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Warp sizing is a key process in textile production. However, before the yarn/fabric finishing, such as dyeing, the paste adhering to the warp must be eliminated to ensure optimal dyeing properties and the flexibility of the fabric. Therefore, the sizing will often consume a lot of energy and produce a lot of industrial wastewater, which will cause serious harm to the environment. In this study, we have developed an energy saving and environmentally friendly starch-based slurry by modifying natural starch with acrylamide. The paste has excellent viscosity stability and fiber adhesion, and exhibits excellent performance during warp sizing. In addition, the slurry has good water solubility at 60–70 °C, so it is easy to desize at low temperatures. Because of this, the sizing of the warp can be deslimed directly from the yarn during subsequent washing processes. This work can not only reduce some costs for the textile industry, but also achieve the purpose of energy conservation and emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planar oxide atomic clusters are of considerable scientific interest because of their potential for enhanced catalytic activity versus their three‐dimensional counterparts. This enhancement is the result of the substrate stabilizing novel planar configurations that have an extensive periphery where catalytic reactions can occur. A class of planar NbnOm atomic clusters that are synthesized by the evaporation of metallic Nb onto an Au(111) substrate in an ultrahigh vacuum environment and subsequent oxidation at elevated temperatures is reported. The atomic structures of the clusters are determined using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. The clusters are composed of structural units with four‐, five‐, and sixfold rotational symmetry and these units can assemble to form larger planar clusters. The theoretical comparison of supported structures with their hypothetical freestanding counterparts shows that the atomic and electronic structures of the oxide clusters are significantly altered by the interaction with the Au substrate. The substrate effects include interfacial charge transfer and structural relaxation to relieve the strain in the Nb‐O bonds. The substrate interactions also reduce the energy differences between clusters of different configurations and this enables the coexistence of a large variety of cluster configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insulin family consists of insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2), their receptors (IR, IGF-1R and IGF-2R), and their binding proteins. All three ligands are involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, protein synthesis and metabolism due to their homologous sequences and structural similarities. Insulin-like growth factor 2, a member of the insulin family, plays an important role in embryonic development, metabolic disorders, and tumorigenesis by combining with three receptors with different degrees of affinity. The main pathological feature of various fibrotic diseases is the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) after tissue and organ damage, which eventually results in organic dysfunction because scar formation replaces tissue parenchyma. As a mitogenic factor, IGF-2 is overexpressed in many fibrotic diseases. It can promote the proliferation of fibroblasts significantly, as well as the production of ECM in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This review aims to describe the expression changes and fibrosis-promoting effects of IGF-2 in the skin, oral cavity, heart, lung, liver, and kidney fibrotic tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tear trough filling is a popular facial rejuvenation procedure, and hyaluronic acid is typically used as the filler of choice. However, Tyndall's phenomenon, a common complication following hyaluronic acid injection, can occur, leading to skin discoloration of the lower eyelid. Aims: This single‐center, prospective, comparative clinical study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of collagen and hyaluronic acid injections in treating tear trough deformity. Methods: Sixty patients were enrolled between June 2022 and January 2023. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups: Group A received hyaluronic acid, Group B received hyaluronic acid combined with collagen, and Group C received collagen alone. Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, and tear trough deformity grade were considered before therapy. Changes in tear trough deformity scores, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores, and the presence of the Tyndall effect were analyzed at 1 and 3 months postinjection to determine differences among the three groups. Results: Baseline profiles of the three groups were similar. In the first month postinjection, there was no difference in the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores and tear trough deformity between the three groups. However, in the third‐month postinjection, there was a significant difference in scores between patients in Group C and those in Groups A or B. The Tyndall effect manifested in three patients in Group A, which was significantly different from that in Groups B and C. Conclusion: The combined use of hyaluronic acid with collagen in injectable fillers corrected tear trough deformities and reduced the occurrence of the Tyndall phenomenon, which can be problematic with hyaluronic acid alone. Additionally, this combination may help overcome the disadvantage of a shorter retention period when using collagen alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and photo-luminescence properties of Eu2+/Eu3+ or Ce3+/Eu3+ co-doped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F compounds are reported. Using the Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F as the host, through the solid state reaction under the reductive atmosphere, Eu2+/Eu3+ and Ce3+/Eu3+co-doped samples were prepared. These compounds exhibit good photo-luminescence properties. Under the excitation of 376 nm, an unusual red orange emission coming from the Eu2+ ions can be obtained in Eu ions doped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F, which exhibits a broadband emission in the range of 450–800 nm with the peak at around 600 nm. At the same time, the characteristic f-f excitation and emission of Eu3+ can improve and adjust the Eu2+ emission in Eu3+/Eu2+ codoped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. In addition, the adjustable luminescence properties from blue to white of Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Ce3+, Eu3+ are investigated. The energy transfer behavior from Ce3+ to Eu3+ was confirmed. In the spectra of the co-doped samples, we can hardly observe the characteristic peak of Eu2+, because Ce4+ can oxidize Eu2+ to Eu3+, and Ce4+ itself is reduced to Ce3+. The CIE coordinates from (0.2758, 0.2420) to (0.3857, 0.3015) show Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:3%Ce3+, x%Eu3+ (x = 1,3,5,7,9) are in the white light emission region. All results demonstrate that the Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Eu3+/Eu2+ and Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Ce3+/Eu3+ phosphors have good application prospects for LED plant growth and white LED, respectively. The bond energy method was used to explain the reason why the Eu2+/Eu3+ ion instead of only Eu2+ and Ce3+/Eu3+ instead of Ce3+/Eu3+/Eu2+ can exist in the host Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. The theoretical analysis agree well with the experimental result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Eu3+/Eu2+ codoped Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 were synthesized by traditional solid-state synthesis in reducing atmosphere. In this work, XRD powder diffraction proved that the obtained sample was pure. Photoluminescence properties are characterized by excitation, emission spectra and decay curves. Double center emission is achieved by adjusting excitation wavelength and concentration. Under the 394 nm excitation, the emission spectra Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 : Eu phosphors exhibit two bands situated at blue emission of 4f5d-4f transition from Eu2+ ion and red emission of 4f-4f transition coming from Eu3+ ion. The red and yellow light can be obtained when the concentration of doped europium ions is at 0.5% and 1%, respectively. When the excitation wavelength was 394, 280 and 584 nm, the emission color change from yellow to blue, respectively. The bond energy theory explains Eu2+ and Eu3+ ion occupy Ca1 site in the Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 lattices. In addition, the spectra show that the abnormal intensity peaks of europium ion at 701 nm can be found. Analysis of the related intensity 5D 0 -7F 2 (618 nm) transition peak is similar to that of 5D 0 -7F 4 (701 nm) transition peak in the emission spectra with the Judd-Ofelt theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provincial Multi-Regional Input-Output is combined with household survey data. • Tree-models were applied to classify the energy requirement groups. • Mental health plays an influential role in the degree of indirect energy requirements. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted the challenges brought about by increasing energy consumption and climate change. Previous studies have concentrated on accounting for urban and rural household energy requirements in China at a macro-scale, which neglects the analysis of individuals and their socio-economic driving factors at the micro-scale. To fill this gap, this study began with an accounting of energy requirements for urban and rural households based on the provincial Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) tables and household survey covering over 25,000 unique samples from 25 provinces in 2012. Multilinear Regression models were employed to estimate the average effect of various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of samples, and Tree-based models were applied to classify energy requirement groups and identify the key individual characteristics. The results suggest that the energy requirements per capita on average range from 34 to 211 GJ for urban samples and 34 to 149 GJ for rural samples across different provinces, and that the gap between individuals can be over 100 times. Indirect energy requirements representing above 90% of the total is the focus of the study. Changes in lifestyle factors include eating out, drinking and smoking, were all correlated with indirect energy requirements. Furthermore, the one-child family has had a positive effect on indirect energy requirements, while the two or more children family has had a negative effect. In addition, an individual's mental health plays a role in the level of indirect energy requirements for high-income rural residents, while geographic location plays a key role for urban residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel luminescent material Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:x%Eu3+ was synthesized for the first time by a high temperature solid phase reaction in an air atmosphere. The luminescence properties and site occupancy of Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:x%Eu3+ phosphors were studied. The XRD powder diffraction data imply that the series of targets synthesized are pure phases. After repeated experiments, it was found that the main peak position of the excitation and emission spectra changed greatly when the same concentration or different concentration of Eu3+ was doped, and two kinds of spectral phenomena appeared. First, the position of the broadband excitation peak is about 335 nm, and the position of the strongest emission peak belongs to the 5D 0 →7F 0 transition of Eu3+ at 572 nm. Second, the position of the broadband excitation peak is about 275 nm, and the position of the strongest emission peak belongs to the 5D 0 →7F 2 transition of Eu3+ at 619 nm. These imply that different lattice sites are occupied by Eu3+ in Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. At the same time, the unusually strong 5D 0 →7F 0 transition illustrates the presence of interstitial oxygen and anomalous crystal field strength in system. A theoretical calculation method of bond energy was applied to study the site occupancy of Eu3+, which shows that any one of Sr1, Sr2, and Sr3 has the possibility of being occupied by Eu3+. Therefore, our test results are consistent well with the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A novel p-type semiconductor-based cathodic "signal-on" photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor was proposed for highly sensitive and selective detection of chloramphenicol (CAP). The photocathode was fabricated with hierarchical porous flower-like Bi-BiOI@C composite synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal method using glucose as both green reductant and carbon precursor. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Bi and high-conductivity of carbon, the composite exhibited an enhanced cathodic photocurrent as compared with pure BiOI or Bi-BiOI. When CAP-binding aptamer was immobilized as recognition element on Bi-BiOI@C modified electrode, a cathodic PEC aptasensor showing specific "signal-on" response to CAP was constructed. Some influencing factors such as coating amount of Bi-BiOI@C suspension, applied bias potential, and aptamer concentration were studied. Under the optimum conditions, the cathodic photocurrent of the constructed PEC aptasensor increased linearly with CAP concentration from 2 to 250 nM, with a detection limit (3S/N) of 0.79 nΜ. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the determination of CAP in pharmaceutical tablet, eye drop and lake water samples. Highlights • Cathodic "signal-on" photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensing strategy is developed. • Flower-like Bi-BiOI@C composite is synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal process. • Glucose is used as both green reductant and carbon precursor for composite synthesis. • Bi-BiOI@C composite exhibits an improved performance for cathodic PEC sensing. • Bi-BiOI@C is utilized to construct cathodic PEC aptasensor for CAP detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein-based hydrogels are considered ideal biomaterials due to their high biocompatibility, diverse structure, and their improved bioactivity and biodegradability. However, it remains challenging to mimic the native extracellular matrices that can dynamically respond to environmental stimuli. The combination of stimuli-responsive functionalities with engineered protein hydrogels has facilitated the development of new smart hydrogels with tunable biomechanics and biological properties that are triggered by cyto-compatible stimuli. This review summarizes the recent advancements of responsive hydrogels prepared from engineered proteins and integrated with physical, chemical or biological responsive moieties. We underscore the design principles and fabrication approaches of responsive protein hydrogels, and their biomedical applications in disease treatment, drug delivery, and tissue engineering are briefly discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives in this field are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the effectiveness and mechanism of the Chinese herbal formula Sini Tang (SNT) which consists of Aconitum carmichaelii (Fuzi), Zingiber officinale (Gan Jiang), and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gancao) in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats. Methods. We established the heart failure after myocardial infarction in model of SD rats by ligating the anterior descending branch of left coronary artery. Rats were randomly divided into six experimental groups: Sham operation group, HF group, Benazepril group, high dose of SNT group, medium dose of SNT group, and low dose of SNT group. Drugs were administered by oral gavage for eight weeks. The detection indexes include left ventricular function by echocardiogram, Collagen Volume Fraction by Masson staining, level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II and Aldosterone by radioimmunoassay, protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R by western-blot, and real-time PCR. Results. The outcomes of this study indicated that SNT significantly improved the LVEF and LVFS, thickened both LVAWd and LVAWs, and reduced LVIDs in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats when compared with control group (P<0.05). Besides, SNT significantly reduced the Collagen Volume Fraction (P<0.05). The results of radioimmunoassay showed that SNT decreased the level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II, and Aldosterone (P<0.05). The outcomes of western-blot and real-time PCR analysis showed that SNT significantly downregulated the protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R (P<0.05). Conclusions. The Chinese herbal formula SNT could improve left ventricular systolic function in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats and decreased the level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II, and Aldosterone, as well as downregulating the protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R. Therefore, SNT has potential benefits of improving cardiac function by inhibiting the excessive activation of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a self-powered sensor was proposed for simultaneous detection of two typical steroid hormones, namely cortisol (COR) and progesterone (P4). A tri-channel photofuel cell (PFC) consisting of three spatially resolved SnS 2 @SnO 2 photoanodes and one Pt cathode was designed to generate the electricity to drive the sensing process under the control of a multiplex switch. Among three photoanodes, one served as the control, while the other two were modified with COR-binding or P4-binding aptamer to respond specifically to the COR or P4 target. The ratios of the inhibited PFC output from aptamer-immobilized photoanodes to the reference signal from the control photoanode were utilized for simultaneous detection of COR and P4. The results showed that the developed self-powered sensor exhibited broad concentration ranges toward targets, with COR concentration ranging from 1 nM to 1000 nM and P4 concentration ranging from 1 nM to 500 nM. The detection limits for COR and P4 were calculated to be 0.88 nM and 0.52 nM, respectively. Moreover, the proposed sensing platform demonstrated high selectivity, good reproducibility, and high stability. Finally, the sensor was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of COR and P4 in a human female serum sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fidelity simulation of fission gas behavior is able to help us understand and predict the performance of nuclear fuel under different irradiation conditions. Cluster dynamics (CD) is a mesoscale simulation method which is rapidly developed in nuclear fuel research area in recent years, and it can effectively describe the microdynamic behavior of fission gas in nuclear fuel; however, due to the huge cost of computation needed for CD model solution, the application scenario of CD has been limited. Thus, how to design the acceleration algorithm for the given computing resources to improve the computing efficiency and simulation scale has become a key problem of CD simulation. In this work, we present an accelerating cluster dynamics model based on the spatially dependent cluster dynamics model, combined with multi optimization methods on a DCU (deep computing unit)-based heterogeneous architecture supercomputer. The correctness of the model is verified by comparing with experimental data and Xolotl—a software of SciDAC program from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Furthermore, our model implementation has a better computing performance than Xolotl's GPU version. Our code has gained great strong/weak scaling performance with more than 72.75%/84.07% parallel efficiency on 1024 compute nodes. This work developed a new efficient model for CD simulation of fission gas in nuclear fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of phosphorus (P) from pyrolysis sewage sludge is a good methodology to deal with the deficit of P resources and safely dispose the sewage sludge. However, it is essential to determine the type of sludge in sewage treatment plants (STPs) along with the most appropriate pyrolysis temperature. These factors affect the form and bioavailability of recoverable P. Thus, four kinds of sludge in a typical STP were selected, and three pyrolysis temperatures including 300, 500, and 700 °C were set to find a suitable strategy for P recovery. The results indicated that with increasing pyrolysis temperature, more organic phosphorus (OP) was transformed into inorganic phosphorus (IP) and more non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) was converted to apatite phosphorus (AP, mainly Ca 3 (PO 4) 2 , Ca(H 2 PO 4) 2 , Mg 3 (PO 4) 2 , Ca 3 Mg 3 (PO 4) 4 , and Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH). Compared to other sludges, dewatered cake sludge (CS) pyrolyzed at 700 °C had the highest AP content, about 1.1–3.6 times that in other pyrolysis products, and the highest Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH content containing 35.8% of total phosphorus (TP). The contents of P-2% citric acid (CA) and neutral ammonium citrate (NAC) in CS obtained by pyrolysis at 500 °C reached 45.6 and 49.6 mg/g, respectively, which were 1.1–3.0 and 1.1–2.8 times that of P-CA and P-NAC in other sludges and their biochars, respectively. Moreover, the diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid extraction analysis indicated that the good stability of heavy metals in CS-derived biochar was better than that in the feedstock. Hence, to ensure the efficiency and safety of P, CS is used as raw material in STPs to recover P resources. CS-500 can be used as the direct P source of land owing to the highest concentration of bioavailable P (P-CA and P-NAC), while CS-700 can be used to represent a slow-release P fertilizer because it contains the highest concentration of AP. [Display omitted] • High-temperature pyrolysis promoted the conversion of NAIP into AP in sludge. • The AP content of CS-700 was 29.1 mg/g about 1.1–3.6 times that in other biochars. • The fraction of hydroxylapatite in CS-700 achieved 35.8% of TP. • CS-500 had the highest level of P-CA (45.6 mg/g) and P-NAC (49.6 mg/g). • CS has the highest phosphorus recovery potential compared to other sludges in STPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collecting and analyzing data from all devices to improve the efficiency of business processes is an important task of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In the age of data explosion, extensive text data generated by the IIoT have given birth to a variety of text representation methods. The task of text representation is to convert the natural language to a form that computer can understand with retaining the original semantics. However, these methods are difficult to effectively extract the semantic features among words and distinguish polysemy in natural language. Combining the advantages of convolutional neural network (CNN) and variational autoencoder (VAE), this paper proposes an intelligent CNN-VAE text representation algorithm as an advanced learning method for social big data within next-generation IIoT, which help users identify the information collected by sensors and perform further processing. This method employs the convolution layer to capture the local features of the context and uses the variational technique to reconstruct feature space to make it conform to the normal distribution. In addition, the improved word2vec model based on topical word embedding (TWE) is utilized to add topical information to word vectors to distinguish polysemy. This paper takes the social big data as an example to illustrate the way of the proposed algorithm applied in the next-generation IIoT and utilizes Cnews dataset to verify the performance of proposed method with four evaluating metrics (i.e., recall, accuracy, precision, and F1-score). Experimental results indicate that the proposed method outperforms word2vec-avg and CNN-AE in K-nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers and distinguishes polysemy effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an environmental toxicant, arsenic exposure may cause insulin resistance (IR). Previous studies have shown that pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of IR. Although gasdermin D (GSDMD) functions as an executor of pyroptosis, the relationship between GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and hepatic IR remains unclear. Here, we observed that sodium arsenite (NaAsO 2) activated NOD-like receptors containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes, promoted GSDMD activation, induced pyroptosis and hepatic IR, while GSDMD knockdown attenuated pyroptosis and hepatic IR caused by NaAsO 2. However, GSDMD interference did not affect NLRP3 activation. Ubiquitination modification is widely involved in protein regulation and intracellular signal transduction, and whether it regulates GSDMD and affects its degradation, and exerts effects on arsenic-induced pyroptosis remain unclear. We observed that NaAsO 2 reduced the K48- and K63-linked ubiquitination of GSDMD, thereby inhibiting its degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP), causing GSDMD to accumulate and lyse into GSDMD-N, which promoted pyroptosis. In summary, we demonstrated that GSDMD participated in arsenic-induced hepatic IR. Moreover, NaAsO 2 reduced GSDMD ubiquitination and decreased its intracellular degradation, aggravating pyroptosis and hepatic IR. We have revealed the molecular mechanism underpinning arsenic-induced IR, and we provide potential solutions for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). [Display omitted] • The reduction of GSDMD would attenuate the arsenic-induced pyroptosis and insulin resistance. • Exposure to NaAsO 2 would reduce the ubiquitination level of GSDMD. • Ubiquitinated GSDMD would be degraded by ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy-lysosome pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, air pollution has become a factor that cannot be ignored, affecting human lives and health. The distribution of high-density populations and high-intensity development and construction have accentuated the problem of air pollution in China. To accelerate air pollution control and effectively improve environmental air quality, the target of our research was cities with serious air pollution problems to establish a model for air pollution prediction. We used the daily monitoring data of air pollution from January 2016 to December 2020 for the respective cities. We used the long short term memory networks (LSTM) algorithm model to solve the problem of gradient explosion in recurrent neural networks, then used the particle swarm optimization algorithm to determine the parameters of the CNN-LSTM model, and finally introduced the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition of adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) decomposition to decompose air pollution and improve the accuracy of model prediction. The experimental results show that compared with a single LSTM model, the CEEMDAN-CNN-LSTM model has higher accuracy and lower prediction errors. The CEEMDAN-CNN-LSTM model enables a more precise prediction of air pollution, and may thus be useful for sustainable management and the control of air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of flexible electronics and sensing technology, hydrogel-based flexible sensors have exhibited considerable potential across a diverse range of applications, including wearable electronics and soft robotics. Recently, advanced machine learning (ML) algorithms have been integrated into flexible hydrogel sensing technology to enhance their data processing capabilities and to achieve intelligent perception. However, there are no reviews specifically focusing on the data processing steps and analysis based on the raw sensing data obtained by flexible hydrogel sensors. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the latest advancements and breakthroughs in intelligent perception achieved through the fusion of ML algorithms with flexible hydrogel sensors, across various applications. Moreover, this review thoroughly examines the data processing techniques employed in flexible hydrogel sensors, offering valuable perspectives expected to drive future data-driven applications in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progesterone (P4) level in body fluids can act as an indicator for early pregnancy diagnosis and offers insight into mammalian somatic function. In this work, we designed an antibody-aptamer based sandwich assay as a cathodic photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor for P4 detection. The composites of carbon dots and graphene oxide (CDs-GO) with favorable cathodic photocurrent response were used as photoactive materials on which the antibody (Ab) of P4 was immobilized. Meanwhile, high affinity truncated P4 aptamer was immobilized on Au–CuO–Cu 2 O to act as a bioconjugate. When P4 was present, the aptamer-Au-CuO-Cu 2 O bioconjugate could amplify the cathodic photocurrent of CDs-GO modified electrode through Ab-P4-aptamer interactions. Under optimum conditions, the cathodic photocurrent of the constructed PEC biosensor was found to increase linearly with P4 in a wide concentration range from 0.5 nM to 180 nM, with a low detection limit (3S/N) of 0.17 nΜ. The proposed cathodic PEC sensing platform demonstrated high selectivity, satisfying reproducibility, good stability. The sensor was successfully applied in the determination of P4 in human serum samples. • An antibody-aptamer based sandwich assay for progesterone is proposed. • A cathodic photoelectrochemical biosensor with sandwich structure is designed. • Carbon dots-graphene oxide composites are used as photocathodic materials. • Aptamer-conjugated photoactive nanoparticles provide a signal-on sensing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CdS–In 2 S 3 heterojunction with enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was synthesized to construct dual-mode visible light-induced biosensors for highly sensitive and selective detection of bleomycin (BLM). Due to improved absorption in the visible region and suppressed recombination of electron-hole pairs in the heterojunction, CdS–In 2 S 3 composite exhibited enhanced photocurrent response under visible light illumination. Using CdS–In 2 S 3 as photoactive materials and BLM-binding aptamer as recognition element, a PEC aptasensor displaying a declined photocurrent response to BLM was facilely constructed, which was linear to BLM concentration in the range of 5.0–250 nM. On the other hand, the CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode was employed to construct a photofuel cell (PFC). In such a PFC, the oxidation of water on CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode under visible light illumination and the reduction of oxygen on Pt cathode led to the generation of electricity. When BLM-binding aptamer was immobilized on CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode, the output power of the PFC was inversely proportional to the logarithm of BLM concentration from 10 to 250 nM, offering a visible light-induced self-powered sensing platform for BLM detection. Both of the proposed sensors showed high selectivity, good reproducibility and high stability. They were successfully applied to the determination of BLM in human serum samples. • Iron-free photoelectrochemical sensor for bleomycin detection is developed firstly. • Photofuel cell-based self-powered aptasensor for bleomycin detection is proposed. • CdS–In 2 S 3 heterojunction is used as photoactive materials for sensor construction. • CdS–In 2 S 3 composite is successfully prepared by in situ formation of CdS on In 2 S 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) have attracted increasing research interest in recent years. Herein, the generation of EPFRs during the hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge (SS) was studied. First, the surface morphology, functional groups, constituent elements and free radicals were characterized for a holistic description of the raw SS and the selected hydrochar obtained from hydrothermal carbonization of SS (SHC). Then, the impact of hydrothermal temperature, residence time and initial pH on the formation of EPFRs was explored in detail through the investigation of g-factors and intensities of EPFRs identified in SHC. The results have shown that the formation of EPFRs was affected by the factors mentioned above, in which the impact of temperature is the greatest. Two types of EPFRs were spotted in the hydrochar, oxygen-centered (O-centered) and carbon-centered (C-centered) EPFRs, which were caught in 120–150 °C and 260–280 °C, respectively. Moreover, the intensities of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) signals enhanced with increasing hydrothermal temperature. Whereas, residence time and initial pH only affected the amount of EPFRs in a manner. Additionally, the half-life of the O-centered EPFRs and the C-centered EPFRs was determined as long as 160.45 days and 401.10 days, respectively, indicating that EPFRs are stable in a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The involvement of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis and progression of various cancers has been well established. However, limited studies have investigated the role of ferroptosis-mediated tumor microenvironment (TME) in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM). Methods: By leveraging single-cell RNA sequencing data, the nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) approach was employed to comprehensively characterize and identify distinct gene signatures within ferroptosis-associated TME cell clusters. Prognostic and treatment response analyses were conducted using both bulk datasets and external cancer cohort to evaluate the clinical implications of TME clusters. Results: This NMF-based analysis successfully delineated fibroblasts, macrophages, T cells, and B cells into multiple clusters, enabling the identification of unique gene expression patterns and the annotation of distinct TME clusters. Furthermore, pseudotime trajectories, enrichment analysis, cellular communication analysis, and gene regulatory network analysis collectively demonstrated significant intercellular communication between key TME cell clusters, thereby influencing tumor cell development through diverse mechanisms. Importantly, our bulk RNA-seq analysis revealed the prognostic significance of ferroptosis-mediated TME cell clusters in SKCM patients. Moreover, our analysis of immune checkpoint blockade highlighted the crucial role of TME cell clusters in tumor immunotherapy, facilitating the discovery of potential immunotherapeutic targets. Conclusions: In conclusion, this pioneering study employing NMF-based analysis unravels the intricate cellular communication mediated by ferroptosis within the TME and its profound implications for the pathogenesis and progression of SKCM. We provide compelling evidence for the prognostic value of ferroptosis-regulated TME cell clusters in SKCM, as well as their potential as targets for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the thickness of a p-InGaN layer on the device physics and the material qualities of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated in both numerical and experimental ways. A promoted structure of p-GaN/In0.005Ga0.95N (80/120 nm) heterojunction has been found to remarkably improve the LED’s performance. It is demonstrated by the experimental results that the light output power and wall-plug efficiency of such LED increase by 44.63% and 60.66% with a comparison to the conventional LED, respectively. Theoretical calculation reveals that thickening the p-InGaN layer will increase the number of holes accumulating in the p-GaN/InGaN heterojunction and modify the energy band profile of electron blocking layer, which makes it more favorable for carriers to inject into multiple quantum wells (MQWs). However, it is unfortunately found that overthickening the p-InGaN layer will make its crystalline quality degrade and finally affect the MQWs. The thickness of the p-InGaN layer should be carefully controlled at about 120 nm; otherwise, the performance of LED will be severely damaged by the increasing electrical resistance and the enhanced nonradiative recombination in MQWs, which is resulted from the material degradation in p-InGaN layer and MQWs. This paper demonstrates a possibility for achieving high-performance LEDs with the p-GaN/InGaN heterojunction and is of great interest for the commercial development of GaN-based LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The existing valence state (Eu2+/Eu3+ and Tb3+/Tb4+) in Eu/Tb ions doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 were investigated through experimental and theoretical method. Their photoluminescence properties indicated that parts of Eu3+ ions were reduced to Eu2+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8. Based on the bond energy method, the reduction process of the Eu3+→Eu2+ and the preferentially occupancy of Eu3+/Eu2+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 samples have been discussed. The values of deviation of its bond energy were calculated when Eu ions located at different crystal sites. Theoretical results indicated that the Eu3+ and Eu2+ would preferentially occupy the Sr sites due to the smaller energy variation. In addition, the variation of bond energy of Eu3+(Δ E Eu 3 + - O 2 - Sr =11.367 kcal/mol) is close to Eu2+ (Δ E Eu 2 + - O 2 - Sr = 15.112 kcal/mol), which indicated that the both of Eu2+ and Eu3+can stably exist in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 host. When Eu, Tb ions are co-doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 , the photoluminescence shows that only the characteristic emission peaks of Eu2+ and Eu3+ can be found and the emission of Tb3+ disappeared. It is suggested that the Tb3+ is oxidized to Tb4+ and the Eu3+ is reduced to Eu2+. Compared with Eu ion, the variation of bond energy for Tb3+(Δ E Tb 3 + - O 2 - Sr =10.084 kcal/mol) is more closer to Tb4+ (Δ E Tb 4 + - O 2 - Sr =9.628 kcal/mol), so in Tb3+, Eu3+ co-doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 , the Tb4+ ion has the highest priority to occupy the Sr sites, Tb3+ loses one electron to form the tetravalent Tb4+, and the excess electrons are transferred to the surrounding neighboring Eu3+ site, Eu3+ gets an electron and is reduced to Eu2+. The theoretical results are in accord with the experimental measurement. Highlights • Eu/Tb doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 were synthesized by high-temperature solid state method. • Rietveld refinement result demonstrate that Eu2+/3+, Tb3+/4+ ions occupy the Sr site. • Eu3+ can be reduced to Eu2+ and Tb3+ can be oxidized by Eu3+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 at air. • Calculation results of bond energy method prove Eu2+/3+, Tb3+/4+ occupy the Sr site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eu-doped MAlSi 2 O 6 (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) phosphors were synthesized by solid-state reaction in air. The crystal structure and optical properties of the phosphors were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and photoluminescence. Their emission spectra are composed of some broad bands coming from the 5d-4f transition of Eu 2+ and some sharp emission peaks coming from the f-f transitions of Eu 3+ . The co-existence of Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ cations is detected in MAlSi 2 O 6 :2%Eu, which shows that the unusual Eu 3+ →Eu 2+ reduction process occurs in MAlSi 2 O 6 . The preferential occupancy of Eu 3+ or Eu 2+ in MAlSi 2 O 6 can be calculated to be M + sites by the bond-energy method. The deviation of the Eu 3+ –O 2- bond energy is closed to that of the Eu 2+ –O 2- bond energy, which means that Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ can coexist in air. The abnormal reduction of Eu 3+ to Eu 2+ can be explained by charge compensation model. The doped Eu 3+ was induced to M + and the vacancy ( V M ) may be formed. The vacancy( V M ) acted as a donor of electrons, and the Eu M ∙ ∙ defect acted as an acceptor of electrons. The theoretical result is consistent with the experimental phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of inexpensive and environmentally friendly chemical sensors can help improve the global ecological environment and reduce pollutant emissions. In this work, asphaltene of coal liquefaction by-product was employed as the carbon source to fabricate carbon dots (CDs) by straightforward microwave radiation. The asphaltene-based CDs gave out blue emission under UV light excitation. Interestingly, the CDs are highly lipophilic because of its carbonized structure and insufficient hydrophilic groups. Based on these findings, an outstanding fluorescent sensor for 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) was developed by loading asphaltene-based CDs into polymeric micelles. The micelle formed by nonionic tri-block copolymers exhibited a hydrophobic inner cavity and hydrophilic surface. Due to the protection of the micelles, the emission of asphaltene-based CDs was enhanced by 2.89 times. But the fluorescence was significantly quenched by TNP through energy transfer and electron transfer mechanism, showing high sensitivity to TNP with a detection limit of 0.21 μM. The findings presented here provide a green method to synthesize fluorescent CDs and a promising strategy to design fluorescent probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2A) modulates the levels of cAMP/cGMP and was recently found to be involved in mitochondria function regulation, closely related to multiple types of tumor progression. This study aimed to estimate the prognostic significance and biological effects of PDE2A on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We comprehensively analyzed the PDE2A mRNA expression in HCC based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and investigated the effects of PDE2A on the proliferation and metastatic capacity of HCC cells. PDE2A was downregulated in 25 cancer types, including HCC. Lower PDE2A expression was a protective factor in HCC and was negatively associated with serum AFP levels, tumor status, vascular invasion, histologic grade, and pathologic stage of HCC. Moreover, tumors with low PDE2A expression displayed a decreased immune function. Then, the ROC curve was used to assess the diagnostic ability of PDE2A in HCC (AUC = 0.823 in TCGA and AUC = 0.901 in GSE76427). Patients with low PDE2A expression exhibited worse outcomes compared with those with high PDE2A expression. Additionally, GO functional annotations demonstrated the involvement of PDE2A in the ECM organization, systems development, and ERK-related pathways, indicating that PDE2A might regulate HCC growth and metastasis. The in vitro experiments confirmed that overexpression of PDE2A inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in two HCC cell lines (HLF and SNU-368), while inhibition of PDE2A has the opposite results. The mechanism of PDE2A's effect on HCC cells is attributed to the change of mitochondrial morphology and ATP content. These data demonstrated that PDE2A closely participated in the regulation of HCC proliferation and metastasis and can be used as a predictive marker candidate and a potential therapeutic target for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Static magnetic field (SMF) significantly accelerated aerobic granulation. • SMF promoted enhanced hydrophobic interactions and weakened electrostatic repulsion. • SMF led to a lower energy barrier to microbial aggregation. • SMF induced microorganisms to secrete highly hydrophobic and more adherent EPS. • SMF enhanced metabolic pathways for EPS production. Aerobic granulation promoted by static magnetic field had been widely noticed because of its environmental friendliness and economic feasibility. The mechanism of strengthening aerobic granulation by static magnetic field needed to be clarified. Consequently, this study aspired to promote aerobic granulation by loading different intensities of static magnetic fields (R1: 0 mT, R2: 10 mT, R3: 50 mT), and elucidate the potential mechanism of static magnetic fields enhancement in terms of microbial interactions, chemical structure and adhesion performance of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), metabolic pathways. Compared to R1 (day 45), R3 and R2 completed granulation at day 34 and day 42 respectively. Under the influence of magnetic fields, the interfacial adsorption free energy between microorganisms decreased from −55.88 mJ/m2 (R1) to −64.32 mJ/m2 (R2) and −75.02 mJ/m2 (R3), and the energy barriers preventing microbial aggregation in R2 and R3 were reduced. This was attributed to the fact that magnetic fields induced microorganisms to secrete highly hydrophobic EPS and enhanced adhesion to metal cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, etc.), resulting in an enhanced hydrophobic interaction and a reduced electrostatic repulsion interaction between microorganisms. Furthermore, magnetic fields increased the relative abundance of EPS-producing bacteria (Chryseobacterium , Candidatus_Competibacter , Thauera , Zoogloea) and upregulated the abundance of functional genes associated with the synthesis of hydrophobic amino acids (trpA , trpB , ADT , ilvE , proC , metH) and energy supply (mdh , cs , acn , IDH , sucA , frdA). The above results proved that the static magnetic field promoted aerobic granulation by enhancing microbial aggregation and adhesion, which provided sufficient theoretical support for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Scratched glass with spatial and depth features were tested using ad-hoc CDR test setup. • Optical approach and LEFM were combined to evaluate the effect of surface compressive stress towards scratch. • The residual mechanical performance corresponding to the scratch features can be assessed through the developed approach. Glass products are widely used in building envelopes. Fracture can be triggered accidentally from the glass surface damage such as scratch. This study proposed an approach to assess the flexural performance of the aged monolithic glass panel, which has scratch with spatial and depth information detected via non-contact sensing. The coaxial double ring (CDR) test was conducted for experimentally evaluating the flexural strength on a total number of 160 scratched annealed (AN) and fully tempered (FT) glass specimens. Finite element (FE) analysis was performed to find the exact stress state by considering the geometric non-linear behaviour of glass panel under large deflection. Test and numerical results demonstrate that the scratch depth characterized by a confocal microscope and spatial location can both influence the failure load of FT glass, whereas AN glass is only sensitive to the latter. With combining linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory, the relationship between the scratch depth and the residual strength of FT glass can be accurately determined. The spatial and depth characteristics of scratch can then be integrated for the failure load assessment of monolithic FT glass panel. The assessment framework can contribute to the accurate non-destructive assessment on aged architectural glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • In situ antibacterial/antioxidant hydrogel with pro-angiogenesis is prepared. • The synergy of NMN/Mg2+ promotes HUVEC tube formation/fibroblast migration. • Multifunctional hydrogel with hemostasis promotes diabetic wound healing. Diabetic wound care continues a significant clinical problem due to the complex wound microenvironment characterized by excessive ROS, bacterial infection, persistent inflammation, impaired NAD+ biosynthesis, and angiopathy. Particularly, scavenging ROS, enhancing NAD+ levels and promoting angiogenesis are critical for improving diabetic wound healing. This study presents a novel in situ injectable hydrogel based on poly(glycerol sebacate)– co -poly(ethylene glycol)- g -catechol prepolymer (PEGSD) and quaternized chitosan (QCS), which is further loaded with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and Mg2+ (QP/NMN/Mg2+) and catalytically cross-linked by a mild horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H 2 O 2 system for type II diabetic wound healing. The hydrogel shows multifunctional properties including excellent biocompatibility, tissue adhesion, rapid hemostasis, antibacterial activity, ROS scavenging and angiogenesis promotion. The electrostatic and coordination interactions ensure the prolonged release of NMN and Mg2+. Specifically, as an NAD+ precursor, the addition of NMN further alleviates oxidative stress and rescues angiogenic capacity. Moreover, the presence of Mg2+ enhances the antibacterial activity of hydrogel against S. aureus. The results demonstrate the synergy of NMN and Mg2+ in hydrogel significantly promotes HUVEC proliferation and tube formation, fibroblast migration, and greatly accelerates diabetic wound healing, presenting a feasible strategy for chronic diabetic wound repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a one-pot prepared modified sludge bio-hydrochar (IBHC) was prepared to activate persulfate (PS) for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic. The obtained IBHC bearing defect structure, dispersed iron and large amounts of surface organic functional groups, acts as an outstanding modified biomass carbonaceous material for catalyzing PS to improve the removal efficiency of TC as high as 99.72%. The IBHC + PS system can remove TC effectively with a relative low IBHC dosage (0.2 g·L−1), limited PS consumption (5 mmol·L−1) and wide pH values (2–10). In addition, the degradation of TC still keep in 94.70% after 5 rounds reuse proving that IBHC possesses excellent stability and practicability. During the activation, both Image 2 and •OH were generated and the contribution of each component on the TC degradation in IBHC + PS system was explored. Furthermore, the degradation pathways of TC were proposed based on the results of LC-MS. Image 1 • An iron loaded sludge bio-hydrochar (IBHC) is synthesized by one-pot carbonization. • The IBHC acts as an outstanding catalyst for PS to degrade 99.72% of TC antibiotic. • The IBHC-catalyzed PS system removes TC effectively in a wide range of pH (2–10). • The degradation efficiency of TC reaches 94.7% in the fifth rounds reuse of IBHC. • TC is degraded due to the cleavage of aromatic ring and N-dealkylation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bond-energy method is used to determine the site occupancy preference of Eu 3+ or Eu 2+ and further firstly extended to study the spontaneous reduction of Eu 3+ doped CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 based on the bond valence model. The phosphor CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 : Eu was synthesized under air condition. The co-existence of Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ cations was detected through photoluminescence measurement. The occupancy of Eu 3+ or Eu 2+ in CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 can be determined by comparing the deviation of its bond energy in different locations at Ca 2+ , Si 4+ and Al 3+ sites. Theoretical calculation result indicates that the Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ would preferentially occupy the smaller energy variation sites Ca4, which can be assigned to Eu4 site. The more important result is that the energy variation of Eu 2+ at Eu4 sites is smaller than that of Eu 3+ at the same sites, which indicates that Eu 2+ is more stable than Eu 3+ at Eu4 sites, so the spontaneous Eu 3+ →Eu 2+ reduction can be found in the CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 . The same bond energy method can be extended to explain the reason why the Sm 3+ doped CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 can't be reduced into Sm 2+ under reduction condition. The theoretical result is consistent with the experimental phenomenon. This should help us to have a further understanding of spontaneous Eu 3+ →Eu 2+ reduction in the inorganic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We show that the BDP: • specifically and selectivity mark mtDNA. • excellent optical properties and low working concentration. • excellent photostability under continuous irradiation with STED laser. • real-time super-resolution fluorescence imaging to understand mtDNA adaptations. Mitochondrial nucleoids or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes for a variety of enzymes and proteins that are essential for oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondrial fussion/fission and apoptotic processes. However, visulization of mtDNA dynamics in response to external stumili has not yet been achieved. Herein, we developed a fluorescent probe, named BDP, that is capable of specifically bind to mtDNA in vitro and in living cells, without interfering mitochondrial functions. Its large Stokes-Shift and red-emission tail render its suitability for stimulated emission depletion (STED) visulization of mtDNA dynamics in living cells. We sucessfully demonstrated for the first time how apoptotic induced anti-cancer drug could impact on mitochondrial nucleoids, and the morphology evolution of mtDNA from segmentation to dispersion was recorded, in a single mitochondria at nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 73 impact attempts with increasing impact velocity were conducted to test multi-layered laminated glass (MLG) panels as the first attempt of this kind. • A nonlinear dynamic analytical model was proposed to calculate the pre-crack impact response of square MLG. • The indentation dominating the impact failure which haven't been considered in the existing analytical works was introduced into the analytical model. • The key feature of experimental impact force variation was determined and validated with the analytical results. • Parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the number of glass layers, glass thickness and ratio, panel size on the impact response. This study presents a combined experimental and analytical study on the impact response of multi-layered laminated glass (MLG) under low-velocity hard body impact before glass breakage. The drop weight impact tests using repeated attempts with increasing impact velocities were firstly performed on 12 MLG panels with double PVB or SG interlayers to record the impact response, high speed fracture process. The experimental results identify that: (1) the indentation is the predominant factor for glass fracture in the examined impact scenarios; (2) the key time interval of the pre-crack impact response is within 0.6 ms. The indentation which hasn't been considered in the existing analytical works was hence introduced into the proposed nonlinear analytical model, which employed third order shear deformation theory and obtained the solutions of motion equations by a two-step perturbation method, according to the former finding. The calculated impact response based on the proposed model was validated with the experimental results within 0.6 ms based on the latter finding and showed satisfactory agreement. A parametric study was subsequently conducted to investigate the influence of factors such as the number of glass layers, glass thickness and ratio, panel size on the pre-crack impact response. The results show the increase of peak force and indentation is more sensitive to the increase of total glass thickness after the thickness reaches 24 mm and presents less sensitivity when the thickness approaches 57 mm. The variation of the glass thickness ratio has no influence on the pre-crack behavior once the total glass thickness is fixed. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A combined Voronoi tessellation and finite-discrete element method (FDEM) approach for modelling the post-fracture behaviour of laminated tempered glass was proposed. • Fragments of tempered glass with different surface compressive stresses were modelled as Voronoi cells. • Statistical distribution parameters such as the fragment face numbers, volume and sphericity were adopted to reconstruct the fracture morphology of tempered glass. • Post-fracture behaviour of one triple layered laminated tempered glass block under tension was modelled and validated with experimental data. • Key cohesive parameters for describing the residual interaction between glass fragments were determined. • The influence due to the fragments interaction property, bond levels and fracture morphology on the post-fracture behaviour of laminated tempered glass was investigated. It is reported that the fractured glass panels can contribute to the residual load-bearing capability of laminated glass (LG) after cracking. In order to investigate the stiffness and failure characteristics of LG at the post-fracture stage, a combined Voronoi and finite-discrete element method (FDEM) approach was proposed, which includes reconstructing the post-fracture patterns and carrying out the structural simulation of the post-fracture behaviour. The fracture morphology was determined by introducing Voronoi tessellation defined with statistical parameters such as the fragment face numbers, volume and sphericity. The interaction between glass fragments was captured with the cohesive zone model. One fractured LG block under uniaxial tension, which was taken from a triple layered LG beam with ionoplast interlayers, was modelled and validated with experimentally recorded data. Through iteration analysis, the key cohesive parameters were selected. It was then followed by investigating the influence of the fragment interaction property, the bond level and fracture morphology on the post-fracture behaviour of laminated tempered glass. Results show that the combined cohesion and frictional properties can well represent the residual interaction behaviour between fragments. The frictional property has a significant effect on the post-fracture resistance, and whereas the effect on the stiffness is not that evident. Compared to other cohesive parameters, the cohesive stiffness factors have a predominant effect on both the post-fracture stiffness and resistance. The tension stiffening effect is found to be able to provide a clear increase in post-fracture resistance, which can be up to ten times the original resistance, if the glass-interlayer interface is perfectly bonded. The progressive debonding at glass-interlayer interfaces will lead to the degradation in the loading resistance of fractured LG. A higher bond level can promote the coupling effect between interlayers and mid glass layer for providing increased load resistance after the significant debonding has occurred at the outmost glass-interlayer interface. The effect of fracture morphology on post-fracture performance is not evident in most cases except that the increase in fragment size will lead to a great stiffness growth. Combined Voronoi-FDEM concept for the post-fracture model of laminated tempered glass Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to arsenic is a risk factor for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death defined by the accumulation of lipid peroxidation. In the current study, we observed the occurrence of ferroptosis in arsenic-induced NASH by assessing ferroptosis related hallmarks. In vitro , we found that ferrostatin-1 effectively attenuated the executing of ferroptosis and NASH. Simultaneously, the expression of ACSL4 (acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4) was upregulated in rat's liver and L-02 cells exposed to arsenic. While, suppression of ACSL4 with rosiglitazone or ACSL4 siRNA remarkably alleviated arsenic-induced NASH and ferroptosis through diminishing 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) content. Additionally, Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), a physical tether between endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, has rarely been explored in the ferroptosis. Using Mfn2 siRNA or inositol-requiring enzyme 1 alpha (IRE1α) inhibitor, we found NASH and ferroptosis were obviously mitigated through reducing 5-HETE content. Importantly, Co-IP assay indicated that Mfn2 could interact with IRE1α and promoted the production of 5-HETE, ultimately led to ferroptosis and NASH. Collectively, our data showed that ferroptosis is involved in arsenic-induced NASH. These data provide insightful viewpoints into the mechanism of arsenic-induced NASH. • Ferroptosis is involved in NaAsO 2 -induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. • NaAsO 2 -induced ferroptotic cell death depends on the interaction of Mfn2 and IRE1α. • The ACSL4 plays a leading role in the progression of ferroptosis induced by NaAsO 2 via manipulating 5-HETE content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term exposure to arsenic can cause liver injury and fibrosis. The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) plays an essential role in the process of liver fibrosis. We found that NaAsO 2 caused liver damage and fibrosis in vivo , accompanied by excessive collagen deposition and HSCs activation. In addition, NaAsO 2 upregulated autophagy flux, elevated the level of cytoplasmic cathepsin B (CTSB), and activated the NOD-like receptors containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in a subtle way. Consistent with these findings in vivo , we demonstrated that NaAsO 2 -induced activation of HSCs depended on CTSB-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in HSC-t6 cells and rats primary HSCs. Moreover, inhibition of autophagy decreased the cytoplasmic CTSB and alleviated the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, thereby attenuating the NaAsO 2 -induced HSCs activation. In summary, these results indicated that NaAsO 2 induced HSCs activation via autophagic-CTSB-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. These findings may provide a novel insight into the potential mechanism of NaAsO 2 -induced liver fibrosis. Image 1 • Chronic arsenic exposure leads to inflammation and fibrosis in livers. • NLRP3 inflammasome plays a crucial role in the activation of HSCs induced by arsenic. • Autophagy and lysosomal rupture are involved in the arsenic-activated of NLRP3 inflammasome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of biochar as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment has obtained a tremendous research interest owning to their low cost and surface functionality. In this research, an iron loaded sludge biochar was successfully prepared through a simple and economical one-step modification hydrothermal method. The iron loaded sludge biochar possesses large amounts of surface organic functional groups (such as hydroxy, carboxyl and aromatic ring, etc.), smaller particle size (about 10 nm) as well as relative higher surface area (82.780 m2 g−1) than of the pristine one. The selective removal of two kinds of antibiotics by the prepared products was demonstrated. Experimental data was fitted to isotherm and kinetic models, and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated. In the single antibiotic system, the maximum adsorption amount of tetracycline (TC) and doxycycline (DOX) could reach 104.86 and 128.98 mg g−1 at 293.15 K, respectively. In the binary antibiotics system, there was an antagonistic effect between TC and DOX. Furthermore, the adsorption of TC was much more inhibited than that of DOX owning to its deferent steric hindrance of molecular structure. Image 10513 • A sludge based biochar was synthesized and modified by one step hydrothermal method. • The influence of loaded iron on the characteristic of biochar was investigated. • The adsorption of antibiotics is dominant by π-π interaction and hydrogen bonds. • There is an antagonistic effect between TC and DOX in the co-adsorption of them. • The steric hindrance leads the competitiveness of TC is weaker than DOX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]