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BackgroundPsychological stress and heightened mast cell (MC) activation are linked with important immunologic disorders, including allergy, anaphylaxis, asthma, and functional bowel diseases, but the mechanisms remain poorly defined. We have previously demonstrated that activation of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system potentiates MC degranulation responses during IgE-mediated anaphylaxis and psychological stress through corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtype 1 (CRF1) expressed on MCs.ObjectiveIn this study we investigated the role of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtype 2 (CRF2) as a modulator of stress-induced MC degranulation and associated disease pathophysiology.MethodsIn vitro MC degranulation assays were performed with bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) derived from wild-type (WT) and CRF2-deficient (CRF2-/-) mice and RBL-2H3 MCs transfected with CRF2-overexpressing plasmid or CRF2 small interfering RNA. In vivo MC responses and associated pathophysiology in IgE-mediated passive systemic anaphylaxis and acute psychological restraint stress were measured in WT, CRF2-/-, and MC-deficient KitW-sh/W-sh knock-in mice.ResultsCompared with WT mice, CRF2-/- mice exhibited greater serum histamine levels and exacerbated IgE-mediated anaphylaxis and colonic permeability. In addition, CRF2-/- mice exhibited increased serum histamine levels and colonic permeability after acute restraint stress. Experiments with BMMCs and RBL-2H3 MCs demonstrated that CRF2 expressed on MCs suppresses store-operated Ca2+ entry signaling and MC degranulation induced by diverse MC stimuli. Experiments with MC-deficient KitW-sh/W-sh mice systemically engrafted with WT and CRF2-/- BMMCs demonstrated the functional importance of MC CRF2 in modulating stress-induced pathophysiology.ConclusionsMC CRF2 is a negative global modulator of stimuli-induced MC degranulation and limits the severity of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis and stress-related disease pathogenesis.

The emerging concept of aerogel composite phase change materials (PCMs) represents a promising approach for thermal energy storage and utilization. However, the thermal storage aerogels currently reported usually lack essential aerogel properties, thereby constraining their potential for functional design and advanced applications. Herein, multifunctional thermal storage aerogels with aerogel characteristics and thermoregulation performance are prepared by chemically crosslinking and unidirectional freezing to make functionalized mineral‐based composite PCMs as cavity walls. Thanks to the cross–linked continuous skeleton and retained hierarchical porous, this novel thermal storage aerogel possesses an 89.7% porosity and demonstrates excellent resilience under 80% compression. As the PCMs in the cavity walls can convert phonon transport modes through phase transitions, the thermal storage aerogel has enhanced thermal insulation properties, reaching a thermal conductivity of 29.6 mW m−1 K−1. Drawing upon the multifunctional properties of thermal storage aerogels, it is demonstrated that thermal storage masks with thermal comfort and health protection, as well as passive thermal management wrist guards capable of harnessing solar radiation for temperature regulation. This work encompasses the exploration of novel approaches in developing advanced thermal management materials to cater to the diverse thermal regulation requirements of PCMs across various domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is vital for sustainable energy. This study focuses on efficient spinel OER electrocatalysts. We utilize a covalent competition-based interpretable machine learning process, combining DFT and ML, to evaluate 5329 spinel structures for identifying promising OER electrocatalysts. The key indicator in these structures is the covalent competition MAX(DT, DO) between cations and oxygen anions. Center-Environment (CE) features exhibit optimal predictive accuracy for MAX(DT, DO), compared with other feature models e.g., Magpie, ElemNet, and Voronoi. 14 structures with promising OER activity were predicted from 5329 spinel structures using a multi-level screening framework, and interpretability has been provided through SHAP analysis. MoAg2O4, synthesized experimentally, exhibited superior OER activity to MoNa2O4, ZnAl2O4, and commercial RuO2, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at 284 mV overpotential with long-term stability. The exceptional electrocatalytic performance of MoAg2O4 is attributed to highly efficient electron transfer coupled with optimized adsorption for OER intermediates. The synergistic effect of these two attributes improves the reaction kinetics and reduces the free energy of the rate-limiting step in the OER process. This study offers a strategy for creating better spinel electrocatalysts for the OER and advances machine learning in electrocatalyst discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass failures are often induced or activated by the variation of hydrological factors within a reservoir area. Clarifying the relationships between the failure volume and different hydrological factors may help to identify both the dominant factors influencing reservoir bank failures and the most hazardous combinations of factors inducing such events. This study examines the influence of different hydrological factors on bank failures using model experiments incorporating variations in rainfall, wave and water level. The results indicate that the coupled effects of heavy rainfall and falling water‐level had the most significant impact on bank failure. The cumulative failure mass of the reservoir bank peaked at 177.2 × 103 cm3 under the coupled effects of rainfall and falling water‐level. In comparison, the cumulative mass failures on the reservoir bank under rainfall superimposed onto waves and rainfall superimposed onto water level rise were 162.4 × 103 and 129.2 × 103 cm3, respectively. The impact of heavy rainfall significantly contributed the mass failures on soil reservoir bank. The analysis reveals that the highest cumulative failure, 106.3 × 103 cm3, occurred during periods of heavy rainfall. Compared with heavy rainfall, the cumulative failure volumes in the reservoir experienced a reduction of 46% and 55% under solely declining and solely rising reservoir water levels, respectively. The early phases of changing hydrological conditions have a significant effect on the stability of the soil reservoir bank. Mass failures on the bank predominantly occurred during the initial three events of the five simulation experiments performed for each landform, which could account for up to 87% of the total volume. Hence, it is advisable to avoid lowering reservoir water levels during periods of sustained heavy rainfall in order to mitigate the risk of bank failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]