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Abstract: Different from extensively reported carbon nanotubes‐polyamide (PA) composite membranes, this work reports the scalable, low‐cost manufacturing of metallic single‐walled carbon nanotubes network supported PA reverse osmotic desalination membranes. Metallic single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) separated from high‐pressure carbon monoxide conversion (HiPCO) SWCNTs with a diameter ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 nm are deposited on polyethersulfone (PES) films by replacing surfactants around SWCNTs dispersed in aqueous solution, for supporting uniform and smooth sub‐10 nm PA nanofilm formed through aqueous‐organic bilayer interfacial polymerization. The industrial scale manufactured PA/SWCNTs/PES desalination membranes (508 mm × 915 mm) are rolled into spiral wound elements without damage through cutting, gluing, and rolling. The desalination tests on flat PA/SWCNTs/PES membranes exhibits 30 l m−2 h−1 (LMH) under 17.2 bar with 98.45% salt injection when fed with 2000 ppm NaCl at pH = 9. The normalized permeate flux of PA/SWCNTs/PES spiral wound elements is ≈17 LMH under 13.8 bar with 90% salt injection underfed with 2000 ppm MgSO4 at pH = 9–11 condition. The high‐performance sub‐10 nm smooth PA/SWCNTs/PES desalination membranes are fabricated with materials savings and can promote low operation costs compared to conventional 50–100 nm crumpled PA films on any supporting substrates.

This article reports on a case study that collected qualitative data from seven teacher educators in two universities, respectively, from China and Scotland. Drawing on the rationales for, and ideologies about internationalisation from postcolonial perspectives, our data analysis highlights the participants' divergent views about the rationale for internationalising teacher education: for quality assurance, for intercultural dialogues, or for developing 'great teachers anywhere'. Such divergent views reflect the teacher educators' different socio-cultural contexts, and the different agendas of teacher education and higher education in the two research sites. To internationalise teacher education for a global and multicultural context, we suggest teacher educators in both Scottish and Chinese contexts deconstruct their views and assumptions about Western education and promote intercultural dialogues. This also requires institutional support and thoughtful alliances among different stakeholders to ensure well-informed policies and strategies.

This paper first analyzes and researches the current practice status of digital transformation of Chinese agricultural production from production, credit, and management aspects. Then, it analyzes the measurement of agricultural production efficiency and the factors influencing agricultural production efficiency in the context of digital transformation by using DEA measurement tools. The impact of digitalization level enhancement on rural economic structure is also analyzed and explained from the perspective of technological progress bias through spatial econometric models. The results show that the level of digitalization promotes the development of agricultural modernization in terms of the change in the ranking of scores between 2014 and 2023. The correlation coefficients of the level of digital economy development, financial support for agriculture, and urbanization rate are 0.483, 1.163, and 0.764, which significantly promote the efficiency of agricultural production in China. There is a significant spatial dependence relationship between economic structure and digital transformation (P

Objective To evaluate the degree of skin injury caused by different doses of UVA1 irradiation and balance the relationship between UVA1 phototherapy and photodamage， aiming to maximize the therapeutic benefits. Methods Different doses of UVA1 irradiation were simulated to treat immune-contact sensitized mouse models. The degree of skin photodamage during treatment was observed and photodamage-related indexes were detected. Results With the increase of dose and irradiation times， the proportion of mice with black spots on the skin was significantly higher than that of mice without sunburn or erythema （both P < 0.05）. However， there were no significant changes in skin thickness and histomorphology compared with the non-photosensitized mouse model group. The detection of malondialdehyde （MDA） and reduced glutathione （GSH） on the skin showed that the increase of doses and irradiation times would cause the increase of MDA content （P < 0.05）； For GSH， the increase of doses would cause the decrease of GSH content （P < 0.05）；and the irradiation time exerted no effect （P > 0.05）. Conclusions Different doses of UVA1 phototherapy can cause skin photodamage， which is aggravated with the increase of dose and frequency. However， this photodamage is mild in the short term， especially with low-dose UVA1 irradiation. The balance between phototherapy effect and photodamage needs to be considered for moderate- and high-dose UVA1 irradiation.

This paper reports on how varied study abroad experiences transformed understanding of difference of student-teachers from two universities. Data were collected through a qualitative questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with 14 Chinese and Scottish student-teachers who presented what they had experienced and how they had made sense of difference. Drawing on transformative learning, this study reveals that opportunities to experience difference and resultant emotional struggles can develop student-teachers' emotional maturity and readiness for change. It also highlights that critical reflection on challenges in their preconceptions about the self and others is essential to transform their preconceived views and develop their openness to difference. To maximise the transformative potential of study abroad programmes, we argue that student-teachers must be provided with a discourse that disrupts their taken-for-granted views and learning opportunities that have a critical orientation.

RATIONALE:Diabetes mellitus is often associated with cardiovascular complications, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus, but little is known about the mechanism that connects diabetes mellitus to the development of cardiovascular dysfunction. OBJECTIVE:We aim to elucidate the mechanism underlying hyperglycemia-induced cardiac dysfunction on a well-established db/db mouse model for diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications that lead to heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS:We first profiled the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) by microarray and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on db/db mice and identified miR-320 as a key miRNA associated with the disease phenotype. We next established the clinical relevance of this finding by showing the upregulation of the same miRNA in the failing heart of patients with diabetes mellitus. We demonstrated the causal role of miR-320 in inducing diabetic cardiomyopathy, showing that miR-320 overexpression exacerbated while its inhibition improved the cardiac phenotype in db/db mice. Unexpectedly, we found that miR-320 acts as a small activating RNA in the nucleus at the level of transcription. By chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitive polymerase chain reaction analysis of Ago2 (argonaute RISC catalytic component 2) and RNA polymerase II in response to miR-320 induction, we identified CD36 (fatty acid translocase) as a key target gene for this miRNA and showed that the induced expression of CD36 is responsible for increased fatty acid uptake, thereby causing lipotoxicity in the heart. CONCLUSIONS:These findings uncover a novel mechanism for diabetes mellitus-triggered cardiac dysfunction, provide an endogenous case for small activating RNA that has been demonstrated to date only with synthetic RNAs in transfected cells, and suggest a potential strategy to develop a miRNA-based therapy to treat diabetes mellitus-associated cardiovascular complications.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, despite the wide diversity of molecular targets identified and the development of therapeutic methods. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small (about 22 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in the cytoplasm and play complicated roles in different CVDs. While miRNA overexpression in one type of cell protects against heart disease, it promotes cardiac dysfunction in another type of cardiac cell. Moreover, recent studies have shown that, apart from cytosolic miRNAs, subcellular miRNAs such as mitochondria- and nucleus-localized miRNAs are dysregulated in CVDs. However, the functional properties of cellular- and subcellular-localized miRNAs have not been well characterized. In this review article, by carefully revisiting animal-based miRNA studies in CVDs, we will address the regulation and functional properties of miRNAs in various CVDs. Specifically, the cell–cell crosstalk and subcellular perspective of miRNAs are highlighted. We will provide the background for attractive molecular targets that might be useful in preventing the progression of CVDs and heart failure (HF) as well as insights for future studies.

Banana Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), is a major disease of banana plants worldwide. Effector proteins play critical roles in banana–Foc TR4 interaction. Our previous studies highlighted a ribonuclease protein belonging to the T2 family (named as FocRnt2) in the Foc TR4 secretome, which was predicted to be an effector. However, its biological function in Foc TR4 infection is still unclear. Herein, we observed significant expression of FocRnt2 during the early stage of fungal infection in planta. A yeast signal sequence trap assay showed that FocRnt2 contained a functional signal peptide for secretion. FocRnt2 possessed ribonuclease activity that could degrade the banana total RNA in vitro. Subcellular localization showed that FocRnt2 was localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Transient expression of FocRnt2 suppressed the expression of salicylic acid‐ and jasmonic acid‐signalling marker genes, reactive oxygen species accumulation, and BAX‐mediated cell death in N. benthamiana. FocRnt2 deletion limited fungal penetration, reduced fusaric acid biosynthesis in Foc TR4, and attenuated fungal virulence against banana plants, but had little effect on Foc TR4 growth and sensitivity to various stresses. Furthermore, FocRnt2 deletion mutants induced higher expression of the defence‐related genes in banana plants. These results suggest that FocRnt2 plays an important role in full virulence of Foc TR4, further improving our understanding of effector‐mediated Foc TR4 pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]