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Compared with a one-dimensional test, a two-dimensional test has the potential to study the transport characteristics of particles in tailings under different filtration materials. Due to the different test conditions and the complex test environment, the existing devices generally have limited measuring range or high accuracy. Thus, it is urgent to develop an advanced device to improve the ability of the transport characteristics of particles. In this study, a two-dimensional radial flow device is designed for analyzing the transport characteristics of particles which combine the water tank with adjustable pressure and the seepage body providing a tailing sand environment. An experimental system is built, and a seepage process is carried out to explore the transport characteristics of particles. The results indicate that when head difference remains stable, the mixture consisting of the tailing sand and water gradually transports to the vicinity of the slotted tube along the diameter direction. With an increase in head difference, the tailing sand particle size in the mixture shows a slow upward trend, which migrates in the tailing sand. And the proportion of tailing sand particles with different sizes varies under different head differences. Separation of the mixture consisting of tailing sand particles and water occurs near infiltration material, while the mixture has different transportation laws under different filtration materials. Under geotextile, most fine tailing sand particles which transport from the edge remain in geotextiles, causing an increase in the proportion of fine particles around the slotted tube. However, most fine particles pass through steel mesh, leading to a decrease in the proportion of fine particles.

Tailorable catalytic activity in the deacetalization reaction can be achieved on photo-responsive MOFs through tuning the interaction between photo-responsive azobenzene motifs and phosphotungstic acid active sites via UV- and vis-light irradiation.

DAG-based DLTs allow for parallel, asynchronous writing access to a ledger. Consequently, the perception of the most recent blocks may differ considerably between nodes, and the underlying network properties of the P2P layer have a direct impact on the performance of the protocol. Moreover, the stronger inter-dependencies of several core components demand a more complex and complete approach to studying such DLTs. This paper presents an agent-based, open-sourced simulator for large-scale networks that implement the leaderless Tangle 2.0 consensus protocol. Its scope includes modelling the underlying peer-to-peer communication with network topology, package loss, heterogeneous latency, the gossip protocol with reliable broadcast qualities, the underlying DAG-based data structure, and the consensus protocol. The simulator allows us to explore the performance of the protocol in different network environments, as well as different attack scenarios., IEEE ICBC 2023, short paper

Hierarchically porous metal-organic frameworks (HP-MOFs), dominating both the micro- and mesoporous regimes, show high potentials in various applications especially those involving bulky biomolecules. The templating method has been proven to be effective in the fabrication of HP-MOFs; however, complicated synthetic systems containing solvents, templates, and additives are frequently employed. Here we report the first example of designing a poly(ethylene glycol)-based alkylammonium and bromide multifunctional ionic liquid (IL) as a solitary medium to construct HP-MOFs, avoiding the involvement of any additional media. Besides the ready solubilization of MOF precursors in the multifunctional IL due to a poly(ethylene glycol) chain as the solubilizer, the ionic moiety facilitates electrostatic interaction to create a templating effect. Hence, UiO-66 with hierarchical porosity has been successfully fabricated, and such a methodology can also be applied to the construction of other HP-MOFs. The resultant HP-UiO-66 is efficient in the encapsulation of bulky biomolecule cytochrome c, and the adsorption capacity is obviously superior to that of the microporous counterpart.

Cu+-containing materials have shown various application prospects especially in adsorption and catalysis, because they are versatile, non-toxic and low cost. To date, developing a mild and controllable approach for the fabrication of Cu+ sites has remained a pronounced challenge. Herein, we report a series connection double-solvent strategy (SCDS) for fabricating Cu+ sites within MIL-101(Cr), a typical metal–organic framework. By employing the SCDS in which vitamin C is chosen as the environmentally benign reducing agent, Cu2+ was incorporated in the pores and then transformed to Cu+ in the confined spaces. Compared to the conventional high-temperature autoreduction method conducted under harsh environment (700 °C for 12 h) with a low Cu+ yield (less than 50%), SCDS can selectively reduce Cu2+ to Cu+ at room temperature without generating any Cu0. The resulting Cu+ modified MIL-101(Cr) exhibits good desulfurization performance in view of both uptake and recyclability.

The mechanism of brain aging is not fully understood. Few studies have attempted to identify molecular changes using bioinformatics at the subregional level in the aging brain. This study aimed to identify the molecular signatures and key genes involved in aging, depending on the brain region. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with aging of the cerebral cortex (CX), hippocampus (HC), and cerebellum (CB) were identified based on five datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The molecular signatures of aging were explored using functional and pathway analyses. Hub genes of each brain region were determined by protein–protein interaction network analysis, and commonly expressed DEGs (co-DEGs) were also found. Gene–microRNAs (miRNAs) and gene–disease interactions were constructed using online databases. The expression levels and regional specificity of the hub genes and co-DEGs were validated using animal experiments. In total, 32, 293, and 141 DEGs were identified in aging CX, HC, and CB, respectively. Enrichment analysis indicated molecular changes related to leukocyte invasion, abnormal neurotransmission, and impaired neurogenesis due to inflammation as the major signatures of the CX, HC, and CB. Itgax is a hub gene of cortical aging. Zfp51 and Zfp62 were identified as hub genes involved in hippocampal aging. Itgax and Cxcl10 were identified as hub genes involved in cerebellar aging. S100a8 was the only co-DEG in all three regions. In addition, a series of molecular changes associated with inflammation was observed in all three brain regions. Several miRNAs interact with hub genes and S100a8. The change in gene levels was further validated in an animal experiment. Only the upregulation of Zfp51 and Zfp62 was restricted to the HC. The molecular signatures of aging exhibit regional differences in the brain and seem to be closely related to neuroinflammation. Itgax, Zfp51, Zfp62, Cxcl10, and S100a8 may be key genes and potential targets for the prevention of brain aging.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Comparison of migration and invasion ability among different forms of KLF5 expressing cells, related to Fig. 1. Figure S2. The effect of NTZ on acetylated (KQ) and non-mutated KLF5 cell invasion, related to Fig. 1. Figure S3. The effect of NTZ on cell proliferation in acetylated KLF5 expressing cells, related to Fig. 1. Figure S4. NTZ caused no noticeable toxicity in vivo, related to Fig. 2. Figure S5. Represensitive BL images of each mouse on day 7 (left) and BL intensity analysis (right), related to Fig. 3. Figure S6. NTZ downregulated acetylated-KLF5 induced MMP9 expression. Figure S7. Differential genes between KQ-Ctrl and KR-Ctrl groups and Overall survival analysis of 7 differential genes, related Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Figure S8. Nitazoxanide reduces acetylated-KLF5 -induced MYBL2 production, related to Fig. 7. Figure S9. Am80 as a negative control does not bind to KLF5, KLF5K369Q, and KLF5K369R proteins, related to Fig. 8.

Additional file 5: Figure S1. Venn diagram showing the overlap among differentially expressed metabolic pathways among ME of different etiologies. AMD-ME, age-related macular degeneration; BRVO-ME, branch retinal vein occlusion; DME, diabetic macular edema; ME, macular edema.

Additional file 1. PrEP risk perception and adherence among men who have sex with men: a prospective cohort study based on growth mixture model.

After UV illumination at 254 nm for 10 min, the incorporated LiYGeO4:Bi3+ in the PCN-PLM can continuously provide light irradiation at 365 nm to regulate the CO2 adsorption capacity of PCN-250.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. The genomic mutation of EMT genes in OC cohort. The landscape of genomic mutations in OC cohort of TCGA, showing the variant classification (A), variant type (B), SNV class (C), variants per sample (D), variant classification (E), and top 10 mutated genes (F). Figure S2. Construction and exploration of the EMTG risk score model in OC; related to Fig. 3. (A) The procedure of LASSO Cox regression analysis for construction of the EMTG model in OC cohort of TCGA. (B-G) Kaplan–Meier analysis showing the distinct survival tendency in low- and high-risk score groups in sub-set of the TCGA cohort, including the young set (age ≤ 65, B), old set (age > 65, C), grade 1/2 set (D), grade 3/4 set (E), stage I/II set (F), and stage III/IV set (G).

In order to facilitate human exploration on Mars, a need exists to study weather patterns and atmospheric conditions on Mars. Mars has colder weather than Earth, is known for its dust storms, and has a very thin atmosphere, yet its atmosphere and climate are more like Earth's than any other planet in our solar system. Despite these challenges, NASA scientists believe that Mars is the most promising planet for exploration and habitation. We are developing a new measurement concept that uses differential absorption Lidar system in the 2-μm CO2 absorption band to measure atmospheric CO2 and pressure on Mars. By selecting two or more closely spaced wavelengths, one can eliminate the effects of other gases and surface reflections, allowing us to accurately measure CO2 absorption and determine CO2 levels and air pressure on Mars. Our simulations show that this system will be able to measure air pressure with 1 Pa precision up to 5 km away, even in the presence of moderate dust, and measure CO2 and pressure profiles from the surface up to 13 km with a horizontal resolution of 100 km and a vertical resolution of 100 m (400 m during the day). These measurements will improve weather and climate modeling and prediction on Mars.&nbsp, The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Additional file 2: Table S1. Secondary drug screening of 87 hit compounds. Table S2. Third drug screening of 25 hit compounds. Table S3. Differential genes affected by NTZ in RNA-Seq. Table S4. TPM of PC-3 cells with KR and KQ in presence or absence of NTZ in RNA-Seq. Table S5. The significance of overall survival of NTZ-downregulated genes or NTZ-upregulated genes in SU2C database.

Additional file 3. The uncropped immunoblot or gels images.

Amines in porous materials have been employed as active species for the selective CO2 adsorption from natural gas because of their target-specific interactions. Nevertheless, it is difficult to modulate such strong interactions to reach a high efficiency in the adsorption processes. Herein, we fabricated light-responsive adsorbents with tunable adsorbent–adsorbate interactions for CO2 capture. The adsorbents were synthesized by introducing primary and secondary amines into a mesoporous silica that had been grafted with azobenzene groups on the surfaces. The target-specific amine sites render the adsorbents significantly selective in the uptake of CO2 over CH4, and the azobenzene groups were used as light-responsive switches to influence the adsorbent–adsorbate interactions. The adsorbents can freely adsorb CO2 when the azobenzene groups are in the trans state. Ultraviolet-light irradiation makes the azobenzene groups transform to the cis configuration, which greatly hinders amines in the uptake of CO2. The caused difference of adsorption capacity can reach 34.9%. The alternative irradiation by ultraviolet- and visible-light can lead to a recyclable regulation on adsorption performance. The changes of the electrostatic potentials of amines are responsible for the light-induced regulation on adsorption.

MXenes have attracted increasing research enthusiasm owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. Although MXenes exhibit exciting potential in cations adsorption due to their unique surface groups, the adsorption capacity is limited by the low specific surface area and undeveloped porosity. Our work aims at enhancing the adsorption performance of a well-known MXene, Ti3C2Tx, for methylene blue (MB) by decorating tiny ZIF-8 nanoparticles in the interlayer. After the incorporation of ZIF-8, suitable interspace in the layers resulting from the distribution of tiny ZIF-8 appears. When employing in MB, the adsorption capacity of composites can reach up to 107 mg∙g–1 while both ZIF-8 (3 mg∙g–1) and Ti3C2Tx (9 mg∙g–1) show nearly no adsorption capacity. The adsorption mechanism was explored, and the good adsorption capacity is caused by the synergistic effect of ZIF-8 and Ti3C2Tx, for neither of them is of suitable interspace or surface groups for MB adsorption. Our work might pave the way for constructing functional materials based on the introduction of nanoparticles into layered materials for various adsorption applications.

A new porous liquid system based on the coalition of MOPs and bulky IL was designed. The liquid materials exhibit permanent cavities, long-term durability, and good ability to separate CO2 from N2 and CH4 not only as an entity but also as a membrane.

Adsorptive separation plays a critical role in chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and environmental industries, as well as in many other industrial areas. Adsorbents are most important for adsorptive separation and undergo adsorption and desorption processes to accomplish the specific tasks of separation. In the process of adsorption, adsorbates diffuse into the pore spaces of adsorbents through pore openings, adsorb on active sites via physical or chemical interactions, and subsequently are regenerated by temperature or pressure swings during desorption. In the process of adsorption and desorption, however, the requirements for pore structures and surface properties of adsorbents are different. In general, adsorbents with small pore openings can realize selective adsorption and do not favor desorption; on the other hand, adsorbents with large pore openings are efficient in desorption but at the expense of adsorption selectivity. Remarkably, active sites possessing strong interactions with adsorbates contribute to high selectivity for adsorption, while desorption becomes difficult. The trade-off between adsorption and desorption presents an enormous challenge to develop high-efficiency adsorbents. Restricted by their fixed structures and surface properties, conventional adsorbents are unable to meet the demands of adsorption and desorption processes simultaneously.To confront the obstacles, the development of advanced adsorbents to meet the demand of adsorptive separation are urgent. A key strategy to address such issues lies in dynamically adjusting the pore structures or the surface properties of adsorbents with controllability according to the demands of adsorption/desorption. For instance, pursuant to the requirements of varying pore structures during adsorption/desorption, the pore openings of adsorbents can be customized through dynamic structural change of the decorated stimuli-sensitive motifs by suitable external intervention. In addition, the active sites within the adsorbents can be exposed to enhance the adsorption selectivity or sheltered to accelerate the desorption through stimuli-triggered adsorbent-adsorbate interactions. Hence, we proposed a concept of process-oriented smart adsorbents (POSAs) on the basis of the requirements of the adsorption/desorption processes. The design and development of such POSAs are based on three aspects, namely, pore openings, pore spaces, and adsorption sites of adsorbents.In this Account, we present the progress in the development of POSAs according to the demands of adsorption/desorption processes. A series of POSAs with incorporated stimuli-sensitive motifs were successfully achieved. The versatility of incorporated motifs allows them to tune the pore structures and surface properties of adsorbents dynamically and further to enhance the adsorption and desorption efficiency simultaneously. Based on the concept of POSAs, we hope that this Account could contribute to the development of high-efficiency adsorbents and ultimately promote their applications in practical industrial separation. Moreover, we present an outlook on future trends and challenges on the road toward the development and applications of POSAs.

Purpose High myopia (HM) is one of the leading causes of irreversible vision loss in the world. Many myopia loci have been uncovered with linkage analysis, genome-wide association studies, and sequencing analysis. Numerous pathogenic genes within these loci have been detected in a portion of HM cases. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the genetic basis of 103 patients with nonsyndromic HM, focusing on the reported causal genes. Methods A total of 103 affected individuals with nonsyndromic HM were recruited, including 101 patients with unrelated sporadic HM and a mother and son pair. All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, and genomic DNA samples were extracted from the peripheral blood. Whole exome sequencing was performed on the mother and son pair as well as on the unaffected father. Sanger sequencing was used to identify mutations in the remaining 101 patients. Bioinformatics analysis was subsequently applied to verify the mutations. Results An extremely rare mutation in AGRN (c.2627A>T, p.K876M) was identified in the mother and son pair but not in the unaffected father. Another two mutations in AGRN (c.4787C>T, p.P1596L/c.5056G>A, p.G1686S) were identified in two unrelated patients. A total of eight heterozygous variants potentially affecting the protein function were detected in eight of the remaining 99 patients, including c.1350delC, p.V451Cfs*76 and c.1023_1024insA, p.P342Tfs*41 in SLC39A5; c.244_246delAAG, p.K82del in SCO2; c.545A>G, p.Y182C in P4HA2; c.415C>T, p.P139S in BSG; c.3266A>G, p.Y1089C in ZNF644; and c.2252C>T, p.S751L and c.1708C>T, p.R570C in CPSF1. Multiple bioinformatics analyses were conducted, and a comparison to a group with geographically matched controls was performed, which supported the potential pathogenicity of these variants. Conclusions We provide further evidence for the potential role of AGRN in HM inheritance and enlarged the current genetic spectrum of nonsyndromic HM by comprehensively screening the reported causal genes.

Ordered porous solid strong bases (OPSSBs) have attracted great research interest due to the excellent performance as heterogeneous catalysts in various reactions. The main obstacle for fabricating OPSSBs is the requirement of high temperature to produce strong basicity on ordered porous materials. For example, the temperatures of 600–650 °C are required for the decomposition of base precursor NaNO3 to basic sites on mesoporous silica SBA-15 and zeolite Y. Such high decomposition temperatures are energy-intensive and harmful to the structure of supports. Herein, we report the fabrication of OPSSBs by utilizing the redox interaction between base precursor and low-valence metal centers (e.g., Cr3+) in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The base precursor NaNO3 on MIL-101(Cr) can be converted to basic sites entirely at 300 °C, which is quite lower than those of the conventional thermal conversion on SBA-15 and zeolite Y (600–650 °C). The exploration on decomposition mechanism reveals that the valence change of Cr3+ to Cr6+ takes place during the conversion of NaNO3 to basic sites. In this way, MOFs-derived base catalysts have been synthesized successfully by the host–guest redox strategy and exhibit high catalytic activity in typical base-catalyzed reactions.

Photoresponsive covalent organic frameworks (PCOFs) have emerged as attractive candidates for adsorption, but it is challenging to construct PCOF adsorbents due to structural order loss of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) after introducing photoresponsive motifs and/or tedious steps of postmodification. Here, a facile strategy is developed, by dispersing photoresponsive metal-organic polyhedra (PMOP) into COFs, to endow COFs with photoresponsive adsorption sites. As a proof-of-concept study, a COF with pore size of 4.5 nm and PMOP with suitable molecular size (4.0 and 3.1 nm for trans and cis configuration, respectively) are selected to meet the requirements of proper accommodation space, good guest dispersion, and free isomerization. The structure of COF is well preserved after introducing PMOPs. Interestingly, the obtained photoresponsive host-guest composite (PHGC) adsorbents exhibit photomodulated adsorption capacity on propylene (C

The arteries of the lower limbs are innervated by vascular branches (VBs) originating from the lumbar sympathetic trunk and branches of the spinal nerve. Although lumbar sympathectomy is used to treat non-reconstructive critical lower limb ischemia (CLLI), it has limited long-term effects. Additionally, the anatomical structure of tibial nerve (TN) VBs remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to clarify their anatomy and better inform the surgical approach for non-reconstructive CLLI. Thirty-six adult cadavers were dissected under surgical microscopy to observe the patterns and origin points of VBs under direct vision. The calves were anatomically divided into five equal segments, and the number of VB origin points found in each was expressed as a proportion of the total found in the whole calf. Immunofluorescence staining was used to identify the sympathetic nerve fibers of the VBs. Our results showed that the TN gave off 3-4 VBs to innervate the posterior tibial artery, and the distances between VBs origin points and the medial tibial condyle were: 24.7 ± 16.3 mm, 91.7 ± 66.1 mm, 199.6 ± 52.0 mm, 231.7 ± 38.5 mm, respectively. They were mainly located in the 1

Porous liquid is a unique liquid medium that combines permanent porosity of porous solid with the fluidity of liquid, and this special characteristic makes it potential in various applications. Here we report the first photoresponsive porous ionic liquid (PPIL) by solubilizing photoresponsive metal-organic polyhedron (PMOP, constructed from dicopper and azobenzene-containing carboxylate) in polyethylene-glycol-functionalized bulky ionic liquid (IL). Owing to favorable ion interactions, bulky IL molecules encircle outside PMOP cages, and the inter cavities are maintained. The azobenzene moieties can be isomerized freely in the obtained PPILs to expose and shelter active sites upon visible and UV light irradiations. Hence, the adsorption capacity of PPILs is controllable by light irradiation, and the change in CO2 uptake is up to 30% which is different from neat IL with negligible change. This study might inspire the development of new adsorption process regulated by light instead of conventional pressure and temperature swing adsorption technologies.

Solid superbases can catalyze diverse reactions under mild conditions, while they suffer from aggregation of basic sites and poor stability during recycling. Here we report a new generation of solid superbases derived from K single atoms (SAs) prepared by a tandem redox strategy. The initial redox reaction takes place between base precursor KNO

Solid strong bases can catalyze a variety of organic reactions under mild conditions. Their preparation consists of loading base precursors (e.g. KNO3) on porous supports followed by activating to convert base precursors to basic sites (e.g. K2O). However, high temperatures are usually required for activation, which consumes lots of energy and damages the structure of supports. Moreover, filtration or centrifugation is mainly adopted for the recovery of solid base catalysts, which is tedious and limits their applications to some extent. In this paper, we constructed multifunctional core–shell structured Fe3O4@C microspheres as the supports owing to the reducibility of carbon shell and the magnetism of Fe3O4 core, thus creating magnetically responsive solid strong bases under mild conditions. Strong basic sites can be formed at a low temperature of 400 °C due to the redox reaction between the carbon shell and the base precursor, yielding the solid base K-400@Fe3O4@C. Such a temperature is obviously lower than the temperature for the decomposition of KNO3 on the frequently used supports SiO2 (750 °C) and Al2O3 (500−700 °C). The resultant solid base K-400@Fe3O4@C exhibits excellent catalytic activity in transesterification reaction, and the yield of target product dimethyl carbonate is higher than some benchmarks like MgO, CsX, and Na2O/Al2O3. In addition, thanks to the superparamagnetism, the solid base catalysts can be recovered within 10 s with the assistance of external magnetic fields.

Light-responsive adsorbents capture significant attention due to their tailorable performance upon light irradiation. The modulation of such adsorbents is mainly based on weak (physical) interactions caused by steric hindrance while tuning strong interaction with target adsorbates is scarce. Here we report smart π-complexation adsorbents, which can adjust the π-complexation of active sites via light irradiation. A typical metal-organic framework, MIL-101-NH

In this paper, we investigate the performance of the Tangle 2.0 consensus protocol in a Byzantine environment. We use an agent-based simulation model that incorporates the main features of the Tangle 2.0 consensus protocol. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Tangle 2.0 protocol is robust to the bait-and-switch attack up to the theoretical upper bound of the adversary's 33% voting weight. We further show that the common coin mechanism in Tangle 2.0 is necessary for robustness against powerful adversaries. Moreover, the experimental results confirm that the protocol can achieve around 1s confirmation time in typical scenarios and that the confirmation times of non-conflicting transactions are not affected by the presence of conflicts.