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Density functional theory-based characterization of crystalline tungsten oxide has been well established. Nonetheless, there remains a partial gap in theoretical studies concerning the electrochemical characterization of amorphous tungsten oxide. The electronic structure and diffusion kinetics of amorphous tungsten oxide require a systematic theoretical study. Therefore, we employed second-generation Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations and the density functional theory with HSE06 exchange–correlation hybrid functional to investigate the electronic properties and lithium kinetics of amorphous tungsten oxide (α-WOx, x = 3, 2.5, 2) models. The precise electronic properties of these structures were computed using the HSE06 hybrid functions. The diffusion properties of lithium were determined in the range of 1 × 10−7 to 5 × 10−7 cm2/s by ab initio molecular dynamics. The computational findings provide a critical atomic-scale understanding and contribute to the development of tungsten oxide-based electrochromic devices for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases globally, leading to chronic disability and poor prognosis. One of the approaches for optimizing OA treatment is to find early effective diagnostic biomarkers. The contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs) in OA progression is now being increasingly recognized. This review provides a comprehensive summary on studies reporting the expression profiling of miRNAs in OA and associated signaling pathways. We performed a systematic search of the Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane library databases. This systematic review is reported according to the PRISMA checklist. Studies which identified miRNAs with aberrant expression compared to controls during OA progression were included, and a meta-analysis was performed. Results from the random effects model were provided as log10 odds ratios (logORs) and 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to confirm the accuracy of the results. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on tissue source. The target genes of miRNAs identified in this study were extracted from the MiRWalk database, and these target genes were enriched in Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. A total of 191 studies reporting 162 miRNAs were included in our meta-analysis. Among them, 36 miRNAs distributed across 96 studies were expressed in the same direction in at least two studies (13 up-regulated and 23 down-regulated). Subgroup analysis of tissue source revealed that the highest number of studies was conducted using articular cartilage, where the most up-regulated miRNAs were miR-146a-5p (logOR 7.355; P < 0.001) and miR-34a-5p (logOR 6.955; P < 0.001), and the most down-regulated miRNAs were miR-127-5p (logOR 6.586; P < 0.001) and miR-140-5p (logOR 6.373; P < 0.001). Enrichment analysis of 752 downstream target genes of all identified miRNAs was performed, and the regulatory relationships among them were displayed. Mesenchymal stem cells and transforming growth factor-β were found to be the most important downstream effectors regulated by miRNA in OA. This study highlighted the importance of miRNA signaling in OA progression and identified a number of prominent miRNAs including miR-146a-5p, miR-34a-5p, miR-127-5p, and miR-140-5p which might be considered as potential biomarkers for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Various physiological activities of organisms, including movement, feeding, reproduction, breathing, excretion, etc., all require the participation of their neuromuscular systems. Echinoderms, a phylum closely related to chordates, possess a well-differentiated but simpler muscular system, which provides a great opportunity to trace the evolutionary origins of the vertebrate muscular system. Here, we review the morphology of different musculatures and the effects of different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides involved in muscle regulation in echinoderms. In addition, we highlight the potential molecular mechanisms underpinning the action of these chemical messengers on echinoderm muscles. The muscular systems of echinoderms play important roles in various physiological and behavioral processes, including feeding, reproduction, movement, respiration, and excretion. Like vertebrates, echinoderm muscle systems can be subdivided into two major divisions, somatic and visceral musculature. The former usually has a myoepithelial organization, while the latter contains muscle bundles formed by the aggregation of myocytes. Neurons and their processes are also detected between these myoepithelial cells and myocytes, which are capable of releasing a variety of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides to regulate muscle activity. Although many studies have reported the pharmacological effects of these chemical messengers on various muscles of echinoderms, there has been limited research on their receptors and their signaling pathways. The muscle physiology of echinoderms is similar to that of chordates, both of which have the deuterostome mode of development. Studies of muscle regulation in echinoderms can provide new insights into the evolution of myoregulatory systems in deuterostomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vasopressin/oxytocin (VP/OT)-type neuropeptide is an ancient neurophysin-associated neuropeptide and has been intensively studied to be involved in multiple physiological processes in protostomian and deuterostome vertebrates. However, little is known about the functions of VP/OT-type neuropeptide in deuterostome invertebrates especially in echinoderms. Here, we firstly report VP/OT-type neuropeptide signaling in an important economic species, Apostichopus japonicus, which is widely cultured in Asia, with high nutritional and medicinal values. Molecular characterization analysis of holotocin and its precursor revealed the highly conserved features of VP/OT family. The candidate receptor for holotocin (AjHOR) was confirmed to be able to activate the signaling via cAMP-PKA and possible Ca2+-PKC pathway, and further activated the downstream ERK1/2 cascade. Holotocin precursor expression profile showed that they were mainly concentrated in circumoral nerve ring. Furthermore, in vitro pharmacological experiments demonstrated that holotocin caused contractile responses in preparations from A. japonicus. And in vivo functional studies indicated that short-term injection of holotocin resulted in body bloat and long-term injection resulted in reduced body mass, suggesting potential roles of holotocin in osmoregulation and feeding co-inhibition with holotocin–CCK. Our findings provided a comprehensive description of AjHOR–holotocin signaling, revealed ancient roles of holotocin in osmoregulation and feeding inhibition by controlling muscle contractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing image matching techniques are crucial for urban planning and environmental monitoring. However, existing feature matching methods have limitations due to the lack of effective extraction of key diverse features, which hinders the improvement of matching accuracy for diverse ground scenes. To address the above limitations, we propose a remote sensing image feature-matching method using optimally regularized nonlinear diffusion model. Specifically, we first use the accelerated-KAZE (AKAZE) algorithm framework to detect and characterize features within a nonlinear scale space. To improve the adaptation of diffusion to the local image structure, we propose the introduction of a novel Charbonnier regularized nonlinear diffusion model for constructing the diffusion coefficients. We then propose to combine Brute force with the K -nearest neighbor algorithm to eliminate invalid matches. Lastly, we modified the sampling approach of the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. Instead, we achieve iterative dataset purification using the progressive sample consensus algorithm, complemented by the implementation of a termination criterion for the sampling process. Experimental results show that our method achieves an average matching precision of 82.8%, 80.2%, 82.9%, and 91.2% when the test set undergoes scale, rotation angle, noise blurring, and luminance variations, respectively, outperforming the existing feature matching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aestivation is an important survival strategy that is used by a wide variety of organisms to cope with high environmental temperatures and/or arid conditions. Summer aestivation also occurs among marine animals living in shallow inshore waters. Sea cucumbers, Apostichopus japonicus, are an economically important species that are farmed extensively in shallow in-shore waters across Asia. In recent years, this species has also been developed as an important model for studying temperature-induced aestivation in the marine environment. Over about 100 days of summer aestivation A. japonicus stops feeding, experiences severe degeneration of the intestine and substantial body mass reduction, which seriously impacts production efficiency of sea cucumbers in aquaculture. Our previous studies of A. japonicus applied LC-MS/MS to reveal changes in neuropeptide expression during aestivation and identified pedal peptide/orcokinin (PP/OK)-type neuropeptides, an evolutionarily ancient regulator of muscle relaxation/contraction, as significantly up-regulated in the circumoral nerve ring (CNR) during A. japonicus aestivation. Based on this, we proposed that PP/OK-type neuropeptides are potentially key to regulate feeding and intestinal integrity during aestivation by regulating the mechanical behavior of intestine. The present study investigated PP/OK-type neuropeptides in A. japonicus tissues via histological, functional and ecological analyses. A widespread expression pattern, especially in the CNR, radial nerve cord (RNC) and intestine was revealed using real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Our findings show a key role for the expression of the neuropeptide, A. japonicus pedal peptide-type precursor 2 (AjPPLNP2), during the early stage of aestivation that increased significantly in the CNR and intestine as compared with the non-aestivating condition. Furthermore, in vitro pharmacological tests showed that three PP/OK-type neuropeptides confirmed by MS displayed relaxing effects on intestine, suggesting that PP/OK-type neuropeptides have a key involvement in A. japonicus aestivation by regulating relaxation of the intestine that halts normal peristalsis and inhibits feeding. In conclusion, our results suggest a mechanism for feeding inhibition controlled by neuropeptides and provide a potential regulatory strategy for counteracting intestine atrophy and body mass reduction in sea cucumber aquaculture by controlling the action of neuropeptides. • PP/OK-type neuropeptide expression is up-regulated during sea cucumber aestivation. • PP/OK-type neuropeptides cause relaxation of the intestine in sea cucumbers. • A potential feeding regulation strategy during sea cucumber aestivation is hypothesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is of a crucial significance for realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement to slow down the global warming. The complex CO 2 capture and mineral storage materials exhibit rapid development these years, and have been widely applied in CCS, which promise currently. In the context of that, it is necessary to develop an appropriate and timely review on them. In this work, the characteristics and performances of the liquid-based, solid-based, and microencapsulated carbon captures as well as in situ and ex situ mineral storages are critically summarized and comprehensively reviewed. Meanwhile, the possible solutions are proposed to improve their CO 2 capture capacity and progress in CO 2 capture and mineral storage. Their applications in post-combustion CO 2 capture and mineral storage are systematically compared. This work will be greatly conductive to fully understanding the current state and future trends of the CCS and promoting the major breakthroughs in basic research and commercial applications. Thus, it may give a forward-looking perspective on the scientific and industrial development of CCS. • The CCS are critically summarized and comprehensively reviewed. • The pros and cons of different carbon capture technologies are compared, and their synergies are discussed. • The principle, development status, limitation factors and challenges of in situ/ex situ mineral carbonation are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, metal ceramic heaters (MCHs) have become widely used in daily life and industrial applications. This paper introduces a method for producing an MCH with high bonding strength of the bonding wires by adding oxide additives (Al2O3, SiO2, and MgO) to a metal slurry. Pilot experiments were carried out at 1600°C under a protective atmosphere. The results indicate that the temperature coefficient of resistance of the samples decreases whereas the bonding strength vastly increases, and the pulling forces of the bonding wires in the samples extends from 2 to 32 N. The pulling forces are progressively increased as the content of the spinel phase in the oxide additives increases. The mechanism of enhancement of the bonding strength is discussed herein. The microstructure characterization, element mapping, and element analysis of different samples were performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that the formation of a W‐Si solid solution in the sample is the main reason for the decrease in temperature coefficient of resistance. The interface between the metal and spinel layers forms a zigzag and interlocked shape, which significantly improves the bonding strength between the lead wires and the ceramic matrix of the MCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Natural flavonoids have broad biological activity, including anticancer. In this study, a series of novel flavone derivatives were synthesized with the substitutions of chlorine, isopropyl, methoxy, and nitro groups on the benzene ring of flavone skeleton to develop effective anticancer agents. Antiproliferative assays showed that the synthesized chemicals possess notable activity against hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG-2); in particular, the compound 6f with chlorine and dimethoxy modifications at the two benzene rings showed an IC50 at 1.1μM to HepG-2. The 6f also displayed marked anticancer activity towards a panel of cancer cells, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE-2 and CNE-1), breast adenocarcinoma cell (MCF-7), and epithelial carcinoma cells (Hela). Exposing HepG-2 cells to compound 6f at 10μM induced chromatin condensation, nuclear disassembly, and DNA fragmentation. In 6f-treated HepG-2 cells, the sub-G0 population was remarkably increased; and in these cells, both caspase-8 and caspase-9 activity was significantly increased, which in turn activated caspase-3. In addition, proapoptotic Bax was upregulated by compound 6f while the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 was downregulated. Taken together, our data suggest that the new flavonoid derivative 6f triggers apoptosis through both death-receptor and mitochondria-dependent intrinsic pathways, being a potent therapeutic agent against hepatocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel series of trans-N-phosphoryl amino acid modified resveratrol analogues were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxic effects against CNE-1 and CNE-2 cell lines. These analogues showed good anti-proliferative activity, among which 8d, 8e, 8j, and 9d displayed much stronger inhibition effect than resveratrol and 8d showed the most potent activity with IC50 value at 3.45±0.82μM. The anti-tumor effects of 8d, 8e, 8j, and 9d were due to the induction of apoptosis, confirmed by the DNA fragmentation and flow cytometry analysis using PI (propidium iodide) staining and Annexin-V-FITC/PI staining assay. The PI staining assay also showed that 8d, 8e, 8j, and 9d caused cell cycles arrest at G0–G1 phase which finally led to cell apoptosis. Further mechanism study on compound 8d against CNE-2 cells has shown the PARP cleavage, which is a hallmark of caspase-3 activation, as well as the activation of caspase-9, and the intracellular ROS generation. These results all suggest that 8d induced a mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • A new method to prepare composite PCM with rice straw as the support has been developed. • Paraffin is loaded on rice straw in the form of microparticles. • PVA coating can effectively prevent the leakage of paraffin. • The prepared composite PCM has high latent heat and excellent cycling stability. A form-stable phase change material (PCM) based on paraffin was prepared with rice straw as the supporting material. First, a paraffin miniemulsion was prepared by ultrasonication. Then, the paraffin was loaded on rice straw via a vacuum impregnation method. Finally, the paraffin particles loaded on the rice straw were coated by a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. Scanning electron microscopy images confirm the successful loading of paraffin on rice straw and the coating of PVA on the paraffin particles. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements reveal that the prepared material has a high latent heat of 133.4 J/g. The leakage test verifies that the material has a good cycling stability with only 1.6% latent heat loss after 100 consecutive melting-freezing cycles. The prepared form-stable PCM is promising in thermal energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pentamerous radial symmetrical echinoderm adults develop from bilaterally symmetrical larvae and are a great model for understanding the origin and evolution of deuterostome nervous systems. Neuropeptides are important neuronal signaling molecules that regulate diverse behavioral and physiological processes in animals including echinoderms. In this study, we revealed the remarkable complexity of embryonic and larval nervous systems, identified the neuropeptide profile, and quantified the expressions of specific neuropeptide precursor genes in Apostichopus japonicus embryo and larvae. Collectively, this research will enable us to have a more comprehensive understanding of the holothuroid embryonic and larval nervous system and gain insights into the potential functions of neuropeptidergic systems in holothuroid larvae. Here, we described the complex nervous system at five early developmental stages (blastula, gastrula, auricularia, doliolaria and pentactula) of a holothurian species with highly economic value, Apostichopus japonicus. The results revealed that the nervous system of embryos and larvae is mainly distributed in the anterior apical region, ciliary bands or rings, and the feeding and attachment organs, and that serotonergic immunoreactivity was not observed until the embryo developed into the late gastrula; these are evolutionarily conserved features of echinoderm, hemichordate and protostome larvae. Furthermore, based on available transcriptome data, we reported the neuropeptide precursors profile at different embryonic and larval developmental stages. This analysis showed that 40 neuropeptide precursors present in adult sea cucumbers were also identified at different developmental stages of embryos and larvae, and only four neuropeptide precursors (SWYG precursor 2, GYWKDLDNYVKAHKT precursor, Neuropeptide precursor 14-like precursor, GLRFAmprecursor-like precursor) predicted in adults were absent in embryos and larvae. Combining the quantitative expression of ten specific neuropeptide precursor genes (NPs) by qRT-PCR, we revealed the potential important roles of neuropeptides in embryo development, feeding and attachment in A. japonicus larvae. In conclusion, this work provides novel perspectives on the diverse physiological functions of neuropeptides and contributes to understanding the evolution of neuropeptidergic systems in echinoderm embryos and larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental study for in situ synthesis of SiC nanofibers in Al 2 O 3 -based ceramics via cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) is reported herein. The experiment was carried out at 1600 °C under argon/hydrogen gas. The temperature was increased from 240 to 400 °C at a slow heating rate of 1 °C in order to avoid damage to the original morphology of the CNFs after the experiment. The formation of β-SiC in the ceramics matrix was experimentally confirmed using XRD, TEM, and HRTEM analyses. There was an 70% increase in the K IC of the ceramics. This improvement in the fracture toughness of the ceramic is explained by SiC fiber reinforcement. But with the additional content of CNFs in the ceramics increasing, the bending strength of the sample is observed to notably decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a pitching airfoil near flat and wavy ground is studied by numerical simulations. The kinematic features of the airfoil and the flow field around it are analyzed to reveal unsteady vorticity dynamics of the self-propelled airfoil in ground effect. The optimal pitching periods at different initial heights above flat ground are obtained, which make the pitching airfoil achieve the maximum lift-to-drag ratio. Compared with flat ground, at the same initial height, the optimal pitching periods vary with the shape of ground. The structure and the strength of the wake vortices shedding from the airfoil are adjusted by the wavelength of ground. This leads to the changes of amplitude and occurrence times of the peak and valley of lift and drag force. The results obtained in this study can provide some inspiration for the design of underwater vehicles in the ground effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inevitable formation and accumulation of ice on exposed surfaces can have adverse effects on the normal performance of equipment and facilities. Here, we developed a novel strategy to fabricate a coating with superhydrophobicity and photothermal effect. Based on the bottom-up approach, metal-organic framework (MOF) Cu-CAT-1 was grown in situ on a copper (Cu) foil to form nano-whiskers and nanowires, and then coated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) to obtain OTS@MOF@Cu foil. The coated Cu foil exhibited superhydrophobicity with contact angles up to 155.8°. Such a superhydrophobic foil surface also has good chemical stability in harsh solutions. Furthermore, OTS@MOF@Cu foil exhibited stable icing-delay performance (870 s) and extremely low ice adhesion strength (45.7 kPa). Meanwhile, OTS@MOF@Cu foil possessed rapid photothermal de-icing capability (480 s) and frozen ice droplets can spontaneously fall from its tilted surfaces within 360 s. The frost formation process on the surface of OTS@MOF@Cu foil was significantly delayed, lasting up to 15 min even in cold and high humidity conditions. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation demonstrated that fluorine-free OTS hydrophobic layer significantly slowed down the ice formation process and reduced the adhesion strengths between the ice layer and the contact surface. This study provides a strategy for designing a material with passive anti-icing and active de-icing performances, which could be extended to the practical applications such as aeriation, electrical and transportation under icing weather conditions. [Display omitted] • The fluorine-free coating with hierarchical structure enhances the superhydrophobicity and photothermal conversion capabilities of the substrate. • The OTS@MOF@Cu foil exhibited excellent passive anti-icing, active de-icing, and anti-frosting performances simultaneously. • This coating possesses excellent chemical durability. • The molecular dynamics simulation demonstrated that the OTS layer exhibited anti-icing and de-icing properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of conventional and advanced water treatment is now widely used in drinking water treatment. However, membrane fouling is still the main obstacle to extend its application. In this study, the impact of the combination of coagulation and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane rotation on both fouling control and organic removal of macro (sodium alginate, SA) and micro organic matters (tannic acid, TA) was studied comprehensively to evaluate its applicability in drinking water treatment. The results indicated that membrane rotation could generate shear stress and vortex, thus effectively reducing membrane fouling of both SA and TA solutions, especially for macro SA organics. With additional coagulation, the membrane fouling could be further reduced through the aggregation of mediate and macro organic substances into flocs and elimination by membrane retention. For example, with the membrane rotation speed of 60 r/min, the permeate flux increased by 90% and the organic removal by 35% in SA solution, with 40 mg/L coagulant dosage, with an additional 70% increase of flux and 5% increment of organic removal to 80% obtained. However, too much shear stress could intensify the potential of fiber breakage at the potting, destroying the flocs and resulting in the reduction of permeate flux and deterioration of effluent quality. Finally, the combination of coagulation and membrane rotation would lead to the shaking of the cake layer, which is beneficial for fouling mitigation and prolongation of membrane filtration lifetime. This study provides useful information on applying the combined process of conventional coagulation and the hydrodynamic shear force for drinking water treatment, which can be further explored in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane separation technology has been widely used in the separation and capture of CO 2 to reduce carbon emissions. The performances of facilitated hybrid membranes (FHMs) can be improved by properly adding metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanoparticles (NPs) and modifying polymers to the polymer matrix. Grafting and blending methods are widely used to introduce modifying polymers to improve the compatibility between NPs and the polymer matrix, and the performance of FHMs for CO 2 separation. However, the separation performance of FHMs decreases significantly when the long chains of the polymer infiltrate into the pores of the MOF at the interface between the modifying polymer and MOF. To in-depth understand the nano-scale polymer-NPs interfacial interaction mechanism of the grafting and blending methods, we herein employed molecular dynamic (MD) simulation method combined with experiments to investigate the interface between NPs of Cu-MOF (Cu-BDC) and four commonly used modifying polymers (PEG, polyethylene glycol; PEI, polyethylenimine; PVA, polyvinyl alcohol; PPy, polypyrrole) with PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) as the polymer matrix. The results showed that the blending method for modification can effectively avoid the polymer blockage in Cu-BDC pores by using four modifying polymers, while the grafting method caused polymer infiltration for PEG and PEI. The relationship between the polymer diameter and the pore limiting diameter (PLD) of the Cu-BDC was evaluated to analyze the polymer infiltration effect. FHMs of Cu-BDC/PEG@PVDF were synthesized based on the MD simulation results, which showed excellent CO 2 separation performance due to the good compatibility between the Cu-BDC and the modified matrix polymer. This work offers an insight in nano-scale into the interface design between the MOF and the polymer for FHMs separating CO 2. [Display omitted] • The interface interaction between MOF and modifying polymers was studied by molecular dynamics. • Using blending method to avoid the modifying polymer (PEG and PEI) infiltrating into MOF(Cu-BDC) pores. • The compatibility between modified matrix polymer and MOF was improved. • Cu-BDC/PEG@PVDF was synthesized and exhibited good performance for CO 2 separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex multi-component pollutant-oil-water emulsions have caused serious environmental problems and increased the difficulty of purification treatment in the last few decades. The membrane based on two-dimensional (2D) materials can rationally control the interlayer distance, thus improved the separation performance of the membrane for complex wastewater. We herein reported a composite membrane, in which 2D metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) Co -CAT-1 with super-hydrophilicity cross-linked by polyethylene imine (PEI) was integrated into graphene oxide (GO) and then coated on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (CPG membrane). The CPG membrane exhibited highly efficient in separating oil-water (including crude oil) emulsions, achieving a flux of 219 L∙m−2∙h−1∙bar−1 and a separation efficiency of 99.2 %. Moreover, the separation efficiency for complex emulsions after several cycles was maintained >99 % for dyes and 76 % for heavy metal ions (Ni2+, Pb2+, Zn2+). The remarkable fouling resistance and reusability of CPG membrane in purifying complex oil-in-water emulsions can be attributed to their internal cross-linking, electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding attraction, and π-π stacking. Molecular dynamics simulations were employed for in-depth studies on the separation processes of dye- and heavy metal ions-emulsions, revealing the mechanisms of mass transfer within the membrane. This work aims to construct stable and multifunctional membranes for separating pollutant-oil-water emulsions with multi-component. [Display omitted] • CPG composite membrane was fabricated via a facile self-assembly process. • The membrane showed promising synergistic separation performance and excellent reusability for multi-component emulsions. • CPG composite membrane exhibits excellent underwater oil repellency, anti-fouling, and superior resistance to extreme conditions. • The molecular dynamics simulations were employed to reveal the separation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional characteristics of neuropeptides in marine invertebrates have attracted significant attention recently although functional studies of luqin-type neuropeptides are still very limited, especially in deuterostomes. The sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus , is a representative species of deuterostomian Holothurian invertebrates. The species has high nutritional and medicinal value in China. In this study, we report the first comprehensive histological, biochemical and pharmacological characterization of luqin-type neuropeptide signaling in the sea cucumber A. japonicus. The A. japonicus luqin-like neuropeptide precursor (AjLQP) contains a single typical deuterostomian luqin-like neuropeptide AjLQ with an xFxRWamide motif. AjLQ was identified as the ligand for a luqin-type neuropeptide receptor AjLQR, that was previously predicted to be a tachykinin-type receptor, and triggers a rapid intracellular mobilization of Ca2+, followed by receptor internalization and a transient increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR analysis revealed extensive expression of AjLQP and AjLQ in A. japonicus tissues, especially in locomotion-related organs. In vitro pharmacological tests revealed that AjLQ caused 12.69% ± 1.99% (p < 0.01) relaxation of longitudinal muscle preparations at 10-7 M concentration. Furthermore, we observed significantly increased expression of AjLQP (about 17.63 fold, p < 0.01) in intestine of deeply aestivating sea cucumbers, which suggests that AjLQ might be involved in feeding inhibition during aestivation. The present study provides a first insight into the experimental characterization of luqin-type neuropeptide signaling in a sea cucumber. The results will broaden our understanding of the potential function of neuropeptides during important biological processes in marine invertebrates and provide theoretical support for optimizing sea cucumber aquaculture technology. • Luqin-type neuropeptide and its precursor have an extensive expression pattern especially in locomotion-related organs. • Luqin-type neuropeptide receptor once activated by luqin-type neuropeptide can activate ERK1/2 cascade. • AjLQ causes relaxation of A. japonicus longitudinal muscle. • AjLQ might be involved in feeding behavior and aestivation in A. japonicus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel series of 10-benzyl-9(10H)-acridinones and 1-benzyl-4-piperidones were synthesized and tested for their in vitro antitumor activities against CCRF-CEM cells. Assay-based antiproliferative activity study using CCRF-CEM cell lines revealed that the acridone group and the substitution pattern on the benzene unit had significant effect on cytotoxicity of this series of compounds, among which 10-(3,5-dimethoxy)benzyl-9(10H)-acridinone (3b) was found to be the most active compound with IC50 at about 0.7μM. Compound 3b was also found to have antiproliferative activity against two other human leukemic cell lines K562 and HL60 using the MTT assay. The antitumor effect of 3b is believed to be due to the induction of apoptosis, which is further confirmed by PI (Propidium iodide) staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assay using flow cytometry analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]