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Abstract Reconstruction of irregular oral-maxillofacial bone defects with an inflammatory microenvironment remains a challenge, as chronic local inflammation can largely impair bone healing. Here, we used magnesium silicate nanospheres (MSNs) to load microRNA-146a-5p (miR-146a) to fabricate a nanobiomaterial, MSN+miR-146a, which showed synergistic promoting effects on the osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). In addition, miR-146a exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway via targeting tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), and MSNs could simultaneously promote M2 polarization of BMMs. MiR-146a was also found to inhibit osteoclast formation. Finally, the dual osteogenic-promoting and immunoregulatory effects of MSN+miR-146a were further validated in a stimulated infected mouse mandibular bone defect model via delivery by a photocuring hydrogel. Collectively, the MSN+miR-146a complex revealed good potential in treating inflammatory irregular oral-maxillofacial bone defects.

Manganese (Mn) is necessary for various biological processes, yet its function in innate immunity has been less studied, especially in fish. Stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) is an essential factor for IFN induction in virus infection. Our study demonstrated that Mn2+ increases the ability of zebrafish to resist spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) infection by enhancing the expression of STING. Further mechanistic studies indicated that Mn2+ promotes the expression of STING by increasing its ubiquitination. Furthermore, Mn2+treatment promoted STING-mediated activation of IFN and reversed the decrease in STING protein induced by SVCV. Collectively, our findings showed the vital involvement and necessity of Mn2+ in protecting fish against SVCV infection.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), classified as a class I carcinogen, is a widespread mycotoxin that poses a serious threat to public health and economic development, and the food safety problems caused by AFB1 have aroused worldwide concern. The development of accurate and sensitive methods for the detection of AFB1 is significant for food safety monitoring. In this work, a sandwich-type photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor for AFB1 detection was constructed on the basis of an aptamer–antibody structure. A good photocurrent response was obtained due to the sensitization of In2S3 by Ru(bpy)32+. In addition, this sandwich-type sensor constructed by modification with the antibody, target detector, and aptamer layer by layer attenuated the migration hindering effect of photogenerated carriers caused by the double antibody structure. The aptamer and antibody synergistically recognized and captured the target analyte, resulting in more reliable PEC response signals. CdSe@CdS QDs-Apt were modified as a signal-off probe onto the sensor platform to quantitatively detect AFB1 with a "signal-off" response, which enhanced the sensitivity of the sensor. The PEC biosensor showed a linear response range from 10−12 to 10−6 g mL−1 with a detection limit of 0.023 pg mL−1, providing a feasible approach for the quantitative detection of AFB1 in food samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and development of high-performance photoanodes are the key to efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Based on the carrier transfer characteristics and localized surface plasmon resonance effect of noble metals, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been used to improve the performance of photoanodes. In this study, a novel efficient composite BiVO4/Au/FeCoOx photoanode is constructed, and the quantitative analysis of its performance is systematically conducted. The results reveal that the co-modification of AuNPs and FeCoOx plays a synergetic role in enhancing the absorption of ultraviolet and visible light of BiVO4, which is mainly attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance effect induced by AuNPs and the extended light absorption edge position induced by the BiVO4/FeCoOx heterojunction. The BiVO4/Au/FeCoOx photoanode exhibits a high photocurrent density of 4.11 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus RHE at room temperature under AM 1.5 G illumination, which corresponds to a 299% increase compared to a pristine BiVO4 photoanode. These results provide practical support for the design and preparation of PEC photoanodes decorated with AuNPs and FeCoOx.

Background: Reptiles are asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella spp. Reptile-associated Salmonella infections have been noticed as a significant contributor to overall human salmonellosis. However, it remains unclear regarding the prevalence of reptile-associated Salmonella in China. Methods: Fecal and gastrointestinal mucosal samples were taken from 104 snakes, 21 lizards, and 52 chelonians and cultured on selective medium. The positive clones were validated and annotated by biochemical screening and multiplex PCR verification. In addition, the antibiotic resistance of identified Salmonella isolates was detected and followed by cytotoxic activity detection on human colon cells via co-culturation. Results: The overall prevalence of Salmonella in reptiles was 25.99%, with rates of 30.77%, 47.62%, and 7.69% in snakes, lizards, and chelonians, respectively. Further, all isolates showed variable drug-resistant activity to 18 antibiotics, of which 14 strains (30.43%) were resistant to more than eight kinds of antibiotics. More than half of isolated Salmonella strains were more toxic to host cells than the standard strain, SL1344. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) results showed that all lizard-associated strains belong to 4 serovar types, and 7 of them fall into the highly pathogenic serovars “Carmel” and “Pomona.” Conclusions: Our results highlight the potential threat of zoonotic salmonellosis from captive reptiles in the Beijing area of China.

Organic solar cells (OSCs), as a renewable energy technology that converts solar energy into electricity, have exhibited great application potential. With the rapid development of novel materials and device structures, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of non-fullerene OSCs has been increasingly enhanced, and over 19% has currently been achieved in single-junction devices. Compared with rigid silicon cells, OSCs have the characteristics of low cost, high flexibility, lightweight, and their inherent solution processability, which enables the devices to be manufactured by using printing technology for commercial applications. In recent years, to maximize the device performance of OSCs, many efforts have been devoted to improving the morphologies and properties of the active layer through various novel printing technologies. Herein, in this review, the recent progress and applications of several popular printing technologies to fabricate high-efficient OSCs are summarized, including blade-coating, slot-die coating, gravure printing, screen printing, inkjet printing, etc. The strengths and weaknesses of each printing technology are also outlined in detail. Ultimately, the challenges and opportunities of printing technology to fabricate OSC devices in industrial manufacturing are also presented.

Sensitive detection of toxic substances in drinking water is always a difficult problem in electrochemical applications. This paper presents a new electrode enhanced with nanomaterials for the sensitive detection of nitrobenzene (NB). A bimetallic Cu5Zn8 alloy was created using the copper-zeolitic imidazole framework (Cu/ZIF-8). Based on this, we synthesized a Cu5Zn8@SiO2/nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) composite. The experimental results showed that the Cu5Zn8@SiO2/NC composite has good conductivity and electron transfer ability, which was conducive to the reduction of NB. The fabricated Cu5Zn8@SiO2/NC electrode has a wide linear range with a low detection limit for the reduction of NB. At the same time, it has better anti-interference ability and reproducibility. Additionally, with good recoveries, Cu5Zn8@SiO2/NC was successfully used to monitor NB in tap water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the increasingly severe ecological environment, China promotes the construction of ecological civilization vigorously. Therefore, it is of great significance to adopt scientific, effective and comprehensive methods to evaluate development status of ecological civilization. Based on the panel data from 2010 to 2014, this paper employs GIS and AHP methods to dynamically examine the level of ecological civilization construction in Jiangxi Province. The results indicate that: (1) The ecological civilization construction in Jiangxi Province is 13.23% higher than the national average, whereas there is an imbalance in the development of different cities within the province; (2) The ecological civilization construction in the whole province rises first and then falls; (3) The performances of the cities vary in different dimensions of the construction of ecological civilization that cities in Jiangxi province perform well in the dimension of ecological environment, but perform poorly in the dimension of social development. Finally, we put forward policy recommendations for improving ecological environment to realize harmonious development between human and nature.

Aspergillus terreus is well-known for its ability to biosynthesize valuable pharmaceuticals as well as structurally unique secondary metabolites. However, numerous promising cryptic secondary metabolites in this strain regulated by silent gene clusters remain unidentified. In this study, to further explore the secondary metabolite potential of A. terreus, the essential histone deacetylase hdaA gene was deleted in the marine-derived A. terreus RA2905. The results showed that HdaA plays a vital and negative regulatory role in both conidiation and secondary metabolism. Loss of HdaA in A. terreus RA2905 not only resulted in the improvement in butyrolactone production, but also activated the biosynthesis of new azaphilone derivatives. After scaled fermentation, two new azaphilones, asperterilones A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from ΔhdaA mutant. The planar structures of compounds 1 and 2 were undoubtedly characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analysis. Their absolute configurations were assigned by circular dichroism spectra analysis and proposed biosynthesis pathway. Compounds 1 and 2 displayed moderate anti-Candida activities with the MIC values ranging from 18.0 to 47.9 μM, and compound 1 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. This study provides novel evidence that hdaA plays essential and global roles in repressing secondary metabolite gene expression in fungi, and its deletion represents an efficient strategy to mine new compounds from A. terreus and other available marine-derived fungi.

The counter electrode (CE) is an important and vital part of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Pt CEs show high-performance in DSSCs using iodide-based electrolytes. However, the high cost of Pt CEs restricts their large-scale application in DSSCs and the development of Pt-free CE is expected. Here, α-Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide (α-Fe2O3/RGO) composites are prepared as the Pt-free CE materials for DSSCs. A simple hydrothermal technique was used to disseminate the α-Fe2O3 solid nanoparticles uniformly throughout the RGO surface. The presence of the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles increases the specific surface area of RGO and allows the composites to be porous, which improves the diffusion of liquid electrolyte into the CE material. Then, the electrocatalytic properties of CEs with α-Fe2O3/RGO, α-Fe2O3, RGO, and Pt materials are compared. The α-Fe2O3/RGO CE has a similar electrocatalytic performance to Pt CE, which is superior to those of the pure α-Fe2O3 and RGO CEs. After being fabricated as DSSCs, the current–voltage measurements reveal that the DSSC based on α-Fe2O3/RGO CE has a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.12%, which is 88% that of Pt CE and much higher than that of pure α-Fe2O3 and pure RGO CEs. All the results show that this work describes a promising material for cost-effective, Pt-free CEs for DSSCs.