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Excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) emission has caused problems associated with environmental pollution and climate deterioration. As a consequence, the selective conversion of CO2 into liquid fuels by artificial photosynthesis has gained increasing attention. However, the rational design of photocathode to achieve selective CO2 photoelectroreduction is challenging. Here, we sensitized cuprous oxide (p-nCu2O) loaded on hydroxyl iron oxide (FeOOH) with cobalt-doped cadmium sulfide (Co:CdS) quantum dots to prepare a novel photocathode FeOOH/p-nCu2O/Co:CdS by sequential electrodeposition and chemical bath deposition. The composite photocathode exhibited a larger photovoltage, which is 1.9 times higher than the pristine counterpart, and was efficient for CO2 reduction to produce formic acid with high selectivity of up to 82.9% (Faradaic efficiency). Theoretical calculations revealed that the photocathode out-layer Co:CdS quantum dots had increased binding energy toward the key intermediate *OOCH through additional hybridization orbitals to exclusively favor the formation of formic acid. An impurity energy level was revealed to form by doping Co to the CdS-containing composite, which could reduce the photocathode band gap with improved absorption toward visible light, thus remarkably increasing the photoelectrochemical properties. This is the first work undertaking the energy band structure optimization of the photocathode enabled by elemental doping to improve its photoelectrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread utilization of lithium-ion batteries has led to an increase in the quantity of decommissioned lithium-ion batteries. By incorporating recycled anode graphite into new lithium-ion batteries, we can effectively mitigate environmental pollution and meet the industry’s high demand for graphite. Herein, a suitable amount of ferric chloride hexahydrate was employed as a catalyst precursor to facilitate the low-temperature graphitization process of spent graphite. This resulted in renewed graphite with abundant pores, a high degree of graphitization (89.5%), and exceptional electrochemical properties. This material exhibits minimal polarization and impedance while maintaining a specific capacity of 376 mAh/g after 260 cycles at a rate of 0.5 C. While highlighting the remarkable attributes of recycled graphite, we also address the limitations associated with the catalytic graphitization method to provide researchers with comprehensive and unbiased insights. Ultimately, we believe that this method will play a pivotal role in recycling spent graphite with severely damaged structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud: Paecilomyces variotii has important economic value in stimulating crop growth, biodegradation, and other aspects. Up to now, there are no research reports on its mitochondrial genome. Methods and results: The mitochondrial genome of Paecilomyces variotii was determined with the next-generation sequencing method (Illumina, NovaSeq), and its characteristics were analyzed using various bioinformatics approaches. The length of complete mitochondrial genome sequence of P. variotii is 40,965 bp and consists of 14 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 1 ribosomal protein S3 gene, 26 transport RNA genes. The results of phylogenetics analysis using Bayesian inference and Maximum likelihood methods showed that P. variotii belongs to the Eurotiales order in the Thermoascaceae family, and 9 genera within the Eurotiomycetes class were effectively distinguished with high support rates (bootstrap value > 92% and posterior probabilities > 99%). The analysis of synonymous substitution rates and nonsynonymous substitution rates indicated that the Ka/Ks values of the 14 PCGs in the mitochondrial genomes of the two orders in the Eurotiomycetes class ranged from 0 to 0.4333. Conclusions: This study revealed the structural and sequence information characteristics of the mitochondrial genome of P. variotii, and the phylogenetic results strongly support its classification within the family Thermoascaceae, consistent with traditional morphological taxonomy studies. The 14 PCGs in the mitochondrial genomes of the two orders in the Eurotiomycetes class are subject to strong purifying (negative) selection. The results of this research provides an important molecular basis for the development of genomics, evolutionary genetics and molecular markers of P. variotii in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity for strong security methods to safeguard sensitive data carried over these kinds of networks has grown as a result of optical communication services rapid development. To increase the security of optical communication, we suggest a Modified Paillier-assisted Advanced Encryption Standard (MP-AES) technique in this study. This strategy combines the Paillier cryptosystem with the AES algorithm. The homomorphic characteristics of the Paillier cryptosystem allow operations to be carried out on data that is encrypted without requiring decryption. By taking advantage of this characteristic, we can securely compute on the AES-encrypted keys, maintaining the secrecy and authenticity of the sent data. To tackle potential weaknesses and improve security, our suggested MP-AES approach incorporates significant changes to the established Paillier system and the AES method. The technique uses a dynamic key creation technique that increases the unpredictability of the encryption procedure and strengthens its defense against cryptographic assaults. We carried out comprehensive simulations and compared the outcomes with the traditional AES techniques employed in optical networks to measure the efficiency and safety of the proposed approach. The results of the experiments show that our updated approach offers increased security while still having a manageable processing burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Acquisition of new stem cell fates relies on the dissolution of the prior regulatory network sustaining the existing cell fates. Currently, extensive insights have been revealed for the totipotency regulatory network around the zygotic genome activation (ZGA) period. However, how the dissolution of the totipotency network is triggered to ensure the timely embryonic development following ZGA is largely unknown. In this study, we identify the unexpected role of a highly expressed 2-cell (2C) embryo specific transcription factor, ZFP352, in facilitating the dissolution of the totipotency network. We find that ZFP352 has selective binding towards two different retrotransposon sub-families. ZFP352 coordinates with DUX to bind the 2C specific MT2_Mm sub-family. On the other hand, without DUX, ZFP352 switches affinity to bind extensively onto SINE_B1/Alu sub-family. This leads to the activation of later developmental programs like ubiquitination pathways, to facilitate the dissolution of the 2C state. Correspondingly, depleting ZFP352 in mouse embryos delays the 2C to morula transition process. Thus, through a shift of binding from MT2_Mm to SINE_B1/Alu, ZFP352 can trigger spontaneous dissolution of the totipotency network. Our study highlights the importance of different retrotransposons sub-families in facilitating the timely and programmed cell fates transition during early embryogenesis. During zygotic genome activation the embryo must re-wire the regulatory network that sustains totipotency earlier during development. Here they identify ZFP352 as an essential factor that targets retrotransposon families to facilitate dissolution of the totipotency network and enable ZGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Releasing juvenile fish into resource-depleted waters is regarded as an effective way to restore fishery resources. However, during this stage, released fish are most vulnerable to long-term food deprivation due to environmental changes and low adaptability. Therefore, research regarding the energy regulation of fish under starvation stress is crucial to the optimization of release strategies. In this study, we performed a transcriptome analysis of the liver of Onychostomasima subjected to starvation for 14 days. The results showed that, under long-term starvation, the liver regulated glucose homeostasis by activating the gluconeogenesis pathway. Meanwhile, the fatty acid metabolism pathway was activated to supply acetyl-coA to the TCA cycle, thus increasing mitochondrial ATP production and maintaining the balance of energy metabolism. Nevertheless, the activation of energy metabolism could not completely compensate for the role of exogenous nutrients, as evidenced by the downregulation of many genes involved in antioxidant defenses (e.g., cat, gpx3, mgst1, and mgst2) and immune response (e.g., c3, cd22, trnfrsf14, and a2ml). In summary, our data reveal the effects of long-term starvation on the energy metabolism and defensive regulation of starved juvenile fish, and these findings will provide important reference for the optimization of artificial release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the temporal–spatial temperature field and mechanical response of an orthotropic steel bridge deck during paving with gussasphalt concrete (GAC), in situ monitoring of the Cuntan Yangtze River Bridge in China was conducted during GAC paving, and a finite element method model of the temperature field was established. The test and model show the following: (1) The maximum temperature occur at the paving area mid-span on the steel bridge deck, and the temperature stress of the ribs is non-negligible. (2) The deck in the paving and non-paving areas is mainly subjected to compressive and tensile stresses, respectively. (3) The beam end of the steel box expanded outward, and the deck bulge upward. (4) Based on the analysis of the construction parameters, the paving temperature and width have a greater influence than the paving speed on the stress and deformation fields. In bridge design, the temperature-stress problem caused by high-temperature pavement and the pavement thickness problem caused by the temperature deformation of the deck must be considered. The longitudinal elongation should meet the allowable limits of the corresponding telescopic device. These results can provide a reference for construction workers and maintenance personnel of bridge deck pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local binary pattern (LBP) has already been proved to be a powerful measure of image texture with fixed sampling scheme: all P neighbor pixels in a single-scale are usually sampled by using a fixed radius R. It can effectively address grayscale and rotation variations. However, the LBP method is sensitive to image noise and fails to achieve desirable performance for texture classification with significant scale changes. With the aim to deal with these disadvantages of LBP, a new method named scale-adaptive local binary pattern (SALBP) is proposed in this paper. The essence of our proposed SALBP method is to adaptively find a single but optimal scale from multiple scales for each radial direction in accordance with the characteristics of a local area. First, we select candidates of neighbors by the majority vote strategy for signs. Second, we determine final neighbor pixels by the maximal difference magnitude selection strategy for magnitudes of candidates. This procedure lets each neighbor pixel to adaptively obtain its own optimal scale from multiple scales, which refers to the adaptive optimal sampling radius. Therefore, scale invariance can be significantly improved. Extensive experiments on four public texture databases (i.e., Outex, CUReT, UIUC and Brodatz) demonstrate that the proposed SALBP method achieves significantly better results than representative LBP variants for texture classification tasks with a smaller feature dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a simple and efficient local feature descriptor, local binary pattern (LBP) is mainly made up of two steps: extraction step and encoding step. In the extraction step, a local region is denoted by a difference vector between the center pixel and its neighbors. In the encoding step, the corresponding binary bit-string of the difference vector is encoded for the following texture classification. Though encoding step plays a vital role in the whole process of LBP, two current widely used encoding schemes of LBPriu2 and LBC still have some limitations. Different from these two current encoding schemes, in this paper, we propose a new LBP encoding scheme based on the maximum run length of state “1” (LBPmr1) in a binary bit-string. The maximum run length of state “1” reflects the most important part of the binary bit-string structure and it is used as the LBP code of a binary bit-string for the first time. Experimental results on four representative texture databases of Outex, UIUC, CUReT and UMD show that the proposed LBPmr1 achieves better classification accuracy compared with other related LBP encoding schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanofiber paper was prepared by electrospinning from thermosetting phenolic resin, followed by activation via KOH-containing molten salt at high temperature. By adding a small dosage of KOH in the molten salt the porous volume and specific surface area could be greatly improved. The obtained porous carbon nanofibers had a specific surface area of 1007 m g, total pore volume of 0.363 cm g, micropore volume of 0.247 cm g. The electrochemical measurements in 6 M KOH aqueous solution showed that the porous carbon nanofibers possessed high specific capacitance and considerable rate performance. The maximal specific capacitance of 288 F g was achieved at 0.2 A g and the specific capacitance could still remain 204 F g at 20 A g with the retention of 71%. In the molten salt system, the reaction between activating agent and carbon could be more efficient, hence, such molten salt-assisted activation method was considered as a general activation method for the high-specific-surface-areaed carbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio harveyi has been reported to enter into a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state. One marine V. harveyi strain, SF1 became nonculturable when incubated in seawater microcosm at 4 °C within 60 days. We investigated protein expression in the exponential phase of V. harveyi SF1 and compared it to the VBNC state. Cytosolic proteins were resolved by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using pH 4-7 linear gradients. Among these proteins, sixteen proteins which were strongly downregulated or upregulated in the VBNC cells were identified by MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly focused on stress response proteins and key components of central and intermediary metabolism, like carbohydrate metabolism, transport, and translation. This study provided clues for understanding the mechanism of adaptation to the VBNC state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Mildronate, an inhibitor of carnitine-dependent metabolism, is considered to be an anti-ischemic drug. This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mildronate injection in treating acute ischemic stroke. Methods: We performed a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical study of mildronate injection for treating acute cerebral infarction. 113 patients in the experimental group received mildronate injection, and 114 patients in the active-control group received cinepazide injection. In addition, both groups were given aspirin as a basic treatment. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was performed at 2 weeks and 3 months after treatment. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and Barthel Index (BI) score were performed at 2 weeks after treatment, and then vital signs and adverse events were evaluated. Results: A total of 227 patients were randomized to treatment ( n = 113, mildronate; n = 114, active-control). After 3 months, there was no significant difference for the primary endpoint between groups categorized in terms of mRS scores of 0-1 and 0-2 ( p = 0.52 and p = 0.07, respectively). There were also no significant differences for the secondary endpoint between groups categorized in terms of NIHSS scores of >5 and >8 ( p = 0.98 and p = 0.97, respectively) or BI scores of >75 and >95 ( p = 0.49 and p = 0.47, respectively) at 15 days. The incidence of serious adverse events was similar between the two groups. Conclusion: Mildronate injection is as effective and safe as cinepazide injection in treating acute cerebral infarction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported cognitive dysfunction in klotho mutant mice. In the present study, we further examined novel mechanisms involved in cognitive impairment in these mice. Significantly decreased janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription3 (STAT3) phosphorylation were observed in the hippocampus of klotho mutant mice. A selective decrease in protein expression and binding density of the M1 muscarinic cholinergic receptor (M1 mAChR) was observed in these mice. Cholinergic parameters (ie, acetylcholine (ACh), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)) and NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) were significantly impaired in klotho mutant mice. McN-A-343 (McN), an M1 mAChR agonist, significantly attenuated these impairments. AG490 (AG), a JAK2 inhibitor, counteracted the attenuating effects of McN, although AG did not significantly alter the McN-induced effect on AChE. Furthermore, AG significantly inhibited the attenuating effects of McN on decreased NMDAR-dependent LTP, protein kinase C βII, p-ERK, p-CREB, BDNF, and p-JAK2/p-STAT3-expression in klotho mutant mice. In addition, k252a, a BDNF receptor tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) inhibitor, significantly counteracted McN effects on decreased ChAT, ACh, and M1 mAChR and p-JAK2/p-STAT3 expression. McN-induced effects on cognitive impairment in klotho mutant mice were consistently counteracted by either AG or k252a. Our results suggest that inactivation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling axis and M1 mAChR downregulation play a critical role in cognitive impairment observed in klotho mutant mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of the genus Microbacterium lineage of Gram-positive actinobacteria are increasingly being reported to display significant traits associated with environmental biotechnology and bioengineering. 16SH is a nitrogen-fixing bacterial strain isolated from a surface-sterilized stem of sugarcane grown in Guangxi, China. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that 16SH belonged to the genus Microbacterium. pPROBE-pTet plasmids were constructed by cloning the promoter region of the Tet gene into the promoterless pPROBE-AT, -OT, and -TT vectors derived from the pBBR1 plasmid that has a broad host range of Gram-negative bacteria and sequence similarities to plasmids from Gram-positive bacteria. The pPROBE-pTet plasmids expressed the gfp reporter gene and were stably maintained in 16SH cells without antibiotic selection in free-living state and in planta. Confocal microscopy on intact roots of micropropagated sugarcane plantlets showed that gfp-tagged 16SH cells formed biofilms on root maturation and elongation zones but not on root meristem zones and root caps, and colonized in intercellular spaces of root cortices. Inoculation of 16SH significantly increased biomass and nitrogen content of micropropagated sugarcane seedlings grown with a nitrogen fertilization of 6.3 mg N/kg soil. N isotope dilution assays demonstrated that biological nitrogen fixation contributed to this plant growth promotion. This study for the first time demonstrated that the pBBR1-based pPROBE plasmids provided an efficient genetic transfer system for a Gram-positive Microbacterium strain, and that a nitrogen-fixing Microbacterium endophyte colonized in intact host plants and fixed N associated with the host plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel supramolecular organocatalysts of hydroxyprolinamide based on the upper rim of calix[4]arene scaffold have been developed to catalyze enantioselective multi-component Biginelli reaction. Under the optimal conditions, the reactions occurred with moderate-to-excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). A plausible transition state constructed by the supramolecular interaction of hydrogen bond and cation-π between catalysts and substrates has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unprecedented synthesis of chiral (aza)crown ethers of calix[4]arene derivatives bearing a carboxyl amide bridge was described. The synthesis proceeds through condensation of the corresponding dinitriles with optically active 1,2-aminoalcohols, and is catalyzed by the ZnCl2 Lewis acid at elevated temperature in a very efficient one-pot process. The cavity of calix[4](aza)crowns can encapsulate methanol molecules by O-H⋯п interaction, which has been confirmed by X-ray crystal structures and ESI-MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores and analyzes surface pollen from various montane vegetations in Shalixian Mt. and Lepei Mt. of central and northern Taiwan. How the pollen data were used to simulate vegetation types by using the biomisation technique; Analysis of results; Value of the study in that it can add vertical surface pollen data for extending investigation of various vegetation types in China, provide PFT schemes and vegetation types in low-latitude and montane areas, and be applied as modern analogues for fossil pollen in order to reconstruct Quaternary vegetations.