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• An inclined light is adopted to manipulate the rolling of a straight LCE rod. • There exists an illumination angle range for triggering the self-sustained rolling. • The straight rod can roll spontaneously from the rest under the inclined light. • The rolling velocity can be controlled by the light intensity and illumination angle. The self-sustained motion of active materials has the great application values in the fields of soft robots, medical devices, micro nano devices, etc., due to its advantage of directly harvesting energy from the environment. Recent experiment has discovered that a straight liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) rod on a horizontal surface can roll continuously under the vertical light illumination, but the start of rolling requires external disturbance. In this paper, we adopt an inclined light to manipulate the rolling of a straight LCE rod, and theoretically study its rolling behaviors to obtain the illumination angle range for triggering the self-sustained rolling. It is found that the rolling of straight LCE rod can be triggered from rest without external disturbance under the inclined light, which is different from the case of the vertical light illumination. In addition, the rolling velocity of the LCE rod can be easily controlled by the light intensity and illumination angle. These predictions are consistent with the existing experimental results. This study may guide the potential applications of the optically-responsive rod in soft robots, harvesting energy and active machinery. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • ZFME with 4.4 times increased tensile shows high self-adhesion to the substrate. • "Dynamic switch" of Eugenol alters molecular conformation and solvent's volatility. • ZFME exhibits good performance for oil/dye adsorption and oil–water separation. • This method is universal for various substrates and ethanol–water solvent systems. Zein fibrous membrane is a good choice for wastewater treatment owing to abundant functional groups, nontoxicity and degradability. However, zein-based fibrous membrane usually suffers from poor durability due to poor mechanical properties. Traditional methods for improving the mechanical properties often face inevitably challenges, such as operational complexity, environmental pollution and interface delamination. Herein, a simple, green and effective strategy of Eugenol induced "dynamic switch" is proposed to enhance the mechanical properties of zein fibrous membrane. This method alters the molecular conformation and solvent volatility, which enhances the spinnability, forms fiber self-adhesion and tight adhesion to the substrate. The mechanical properties of zein fibrous membranes improves 4.4 times compared with original zein fibrous membrane, and exhibits good applications in water treatment. Additionally, it is universal to various substrates and ethanol–water solvent-based spinning solution. This "dynamic switch" strategy enables zein fibrous membrane firm and self-adhesive via a cost-effective, time-efficient, eco-friendly and widely universal fabrication, which provides potential broad applications for zein-based membrane materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is caused by the continuous inhalation of environmental silica dust. The repetitive exposure of silica induces airway epithelial cell injury, leads proliferative exhaustion of epithelial stem cells, ultimately results in the lung remodeling and the development of silicosis. The B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi1) is a pivotal transcription factor in stem cell self-renewal and proliferation of many tissues including the lung, but its role in the airway basal cell proliferation and differentiation during the pathogenesis of silicosis in lung has yet been investigated. In this study, the function of Bmi1 in airway basal cell proliferation and differentiation in response to silica challenge was investigated in lungs of silicosis mice and primary human bronchial epithelia cells (HBECs) exposed to silica dioxide (SiO 2). Results showed a decreased expression of Bmi1 protein, epithelial basal cell markers Krt14 and Krt5, club cell marker Clara cell secretory protein, and ciliated cell marker acetyl-α-tubulin in silicosis lungs, compared to healthy mice. In consistence, a persistent exposure of SiO 2 reduced the capacity of cell proliferation and differentiation in HBECs, as ascertained by the reduction of differentiated epithelial cell markers and BMI1 expression, while an increased P21-positive senescent cell fraction. Moreover, an overexpression of BMI1 in HBECs reduced the SiO 2 -senescent cells, enhanced the potency of cell proliferation and differentiation, and increased capacity of airway epithelial regeneration in response to the persistent exposure of SiO 2. These data suggest that Bmi1 is a key transcription factor engaging in maintaining the self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation of epithelial stem cells in lung during the development of silicosis disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A Victoria amazonica-inspired sandwich-structure interfacial solar steam generator (SF-ISSG) is fabricated. • SF-ISSG exhibits low-cost, large-area, self-floating and self-supporting advantages. • The hair-like microstructures of SF-ISSG enhances the solar absorption and conversion. • Controlled water supply of SF-ISSG is obtained by introducing embroidery craft. • The designed SF-ISSG demonstrates an efficient evaporation rate of ∼1.56 kg m−2h−1 under 1 sun. Interfacial solar steam generators (ISSG) provide a sustainable solution for desalination and wastewater treatment. Inspired by the natural Victoria amazonica, we have developed a sandwich-structure fabric-based ISSG (SF-ISSG) which can simultaneously optimize three features: photothermal conversion, thermal management, and water transport. The upper layer exhibits a 94.8 % light-absorbing efficiency, while the lower layer possesses excellent self-floating ability (capable of supporting 300 g weight). Air stored in the interlayer gives it low thermal conductivity (0.041 W m−1 K−1). Additionally, the introduction of water-supplying yarns enables a vertical water transport speed of 0.04 g min−1. The synergistic effect of these three features endows the prepared SF-ISSG with an evaporation rate of 1.56 kg m−2h−1 and an evaporation efficiency of 92.7 % under 1 sun. Furthermore, the SF-ISSG is low-cost, large-area, lightweight, and easy to store.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) are commonly used to treat organic waste. This work aims to evaluate the transformation effect, heavy metal migration, and alterations in the gut microbiota of BSFL in addition to treating landfill leachate (LL) with BSFL. We found that BSFL may grow in various landfill leachate concentrations without obvious toxicity and growth inhibition. In addition, the results indicated a significant increase in the content of ammonia nitrogen and the activity of urease and β-glucosidase (β-GC) in LL, increased from 2570.17 mg/L to 5853.67 mg/L, 1859.17 mg/(g·d) to 517,177.98 mg/(g·d), 313.73 μg/(g·h) to 441.91 μg/(g·h) respectively. Conversely, the content of total nitrogen (TN) and total organic carbon (TOC) decreased in LL, decreasing by 31.24% and 29.45% respectively. Heavy metals are accumulated in the leachate by the BSFL to differing degrees, the descending sequence of accumulation is Cd > As > Cu > Cr. As dropped by 26.0%, Cd increased by 22.6%, Cu reduced by 5.23%, and Cr increased by 317.1% in the remaining matrix. The concentration of heavy metals satisfies the organic fertilizers' limit index (NY/T1978). The diversity of intestinal microorganisms in BSFL decreased, from 2819 OTUs to 2338 OTUs, with Providencia and Morganella emerging as the core flora. The gene abundance of nitrogen metabolism in the microbiota increased significantly. The TOC, β-GC, and Copper (Cu) content in BSFL correlated significantly with the gut microbiota. In Summary, this study revealed the treatment effect of BSFL on LL, the migration of heavy metals, and changes in the intestinal microorganisms of BSFL. The content of heavy metals in BSFL was found to be much lower than the upper limit of feed protein raw materials, demonstrating that BSFL is a sustainable method to treat LL. [Display omitted] • Migration of heavy metals and intestinal flora changes of BSFL in treating Landfill Leachate (LL). • The heavy metals in BSFL after feeding with LL was much lower than the upper limit（NY/T 525–2021）. • BSFL had different degrees of heavy metal accumulation in LL substrate, Cd > As > Cu > Cr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During hydrate growth with impingement, hydrate cages were found to be occupied simultaneously by two methane molecules, even in the 51262 cage which was thought to be impossible. The diffusion during the methane hopping process is found to be 3~4 order of magnitude faster than that during hopping between one-occupied and empty hydrate cages. [Display omitted] • hydrate growth with impingement has been first investigated using molecular simulation. • 51262 hydrate cages with two methane molecules have been found. • 3~4 order of magnitude faster diffusion has been found caused by two-occupied cages. Clathrate hydrates have attracted much attention in energy and environment technology as well as the nature of icy bodies. We report a molecular dynamics simulation study of methane hydrate growth with impingement which has not been investigated by either experiment or simulation as far as the authors' knowledge. Several unique features have been discovered including dislocation, two occupied hydrate cages and fast methane diffusion. A certain proportion of hydrate cages were found to be occupied simultaneously by two methane molecules, even in the 51262 cage which was thought to be impossible. Methane molecules were demonstrated to hop between two-occupied and one-occupied hydrate cages as well as between gas bubble and nearby hydrate cages when a gas bubble was present. The diffusion rate during the hopping process is in the order of 10-9 to 10-8 m2/s, which is 3~4 order of magnitude faster than that during hopping between one-occupied and empty hydrate cages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fixed mole fractions of CO 2 and CH 4 in the total pores were proposed as a parameter. • A graphene-MMT heterogeneous surface was proposed as a pore model. • Absolute and relative adsorption selectivity were proposed and compared. • 6 nm is the critical pore size near graphene surface caused by confinement effect. • The average pore size around 12 nm is optimal during cracking process. The CO 2 sequestration and enhanced gas recovery (CS-EGR) technology provides a very effective way to alleviate the greenhouse effect and energy crisis. The characteristics and mechanisms of CO 2 /CH 4 competitive adsorption in shale matrix as well as the effects of reservoir parameters play a vital role in enhancing shale gas production and CO 2 storage. However, it has not been fully understood especially in pores with heterogeneous surfaces composed of organic matter and inorganic compounds. A graphene-MMT heterogeneous surface was proposed as a pore model and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been applied. Absolute adsorption selectivity based on the fixed mole fractions of CO 2 and CH 4 in the total shale pores has been proposed to evaluate the competitive adsorption features with relative adsorption selectivity. A strong asymmetric competitive adsorption behavior of CO 2 and CH 4 has been observed. The competitive adsorption behavior near the MMT surface lags behind that near the graphene surface, especially in 3 ~ 8 nm pores. The influence mechanism of pore size on competitive adsorption is believed to be the confinement effect of the pore leads to the competition for the gas source in the pore between the heterogeneous surfaces. The confinement effect near the graphene surface is obvious when the pore size is smaller than a critical pore size of 6 nm. In addition, the confinement effect of CO 2 in pores with heterogeneous surfaces is more obvious than that of CH 4. Based on absolute and relative adsorption selectivity, it's reasonable to control the average pore size around 12 nm during cracking process, and the pressure may be chosen as low as possible within the proper range obtained based on the absolute adsorption selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the asymmetry of the system matrix caused by directed communication networks, a dynamic event-triggered control protocol for the robust H ∞ consensus of uncertain linear multi-agent systems accompanied by external disturbances on directed topologies is proposed. Through the introduction of the controlled output and generalized algebraic connectivity for directed graphs, the consensus problem is converted to the event-triggered stabilization of the uncertain linear closed-loop system with disturbance. On the basis of the relative state of neighbor agents at event-times and the introduced dynamic variables, a dynamic event-triggered control protocol is put forward, and the linear matrix inequality sufficient conditions for the system to achieve robust H ∞ consensus are obtained after a rigorous proof. Then, linear matrix inequalities are further decoupled to greatly reduce the computational complexity, and the parameters of the control protocol are determined by solving the decoupled linear matrix inequalities. Finally, simulations are applied for the verification of conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous studies have reported that pre-stimulation of microglia before stress stimulation is a possible strategy to prevent depression-like phenotypes; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are still unclear. Here, we used β-glucan, a polysaccharide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with immunomodulatory activities that cannot elicit pro-inflammatory responses in microglia, to address this issue. Our results showed that a single injection of β-glucan one day before stress exposure dose-dependently prevented the depression-like behaviors triggered by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), which peaked at 20 mg/kg and prevented the impairment of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, a pathological process critical for the progression of depression-like phenotypes. Inhibition of BDNF signaling by infusion of an anti-BDNF antibody into the hippocampus, knock-in of the mutant BDNF Val68Met allele, or blockade of the BDNF receptor in the hippocampus abolished the preventive effect of β-glucan on CUS-induced depression-like behaviors. Further analysis showed that cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated increase of BDNF expression in the hippocampus was essential for the prevention of depression-like phenotypes by β-glucan. Pretreatment with minocycline or PLX3397 before β-glucan injection to suppress microglia abolished the preventive effect of β-glucan on impaired CREB-BDNF signaling in the hippocampus and depression-like behaviors in CUS mice. These results suggest that an increase in hippocampal BDNF following CREB activation triggered by β-glucan-induced microglia stimulation and subsequent TrkB signaling mediates the preventive effect of β-glucan on depression. β-Glucan may be a more suitable immunostimulant for the prevention of depression due to its inability to promote pro-inflammatory responses in microglia. • β-Glucan dose-dependently prevents depression-like phenotypes in mice. • β-Glucan prevents CUS-induced decrease in BDNF in the hippocampus. • Hippocampal BDNF signals mediate the preventive effect of β-glucan on depression. • Hippocampal CREB mediates the preventive effect of β-glucan on depression. • Microglia stimulation mediates the prophylactic effect of β-glucan on depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A two-dimensional axial symmetric dynamic analysis model of laser shock metal disc sheet is established. • Finite difference method is used to explore the dynamic deformation behaviors of the laser shock forming. • The dynamic behaviors including displacement, velocity, and surface stress of sheet during the forming is investigated. • The effect of the applied laser shock wave pressure on sheet forming precision also is analyzed. Laser shock forming (LSF) is an advanced sheet forming technology. With the aid of forming die, it can realize sheet precise forming, and has extensive application prospects in aeronautic and electronics industries. In the paper, a two-dimensional axial symmetric numerical model of SUS304 stainless steel is established. Finite element method is utilized to explore the dynamic deformation behaviors of the laser-driving sheet impacted by the forming die. The results show that the node velocity of metal sheet increases in an oscillatory manner during initial stage and then it starts to bulge. After collision with die cavity bottom, the central region of metal sheet jumps up reversely, and experiences repeating damped vibration. The metal sheet gradually exhausts the obtained kinetic energy from the shock wave, and the flat sheet is finally shaped into the geometrical shape of die cavity. The sheet forming precision can be improved by way of increasing laser shock pressure. The corresponding experiments are also carried out to verify the predicted results. The applied method and gained results can provide a reference for theoretical research and parameters optimization in LSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Maximum energy storage density (57.4 kWh/m3) of hydrate cold storage was obtained. • Increasing the solution concentration boost the cold charge capacity by 2–3 times. • Rapid dilution of dissociated solution was key to enhancing the cold discharge. • Self-regulation of driving force was relied on temperature and concentration. Low energy storage density, intermittent phase changes, and heat transfer barriers have posed significant challenges in the implementation of hydrate energy storage systems. Based on the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism for tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) hydrate phase change energy storage, a novel cold storage system with internally circulating gas disturbance was constructed for energy evaluation and thermodynamic evolution. The hydrate cold storage efficiency, response time, dynamic driving force, unique force pattern of the coils and guest molecule diffusion were analyzed for the first time. The bubbles generated by gas internal circulation provided numerous nucleation sites for hydrate formation, efficiently promoting the energy storage process. The disturbances caused by the bubbles also rapidly transmitted the energy generated by the phase change. A hydrate storage density of 57.4 kWh/m3 for this system was the maximum among known hydrate storage systems. Notably, a change in solution concentration (from 10 wt% to 40 wt%) resulted in a 2–3-fold increase in the cold charge capacity. Rapid dilution of local solutions and rapid release of cold were the ways to promote the cold discharge. Less damage to the stress structure of the coil was due to the loose accumulation of hydrate particles under gas disturbance. The microbubbles generated by the gas disturbance enabled heterogeneous nucleation and heat-mass transfer in the hydrate cold storage. The gas disturbance-based hydrate energy storage process holds significant guiding value for various applications such as refrigerated transport, building cooling systems, and grid peak shaving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) semi-clathrate hydrate possesses a unique clathrate structure for capturing and sequestering small-molecule gases, such as CH 4 , H 2 and, CO 2 and the advantage of phase change energy storage. Elucidating the diversified reactions and determining the optimal phase change characteristics of TBAB hydrate is crucial to discovering and overcoming specific limitations hindering the large-scale applications. In this study, in situ macroscopic visualization, three-dimensional reconstruction via X-ray Computed Tomography, and differential scanning calorimeter measurements were performed to discover, verify, and analyze the distinct characteristics of TBAB hydrate phase change, including phase separation, three-dimensional structure, and thermal effects. The optimal concentration of TBAB hydrate energy storage was found and verified experimentally for the first time. A peculiar liquid layer (liquid-liquid phase separation) caused by hydrate-solution phase separation was observed after multiple formation-dissociation cycles. The liquid layer separated a region that optimized the hydrate phase change. The solutions with different initial concentrations could evolve an optimized phase-change region of the same concentration (37 wt%) via multiple cycles. The region of the same concentration was shown to be the result of optimal aggregation of molecules. In proving the particularity of the concentration in the optimized region, TBAB hydrate dissociation exhibit thermal effects that can be easily ignored (TBAB molecules ionization and ionic bond synthesis), which affected the TBAB hydrate latent heat measurement. Finally, the optimal concentration of TBAB hydrate phase change was determined as 37 ± 1 wt%, and the characteristics of the concentration, including the volume fraction, complete conversion of water molecules and TBAB molecules, and latent heat, were confirmed by the liquid layer. The experimental results obtained for the first time in this study are important guidance for TBAB hydrate in the field of gas capture and energy storage. [Display omitted] • Solid-liquid phase separation leads to liquid-liquid phase separation. • Guest molecule optimum aggregation hypothesis of memory effect was proposed. • Changes in ionic bonds play an important role in TBAB hydrate phase change. • Hydrate volume fraction could be up 99% by XCT 3D reconstruction. • 37 wt% was considered to be the optimal concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • ZIF-8@LFNW adsorbent is prepared by a green and facile approach. • ZIF-8@LFNW achieves both physical and chemical interactions with CO 2. • Considerable CO 2 capture capacity of 4.46 cm3 g−1 from high CO 2 concentration and 190.84 ppm g−1 from low CO 2 concentration were proved. • Waste feather is masterfully transformed into value-added CO 2 capture material. Carbon dioxide (CO 2) removal based on porous materials adsorption is one of the most promising strategies to address current global climate change issues. However, existing porous materials suffer from several problems including weak interfacial connection between functional nanomaterials and substrates, not being eco-friendly, poor processability, short service life, and expensive manufacturing cost. Herein, we report a green fiber-based CO 2 adsorbent through in-situ growth of ZIF-8 on 3D fibrillar lyocell/feather nonwovens (ZIF-8@LFNW) in a low-cost and scalable manner. The combination of fibrillation treatment with de-crosslink strategy endows lyocell/feather nonwovens with the coexisting structure of micro-nano fibers and abundant functional groups such as hydroxyl, carboxyl group, and amino group, which greatly increases ZIF-8 loading. Moreover, with the synergistic effect of ZIF-8 and amino groups in feather fibers, the resultant ZIF-8@LFNW achieved both physical and chemical capturing of CO 2. Notably, ZIF-8@LFNW with the loading rate of 12.41 wt% possessed optimal CO 2 adsorption capacity of 4.46 cm3 g−1 at a high CO 2 concentration environment and 190.84 ppm g−1 at a low CO 2 concentration environment whilst exhibiting stable cyclic adsorption/desorption behavior. Taken together, this work paves the way for designing high-performance environmentally friendly fiber-based CO 2 adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In gas capture/storage and energy storage, tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) hydrates have been regarded as superior carriers owing to their unique molecular selectivity and high latent heat. Hydrate conversion amount is a significant parameter in evaluating gas selection and cold storage characteristics. This study proposes a method for calculating hydrate conversion amount proposed based on the correlation between electrical conductivity and solution concentration. The correlation index (R2) between electrical conductivity and TBAB solution concentration was above 0.99 at concentrations less than below 5 wt%. The conversion amounts of different hydrate types were obtained using a unique hybrid calculation method. The differences in hydrate conversion amount, conversion ratio, and memory effect were compared at different mass fractions. The results indicated that the hydrate morphology and accumulation patterns were influenced by the TBAB solution ionization degree. Regular hexagonal TBAB hydrate crystals were observed at a low ionization degree. The maximum conversion ratio of TBAB hydrate reached 96% (1 °C/30 wt%). The variation trend of TBAB hydrate phase equilibrium temperature was consistent with that of the electrical conductivity of the solution. The investigation of the memory effect revealed that the phase change process of TBAB hydrate is more predictable in high-concentration initial solutions. [Display omitted] • Regular hexagonal hydrate was observed for the first time. • Insufficient ionization of TBAB slowed hydrate conversion. • TBAB hydrate phase equilibrium temperature was consistent with ionization degree. • Temperature, induction factor, and residual solution volume affected hydrate conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution, one of the severest threats to public health, may lead to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. In order to cope with the deteriorating air pollutant, there is an increasing demand for filters with high purification efficiency, but it's tough to strike a balance between efficiency and resistance. Fabricating an eco-friendly fibrous filter which can capture both PM 2.5 and gaseous chemical hazards with high efficiency but under ultra-low resistance is a long-term challenge. Herein, inspired by the interesting ribbon shape of spiral grass, a green and robust 3D nonwoven membrane with controllable hierarchical structure made of self-curved zein nanofibers modified by zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) via bi-solvent electrospinning and fumigation welding method was fabricated. The obtained ZIF-8 modified zein membranes showed extraordinary overall performance with high PM 2.5 removal efficiency (99.04 %) at a low stress drop (54.87 Pa), first-rate formaldehyde removal efficiency (98.8 %) and excellent photocatalytic antibacterial. In addition, the relatively weak mechanical properties of zein fibrous membranes have been improved via solvent fumigation welding of the joint zein fibers. This study provides a green and convenient insight to the manufacturing of environmentally-friendly zein fibrous membranes with high filtration efficiency, low air resistance and high formaldehyde removal for sustainable air remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feather keratin from waste feather has become an attractive target to replace petroleum-based Poly (vinyl alcohol) sizes due to its easy film-forming ability, excellent adhesive property, biodegradability and low cost. However, poor water-solubility and brittleness of pure keratin films have become the bottlenecks and restricted the application of keratin as sizing agents. Therefore, water-soluble keratin was extracted by the reduction-preservation method and enhanced by saccharides in aqueous system to obtain all-green keratin-based slurry. The results showed that the keratin-based slurry exhibited improved sizing performance in the order of sucrose ≤ glucose ≤ pullulan by the moderate Maillard reaction. Among them, the fabricated pullulan-keratin sizes films had 27.86 %, 2684.08 % and 2911.31 % increment in tensile strength, elongation and work of facture compared with pure keratin sizes films. Besides, the addition of pullulan and subsequently moderate Maillard reaction improved the thermo-tenacity of keratin-based sizes, which was expected to tackle with the brittleness of pure keratin size films. In addition, novel pullulan-keratin sizes had good sizing performance and high desizing efficiency to cotton, cotton/polyester and polyester yarns and fabrics. Successful utilization of pullulan-keratin sizes will bring opportunities for high value utilization of waste feather and promote the green and low-carbon development of textile industry. [Display omitted] • Water-soluble feather keratin (FK) was extracted by reduction-preservation method. • Maillard reaction was induced between FK and saccharides for better textile sizing. • Saccharides types and concentration were evaluated on the performance improvement. • The FK-based sizes with enhanced tensile and sizing performance were fabricated. • Utilization of FK-based sizes promotes sustainable development of textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is a chronic pulmonary disease characterized by diffuse fibrosis of lung caused by the deposition of silica dust (SiO 2). The inhaled silica-induced oxidative stress, ROS production and macrophage ferroptosis are key drivers of the pathological process of silicosis. However, mechanisms that involved in the silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis and its contributions to pathogenesis of silicosis remain elusive. In the present study, we showed that silica induced murine macrophage ferroptosis, accompanied by elevation of inflammatory responses, Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling activation, and concurrent increase of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondrial redox imbalance in vitro and vivo. Mechanistic study further demonstrated that Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling played a key role in silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis by modulating ER stress and mitochondrial redox balance. The presence of Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling ligand Wnt5a protein increased the silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis by activating ER-mediated immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (Bip)-C/EBP homology protein (Chop) signaling cascade, reducing the expression of negative regulators of ferroptosis, glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (Slc7a11), subsequentially increasing lipid peroxidation. The pharmacologic inhibition of Wnt5a signaling or block of calcium flow exhibited an opposite effect to Wnt5a, resulted in the reduction of ferroptosis and the expression of Bip-Chop signaling molecules. These findings were further corroborated by the addition of ferroptosis activator Erastin or inhibitor ferrostatin-1. These results provide a mechanism by which silica activates Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling and ER stress, sequentially leads to redox imbalance and ferroptosis in mouse macrophage cells. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the improvement of the network robustness against cascading failures by edge addition. Several edge-adding strategies are compared, including the random edge-adding strategy, the high betweenness centrality edge-adding strategy, the high Pagerank centrality strategy and the min–max edge-adding strategy. In the min–max edge-adding strategy, the problem for robustness improvement of complex networks is formulated as a nonlinear integer programming problem, and an algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. From the numerical experiments, we find that the min–max edge-adding strategy is more effective in improving the network robustness against cascading failures than the other strategies. Finally, this work can provide guidance for the design of complex networks to prevent potential cascading failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The capability of Li-decorated (AlN) n (n = 12, 24, 36) nanocages for hydrogen storage has been studied by using density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). It is found that each Al atom is capable of binding one H2 molecule up to a gravimetric density of hydrogen storage of 4.7 wt% with an average binding energy of 0.189, 0.154, and 0.144 eV/H2 in the pristine (AlN) n (n = 12, 24, 36) nanocages, respectively. Further, we find that Li atoms can be preferentially decorated on the top of N atoms in (AlN) n (n = 12, 24, 36) nanocages without clustering, and up to two H2 molecules can bind to each Li atom with an average binding energy of 0.145, 0.154, 0.102 eV/H2 in the Li n (AlN) n (n = 12, 24, 36) nanocages, respectively. Both the polarization of the H2 molecules and the hybridization of the Li-2p orbitals with the H-s orbitals contribute to the H2 adsorption on the Li atoms. Thus, the Li-decorated (AlN) n (n = 12, 24, 36) nanocages can store hydrogen up to 7.7 wt%, approaching the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) target of 9 wt% by the year 2015, and the average binding energies of H2 molecules lying in the range of 0.1–0.2 eV/H2 are favorable for the reversible hydrogen adsorption/desorption at ambient conditions. It is also pointed out that when allowed to interact with each other, the agglomeration of Li-decorated (AlN) n nanocages would lower the hydrogen storage capacity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A S-FSDT (with only four variables per node) based IGA method is used to investigate the mechanical behavior of PFGPs. • The neutral surface is introduced into S-FSDT for avoiding the stretching-bending coupling effect. • An augmented piezoelectric constitutive equation with considering the thermal effects of piezoelectric stress and dielectric constants are presented. • The nonlinear free vibration, static bending and dynamic responses of two structural forms of PFGPs under thermo-electro-mechanical loads are analyzed in detail. In this paper, the isogeometric analysis (IGA) integrated with a simple first-order shear deformation theory (S-FSDT) with only four variables per node is extended to study geometrically nonlinear natural frequency, nonlinear static bending and transient dynamic response of two types of smart piezoelectric functionally graded plates (PFGPs) in thermal environment. The neutral surface is introduced to avoid the stretching-bending coupling effect. The nonlinear strain–displacement relation of the plates is obtained by combining the von Karman strains with the S-FSDT. To investigate the nonlinear mechanical behavior of PFGPs in thermal environment, closer to the real situation, an augmented piezoelectric constitutive equation considering the thermal effects of piezoelectric stress and dielectric constants is used. The accuracy and effectiveness of developed approach are demonstrated through numerical experiment with comparison. We additionally investigate the variation of temperature distribution on geometrically nonlinear response of PFGPs suffering thermo-electro-mechanical load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhalation of silica particles. Both silica-induced oxidative stress and aberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway are potential targets in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Dickkopf-1 (Dkk1), an inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, plays regulatory roles in cell fate determination and immune responses. Our previous study demonstrated that adenoviral vector-mediated Dkk1 gene transfer alleviated the silica-induced mouse silicosis. However, the mechanism of therapeutic action of Dkk1 in silicosis is yet completely understood; together with the drawbacks of adenoviral vectors in gene therapy, we investigated the therapeutic effect and mechanisms of Dkk1 by employing an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector in a silicosis mouse model. Results: The AAV vector could efficiently transduce the Dkk1 gene in silicotic lung during both the early and the late phases of disease, resulting in an alleviation of silicotic lesions, improvement of pulmonary compliance, and radiological findings. Mechanistic studies further demonstrated that the transduction of Dkk1 inhibited the silica-activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling and reduced the silica-induced reactive oxygen species-producing enzyme NADPH oxidase 4, oxidative stress regulator nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, and signaling molecules binding immunoglobulin protein and C/EBP homologous protein. In addition, shRNA-mediated downregulation of Dkk1 exacerbated the progression of silicosis in mice, whereas the treatment of ROS scavenger n-acetylcysteine showed a comparable mitigation of silicosis that was seen in the AAV-Dkk1 treatment. Innovation and Conclusion: This study provides an insight into the mechanism by which Dkk1 inhibits the silica-induced Wnt signaling and oxidative stress to mitigate the pathogenesis of lung silicosis and evidence of the potential of AAV-mediated Dkk1 gene transfer as an alternative approach in silicosis treatment. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 00, 000-000.

The effectiveness of radiotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC) relies on its ability to induce cell death via the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, genes responsible for mitigating oxidative stress can impede radiotherapy's efficacy. In this study, we elucidate a significant association between the nucleolar protein Fibrillarin (FBL) and the oxidative stress response in CRC tumors. Our findings reveal elevated expression of FBL in colorectal cancer, which positively correlates with oxidative stress levels. Mechanistically, FBL demonstrates direct accumulation at DNA damage sites under the regulation of PARP1. Specifically, the N-terminal GAR domain of FBL is susceptible to PARylation by PARP1, enabling FBL to recognize PARylated proteins. The accumulation of damaged FBL plays a pivotal role in facilitating short-patched base excision repair by recruiting Ligase III and disassociating PCNA and FEN1. Moreover, tumors with heightened FBL expression exhibit reduced DNA damage levels but increased sensitivity to combined low-dose radiotherapy and olaparib treatment. This underscores the potential of leveraging PARP inhibitors to augment radiotherapy sensitivity in CRC cases characterized by elevated FBL expression, offering a promising therapeutic avenue., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Biodegradable shape-memory polymers derived from protein substrates are attractive alternatives with strong potential for valorization, although their reconstruction remains a challenge due to the poor processability and inherent instability. Herein, based on Maillard reaction and immobilization, a feather keratin fibrous adsorbent featuring dual-response shape-memory is fabricated by co-spinning with pullulan, heating, and air-assisted spraying ZIF-8-NH 2 . Maillard reaction between the amino group of keratin and the carbonyl group of pullulan improves the mechanics and thermal performance of the adsorbent. ZIF-8-NH 2 immobilization endows the adsorbent with outstanding multipollutant removal efficiency (over 90%), water stability, and photocatalytic degradation and sterilization performance. Furthermore, the adsorbent can be folded to 1/12 of its original size to save space for transportation and allow for rapid on-demand unfolding (12 s) upon exposure to water and ultraviolet irradiation to facilitate the adsorption and photocatalytic activity with a larger water contact area. This research provides new insight for further applications of keratin-based materials with rapid shape-memory features.

Aims: Renal denervation (RDN) is widely investigated in multiple studies of sympathetically driven cardiovascular diseases. While the therapeutic potential of RDN for ventricular arrhythmia has been reported, the mechanisms responsible for its antiarrhythmic effect are poorly understood. Our recent study showed that macrophage expansion-induced neuroinflammation in the stellate ganglion (SG) was a critical factor for cardiac sympathetic overactivation and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in chronic heart failure (CHF). This study investigates if and how RDN decreases ventricular arrhythmias by attenuating neuroinflammation in cardiac sympathetic postganglionic (CSP) neurons in CHF., Methods and Results: Rat CHF was induced by surgical ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). At 12 weeks after LAD ligation, completed bilateral RDN was achieved by surgically cutting all the visible renal nerves around the renal artery and vein, followed by applying of 70% ethanol around the vessels. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot data showed that expression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and its receptor-α subunit (GM-CSFRα) in SGs was increased in CHF rats. RDN not only reduced CHF-elevated GM-CSF levels in kidney, serum and SGs, but also attenuated macrophage expansion and neuroinflammation in SGs from CHF rats. Using flow cytometry, we confirmed that RDN reduced the percentage of macrophages in SGs, which is pathologically increased in CHF. RDN also decreased CHF-enhanced N-type Ca2+ currents in CSP neurons and attenuated CHF-elevated cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. ECG data from 24-hour continuous telemetry recording in conscious rats revealed that RDN improved CHF-induced heterogeneity of ventricular electrical activities and reduced the duration of spontaneous ventricular tachyarrhythmias in CHF rats., Conclusions: RDN alleviates cardiac sympathetic overactivation and ventricular arrhythmogenesis through attenuating GM-CSF-induced macrophage activation and neuroinflammation within SGs in CHF. This suggests that manipulation of the GM-CSF signaling pathway could be a novel strategy for achieving the antiarrhythmic effect of RDN in CHF., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The synergistic effect of thermodynamic promoter tetrafluoroethane (R134a) and kinetic promoter sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) can significantly improve the phase equilibrium conditions required for CO 2 hydrate formation and promote rapid generation of CO 2 hydrate. Based on this, this study investigates the influence of SDS and R134a synergy on the separation of CO 2 /H 2 mixed gas using the hydrate method. The research reveals that without SDS addition, R134a hydrate forms first at the gas-liquid interface before CO 2 hydrate induction, hindering gas-liquid exchange. The addition of SDS can inhibit the formation of the hydrate film, enhance the initiator effect of R134a in the CO 2 hydrate formation process, accelerate the nucleation of CO 2 hydrate, and thus synergistically strengthen the separation of CO 2 /H 2 mixed gases. Hydrate formation can be achieved at a concentration of 100 ppm of SDS solution, and the synergistic growth effect of R134a and CO 2 hydrate becomes more significant with increasing SDS concentration. Optimal separation efficiency and maximum H 2 concentration are achieved at 500 ppm of SDS, with 42.29 and 54.88% separation efficiency and H 2 concentration, respectively. Decreasing the initial charge temperature has little impact on separation efficiency but significantly reduces the induction time, reducing it to 3 min at 12 °C. This study improved the separation efficiency of CO 2 and H 2 mixed gas, providing a better reference for hydrogen purification by the hydrate method., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Background: Ovarian cancer is a fatal gynecologic malignancy. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been verified to serve as key regulator in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis., Objective: The aim of the study was to study the functions and mechanism of lncRNA PITPNA-AS1 in ovarian cancer cellular process., Methods: Clinical ovarian cancer samples were collected and stored at an academic medical center. Cellular fractionation assays and fluorescence in situ hybridization were conducted to locate PITPNA-AS1 in OC cells. TUNEL staining, colony-forming assays, and Transwell assays were performed for evaluating cell apoptosis as well as proliferative and migratory abilities. Western blot was conducted for quantifying protein levels of epithelialmesenchymal transition markers. The binding relation between genes was verified by RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays. Gene expression levels in ovarian cancer tissues and cells were subjected to RT-qPCR., Results: PITPNA-AS1 level was downregulated in ovarian cancer samples and cells. PITPNA-AS1 overexpression contributed to the accelerated ovarian cancer cell apoptosis and inhibited cell migration, proliferation, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. In addition, PITPNA-AS1 interacted with miR-223-3p to regulate RHOB. RHOB knockdown partially counteracted the repressive impact of PITPNA-AS1 on ovarian cancer cell activities., Conclusion: PITPNA-AS1 inhibited ovarian cancer cellular behaviors by targeting miR-223-3p and regulating RHOB.

Facial masks have become ubiquitous in our daily life to endow skin enough moisture and activated nutrition through mask nonwovens infused with skincare ingredients. However, the active nutrients in wet masks are prone to deterioration and deactivation. Herein, a novel multifunctional nanofiber dry mask was successfully prepared using aqueous-electrospun phenolic acid grafted chitosan/collagen peptides. When used, the functional nanofibers in the mask dissolve through spraying moisture, activating active ingredients in response to water and providing in-situ free radical scavenging, moisturizing and antibacterial effects to the skin. In this work, a series of gallic acid (GA), caffeic acid (CA), and protocatechuic acid (PA) have been studied to be grafted with chitosan to improve water solubility of chitosan (CS). Also, through aqueous electrospinning of phenolic acid-grafted chitosan/collagen peptides, a one-step green multifunctional nanofiber mask was obtained. The results showed that the mask had a 12.14 % moisturizing rate and a 94.09 % activity for removing free radicals from the skin after encountering moisture. Considering its high efficiency, controllable function release, and easy processability, the nanofiber multifunctional mask may provide a competitive alternative to facial masks and promote potential value-added applications of bio-based macro-molecules., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The nutritional status of rubber trees ( Hevea brasiliensis ) is inseparable from the production of natural rubber. Nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) levels in rubber leaves are 2 crucial criteria that reflect the nutritional status of the rubber tree. Advanced hyperspectral technology can evaluate N and K statuses in leaves rapidly. However, high bias and uncertain results will be generated when using a small size and imbalance dataset to train a spectral estimaion model. A typical solution of laborious long-term nutrient stress and high-intensive data collection deviates from rapid and flexible advantages of hyperspectral tech. Therefore, a less intensive and streamlined method, remining information from hyperspectral image data, was assessed. From this new perspective, a semisupervised learning (SSL) method and resampling techniques were employed for generating pseudo-labeling data and class rebalancing. Subsequently, a 5-classification spectral model of the N and K statuses of rubber leaves was established. The SSL model based on random forest classifiers and mean sampling techniques yielded optimal classification results both on imbalance/balance dataset (weighted average precision 67.8/78.6%, macro averaged precision 61.2/74.4%, and weighted recall 65.7/78.5% for the N status). All data and code could be viewed on the:Github https://github.com/WeehowTang/SSL-rebalancingtest. Ultimately, we proposed an efficient way to rapidly and accurately monitor the N and K levels in rubber leaves, especially in the scenario of small annotation and imbalance categories ratios., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this study., (Copyright © 2024 Wenfeng Hu et al.)

Nonprecious transition metal catalysts have emerged as the preferred choice for industrial alkaline water electrolysis due to their cost-effectiveness. However, their overstrong binding energy to adsorbed OH often results in the blockage of active sites, particularly in the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we found that single-atom sites exhibit a puncture effect to effectively alleviate OH blockades, thereby significantly enhancing the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Typically, after anchoring single Ru atoms onto tungsten carbides, the overpotential at 10 mA·cm -2 is reduced by more than 130 mV (159 vs 21 mV). Also, the mass activity is increased 16-fold over commercial Pt/C (MA 100 = 17.3 A·mg Ru -1 vs 1.1 A·mg Pt -1 , Pt/C). More importantly, such electrocatalyst-based alkaline anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers can exhibit an ultralow potential (1.79 V cell ) and high stability at an industrial current density of 1.0 A·cm -2 . Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the isolated Ru sites could weaken the surrounding local OH binding energy, thus puncturing OH blockage and constructing bifunctional interfaces between Ru atoms and the support to accelerate water dissociation. Our findings exhibit generality to other transition metal catalysts (such as Mo) and contribute to the advancement of industrial-scale alkaline water electrolysis.

Rapid formation of the CO 2 hydrate can be significantly induced by the gaseous thermodynamic promoter 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane(R134a) due to the mild phase equilibrium conditions, although the formation mechanism and dynamic behavior are not clear. Therefore, a visual experimental system was developed to study the effects of different concentrations of R134a on the induction time, gas consumption, and growth morphology of the CO 2 hydrate. At the same time, the combined effects under stirring and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) systems were also studied. In addition, visualization and experimental model diagrams were combined to explain the fast formation mechanism of the R134a/CO 2 hydrate. The results show that the CO 2 hydrate average conversion rate was increased by more than 63% with the addition of mixed trace R134a(7%). A special phenomenon is found that two temperature peaks appear on the hydrate formation temperature curve, corresponding to two different stages of hydrate formation when stirring or SDS is added to the mixed gas reaction system. Furthermore, the gas consumption in stirring and SDS systems increases by 9 and 44%, respectively. Finally, it is also found that the R134a/CO 2 mixed hydrate formed under the action of SDS has a "capillary" mechanism, which provides a gas-liquid phase exchange channel and a large number of nucleation sites for CO 2 hydrate, thus promoting the formation of CO 2 hydrate. This paper provides a novel, simple, and efficient method for CO 2 hydrate gas storage technology., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

With a worldwide expansion of urbanization, the conservation of urban biodiversity is attracting growing attention; it is important to study the relationship between wildlife and urban green spaces. In this study, we selected 31 parks in the urban area of Fuyang City in the North China Plain. A total of 8795 individual birds from 69 species were recorded. The study found that (a) at the local level, tree diversity and heights are the most important factors contributing to each level of bird diversity, followed by the coverage of shrubs and herbs, and (b) at the landscape level, the proportion of woodland has a strong positive correlation with the multidimensional diversity of birds, followed by the patch diversity and percent of grassland. Our results showed that artificial greenland can effectively increase bird diversity. While considering urban planning and human well-being, the proportion of vegetation and landscape in urban parks should be properly planned, providing more habitats to enrich bird diversity., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Silicosis is an irreversible chronic pulmonary disease caused by long-term inhalation and deposition of silica particles, which is currently incurable. The exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells plays a pathogenetic role in silicosis. In present study, we investigated therapeutic effects and potential mechanism of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSC-likes immune and matrix regulatory cells (IMRCs) (hESC-MSC-IMRCs), a type of manufacturable MSCs for clinical application in silicosis mice. Our results showed that the transplantation of hESC-MSC-IMRCs led the alleviation of silica-induced silicosis in mice, accompanied by inhibiting epithelia-mesenchymal transition (EMT), activating B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi1) signaling and airway epithelial cell regeneration. In consistence, the secretome of hESC-MSC-IMRC exhibited abilities to restore the potency and plasticity of primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) proliferation and differentiation following the SiO 2 -induced HBECs injury. Mechanistically, the secretome resolved the SiO 2 -induced HBECs injury through the activation of BMI1 signaling and restoration of airway basal cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, the activation of BMI1 significantly enhanced the capacity of HBEC proliferation and differentiation to multiple airway epithelial cell types in organoids. Cytokine array revealed that DKK1, VEGF, uPAR, IL-8, Serpin E1, MCP-1 and Tsp-1 were the main factors in the hESC-MSC-IMRC secretome. These results demonstrated a potential therapeutic effect of hESC-MSC-IMRCs and their secretome for silicosis, in part through a mechanism by activating Bmi1 signaling to revert the exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells, subsequentially enhance the potency and plasticity of lung epithelial stem cells., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Postoperative abdominal adhesions are a common problem after surgery and can produce serious complications. Current antiadhesive strategies focus mostly on physical barriers and are unsatisfactory and inefficient. In this study, we designed and synthesized advanced injectable cream-like hydrogels with multiple functionalities, including rapid gelation, self-healing, antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-cell adhesion. The multifunctional hydrogels were facilely formed by the conjugation reaction of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and hyaluronic acid (HA)-based microgels and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based on the dynamic boronic ester bond. The physicochemical properties of the hydrogels including antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities were systematically characterized. A mouse cecum-abdominal wall adhesion model was implemented to investigate the efficacy of our microgel-based hydrogels in preventing postoperative abdominal adhesions. The hydrogels, with a high molecular weight HA, significantly decreased the inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis and reduced the abdominal adhesion formation, compared to the commercial Seprafilm group or Injury-only group. Label-free quantitative proteomics analysis demonstrated that S100A8 and S100A9 expressions were associated with adhesion formation; the microgel-containing hydrogels inhibited these expressions. The microgel-containing hydrogels with multifunctionality decreased the formation of postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions in a murine model, demonstrating promise for clinical applications.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are major drivers in the pathogenesis and progression of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) secretome has regenerative potential and immunomodulatory functions. Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSC-like immune and matrix regulatory cells (IMRCs) are manufacturable with large-scale good manufacturing practice (GMP) preparation. In the present study, the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and the therapeutic effect of the secretome of hESC-MSC-IMRC-derived conditioned culture medium (CM) (hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM) were investigated. Results revealed the capacities of hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM to reduce bleomycin (BLM)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in A549 cells. The administration of concentrated hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM significantly alleviated the pathogenesis of PF in lungs of BLM-injured mice, as accessed by pathohistological changes and the expression of ECM and EMT. A mechanistic study further demonstrated that the hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM was able to inhibit BLM-induced ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines, accompanied by a reduced expression of Nox4, Nrf2, Ho-1, and components of the Tlr4/MyD88 signaling cascade. These results provide a proof of concept for the hESC-MSC-IMRC-derived secretome treatment of PF, in part mediated by their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. This study thus reinforces the development of ready-to-use, cell-free hESC-MSC-IMRC secretome biomedicine for the treatment of PF in clinical settings.

Coccidiosis, an acute epidemic intestinal disease of poultry, is caused by the parasitic protozoan genus Eimeria , with Eimeria tenella being the most pathogenic spp. Novel approaches are required to address the limitations of current treatments for this disease. We investigated the effects of eight plant extracts and essential oils and their mixture on Eimeria tenella as potential treatments for coccidial infection. The anticoccidial effects of non-toxic concentrations of Punica granatum L. (0.005 mg/mL), Plantago asiatica L. (0.780 mg/mL), Bidens pilosa L. (0.390 mg/mL), Acalypha australis L. (0.390 mg/mL), Pteris multifida Poir (0.050 mg/mL), and Portulaca oleracea L. sp. Pl. (0.050 mg/mL) extracts; Artemisia argyi Levl. et Vant. (0.010 μL/mL) and Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Ktze (0.050 μL/mL) essential oils; and their mixture (0.500 mL/mL) on Eimeria tenella were determined using cell viability assays, flow cytometry, and in vivo studies. The eight plant extracts and essential oils and their mixture inhibited Eimeria tenella sporozoites from invading chicken embryo fibroblast cells in vitro . The extract and essential oil mixture improved the feed conversion ratio and body weight gain, reduced fecal oocyst excretion, substantially reduced the mortality of Eimeria tenella -infected chickens, and reduced Eimeria tenella -induced cecal damage in vivo . The results suggest that the extract and essential oil mixtures inhibit Eimeria tenella invasion both in vitro and in vivo , demonstrating their potential as anticoccidial agents., Competing Interests: All authors are affiliated with Bioforte Biotechnology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., and the Research Institute, Wen's Foodstuffs Group Co., Ltd., (Copyright © 2022 Han, Hu, Chen, Guo, Zhu and Chen.)

This paper studies the leader-following consensus problem of linear multi-agent systems over directed communication graphs. This paper proposes a novel distributed reset proportional-integral consensus controller with guaranteed Zeno-freeness property. With the proposed reset consensus controller, the closed-loop system becomes a hybrid system consisting of the flow dynamics and jump dynamics. By adopting a novel Lyapunov function and the hybrid system analysis approach, it obtains the conditions under which consensus is achieved. It further shows that the proposed reset consensus controller helps to improve the transient performance. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical results and effectiveness., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Radioresistance contributes to poor clinical therapeutic efficacy in most cancers. Emerging evidence shows that aberrant DNA damage repair is involved in radioresistance. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism for radioresistance and explore the precise treatment to sensitize the radioresistant tumors., Methods and Materials: Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to confirm the differential expression of epithelial cell transforming 2 (ECT2) in irradiation-resistant and sensitive cell lines. Laser microirradiation was used to examine the ribosome DNA (rDNA) damage response of ECT2. Biotin-identification, in vivo, in vitro binding assay, and dot blotting were used to confirm the interaction of ECT2 and PARP1. The xenograft mouse model and cell survival assay were used to assess the irradiation sensitivity with or without PARP1 inhibitor., Results: We found the expression of ECT2 correlates with sensitivity to radiation therapy in both lung cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. We demonstrated that low expression of ECT2 causes radioresistance, mainly by protecting rDNA in nucleoli from persistent irradiation exposure through transcriptional recovery prevention. ECT2 is recruited to the rDNA damage site in an ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated RNA polymerase I dependent manner. The recruited ECT2 interacts with PARP1 and facilitates the disassociation of PARP1 from rDNA in nucleoli. Thus, ECT2 deficiency results in sustained activation of PARP1, which subsequently inhibits nucleolar transcription and results in a low frequency of rDNA exposure under DNA damage. PARP inhibition synergized with irradiation can sensitize radioresistant tumors with low ECT2 expression., Conclusions: Our study provides a potential perspective for the application of PARP inhibitor to sensitize low-ECT2 expressing tumors to radiation therapy., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Gas hydrates have an important role in environmental and astrochemistry, as well as in energy materials research. Although it is widely accepted that gas accumulation is an important and necessary process during hydrate nucleation, how guest molecules aggregate remains largely unknown. Here, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to clarify the nucleation path of methane hydrate. We demonstrated that methane gather with a three-body aggregate pattern corresponding to the free energy minimum of three-methane hydrophobic interaction. Methane molecules fluctuate around one methane which later becomes the central gas molecule, and when several methanes move into the region within 0.8 nm of the potential central methane, they act as directional methane molecules. Two neighbor directional methanes and the potential central methane form a three-body aggregate as a regular triangle with a distance of ~6.7 Å which is well within the range of typical methane-methane distances in hydrates or in solution. We further showed that hydrate nucleation and growth is inextricably linked to three-body aggregates. By forming one, two, and three three-body aggregates, the possibility of hydrate nucleation at the aggregate increases from 3/6, 5/6 to 6/6. The results show three-body aggregation of guest molecules is a key step in gas hydrate formation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The molecular events that determine the recycling versus degradation fates of internalized membrane proteins remain poorly understood. Two of the three members of the SNX-FERM family, SNX17 and SNX31, utilize their FERM domain to mediate endocytic trafficking of cargo proteins harboring the NPxY/NxxY motif. In contrast, SNX27 does not recycle NPxY/NxxY-containing cargo but instead recycles cargo containing PDZ-binding motifs via its PDZ domain. The underlying mechanism governing this divergence in FERM domain binding is poorly understood. Here, we report that the FERM domain of SNX27 is functionally distinct from SNX17 and interacts with a novel DLF motif localized within the N terminus of SNX1/2 instead of the NPxY/NxxY motif in cargo proteins. The SNX27-FERM-SNX1 complex structure reveals that the DLF motif of SNX1 binds to a hydrophobic cave surrounded by positively charged residues on the surface of SNX27. The interaction between SNX27 and SNX1/2 is critical for efficient SNX27 recruitment to endosomes and endocytic recycling of multiple cargoes. Finally, we show that the interaction between SNX27 and SNX1/2 is critical for brain development in zebrafish. Altogether, our study solves a long-standing puzzle in the field and suggests that SNX27 and SNX17 mediate endocytic recycling through fundamentally distinct mechanisms., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Cardiac sympathetic overactivation is involved in arrhythmogenesis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Inflammatory infiltration in the stellate ganglion (SG) is a critical factor for cardiac sympathoexcitation in patients with ventricular arrhythmias. This study aims to investigate if macrophage depletion in SGs decreases cardiac sympathetic overactivation and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in CHF. Surgical ligation of the coronary artery was used for induction of CHF. Clodronate liposomes were microinjected into bilateral SGs of CHF rats for macrophage depletion. Using cytokine array, immunofluorescence staining, and Western blot analysis, we found that macrophage expansion and expression of TNFα and IL-1β in SGs were markedly increased in CHF rats. Flow cytometry data confirmed that the percentage of macrophages in SGs was higher in CHF rats than that in sham rats. Clodronate liposomes significantly reduced CHF-elevated proinflammatory cytokine levels and macrophage expansion in SGs. Clodronate liposomes also reduced CHF-increased N-type Ca 2+ currents and excitability of cardiac sympathetic postganglionic neurons and inhibited CHF-enhanced cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. ECG data from 24-h, continuous telemetry recording in conscious rats demonstrated that clodronate liposomes not only restored CHF-induced heterogeneity of ventricular electrical activities, but also decreased the incidence and duration of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation in CHF. Macrophage depletion with clodronate liposomes attenuated CHF-induced cardiac sympathetic overactivation and ventricular arrhythmias through reduction of macrophage expansion and neuroinflammation in SGs.

Aims: Cardiac sympathetic overactivation is an important trigger of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Our previous study demonstrated that N-type calcium (Cav2.2) currents in cardiac sympathetic post-ganglionic (CSP) neurons were increased in CHF. This study investigated the contribution of Cav2.2 channels in cardiac sympathetic overactivation and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in CHF., Methods and Results: Rat CHF was induced by surgical ligation of the left coronary artery. Lentiviral Cav2.2-α shRNA or scrambled shRNA was transfected in vivo into stellate ganglia (SG) in CHF rats. Final experiments were performed at 14 weeks after coronary artery ligation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot data showed that in vivo transfection of Cav2.2-α shRNA reduced the expression of Cav2.2-α mRNA and protein in the SG in CHF rats. Cav2.2-α shRNA also reduced Cav2.2 currents and cell excitability of CSP neurons and attenuated cardiac sympathetic nerve activities (CSNA) in CHF rats. The power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) further revealed that transfection of Cav2.2-α shRNA in the SG normalized CHF-caused cardiac sympathetic overactivation in conscious rats. Twenty-four-hour continuous telemetry electrocardiogram recording revealed that this Cav2.2-α shRNA not only decreased incidence and duration of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation but also improved CHF-induced heterogeneity of ventricular electrical activity in conscious CHF rats. Cav2.2-α shRNA also decreased susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias in anaesthetized CHF rats. However, Cav2.2-α shRNA failed to improve CHF-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction. Scrambled shRNA did not affect Cav2.2 currents and cell excitability of CSP neurons, CSNA, HRV, and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in CHF rats., Conclusions: Overactivation of Cav2.2 channels in CSP neurons contributes to cardiac sympathetic hyperactivation and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in CHF. This suggests that discovering purely selective and potent small-molecule Cav2.2 channel blockers could be a potential therapeutic strategy to decrease fatal ventricular arrhythmias in CHF., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Minibrain-related kinase (Mirk) is a serine/threonine kinase which is also known as the dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1B (Dyrk1B). It is known that Dyrk1A, the closest family member to Mirk/Dyrk1B can mediate cellular localization of mammalian forkhead subclass O (FoxO1), a transcription factor, although the effect of Mirk/Dyrk1B on FoxO factors remains to be defined. In this study, we showed that Mirk/Dyrk1B protein was overexpressed in 5 of 8 ovarian cancer cell lines and negatively correlated with the protein level of FoxO factors (FoxO1+FoxO3A). Knockdown of Mirk by small interfering RNA (siRNA) resulted in cell apoptosis and sensitized cells to cisplatin accompanied by nuclear translocation of FoxO1 and/or FoxO3A as well as increased Bim, TRADD, cleaved caspase-3 and PARP. Furthermore, combined siRNAs of Mirk with FoxO1 and/or FoxO3A led to fewer apoptotic cells and cisplatin sensitivity compared to Mirk siRNA alone, suggesting that FoxO is involved in Mirk-mediated cell survival and chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer. Taken together, Mirk/Dyrk1B plays an important role in ovarian cancer cell survival through modulating FoxO translocation and may be a novel therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

The aims of this research were to construct prokaryotic expression vector containing fusion gene of Cholecystokinin 39 (CCK39) of pig and Urease subunit B (UreB) of coliform bacteria, and then to express the fusion protein in recombinant Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The CCK39 gene was amplified by RT-PCR from the extracted total RNA of pig's duodenum, and the UreB gene was then amplified by PCR from the extracted plasmid DNA of bacillus of coliform bacteria from pig's intestinal content. Then the CCK39 and the UreB were inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pET43a(+) to construct a recombinant fusion expression vector pET43a(+)/CCK39/UreB and then, the recombinant vector was identified by PCR, endonuclease digestion and sequence analysis. It was identified that the gene fragment of CCK39 at length of 117 bp and UreB at length of 324 bp were amplified and cloned into the vector pET43a(+) successfully. The recombinant vector was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and induced the expression of CCK39/UreB fusion protein with a molecular mass of approximately 80 kD by using isopropylthio-beta-D-galactoside (IPTG) as inducer. The fusion protein was mostly located in the cytoplasm and it was soluble. The soluble protein was collected and purified by Ni2+-NTA column chromatograph and then reached a purity of more than 95%. It was proved by western blotting that the fusion protein could react with rabbit anti-CCK8 antiserum and rabbit anti-UreB antiserum. Therefore, the expressed fusion protein has good antigenicity. This work established a good foundation for further study on the production of anti-CCK/Urease vaccines.