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In acidic proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), the anode oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts rely heavily on the expensive and scarce iridium‐based materials. Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) with lower price and higher OER activity, has been explored for the similar task, but has been restricted by the poor stability. Herein, we developed an anion modification strategy to improve the OER performance of RuO2 in acidic media. The designed multicomponent catalyst based on sulfate anchored on RuO2/MoO3 displays a low overpotential of 190 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and stably operates for 500 hours with a very low degradation rate of 20 μV h−1 in acidic electrolyte. When assembled in a PEMWE cell, this catalyst as an anode shows an excellent stability at 500 mA cm−2 for 150 h. Experimental and theoretical results revealed that MoO3 could stabilize sulfate anion on RuO2 surface to suppress its leaching during OER. Such MoO3‐anchored sulfate not only reduces the formation energy of *OOH intermediate on RuO2, but also impedes both the surface Ru and lattice oxygen loss, thereby achieving the high OER activity and exceptional durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Grime's adaptive strategy and its intraspecific variation can help understand the mechanism of plant invasions. • Most invasive plant species are R-selected whereas the natives are C-selected. • Invasive plant species' C- and R-score decreased, whilst S-score increased with elevation. • Few of the CSR scores of native plant species showed clear elevation patterns. • The variations of CSR strategies were species-specific and microhabitat-dependent. The dispersal of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) into mountains has posed great threats to local native plant species. It has been assumed that high intraspecific trait variability contributes to the spread of invasive plant species, even along mountains. Although intraspecific variability of single trait was more often investigated, Grime's competitor, stress-tolerator, and ruderal (CSR) plant strategies, representing trade-offs among multiple functional characters, provides both theoretical and methodological frameworks to inspect plant species' adaptation to environments. Thus, considering Grime's CSR plant strategies with its intraspecific variation could improve the understanding of mechanisms of successful invasion by alien plant species. We estimated intraspecific variation of CSR plant strategies of five invasive and three native herb species and environmental characteristics (e.g., soil physiochemical variables) in their habitats along an elevational gradient ranging from 300 m to 1500 m a.s.l. We conducted linear mixed models to assess the variance explained by status (native vs. invasive), species identity and elevation, whereas linear regressions were used to link each of CSR scores of each species to elevation and environmental factors. The C- and R-score decreased, and the S-score increased along the elevational gradient, especially for invasive plant species. Species identity explained more proportion of the variation of CSR plant strategies. In addition, microhabitat variables like canopy cover and the ratio of soil ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 +-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 --N) concentrations (NH4/NO3) rather than elevation better explained the variation of CSR plant strategies of four out of the eight examined species. Our results showed that the species-specific and microhabitat-dependent factors determined the intraspecific variation of CSR plant strategies of the eight species along the elevational gradient. Furthermore, our study stresses the importance of microenvironment, particularly soil characteristics, in shaping intraspecific variation of plant species, which is essential for plant species to survive on large environmental gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous studies have assessed the efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the treatment processes and outcomes of these studies vary., Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of FMT for treating UC by conducting a systematic meta-analysis., Methods: The inclusion criteria involved reports of adult patients with UC treated with FMT, while studies that did not report clinical outcomes or that included patients with infection were excluded. Clinical remission (CR) and endoscopic remission (ER) were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively., Results: We included nine studies retrieved from five electronic databases. The FMT group had better CR than the control group [relative risk (RR) = 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-1.94; P < 0.0008]. ER was statistically significantly different between the two groups (RR = 2.80; 95%CI: 1.93-4.05; P < 0.00001). Adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups., Conclusion: FMT demonstrates favorable performance and safety; however, well-designed randomized clinical trials are still needed before the widespread use of FMT can be recommended. Furthermore, standardizing the FMT process is urgently needed for improved safety and efficacy., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Temperature lapse rate (TLR), measured as the degree of temperature change along an altitudinal gradient, is a key indicator of multiple ecological processes of mountain systems. Although many studies have examined temperature changes of open air or near-surface along altitudes, we know little about altitudinal variations of soil temperature, which play an important role in regulating growth and reproduction of organisms, as well as ecosystem nutrient cycling. Based on temperature data of near-surface (15 cm above ground) and soil layers (8 cm below ground) from 12 sampling sites of subtropical forest along an altitudinal gradient (300-1300 m) in Jiangxi Guan-shan National Nature Reserve from September 2018 to August 2021, we calculated the lapse rates of mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures, as well as accumulated temperatures by using simple linear regression for both near-surface and soil temperature. The seasonal dynamics of aforementioned variables were also evaluated. The results showed that there were large differences among mean, maximum, and minimum lapse rates for annual near-surface temperature, which were 0.38, 0.31 and 0.51 ℃·(100 m) -1 , respectively. But little variation was documented for soil temperature which were 0.40, 0.38 and 0.42 ℃·(100 m) -1 , respectively. The seasonal variations of temperature lapse rates for near-surface and soil layers were minor except for minimum temperature. The lapse rates of minimum temperature were deeper in spring and winter for near-surface and in spring and autumn for soil layers. For growing degree days (GDD), the accumulated temperature under both layers were negatively correlated with altitude, and the lapse rates of ≥5 ℃ were 163 ℃·d·(100 m) -1 for near-surface and 179 ℃·d·(100 m) -1 for soil. The ≥5 ℃ GDD in soil were about 15 days longer than that in near-surface at the same altitude. The results showed inconsistent patterns of altitudinal variations between near-surface and soil temperature. Soil temperature and its lapse rates had minor seasonal variations compared with the near-surface counterparts, which was related to the strong buffering capacity of soil.

Astrocytic morphological plasticity and its modulation of adjacent neuronal activity are largely determined by astrocytic volume regulation, in which glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), aquaporin 4 (AQP4), and potassium channels including inwardly rectifying K + channel 4.1 (Kir4.1) are essential. However, associations of astrocyte-dominant Kir4.1 with other molecules in astrocytic volume regulation and the subsequent influence on neuronal activity remain unclear. Here, we report our study on these issues using primary cultures of rat pups' hypothalamic astrocytes and male adult rat brain slices. In astrocyte culture, hyposmotic challenge (HOC) significantly decreased GFAP monomer expression and astrocytic volume at 1.5 min and increased Kir4.1 expression and inwardly rectifying currents (IRCs) at 10 min. BaCl 2 (100 μmol/l) suppressed the HOC-increased IRCs, which was simulated by VU0134992 (2 μmol/l), a Kir4.1 blocker. Preincubation of the astrocyte culture with TGN-020 (10 μmol/l, a specific AQP4 blocker) made the HOC-increased Kir4.1 currents insignificant. In hypothalamic brain slices, HOC initially decreased and then increased the firing rate of vasopressin (VP) neurons in the supraoptic nucleus. In the presence of BaCl 2 or VU0134992, HOC-elicited rebound increase in VP neuronal activity was blocked. GFAP was molecularly associated with Kir4.1, which was increased by HOC at 20 min; this increase was blocked by BaCl 2 . These results suggest that HOC-evoked astrocytic retraction or decrease in the volume and length of its processes is associated with increased Kir4.1 activity. Kir4.1 involvement in HOC-elicited astrocytic retraction is associated with AQP4 activity and GFAP plasticity, which together determines the rebound excitation of VP neurons., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The present study explored the material basis and underlying mechanism of Wumei Pills in the treatment of ulcerative colitis(UC), diabetic enteropathy(DE), and irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.The active components and targets of Wumei Pills were obtained and screened out from TCMSP, and the target names were standardized by UniProt.The related targets of UC, DE, and IBS were searched from GeneCards, DisGeNET, DrugBank, and OMIM.The Venn dia-gram was constructed using the Venny 2.1 online analysis tool to obtain the common targets of the drug and diseases.The &quot;drug-active ingredient-target&quot; network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.2.Gene Ontology(GO) function enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of common targets were carried out by DAVID.The main active components and targets were docked by AutoDock.The therapeutic mechanism of Wumei Pills was presumedly related to the regulation of the cancer pathway, TNF signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3 K-Akt signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, etc.The results of molecular docking showed that the main active components could bind to the core targets, possessing stable conformation.The therapeutic effects of Wumei Pills against three diseases involved a variety of compounds such as flavonoids, sterols, and alkaloids in the prescriptions, which acted on key targets through multiple organs and participated in multiple signaling pathways such as apoptosis and immune inflammation, thereby exerting the therapeutic action on different diseases with the same method.This study explained the underlying mechanism of Wumei Pills in &quot;treating different diseases with same method&quot;, and is expected to provide a theoretical basis for further understanding the mechanism of Wumei Pills and exploring the new clinical application.