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The rapid start-up and granulation of a single-stage partial nitritation anammox granular sludge (PN/AnGS) system under limited seed sludge conditions is crucial for its practical application. This study proposed an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) - based strategy, enhanced the enrichment of anammox bacteria (AnAOB), and shortened the start-up time of PN/AnGS system by 20.5%. In addition, the inoculation of AGS can ensure the stable operation of the system during the selective sludge discharge to washout the flocs. Microbial community structure, particle size distribution, morphology results showed that niche shift was the key to promote the enrichment of AnAOB, and AGS played a decisive role in the particle characteristics of PN/AnGS. Since AGS can be directly obtained from full-scale AGS wastewater treatment plants, integrating PN/AnGS with AGS processes can transition wastewater treatment from a "linear economy" to a "circular economy", enhancing nitrogen removal efficiency and delivering significant economic and environmental benefits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: We investigated the associations between IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE levels and all-cause mortality risk in Chinese centenarians., Methods: All participants were from the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study. Eligible participants were divided into quartiles based on their IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE levels. We used restricted cubic spline analyses, Cox regression analyses, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves to analyze associations between IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE and all-cause mortality risk., Results: A total of 906 centenarian participants were included in this study (81.2% female; median age, 102 years). During a median follow-up of 30.1 months, 838 (92.5%) participants died. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a nonlinear relationship ("L" type) between serum IgM level and all-cause mortality. Compared with the higher three quartiles of serum IgM level, the lowest quartile was associated with a higher risk of death (Q1 versus Q2-Q4: HR, 1.365; 95% CI, 1.166-1.598; P < 0.001). Among individuals for whom IgM < 0.708 g/L (Q1), the risk of all-cause mortality was 36.5% higher. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that centenarians with lower serum IgM levels had significantly shorter median survival time (Q1 versus Q2-Q4: 26 months versus 32 months, log-rank P = 0.001)., Conclusion: Serum IgM levels in centenarians significantly correlated with the risk of death, suggesting that they are suitable for predicting the overall risk of death in centenarians and can be used as an independent predictor of death., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Water and salt conditions are key factors influencing vegetation growth on shell island in the Yellow River Delta. However, the effects of the depth of underground brine on the photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant system of halophytes remain unclear., Methods: The laboratory simulation experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of the changes of underground brine depth on Suaeda salsa using four levels of groundwater: 0 cm, 15 cm, 30 cm and 45 cm., Results: The results showed that different underground brine depths had significant impacts on the photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant system of S. salsa , and 0-30 cm underground brine depth was suitable for S. salsa growth. The net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs), light utilization efficiency (LUE) and carboxylation efficiency (CE) of S. salsa increased first and then decreased with increasing depth of underground brine. The stomatal limitation value (Ls) and WUE of S. salsa reached the peak value at the groundwater depth of 0 cm, and water use efficiency was reduced by 19.4%, 8.0% and 8.6% at 15 cm, 30 cm, and 45 cm, respectively, compared to the 0 cm treatment. With the deepening of underground brine depth, the value of LUE and CE firstly increased and then decreased, and reached the peak value when the depth was 30 cm. The antioxidant enzyme (SOD, POD and CAT) activities of S. salsa decreased and then increased with the increase of underground brine depth. The enzyme activities were the lowest when the underground brine depth was 30 cm. As the groundwater depth increased, MDA content decreased and then increased. The highest degree of membrane peroxidation in S. salsa leaves was observed at the depth of 45 cm., Discussion: Our study reveals that the antioxidant capacity of S. salsa was weakened at the underground brine depth of 45 cm and the growth of S. salsa was inhibited., 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 Wang, Xu, Zhang, Fu, Li and Sun.)

Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), an extensively utilized photoresist developer, is frequently present in ammonium-rich wastewater from semiconductor manufacturing, and its substantial ecotoxicity should not be underestimated. This study systematically investigated the effects of TMAH on the anammox granular sludge (AnGS) system and elucidated its inhibitory mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the median inhibitory concentration of TMAH for anammox was 84.85 mg/L. The nitrogen removal performance of the system was significantly decreased after long-term exposure to TMAH (0-200 mg/L) for 30 days (p < 0.05), but it showed adaptability to certain concentrations (≤50 mg/L). Concurrently, the stability of the granules decreased dramatically, resulting in the breakdown of AnGS. Further investigations indicated that TMAH exposure increased the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances but weakened their defense function. The increase in reactive oxygen species resulted in damage to the cell membrane. Reduced activity of anammox bacteria, impeded electron transfer, and changes in enzyme activity suggested that TMAH affected the metabolic activity. Microbiological analysis revealed that TMAH caused a decrease in the abundance of anammox bacteria and a weakening of symbiotic interactions within the microbial community. These results provide valuable guidance for the AnGS system application in chip wastewater treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

With the increasing presence of nanoplastics (NPs) in the human bloodstream, it is urgent to investigate their tissue accumulation and potential health risks. This study examines the effects of the size and surface charges of polystyrene (PS) NPs on lung accumulation. Using magnetic separation, we identified the protein corona composition on iron-core PS NPs, revealing the enrichment of vitronectin and fibrinogen. The corona promotes integrin α IIb β 3 receptor-mediated uptake by lung endothelial cells, explaining that both the corona composition and protein structure determine preferred localization of negatively charged PS NPs in the lung. This study uncovers the role of protein corona in NP uptake and the way NPs enter the lung, emphasizing the need to consider interactions between nanoplastics with varying surface characteristics and biological molecules in the nanotoxicological field.

Interference colors hold significant importance in optics and arts. Current methods for printing interference colors entail complex procedures and large-scale printing systems for the scarcity of inks that exhibit both sensitivity and tunability to external fields. The production of highly transparent inks capable of rendering transmissive colors has presented ongoing challenges. Here, a type of paramagnetic ink based on 2D materials that exhibit polychrome in one magnetic field is invented. By precisely manipulating the doping ratio of magnetic elements within titanate nanosheets, the magneto-optical sensitivity named Cotton-Mouton coefficient is engineerable from 728 to a record high value of 3272 m -1 T -2 , with negligible influence on its intrinsic wide optical bandgap. Combined with the sensitive and controllable magneto-responsiveness of the ink, modulate and non-invasively print transmissive interference colors using small permanent magnets are precised. This work paves the way for preparing transmissive interference colors in an energy-saving and damage-free manner, which can expand its use in widespread areas., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: While the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on depression is well-documented, how ACEs, physical violence victimization, social support, and school belongingness altogether shape depression from adolescence to young adulthood remains unclear. This study aims to clarify these relations by tracing the trajectory of depression across this critical developmental period., Methods: We utilized a 14-year, four-wave dataset from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), including 5734 participants who were 7th to 12th graders at baseline (51.4 % females). Latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) was used to analyze the trajectory of depression from adolescence to young adulthood, assessing the impact of ACEs, physical violence victimization, social support, and school belongingness on this progression., Results: Results from the LGCM indicated that childhood maltreatment and physical violence victimization were positively associated with an increase in depression from adolescence to young adulthood. Conversely, social support and school belongingness showed a negative association with depression, indicating their protective effects over time. Gender was found to moderate these longitudinal associations, with females showing increased vulnerability to the negative relations between early stressful environments (i.e., childhood maltreatment and physical violence victimization) and depression. Conversely, they seemed to benefit more from school belongingness and social support in mitigating depression., Limitations: The study variables were all self-reported and exhibited some issues with reliability., Conclusion: Practitioners should implement gender-specific programs for the prevention and intervention of depression from adolescence through young adulthood., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs), known for their low energy consumption, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness, have been widely utilized for removing antibiotics from wastewater. Compared to conventional wastewater treatment methods, MFCs produce less sludge while exhibiting superior antibiotic removal capacity, effectively reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study investigates 1) the mechanisms of ARGs generation and proliferation in MFCs; 2) the influencing factors on the fate and removal of antibiotics and ARGs; and 3) the fate and mitigation of ARGs in MFC and MFC-coupled systems. It is indicated that high removal efficiency of antibiotics and minimal amount of sludge production contribute the mitigation of ARGs in MFCs. Influencing factors, such as cathode potential, electrode materials, salinity, initial antibiotic concentration, and additional additives, can lead to the selection of tolerant microbial communities, thereby affecting the abundance of ARGs carried by various microbial hosts. Integrating MFCs with other wastewater treatment systems can synergistically enhance their performance, thereby improving the overall removal efficiency of ARGs. Moreover, challenges and future directions for mitigating the spread of ARGs using MFCs are suggested., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The widespread use of plastic products in daily life has raised concerns about the health hazards associated with nanoplastics (NPs). When exposed, NPs are likely to infiltrate the bloodstream, interact with plasma proteins, and trigger macrophage recognition and clearance. In this study, we focused on establishing a correlation between the unique protein coronal signatures of high-density (HDPE) and low-density (LDPE) polyethylene (PE) NPs with their ultimate impact on macrophage recognition and cytotoxicity. We observed that low-density and high-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLR and SR-B1), facilitated by apolipoproteins, played an essential role in PE-NP recognition. Consequently, PE-NPs activated the caspase-3/GSDME pathway and ultimately led to pyroptosis. Advanced imaging techniques, including label-free scattered light confocal imaging and cryo-soft X-ray transmission microscopy with 3D-tomographic reconstruction (nano-CT), provided powerful insights into visualizing NPs-cell interactions. These findings underscore the potential risks of NPs to macrophages and introduce analytical methods for studying the behavior of NPs in biological systems.

Spatial transcriptomics has revolutionized our understanding of cellular network dynamics in aging and disease by enabling the mapping of molecular and cellular organization across various anatomical locations. Despite these advances, current methods face significant challenges in throughput and cost, limiting their utility for comprehensive studies. To address these limitations, we introduce IRISeq (Imaging Reconstruction using Indexed Sequencing), a optics-free spatial transcriptomics platform that eliminates the need for predefined capture arrays or extensive imaging, allowing for the rapid and cost-effective processing of multiple tissue sections simultaneously. Its capacity to reconstruct images based solely on sequencing local DNA interactions allows for profiling of tissues without size constraints and across varied resolutions. Applying IRISeq , we examined gene expression and cellular dynamics in thirty brain regions of both adult and aged mice, uncovering region-specific changes in gene expression associated with aging. Further cell type-centric analysis further identified age-related cell subtypes and intricate changes in cell interactions that are distinct to certain spatial niches, emphasizing the unique aspects of aging in different brain regions. The affordability and simplicity of IRISeq position it as a versatile tool for mapping region-specific gene expression and cellular interactions across various biological systems.

Due to increasing anthropogenic perturbation and water eutrophication, cyanobacterial blooms (CYBs) have become a global ecological and environmental problem. Toxic CYBs and elevated pH are considered to be the two key stressors associated with eutrophication in natural waters, particularly in the event of CO 2 depletion induced by dense blooms. However, previous research has been focused on investigating the impacts of toxic CYBs or pH changes in isolation, whereas the interactive effects of such stressors on edible bivalves that inhabit CYB waters still lack information. In this study, the combined effects of toxic Microcystis aeruginosa and pH shifts on the antioxidant responses, immune responses, and apoptosis of the edible freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea were explored. The results showed that the activity of antioxidant enzymes was significantly impacted by the interactive effects between toxic M. aeruginosa exposure and time course, yet pH shifts showed no significant effects on the activities of these antioxidant enzymes, implying that the antioxidant response in C. fluminea was mainly triggered by toxic M. aeruginosa exposure. Toxic M. aeruginosa also induced an increased production of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde in treated clams, particularly under high pH settings. The elevated lysosomal enzyme activity helped C. fluminea defend against toxic M. aeruginosa exposure under high pH conditions. The principal component analysis (PCA) and the integrated biomarker response (IBR) results suggested that the treated clams were subjected to the elevated toxicity of toxic M. aeruginosa in conditions of high pH. The heat shock proteins-related genes might be triggered to resist the oxidative damage in treated clams. Moreover, the upregulation of TNF and casp8 genes indicated the potential activation of the caspase8-mediated apoptotic pathway through TNF receptor interaction, potentially resulting in apoptosis. The TUNEL assay results further confirmed that apoptosis appeared in treated clams. These findings improve our understanding of the combined toxicological effects of harmful algae and pH shifts on bivalves, which will provide insights into a comprehensive ecological risk assessment of toxic CYBs to edible bivalve species., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To improve detection efficiency and reduce cost consumption in fishery surveys, target detection methods based on computer vision have become a new method for fishery resource surveys. However, the specialty and complexity of underwater photography result in low detection accuracy, limiting its use in fishery resource surveys. To solve these problems, this study proposed an accurate method named BSSFISH-YOLOv8 for fish detection in natural underwater environments. First, replacing the original convolutional module with the SPD-Conv module allows the model to lose less fine-grained information. Next, the backbone network is supplemented with a dynamic sparse attention technique, BiFormer, which enhances the model's attention to crucial information in the input features while also optimizing detection efficiency. Finally, adding a 160 × 160 small target detection layer (STDL) improves sensitivity for smaller targets. The model scored 88.3% and 58.3% in the two indicators of mAP@50 and mAP@50:95, respectively, which is 2.0% and 3.3% higher than the YOLOv8n model. The results of this research can be applied to fishery resource surveys, reducing measurement costs, improving detection efficiency, and bringing environmental and economic benefits.

Human activities have increased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs to the Yellow River Delta and the supply level of N and P affects plant growth as well as ecosystem structure and function directly. However, the root growth, stoichiometry, and antioxidant system of plants in response to N and P additions, especially for herbaceous halophyte in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), remain unknown. A field experiment with N addition (0, 5, 15, and 45 g N m -2 yr -1 , respectively) as the main plot, and P addition (0 and 1 g N m -2 yr -1 , respectively) as the subplot, was carried out with a split-plot design to investigate the effects on the root morphology, stoichiometry, and antioxidant system of Suaeda salsa . The results showed that N addition significantly increased the above-ground and root biomass as well as shoot-root ratio of S. salsa , which had a significant interaction with P addition. The highest biomass was found in the treatment with 45 g N m -2 yr -1 combined with P addition. N addition significantly increased TN content and decreased C:N ratio of root, while P addition significantly increased TP content and decreased C:P ratio. The main root length (MRL), total root length (TRL), specific root length (SRL), and root tissue density (RTD) of S. salsa root were significantly affected by N addition and P addition, as well as their interaction. The treatments with or without P addition at the 45 g N m -2 yr -1 of N addition significantly increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) activities and soluble protein content of roots, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content. And there was a significant interaction between the N and P addition on SOD activity. Therefore, N and P additions could improve the growth of S. salsa by altering the root morphology, increasing the root nutrient content, and stimulating antioxidant system., 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 Ma, Xin, Cao, Zhao, Zhang, Zhang, Fu and Sun.)

Aging-associated renal dysfunction promotes the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction in renal tubular epithelial cells is a hallmark of senescence and leads to accelerated progression of renal disorders. Dysregulated calcium profiles in mitochondria contribute to aging-associated disorders, but the detailed mechanism of this process is not clear. In this study, modulation of the sirtuin 1/angiotensin II type 1 receptor (Sirt1/AT1R) pathway partially attenuated renal glomerular sclerosis, tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis in D-galactose (D-gal)-induced accelerated aging mice. Moreover, modulation of the Sirt1/AT1R pathway improved mitochondrial dysfunction induced by D-gal treatment. Transient receptor potential channel, subtype C, member 3 (TRPC3) upregulation mediated dysregulated cellular and mitochondrial calcium homeostasis during aging. Furthermore, knockdown or knockout (KO) of Trpc3 in mice ameliorated D-gal-induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, membrane potential deterioration, and energy metabolism disorder. Mechanistically, activation of the AT1R/PKA pathway promoted CREB phosphorylation and nucleation of CRE2 binding to the Trpc3 promoter (-1659 to -1648 bp) to enhance transcription. Trpc3 KO significantly improved the renal disorder and cell senescence in D-gal-induced mice. Taken together, these results indicate that TRPC3 upregulation mediates age-related renal disorder and is associated with mitochondrial calcium overload and dysfunction. TRPC3 is a promising therapeutic target for aging-associated renal disorders., (© 2024 The Authors. Aging Cell published by Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Achieving light modulation in the spectral range of 200-280 nm is a prerequisite for solar-blind ultraviolet communication, where current technologies are mainly based on the electro-luminescent self-modulation of the ultraviolet source. External light modulation through the electro-birefringence control of liquid crystal (LC) devices has shown success in the visible-to-infrared regions. However, the poor stability of conventional LCs against ultraviolet irradiation and their weak electro-optical response make it challenging to modulate ultraviolet light. Here, an external ultraviolet light modulator is demonstrated using two-dimensional boron nitride LC. It exhibits robust ultraviolet stability and a record-high specific electro-optical Kerr coefficient of 5.1 × 10⁻ 2 m V -2 , being three orders of magnitude higher than those of other known electro-optical media that are transparent (or potentially transparent) in the ultraviolent spectral range. The sensitive response enables fabricating transmissive and stable ultraviolet-C electro-optical Kerr modulators for solar-blind ultraviolet light. An M-ary coding array with high transmission density is also demonstrated for solar-blind ultraviolet communication., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Soil microbial community composition and diversity are often affected by nutrient enrichment, which may influence soil microbes to affect nutrient cycling and plant community structure. However, the response of soil bacteria to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition and whether it is influenced by plants remains unclear. By 16S rRNA sequencing, we investigated the response of the rhizosphere and bulk soil bacterial communities of different halophytes (salt-rejecting, salt-absorbing, and salt-secreting plant) in the Yellow River Delta to short-term N and P addition. The response of rhizosphere bacterial diversity to N and P addition was opposite in Phragmites communis and Suaeda salsa . N addition increased the rhizosphere soil bacterial α-diversity of S. salsa and Aeluropus sinensis , while P addition decreased the rhizosphere bacterial α-diversity bacteria of S. salsa . The N and P addition had a weak effect on the rhizosphere bacterial community composition and a significant effect on the bulk soil bacterial community composition of halophytes. The S. salsa and P. communis bulk soil bacterial community were mainly influenced by P addition, while it was influenced by N addition in A. sinensis . N and P addition reduced the difference in bacterial community composition between the two types of soil. N and P addition increased the eutrophic taxa ( Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes ) and decreased the oligotrophic taxa ( Acidobacteria ). Redundancy analysis showed that soil organic matter, salt, and total N content had significant effects on the bacterial community composition. The results clarify that the response of soil bacterial communities to N and P additions is inconsistent across the three halophyte soils, and the effect of plant species on the bacterial community was stronger than short-term N and P addition., Importance: The bulk soil bacterial community was more affected by nutrient addition. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have different effects on bacterial community. Soil organic matter is a key factor influencing the response of bacterial community to nutrient addition. N and P influence on bacterial community changes with plants., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

As a clean, sustainable and efficient technology of wastewater treatment, ultrasonic irradiation has gained special attention in wastewater treatment. It has been widely studied for degrading pollutants and enhancing biological treatment processes for wastewater treatment. This review focuses on the mechanism and updated information of ultrasonic technology to enhance biological treatment of wastewater. The mechanism involved in improving biological treatment by ultrasonic includes: 1) degradation of refractory substances and release carbon from sludges, 2) promotion of mass transfer and change of cell permeability, 3) facilitation of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and 4) influence of cell growth. Based on the above discussion, the effects of ultrasound on the enhancement of wastewater biological treatment processes can be categorized into indirect and direct ways. The indirect effect of ultrasonic waves in enhancing biological treatment is mainly achieved through the use of high-intensity ultrasonic waves. These waves can be used as a pretreatment to improve biodegradability of the wastewater. Moreover, the ultrasonic-treated sludge or its supernatant can serve as a carbon source for the treatment system. Low-intensity ultrasound is often employed to directly enhance the biological treatment of wastewater. The propose of this process is to improve activated sludge, domesticate polyphosphate-accumulating organisms, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and anammox bacteria, and achieve speedy start-up of partial nitrification and anammox. It has shown remarkable effects on maintaining stable operation, tolerating adverse conditions (i.e., low temperature, low C/N, etc.), resisting shock load (i.e., organic load, toxic load, etc.), and collapse recovery. These results indicate a promising future for biological wastewater treatment. Furthermore, virous ultrasonic reactor designs were presented, and their potential for engineering application was discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Sludge is a major by-product and the final reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD), consisting of thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) (55 °C) and mesophilic AD processes (37 °C), has been implemented in WWTPs for sludge reduction while improving the biomethane production. However, the impact of TPAD on the ARGs' fate is still undiscovered in lab-scale experiments and full-scale WWTPs. This study, for the first time, investigated the fate of ARGs during the TPAD process across three seasons in a full-size WWTP. Ten typical ARGs and one integrase gene of class 1 integron (intI1) involving ARGs horizontal gene transfer were examined in sludge before and after each step of the TPAD process. TPAD reduced aac(6')-Ib-cr, blaTEM, drfA1, sul1, sul2, ermb, mefA, tetA, tetB and tetX by 87.3-100.0 %. TPAD reduced the overall average absolute abundance of targeted ARGs and intI1 by 92.39 % and 92.50 %, respectively. The abundance of targeted ARGs in sludge was higher in winter than in summer and autumn before and after TPAD. During the TPAD processes, thermophilic AD played a major role in the removal of ARGs, contributing to >60 % removal of ARGs, while the subsequent mesophilic AD contributed to a further 31 % removal of ARGs. The microbial community analysis revealed that thermophilic AD reduced the absolute abundance of ARGs hosts, antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition, thermophilic AD reduced the abundance of the intI1, while the intI1 did not reproduce during the mesophilic AD, also contributing to a decline in the absolute abundance of ARGs in TPAD. This study demonstrates that TPAD can effectively reduce the abundance of ARGs in sludge, which will suppress the transmission of ARGs from sludge into the natural environment and deliver environmental and health benefits to our society., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An ultralight 3D carbon fiber aerogel with good flexibility is developed via soaking cotton in water and then calcinating at a high temperature. This cotton-derived carbon material is constituted by amorphous carbon and retains slight oxygen-containing groups. Besides, a lot of hollow carbon nanocapsules are yielded on the inside surface, resulting in abundant micropores and mesopores. Systemic investigations explore the molecular transformation from cotton to carbon fiber, and the formation of carbon nanocapsules. In the adsorption process for methyl orange (MO), this carbon fiber aerogel exhibits both a rapid adsorption rate and the ultrahigh adsorbability of 862.9 mg/g, outclassing most of carbon materials reported. Therefore, a dynamic sewage treatment system is built and consecutively removes hydrosoluble pollution for a long-term running time. For the cotton-derived carbon fiber aerogel, the good mechanical flexibility, excellent adsorption property, and high stability jointly provide a vast application prospect in future industrial wastewater remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Electro-optical effect-based liquid crystal devices have been extensively used in optical modulation techniques, in which the Kerr coefficient reflects the sensitivity of the liquid crystals and determines the strength of the device's operational electric field. The Peterlin-Stuart theory and the O'Konski model jointly indicate that a giant Kerr coefficient could be obtained in a material with both a large geometrical anisotropy and an intrinsic polarization, but such a material is not yet reported. Here we reveal a ferroelectric effect in a monolayer two-dimensional mineral vermiculite. A large geometrical anisotropy factor and a large inherent electric dipole together raise the record value of Kerr coefficient by an order of magnitude, till 3.0 × 10 -4  m V -2 . This finding enables an ultra-low operational electric field of 10 2 -10 4  V m -1 and the fabrication of electro-optical devices with an inch-level electrode separation, which has not previously been practical. Because of its high ultraviolet stability (decay <1% under ultraviolet exposure for 1000 hours), large-scale production, and energy efficiency, prototypical displayable billboards have been fabricated for outdoor interactive scenes. This work provides new insights for both liquid crystal optics and two-dimensional ferroelectrics., Competing Interests: Z.H., Z.Z., B.D. and B.L. are inventors of two patents related to this work. These patents are held by Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.)

Addressing per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination is an urgent environmental concern. While most research has focused on PFAS contamination in water matrices, comparatively little attention has been given to sludge, a significant by-product of wastewater treatment. This critical review presents the latest information on emission sources, global distribution, international regulations, analytical methods, and remediation technologies for PFAS in sludge and biosolids from wastewater treatment plants. PFAS concentrations in sludge matrices are typically in hundreds of ng/g dry weight (dw) in developed countries but are rarely reported in developing and least-developed countries due to the limited analytical capability. In comparison to water samples, efficient extraction and cleaning procedures are crucial for PFAS detection in sludge samples. While regulations on PFAS have mainly focused on soil due to biosolids reuse, only two countries have set limits on PFAS in sludge or biosolids with a maximum of 100 ng/g dw for major PFAS. Biological technologies using microbes and enzymes present in sludge are considered as having high potential for PFAS remediation, as they are eco-friendly, low-cost, and promising. By contrast, physical/chemical methods are either energy-intensive or linked to further challenges with PFAS contamination and disposal. The findings of this review deepen our comprehension of PFAS in sludge and have guided future research recommendations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the impressive merits of gel electrolytes for aqueous Zn-ion batteries, it remains a significant challenge to design and develop the gel electrolyte with high ionic conductivity, excellent dimensional stability, and long cycle life. Herein, a composite electrolyte (PTP) with thermolastic polyurethane -poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)  nanofiber-reinforced polyvinyl alcohol gel strategy is proposed for highly reversible Zn plating/stripping. Mechanically robust and ultrathin PTP contains functional groups for building ion migration channels and immobilizing water molecules, which accelerates Zn 2+ migration and mitigates water-related side reactions. Thus, the Zn anodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance involving high cycling stability (6500 h at 5 mA cm -2 , 5 mA h cm -2 ) and achieving an exceptional cumulative capacity of more than 16 000 mA h cm -2 . This enhancement is well maintained when combined with MnO 2 cathode. This work provides a reasonable solution for stabilizing Zn anodes and also provides new ideas for the modification of nanofiber-reinforced gel electrolytes., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

To address the toxicity and stability issues of traditional lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the development of lead-free PSCs, such as Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 solar cells, is of great significance. However, due to the low defect formation energy of Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 , a large number of vacancies, including A-site vacancies and X-site vacancies, form during the fabrication process of the Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 film, which seriously damage the performance of the devices. The traditional phenylethylammonium (PEA) cation, mainly focusing on passivating A-site vacancies, is incapable of reducing X-site vacancies and so results in a limited performance improvement in Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 solar cells. Herein, inspired by the capability of the Lewis base to coordinate with metal cations, a series of N-heterocyclic amines are introduced to serve as a dual-site passivator, reducing A-site and X-site vacancies at the same time. The highest power conversion efficiency of modified Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 solar cells has been increased 36% from 1.10 to 1.50%. Further investigation reveals that the higher electron density of additives would lead to a stronger interaction with metal cations like Ag + and Bi 3+ , thus reducing more X-site defects and improving carrier dynamics. Our work provides a strategy for passivating perovskite with various kinds of defects and reveals the connection between the coordination capability of additives and device performance enhancement, which could be instructive in improving the performance of lead-free PSCs.

Aims: To thoroughly evaluate the quality of the entire process of neonatal screening (NBS) in China., Methods: We collected survey questionnaires from 54.4% (135/248) of NBS institutions in China and conducted on-site visits to 20 of these facilities to validate the data. The quality performance of the institutions was evaluated, and differences across various factors were analysed., Results: Merely 62.5% of the provinces had acceptable performance in neonatal screening. Institutions with limited staff were more prone to organizational management shortcomings. Institutions in provinces with a per capita GDP below 10,000 USD exhibited lower quality control levels than those with a per capita GDP between 10,000 and 15,000 USD. Obstetrics departments have a lower awareness of quality control compared to other blood collection facilities., Conclusions: A nationwide, comprehensive quality control system for continuous enhancements in quality management, screening, diagnosis, and treatment is imperative to ensure prompt diagnosis and intervention., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In this work, the LiTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 (LTP) flakes have been prepared by employing a template method for lithium-ion batteries with high capacity. The 2D layered structure of LTP offers large aspect ratio and rich active sites, which not only create the large contact area between the electrolyte and electrode, but also promote the diffusion kinetics of Li + . As a result, the Li + diffusion coefficient of lamellar LTP anode is 3.12 × 10 -8  cm 2  s -1 , while it is only 5.01 × 10 -10  cm 2  s -1 for granular LTP anode. Further, the lamellar LTP anode delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 986.8 mAh·g -1  at 0.1 A g -1 , and remains at 231.1 mAh·g -1 after 100 cycles, which is higher than that of the granular LTP anode (340.5 mAh·g -1  at 1 st cycle, 169.3 mAh·g -1  at 100 th cycles). Thus, the lamellar LTP should be recommended as a potential anode for high-performance LIBs due to the fast charge-discharge performance and superior cycling stability., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Conventional methods fall short in unraveling the dynamics of rare cell types related to aging and diseases. Here we introduce EasySci, an advanced single-cell combinatorial indexing strategy for exploring age-dependent cellular dynamics in the mammalian brain. Profiling approximately 1.5 million single-cell transcriptomes and 400,000 chromatin accessibility profiles across diverse mouse brains, we identified over 300 cell subtypes, uncovering their molecular characteristics and spatial locations. This comprehensive view elucidates rare cell types expanded or depleted upon aging. We also investigated cell-type-specific responses to genetic alterations linked to Alzheimer's disease, identifying associated rare cell types. Additionally, by profiling 118,240 human brain single-cell transcriptomes, we discerned cell- and region-specific transcriptomic changes tied to Alzheimer's pathogenesis. In conclusion, this research offers a valuable resource for probing cell-type-specific dynamics in both normal and pathological aging., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Constructing nanostructures with high structural stability and ultrafast electrochemical reaction kinetics as anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) is a big challenge. Herein, the robust 2D VS 2 / Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanostructures with the strong Ti─S covalent bond synthesized by a one-pot self-assembly approach are developed. The strong interfacial interaction renders the material of good structural durability and enhanced reaction kinetics. Meanwhile, the enlarged and few-layered MXene nanosheets can be easily obtained according to this interaction, providing a conductive network for sufficient electrolyte penetration and rapid charge transfer. As predicted, the VS 2 /MXene nanostructures exhibit an extremely low sodium diffusion barrier confirmed by DFT calculations and small charge transfer impedance evidenced by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. Therefore, the SIBs based on the VS 2 /MXene electrode present first-class electrochemical performance with the ultrahigh average initial columbic efficiency of 95.08% and excellent sodium-ion storage capacity of 424.6 mAh g -1 even at 10 A g -1 . It also shows an outstanding sodium-ion storage capacity of 514.2 mAh g -1 at 1 A g -1 with a capacity retention of nearly 100% within 500 times high-rate cycling. Such impressive performance demonstrates the successful synthesis strategy and the great potential of interfacial interactions for high-performance energy storage devices., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Cyanobacterial blooms (CYBs) have become a global environmental issue, posing risks to edible bivalves. Toxic cyanobacteria and thermal stress represent the two key co-occurring stressors to bivalves experiencing CYBs. To investigate the combined effects of these stressors on the edible bivalve Corbicula fluminea , the responses to oxidative stress and the molecular mechanisms of physiological adaptations in C . fluminea were examined under co-exposure to toxic Microcystis aeruginosa and thermal stress. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, including GST, SOD, CAT, GPx and GR, was significantly influenced by the interaction between temperature and M. aeruginosa ( p < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between toxic M. aeruginosa exposure and elevated SOD and GPx activities at 30 °C, demonstrating that SOD and GPx may help C. fluminea defend effectively against MCs under thermal stress. Furthermore, significant interactive effects between toxic M. aeruginosa and temperature were also observed in ROS and MDA ( p < 0.05). The results of the PCA and IBR index also evidenced the apparent influence of toxic M. aeruginosa and thermal stress on oxidative stress responses of C. fluminea . The eggNOG and GO annotations confirmed that a substantial portion of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) exhibited associations with responses to oxidative stress and transporter activity. Additionally, KEGG analysis revealed that abundant DEGs were involved in pathways related to inflammatory responses, immune functions and metabolic functions. These findings improve our understanding of the mechanism of the physiological adaptation in bivalves in response to cyanotoxins under thermal conditions, potentially enabling the evaluation of the viability of using bivalves as a bioremediation tool to manage CYBs in eutrophic waters.

Progenitor cells are critical in preserving organismal homeostasis, yet their diversity and dynamics in the aged brain remain underexplored. We introduced TrackerSci, a single-cell genomic method that combines newborn cell labeling and combinatorial indexing to characterize the transcriptome and chromatin landscape of proliferating progenitor cells in vivo. Using TrackerSci, we investigated the dynamics of newborn cells in mouse brains across various ages and in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Our dataset revealed diverse progenitor cell types in the brain and their epigenetic signatures. We further quantified aging-associated shifts in cell-type-specific proliferation and differentiation and deciphered the associated molecular programs. Extending our study to the progenitor cells in the aged human brain, we identified conserved genetic signatures across species and pinpointed region-specific cellular dynamics, such as the reduced oligodendrogenesis in the cerebellum. We anticipate that TrackerSci will be broadly applicable to unveil cell-type-specific temporal dynamics in diverse systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests J.C., W.Z., Z.L., and M.Z. are inventors of patent applications related to TrackerSci., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recently, the multi-level interwoven structured micro/nano fiber membranes with coarse and fine overlaps have attracted lots of attention due to their advantages of high surface roughness, high porosity, good mechanical strength, etc., but their simple and direct preparation methods still need to be developed. Herein, the multi-level structured micro/nano fiber membranes were prepared novelly and directly by a one-step electrospinning technique based on the principle of micro-phase separation caused by polymer incompatibility using polystyrene (PS) and polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (PVDF-HFP) as raw materials. It was found that different spinning fluid parameters and various spinning process parameters will have a significant impact on its morphology and structures. Under certain conditions (the concentration of spinning solution is 18 wt%, the mass ratio of PS to PVDF-HFP is 1:7, the spinning voltage is 30 kV, and the spinning receiving distance is 18 cm), the PS/PVDF-HFP membrane with optimal multi-level structured micro/nano fiber membranes could be obtained, which present an average pore size of 4.38 ± 0.10 μm, a porosity of 78.9 ± 3.5%, and a water contact angle of 145.84 ± 1.70°. The formation mechanism of micro/nano fiber interwoven structures was proposed through conductivity and viscosity tests. In addition, it was initially used as a separation membrane material in membrane distillation, and its performance was preliminarily explored. This paper provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the research and development of an efficient and feasible method for the preparation of multi-level micro/nano fiber membranes.

The chemoselectivity of perakine reductase (PR) was engineered through rational design. We identified Arg127 as a control site of chemoselectivity. Mutation of Arg127 switched the chemoselectivity of PR between CO and CC or led to non-selectivity towards α,β-unsaturated ketones, leading to the production of allylic alcohols, saturated ketones, or a mixture of both. This study provides an example for developing novel reductases for α,β-unsaturated ketones.

The selective oxidation of glycerol holds promise to transform glycerol into value-added chemicals. However, it remains a big challenge to achieve satisfactory selectivity toward the specific product at high conversion due to the multiple reaction pathways. Here, we prepare a hybrid catalyst via supporting Au nanoparticles on CeMnO 3 perovskite with a modest surface area, achieving promoted conversion of glycerol (90.1%) and selectivity of glyceric acid (78.5%), which are much higher than those of CeMnO x solid-solution-supported Au catalysts with larger surface area and other Ce-based or Mn-based Au catalysts. The strong interaction between Au and CeMnO 3 perovskite facilitates the electron transfer from the B-site metal (Mn) in the CeMnO 3 perovskite to Au and stabilizes Au nanoparticles, which results in the enhanced catalytic activity and stability for glycerol oxidation. Valence band photoemission spectral analysis reveals that the uplifted d-band center of Au/CeMnO 3 promotes the adsorption of the glyceraldehyde intermediate on the catalyst surface, which benefits further oxidation of glyceraldehyde into glyceric acid. The flexibility of the perovskite support provides a promising strategy for the rational design of high-performance glycerol oxidation catalysts.

Histone acetylation is one of the most pivotal epigenetic mechanisms in eukaryotes and has been tightly linked to the regulation of various genes controlling growth, development and response to environmental stresses in both animals and plants. Till date, the association of histone acetylation to dehydration stress in red algae and genes encoding the enzymes responsible for histone acetylation: histone acetyltransferases (HATs) or histone deacetylases (HDACs), remains largely unknown. In this study, in silico analysis of the red seaweed Pyropia yezoensis identified 6 HAT genes and 10 HDAC genes. These genes displayed good synteny in genome loci with their Pyropia haitanensis orthologs except for a putative gene duplication event in HDAC and a loss of one HAT gene in P. yezoensis . According to the conserved domains and phylogenetic analysis, they encoded three GCNA5-, one TAFII250- and one MYST-HAT, as well as five HDA1-and five SIRT-HDACs. The sirtuin-domain of Py06502 harbored a ~100 aa insert and interestingly, this insertion was specifically observed in Bangiales species. Two nuclear-localized HATs were transcriptionally up-regulated at the early stage of dehydration and so were two nuclear HDA1s when moderate dehydration started, suggesting their potential roles in modulating downstream gene expression to facilitate dehydration adaptation by changing histone acetylation patterns on relevant regulatory elements. This was experimentally confirmed by the increased decline in photosynthesis efficiency during dehydration when HAT and HDAC activities were inhibited by SAHA and MB-3, respectively. Transcriptional patterns of multiple dehydration-responsive genes after water loss were strongly affected by MB-3 or SAHA treatment. This study provides the first insight into the regulation and function of HAT/HDAC during stress adaptation in red algae., 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 Zhang, Qian, Wang, Pang, Guan, Poetsch and Wang.)

Contamination from cytosolic DNA (plastid and mitochondrion) and epiphytic bacteria is challenging the efficiency and accuracy of genome-wide analysis of nori-producing marine seaweed Pyropia yezoensis . Unlike bacteria and organellar DNA, Pyropia nuclear DNA is closely associated with histone proteins. In this study, we applied Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) of histone H3 to isolate nuclear DNA, followed by high-throughput sequencing. More than 99.41% of ChIP-sequencing data were successfully aligned to the reference nuclear genome; this was remarkably higher than those from direct extraction and direct extraction data, in which 40.96% to 42.95% are from plastids. The proportion of data that were mapped to the bacterial database when using ChIP extraction was very low. Additionally, ChIP data can cover up to 89.00% of the nuclear genome, higher than direct extraction data at equal data size and comparable to the latter at equal sequencing depth. The uncovered regions from the three methods are mostly overlapping, suggesting that incomplete sequencing accounts for the missing data, rather than failed chromatin-antibody binding in the ChIP extraction method. This ChIP extraction method can successfully separate nuclear DNA from cytosolic DNA and bacterial DNA, thus overwhelmingly reducing the sequencing cost in a genome resequencing project and providing strictly purified reference data for genome assembly. The method's applicability to other macroalgae makes it a valuable contribution to the algal research community.

Production of high-value medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) from anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) has been considered as a promising alternative for renewable energy resources. However, the low biodegradability of WAS greatly limits the anaerobic fermentation performance. This study proposed and demonstrated a novel approach, sulfite pretreatment, to efficiently produce MCFAs through anaerobic fermentation of WAS. Pretreatment of WAS at a sulfite concentration of 100-500 mg S/L for 24 h effectively improved the MCFAs production and MCFAs selectivity and the promotion effect was positively correlated with the sulfite concentration used in pretreatment (Pearson's R > 0.9). The maximum MCFAs production of 6.84 g COD/L and MCFAs selectivity of 39.1 % were both achieved under 500 mg S/L sulfite pretreatment, which accounts for 2.6 times and 2.4 times of the control, respectively (MCFAs production of 2.62 g COD/L and MCFAs selectivity of 16.4 % in the control). Sulfite pretreatment also enhanced the WAS degradation from 25 ± 2 % in the control to a maximum of 39 ± 2 % under 500 mg S/L sulfite pretreatment. The electron transfer efficiency and COD flows from the substrate to products were enhanced by up to 25 % due to the sulfite pretreatment, which supports the enhanced WAS degradation. Sulfite pretreatment also promoted the solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification processes during the anaerobic fermentation by up to 200 %, 60 %, and 45 %, respectively, which subsequently makes more substrates available for MCFAs production. The findings from this study provide a potential solution of using industrial sulfite-laden wastes for WAS pretreatment, to enhance the MCFAs production at a minimized cost., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Human activities have increased the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply ratio of the natural ecosystem, which affects the growth of plants and the circulation of soil nutrients. However, the effect of the N and P supply ratio and the effect of plant on the soil microbial community are still unclear., Methods: In this study, 16s rRNA sequencing was used to characterize the response of bacterial communities in Phragmites communis ( P.communis ) rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil to N and P addition ratio., Results: The results showed that the a-diversity of the P.communis rhizosphere soil bacterial community increased with increasing N and P addition ratio, which was caused by the increased salt and microbially available C content by the N and P ratio. N and P addition ratio decreased the pH of non-rhizosphere soil, which consequently decreased the a-diversity of the bacterial community. With increasing N and P addition ratio, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased, while that of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria decreased, which reflected the trophic strategy of the bacterial community. The bacterial community composition of the non-rhizosphere soil was significantly affected by salt, pH and total carbon (TC) content. Salt limited the relative abundance of Actinobacteria , and increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes . The symbiotic network of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community had lower robustness. This is attributed to the greater selective effect of plants on the bacterial community influenced by nutrient addition., Discussion: Plants played a regulatory role in the process of N and P addition affecting the bacterial community, and nutrient uptake by the root system reduced the negative impact of N and P addition on the bacterial community. The variations in the rhizosphere soil bacterial community were mainly caused by the response of the plant to the N and P addition ratio., 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 Zhang, Sun, Li, Shao, Ma and Dong.)

Pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments have been considered as emerging contaminants due to their potential risks to living organisms. Microalgae-based technology showed the feasibility of removing pharmaceutical contaminants. This review summarizes the occurrence, classification, possible emission sources, and environmental risk of frequently detected pharmaceutical compounds in aqueous environments. The efficiency, mechanisms, and influencing factors for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds through microalgae-based technology are further discussed. Pharmaceutical compounds frequently detected in aqueous environments include antibiotics, hormones, analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cardiovascular agents, central nervous system drugs (CNS), antipsychotics, and antidepressants, with a concentration ranging from ng/L to μg/L. Microalgae-based technology majorly remove the pharmaceutical compounds through bioadsorption, bioaccumulation, biodegradation, photodegradation, and co-metabolism. This review identifies the opportunities and challenges for microalgae-based technology and proposed suggestions for future studies to tackle challenges. The findings of this review advance our understanding of the occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous environments, highlighting the potential of microalgae-based technology for pharmaceutical contaminants removal., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The frequent occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms (CYBs) caused by toxic Microcystis aeruginosa poses a great threat to aquatic organisms. Although freshwater benthic bivalves have proven to be capable of uptake high levels of microcystins (MCs) due to their filter-feeding habits, there is a paucity of information concerning their systemic resistance mechanisms to MCs. In this study, the resistance mechanisms in Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774) in response to the exposure of toxic M. aeruginosa were explored through transcriptional analysis combined with histopathological and biochemical phenotypic analysis. Toxic M. aeruginosa exposure caused dose-dependent histological damage in the hepatopancreas. The conjugation reaction catalyzed by glutathione S-transferases was vulnerable to being activated by high concentrations of M. aeruginosa (10 ×10 5 cells mL -1 ). Additionally, reactive oxygen species scavenging processes mediated by superoxide dismutase and catalase were active in the initial stage of toxic M. aeruginosa exposure. The results of the integrated biomarker response index suggested that the biotransformation and antioxidant defense system in C. fluminea could be continuously activated after acute exposure to the high concentration of toxic M. aeruginosa. The eggNOG and GO analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated that DEGs were significantly enriched in transporter activity, oxidant detoxification and response to oxidative stress categories, which were consistent with the alterations of biochemical indices. Besides, DEGs were significantly annotated in a few KEGG pathways involved in biotransformation (oxidation, cooxidation and conjugation) and immunoreaction (lysosome and phagosome responses), which could be responsible for the tolerance of C. fluminea to toxic M. aeruginosa. These findings improve our understanding of potential resistance mechanisms of freshwater bivalves to MCs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Due to the disorderly access to medical care and inefficient use of health resources, the advancement of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment is more valued in promoting health system reform. Hence, this article integrates prospect theory into an evolutionary game model of the local government health departments, the medical institutions, and the patients in the system promotion of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment. The simulation shows the specific influencing mechanism of the psychological perceived value of game subjects. Then by introducing the stochastic evolutionary game model, the system promotion under different medical cultures is also discussed in detail. The results indicate that for local government health departments, the amount and duration of financial subsidies are the key factors influencing the game system's evolution. For medical institutions, participating in the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system is relatively beneficial. For patients, the recovery rate in primary hospitals matters more than the cost of treatment. Changes in the risk sensitivity coefficient will cause the equilibrium of the game system to change. However, changes in the loss avoidance factor do not change the equilibrium and only have an impact on the speed of convergence. With the health departments' intervention, patients in rural medical culture are more inclined to support the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system than those in urban or town medical culture. Therefore, in order to promote the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system, this article recommends that more attention should be paid to the regulatory role of health departments and the participation improvement of medical institutions and patients., 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 Tao, Chen, Zheng, Zhang, Tao, Deng and Xiong.)

Methane production of waste activated sludge (WAS) in anaerobic digestion is hindered due to the rate-limited hydrolysis process and the low methane potential of WAS. Pretreatment of WAS is a common and appealing strategy to improve methane production in anaerobic digestion. In this study, we proposed to use urine, an easily obtained human waste with high ammonium concentration and pH, as a novel pretreatment strategy for anaerobic WAS digestion. Urine pretreatment at levels of 5-30 % (V urine /V urine+WAS ) could substantially enhance methane production by 5-35 % in biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests, with the highest methane production of 179.6 ± 3.3 mL/g volatile solids (VS) achieved under the highest level of urine (i.e. 30 % urine addition). Based on the model analysis, the biochemical methane potential (B 0 ) and hydrolysis rate of WAS (k) rose from 131.9 mL/g VS and 0.19 d -1 in the control without pretreatment to 136.3-178.2 mL/g VS and 0.22-0.30 d -1 , respectively, after the urine pretreatment (5-30 % addition). Urine pretreatment with 5-30 % addition also improved the degradation extent (Y) of WAS by 3-35 %. The promising results indicate that urine pretreatment in anaerobic digestion is a promising technology to improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion with environmental and economic benefits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this work, the porous CoS 2 /N-doped carbon polyhedra (P-CoS 2 /CP) has been developed by employing ZIF-67 as the template for durable lithium-ion battery anode. The as-prepared P-CoS 2 /CP exhibits the novel dodecahedron structure filling with nanopores and CoS 2 nanoparticles. As compared to CoS 2 /CP (122 m 2 g -1 ), the P-CoS 2 /CP possesses the higher specific surface area of 367 m 2 g -1 , which benefits to enlarge the electrode-electrolyte contact area and promote the Li + diffusion dynamics at high current density. On the other hand, the CoS 2 nanoparticles are firmly wrapped by the carbon skeleton which can effectively suppresses the volume expansion of CoS 2 during the charging/discharging process. Besides, the N-doping enable to improve the conductivity of CP. As a result, the initial discharge capacity of P-CoS 2 /CP at 0.1 A g -1 is 1484.7 mAh g -1 with the coulombic efficiency of 48.9%. After 100 cycles, the reversible capacity stabilized at 726.2 mAh g -1 . Even the current density increases to 2.0 A g -1 , a high reversible capacity of 353.7 mAh g -1 can still be achieved, realizing the good rate capability. The superior Li + performance of P-CoS 2 /CP is attributed to the synergistic effect of the unique multi-space structure and the high chemical activity of CoS 2 . Moreover, the Li + diffusion coefficient of P-CoS 2 /CP is 4.52 × 10 -6  to 1.98 × 10 -11 cm 2 s -1 , which is higher than that of CoS 2 /CP (1.45 × 10 -9  to 5.23 × 10 -11 cm 2 s -1 ), highlighting the significance of porous engineering., (© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Personality is distal vulnerability of negative emotions and vital to mental health. Dark Triad was significantly correlated with negative emotions, whereas the mechanisms beneath the relationships were less clear. Based on life history strategy theory (LHS) and cognitive vulnerability-transactional stress model, the study explored the relationships between Dark Triad and negative emotions and investigated the roles of negative coping style and state boredom in the relationships aforementioned during the strict period of COVID-19 lockdown in China. 464 participants ( M age = 36.78 years; SD  = 10.53) finished a package of measurements online including Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Short Dark Triad (SD3), Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS), and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). The results showed there were positive relationships between Dark Triad and depression, anxiety and stress. Moreover, the relationships between Dark Triad and negative emotions were sequentially mediated by negative coping style and state boredom. The present study offered fascinating perspectives in the relationships between Dark Triad and negative emotions, and revealed how Dark Triad affected depression, anxiety and stress during the initial phase of COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdown among Chinese population. The present results may provide important implications for the prevention and intervention of depression, anxiety and stress during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Specifically, the intervention strategies that focus on reducing Dark Triad, negative coping and boredom may help offset occurrence of negative emotional states., Competing Interests: Interest declarationsThe authors declares that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Artificial synapses are promising for dealing with large amounts of data computing. Great progress has been made recently in terms of improving the on/off current ratio, the number of states, and the energy efficiency of synapse devices. However, the nonlinear weight update behavior of a synapse caused by the uncertain direction of the conductive filament leads to complex weight modulation, which degrades the delivery accuracy of information. Here we propose a strategy to improve the weight update behavior of synapses using chemical-vapor-deposition-grown transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with a vertical composition gradient, where the sulfur concentration decreases gradually along the thickness direction of TMDCs and thus forms a certain direction of the conduction filament for synapse devices. It is worth noting that the devices show an excellent linear conductance of potentiation and depression with a high linearity of 0.994 (surpassing most state-of-the-art synapses), have a large number of states, and are able to fabricate synapse arrays with wafer-scale. Furthermore, the devices based on the TMDCs with the vertical composition gradient exhibit an asymmetric feature of potentiation and depression behaviors with high linearity and follow the simulated linear Leaky ReLU function, resulting in a high recognition accuracy of 94.73%, which overcomes the unreliability issue in the Sigmoid function due to the vanishing gradient phenomenon. This study not only provides a universal method to grow TMDCs with a vertical composition gradient but also contributes to exploring highly linear synapses toward neuromorphic computing.

Background: NLR is a systemic inflammatory marker that have been associated with overall survival in patients with some rapidly progressive disease. There are few data about the diagnostic and predictive value of NLR in autoimmune diseases, and it has not been described in anti-MDA5 positive DM. We try to correlate neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with fatality from dermatomyositis in anti-MDA5 positive patients., Method: A retrospective study in which 195 patients were enrolled was conducted. Clinical and laboratory information was collated and ratios of neutrophil to lymphocyte counts (NLR) calculated. The primary end point was all-cause death., Result: Of the 195 patients studied, all had interstitial lung disease, including 140 survivors and 55 non-survivors. An optimal NLR cut-off value of 4.86 for mortality prediction was identified. The NLR of non-survivors was significantly higher than that of survivors (p < 0.001). Plasma levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein were significantly increased when NLR was greater than 4.86. Results of multivariate analysis established that NLR > 4.86 was an independent predictor of mortality (HR: 2.52; 95%CI: 1.33-4.78; p = 0.005). Abstinence from smoking (HR: 2.66; 95%CI: 1.33-4.78; p = 0.003), emergence of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD; HR: 4.38; 95%CI: 2.37-8.08; p < 0.001), low plasma LDH (HR: 3.82; 95%CI: 2.06-7.11; p < 0.001) and presentation with dyspnea (HR: 2.17; 95%CI: 1.22-3.86; p = 0.009) were all protective factors predictive of survival., Conclusion: NLR is a cost-effective and widely accessible biomarker with utility for risk stratification in patients with anti-MDA5 + dermatomyositis., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The performance degradation of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under harsh environment (e.g., heat, moisture, light) is one of the greatest challenges for their commercialization. Herein, a conjugated sulfide 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (2MBI) is applied to significantly improve the photovoltaic properties and thermal stability of PSCs. When treated with heat, 2MBI cross-links with each other on the perovskite surface to facilitate charge transportation, suppress the escape of volatile species, and guide the rearrangement of surface perovskite grains. PSCs with 2MBI modification reach a PCE as high as 21.7% and maintain high-efficiency output during and after thermodestruction at 85 °C, while the unmodified ones suffer severe degradation. Unencapsulated devices after thermodestruction achieve over 98% of initial efficiency after 40-day storage under ambient conditions.

All-inorganic lead-free Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5  perovskite-derivant quantum dots (QDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their nontoxicity and unique optoelectronic properties. However, the traditional hot-injection method requires high temperatures and multiple ligands to confine the growth of QDs. Herein, a strategy is reported to spontaneously synthesize ultrasmall Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5  QDs within metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) MOF-74 at room temperature (RT) with an average diameter of 4.33 nm. The obtained Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5  QDs exhibit an evident deep-blue emission with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.17, 0.07), owing to the strong quantum confinement effect. Due to the protection of MOF-74, the Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5  QDs demonstrate superior stability, and the photoluminescence quantum yield retains 89% of the initial value after the storage of 1440 h under the environment with relative humidity exceeding 70%. Besides, triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion emission is observed within the composite of Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5 @MOF-74, which brings out apparent temperature-dependent photoluminescence. This study reveals a facile method for fabricating ultrasmall lead-free perovskite-derivant QDs at RT without multiple ligands. Besides, the temperature-dependent photoluminescence of Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5 @MOF-74 may open up a new way to develop the applications of temperature sensors or other related optoelectronic devices., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Liquid crystal devices using organic molecules are nowadays widely used to modulate transmitted light, but this technology still suffers from relatively weak response, high cost, toxicity and environmental concerns, and cannot fully meet the demand of future sustainable society. Here, an alternative approach to color-tunable optical devices, which is based on sustainable inorganic liquid crystals derived from 2D mineral materials abundant in nature, is described. The prototypical 2D mineral of vermiculite is massively produced by a green method, possessing size-to-thickness aspect ratios of >10 3 , in-plane magnetization of >10 emu g -1 , and an optical bandgap of >3 eV. These characteristics endow 2D vermiculite with sensitive magneto-birefringence response, been several orders of magnitude larger than organic counterparts, as well as capability of broad-spectrum modulation. The finding consequently permits the fabrication of various magnetochromic or mechanochromic devices with low or even zero-energy consumption during operation. This work creates opportunities for the application of sustainable materials in advanced optics., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)