for programmed calculation. Using examples, the proposed computational method is verified to be feasible and accurate. In addition, a benchmark example and a double-pendulum model are used to verify the applicability and feasibility of our analytical method for flexible sandwich plates in flexible multibody systems. Therefore, this method lays a foundation for the study of flexible dynamics problems regarding multibody systems with sandwich plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault localization, a technique to fix and ensure the dependability of software, is rapidly becoming infeasible due to the increasing scale and complexity of multilingual programs. Compared to other fault localization techniques, slicing can directly narrow the range of the code which needed checking by abstracting a program into a reduced one by deleting irrelevant parts. Only minority slicing methods take into account the fact that the probability of different statements leading to failure is different. Moreover, no existing prioritized slicing techniques can work on multilingual programs. In this paper, we propose a new technique called weight prioritized slicing(WP-Slicing), an improved static slicing technique based on constraint logic programming, to help the programmer locate the fault quickly and precisely. WP-Slicing first converts the original program into logic facts. Then it extracts dependences from the facts, computes the static backward slice and calculates the statements' weight. Finally, WP-Slicing provides the slice in a suggested check sequence by weighted-sorting. By comparing it's slice time and locate effort with three pre-exsiting slicing techniques on five real world C projects, we prove that WP-Slicing can locate fault within less time and effort, which means WP-Slicing is more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicines have been widely used to prevent and cure diseases for thousands of years. For the purpose of better understanding the extremely complicated traditional Chinese medicines, powerful separation techniques are essential. Two‐dimensional liquid chromatography has been proven to be more powerful for the separation of complex traditional Chinese medicines due to its enhanced peak capacity and resolution compared with one‐dimensional liquid chromatography. Enormous efforts have been made on the coupling of independent separation mechanisms to improve the resolving power for complex traditional Chinese medicine samples, including the development and introduction of novel stationary phases. This review aims to give an overview on the applications of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography in traditional Chinese medicine research since 2008, including comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography, heart‐cutting two‐dimensional liquid chromatography both in on‐line, and off‐line mode. Different couplings of separation modes were respectively discussed based on specific studies, with emphasis on the applications of novel stationary phases in the two‐dimensional liquid chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The better application of robot technology in space unstructured scenes has become an important research topic. How to adapt to limited workspace and maintain high reliability sampling activities on unstructured surfaces with unknown geometric information and physical features poses high requirements for the implementation of automated sampling missions for extraterrestrial celestial bodies (ECBs). This work introduces a biomimetic adhesion sampler PBAS. It expects to achieve multisite core sampling activities on the unstructured surface of ECBs under astronaut assistance or unmanned automatic operation. Different from previous sampler, the system adopts novel modular structure design and has made improvements to the bionic adhesion mechanism, percussive and drilling mechanism, power transmission and sensing mechanism, and control mechanism. PBAS can firmly adhere to unstructured surfaces and efficiently obtain complete coring samples through penetration and drilling activities. It is compact and lightweight and has high portability, good reusability, excellent efficiency, as well as better performance in automatic sampling operations. Finally, to verify the effectiveness and reliability of the PBAS, a testing apparatus was designed. Relevant tests were conducted outdoors and in the laboratory. The experimental results indicate that PBAS can successfully adhere to surfaces with different characteristics and obtain coring samples with a length exceeding 50 mm. • The operation mode and design criteria of the PBAS system are provided. • Design details and mechanism model are analyzed. • Relevant experimental platform and environment are introdudced. • Preliminary filed test results are presented. • Some discussion and conclusion remarks are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scopolia tangutica is a traditional Chinese medicine used for antispasmodic, anesthesia, analgesia, and sedation. Its medicinal activity is associated to alkaloid constituents, including tropane and cinnamamide types. Low content of alkaloids in plant makes them difficult to be isolated and identified. The present work developed an effective method to quickly characterize alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry. Thirteen reference compounds were studied for their fragmentation pathways, including five tropane alkaloids and eight cinnamamide ones. Alkaloid constituent was analyzed by an optimized high‐performance liquid chromatography method and mass spectrometry analysis to achieve systematic characterization of alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica. As a result, 53 compounds were identified, including 21 tropane alkaloids (eight new ones), 18 caffeoyl ones (ten new ones) and 14 dicaffeoyl ones (seven new ones). It was important to provide rich information in phytochemical study and structure‐guided isolation of important compounds from this plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The combining of label-free cell phenotypic assay with 2DLC. • D1 activity location and D2 activity tracking obtained three β 2 -AR agonists. • The first time to discover diarylheptanoids with the β 2 -AR agonistic activity. • Providing possible explanation for the anti-asthmatic effect of C. zedoaria. Abstract Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) have been widely used in clinical practice, and provided a rich source for discovering new drug leads. However, efficient identification of active molecules responsible for the therapeutic effects of complex TCMs is still highly challenging. Here, we combined label-free cell phenotypic assay with two dimensional liquid chromatography (2DLC) to identify potential β 2 -adrenoceptor (β 2 -AR) agonists related to anti-asthmatic effect of Curcuma zedoaria Rosc (C.zedoaria), a commonly used TCM. The ethyl acetate extract of C.zedoaria was first fractionated into 26 fractions. Label-free cell phenotypic profiling was then used to locate the active sites. Orthogonal second-dimensional (D2) separation was performed on two fractions displaying agonistic effect at the β 2 -AR, combined with screening of the D2 fractions to track the activity. Finally, this approach led to the isolation of three known diarylheptanoids, among which diarylheptanoid b exhibited the most potent agonistic activity with an EC 50 value of 5.93 μM. This result was further demonstrated through the chemical synthesis of diarylheptanoid b. It is the first time to discover that diarylheptanoids could activate the β 2 -AR, which may be responsible for the anti-asthmatic effect of C.zedoaria observed traditionally and in clinical application. This study also demonstrates the potential of this integrated strategy for identifying active ingredients and determining the basis of therapeutic materials in complex TCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2DLC) coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) method is developed for the analysis of Curcuma kwangsiensis ( C. kwangsiensis ) extract. In this system, a newly developed phenyl/tetrazole sulfoether (PTAS) bonded stationary phase was introduced to construct RPLC×RPLC combined with C18. The unique structure endowed PTAS with very different selectivity from C18, reaching a high orthogonality of 93.2%. Moreover, such a combination settled compatibility issues because of the weaker hydrophobic retaining property of PTAS, thus allowing direct interfacing in online configuration. As a result of coupling with the mass spectrometry, a four-dimensional (4D) data plot was presented, in which 439 peaks (containing positive mode and negative mode) were counted, and 105 compounds were grouped and tentatively identified in C. kwangsiensis extract, including 73 unreported ones. Some novel types of compounds with masses exceeding 500 were discovered for the first time. Besides, compared to one-dimensional liquid chromatography (1DLC), the great resolution power of this system allowed separation of more isomers. These results provide supplementary to the material basis of C. Kwangsiensis and in-depth research should be conducted. The configuration of RPLC×RPLC-Q-TOF MS can be a powerful and efficient tool for separation and characterization of chemical substances in complicated herbal extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunlight-driven electrolytic splitting of water is a promising route to hydrogen production, and widespread implementation has called for the development of inexpensive, robust and large-scale electrodes. Here, nickel nanoparticles partially embedded into carbon fiber cloth (NiΦCFC) is prepared on a large scale (e.g., 40 cm × 40 cm) via a metal-mediated pitting process, which is adopted to fabricate hydrogen evolution reaction electrode for the first time. The partially embedded structure is beneficial for regulating the electron density state of carbon, exposing the nickel catalytic sites and improving the catalytic stability. The two kinds of electrochemical area and density functional theory results confirm that the interface effect between nickel and defective carbon leads into a low Gibbs free energy of H* adsorption. The NiΦCFC as flexible and efficient electrodes require a small overpotential of 131.5 mV to achieve −10 mA cm −2 . Note that the two-electrode electrolyzer composed of FeNi layered double hydroxide loaded on CFC (NiFe-LDH/CFC) (+)//NiΦCFC (−) possesses a voltage of 1.54 V at −10 mA cm −2 , which can also be powered by a solar cell. The facile and large-scale preparation of NiΦCFC as flexible electrodes could be adapted for the industrial hydrogen production powered by solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uptake of precious metals from electronic waste is of environmental significance and potential commercial value. A facile bioreductive synthesis is described for Au nanoparticles (ca. 20 nm) supported on N-doped carbon (Au@NC), which was derived from Au/Pycnoporus sanguineus cells. The interface and charge transport between Au and N-doped carbon were confirmed by HRTEM and XPS. Au@NC was employed as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), exhibiting a small onset potential of -54.1 mV (vs. RHE), a Tafel slope of 76.8 mVdec-1, as well as robust stability in acidic medium. Au@NC is a multifunctional electrocatalyst, which demonstrates high catalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), as evidenced by an onset potential of +0.97 V, excellent tolerance toward methanol, and long-term stability. This work exemplifies dual recovery of precious Au and fabrication of multifunctional electrocatalysts in an environmentally benign and application-oriented manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a general and effective phosphorization strategy is successfully demonstrated to enhance supercapacitor performance of various transition metals oxide or hydroxide, such as Ni(OH)2, Co(OH)2, MnO2, and Fe2O3. For example, a 3D networked Ni2P nanosheets array via a facile phosphorization reaction of Ni(OH)2 nanosheets is grown on the surface of a Ni foam. The Ni foam-supported Ni2P nanosheet (Ni2P NS/NF) electrode shows a remarkable specific capacitance of 2141 F g−1 at a scan rate of 50 mV s−1 and remains as high as 1109 F g−1 even at the current density of 83.3 A g−1. The specific capacitance is much larger than those of Ni(OH)2 NS/NF (747 F g−1 at 50 mV s−1). Furthermore, the electrode retains a high specific capacitance of 1437 F g−1 even after 5000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g−1, in sharp contrast with only 403 F g−1 of Ni(OH)2 NS/NF at the same current density. The similar enhanced performance is observed for Ni2P powder, which eliminates the influence of nickel foam. The enhanced supercapacitor performances are attributed to the 3D porous nanosheets network, enhanced conductivity, and two active components of Ni2+ and Pδ− with rich valences of Ni2P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important parts of deep space exploration missions, the sampling technologies of extraterrestrial celestial bodies (ECBs) have attracted the attention and interest of many researchers. As a relatively efficient and convenient sampling technique, drill samplers have been applied in different ECBs exploration missions. Different from the previous drill apparatus, this paper introduces a novel automatic assisted drill system (AADS), which is used to sample the deep layer regolith of ECBs. This drilling system can sample the deep regolith layer under manual assistance or unmanned automatic operation mode. The sampler has improved and designed a segmented detachable coring pipe, drilling pipe and casing pipe. It can largely maintain the layer information in the depth direction of the ECBs regolith and can also automatically change the drill sampling process through the driller change system to improve the sampling efficiency. Finally, an automatic test apparatus was designed, and an experimental platform was established to conduct a drill sampling test for the AADS sampler. The experimental results show that the AADS sampling system can successfully obtain at least 2.4 m depth and 1.1 kg weight simulated regolith samples. • The AADS design details are provided. • The AADS sampling strategy are analyzed. • An automatic test apparatus and experimental platform are introduced. • Preliminary filed test results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ziziphi spinosae semen has been widely used to treat insomnia and anxiety. To profile its chemical components, an online comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry was developed. In this two‐dimensional liquid chromatography system, a novel phthalic anhydride‐bonded stationary phase column was combined with a C18 column. As a result, this new stationary phase exhibited remarkable differences in separation selectivity from C18, achieving a good orthogonality of 83.3%. Moreover, this new stationary phase with weaker hydrophobicity than C18 realized solvent compatibility in the online configuration. Coupled with tandem MS, 154 compounds were identified, including 51 unreported compounds. Compared with one‐dimensional liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry, this online two‐dimensional liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry system exhibited a much higher resolving power in isomer separation. This work provided an effective separation and characterization method for the material basis of Ziziphi spinosae semen. This strategy provides ideas for the material basis research of other traditional Chinese medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced materials for electrocatalytic water splitting are central to renewable energy research. In this study, we describe a two-step reaction for preparing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrodes composed of Pt nanoparticles and MoS 2 nanosheets grown on carbon fibers. The morphology and the structures are characterized by a variety of techniques including SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS. Detailed electrochemical characterizations demonstrate that the Pt nanoparticles/MoS 2 nanosheets/carbon fibers electrode (2.03 w% Pt) exhibited an excellent catalytic activity for HER in an acidic electrolyte with an overpotential of −5 mV (vs. HER). And the corresponding Tafel slope is estimated to be 53.6 mV/dec. Stability tests through long-term potential cycles and extended electrolysis confirm the exceptional durability of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterostructures play an important role not only in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, but also in the field of catalysis. Herein, we report the synthesis of PdO/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2 heterostructured nanobelts by means of a simple co-precipitation method, followed by a reduction process using surface-modified TiO2 nanobelts as templates. The as-obtained heterostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. PdO and Pd nanoparticles with a size of about 1.3 and 1.6 nm were assembled uniformly on the surface of TiO2 nanobelts, respectively. Compared with TiO2 nanobelts, PdO/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2 hybrid nanobelts exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity upon UV and visible-light irradiation. Photoelectrochemical technology was used to study the heterostructure effect on enhanced photocatalytic activity. Our mechanistic investigation revealed that energy-band matching is the major factor in the observed enhancement of photocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: TiO2 nanobelts were prepared by the hydrothermal growth method. The surface of the nanobelts was coarsened by selective acid corrosion and functionalized with Pd catalyst particles. Three nanobelt samples (TiO2 nanobelts, surface-coarsened TiO2 nanobelts and Pd nanoparticle/TiO2 nanobelt surface heterostructures) were configured as gas sensors and their sensing ability was measured. Both the surface-coarsened nanobelts and the Pd nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanobelts exhibited dramatically improved sensitivity to ethanol vapor. Pd nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanobelts with surface heterostructures exhibited the best sensitivity, selectivity, working temperature, response/recovery time, and reproducibility. The excellent ethanol sensing performance is attributed to the large surface area and enhancement by Schottky barrier-type junctions between the Pd nanoparticles and TiO2 nanobelts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Ag/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures were prepared by the acid-assisted hydrothermal method followed by an in situ photo-reduction process. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanobelts was evidently enhanced by the heterostructures between Ag nanoparticles and TiO2 nanobelts. The nanopapers based on Ag/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures were fabricated via a modified paper-making process. A novel continuous photocatalytic reactor was designed, and MO removal rate of Ag/C–TiO2 nanopaper was achieved to 100% in 40min for single layer and only in 6min for three layers. The self-supported TiO2 nanopapers with porous structures also showed an excellent continuous photocatalytic performance for toluene gas under UV light irradiation, and the corresponding degradation rate was 69.5% in 184min. Moreover, the Ag/TiO2 nanobelts nanopaper showed a good antibacterial effect. The multifunctional TiO2 nanopapers modified by the heterostuctures could have potential applications in the environmental and biomaterial fields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Semiconductor rutile TiO2nanostructures with a diversity of well-defined morphologies, such as microspheres, nanoflowers, nanotrees and nanobelts, are synthesized viaan acid-hydrothermal process without any structure-directing agents. Their morphologies, crystal structures and orientation relationship were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. By controlling hydrochloric acid concentration, anisotropic growth of the rutile TiO2leads to various morphologies. The synthesis mechanism of rich TiO2nanostructures was also studied. Finally, the relationship between optical properties and the structural complexity of the rutile TiO2nanocrystals was characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mesoporous organic–inorganic hybrid iron phosphate has been synthesized by a precipitation method with yeast cells as biotemplate. The yeast cells are used to regulate the nucleation and growth of iron phosphate. The small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD) patterns show a short-range ordered structure in the dried and calcined samples. The BJH (Barrett–Joyner–Halenda) models reveal that the average pore sizes are at 13.9nm for dried sample and at 14.8nm for calcined sample. The sample calcined at 300°C has the highest specific surface area of 146.2m2 g−1. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses reveal a wormhole-like mesoporous structure in the samples. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra are used to analyze the chemical bond linkages in hybrid mesoporous FePO4 materials. The FePO4 coated carbon has higher conductivity than uncoated one, which has potential use for lithium battery materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A very simple approach with yeast cells as a biotemplate was proposed to synthesize a mesoporous hybrid Fe2O3 photocatalyst. The mesoporous structure of the resultant samples was characterized by BET, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms (NADI) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical bond linkages in hybrid Fe2O3 samples were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT–IR). The catalytic activities of mesoporous hybrid Fe2O3 on degradation of methyl orange were investigated under UV-light irradiation. The hybrid Fe2O3 (yeast cell amount is 0.6 g) samples dried at 80 °C and calcined at 300 °C exhibit high surface area and photocatalytic activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Magnetic Fe3O4 materials with mesoporous structure are synthesized by co-precipitation method using yeast cells as a template. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicates that the as-synthesized mesoporous hybrid Fe3O4 is well crystallized. The Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) models reveal the existence of mesostructure in the dried sample which has a specific surface area of 96.31m2/g and a pore size distribution of 8–14nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements confirm the wormhole-like structure of the resulting samples. The composition and chemical bonds of the Fe3O4/cells composites are studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Preliminary magnetic properties of the mesoporous hybrid Fe3O4 are characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The magnetic Fe3O4/cells composites with mesoporous structure have potential applications in biomedical areas, such as drug delivery. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ammonia is emerging as a liquefied and renewable‐energy carrier of global interest in the future. The electrochemical reduction of nitrate is widely acknowledged as an alternative to the traditional Haber–Bosch process for ammonia production. However, it is observed that certain catalysts can undergo spontaneous oxidation–reduction reactions with nitrate to some extent, leading to the calculated ammonia Faradaic efficiency exceeding 100%. However, there is a lack of accurate experimental validation as well as effective solutions. To address these problems, it is verified that the spontaneous reaction between the catalyst and nitrate impacts on the calculation of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction performance. Meanwhile, an updated and optimized experimental strategy is proposed to address the interference caused by the spontaneous reaction. This work will significantly contribute to more accurate and reliable electrocatalytic nitrate reduction research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Transition metal oxides have been acknowledged for their exceptional water splitting capabilities in alkaline electrolytes, however, their catalytic activity is limited by low conductivity. The introduction of sulfur (S) into nickel molybdate (NiMoO 4) at room temperature leads to the formation of sulfur-doped NiMoO 4 (S-NiMoO 4), thereby significantly enhancing the conductivity and facilitating electron transfer in NiMoO 4. Furthermore, the introduction of S effectively modulates the electron density state of NiMoO 4 and facilitates the formation of highly active catalytic sites characterized by a significantly reduced hydrogen absorption Gibbs free energy (ΔG H*) value of −0.09 eV. The electrocatalyst S-NiMoO 4 exhibits remarkable catalytic performance in promoting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), displaying a significantly reduced overpotential of 84 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and maintaining excellent durability at 68 mA cm−2 for 10 h (h). Furthermore, by utilizing the anodic sulfide oxidation reaction (SOR) instead of the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the assembled electrolyzer employing S-NiMoO 4 as both the cathode and anode need merely 0.8 V to achieve 105 mA cm−2, while simultaneously producing hydrogen gas (H 2) and S monomer. This work paves the way for improving electron transfer and activating active sites of metal oxides, thereby enhancing their HER activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lunar rock sampling is an important means of studying the evolutionary history of planets. However, facing the special microgravity environment of the Moon, general rock sampling drills cannot provide the torque and pressure required for the mission. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the sampling drill with attachment function. In this study, the claw spines of insects were simulated, and a biomimetic spine laminated structure with flexible connections was designed. The working principle of attachment and detachment was analyzed using a rod model with elastic characteristics. The process of biomimetic spines attaching to rough surfaces was simulated using the coupling method of multi-body dynamics and discrete element analysis (MBD-DEM). The mechanical properties of bionic claws during attachment were analyzed. Mechanical experiments were conducted on biomimetic spines attached to volcanic rock. The experiment results for single and multiple spines were compared with the simulation results, verifying the accuracy and reliability of the simulation model. Finally, A bionic attachment prototype was designed and tested for performance. The attachment device was integrated into a sampling drill and drilling experiments were conducted. This article provides important reference for the optimization of biomimetic spine structures, along with adding value to the design of attachment equipment. [Display omitted] • Rubber constitutive model applied for dynamics modeling of spines. • MDB-DEM method used to simulate the working process of the spine attachment device. • Spine experiments were carried out and compared with simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic conversion of CO2 to valuable formate provides a pathway to carbon neutrality. Indium (In), as a promising catalyst, exhibits high selectivity toward formate due to its suitable bonding ability of *OCHO intermediates. However, it still suffers from the CO2 activation and the protonation steps, leading to low activity and productivity. Here, an oxygen‐pinned stabilization AgIn single‐atom alloy (Op‐Ag1In) is presented for efficiently converting CO2 into formate (≈92.03% Faradaic efficiency) with a partial current density of 13 mA cm−2 at −0.95 V vs RHE by using standard H‐type reactor. The Op‐Ag1In electrocatalyst is more effective in converting CO2 to formate because the activated In sites of Op‐Ag1In catalyst regulate CO2 activation and protonation step of CO2RR and formation of sufficient amounts of *OCHO, which are confirmed by in situ spectroscopic and theoretical calculations. The continuous production of formate is showcased at 70 mA cm–2 for 24 h by utilizing a flow cell and Op‐Ag1In. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Iron phosphate nanopowders with flake morphologies have been synthesized by precipitation method with yeast cells as a biologic template, which provide the nucleation sites to regulate growth of FePO4 nanoparticles. XRD and TG-DSC show that pure and homogenous FePO4 crystal is synthesized at 543 °C. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) show that as-dried iron phosphate nanopowders contain a lot of organic matter and aggregate to yield clusters. The sample calcined at 600 °C shows flake shapes with length of 500–600 nm and width of 200–300 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is used to analyze the combination linkage of chemical bonds in organic-inorganic hybrid iron phosphate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Amorphous iron phosphate nanoparticles mineralized in yeast cells are studied by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrograph and micro electrophoresis. Iron phosphate nanoparticles in yeast cells show uniform morphology with extensive surface roughness and disperse well. The size distribution of iron phosphate is about 50–200 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is used to analyze the chemical bond linkages between iron phosphate nanoparticles with protein macromolecules in yeast cells. The mechanism of biomineralization was simply discussed by chemical bonds and surface charges. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mo-doping is introduced to synchronously improve the electro catalytic activity and anti-chlorine corrosion of Ni 3 s 2 toward the efficient overall seawater splitting, thanks to the enhanced binding with *OH but the weakened one with *CL. [Display omitted] Designing highly active electrocatalysts that can resist chloride ion (Cl-) corrosion during seawater electrolysis is still a challenge. Here, Mo-doping is introduced to synchronously improve the electrocatalytic activity and anti-chlorine corrosion of Ni 3 S 2 toward the efficient overall seawater splitting. With commercial nickel-molybdenum foam (NMF) as the reactive substrates, Mo-doped Ni 3 S 2 columnar arrays (Mo-Ni 3 S 2 /NMF) are fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal process, which expose abundant active sites with the ameliorated surface electronic configurations toward the enhanced binding with *OH (* denotes an active site) but the weakened one with *Cl. As expected, they afford the excellent bi-functionality for both oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER and HER), with the remarkably improved anti-corrosion to Cl- at anode as compared to pristine Ni 3 S 2. In alkaline mimic seawater (1.0 M NaOH + 0.5 M NaCl), Mo-Ni 3 S 2 /NMF requires 330 mV (for OER) and 209 mV (for HER) overpotentials at the current density of ±100 mA cm−2, and a low cell voltage of 1.52 V at 10 mA cm−2 for overall seawater splitting. This work highlights a feasible strategy to explore highly active and stable electrocatalysts for sustainable H 2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, estimating the 6D pose of object instances with convolutional neural network (CNN) has received considerable attention. Depending on whether intermediate cues are used, the relevant literature can be roughly divided into two broad categories: direct methods and two-stage pipelines. For the latter, intermediate cues, such as 3D object coordinates, semantic keypoints, or virtual control points instead of pose parameters are regressed by CNN in the first stage. Object pose can then be solved by correspondence constraints constructed with these intermediate cues. In this paper, we focus on the postprocessing of a two-stage pipeline and propose to combine two learning concepts for estimating object pose under challenging scenes: projection grouping on one side, and correspondence learning on the other. We firstly employ a local-patch based method to predict projection heatmaps which denote the confidence distribution of projection of 3D bounding box's corners. A projection grouping module is then proposed to remove redundant local maxima from each layer of heatmaps. Instead of directly feeding 2D–3D correspondences to the perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm, multiple correspondence hypotheses are sampled from local maxima and its corresponding neighborhood and ranked by a correspondence–evaluation network. Finally, correspondences with higher confidence are selected to determine object pose. Extensive experiments on three public datasets demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms several state of the art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep multiple kernel Learning (DMKL) method has attracted wide attention due to its better classification performance than shallow multiple kernel learning. However, the existing DMKL methods are hard to find suitable global model parameters to improve classification accuracy in numerous datasets and do not take into account inter-class correlation and intra-class diversity. In this paper, we present a group-based local adaptive deep multiple kernel learning (GLDMKL) method with lp norm. Our GLDMKL method can divide samples into multiple groups according to the multiple kernel k-means clustering algorithm. The learning process in each well-grouped local space is exactly adaptive deep multiple kernel learning. And our structure is adaptive, so there is no fixed number of layers. The learning model in each group is trained independently, so the number of layers of the learning model maybe different. In each local space, adapting the model by optimizing the SVM model parameter α and the local kernel weight β in turn and changing the proportion of the base kernel of the combined kernel in each layer by the local kernel weight, and the local kernel weight is constrained by the lp norm to avoid the sparsity of basic kernel. The hyperparameters of the kernel are optimized by the grid search method. Experiments on UCI and Caltech 256 datasets demonstrate that the proposed method is more accurate in classification accuracy than other deep multiple kernel learning methods, especially for datasets with relatively complex data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to fuels driven by electrocatalysts is a viable strategy for efficient utilization of emitted CO2. CO2RR involves multiple‐steps, including adsorption, activation, hydrogenation, etc. At present, copper‐tin alloy catalysts have shown the capability to reduce CO2 to formic acid or formate. However, their poor adsorption and activation capacities for CO2 molecules, as well as the sluggish kinetics in *H supply restrict the proton‐coupled electron transfer processes in the electrocatalytic CO2RR to produce formic acid. In order to solve the above problems, the ultra‐small SnO2/Cu6Sn5/CuO nanocatalysts with superscalar phase boundaries are fabricated by laser sputtering. The introduction of SnO2 enhances the adsorption and activation of CO2, while CuO promotes H2O decomposition and provides abundant *H intermediates, resulting in tandem catalytic sites on the SnO2/Cu6Sn5/CuO composite catalysts and thus leading to excellent CO2RR activity and high selectivity to formic acid. The Faradic efficiency of formic acid (FEHCOOH) at the SnO2/Cu6Sn5/CuO electrode reaches 90.13% along with a high current density of 25.2 mA cm−2 at −0.95 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The role of the multiphase boundaries constructed by introduction of oxides is confirmed by in situ infrared spectroscopy and kinetic isotope effects experiments, which is consistent with the design concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen (H2) production has attracted more and more attention in the context of energy shortages. The use of scarce pure water resources, such as electrolyte, not only increases the cost but also makes application difficult on a large scale. Compared to pure water electrolysis, seawater electrolysis is more competitive in terms of both resource acquisition and economic benefits; however, the complex ionic environment in seawater also brings great challenges to seawater electrolysis technology. Specifically, chloride oxidation-related corrosion and the deposition of insoluble solids on the surface of electrodes during seawater electrolysis make a significant difference to electrocatalytic performance. In response to this issue, design strategies have been proposed to improve the stability of electrodes. Herein, basic principles of seawater electrolysis are first discussed. Then, the design strategy for corrosion-resistant electrodes for seawater electrolysis is recommended. Finally, a development direction for seawater electrolysis in the industrialization process is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer treatment by inducing tumor cell immunogenic cell death (ICD) is critical for tumor therapy. However, ICD activation by single pathway is often limited in practical application due to its low efficiency. In addition, the low pH and anoxic microenvironments in solid tumors greatly limit the effective activation of ICD. Herein, hollow manganese dioxide (H-MnO2) nanomaterials were selected to load both Mitoxantrone (MTZ) and Chlorin e6 (Ce6) due to its hollow structure and ability to release drugs in the acidic environments. Thus, the synergy of photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy can induce the process of immunogenic cell death, stimulate the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), and activate the immune response to kill tumor cells dramatically. Efficient immunotherapeutic effects were obtained when MnO2-C/M-HA was given intravenously to 4T1 tumor-bearing BALB/c mice with 660 nm near-infrared laser irradiation. This study overcame the limitations of monotherapy and provided a multifunctional platform for tumor immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize high capacitance and long cycle performance of supercapacitors, hierarchical microflowers assembled from MoS 2 /polyaniline sandwiched nanosheets (MoS 2 /PANI SNSs) have been developed as electrode materials. In the hybrid nanosheets, PANI intercalates into the (002) interlayer of MoS 2 , leading to enhanced electron transfer as well as expanded interlayers which is beneficial for ion diffusion kinetics. Furthermore, the hierarchical microflower-like structure prevents aggregation of MoS 2 nanosheets, while the sandwich structure relieves the volume expansion and dissolution of PANI during repeated charge/discharge cycles. In the three-electrode test system for supercapacitors, the MoS 2 /PANI SNSs Exhibit 245.5 F g −1 at a 10 A g −1 in the first cycle, and retain 212.6 F g −1 after 16000 cycles. Assembled as symmetric supercapacitors in the two-electrode configuration, the MoS 2 /PANI SNSs show 81.3 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 in the first cycle, and retain 70.0 F g −1 after 8000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The star-arrow docking ring is a ubiquitous structure on space vehicles and is often used as a feature component for pose measurement and capture in non-cooperative space capture missions. When the capture task is performed at a close distance of 0.5 m, due to the high radiation and high light intensity of the space and the coating of the satellite surface with thermal control multilayer materials, the lighting environment is complex, and the grayscale image processing is difficult. The point cloud grayscale image contour feature localization detection method converts the point cloud image into a grayscale image and then estimates the relative pose of the docking ring. Aiming at the problem of fast pose estimation in the case of relative motion, the algorithm adds a fast positioning module of frame image feature area based on the motion model on the original basis, which effectively reduces the feature retrieval area and improves the real-time performance of the algorithm. It is verified by physical simulation experiments. The results show that the method can effectively reduce the influence of stray light and eliminate noise contours. The pose estimation results of the docking ring are accurate and stable, the relative position calculation error is less than 1.5 mm, and the relative pose error is less than 0.45°. The frequency is better than 2 Hz, which meets the needs of real-time capture by space robotic arms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–robot interaction has become increasingly important due to technological advances in robotics. The tactile sensation range of humans ranges from detecting the touch of a hair (≈0.6 Pa) to the touch of a finger (<10 kPa). Therefore, flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity and a suitable pressure response range are vital to human–robot interaction. However, it is difficult to attain both sensitivity and a suitable pressure response in one device. This study proposes and prepares a flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/carbon cloth (CC). The high performance of the sensor stems from the interlocked CNTs structure and the multistage contact at different pressures. The interlocked CNT structure endows the sensor with a low detection limit (≈0.15 Pa) and high sensitivity (120 kPa−1) in the pressure range (0–0.5 kPa). The flexible pressure sensor with an interlocked structure has significant potential as a wearable biosensor for healthcare applications. Furthermore, the sensor facilitates grasping soft objects due to high tactile sensitivity. In addition, the CNTs/CC‐based sensor can also be used as a bending sensor to develop a hand grasping model. Therefore, the proposed CNTs/CC‐based sensor is well suited for human–machine interaction and improving the tactile perception of robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) has garnered significant attention with its extraordinary optical and optoelectronic properties for optical and optoelectronic devices such as broadband photodetectors. The trends emerge in the synthesis of Sb2Se3 over a semiconducting substrate for the direct formation of heterostructures, which facilitate a pn junction for self‐powered photodetector. 1D Sb2Se3 nanorods are preferred to boost the charge carrier transport along the longitudinal direction as well as the optical absorption by light trapping. Great challenges remain for the vertical growth of nanorods. In this work, the precisely vertical alignment of Sb2Se3 nanorod arrays has been achieved in an epitaxial growth manner by selecting a lattice‐matching substrate, namely, boron‐doped ZnO (110) surface. The directly grown boron‐doped ZnO/Sb2Se3 nanorod arrays heterostructure leads to a high‐performance broadband photodetector. Eventually, the device demonstrates extraordinary figure‐of‐merit parameters, i.e., responsivity, on/off ratio, and specific detectivity. Furthermore, device simulation predicts the theoretical limit of the photodetector performances on the condition of suppressed defect density of the Sb2Se3. These results may shed light on the investigation of controlled growth of low‐dimensional materials, self‐powered photodetectors, and related optic and optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CO2 methanation is an important component of the "power to gas" strategy, and the Ru‐Al2O3 catalyst is considered to be a state‐of‐the‐art catalyst for this reaction. Conventional Ru‐Al2O3 is prepared by wet impregnation. Due to weak interactions between Ru and the Al2O3, construction of a controllable interface between the metal and the substrate is still challenging. In this work, a UV pulse laser is used to controllably construct ultra‐small Ru nanoparticles on defects‐rich Al2O3‐x‐L in situ grown on Al foil (Ru‐Al2O3‐x‐L) for effective photothermal CO2 methanation. The catkin‐like fluff Al2O3‐x‐L efficiently traps light to ensure the light adsorption of Ru‐Al2O3‐x‐L. The defects in Al2O3‐x‐L efficiently anchors Ru. A Strong‐Metal‐Support‐Interaction (SMSI) effect is constructed between the ultra‐small Ru nanoparticles and the Al2O3‐x‐L. The Ru‐Al2O3‐x‐L exhibits remarkable photothermal catalytic performance (CH4 yield of 12.35 mol gRu−1 h−1) in the closed batch system. Then an innovative flow reactor is established based on the one‐piece Ru‐Al2O3‐x‐L microchannel catalyst. Thanks to local pressure on the edge of the microchannels, the CH4 yield is further enhanced to 14.04 mol gRu−1 h−1. Finally, an outdoor setup demonstrates the feasibility of photothermal CO2 methanation (CH4 yield of 18.00 mmol min−1). This work provides novel perspectives for the construction of multi‐level micro/nanostructures integrated catalysts for photothermal CO2 methanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezocatalysis in aqueous medium has shown great potential for various applications, however the efficiency of piezocatalytic nanoparticles is harmed by the limited utilization of piezoelectric charge and the lack of active catalytic interface. In this study, BaTiO3@Metal (BTO@M, M=Pt, Pd and Au) hetero‐nanostructures were synthesized by using a piezodeposition method. The deposited metal cocatalysts significantly promote the separation and migration of piezogenerated charge, consequently enhancing the piezocatalytic reactions on different metal cocatalyst interfaces. Specifically, BTO@Au under ultrasonic vibrations exhibited most efficient generation of reactive oxidative species via a two‐electron reduction pathway in the presence of dissolved oxygen, while BTO@Pt showed promoted hydrogen evolution in the absence of oxygen. The metal‐piezoelectric hetero‐nanostructures proposed in this work highlight the key role of noble metal as cocatalysts for piezoelectricity‐driven oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions, which could further advance piezocatalysis in the field of clean energy, water disinfection and biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife trade threatens global taxa. While interest in consumer behavior is increasing, such studies are scarce, particularly for plants and fungi, around questions of consumer characteristics, preferences, and perceptions. Moreover, these factors are not often marshaled to support conservation measures effectively. To address these questions, we examined the case of Chinese caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis [Berk.] G.H. Sung, J.M. Sung, Hywel‐Jones, & Spatafora) consumers. This product is particularly interesting due to its extremely high value, economic importance to harvesters, and increasing conservation concerns. Data were generated through an online structured survey (n = 1861 consumers) and semi‐structured qualitative interviews (n = 65) across six provinces that comprise the primary market in China. We found significant regional and demographic differences in consumer characteristics, preferences for the geographical origin of the product, and limited understanding of harvester and sustainability issues. Interestingly, consumers in higher income provinces bought less frequently but spent more money with the aim of self‐consumption, compared with consumers in lower income provinces who buy more frequently, spending less, and with the intention to use purchased products as presents for family or friends. Consumer responses indicated that conservation measures can be enhanced through public information dissemination about product characteristics and linking consumers to the consequences of their consumption choices, with a particular focus on geographically differentiated information campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for efficient and cost-effective anode materials in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) provides the impetus to use carbon derived from solid waste to support bacterial growth and proliferation. Here we show that the municipal sludge-derived carbon (SC) with a porous structure and abundant surface functional groups is effective in improving performance of MFCs. The SC is coated on the 3-D graphite felt (GF) surface by pyrrole electropolymerization in order to increase the surface cites that are interacted with bacteria, resulting in the formation of PPy/SC-modified GF anode. The scanning electron microscopy analysis indicates that the PPy/SC-modified GF can substantially increase anode surface area. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results suggest that the PPy/SC-modified GF anode possesses higher surface N/C ratio and higher relative contents of O C–NH 2 and O C–O functional groups than other counterpart anodes. These characteristics are essential for increasing bacterial attachment to the anode surface, electron-transfer rate and thus anode performance and power performance. The maximum power density resulting from the PPy/SC-modified GF anode was 568.5 mW m −2 (13.6 W m −3 ) increased by 1.9, 2.7 and 3.5 times as compared to the PPy/AC-modified GF anode, the PPy alone-modified GF anode and the unmodified GF anode, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The Pt-O bond between Pt and TiO 2 enhances interfacial stability of Pt/TiO 2 /Ti. • Optimized interfacial electronic structure promotes an appropriate H adsorption. • The perfect encapsulation of TiO 2 prevents hydrogenation breakage of Ti substrate. • Pt/TiO 2 /Ti performs high and stable HER activity (η 10 = 23 mV, 180 mA cm−2 for 25 h). • Constructed acidic electrolyzer presents efficient water splitting performance. The development of efficient and stable integrated electrodes is crucial for the advancement of electrolyzer. Herein, the ultra-low platinum (12.7 μg Pt cm−2) anchored TiO 2 nano-polyhedrons protective titanium fibers paper (Pt/TiO 2 /Ti) is synthesized as an integrated electrode for gas diffusion, current collector and catalytic hydrogen production. The Pt/TiO 2 /Ti electrode exhibits remarkable activity (23 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and durability (180 mA cm−2 for 25 h) for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic electrolyte, which is attributed to the enhanced interface via Pt-O bond between Pt and TiO 2. Specifically, the optimizing electronic structure of Pt anchoring on the TiO 2 enhances hydrogen adsorption energy to improve the intrinsic activity of HER. In addition, the relatively negative adsorption energy (E ads) of Pt atom on TiO 2 significantly contributes to the structural stability of the Pt/TiO 2 /Ti electrode. Moreover, the complete encapsulation of titanium fibers by TiO 2 layer enhances the structural stability of Pt/TiO 2 /Ti by preventing hydrogenation-induced breakage of the titanium substrate. The constructed electrolyzer of (−) Pt/TiO 2 /Ti || IrO 2 /TiO 2 /Ti (+) presents efficient water splitting performance (1.464 V at 10 mA cm−2) and long-term durability (∼100% retention for 30 h) in acidic electrolyte. This work highlights the importance of integrated electrodes and the feasibility of acidic electrolyzer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An H4R target pathway model for high-throughput screening tests was developed. • Cryptotanshinone was a new H4R non-competitive antagonist. • Cryptotanshinone interacts with H4R at a novel allosteric binding site. Histamine 4 receptor (H4R), the most recently identified subtype of histamine receptor, primarily induces inflammatory reactions upon activation. Several H4R antagonists have been developed for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and atopic dermatitis (AD), but their use has been limited by adverse side effects, such as a short half-life and toxicity. Natural products, as an important source of anti-inflammatory agents, offer minimal side effects and reduced toxicity. This work aimed to identify novel H4R antagonists from natural products. An H4R target-pathway model deconvoluted downstream G i and MAPK signaling pathways was established utilizing cellular label-free integrative pharmacology (CLIP), on which 148 natural products were screened. Cryptotanshinone was identified as selective H4R antagonist, with an IC 50 value of 11.68 ± 1.30 μM, which was verified with Fluorescence Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) and Cellular Thermal Shift (CTS) assays. The kinetic binding profile revealed the noncompetitive antagonistic property of cryptotanshinone. Two allosteric binding sites of H4R were predicted using SiteMap, Fpocket and CavityPlus. Subsequent molecular docking and dynamics simulation indicated that cryptotanshinone interacts with H4R at a pocket formed by the outward interfaces between TM3/4/5, potentially representing a new allosteric binding site for H4R. Overall, this study introduced cryptotanshinone as a novel H4R antagonist, offering promise as a new hit for drug design of H4R antagonist. Additionally, this study provided a novel screening model for the discovery of H4R antagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetrahymena piriformis belongs to the ciliated protists (ciliates), causing severe economic losses in aquaculture. Chemical drugs currently used usually have toxic side effects, and there is no specific drug against Tetrahymena. Therefore, it is an urgent need to identify new antiparasitic lead compounds. In the present study, the in vitro parasiticidal activity of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts and water extracts from 22 selected traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) were evaluated against T. piriformis. The EtOAc extract of P. corylifolia turned out to be the most active with the minimum parasiticidal concentration of 100 mg/L within 3 h. Thus, it was separated into 12 fractions by the first-dimensional (D1) normal phase liquid chromatography (NPLC), meanwhile combining with in vitro antiparasitic tests for activity tracking. Subsequently, 8 flavonoids were identified in the active fractions by the second-dimensional (D2) reverse phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry. According to the results, 5 flavonoids were selected for in vitro antiparasitic test, of which isobavachalcone showed the minimum parasiticidal concentration of 3.125 mg/L in 2 h. Bathing treatment of infected guppies with isobavachalcone could significantly reduce the burden of T. piriformis , obtaining a 24-h median effective concentration (24-h EC 50) value of 1.916 mg/L. And the concentration of isobavachalcone causing guppies to die within 24 h is 39 times than that of 24-h EC 50. The results demonstrated that isobavachalcone has the potential to be developed into a novel commercial fish drug against T. piriformis. [Display omitted] • The EtOAc extract of Psoralea corylifolia has activity against Tetrahymena piriformis. • Bavachinin A, Bavachin D, Corylifol A, Neobavaisoflavone and Isobavachalcone were identified. • The acute toxicity and anthelmintic effect of isobavachalcone on Poecilia reticulate were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly active and multifunctional non‐precious metal‐based hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) eletcrocatalysts have aroused great interest in the large‐scale conversion of sustainable electrical energy to fuels and feedstocks in different application scenarios. Here, a metal sulfide‐based super hybrid nanoarray composed of a metallic Co3S4 nanosheet, P doped WS2 nanosheet, and Co9S8 nanoparticles (Super‐Co3S4/P‐WS2/Co9S8) for all‐pH HER is reported. The Super‐Co3S4/P‐WS2/Co9S8 only requires 58, 70, and 129 mV in alkaline, acid, and neutral media, respectively, to reach 10 mA cm‐2, which also presents fast reaction kinetics and high long‐term stability. The experimental and density functional theory (DFT) results verify that the abundant active heterostructure in Super‐Co3S4/P‐WS2/Co9S8 can not only provide Pt‐like H*‐adsorption Gibbs free energy (ΔGH*) but also promote the H2O adsorption and dissociation kinetics for all‐pH HER. Moreover, the collaboration of favorable metallic components and special nanoarray morphology can also strengthen the electric conductivity for electron transfer and promote the maximum exposure of active heterointerfaces for mass transport in electrocatalysis. The interesting strategy herein is expected to inspire the future design of advanced metal sulfide‐based heterostructures for energy storage and conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal nitrides have shown large potential in industrial application for realization of the high active and large current density toward overall water splitting, a strategy to synthesize an inexpensive electrocatalyst consisting of Ni nanoparticles embedded metallic MoN microrods cultured on roughened nickel sheet (Ni/MoN/rNS) through underfocus laser heating on NiMoO4·xH2O under NH3 atmosphere is posited. The proposed laser preparation mechanism of infocus and underfocus modes confirms that the laser induced stress and local high temperature controllably and rapidly prepared the patterned Ni/MoN/rNS electrodes in large size. The designed Ni/MoN/rNS presents outstanding catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with a low overpotential of 67 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a small overpotential of 533 mV to deliver 200 mA cm−2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) further verify that the constructed interface of Ni/MoN with small hydrogen absorption Gibbs free energy (ΔGH*) (−0.19 eV) and similar electrical conductivity between Ni and metallic MoN, which can explain the high intrinsic catalytic activity of Ni/MoN. Further, the constructed two‐electrode system (−) Ni/MoN/rNS||Ni/MoN/rNS (+) is employed in an industrial water‐splitting electrolyzer (460 mA cm−2 for 120 h), being superior to the performance of commercial nickel electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor based on a multiple signal amplification strategy was established for highly sensitive detection of microRNA (miRNA). TiO2 was prepared on the surface of titanium sheet by laser etching to improve its stability and photoelectrical properties, and CuInS2-sensitized TiO2 was used to form a superior photoelectrical layer, which realized the initial signal amplification. The electron donor dopamine (DA) was modified to H2 as a signal regulator, which effectively increased the photocurrent signal. To further amplify the signal, an enzyme-free hybridization reaction was implemented. When target let-7a and fuel-DNA (F-DNA) were present, the base of H1 specifically recognized let-7a and forced dopamine@AuNPs-H2 away from the electrode surface. Subsequently, the end base of H1 specifically recognized F-DNA, and let-7a was replaced and recycled to participate in the next cycle. Enzyme-free circulation, as a multifunctional amplification method, ensured the recycling of target molecules. This PEC sensor for let-7a detection showed an excellent linear response from 0.5 to 1000 pM with a detection limit of 0.12 pM. The intra-batch RSD was 3.8% and the recovery was 87.74–108.1%. The sensor was further used for clinical biomolecular monitoring of miRNA, showing excellent quantitative detection capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]