Search

The adsorption method can effectively remove a variety of pollutants in industrial wastewater， and the performance of adsorbent determines the treatment efficiency of the adsorption method. In order to find an adsorbent with high efficiency， low consumption， low cost and green safety， hydroxyapatite (HAP) was prepared by coprecipitation method. Mg(II) ions were introduced by adding mixed solutions of Ca(NO3)2·4H2O and Mg(NO3)2·6H2 O with different molar ratios， and then the Mg-HAP-HA composite adsorbent was prepared by adding humic acid (HA) according to different mass ratios. The microstructures of HA， Mg-HAP (in a molar ratio of 0.2) and two Mg-HAPHA adsorbents with different mass ratios were characterized by SEM， FT-IR and XRD. The effects of material ratio， pH value， initial concentration of adsorbate， adsorption time， temperature and dosage of adsorbent on the adsorption rate of Pb(II) were investigated. Results showed that when the dosage of Mg-HAP-HA14 composite adsorbent was 0.06 g， the initial concentration of Pb(II) was 1 200 mg/L， the volume of Pb(II) solution was 50 mL， the pH of the solution was 6， the temperature was 35 ℃， and the adsorption time was 60 min， the adsorption rate of Mg-HAP-HA14 for Pb(II) was 98.51%， and the adsorption capacity could reach 985.1 mg/g. After desorption and regeneration， the adsorption of Mg-HAP-HA14 composite adsorbent for Pb(II) could be recycled twice， and the adsorption rate was 43.97%. The adsorption process conformed to the pseudo-second-order dynamic model， with the chemical adsorption as the main adsorption form.

Polyimide (PI) aerogels have attracted attention in thermal management due to their low thermal conductivity, high porosity, and robust mechanical properties. However, building PI aerogels with elaborately tailored micro‐ and macro‐ structures for optimized thermal insulation performance in specific scenarios remains a challenge. Here, a scalable approach is reported to prepare PI aerogels with controllable micro‐ and macro‐ structures by freezing‐assisted direct ink writing (FADIW) of poly(amic acid) (PAA) inks. This FADIW strategy can enable continuous ink deposition and transient low‐temperature‐induced gelation, contributing to the facile construction of spatially free geometries with structural complexity and shape fidelity. Importantly, controllable construction of microstructures of the aerogels is achieved by controlling the extrusion substrate temperature. The resulting customized PI aerogels show good thermal insulation owing to the porous microstructure and customized macrostructure, enabling good thermal management for portable electronics. In addition, this FADIW strategy is universal and allows for multi‐material integration, broadening the functionality of PI aerogels. Significantly, such FADIW approach can be promisingly applied to realize on‐demand design of PI aerogels and other polymer aerogels with targeted micro‐ and macro‐structures, offering an alternative avenue for the manufacture of customized aerogels toward widespread applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute liver failure (ALF) involves extensive necrosis of liver cells and severe impairment of liver function. Hepatocyte transplantation holds promise for treating ALF by swiftly supporting liver functions and promoting liver regeneration. However, the scarcity of suitable cell sources requires strategies to obtain enough functional hepatocyte‐like cells (HLCs) and optimize their in vivo transplantation efficiency. A DNA hexahedral nanostructure (DHN) is developed loaded with microRNA‐122 to efficiently induce hepatic differentiation of human adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells into HLCs. These HLCs can serve as alternative hepatocyte sources, as confirmed by expression of liver‐specific genes and proteins, and the restoration of liver functions. To enhance in vivo survival efficiency of HLCs, a versatile scaffold is also created by 3D printing the calcium‐cross‐linked mixture bioink composed of sodium alginate, gelatin, and silk fibroin with excellent ROS scavenging capabilities. The scaffold is infused with chitosan‐DHN hydrogel containing HLCs for tissue engineering orthotopic transplantation in CCl4‐induced ALF mice. The transplanted composite scaffold‐HLCs successfully repair tissue necrosis in the liver injury area of mice and regulate expressions of genes and proteins associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and hepatocyte function. Collectively, this study offers a novel approach and strategy for identifying alternative hepatocyte sources and treating ALF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Exploring the relationship between the cardiometabolic index (CMI) and serum testosterone levels as well as testosterone deficiency in American adult males. Additionally, comparing the diagnostic value of the CMI with several common obesity and metabolism indices for identifying testosterone deficiency. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2016. Serum testosterone levels and testosterone deficiency were used as dependent variables, with the cardiometabolic index as the independent variable. Multivariable regression was used to assess the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, while subgroup analyses were performed to ensure the stability of the results. Smooth curve fitting was utilized to evaluate the nonlinear relationship between the CMI and testosterone levels. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were plotted for several obesity and metabolism prediction indices and the area under the curve was calculated to compare the specificity and sensitivity of each diagnostic index in the diagnosis of testosterone deficiency. Results: Among 3541 adult male participants, CMI is negatively associated with serum testosterone levels and positively associated with testosterone deficiency. In the fully adjusted model, for every unit increase in CMI, serum testosterone decreased by 14.89 ng/dl. Comparing the highest quartile to the lowest quartile of CMI, each unit increase in CMI, serum testosterone decreased by 98.58 ng/dl. Furthermore, each unit increase in CMI was associated with a 16% increase in incidence of testosterone deficiency. By plotting the ROC curves, we found that the AUCs for Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP), Body Mass Index (BMI), Weight Adjusted Waist Index (WWI), CMI, Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) and Triglyceride glucose index (TyG) were 0.73, 0.72, 0.71, 0.69, 0.66, and 0.66 respectively. Conclusion: Elevated levels of CMI are associated with lower testosterone levels and an increased risk of testosterone deficiency. The predictive value of the LAP was superior to that of CMI, while the predictive value of CMI was higher than VAI and TyG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver fibrosis is a chronic pathological condition lacking specific clinical treatments. Stem cells, with notable potential in regenerative medicine, offer promise in treating liver fibrosis. However, stem cell therapy is hindered by potential immunological rejection, carcinogenesis risk, efficacy variation, and high cost. Stem cell secretome‐based cell‐free therapy offers potential solutions to address these challenges, but it is limited by low delivery efficiency and rapid clearance. Herein, an innovative approach for in situ implantation of smart microneedle (MN) arrays enabling precisely controlled delivery of multiple therapeutic agents directly into fibrotic liver tissues is developed. By integrating cell‐free and platinum‐based nanocatalytic combination therapy, the MN arrays can deactivate hepatic stellate cells. Moreover, they promote excessive extracellular matrix degradation by more than 75%, approaching normal levels. Additionally, the smart MN arrays can provide hepatocyte protection while reducing inflammation levels by ≈70–90%. They can also exhibit remarkable capability in scavenging almost 100% of reactive oxygen species and alleviating hypoxia. Ultimately, this treatment strategy can effectively restrain fibrosis progression. The comprehensive in vitro and in vivo experiments, supplemented by proteome and transcriptome analyses, substantiate the effectiveness of the approach in treating liver fibrosis, holding immense promise for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanofibrous aerogels with excellent flexibility and compressibility, assembled from one-dimensional nanofibers, are attractive candidates for flexible thermal protection. However, achieving high mechanical stability of the three-dimensional network of nanofibers remains challenging owing to the weak interactions between the nanofibers. Herein, we report a new strategy of crosslinking nanofibers with two-dimensional lamellae for the construction of fatigue-resistant polyimide nanofibrous aerogels (PINAs) with temperature-invariant flexibility. The interaction between the nanofibers and the lamellae results in a self-assembled network with high nodal articulation and strong crosslinking between the nanofibers. The stable crosslinking structure between the nanofibers and lamellae also provides the PINAs with temperature-invariant flexibility (−196 °C to 300 °C), good mechanical properties and a high strain recovery rate of 97% (10 000 compression–release cycles at 75% strain). More significantly, when suffering from a large strain (≥95%), the PINAs can be repeatedly compressed for 100 cycles with little structural degradation, highlighting their good resilience. In addition, the resulting PINAs exhibit a low thermal conductivity of 26.4 mW m−1 K−1 at room temperature, which can be applied as flexible thermal insulators. These nanofibrous aerogels with a nanofiber–lamella crosslinking architecture may provide new insights into the development of ultralight aerogel materials with excellent resilience and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addressing the problems of delayed detection, inefficient identification, and coverage blind spots in optical fiber‐based pipeline leakage detection within pipe galleries, this study proposes a leakage detection strategy utilizing distributed optical fiber temperature measurement technology. Finite element method is employed to analyze the temperature influence radius around the pipeline leakage hole and a model test is conducted as a validation. The results show that the temperature field image at the leakage site is elliptical, influenced by temperature differences between ambient and liquid. An increase in this temperature difference accelerates changes in the temperature field's range. Adjustments to the optical fiber's winding angle and pitch demonstrated that an optimal pitch is 1/24 of the pipeline's length, with a 45° winding angle. This configuration maximizes the optical fiber's distribution in detection while maintaining its cost‐effectiveness. When the leakage site is constant, and only the winding mode is altered, it is observed that when the ambient temperature exceeds the liquid temperature in the pipeline, the temperature of the escaping liquid impacts the temperature‐measuring fiber due to gravity, registering approximately 2°C higher than the temperature measured directly at the leakage site. The temperature anomaly from field diffusion is significantly less than that caused by the water flow from the leakage impacting the fiber due to gravity. Conversely, when the ambient temperature is lower than the pipeline's liquid temperature, the opposite occurs. These research findings offer a novel approach for distributed detection in water supply and drainage pipeline leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Hydrangea s.l. (Hydrangeaceae), a favorite among gardeners, comprises more than 80 species that are important understory plants in natural temperate and subtropical forests of the Northern Hemisphere. These species are hypervariable in morphology, especially in indumentum and floral characters, warranting a thorough exploration of the complex evolutionary history of morphological characters of the genus. Ideally, this is done within a robust phylogenetic framework with extensive taxon sampling. In this study, we propose a comprehensive taxonomic reassessment of Hydrangea based on a reconstruction of its molecular phylogeny based mainly on the chloroplast genome (plastome) and the most representative taxon sampling reported to date. Phylogenomic reconstruction yielded five well‐resolved major clades and three newly recognized subclades. Inspection of the 28 characters employed in traditional taxonomic revisions revealed homoplasy in many of these traits. Our results show that characters such as growth habit, woody stem type, number of enlarged marginal sepals, style and stamen number, fruit shape, and ovary position are useful for circumscribing infrageneric divisions. Unique synapomorphies are limited. For example, herb and subshrub growth habits are associated with all the species in H. sect. Deinanthe and sect. Cardiandra, respectively. Character state combinations are proposed for distinguishing infrageneric taxa. Based on a robust phylogenetic framework, our findings suggest a complex evolutionary history of Hydrangea morphological characters. Following the criterion of monophyly and considering the morphological consistency and synapomorphy of single and combined characters to diagnose relevant lineages, we update the classification of Hydrangea into 5 subgenera and 19 sections. Our proposed taxonomic scheme, based on a robust phylogenetic framework and in‐depth character study, provides an updated perspective on the infrageneric subdivision of Hydrangea s.l. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]