Maternal mitochondrial function affects paternal mitochondrial inheritance in Drosophila.

The maternal inheritance of mitochondria is a widely accepted paradigm, and mechanisms that prevent paternal mitochondria transmission to offspring during spermatogenesis and postfertilization have been described. Although certain species do retain paternal mitochondria, the factors affecting paternal mitochondria inheritance in these cases are unclear. More importantly, the evolutionary benefit of retaining paternal mitochondria and their ultimate fate are unknown. Here we show that transplanted exogenous paternal D. yakuba mitochondria can be transmitted to offspring when maternal mitochondria are dysfunctional in D. melanogaster. Furthermore, we show that the preserved paternal mitochondria are functional, and can be stably inherited, such that the proportion of paternal mitochondria increases gradually in subsequent generations. Our work has important implications that paternal mitochondria inheritance should not be overlooked as a genetic phenomenon in evolution, especially when paternal mitochondria are of significant differences from the maternal mitochondria or the maternal mitochondria are functionally abnormal. Our results improve the understanding of mitochondrial inheritance and provide a new model system for its study.

Functional biomacromolecules-based microneedle patch for the treatment of diabetic wound.

Diabetic wounds are a common complication of diabetes. The prolonged exposure to high glucose and oxidative stress in the wound environment increases the risk of bacterial infection and abnormal angiogenesis, leading to amputation. Microneedle patches have shown promise in promoting the healing of diabetic wounds through transdermal drug delivery. These patches target the four main aspects of diabetic wound treatment: hypoglycemia, antibacterial action, inflammatory regulation, and tissue regeneration. By overcoming the limitations of traditional administration methods, microneedle patches enable targeted therapy for deteriorated tissues. The design of these patches extends beyond the selection of needle tip material and biomacromolecule encapsulated drugs; it can also incorporate near-infrared rays to facilitate cascade reactions and treat diabetic wounds. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the advantages of microneedle patches compared to traditional treatment methods. We focus on the design and mechanism of these patches based on existing experimental articles in the field and discuss the potential for future research on microneedle patches.

The Mix Ratio Study of Self-Stressed Anti-Washout Underwater Concrete Used in Nondrainage Strengthening.

Anti-washout underwater concrete (AWC) is widely used in nondrainage strengthening; however, there still exist some problems with it, such as high strength loss and poor interfacial bond in practical engineering application. Based on the study of self-stressed concrete (SSC), a research on the mix ratio for the C30 self-stressed anti-washout underwater concrete (SSAWC) was carried out in this paper in hope of solving the above problems, specifically, by adding an expansive agent to the AWC. The parameters, such as strength, fluidity, anti-dispersity, and expansibility, were picked as target indices in determination of the mix ratio. The orthogonal test design and range analysis were used to determine the reasonable mix ratio and study the influence of various parameters on the performance of SSAWC. The experimental program conducted includes a series of strength, fluidity, anti-dispersity, and expansibility tests on 18 groups of specimens. The results show that C30 SSAWC has an excellent performance using the optimal mix ratio. Compared with AWC, the expansibility and self-stress of the SSAWC can be easily observed, and the compressive strength ratio of the SSAWC casted in water to that casted in air is much bigger. This implies that SSAWC is applicable to the nondrainage strengthening.

Efficiency at maximum power output of quantum heat engines under finite-time operation.

We study the efficiency at maximum power, η(m), of irreversible quantum Carnot engines (QCEs) that perform finite-time cycles between a hot and a cold reservoir at temperatures T(h) and T(c), respectively. For QCEs in the reversible limit (long cycle period, zero dissipation), η(m) becomes identical to the Carnot efficiency η(C)=1-T(c)/T(h). For QCE cycles in which nonadiabatic dissipation and the time spent on two adiabats are included, the efficiency η(m) at maximum power output is bounded from above by η(C)/(2-η(C)) and from below by η(C)/2. In the case of symmetric dissipation, the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency η(CA)=1-√(T(c)/T(h)) is recovered under the condition that the time allocation between the adiabats and the contact time with the reservoir satisfy a certain relation.

Quantum Otto engine of a two-level atom with single-mode fields.

We establish a quantum Otto engine (QOE) of a two-level atom, which is confined in a one-dimensional (1D) harmonic trap and is coupled to single-mode radiation fields. Besides two adiabatic processes, the QOE cycle consists of two isochoric processes, along one of which the two-level atom as the working substance interacts with a single-mode radiation field. Based on the semigroup approach, we derive the time for completing any adiabatic process and then present a performance analysis of the heat engine model. Furthermore, we generalize the results to the performance optimization for a QOE of a single two-level atom trapped in a 1D power-law potential. Our result shows that the efficiency at maximum power output is dependent on the trap exponent θ but is independent of the energy spectrum index σ.