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Cervical insufficiency is a major cause of second-trimester pregnancy loss and spontaneous preterm delivery. Transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage is usually performed before pregnancy for patients of cervical insufficiency, in whom transvaginal cervical cerclage procedure cannot be placed or has failed previously. Performing a transabdominal cerclage becomes a huge challenge owing to the enlargement of the pregnant uterus in patients who were indicated for transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage but were missed before pregnancy. Here, we have outlined an easy and effective surgical procedure as needle-free laparoscopic trans-broad-ligament cervicoisthmic cerclage during early second-trimester. Laparoscope with 4 trocars was established, after expanding the trigonum of ureter, ovarian vascular and ascending branch of uterine artery. The needleless Mersilene tape was inserted in a posterior-to-anterior direction of bilateral trigonums, tightening the knot toward the bladder uterine reflection and simultaneously pushing the loop behind the uterus, directed to the cervix progressively. The tape was then tied anteriorly at the cervico-isthmic junction with 5 to 6 intracorporeal square knots after transvaginal ultrasound determined the presence of systolic velocity of uterine artery with first knot. The primary feature of our procedure was that the needleless Mersilene tape was inserted centrally from the broad ligaments, lateral to the uterine vessels, and finally tied above the uterosacral ligament at the level of the uterine isthmus, without dissecting the bladder off from lower uterine segment and without separating the uterine vessels from the lateral wall of the cervix. We performed this procedure on 10 patients with pregnancy outcomes and there was no pregnancy loss. This procedure proved to be an accessible and effective surgical technique for transabdominal cerclage of the uterine cervix during early-second trimester, with affirmative prognosis.

Ferromagnetic insulator plays a pivotal role in various emerging spintronic effects and can be integrated as an essential component into future spintronic devices. However, ferromagnetic insulating perovskite oxides are rather scarce due to the strong coupling between ferromagnetism and metallicity via double exchange and superexchange mechanisms, severely restricting the development for oxide-based spintronic devices. Here, the disorder of manganite La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) films grown on MgAl2O4 substrates is utilized to decouple ferromagnetism and metallicity, thereby inducing a ferromagnetic insulating state over a rather broad temperature and thickness range. These films are non-crystalline with enormous disorder. The films with thicknesses less than 16 nm are in completely insulating state, and the films with thicknesses larger than 16 nm are in essentially insulating state with high resistivity. This insulating state is ascribed to the disorder in LSMO films and can be fitted by a localization model. In contrast, all LSMO films exhibit ferromagnetic transitions with considerable saturated magnetic moments and the Curie temperatures near room temperature, leading to the ferromagnetic insulator phase in our manganite heterostructures over a large temperature and thickness interval. Our results broaden the mind for inducing new ferromagnetic insulating state for potential applications in spintronic devices.

A type of strontium and amorphous calcium phosphate dipped premixed injectable tricalcium silicate-based dental root canal sealer was developed as the following protocols. A powder mixture containing tricalcium silicate, strontium carbonate (6, 8, 10, and 12 wt%), zirconia (20 wt%), calcium chloride (6 wt%), and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) (5 wt%) was mixed with liquid polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) at a liquid-to-powder ratio of 0.5 mL/g and mechanically ground using a planetary ball to obtain the premixed injectable calcium silicate-based sealer. The sealer’s physicochemical property and cytocompatibility were evaluated in vitro. Quantitative data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and Student's t-test or a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were carried out at significant differences with P

Hirsutella sinensis, the anamorph of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (syn. Cordyceps sinensis), is a great substitute for precious and rare wild Cordyceps sinensis to effectively treat a variety of lung and kidney diseases. In this study, an α-glucan (named as HSWP-2a) was obtained by hot water extraction, DEAE-cellulose separation, and Sepharose CL-6B purification from H. sinensis mycelia. Different from known α-glucans, HSWP-2a is an α-(1 → 4)-D-glucan that branched at O-6, O-3, or O-2 with a terminal 1-linked α-D-Glcp as side chain, with an average molecular weight of 870.70 kDa. Immunological tests showed that HSWP-2a could remarkably enhance the phagocytosis of macrophages and increase the production of NO, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, via activating the p38, JNK, and NF-κB signaling pathways. Moreover, HSWP-2a could significantly promote splenic lymphocyte proliferation. Taken together, HSWP-2a may be potentially utilized as a natural immunomodulatory agent.

In this study, laser ablation-resistant composite coating consisting of zirconium diboride (ZrB2) particulate and silicon carbide (SiC) whisker with zirconia (ZrO2)-sol binder was prepared to meet requirements of anti-laser ablation ability. Laser ablation behavior of as-prepared coating was investigated under varying laser powers. Results revealed that the highest back-surface temperature of coated aluminum substrate was only 150 °C when irradiated at a power density of 6.3 kW/cm2 for 10 s, which is below the maximum allowable temperature of the aluminum alloy substrate (200 °C). After ablation for 10 s, the mass ablation rate of the composite coating was 4.45 mg/s. Apparently, the composite coating exhibited outstanding ablation resistance against high-intensity continuous laser irradiation. At initial stage of ablation, combination of self-healing effect of liquid ZrO2–SiO2 layer and volatilization of B2O3 provide effective joint protecting mechanism. With increasing ablation time, ZrO2 ceramic barrier layer, product of the pyrolysis of ZrO2 gel and ZrB2 filler, becomes progressively more important in maintaining excellent laser ablation resistance behavior, which is normally effective at around ablation pit.

In this study, N/O co-doped cage-type biomass carbon (NOBC) was prepared through a simple and facile hydrothermal reaction and two-step carbonization method. As the anode of a potassium ion battery, NOBC displays a superhigh long-cycling performance and a super high rate performance. NOBC-2 provides an excellent reversible capacity of 251.2 mAh g−1 after 1500 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, and an excellent performance of 334.6 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 5 A g−1 (after 2000 cycles). The reversible capacity of 124.19 mAh g−1 can be maintained even after 5000 cycles at 10 A g−1. The excellent performance of NOBC is attributed to the unique hollow cage structure, internal 3D carbon network structure and N/O co-doping. Based on the results of detailed fundamental analysis, the pseudo-capacitance mechanism contributes to the higher K ion storage process in NOBC-2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further show that N/O double doping can promote the adsorption of K ions in biomass carbon materials and improve the conductivity of the materials. The simple synthesis route and excellent electrochemical performance provide new insights for the search for novel carbon-based K storage anode materials with high energy and long cycle life.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), an emerging risk factor for diabetes, is now recognized as the most common liver disease worldwide. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a promising tool in regenerative medicine, release abundant molecules into the conditioned medium (CM). Increasing evidence showed that MSC-CM is beneficial for diabetes-associated NAFLD. However, the mechanism of how MSC-CM improves NAFLD remains uncertain. In this study, to determine the effects of MSC-CM on NAFLD, streptozotocin (STZ) and high-fat diet (HFD) induced T2DM mice model and palmitic acid (PA)-stimulated L-O2 cells were used and treated with MSC-CM. Our results demonstrated that MSC-CM improved insulin resistance in diabetic mice, amended the pathological structure of the liver, enhanced the liver's total antioxidant capacity and mitochondrial function, reduced inflammation and cell apoptosis. We further verified that SIRT1 played a key role in mediating the protective effect of MSC-CM. These findings provide novel evidence that MSC-CM has the potential to treat T2DM patients with NAFLD clinically.

Coalbed methane is stored mainly in coal pores, and pore changes by fracturing fluid affect the extraction effect of coalbed methane. To select the optimal formulation of viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluids, we treated coal samples of different hardness with deionized water (A) and three different fluids that contained cationic surfactants (B), mixed cationic and zwitterionic surfactants (C) and mixed anionic and zwitterionic surfactants (D) as the main agents. The effect of the three VES fracturing fluids on pores was compared quantitatively and on a multi-scale. The pore characteristics were tested by field emission-scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion capillary pressure and low-pressure nitrogen physisorption. Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software was used to digitize information from the obtained images. The Angulo and Frenkel–Halsey–Hill models were used to calculate the fractal dimension by using mercury intrusion capillary pressure and low-pressure nitrogen physisorption data, respectively. The effect of VES fracturing fluids B and D on pores from 14 nm to 180 μm was greater than that for VES fracturing fluid C as the main agent. The effect of VES fracturing fluid C on the pores (2–300 nm) was most obvious.

The design and preparation of powerful anode materials are key to developing potassium-ion batteries. A biomass-based potassium anode material with a distinct hollow-cage structure was prepared by one-step carbonization. The target carbon exhibited a specific surface area of 104.4 m2 g−1 and mesopores/macropores distributed materials. When used as the negative electrode of a potassium-ion battery, the cage-like porous carbon (CPC) showed a reversible capacity of 407 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 50 mA g−1 current density. After 100 cycles, at a current density of 200 mA g−1, the reversible capacity was 163.8 mAh g−1. It still exhibits an extremely long cycle stability at high current densities (discharge capacity of 124.6 mAh g−1 after 700 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1). The excellent performance is attributed to the stable cage-like carbon scaffold and uniform continuous distribution of mesopores/macropores to improve ion diffusion kinetics and electronic conductivity. These results indicate that a properly designed CPC can effectively increase the capacity and cycle stability of a potassium-ion battery.

SiO2-MgO ceramics containing different weight fractions (0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 wt%) of SiO2 powder were prepared by mixing nano MgO powder, and the powder mixtures were densified by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of SiO2 addition and SPS method on the sintering behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Results were compared to specimens obtained by conventional hot pressing (HP) under a similar sintering schedule. The highest relative density, flexural strength and hardness of 2 wt% SiO2-MgO ceramics reached 99.98%, 253.99 ± 7.47 MPa and 7.56 ± 0.21 GPa when sintered at 1400 °C by SPS, respectively. The observed improvement in the sintering behavior and mechanical properties are mainly attributed to grain boundary "strengthening" and intragranular "weakening" of the MgO matrix. Furthermore, the spark plasma sintering temperature could be decreased by more than 100 °C as compared with the HP method, SPS favouring enhanced grain boundary sliding, plastic deformation and diffusion in the sintering process.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are precursors of sperms and oocytes and responsible for passing the genetic information from one generation to the next. Chicken PGCs segregate from somatic cells in early embryo and could be isolated and cultured in vitro, making it a useful tool to produce genetically modified animals. However, the number of PGCs isolated from embryo is limited and these cells are not efficient to proliferation in vitro. GSK-3 plays an important role in multiple intracellular signaling pathways and inhibition of GSK-3-mediated β-catenin phosphorylation is known to reduce apoptosis and promote proliferation in T cells and embryo stem cells (ESC). In this study, we investigate the effect of GSK-3 inhibitor on the proliferation of PGCs in vitro and found significant increases of cell proliferation in the culture supplemented with CHIR. We further found that CHIR regulates PGC cell cycle by activating Wnt signaling and antagonizing the apoptosis of PGCs by inhibition of the expression of caspase-3 and Beclin-1. PGCs treated with CHIR expressed the germ cell-related markers and retain the capability to colonize the embryonic gonad after re-introduction to vasculature of HH stage-15 embryos. These results suggest that GSK-3 is involved in cell renewal and apoptosis in chicken PGCs.

The clogging mechanism has attracted increasing attention due to widespread applications of fibrous filtration in the industry. We carry out computational fluid dynamics with a discrete element method to investigate the clogging in a two-fiber system. The role of interparticle adhesion among microparticles in the unclogging-clogging transition is examined. A clogging phase diagram in the form of the Stokes number and the adhesion parameter (Ad) is built. We show that the formation of clogs contains two sequential processes, the growth of particle chain and the formation of bridges connecting two fibers. A stronger adhesion results in a longer growing time but a shorter bridging time of particle chains. These competing trends yield an “optimal” Ad range with the fewest penetrating particles. The structural analysis of the clogs shows that as Ad increases, the average local volume fraction and coordination number decrease. The reconstruction of particles mainly happens in the initial cake filtration stage.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal diseases. DKD does not have efficacious treatment. The cGAS-STING pathway is activated in podocytes at the early stage of kidney dysfunction, which is associated with the activation of STING downstream effectors TBK1 and NF-κB but not IRF3. Lipotoxicity induces mitochondrial damage and mtDNA leakage to the cytosol through Bcl-2 associated X protein (BAX) in podocytes. BAX-mediated mtDNA cytosolic leakage can activate the cGAS-STING pathway in the absence of lipotoxicity and is sufficient to cause podocyte injury. Depletion of cytosolic mtDNA, genetic STING knockdown, or pharmacological inhibition of STING or TBK1 alleviates podocyte injury and improves renal functions in cultured podocytes or mouse models of diabetes and obesity. These results suggest that the mtDNA-cGAS-STING pathway promotes podocyte injury and is a potential therapeutic target for DKD or other obesity-related kidney diseases.

Nitrogen doping in Bi-based oxides is highly desired due to the band gap tuning and chemisorption ability engineering. While it is rather difficult to incoporate nitrogen into Bi-based oxides because bismuth could be reduced easily during the high temperature synthesis process. In this work, we design a low temperature synthesis route to dope nitrogen into Bi-based Aurivillius phase compound Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT), which is a process of in-situ reaction, and the nitrogen doped Bi4Ti3O12 (N-BIT) particles have a similar morphology and structure to BIT. The positions of the substitutive nitrogen atoms in the N-BIT crystals are predicted to be at the oxygen atoms between the medial [TiO6] octahedron and the [TiO6] octahedron near the [Bi2O2]2+ layers and a smaller band gap of the N-BIT crystals is resulted by the first-principles calculations. The reduced band gap from BIT of 3.04 eV to N-BIT of 2.80 eV is confirmed by the absorption spectra measurements, which is benefical for charge separation under photoexcitaton. Furthermore, oxygen vacancies formed in the N-BIT sample due to the substitution of oxygen atoms with nitrogen atoms, gernerate more chemisorbed oxygens, which could be excited to the superoxide radicals. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity of N-BIT is enhanced after nitrogen doping.

With the support of portable electronic devices and crowdsensing, a new class of mobile applications based on the Internet of Things (IoT) application is emerging. Crowdsensing enables workers with mobile devices to travel to specified locations and collect data, then send it back to the requester for rewards. However, the majority of the existing crowdsensing systems are based on centralized servers, which are prone to a high chance of attack, intrusion, and manipulation. Further, during the process of transmitting information to and from the service server, the worker’s location is usually exposed. This raises the potential risk of a privacy infringement. In this paper, we first identify three ways locations can be disclosed in traditional crowdsensing systems. Then, we propose a novel solution, dubbed a blockchain privacy-preservation crowdsensing system, to address these privacy problems. The proposed system not only protects the privacy of worker locations but also increases the success rate of completing the assigned task. Specifically, the system entails a rewards-based task assignment process that, essentially, markets the given assignment and uses the anonymized characteristics of blockchain technology to hide the identity information of users. To prevent attacks through re-identification, we have introduced a private blockchain to distribute the worker’s transaction records.

Deep coal bed methane generally has a higher formation temperature than shallower coal, which can have important consequences for hydraulic fracturing. In this study, the pore characteristics of coal samples treated by viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluid as a function of temperature (293.15–353.15 K) were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using mercury injection capillary pressure tests (MICP) and low-temperature N2 gas adsorption (N2GA). The Angulo model and Frenkel–Halsey–Hill (FHH) model were used to describe the fractal characteristics of the coal pores. The results indicated that VES fracturing fluid was most effective for pore changes at temperatures below 323.15 K. The mechanism of VES fracturing fluid on coal pores at variable temperatures was analyzed and addressed from two aspects: (1) the ability of fracturing fluid to enter pores and contact the pore surface; and (2) the ability of fracturing fluid to scavenge minerals on the pore surface. The wettability of VES fracturing fluid on pore surface was analyzed from the surface tension, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of the coal. The influence of temperature on the solubility of minerals (e.g., calcite, kaolinite, and other inorganic minerals) in VES fracturing fluid was analyzed.

We report the preparation of epoxy-based composites with enhanced dielectric properties and thermal conductivity, by employing intelligently designed core/shell Alumina/Polydopamine (indicated as AO*) and strawberry-like core/shell structured Alumina/Polydopamine/Silver (indicated as AO*@Ag) particles as fillers. The introduction of the core-shell AO* and AO*@Ag particles into the epoxy matrix can distinctly enhance both the dielectric permittivity and dielectric breakdown strength of composites, as compared to that incorporating AO particles as fillers. For example, the dielectric breakdown strength of AO*@Ag/epoxy with 22.9 vol% filler loading is up to 65.5 kV/mm, representing an improvement of 24% compared with AO/epoxy composite at the same filler loading (52.8 kV/mm), while it has enhanced dielectric permittivity at room temperature at low frequency. Additionally, the strawberry-like core/shell particle-filled composites still take on a high thermal conductivity.

A thermally induced hexagonal close-packed (HCP) to face-centered cubic (FCC) phase transition was investigated in an α-type Ti35 alloy with twinned structure by in situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ab initio calculations. TEM observations indicated that the HCP-Ti to FCC-Ti transition occurred both within matrix/twin and at the twin boundaries in the thinner region of the TEM film, and the FCC-Ti precipitated as plates within the matrix/twin, while as equiaxed cells at twin boundaries. Ab initio calculations showed that the formation of FCC-Ti was related to the contamination of interstitial atoms such as oxygen.

Background: Sepsis is the leading cause of death among ICU patients, especially elderly patients. We designed this study to confirm the protective effect of MSCs against sepsis in aged rats. Methods: We used naturally aged SD rats to establish sepsis model and injected 5×106 umbilical cord-derived MSCs via the tail vein. Each group of rats was analyzed for survival, examined for biochemical parameters, stained for organ histology, and analyzed for the Th cell subpopulation ratio and inflammatory cytokine levels by flow cytometry. Western blotting was performed to detect the activity of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Vitro experiments were designed to confirm the effect of MSCs, and verified the possible mechanism using JAK/STAT inhibitors. Findings: The 72 h survival rate of sepsis rats treated with MSCs was significantly increased, organ damage and inflammatory infiltration were reduced, the levels of organ damage indicators were decreased, the ratios of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg in peripheral blood and spleen were significantly decreased, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were decreased, the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines were increased, and the levels of STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation were reduced. These results were validated in in vitro experiments. Interpretation: This study confirms that MSCs can control the inflammatory response induced by sepsis by regulating Th cells and inflammatory factors, and that this leads to reduction of tissue damage, protection of organ functions and ultimately improvement of survival in aged sepsis model rats. Inhibition of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway may be an important mechanism for their action. Funding Information: Not applicable. Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chinese PLA General Hospital. Animal experiments were approved by the Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of Chinese PLA General Hospital. Umbilical cords were obtained from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China, and the mothers signed an informed consent.

Magnetic anisotropy of Permalloy (Py) antidot square lattice was investigated by torquemetry method using Rotation Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (ROTMOKE). We find that there exists a field-dependent 4-fold magnetic anisotropy with the easy magnetization axis along the [11] axis of the antidot square lattice. In addition, there also exists an artifact of a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in ROTMOKE result. We show that both results are due to the period wiggling of the magnetization in space which was confirmed by magnetic imaging using magnetic transmission soft x-ray microscopy (MTXM). Micromagnetic simulation from MuMax3 supports the wiggling structure of the magnetization, as well as reproduces ROTMOKE result. A simplified model was developed based on the periodic wiggling of the magnetization and successfully explored the physical origin of the field-dependent 4-fold anisotropy and the artifact of the uniaxial anisotropy.

Mobile LiDAR Systems (MLSs) have recently been recognized as an effective way to extract road markings. Although existing studies have achieved good accuracy (about 90%) in road marking extraction, the majority of them are based on image processing methods; only a few researchers directly use laser points, especially for the recognition and assessment of road markings. This study introduces a three-step automated method for the extraction, recognition, and maintenance of road markings based on the intensity information from the MLS data: (1) an automated mechanism to filter the ground surface in laser data, (2) an adaptive block and multi-threshold method to detect road markings, (3) an automated method to achieve the classification, recognition, and assessment of road markings. Qualitative and quantitative analyses based on experimental datasets with eight types of road markings were used to evaluate the feasibility and robustness of the proposed method. Experimental results show that the average values of completeness (CPT), correctness (CRT), and F-measure of the road marking detection results are 94.35%, 98.35%, and 95.7% and the average values of CPT, CRT, and quality (QUA) of recognition results are 99.0%, 93.2%, and 92.3%, respectively, indicating that the proposed method is feasible and effective. The detection and recognition results were used to reconstruct, improve, and update the road features database; provide guidelines for road applications and maximum assistance for road maintenance; and deliver a valuable solution for maintenance and management of constructed facilities.

In this study, Al2O3 ceramics parts were printed by inkjet printing technology with different printed paths distributions, such as the spiral printed path, round trip straight printed path and ladder lap printed path. The influences of inkjet printed paths on sintering performance and thermal shock resistance of the Al2O3 green bodies were investigated. The sintering performance of the green sample with the ladder lap printed path is the highest among the three samples. Sintered at 1550 ℃, its bulk density and porosity reached 3.73 g/cm3 and 10.80%, respectively. In addition, the thermal shock resistance of the sample with the step print path reached 11 times. The results suggest that the optimization of the printed path provides an effective way to print 3D ceramics with good performances through 3D inkjet-printing technology.

Using X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism (XMLD) measurement, we investigate the antiferromagnetic (AFM) NiO spin reorientation transition (SRT) in epitaxial NiO/CoO/MgO(0 0 1) system at room temperature and constructed a complete NiO spin phase diagram. Then utilizing Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (MOKE) combined with a rotation magnetic field (ROTMOKE), we investigated the effect of NiO SRT on the magnetic anisotropy of a ferromagnetic (FM) Py overlayer in Py/NiO/CoO/MgO(0 0 1) system. We find that the Py coercivity and anisotropy only slightly enhanced for Py on top of out-of-plane NiO spins but greatly enhanced for Py on top of in-plane NiO spins. Both the uniaxial and fourfold anisotropies of the Py showed a clear dependence on the NiO spin orientation.

Inspired by bird's nest structure, fibrous mullite ceramic was fabricated by vacuum impregnation with mullite fibers as raw material and zirconia sol-gel as inorganic binder. The effect of impregnation times on the properties of the fibrous mullite ceramic, such as porosity, microstructure, compressive strength and room-temperature thermal conductivity were investigated. The results showed that low density (0.45–0.66 g/cm 3 ), relative high compressive strength (0.62–3.34 MPa) and low thermal conductivity (0.037–0.125 W/mk) were exhibited for the sample. The toughness of fibrous mullite ceramic was enhanced due to the micro-creaks caused by transformation of zirconia. From the experimental results, it is suggested that it was an optimal method which have the potential use in high-temperature thermal insulation materials to produce fibrous mullite ceramics.

Mesoporous hydroxyapatite is widely applied in biomedical and environmental fields due to its high surface area and adsorption capacity. In current work a one-step hydrothermal method to synthesize mesoporous HA was developed with the assistance of a cost-effective template vitamin C. It was observed the pore size and morphology of hydrothermally synthesized HA were correlated to applied solution composition. A combination of calcium hydroxide, orthophosphate, and vitamin C can finally result in mesoporous rod-like HA nanoparticles with surface area of 88 m2.g−1 and pore size of 15.7 nm on average. The mesoporous HA exhibited enhanced adsorption of model drug doxorubicin in comparison to conventionally synthesized HA as expected. Consequently, this work provides new pathway to prepare mesoporous HA with advantages of economy and convenience.

We report the fabrication of epoxy-based composites using well-designed core/shell Si/SiO2 (denoted as Si*) and core/shell/shell structured Si/SiO2/Polydopamine (denoted as Si*@PDA) particles as fillers, which exhibit improved dielectric properties and thermal conductivity. Using the core-shell Si* and Si*@PDA particles as fillers in the epoxy-based composites, the dielectric loss tangent is remarkably suppressed and the volume resistivity is apparently enhanced, as compared with that using raw Si particles as fillers. Moreover, the Si*@PDA composites have higher dielectric constant and lower loss tangent. For instance, the dielectric constant of Si*@PDA/epoxy composite with 33.8 vol% filler content is up to 19.8 at room temperature at 100 Hz, which is nearly 5.3 times of that of the pure epoxy polymer (3.4), while its loss tangent is only 0.085. Additionally, the core-shell particle-based composites still possess a high thermal conductivity.

Anaerobic fermentation is crucial to resource utilization of waste activated sludge (WAS). However, accumulated microplastics (MPs) in sludge could not be ignored. Here, a typical MP, polystyrene (PS), was selected to study the effects of different concentrations of PS on anaerobic fermentation under the optimal volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production. Compared to the control, low PS concentrations (30 particles/g total solid) significantly (p = 0.002) increased the production of VFAs to 112.8 ± 2.4% due to solubilization enhancement and enzymatic activity. High concentrations of PS (90 particles/g total solid) significantly (p = 0.000) decreased VFAs production to 83.01 ± 0.76% because of the inactive related microbial activities, although organic matter release was enhanced in the initial stage. Mechanism studies showed that the toxicity of high PS concentration could be attributed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, excess sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and synergistic toxicity of aged MPs with external pollutants.

Due to its relatively high theoretical capacity and low cost, transition metal oxides are considered as candidate anodes for potassium ion batteries (KIB). However, poor recyclability due to inherently large volume changes hinders their application. Therefore, we use Ganoderma spores as the carbon matrix to synthesize MoO2/N/C composites through simple complexation reactions. It was found that the synergistic effect of cage-like biomass carbon and molybdenum oxide can promote the transfer and adsorption of potassium ions, thereby improving the storage capacity of potassium ions. On the one hand, the introduction of a small amount of MoO2 greatly enhances the potassium storage capacity of biomass carbon materials. On the other hand, the porous cage-like carbon structure effectively buffers the volume change during the MoO2 potassium storage process and provides more diffusion paths for K+. In addition, the stable double-walled cage structure provides the possibility for the composite material to achieve good long-cycle performance. Specifically, MoO2/N/C composites provided a high reversible specific capacity of 422 mAh g−1 (after 200 cycles) at 200 mA g−1, and coulombic efficiency was greater than 98%. The composites still provided a high capacity of 316 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 500 mA g−1. At the same time, after 1500 cycles at 2000 mA g−1, the capacity was maintained at 248 mAh g−1. Verify the possibility of its practical application by assembling a full battery, meanwhile, through first-principles calculations, the reasons for the excellent potassium storage performance of MoO2/N/C electrodes are discussed.

Background α-cell dysregulation gives rise to fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Administration of Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or their conditioned medium can improve islet function and enhance insulin secretion. However, studies showing the direct effect of MSCs on islet α-cell dysfunction are limited. Methods In this study, we used high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mice and α-cell line exposure to palmitate (PA) to determine the effects of bone marrow-derived MSC-conditioned medium (bmMSC-CM) on glucagon secretion. Plasma and supernatant glucagon were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). To investigate the potential signaling pathways, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), AKT and phosphorylated AKT(p-AKT) were assessed by Western blotting. Results In vivo, bmMSC-CM infusion improved the glucose and insulin tolerance and protected against HFD-induced hyperglycemia and hyperglucagonemia. Meanwhile, bmMSC-CM infusion ameliorated HFD-induced islet hypertrophy and decreased α- and β-cell area. Consistently, in vitro, glucagon secretion from α-cells or primary islets was inhibited by bmMSC-CM, accompanied by reduction of intracellular PTEN expression and restoration of AKT signaling. Previous studies and the TargetScan database indicate that miR-181a and its target PTEN play vital roles in ameliorating α-cell dysfunction. We observed that miR-181a-5p was highly expressed in BM-MSCs but prominently lower in αTC1-6 cells. Overexpression or downregulation of miR-181a-5p respectively alleviated or aggravated glucagon secretion in αTC1-6 cells via the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusions Our observations suggest that MSC-derived miR-181a-5p mitigates glucagon secretion of α-cells by regulating PTEN/AKT signaling, which provides novel evidence demonstrating the potential for MSCs in treating T2DM.

A novel adsorbent (Zr-WS) was developed from the chemical modification of wheat straw with diethylenetriamine, chloroacetic acid and zirconium (Zr) and its efficacy for adsorption property was assessed using tetracycline (TC) as model pollutant. The materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the results indicated that zirconium was successfully loaded on the surface of wheat straw. The adsorption property of TC was performed in batch mode and fixed-bed column mode. The TC uptake was influenced by several factors such as pH, salts, temperature and contact time in batch mode. The adsorption quantity of Zr-WS toward TC was to 77.2 mg·g−1 from equilibrium study at 303 K. Freundlich model was suitable to fit the equilibrium data while Elovich model was better to predict the kinetic process. The adsorption of TC onto Zr-WS was a physical and chemical reaction with endothermic and entropy increasing. The fixed-bed adsorption results showed that high column, high TC concentration and low flow rate were beneficial to the adsorption quantity. Yan model could describe the column adsorption behavior well. There were coordination complexation and ion exchange in the adsorption process. There was some property of regeneration using 0.1 mol·L−1 hydrogen chloride solution as eluting agent. Therefore, Zr-WS could be promising as a new material to remove tetracycline from water.

RMI1 (RecQ-mediated genome instability protein 1) forms a conserved BTR complex with BLM, Topo IIIα, and RMI2, and its absence causes genome instability. It has been revealed that RMI1 localizes to nuclear foci with BLM and Topo IIIα in response to replication stress, and that RMI1 functions downstream of BLM in promoting replication elongation. However, the precise functions of RMI1 during replication stress are not completely understood. Here we report that RMI1 knockdown cells are hypersensitive to hydroxyurea (HU). Using comet assay, we show that RMI1 knockdown cells exhibit accumulation of broken DNAs after being released from HU treatment. Moreover, we demonstrate that RMI1 facilitates the recovery from activated checkpoint and resuming the cell cycle after replicative stress. Surprisingly, loss of RMI1 results in a failure of RAD51 loading onto DNA damage sites. These findings reveal the importance of RMI1 in response to replication stress, which could explain the molecular basis for its function in maintaining genome integrity.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a well-known material for biomedical applications and its performance depends greatly on its morphological features. Therefore, preparation of mesoporous HA with high surface area and adsorption capacity is highly deserved. In this research, a hydrothermal approach to synthesize mesoporous HA without post-processing calcination step is presented. The possibility using different polyphenols to generate mesoporous HA as well as using different phosphate sources to tailor the morphological features of HA is investigated. The as-prepared mesoporous HA particles are characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, BET, and zeta potential. Besides, the impacts of HA morphological features on model drug Dox are also studied. It is expected the strong interaction between –OH of polyphenols and Ca2+ makes polyphenols molecules occupy the inner sites of growing HA particles. After the removal of polyphenols by hydrothermal treatment and ethanol extraction, the occupied sites are transformed into mesopores. The typical mesoporous HA generated in present work has a rod-like morphology with BET specific surface area of 106.6 m2/g and an average pore size of 14.4 nm.

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide that is hydrolyzed by trehalase to yield two glucose molecules. Trehalase is the first enzyme involved in the chitin biosynthesis pathway, and it plays a pivotal role in insect growth and molting. In this study, Nilaparvata lugens, an economically important rice pest in Southeast Asia, was injected with trehalose or glucose to investigate their effects on chitin metabolism. Excess trehalose and glucose significantly increased the rate of deformity (molting and/or wing deformities) and mortality in N. lugens. Trehalose, glycogen, and glucose contents were also significantly decreased in N. lugens treated with trehalose or glucose. Chitin content and the expression of NlHK, NlUAP, NlG6PI1, NlGFAT, NlGNPNA, NlPGM1, NlPGM2, NlCHS1, NlCHS1a, NlCHS1b, NlCht3, NlCht4, NlCht6, and NlCht7 were significantly decreased, whereas the expression of NlCht2, NlIDGF, and NlENGase was significantly increased in treated insects. Furthermore, a significant increase in the expression of NlTRE1-1, NlTRE2, and NlTPS1 and a decrease, in the expression of NlTPS2 were observed. Results of this study suggested that excess trehalose and glucose could affect chitin metabolism by regulating the expression of pivotal genes to decrease the chitin content, resulting in the inability of N. lugens to complete its molting process.