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[Display omitted] • A novel composite photocatalyst NiS/CdS@DUT-67 is prepared. • The separation and transport of photogenerated carriers are assisted by NiS and DUT-67. • NiS/CdS@DUT-67 achieves high hydrogen production rate as 9618 μmol·g NiS/CdS −1·h−1. Metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) and their derivatives have been widely used in the field of photocatalytic water decomposition for hydrogen production. In this study, NiS/CdS was initially acquired and subsequently combined with DUT-67 via ultrasound to create a unique ternary photocatalyst NiS/CdS@DUT-67. The rate of hydrogen production for NiS/CdS@DUT-67 is 9618 μmol·g NiS/CdS −1·h−1 for NiS/CdS@DUT-67, which is 32 times and 2.5 times higher than that for CdS and NiS/CdS, respectively. Of particular interest is the fact that even after 50 h of photocatalysis, the hydrogen production rate did not show a significant decrease, demonstrating its excellent stability compared to CdS and NiS/CdS. In this ternary system, NiS and DUT-67 function as dual co-catalysts for CdS, collaborating to enhance charge separation during the photocatalysis. This study presents a clear demonstration of the advantages of utilizing metal–organic framework derivatives (MOF-derivatives) cophotocatalysts and their synergistic effect, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity and stability of semiconductors. This innovative approach provides a new perspective on constructing photocatalytic materials with exceptional performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The presence of an excessive amount of lead iodide on the surface of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is a significant contributing factor that adversely affects the stability of these devices when exposed to continuous light. To address this issue, we developed an effective strategy involving polishing PbI 2 on a perovskite surface using CsF. In this study, we investigated the effects of CsF post-treatment on perovskite films and their photovoltaic properties. The results of the time-resolved photoluminescence and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy tests reveal the significant positive impact of our passivation method based on CsF, which reduces the valence band offset between the perovskite and hole transport layers while simultaneously enhancing the carrier interface transport. PSCs treated with CsF exhibited a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.25% and an increased fill factor (FF) of 81.72%, which surpassed those of the original PSCs (PCE = 22.12% and FF = 77.40%). Furthermore, after aging for over 2500 h at room temperature and in 30 ± 10% humidity, the PCE of the unpacked PSCs reduced to only 42% of the initial value. Furthermore, the devices treated with CsF maintained their impressive performance, with the PCE maintaining optimal levels at 91% of the initial efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compressible ZIF-67/polyacrylamide/chitosan composite aerogel (named as ZIF-67/PAM/CSA) is prepared by two-step method with in-situ polymerization and growth, which exhibits excellent compressible property and efficient adsorption performance of tetracycline. The loading capacity of ZIF-67 in ZIF-67/PAM/CSA can reach 42.7%, making the increased specific surface area up to 491.95 m2 g−1 for composite aerogel. For tetracycline adsorption, ZIF-67/PAM/CSA presents high capacity of 260.09 mg g−1 as well as stable enough recycling availability. The composite aerogel synthesized here with high specific surface area and compressibility, offers a promising method to branch out compressible adsorbents with benefits for the adsorption regeneration process in pollutant treatment applications. We prepared a novel compressible ZIF-67/PAM/CSA using a two-step method of in-situ polymerization and in-situ growth. Its specific surface area can reach 491.95 m2 g−1, and its adsorption capacity for TC can reach 260.09 mg g−1, realizing great potential ambition in water treatment applications. [Display omitted] • A new type of compressible ZIF-67/PAM/CSA was prepared by two-step method with in situ polymerization and in situ growth. • The content of ZIF-67 in ZIF-67/PAM/CSA can reach 42.7%. • The specific surface area of ZIF-67/PAM/CSA can reach 491.95 m2 g−1. • The adsorption capacity of ZIF-67/PAM/CSA for TC reaches 260.09 mg g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The first example of Ni-catalyzed Minisci acylation reaction was developed. • This protocol avoids using external chemical oxidants. • A ligand-to-metal electron transfer process was observed. A nickel-catalyzed electrochemical methodology for the Minisci acylation of aromatic electron-deficient heterocycles with α -keto acids has been developed. The reaction is performed in an undivided cell under constant current conditions, featuring broad scope of substrates and avoiding the conventional utilization of silver-based catalysts in conjunction with excess amount of oxidants. Cyclic voltammetric analysis disclosed that a ligand-to-metal electron transfer process may be involved in the generation of the key acyl radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of fully nonlinear wave effects on floating wind turbine has been studied in this paper by comparing both floater motions and structural responses of tower base and mooring lines exposed to linear and fully nonlinear long-crested irregular waves. Wave kinematics of the linear and nonlinear wave are calculated in a 2D Harmonic Polynomial Cell wave tank. The wave kinematics are further processed by a polynomial fitting method to scale down the data size so that it fulfills the memory requirement of HAWC2 where coupled dynamic analysis is carried out. The external DLL used to provide wave kinematics to HAWC2 is extended from one dimensional (Wkin.dll 2.4) to two dimensional (Wkin.dll 2D) wave field so that fully nonlinear wave can be implemented on floating wind turbine through reading pre-generated wave kinematics manner. The whole work procedure including wave generation, polynomial fitting and implementation in HAWC2 has been verified with a linear regular wave case. Two extreme irregular wave conditions are focused to study the nonlinear wave effects regarding critical responses, such as wave elevation, floater motions and mooring line tension. The results have not only proved the accuracy and applicability of the polynomial fitting method and the extended Wkin.dll 2D for HAWC2 but also revealed the importance to consider fully nonlinear wave model in hydrodynamic analysis compared with linear wave theory especially for high sea states in shallow and intermediate water. As a result of development of computer capacity and numerical wave tank, this paper has demonstrated that fully nonlinear wave effect can be considered in an engineering manner with acceptable efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The synergism of electrophotochemistry and Ce catalysis for catalytic exploitation of abundant alkane feedstocks. • H 2 as the only byproduct. • High step-, redox- and atom-economy. The external oxidant-free exploitation of abundant alkane feedstocks as alkyl radical precursors remains a topic of high interest in synthetic communities. Here, we report a Ce-catalyzed electrophotoredox radical addition/cyclization cascade for the incorporation of unactivated alkanes to produce alkylated benzimidazo-fused isoquinolinones and other N -containing polycycles. Compared with previous works employing prefunctionalized alkyl radical precursors, this electrophotocatalytic protocol features high step-economy. The external oxidant-free conditions accompanied by the generation of H 2 as the only byproduct further highlight the high redox- and atom-economy of this catalytic protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We have shown previously that during branching morphogenesis of the mouse prostate gland, Bone morphogenetic protein 7 functions to restrict Notch1-positive progenitor cells to the tips of the prostate buds. Here, we employed prostate-specific murine bi-genic systems to investigate the effects of gain and loss of Notch function during prostate development. We show that Nkx3.1 Cre and Probasin Cre alleles drive expression of Cre recombinase to the prostate epithelium and periepithelial stroma. We investigated the effects of gain of Notch function using the Rosa NI1C conditional allele, which carries a constitutively active intracellular domain of Notch1 receptor. We carried out the analysis of loss of Notch function in Nkx3.1 Cre/+ ;RBP-J flox/flox prostates, where RBP-J is a ubiquitous transcriptional mediator of Notch signaling. We found that gain of Notch function resulted in inhibition of the tumor suppressor PTEN, and increase in cell proliferation and progenitor cells in the basal epithelium and smooth muscle compartments. In turn, loss of Notch/RBP-J function resulted in decreased cell proliferation and loss of epithelial and smooth muscle progenitors. Gain of Notch function resulted in an early onset of benign prostate hyperplasia by three months of age. Loss of Notch function also resulted in abnormal differentiation of the prostate epithelium and stroma. In particular, loss of Notch signaling and increase in PTEN promoted a switch from myoblast to fibroblast lineage, and a loss of smooth muscle. In summary, we show that Notch signaling is necessary for terminal differentiation of the prostate epithelium and smooth muscle, and that during normal prostate development Notch/PTEN pathway functions to maintain patterned progenitors in the epithelial and smooth muscle compartments. In addition, we found that both positive and negative modulation of Notch signaling results in abnormal organization of the prostate tissue, and can contribute to prostate disease in the adult organ. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Series of hydrophilic core–shell microgels with cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) as core and poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) as shell are synthesized via surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. Then, the microgels are treated with a small amount of potassium persulfate (KPS) to generate free radicals on the amine nitrogens of PVAm, which subsequently initiate the graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA), acryloyloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC), and acrylamide (AAm) onto microgels to prepare multi-responsive composite hydrogels. The composite hydrogels consist of cross-linked ungrafted polyampholyte chains as the first network and microgels with grafted polyampholyte chains as graft point and second network and show surprising mechanical strength and rapid response rate. The investigation shows the compress strength of composite hydrogels is up to 17–30MPa, which is 60–100 times higher than that of the hydrogel matrix. The composite hydrogel shows reversible switch of transmittance when traveling the lowest critical temperature (LCST) of microgels. When the composite hydrogel swollen in pH 2.86 solution at ambient condition is immersed into the pH 7.00 solution at 45°C, a rapid dynamic shrinking can be observed. And the character time (τ) of shrinking dynamic of composite hydrogel is 251.9min, which is less than that of hydrogel matrix (τ =2273.7min). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A circular system is employed in this paper to investigate the swelling behaviors of polyampholyte hydrogels; this circular system can effectively eliminate the disturbance of various factors and keep the surrounding environment constant. It is found that there exists a spontaneous volume transition to the collapsed state of polyampholyte hydrogels, which is attributed to the overshooting effect, and the transition can occur repeatedly under certain conditions. 13C NMR is employed to investigate the swelling behavior of polyampholyte hydrogels. The swelling kinetics of polyampholyte hydrogels under various circular media and various circular runs are also investigated in this paper. All the results suggest that the spontaneous volume transition to the collapsed state of polyampholyte hydrogels is dominated by pure electrostatic interaction between different charges in polymer chains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] Three-dimensional (3D) printing of Li-ion batteries with unconventional 3D electrodes has attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, fabricating 3D electrodes with high specific capacity, high areal capacity, ultralong cycling stability, and improved rate performance remains a challenge to date. Novel 3D grid-patterned LiFePO 4 @MgO composite electrodes with thicknesses of 143, 306, and 473 μm were fabricated via 3D printing. The electrochemical performance of half cells was evaluated. The 3D-printed LiFePO 4 @MgO (143 μm) electrodes exhibit stable specific capacities of 142.8 mAh g−1 @ 1.0 C and 90.3 mAh g−1 @ 10.0 C after 800 and 1700 cycles, respectively. In addition, the 473 μm-thick 3D grid-patterned LiFePO 4 @MgO achieves an areal capacity of 3.01 mAh cm−2 @ 0.1 C after 20 cycles. The full cells comprised 143 μm-thick 3D-printed LiFePO 4 @MgO, and 217 μm Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 electrodes show a capacity of 139.0 mAh g−1 @ 1.0 C after 400 cycles. These results indicate that, this type of thick 3D-printed LiFePO 4 @MgO electrode achieves high capacity, high-rate capability, and ultralong cycle stability. The outstanding performance ascribes the fast electrolyte infusion of 3D-printed electrodes and the enhanced electronic/ionic transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mercury residue in soil not only poisons plants, but also bioaccumulates and biomagnifies through the food chain, causing a significant risk to human health. As an essential condiment on the table, the food safety of ginger should be focused on. Using soil culture experiments, this study aimed to identify the response of ginger growth to mercury pollution, assess the transmission and residue of mercury in different product organs and explore the mitigation mechanism of silicon on mercury toxicity. Effects of soil mercury pollution on ginger growth showed hormesis and time effect. Long-term mercury pollution led to growth inhibition and quality degradation of ginger, eventually reducing its yield by 25.96% (mercury = 9 mg kg−1). Contents of mercury and silicon in different organs both were the highest in root, followed by rhizome, less in stem and leaf, especially the mercury residue in rhizome manifested as Mother-ginger > Son-ginger > Grandson-ginger. At 6 mg kg−1 soil mercury level, the mercury residue of Mother-ginger exceeds the edible pollutant limit standard (China) by 10.7 times, which makes no obvious risk after being consumed by adults, but poses a potential health threat to children. Notably, it is safer to consume the newly sprouted and inflated tender ginger. Application of silicon fertilizer could alleviate mercury toxicity, mainly by promoting ginger root growth and leaf pigment synthesis, stimulating water-gas exchange system, fluorescence system and antioxidant system to make an anti-stress response. 2 mg kg−1 silicon fertilizer had the most significant mitigation effect on mercury stress, which increased the yield of ginger by 24.85% and reduced the mercury residue of ginger block by 44.44%–60.17%. Image 1 • Mercury affect ginger growth. • Silicon can alleviate mercury stress. • Consuming tender ginger such as Grandson-ginger is safer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the impact of high temperature and drought on the yield of major staple crops can provide important scientific support for the decision-making of agricultural sustainable development. Based on the temperature and precipitation data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA 5 for northern China, this paper calculates three indexes, the standard precipitation index (SPI), standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and the extreme degree-day (EDD), from 1979 to 2017. Monthly SPI and monthly SPEI were calculated at 1 – to – 12 month lags, and EDD was calculated per crop growth season. The yield of winter wheat, spring wheat and summer maize in each province of the study area from 1979 to 2017 was de-trended, and the relative fluctuation of the yield of the three crops was calculated. The change trends of SPI, SPEI and EDD were analysed using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen's slope. The single and interactive effects of high temperature and drought on crop yield were studied using multidimensional Copula function. The results show that: 1) Both high temperature and drought stress in northern China show an increasing trend. The drought trend in the study area detected based on SPEI was greater than the drought trend detected by SPI. The difference between SPEI and SPI in the winter wheat growing season was smaller than that in the spring wheat and maize growing seasons. 2) With the increase in EDD and the decrease of SPI/SPEI values, the probability of negative yield fluctuation gradually increased, and the probability of positive yield fluctuation gradually decreased. Under the same drought and high temperature conditions, the probability of yield fluctuation varies among different crops and different provinces. Drought has a greater impact on crop yield than high temperature. Both the single and interactive effects of drought and high temperature on yield are nonlinear. 3) Irrigation can effectively alleviate the impact of drought and high temperature on yield. In heavily irrigated provinces, the effects of both high temperature and drought on crop yield are not obvious. • The impact of high temperature and drought stress on yield is analysed by a probability model. • The effects of high temperature and drought on yield are non-linear. • Irrigation can offset some of the effects of high temperature and drought on yield. • SPEI may overestimate the impact of drought on yield while SPI may underestimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonspherical colloidal particles with various geometries and different compositions have attracted tremendous attention and been widely researched. The preparation of polymer colloidal particles with controlled shapes by seeded polymerization is recognized as the most promising technique owing to the precise control of various morphologies and using non-cross-linked seed particles are of particular interest. Seeds particles derived from natural biopolymers are seldom applied. Hence, non-cross-linked starch-based seed could be used to fabricate the anisotropic particles by soap-free seed polymerization. Non-cross-linked starch-based seed particles were prepared by a nanoprecipitation method. Starch/polystyrene composite colloidal particles with shape-tunable were fabricated by soap-free seeded polymerization using starch-based seed. The effect of the polymerization time, monomer feed ratio and seed type were investigated. The seed particles with a single- or multi-hole structure were obtained after swelling with styrene. The resulting particles including golf-like, raspberry-like, octahedron-like and snowman-like structures, was fabricated on the polymerization process. This study firstly reports that the morphology of composite particles from golf-like to snowman-like at high monomer feed ratio using starch-based seed. At low monomer feed ratio, raspberry-like particles were obtained by surface nucleation increasing process. In addition, seed type also effect the morphology of composite particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel pterostilbene analogs compounds were synthesized. • Compound D22 inhibits inflammatory factor IL-1β secretes by targeting NLRP3 protein and shows high anti-inflammatory activity. • In vivo experiments showed that D22 had a good therapeutic effect on DSS-induced acute colitis in mice. The pterostilbene skeleton is a promising chemical scaffold that exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, and anti-tumor effects. In this study, we aim to reduce in vivo and in vitro toxicity of compound 32 (preliminary work) and maintain its biological activity. A series of novel pterostilbene derivatives (D1 - D43) were designed and synthesized, and their anti-inflammatory activities were screened. All compounds were screened to evaluate their inhibitory effect on LPS/Nigericin-induced IL-1β production and pyroptosis. The structure–activity relationships was deduced, and finally 1-((E)-4-(2-ethoxyethoxy)styryl)-3,5-dimethoxy-2-((E)-2-nitrovinyl)benzene (D22) was found to be a low-toxic compound with most potent inhibitory efficacy (against IL-1β: IC 50 = 2.41 μM). Preliminary mechanism studies showed that compound D22 may affect the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome by targeting NLRP3 protein, thereby inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity indicated that compound D22 had significant therapeutic effects on DSS-induced mouse acute colitis models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]