Search

Radiation-induced intestinal injury is one of the most common intestinal complications caused by pelvic and abdominal tumor radiotherapy, severely impacting patients' quality of life. Ionizing radiation, while killing tumor cells, inevitably damages healthy tissue. Radiation-induced enteropathy results from radiation therapy-induced intestinal tissue damage and inflammatory responses. This damage involves various complex molecular mechanisms, including cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, release of inflammatory mediators, disruption of immune responses, and imbalance of intestinal microbiota. A thorough understanding of these molecular mechanisms is crucial for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defect engineering is a key chemical tool to modulate the electronic structure and reactivity of nanostructured catalysts. Here, it is reported how targeted introduction of defect sites in a 2D palladium metallene nanostructure results in a highly active catalyst for the alkaline oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A defect‐rich WOx and MoOx modified Pd metallene (denoted: D‐Pd M) is synthesized by a facile and scalable approach. Detailed structural analyses reveal the presence of three distinct atomic‐level defects, that are pores, concave surfaces, and surface‐anchored individual WOx and MoOx sites. Mechanistic studies reveal that these defects result in excellent catalytic ORR activity (half‐wave potential 0.93 V vs. RHE, mass activity 1.3 A mgPd−1 at 0.9 V vs. RHE), outperforming the commercial references Pt/C and Pd/C by factors of ≈7 and ≈4, respectively. The practical usage of the compound is demonstrated by integration into a custom‐built Zn‐air battery. At low D‐Pd M loading (26 µgPd cm−2), the system achieves high specific capacity (809 mAh gZn−1) and shows excellent discharge potential stability. This study therefore provides a blueprint for the molecular design of defect sites in 2D metallene nanostructures for advanced energy technology applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diarrheal disease continues to be a major cause of global morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age. To address the current issues associated with oral attenuated rotavirus vaccines, the study of parenteral rotavirus vaccines has promising prospects. In our previous study, we reported that rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) did not increase the IgG antibody titer of co-immune antigen but did have a protective effect against diarrhea via the intramuscular injection method. Here, we explored whether NSP4 can exert adjuvant effects on mucosal immune pathways. In this study, we immunized mice via muscle and nasal routes, gavaged them with the rotavirus Wa strain or the rotavirus SA11 strain, and then tested the protective effects of immune sera against both viruses. The results revealed that the serum-specific VP8* IgG antibody titers of the mice immunized via the nasal route were much lower than those of the mice immunized by intramuscular injection, and the specific IgA antibodies were almost undetectable in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). NSP4 did not increase the titer of specific VP8* antibodies in either immune pathway. Therefore, in the two vaccines (PP-NSP4-VP8* and PP-VP8*+NSP4) used in this study, NSP4 was unable to perform its potential adjuvant role through the mucosal immune pathway. Instead, NSP4 was used as a co-immunized antigen to stimulate the mice to produce specific binding antibodies that play a protective role against diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To supervise the quality of new cement, it is necessary to constantly update the monitoring and testing methods of the cement composition. The molecular layer deposition (MLD) method is an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis method that can scrutinize a glass frit of an unknown dilution ratio. In this study, the method of preparing a glass frit of cement from phosphogypsum for XRF analysis by the MLD method was reviewed, and the working curve suitable for XRF analysis of the cement from phosphogypsum was established. The proposed analysis steps of a glass frit can be widely used in factories that produce cement from phosphogypsum., The new cement product produced by the production process of sulfuric acid integrated with cement from phosphogypsum (1,2) has been widely used in the market. Phosphogypsum is the solid waste [...]

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction is a promising approach to remove harmful nitrate and produce ammonia in aqueous media. Here, we demonstrate how 3D printed polymer electrodes can be electroless plated with a bimetallic NiCu alloy film suitable for sustained nitrate‐to‐ammonia reduction. Characterization by powder X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning/transmission electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy indicate that the electrode has a two‐layer structure consisting of polymer/ coating layer of metal alloys. The composite electrode shows high‐performance in the nitrate‐to‐ammonia electroreduction, giving NH3 Faradaic efficiencies of up to 83 % and NH3 yield rates up to 860 μg/(h cm2) at −0.38 V vs. RHE. We show that the electrode can easily be integrated into a Zn‐nitrate battery, giving a power density of 3.8 mW cm−2 with continuous NH3 production. The system combines three productive outputs, that is removal of nitrate pollutants, synthesis of valuable ammonia and generation of "green" electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest research shows that ferns and lycophytes have distinct evolutionary lineages. The codon usage patterns of lycophytes and ferns have not yet been documented. To investigate the gene expression profiles across various plant lineages with respect to codon usage, analyze the disparities and determinants of gene evolution in primitive plant species, and identify appropriate exogenous gene expression platforms, the whole-genome sequences of four distinct species were retrieved from the NCBI database. The findings indicated that Ceratopteris richardii, Adiantum capillus-veneris, and Selaginella moellendorffii exhibited an elevated A/U content in their codon base composition and a tendency to end with A/U. Additionally, S. capillus-veneris had more C/G in its codons and a tendency to end with C/G. The ENC values derived from both ENC-plot and ENC-ratio analyses deviated significantly from the standard curves, suggesting that the codon usage preferences of these four species were primarily influenced by genetic mutations and natural selection, with natural selection exerting a more prominent influence. This finding was further supported by PR2-Plot, neutrality plot analysis, and COA. A combination of RSCU and ENC values was used as a reference criterion to rank the codons and further identify the optimal codons. The study identified 24 high-frequency codons in C. richardii, A. capillus-veneris, and Diphasiastrum complanatum, with no shared optimal codons among the four species. Arabidopsis thaliana and Ginkgo biloba exhibited similar codon preferences to the three species, except for S. moellendorffii. This research offers a theoretical framework at the genomic codon level for investigating the phylogenetic relationships between lycophytes and ferns, shedding light on gene codon optimization and its implications for genetic engineering in breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]