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Statin therapy is associated with numerous cellular effects. Here, the authors show that statin treatment increases post-translational modifications on fatty acid synthase in the active site, revealing communication between the cholesterol and lipid biosynthetic pathways.

Cu-based catalysts have been promising materials for electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide into C2+ products. However, the low selectivity of Cu-based catalysts for a single C2+ product limits their application. Herein, this work presents a strategy to modify the coordination environment of Cu-based MOF catalysts through the introduction of different doping atoms, aiming to improve the selectivity towards ethanol products. The CuIn-BTC-DBD catalyst exhibits an ethanol FE of 87% with a partial current density of −17 mA cm−2 at −1.4 V vs. RHE. Through experimental investigations, we reveal the modulation of the coordination environment of Cu-based MOFs through the doping of In atoms. This strategy improves the selectivity for ethanol products. This study provides a new approach to designing bimetallic Cu-based MOF electrocatalysts with high efficiency, mild conditions, and stable CO2RR to ethanol products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a mechanochemical approach for synthesizing dinuclear Cu (II) complexes and applying them directly in C–S coupling reactions, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional solvent‐based syntheses. The mechanochemical method, recognized for its environmental advantages and efficiency, was employed to synthesize the Cu (II) complex [CuL(μ‐Cl)Cl2] (I) and the metal–organic salt 2L.2[CuCl4]2− (II), thereby minimizing solvent use and waste production. The synthesized complex I exhibited superior catalytic activity in C–S coupling, achieving a 96% yield within 20 min with methanol serving as a grinding medium. The mechanochemical process was further refined and confirmed for its environmental sustainability, with an E‐factor of 0.460 and an EcoScale score of 78. This synthetic method not only shortens reaction times and reduces solvent use but also streamlines the operational procedure, providing a more environmentally benign and economically viable route for C–S coupling. The research highlights the potential of mechanochemistry in simplifying synthetic processes and enhancing their sustainability, paving the way for future advancements in green synthetic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two binuclear Gadolinium(III) (Gd) complex [Gd2(L1)2(H2L3)2(NO3)2] (1) and [Gd2(L2)2(H2L3)2(NO3)2] (2) were obtained by using 2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde or 2‐hydroxy‐1‐naphthaldehyde, 2‐aminophenol, pyridin‐2‐ylmethanamine and Gd(NO3)3 ⋅ 6H2O in CH3CN (H2L1=(E)‐2‐((2‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)phenol, H2L2=(E)‐1‐(((2‐hydroxyphenyl)imino)methyl)naphthalen‐2‐ol, H2L3=pyridin‐2‐ylmethanamine). Structural analysis suggests that all the ligands as protective units protect the central Gd(III) ions at the periphery. Magnetization studies exhibited magnetocaloric effect of 14.45 J ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ K−1 at 4 K under ΔH=7 T for complex 1 and 12.69 J ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ K−1 at 2 K under ΔH=7 T for complex 2. In complexes 1 and 2, although the coordination configurations are the same, the significant difference in MCE may be due to the adjustments of the peripheral ligands leading to changes in the coordination field strength. The electron affinity of the ligands can impact the interaction between the ligands and Gd(III) ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cationic cetyltrimethylammonium (CTAB) is an effective and common intercalator for interlayered modification in layered materials, while its biotoxicity remains an issue. To improve biosafety and biocompatibility of the drug delivery system, the nontoxic chitosan (CS) was introduced into CTAB‐modified kanemite (Ka‐CTAB). Accordingly, the obtained Ka‐CTAB/CS was further used as a drug carrier of methotrexate (MTX). Various characterizations were employed to investigate the drug delivery system based on the Ka‐CTAB/CS. Results revealed that the loading capacity of the drug delivery system based on the Ka‐CTAB/CS for MTX was about 13.47%, and the drug delivery system exhibited slow and sustained release of drugs either in phosphate buffer solution (pH = 7.4) or in HCl solution (pH = 1.35). The introduction of CS in Ka‐CTAB/CS not only replaced a part of CTAB in composition but also prevented CTAB molecules falling off the carrier during the drug‐releasing process. In the methyl orange dye assay, the concentration of free CTAB shed from Ka‐CTAB/CS was as low as 8.09 × 10−7 mol/L after 24 h. In an in vitro cell viability assay using HepG2 cells, Ka‐CTAB/CS also exhibited lower cytotoxicity compared to previous Ka‐CTAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐performance rechargeable aluminum‐sulfur batteries (RASB) have great potential for various applications owing to their high theoretical capacity, abundant sulfur resources, and good safety. Nevertheless, the practical application of RASB still faces several challenges, including the polysulfide shuttle phenomenon and low sulfur utilization efficiency. Here, we first developed a synergistic copper heterogeneous metal oxide MoO2 derived from polymolybdate‐based metal‐organic framework as an efficient catalyst for mitigating polysulfide diffusion. This composite enhances sulfur utilization and electrical conductivity of the cathode. DFT calculations and experimental results reveal the catalyst Cu/MoO2@C not only effectively anchors aluminum polysulfides (AlPSs) to mitigate the shuttle effect, but also significantly promotes the catalytic conversion of AlPSs on the sulfur cathode side during charging and discharging. The unique nanostructure contains abundant electrocatalytic active sites of oxide nanoparticles and Cu clusters, resulting in excellent electrochemical performance. Consequently, the established RASB exhibits an initial capacity of 875 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 and maintains a capacity of 967 mAh g−1 even at a high temperature of 50 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for 2D and 3D topologies are continuously being developed, whereas metalated COFs with 1D topologies are still in their infancy. Here, a novel 1D phenanthroline‐based COF containing 4,4‐(1,10‐phenanthroline‐2,9‐diyl)bis[benzaldehyde] (PBA) is reported (PAD‐COF). Subsequently, a metalated 1D COF, Co SAS/PAD‐COF, is constructed using the bidentate ligand properties of PBA and anchoring the single Co atoms in PAD‐COF through a post‐synthetic modification strategy. This complex significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of PAD‐COF, and the CO yield of the optimized Co SAS/PAD‐COF was stable at 3091 µmol g−1 h−1 with a selectivity of 93%, which is approximately 43.7 times that of the original PAD‐COF. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate the excellent CO2 photoreduction activity of Co SAS/PAD‐COF owing to the synergistic effect of single Co catalytic sites and PAD‐COF. Among them, PAD‐COF, as the host, adsorbs CO2 molecules and loads single Co atoms. Meanwhile, Co atoms function as catalytic sites and promote the adsorption and activation of CO2, while reducing the reaction energy barrier formed by the *COOH intermediates. Therefore, this unique metalated 1D COF provides a fresh approach to photocatalytic CO2 reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of a heterojunction is one of the promising methods for obtaining the required photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity. In this study, the ternary heterostructures of ZnS/CdS/Zn-Cd-MOF were synthesized using a semiderivatization of bimetallic MOF strategy. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of ZnS/CdS/Zn-Cd-MOF under visible light irradiation was investigated. Its maximum hydrogen production rate is 27.65 mmol g–1 h–1, which is 32 times that of pure ZnS nanoparticles and 13 times that of pure CdS nanoparticles. Mechanism studies using UV–visible DRS, photoluminescence, surface photovoltage, Mott–Schottky diagrams, and electron EPR reveal that the double Z-scheme heterostructure is formed between ZnS, CdS nanoparticles, and Zn-Cd-MOF, which provides a directional carrier migration channel, further promotes electron transfer, and effectively separates photogenerated carriers, which significantly improves photocatalytic activity and stability. This study proposes a reasonable double Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst with high efficiency for hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing environmentally friendly bulk materials capable of easily and thoroughly removing trace amounts of dye pollutants from water to rapidly obtain clean water has always been a goal pursued by researchers. Herein, a green material with a 3D architecture and with strong underwater rebounding and fatigue resistance ability was prepared by means of the assembly of biopolymer chitosan (CS) and natural caraganate fibers (CKFs) under freezing conditions. The CKFs can randomly and uniformly distribute in the lamellar structure formed during the freezing process of CS and CKFs, playing a role similar to that of "steel bars" in concrete, thus providing longitudinal support for the 3D-architecture material. The 2D layers formed by CS and CKFs as the main basic units can provide the material with a higher strength. The 3D-architecture material can bear the compressive force of a weight underwater for multiple cycles, meeting the requirements for water purification. The underwater compression test shows that the 3D-architecture material can quickly rebound to its original shape after removing the stress. This 3D-architecture material can be used to purify dye-containing water. When its dosage is 3 g/L, the material can remove 99.65% of the Congo Red (CR) in a 50 mg/L dye solution. The adsorption performance of the 3D architecture adsorbent for CR removal in actual water samples (i.e., tap water, seawater) is superior than that of commercial activated carbon. Due to its porous block characteristics, this material can be used for the continuous and efficient treatment of wastewater containing trace amounts of CR dye to obtain pure clean water, meaning that it has great potential for the effective purification of dye wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrocephalus can affect brain function and motor ability. Current treatments mostly involve invasive surgeries, with a high risk of postoperative infections and failure. A successful animal model plays a significant role in developing new treatments for hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus was induced in Sprague–Dawley rats by injecting 25% kaolin into the subarachnoid space at the cerebral convexities with different volumes of 30, 60 and 90 μL. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed 1 month and 4 months after kaolin injection. The behavioral performance was assessed weekly, lasting for 7 weeks. The histopathological analyses were conducted to the lateral ventricles by hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining. Transcriptomic analysis was used between Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) patients and hydrocephalus rats. MRI showed a progressive enlargement of ventricles in hydrocephalus group. Kaolin‐60 μL and kaolin‐90 μL groups showed larger ventricular size, higher anxiety level, bigger decline in body weight, motor ability and cognitive competence. These symptoms may be due to higher‐grade inflammatory infiltrate and the damage of the structure of ependymal layer of the ventricles, indicated by HE staining. The overlap upregulated genes and pathways mainly involve immunity and inflammation. Transcriptomic revealed shared pathogenic genes CD40, CD44, CXCL10, and ICAM1 playing a dominance role. 60 μL injection might be recommended for the establishment of hydrocephalus animal model, with a high successful rate and high stability. The hydrocephalus model was able to resemble the inflammatory mechanism and behavioral performance observed in human NPH patients, providing insights for identifying therapeutic targets for hydrocephalus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation of the State of Health (SOH) of batteries is important for intelligent battery management in energy storage systems. To solve the problems of poor quality of data features as well as the difficulty of model parameter adjustment, this study proposes a method for estimating the SOH of lithium batteries based on denoising battery health features and an improved Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network. First, in this study, three health features related to SOH decrease were selected from the battery charge/discharge data, and the singular value decomposition technique was applied to the noise reduction of the features to improve their correlation with the SOH. Then, the whale optimization algorithm is improved using cubic chaotic mapping to enhance its global optimization-seeking capability. Then, the Improved Whale Optimization Algorithm (IWOA) is used to optimize the model parameters of LSTM, and the IWOA-LSTM model is applied to the battery SOH estimation. Finally, the model proposed in this research is validated against the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) battery dataset. The experimental results show that the prediction error of battery SOH by the method proposed in this study is less than 0.96%, and the prediction error is reduced by 49.42% compared to its baseline model. The method presented in the article achieves accurate estimation of the SOH, providing a reference for practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-industrial sites in Chinese cities are being redeveloped as catalysts for urban regeneration and economic development. Calling the shift from 'Made in China' to 'Created in China', the Chinese government is encouraging the development of the creative industry to transform post-industrial sites. Successful examples of city renewal projects provide examples of this strategy, tuning into the creative cultures and industrial heritage of these cities and offering platforms for creative enterprises to flourish. This paper describes a recently funded renovation project, Beijing 751 D-Park, which has been undertaken to analyse these opportunities, and offers the initial findings of a case study. It unlocks the development process of the renovation project in terms of its philosophy, design method and planning strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrochemical characteristics of watersheds are influenced by many factors, with chemical weathering and human activities exerting the most substantial influence. Performing a quantitative evaluation of the factors contributing to the chemical weathering of rocks is of significant scientific importance. This research zeroes in on the Qingtang River basin to elaborate on the hydrochemical characteristic, explore the origins of ions, and quantify the influence of anthropogenic discharges amidst cation interferences, thus improving the accuracy of chemical weathering rate estimations. The samples encompassed surface water, groundwater, and water from dripping in karst caves. The findings indicate that human-induced alterations significantly influence hydrogeochemical dynamics, although chemical weathering of rocks in their natural state is the controlling factor. The mean contributions of cations from atmospheric deposition, human inputs, carbonate weathering, and silicate weathering were 17.56%, 21.05%, 51.77%, and 9.54%, respectively. The chemical weathering rate for carbonate rocks was 62.4 t·km−2·a−1, which increased by 27.87% due to the influence of exogenous acids. The anthropogenic impact is predominantly evident in two aspects: (1) the alteration of hydrochemical processes within the watershed through direct input of ions, and (2) the acceleration of rock weathering rates in the watershed due to the exogenous acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Lifespan is a life-history trait that undergoes natural selection. Telomeres are hallmarks of aging, and shortening rate predicts species lifespan, making telomere maintenance mechanisms throughout different lifespans a worthy topic for study. Alligators are suitable for the exploration of anti-aging molecular mechanisms, because they exhibit low or even negligible mortality in adults and no significant telomere shortening. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) expression is absent in the adult Alligator sinensis, as in humans. Selection analyses on telomere maintenance genes indicated that ATM, FANCE, SAMHD1, HMBOX1, NAT10, and MAP3K4 experienced positive selection on A. sinensis. Repressed pleiotropic ATM kinase in A. sinensis suggests their fitness optimum shift. In ATM downstream, Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT)-related genes were clustered in a higher expression pattern in A. sinensis, which covers 10–15% of human cancers showing no telomerase activities. In summary, we demonstrated how telomere shortening, telomerase activities, and ALT contributed to anti-aging strategies.

BackgroundThe major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene family, a vital immune gene family in vertebrates, helps animals defend against pathogens. The polymorphism of MHC genes is important for a species and is considered to be caused by the numerous alleles of MHC antigen-presenting genes. However, the mechanism of this process is unclear due to the lack of data on the MHC structure. The evolutionary trajectories of the tetrapod MHC are also unclear because of insufficient studies on the reptile MHC architecture. Here, we studied the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), which experienced a population bottleneck, but the population increased rapidly in the past 30 years and is proposed to have a unique MHC system to face pathogenic challenges.ResultsWe successfully constructed a 2 Mb MHC region using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library and genome data of the Chinese alligator and checked the antigen-presenting genes using transcriptome data and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. The MHC architecture reported here uncovers adjacent Class I and Class II subregions and a unique CD1 subregion. This newly added information suggested that the Class I-II structure pattern was more ancient in tetrapods and helped reconstruct the evolution of the MHC region architecture. We also found multiple groups of MHC class I (MHC-I) (12 duplicated loci, belonging to three groups, two of which were novel) and MHC class II (MHC-II) (11 duplicated loci, belonging to two groups) inside the 2 Mb MHC region, and there were three more duplicated MHC-I loci outside it. These highly duplicated antigen-presenting loci had differences in expression, amino acid length of antigen-presenting exons, and splice signal of exon and intron, which together promoted the polymorphism of duplicated genes. Although the MHC antigen-presenting genes were identified as monomorphic or oligomorphic in our previous population study, the loci with high copy numbers and many differences can make up for this loss, presenting another mechanism for polymorphism in antigen presentation. These MHC-I and MHC-IIB loci with low polymorphism for each locus, but high numbers in all, may also contribute to MHC antigen-presenting binding variability in a population.ConclusionTo summarize, the fine MHC region architecture of reptiles presented in this study completes the evolutionary trajectories of the MHC structure in tetrapods, and these distinctive MHC gene groups in the Chinese alligator may have helped this species to expand rapidly in the past recent years.

The negative impact of banned pesticides is of special importance for their high toxicity. In this study, nationwide screening of banned pesticides in 37462 fruit and vegetable samples was carried out from 2012 to 2018 using a self-developed HPLC-Q-TOF/MS technique. The dietary exposure risks associated with the banned pesticides were assessed. The results showed that 66.62 % of the samples were detected at least one pesticide. Among the pesticide-positive samples, a total of 18 banned pesticides were detected in 1798 samples for 1896 times. The risk assessment revealed that 11.71 % of the positive detections exceeded the safety limits and posed an unacceptable risk, while 37.29 % of the positive detections posed acceptable risks. According to the screening and assessment results, two national maps were presented to show the total detection ratios of the banned pesticides and the unacceptable risks of dietary exposure. It should be noted that omethoate had higher residual concentration, unacceptable risk frequency and unacceptable risk proportion. This is the first nationwide comprehensive report on screening and risk assessment banned pesticides.