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[Display omitted] Non-precious metals have shown attractive catalytic prospects in hydrogen production from ammonia borane hydrolysis. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics in the hydrolysis process remains a challenge. Herein, P-bridged Fe-X-Co coupled sites in hollow carbon spheres (Fe-CoP@C) has been synthesized through in situ template solvothermal and subsequent surface-phosphorization. Benefiting from the optimized electronic structure induced by Fe doping to enhance the specific activity of Co sites, bimetallic synergy and hollow structure, the as-prepared Fe-CoP@C exhibits superior performances with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 183.5 min−1, and stability of over 5 cycles for ammonia borane hydrolysis, comparable to noble metal catalysts. Theoretical calculations reveal that the P-bridged Fe-X-Co coupled sites on the Fe-CoP@C catalyst surfaces is beneficial to adsorb reactant molecules and reduce their reaction barrier. This strategy of constructing hollow P-bridged bimetallic coupled sites may open new avenues for non-precious metal catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Although solar steam generation is promising for seawater desalination, it is less effective in purifying wastewater with both salt/heavy metal ions and organic contaminants. It is thus imperative to develop multifunctional integrated solar-driven water purification systems with high solar-thermal evaporation and photocatalytic degradation efficiencies. Herein, a lamellar reduced graphene oxide (L-RGO) foam with the vertical lamellar structure is fabricated by bidirectional-freezing, lyophilization, and slight chemical reduction for water purification. The unique vertical lamellar structure not only accelerates upward transport of water for facilitating water evaporation but also endows the L-RGO foam with superb high elasticity for tuning the interlayer distance and varying interactions between the oxygen-containing groups and water molecules to adjust water energy state. As a result, the L-RGO foam achieves a superb water evaporation rate of 2.40 kg m−2 h−1 along with an energy efficiency of 95.3 % under the compressive strain of 44.7 % under 1-sun irradiation. Equally importantly, the decoration of L-RGO foam with polypyrrole is capable of efficiently degrading organic pollutants while retaining high solar steam generation performances, exhibiting great potential in the comprehensive treatment of various water sources for relieving freshwater crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Lignin-derived carbon materials are widely used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. However, the electrochemical performance of these materials is limited by the surface chemistry and pore structure characteristics. Herein, a novel and sustainable strategy was proposed to prepare heteroatom-doped lignin-derived carbon material (Fe-NLC) with well-developed pore size distributions and enhanced graphitization structure via a facile lignin-Fe coordination method followed by carbonization. During carbonization, Fe3+ in lignin-metal complexes evolve into nanoparticles, which act as templates to introduce porous structures in carbon materials. Also, the lignin-Fe coordination structure endows the material with a higher graphitization during carbonization, thereby improving the structural properties of the carbon materials. Due to the removal of Fe 3 O 4 template, the obtained Fe-NLC possessed reasonable pore distribution and nitrigen/oxygen (N/O) functional groups, which can improve the wettability of materials and introduce pseudocapacitance. Accordingly, Fe-NLC possesses a notable specific capacitance of 264 F/g at 0.5 A/g. Furthermore, a symmetric supercapacitor Fe-NLC//Fe-NLC with a high voltage window (1.8 V) was constructed. The symmetric supercapacitor exhibits a maximum energy density of 15.97 Wh/kg at 450 W/kg, demonstrating well application prospects. This paper proposes a novel approach for preparing carbon materials via lignin-metal coordination to provide an alternative way to explore sustainable and low-cost energy storage materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anchoring of single-atom Pt2+ and Pt0 on the surface of Sb 2 S 3 NRs highly benefits to the formation of metal (Pt)-semiconductor (Sb 2 S 3) electric interaction, which synergistically improves the broadband light harvesting and promotes the Sb 2 S 3 -to-Pt electron transfer following inhibited photoexciton recombination kinetics and enhanced H proton adsorption capacity, resulting higher and more durable photoactivity for H 2 O-to-H 2 conversion. [Display omitted] • Single atomic Pt2+/Pt0 active sites were successfully anchored on the Sb 2 S 3 nanorods. • The metal (Pt)-semiconductor (Sb 2 S 3) electric interaction was formed. • The optimal composite catalyst possesses enhanced H proton adsorption capacity. • Higher and more durable photoactivity for H 2 O-to-H 2 conversion were achieved. • The mechanism of multisite cocatalysis for photoactivity improvement was elucidated. Single atomic metal (SAM) cocatalysis is a potential strategy to improve the performance of photocatalytic materials. However, the cocatalytic mechanism of SAM sites in different valence states is rarely reported. Herein, single atomic Pt2+/Pt0 active sites were anchored on Sb 2 S 3 nanorods to synergistically improve the photoactivity for hydrogen production under simulated sunlight. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations indicated that the coexistence of single atomic Pt2+/Pt0 sites synergistically improves the broadband light harvesting and promotes the Sb 2 S 3 -to-Pt electron transfer following inhibited photoexciton recombination kinetics and enhanced H proton adsorption capacity, resulting higher and more durable photoactivity for hydrogen production. Therefore, the optimal Sb 2 S 3 -Pt 0.9‰ composite catalyst achieved remarkably enhanced hydrogen evolution rate of 1.37 mmol∙g−1∙h−1 (about 105-fold greater of that of Sb 2 S 3 NRs) under faintly alkaline condition, and about 5.41 % of apparent quantum yield (AQY 700 nm) was achieved, which shows obvious superiority in hydrogen production by contrasting with the reported Sb 2 S 3 -based photocatalysts and conventional semiconductor photocatalytic materials modified with noble metals. This study elucidate a well-defined mechanism of multisite cocatalysis for photoactivity improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The exploration of highly efficient sunlight-assisted photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic contaminants or energy conversion is strongly encouraged. In this work, we designed a novel three-dimensional spindle-like Sv-ZIS@NMFe heterojunction made of amino functionalized NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) (NMFe) and ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets with abundant sulfur vacancies (Sv-ZIS). The structural properties of NMFe materials, such as a clearly defined system of pores and cavities, were retained by the Sv-ZIS@NMFe composites. Additionally, the incorporation of sulfur vacancies, –NH 2 functional groups, and well-matched energy level positions led to various synergistic effects that considerably enhanced internal electron transformation and migration, as well as improved adsorption performance. Consequently, under visible light irradiation, the optimized sample exhibited superior hydrogen production activity and tetracycline hydrochloride photodegradation performance. At last, density functional theory calculations was used to further elucidated the possible photoreactivity mechanism. This study demonstrates that the Sv-ZIS@NMFe heterojunction materials formed by ZnIn 2 S 4 with suitable sulfur vacancies and amino functionalized Fe-MOFs have promising applications in photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are Type-II, S-Scheme, and Type-I heterojunctions in 4-Methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVTh) modified Ni-MOF/g-C 3 N 4 /CdS. The aforementioned three heterojunctions form a closed-loop path for electron migration, and MVTh can accelerate the electron migration within the closed-loop path by facilitating the electron migration within Ni-MOF. The photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate of Ni-MOF/g-C 3 N 4 /MVTh/CdS is up to 17.844 mmol·g−1·h−1 without precious cocatalysts. [Display omitted] • We pioneered the use of Ni-MOF (BTC) in the photocatalytic hydrogen production. • 4-Methyl-5-vinyl thiazole can drive the directional electron transfer in Ni-MOF (BTC). • A triangular closed-loop path for electron transport was first designed. • The H 2 production rate is up to 17.844 mmol·g−1·h−1 without precious cocatalysts. The construction of heterojunction systems is an effective way to efficiently generate hydrogen by water photolysis. In this work, Ni-MOF (trimesic acid, (BTC)) and g-C 3 N 4 (denoted as CN) were combined, and then Ni-MOF/CN was modified by 4-Methyl-5-vinyl thiazole (denoted as MVTh). Finally, CdS was loaded on the surface of Ni-MOF/CN/MVTh to prepare the photocatalyst Ni-MOF/g-C 3 N 4 /MVTh/CdS (denoted as Ni/CN/M/Cd) with a triangular closed-loop path heterojunction for the first time. As a photocatalyst without precious metal cocatalysts, Ni/CN/M/Cd displayed high H 2 evolution (17.844 mmol·g−1·h−1) under an optimum CdS loading of 40 wt%. The H 2 evolution rate was approximately 79 times that of Ni-MOF/CN and exceeded those of almost all catalysts based on MOF/CN in the literature. The triangular closed-loop heterojunction formed between Ni-MOF, g-C 3 N 4 , and CdS could realize the directional migration of photocarriers and significantly diminished the transfer resistance of carriers. The Ni2+ in Ni-MOF provided many cocatalytic sites for H 2 evolution via g-C 3 N 4 and CdS. Furthermore, charge carrier separation in Ni-MOF/CN/CdS improved after the innovative addition of MVTh. This study provides a reference for the construction of a closed-loop heterojunction system without precious metal cocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile self-templated carbonization strategy is developed for fabrication of a bifunctional electrocatalyst with uniform distribution of F, N heteroatoms, mesoporous channels and abundant edge-defect by direct pyrolysis of F, N -containing covalent organic framework (F-COF) precursor. The designed catalyst exhibits excellent bifunctional catalytic activity with a small OER-ORR potential gap of 0.79 V. The assembled ZAB delivers a high peak density of 206.3 mW cm−2 and good cyclic stability. [Display omitted] • F, N co-doped porous carbon (F-NPC) was facile prepared by in situ pyrolysis of fluoric COF precursor. • Experiments combined with theoretical calculation confirmed the significant contribution of F in boosting the catalytic reactivity. • The designed F-NPC catalyst shows superior ORR and OER activity. • The assembled ZAB using F-NPC catalyst displays high peak power density and excellent durability. The construction of heteroatom-doped metal-free carbon catalysts with bifunctional catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desired for Zn-air batteries, but remains a great challenge owing to the sluggish kinetics of OER and ORR. Herein, a self-sacrificing template engineering strategy was employed to fabricate fluorine (F), nitrogen (N) co-doped porous carbon (F-NPC) catalyst by direct pyrolysis of F, N containing covalent organic framework (F-COF). The predesigned F and N elements were integrated into the skeletons of COF precursor, thus achieving uniformly distributed heteroatom active sites. The introduction of F is beneficial for the formation of edge-defects, contributing to the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity. Attributing to the porous feature, abundant defect sites induced by F doping, as well as the strong synergistic effect between N and F atoms to afford a high intrinsic catalytic activity, the resulting F-NPC catalyst exhibits excellent bifunctional catalytic activities for both ORR and OER in alkaline mediums. Furthermore, the assembled Zn-air battery with F-NPC catalyst shows a high peak power density of 206.3 mW cm−2 and great stability, surpassing the commercial Pt/C + RuO 2 catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust immobilization strategy is proposed by the self-assembly of POSS and TiCl 4 molecules, where a flexible double-Ti structure shows the most reduced energy barrier for ethylene insertion. [Display omitted] • A highly active molecular catalyst toward ethylene polymerization was synthesized according to the self-assembly of POSS and TiCl 4. • A flexible double-Ti structure coordinated to Si-O-Si shows the most reduced energy barrier for ethylene insertion. • Catalytic nanoparticles show robust resistance to H 2 , enhanced incorporation of comonomer, and reduced entanglements of the synthesized polymer. Heterogeneous catalysis plays a crucial role in industrial olefin polymerization. Mechanistic understanding and optimization of Ziegler-Natta (ZN) catalyst are limited by the considerable complexity resulting from the multiple ingredients and complicated structures. Re-designing ZN catalytic systems with reduced complexity and adequate performance is of great interest. Here, we show that self-assembled polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)@TiCl 4 nanoparticles can effectively immobilize TiCl 4 molecules in n -heptane solution, achieving the exceptional utilization of active centres. This uncomplicated system exhibits heterogeneous-like catalytic performance in ethylene polymerization, featured by high activities, fouling-free polymerization and a series of desirable properties of the nascent polymers such as reduced entanglement and spherical morphology. In addition, these catalytic nanoparticles show robust resistance to H 2 , and enhanced incorporation of comonomer towards ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization. By using DFT calculations the possible structures of the Ti active centres are proposed, of which a flexible double-Ti structure coordinated to Si-O-Si shows the most reduced energy barrier for ethylene insertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Frizzleds (FZDs) receptors on the cell surface belong to the class F of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) which are the major receptors of WNT protein that mediates the classical WNT signaling pathway and other non-classical pathways. Besides, the FZDs also play a core role in tissue regeneration and tumor occurrence. With the structure and mechanism of FZDs activation becoming clearer, a series of FZDs modulators (inhibitors and agonists) have been developed, with the hope of bringing benefits to the treatment of cancer and degenerative diseases. Most of the FZDs inhibitors (small molecules, antibodies or designed protein inhibitors) block WNT signaling through binding to the cysteine-rich domain (CRD) of FZDs. Several small molecules impede FZDs activation by targeting to the third intracellular domain or the transmembrane domain of FZDs. However, three small molecules (FZM1.8, SAG1.3 and purmorphamine) activate the FZDs through direct interaction with the transmembrane domain. Another type of FZDs agonists are bivalent or tetravalent antibodies which activate the WNT signaling via inducing FZD-LRP5/6 heterodimerization. In this article, we reviewed the FZDs modulators reported in recent years, summarized the critical molecules' discovery processes and the elucidated relevant structural and pharmacological mechanisms. We believe the summaried molecular mechanisms of the relevant modulators could provide important guidance and reference for the future development of FZD modulators. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxic metalloid arsenic is prevalent in the environment and poses a threat to nearly all organisms. However, the mechanism by which phytohormones modulate arsenic resistance is not well-understood. Therefore, we analyzed multiple phytohormones based on the results of transcriptome sequencing, content changes, and related mutant growth under arsenic stress. We found that ethylene was the key phytohormone in Arabidopsis thaliana response to arsenic. Further investigation showed the ethylene-overproducing mutant eto1–1 generated less malondialdehyde (MDA), H 2 O 2 , and O 2 •- under arsenic stress compared to wild-type, while the ethylene-insensitive mutant ein2–5 displayed opposite patterns. Compared to wild-type, eto1–1 accumulated a smaller amount of arsenic and a larger amount of non-protein thiols. Additionally, the immediate ethylene precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), enhanced resistance to arsenic in wide-type, but not in mutants with impaired detoxification capability (i.e., cad1–3 , pad2–1 , abcc1abcc2), which confirmed that ethylene regulated arsenic detoxification by enhancing arsenic chelation. ACC also upregulated the expression of gene(s) involved in arsenic detoxification, among which ABCC2 was directly transcriptionally activated by the ethylene master transcription factor ethylene-insensitive 3 (EIN3). Overall, our study shows that ethylene is the key phytohormone to enhance arsenic resistance by reducing arsenic accumulation and promoting arsenic detoxification at both physiological and molecular levels. [Display omitted] • Ethylene is the key phytohormone that alleviates arsenic stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. • Ethylene enhances arsenic chelation to promote arsenic detoxification. • Ethylene-insensitive 3 (EIN3) regulated the expression of gene(s) involved in arsenic detoxication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cranial radiotherapy is a major treatment for leukemia and brain tumors. Our previous study found abscopal effects of cranial irradiation could cause spermatogenesis disorder in mice. However, the exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In the study, adult male C57BL/6 mice were administrated with 20 Gy X-ray cranial irradiation (5 Gy per day for 4 days consecutively) and sacrificed at 1, 2 and 4 weeks. Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics of testis was combined with bioinformatics analysis to identify key molecules and signal pathways related to spermatogenesis at 4 weeks after cranial irradiation. GO analysis showed that spermatogenesis was closely related to oxidative stress and inflammation. Severe oxidative stress occurred in testis, serum and brain, while serious inflammation also occurred in testis and serum. Additionally, the sex hormones related to hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis were disrupted. PI3K/Akt pathway was activated in testis, which upstream molecule SCF/C-Kit was significantly elevated. Furthermore, the proliferation and differentiation ability of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) were altered. These findings suggest that cranial irradiation can cause spermatogenesis disorder through brain-blood-testicular cascade oxidative stress, inflammation and the secretory dysfunction of HPG axis, and SCF/C-kit drive this process through activating PI3K/Akt pathway. • Cranial irradiation altered protein profile of testis related to spermatogenesis. • Cranial irradiation triggered brain-blood-testis cascade response. • Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis mediated spermatogenesis disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A super-alcohol-repellent coating is presented. • The loss-free light-controlled manipulation of alcohol droplets for amino acid detection is demonstrated. • The uncrosslinked perfluoroalkyl silane leads to the failure of alcohol-repellency. • Annealing procedure promotes the condensation of silanol groups. Although a lot of fluorinated coatings exhibit super-repellency to oils with low surface tensions, most of them are readily wetted by alcohols with high surface tensions, wherein the un-crosslinked fluorinated silane is expected to result in the failure of alcohol-repellency. Hence, the coating could be super-repellent to alcohols if the fluorinated silane is fully crosslinked by annealing. We fabricate the super-alcohol-repellent coating via covering sintered hollow silica nanospheres with perfluoroalkyl silane, followed by a simple two-step annealing. The surface chemistry of the coating is further examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The super-alcohol-repellent coating is remarkably super-repellent to diverse alcohols of surface tension from 20.9 to 64.8 mN m−1 and thus enables loss-free manipulation of alcohol droplets for amino acid detection. More importantly, we reveal that the annealing procedure could promote the condensation of silanol groups, showing the key role played by heat-mediated crosslinking of perfluoroalkyl silane in preparing alcohol-repellent coatings. Such annealing strategy is also proved to be effective for other fluorinated coatings to achieve super alcohol-repellency. Together with its super-repellency to virtually all liquids, the coating enables loss-free processing of diverse liquids, thus being of significant value for biological, chemical and medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a persistent organic pollutant known for its chemical stability, is widely dispersed in the environment, posing significant health risks to mammals through various exposure routes such as ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. In this study, mice were exposed to PFOA (0, 0.2, 2 mg/L) through drinking water for 180 days to investigate its toxic effects on the colon. We identified differentially expressed genes through RNA sequencing and validated the impact of PFOA on the expression of these genes in colon tissue. Our findings revealed that long-term exposure to PFOA caused inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-like damage to the mouse colon. We found PFOA could induce damage to the intestinal barrier. Inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway following PFOA exposure results in impaired stem cell function in the colon of mice. Furthermore, PFOA activated the PPAR signaling pathway, disrupting cellular lipid metabolism in colon tissues. Additionally, PFOA induced inflammatory responses in colon tissue, facilitating NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and cell apoptosis. This study offers a thorough understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the damage to mouse colon tissue resulting from long-term exposure to PFOA. [Display omitted] • Long-term exposure to PFOA could cause IBD-like damage to the mouse colon. • PFOA impaired intestinal barrier integrity. • PFOA attenuated intestinal stem cell function. • PFOA activated the PPAR signaling pathway. • PFOA increased inflammation in mouse colon tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monocular depth estimation (MDE) is crucial in a wide range of applications, including robotics, autonomous driving and virtual reality. Self-supervised monocular depth estimation has emerged as a promising MDE approach without requiring hard-to-obtain depth labels during training, and multi-scale photometric loss is widely used for self-supervised monocular depth estimation as the self-supervised signal. However, multi-photometric loss is a weak training signal and might disturb the good intermediate features representation. In this paper, we propose a successive depth map self-distillation(SDM-SD) loss, which combines with the single-scale photometric loss to replace the multi-scale photometric loss. Moreover, considering that multi-stage feature representations are essential for dense prediction tasks such as depth estimation, we also propose a dense skip connection, which can efficiently fuse the intermediate features of the encoder and fully utilize them in each stage of the decoder in our encoder–decoder architecture. By applying successive depth map self-distillation loss and dense skip connection, our proposed method can achieve state-of-the-art performance on the KITTI benchmark, and exhibit the best generalization ability on the challenging indoor dataset NYUv2 dataset. • We propose a successive depth map self-distillation loss for self-supervised monocular depth estimation. • We propose a dense skip connection strategy to improve the depth estimation effect of the depth network. • We validate the proposed method's effectiveness on the KITTI dataset and NYUv2 dataset, achieving state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ternary photocatalyst Ni 3 S 4 @ZIS@C 3 N 5 with type II and Z-type heterojunctions was synthesized for the first time by hydrothermal and electrostatic self-assembly methods, effectively avoiding the thermal decomposition of C 3 N 5 during the synthesis of the complex. The best ternary catalyst Ni 3 S 4 @ZIS@C 3 N 5 is capable of achieving an optimal hydrogen evolution rate of 9750 mmol g−1 h−1, which is approximately 10.89 times as high as that of C 3 N 5 , indicating that the complex effectively enhanced the photocatalytic properties of the monomer. The coexistence of two types of heterojunctions in the complex effectively enhances photocatalytic performance, in which the monomer ZIS constructs type II scheme with Ni 3 S 4 and Z-type scheme with C 3 N 5 , respectively. The two heterojunctions complement each other and jointly promote the rapid electron transfer from Ni 3 S 4 and C 3 N 5 to the ZIS surface. In conclusion, the cooperation of the two heterojunctions efficiently facilitates the migration of photogenerated carriers, thus enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen generation performance of Ni 3 S 4 @ZIS@C 3 N 5. • The ternary composite photocatalyst Ni 3 S 4 @ZIS@C 3 N 5 was successfully synthesized for the first time. • The thermal decomposition of C 3 N 5 was effectively avoided by electrostatic self-assembly. • The cooperation of type II and Z-type heterojunction enhanced the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Although solar energy is promising for water purification, there is still a room for further improving the solar steam generation efficiency. Herein, an environmental energy-enhanced solar steam evaporator is fabricated by immersing a cellulose acetate fiber-based cigarette filter (CF) in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) followed by freeze-drying and decorating with MXene sheets. The presence of MXene is to absorb solar light and convert solar energy to thermal energy for efficient water evaporation, while the porous PVA network generated inside the pores of the filter during the freeze-drying process accommodates the dispersed MXene sheets and interconnects the CF and MXene. Because of the constructed PVA/MXene network inside the CF porous architecture and the hydrophilic feature of both MXene and PVA, the resultant MXene/PVA modified CF (MPCF) is highly hydrophilic and competent for rapid upward transfer of water. Interestingly, in addition to the normal energy input by the incident solar light, the large-area sidewall of MPCF gains thermal energy from the environment in the forms of heat convection and heat radiation to enhance the solar steam generation efficiency, resulting in an ultrahigh water evaporation rate of 3.38 kg m−2 h−1 with an outstanding evaporation efficiency of 132.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The rational design and preparation of advanced electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under alkaline conditions is the key to achieving sustainable hydrogen production. Herein, a new type of nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets (NPCN) loaded with platinum group metals (Pd, Pt or Ru) were prepared. The introduction of melamine not only realized the doping of N -species, but also optimized the morphology and surface functional groups of the prepared catalysts. The prepared Pd-NPCN, Pt-NPCN and Ru-NPCN with a metal loading of about 10 wt% showed outstanding HER activity (21, 9 and 11 mv at 10 mA cm−2 current density), small Tafel slopes (49, 30 and 30 mV dec−1) and good stability in 1.0 M KOH. In addition, the mechanism of the introduction of melamine to improve the catalytic performance of HER was also discussed. Therefore, this work provides promising alternatives to traditional Pt-based catalysts, and is instructive for the design of high-efficiency alkaline HER catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient Ce3+ → Tb3+ energy transfer induced bright green emissions in the Ca 2 LuHf 2 (AlO 4) 3 :Ce3+,Tb3+ garnet phosphors, and these phosphors were demonstrated to possess great potential to be used as a green component for fabricating near-UV-excited warm-white LEDs with high color rendering index. [Display omitted] • Ca 2 LuHf 2 Al 3 O 12 :Ce3+,Tb3+ garnet phosphors were prepared by high-temperature solid-state method. • Efficient energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions was observed. • Ce3+ co-doping induced great enhancement in the Tb3+ green luminescence. • They exhibited an intense broad absorption band in the 300–470 nm range peaking at 408 nm. • Under 408 nm excitation, they showed bright green emissions with IQE = 77.1% and EQE = 55.8%. • A high color-rendering warm-white LED (Ra = 93.7) was fabricated by using Ca 2 LuHf 2 Al 3 O 12 :Ce3+,Tb3+ as color converter. White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in lighting and display devices, and the exploration of phosphors with excellent luminescence performance and good stability is the key to the development of white LEDs. In this work, we reported novel near-UV-excited green-emitting Ca 2 LuHf 2 (AlO 4) 3 :Ce3+,Tb3+ garnet phosphors with efficient Ce3+ → Tb3+ energy transfer. The CLHA:Ce3+,Tb3+ green phosphors were successfully synthesized by a high-temperature solid-state method, and the phosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, photoluminescence excitation and photoluminescence spectra, the Commission International de I'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates, quantum efficiency and temperature-dependent emission spectra. Due to the spin-allowed 4f → 5d transition of Ce3+ ions, the CLHA:Ce3+,Tb3+ phosphors exhibited a strong broad excitation band in the 300–470 nm near-ultraviolet (near-UV) range. Under 408 nm excitation, the CLHA:Ce3+,Tb3+ phosphors showed strong green light with emission center at 543 nm. The mechanism of energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions was attributed to quadruple-quadruple interaction. Impressively, the internal quantum efficiency and external quantum efficiency of the optimal CLHA:0.02Ce3+,0.5Tb3+ green phosphors were measured to be 77.1% and 55.8%, respectively. Finally, using the CLHA:0.02Ce3+,0.5Tb3+ phosphors as green-emitting color converter, a near-UV-pumped white LED device was fabricated, and under 80 mA driving current the LED device demonstrated bright warm-white light with high color rendering index (93.7), low correlated color temperature (3574 K), CIE chromaticity coordinates (0.3922, 0.3633), and high luminous efficacy (29.35 lm/W). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism essential for the assembly and maintenance of most eukaryotic cilia and flagella, including mammalian sperm tails. Depletion of IFT27, a component of the IFT complex, in male germ cells results in infertility associated with disrupted sperm flagella structure and motility. Leucine zipper transcription factor-like 1 (LZTFL1) is an IFT27 associated protein. LZTFL1, also known as BBS17, is a Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) associated protein. Patients carrying biallelic variants of LZTFL1 gene exhibit the common BBS phenotypes. The global Lztfl1 knockout mice showed abnormal growth rate and retinal degeneration, typical of BBS phenotype. However, it is not clear if Lztfl1 has a role in male fertility. The LZTFL1 protein is highly and predominantly expressed in mouse testis. During the first wave of spermatogenesis, the protein is only expressed during spermiogenesis phase from the round spermatid stage and displays a cytoplasmic localization with a vesicular distribution pattern. At the elongated spermatid stage, LZTFL1 is present in the developing flagella and appears also close to the manchette. Fertility of Lztfl1 knockout mice was significantly reduced and associated with low sperm motility and a high level of abnormal sperm (astheno-teratozoospermia). In vitro assessment of fertility revealed reduced fertilization and embryonic development when using sperm from homozygous mutant mice. In addition, we observed a significant decrease of the testicular IFT27 protein level in Lztfl1 mutant mice contrasting with a stable expression levels of other IFT proteins, including IFT20, IFT81, IFT88 and IFT140. Overall, our results support strongly the important role of LZTFL1 in mouse spermatogenesis and male fertility. [Display omitted] • LZTFL1 is required for normal male fertility in mice. • Deficiency of LZTFL1 results in abnormal sperm. • LZTFL1 is possibly a downstream molecule of IFT27 in mouse testis. LZTFL1 is required for mouse spermatogenesis and particularly in maintaining normal sperm function and male fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Au@RuO x core–shell nanostructures are fabricated to amplify the Raman signals. • Electroreduction of RuO x is in-situ studied using the borrowing SERS strategy. • Direct evidences of OH intermediate are obtained during RuO x electroreduction. • A two-step molecular pathway is proposed for RuO 2 electroreduction. RuO 2 is one of the most promising catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key reaction in water electrolysis. However, the fundamental insights about the structural evolution of RuO 2 under different electrochemical environments remain unclear. Herein, the molecular reaction pathways of the electroreduction of RuO x in alkaline and neutral conditions are identified using in-situ electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Au@RuO 2 core–shell nanostructures are fabricated to amplify the Raman signals of species adsorbed on RuO x surfaces. Using such core–shell nanostructures, direct spectroscopic evidences of OH intermediate during the RuO 2 electroreduction process are obtained, which is further confirmed by D 2 O isotopic substitution experiments. A molecular pathway that RuO 2 is reduced to Ru through a two-step reduction process has been proposed. This work provides insightful information on the structural evolution of RuO x with electrochemical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study unirational differential curves and the corresponding differential rational parametrizations. We first investigate basic properties of proper differential rational parametrizations for unirational differential curves. Then we show that the implicitization problem of proper linear differential rational parametric equations can be solved by means of differential resultants. Furthermore, for linear differential curves, we give an algorithm to determine whether an implicitly given linear differential curve is unirational, and in the affirmative case, to compute a proper differential rational parametrization for the differential curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) production during composting can impact the environment and human health. Especially during the thermophilic phase, H 2 S is discharged in large quantities. However, in sludge composting, the contributions of different sulfur-containing precursors to H 2 S fluxes, key functional microorganisms, and key environmental parameters for reducing H 2 S flux remain unclear. Analysis of cysteine (Cys), methionine (Met), and sulfate (SO 4 2−) concentrations, multiple stepwise regression analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotation analysis of metagenomes showed that Cys was the main contributor to the production of H 2 S and that Met was among the main sources during the first three days of composting, while the SO 4 2− contribution to H 2 S was negligible. Fifteen functional genera involved in the conversion of precursors to H 2 S were identified by co-occurrence network analysis. Only Bacillus showed high temperature resistance (>50 °C) and the ability to reduce H 2 S. Redundancy analysis showed that total carbon (64.0 %) and pH (23.3 %) had significant effects on functional bacteria. H 2 S had a quadratic relationship with sulfur-containing precursors. All microbial network sulfur-containing precursors metabolism modules showed a highly significant relationship with Cys. [Display omitted] • Cysteine was the main contributor to H 2 S release during sludge composting. • Met was one of the main sources during first three days of composting. • SO 4 2− contribution to H 2 S was negligible. • Bacillus was the only thermotolerant core bacteria that can reduce H 2 S to cysteine. • Total carbon (TC) (64.0 %) and pH (23.3 %) significantly affect functional bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elaborating on the fate tendency of thifluzamide (thiazole-amide fungicide) in buckwheat based on nationwide application is vital for grain security and human health based on nationwide application. A rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed to trace thifluzamide in buckwheat matrices using an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS/MS), with a retention time of 2.90 min and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.001 mg/kg. Thifluzamide could be stably stored for 84 d in buckwheat matrices under –20 °C under dark condition. The occurrence, dissipation and terminal magnitudes of thifluzamide were reflected by the primary deposition of 0.02–0.55 mg/kg, half-lives of 12–14 d, and highest residues of 0.41 mg/kg. The long-term risks (ADI%) of thifluzamide were 37.268 %–131.658 % in registered crops, and the risks for the rural population were significantly higher than those of the urban population. The unacceptable dietary risks of thifluzamide should be continuously emphasized for children aged 2–7 with an ADI% values of 100.750 %–131.658 %. A probabilistic model was further introduced to evaluate the risk discrepancy of thifluzamide in buckwheat, showing the risks in Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tararicum Gaerth) were 1.5–75.4 times than that in sweet buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Despite the low risks for dietary buckwheat, the high-potential health hazards of thifluzamide should be pay more attention given the increasing applications and cumulative effects. [Display omitted] • A tracing UHPLC ESI MS/MS analytical method was developed for thifluzamide within 2.90 min. • Thifluzamide magnitude in Fagopyrum tararicum Gaerth were 1.5–75.4 times that in Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. • Unacceptable chronic risks of thifluzamide were observed for children aged 2–7. • A probabilistic model was introduced to evaluate the dietary exposure of thifluzamide in buckwheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yongchuan douchi is a famous soybean product that is widely used as a condiment in China due to its attractive aroma and can be categorized into traditional and rapid Yongchuan douchi (TYD and RYD). However, the key aroma compounds in TYD and RYD and their differences remain poorly understood. In the present study, the key aroma compounds in TYD and RYD were characterized and compared by a molecular sensory approach. The results obtained by multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (MDGC−MS/O) demonstrated that a total of 125 volatiles and 71 aroma-active compounds were identified. Moreover, 36 aroma-active compounds with relative odor activity values (rOAVs) ≥ 1 and flavor dilution (FD) ≥ 16 were screened and quantified by an external standard method. The recombination and omission experiments revealed that TYD and RYD contained 18 and 13 key aroma compounds, respectively. TYD and RYD contained 10 identical compounds, whereas 8 (ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, ethyl 3-methylbutyrate, ethyl isobutyrate, ethyl caproate, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, 4-methyl-2-phenyl-2-pentenal, acetophenone) and 3 (phenylacetaldehyde, 4-ethyl guaiacol, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone) were unique to TYD and RYD, respectively. This is the first report of key aroma compounds in TYD and RYD, and it provides insights into improving the aroma of Yongchuan douchi. • The key aroma-active compounds between traditional and rapid Yongchuan douchi were revealed. • Traditional Yongchuan douchi has 8 unique aroma-active compounds and 6 of them were esters. • Aldehydes and acids were the most important aroma-active compounds in rapid Yongchuan douchi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High dynamic range (HDR) imaging from multiple low dynamic range (LDR) images has been suffering from ghosting artifacts caused by scene and objects motion. Existing methods, such as optical flow based and end-to-end deep learning based solutions, are error-prone either in detail restoration or ghosting artifacts removal. Comprehensive empirical evidence shows that ghosting artifacts caused by large foreground motion are mainly low-frequency signals and the details are mainly high-frequency signals. In this work, we propose a novel frequency-guided end-to-end deep neural network (FHDRNet) to conduct HDR fusion in the frequency domain, and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is used to decompose inputs into different frequency bands. The low-frequency signals are used to avoid specific ghosting artifacts, while the high-frequency signals are used for preserving details. Using a U-Net as the backbone, we propose two novel modules: merging module and frequency-guided upsampling module. The merging module applies the attention mechanism to the low-frequency components to deal with the ghost caused by large foreground motion. The frequency-guided upsampling module reconstructs details from multiple frequency-specific components with rich details. In addition, a new RAW dataset is created for training and evaluating multi-frame HDR imaging algorithms in the RAW domain. Extensive experiments are conducted on public datasets and our RAW dataset, showing that the proposed FHDRNet achieves state-of-the-art performance. • We have proposed a novel frequency-guided neural network to conduct HDR fusion in the frequency domain. • Our method outperforms other baselines on several public datasets. • We build a new dataset for training HDR imaging methods in the RAW domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective strategy to alleviate the global water shortage, the Janus membrane has been widely developed to harvest the fog droplets because of its advantages of timely drainage and directional droplet delivery. However, Janus membrane is extremely susceptible to the direction of the fog stream, which changes dynamically in nature. In this work, we develop a three-layer sandwiched fog collector consisting of a hydrophilic inner mesh and two superhydrophobic outer meshes, which always serves as a Janus collector to enable a stable and efficient fog collection independent of the direction of the mist stream. We also demonstrate the superiority of such sandwiched fog collector in terms of the droplet shedding size and onset time, as well as the directional droplet delivery. The droplet coalescence effectively facilitates the shedding of the attached droplets on the outer superhydrophobic mesh, and the directional delivery of the clogged droplets from the superhydrophobic to hydrophilic layer further dries the mesh surface for the successive interception of fog droplets. These mechanisms can work together seamlessly, which benefits the productive collection of the droplet of different sizes on the three-layer sandwiched fog collector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thus far, Multiview High-Efficiency Video Coding (MV-HEVC) can only use a central processing unit (CPU) to perform decompression on a personal computer (PC) or workstation. Because MV-HEVC is much more complex than High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), decompressors need higher parallelism to decompress in real time. Therefore, this study presents a parallel method based on MV-HEVC. Inter-view complete parallelism is realized according to the dependent relationship between other MV-HEVC views, and a search range is not required to avoid the data dependence between frames. Based on the dependencies of each task in MV-HEVC, an advanced wavefront parallel processing method is proposed to achieve higher intra-frame parallelism. The parallel structure of the proposed method is compatible with that of the single-instruction multiple-data acceleration method. The results showed that the proposed method can decompress MV-HEVC with 20 threads in real time for 1088p video with three views. • We presented a parallel method based on Multiview High Efficiency Video Coding. An advanced WPP method is proposed to achieve higher intra-frame parallelism. • The proposed method is compatible with that of the SIMD acceleration method. • The proposed method can achieve real-time decompression of MV-HEVC with three views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid wastes, such as polystyrene foam waste and silica gel waste which are ubiquitous products have caused serious environmental issues, such as "white pollution", threatening the health of humans and animals. As such, the need to recycle and re-use of solid wastes has attracted increasing attention in the last few years. In this work, a self-healing superhydrophobic coating is successfully fabricated by blending polystyrene foam waste with fluorinated silica gel waste (F-silica gel waste), octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) modified silica particles (OTMS-silica particles), and near-infrared (NIR) light responsive microcapsules. The F-silica gel waste and OTMS-silica nanoparticles act as hydrophobic fillers meanwhile the polystyrene foam waste acts as a coating binder. The NIR-responsive microcapsules are obtained by the electrostatic adsorption of carbon nanoparticles onto the surface of microcapsules loaded with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane. The superhydrophobic property of the coating can be healed after 10 min of NIR irradiation. Additionally, the as-prepared coating can be coated on several different substrates, similar to commercial coatings, and it is seen that its excellent superhydrophobic property is durable and is maintained even when the coating is subjected to a sand-drop test. The self-healing mechanism of the superhydrophobic coatings is also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our work, a type of CDs is designed to realize continuously tunable multicolor emission by simply adjusting the solvents. Schematic illustration of the formation of DS-CDs and possible dispersion morphology of DS-CDs in diverse polar solvents. Carbon dots as an emerging photoluminescent material has attracted growing attention. Hence, there is a highly urgent to develop kinds of multicolor emission carbon dots materials. Here, we report a new kind of dual-emissive carbon dots which display two emission band located at 457 and 643 nm (blue and red) in alcohols solvent, respectively. In particular, the red emission band of carbon dots independent of the excitation wavelength can be manipulated by changing the polarity of the solvent, which is called solvatochromic phenomenon. It is incredibly rare for bare carbon dots to have both dual-emission and solvatochromic phenomenon at the same time. The temperature-dependent emission spectra of synthesized carbon dots have been measured to go insight into the hydrogen bond interaction, and the aggregation in microscale is observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results indicates that the special dual-emission and solvatochromic phenomenon stem from partially nanoparticle agglomerates which caused by intermolecular hydrogen bond (between solvents and carbon dots). Benefiting from the special optical characteristics, the applications of ratiometric detecting water in ethanol was carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MoO x -decorated Ni-based catalysts were fabricated via a single-source precursor route. • As-fabricated Ni-based catalyst was highly active for γ-valerolactone hydrogenolysis. • Surface defective MoO x species facilitated the activation of carbonyl group. • A cooperation between Ni0 species and surface defects contributed to high efficiency. Currently, highly efficient biomass upgrading over non-noble metal catalysts is of vital importance for reducing equipment and operation expenses in biorefinery industries. In this respect, the related heterogeneous catalysis demands the design and construction of mutual cooperative microstructure of catalysts to improve their catalytic performances. Here, an efficient catalytic process for selective hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived γ-valerolactone (GVL) to produce 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO) and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) was developed by earth-abundant nickel-based catalysts, which were derived from a molybdate intercalated Ni-Al layered double hydroxide precursor. It was found that with the elevated reduction temperature, the amount of surface defective MoO x species (0 < x < 3) was gradually increased. Especially, as-fabricated Ni-MoO x /Al 2 O 3 catalyst obtained at the reduction temperature of 600 °C delivered a 94.0% combined yield of 1,4-PDO and 2-MTHF under mild reaction conditions. It was demonstrated that over the present Ni-MoO x /Al 2 O 3 catalyst system, surface defective MoO x species could greatly facilitate the adsorption and activation of carbonyl group in GVL and thus significantly promote the cleavage of C O bond and its adjacent C O bond. This finding opens a promising door to engineer surface defective structure of high-performance supported metal catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, cylindrical polystyrene particles were applied as a particulate stabilizer to prepare a Pickering emulsion of decane (oil)/water. Unlike the spherical particles that are typically used in Pickering emulsions, the cylindrical particles enhanced the emulsion's stability (up to 1 year). Furthermore, the cylindrical particulate stabilizer enabled a stable emulsion across a wide range of pH. Notably, unique adsorption behavior of the cylindrical particles on an oil droplet was observed, in which the cylindrical particles connected head to head to form a network that acted as a cage around the oil droplet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For traditional Fenton processes, the quenching behavior of radical contenders (e.g., most aliphatic hydrocarbons) on hydroxyl radicals (·OH) usually hinders the removal of target refractory pollutants (aromatic/heterocyclic hydrocarbons) in chemical industrial wastewater, leading to excess energy consumption. Herein, we proposed an electrocatalytic-assisted chelation-Fenton (EACF) process, with no extra-chelator addition, to significantly enhance target refractory pollutant (pyrazole as a representative) removal under high ·OH contender (glyoxal) levels. Experiments and theoretical calculations proved that superoxide radical ( · O 2 −) and anodic direct electron transfer (DET) effectively converted the strong ·OH-quenching substance (glyoxal) to a weak radical competitor (oxalate) during the electrocatalytic oxidation process, promoting Fe2+ chelation and therefore increasing radical utilization for pyrazole degradation (reached maximum of ∼43-fold value upon traditional Fenton), which appeared more obviously in neutral/alkaline Fenton conditions. For actual pharmaceutical tailwater treatment, the EACF achieved 2-folds higher oriented-oxidation capability and ∼78% lower operation cost per pyrazole removal than the traditional Fenton process, demonstrating promising potential for future practical applications. [Display omitted] • The ·OH utilization for target pollutant removal was greatly enhanced by EACF. • Extra-chelator-free Fenton was realized by in-situ pollutant-to-chelator conversion. • Mechanism of EO assisted Fenton was proposed based on DFT calculations. • High oriented oxidation ability and low energy input were found in EACF system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brominated flame-retardants (BFRs) are environmental endocrine disruptors, comprising several pollutants, which potentially affect the endocrine system and cause dysfunction and disease. Widespread BFR exposure may cause multisystem toxicity, including cardiovascular toxicity in some individuals. Studies have shown that BFRs not only increase heart rate, induce arrhythmia and cardiac hypertrophy, but also cause glycolipid metabolism disorders, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and inflammatory responses, all of which potentially induce pre-pathological changes in atherosclerosis. Experimental data indicated that BFRs disrupt gene expression or signaling pathways, which cause vascular endothelial dysfunction, lipid metabolism-related disease, inflammation, and possibly atherosclerosis. Considerable evidence now suggests that BFR exposure may be a pro-atherosclerotic risk factor. In this study, we reviewed putative BFR effects underpinning pro-atherosclerosis mechanisms, and focused on vascular endothelial cell dysfunction, abnormal lipid metabolism, pro-inflammatory cytokine production and foam cell formation. Consequently, we proposed a scientific basis for preventing atherosclerosis by BFRs and provided concepts for further research. [Display omitted] • BFRs could induce pre-pathological changes in atherosclerosis. • BFRs cause vascular endothelial dysfunction, lipid metabolism-related disease and inflammation. • BFRs effects underpinning pro-atherosclerosis mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS), which is formed by closely associating microorganisms through the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), has proved to be an excellent and promising biosorbent. The reutilization of excess AGS as a kind of biosorbent would be an environmental-friendly means for heavy metal removal and reutilization of excess AGS. In this study, short-term exposure experiments were conducted to determine whether salinity (NaCl concentration ranged from 0 to 50 g/L) caused positive effects on Zn2+ adsorption performance by AGS. The results showed that the AGS formed in response to a 30 g/L saline treatment exhibited the best adsorption performance. Compared with the control (salinity of 0 g/L), the adsorptive capacity at equilibrium increased by 19.90% and reached 29.76 mg/g. The calculated maximum adsorption capacity in 30 g/L saline treatment group was 73.94 mg/g which was higher than described in previous studies using biochar, clarified sludge and aerobic granules. Analysis of EPS components suggested the enhanced adsorption of AGS might be ascribed to increasing polysaccharides content in the EPS after saline treatments. Additionally, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated hydroxyl groups of EPS played an important role in Zn2+ binding. These findings provide further insight into the application of AGS for heavy metal adsorption. • Short-term saline treatments were conducted to enhance Zn2+ adsorption onto aerobic granular sludge. • Enhanced adsorption of Zn2+ by salinity-aided aerobic granular sludge might be ascribed to increasing polysaccharides content in EPS after saline treatment. • Hydroxyl groups of EPS played an important role in binding with Zn2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The new derivatives showed strong anti-inflammatory activity. • Derivatives exhibited a significant inhibitory activity toward Aβ secretion levels. • Compound 7b could attenuate H 2 O 2 -induced neurotoxicity toward SH-SY5Y cells. • Half of the derivatives were predicted to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Abstract A series of 6-substituted azaanthraquinone derivatives have been designed, synthesized, and their anti-inflammatory activities, antiaggregation effects on β-amyloid proteins, anticholinesterase and neuroprotective activity were tested. The new derivatives strongly suppressed NO and iNOS production and modulate the production of cytokines by decreasing TNF-a, IL-1β and IL-6 formation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Meanwhile, the derivatives exhibited a significant in vitro inhibitory activity toward the self-induced Aβ aggregation. While, treatment of SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing the Swedish mutant form of human b-amyloid precursor protein (APPsw) with derivatives was associated with significant reduction of Aβ42 secretion levels. Moreover, the derivatives exhibited moderate inhibitory potency toward acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Further investigations indicated that compound 7b could attenuate H 2 O 2 -induced neurotoxicity toward SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and half of the synthetic compounds were predicted to be able to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) to reach their targets in the central nervous system (CNS) according to a parallel artificial membrane permeation assay for BBB. Taken together, azaanthraquinone derivatives targeting multiple pathogenetic factors deserves further investigation for prevention and treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nowadays, the advanced mobile devices provide considerable computation capacity. However, due to the instinct limitation of resources, mobile devices have to offload computation by Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) and Ad-Hoc Cloudlet for improving the performance and prolonging the battery life. However, efficient model for ad-hoc cloudlet-assisted computation offloading is remaining open issues. In this article, we provide an overview of existing computation offloading modes, e.g. remote cloud service mode and ad-hoc cloudlet-assisted service mode, and propose an opportunistic computation offloading (OPPOCO) to enable a more energy-efficient and intelligent strategy for computation offloading. Moreover, the simulation by OPNET verifies that our proposal is available and practical to improve mobile users' Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE). Highlights • Propose an opportunistic computation offloading to enable a more energy-efficient and intelligent strategy for computation offloading. • Introduce an OPPOCO strategy with a mobility-aware energy consumption optimization to solve the problem of the file placements and the computational task assignments. • Implement the proposed OPPOCO in OPNET 16.1 and evaluate over 12 real Internet service provider networks. The simulation by OPNET verifies that our proposal is available and practical to improve mobile users' Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Systematically evaluation of the metabolism, distribution and effect of imidacloprid in Chinese lizards (Eremias argus) were carried out following oral exposure. Imidacloprid-olefin-guanidine was prone to accumulate in the brain and caused potential neurotoxicity. Percutaneous and excretory excretions were the primary ways for the elimination of imidacloprid and its metabolites. Liver was the main site for hydroxy reduction and nitro-reduction metabolism of imidacloprid. The metabolism of imidacloprid was a complex process in which many metabolic enzymes participated. Aldehyde oxidase and CYP2C9 were the key enzymes in nitro-reduction process. CYP3A4 dominated the process of hydroxylation and desaturation. The increase in Glutathione S-transferase expression may be related to the removal of imidacloprid, but also related to the oxidative stress reaction that imidacloprid may cause in tissues, especially in the kidney. The findings enrich and supplement the knowledge of the environmental fate of imidacloprid in reptiles. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Molting and excretory exclusion are the main routes for the elimination of IMI. • AOX and CYP2C9 play a major role in the nitro-reduction process of IMI. • CYP3A4, 2C8 and 2D3 dominate the process of hydroxylation and desaturation. • IMI may pose a risk of damaging the oxidative stress system in kidney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead (Pb) poisoning in humans and fish represents a significant global problem. Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis ) is a widely used probiotic in aquaculture. Carassius auratus gibelio ( C. gibelio ) is one of the most important aquaculture species with great commercial value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of B. subtilis in ameliorating lead-induced toxicity in C. gibelio . The fish were exposed for 60 days to waterborne Pb at 0, 0.05, 0.5 and 1 mg/L and/or dietary B. subtilis at 10 9 cfu/g. After 30 and 60 days, the fish were sampled and bioaccumulation, antioxidant activity and immune responses were assessed. The results revealed that B. subtilis confers significant protective effects against lead toxicity by preventing alterations in the levels of bioaccumulation, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione. B. subtilis also assists in the recovery of blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, lysozyme, and IgM levels while regulating the expression of immune-related genes including IL-10, lysozyme, TNF-α, IgM and Hsp70 after 60 days of lead exposure. Our results suggest that administration of B. subtilis (10 9 cfu/g) has the potential to combat lead toxicity in C. gibelio . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrochemical indoxacarb is an important tool for selective pest control in radish that be consumed globally. A rapid and sensitive analytical method UHPLC–MS/MS was developed for tracing indoxacarb in radish leaves and roots with LOQ of 0.001 mg/kg and RT within 2 min, which were confirmed the satisfied storage stability of indoxacarb in radish matrixes with degradation rates less than 30 %. The occurrence, pharmacokinetics dissipation and concentration variation of indoxacarb were reflected by the original deposition of 2.23–4.12 mg/kg, half–lives of 2.6–8.0 d and terminal magnitude of 0.17 × 10–2–25.46 mg/kg in radish, and the influencing factors were further illustrated in terms of climate factors, crop cultivars and soil properties. The highest residues of indoxacarb were 25.46 mg/kg in leaves and 0.12 mg/kg in roots, which were higher than international maximum residue limits. A probabilistic model, as well as deterministic model, were introduced to evaluated the health risks of indoxacarb offering a better description for uncertainty. The total chronic dietary risk values of indoxacarb were 146.961–482.065 % in 12 registered crops, of which ADI % in radish was accounted for 19.8 % with risk dilution effects. The unacceptable acute dietary risks of 121.358–220.331 % were observed at 99.9th percentile, whereas the high–potential non-carcinogenic effects were observed over 90th percentile (105.035–1121.943 %). The health risks should be continuously emphasized given the increasing applications and persistent characteristics of indoxacarb, which is vital to protect the human population from hazardous effects, particularly for vulnerable children. [Display omitted] • Quantitative trace of indoxacarb was developed within 2 min in radish. • Fate variations of indoxacarb were revealed in different edible parts of radish. • A probabilistic model was introduced for risk estimations of indoxacarb. • Dietary exposures are more harmful to human population than non-carcinogenic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological effects of antibiotics in surface water have attracted increasing research attention. In this study, we investigated the combined ecotoxicity of erythromycin (ERY) and roxithromycin (ROX) on the microalgae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa , and the removal of ERY and ROX during the exposure. The calculated 96-h median effect concentration (EC 50) values of ERY, ROX, and their mixture (2:1 w/w) were 7.37, 3.54, and 7.91 mg∙L-1, respectively. However, the predicted EC 50 values of ERY+ROX mixture were 5.42 and 1.51 mg∙L-1, based on the concentration addition and independent action models, respectively. This demonstrated the combined toxicity of ERY+ ROX mixture showed an antagonistic effect on Chlorella pyrenoidosa. During the 14-d culture, low-concentration (EC 10) treatments with ERY, ROX, and their mixture caused the growth inhibition rate to decrease during the first 12 d and increase slightly at 14 d. In contrast, high-concentration (EC 50) treatments significantly inhibited microalgae growth (p < 0.05). Changes in the total chlorophyll contents, SOD and CAT activities, and MDA contents of microalgae suggested that individual treatments with ERY and ROX induced higher oxidative stress than combined treatments. After the 14-d culture time, residual Ery in low and high concentration Ery treatments were 17.75% and 74.43%, and the residual Rox were 76.54% and 87.99%, but the residuals were 8.03% and 73.53% in ERY+ ROX combined treatment. These indicated that antibiotic removal efficiency was higher in combined treatments than that in individual treatments, especially at low concentrations (EC 10). Correlation analysis suggested that there was a significant negative correlation between the antibiotic removal efficiency of C. pyrenoidosa and their SOD activity and MDA content, and the enhanced antibiotic removal ability of microalgae benefited from increased cell growth and chlorophyll content. Findings in this study contribute to predicting ecological risk of coexisting antibiotics in aquatic environment, and to improving biological treatment technology of antibiotics in wastewater. • The combined toxicity of ERY and ROX showed an antagonistic effect on C. pyrenoidosa. • Individual ERY and ROX treatments induced higher oxidative stress than combined treatments. • Antibiotic removal efficiency was higher in the combined treatments of ERY and ROX. • Removal ability was significantly correlated with cell growth and chlorophyll content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice consumption is considered the main source of human dietary Cd intake in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to investigate Cd uptake, accumulation, and remobilization in iron plaque and rice ( Oryza sativa L. cv. ‘Xiangwanxian 12′) tissues at different growth stages. A pot experiment was performed in two Cd-contaminated paddy soils. Cd concentrations in iron plaque and rice tissues at five different growth stages (tillering, booting, milky, dough, and maturing) were measured. Cd concentrations in iron plaque and rice tissues (roots, stems, leaves, spikelet, husks, and brown rice) varied with growth stage. Cd accumulation in rice plants increased with extending growth in both soils, reaching 15.3 and 35.4 μg/pot, respectively, at the maturing stage. The amounts of Cd in brown rice increased from the milky to maturing stages, with the greatest percentage uptake during the maturing stage. Cd amount in iron plaque significantly affected the uptake and accumulation of Cd in roots and aerial parts of rice plants. Accumulated Cd in leaves was remobilized and transported during the booting to maturing stages, and the contributions of Cd transportation from leaves to brown rice were 30.0% and 22.5% in the two soils, respectively. A large amount of Cd accumulated in brown rice during the maturing stage. The transportation of remobilized Cd from leaves was also important for the accumulation of Cd in brown rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) modified Ziegler-Natta catalyst is reported to synthesize the weakly entangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene at a high temperature and with a high activity. Incorporation of POSS can form numbers of aggregates with a mean size of 48 nm adsorbing on the surface of SiO 2 . The structure of nanoaggregates is evidenced by the experiments and theoretical calculations where one POSS can coordinate with multiple MgCl 2 molecules serving as an electric donor to the further immobilized TiCl 4 . The catalyst is thus featured by two distinct active regions positioned in the POSS/MgCl 2 nanoaggregates and δ -MgCl 2 , respectively. The former regions present extremely low activity on ethylene polymerization, which function as horizontal separators for isolating the active TiCl 4 sites and the growing chains. This catalyst exhibits an exceptional activity ( i.e. 1.3 × 10 6  gPE mol Ti −1  h −1  bar −1 ) for the synthesis of weakly entangled polyethylene at 60 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steep rise of Internet of Things (IoT) applications along with the limitations of Cloud Computing to address all IoT requirements leveraged a new distributed computing paradigm called Fog Computing, which aims to process data at the edge of the network. With the help of Fog Computing, the transmission latency, monetary spending and application loss caused by Cloud Computing can be effectively reduced. However, as the processing capacity of fog nodes is more limited than that of cloud platforms, running all applications indiscriminately on these nodes can cause some QoS requirement to be violated. Therefore, there is important decision-making as to where executing each application in order to produce a cost effective solution and fully meet application requirements. In particular, we are interested in the tradeoff in terms of average response time, average cost and average number of application loss. In this paper, we present an online algorithm, called unit-slot optimization, based on the technique of Lyapunov optimization. The unit-slot optimization is a quantified near-optimal online solution to balance the three-way tradeoff among average response time, average cost and average number of application loss. We evaluate the performance of the unit-slot optimization algorithm by a number of experiments. The experimental results not only match up the theoretical analyses properly, but also demonstrate that our proposed algorithm can provide cost-effective processing, while guaranteeing average response time and average number of application loss in a three-tier Cloud of Things system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel air light recovery method based on color-plane model is proposed. The method aims to improve the robustness of air light estimation for single image dehazing applications. Traditional methods estimating air light rely on user input or dense haze region. It is unstable when dense haze region is not included. The methods based on the color-line model and haze-line model achieve significant improvements on air light estimation without identifying dense haze regions. However, both of the models are lack of generality. Therefore, we propose the color-plane model which combines the color-line model and haze-line model. It is motivated by the fact that colors with a common direction widely exist and tend to stay together in natural images. These colors spread on color-plane after being blended with haze, which indicates the orientation of the air light. An algorithm based on region growing is designed to extract potential color-plane in haze images. RANSAC is employed to estimate the air light orientation. The magnitude is estimated based on the assumption that the intensities of several bright pixels in different depth ranges should be similar. A novel algorithm based on energy minimization is proposed to estimate depth ranges. Experimental results show that the proposed method performs better than state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea is a widespread organic pollutant, which can be a nitrogen source, playing different roles in the growth of submerged macrophytes depending on concentrations, while high cadmium (Cd) concentrations are often toxic to macrophytes. In order to evaluate the combined effect of urea and Cd on a submerged macrophyte, Cabomba caroliniana , the morphological and physiological responses of C. caroliniana in the presence of urea and Cd were studied. The results showed that high concentrations of urea (400 mg L −1 ) and Cd (500 µmol L −1 ) had negative effects on C. caroliniana. There were strong visible symptoms of toxicity after 4 days of exposure under Cd-alone, 400 mg L −1 urea, and Cd+400 mg L −1 urea treatments. In addition, 400 mg L −1 urea and Cd had adverse effects on C. caroliniana 's pigment system. Significant losses in chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic rates, as well as Rubisco activity were also observed under Cd-alone, 400 mg L −1 urea, and Cd+400 mg L −1 urea treatments. 400 mg L −1 urea markedly enhanced Cd toxicity in C. caroliniana , reflected by a sharp decrease in photosynthetic activity and more visible toxicity symptoms. The results of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) pointed to extreme oxidative stress in C. caroliniana induced under Cd or 400 mg L −1 urea exposure. Exogenous ascorbate (AsA) protected C. caroliniana from adverse damage in 400 mg L −1 urea, which further corroborated the oxidative stress claim under 400 mg L −1 urea. However, results also demonstrated that lower urea concentration (10 mg L −1 ) alleviated Cd-induced phytotoxicity by stimulating chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthetic activity, as well as activating the activity of catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), which may explain the alleviating effect of urea on C. caroliniana under Cd stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese lizards ( Eremias argus ) were exposed to separated R -(-)-triadimefon, S -(+)-triadimefon and racemic triadimefon to evaluate enantioselective accumulation of triadimefon. After single oral administration of R -(-)-triadimefon, S -(+)-triadimefon and racemic triadimefon, the time-concentration curves in different tissues were found to be different. Triadimefon enantiomers crossed the blood-brain barrier and brain is a main target organ. The residues of triadimefon enantiomers in fat were highest after 24 h indicating that fat was the main tissue of accumulation. In racemic triadimefon exposure group, the enantiomer fractions of R -(-)-triadimefon in different tissues showed that the differences between R -(-)-triadimefon and S -(+)-triadimefon were significant in absorption and metabolism, but the differences became smaller in exclusion and accumulation. From the results of mathematical models, S -(+)-triadimefon was absorbed and eliminated faster than R -(-)-triadimefon, and R -(-)-triadimefon was easily distributed in the tissues and more easily converted into its metabolites. Furthermore, among the four enantiomers of triadimenol, SR -(-)-triadimenol produced by S -(+)-triadimefon may have the highest fungicidal activity and the strongest biological toxicity, RR -(+)-triadimenol produced by R -(-)-triadimefon was most likely to bioaccumulate in lizard. Identifying toxicological effects and dose-response relationship of SR -(-)-triadimenol and RR -(+)-triadimenol will help fully assess the risk of TF enantiomers use in the future. The results enrich and supplement the knowledge of the environmental fate of triadimefon enantiomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation conditions of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by T. halophilus in MRS liquid culture were studied. The inoculum amount of T. halophilus, fermentation time, and fermentation temperature were recorded as experimental factors, and the degradation rate of AFB1 was measured as the experimental index. AFB1 degradation increased with the increase of temperature, with a maximum value of 75.9 ± 4.92%. When the temperature exceeded 32 °C, the degradation rate showed a downward trend. Experimental results showed that the degradation of AFB1 by T. halophilus was related to the starting concentration of the strain. The molecular weight of the extracellular enzymes that degraded AFB1 ranged from 55 KD to 70 KD,Zn2+ can promote the activity of AFB1 degradation by this enzyme, while Al3+, Ba2+, Ca2+ and Mn2+ can inhibit the activity of AFB1 degradation by this enzyme. Especially, the inhibitory effect of Ca2+ is the strongest, up to 48.54%, and the optimal temperature is 32 °C. The degradation products of AFB1 were identified as M/Z327.08 (C 17 H 10 O 7) and M/Z285.08 (C 16 H 12 O 5). Taken together, these results demonstrated that T. halophilus has application potential for AFB1 degradation. • Degradation of AFB1 by Tetralococcus halophiles. • The degradation of AFB1 by extracellular enzymes by Tetragenococcus halophilus. • Halophilus the degradation products and pathways of aflatoxins B1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ti immobilization process is directly modulated by the THF migration, which reduces the aggregation of TiCl 4 and enhances the formation of active species. [Display omitted] • Formation mechanism of the active species are traced by the in-situ spectra. • Active species distribution of the Ziegler-Natta catalyst is modulated by the THF migration. • The polyethylene with a narrow distribution is synthesized with a high activity owing to the synchronous migration of THF and immobilization of TiCl 4. Manipulating the interplay between electron donor and catalytic species is a major approach of optimizing Ziegler-Natta catalysts. To this end, it is essential to reveal the correlation between the involved dynamic processes. In this work, a greatly enhanced mobility of the internal donor tetrahydrofuran (THF) is realized even at room temperature in the MgCl 2 substrate modified with MgCl functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS-MgCl). A series of spectroscopic characterizations evidence that, thanks to the high mobility of THF, the immobilization of catalytic Ti species and the migration of THF occurs synchronously and leads to a nearly homogenous distribution of Ti sites. In addition, the incorporation of POSS-MgCl promotes the formation of 4-coordinated Mg sites in the substrate. The modified Ziegler-Natta catalyst shows the remarkable performance toward ethylene polymerization, featured by the high catalytic activity (21.6 × 106 g PE(mol Ti·h)−1) as well as a narrow polydiversity index (3.1) of the synthesized polyethylene. Based on these results, we propose that the Ti immobilization process is directly modulated by the THF migration in this system, which reduces the aggregation of TiCl 4 and enhances the formation of active species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address oil spillage and organic contaminant problems, the preparation of efficient sorbent materials is of great importance for global environment and water source protection. Despite extensive studies, sorbents with both high efficiency and recyclability are still desired, particularly with the outstanding sorption performance for different temperature environmental conditions. Herein, we report a robust reduced graphene aerogel (rGA) as an efficient and recyclable sorbent for oils and organic solvents, which shows highly efficient absorption of various oils and organic solvents (up to 19–26 times of its own weight) and excellent recyclability (>5 times) by heat treatment. Moreover, the absorption ability of rGA can be maintained over a wide temperature range of −40 °C to 240 °C, which can be attributed to the inherent excellent thermal stability of graphene and good heat dispersal of three dimensional network structure. Based on these excellent properties, the rGA is considered to be an ideal material can be employed for separation and absorption of waste oil and organic contaminants from the water surface at various temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]