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The decline of explosive properties of emulsion explosives will seriously affect the blasting effect in the environment of low temperature. The study on the evolution law of explosive properties of the emulsion explosives in coordination with the temperature variation of the emulsion explosives presents a certain engineering application value. A series of precise temperature control devices for emulsion explosives were designed, and then the detonation velocity, the brisance, the working capacity and the overpressure of air shock wave were measured with various temperature of 25, 0, -5, -10 and -15 °C. Meanwhile, the microstructure of the emulsion explosives was characterized. The experimental results showed that when the temperature of the emulsion explosives was reduced from 25 °C to -15 °C, the detonation velocity of the explosive was reduced from 4 227 m/s to 3 291 m/s, the brisance of the explosive was reduced from 13.0 mm to 5.2 mm, the working capacity of the explosives was reduced from 323 mL to 208 mL, and the overpressure of air shock wave was reduced from 284.9 kPa to 115.8 kPa. With the decrease of the temperature of the emulsion explosives, the precipitation of ammonium nitrate crystal increased along with the partial structure failure of the emulsion particles, resulting in changes in the microstructure and declines in the explosive properties of the emulsion explosives. Low-temperature environment mostly affected the brisance of emulsion explosives, but slightly affected the detonation velocity. With the decrease of temperature, the decline amplitude of explosive properties would be accelerated. It is suggested that the design of blasting properties should be adjusted according to the decline amplitude of explosive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer‐related death of cancer patients. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one critical process during the cascade of tumor metastasis. EMT is a developmental program exploited by cancer cells to transition from epithelial state to mesenchymal state and confers metastatic properties as well as treatment resistance. Finding factors to inhibit EMT will greatly improve the prognosis patients. Spermatogenesis associated 2 (SPATA2) was originally isolated from human testis and proved playing a role in spermatogenesis. To date, however, the role of SPATA2 in oncogenesis is unknown. In the current study, by mining the public database and validating in a cohort of collected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) specimens, we uncovered that the expression of SPATA2 positively correlated with the prognosis of patients and was an independent prognosis marker in NSCLC. Functional studies proved that ectopic overexpression of SPATA2 inhibited EMT resulting in impaired motility and invasiveness properties in vitro and metastasis in vivo, and increased radiosensitivity in NSCLC. Mechanistic investigation showed that SPATA2 could suppress the β‐catenin signaling via attenuating DVL1 ubiquitination to achieve the functions. Taken together, the current study revealed an inhibitory role of SPATA2 on EMT and that SPATA2 could be a potential target for therapy of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel conjugated organic polymers BTTh-1 and BTTh-2 were designed and synthesized. They were prepared by the reaction of two aldehyde units with melamine. Both aldehyde units were based on benzothiadiazole. The difference between the final aldehyde units was the introduction of thiophene groups in the BTTh-2 aldehyde monomer units. The difference between the two materials in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline was discussed in the context of the thiophene unit. The degradation efficiency of tetracycline by BTTh-2 (90.9%) was much higher than that of BTTh-1 (40.7%). The characterization results showed that BTTh-2 has a strong charge separation ability and fast transmission rate. After light excitation, the recombination ability of photogenerated holes and electrons becomes weak, and it has better utilization ability for visible light; the bandgap width is narrower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European, American, and Japanese debates on public housing served as models for those in modern China, and Chinese scholars and professionals, with the support of the KMT (Kuomintang), developed public housing as a sign of innovation in both societal reform and building typology. Using the under-researched case of Tianjin's public housing during the so-called Nanjing Decade (1928–1937) and then again during the Japanese Occupation (1937–1945) as case studies, the paper first explores how journals, books, and foreign-trained Chinese scholars introduced the concept of public housing to China. It then examines five public housing projects that municipal authorities developed for Tianjin, two in the Nanjing Decade and three during the Japanese Occupation. Analysing the sites, architectural designs, and management rules of these projects, the paper argues that the projects in the Nanjing Decade (both planned and realized) mostly targeted poor families, serving to simultaneously solve housing problems, reform society, and police the poor; while the projects during the Japanese Occupation benefited high-income people or the Japanese, and did not play a role in the relief of the local poor, who suffered most from the housing shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As volatile organic compounds (VOCs), gaseous ethylbenzene has adverse effects on human health and ecology. Therefore, an effective degradation process is highly desirable. The Fenton process under UV 365 nm was selected as the first option to remove gaseous ethylbenzene in a bubble column reactor. The main parameters for the batch experiments were systematically studied, including H 2 O 2 concentration, [H 2 O 2 ]/[Fe 2+ ], pH, UV wavelength, UV intensity, gaseous ethylbenzene concentration, gas flow rate, and process stability towards removal efficiency. The optimum conditions were found to be H 2 O 2 concentration of 100 mmol·L -1 , [H 2 O 2 ]/[Fe 2+ ] of 4, pH of 3.0, UV wavelength of 365 nm, UV power of 5 W, gas flow rate of 900 mL·min -1 , and gaseous ethylbenzene concentration of 30 ppm, resulting in a removal efficiency of 76.3%. The study found that the Fenton process, when coupled with UV 365 nm, was highly effective in removing gaseous ethylbenzene. The degradation mechanism of gaseous ethylbenzene was proposed in the UV 365 /Fenton process based on EPR, radical quenching experiments, iron analysis, carbon balance, and GC-MS analysis. The results indicated that •OH played a crucial role in the process.

Objective: Radiotherapy has achieved remarkable effects in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, radioresistance remains the major obstacle to achieving good outcomes. This study aims at identifying potential targets for radiosensitizing NSCLC and elucidating the underlying mechanisms., Methods: Lentivirus-based infection and CRISPR/Cas9 technology were used to modulate the expression of microRNA-384 (miR-384). Cell clonogenic formation assays and a xenograft tumor model were used to analyze radiosensitivity in NSCLC cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to assess the cell cycle and cell death. Immunofluorescence staining, Comet assays, and homologous recombination or non-homologous end-joining I-SceI/GFP reporter assays were used to study DNA damage and repair. Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to identify the targets of miR-384. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and polymerase chain reaction were performed to evaluate upstream regulators of miR-384., Results: MiR-384 was downregulated in NSCLC. Overexpression of miR-384 increased the radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo , whereas knockout of miR-384 led to radioresistance. Upregulation of miR-384 radiosensitized NSCLC cells by decreasing G2/M cell cycle arrest, inhibiting DNA damage repair, and consequently increasing cell death; miR-384 depletion had the opposite effects. Further investigation revealed that ATM, Ku70, and Ku80 were direct targets of miR-384. Moreover, miR-384 was repressed by NF-κB., Conclusions: MiR-384 is an ionizing radiation-responsive gene repressed by NF-κB. MiR-384 enhances the radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells via targeting ATM, Ku80, and Ku70, which impairs DNA damage repair. Therefore, miR-384 may serve as a novel radiosensitizer for NSCLC., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest are disclosed., (Copyright: © 2024, The Authors.)

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a greenhouse gas with ozone destruction potential, is mitigated by the microbial reduction to dinitrogen catalyzed by N 2 O reductase (NosZ). Bacteria with NosZ activity have been studied at circumneutral pH but the microbiology of low pH N 2 O reduction has remained elusive. Acidic (pH < 5) tropical forest soils were collected in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico, and microcosms maintained with low (0.02 mM) and high (2 mM) N 2 O assessed N 2 O reduction at pH 4.5 and 7.3. All microcosms consumed N 2 O, with lag times of up to 7 months observed in microcosms with 2 mM N 2 O. Comparative metagenome analysis revealed that Rhodocyclaceae dominated in circumneutral microcosms under both N 2 O feeding regimes. At pH 4.5, Peptococcaceae dominated in high-N 2 O, and Hyphomicrobiaceae in low-N 2 O microcosms. Seventeen high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) recovered from the N 2 O-reducing microcosms harbored nos operons, with all eight MAGs derived from acidic microcosms carrying the Clade II type nosZ and lacking nitrite reductase genes ( nirS / K ). Five of the eight MAGs recovered from pH 4.5 microcosms represent novel taxa indicating an unexplored N 2 O-reducing diversity exists in acidic tropical soils. A survey of pH 3.5-5.7 soil metagenome datasets revealed that nosZ genes commonly occur, suggesting broad distribution of N 2 O reduction potential in acidic soils., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.)