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Root channel wetlands, as a new type of nature-imitating wetland system, provide a paradigm for micro-polluted water source purification; however, there is a knowledge gap on root channel wetlands' pollution removal effects and their main influencing factors after longtime operation. This study collected the turbidity, ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), permanganate index (COD Mn ), dissolved oxygen (DO), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) at the inlet and outlet of Shijiuyang (SJY) wetland and Guanjinggang (GJG) wetland in Jiaxing City, China, from 2019 to 2021. The results showed that root channel wetlands had better water quality improvement effects. The SJY wetland had larger removal rates for DO, COD Mn , and turbidity compared with the GJG wetland. In contrast, other water quality indexes have similar removal rates at both wetlands. The influencing factor analysis showed that water purification agent, flow, pH, and water temperature have large influences on the removal rates of pollutants for both wetlands. To address high turbidity and excessive DO, which are the primary pollutants affecting the two wetlands, implementing the diversion river before the pretreatment area and incorporating ecological floating beds in the deep purification area are recommended solutions to mitigate these issues. Compared with conventional general constructed wetlands, root channel wetlands are a more cost-effective and sustainable technology. The research is conducive to improving understanding of root channel wetland purification for micro-polluted water sources and enhancing water supply security capability in the plains water network area of the Yangtze River Delta region. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Compared with conventional general constructed wetlands, root channel wetlands are more cost-effective and sustainable technology. The SJY wetland demonstrated better removal rates for DO, CODMn, and turbidity, indicating a higher purification capacity compared to GJG wetland. Flow rate and pH are the primary factors influencing the GJG wetland, while the waterpurification agent and water temperature are the main factors affecting water quality in the SJY wetland., (© 2024 Water Environment Federation.)

Pyroglutamate (pE)-modified amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides play a crucial role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. pEAβ 3-42 can rapidly form oligomers that gradually elongate hydrophobic segments to form β-sheet-rich amyloid intermediates, ultimately resulting in the formation of mature amyloid fibrils. pEAβ 3-42 can also catalyze the aggregation of Aβ species and subsequently accelerate the formation of amyloid senile plaques. Considering the recent clinical success of the pEAβ 3-42 -targeting antibody donanemab, molecules that strongly bind pEAβ 3-42 and prevent its aggregation and catalytic effect on Aβs may also provide potential therapeutic options for Alzheimer's disease. Here, we demonstrate that the natural antibiotic cyclopeptide tyrocidine A (TA) not only strongly inhibits the aggregation of Aβ 1-42 as previously reported, but also interacts with the hydrophobic C-terminus and middle domain of pEAβ 3-42 to maintain an unordered conformation, effectively impeding the formation of initial oligomers and subsequently halting the aggregation of pEAβ 3-42 . Furthermore, TA can disrupt the "catalytic effect" of pEAβ 3-42 on amyloid aggregates, effectively suppressing Aβ aggregation and ultimately preventing the pathological events induced by Aβs., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Layered manganese transition metal oxides, such as NaMnO2, have attracted great interest due to the low cost and high capacity. However, complex phase transitions in NaMnO2 lead to poor cycling stability. The introduction of Li doping has been confirmed to improve the performance of NaMnO2. O3-type NaLi1/3Mn2/3O2 (NLMO), synthesized in 2021, has demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance. Notably, irreversible Li interlayer migration (Li migrates from the transition metal layer to the alkali metal layer) has been observed during cycling, which is related to the electrochemical performance. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanism underlying Li interlayer migration in O3-NLMO. However, the environment of Li interlayer migration on cycling is complex and involves interlayer spacing, Na-ion concentration, the degree of O-ion oxidation, and phase transition. Here, in this work, we utilized the first-principles method to decouple the coupling factors influencing the Li interlayer migration. Through analyzing the impact of the single-factor on Li interlayer migration, we aim to identify the crucial factors affecting this process. Our results show that a decrease in Na-ion concentration and an increase in O-ion oxidation degree promote the Li interlayer migration, while the O-P phase transition suppresses the Li interlayer migration. Interlayer spacing was found to play a less influential role in Li interlayer migration. Our investigations provide effective strategies for the subsequent regulation of Li interlayer migration., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene/Cu x O composites were prepared by acid etching combined with electrochemical technique. The abundant active sites on the surface of MXene greatly increase the loading of Cu x O nanoparticles, and the synergistic effect between the different components of the composite can accelerate the oxidation reaction of glucose. The results indicate that at the working potential of 0.55 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the glucose sensor based on Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene/Cu x O composite presents large linear concentration ranges from 1 µM to 4.655 mM (sensitivity of 361 µA mM -1 cm -2 ) and from 5.155 mM to 16.155 mM (sensitivity of 133 µA mM -1 cm -2 ). The limit of detection is 0.065 µM. In addition, the sensor effectively avoids the oxidative interference of common interfering species such as ascorbic acid, dopamine and uric acid. The sensor has good reproducibility, stability and acceptable recoveries for the detection of glucose in human sweat sample (97.5-103.3%) with RSD values less than 4%. Based on these excellent properties it has great potential for the detection of glucose in real samples., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been a potential treatment option for patients with cervical cancer in several clinical studies. We investigated the safety and efficacy of cadonilimab, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4, plus standard therapy for the first-line treatment of R/M CC (recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer)., Patients and Methods: Eligible patients were assigned to 3 cohorts: cohort A-15 (cadonilimab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks (Q3W) plus chemotherapy), cohort A-10 (cadonilimb 10 mg/kg Q3W plus chemotherapy), and cohort B-10 (cadonilimab 10 mg/kg Q3W plus chemotherapy and bevacizumab). They received the corresponding treatments until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or investigator decision. The primary objective was safety; the secondary endpoints included objective overall response (ORR), duration of response, disease control rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04868708)., Results: As of February 13, 2023, treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) occurred in 45 (100.0%) patients. Grade ≥3 TRAEs were reported in 33 (73.3%) patients. Immune-related adverse events (irAE) occurred in 29 (64.4%) patients and grade ≥3 irAEs were observed in 9 (20.0%) patients. Seven (15.6%) of 45 patients permanently discontinued cadonilimab treatment due to TRAEs. One death due to hemorrhagic shock occurred in cohort B-10. Among 44 patients who underwent at least one post-baseline tumor assessment, the ORR was 66.7% in cohort A-15, 68.8% in cohort A-10, 92.3% in cohort B-10, and 79.3% in cohorts A-10 and B-10 combined., Conclusions: Cadonilimab combined with standard therapy was acceptable, with encouraging antitumor activity in patients with R/M CC., (©2024 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Introduction: Positional vertigo and nystagmus are the main symptoms and signs of dizziness, respectively. Despite the clinical utility of the supine roll test (SRT) and null point (NP) in diagnosing light cupula, a type of positional vertigo, there exists a notable gap in the literature concerning the comprehensive evaluation of lateralization values based on various nystagmus characteristics and the intensity of direction-changing positional nystagmus (DCPN) in the SRT, particularly in comparison to the NP. Additionally, limited data on abnormal canal paresis (CP) in light cupula patients underscores the need for further research with a larger patient population to elucidate this mechanism. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of positional nystagmus and lateralization of the horizontal semicircular canal (HSCC) light cupula, which is a type of positional vertigo and nystagmus that is poorly understood., Methods: Eighty-five patients (17 males, 68 females; mean age, 60.9 years) with light cupula were reviewed. We summarized the characteristics of spontaneous nystagmus and positional nystagmus, including supine positioning nystagmus, bow nystagmus, and lean nystagmus. Then, the side of the NP was identified as the affected side, and the values of the fast phase direction of the spontaneous nystagmus, supine positioning nystagmus, bow nystagmus, and lean nystagmus, as well as the intensity of the DCPN in the SRT, were used to diagnose the affected sides. Caloric testing was also performed for some patients., Results: Light cupula was observed in 5.7% of the patients with positional nystagmus. The frequencies of supine positioning nystagmus (88.2%), bow nystagmus (90.6%), and lean nystagmus (83.5%) were higher than spontaneous nystagmus (61.2%) ( p  < 0.001). The second NP (NP2) (92.9%) and third NP (NP3) (83.5%) were readily detected, affecting the left and right sides in 38 and 47 patients, respectively. Lateralization through the fast phase directions of bow nystagmus and lean nystagmus did not significantly differ from that of NP (all p  > 0.05). However, the accuracy rate of lateralization through the sides with more vigorous DCPN in the SRT was 63.5%, significantly lower than through NP ( p < 0.001). Particularly in patients with supine positioning nystagmus ( n  = 75), the rate was only 58.7% ( p < 0.001). However, the rate was 100% in patients without supine positioning nystagmus ( n  = 10). Among the 70 patients who underwent caloric testing, 37 had abnormal CP, and the sides of the reduced caloric reaction were ipsilateral to the affected sides of the light cupula in 83.8% of the patients., Conclusion: Besides utilizing the NP to determine the affected side, the fast phase direction of the bow nystagmus or lean nystagmus can also aid in identification. However, a simple comparison of the intensity of DCPN in SRT cannot provide accurate lateralization, especially in patients with supine positioning nystagmus. There is a high incidence of CP on the affected side of the light cupula., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Qin, Liu, Zhu, Zhang, Xu, Zhou, Wei, Fang and Chang.)

The increasing pressure and unhealthy lifestyle are gradually eroding the physical and mental health of modern people. As a key hormone responsible for maintaining the normal functioning of human systems, cortisol plays a vital role in regulating physiological activities. Moreover, cortisol can serve as a marker for monitoring psychological stress. The development of cortisol detection sensors carries immense potential, as they not only facilitate timely adjustments and treatments by detecting abnormal physiological indicators but also provide comprehensive data for conducting research on the correlation between cortisol and several potential diseases. Here, we report a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) electrochemical biosensor that utilizes a porous composite (MXG) modified electrode. MXG composite is prepared by combining Ti 3 C 2 T x -MXene sheets and graphene (Gr). MXG composite material with high conductive properties and large electroactive surface area promotes the charge transfer capability of the electrode surface, expands the effective surface area of the sensor, and increases the content of cortisol-imprinted cavities on the electrode, thereby improving the sensing ability of the sensor. By optimizing the preparation process, the prepared sensor has an ultralow lower limit of detection of 0.4 fM, a wide detection range of 1 fM-10 μM, and good specificity for steroid hormones and interfering substances with similar cortisol structure. The ability of the sensor to detect cortisol in saliva was also confirmed experimentally. This highly sensitive and selective cortisol sensor is expected to be widely used in the fields of physiological and psychological care.

The structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of Ni-Co-based layered transition oxide LiNi x Co 1-x O 2 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9) (LNCO) have been investigated using the first-principles method. The results show that the effect of Ni/Co mixing on the structural property is slight. For the case of the mechanical property, the elastic constant, elastic modulus, such as Young's modulus (Y), Poisson's ratio (v), Pugh's ratio (B/G), and Cauchy pressure (C') of LNCO have been carefully analyzed based on the strain-energy method. The results demonstrate that the mechanical strength of LNCO materials is weaker than that of pure LiCoO 2 (LCO) and LiNiO 2 (LNO). However, the B/G ratio and Poisson's ratio of LNCO are greater than that of the pure LCO and LNO, which means that Ni/Co mixing can improve the ductility of pure LCO and LNO. In addition, Cauchy pressure and anisotropy are also discussed, and as cathode materials, LNCO still exhibits good electrical conductivity. Our results provide a feasible way to realize mechanical property modulation by Ni-Co-based layered transition metal oxides LCO. Furthermore, our study is also helpful to reveal the formation mechanism of intra-lattice microcracks in electrode materials.

Long non-coding RNAs, referred to as lncRNAs, perform essential functions in some biological processes, including reproduction, metamorphosis, and other critical life functions. Yet, lncRNAs are poorly understood in pesticide resistance, and no reports to date have characterized which lncRNAs are associated with chlorantraniliprole resistance in Chilo suppressalis . Here, RNA-seq was performed on two strains of C. suppressalis exposed to chlorantraniliprole: one is a susceptible strain (S), and the other is a resistant strain (R). In total, 3,470 lncRNAs were identified from 40,573 merged transcripts in six libraries, including 1,879 lincRNAs, 245 intronic lncRNAs, 853 sense lncRNAs, and 493 antisense lncRNAs. Moreover, differential expression analysis revealed 297 and 335 lncRNAs upregulated in S and R strains, respectively. Differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs are usually assumed to be involved in the chlorantraniliprole resistance in C. suppressalis . As potential targets, adjacent protein-coding genes (within <1000 kb range upstream or downstream of DE lncRNAs), especially detoxification enzyme genes (cytochrome P450s, carboxyl/cholinesterases/esterases, and ATP-binding cassette transporter), were analyzed. Furthermore, the strand-specific RT-PCR was conducted to confirm the transcript orientation of randomly selected 20 DE lincRNAs, and qRT-PCR was carried out to verify the expression status of 8 out of them. MSTRG.25315.3 , MSTRG.25315.6 , and MSTRG.7482.1 were upregulated in the R strain. Lastly, RNA interference and bioassay analyses indicated overexpressed lincRNA MSTRG.7482.1 was involved in chlorantraniliprole resistance. In conclusion, we represent, for the first time, the genome-wide identification of chlorantraniliprole-resistance-related lncRNAs in C. suppressalis . It elaborates the views underlying the mechanism conferring chlorantraniliprole resistance in lncRNAs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer YD declared a past co-authorship with the author LX to the handling editor., (Copyright © 2023 Huang, Jing, Xu, Luo, Hu, Wu, Hu, Li, He, Qin, Sun and Liu.)

Astragalus sinicus (Chinese milk vetch) is a well-established resource of organic fertilizer widely used in paddy soil to partially replace chemical fertilizers. However, the influence of returning A. sinicus to fields on the soil bacterial community remains poorly understood. Here, we used different amounts of A. sinicus partially replacing chemical fertilizers and investigated the changes in soil physicochemical factors and the soil bacterial community structure responses. Returning A. sinicus to the field significantly increased the soil total nitrogen and available phosphorus content ( p  < 0.05). Weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to detect significant associations between the soil microbiome data and physicochemical factors. Two key ecological bacterial clusters (MEturquoise and MEgreen), mainly containing Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Chloroflexi, were significantly correlated with soil nitrogen (N) levels. A. sinicus partially replacing chemical fertilizers reduced the normalized stochasticity ratio (NST) of rare amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), abundant ASVs, MEturquoise, and MEgreen ( p  < 0.05). Our results further indicated that a moderate amount of A. sinicus returned to the soil effectively mitigated the trend of reduced relative abundance of N fixation function of key ecological clusters caused by chemical fertilizer. However, a large amount of A. sinicus led to a significant increase in relative abundance of denitrification function and a significant decrease in relative abundance of N fixation function of key ecological clusters. This implies that the moderate substitution of A. sinicus returning for chemical fertilizer improves the N cycling function of key ecological bacterial clusters in soil. From the perspective of the bacterial community in paddy soil, this study provides new insight and a reference on how to find a good balance between the amount of A. sinicus returned to the soil and ecological safety., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lv, Wang, Chen, Qin, Shi, Song, Chen and Xu.)

Multiple agricultural practices are being applied to increase crop yield in order to overcome the food shortage. Green manure has emerged as an appropriate practice to improve soil fertility and crop yield. However, the potential functions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the below-ground ecosystems following the application of green manure in Ultisols remain largely unexplored. In this study, qPCR and high-throughput sequencing were used to investigate the response of AMF abundance and communities in different treatment groups, i.e., control (without fertilization), mineral fertilization (NPK), mineral fertilization with returning peanut straw (NPKS), and with green manure (hairy vetch; NPKG). The NPKG treatment significantly increased soil fertility compared to other treatment groups. Compared with control, the NPK, NPKS, and NPKG treatments increased peanut yield by 12.3, 13.1, and 25.4%, respectively. NPKS and NPKG treatments significantly altered the AMF community composition decreased the AMF diversity and increased AMF abundance compared to the control. The AMF network of the NPKG treatment group showed the highest complexity and stability compared to other treatment groups. The structural equation modeling revealed that the application of hairy vetch improved soil nutrients and peanut yield by increasing the soil AMF abundance and network stability. Overall, the results suggested that the application of hairy vetch might trigger positive feedback between the peanut and AMF community, contributing to fertility and yield improvement in the dryland of Ultisol., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer PL was currently organizing a research topic with one of the author JL., (Copyright © 2022 Xiang, Zhang, Li, Leng, Sun, Qin, Peng, Xu, Liu and Jiang.)

Due to the unique outermost orbitals of Sn, hole carriers in tin monoxide (SnO) possess small effective mass and high mobility among oxide semiconductors, making it a promising p-channel material for thin film field-effect transistors (TFTs). However, the Sn vacancy induced field-effect mobility deterioration and threshold voltage ( V th ) shift in experiments greatly limit its application in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. In this study, the internal mechanism of vacancy defect compensation by aluminum (Al) doping in SnO x film is studied combining experiments with the density functional theory (DFT). The doping is achieved by an argon (Ar) plasma treatment of Al 2 O 3 deposited onto the SnO x film, in which the Al 2 O 3 provides both the surface passivation and Al doping source. Experimental results show a wide V th modulation range (6.08 to -19.77 V) and notable mobility enhancement (11.56 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) in the SnO x TFTs after the Al doping by Ar plasma. DFT results reveal that the most possible positions of Al in SnO and SnO 2 segments are the compensation to Sn vacancy and interstitial. The compensation will create an n-type doping effect and improve the hole carrier transport by reducing the hole effective mass ( m h *), which is responsible for the device performance variation, while the interstitial in the SnO 2 segment can hardly affect the valence transport of the film. The defect compensation is suitable for the electronic property modulation of SnO towards the high-performance CMOS application., (© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

A PGP-1-specific one/two-photon fluorogenic probe (BH1), capable of high sensitivity, super selectivity, and visual imaging of endogenous PGP-1 activity from live mammalian cells and serum/skin tissues from patients by using one/two-photon fluorescence microscopy (O/TPFM).

The development and progression of gastric cancer (GC) is greatly influenced by gastric microbiota and their metabolites. Here, we characterized the gastric microbiome and metabolome profiles of 37 GC tumor tissues and matched non-tumor tissues using 16s rRNA gene sequencing and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, respectively. Microbial diversity and richness were higher in GC tumor tissues than in non-tumor tissues. The abundance of Helicobacter was increased in non-tumor tissues, while the abundance of Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Bacteroides, Prevotella, and 6 additional genera was increased in the tumor tissues. The untargeted metabolome analysis revealed 150 discriminative metabolites, among which the relative abundance of the amino acids, carbohydrates and carbohydrate conjugates, glycerophospholipids, and nucleosides was higher in tumor tissues compared to non-tumor tissues. The targeted metabolome analysis further demonstrated that the combination of 1-methylnicotinamide and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-6-phosphate could serve as a robust biomarker for distinction between GC tumors and non-tumor tissues. Correlation analysis revealed that Helicobacter and Lactobacillus were negatively and positively correlated with the majority of differential metabolites in the classes of amino acids, carbohydrates, nucleosides, nucleotides, and glycerophospholipids, respectively, suggesting that Helicobacter and Lactobacillus might play a role in degradation and synthesis of the majority of differential metabolites in these classes, respectively. Acinetobacter, Comamonas, Faecalibacterium, Sphingomonas, and Streptococcus were also significantly correlated with many differential amino acids, carbohydrates, nucleosides, nucleotides, and glycerophospholipids. In conclusion, the differences in metabolome profiles between GC tumor and matched non-tumor tissues may be partly due to the collective activities of Helicobacter, Lactobacillus, and other bacteria, which eventually affects GC carcinogenesis and progression., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Developing high-performance tungsten plasma-facing materials for fusion reactors is an urgent task. In this paper, novel nanochannel structural W films prepared by magnetron sputtering deposition were irradiated using a high-power pulsed electron beam or ion beam to study their edge-localized modes, such as transient thermal shock resistance. Under electron beam irradiation, a 1 μm thick nanochannel W film with 150 watt power showed a higher absorbed power density related cracking threshold (0.28-0.43 GW/m 2 ) than the commercial bulk W (0.16-0.28 GW/m 2 ) at room temperature. With ion beam irradiation with an energy density of 1 J/cm 2 for different pulses, the bulk W displayed many large cracks with the increase of pulse number, while only micro-crack networks with a width of tens of nanometers were found in the nanochannel W film. For the mechanism of the high resistance of nanochannel W films to transient thermal shock, a residual stress analysis was made by Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), and the results showed that the irradiated nanochannel W films had a much lower stress than that of the irradiated bulk W, which indicates that the nanochannel structure can release more stress, due to its special nanochannel structure and ability for the annihilation of irradiation induced defects.

Understanding the mechanism of interaction between organic polymers and dopants is of great significance to further enhance the performances of flexible electronics. Here, the two doping mechanisms of charge transfer complex (CTC) and integer charge transfer (ICT) are found to coexist in p-π conjugated PTAA doped with the strong acceptor F4-TCNQ, and their correlation is affected by the HJ-aggregate state of the doped polymer. The growth of the J-aggregate caused by the increase of CTC would lead to a corresponding formation of ICT. The doping efficiency was dominated by the CTC/ICT ratio. On the basis of the analysis of the optical, electrical, and morphological properties of PTAA:F4-TCNQ films, we optimized the CTC/ICT ratio to achieve the efficient hole transport layers that are used in solution-processed flexible phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes with p-i-n structure. The optimal device presents a very high current efficiency (CE) of 31.12 cd/A and a low turn-on voltage of 3.6 V.

Water quality is of great concern under the threats of an abandoned Pb-Zn mine within a vulnerable karst area. This study focuses on tracing the sources, migration and relevant geochemical controls of heavy metals along with surface- and groundwater flow, and assessing their hazards posed to the environment by indexes of heavy metal pollution (HPI) and ecological risks (ERI). We analyzed the concentrations of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) in filtered and digested surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) samples. Whilst sulfate concentrations, δ 34 S SO4 isotope, and other physical-chemical parameters were measured in filtered SW and GW. Clearly elevated concentrations of Zn and Cd have been observed in the upstream of the Sidi River (max. 1540.3/1676.7, and 19.9/19.4 μg/L, for filtered/digested contents, respectively), and that of digested Pb and Cu (max. 17.8 and 114.6 μg/L, respectively) in the downstream karst groundwater. Zn and Cd are likely introduced by the Sidi River which is found mostly in the dissolved phase. While Pb and Cu are sourced from the remobilization of upper lying polluted soil which mostly existed in the particulate phase. Zn and Cd concentrations in the karst groundwater peak at the losing section while Pb and Cu in the river peaks at the gaining section as a result of metals transport with SW-GW exchange. Dilution significantly decreases total metals concentration in the non-karst area. Due to the buffer effect caused by carbonates dissolution and bacterial sulfate reduction, a steady neutral pH can reduce the concentrations of the dissolved metals in the karst area. The ERI and HPI assessments show an acceptable level for surface- and groundwater. A long-term observation on the contents of undissolved metals needs to be conducted in karst areas which are threatened by metal(s) mines., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Two-dimensional (2D) CrI 3 monolayer ferromagnets are key to the development of future miniature spintronic devices and modulating them into a half-metal will greatly expand the application scenarios of CrI 3 in nanospintronics. Nevertheless, existing strategies to induce half-metallicity of a CrI 3 monolayer remain experimentally challenging and have unstable issues. In this work, the introduction of a 2D electride [Y 2 C] 2+ ·2e - as an auxiliary layer is shown to be an effective way to achieve the generation of stable half-metallicity in the CrI 3 monolayer. When the fully hydrogenated Y 2 CH 2 and ferromagnetic CrI 3 monolayer combine to form a heterostructure, surprisingly the appropriate amount of charge injection (0.72 e ) turns CrI 3 into a half-metal. Hetero-interfacial half-metallicity in CrI 3 is an intrinsic one and does not require any chemical functionalization or external physical modification. Therefore, it is advantageous for practical applications of CrI 3 in miniature spintronic devices, such as magnetic tunnel junctions, spin valves or spin field-effect transistors. A new strategy of the stable CrI 3 /Y 2 CH 2 heterostructure was successfully developed to induce the half-metallicity of 2D CrI 3 ferromagnets, which is experimentally feasible and half-metallic stable enough. This work paves the way for the application of the CrI 3 monolayer in half-metallic-based spintronics.

β-Lactam antibiotics are generally perceived as one of the greatest inventions of the 20 th century, and these small molecular compounds have saved millions of lives. However, upon clinical application of antibiotics, the β-lactamase secreted by pathogenic bacteria can lead to the gradual development of drug resistance. β-Lactamase is a hydrolase that can efficiently hydrolyze and destroy β-lactam antibiotics. It develops and spreads rapidly in pathogens, and the drug-resistant bacteria pose a severe threat to human health and development. As a result, detecting and inhibiting the activities of β-lactamase are of great value for the rational use of antibiotics and the treatment of infectious diseases. At present, many specific detection methods and inhibitors of β-lactamase have been developed and applied in clinical practice. In this Minireview, we describe the resistance mechanism of bacteria producing β-lactamase and further summarize the fluorogenic probes, inhibitors of β-lactamase, and their applications in the treatment of infectious diseases. It may be valuable to design fluorogenic probes with improved selectivity, sensitivity, and effectiveness to further identify the inhibitors for β-lactamases and eventually overcome bacterial resistance., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder, and aberrantly elevated sulfur dioxide derivatives (SO 3 2- /HSO 3 - ) are thought to underlie the hippocampal neuronal apoptosis in epilepsy. We have designed and synthesized a mitochondria-targeted polydopamine nanoprobe for visualizing endogenous SO 3 2- /HSO 3 - by the nucleophilic addition reaction. The nanoprobe was used for imaging SO 2 derivatives both in the mitochondria of cultured cells and zebrafish, and successfully applied in the hippocampus of a rat model of epilepsy. The PDAD nanoprobe could be of great value for the elucidation of mechanisms of abnormal SO 3 2- /HSO 3 - involved in diseases such as epilepsy.

Tetracycline and Cr(VI) as non-biodegradable environmental contaminants have attracted increasing attention because of their chronic toxicity. In this regard, the environmentally friendly Z-scheme photocatalytic decontamination system has been widely used for contaminant treatment. Herein, a novel 3D Z-scheme α-FeOOH/FeS 2 composite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized for the first time via a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analyses and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated that the O component of the heterogeneous nanostructures formed by the FeOFe linkages in α-FeOOH was replaced by S to generate FeSFe linkages in the resulting FeS 2 . As expected, the novel 3D Z-scheme α-FeOOH/FeS 2 composites exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity for Cr(VI) reduction and tetracycline degradation compared to pure α-FeOOH. Photoluminesence (PL) measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations, suggested that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Z-scheme α-FeOOH/FeS 2 composite can be attributed to the improved photo-absorption properties and the effective separation of photo-induced charge carriers caused by the Z-scheme system of the as-prepared 3D α-FeOOH/FeS 2 composites. Thus, this work may facilitate the effective design of α-FeOOH-based photocatalysts., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the common cancers in the world. Circular RNA 0072083 (circ&#95;0072083, circZFR) has been reported to be associated with the progression of NSCLC. In this study, we intended to explore the role and the potential mechanism of circ&#95;0072083 in NSCLC., Methods: Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of circ&#95;0072083, its matching linear RNA (zinc finger RNA binding protein (ZFR)) and microRNA-545-3p (miR-545-3p) in NSCLC cells. The ability of colony formation in NSCLC cells was detected by colony formation assay. The apoptosis and cell cycle were measured by flow cytometry. The metastasis was determined by transwell migration and invasion assays. The protein expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin and Cbl proto-oncogene like 1 (CBLL1) was examined by western blot assay. The interaction between miR-545-3p and circ&#95;0072083 or CBLL1 was predicted by starBase or Targetscan software. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were applied to validate these interactions. Nude mice bearing tumors were used to confirm the role of circ&#95;0072083 and cisplatin (DDP) in vivo., Results: The level of circ&#95;0072083 was higher in NSCLC tissues and cells relative to that in adjacent non-tumor tissues and normal lung cells. The transfection of si-circ&#95;0072083 inhibited colony formation, cell cycle and metastasis while promoted the apoptosis of NSCLC cells stimulated by DDP. MiR-545-3p was a direct functional target of circ&#95;0072083 in NSCLC cells. CBLL1 could bind to miR-545-3p in NSCLC cells. Circ&#95;0072083 promoted the progression of NSCLC induced by DDP through sponging miR-545-3p and enhancing the enrichment of CBLL1 in vivo and in vitro., Conclusion: Circ&#95;0072083 depletion contributed to DDP-triggered inhibition of NSCLC tumor through miR-545-3p/CBLL1 axis., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no financial conflicts of interests., (© The Author(s) 2020.)

Electrochemical energy devices, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries, convert chemical energy directly into electricity without adverse environmental impact. Attractive alternatives to expensive noble metals used in these renewable energy technologies are earth-abundant transition metal oxides. However, they are often limited by catalytic and conductive capabilities. Here reported is a spinel oxide, Co 2 VO 4 , by marrying metallic vanadium atomic chains with electroactive cobalt cations for superior oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)-a key process for fuel cells, metal-air batteries, etc. The experimental and simulated electron energy-loss spectroscopy analyses reveal that Co 2+ cations at the octahedral sites take the low spin state with one e g electron ( t 2 g 6 e g 1 ) , favoring advantageous ORR energetics. Measurement of actual electrical conductivity confirms that Co 2 VO 4 has several orders of magnitude increase when compared with benchmark cobalt oxides. As a result, a zinc-air battery with new spinel cobalt vanadate oxide as the ORR catalyst shows excellent performance, together with a record-high discharge peak power density of 380 mW cm -2 . Crucially, this is superior to state-of-the-art Pt/C-based device and is greatest among zinc-air batteries assembled with metal, metal oxide, and carbon catalysts. The findings present a new design strategy for highly active and conductive oxide materials for a wide range of electrocatalytic applications, including ORR, oxygen evolution, and hydrogen evolution reactions., (© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The nanotube type MoS 4 2- /polypyrrole (MoS 4 -Ppy) is newly synthesized which exhibits exceptional uptake capability for Au(III) with a high removal rate of >99.99% and large K d of >10 7  mL/g. Through simple calcination, the Au-loaded MoS 4 -Ppy is successfully converted to nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) decorated with MoS 2 nanosheets as well as Au 0 nanoparticles, forming a novel composite of MoS 2 /Au 0 /N-CNT. The conductivity of MoS 2 /Au/N-CNT is substantially improved by the highly conductive N-CNT and Au 0 metal. In addition, the N-CNT can effectively eliminate the aggregation of MoS 2 sheets and Au 0 particles, thus endowing more exposed active sites. The optimized MoS 2 /Au 0 /N-CNT displays good electrocatalytic performance towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). For the first time, we demonstrate the MoS 4 -Ppy is a promising material for efficient extraction and recovery of trace amounts of precious metal Au from gold-bearing leachates, and the subsequent product MoS 2 /Au/N-CNT can act as an effective HER electrocatalyst. The fabrication process of the composite material can not only remediate water contamination but also reuse precious metals. This dual-use approach opens a new way to explore effective sorbents for recovery of trace of gold and apply them in catalysis and sensing fields., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Herein, as a proof of concept, we developed the first enzymatic VIE fluorogenic probe for protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). The detection and imaging of PTP1B using VIE in living cells were both realized. Particularly importantly, the designed probe herein provides a guideline and platform for the development of new VIE-based enzymatic probes.

Raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, displays benefits for Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention in postmenopausal women as hormonal changes during menopause have the potential to influence AD pathogenesis, but the underlying mechanism of its neuroprotection is not entirely clear. In this study, the effects of raloxifene on amyloid-β (Aβ) amyloidogenesis were evaluated. The results demonstrated that raloxifene inhibits Aβ 42 aggregation and destabilizes preformed Aβ 42 fibrils through directly interacting with the N-terminus and middle domains of Aβ 42 peptides. Consequently, raloxifene not only reduces direct toxicity of Aβ 42 in HT22 neuronal cells, but also suppresses expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α and transforming growth factor-β induced by Aβ 42 peptides, and then alleviates microglia-mediated indirect toxicity of Aβ 42 to HT22 neuronal cells. Our results suggested an alternative possible explanation for the neuroprotective activity of raloxifene in AD prevention., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive sarcomas that arise most commonly in the setting of the Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome. Despite aggressive multimodality therapy, outcomes are dismal and most patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. Prior genomic studies in our laboratory identified tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) as a frequently mutated gene in MPNST. Herein, we explored the function of TYK2 in MPNST pathogenesis., Methods: Immunohistochemistry was utilized to examine expression of TYK2 in MPNSTs and other sarcomas. To establish a role for TYK2 in MPNST pathogenesis, murine and human TYK2 knockdown and knockout cells were established using shRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 systems, respectively., Results: We have demonstrated that TYK2 was highly expressed in the majority of human MPNSTs examined. Additionally, we demonstrated that knockdown of Tyk2/TYK2 in murine and human MPNST cells significantly increased cell death in vitro. These effects were accompanied by a decrease in the levels of activated Stats and Bcl-2 as well as an increase in the levels of Cleaved Caspase-3. In addition, Tyk2-KD cells demonstrated impaired growth in subcutaneous and metastasis models in vivo., Conclusion: Taken together, these data illustrate the importance of TYK2 in MPNST pathogenesis and suggest that the TYK2 pathway may be a potential therapeutic target for these deadly cancers., (© 2019 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Developing high-radiation-tolerant inert matrix fuel (IMF) with a long lifetime is important for advanced fission nuclear systems. In this work, we combined zirconia (ZrO 2 ) with magnesia (MgO) to form ultrafine-grained ZrO 2 -MgO composite ceramics. On the one hand, the formation of phase interfaces can stabilize the structure of ZrO 2 as well as inhibiting excessive coarsening of grains. On the other hand, the grain refinement of the composite ceramics can increase the defect sinks. Two kinds of composite ceramics with different grain sizes were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and their radiation damage behaviors were evaluated by helium (He) and xenon (Xe) ion irradiation. It was found that these dual-phase composite ceramics had better radiation tolerance than the pure yttria-stabilized ZrO 2 (YSZ) and MgO. Regarding He + ion irradiation with low displacement damage, the ZrO 2 -MgO composite ceramic with smaller grain size had a better ability to manage He bubbles than the composite ceramic with larger grain size. However, the ZrO 2 -MgO composite ceramic with a larger grain size could withstand higher displacement damage in the phase transformation under heavy ion irradiation. Therefore, the balance in managing He bubbles and phase stability should be considered in choosing suitable grain sizes.

Parkinson's disease (PD) severely affects life quality of patients and has brought huge economic burden to health system worldwide. Previous studies have shown that the abnormal expression of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in the brain is closely related to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as PD. Herein, we designed a novel deep-red H 2 O 2 fluorogenic probe PB1 to detect the level of H 2 O 2 in vivo. PB1 showed a highly selectivity response to H 2 O 2 over other reactants such as reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, biothiols and various ions in aqueous solution at physiological pH. We have demonstrated that PB1 possesses an excellent response to H 2 O 2 in the cells and in the brain tissue of drosophila from confocal fluorescence imaging. These results suggested that PB1 holds great potential in the study of the relationship between H 2 O 2 overexpression and PD., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A fast-response fluorogenic probe-compound D1-for monitoring hypochlorite (ClO - ), based on specific ClO - cleavage of a C=N bond and producing results observable to the naked eye, has been developed. The response of the probe to ClO - increases linearly, and the fluorescence intensity was heightened by a factor of about 25. D1 responses to ClO - , with high selectivity and sensitivity, were observable by naked eye within 10 s. D1 can not only detect levels of hypochlorite in vitro, such as in urine, but is also capable of monitoring hypochlorite content under extremely cold conditions, as low as -78 °C. Meanwhile, its good biocompatibility permitted the use of D1 to detect intracellular ClO - by confocal microscopy. Moreover, D1 was successfully applied to monitor exogenous and endogenous ClO - in zebrafish through fluorescence imaging., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Numerous excellent fluorogenic probes for NO detection based on NO-mediated reactions have been developed. However, some of them still suffer from limitations such as low selectivity, slow response, and a short excitation wavelength (<500 nm). Herein, a novel two-photon fluorogenic probe (XNO1) based on a Schiff base derivative has been reported for the first time. This new mechanism with a Schiff base structure as the specific response moiety towards NO endows the probe with fast responsibility, high selectivity and pH-independent properties. Furthermore, XNO1 has been demonstrated to be lysosome-targeted and to successfully monitor exogenous/endogenous NO in living cells and zebrafishes with one- and two-photon fluorescence imaging.

Background: The rice striped stem borer (SSB), Chilo suppressalis (Walker), is one of the most economically important and destructive rice pests in China. To date, the efficiency of conventional insecticides has decreased greatly because of the development of high resistance. Since the introduction of chlorantraniliprole in 2008, SSB has presented resistance issues., Results: In this study, laboratory resistant strains R1 and R2 [resistance ratio (RR) of 38.8 and 110.4, respectively] were established and a field population HR (RR of 249.6) was collected. Synergist assessment and enzyme activity data suggested the potential involvement of P450s and esterases in the resistance mechanism. No target (ryanodine receptor, RyR) mutation was found in R1, but a novel mutation Y4667D was found in R2. At the same position of RyR in HR strain, Y4667D and Y4667C were observed at low frequencies. In addition, the conserved mutation I4758M was found with a frequency of 94.4%. RyR mRNA expression was significantly lower in R1, R2 and HR than in S. When treated with chlorantraniliprole, RyR mRNA expression in all four strains was downregulated to ∼ 50%., Conclusions: A comprehensive analysis, including biochemical, target mutations and target mRNA expression, was conducted in an attempt to interpret the chlorantraniliprole resistance mechanism in both laboratory and field SSB strains. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The intrinsic haemolysis of an amyloid-β (Aβ) N-terminal targeting gramicidin S derivative was successfully dissociated from its Aβ oligomer-preventing activities via Ala-scanning-based regulation of molecular amphiphilicity. The representative analogue DGR-7 shows low toxicity but significant efficiency in preventing Aβ oligomers and reducing amyloid plaques in APP/PS1 transgenic AD mice.

Major limitations of chalcones as clinical anticancer agents are water insolubility and poor bioavailability, which may be improved by a classic phosphate prodrug strategy that targets non-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP) for releasing the parent drug in vivo. In this study, we found that BOC26P, a phosphate prodrug of chalcone OC26, exhibits excellent water solubility and improved plasma concentration in vivo by either i.v. or p.o. compared with the parent drug. In pace with decreased inhibitory activity of BOC26P against microtubule polymerization in vitro and in cells, the antiproliferative activity of BOC26P is attenuated in A549 and HLF cells. However, the antitumor effect of BOC26P increases in an A549 xenograft model as compared to the equimolar concentration of OC26, suggesting that complex tumor microenvironment would be another important influence factor to regulate the antitumor activity of BOC26Pin vivo. In conclusion, these observations showed that the traditional phosphate prodrug strategy would be a promising and easy method to increase water solubility and anticancer activity of chalcones for the clinical developments of anticancer agents., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The proteasomal 19S regulatory particle (RP) associated deubiquitinases (DUBs) have attracted much attention owing to their potential as a therapeutic target for cancer therapy. Identification of new entities against 19S RP associated DUBs and illustration of the underlying mechanisms is crucial for discovery of novel proteasome blockers. In this study, a series of 4-arylidene curcumin analogues were identified as potent proteasome inhibitor by preferentially blocking deubiquitinase function of proteasomal 19S RP with moderate 20S CP inhibition. The most active compound 33 exhibited a major inhibitory effect on 19S RP-associated ubiquitin-specific proteases 14, along with a minor effect on ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 5, which resulted in dysfunction of proteasome, and subsequently accumulated ubiquitinated proteins (such as IκB) in several cancer cells. Remarkably, though both 19S RP and 20S CP inhibition induced significantly endoplasmic reticulum stress and triggered caspase-12/9 pathway activation to promote cancer cell apoptosis, the 19S RP inhibition by 33 avoided slow onset time, Bcl-2 overexpression, and PERK-phosphorylation, which contribute to the deficiencies of clinical drug Bortezomib. These systematic studies provided insights in the development of novel proteasome inhibitors for cancer treatment., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Elimination of amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers remains challenging. We describe here a novel strategy to prevent and eliminate the Aβ oligomers from either the early aggregation or the fibril dissolution pathway by targeting the flexible N-terminus, but not the widely investigated hydrophobic segment, with a rationally designed cyclopeptide.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a versatile and powerful spectroscopic technique for substance analysis and detection. So far, the highest detection sensitivities have been realized on noble nanostructure substrates, which, however, are costly, unstable, and non-biocompatible. While semiconductor substrates could in principle be used, existing realizations have either resulted in substrates with low sensitivities or used methods that have poor technical control. Here we report a general and versatile method, based on ion irradiation and vacuum annealing, for fabricating large-scale reduced semiconducting oxide SERS substrates with high sensitivities. The SERS enhancement mainly stems from oxygen vacancy-associated electronic states created by the ion irradiation of sample; these states enhance the charge-transfer (CT) mechanism between the oxide substrate and the adsorbed molecules and thus significantly magnify SERS signals. The improved carrier mobility by vacuum annealing and the introduction of impurity energy levels and nanostructures enhances further the CT efficiency. A detection limit as low as 5 × 10 -8 M was achieved; this is the highest sensitivity among the reported semiconductors, and it even compares to noble metals without the aid of "hot spots". The method is general-we demonstrate it on WO 3 , ZnO, and TiO 2 substrates using Ar + and N + ion beam irradiation-and broadly applicable to produce noble-metal-free SERS substrates with high sensitivities.

Amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers are causative agents triggering AD pathogenesis, but their elimination remains challenging. We herein reported a natural cyclopeptide tyrocidine A prevents and reverses amyloidogenesis without Aβ oligomer accumulation by stabilizing the monomeric, but not the oligomeric state of Aβ peptides.

Fractalkine/CX3CL1, also called neurotactin, has been described as an angiogenic agent, and its expression is up-regulated in the penumbra after ischemia. This study was conducted to investigate the neovascular potential of fractalkine on rat models of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Rats receiving intracerebroventricular injections of fractalkine were found to have improved neurological deficits, reduced cerebral infarct size and increased neuron survival for both doses (100ng and 1μg). Fractalkine exerted angiogenic effects that showed dose-dependent higher vascular densities in the peri-infarct area. Furthermore, exogenous fractalkine increased the proliferation of endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner and enhanced the migration of endothelial progenitor cells at the higher dose (1μg) in ischemic penumbra. In conclusion, intracerebroventricular administration of fractalkine reduces ischemic damage by promoting neuroprotection and by inducing endothelial cell proliferation and endothelial progenitor cell migration, thereby enhancing neovascularization in the peri-infarct region., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)