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The hygroscopic deformation of pine cones, featured by opening and closing their scales depending on the environmental humidity, is a well-known stimuli-responsive model system for artificial actuators. However, it has not been noted that the deformation of pine cones is an ultra-slow process. Here, we reveal that vascular bundles with unique parallelly arranged spring/square microtubular heterostructures dominate the hygroscopic movement, characterized as ultra-slow motion with the outer sclereids. The spring microtubes give a much larger hygroscopic deformation than that of the square microtubes along the longitudinal axis direction, which bends the vascular bundles and consequently drives the scales to move. The outer sclereids with good water retention enable the vascular-bundle-triggered deformation to proceed ultra-slowly. Drawing inspiration, we developed soft actuators enabling controllable yet unperceivable motion. The motion velocity is almost two orders of magnitude lower than that of the same-class actuators reported, which made the as-developed soft actuators applicable in camouflage and reconnaissance.

To find potential α-glucosidase inhibitors, indolo[1,2-b]isoquinoline derivatives (1–20) were screened for their α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. All derivatives presented potential α-glucosidase inhibitory effects with IC50 values of 3.44 ± 0.36~41.24 ± 0.26 μM compared to the positive control acarbose (IC50 value: 640.57 ± 5.13 μM). In particular, compound 11 displayed the strongest anti-α-glucosidase activity, being ~186 times stronger than acarbose. Kinetic studies found that compounds 9, 11, 13, 18, and 19 were all reversible mix-type inhibitors. The 3D fluorescence spectra and CD spectra results revealed that the interaction between compounds 9, 11, 13, 18, and 19 and α-glucosidase changed the conformational changes of α-glucosidase. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation results indicated the interaction between compounds and α-glucosidase. In addition, cell cytotoxicity and drug-like properties of compound 11 were also investigated.

Scale deposition, especially in the petroleum industry, has always been a serious issue because of its potential safety hazards and huge economic cost. However, conventional scale-resistant strategies based on mechanical descaling and chemical detergents can't feed the urgent demand for energy saving and environmental protection. Herein, we report a bioinspired long-term oil collectible mask (BLOCK)-a microspine coating with the synergistic effect of anti-adhesion and oil collection, displaying sustainable scale resistance towards oilfield-produced water. Inspired by pitcher plants, the oil layer as a liquid barrier inhibits scale deposition by changing the underwater scaling micro-environment from liquid/solid/solid to a liquid/solid/liquid triphase system. Oil droplets are collected by cacti-inspired microspines to enhance oil layer stability. Compared with stainless steel, the BLOCK coating shows

Superhydrophobic surfaces with the "lotus effect" have wide applications in daily life and industry, such as self-cleaning, anti-freezing, and anti-corrosion. However, it is difficult to reliably predict whether a designed superhydrophobic surface has the "lotus effect" by traditional theoretical models due to complex surface topographies. Here, a reliable machine learning (ML) model to accurately predict the "lotus effect" of solid surfaces by designing a set of descriptors about nano-scale roughness and micro-scale topographies in addition to the surface hydrophobic modification is demonstrated. Geometrical and mathematical descriptors combined with gray level cooccurrence matrices (GLCM) offer a feasible solution to the puzzle of accurate descriptions of complex topographies. Furthermore, the "black box" is opened by feature importance and Shapley-additive-explanations (SHAP) analysis to extract waterdrop adhesion trends on superhydrophobic surfaces. The accurate prediction on as-fabricated superhydrophobic surfaces strongly affirms the extensionality of the ML model. This approach can be easily generalized to screen solid surfaces with other properties.

In this study, we designed and tested fluorescent probe zy-2 for specific and responsive imaging of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), which can be excited by 419 nm light. A 17-fold enhancement in the responsive emission upon zy-2's binding to PKM2 was observed, imaging of which was successfully recorded in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in PKM2-positive cells. Thus, we obtained a responsive fluorescent probe for the specific and sensitive detection of PKM2, which is innovative in design and applicable to the detection of cancer cells.

Herein, we have developed a robust Pd-catalyzed haloalkynylation of haloalkynes for the synthesis of dihaloalkenyne derivatives. This cross-haloalkynylation reaction proceeds in a highly chemo- and regioselective manner under mild conditions in the presence of two slightly structurally different haloalkynes and shows strong functional group tolerance under ligand- and base-free conditions.

Our previous studies have confirmed that aspirin combined with Lipitor inhibited the development of prostate cancer (PCa), but the mechanisms need to be comprehensively expounded. The study aims to screen out the hub genes of combination therapy and to explore their association with the pathogenesis and prognosis of PCa.Gene expressions were quantified by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Altered biological function, pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), protein-protein interaction network, the filtering of hub genes, gene co-expression and the pathogenesis and prognosis were revealed by bioinformatics analysis. The correlation between hub gene expression and patient survival was validated by Kaplan-Meier. The effects of silent DNA replication and sister chromatid cohesion 1 (siDSCC1) combined with Lipitor and aspirin on DSCC1 expression, viability, invasion and migration of PCa cells were detected by qRT-PCR, Wound healing and transwell assays.157 overlapped DEGs involved in FoxO, PI3K-Akt and p53 signaling pathways were identified. Ten hub genes (NEIL3, CDC7, DSCC1, CDC25C, PRIM1, MCM10, FBXO5, DTL, SERPINE1, EXO1) were verified to be correlated with the pathology and prognosis of PCa. DSCC1 silencing not only inhibited the viability, migration and invasion of PCa cells, but also strengthened the suppressing effects of Lipitor and aspirin alone or in combination on PCa cells.The enrichment pathways and targets of Lipitor combined with aspirin in PCa are discovered, and DSCC1 silencing can potentiate the effect of Lipitor combined with aspirin in the treatment of PCa.

The increased applications and production of graphene oxide (GO) make the necessity to study information on the interaction of GO with minerals. In this work, adsorption and desorption were used to study the reversibility of interaction between GO and goethite/kaolinite. Result showed that the pH value, ionic strength, and temperature had significant effects on the adsorption and desorption behavior of GO. Interaction force was stronger between GO and goethite than that of kaolinite. The interaction may be attributed to the electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding, and Lewis acid base interactions. The irreversible interaction between GO and minerals may be a main mechanism for the observed desorption hysteresis. These results are important for evaluating the fate and health risk of GO in the environment.

The construction of Z-scheme system is a promising approach for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE). In this study, we fabricated a direct Z-scheme system consisting of defect-rich g-C3N4 nanosheets (DR-CNNS) crumpled nanosheets with defect-rich TiO2 (DR-TiO2) nanoparticles via a dual defective strategy. The optimized dual-defective rich TiO2/CNNS composite showed a superior PHE rate of ˜651.79 μmol/h with a turnover frequency of ˜419.3 h−1 as well as high stability and recyclability, which presented the highest value in single defective TiO2 or g-C3N4-based photocatalysts families reported previously. Furthermore, this protocol could also be extended to synthesize other dual defective g-C3N4/oxides (ZnO, SnO2, etc.) heterostructures. The improved photocatalytic performances could be ascribed to the following aspects: (1) rich dual defect, narrowing the band gap and providing more reactive sites for PHE; (2) intimate interface, facilitating interfacial migration and utilization of photogenerated charges; (3) Z-scheme structure, accelerating photogenerated electron-hole pair separation and thus leading to more efficient PHE. Our work highlights the critical role of defects in construction of Z-scheme system and provides the possibility of utilizing dual defective g-C3N4-based systems for other photocatalytic applications including CO2 reduction and water purification.

Size as one of important physicochemical properties for graphene oxide (GO) may affect its adsorption and desorption behaviors. To date, there are few reports giving a systematic investigation on this point. In this study, batch experiment was conducted to study the adsorption and desorption of U(VI) on GO with two different size (2–5 µm and 100–300 nm) at different solution chemistry (pH, coexisting ions, humic acid and temperature). Faster adsorption rate and better adsorption capacity were displayed on smaller size GO. Additionally, U(VI) desorption is hysteretic, more so with the smaller size GO. These results showed that GO size played a significant role in determining its adsorption and desorption behavior.

The surface area and structure of adsorbents are crucially important to its adsorption capacity. Herein, we focused on the correlation between the structures of 2D/3D materials and its adsorption properties by taking three kinds of cobalt–aluminum layered double hydroxide (CoAl-LDH) as adsorbents, including a 3D hierarchical flower-like hollow/solid sphere (FH/FS-CoAl) and 2D plate (P-CoAl). As expected, FH-CoAl showed the highest adsorption capacity (∼2189.23 mg/g) for methyl orange (MO), benefiting from the highly accessible surface areas and more active sites of unique hollow structural characteristics inherited from the hierarchical flower-like hollow structures. Interestingly, compared with FS/FH-CoAl, P-CoAl exhibited the highest adsorption capacity enhancement times after being normalized with surface area, but displayed an inferior maximum adsorption capacity. The reasons could be mainly ascribed to (1) P-CoAl with 2D plate structures possessed more fully exposed active sites than FH-CoAl and (2) ...

Supplemental material, Supplementary material, for Jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum) Flower Extracts Ameliorate Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate Induced Ear Edema in Mice by Dongli Li, Xiaodan Tang, Chang Liu, Huifang Li, Shuzhen Li, Shili Sun, Xi Zheng, Panpan Wu, Xuetao Xu, Kun Zhang and Hang Ma in Natural Product Communications

An efficient and convenient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of cholic acid bulk drugs and their related impurities. Chromatographic separation was performed on a YMC-Pack ODS-AQ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, S-5 μm, 12 nm), and the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile, methanol, and diluted formic acid solution (pH 2.5) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The analytes were monitored using a refractive index detector at 30 °C, and the column temperature was 30 °C. Under the above chromatographic conditions, the method has good specificity and specified impurities can be effectively separated. The proposed method is found to have linearity in the 2.0–80.0 μg/mL concentration range with correlation coefficients of not less than 0.9999. The compounds analyzed in the solutions are stable for at least 7 days, and spike recoveries for all specified impurities range from 91.3% to 109.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs)...

In this study, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNP) modified with O-phosphorylethanolamine (O-PEA) were successfully prepared by non-thermal plasma induced method with different treatment times. The raw and modified MNP were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The modified MNP samples show higher adsorption capacity for U(VI) removal and longer treatment time results in higher adsorption capacity and efficiency. The experimental parameters were optimized by means of the response surface methodology to improve the removal efficiency of U(VI) by the modified adsorbents from aqueous solutions. The O-PEA modified MNP with 120 min treatment time shows the highest adsorption capacity with 228.17 mg⋅g−1 among the five samples at 293.15 K. Thermodynamic studies reveal that the adsorption process of U(VI) onto O-PEA modified MNP is endothermic and spontaneous. XPS studies indicate that the U(VI) removal is fulfilled through the binding interactions between U(VI) and NH2, OH and phosphate groups on the modified MNP surface. This work not only provides a simple, convenient and cost-effective way for water treatment by plasma modification, but also provides a new insight into preparing promising adsorbents to achieve magnetic separation from aqueous solution.

Natural products have shown potential to be combined with current cancer therapies to improve patient outcomes. Nobiletin (NBT) is a citrus polymethoxyflavone and has been shown to exert an anticancer effect in various cancer cells. We investigated the effects and mechanisms of NBT in combination with bicalutamide (BCT), a commonly used anti-androgen drug in prostate cancer therapy, on prostate cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that the combined treatment with NBT and BCT produces an enhanced inhibitory effect on the growth of prostate cancer cells compared to either compound alone. The synergistic action of NBT and BCT was confirmed using isobologram analysis. Moreover, this study has shown that NBT and BCT synergistically inhibited colony formation and migration as well as induced apoptosis. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that NBT and BCT combination reduced key cellular signaling regulators including: p-Erk/Erk, p-STAT3/STAT3 and NF-κB. Overall, these results suggest that NBT combination with BCT may be an effective treatment for prostate cancer.

The ability to manipulate water and oil phases in a designable manner is of great significance in widespread fields from art paintings to materials science. However, achieving precise and stable surface patterns for two immiscible phases of water and oil remains a challenge. Herein, a general wetting-enabled-transfer (WET) strategy is reported to construct discretionary shape-defined surface patterns of organohydrogels along with their monolithic formation either from flat to curved surfaces or from the microscale to the macroscale. Locally differentiated wettability induces hydrophilic monomers and hydrophobic monomers from an emulsion system onto the wettability-matching regions of the prepatterned substrates, subsequently forming corresponding hydrogel and organogel patterns on the organohydrogel surface after in situ photopolymerization. The precision of the surface patterns can be controlled by optimizing the gel monomers, emulsion droplet size, and surface chemical composition of the prepatterned substrates. This finding may provide a feasible strategy for precisely patterning functional materials from two-immiscible-phase systems.

Although the aggregation of graphene oxide (GO) has been widely researched, the influence of the GO size on the homoaggregation behavior and its interaction with environmental media are still unexplored. In this work, critical coagulation concentration (CCC) values for GO with different sizes, from micro to nanosheet, were measured with NaCl and CaCl

Electro-responsive Graphene oxide-poly(acrylic acid) (GO-PAA) nanocomposite hydrogels with different concentrations of GO were successfully fabricated via in situ polymerization. The covalently crosslinked PAA network is intertwined with GO sheets by the bridging of hydrogen-bond interactions thus resulting in an integrated and stable hydrogel network. The swelling, mechanical and conductivity properties of the hydrogel are impacted as a result. The influences of different factors on the electro-response behavior of the hydrogels were deeply explored. Because of electrostatic double layer of the GO, the response properties of hydrogels in different voltage, pH, and ionic strength improved significantly. Meanwhile, with the addition of GO, the response performance of hydrogel in biological applications was greatly expanded. Furthermore, GO-PAA hydrogel shows a good compatibility with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The electro-mechanical coupling of the hydrogel can change the morphology of the adhesive cells, and regulate the cytoskeleton of the cell under the condition of electrical stimulation, which can further promote the differentiation of neural stem cells. This electro-responsive hydrogel could be widely used in many fields of biomedical application such as artificial muscle and tissue engineering scaffold.

Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) is a volatile organosilicon compound present in biogas derived from widely using industrial and consumer products. Due to being harmful to many organisms at very low concentrations and forming SiO2 deposits during biogas combustion, the degradation of D4 was investigated. The D4-degrading culture was taken from the effluent of an organic silicon manufacturer. The isolation and the purification were performed. The isolated bacterial strain was inoculated in a biotrickling filter. The effects of the pH, the D4 inlet concentration, the empty bed residence time (EBRT), and the liquid flowrate on the removal performance of D4 were investigated. It is shown that the optimum pH for D4 degradation was 4.0–6.0. The max removal efficiency (RE) of D4 of 60.2% and the max elimination capacity (EC) of 165.4 mg m−3 h−1 were obtained. The main metabolic products consist of HO SiMe2 OH, HO SiMe2 O SiMe2 OH, Me3SiO(CO)2OSiMe3, , and Si(OH)4. The degradation pathways and mechanism for D4 degradation by Phyllobacterium myrsinacearum were proposed.

One-dimensional Sm3+ doped SrWO4 with or without different charge compensation approaches (co-doping Li+, Na+ and K+) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. The structure, morphology and luminescence properties of the obtained nanofiber phosphors were investigated. The X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformation infrared and thermogravimetric results show that the Sr(1−x)WO4: Sm x 3+ samples crystallize at 700 °C. Scanning electron microscope results indicate that as prepared nanofibers before/after calcination present uniform fiberlike morphology. The luminescence results show that Sr(1−x)WO4: Sm x 3+ phosphors can be excited efficiently by ultraviolet (UV) and near-UV light. The emission spectrum consists of three emission peaks at 561, 596 and 643 nm, corresponding to 4G5/2 → 6H5/2, 4G5/2 → 6H7/2 and 4G5/2 → 6H9/2 transitions of Sm3+, respectively. The optimal doping concentration of Sm3+ in SrWO4 is experimentally ascertained to be 4 mol%. The introduction of charge compensator R+ (R = Li, Na and K) can enhance the emission intensity of phosphors significantly. The co-doping of Li+ has the best compensation effect. The present investigation indicates that Sm3+ doped SrWO4 is a promising orange phosphor for light-emitting diode based on UV chip technology.