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In order to investigate the thermal inertia of steam systems and address the scheduling challenges of low-carbon energy systems in industrial parks， a dynamic analysis model reflecting the spatiotemporal transmission of steam is proposed. A virtual steam pipe energy storage model is established， incorporating 5 key storage parameters and 3 indicators to quantify thermal inertia. The thermal inertia of a 163-node urban-scale steam system during operation is quantified， revealing a net stored heat of 7，440.3 kilograms and a discharge capacity of 10.16 tons within a 0.5-hour scheduling cycle， and an average discharge utilization rate of 14.59%. This paper provides quantitative basis for the analysis and optimization of steam systems in industrial parks.

To address the ambiguity surrounding methods and standards for reducing carbon emissions in industrial processes， it is essential to quantitatively assess the impact of carbon emissions and formulate a scientifically grounded carbon reduction plan. Traditional approaches to carbon reduction in industrial processes are confined to measures such as energy substitution and equipment modification within the factory. Therefore， a carbon handprint method for describing the positive climate impact of products throughout their lifecycle is proposed. Based on the carbon footprint， the paper establishes a more comprehensive evaluation system. With the stator coils for hydroelectric generators manufactured in the industrial processes of a particular company as the research subject， various carbon reduction schemes both inside and outside the boundaries are considered. Boundary delineation， carbon footprint calculation， and carbon handprint analysis are conducted， and efficiency increments， lifespan increments， and carbon handprints generated from different schemes are calculated. The results show that the replacement of insulation materials has the most significant effect， and the carbon handprint method proves to be an effective guide for carbon reduction transformation in the case company.

Stem cell-based therapy holds promise for cartilage regeneration in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Injectable hydrogels have been developed to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and facilitate stem cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. However, these hydrogels face limitations such as poor mechanical strength, inadequate biocompatibility, and suboptimal biodegradability, collectively hindering their effectiveness in cartilage regeneration. This study introduces an injectable, biodegradable, and self-healing hydrogel composed of chitosan–PEG and PEG–dialdehyde for stem cell delivery. This hydrogel can form in situ by blending two polymer solutions through injection at physiological temperature, encapsulating human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) during the gelation process. Featuring a 3D porous structure with large pore size, optimal mechanical properties, biodegradability, easy injectability, and rapid self-healing capability, the hydrogel supports the growth, proliferation, and differentiation of hADSCs. Notably, encapsulated hADSCs form 3D spheroids during proliferation, with their sizes increasing over time alongside hydrogel degradation while maintaining high viability for at least 10 days. Additionally, hADSCs encapsulated in this hydrogel exhibit upregulated expression of chondrogenic differentiation genes and proteins compared to those cultured on 2D surfaces. These characteristics make the chitosan–PEG/PEG–dialdehyde hydrogel–stem cell construct suitable for direct implantation through minimally invasive injection, enhancing stem cell-based therapy for KOA and other cell-based treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common neurological complication of anesthesia and surgery in aging individuals. Neuroinflammation has been identified as a hallmark of POCD. However, safe and effective treatments of POCD are still lacking. Itaconate is an immunoregulatory metabolite derived from the tricarboxylic acid cycle that exerts anti-inflammatory effects by activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. In this study, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanism of 4-octyl itaconate (OI), a cell-permeable itaconate derivative, on POCD in aged mice. Methods: A POCD animal model was established by performing aseptic laparotomy in 18-month-old male C57BL/6 mice under isoflurane anesthesia while maintaining spontaneous ventilation. OI was intraperitoneally injected into the mice after surgery. Primary microglia and neurons were isolated and treated to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), isoflurane, and OI. Cognitive function, neuroinflammatory responses, as well as levels of gut microbiota and their metabolites were evaluated. To determine the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of OI in POCD, ML385, an antagonist of Nrf2, was administered intraperitoneally. Cognitive function, neuroinflammatory responses, endogenous neurogenesis, neuronal apoptosis, and Nrf2/extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) signaling pathway were evaluated. Results: Our findings revealed that OI treatment significantly alleviated anesthesia/surgery-induced cognitive impairment, concomitant with reduced levels of the neuroinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6, as well as suppressed activation of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus. Similarly, OI treatment inhibited the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in LPS and isoflurane-induced primary microglia in vitro. Intraperitoneal administration of OI led to alterations in the gut microbiota and promoted the production of microbiota-derived metabolites associated with neurogenesis. We further confirmed that OI promoted endogenous neurogenesis and inhibited neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of aged mice. Mechanistically, we observed a decrease in Nrf2 expression in hippocampal neurons both in vitro and in vivo, which was reversed by OI treatment. We found that Nrf2 was required for OI treatment to inhibit neuroinflammation in POCD. The enhanced POCD recovery and promotion of neurogenesis triggered by OI exposure were, at least partially, mediated by the activation of the Nrf2/ERK signaling pathway. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that OI can attenuate anesthesia/surgery-induced cognitive impairment by stabilizing the gut microbiota and activating Nrf2 signaling to restrict neuroinflammation and promote neurogenesis. Boosting endogenous itaconate or supplementation with exogenous itaconate derivatives may represent novel strategies for the treatment of POCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat leaf blight caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a widespread fungal disease that poses a serious risk to wheat. Biological control without causing environmental pollution is one of the safest and most effective method to control plant diseases. The antagonistic bacterial strain HeN-7 (identified as Bacillus velezensis) was isolated from tobacco leaves cultivated in Henan province, China. The results of different concentrations of cell-free supernatant (CFS) from HeN-7 culture against B. sorokiniana mycelia showed that 20% HeN-7 CFS (v/v) reached the maximum inhibition rate of 96%. In the potted plants control assay, B. velezensis HeN-7 CFS exhibited remarkable biocontrol activity on the wheat infected with B. sorokiniana, the best pot control efficacy was 65% at 20% CFS. The research on the mechanism of action demonstrated that HeN-7 CFS induced the membrane lipid peroxidation in B. sorokiniana, leading to the disruption of cell membrane integrity and resulting in the leakage of cell contents; in addition, the intracellular mitochondrial membrane potential in mycelium dissipated and reactive oxygen species accumulated, thereby inhibiting the growth of B. sorokiniana. These results indicate that B. velezensis HeN-7 is a promising candidate as a biological control agent against Bipolaris sorokiniana infection., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Aims: Ischemic stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and isoflurane (ISO) preconditioning exhibit neuroprotective properties. However, it remains unclear whether tDCS enhances the protective effect of ISO preconditioning on ischemic stroke, and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be clarified., Method: A model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), a rat ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury model, and an in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (O/R) model of ischemic injury were developed. ISO preconditioning and tDCS were administered daily for 7 days before MCAO modeling. Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, modified neurological severity score, and hanging-wire test were conducted to assess infarct volume and neurological outcomes. Untargeted metabolomic experiments, adeno-associated virus, lentiviral vectors, and small interfering RNA techniques were used to explore the underlying mechanisms., Results: tDCS/DCS enhanced the protective effects of ISO pretreatment on I/R injury-induced brain damage. This was evidenced by reduced infarct volume and improved neurological outcomes in rats with MCAO, as well as decreased cortical neuronal death after O/R injury. Untargeted metabolomic experiments identified oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) as a critical pathological process for ISO-mediated neuroprotection from I/R injury. The combination of tDCS/DCS with ISO preconditioning significantly inhibited I/R injury-induced OXPHOS. Mechanistically, Akirin2, a small nuclear protein that regulates cell proliferation and differentiation, was found to decrease in the cortex of rats with MCAO and in cortical primary neurons subjected to O/R injury. Akirin2 functions upstream of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN). tDCS/DCS was able to further upregulate Akirin2 levels and activate the Akirin2/PTEN signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro, compared with ISO pretreatment alone, thereby contributing to the improvement of cerebral I/R injury., Conclusion: tDCS treatment enhances the neuroprotective effects of ISO preconditioning on ischemic stroke by inhibiting oxidative stress and activating Akirin2-PTEN signaling pathway, highlighting potential of combination therapy in ischemic stroke., (© 2024 The Author(s). CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Accurately and promptly predicting the response of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) to targeted therapy is essential for optimizing treatment strategies. However, some fractions of recurrent or metastatic GISTs present as non-FDG-avid lesions, limiting the value of [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([ 18 F]FDG PET/CT) in treatment evaluation. This study evaluated the efficacy of [ 18 F]F-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI)-42 [ 18 F]FAPI-42) PET/CT for assessing the treatment response in recurrent or metastatic GISTs, in comparison to [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT and explores a model integrating PET/CT imaging and clinical parameters to optimize the clinical use of these diagnostic tools., Methods: Our retrospective analysis included 27 patients with recurrent or metastatic GISTs who underwent [ 18 F]FAPI-42 PET/CT and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT at baseline before switching targeted therapy. Treatment response status was divided into a progression group (PG) and a non-progression group (NPG) based on the Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, according to the contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan at six months. [ 18 F]FAPI-42 and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT parameters including the mean standardized uptake value (SUV mean ), the standard uptake value corrected for lean body mass (SUL peak ), the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ), tumor-to-blood pool SUV ratio (TBR), tumor-to-liver SUV ratio (TLR), metabolic tumor volume (MTV)/FAPI-positive tumor volume (GTV-FAPI), total lesion glycolysis (TLG)/FAPI-positive total lesion accumulation (TLF) were correlated with the response status to identify indicative of treatment response. The predictive performance of them was quantified by generating receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC), calibration curves, and cross-validation., Results: A total of 110 lesions were identified in 27 patients. Compared with PG, NPG was associated with lower levels of TBR and SUV mean in FDG PET/CT (TBR-FDG, SUV mean -FDG; P=0.033 and P=0.038, respectively), with higher SUL peak and TLF in FAPI PET/CT (SUL peak -FAPI, TLF-FAPI; P=0.10 and P=0.049, respectively). The predictive power of a composite-parameter model, including TBR-FDG, SUL peak -FAPI, gene mutation, and type of targeted therapy [area under the curve (AUC) =0.865], was superior to the few-parameter models incorporating TBR-FDG (AUC =0.637, P<0.001), SUL peak -FAPI (AUC =0.665, P<0.001) or both (AUC =0.721, P<0.001)., Conclusions: Both [ 18 F]FAPI-42 PET/CT and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT have value in predicting the treatment response of recurrent or metastatic GISTs. And [ 18 F]FAPI-42 PET/CT offers synergistic value when used in combination with [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT. Notably, the nomogram generated from the model incorporating [ 18 F]FAPI-42 PET/CT, [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT parameters, gene mutation, and type of targeted therapy could yield more precise predictions of the response of recurrent metastatic GISTs., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://qims.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/qims-24-192/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.)