Search

Currently, polyurethane (PU) products are heavily dependent on petroleum resources, highlighting an urgent need to develop new bio-based materials. This study aimed to develop a sustainable method of utilizing low-cost and renewable xylose residues (XR) and crude glycerol (CG) for the production of biopolyols. Optimal synthesis conditions were determined to be 220 °C, 3 h, and 7% sodium hydroxide loading, resulting in biopolyols with a hydroxyl number of 505 mg KOH/g and an acid number of 1.7 mg KOH/g. The obtained biopolyols were used to produce biobased PU foams with a compressive strength of 225 kPa, density of 0.048 g cm−3, and thermal conductivity of 0.0355 W m−1 K−1. Characterization analysis using FT-IR, 1H NMR, and TGA confirmed the excellent thermal stability and insulation properties of the bio-based PU foam. This study provides a valuable method for producing sustainable bio-based PU foam from XR and CG, thereby presenting a novel approach to realizing the high-value utilization of both resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gesture recording, modeling, and understanding based on a robust electronic glove (E-glove) are of great significance for efficient human-machine cooperation in harsh environments. However, such robust edge-intelligence interfaces remain challenging as existing E-gloves are limited in terms of integration, waterproofness, scalability, and interface stability between different components. Here, we report on the design, manufacturing, and application scenarios for a waterproof E-glove, which is of low cost, lightweight, and scalable for mass production, as well as environmental robustness, waterproofness, and washability. An improved neural network architecture is proposed to implement environment-adaptive learning and inference for hand gestures, which achieves an amphibious recognition accuracy of 100% in 26 categories by analyzing 2,600 hand gesture patterns. We demonstrate that the E-glove can be used for amphibious remote vehicle navigation via hand gestures, potentially opening the way for efficient human-human and human-machine cooperation in harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth of long bones and vertebrae is maintained postnatally by a long-lasting pool of progenitor cells. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate the output and maintenance of the cells that give rise to mature cartilage. Here we demonstrate that postnatal chondrocyte-specific deletion of a transcription factor Stat3 results in severely reduced proliferation coupled with increased hypertrophy, growth plate fusion, stunting and signs of progressive dysfunction of the articular cartilage. This effect is dimorphic, with females more strongly affected than males. Chondrocyte-specific deletion of the IL-6 family cytokine receptor gp130, which activates Stat3, phenocopied Stat3-deletion; deletion of Lifr, one of many co-receptors that signals through gp130, resulted in a milder phenotype. These data define a molecular circuit that regulates chondrogenic cell maintenance and output and reveals a pivotal positive function of IL-6 family cytokines in the skeletal system with direct implications for skeletal development and regeneration. Liu et al. demonstrate the role of gp130/STAT3 signalling in the development and homeostasis of chondrocytes in the growth plate and articular cartilage. The authors report that tamoxifen-induced deletion of STAT3 or gp130 in chondrocytes after birth results in defective chondrocyte proliferation, growth plate fusion and stunting, and signs of progressive dysfunction of the articular cartilage, with female mice more strongly affected than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) impacts hundreds of millions of people worldwide, with those affected incurring significant physical and financial burdens. Injuries such as focal defects to the articular surface are a major contributing risk factor for the development of OA. Current cartilage repair strategies are moderately effective at reducing pain but often replace damaged tissue with biomechanically inferior fibrocartilage. Here we describe the development, transcriptomic ontogenetic characterization and quality assessment at the single cell level, as well as the scaled manufacturing of an allogeneic human pluripotent stem cell-derived articular chondrocyte formulation that exhibits long-term functional repair of porcine articular cartilage. These results define a new potential clinical paradigm for articular cartilage repair and mitigation of the associated risk of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most rapid global sea-level rise event of the last deglaciation, Meltwater Pulse 1A (MWP-1A), occurred ∼14,650 years ago. Considerable uncertainty regarding the sources of meltwater limits understanding of the relationship between MWP-1A and the concurrent fast-changing climate. Here we present a data-driven inversion approach, using a glacio-isostatic adjustment model to invert for the sources of MWP-1A via sea-level constraints from six geographically distributed sites. The results suggest contributions from Antarctica, 1.3 m (0–5.9 m; 95% probability), Scandinavia, 4.6 m (3.2–6.4 m) and North America, 12.0 m (5.6–15.4 m), giving a global mean sea-level rise of 17.9 m (15.7–20.2 m) in 500 years. Only a North American dominant scenario successfully predicts the observed sea-level change across our six sites and an Antarctic dominant scenario is firmly refuted by Scottish isolation basin records. Our sea-level based results therefore reconcile with field-based ice-sheet reconstructions. Meltwater Pulse 1A was the most rapid global sea-level rise event during the last deglaciation, but the source of the freshwater causing this rise is debated. Here, the authors use a data-driven inversion approach to show that the North American and Eurasian Ice Sheets were the dominant contributors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coalbed gas (CBG) in Enhong (恩洪) syncline, eastern Yunnan (云南), China, is characterized by high concentration of heavy hydrocarbon with the highest content of ethane, which is more than 30%. Some previous investigators paid much attention to the abnormal concentration of heavy hydrocarbon in the CBG of Enhong, but few have researched on its origin. This article describes the characteristics of abnormal high concentration of heavy hydrocarbon in Enhong syncline and analyzes its reason from the aspects of origin and evolution of heavy hydrocarbon by carbon isotope, coal petrography, and coal rank. Features of gas carbon isotope composition display that there is no inorganic gas or oil components in the CBG, which is classified to thermogenetic gas produced by humic material, with characteristic of secondary biogenic gas in shallow coal seam. The concentration of heavy hydrocarbon in Enhong syncline increases with the increase of vitrinite, vitrinite/inertinite ratio, and hydrogen/carbon ratio and decreases with the increase of inertinite, so hydrogen-rich vitrinite may be a very important factor resulting in the abnormal concentration of heavy hydrocarbon. It also increases with the increase of degree of coalification of coking to lean coals during which the peak of heavy hydrocarbon generation is reached. Therefore, we think that high concentration of heavy hydrocarbon originated from the coupling effect of higher content of the hydrogen-rich vitrinite in the coal and the coal rank of coking to lean coals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]