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First-principles calculations show a self-isomerization process of the nearly planar superatom, in which the maximum energy difference between different extreme points is below 0.1 eV and a crossing between singlet and triplet states is also involved. Further UV-Vis spectra reveal a correlation between the spectra and structures caused by self-isomerization.

Cancer-derived exosomes are involved in the development of cancer cachexia. Carnosol, which exhibited ameliorating effects on cancer cachexia of C26 tumour-bearing mice in our previous study, alleviated atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by exosomes of C26 tumour cells in the present study. MiR-183-5p was found to be rich in C26 cells and C26 exosomes, and miR-183-5p mimic could directly induce atrophy of C2C12 myotubes. Carnosol at 5 to 20 μM could dose-dependently ameliorate the myotube atrophy induced by miR-183-5p. Four and a half LIM domain protein 1 (FHL1) was shown to be the direct target of miR-183-5p. Increase in myostatin, p-Smad3, MuRF-1, Atrogin-1, HIF-1α and p-STAT3 and decrease in mitochondrial respiration were also induced by miR-183-5p mimic in C2C12 myotubes. Carnosol could not affect the decrease in FHL-1 and the activation of STAT3 pathway but could significantly alleviate the increase in myostatin, p-Smad3, MuRF-1, Atrogin-1 and the decrease in mitochondrial respiration induced by miR-183-5p. The protective effects of carnosol on myotubes against atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by miR-183-5p, based on both its inhibiting effects on MuRF-1 and Atrogin-1-mediated protein degradation and its ability of keeping the mitochondrial respiration, might contribute to its ameliorating effects on cancer cachexia.

Driven by a high-speed rotating electric field (

The supplementary files of article to be published“Carnosol ameliorated cancer cachexia-associated myotube atrophy by targeting Aldh18a1 in myotubes”are presented as follow: Table S1: excel1-DARTSMS-potential targets of CS based on protein abundant; Table S2: excel2-DARTSMS-potential targets of CS based on peptides abundant; Table S3: proteome result1-C26_vs_CT_diff. detail; Table S4: proteome result2-C26_CS_vs_C26_diff. detail.

Highly efficient photocatalysts based on van der Waals 2D type heterojunctions were fabricated by horizontal loading of ultrathin hexagonal SnS2 nanosheets on the surface of g-CN film via spin coating followed by annealing treatment.

Air pollution in Henan province is serious and is significantly impacted by pollution transmission and interactions with surrounding areas. The emission sources in 18 cities in Henan province were labeled and applied to the WRF-CMAQ traceability model for simulation in January, April, July, and October of 2017. The pollutant distribution results showed that due to the combined influence of emissions and meteorology, the concentrations of PM

To improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of photocatalysts, the doping strategy through covalent functionalization is often adopted to adjust material electronic structures. By contrast, this work demonstrates that the noncovalent interaction in the case of iodinated graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) film can also enhance the PEC performance. Through a facile synthesis method of rapid thermal vapor condensation (RTVC), the prepared iodinated g-CN film shows a significantly improved photocurrent density (38.9 µA cm

Based on air quality station data and satellite remote sensing data, the interannual variation characteristics and seasonal variation trends of near-surface ozone (O

The incomplete understanding of electron correlation is still profound due to the lack of exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation of many electron systems. In this work, we present the correlation-induced changes in the calculated many-electron systems beyond the standard residual. To locate the minimum of the Rayleigh quotient, each iteration is to seek the lowest eigenpairs in a subspace spanned by the current wave function and its gradient of the Rayleigh-quotient as well as the upcoming higher-order residual. Consequently, as the upcoming errors can be introduced and circumvented with the search in the higher-order residual, a concomitant improved performance in terms of number of iterations, convergence rate, and total elapsed time is very significant. The correlation energy components obtained with the original residual are corrected with the higher-order residual application, satisfying the correlation virial theorem with much improved accuracy. The comparison with the original residual, the higher-order residual significantly improves the electron binding, favoring the localization of electrons’ distribution, revealed with the increasing peak of the distribution and correlation function and the reduced interelectron distance and its angle.

The tunnelling lifetime of an electron in a single quantum well subject to an externally applied electric field is calculated using the Projected Green’s Function (PGF) approach. The lifetime in the biased single well decreases as a function of the electric field in good agreement with the previous result. The tunnelling lifetime is revealed with the behavior of the ground-state shift and the wave amplitude in the first well. As the electric field increases, the ground state energy shifts, leading to lessened constructive interference between the initial and reflected electron waves. Consequently, the study is essential to characterize the performance of high-speed quantum devices.

Iron-based catalysts have been demonstrated to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to generate reactive radicals, which is however limited by their complex preparation process, high costs and inefficiency for practical applications. Herein we obtain spent LiFePO

To explore the emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vehicular exhaust sources and evaporative sources with ethanol gasoline (E10) as the main fuel, VOCs sampling campaigns were carried out in the north third ring tunnel of Zhengzhou city for two consecutive weeks in December 2019. In addition, the characteristics of traffic flow and environmental information were also monitored in the tunnel. Firstly, 106 VOCs were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and then source apportionment of VOCs in the tunnel was carried out using a positive matrix factorization (PMF5.0)-chemical mass balance (CMB8.2) composite model. Finally, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of vehicle exhaust sources and evaporative sources were analyzed using the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) and fractional aerosol coefficient (FAC). The results showed that

Heavy metal elements in particulate matter can cause adverse effects on human health, and the smaller the particle size, the greater the harm. A total of 16 heavy metal elements (Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ba, Pb, and Cd) in PM

Aiming to develop an effective catalytic process for utilizing biomass, conversion of corncob into furfural was firstly performed using tin-loaded bentonite (Sn-BTN) as solid acid catalyst. Corncob was pretreated with Sn-BTN (3.5 wt%) for producing furfural at 53.3% yield in methyl isobutyl ketone-water (5:5, v:v; pH 1.0) biphasic media within 0.5 h at 170 °C. Furthermore, an efficient Sn-BTN recycling was achieved after 5 cycles of repeated use. Finally, furoic acid was obtained at 53.3% yield from corncob via sequential catalysis with solid acid Sn-BTN and Brevibacterium lutescens whole cells harboring furfural-oxidizing activity in methyl isobutyl ketone-H2O (5:5, v:v) media was developed under the relatively mild conditions. Clearly, this hybrid strategy for the synthesis of furoic acid from biomass was successfully developed via tandem catalysis of corncob with Tin-loaded bentonite and Brevibacterium lutescens whole-cell.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN), as an orderly structured polymer derivative, has been widely concerned for its photocatalytic ability due to its metal-free nature and unique properties. However, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) application of g-CN is still hindered by the difficulty of forming high-quality films with good uniformity and crystallinity. Herein, we studied the rapid thermal vapor condensation (RTVC) for growing g-CN films with improved PEC activity. The polycondensation and polymerization reactions of precursor melamine molecules under the optimized temperature 600 °C and calcination time 20 min resulted in better crystallinity of g-CN films. Remarkably, the growth of g-CN film based on the coalescence of unambiguous hexagonal nanosheets was observed, as corroborated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This novel RTVC method offers a fast and easy strategy for improving the crystallinity of g-CN films through controlling the thermal dynamics and kinetics of film growth from temperature and time.

To reduce the risks of COVID-19 on society and the health of the general public, necessary prevention and control measures were implemented throughout China in 2020. Consequently, air quality was greatly improved due to lower emissions. However, the improvement of air quality could also be closely related to meteorological conditions. During quarantine (January 27 to February, 2020), reductions were observed in the concentration of all air pollutants in Henan Province (PM

Based on the collected urban motor vehicle activity ownership and traffic flow of highways, combined with the mileage and source profiles of VOCs, using the emission factor method, we established high-resolution emission inventories from 2016 to 2019 for urban and 2016-based highway motor vehicles, respectively, in Henan Province, China. The results showed that gasoline vehicles, particularly minibuses and ordinary motorcycles, were the main contributors of CO, VOCs, and NH

To explore the main sources of PM

To study the spatiotemporal variations in fine particulate matter (PM

In this study, PM

To evaluate the health benefits brought about by air environmental treatment and determine the main drivers of health risk, we calculated the health and economic benefits attributed to PM

Based on online monitoring data of air quality and meteorological parameters, the long-term variations, spatial differences, and meteorological influencing factors of ground-level ozone (O

To study the characteristics of PM

The aim of this study was to fully understand the pollution characteristics and sources of PM

In this study, volatile organic compound (VOC) species were measured at an urban site in Zhengzhou from January 3 to 23, 2019, to investigate the composition, variation characteristics, sources, and effects on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation of VOCs at different pollution levels. Results showed that oxygenated VOCs and alkanes were the main components of VOCs, while ethyl acetate and acetone were the most abundant species. During the process from clean days to heavy pollution days, the mixing ratio of VOCs approximately doubled, and the mixing ratios of most species continued to increase as the pollution level increased. Based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, during the observation period, VOCs mainly originated from vehicle emissions, industrial emissions, combustion sources, solvent utilization, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) utilization. There were significant differences in the source contribution at different pollution levels, and the contributions of industrial emissions and solvent utilization during the heavy pollution days increased to 9 times and 3 times that of the clean days, respectively. With respect to the SOA formation potential (SOA

In this study, according to the activity levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sources and source profiles, a 2016-based inventory of the speciation emission of the VOCs was established and the ozone formation potential (OFP) were estimated in Zhengzhou. The results showed that the total VOCs emission in Zhengzhou in 2016 was 96215.3 t. The highest emission source was on-road mobile source (29.7%) followed by solvent use sources (28.1%). The species that contributed the highest emission was alkanes (29.8%) followed by aromatics (29.0%). The OFP in Zhengzhou in 2016 was 341291.0 t with the highest contributing source as on-road mobile (30.5%) followed by solvent use source (28.8%). Moreover, the light duty gasoline vehicle, use of interior wall coatings, vehicle surface coating, gas station loading and unloading, and manufacture of non-metallic mineral were the major secondary emission sources of OFP, which needed to be controlled for reducing ozone pollution in Zhengzhou. For VOCs species group, the higher contribution groups were aromatics (42.8%) and alkenes (38.9%). The sources that produced

During the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities (NTGEM) 2019, air quality in Zhengzhou was analyzed to evaluate the impact of pollution prevention and control measures on Zhengzhou. Ground-observed meteorological and pollutant data as well as the chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated. The results showed that the six parameters of pollutants in the safeguard period in 2019 indicated a downward trend as compared with that during the same time in 2018, and the average concentrations of PM

The spatio-temporal characteristics of ozone (O

To evaluate the effect of the implementation of emission reduction measures and the improvement in air quality during the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in Zhengzhou, a series of online instruments were used to continuously observe air pollutants and components of PM

Strategies to maximize the reuse of electronic and industrial wastes have scientific, economic, social and environmental implications. We herein propose a strategy of "treating waste with waste" using LiCoO

ObjectiveIn this study, we aim to investigate the effect of different doses of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to hyperbaric ropivacaine in spinal anesthesia for cesarean section.MethodsSeventy-five parturients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I or II were anesthetized with intrathecal ropivacaine (12.5 mg) alone (R group) or in combination with dexmedetomidine 3 μg (RD3 group) and 5 μg (RD5 group) to undergo a cesarean section. The anesthetic parameters, postoperative analgesia, stress responses and neonates outcomes were monitored.ResultsThe onset time of sensory block to T10, T4, and peak level in the RD3 group and RD5 group were significantly shorter than those in the R group (p < 0.05). The time of the level of sensory block to descend two segments and to T10 in the RD3 group(57.28 ± 16.65 min, 3.87 ± 1.60 h) and RD5 group (71.92 ± 10.10 min, 3.99 ± 1.06 h) were longer than that in the R group (40.64 ± 12.06 min, 1.98 ± 1.01 h) (p < 0.05). The median time of motor blockade to both legs score 3 on the Bromage scale (B3B3) in the RD3 group and RD5 group was shorter than that in the R group (p < 0.001). The time of motor blockade recovery to both legs score 0 on the Bromage scale (B0B0) in the RD5 group (3.6 h) was longer than that in the R group (2 h) or RD3 group (2.2 h) (p < 0.001). Visceral traction response and abdominal muscle relaxation during the operation in the RD3 group and the RD5 group were better than that in the R group. The Visual Analogue Score (VAS) in the 12 h after the operation in the RD3 group (3.30 ± 1.17) and RD5 group (2.80 ± 0.87) was smaller than that in the R group (3.80 ± 1.47) (p < 0.05). The incidence of shivering in the RD3 group and RD5 group was significantly lower than that in the R group (p < 0.05). The postoperative concentrations of c-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cortisol in the RD3 and RD5 groups were lower than that in the R group (p < 0.05).Conclusion3 µg intrathecal dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to ropivacaine improved intraoperative somato-visceral sensory block characteristics and postoperative analgesia, alleviated shivering in parturients, and did not prolong the time of motor block or produce any side effects, which makes this dose appropriate for cesarean delivery.Cinical Trial RegistrationChiCTR, identifier ChiCTR1800014454. Registered 15 January 2018, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=24613&htm=4

Uranium silicide compounds have attracted intensive attention as candidate alternative fuels in commercial light water reactors (LWRs). In this work, the electronic, thermal, mechanical and elastic properties of U3Si5 are comprehensively investigated based on first-principles density functional calculations and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. U3Si5 is determined to be a brittle and magnetic metal, and thermal conductivity is dominated by its electronic contribution at high temperature. The ratio between the bulk and shear moduli is 1.205. In addition, the elastic ideal strength is strongly anisotropic, with the minimum value only 6.831 GPa at a uniaxial tensile strain of 0.07. This low strength is mainly caused by an emerged structural transition forming silicon-silicon bonds to absorb strain energy. Moreover, the influences of aluminum incorporation on the structural and elastic properties, and thermal conductivities of U3Si5 are further studied. The aluminum atom prefers to replace the silicon atom at the vertex shared by the silicon triangles and pentagons. The incorporated atom impedes the structural transition, and enhances the toughness of U3Si5. The results from this work may provide useful clue for the improvement in the application of U3Si5.

Based on the annual average concentration values, the health effects and health benefits as well as 95% confidence intervals of PM

In order to explore the pollution characteristics of water-soluble ions in PM

This study uses the national ambient air quality station data of Anyang City from 2014 to 2017 to analyze the characteristics and variation rules of ozone (O

Ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) samples were collected at five sites in Zhengzhou during the spring of 2018. VOCs concentrations, the ozone formation potential (OFP), the aerosol formation potential (AFP), and source apportionment using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model were studied based on chemical composition analysis. The results showed that the averaged concentration of VOCs in Zhengzhou during spring was (30.66±13.60)×10

The three typical carbon enterprises in Zhengzhou were selected as research targets, and the emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their ozone formation potential (OFP) in different functional areas were studied. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health risk assessment model was used to evaluate the health risks of VOCs emitted by the carbon industry. The results showed that the concentration of VOCs in the production areas of the three research enterprises was between 89.77-964.60 μg·m

To study the pollution characteristics of atmospheric heavy metal elements in a living area of Zhengzhou City, assess the potential ecological risks, and determine risks to resident health in this city, the Wuhan Tianhong TH-16A Airborne Particles Intelligent Sampler was used to collect atmospheric PM

Online monitoring data of atmospheric pollutants and meteorological parameters in Zhengzhou from 2014 to 2017 were collected to analyze the concentration levels, seasonal variations, and the ratio characteristics of atmospheric pollutants, as well as the effects of meteorological conditions on these pollutants. Results show that the annual average concentrations of PM