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The selective interaction of nanomaterials with proteins for protein function suppression has been reported. However, whether the nanomaterials could be used to target a three-dimensional (3D) structure of proteins for the consequent function inhibition is not defined. When SARS-CoV-2 binds to the host cell surface ACE2 receptor, the spike protein trimer changes to an "Open State" which forms a 5 nm cavity structure, consequently exposing the receptor binding domain (RBD) for the following viral infection. We found that the 3 nm cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2@3) showed a better anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect than 30 nm cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2@30). We performed a series of experiments and demonstrated that the CeO2@3 could target the 5 nm spike protein trimer cavity and tightly bind with the RBD, thus effectively blocking the following virus-cell interaction and rendering CeO2@3 as an effective anti-viral agent. As all coronaviruses possess similar spike protein structures as homologous proteins, CeO2@3 can be used as a broad-sperm anti-coronavirus nanodrug candidate by targeting the spike protein 3D structure. This work, for the first time, demonstrated that rationally engineered inorganic nanomaterials can be used to specifically target a 3D structure of a certain protein for function inhibition, thus providing a novel methodological approach and paving the way for future molecular targeting nanodrug candidate design.

Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of global concern, and an accurate understanding of its atmospheric fate is needed to assess its risks to humans and ecosystem health. Atmospheric oxidation of Hg is key to the deposition of this toxic metal to the Earth's surface. Short-lived halogens (SLHs) can provide halogen radicals to directly oxidize Hg and perturb the budget of other Hg oxidants (e.g., OH and O3). In addition to known ocean emissions of halogens, recent observational evidence has revealed abundant anthropogenic emissions of SLHs over continental areas. However, the impacts of anthropogenic SLHs emissions on the atmospheric fate of Hg and human exposure to Hg contamination remain unknown. Here, we show that the inclusion of anthropogenic SLHs substantially increased local Hg oxidation and, consequently, deposition in/near Hg continental source regions by up to 20%, thereby decreasing Hg export from source regions to clean environments. Our modeling results indicated that the inclusion of anthropogenic SLHs can lead to higher Hg exposure in/near Hg source regions than estimated in previous assessments, e.g., with increases of 8.7% and 7.5% in China and India, respectively, consequently leading to higher Hg-related human health risks. These results highlight the urgent need for policymakers to reduce local Hg and SLHs emissions. We conclude that the substantial impacts of anthropogenic SLHs emissions should be included in model assessments of the Hg budget and associated health risks at local and global scales.

Large thermal hysteresis in the (Mn,Fe)2(P,Si) system hinders an efficient heat exchange and thus limits the magnetocaloric applications. Substitution of manganese by vanadium in the Mn1-x1Vx1Fe0.95P0.593Si0.33B0.077 and Mn1-x2Vx2Fe0.95P0.563Si0.36B0.077 compounds enable a significant reduction in the thermal hysteresis without losing the giant magnetocaloric effect. For the composition closest to the critical one, where first-order crossovers to second-order phase transition in the series of x2 = 0.02, Mn0.98V0.02Fe0.95P0.563Si0.36B0.077 exhibits a thermal hysteresis that is reduced from 1.5 to 0.5 K by 67%, yielding an adiabatic temperature change of 2.3 K and magnetic entropy change of 5.6 J/kgK for an applied field of 1 T, which demonstrates its potential for highly efficient magnetic heat pumps utilizing low-cost permanent magnets.

Hazardous reactive dyes can cause serious environmental problems, as they are difficult to remove from water using conventional adsorbents due to their large molecular sizes and bulky structures. Sustainable mesoporous carbons derived from alginic acid demonstrated promising adsorbent capacity for several representative industrial bulky reactive dye molecules that account for almost 30% of the global textile dye market: Procion Yellow H-XEL (PY), Remazol Black (RB), Procion Crimson H-XEL (PC) and Procion Navy H-XEL (PN). These new adsorbents showed high mesoporosity (>90%) and large pore diameters (>20 nm) facilitating more straightforward and efficient adsorption and desorption processes when compared with predominately microporous activated carbon (AC), Norit, of similar surface chemistry, or with Silica gel (Sgel) that shows good mesoporosity but is hydrophilic. Their adsorption capacity was also significantly higher than that of both AC and Sgel, verifying suitability for bulky dye elimination from wastewater. Adsorption kinetic studies showed a best fit with the Elovich model, indicating a heterogeneous surface adsorption process. The adsorption isotherm data was best represented via the Toth model for almost all adsorbent/dye systems (R2 ¿ 0.98), validating the results of the Elovich model whereby the adsorbent is structurally heterogenous with multilayer dye coverage. From thermodynamic analysis, the derived parameters of ¿G (¿11.6 ~ ¿6.2 kJ/mol), ¿H and ¿S demonstrate a spontaneous, enthalpy controlled adsorption process that was exothermic for RB (¿10.0 kJ/mol) and PC (¿23.9 kJ/mol) and endothermic for PY (3.9 kJ/mol) and PN (13.2 kJ/mol). Overall these alginic acid based mesoporous carbons are cost-effective, sustainable and efficient alternatives to current predominantly microporous adsorbent systems.

Plywood, a multipurpose engineered wood with a huge global market of approximately 106 million cubic meters is constructed by bonding thin alternating perpendicular orientated sheets of wood together. As a consequence of this demand, the quantity of adhesives needed to bond the wood sheets is also vast, with urea-formaldehyde, phenolic, and melamine-formaldehyde resins being the most commonly employed due to their good bonding performance. However, these types of adhesives have many disadvantages, from being non-sustainable to emitting carcinogenic and mutagenic formaldehyde during use. As such, natural plant protein adhesives can be used as a potential alternative to traditional, toxic and non-renewable aldehyde-based adhesives for bonding plywood, with the advantages of attaining good adhesive performance, being widely available and sustainable. In this review, background information on protein composition and its interaction with wood are initially discussed, followed by the methodology necessary to pre-treat the protein. Important factors for determining bonding strength and the most likely bonding mechanism are also introduced. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art regarding bio-adhesives derived from a large variety of different types of plant protein for plywood bonding application are discussed. Current challenges with respect to water resistance, waste protein sources, and preservation time are also reviewed, followed by future prospects and directions within this field. It's worth noting that the statistical data and literature reported within this review were obtained from governmental reports, scientific journals and public patents between the years of 2009 and 2022, with most citations being from the last 5 years.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) represent one of the most promising emerging photovoltaic technologies due to their high power conversion efficiency. However, despite the huge progress made not only in terms of the efficiency achieved, but also fundamental understanding of the relevant physics of the devices and issues which affect their efficiency and stability, there are still unresolved problems and obstacles on the path toward commercialization of this promising technology. In this roadmap, we aim to provide a concise and up to date summary of outstanding issues and challenges, and the progress made toward addressing these issues. While the format of this article is not meant to be a comprehensive review of the topic, it provides a collection of the viewpoints of the experts in the field, which covers a broad range of topics related to PSC commercialization, including those relevant for manufacturing (scaling up, different types of devices), operation and stability (various factors), and environmental issues (in particular the use of lead). We hope that the article will provide a useful resource for researchers in the field and that it will facilitate discussions and move forward toward addressing the outstanding challenges in this fast-developing field.

Large thermal hysteresis in the (Mn,Fe)2(P,Si) system hinders an efficient heat exchange and thus limits the magnetocaloric applications. Substitution of manganese by vanadium in the Mn1-x1Vx1Fe0.95P0.593Si0.33B0.077 and Mn1-x2Vx2Fe0.95P0.563Si0.36B0.077 compounds enable a significant reduction in the thermal hysteresis without losing the giant magnetocaloric effect. For the composition closest to the critical one, where first-order crossovers to second-order phase transition in the series of x2 = 0.02, Mn0.98V0.02Fe0.95P0.563Si0.36B0.077 exhibits a thermal hysteresis that is reduced from 1.5 to 0.5 K by 67%, yielding an adiabatic temperature change of 2.3 K and magnetic entropy change of 5.6 J/kgK for an applied field of 1 T, which demonstrates its potential for highly efficient magnetic heat pumps utilizing low-cost permanent magnets.

The disordered tubulin C-terminal tail (CTT), which possesses a higher degree of heterogeneity, is the target for the interaction of many proteins and cellular components. Compared to the seven well-described binding sites of microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) that localize on the globular tubulin core, tubulin CTT is far less explored. Therefore, tubulin CTT can be regarded as a novel site for the development of MTAs with distinct biochemical and cell biological properties. Here, we designed and synthesized linear and cyclic peptides containing multiple arginines (RRR), which are complementary to multiple acidic residues in tubulin CTT. Some of them showed moderate induction and promotion of tubulin polymerization. The most potent macrocyclic compound 1f was found to bind to tubulin CTT and thus exert its bioactivity. Such RRR containing compounds represent a starting point for the discovery of tubulin CTT-targeting agents with therapeutic potential.

The near-surface wind speed over land has declined in recent decades, a trend known as terrestrial stilling (TS). However, recent studies have indicated a reversal of the TS during the last decade, triggering renovated interest in the future wind speed changes. This study examines the TS over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) land areas and explores its future changes under Model Inter-comparison Projection Phase 6 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios. The results show that the NH mid-latitude TS will likely continue during the whole 21st century under mid-to-high greenhouse warmings (SSPs-245, 370, and 585). Nevertheless, if the world reduces carbon emissions substantially (SSP-126), the TS will be interrupted and likely reversed after the mid-21st century. The projected TS shows seasonal differences, with the largest (smallest) decreasing trends of wind speed in boreal summer (winter). Moreover, the TS reversal during the last decade is suggested as a multi-decadal fluctuation related to the Pacific and Atlantic multi-decadal oscillations. In addition, this study proposes that increased upper-air warming in the future climate could play a key role in reducing the NH mid-latitude surface wind speed. The continuing TS provides strong implications for the near-surface environment and wind energy development, particularly for countries in the NH mid-latitudes

© 2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permissíon from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertisíng or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works., [EN] In this article, a parallel structured divide-and-conquer (PSDC) eigensolver is proposed for symmetric tridiagonal matrices based on ScaLAPACK and a parallel structured matrix multiplication algorithm, called PSMMA. Computing the eigenvectors via matrix-matrix multiplications is the most computationally expensive part of the divide-and-conquer algorithm, and one of the matrices involved in such multiplications is a rank-structured Cauchy-like matrix. By exploiting this particular property, PSMMA constructs the local matrices by using generators of Cauchy-like matrices without any communication, and further reduces the computation costs by using a structured low-rank approximation algorithm. Thus, both the communication and computation costs are reduced. Experimental results show that both PSMMA and PSDC are highly scalable and scale to 4096 processes at least. PSDC has better scalability than PHDC that was proposed in [16] and only scaled to 300 processes for the same matrices. Comparing with PDSTEDC in ScaLAPACK, PSDC is always faster and achieves 1.4x-1.6x speedup for some matrices with few deflations. PSDC is also comparable with ELPA, with PSDC being faster than ELPA when using few processes and a little slower when using many processes.

This study examined the effect of konjac glucomannan (KGM) supplementation in diets with different lipid levels on growth, antioxidant capacity, hepatic lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in juvenile pompano (Trachinotus ovatus). Triplicate groups of fish (12.07 ± 0.21 g) were fed eight experimental diets containing two lipid levels of 9% (basal-fat diet, BFD) and 18% (high-fat diet, HFD), and four levels of KGM (0, 0.5, 1 and 2%) for 60 days. Pompano fed HFD exhibited markedly lower growth and feed efficiency than fish fed BFD, and KGM supplementation, particularly at 1% inclusion, significantly improved growth performance and feed efficiency in fish fed both BFD and HFD. In addition, Pompano fed HFD showed higher whole-body lipid and lower protein contents than fish fed BFD. Irrespective of dietary lipid level, whole body, dorsal and ventral muscle were reduced by dietary KGM supplementation up to 1% while the opposite was found for whole body protein content. Dietary KGM also significantly reduced the HSI, liver lipid contents, as well as lipid droplets in the liver. Supplementation of KGM to both BFD and HFD significantly reduced serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and free fatty acids levels. Furthermore, irrespective of dietary lipid level, increasing dietary KGM supplementation enhanced serum IgM level, lysozyme and alkaline phosphatase activities, and reduced serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities. Dietary KGM also increased liver total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and decreased malondialdehyde concentration in fish fed both HFD and BFD. Dietary KGM significantly increased serum glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and reduced malondialdehyde concentrations in fish fed BFD, and enhanced serum total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase activity in fish fed HFD. Supplementation of KGM increased the e

Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide (thiram) is an important dithiocarbamate bactericide; it has been widely used for the control of various diseases in fruits, vegetables, seeds and food grains. However, it also causes environmental pollution problems and poses a threat to human health to a certain extent. Thiram induces tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) by causing oxidative stress and antioxidants imbalance in tibial growth plate in poultry. TD is a skeletal abnormality in fastgrowing poultry birds. It has been considered an economically important disease in poultry that affects poultry industry by carcass loss at meat processing plant due to decrease in disease resistance, production performance, and carcass quality and induces breast cysts and osteomyelitis worldwide. Oxidative stress is developed due to the imbalance of free radical oxygen, which disrupts the equilibrium state of oxidant and antioxidant tending to oxidation. This review is based on the current research, mainly to explore the relationship and mechanism between tibial dyschondroplasia and oxidative stress induced by thiram, which provides a new theoretical foundation for the further research of the related mechanism.

Rhizospheric bacteria may induce resistance to plant diseases. However, the underlying plant resistance mechanisms are unclear. We demonstrated the potential ability of the rhizobacterial strain Bacillus subtilis IAGS174 to elicit systemic resistance in tomato plants against Fusarium wilt pathogens. Comparative biochemical, histological, and molecular analyses were conducted to screen the differential responses between non-inoculated and B. subtilis IAGS174-inoculated tomato plants followed by pathogen challenge. B. subtilis IAGS174 had a significant inhibitory effect on disease development and reduced the disease index. B. subtilis IAGS174-primed plants exhibited significantly improved synthesis of total phenolics, flavonoids, and plant defense enzymes. Furthermore, priming increased the production of physical defense barriers including lignin. Additionally, RT-qPCR analysis revealed that disease resistance in bacteria-treated tomato plants was associated with increased expression levels of lignin-related and phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes. Our findings support a positive role of B. subtilis IAGS174 in triggering immunity of tomato plants against a soil-borne disease.

A multiple access channel (MAC) consists of multiple senders simultaneously transmitting their messages to a single receiver. For the classical-quantum case (CQ MAC), achievable rates are known assuming that all the messages are decoded, a common assumption in quantum network design. However, such a conventional design approach ignores the global network structure, i.e., the network topology. When a CQ MAC is given as a part of quantum network communication, this work shows that computation properties can be used to boost communication speeds with code design dependent on the network topology. We quantify achievable quantum communication rates of codes with the computation property for a two-sender CQ MAC. When the two-sender CQ MAC is a boson coherent channel with binary discrete modulation, we show that it achieves the maximum possible communication rate (the single-user capacity), which cannot be achieved with conventional design. Further, such a rate can be achieved by different detection methods: quantum (with and without quantum memory), on-off photon counting, and homodyne (each at different photon power). Finally, we describe two practical applications, one of which cryptographic.

Delivery of anticancer drugs by amphiphilic polymeric micelles with disulfide bonds as the reduction-responsive groups has potential application in the field of drug-controlled release. In this study, three disulfide-linked polycaprolactone-b-polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate (PCL-SS-PPEGMA) were synthesized and confirmed by 1H NMR and GPC, and then used for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. The CMC values of the three PCL- SS-PPEGMA micelles were low (0.71–4.56 mg/L), indicative of the good stability of micelles in aqueous solution. The drug loading content (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE), together with the DOX accelerated release profiles were determined, with good drug loading capacity and well drug-controlled release performance. And to explore the mesoscopic behavior of reduction-responsive drug-loaded polymeric micelles, by using a dedicated disulfide bond-breaking model and script, dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations were carried out on the three PCL-SS-PPEGMA polymers. Their self-assembled behavior, formation of DOX-loaded micelles, the di-sulfide bond-breaking process, as well as the DOX reduction-responsive release process were simulated and assessed. Comparing the DPD simulation results with the experimental data, we found that they were in good agreement, effectively demonstrating that the DPD simulation method developed can provide a practical mesoscopic approach for the reduction-responsive drug-loaded polymeric micelles that involved the cleavage of dynamic covalent bonds.

© 2020 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permissíon from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertisíng or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works., [EN] In this work, we present the architecture of a multiplexed refractive index (RI) sensing system based on the interrogation of Rayleigh backscattering. The RI sensors are fabricated by fiber wet-etching of a high-scattering MgO nanoparticle-doped fiber, without the need for a reflector or plasmonic element. Interrogation is performed by means of optical backscatter reflectometry(OBR), which allows a detection with a millimeter-level spatial resolution. Multiplexing consists of a simultaneous scan of multiple fibers, achieved by means of scattering-level multiplexing (SLMux) concept, which uses the backscattered power level in each location as a diversity element. The sensors fabricated have sensitivity in the order of 0.473-0.568 nm/RIU (in one sensing point) and have been simultaneously detected together with a distributed temperature sensing element for multi-parameter measurement. An experimental setup has been prepared to demonstrate the capability of each sensing region to operate without cross-talk, while operating multi-fiber detection.

[EN] Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible but preventable blindness in working age populations. Color fundus photography (CFP) is the most cost-effective imaging modality to screen for retinal disorders. However, its application to glaucoma has been limited to the computation of a few related biomarkers such as the vertical cup-to-disc ratio. Deep learning approaches, although widely applied for medical image analysis, have not been extensively used for glaucoma assessment due to the limited size of the available data sets. Furthermore, the lack of a standardize benchmark strategy makes difficult to compare existing methods in a uniform way. In order to overcome these issues we set up the Retinal Fundus Glaucoma Challenge, REFUGE (https://refuge.grand-challenge.org), held in conjunction with MIC-CAI 2018. The challenge consisted of two primary tasks, namely optic disc/cup segmentation and glaucoma classification. As part of REFUGE, we have publicly released a data set of 1200 fundus images with ground truth segmentations and clinical glaucoma labels, currently the largest existing one. We have also built an evaluation framework to ease and ensure fairness in the comparison of different models, encouraging the development of novel techniques in the field. 12 teams qualified and participated in the online challenge. This paper summarizes their methods and analyzes their corresponding results. In particular, we observed that two of the top-ranked teams outperformed two human experts in the glaucoma classification task. Furthermore, the segmentation results were in general consistent with the ground truth annotations, with complementary outcomes that can be further exploited by ensembling the results.

Recent studies have focused on the chemistry of tropospheric halogen species which are able to deplete tropospheric ozone (O). In this study, the effect of bromine and iodine chemistry on tropospheric O within the annual cycle in Asia-Pacific is investigated using the CMAQ model with the newly embedded bromine and iodine chemistry and a blended and customized emission inventory considering marine halogen emission. Results indicate that the vertical profiles of bromine and iodine species show distinct features over land/ocean and daytime/nighttime, related to natural and anthropogenic emission distributions and photochemical reactions. The halogen-mediated O loss has a strong seasonal cycle, and reaches a maximum of −15.9 ppbv (−44.3%) over the ocean and −13.4 ppbv (−38.9%) over continental Asia among the four seasons. Changes in solar radiation, dominant wind direction, and nearshore chlorophyll-a accumulation all contribute to these seasonal differences. Based on the distances to the nearest coastline, the onshore and offshore features of tropospheric O loss caused by bromine and iodine chemistry are studied. Across a coastline-centric 400-km-wide belt from onshore to offshore, averaged maximum gradient of O loss reaches 1.1 ppbv/100 km at surface level, while planetary boundary layer (PBL) column mean of O loss is more moderate, being approximately 0.7 ppbv/100 km. Relative high halogen can be found over Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the largest O loss (approximately 4–5 ppbv) in the PBL can be found between the western boundary of the domain and the TP. Halogens originating from marine sources can potentially affect O concentration transported from the stratosphere over the TP region. As part of efforts to improve our understanding of the effect of bromine and iodine chemistry on tropospheric O, we call for more models and monitoring studies on halogen chemistry and be considered further in air pollution prevention and control policy.

Anthropogenic environments have been implicated in enrichment and exchange of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria. Here we study the impact of confined and controlled swine farm environments on temporal changes in the gut microbiome and resistome of veterinary students with occupational exposure for 3 months. By analyzing 16S rRNA and whole metagenome shotgun sequencing data in tandem with culture-based methods, we show that farm exposure shapes the gut microbiome of students, resulting in enrichment of potentially pathogenic taxa and antimicrobial resistance genes. Comparison of students’ gut microbiomes and resistomes to farm workers’ and environmental samples revealed extensive sharing of resistance genes and bacteria following exposure and after three months of their visit. Notably, antibiotic resistance genes were found in similar genetic contexts in student samples and farm environmental samples. Dynamic Bayesian network modeling predicted that the observed changes partially reverse over a 4-6 month period. Our results indicate that acute changes in a human’s living environment can persistently shape their gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome.

Tin disulfide is a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIB) owing to its high theoretical capacity and the abundance of its composing elements. However, bare SnS2 suffers from low electrical conductivity and large volume expansion, which results in poor rate performance and cycling stability. Herein, we present a solution-based strategy to grow SnS2 nanostructures within a matrix of porous g-C3N4 (CN) and high electrical conductivity graphite plates (GPs). We test the resulting nanocomposite as anode in LIBs. First, SnS2 nanostructures with different geometries are tested, to find out that thin SnS2 nanoplates (SnS2-NPLs) provide the highest performances. Such SnS2-NPLs, incorporated into hierarchical SnS2/CN/GP nanocomposites, display excellent rate capabilities (536.5 mA h g−1 at 2.0 A g−1) and an outstanding stability (∼99.7% retention after 400 cycles), which are partially associated with a high pseudocapacitance contribution (88.8% at 1.0 mV s−1). The excellent electrochemical properties of these nanocomposites are ascribed to the synergy created between the three nanocomposite components: i) thin SnS2-NPLs provide a large surface for rapid Li-ion intercalation and a proper geometry to stand volume expansions during lithiation/delithiation cycles; ii) porous CN prevents SnS2-NPLs aggregation, habilitates efficient channels for Li-ion diffusion and buffer stresses associated to SnS2 volume changes; and iii) conductive GPs allow an efficient charge transport.

Genetic lineage tracing unravels cell fate and plasticity in development, tissue homeostasis, and diseases. However, it remains technically challenging to trace temporary or transient cell fate, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumor metastasis. Here, we generated a genetic fate-mapping system for temporally seamless tracing of transient cell fate. Highlighting its immediate application, we used it to study EMT gene activity from the local primary tumor to a distant metastatic site in vivo. In a spontaneous breast-to-lung metastasis model, we found that primary tumor cells activated vimentin and N-cadherin in situ, but only N-cadherin was activated and functionally required during metastasis. Tumor cells that have ever expressed N-cadherin constituted the majority of metastases in lungs, and functional deletion of N-cad significantly reduced metastasis. The seamless genetic recording system described here provides an alternative way for understanding transient cell fate and plasticity in biological processes.

Three microporous organic frameworks (hereafter denoted as MPOF-Ads) based on a rigid adamantane core have been successfully synthesized via Sonogashira-Hagihara polycondensation coupling in high yields, 83.7-94.6%. The obtained amorphous MPOF-Ads networks have high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas (up to 737.3 m g), narrow pore size distribution (0.95-1.06 nm), and superior thermal (the initial decomposition temperature T under an N atmosphere can reach 410 °C) and chemical stability (no apparent degradation in common organic solvents or strong acid/base solutions after 7 days). At 273 K and 1.0 bar, these MPOF-Ads networks present good uptake capacities for small gas molecules (13.9 wt % CO and 1.66 wt % CH) for which the presence of high surface area, predominant microporosity, and narrow pore size distribution are beneficial. In addition, the as-prepared MPOF-Ads networks possess moderate isosteric heats for CO (Q = 19.5-30.3 kJ mol) and show desired CO/N and CO/CH selectivity (36.3-38.4 and 4.1-4.3 based on Henry's law and 17.88-24.92 and 4.24-5.70 based on ideal adsorbed solution theory, respectively). With the demonstrated properties, the synthesized MPOF-Ads networks display potential for small gas storage and separation that can be used in harsh environments because of their superior physical and chemical stability.

Antioxidant nanoparticles have recently gained tremendous attention for their enormous potential in biomedicine. However, discrepant reports of either medical benefits or toxicity, and lack of reproducibility of many studies, generate uncertainties delaying their effective implementation. Herein, the case of cerium oxide is considered, a well‐known catalyst in the petrochemistry industry and one of the first antioxidant nanoparticles proposed for medicine. Like other nanoparticles, it is now described as a promising therapeutic alternative, now as threatening to health. Sources of these discrepancies and how this analysis helps to overcome contradictions found for other nanoparticles are summarized and discussed. For the context of this analysis, what has been reported in the liver is reviewed, where many diseases are related to oxidative stress. Since well‐dispersed nanoparticles passively accumulate in liver, it represents a major testing field for the study of new nanomedicines and their clinical translation. Even more, many contradictory works have reported in liver either cerium‐oxide‐associated toxicity or protection against oxidative stress and inflammation. Based on this, finally, the intention is to propose solutions to design improved nanoparticles that will work more precisely in medicine and safely in society.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cooking and simulated gastrointestinal digestion on the antioxidant and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) stabilization activity of peptides extracted from chicken breast muscle. Results showed that cooking would not affect peptide bioactivity, whereas further digestion using gastrointestinal enzymes could lead to significant changes, producing an increase in ORAC (112.5 to 682.0 uM TE/g) and ABTS radical scavenging activities (164.0 to 848.9 uM TE/g), whereas a decrease in DPPH radical scavenging (from 36.1% to 4.4%), ferric-reducing power (OD 700 from 0.50 to 0.15) and ADH stabilization activities (from 44.1% to 20.5%) was observed. The peptidomic analysis resulted in the identification and relative quantitation of 777 peptides from 76 different parent proteins and evidenced that peptides derived from titin and collagen were mainly responsible for the differences detected in the peptide profile. The decrease of DPPH radical scavenging, ferric reducing power, and ADH stabilization activity may result from the release of inactive peptides containing oxidized residues, mainly from collagen, leading to the loss of efficacy of active sequences. The results confirmed the importance of collagen derived peptides on the antioxidant and ADH stabilization activity observed in chicken breast as well as the negative impact of oxidation on the bioactivity of generated peptides after simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Nevertheless, further work would be needed to confirm the peptide sequences responsible for the observed bioactivity.

Bioactive peptides have attracted extensive attention worldwide as natural alternatives to promote human health and wellness. Previous studies have shown that chicken hydrolysates could enhance alcohol dehydrogenase, and subsequently they facilitate alcohol metabolism and ameliorate alcohol-induced liver injury. The data presented in this article support the accompanying research article “Isolation and identification of alcohol dehydrogenase stabilizing peptides from Alcalase digested chicken breast hydrolysates”. Present article details all 82 peptides identified from the most active fractions of chicken hydrolysates, and 154 peptides from in silico digestion of the 82 identified peptides, together with the prediction of their potential bioactivity and applicability using several in silico assays.

Pyrolysis of kapok fibers over mesoporous molecular sieves of MCM-41, Zr-MCM-41 and Cr-MCM-41 (the mole ratio of Si:Zr or Si/Cr=50) was studied by using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Pure silicon MCM-41 showed weak acidity during pyrolysis with furfural as the main product. Zr-MCM-41 showed the dual-functionality of acid and base with both furfural and hydroxy acetone present in the products. Cr-MCM-41 was more acidic with more furfural produced. The optimal conditions for producing olefins were found to be 600°C and the ratio of kapok fiber to catalyst being 1:10 with the Zr-MCM-41 catalyst. The main products obtained via pyrolysis of kapok fiber were acetic acid, furfural, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, olefins, and alkanes. The excess of the catalyst and the high temperature of the reaction had certain effects on the pyrolysis of biomass to produce olefins, such as 1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-undecene, 1-tridecene and heptadecane. Citation: Qiu, Q., Cai, Y., Ye, Q., and Lv, W. (2019). Catalytic Pyrolysis of Kapok Fiber for Production of Olefins. Trends in Renewable Energy, 5, 218-228. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2019.5.2.0097

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) possess powerful antioxidant properties, thus emerging as a potential therapeutic tool in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression, which is characterized by a high presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of this study was to elucidate whether CeO2NPs can prevent or attenuate oxidant injury in the hepatic human cell line HepG2 and to investigate the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon. The effect of CeO2NPs on cell viability and ROS scavenging was determined, the differential expression of pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress-related genes was analyzed, and a proteomic analysis was performed to assess the impact of CeO2NPs on cell phosphorylation in human hepatic cells under oxidative stress conditions. CeO2NPs did not modify HepG2 cell viability in basal conditions but reduced H2O2- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cell death and prevented H2O2-induced overexpression of MPO, PTGS1 and iNOS. Phosphoproteomic analysis showed that CeO2NPs reverted the H2O2-mediated increase in the phosphorylation of peptides related to cellular proliferation, stress response, and gene transcription regulation, and interfered with H2O2 effects on mTOR, MAPK/ERK, CK2A1 and PKACA signaling pathways. In conclusion, CeO2NPs protect HepG2 cells from cell-induced oxidative damage, reducing ROS generation and inflammatory gene expression as well as regulation of kinase-driven cell survival pathways.

Co–Sn solid‐solution nanoparticles with Sn crystal structure and tuned metal ratios were synthesized by a facile one pot solution‐based procedure involving the initial reduction of a Sn precursor followed by incorporation of Co within the Sn lattice. These nanoparticles were used as anode materials for Li‐ion batteries. Among the different compositions tested, Co0.7Sn and Co0.9Sn electrodes provided the highest capacities with values above 1500 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 after 220 cycles, and up to 800 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 after 400 cycles. Up to 81 % pseudocapacitance contribution was measured for these electrodes at a sweep rate of 1.0 mV s−1, thereby indicating fast kinetics and long durability. The excellent performance of Co–Sn nanoparticle alloy‐based electrodes was attributed to both the small size of the crystal domains and their suitable composition, which buffered volume changes of Sn and contributed to a suitable electrode restructuration.

Nickel tin alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with tuned composition NixSn (0.6 ≤ x ≤ 1.9) were synthesized by a solution-based procedure and used as anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Na-ion batteries (SIBs). Among the compositions tested, Ni0.9Sn-based electrodes exhibited the best performance in both LIBs and SIBs. As LIB anodes, Ni0.9Sn-based electrodes delivered charge-discharge capacities of 980 mAh g−1 after 340 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 rate, which surpassed their maximum theoretical capacity considering that only Sn is lithiated. A kinetic characterization of the charge-discharge process demonstrated the electrode performance to be aided by a significant pseudocapacitive contribution that compensated for the loss of energy storage capacity associated to the solid-electrolyte interphase formation. This significant pseudocapacitive contribution, which not only translated into higher capacities but also longer durability, was associated to the small size of the crystal domains and the proper electrode composition. The performance of NixSn-based electrodes toward Na-ion storage was also characterized, reaching significant capacities above 200 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 but with a relatively fast fade over 120 continuous cycles. A relatively larger pseudocapacitive contribution was obtained in NixSn-based electrodes for SIBs when compared with LIBs, consistently with the lower contribution of the Na ion diffusion associated to its larger size.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by hepatic accumulation of lipids. Antisteatotic effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) have recently been shown in animal models of liver disease. However, it is unclear whether the activity of CeO2NPs is related solely to the decrease in oxidative stress or, in addition, they directly decrease liver fatty acid accumulation. To address this question, in this work, we used an in vitro model of hepatocellular steatosis, exposing HepG2 cells to oleic and palmitic acid. Cell uptake of CeO2NPs and their effect on oxidative stress and viability of hepatic cells cultured with H2O2 were also evaluated. Results show that CeO2NPs were uptaken by HepG2 cells and reduced oxidative stress and improved cell viability. Treatment with oleic and palmitic acid increased lipogenesis and the content of different fatty acids. CeO2NPs reduced palmitic and stearic acid and most fatty acids consisting of more than 18 carbon atoms. These effects were associated with significant changes in elongase and desaturase activity. In conclusion, CeO2NPs directly protected HepG2 cells from cell injury in oxidative stress conditions and reduced fatty acid content in steatotic conditions by inducing specific changes in fatty acid metabolism, thus showing potential in the treatment of NAFLD.

The effect of chicken hydrolysates (CHs) on alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) stability was investigated, together with further bioactivity-oriented isolation and identification of CHs. A total of 82 peptides were identified using mass spectrometry in tandem after consecutive separation by size-exclusion chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The identified peptides were then subjected to in silico gastrointestinal digestion and 154 peptides were generated. The potential bioactivity, safety and applicability of the peptides were assessed using multiple predictive programs. A total of 21 among the 154 peptides were predicted to be potentially active with applicability. Four peptides (DPQYPPGPPAF, QKPVL, KPC, and APGH) obtained after in silico digestion were synthesized and validated their activity. Results showed that DPQYPPGPPAF, KPC, and APGH could stabilize ADH in a dose-dependent manner. This study further indicated that chicken hydrolysate could be a novel functional food ingredient in facilitating alcohol metabolism and protection against alcoholic liver injury.

In order to better understand and improve the drug loading capacity and release behavior of the pH-responsive mixed micelles in well controlled pH environments, dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations are employed. This is performed by studying the co-micellization behavior of these materials produced from the two specific diblock polymers, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-b-poly(N, N diethylamino ethyl methacrylate) (MPEG-PDEAEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-b-polycaprolactone (MPEG-PCL) for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. With the use of appropriate interaction parameters, the formation mechanism of (drug-loaded) mixed micelles, particle sizes, morphology, and composition are investigated. Simulation results show that compared with pure MPEG-PDEAEMA or MPEG-PCL, the mixed MPEG-PDEAEMA and MPEG-PCL system can combine to form multifunctional mixed micelles with larger particle sizes that lead to improved stability, higher drug loading capacity and better-controlled drug release performance. Simulations of the drug release process using the mixed micelles show that, when the environment is acidic, the tertiary amine group of PDEAEMA and DOX3 lead to rapid diffusion and release of the DOX in the aqueous solution. It is found that the presence of MPEG-PCL has a great influence in avoiding the fast release of the drug inside the core of micelles. Therefore, this study offers a deeper understanding of the mechanism on the co-micellization behaviors, the pH-responsive and drug controlled release behaviors of mixed micelles.

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as crucial regulators of lipid metabolism. However, the miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanism on long-chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) biosynthesis in vertebrates remains largely unknown. Here, we address a potentially important role of miRNA-24 (miR-24) in the regulation of LC-PUFA biosynthesis in rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus. miR-24 showed significantly higher abundance in liver of rabbitfish reared in brackish water than in seawater for fish fed vegetable oil diets and in S. canaliculatus hepatocyte line (SCHL) cells incubated with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) than the control group. Similar expression patterns were also observed on the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (srebp1) and LC-PUFA biosynthesis related genes. While opposite results were observed on the expression of insulin-induced gene 1 (insig1), an endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein blocking Srebp1 proteolytic activation. Luciferase reporter assays revealed rabbitfish insig1 as a target of miR-24. Knockdown of miR-24 in SCHL cells resulted in increased Insig1 protein, and subsequently reduced mature Srebp1 protein and expression of genes required for LC-PUFA biosynthesis, and these effects could be attenuated after additional insig1 knockdown. Opposite results were observed with overexpression of miR-24. Moreover, increasing endogenous insig1 by knockdown of miR-24 inhibited Srebp1 processing and consequently suppressed LC-PUFA biosynthesis in rabbitfish hepatocytes. These results indicate a potentially critical role for miR-24 in regulating LC-PUFA biosynthesis through the Insig1/Srebp1 pathway by targeting insig1. This is the first report of miR-24 involved in LC-PUFA biosynthesis and thus may provide knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms of LC-PUFA biosynthesis in vertebrates.

[EN] The main purpose of this paper is to study mutually permutable products G = AB in which the subgroups of prime order p and cyclic of order 4 (if p = 2) of the largest normal subgroup of G contained in A boolean AND B are well situated in G. Our results confirm once again the important role of the intersection of the factors in the structural study of mutually permutable products.

[EN] In this note, we give an easy algorithm to construct the rational canonical form of a square matrix or an endomorphism h of a finite dimensional vector space which does not depend on either the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over principal ideal domains or matrices over the polynomial ring. The algorithm is based on the construction of an element whose minimum polynomial coincides with the minimum polynomial of the endomorphism and on the fact that the h-invariant subspace generated by such an element admits an h-invariant complement. It is also shown that this element can be easily obtained without the factorisation of a polynomial as a product of irreducible polynomials.

[EN] Kang and Liu ['On supersolvability of factorized finite groups', Bull. Math. Sci. 3 (2013), 205-210] investigate the structure of finite groups that are products of two supersoluble groups. The goal of this note is to give a correct proof of their main theorem.

The environmental impacts of diuron have generated growing interest in remediation methods to prevent the potential threat of diuron to ecosystem integrity and human beings. Here, a simple and effective nanocellulose-based biocomposite coupled with Arthrobacter globiformis D47 as a herbicide degrader is presented for the rapid elimination of diuron. First, bacterium D47 was immobilized on the fiber networks of the nanocellulose, forming a bacteria-decorated nanocellulose (BDN) that outperformed direct utilization of bacterial suspensions for diuron decomposition. More importantly, the advantageous features of BDN could remarkably broaden its applicability since the bio-hybrid material rapidly degraded diuron and its major metabolite 3,4-dichloroaniline at low concentrations (1–10 mg L−1). In addition, the morphology of BDN revealed the excellent biocompatibility of nanocellulose as cell scaffolding for bacterial proliferation. Then, the adsorption capacity of the nanocellulose and the enzymatic metabolism of the bacteria were validated as a joint mechanism of the BDN biocomposites in the removal of diuron. In addition, the wide applicability of BDN was further verified by the degradation of diuron in environmental matrices and other phenylurea herbicide targets. Therefore, the novel microorganism-immobilized nanocellulose composites provide a promising alternative material combining functional microorganisms with emerging nanomaterials, which may facilitate the bioremediation of organic xenobiotic pollution in complex environments.

[EN] The solubility of a finite group with less than 6 non-supersoluble subgroups is confirmed in the paper. Moreover we prove that a finite insoluble group has exactly 6 non-supersoluble subgroups if and only if it is isomorphic to A5 or SL2 (5). Furthermore, it is shown that a finite insoluble group has exactly 22 non-nilpotent subgroups if and only if it is isomorphic to A5 or SL2 (5). This confirms a conjecture of Zarrin (Arch Math (Basel) 99:201 206, 2012).

[EN] We give some sufficient conditions for a normal p-subgroup P of a finite group G to have every G-chief factor below it cyclic. The S-permutability of some p-subgroups of O^p(G)plays an important role. Some known results can be reproved and some others appear as corollaries of our main theorems.

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00013-016-0901-7, In this note, global information about a finite group is obtained by assuming that certain subgroups of some given order are S-semipermutable. Recall that a subgroup H of a finite group G is said to be S-semipermutable if H permutes with all Sylow subgroups of G of order coprime to . We prove that for a fixed prime p, a given Sylow p-subgroup P of a finite group G, and a power d of p dividing such that , if is S-semipermutable in for all normal subgroups H of P with , then either G is p-supersoluble or else . This extends the main result of Guo and Isaacs in (Arch. Math. 105:215-222 2015). We derive some theorems that extend some known results concerning S-semipermutable subgroups.

Structural, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of the MnFePSiB(x = 0.4, 0.5 and 0.55) phases have been investigated. The experimental results show that the critical behavior of the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition can be tuned through the P/Si ratio. An increase in the Si concentration not only raises the Curie temperature from 176 K to 280 K, but also changes the nature of the magnetic transition from the first order (for x = 0.4) to the second order (for x = 0.55) and, thereby, affects the magnetocaloric properties. The peak values of the thermal hysteresis and magnetic entropy change for a magnetic field change of 0-2T are 10 K, 4 K, 0.8 K and -16.3, -8.7, -5.6 J kg K for x = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.55, respectively. Mechanisms for the magnetic hysteresis loss and possibilities for the room-temperature magnetic refrigeration are discussed.

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Algebra. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in JOURNAL OF ALGEBRA [VOL 466, (15 November 2016)] DOI 10.1016/j.jalgebra.2016.05.027, In this paper we obtain some bounds for the exponent of a finite group, and its derived subgroup, which is a mutually permutable product of two abelian subgroups. They improve the ones known for products of finite abelian groups, and they are used to derive some interesting structural properties of such products.

This paper has been published in Science China Mathematics, 55(5):961-966 (2012). Copyright 2012 by Science China Press and Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11425-011-4356-9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11425-011-4356-9, A subgroup H of a finite group G is a partial CAP-subgroup of G if there is a chief series of G such that H either covers or avoids every chief factor of the series. The structural impact of the partial cover and avoidance property of some distinguished subgroups of a group has been studied by many authors. However there are still some open questions which deserve an answer. The purpose of the present paper is to give a complete answer to one of these questions.

Guan, L., Yang, X., Li, Y., Shi, C., Yan, D., Huang, J., & Zhang, L. C. (2021). Differences in electrochemical corrosion behaviours between selective laser melted and wrought Ti6Al4V alloys in acid fluoride-containing artificial saliva. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 51(11), 1619-1633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-021-01597-3

Zhao, Y. Y., Qian, F., Zhao, C., Xie, C., Wang, J., Chang, C., ... Zhang, L. C. (2021). Facile fabrication of ultrathin freestanding nanoporous Cu and Cu-Ag films with high SERS sensitivity by dealloying Mg-Cu (Ag)-Gd metallic glasses. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 70, 205-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2020.08.049

Ye, H., Wang, Y., Liu, X., Xu, D., Yuan, H., Sun, H., ... Ma, X. (2021). Magnetically steerable iron oxides-manganese dioxide core–shell micromotors for organic and microplastic removals. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 588, 510-521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2020.12.097

Li, Y., Huang, S. S., & Song, L. (2020). Opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship in the hospitality sector: Examining the institutional environment influences. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, Article 100665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100665