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Warp sizing is a key process in textile production. However, before the yarn/fabric finishing, such as dyeing, the paste adhering to the warp must be eliminated to ensure optimal dyeing properties and the flexibility of the fabric. Therefore, the sizing will often consume a lot of energy and produce a lot of industrial wastewater, which will cause serious harm to the environment. In this study, we have developed an energy saving and environmentally friendly starch-based slurry by modifying natural starch with acrylamide. The paste has excellent viscosity stability and fiber adhesion, and exhibits excellent performance during warp sizing. In addition, the slurry has good water solubility at 60–70 °C, so it is easy to desize at low temperatures. Because of this, the sizing of the warp can be deslimed directly from the yarn during subsequent washing processes. This work can not only reduce some costs for the textile industry, but also achieve the purpose of energy conservation and emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), one of the most aggressive and lethal skin tumors, is increasing worldwide. However, for advanced SKCM, we still lack an accurate and valid way to predict its prognosis, as well as novel theories to guide the planning of treatment options for SKCM patients. Lactylation (LAC), a novel post-translational modification of histones, has been shown to promote tumor growth and inhibit the antitumor response of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in a variety of ways. We hope that this study will provide new ideas for treatment options for SKCM patients, as well as research on the molecular mechanisms of SKCM pathogenesis and development. Methods: At the level of the RNA sequencing set (TCGA, GTEx), we used differential expression analysis, LASSO regression analysis, and multifactor Cox regression analysis to screen for prognosis-related genes and calculate the corresponding LAC scores. The content of TME cells in the tumor tissue was calculated using the CIBERSORT algorithm, and the TME score was calculated based on its results. Finally, the LAC–TME classifier was established and further analyzed based on the two scores, including the construction of a prognostic model, analysis of clinicopathological characteristics, and correlation analysis of tumor mutation burden (TMB) and immunotherapy. Based on single-cell RNA sequencing data, this study analyzed the cellular composition in SKCM tissues and explored the role of LAC scores in intercellular communication. To validate the functionality of the pivotal gene CLPB in the model, cellular experiments were ultimately executed. Results: We screened a total of six prognosis-related genes (NDUFA10, NDUFA13, CLPB, RRM2B, HPDL, NARS2) and 7 TME cells with good prognosis. According to Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, we found that the LAClow/TMEhigh group had the highest overall survival (OS) and the LAChigh/TMElow group had the lowest OS (p value < 0.05). In further analysis of immune infiltration, tumor microenvironment (TME), functional enrichment, tumor mutational load and immunotherapy, we found that immunotherapy was more appropriate in the LAClow/TMEhigh group. Moreover, the cellular assays exhibited substantial reductions in proliferation, migration, and invasive potentials of melanoma cells in both A375 and A2058 cell lines upon CLPB knockdown. Conclusions: The prognostic model using the combined LAC score and TME score was able to predict the prognosis of SKCM patients more consistently, and the LAC–TME classifier was able to significantly differentiate the prognosis of SKCM patients across multiple clinicopathological features. The LAC–TME classifier has an important role in the development of immunotherapy regimens for SKCM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planar oxide atomic clusters are of considerable scientific interest because of their potential for enhanced catalytic activity versus their three‐dimensional counterparts. This enhancement is the result of the substrate stabilizing novel planar configurations that have an extensive periphery where catalytic reactions can occur. A class of planar NbnOm atomic clusters that are synthesized by the evaporation of metallic Nb onto an Au(111) substrate in an ultrahigh vacuum environment and subsequent oxidation at elevated temperatures is reported. The atomic structures of the clusters are determined using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. The clusters are composed of structural units with four‐, five‐, and sixfold rotational symmetry and these units can assemble to form larger planar clusters. The theoretical comparison of supported structures with their hypothetical freestanding counterparts shows that the atomic and electronic structures of the oxide clusters are significantly altered by the interaction with the Au substrate. The substrate effects include interfacial charge transfer and structural relaxation to relieve the strain in the Nb‐O bonds. The substrate interactions also reduce the energy differences between clusters of different configurations and this enables the coexistence of a large variety of cluster configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insulin family consists of insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2), their receptors (IR, IGF-1R and IGF-2R), and their binding proteins. All three ligands are involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, protein synthesis and metabolism due to their homologous sequences and structural similarities. Insulin-like growth factor 2, a member of the insulin family, plays an important role in embryonic development, metabolic disorders, and tumorigenesis by combining with three receptors with different degrees of affinity. The main pathological feature of various fibrotic diseases is the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) after tissue and organ damage, which eventually results in organic dysfunction because scar formation replaces tissue parenchyma. As a mitogenic factor, IGF-2 is overexpressed in many fibrotic diseases. It can promote the proliferation of fibroblasts significantly, as well as the production of ECM in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This review aims to describe the expression changes and fibrosis-promoting effects of IGF-2 in the skin, oral cavity, heart, lung, liver, and kidney fibrotic tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, microplastics (MPs) have attracted worldwide attention as emerging pollutants, and wastewater treatment plants are among the environment's most important sources of MPs. This study aimed to summarize MPs effects on various aspects of sludge systems. The results showed that MPs inhibited substance transformation in sludge systems, with greater inhibition observed at higher concentrations and smaller MP particle sizes. Moreover, low concentrations of MPs promote extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion, whereas high concentrations suppress EPS secretion, destroying the sludge structure. Granular sludge systems exhibit higher resistance to MPs than activated sludge systems owing to their layered structures. Micrometer-sized MPs primarily inhibit the dewatering performance of activated sludge through physical crushing, while nano-sized MPs primarily affect sludge dewatering through biological effects. However, for granular sludge system, micrometer-sized MPs were unable to penetrate the granular sludge interior, their affinity and aggregation capabilities enabled them to accumulate on the sludge surface. In contrast, nano-sized MPs can enter the interior of granular sludge and impair mass-transfer pathways, ultimately resulting in toxic effects. Furthermore, MPs induce various toxic effects in sludge systems (single and combined toxic effects). These toxic effects affect the expression of key enzymes and functional genes, leading to changes in microbial communities. Because of the layered structure of granular sludge systems, MPs may initially affect the microbial community structure outside the granules, with less impact on the internal microorganisms. However, the specific mechanism still needs to be explored. Finally, this study presents research questions and directions that require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tear trough filling is a popular facial rejuvenation procedure, and hyaluronic acid is typically used as the filler of choice. However, Tyndall's phenomenon, a common complication following hyaluronic acid injection, can occur, leading to skin discoloration of the lower eyelid. Aims: This single‐center, prospective, comparative clinical study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of collagen and hyaluronic acid injections in treating tear trough deformity. Methods: Sixty patients were enrolled between June 2022 and January 2023. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups: Group A received hyaluronic acid, Group B received hyaluronic acid combined with collagen, and Group C received collagen alone. Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, and tear trough deformity grade were considered before therapy. Changes in tear trough deformity scores, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores, and the presence of the Tyndall effect were analyzed at 1 and 3 months postinjection to determine differences among the three groups. Results: Baseline profiles of the three groups were similar. In the first month postinjection, there was no difference in the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scores and tear trough deformity between the three groups. However, in the third‐month postinjection, there was a significant difference in scores between patients in Group C and those in Groups A or B. The Tyndall effect manifested in three patients in Group A, which was significantly different from that in Groups B and C. Conclusion: The combined use of hyaluronic acid with collagen in injectable fillers corrected tear trough deformities and reduced the occurrence of the Tyndall phenomenon, which can be problematic with hyaluronic acid alone. Additionally, this combination may help overcome the disadvantage of a shorter retention period when using collagen alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and photo-luminescence properties of Eu2+/Eu3+ or Ce3+/Eu3+ co-doped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F compounds are reported. Using the Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F as the host, through the solid state reaction under the reductive atmosphere, Eu2+/Eu3+ and Ce3+/Eu3+co-doped samples were prepared. These compounds exhibit good photo-luminescence properties. Under the excitation of 376 nm, an unusual red orange emission coming from the Eu2+ ions can be obtained in Eu ions doped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F, which exhibits a broadband emission in the range of 450–800 nm with the peak at around 600 nm. At the same time, the characteristic f-f excitation and emission of Eu3+ can improve and adjust the Eu2+ emission in Eu3+/Eu2+ codoped Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. In addition, the adjustable luminescence properties from blue to white of Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Ce3+, Eu3+ are investigated. The energy transfer behavior from Ce3+ to Eu3+ was confirmed. In the spectra of the co-doped samples, we can hardly observe the characteristic peak of Eu2+, because Ce4+ can oxidize Eu2+ to Eu3+, and Ce4+ itself is reduced to Ce3+. The CIE coordinates from (0.2758, 0.2420) to (0.3857, 0.3015) show Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:3%Ce3+, x%Eu3+ (x = 1,3,5,7,9) are in the white light emission region. All results demonstrate that the Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Eu3+/Eu2+ and Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:Ce3+/Eu3+ phosphors have good application prospects for LED plant growth and white LED, respectively. The bond energy method was used to explain the reason why the Eu2+/Eu3+ ion instead of only Eu2+ and Ce3+/Eu3+ instead of Ce3+/Eu3+/Eu2+ can exist in the host Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. The theoretical analysis agree well with the experimental result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Eu3+/Eu2+ codoped Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 were synthesized by traditional solid-state synthesis in reducing atmosphere. In this work, XRD powder diffraction proved that the obtained sample was pure. Photoluminescence properties are characterized by excitation, emission spectra and decay curves. Double center emission is achieved by adjusting excitation wavelength and concentration. Under the 394 nm excitation, the emission spectra Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 : Eu phosphors exhibit two bands situated at blue emission of 4f5d-4f transition from Eu2+ ion and red emission of 4f-4f transition coming from Eu3+ ion. The red and yellow light can be obtained when the concentration of doped europium ions is at 0.5% and 1%, respectively. When the excitation wavelength was 394, 280 and 584 nm, the emission color change from yellow to blue, respectively. The bond energy theory explains Eu2+ and Eu3+ ion occupy Ca1 site in the Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 lattices. In addition, the spectra show that the abnormal intensity peaks of europium ion at 701 nm can be found. Analysis of the related intensity 5D 0 -7F 2 (618 nm) transition peak is similar to that of 5D 0 -7F 4 (701 nm) transition peak in the emission spectra with the Judd-Ofelt theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provincial Multi-Regional Input-Output is combined with household survey data. • Tree-models were applied to classify the energy requirement groups. • Mental health plays an influential role in the degree of indirect energy requirements. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted the challenges brought about by increasing energy consumption and climate change. Previous studies have concentrated on accounting for urban and rural household energy requirements in China at a macro-scale, which neglects the analysis of individuals and their socio-economic driving factors at the micro-scale. To fill this gap, this study began with an accounting of energy requirements for urban and rural households based on the provincial Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) tables and household survey covering over 25,000 unique samples from 25 provinces in 2012. Multilinear Regression models were employed to estimate the average effect of various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of samples, and Tree-based models were applied to classify energy requirement groups and identify the key individual characteristics. The results suggest that the energy requirements per capita on average range from 34 to 211 GJ for urban samples and 34 to 149 GJ for rural samples across different provinces, and that the gap between individuals can be over 100 times. Indirect energy requirements representing above 90% of the total is the focus of the study. Changes in lifestyle factors include eating out, drinking and smoking, were all correlated with indirect energy requirements. Furthermore, the one-child family has had a positive effect on indirect energy requirements, while the two or more children family has had a negative effect. In addition, an individual's mental health plays a role in the level of indirect energy requirements for high-income rural residents, while geographic location plays a key role for urban residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel luminescent material Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:x%Eu3+ was synthesized for the first time by a high temperature solid phase reaction in an air atmosphere. The luminescence properties and site occupancy of Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F:x%Eu3+ phosphors were studied. The XRD powder diffraction data imply that the series of targets synthesized are pure phases. After repeated experiments, it was found that the main peak position of the excitation and emission spectra changed greatly when the same concentration or different concentration of Eu3+ was doped, and two kinds of spectral phenomena appeared. First, the position of the broadband excitation peak is about 335 nm, and the position of the strongest emission peak belongs to the 5D 0 →7F 0 transition of Eu3+ at 572 nm. Second, the position of the broadband excitation peak is about 275 nm, and the position of the strongest emission peak belongs to the 5D 0 →7F 2 transition of Eu3+ at 619 nm. These imply that different lattice sites are occupied by Eu3+ in Sr 5 (BO 3) 3 F. At the same time, the unusually strong 5D 0 →7F 0 transition illustrates the presence of interstitial oxygen and anomalous crystal field strength in system. A theoretical calculation method of bond energy was applied to study the site occupancy of Eu3+, which shows that any one of Sr1, Sr2, and Sr3 has the possibility of being occupied by Eu3+. Therefore, our test results are consistent well with the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fragmentation tests on heat-treated glass with different tempering levels and fracture initiations were conducted. • Fracture morphology was captured and investigated with a computer vision aided method. • Statistical and spatial features of fracture morphology were comprehensively analysed. • A novel approach of stochastic morphology reconstruction based on voronoi tessellation was developed. Fracture morphology has insightful information related to the residual effect of fractured structural glass, which is vital in assessing the post-fracture performance of glass members. This study experimentally characterized the fracture morphology of heat-treated glass and developed a novel method of morphology reconstruction, which aims to facilitate the numerical analysis of fractured structural glass. With the development of a computer-vision-based method for transparent objects, the morphology information from fragmentation tests was extracted and systematically investigated for monolithic heat-treated glass with various thicknesses, surface compressive stresses and fracture initiation locations, which are considered as the key influencing factors of heat-treated glass fracture. The geometrical features of fragments and their spatial distribution were quantitatively analysed, identifying their correlations with glass properties. The result indicates that the distribution of fragment centroids shows greater dispersion as the tempering level increases, and the fragments tend to be smaller and more rounded. The strain energy release at fracture was also assessed by fracture patterns, showing it presents high sensitivity to the glass thickness and surface compressive stress. Subsequently, a novel approach was proposed for the stochastic reconstruction of fracture morphology, combining feature points distribution and Voronoi tessellation concept. The control parameters are determined by data from the fragmentation tests and the influence of fracture load could be properly considered. The proposed method shows satisfactory outcomes and good agreement with the experimental records, which has further potential in developing refined numerical models by considering more realistic fracture morphology of glass members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A novel p-type semiconductor-based cathodic "signal-on" photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor was proposed for highly sensitive and selective detection of chloramphenicol (CAP). The photocathode was fabricated with hierarchical porous flower-like Bi-BiOI@C composite synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal method using glucose as both green reductant and carbon precursor. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Bi and high-conductivity of carbon, the composite exhibited an enhanced cathodic photocurrent as compared with pure BiOI or Bi-BiOI. When CAP-binding aptamer was immobilized as recognition element on Bi-BiOI@C modified electrode, a cathodic PEC aptasensor showing specific "signal-on" response to CAP was constructed. Some influencing factors such as coating amount of Bi-BiOI@C suspension, applied bias potential, and aptamer concentration were studied. Under the optimum conditions, the cathodic photocurrent of the constructed PEC aptasensor increased linearly with CAP concentration from 2 to 250 nM, with a detection limit (3S/N) of 0.79 nΜ. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the determination of CAP in pharmaceutical tablet, eye drop and lake water samples. Highlights • Cathodic "signal-on" photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensing strategy is developed. • Flower-like Bi-BiOI@C composite is synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal process. • Glucose is used as both green reductant and carbon precursor for composite synthesis. • Bi-BiOI@C composite exhibits an improved performance for cathodic PEC sensing. • Bi-BiOI@C is utilized to construct cathodic PEC aptasensor for CAP detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) for episodic migraine prevention.Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to April 2018. Studies considered to be eligible were randomized controlled trials about efficacy and safety of calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibody for episodic migraine prevention.Results: Eight randomized controlled trials involving 2292 patients were included. The outcomes of this meta-analysis presented that CGRP monoclonal antibodies for preventive treatment of episodic migraine significantly reduced the monthly migraine days from baseline [weighted mean difference (WMD) = - 1.52; 95%CI, - 1.92 to - 1.11; Z = 7.40; P < 0.001] and monthly acute migraine-specific medication consumption from baseline [WMD = - 1.45; 95%CI, - 2.17 to - 0.72; Z = 3.93; P < 0.001], as compared with placebo group. CGRP monoclonal antibodies for preventive treatment of episodic migraine significantly increased the ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in migraine days per month [RR = 1.54; 95%CI, 1.38 to1.71; Z = 7.88; P < 0.001]. The adverse events were similar between the CGRP monoclonal antibody group and placebo group (P = 0.998). The outcomes of subgroup analysis showed that erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab significantly reduced the monthly migraine days from baseline and increased the ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in migraine days per month. Both erenumab and fremanezumab significantly reduced from baseline.Conclusions: Based on the results of this meta-analysis, CGRP monoclonal antibodies significantly reduced the monthly migraine days and acute migraine-specific medication. CGRP monoclonal antibodies were effective and safe for preventive treatment of episodic migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein-based hydrogels are considered ideal biomaterials due to their high biocompatibility, diverse structure, and their improved bioactivity and biodegradability. However, it remains challenging to mimic the native extracellular matrices that can dynamically respond to environmental stimuli. The combination of stimuli-responsive functionalities with engineered protein hydrogels has facilitated the development of new smart hydrogels with tunable biomechanics and biological properties that are triggered by cyto-compatible stimuli. This review summarizes the recent advancements of responsive hydrogels prepared from engineered proteins and integrated with physical, chemical or biological responsive moieties. We underscore the design principles and fabrication approaches of responsive protein hydrogels, and their biomedical applications in disease treatment, drug delivery, and tissue engineering are briefly discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives in this field are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the effectiveness and mechanism of the Chinese herbal formula Sini Tang (SNT) which consists of Aconitum carmichaelii (Fuzi), Zingiber officinale (Gan Jiang), and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gancao) in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats. Methods. We established the heart failure after myocardial infarction in model of SD rats by ligating the anterior descending branch of left coronary artery. Rats were randomly divided into six experimental groups: Sham operation group, HF group, Benazepril group, high dose of SNT group, medium dose of SNT group, and low dose of SNT group. Drugs were administered by oral gavage for eight weeks. The detection indexes include left ventricular function by echocardiogram, Collagen Volume Fraction by Masson staining, level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II and Aldosterone by radioimmunoassay, protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R by western-blot, and real-time PCR. Results. The outcomes of this study indicated that SNT significantly improved the LVEF and LVFS, thickened both LVAWd and LVAWs, and reduced LVIDs in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats when compared with control group (P<0.05). Besides, SNT significantly reduced the Collagen Volume Fraction (P<0.05). The results of radioimmunoassay showed that SNT decreased the level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II, and Aldosterone (P<0.05). The outcomes of western-blot and real-time PCR analysis showed that SNT significantly downregulated the protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R (P<0.05). Conclusions. The Chinese herbal formula SNT could improve left ventricular systolic function in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats and decreased the level of Plasma Renin, Angiotensin II, and Aldosterone, as well as downregulating the protein and gene level of ACE and AT1R. Therefore, SNT has potential benefits of improving cardiac function by inhibiting the excessive activation of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system in heart failure after myocardial infarction in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltammetric behaviors of irreversible, quasi-reversible and reversible electrochemical systems represented by 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), hydroquinone (HQ) and K3[Fe(CN)6], respectively, were investigated on a CdS-graphene hybrid film electrode. The cyclic voltammetric (CV) curves of HQ and K3[Fe(CN)6] showing a pair of redox peaks became sigmoidal in shape under visible light irradiation. In contrast, the CV curve shape of DCP showing an oxidation peak was not changed under photoirradiation, although the oxidation peak current was enhanced by the photoelectrocatalysis. Thus, the reversibility-dependent photovoltammetric behaviors were observed. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the photovoltammetric curve shapes were not changed by pH and intensity of light source, but were tunable with scan rate and concentration of reactants depending on the reversibility of the electrochemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The addition of CaCO 3 enhance the conversion of NAIP to AP in biochar. • The AP content in CaCO 3 -amended biochar at 700°C was higher than that at 500 °C. • The main form of P in CaCO 3 -amended biochar was Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH. • CS700-Ca10 has the potential to be used as a slow-release P fertilizer for soil. The recovery of phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge through pyrolysis is one of the most promising alternatives to alleviate the shortage of P supply in the future. Adding calcium additives is beneficial to the conversion of available P and helps to improve the recovery and utilization efficiency of P in biochar. This study thoroughly examined the influence of CaCO 3 on the speciation and slow-release behavior of P in sludge during pyrolysis at 500 and 700 °C. The addition of CaCO 3 could enhance the conversion of non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) into more accessible apatite phosphorus (AP). We observed that adding CaCO 3 (2.5–20 %) to raw sludge at 500 °C increased the proportion of AP in inorganic phosphorus (IP) from 65.2 to 97.3 % but did not increase the concentration of AP, which remained between 31.03 and 31.64 mg/g. At 700 °C, introducing CaCO 3 (2.5–20 %) boosted the AP content from 35.08 to 41.38 mg/g and increased the proportion of AP in IP from 67.7 to 98.6 %. Moreover, irrespective of the pyrolysis temperature being 500 °C or 700 °C, the final main form of P in biochar with CaCO 3 was Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH, according to experimental characterization results (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction) and thermochemical calculations. Additionally, the efficacy of citric acid (CA) in releasing biochar-bearing P was tested in a laboratory extraction experiment for 21 days. CaCO 3 -amended biochar showed a significantly slower total phosphorus (TP) release than the biochar without CaCO 3 daily, and the amount of TP decreased with increasing amounts of added CaCO 3. The finding of this study indicates that biochar generated by adding 10 % CaCO 3 has the highest AP concentration (41.38 mg/g) at 700 °C, and its TP-release efficiency in CA is 0.29–1.98 mg/g in 21 days, which shows remarkable potential as a soil fertilizer with slow P release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two structurally distinct phases of MnO x ultrathin films were grown on Au(111). • They were imaged at atomic resolution by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). • The fishbone phase nucleates epitaxially, exhibiting two parallelogram unit cells. • The thicker square phase is thought to be a (001) termination of hausmannite Mn 3 O 4. Two structurally distinct phases of manganese oxide ultrathin films were grown on Au(111) substrates and imaged at atomic resolution by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The so-called MnO x fishbone phase is only a few monolayers thick and nucleates epitaxially on the bare Au(111) substrate. The surface of this phase exhibits two parallelogram unit cells with sizes and included angles of (14.6 ± 0.2) × (5.6 ± 0.2) Å2, 88 ± 1° and (13.6 ± 0.1) × (5.6 ± 0.2) Å2, 80 ± 1°. The other thicker phase is called the square phase. It is only observed growing on top of the fishbone phase and has a surface unit cell of edge dimension 5.8 ± 0.1 Å. The square phase is thought to be a (001) termination of hausmannite Mn 3 O 4. In addition, less common intermediary surface structures are also observed. This study demonstrates the transition of the crystal structure of an oxide film from a unique ultrathin film structure that is epitaxially constrained by the interaction with the Au(111) substrate to that of a thicker film with the structure of a bulk crystal. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty is a complex and multifaceted problem driven by many social factors outside the economic sphere, and it exists in both developed and developing countries. This study begins with a microscale measurement of the multidimensional energy poverty index and household social capital and investigates the impact of social capital on energy poverty, a topic hitherto neglected in the literature. The empirical analyses show that social capital positively impacts reducing energy poverty and serves as a complementary tool for economic development to reduce energy poverty. Additionally, the capital deficit and return deficit of social capital were found to coexist in households with higher levels of energy poverty, implying that its effect on reducing energy poverty is more advantageous to the "rich" than those with deeper energy poverty. Furthermore, the results are robust, whether it is the instrumental variable test, the replacement probit model, or the replacement index at the macro level. Social capital helps break the bottlenecks in energy requirements that may emerge with income growth, and its development has significant implications for tackling energy poverty. • Energy poverty and social capital are measured at the micro and macro levels. • Social capital is an effective instrument for reducing energy poverty. • The alleviation effect of social capital varies among economic status. • Results are robust to different regressions and measures of energy poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a self-powered sensor was proposed for simultaneous detection of two typical steroid hormones, namely cortisol (COR) and progesterone (P4). A tri-channel photofuel cell (PFC) consisting of three spatially resolved SnS 2 @SnO 2 photoanodes and one Pt cathode was designed to generate the electricity to drive the sensing process under the control of a multiplex switch. Among three photoanodes, one served as the control, while the other two were modified with COR-binding or P4-binding aptamer to respond specifically to the COR or P4 target. The ratios of the inhibited PFC output from aptamer-immobilized photoanodes to the reference signal from the control photoanode were utilized for simultaneous detection of COR and P4. The results showed that the developed self-powered sensor exhibited broad concentration ranges toward targets, with COR concentration ranging from 1 nM to 1000 nM and P4 concentration ranging from 1 nM to 500 nM. The detection limits for COR and P4 were calculated to be 0.88 nM and 0.52 nM, respectively. Moreover, the proposed sensing platform demonstrated high selectivity, good reproducibility, and high stability. Finally, the sensor was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of COR and P4 in a human female serum sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fidelity simulation of fission gas behavior is able to help us understand and predict the performance of nuclear fuel under different irradiation conditions. Cluster dynamics (CD) is a mesoscale simulation method which is rapidly developed in nuclear fuel research area in recent years, and it can effectively describe the microdynamic behavior of fission gas in nuclear fuel; however, due to the huge cost of computation needed for CD model solution, the application scenario of CD has been limited. Thus, how to design the acceleration algorithm for the given computing resources to improve the computing efficiency and simulation scale has become a key problem of CD simulation. In this work, we present an accelerating cluster dynamics model based on the spatially dependent cluster dynamics model, combined with multi optimization methods on a DCU (deep computing unit)-based heterogeneous architecture supercomputer. The correctness of the model is verified by comparing with experimental data and Xolotl—a software of SciDAC program from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Furthermore, our model implementation has a better computing performance than Xolotl's GPU version. Our code has gained great strong/weak scaling performance with more than 72.75%/84.07% parallel efficiency on 1024 compute nodes. This work developed a new efficient model for CD simulation of fission gas in nuclear fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of phosphorus (P) from pyrolysis sewage sludge is a good methodology to deal with the deficit of P resources and safely dispose the sewage sludge. However, it is essential to determine the type of sludge in sewage treatment plants (STPs) along with the most appropriate pyrolysis temperature. These factors affect the form and bioavailability of recoverable P. Thus, four kinds of sludge in a typical STP were selected, and three pyrolysis temperatures including 300, 500, and 700 °C were set to find a suitable strategy for P recovery. The results indicated that with increasing pyrolysis temperature, more organic phosphorus (OP) was transformed into inorganic phosphorus (IP) and more non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) was converted to apatite phosphorus (AP, mainly Ca 3 (PO 4) 2 , Ca(H 2 PO 4) 2 , Mg 3 (PO 4) 2 , Ca 3 Mg 3 (PO 4) 4 , and Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH). Compared to other sludges, dewatered cake sludge (CS) pyrolyzed at 700 °C had the highest AP content, about 1.1–3.6 times that in other pyrolysis products, and the highest Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 OH content containing 35.8% of total phosphorus (TP). The contents of P-2% citric acid (CA) and neutral ammonium citrate (NAC) in CS obtained by pyrolysis at 500 °C reached 45.6 and 49.6 mg/g, respectively, which were 1.1–3.0 and 1.1–2.8 times that of P-CA and P-NAC in other sludges and their biochars, respectively. Moreover, the diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid extraction analysis indicated that the good stability of heavy metals in CS-derived biochar was better than that in the feedstock. Hence, to ensure the efficiency and safety of P, CS is used as raw material in STPs to recover P resources. CS-500 can be used as the direct P source of land owing to the highest concentration of bioavailable P (P-CA and P-NAC), while CS-700 can be used to represent a slow-release P fertilizer because it contains the highest concentration of AP. [Display omitted] • High-temperature pyrolysis promoted the conversion of NAIP into AP in sludge. • The AP content of CS-700 was 29.1 mg/g about 1.1–3.6 times that in other biochars. • The fraction of hydroxylapatite in CS-700 achieved 35.8% of TP. • CS-500 had the highest level of P-CA (45.6 mg/g) and P-NAC (49.6 mg/g). • CS has the highest phosphorus recovery potential compared to other sludges in STPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collecting and analyzing data from all devices to improve the efficiency of business processes is an important task of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In the age of data explosion, extensive text data generated by the IIoT have given birth to a variety of text representation methods. The task of text representation is to convert the natural language to a form that computer can understand with retaining the original semantics. However, these methods are difficult to effectively extract the semantic features among words and distinguish polysemy in natural language. Combining the advantages of convolutional neural network (CNN) and variational autoencoder (VAE), this paper proposes an intelligent CNN-VAE text representation algorithm as an advanced learning method for social big data within next-generation IIoT, which help users identify the information collected by sensors and perform further processing. This method employs the convolution layer to capture the local features of the context and uses the variational technique to reconstruct feature space to make it conform to the normal distribution. In addition, the improved word2vec model based on topical word embedding (TWE) is utilized to add topical information to word vectors to distinguish polysemy. This paper takes the social big data as an example to illustrate the way of the proposed algorithm applied in the next-generation IIoT and utilizes Cnews dataset to verify the performance of proposed method with four evaluating metrics (i.e., recall, accuracy, precision, and F1-score). Experimental results indicate that the proposed method outperforms word2vec-avg and CNN-AE in K-nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers and distinguishes polysemy effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photoelectroactive film composed of CdS quantum dots and graphene sheets (GS) was coated on F-doped SnO 2 (FTO) conducting glass for studying the electrochemical response of p -phenylenediamine (PPD) under photoirradiation. The result indicated that the cyclic voltammogram of PPD on CdS–GS hybrid film became sigmoidal in shape after exposed under visible light, due to the photoelectrocatalytic reaction. Such a photovoltammetric response was used to rapidly optimize the photoelectrocatalytic activity of hybrid films composed of different ratios of CdS to GS toward PPD. The influences of scan rate and pH on the photovoltammetric behavior of PPD on CdS–GS film revealed that although the controlled step for electrochemical process was not changed under photoirradiation, more electrons than protons might participate the photoelectrocatalytic process. Furthermore, the photoelectroactive CdS–GS hybrid film was explored for PPD determination based on the photocurrent response of film toward PPD. Under optimal conditions, the photocurrent signal on CdS–GS film was linearly proportional to the concentration of PPD ranging from 1.0 × 10 −7 to 3.0 × 10 −6 mol L −1 , with a detection limit (3S/N) of 4.3 × 10 −8 mol L −1 . Our work based on CdS–GS hybrid film not only demonstrated a new facile photovoltammetric way to study the photoinduced electron transfer process of PPD, but also developed a sensitive photoelectrochemical strategy for PPD determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two isomorphic theranostic agents, named 6-TDE and 7-TDE, were designed and prepared by substituent position modification, exhibiting the grid-like and wave-like structure. Specially, 7-TDE possessed favorable ROS (Type I and Type II) as well as self-monitoring mitochondrial autophagy and multimodal imaging. [Display omitted] • Two interesting packing modes, the grid-like and wave-like structure through substituent position modification on packing mode. This study provides the new insight into the "Formula-Aggergete-Property" relationship of chemical structure. • A photosensitizer capable of photodynamic therapy (Type I and Type II) and self-monitoring mitochondrial autophagy. • The photosensitizer presented outstanding performance in multimodal imaging, including fluorescence imaging (FLI), photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal imaging (PTI). Precise design of organic photosensitizers (PSs) promoted the technological innovation for multimodal imaging-guided synergistic therapy. Nonetheless, various group substitution could not only optimize the basic photophysical behavior, but possibly change the aggregate, which handicaps the deep understanding of the "Formula-Aggergete-Property" relationship. Bearing this in mind, herein two isomers, named 6-TDE and 7-TDE , were prepared via substituting position modification. Among them, 6-TDE exhibited the grid-like structure, while 7-TDE presented wavy-like structure. Despite the aggregates were different, 6-TDE and 7-TDE shared common features including partly twisted backbone and non-overlapped-orbit, hence resulting in similar optical physical behavior such as decent extinction coefficient, near-IR emission, large stockes shifts, etc. Meanwhile, though two PSs could both generated Type-I and Type-II ROS, 7-TDE possessed smaller singlet–triplet splitting (ΔE ST), which exhibited favorable ROS as well as outstanding mitochondrial targeting, achieving efficient photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect. During this process, mitochondrial autophagy could be tracked and observed effectively and in real-time. Moreover, 7-TDE presented outstanding performance in multimodal imaging, including fluorescence imaging (FLI), photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal imaging (PTI). This study enriches the strategy of precise molecular engineering to optimize theranostic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an environmental toxicant, arsenic exposure may cause insulin resistance (IR). Previous studies have shown that pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of IR. Although gasdermin D (GSDMD) functions as an executor of pyroptosis, the relationship between GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and hepatic IR remains unclear. Here, we observed that sodium arsenite (NaAsO 2) activated NOD-like receptors containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes, promoted GSDMD activation, induced pyroptosis and hepatic IR, while GSDMD knockdown attenuated pyroptosis and hepatic IR caused by NaAsO 2. However, GSDMD interference did not affect NLRP3 activation. Ubiquitination modification is widely involved in protein regulation and intracellular signal transduction, and whether it regulates GSDMD and affects its degradation, and exerts effects on arsenic-induced pyroptosis remain unclear. We observed that NaAsO 2 reduced the K48- and K63-linked ubiquitination of GSDMD, thereby inhibiting its degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP), causing GSDMD to accumulate and lyse into GSDMD-N, which promoted pyroptosis. In summary, we demonstrated that GSDMD participated in arsenic-induced hepatic IR. Moreover, NaAsO 2 reduced GSDMD ubiquitination and decreased its intracellular degradation, aggravating pyroptosis and hepatic IR. We have revealed the molecular mechanism underpinning arsenic-induced IR, and we provide potential solutions for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). [Display omitted] • The reduction of GSDMD would attenuate the arsenic-induced pyroptosis and insulin resistance. • Exposure to NaAsO 2 would reduce the ubiquitination level of GSDMD. • Ubiquitinated GSDMD would be degraded by ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy-lysosome pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, air pollution has become a factor that cannot be ignored, affecting human lives and health. The distribution of high-density populations and high-intensity development and construction have accentuated the problem of air pollution in China. To accelerate air pollution control and effectively improve environmental air quality, the target of our research was cities with serious air pollution problems to establish a model for air pollution prediction. We used the daily monitoring data of air pollution from January 2016 to December 2020 for the respective cities. We used the long short term memory networks (LSTM) algorithm model to solve the problem of gradient explosion in recurrent neural networks, then used the particle swarm optimization algorithm to determine the parameters of the CNN-LSTM model, and finally introduced the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition of adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) decomposition to decompose air pollution and improve the accuracy of model prediction. The experimental results show that compared with a single LSTM model, the CEEMDAN-CNN-LSTM model has higher accuracy and lower prediction errors. The CEEMDAN-CNN-LSTM model enables a more precise prediction of air pollution, and may thus be useful for sustainable management and the control of air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Collateral circulation in MMD has emerged as a research focus. Our aims were to assess the impact of anastomoses between the anterior and posterior circulations on the prognosis of MMD patients. Methods: We reviewed the preoperative digital subtraction angiography images of patients with MMD who underwent revascularization surgery at our hospital between March 2014 and May 2020 and divided the patients into two groups: those with anastomoses (PtoA group) and those without anastomoses (non-PtoA group). The differences in follow-up (more than 6 months) collateral vessel establishment (Matsushima grade) and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were compared between the two groups as well as between the patients with different degrees of anastomoses. The early complications following revascularization were also compared between the two groups. Results: This study included 104 patients with MMD, of which 38 were non-PtoA and 66 were PtoA. There were no significant differences in Matsushima score (P = 0.252) and mRS score (P = 0.066) between the two groups. In addition, Matsushima score (P = 0.243) and mRS score (P = 0.360) did not differ significantly between patients with different degrees of anastomoses. However, the non-PtoA group had a significantly higher rate of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) than the PtoA group (34.2% vs 16.7%, P = 0.041). Conclusion: MMD patients without anastomoses between anterior and posterior circulations preoperatively should be vigilant of the occurrence of CHS in the early stages after revascularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel adjustable dual excited emission Eu2+/Eu3+ co-doped Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 phosphor are reported. Unlike most of Eu2+ doped inorganic compounds, in the host lattice Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 , partial Eu3+ can still exist stably even in reducing atmosphere. The adjustable dual excited emission from blue light to red light can be found by changing the wavelength of excitation emission or the concentration of europium doped ion. The mechanism by which the two ions Eu2+ and Eu3+ can coexist in Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 is revealed through the bond energy theory. Eu2+ and Eu3+ in Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 system can be demonstrated to occupy the Ca1 lattice of Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2. • The luminescence characteristics of Eu3+ in Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 matrix. • The dual-excitation emission can be achieved. • Calculation of lattice occupation by bond energy theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of flexible electronics and sensing technology, hydrogel-based flexible sensors have exhibited considerable potential across a diverse range of applications, including wearable electronics and soft robotics. Recently, advanced machine learning (ML) algorithms have been integrated into flexible hydrogel sensing technology to enhance their data processing capabilities and to achieve intelligent perception. However, there are no reviews specifically focusing on the data processing steps and analysis based on the raw sensing data obtained by flexible hydrogel sensors. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the latest advancements and breakthroughs in intelligent perception achieved through the fusion of ML algorithms with flexible hydrogel sensors, across various applications. Moreover, this review thoroughly examines the data processing techniques employed in flexible hydrogel sensors, offering valuable perspectives expected to drive future data-driven applications in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progesterone (P4) level in body fluids can act as an indicator for early pregnancy diagnosis and offers insight into mammalian somatic function. In this work, we designed an antibody-aptamer based sandwich assay as a cathodic photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor for P4 detection. The composites of carbon dots and graphene oxide (CDs-GO) with favorable cathodic photocurrent response were used as photoactive materials on which the antibody (Ab) of P4 was immobilized. Meanwhile, high affinity truncated P4 aptamer was immobilized on Au–CuO–Cu 2 O to act as a bioconjugate. When P4 was present, the aptamer-Au-CuO-Cu 2 O bioconjugate could amplify the cathodic photocurrent of CDs-GO modified electrode through Ab-P4-aptamer interactions. Under optimum conditions, the cathodic photocurrent of the constructed PEC biosensor was found to increase linearly with P4 in a wide concentration range from 0.5 nM to 180 nM, with a low detection limit (3S/N) of 0.17 nΜ. The proposed cathodic PEC sensing platform demonstrated high selectivity, satisfying reproducibility, good stability. The sensor was successfully applied in the determination of P4 in human serum samples. • An antibody-aptamer based sandwich assay for progesterone is proposed. • A cathodic photoelectrochemical biosensor with sandwich structure is designed. • Carbon dots-graphene oxide composites are used as photocathodic materials. • Aptamer-conjugated photoactive nanoparticles provide a signal-on sensing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eu3+ doped in SrGa 2 Si 2 O 8 particles can be an effective tool for designing dual-mode anti-counterfeiting materials based on their tunable luminescence transformation and excitation wavelength-dependent emission. The structure was analyzed by XRD and crystal structure diagram. Self-activated luminescence of SrGa 2 Si 2 O 8 host is luminescent in blue region. By adjusting the excitation wavelength, the sample's color changes from white to red. It is found that Eu3+ occupies the Sr ion lattice in SrGa 2 Si 2 O 8 matrix preferentially by band theory calculation. Our results demonstrate that this new phosphor shows a potential for the application of anti-counterfeiting materials. • The luminescence of host SrGa 2 Si 2 O 8. • The luminescence characteristics of Eu3+ in SrGa 2 Si 2 O 8 matrix. • The dual-excitation emission can be achieved. • Calculation of lattice occupation by bond energy theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CdS–In 2 S 3 heterojunction with enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was synthesized to construct dual-mode visible light-induced biosensors for highly sensitive and selective detection of bleomycin (BLM). Due to improved absorption in the visible region and suppressed recombination of electron-hole pairs in the heterojunction, CdS–In 2 S 3 composite exhibited enhanced photocurrent response under visible light illumination. Using CdS–In 2 S 3 as photoactive materials and BLM-binding aptamer as recognition element, a PEC aptasensor displaying a declined photocurrent response to BLM was facilely constructed, which was linear to BLM concentration in the range of 5.0–250 nM. On the other hand, the CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode was employed to construct a photofuel cell (PFC). In such a PFC, the oxidation of water on CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode under visible light illumination and the reduction of oxygen on Pt cathode led to the generation of electricity. When BLM-binding aptamer was immobilized on CdS–In 2 S 3 photoanode, the output power of the PFC was inversely proportional to the logarithm of BLM concentration from 10 to 250 nM, offering a visible light-induced self-powered sensing platform for BLM detection. Both of the proposed sensors showed high selectivity, good reproducibility and high stability. They were successfully applied to the determination of BLM in human serum samples. • Iron-free photoelectrochemical sensor for bleomycin detection is developed firstly. • Photofuel cell-based self-powered aptasensor for bleomycin detection is proposed. • CdS–In 2 S 3 heterojunction is used as photoactive materials for sensor construction. • CdS–In 2 S 3 composite is successfully prepared by in situ formation of CdS on In 2 S 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) have attracted increasing research interest in recent years. Herein, the generation of EPFRs during the hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge (SS) was studied. First, the surface morphology, functional groups, constituent elements and free radicals were characterized for a holistic description of the raw SS and the selected hydrochar obtained from hydrothermal carbonization of SS (SHC). Then, the impact of hydrothermal temperature, residence time and initial pH on the formation of EPFRs was explored in detail through the investigation of g-factors and intensities of EPFRs identified in SHC. The results have shown that the formation of EPFRs was affected by the factors mentioned above, in which the impact of temperature is the greatest. Two types of EPFRs were spotted in the hydrochar, oxygen-centered (O-centered) and carbon-centered (C-centered) EPFRs, which were caught in 120–150 °C and 260–280 °C, respectively. Moreover, the intensities of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) signals enhanced with increasing hydrothermal temperature. Whereas, residence time and initial pH only affected the amount of EPFRs in a manner. Additionally, the half-life of the O-centered EPFRs and the C-centered EPFRs was determined as long as 160.45 days and 401.10 days, respectively, indicating that EPFRs are stable in a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addition of reactive or inert substances is one of the most effective and practical ways to control soot formation in combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. In this paper, the research progress on the effects of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor addition on soot formation in hydrocarbon flames in the last few decades is systematically summarized. The summary shows that the number of studies on the effects of these three common diluents has increased dramatically in the last five years. Although the overall effects of all these three common diluents suppress soot formation, there is inconsistency with regard to the role of their chemical effects. The chemical effect of hydrogen (CE-H 2) mainly acts on the soot nucleation process, followed by the soot surface growth and finally the soot oxidation process. CE-H 2 seems significantly affected by the fuel type, oxygen concentration, and the ambient pressure. The chemical effect of carbon dioxide (CE-CO 2) affects soot formation indirectly mainly through the reaction CO + OH ↔ CO 2 + H. Some studies believe that CE-CO 2 suppresses soot production by increasing the hydroxyl radical (OH) concentration, while other studies believe that it is primarily attributed to the decrease of the hydrogen radical (H) concentration. The reaction H 2 O + H ↔ H 2 + OH plays a vital role in the chemical effect of water vapor (CE-H 2 O) addition on inhibiting soot formation. Most studies support the view that the chemical effect of water vapor mainly increases the OH concentration and suppresses soot formation by weakening the soot nucleation process. Moreover, we believe that reaction H 2 O + O ↔ OH + OH and phenylacetylene also play an essential effect on the CE-H 2 O. • A review of the effect of H 2 addition on soot formation in hydrocarbon flames. • A review of the effect of CO 2 addition on soot formation in hydrocarbon flames. • A review of the effect of H 2 O addition on soot formation in hydrocarbon flames. • Reaction H 2 O + O ↔ OH + OH and the CH 2 play an essential effect on the CE-H 2 O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of fission gas is a key issue for the performance of UO 2 fuel, which is the most widely used fuel type in GEN-III reactors. Fission gas will lead to lower thermal conductivity and affect the microstructure of fuel, gradually cause swelling and other phenomena. It seriously affects the performance and safety of nuclear reactor. The numerical simulation method based on physical model is an important means to study fission gas. In this paper, in order to study the key parameters affecting the behavior and evolution of fission gas xenon in UO 2 fuel, a multi-grain parallel cluster dynamics model is designed and implemented. The model can describe the multi-grain structure characteristics of UO 2 , and establish the correlation for the physical process of intra- and inter-granular bubbles. Furthermore, the model is extended to a larger temporal and spacial scale through parallelization, so as to simulate the fission gas behavior closer to the actual situation, and expand the applicable conditions and range of the model. Based on the modeling work, the long-term evolution processes of xenon under different initial grain radius and temperature conditions are analyzed, the results show that the initial grain radius has a much bigger effect on the inter-granular gas concentration than the intra-granular gas, while temperature has a large effect on both intra- and inter-granular gas concentrations. The model and analysis results provide theoretical support for understanding fission gas behavior and improving UO 2 fuel performance. • The intra-granular and inter-granular correlation model was established, and the grain growth process was concerned. • Design and implement a multi-grain parallel CD model. • The key parameters affecting the evolution of fission gas xenon in UO 2 fuel were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been shown to have an important role in tumor development and metastasis, and abnormal expression of GPCRs is significantly associated with poor prognosis of tumor patients. In this study, we analyzed the GPCRs-related gene (GPRGs) and tumor microenvironment (TME) in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) to construct a prognostic model to help SKCM patients obtain accurate clinical treatment strategies. Methods: SKCM expression data and clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Differential expression analysis, LASSO algorithm, and univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis were used to screen prognosis-related genes (GPR19, GPR146, S1PR2, PTH1R, ADGRE5, CXCR3, GPR143, and OR2I1P) and multiple prognosis-good immune cells; the data set was analyzed according to above results and build up a GPR-TME classifier. The model was further subjected to immune infiltration, functional enrichment, tumor mutational load, immunotherapy prediction, and scRNA-seq data analysis. Finally, cellular experiments were conducted to validate the functionality of the key gene GPR19 in the model. Results: The findings indicate that high expression of GPRGs is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with SKCM, highlighting the significant role of GPRGs and the tumor microenvironment (TME) in SKCM development. Notably, the group characterized by low GPR expression and a high TME exhibited the most favorable prognosis and immunotherapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, cellular assays demonstrated that knockdown of GPR19 significantly reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasive capabilities of melanoma cells in A375 and A2058 cell lines. Conclusion: This study provides novel insights for the prognosis evaluation and treatment of melanoma, along with the identification of a new biomarker, GPR19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The involvement of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis and progression of various cancers has been well established. However, limited studies have investigated the role of ferroptosis-mediated tumor microenvironment (TME) in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM). Methods: By leveraging single-cell RNA sequencing data, the nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) approach was employed to comprehensively characterize and identify distinct gene signatures within ferroptosis-associated TME cell clusters. Prognostic and treatment response analyses were conducted using both bulk datasets and external cancer cohort to evaluate the clinical implications of TME clusters. Results: This NMF-based analysis successfully delineated fibroblasts, macrophages, T cells, and B cells into multiple clusters, enabling the identification of unique gene expression patterns and the annotation of distinct TME clusters. Furthermore, pseudotime trajectories, enrichment analysis, cellular communication analysis, and gene regulatory network analysis collectively demonstrated significant intercellular communication between key TME cell clusters, thereby influencing tumor cell development through diverse mechanisms. Importantly, our bulk RNA-seq analysis revealed the prognostic significance of ferroptosis-mediated TME cell clusters in SKCM patients. Moreover, our analysis of immune checkpoint blockade highlighted the crucial role of TME cell clusters in tumor immunotherapy, facilitating the discovery of potential immunotherapeutic targets. Conclusions: In conclusion, this pioneering study employing NMF-based analysis unravels the intricate cellular communication mediated by ferroptosis within the TME and its profound implications for the pathogenesis and progression of SKCM. We provide compelling evidence for the prognostic value of ferroptosis-regulated TME cell clusters in SKCM, as well as their potential as targets for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A visible light-induced self-powered sensor for the detection of tyrosinase activity was proposed. A tyrosinase-responsive photoelectrochemical-chemical redox cycling strategy was integrated with a photofuel cell for signal amplification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the thickness of a p-InGaN layer on the device physics and the material qualities of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated in both numerical and experimental ways. A promoted structure of p-GaN/In0.005Ga0.95N (80/120 nm) heterojunction has been found to remarkably improve the LED’s performance. It is demonstrated by the experimental results that the light output power and wall-plug efficiency of such LED increase by 44.63% and 60.66% with a comparison to the conventional LED, respectively. Theoretical calculation reveals that thickening the p-InGaN layer will increase the number of holes accumulating in the p-GaN/InGaN heterojunction and modify the energy band profile of electron blocking layer, which makes it more favorable for carriers to inject into multiple quantum wells (MQWs). However, it is unfortunately found that overthickening the p-InGaN layer will make its crystalline quality degrade and finally affect the MQWs. The thickness of the p-InGaN layer should be carefully controlled at about 120 nm; otherwise, the performance of LED will be severely damaged by the increasing electrical resistance and the enhanced nonradiative recombination in MQWs, which is resulted from the material degradation in p-InGaN layer and MQWs. This paper demonstrates a possibility for achieving high-performance LEDs with the p-GaN/InGaN heterojunction and is of great interest for the commercial development of GaN-based LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The existing valence state (Eu2+/Eu3+ and Tb3+/Tb4+) in Eu/Tb ions doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 were investigated through experimental and theoretical method. Their photoluminescence properties indicated that parts of Eu3+ ions were reduced to Eu2+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8. Based on the bond energy method, the reduction process of the Eu3+→Eu2+ and the preferentially occupancy of Eu3+/Eu2+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 samples have been discussed. The values of deviation of its bond energy were calculated when Eu ions located at different crystal sites. Theoretical results indicated that the Eu3+ and Eu2+ would preferentially occupy the Sr sites due to the smaller energy variation. In addition, the variation of bond energy of Eu3+(Δ E Eu 3 + - O 2 - Sr =11.367 kcal/mol) is close to Eu2+ (Δ E Eu 2 + - O 2 - Sr = 15.112 kcal/mol), which indicated that the both of Eu2+ and Eu3+can stably exist in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 host. When Eu, Tb ions are co-doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 , the photoluminescence shows that only the characteristic emission peaks of Eu2+ and Eu3+ can be found and the emission of Tb3+ disappeared. It is suggested that the Tb3+ is oxidized to Tb4+ and the Eu3+ is reduced to Eu2+. Compared with Eu ion, the variation of bond energy for Tb3+(Δ E Tb 3 + - O 2 - Sr =10.084 kcal/mol) is more closer to Tb4+ (Δ E Tb 4 + - O 2 - Sr =9.628 kcal/mol), so in Tb3+, Eu3+ co-doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 , the Tb4+ ion has the highest priority to occupy the Sr sites, Tb3+ loses one electron to form the tetravalent Tb4+, and the excess electrons are transferred to the surrounding neighboring Eu3+ site, Eu3+ gets an electron and is reduced to Eu2+. The theoretical results are in accord with the experimental measurement. Highlights • Eu/Tb doped in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 were synthesized by high-temperature solid state method. • Rietveld refinement result demonstrate that Eu2+/3+, Tb3+/4+ ions occupy the Sr site. • Eu3+ can be reduced to Eu2+ and Tb3+ can be oxidized by Eu3+ in SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 at air. • Calculation results of bond energy method prove Eu2+/3+, Tb3+/4+ occupy the Sr site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A systematic bibliometric review of smart ports study is performed. • More than 100 papers have been reviewed and classified. • The conducted review reveals the challenges in smart port study. • Identified future research directions. Smart ports can be regarded as the solution that addresses the new challenges faced by international trade and logistics systems. By deeply integrating digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, smart ports can greatly increase their capacity for intelligent operation and optimal allocation of resources in port operation, which will enable continuous improvement in the competitiveness of ports as they meet the various challenges ahead. In this paper a systematic bibliometric review of smart ports is conducted by analyzing the existing publications related to smart ports. The development status of studies on smart ports is discussed, and both existing problems and key research gaps in this field are identified. In addition, performance indicators and future development trends are discussed. The purpose of this work is to lay a solid academic foundation in the field of smart ports, and to propose open research directions that will stimulate interest in this area. Furthermore, through an in-depth analysis of the existing studies on smart ports, the problems existing in current smart port studies are revealed, and targeted suggestions are put forward, which will have a positive impact on smart port studies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial contamination of water and air requires novel filtration materials. Here, the disinfecting, nonbleaching compounds 1,3‐dichloro‐5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (DCDMH) and 1‐bromo‐3‐chloro‐5,5‐dimethyl hydantoin (BCDMH) were combined with PAN polymers via electrospinning for antimicrobial filtration. The resulting nanofibrous membranes (PAN/DCDMH and PAN/BCDMH) were fully characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR, TG, and XPS. Antimicrobial activities of the tested membranes were challenged with E.coli O157:H7 and S.aureus in the aqueous and bioaerosols phase, using the colony counting method. Both types of embedded membranes showed excellent antimicrobial properties upon exposure to bacteria solution and aerosol, and all bacteria were quickly inactivated. The anti‐biofilm activity of embedded membranes was excellent after being treated with bacteria solution for 48 h. In addition, N‐chloramine displayed lower halogen loss than N‐bromamines in air and aqueous conditions. Both DCDMH and BCDMH embedded nanofibrous membranes showed great potential as filtration materials to remove microorganisms from aqueous and air conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ca10M(PO4)7:Eu (M = Li, Na, K) phosphors have been synthesized via a solid-state reaction process, their phase purity was examined using XRD patterns, and Rietveld refinement confirmed that the Ca10Li(PO4)7, Ca10Na(PO4)7 and Ca10K(PO4)7 are pure phases. The photoluminescence properties of the Ca10M(PO4)7:Eu (M = Li, Na, K) phosphors showed that the self-reduction of Eu3+ to Eu2+ can occur in an air atmosphere. Eu3+ ions can be reduced to Eu2+ ions when doped in Ca10Li(PO4)7, Ca10Na(PO4)7 and Ca10K(PO4)7 crystals, which was detected using photoluminescence spectra. In this work, the bond energy method was used to determine and explain the mechanism of site occupation of Eu entering the host matrix. According to the calculated value of the deviation of bond energy for Eu3+-doped Ca10M(PO4)7 (M = Li, Na, K) crystals, the similar value between UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT1" SRC="UGT1"/ and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT2" SRC="UGT2"/, UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT3" SRC="UGT3"/ and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT4" SRC="UGT4"/, and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT5" SRC="UGT5"/ and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT6" SRC="UGT6"/ can provide the conditions for the self-reduction of Eu3+ in the Ca10M(PO4)7 (M = Li, Na, K) system. Meanwhile, the smaller deviation values of UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT7" SRC="UGT7"/, UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT8" SRC="UGT8"/, and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT9" SRC="UGT9"/ in Ca10Li(PO4)7, Ca10Na(PO4)7, and Ca10K(PO4)7 crystals and UGRAPHIC DISPLAY="INLINE" ID="UGT10" SRC="UGT10"/ in Ca10K(PO4)7 crystals indicated that the preferential sites of Eu ion occupancy in the Ca10M(PO4)7 (M = Li, Na, K) lattices are Li, Na, K and Ca sites. The conclusions obtained from the calculated results of the bond energy method are consistent with the Rietveld refinement and the photoluminescence spectra of Ca10M(PO4)7 (M = Li, Na, K). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eu-doped MAlSi 2 O 6 (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) phosphors were synthesized by solid-state reaction in air. The crystal structure and optical properties of the phosphors were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and photoluminescence. Their emission spectra are composed of some broad bands coming from the 5d-4f transition of Eu 2+ and some sharp emission peaks coming from the f-f transitions of Eu 3+ . The co-existence of Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ cations is detected in MAlSi 2 O 6 :2%Eu, which shows that the unusual Eu 3+ →Eu 2+ reduction process occurs in MAlSi 2 O 6 . The preferential occupancy of Eu 3+ or Eu 2+ in MAlSi 2 O 6 can be calculated to be M + sites by the bond-energy method. The deviation of the Eu 3+ –O 2- bond energy is closed to that of the Eu 2+ –O 2- bond energy, which means that Eu 3+ and Eu 2+ can coexist in air. The abnormal reduction of Eu 3+ to Eu 2+ can be explained by charge compensation model. The doped Eu 3+ was induced to M + and the vacancy ( V M ) may be formed. The vacancy( V M ) acted as a donor of electrons, and the Eu M ∙ ∙ defect acted as an acceptor of electrons. The theoretical result is consistent with the experimental phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of inexpensive and environmentally friendly chemical sensors can help improve the global ecological environment and reduce pollutant emissions. In this work, asphaltene of coal liquefaction by-product was employed as the carbon source to fabricate carbon dots (CDs) by straightforward microwave radiation. The asphaltene-based CDs gave out blue emission under UV light excitation. Interestingly, the CDs are highly lipophilic because of its carbonized structure and insufficient hydrophilic groups. Based on these findings, an outstanding fluorescent sensor for 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) was developed by loading asphaltene-based CDs into polymeric micelles. The micelle formed by nonionic tri-block copolymers exhibited a hydrophobic inner cavity and hydrophilic surface. Due to the protection of the micelles, the emission of asphaltene-based CDs was enhanced by 2.89 times. But the fluorescence was significantly quenched by TNP through energy transfer and electron transfer mechanism, showing high sensitivity to TNP with a detection limit of 0.21 μM. The findings presented here provide a green method to synthesize fluorescent CDs and a promising strategy to design fluorescent probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2A) modulates the levels of cAMP/cGMP and was recently found to be involved in mitochondria function regulation, closely related to multiple types of tumor progression. This study aimed to estimate the prognostic significance and biological effects of PDE2A on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We comprehensively analyzed the PDE2A mRNA expression in HCC based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and investigated the effects of PDE2A on the proliferation and metastatic capacity of HCC cells. PDE2A was downregulated in 25 cancer types, including HCC. Lower PDE2A expression was a protective factor in HCC and was negatively associated with serum AFP levels, tumor status, vascular invasion, histologic grade, and pathologic stage of HCC. Moreover, tumors with low PDE2A expression displayed a decreased immune function. Then, the ROC curve was used to assess the diagnostic ability of PDE2A in HCC (AUC = 0.823 in TCGA and AUC = 0.901 in GSE76427). Patients with low PDE2A expression exhibited worse outcomes compared with those with high PDE2A expression. Additionally, GO functional annotations demonstrated the involvement of PDE2A in the ECM organization, systems development, and ERK-related pathways, indicating that PDE2A might regulate HCC growth and metastasis. The in vitro experiments confirmed that overexpression of PDE2A inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in two HCC cell lines (HLF and SNU-368), while inhibition of PDE2A has the opposite results. The mechanism of PDE2A's effect on HCC cells is attributed to the change of mitochondrial morphology and ATP content. These data demonstrated that PDE2A closely participated in the regulation of HCC proliferation and metastasis and can be used as a predictive marker candidate and a potential therapeutic target for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Static magnetic field (SMF) significantly accelerated aerobic granulation. • SMF promoted enhanced hydrophobic interactions and weakened electrostatic repulsion. • SMF led to a lower energy barrier to microbial aggregation. • SMF induced microorganisms to secrete highly hydrophobic and more adherent EPS. • SMF enhanced metabolic pathways for EPS production. Aerobic granulation promoted by static magnetic field had been widely noticed because of its environmental friendliness and economic feasibility. The mechanism of strengthening aerobic granulation by static magnetic field needed to be clarified. Consequently, this study aspired to promote aerobic granulation by loading different intensities of static magnetic fields (R1: 0 mT, R2: 10 mT, R3: 50 mT), and elucidate the potential mechanism of static magnetic fields enhancement in terms of microbial interactions, chemical structure and adhesion performance of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), metabolic pathways. Compared to R1 (day 45), R3 and R2 completed granulation at day 34 and day 42 respectively. Under the influence of magnetic fields, the interfacial adsorption free energy between microorganisms decreased from −55.88 mJ/m2 (R1) to −64.32 mJ/m2 (R2) and −75.02 mJ/m2 (R3), and the energy barriers preventing microbial aggregation in R2 and R3 were reduced. This was attributed to the fact that magnetic fields induced microorganisms to secrete highly hydrophobic EPS and enhanced adhesion to metal cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, etc.), resulting in an enhanced hydrophobic interaction and a reduced electrostatic repulsion interaction between microorganisms. Furthermore, magnetic fields increased the relative abundance of EPS-producing bacteria (Chryseobacterium , Candidatus_Competibacter , Thauera , Zoogloea) and upregulated the abundance of functional genes associated with the synthesis of hydrophobic amino acids (trpA , trpB , ADT , ilvE , proC , metH) and energy supply (mdh , cs , acn , IDH , sucA , frdA). The above results proved that the static magnetic field promoted aerobic granulation by enhancing microbial aggregation and adhesion, which provided sufficient theoretical support for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform was designed for catechol determination using CdS quantum dots (QDs), DNA and pristine graphene (PGR) nanocomposite film-modified electrode. In such a composite film-based PEC sensor, CdS QDs served as the photoelectric conversion element which produced photocurrent signal under visible light illumination; and DNA was designed as the biological recognition element which improved the PEC response of sensor toward catechol due to the interaction between DNA and catechol. To improve the electron transfer of the composite film, PGR with high electrical conductivity was doped, which significantly amplified the photocurrent signal of sensor. Based on such a CdS-DNA-PGR composite film-modified electrode, catechol showed a linear PEC response proportional to its concentration from 1.0 × 10 −8 to 1.0 × 10 −6 mol L −1 . The detection limit (3S/N) was estimated to be 4.9 × 10 −9 mol L −1 . The developed PEC sensor was successfully applied to determine trace catechol in water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The complex exhibited two-photon activity upon NIR laser irradiation. • Ru coordination gave rise to extended excitation wavelength. • RuL1 could promote ROS generation and induce in vitro photodynamic therapy. The construction of novel photosensitizer for effective reactive oxygen species generation has attracted extensive interest, in particular the design of a new photosensitizer with long excitation wavelength remains challenge. In this paper, we design a novel two-photon active Ruthenium(II) complex (RuL1) based on donor-acceptor configuration ligand. Notably, benefiting from the coordination of Ru ion, the electron transfer between donor and acceptor moiety gave rise to enhanced two-photon activity and prolonged excitation wavelength. The results showed that RuL1 exhibited excellent two-photon activity under near-infrared light excitation (920 nm), which provided a potential platform for photodynamic therapy in "therapeutic window". Schematic illustration of the structure of RuL1 and its ROS generation ability under 920 nm irradiation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]