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Summary: High‐fat‐and‐fructose diet (HFFD) is one of the causes of hyperlipidaemia (HLP), which could directly cause serious diseases that are harmful to human health. The phenolic composition of stevia extract (WeiKe) and its effect of different concentrations on glucose–lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and intestinal microecology in hyperlipidaemia mice were investigated. The results showed that WeiKe could effectively inhibit the increase in body weight and blood glucose levels and regulate lipid metabolism. WeiKe repaired the gut morphology, promoted short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and improved food digestion and absorption. Furthermore, WeiKe reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. These results suggested that stevia extract had a potential modulatory effect on HFFD‐induced HLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to establish a mechanistic model of using inherent safety and health concepts to conduct industrial workplace risk reduction strategies during the project planning stage. Accordingly, a dedicated implementation tool termed inherently safer and healthier design model for industrial workplaces (ISHDM‐IW) is developed. First, the safety and health by design checklist is adapted to derive industrial workplace safety and health risk indicators. Then, the risk indicators are rated and weighted using the methods of risk matrix and precedence chart. Subsequently, the risk indicators are aggregated via fuzzy risk representation with the indicators' risk values and weights. Last, the inherent safety and health principles are used to do risk‐based baseline design optimization. The case study demonstrates the capabilities of the proposed ISHDM‐IW to upgrade the workplace design scheme from risk level II to risk level I, thus generating a more satisfactory workplace design alternative. The proposed ISHDM‐IW offers a novel design mechanism of inherent safety and health for industrial workplaces, which can be expected to ensure employees' safety, health, and well‐being with fundamentally better ergonomics of industrial work environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid–liquid phase transition (LLPT) is the transformation of a liquid from one distinctive structure to another with the same composition. However, the origin of the structural variation at LLPT is still controversial. Here, we used ab initio molecular dynamics simulation to verify and investigate a high-temperature LLPT in a Pd40Ni40P20 melt; this melt showed a reduction in the nuclei interference of the conventional low-temperature LLPT. An abnormal endothermic LLPT was confirmed with flash differential scanning calorimetry, indicating a change in the atomic short-range-order structure around the P–P bond and a decrease in the number of specific icosahedral-like clusters, such as ⟨0 2 8 0⟩ and ⟨0 2 8 1⟩. The structural change of the P-centered clusters changed the solidification path through potential energy adjustments. Our results showed the structural mechanism of the unusual endothermic phenomenon and provided a different insight into regulating the properties of metallic glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the responses of young Chinese consumers with different cultural characteristics to negative brand information about electric vehicles. Design/methodology/approach: The current study is quantitative research with an experimental method. It shows two different levels of severity for negative publicity and asks participants to self-report through questionnaires. Findings: Chinese young consumers, being collectivist and of high uncertainty avoidance, tend to search for and spread information; consumers with low power distance search and share information more under low information severity. In addition, information search positively affects brand attitude under lower severity; negative word-of-mouth intention negatively affects brand attitudes at both severity levels. Research limitations/implications: The current study examines the influence of personal cultural values on information searching and negative information dissemination among young consumers, providing insights to complement previous studies. Furthermore, it explores how such exposure influences young consumers' brand attitude and intention to purchase. Limitations include simple sample scopes and single-product stimuli. Practical implications: This research highlights the importance of cultural dimensions in shaping young consumers' responses to negative publicity. Marketers worldwide should consider cultural influence and develop specific strategies to address negative information about different products. Understanding customers' unique characteristics and preferences can help marketers effectively tailor their approaches to counter negative publicity. Originality/value: This study originally provides a supplement to prior studies on cultural dimensions and consumer behavior and provides suggestions to marketers on young Chinese consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Tyrosine decarboxylase (TDC) presented in the gut‐associated strain Enterococcus faecalis can convert levodopa (L‐dopa) into dopamine (DA), and its increased abundance would potentially minimize the availability and efficacy of L‐dopa. However, the known human decarboxylase inhibitors are ineffective in this bacteria‐mediated conversion. This study aims to investigate the inhibition of piperine (PIP) on L‐dopa bacterial metabolism and evaluates the synergistic effect of PIP combined with L‐dopa on Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Metagenomics sequencing was adopted to determine the regulation of PIP on rat intestinal microbiota structure, especially on the relative abundance of E. faecalis. Then, the inhibitory effects of PIP on L‐dopa conversion and TDC expression of E. faecalis were tested in vitro. We examined the synergetic effect of the combination of L‐dopa and PIP on 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA)‐lesioned rats and tested the regulations of L‐dopa bioavailability and brain DA level by pharmacokinetics study and MALDI‐MS imaging. Finally, we evaluated the microbiota‐dependent improvement effect of PIP on L‐dopa availability using pseudo‐germ‐free and E. faecalis‐transplanted rats. Results: We found that PIP combined with L‐dopa could better ameliorate the move disorders of 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats by remarkably improving L‐dopa availability and brain DA level than L‐dopa alone, which was associated with the effect of PIP on suppressing the bacterial decarboxylation of L‐dopa via effectively downregulating the abnormal high abundances of E. faecalis and TDC in 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats. Conclusion: Oral administration of L‐dopa combined with PIP can improve L‐dopa availability and brain DA level in 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats by suppressing intestinal bacterial TDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abnormally expressed miRNAs have been employed as crucial indicators for the diagnosis and prognosis of disease. It is essential to develop quick, affordable, accurate, and multiplexed methods for miRNA detection. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel microparticles were used as solid-phase carriers for the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) in combination with cation-exchange fluorescence amplification, thus enabling the development of a new method for miRNA determination. The assay was sensitive with the detection limit for miRNA let7a equal to 46 pM. The assay was specific, the base-mismatched sequences of miRNA let7a were distinguished, and the serum matrix did not cause any interference. Moreover, by integration with a microfluidic chip, the throughput was significantly enhanced and the process was noticeably simplified. With further development, the developed method may be suitable for practical clinical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two‐component regulatory system (TCS) is a major regulatory system in bacteria that occurs in response to environmental changes and involves the sensor histidine kinase (HK) protein and response regulator (RR) protein. Among the TCSs, PhoR/PhoB is crucial for bacteria to adapt to changes in environmental phosphate concentrations. In addition, recent studies have shown that PhoR binding to the MgtC virulence factor activates phosphate transport for normal pathogenesis. In this work, we determined the crystal structure of the catalytic ATP binding domain of the PhoR sensor histidine kinase from Vibrio cholera, compared the structure with the known HK protein structures and discussed the potential binding interface with MgtC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MgO-based cementitious material (MCM) is a potential green substitute for solidifying municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI FA). Sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP), a commonly used dispersant, has a great influence on the hydration process of MCM-MSWI FA blends. In this study, the effect of different SHMP additions on the performance of the MCM-MSWI FA (3:7 in mass ratio) blends was investigated. The compressive strength and leaching toxicity of the blends were measured, and the structural evolution was analyzed by XRD, FTIR, TG/DTG, and SEM. These tests revealed that the addition of SHMP could significantly optimize the effect of MCM solidifying MSWI FA since SHMP could promote the dispersion of hydration products in the blends. The blends containing more than 1% SHMP exhibited immobilization efficiencies higher than 97.5% for heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn) after curing for 28 days. Collectively, this work demonstrates the indispensable role of SHMP in the application of MCM solidifying MSWI FA, providing theoretical support for practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel aluminum (Ni–Al) intermetallics with various lattice structures become emerging multi-functional materials as next-generation superalloys, catalyzers, and even coating materials, but the liquid structural origin for the intermetallic formation is still a mystery. Here, the atomic structure difference of the intermetallic precursor liquids is investigated using in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction, reverse Monte Carlo simulations at 9 °C above the liquidus temperature as well as ab initio molecular dynamics. It is noted that Ni10Al90, Ni20Al80, and Ni35Al65 alloys, corresponding to the quasi-crystalline phase (Q-phase) formation related to Al3Ni, Al3Ni2, and NiAl intermetallics, have less icosahedral-like clusters in the liquids comparing with the other two face-centered cubic (FCC) forming alloys (Ni2Al98 and Ni74.5Al24.5). Strong interconnection of central atoms among the icosahedral-like clusters was observed in the three Q-phases-related liquids, stimulating the intermetallic formation. The pre-peaks found in the total X-ray structure factors are closely related to the Al3Ni, Al3Ni2, and NiAl intermetallics in terms of the bond lengths. FCC forming liquids either on the high Al or on the high Ni side did not show any pre-peak phenomenon instead. The findings in this work ignite the investigation of the liquid structural origin for the intermetallics and extend the understanding of the atomic structure evolution in solidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, deep learning has achieved excellent achievements in image processing and computer vision and is widely used in the field of watermarking. Attention mechanism, as the research hot spot of deep learning, has not yet been applied in the field of watermarking. In this paper, we propose a deep learning and attention network for robust image watermarking (DARI-Mark). The framework includes four parts: an attention network, a watermark embedding network, a watermark extraction network, and an attack layer. The attention network used in this paper is the channel and spatial attention network, which calculates attention weights along two dimensions, channel and spatial, respectively, assigns different weights to pixels in different channels at different positions and is applied in the watermark embedding and watermark extraction stages. Through end-to-end training, the attention network can locate nonsignificant areas that are insensitive to the human eye and assign greater weights during watermark embedding, and the watermark embedding network selects this region to embed the watermark and improve the imperceptibility. In watermark extraction, by setting the loss function, larger weights can be assigned to watermark-containing features and small weights to noisy signals, so that the watermark extraction network focuses on features about the watermark and suppresses noisy signals in the attacked image to improve robustness. To avoid the phenomenon of gradient disappearance or explosion when the network is deep, both the embedding network and the extraction network have added residual modules. Experiments show that DARI-Mark can embed the watermark without affecting human subjective perception and that it has good robustness. Compared with other state-of-the-art watermarking methods, the proposed framework is more robust to JPEG compression, sharpening, cropping, and noise attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dissolution mechanism and absorption process of compound Danshen tablets (CDTs) and compound Danshen capsules (CDCs) in vitro. Taking the cell index as the evaluation index of dissolution and absorption of multi-component solid preparations of CDTs and CDCs, it breaks through the idea of traditional research. We used real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) to provide a new idea and method for the consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparations. The drug dissolution and absorption simulation system (DDASS) was established to obtain the dissolution and absorption samples of compound Danshen solid preparations at different time points. The cell index (CI) of the sample to H9C2 cells was detected by RTCA technology, and the dissolution and absorption percentage were calculated based on this index to obtain the dissolution and absorption kinetics model. Meanwhile, one batch of tablets and one batch of capsules (batch numbers ZKC1816 and 202101001) were selected to conduct the overall animal pharmacodynamic experiment to verify the feasibility of drug effect evaluation with cell index as an indicator. The best fitting model of dissolution curves of each batch of CDTs and CDCs is the Weibull model. There was a good correlation (r > 0.86) between the dissolution-absorption-pharmacodynamic curve. Based on RTCA technology, we have established the comprehensive evaluation method for cell biology of compound Danshen solid preparations in line with the overall concept of TCM and a synchronous evaluation system of dissolution and absorption in vitro of new TCM compound solid preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian reoviruses (ARV) are a group of poultry pathogens that cause runting and stunting syndrome (RSS), a condition otherwise known as "frozen chicken", which are characterized by dramatically delayed growth in broilers. It has been known that p17, a nonstructural protein encoded by ARV, prohibits cellular proliferation by halting the cell cycle at the G2/M phase, the result of which is directly associated with the typical clinical sign of RSS. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which p17 modulates cell-cycle progression remains largely unknown. Here, we screened the interactome of ectopically expressed p17 through a yeast two-hybrid assay and identified Bub3, a cellular mitotic checkpoint protein, as a binding partner of p17. The infection of the Vero cells by ARV downregulated the Bub3 expression, while the knockdown of Bub3 alleviated the p17-modulated cell-cycle arrest during ARV infection. Remarkably, the suppression of Bub3 by RNAi in the Vero cells significantly reduced the viral mRNA and protein abundance, which eventually led to diminished virus replication. Altogether, our findings reveal that ARV p17 impedes host cell proliferation through a Bub3-dependent cell-cycle arrest, which eventually contributes to efficient virus replication. These results also unveil a hitherto unknown therapeutic target for RSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dissolution mechanism and absorption process of compound Danshen tablets (CDTs) and compound Danshen capsules (CDCs) in vitro. Taking the cell index as the evaluation index of dissolution and absorption of multi-component solid preparations of CDTs and CDCs, it breaks through the idea of traditional research. We used real-time cell-based assay (RTCA) to provide a new idea and method for the consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparations. The drug dissolution and absorption simulation system (DDASS) was established to obtain the dissolution and absorption samples of compound Danshen solid preparations at different time points. The cell index (CI) of the sample to H9C2 cells was detected by RTCA technology, and the dissolution and absorption percentage were calculated based on this index to obtain the dissolution and absorption kinetics model. Meanwhile, one batch of tablets and one batch of capsules (batch numbers ZKC1816 and 202101001) were selected to conduct the overall animal pharmacodynamic experiment to verify the feasibility of drug effect evaluation with cell index as an indicator. The best fitting model of dissolution curves of each batch of CDTs and CDCs is the Weibull model. There was a good correlation (r > 0.86) between the dissolution-absorption-pharmacodynamic curve. Based on RTCA technology, we have established the comprehensive evaluation method for cell biology of compound Danshen solid preparations in line with the overall concept of TCM and a synchronous evaluation system of dissolution and absorption in vitro of new TCM compound solid preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to provide a basic approach to fulfill the spatial visualization of geopolitical environmental factors required for the navigation of vessels in the Arctic. Multi-dimensional geopolitical environmental factors of the Arctic Passage are analyzed and classified into geopolitics, geoeconomics, geo-military, geoculture, and laws and regulations related to geography. Their characteristics are extracted to form an attribute information table matching spatial layers. Based on the information category and basic characteristics, the spatial match method is applied and connected with the spatial layers to examine the spatial point, polyline, and polygon. According to the qualitative description, the study extracted the quantitative indicators for the following spatial–temporal pattern analysis. The standard deviational ellipse is used to analyze the spatial–temporal patterns and trends of the geopolitical environmental indicators of the Arctic Passage in the Arctic and Northeast Asia. The expansion and contraction of geoinformation coexist in the countries surrounding the Arctic Passage. The spatial–temporal changes indicate that the Arctic channel has a great economic impact on the Nordic countries and Northeast Asia, especially the coastal areas of China and Japan. The characteristic extraction and spatial match of the geopolitical environment provide integrated Arctic geoinformation inquiry and services for the diplomatic, administrative, and legal preparations required for Arctic navigation. Therefore, the geospatial analysis conducted provides scientific support and a basis for the geographical distribution and developing trends of visualization and spatial–temporal pattern in Arctic navigation. The results of this research will help decision-makers to make a comprehensive judgment on governance related to the sustainable development of the Arctic Passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T cell) therapy has shown impressive success in the treatment of hematological malignancies, but the systemic toxicity and complex manufacturing process of current autologous CAR-T cell therapy hinder its broader applications. Universal CAR-T cells have been developed to simplify the production process through isolation and editing of allogeneic T cells from healthy persons, but the allogeneic CAR-T cells have recently encountered safety concerns, and clinical trials have been halted by the FDA. Thus, there is an urgent need to seek new ways to overcome the barriers of current CAR-T cell therapy. In-vivo CAR-T cells induced by nanocarriers loaded with CAR-genes and gene-editing tools have shown efficiency for regressing leukemia and reducing systemic toxicity in a mouse model. The in-situ programming of autologous T-cells avoids the safety concerns of allogeneic T cells, and the manufacture of nanocarriers can be easily standardized. Therefore, the in-vivo induced CAR-T cells can potentially overcome the abovementioned limitations of current CAR-T cell therapy. Here, we provide a review on CAR structures, gene-editing tools, and gene delivery techniques applied in immunotherapy to help design and develop new in-vivo induced CAR-T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the cellular origins and mapping the dendritic and axonal arbors of neurons have been century old quests to understand the heterogeneity among these brain cells. Current Brainbow based transgenic animals take the advantage of multispectral labeling to differentiate neighboring cells or lineages, however, their applications are limited by the color capacity. To improve the analysis throughput, we designed Bitbow, a digital format of Brainbow which exponentially expands the color palette to provide tens of thousands of spectrally resolved unique labels. We generated transgenic Bitbow Drosophila lines, established statistical tools, and streamlined sample preparation, image processing, and data analysis pipelines to conveniently mapping neural lineages, studying neuronal morphology and revealing neural network patterns with unprecedented speed, scale, and resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile ad hoc networks can be widely used in many scenes, for example, military communication, emergency communication, and 5G wide area coverage as well as ultradense network scenes. A cluster-based network can decrease network overhead effectively and then constitute a large-scale network through extending network scale by clustering and cascading. In view of multiservice simultaneous transmission demand for small-scale dense networking scene and large-scale extended networking scene, a MAC protocol based on scheduling of cluster head is proposed, which can avoid collision and retransmission between nodes effectively, and then the network synchronizing in intercluster and intracluster as well as the time-slot scheduling is solved fast and efficiently. A network synchronization algorithm based on clock spread of the sponsorship node is proposed to achieve network self-synchronizing, and a modified schedule-tree algorithm based on cluster head and exactly sponsorship node is proposed to decrease network overhead and to increase network fairness, then MAC protocol based on scheduling of cluster head is verified by simulated analysis. Finally, a dynamic gateway selection algorithm based on link stability is proposed in this paper to decrease intercluster communication control overhead and improve intercluster communication reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cyclin M (CNNM) family of Mg2+ transporters is reported to promote tumour progression by binding to phosphatase of regenerating liver (PRL) proteins. Here, we established an assay for detection of the binding between the cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS) domain of human CNNM3 (a region responsible for PRL binding) and human PRL2 using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) techniques. By fusing YPet to the C-terminus of the CNNM3 CBS domain and CyPet to the N-terminus of PRL2, we performed a FRET-based binding assay with purified proteins in multiwell plates and successfully detected the changes in fluorescence intensity derived from FRET with a reasonable Kd. We then confirmed that the addition of non-YPet-tagged CNNM3 and non-CyPet-tagged PRL proteins inhibited the changes in FRET intensity, whereas non-YPet-tagged CNNM3 with a mutation at the PRL2-binding site did not exhibit such inhibition. Furthermore, newly synthesized peptides derived from the CNNM loop region, with the PRL-binding sequences of the CNNM3 CBS domain, inhibited the interactions between CNNM3 and PRL2. Overall, these results showed that this method can be used for screening to identify inhibitors of CNNM-PRL interactions, potentially for novel anticancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoidin is one of the most important ingredients in black garlic due to the high nutritional values and biological functions. High hydrostatic pressures from 200 to 500 MPa were employed to extract the melanoidins from black garlic for improving the extraction efficiency and enhancing the activities. The results indicated that total phenolics, flavonoids, and sugar yields were all increased when pressure was applied and the antioxidant and overall reducing power was maximized. The bioactive properties of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and trypsin inhibitory activities were also enhanced compared with the control. Moreover, FT-IR spectroscopy indicated high pressure altered the melanoidin structures to different degrees. It was found that an application of 300 MPa for 5 min was the optimal treatment protocol under all operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly discovered Baogudi gold district is located in the southwestern Guizhou Province, China, where there are numerous Carlin-type gold deposits. To better understand the geological and geochemical characteristics of the Baogudi gold district, we carried out petrographic observations, elemental analyses, and fluid inclusion and isotopic composition studies. We also compared the results with those of typical Carlin-type gold deposits in southwestern Guizhou. Three mineralization stages, namely, the sedimentation diagenesis, hydrothermal (main-ore and late-ore substages), and supergene stages, were identified based on field and petrographic observations. The main-ore and late-ore stages correspond to Au and Sb mineralization, respectively, which are similar to typical Carlin-type mineralization. The mass transfer associated with alteration and mineralization shows that a significant amount of Au, As, Sb, Hg, Tl, Mo, and S were added to mineralized rocks during the main-ore stage. Remarkably, arsenic, Sb, and S were added to the mineralized rocks during the late-ore stage. Element migration indicates that the sulfidation process was responsible for ore formation. Four types of fluid inclusions were identified in ore-related quartz and fluorite. The main-ore stage fluids are characterized by an H2O–NaCl–CO2–CH4 ± N2 system, with medium to low temperatures (180–260 °C) and low salinity (0–9.08% NaCl equivalent). The late-ore stage fluids featured H2O–NaCl ± CO2 ± CH4, with low temperature (120–200 °C) and low salinity (0–7.48% NaCl equivalent). The temperature, salinity, and CO2 and CH4 concentrations of ore-forming fluids decreased from the main-ore stage to the late-ore stage. The calculated δ13C, δD, and δ18O values of the ore-forming fluids range from − 14.3 to − 7.0‰, −76 to −55.7‰, and 4.5–15.0‰, respectively. Late-ore-stage stibnite had δ34S values ranging from − 0.6 to 1.9‰. These stable isotopic compositions indicate that the ore-forming fluids originated mainly from deep magmatic hydrothermal fluids, with minor contributions from strata. Collectively, the Baogudi metallogenic district has geological and geochemical characteristics that are typical of Carlin-type gold deposits in southwest Guizhou. It is likely that the Baogudi gold district, together with other Carlin-type gold deposits in southwestern Guizhou, was formed in response to a single widespread metallogenic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we have reported an easily synthesized CoS2/Ni3S2/CoNiOx water oxidation catalyst with excellent catalytic activity and superior durability. The as-prepared catalyst required overpotential (η) as low as 256 mV to exhibit a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH. Remarkably, it sustained a current density of 1 A cm−2 for one week in 30% KOH solution with only 25 mV increment of η. Thus, it is a hopeful candidate as a highly-effective water oxidation electrode in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MoS2-decorated C3N4 (C3N4/MoS2) nanosheets hybrid photocatalysts were prepared by a simple sonication-impregnation method. Face-to-face lamellar heterojunctions were well established between two dimension (2D) C3N4 and MoS2 nanosheets. The effects of MoS2 content on the light absorption, charge transfer and photocatalytic activity of the hybrid samples were investigated. Characterization results show that MoS2 nanosheets are well anchored on the face of C3N4 nanosheets and the composites have well dispersed layered morphology. After loading with MoS2, the light absorption of composites was much improved, especially in visible-light region. The photocatalytic activities of C3N4/MoS2 samples were evaluated based on the H2 evolution under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm). When the loading amount of MoS2 was increased to 5 wt%, the highest H2 evolution rate (274 μmol·g-1·h-1) was obtained. Compared with samples obtained from direct impregnation method, sonication pretreatment is favorable for the formation of 2D layered heterojuctions and thus improve the photocatalytic activity. Slightly deactivation of C3N4/MoS2 composites could be observed when recycled due to the mild photocorrosion of MoS2. Based on the band alignments of C3N4 and MoS2, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was discussed, where MoS2 could efficiently promote the separation of the photogenerated carriers of C3N4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the antioxidant activity (AA), digestibility, and quality of fiber-rich dumpling wrappers, potato, okara, and konjac flours were added to wheat flour. The contents of these additional ingredients in the dumpling wrapper were optimized using the response surface methodology and the synthetic evaluation method. The dietary fiber content (DFC) and AA of blend flours and the optimized cooking time (OCT), cooking loss (CL), hardness, chewiness, firmness, color, and sensory evaluation (SE) of dumpling wrappers were evaluated as response quality parameters. The optimized flour was identified containing 17.5 g of potato flour, 8.5 g of okara flour, and 1.2 g of konjac flour per 100 g of blend flour, which resulted in a higher synthetic evaluation index value (0.71 compared with 0.68 for wheat flour). The qualities of the optimized flour dumpling wrappers were compared with those of wheat flour dumpling wrappers to verify the practicality of the optimized flour. The results showed that the optimized flour showed better comprehensive qualities, especially regarding DFC (9.59%, fourfold higher than that of wheat flour) and AA. Furthermore, the predicted glycemic index (GI) of the optimized flour (74.93%) was lower than that of the wheat flour (81.47%). Overall, the addition of potato, okara, and konjac flours can significantly (P<0.05) improve DFC, AA, and digestibility of wheat flour. The optimized flour not only maintains excellent dumpling wrapper quality but also increases the utilization of potato and okara flours, which has great potential for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing low-cost, effective, and durable oxygen-evolution catalysts (OECs) is still a huge challenge owing to the uphill thermodynamic reaction and the involvement of a four-electron and four-proton kinetics process. Herein, a facilely prepared NiCoFe(OH)x/NiOOH/NF electrode affords current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm-2 at overpotentials of 223 and 254 mV, respectively, and a Tafel slope as low as 33.5 mV dec-1in 1 M KOH, which is superior to NiCoFe(OH) x/NF electrodes electrodeposited with a traditional method. This electrode also displays surprisingly high durability at a current density of 50 mA cm-2 for over 50 hours under alkaline conditions. Component analysis and an electrochemical study revealed that the catalytic activity enhancement of this newly prepared electrode is mainly attributed to the formation of the electrically conductive NiOOH interlayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A simple and low‐cost fabrication method is needed to obtain effective and robust heterogeneous catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, an electrocatalyst FeNiOxHy with a hierarchical structure is synthesized on nickel foam by a simple fabrication method through anion exchange from a metal phosphate to a metal hydroxide. The as‐fabricated FeNiOxHy electrode requires overpotentials of 206 and 234 mV to deliver current densities of 10 and 50 mA cm−2, respectively. The catalytic performance of FeNiOxHy is superior to that of most previously reported FeNi‐based catalysts, including NiFe layered double hydroxide. The catalyst also shows good long‐term durability at a current density of 50 mA cm−2 over 50 h with no activity decay under 1  m KOH. By comparison to the directly electrodeposited FeNi hydroxide in morphology and electrochemical properties, the improved activity of the catalyst could be mainly attributed to an enhancement of its intrinsic activity, which was caused by the anion exchange of phosphate to (oxy)hydroxide. Further studies by cyclic voltammetry indicated a stronger interaction between Ni and Fe from the negative shift of the oxidation peak of Ni2+/Ni3+ in comparison with reported FeNiOxHy, which promoted the generation of active Ni3+ species more easily. This work may provide a new approach to the simple preparation of effective and robust OER catalysts by anion exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur doped carbon nitride materials (CNS) were prepared from solvothermal method at low temperature, using thiocyanuric acid as one of the precursors. XRD, FTIR, SEM and XPS technologies were carried out to characterize the catalysts. The photocatalytic reduction properties of CNS were tested by Cr(VI) reduction and H2 production from water splitting. Results showed that sulfur substituted crystal nitrogen in the carbon nitride molecular and formed C--S bonds. With the increasing time of polymerization, the content of sulfur in the products increased. The catalysts showed remarkable visible light absorbance, and the optical absorption band edges red shifted up to about 700 nm with the increasing time of polymerization. Compared to the carbon nitride synthesized from direct calcination, CNS possessed much enhanced photocatalytic reduction activity of Cr(VI) under visible light irradiation. In addition, CNS catalysts had obvious H2 production properties from water splitting. Mechanism analysis showed that photo-generated electrons and ⋅ O2v- were major active species during photocatalytic reduction of Cr(Vi) over CNS catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to explore the effects of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism on emotion dysregulation and examine the mediating role of self-esteem on these associations. Undergraduates (N = 426) completed self-report measurements on grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, self-esteem and emotion dysregulation. Correlation analyses indicated that grandiose narcissism was negatively correlated with emotion dysregulation, while vulnerable narcissism was positively correlated with emotion dysregulation. Moreover, mediational analyses revealed that self-esteem fully mediated the association between grandiose narcissism and emotion dysregulation, and partially mediated the association between vulnerable narcissism and emotion dysregulation. The present study highlights the importance of selfesteem and deepens the understanding of the associations between the two forms of narcissism and emotion dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new networking paradigm, opportunistic networking communications have great vision in animal migration tracking, mobile social networking, network communications in remote areas and intelligent transportation, and so on. Opportunistic networks are one of the evolutionary mobile ad hoc networks, whose communication links often suffer from frequent disruption and long communication delays. Therefore, many opportunistic forwarding protocols present major security issues, and the design of opportunistic networks faces serious challenges such as how to effectively protect data confidentiality and integrity and how to ensure routing security, privacy, cooperation, and trust management. In this paper, we first systematically describe the security threats and requirements in opportunistic networks; then propose a general security architecture of opportunistic networks; and then make an in-depth analysis on authentication and access control, secure routing, privacy protection, trust management, and incentive cooperation mechanisms; and at the same time, we present a comparison of various security and trust solutions for opportunistic networks. Finally, we conclude and give future research directions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Femtogram proteomics: An ultrasensitive capillary zone electrophoresis–mass spectrometry system that is based on an improved nanospray interface has been developed. This system is used for the analysis of picogram to femtogram amounts of E. coli digests; for example, over 100 proteins were identified from 16 pg digests by tandem mass spectrometry. AMTs=accurate mass and time tags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Femtogramm ‐ Proteomik: Ein hochempfindliches System zur Kapillarzonenelektrophorese ‐ Massenspektrometrie, das auf einer verbesserten Nanospray ‐ Grenzfläche basiert, wurde entwickelt. Es konnte zur Analyse von E. coli ‐ Proteinverdau im Pikogramm ‐ bis Femtogramm ‐ Bereich verwendet werden; so wurden über 100 Proteine in 16 pg Proteinverdau durch Tandem ‐ Massenspektrometrie identifiziert. AMTs=akkurate Massen ‐ und Zeit ‐ Marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has recently attracted attention as a tool for shotgun proteomics. However, its performance for this analysis has so far fallen far below that of reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC)-MS/MS. The use of a CZE method with a wide separation window (up to 90 min) and high peak capacity (ca. 300) is reported. This method was coupled to an Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer through an electrokinetically pumped sheath-flow interface for the analysis of complex proteome digests. Single-shot CZE-MS/MS lead to the identification of over 10 000 peptides and 2100 proteins from a HeLa cell proteome digest in approximately 100 min. This performance is nearly an order of magnitude better than earlier CZE studies and is within a factor of two to four of the state-of-the-art nano ultrahigh-pressure LC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has recently attracted attention as a tool for shotgun proteomics. However, its performance for this analysis has so far fallen far below that of reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC)-MS/MS. The use of a CZE method with a wide separation window (up to 90 min) and high peak capacity (ca. 300) is reported. This method was coupled to an Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer through an electrokinetically pumped sheath-flow interface for the analysis of complex proteome digests. Single-shot CZE-MS/MS lead to the identification of over 10 000 peptides and 2100 proteins from a HeLa cell proteome digest in approximately 100 min. This performance is nearly an order of magnitude better than earlier CZE studies and is within a factor of two to four of the state-of-the-art nano ultrahigh-pressure LC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drosophila type II neuroblast lineages present an attractive model to investigate the neurogenesis and differentiation process as they adapt to a process similar to that in the human outer subventricular zone. We perform targeted single-cell mRNA sequencing in third instar larval brains to study this process of the type II NB lineage. Combining prior knowledge, in silico analyses, and in situ validation, our multi-informatic investigation describes the molecular landscape from a single developmental snapshot. 17 markers are identified to differentiate distinct maturation stages. 30 markers are identified to specify the stem cell origin and/or cell division numbers of INPs, and at least 12 neuronal subtypes are identified. To foster future discoveries, we provide annotated tables of pairwise gene-gene correlation in single cells and MiCV, a web tool for interactively analyzing scRNA-seq datasets. Taken together, these resources advance our understanding of the neural differentiation process at the molecular level. [Display omitted] • 4,035 type II cells from developing Drosophila brains are profiled using scRNA-seq • Pseudotime analysis reveals genes that vary during neural differentiation • Identified marker genes specify INPs in age- and lineage-restricted fashions • Transcription factors and surface molecules mark developing neural progenies Using a combination of targeted scRNA-seq, in situ RNA staining, and a multi-informatic analysis paradigm, Michki et al. characterize the transcriptome landscape of thousands of type II neurons and their progenitors in the developing larval fruit fly brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]