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To achieve a selective degradation of pollutants in a water body, 3D/1D magnetic molecularly imprinted fibers Fe3O4@TiO2/TC-TiO2/SiO2were fabricated by an electrospinning method. The molecularly imprinted layer was successfully prepared by a direct imprinting method using TiO2as a functional monomer. Fe3O4facilitates the catalyst recovery and light utilization. The as-prepared fibrous photocatalyst has a large specific surface area of 132.4 m2/g. The successful generation of imprinted sites was proven by various characterizations. The weak interaction between the inorganic functional monomer and tetracycline (TC) was determined to be van der Waals force and hydrogen bonds by the IGMH isosurface theory. The construction of the 3D/1D homojunction of molecularly imprinted materials is beneficial to charge transfer. The as-prepared photocatalyst exhibits a high selectivity coefficient α = 737.38 competing with RhB. The TC removal efficiency reached 100% within only 20 min. In addition, the possible degradation pathway and the degradation mechanism are reasonably proposed. This work not only provides an in-depth mechanism of the weak interaction between the inorganic molecularly imprinted functional monomer and pollutant molecules but also offers new thoughts on the fabrication of photocatalysts for the effective and selective treatment of pollutants in water bodies.

ABSTRACTAccumulating evidence suggests that cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) macroautophagy/autophagy is crucial in tumor development and may be a therapeutic target for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the role of CAF autophagy during immune surveillance and cancer immunotherapy is unclear. The present study revealed that the inhibition of CAF autophagy suppresses in vivotumor development in immune-deficient xenografts. This deletion compromises anti-tumor immunity and anti-tumor efficacy both in vitroand in vivoby upregulating CD274/PDL1 levels in an immune-competent mouse model. A block in CAF autophagy reduced the production of IL6 (interleukin 6), disrupting high desmoplastic TME and decreasing USP14 expression at the transcription level in pancreatic cancer cells. We further identify USP14 as the post-translational factor responsible for downregulating CD274 expression by removing K63 linked-ubiquitination at the K280 residue. Finally, chloroquine diphosphate-loaded mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-liposomes, by accurately targeting CAFs, inhibited CAF autophagy, improving the efficacy of immunochemotherapy to combat pancreatic cancer.Abbreviation: AIR: adaptive immune resistance; ATRA: all-trans-retinoicacid; CAF: cancer-associated fibroblast; CD274/PDL1: CD274 molecule; CM: conditioned medium; CQ: chloroquine diphosphate; CyTOF: Mass cytometry; FGF2/bFGF: fibroblast growth factor 2; ICB: immune checkpoint blockade; IF: immunofluorescence; IHC: immunohistochemistry; IP: immunoprecipitation; MS: mass spectrometer; MSC: mesenchymal stem cell; PDAC: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; TEM: transmission electron microscopy; TILs: tumor infiltrating lymphocytes; TME: tumor microenvironment; USP14: ubiquitin specific peptidase 14.

The aim of this study is to investigate the problem of cooperative multi-robot variation parameter design for dynamic formation maneuvers with bearing constraints. Notably, scaling and translation are relatively economical bearing-preserving motions in terms of formation changes. Typically, the variation parameters, i.e., the desired scaling size and translation vector, are designed offline a priori, and it is often challenging to dynamically generate the desired formation in response to a changing ambient environment. This paper proposes an online distributed design method to determine the variation parameters of an entire formation. First, local variation policies are generated by the proposed high-order control barrier functions based on received local excitations from the environment. Subsequently, using the distributed average tracking technique, consensus filters are employed to integrate various local variation policies in a weighted-average manner, which ensures that the bearing is maintained in dynamic formation maneuvers. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Note to Practitioners—This paper is motivated by the neglect of the research on the automatic co-adjustment of the formation variation parameters in most existing formation control schemes, which rely on fixed and pre-defined desired variation parameters (scaling size and translation vector). To address this limitation, this paper suggests an online distributed design method to determine the variation parameters of an entire formation in dynamic ambient environments. The proposed method consists of three parts: 1) By considering received local excitations from the environment as perturbations to asymptotically stable virtual systems, unconstrained local variation policies are generated. 2) By employing high-order control barrier functions, we solve the bounded magnitude constraints for distributed average tracking (DAT) algorithms and the minimum scale constraint for collision avoidance, leading to the generation of constrained local variation policies. 3) By using DAT algorithms, all robots can cooperatively obtain a uniform variation parameter, which is exactly the weighted average of the constrained local variation policies. This ensures that the bearing is maintained in dynamic formation maneuvers. Therefore, the proposed method can be deployed to multi-robot systems in a distributed manner. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method and its potential in industrial applications.

This study investigates the formation planning problem of tethered multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cooperative transportation with unknown payload and cable length. Normally, the transportation formation and trajectory are given in advance or designed based on the coupled system model. It is challenging to dynamically generate flexible formations in response to changing environments when the payload and cable length are unknown. This paper proposes an online formation planning method for multirotor UAVs. First, by analyzing the tension on cables, we propose some formation criteria and further construct a corresponding performance function of optimization. Then, desired trajectories/formations that can reduce the cost functions are generated by using the admittance model. Next, an estimation-based formation tracking control is designed, which ensures that multirotor UAVs follow the desired trajectories/formations. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Note to Practitioners—This paper is motivated by the formation planning problem of tethered multirotor UAV cooperative transportation. In industry and production applications, a team of multirotor UAVs has a larger load capacity than a single one. Nevertheless, the formation planning of the tethered cooperative transportation is challenging, especially when the payload and cable length are unknown. Rather than give a predefined formation or trajectory, this paper suggests an online formation planning method for multirotor UAVs in case of unknown payload and cable length. The method is implemented through the following three parts: 1) By analyzing the tension on cables, we propose some formation criteria and further construct a corresponding performance function of optimization. 2) By using the admittance model, we generate desired trajectories/formations that can minimize the proposed cost function. 3) By estimating cable tension, we design formation tracking control laws for multirotor UAVs to follow the desired trajectories/formations. The proposed formation planning method does not rely on the knowledge of the payload and length of cables, which makes it can be easily applied to extensive industry, production, and military practice. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) help tumor cells evade immune surveillance, and are regarded as important targets of anti-tumor immunotherapy. Post-translational modification of PD-L1 has potential value in immunosuppression. Here, we identified that ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8) deubiquitinates PD-L1. Pancreatic cancer tissues exhibited significantly increased USP8 levels compared with those in normal tissues. Clinically, the expression of USP8 showed a significant association with the tumor-node-metastasis stage in multiple patient-derived cohorts of pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, USP8 deficiency could reduce tumor invasion and migration and tumor size in an immunity-dependent manner, and improve anti-tumor immunogenicity. USP8 inhibitor pretreatment led to reduced tumorigenesis and immunocompetent mice with Usp8knockdown tumors exhibited extended survival. Moreover, USP8 interacted positively with PD-L1 and upregulated its expression by inhibiting the ubiquitination-regulated proteasome degradation pathway in pancreatic cancer. Combination therapy with a USP8 inhibitor and anti-PD-L1 effectively suppressed pancreatic tumor growth by activation of cytotoxic T-cells and the anti-tumor immunity was mainly dependent on the PD-L1 pathway and CD8 + T cells. Our findings highlight the importance of targeting USP8, which can sensitize PD-L1-targeted pancreatic cancer to immunotherapy and might represent a novel therapeutic strategy to treat patients with pancreatic tumors in the future.

Highly desmoplastic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) contributes to tumor progression and resistance to current therapies. Clues targeting the notorious stromal environment have offered hope for improving therapeutic response whereas the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we find that prognostic microfibril associated protein 5 (MFAP5) is involved in activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Inhibition of MFAP5highCAFs shows synergistic effect with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy and PD-L1-based immunotherapy. Mechanistically, MFAP5 deficiency in CAFs downregulates HAS2 and CXCL10 via MFAP5/RCN2/ERK/STAT1 axis, leading to angiogenesis, hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagens deposition reduction, cytotoxic T cells infiltration, and tumor cells apoptosis. Additionally, in vivo blockade of CXCL10 with AMG487 could partially reverse the pro-tumor effect from MFAP5 overexpression in CAFs and synergize with anti-PD-L1 antibody to enhance the immunotherapeutic effect. Therefore, targeting MFAP5highCAFs might be a potential adjuvant therapy to enhance the immunochemotherapy effect in PDAC via remodeling the desmoplastic and immunosuppressive microenvironment.

A flat-plate ceramic ultrafiltration membrane with high permeability is prepared by a spray-dip coating method and one-step sintering. In the preparation process, the intermediate layer is prepared by spraying directly on the support even if the particle size of the powder is less than the pore size of the support. And then, the top separation layer is prepared by dipping the dried intermediate layer into the suspension and one-step co-sintering. The results show that the ceramic ultrafiltration membrane has an average pore size of 50 nm and a pure water flux of 725.74 L/(m2h bar). The rejection rate is 98.8% and the stable flux is 180 L/(m2h bar) in treating the stable 1,000 mg/L oil–water emulsion, which indicates the high permeability in treating oil-containing wastewater.

Therapeutic strategies to treat pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unsatisfying and limited. Therefore, it is imperative to fully determine the mechanisms underlying PDAC progression. In the present study, we report a novel role of regulator of calcineurin 1, isoform 4 (RCAN1.4) in regulating PDAC progression. We demonstrated that RCAN1.4 expression was decreased significantly in PDAC tissues compared with that in para-cancerous tissues, and correlated with poor prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. In vitro, stable high expression of RCAN1.4 could suppress the metastasis and proliferation and angiogenesis of pancreatic tumor cells. In addition, interferon alpha inducible protein 27 (IFI27) was identified as having a functional role in RCAN1.4-mediated PDAC migration and invasion, while VEGFA play a vital role in RCAN1.4-mediated PDAC angiogenesis. Analysis of mice with subcutaneously/orthotopic implanted xenograft tumors and liver metastasis model confirmed that RCAN1.4 could modulate the growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis of tumors via IFI27/VEGFA in vivo. In conclusion, our results suggested that RCAN1.4 suppresses the growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis of PDAC, functioning partly via IFI27 and VEGFA. Importantly, our results provided possible diagnostic criteria and therapeutic targets for PDAC.

Ternary LiNixCoyMnzO2oxides with extremely high nickel (Ni) contents (x≥ 0.9) are promising cathode candidates developed for higher-energy-density lithium-ion batteries, with an aim to relieve mileage anxiety. However, the structural and interfacial instability still restrict their application in electric vehicles. In this work, a novel electrolyte additive 1,2,4-1H-Triazole (HTZ) is introduced to improve the interfacial stability of LiNi0.9Co0.05Mn0.05O2(NCM90), promoting cycle life both at 30 °C and a harsh condition of 60 °C, as well as rate capability. The NCM90||Li cells with 0.3% HTZ-added electrolyte retain 86.6% of their original capacity after 150 cycles at 1C and 30 °C, well exceeding 74.8% obtained with the baseline electrolyte. It is revealed that the additive HTZ could inhibit the thermal decomposition of LiPF6salt and suppress the generation of HF acidic species. More importantly, additive HTZ is preferentially oxidized to construct a compact and dense cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) layer, which is beneficial for stabilizing the electrode/electrolyte interface and suppressing unwanted side reactions.

This study examined whether global processing style facilitates the discovery of structural similarity. In the two experiments, the participants were presented with three stories after being primed with global or local processing through a Navon task. The first story was the base story, and the other two stories shared either surface similarity or structural similarity with the base story. The results showed that, compared with the participants of the local processing and control groups, a substantially greater number of participants of the global processing group selected the story with structural similarity to the base story. This finding indicated that the global processing style can facilitate the discovery of structural similarity.

Graphene oxide exhibits many unique physicochemical properties and has been investigated widely in many areas. For the present contribution, graphene oxide, using flake graphite as a graphite precursor has been prepared by means of the modified Hummers method. By adjusting the oxidation processes, different graphene oxide products have been obtained. By characterizing the structure and performance of these graphene oxide products, it was discovered that graphene oxide prepared with a greater oxidant content and over a longer reaction time has a well-defined sheet size distribution and exhibits superhydrophilicity. The present work provides a simple method to control the sheet size distribution and the hydrophilicity of graphene oxide by simply adjusting the oxidation process.

ObjectiveHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is heterogeneous, especially in multifocal tumours, which decreases the efficacy of clinical treatments. Understanding tumour heterogeneity is critical when developing novel treatment strategies. However, a comprehensive investigation of tumour heterogeneity in HCC is lacking, and the available evidence regarding tumour heterogeneity has not led to improvements in clinical practice.DesignWe harvested 42 samples from eight HCC patients and evaluated tumour heterogeneity using whole-exome sequencing, RNA sequencing, mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics, cytometry by time-of-flight, and single-cell analysis. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reactions were performed to confirm the expression levels of genes. Three independent cohorts were further used to validate the findings.ResultsTumour heterogeneity is considerable with regard to the genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of lesions and tumours. The immune status of the HCC microenvironment was relatively less heterogenous. Targeting local immunity could be a suitable intervention with balanced precision and practicability. By clustering immune cells in the HCC microenvironment, we identified three distinctive HCC subtypes with immunocompetent, immunodeficient, and immunosuppressive features. We further revealed the specific metabolic features and cytokine/chemokine expression levels of the different subtypes. Determining the expression levels of CD45 and Foxp3 using immunohistochemistry facilitated the correct classification of HCC patients and the prediction of their prognosis.ConclusionThere is comprehensive intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity in all dimensions of HCC. Based on the results, we propose a novel immunophenotypic classification of HCCs that facilitates prognostic prediction and may support decision making with regard to the choice of therapy.

Proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell (H-SOFC) based on layered perovskite type GdBaCuCoO5+x(GBCC) cathode was fabricated with in situ drop-coating BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ(BZCY) electrolyte membrane. The influences of Cu doping into Co sites of GdBaCo2O5+xon the electrical conductivity and conduction mechanism, thermal expansion property and electrochemical performance of cathode materials and corresponding single cell were investigated. Results show that the electrical conductivity decreased and the conduction mechanism would gradually transform to the semiconductor-like behavior. A high maximum power density of 480 mW cm−2was obtained for the anode supported NiO–BZCY/NiO–BZCY/BZCY/GBCC single cells with wet H2fuel at 700 °C. The corresponding polarization resistance was as low as 0.17 Ω cm2. The excellent electrochemical performance of as-prepared single cell indicates that GBCC is a good candidate of cathode materials for H-SOFCs.

Graphene-based conductive films have already attracted great attention due to their unique and outstanding physical properties. In this work, in order to develop a novel, effective method to produce these films with good electrical conductivity, a simple and green method is reported to rapidly and effectively reduce graphene oxide film using a low temperature heat treatment. The reduction of graphene oxide film is verified by XRD, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Compared with graphene oxide film, the obtained reduced graphene oxide film has better electrical conductivity and its sheet resistance decreases from 25.3 kO × sq-1to 3.3 kO × sq-1after the heat treatment from 160 to 230 °C. The mechanism of thermal reduction of the graphene oxide film mainly results from the removal of the oxygen-containing functional groups and the structural changes. All these results indicate that the low temperature heat treatment is a suitable and effective method for the reduction of graphene oxide film.

Protective immunity following vaccination is sustained by long-lived antibody-secreting cells and resting memory B cells (MBCs). Responses to two-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 vaccination are evaluated longitudinally by multimodal single-cell analysis in three infection-naïve individuals. Integrated surface protein, transcriptomics, and B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire analysis of sorted plasmablasts and spike+(S-2P+) and S-2P−B cells reveal clonal expansion and accumulating mutations among S-2P+cells. These cells are enriched in a cluster of immunoglobulin G-expressing MBCs and evolve along a bifurcated trajectory rooted in CXCR3+MBCs. One branch leads to CD11c+atypical MBCs while the other develops from CD71+activated precursors to resting MBCs, the dominant population at month 6. Among 12 evolving S-2P+clones, several are populated with plasmablasts at early timepoints as well as CD71+activated and resting MBCs at later timepoints, and display intra- and/or inter-cohort BCR convergence. These relationships suggest a coordinated and predictable evolution of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-generated MBCs.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is not sensitive to immune checkpoint blockade therapy, and negative feedback of tumor immune evasion might be partly responsible. We isolated CD8+ T cells and cultured them in vitro. Proteomics analysis was performed to compare changes in Panc02 cell lines cultured with conditioned medium, and leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) was identified as a differential gene. LRRK2 expression was related to CD8+ T cell spatial distribution in PDAC clinical samples and upregulated by CD8+ T cells via interferon gamma (IFN-γ) simulation in vitro.Knockdown or pharmacological inhibition of LRRK2 activated an anti-pancreatic cancer immune response in mice, which meant that LRRK2 acted as an immunosuppressive gene. Mechanistically, LRRK2 phosphorylated PD-L1 at T210 to inhibit its ubiquitination-mediated proteasomal degradation. LRRK2 inhibition attenuated PD-1/PD-L1 blockade-mediated, T cell-induced upregulation of LRRK2/PD-L1, thus sensitizing the mice to anti-PD therapy. In addition, adenosylcobalamin, the activated form of vitamin B12, which was found to be a broad-spectrum inhibitor of LRRK2, could inhibit LRRK2 in vivoand sensitize PDAC to immunotherapy as well, which potentially endows LRRK2 inhibition with clinical translational value. Therefore, PD-L1 blockade combined with LRRK2 inhibition could be a novel therapy strategy for PDAC.

AbstractYttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) hollow fiber ceramic membranes for microfiltration applications were prepared by the phase inversion and sintering technique. The influence of suspension solid content on the rheological behavior of suspension, and the microstructure and properties of the hollow fiber membranes were investigated. With the addition of YSZ powder, the viscosity of the spinning suspension increased obviously, and the rheological behavior of the suspension changed from Newtonian fluid into thinning behavior fluid. The increment of suspension viscosity upon the YSZ content led to a more porous inner surface, larger inner finger-like pores extending outward, and reduced outer finger-like layer for the prepared hollow fiber membrane. When the YSZ content was increased to 65%, a double-layer structure mostly consisting of outer sponge-like layer and inner finger-like structure layer was formed. The pure water flux of the hollow fiber membrane decreased with the increment of YSZ content, while the bending strength showed obvious enhancement. The prepared membranes showed good oil/water separation performance, and steady permeate flux of more than 0.85 m3/(m2 h bar) and high oil rejection rate of 99.2–99.7% were attained. Transmembrane resistance analysis indicated that the membranes prepared at 50 and 65% YSZ content had different dominant fouling mechanism in oil/water separation process.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) hollow fiber ceramic membranes for microfiltration applications were prepared by the phase inversion and sintering technique. The influence of suspension solid content on the rheological behavior of suspension, and the microstructure and properties of the hollow fiber membranes were investigated. With the addition of YSZ powder, the viscosity of the spinning suspension increased obviously, and the rheological behavior of the suspension changed from Newtonian fluid into thinning behavior fluid. The increment of suspension viscosity upon the YSZ content led to a more porous inner surface, larger inner finger-like pores extending outward, and reduced outer finger-like layer for the prepared hollow fiber membrane. When the YSZ content was increased to 65%, a double-layer structure mostly consisting of outer sponge-like layer and inner finger-like structure layer was formed. The pure water flux of the hollow fiber membrane decreased with the increment of YSZ content, while the bending strength showed obvious enhancement. The prepared membranes showed good oil/water separation performance, and steady permeate flux of more than 0.85 m3/(m2 h bar) and high oil rejection rate of 99.2–99.7% were attained. Transmembrane resistance analysis indicated that the membranes prepared at 50 and 65% YSZ content had different dominant fouling mechanism in oil/water separation process.

AbstractThe tubular Al2O3microfiltration membranes modified with nano-TiO2coating were applied in the separation of waste oil-in-water emulsion. The separation performances of the MF membranes with and without nano-TiO2modification were studied under two different operation modes, i.e. the circulation mode and the concentration mode, respectively. The circulation mode in which the oil concentration in feed keeps constant simulates the condition of the great amount of feed to be treated, while the concentration mode in which the oil concentration in feed increases with the extraction of the filtrate simulates the condition of a small amount of feed to be treated. The results show that the operation mode has a less effect on the flux of the MF membranes, but has an important effect on the oil concentration of filtrate for the unmodified membrane. The oil concentration in filtrate under concentration mode is higher than that of circulation mode. For the modified membrane, the operation mode has a less effect on the flux and the oil concentration of filtrate, because the hydrophilic nano-TiO2coating prevents oil droplets from penetrating the membrane pores. Under both operation modes, the fluxes of the modified membranes are higher than those of the unmodified membranes.

The tubular Al2O3microfiltration membranes modified with nano-TiO2coating were applied in the separation of waste oil-in-water emulsion. The separation performances of the MF membranes with and without nano-TiO2modification were studied under two different operation modes, i.e. the circulation mode and the concentration mode, respectively. The circulation mode in which the oil concentration in feed keeps constant simulates the condition of the great amount of feed to be treated, while the concentration mode in which the oil concentration in feed increases with the extraction of the filtrate simulates the condition of a small amount of feed to be treated. The results show that the operation mode has a less effect on the flux of the MF membranes, but has an important effect on the oil concentration of filtrate for the unmodified membrane. The oil concentration in filtrate under concentration mode is higher than that of circulation mode. For the modified membrane, the operation mode has a less effect on the flux and the oil concentration of filtrate, because the hydrophilic nano-TiO2coating prevents oil droplets from penetrating the membrane pores. Under both operation modes, the fluxes of the modified membranes are higher than those of the unmodified membranes.

AbstractIntegrated membrane technology is a membrane separation system, which can overcome the disadvantage of single membrane, save the cost, and improve the product quality. Chlorogenic acid, which is an effective component of Chinese medicine and a heat-sensitive substance, is not stable at high operation temperature. Chlorogenic acid with molecular weight of 354 Da and good solubility in water can be treated by nanofiltration (NF) membrane. In this work, polyetherimide (PEI) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with good chemical and thermal stability is used in the purification of chlorogenic acid solution. Positively charged HACC/PEI NF membrane with good antibacterial performance and hydrophilicity is used to concentrate chlorogenic acid solution. It is found that, the PEI UF membrane can separate chlorogenic acid with other components and improve the purity of chlorogenic acid. At the same time, the rejection to chlorogenic acid of the positively charged NF membrane is about 92% which is suitable for the concentration of chlorogenic acid solution. The integrated membrane technology is very useful in the production of chlorogenic acid.

Integrated membrane technology is a membrane separation system, which can overcome the disadvantage of single membrane, save the cost, and improve the product quality. Chlorogenic acid, which is an effective component of Chinese medicine and a heat-sensitive substance, is not stable at high operation temperature. Chlorogenic acid with molecular weight of 354 Da and good solubility in water can be treated by nanofiltration (NF) membrane. In this work, polyetherimide (PEI) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with good chemical and thermal stability is used in the purification of chlorogenic acid solution. Positively charged HACC/PEI NF membrane with good antibacterial performance and hydrophilicity is used to concentrate chlorogenic acid solution. It is found that, the PEI UF membrane can separate chlorogenic acid with other components and improve the purity of chlorogenic acid. At the same time, the rejection to chlorogenic acid of the positively charged NF membrane is about 92% which is suitable for the concentration of chlorogenic acid solution. The integrated membrane technology is very useful in the production of chlorogenic acid.

AbstractMembrane processes are gaining importance in water applications as a result of the advances in membrane technology and the increasing requirements on water quality. In this work, 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan with positively charged character and good membrane-forming ability was utilized to fabricate the functional layer of the composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane. Reinforced polyetherimide ultrafiltration membrane was used as the support layer for its excellent thermal and solvent resistance. Effects of polymer concentration, reaction time, cross-linking agent concentration, and cross-linking temperature on membrane performance were studied in detail. When the composite membrane was prepared under optimized conditions and tested at 0.3 MPa and 20°C, the flux of the composite NF membrane was about 10.9 L/m2h and the MgCl2rejection of it was about 83.1%. The surface morphologies of the composite membrane and substrate membrane were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The composite membrane showed a classical positively charged membrane character which had higher rejection to multivalent cations.

Membrane processes are gaining importance in water applications as a result of the advances in membrane technology and the increasing requirements on water quality. In this work, 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan with positively charged character and good membrane-forming ability was utilized to fabricate the functional layer of the composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane. Reinforced polyetherimide ultrafiltration membrane was used as the support layer for its excellent thermal and solvent resistance. Effects of polymer concentration, reaction time, cross-linking agent concentration, and cross-linking temperature on membrane performance were studied in detail. When the composite membrane was prepared under optimized conditions and tested at 0.3 MPa and 20°C, the flux of the composite NF membrane was about 10.9 L/m2h and the MgCl2rejection of it was about 83.1%. The surface morphologies of the composite membrane and substrate membrane were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The composite membrane showed a classical positively charged membrane character which had higher rejection to multivalent cations.

In comparison to conventional metallic electrodes, graphene possesses superior properties in terms of higher optical transmittance, tunable work function, excellent stability in air, etc. Here, we demonstrate the use of graphene as transparent conductive electrodes for constructing highly efficient hybrid heterojunction solar cells based on nanostructured silicon, including silicon nanowire (SiNW) and silicon nanohole (SiNH) arrays. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is adopted as hole transport layer in the hybrid heterojunction. It also offers a large offset between lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the organic and the conduction band minimum of Si to reduce the electron recombination at graphene anode. The roles of graphene layer number, silicon surface modification, as well as P3HT layer thickness are systemically investigated. After sufficient device optimization, the devices based on graphene/P3HT/SiNW array and graphene/P3HT/SiNH array have achieved power conversion efficiencies of 9.94% and 10.34%, respectively. Considering the simple and low-cost solution processed capability for both graphene and P3HT layers, we believed that graphene/organic/silicon is a viable low-temperature technique for highly efficient silicon solar cell.

ABSTRACTDNA microarrays were used to analyze Candida glabrataoropharyngeal isolates from seven hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients whose isolates developed azole resistance while the recipients received fluconazole prophylaxis. Transcriptional profiling of the paired isolates revealed 19 genes upregulated in the majority of resistant isolates compared to their paired susceptible isolates. All seven resistant isolates had greater than 2-fold upregulation of C. glabrata PDR1(CgPDR1), a master transcriptional regulator of the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) network, and all seven resistant isolates showed upregulation of known CgPDR1target genes. The altered transcriptome can be explained in part by the observation that all seven resistant isolates had acquired a single nonsynonymous mutation in their CgPDR1open reading frame. Four mutations occurred in the regulatory domain (L280P, L344S, G348A, and S391L) and one in the activation domain (G943S), while two mutations (N764I and R772I) occurred in an undefined region. Association of azole resistance and the CgPDR1mutations was investigated in the same genetic background by introducing the CgPDR1sequences from one sensitive isolate and five resistant isolates into a laboratory azole-hypersusceptible strain (Cgpdr1strain) via integrative transformation. The Cgpdr1strain was restored to wild-type fluconazole susceptibility when transformed with CgPDR1from the susceptible isolate but became resistant when transformed with CgPDR1from the resistant isolates. However, despite the identical genetic backgrounds, upregulation of CgPDR1and CgPDR1target genes varied between the five transformants, independent of the domain locations in which the mutations occurred. In summary, gain-of-function mutations in CgPDR1contributed to the clinical azole resistance, but different mutations had various degrees of impact on the CgPDR1target genes.

Constructing the strong interaction between the matrix and the active centers dominates the design of high-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials. However, the interaction-relevant absorption mechanism is still unclear, and the design of ultrahigh reflection loss (RL< −80 dB) absorbers remains a great challenge. Herein, CoFe-based Prussian blue (PB) nanocubes are coprecipitated on the surface of ultrathin CoAl-LDH nanoplates with the assistance of unsaturated coordination sites. During the subsequent pyrolysis process, CoAl-LDH serves as a “ligand” providing a Co source and reacts with Fe or C in the CoFe-PB “host” to form stable CoFe alloys or CoCxspecies. As a result, strong reactions emerged between the CoAl-LDH matrix and the active CoFe-CoCx@NC centers. Based on the experimental results, the CoAl/CoFe-CoCx@NC hierarchical heterostructure delivers good dielectric losses (dipolar polarization, interface polarization, and conductive loss), magnetic losses (eddy current loss, natural resonance, and exchange resonance), and impedance matching, resulting in a remarkable EMW absorption performance with a reflection loss (RL) value of −82.1 dB at a matching thickness of 3.8 mm. Theoretical results (commercial CST) identify that the strong interaction between the 2D CoAl-LDH “ligand” and 2D CoFe-CoCx“host” promotes a robust heterointerface among the nanoparticles, nanosheets, and nanoplates, which extremely contribute to the dielectric loss. Meanwhile, the coupling effect of nanosheets and nanoplates greatly contributes to the matching performance. This work provides an aggressive strategy for the effect of ligands and hosts on high-performance EMW absorption.

During viremia, the HIV-specific memory response in lymph nodes is mediated by T-bethiB cells that inefficiently participate in affinity selection.