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Abstract Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used in a variety of tissue regeneration and clinical trials due to their multiple differentiation potency. However, it remains challenging to maintain their replicative capability during in vitro passaging while preventing their premature cellular senescence. Forkhead Box P1 (FOXP1), a FOX family transcription factor, has been revealed to regulate MSC cell fate commitment and self-renewal capacity in our previous study. Methods Mass spectra analysis was performed to identify acetylation sites in FOXP1 protein. Single and double knockout mice of FOXP1 and HDAC7 were generated and analyzed with bone marrow MSCs properties. Gene engineering in human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSCs was obtained to evaluate the impact of FOXP1 key modification on MSC self-renewal potency. Results FOXP1 is deacetylated and potentiated by histone deacetylase 7 (HDAC7) in MSCs. FOXP1 and HDAC7 cooperatively sustain bone marrow MSC self-renewal potency while attenuating their cellular senescence. A mutation within human FOXP1 at acetylation site (T176G) homologous to murine FOXP1 T172G profoundly augmented MSC expansion capacity during early passages. Conclusion These findings reveal a heretofore unanticipated mechanism by which deacetylation of FOXP1 potentiates self-renewal of MSC and protects them from cellular senescence. Acetylation of FOXP1 residue T172 as a critical modification underlying MSC proliferative capacity. We suggest that in vivo gene editing of FOXP1 may provide a novel avenue for manipulating MSC capability during large-scale expansion in clinical trials.

Beta3-adrenergic receptor (b3-AR) signaling in response to cold activates adipose tissue thermogenesis. Here the authors identify the transcription factor FoxP1 as a direct negative regulator of b3-AR expression and show that loss of FoxP1 leads to enhanced development of thermogenic adipose tissue.

The bone size and quality, acquired during adolescent growth under the influence of anabolic hormones, growth factors, and nutrients, determine the height and bone stability and forecast osteoporosis risks in late life. Yet bone size and quality control mechanisms remain enigmatic. To study the roles of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, sensor of growth factors and nutrients, in bone size and quality regulation, we ablated Tsc1, a suppressor of mTOR, in mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), monocytes, or their progenies osteoblasts and osteoclasts. mTOR activation in MSCs, but much less in osteoblasts, increased bone width and mass due to MSC hyperproliferation, but decreased bone length and mineral contents due to defective MSC differentiation. mTOR activation promotes bone mineral accretion by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and activity directly or via coupling with MSCs. Tuberous sclerosis complex patient studies confirmed these findings. Thus, mTOR regulates bone size via MSCs and bone quality by suppressing catabolic activities of osteoclasts.

Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) play important roles in skeletal development and bone fracture healing, yet how PDGFs execute their functions remains incompletely understood. Here we show that PDGF-AA, but not -AB or -BB, could activate the BMP-Smad1/5/8 pathway in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which requires BMPRIA as well as PDGFRα. PDGF-AA promotes MSC osteogenic differentiation through the BMP-Smad1/5/8-Runx2/Osx axis and MSC migration via the BMP-Smad1/5/8-Twist1/Atf4 axis. Mechanistic studies show that PDGF-AA activates BMP-Smad1/5/8 signaling by feedback down-regulating PDGFRα, which frees BMPRI and allows for BMPRI-BMPRII complex formation to activate smad1/5/8, using BMP molecules in the microenvironment. This study unravels a physical and functional interaction between PDGFRα and BMPRI, which plays an important role in MSC differentiation and migration, and establishes a link between PDGF-AA and BMPs pathways, two essential regulators of embryonic development and tissue homeostasis.

Abstract Constructing single‐atom catalysts (SACs) and optimizing the electronic structure between metal atoms and support interactions is deemed one of the most effective strategies for boosting the catalytic kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, a sulfur vacancy defect trapping strategy is developed to anchor tungsten single atoms onto ultrathin V3S4 nanosheets with a high loading of 25.1 wt.%. The obtained W‐V3S4 catalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 54 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and excellent long‐term stability in alkaline electrolytes. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the in situ anchoring of W single atoms triggers the delocalization and redistribution of electron density, which effectively accelerates water dissociation and facilitates hydrogen adsorption/desorption, thus enhancing HER activity. This work provides valuable insights into understanding highly active single‐atom catalysts for large‐scale hydrogen production.

Urea shows promise as an alternative substrate to water oxidation in electrolyzers, and replacing OER with the Urea Oxidation Reaction (UOR, theoretical potential of 0.37 V vs. RHE) can significantly increase hydrogen production efficiency. Additionally, the decomposition of urea can help reduce environmental pollution. This paper improves the inherent activity of catalytic materials through morphology and electronic modulation by incorporating tungsten (W), which accelerates electron transfer, enhances the electronic structure of neighboring atoms to create a synergistic effect, and regulates the adsorption process of active sites and intermediates. NiCoW catalytic materials with an ultra-thin nanosheet structure were prepared using an ultrasonic-assisted NaBH4 reduction method. The results show that during the OER process, NiCoW catalytic materials have a potential of only 1.53 V at a current density of 10 mA/cm2, while the UOR process under the same conditions requires a lower potential of 1.31 V, demonstrating superior catalytic performance. In a mixed electrolyte of 1 M KOH and 0.5 M urea, overall water splitting also shows excellent performance. Therefore, the designed NiCoW electrocatalyst, with its high catalytic activity, provides valuable insights for enhancing the efficiency of water electrolysis for hydrogen production and holds practical research significance.

Abstract Background Programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) has been demonstrated to facilitate tumor progression and therapeutic resistance in an immune‐independent manner. Nevertheless, the function and underlying signaling network(s) of cancer cell‐intrinsic PD‐L1 action remain largely unknown. Herein, we sought to better understand how ubiquitin‐specific peptidase 51 (USP51)/PD‐L1/integrin beta‐1 (ITGB1) signaling performs a cell‐intrinsic role in mediating chemotherapeutic resistance in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Western blotting and flow cytometry were employed for PD‐L1 detection in NSCLC cell lines. Coimmunoprecipitation and pulldown analyses, protein deubiquitination assay, tissue microarray, bioinformatic analysis and molecular biology methods were then used to determine the significance of PD‐L1 in NSCLC chemoresistance and associated signaling pathways in several different cell lines, mouse models and patient tissue samples. Ubiquitin‐7‐amido‐4‐methylcoumarin (Ub‐AMC)‐based deubiquitinase activity, cellular thermal shift and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analyses were performed to investigate the activity of USP51 inhibitors. Results We provided evidence that cancer cell‐intrinsic PD‐L1 conferred the development of chemoresistance by directly binding to its membrane‐bound receptor ITGB1 in NSCLC. At the molecular level, PD‐L1/ITGB1 interaction subsequently activated the nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) axis to elicit poor response to chemotherapy. We further determined USP51 as a bona fide deubiquitinase that targeted the deubiquitination and stabilization of the PD‐L1 protein in chemoresistant NSCLC cells. Clinically, we found a significant direct relationship between the USP51, PD‐L1 and ITGB1 contents in NSCLC patients with chemoresistant potency. The elevated USP51, PD‐L1 and ITGB1 levels were strongly associated with worse patient prognosis. Of note, we identified that a flavonoid compound dihydromyricetin (DHM) acted as a potential USP51 inhibitor and rendered NSCLC cells more sensitive to chemotherapy by targeting USP51‐dependent PD‐L1 ubiquitination and degradation in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions Together, our results demonstrated that the USP51/PD‐L1/ITGB1 network potentially contributes to the malignant progression and therapeutic resistance in NSCLC. This knowledge is beneficial to the future design of advanced cancer therapy.

IntroductionIn recent years, massive studies have examined sport from the standpoint of cultural capital. However, these studies have not examined cultural capital in relation to habitus within specific fields.MethodsThis article utilized a multivariate latent growth curve model to analyze changes of participants’ physical habitus. Hypotheses concerning the form of growth in physical habitus, individual perceived capital influence differences in the common trajectory over time, and covariates influencing the growth of PH were tested.ResultsSignificant linear increases existed for perceived influence from family and school, while significant linear decreases existed for perceived influence from community. The second-order alternative format of the latent growth curve model indicated that associations among individual perceived influence differences could be adequately explained by a higher order physical habitus construct. Gender, personal health condition, family socio-economic status, and weekly time spent on physical activities significantly predicted initial levels of physical habitus, whereas family social economic status significantly predicted the rate of change in physical habitus simultaneously.DiscussionThese findings not only support the participation in sport is constructed socially but also that individual efforts and contextual influences contribute to physical habitus. Furthermore, three types of perceived influences intertwined so much in simultaneity, instead of contributing to physical habitus across time.

Abstract Lung adenocarcinoma is the major subtype of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 40% of lung cancers. During clinical treatment, the emergence of chemotherapy resistance seriously affects the effectiveness of treatment. Thus, finding new chemotherapeutic sensitizers is considered to be one of the effective solutions. Biochanin A, as a naturally occurring isoflavone, has been demonstrated to exhibit anticancer effects in various tumors. However, the potential mechanisms of Biochanin A to inhibit tumor development have not been clarified. In the present study, we found that the combinational treatment of cisplatin and Biochanin A exhibited strong synergistic repression on lung adenocarcinoma growth and progression in vitro and in vivo. Considering that epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is recognized to be associated with both chemoresistance and metastasis, we examined the EMT-related markers and found that Biochanin A could specifically inhibit the expression of ZEB1. Importantly, Biochanin A chemosensitizes lung adenocarcinoma and inhibits cancer cell metastasis by suppressing ZEB1. At the molecular level, Biochanin A affects the stability of ZEB1 protein through the deubiquitination pathway and thereby influences the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, our finding elucidates the potential efficacy of Bichanin A as a chemosensitizer and provides new strategy for the chemotherapy of advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

Abstract In the aging process and central nervous system (CNS) diseases, the functions of the meningeal lymphatic vessels (MLVs) are impaired. Alterations in MLVs have been observed in aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, brain tumors, and even cerebrovascular disease. These findings reveal a new perspective on aging and CNS disorders and provide a promising therapeutic target. Additionally, recent neuropathological studies have shown that MLVs exchange soluble components between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF) and drain metabolites, cellular debris, misfolded proteins, and immune cells from the CSF into the deep cervical lymph nodes (dCLNs), directly connecting the brain with the peripheral circulation. Impairment and dysfunction of meningeal lymphatics can lead to the accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain, exacerbating the progression of neurological disorders. However, for many CNS diseases, the causal relationship between MLVs and neuropathological changes is not fully clear. Here, after a brief historical retrospection, we review recent discoveries about the hallmarks of MLVs and their roles in the aging and CNS diseases, as well as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurologic diseases.

SnO2 has been extensively used in the detection of various gases. As a gas sensing material, SnO2 has excellent physical-chemical properties, high reliability, and short adsorption-desorption time. The application of the traditional SnO2 gas sensor is limited due to its higher work-temperature, low gas response, and poor selectivity. Nanomaterials can significantly impact gas-sensitive properties due to the quantum size, surface, and small size effects of nanomaterials. By applying nanotechnology to the preparation of SnO2, the SnO2 nanomaterial-based sensors could show better performance, which greatly expands the application of SnO2 gas sensors. In this review, the preparation method of the SnO2 nanostructure, the types of gas detected, and the improvements of SnO2 gas-sensing performances via elemental modification are introduced as well as the future development of SnO2 is discussed.

Abstract Aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) has been demonstrated to facilitate tumor progression by producing lactate, which has important roles as a proinflammatory and immunosuppressive mediator. However, how aerobic glycolysis is directly regulated is largely unknown. Here, we show that ectopic Zeb1 directly increases the transcriptional expression of HK2, PFKP, and PKM2, which are glycolytic rate-determining enzymes, thus promoting the Warburg effect and breast cancer proliferation, migration, and chemoresistance in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Zeb1 exerts its biological effects to induce glycolytic activity in response to hypoxia via the PI3K/Akt/HIF-1α signaling axis, which contributes to fostering an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Mechanistically, breast cancer cells with ectopic Zeb1 expression produce lactate in the acidic tumor milieu to induce the alternatively activated (M2) macrophage phenotype through stimulation of the PKA/CREB signaling pathway. Clinically, the expression of Zeb1 is positively correlated with dysregulation of aerobic glycolysis, accumulation of M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and a poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. In conclusion, these findings identify a Zeb1-dependent mechanism as a driver of breast cancer progression that acts by stimulating tumor–macrophage interplay, which could be a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of advanced human cancers.

Hazardous gases have been strongly associated with being a detriment to human life within the environment. The development of a reliable gas sensor with high response and selectivity is of great significance for detecting different hazardous gases. TiO2 nanomaterials are promising candidates with great potential and excellent performance in gas sensor applications, such as hydrogen, acetone, ammonia, and ethanol detection. This review begins with a detailed discussion of the different dimensional morphologies of TiO2, which affect the gas sensing performance of TiO2 sensors. The diverse morphologies of TiO2 can easily be tuned by regulating the manufacturing conditions. Meanwhile, they exhibit unique characteristics for detecting gases, including large specific surface area, superior electron transport rates, extraordinary permeability, and active reaction sites, which offer new opportunities to improve the gas sensing properties. In addition, a variety of efforts have been made to functional TiO2 nanomaterials to further enhance sensing properties, including TiO2-based composites and light-assisted gas sensors. The enhanced gas sensing mechanisms of multi-component composite nanomaterials based on TiO2 include loaded noble metals, doped elements, constructed heterojunctions, and compounded with other functional materials. Finally, several studies have been summarized to demonstrate the comparative sensing properties of TiO2-based gas sensors.

The Dual–Vector model predictive control (DV–MPC) method can improve the steady–state control performance of motor drives compared to using the single–vector method in one switching cycle. However, this performance enhancement generally increases the computational burden due to the exponential increase in the number of vector selections, lowering the system’s dynamic response. Alternatively, limiting the vector combinations will sacrifice system steady–state performance. To address this issue, this paper proposes an enhanced DV–MPC method that can determine the optimal vector combinations along with their duration time within minimized calculation times. Compared to the existing DV–MPC methods, the proposed enhanced technique can achieve excellent steady–state performance while maintaining a low computational burden. These benefits have been demonstrated in the results from a 2.5k rpm permanent magnet synchronous motor drive.

The global objective of achieving net-zero emissions drives a significant electrified trend by replacing fuel-mechanical systems with onboard microgrid (OBMG) systems for transportation applications. Energy management strategies (EMS) for OBMG systems require complicated optimization algorithms and high computation capabilities, while traditional control techniques may not meet these requirements. Driven by the ability to achieve intelligent decision-making by exploring data, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins (DT) have gained much interest within the transportation sector. Currently, research on EMS for OBMGs primarily focuses on AI technology, while overlooking the DT. This article provides a comprehensive overview of both information technology, particularly elucidating the role of DT technology. The evaluation and analysis of those emerging information technologies are explicitly summarized. Moreover, this article explores potential challenges in the implementation of AI and DT technologies and subsequently offers insights into future trends.

Developing an efficient method for chloramphenicol (CAP) detection is of great significance for food safety. Arginine (Arg) was selected as a functional monomer. Benefiting from its excellent electrochemical performance, which is different from traditional functional monomers, it can be combined with CAP to form a highly selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) material. It overcomes the shortcoming of poor MIP sensitivity faced by traditional functional monomers, and achieves high sensitivity detection without compounding other nanomaterials, greatly reducing the preparation difficulty and cost investment of the sensor. The possible binding sites between CAP and Arg molecules were calculated by molecular electrostatic potential (MEP). A low-cost, non-modified MIP electrochemical sensor was developed for the high-performance detection of CAP. The prepared sensor has a wide linear range from 1 × 10−12 mol L−1 to 5 × 10−4 mol L−1, achieves a very low concentration CAP detection, and the detection limit is 1.36 × 10−13 mol L−1. It also exhibits excellent selectivity, anti-interference, repeatability, and reproducibility. The detection of CAP in actual honey samples was achieved, which has important practical value in food safety.

Low spectral utilization and charge carrier compounding limit the application of photocatalysis in energy conversion and environmental purification, and the rational construction of heterojunction is a promising strategy to break this bottleneck. Herein, we prepared surface-engineered plasma Ag-modified α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 S-Scheme heterojunction photothermal catalysts by electrostatic self-assembly and light deposition strategy. The local surface plasmon resonance effect induced by Ag nanoparticles broadens the spectral response region and produces significant photothermal effects. The temperature of Ag/α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 powder is increased to 173 °C with irradiation for 90 s, ~3.2 times higher than that of the original g-C3N4. The formation of 2D/2D structured S-Scheme heterojunction promotes rapid electron-hole transfer and spatial separation. Ternary heterojunction construction leads to significant enhancement of photocatalytic performance of Ag/α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4, the H2 photocatalytic generation rate up to 3125.62 µmol g−1 h−1, which is eight times higher than original g-C3N4, and the photocatalytic degradation rate of tetracycline to reach 93.6%. This thermally assisted photocatalysis strategy improves the spectral utilization of conventional photocatalytic processes and provides new ideas for the practical application of photocatalysis in energy conversion and environmental purification.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dietary lactose supplementation relieves rotavirus (RV)-induced diarrhea and gut dysfunction. Thirty-six crossbred weaned piglets were randomly allocated into three groups and fed diets containing 0, 4%, and 6% lactose for 20 days. On Day 15, half of the piglets in each group were orally infused with RV. RV infection impaired growth performance; induced severe diarrhea; decreased serum D-xylose concentration and morphology and sIgA level of jejunal mucosa; downregulated MUC1, MUC2, occludin, Bcl-2, IL-4, pBD3, pBD2, and pBD1 mRNA expression of jejunal mucosa and/or mesenteric lymph nodes; upregulated Bax, caspase-3, IL-2, IFN-γ, and IFN-β mRNA expression of jejunal mucosa and/or mesenteric lymph nodes; and damaged microbiota and metabolites of cecal digesta in weaned piglets (p < 0.05). Dietary lactose supplementation improved nutrient digestibility and growth performance and relieved the negative influence of RV challenge on intestinal barrier function, mRNA expression of cytokines, and host defense peptides of jejunal mucosa and/or mesenteric lymph nodes in weaned piglets (p < 0.05). Dietary administration of 6% lactose tended to relieve diarrhea (p = 0.07). These results suggest that lactose in feed increases growth performance and has a tendency to alleviate RV-induced diarrhea, derived from the improvement of nutrient utilization, gut barrier function, and immunity.

Abstract Pd functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The structure, morphology, surface chemical states and surface area were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, respectively. The as-synthesized pure and Pd functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles were used to fabricate indirect-heating gas sensor, and the gas-sensing characteristics towards butane were investigated. At the optimum temperature, the sensors possess good response, selectivity, response/recovery, repeatability as well as long-term stability. Especially for the high response, the response of 7.5 mol% Pd functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles based sensor reaches 33.93 towards 3000 ppm butane, which is about 9 times higher than that of pure TiO2 nanoparticles. The response and recovery time are 13 and 8 s, respectively. Those values demonstrate the potential of using as-synthesized Pd functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles as butane gas detection, particularly in the dynamic monitoring. Apart from these, a possible mechanism related to the enhanced sensing performance is also investigated.

Single crystal ZnO microrods are deposited on the surface of Zn plate through corrosion of Zn plate by H2O2 which is a green neutral reagent and easy to transform to H2O and O2. The structure and morphology of the obtained ZnO microrods were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. A thermodynamics mechanism was brought up. It was found that the transformation from Zn to ZnO is mainly attributed to that H2O2 possessing enough redox potential oxidizes the Zn. At the same time, the photodegradation properties of the obtained ZnO microrods array were also evaluated. The obtained wurtize-type ZnO microrods show an effective degradation for methyl orange under ultraviolet, and it keeps a good efficiency during the ten repeated photocatalytic tests. The results demonstrate a potential of obtained ZnO/Zn in real application of water pollutant photodegradation, making them promising candidates for the wastewater treatment.

A new high performance fluorescence assay for detection of Ag+ based on CdS quantum dots (QDs) using L-Aspartic acid (L-Asp) as a stabilizer was proposed in this work. The CdS quantum dots conjugation with L-Aspartic acid (L-Asp@CdS QDs) were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal process. The QDs have a fluorescence emission band maximum at 595 nm with a quantum yield of 11%. The obtained CdS QDs exhibit a particle size of 1.63 ± 0.28 nm and look like quantum dot flowers. Basically, the fluorescence intensity of L-Asp@CdS QDs can be enhanced only upon addition of Ag+ and a redshift in the fluorescence spectrum was observed. Under optimum conditions, the fluorescence enhancement of L-Asp@CdS QDs appeared to exhibit a good linear relationship in between 100−7000 nM (R2 = 0.9945) with the Ag+ concentration, with a detection limit of 39 nM. The results indicated that the L-Asp@CdS QDs were well used in detection for Ag+ as fluorescence probe in aqueous solution with high sensitivity and selectivity. Moreover, the sensing system has been applied in detection Ag+ in real water samples. The recovery test results were 98.6%~113%, and relative standard deviation (n = 5) is less than 3.6%, which was satisfactory.

Citric acid capped CdS quantum dots (CA-CdS QDs), a new assembled fluorescent probe for copper ions (Cu2+), was synthesized successfully by a simple hydrothermal method. In this work, the fluorescence sensor for the detection of heavy and transition metal (HTM) ions has been extensively studied in aqueous solution. The results of the present study indicate that the obtained CA-CdS QDs could detect Cu2+ with high sensitivity and selectivity. It found that the existence of Cu2+ has a significant fluorescence quenching with a large red shifted (from greenish-yellow to yellowish-orange), but not in the presence of 17 other HTM ions. As a result, Cu2S, the energy level below the CdS conduction band, could be formed at the surface of the CA-CdS QDs and leads to the quenching of fluorescence of CA-CdS QDs. Under optimal conditions, the copper ions detection range using the synthesized fluorescence sensor was 1.0 × 10‒8 M to 5.0 × 10‒5 M and the limit of detection (LOD) is 9.2 × 10‒9 M. Besides, the as-synthesized CA-CdS QDs sensor exhibited good selectivity toward Cu2+ relative to other common metal ions. Thus, the CA-CdS QDs has potential applications for detecting Cu2+ in real water samples.