Creating Atomically Iridium-Doped PdOx Nanoparticles for Efficient and Durable Methane Abatement.

The urgent environmental concern of methane abatement, attributed to its high global warming potential, necessitates the development of methane oxidation catalysts (MOC) with enhanced low-temperature activity and durability. Herein, an iridium-doped PdOx nanoparticle supported on silicalite-1 zeolite (PdIr/S-1) catalyst was synthesized and applied for methane catalytic combustion. Comprehensive characterizations confirmed the atomically dispersed nature of iridium on the surface of PdOx nanoparticles, creating an Ir4f-O-Pdcus microstructure. The atomically doped Ir transferred more electrons to adjacent oxygen atoms, modifying the electronic structure of PdOx and thus enhancing the redox ability of the PdIr/S-1 catalysts. This electronic modulation facilitated methane adsorption on the Pd site of Ir4f-O-Pdcus, reducing the energy barrier for C-H bond cleavage and thereby increasing the reaction rate for methane oxidation. Consequently, the optimized PdIr0.1/S-1 showed outstanding low-temperature activity for methane combustion (T50 = 276 °C) after aging and maintained long-term stability over 100 h under simulated exhaust conditions. Remarkably, the novel PdIr0.1/S-1 catalyst demonstrated significantly enhanced activity even after undergoing harsh hydrothermal aging at 750 °C for 16 h, significantly outperforming the conventional Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. This work provides valuable insights for designing efficient and durable MOC catalysts, addressing the critical issue of methane abatement.

Examining nonlinear effects of socioecological drivers on urban solar energy development in China using machine learning and high-dimensional data.

In the context of carbon neutrality target, renewable energy sources have been transforming from "supplementary energy" to "main energy", which have promoted the green and low-carbon transition of global energy supply system. In-depth analyzing the spatial patterns and driving mechanisms of renewable energy expansion are of significance for optimizing the spatial layout of clean power, and avoiding the phenomenon of wind and solar power curtailment. In this paper, we proposed an ensemble learning model to examine the nonlinear effects of physical geography, resource endowment, and socio-economic factors on solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity at the prefecture-level city scale in China. Using the city-level multi-sources geospatial big data, we extensively collected a total of 175 related explanatory variables and cumulative installed capacity of solar PV power for 295 prefecture-level cities of China. The recursive feature elimination algorithm (SVM-REF) is firstly used to extract the optimal feature subset of urban PV capacity from multi-dimensional features variables. Furthermore, three advanced machine learning models (random forest, decision tree, extreme gradient boosting) are developed to identify the key influencing factors and nonlinear driving effect of urban solar PV power expansion in China. The results show that China's PV installation capacity is highly concentrated in Northern and Northwest parts of China, with the occupancy over 70% in 2019. Moreover, the XGBoost model has the best prediction accuracy (R2 = 0.97) among three methods. We also found that total amount of urban water resources, average solar radiation, and population density are the most important controlling factors for urban solar PV capacity expansion in China, with contribution of 35.6%, 17.7%, and 13.3%, respectively. We suggested that urban solar PV layout mode in China is recommended to gradually shift from resource orientation to the "resource-environment-demand" comprehensive orientation. The paper provides a replicable, scalable machine learning models for simulating solar PV power capacity at the prefecture-level city scale, and serves as a motivation for decision-making reference of the macro siting optimization and sustainable development of China's green power industry.

Oriented Metal-organic Framework Membranes for Molecular Separations.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes, which are recognized as state-of-the-art platforms applied in various separation processes, have attracted widespread attention. Nonetheless, to overcome the trade-off between permeability and selectivity, which is crucial for achieving efficient separation, it is important to rationally design and manipulate MOF membrane structure. Given remarkable advances in the past decade, a timely summary of recent advancement in this field has become indispensable. This review introduces major strategies for fabricating oriented MOF membranes, including in situ growth, contra-diffusion method, interface-assisted approach, and laminated nanosheet assembly. New insights into their updated progress and potential are elucidated. Of particular note, recent development and emerging applications of oriented MOF membranes, illustrating their potential to address environmental and energy challenges, are highlighted. Finally, remaining challenges facing their bath production and practical applications are discussed.

Spatial-temporal differentiation and influencing factors of carbon emission trajectory in Chinese cities - A case study of 247 prefecture-level cities.

Cities, where human energy activities and greenhouse gas emissions are concentrated, contribute significantly to alleviating the impacts of global climate change. Utilizing the China Carbon Emissions Accounting Database (CEADs) to provide carbon dioxide emission inventories for urban areas in China at the prefecture level, this study closely examines the historical evolution trajectories of carbon emissions across 247 urban units from 2005 to 2019. The logarithmic cubic function model was employed to simulate these trajectories, evaluating urban emission peaks and classifying the different carbon emission trajectories. Further, the Geographical and Temporal Weighted Regression model was employed to explore spatiotemporal traits and essential variables that impact the variations in carbon emissions among four identified trajectory types. Our results showed that Chinese urban carbon emission trajectories can be classified into four categories: a) peaking emissions, b) fluctuating growth, c) continuous growth, and d) passive decline. Specifically, 43 cities, primarily in North China, proactively attained their emission peak post-2010, driven by the reduction in secondary industry and energy intensity. 90 cities, largely industrial hubs in the southeast coast and inland, reached an emission plateau around 2015, exhibiting fluctuating growth due to dependencies on secondary industries. 101 cities, predominantly located in western and central regions, demonstrated a clear upward trend in carbon emissions, propelled by rapid urbanization and heavy industry-oriented economic development. Lastly, 13 cities, typically in the northeastern and southwestern regions, experienced a passive decline in carbon emissions, attributable to resource depletion or economic downturns. It is evident that China's city-level carbon peaking has demonstrated some effectiveness, yet considerable progress is still required.

Development and application of sugarcane streak mosaic virus vectors.

Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) is one of the major pathogens of sugarcane in the world. Molecular studies and disease management of SCSMV are hindered by the lack of efficient infectious clones. In this study, we successfully constructed Agrobacterium infiltration based infectious clone of SCSMV with different variants. Infectious clones of wild type SCSMV could efficiently infect Nicotiana benthamiana and sugarcane plants resulting in streak and mosaic symptoms on systemic leaves which were further confirmed with RT-PCR and serological assays. SCSMV variants of less adenylation displayed attenuated pathogenicity on N.benthamiana. SCSMV-based recombinant heterologous EGFP protein vector was also developed. The EGFP-tagged recombinant SCSMV could highly expressed in vegetative organs including roots. These infectious clones of SCSMV could be further developed for platform tools for both biotechnological studies and management of SCSMV disease.

Near-infrared light and PIF4 promote plant antiviral defense by enhancing RNA interference.

The molecular mechanism underlying phototherapy and light treatment, which utilize various wavelength spectra of light, including near-infrared (NIR), to cure human and plant diseases, is obscure. Here we revealed that NIR light confers antiviral immunity by positively regulating PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4)-activated RNA interference (RNAi) in plants. PIF4, a central transcription factor involved in light signaling, accumulates to high levels under NIR light in plants. PIF4 directly induces the transcription of two essential components of RNAi, RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 6 (RDR6) and ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1), which play important roles in resistance to both DNA and RNA viruses. Moreover, the pathogenic determinant ßC1 protein, which is evolutionarily conserved and encoded by betasatellites, interacts with PIF4 and inhibits its positive regulation of RNAi by disrupting PIF4 dimerization. These findings shed light on the molecular mechanism of PIF4-mediated plant defense and provide a new perspective for the exploration of NIR antiviral treatment.

Antibiotic-loaded bone cement combined with negative pressure wound therapy for treating sacrococcygeal wound following sacral chordoma resection: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Sacral chordoma is a rare, malignant primary bone tumor with subtle clinical manifestations. The extensive cavity and soft tissue defect after radical resection of the tumor can lead to complications such as sacrococcygeal skin necrosis, infection, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, and delayed healing or nonhealing. PURPOSE: To describe the treatment effect of the combination use of antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC), a gluteus maximus muscle flap, and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on the nonhealing sacrococcygeal wound after sacral chordoma resection. CASE REPORT: A 67-year-old woman with a sacrococcygeal wound following sacral chordoma resection was admitted to the hospital. In the 2-stage surgery, the internal fixation and synthetic dura substitute were exposed and CSF leakage was found after debridement, a gluteus maximus muscle flap was used to cover the synthetic dura substitute to address the CSF leakage, ALBC was used to cover the internal fixation, and a modified NPWT system was fixed to the wound for improved flushing and drainage. RESULTS: The previously nonhealing wound healed 3 weeks postoperatively, and satisfactory recovery was achieved by 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: This case report suggests that the combination use of ALBC, gluteus maximus muscle flap, and NPWT can effectively promote sacrococcygeal wound healing after chordoma resection.

Work conflict: Another trigger to smartphone addiction of individuals with high rumination?

With the widespread use of smartphones, many people spend much time on smartphones for shopping, learning, socializing, and so on, which can affect an individual's mental health and work performance. Especially, individual perceived conflict at work may increase their social anxiety and thus raise the risk of their smartphone addiction. This study collected data from 577 corporate employees in China through convenience sampling to explain the influence mechanism of work conflict on smartphone addiction and to verify the moderating role of rumination. Statistical results show that relationship conflicts, task conflicts, and process conflicts positively affect smartphone addiction by enhancing social anxiety. Moreover, rumination positively moderates the relationship between work conflict and smartphone addiction. People with high rumination are more likely to escape reality due to conflict at work, which further enhances their smartphone addiction behaviors. Our study suggests that a relatively harmonious working atmosphere should be established within organizations, especially for employees with rumination. Work conflict is a predisposing factor for social anxiety and smartphone addiction in individuals with high rumination.

In Situ Synthesis of Encapsulated Pd@silicalite-2 for Highly Stable Methane Catalytic Combustion.

Methane emissions from vehicles have made a significant contribution to the greenhouse effect, primarily due to its high global warming potential. Supported noble metal catalysts are widely employed in catalytic combustion of methane in vehicles, but they still face challenges such as inadequate low-temperature activity and deactivation due to sintering under harsh operating conditions. In the present work, a series of encapsulated structured catalysts with palladium nanoparticles confined in hydrophobic silicalite-2 were prepared by an in situ synthesis method. Based on various characterization methods, including XRD, HR-TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, O2-TPD, H2O-TPD, CH4-TPR, Raman, and in situ DRIFTS-MS, it was confirmed that PdOx nanoparticles were mainly encapsulated inside the silicalite-2 zeolite, which further maintained the stability of the nanoparticles under harsh conditions. Specifically, the 3Pd@S-2 sample exhibited high catalytic activity for methane oxidation even after harsh hydrothermal aging at 750 °C for 16 h and maintained long-term stability at 400 °C for 130 h during wet methane combustion. In situ Raman spectroscopy has confirmed that PdOx species act as active species for methane oxidation. During this reaction, methane reacts with PdOx to produce CO2 and H2O, while simultaneously reducing PdOx to metallic Pd species, which is further reoxidized by oxygen to replenish the PdOx catalyst.

Oriented Ultrathin π-complexation MOF Membrane for Ethylene/Ethane and Flue Gas Separations.

Rational design and engineering of high-performance molecular sieve membranes towards C2 H4 /C2 H6 and flue gas separations remain a grand challenge to date. In this study, through combining pore micro-environment engineering with meso-structure manipulation, highly c-oriented sub-100 nm-thick Cu@NH2 -MIL-125 membrane was successfully prepared. Coordinatively unsaturated Cu ions immobilized in the NH2 -MIL-125 framework enabled high-affinity π-complexation interactions with C2 H4 , resulting in an C2 H4 /C2 H6 selectivity approaching 13.6, which was 9.4 times higher than that of pristine NH2 -MIL-125 membrane; moreover, benefiting from π-complexation interactions between CO2 and Cu(I) sites, our membrane displayed superior CO2 /N2 selectivity of 43.2 with CO2 permeance of 696 GPU, which far surpassed the benchmark of other pure MOF membranes. The above multi-scale structure optimization strategy is anticipated to present opportunities for significantly enhancing the separation performance of diverse molecular sieve membranes.

Fabrication of Highly Oriented Ultrathin Zirconium Metal-Organic Framework Membrane from Nanosheets towards Unprecedented Gas Separation.

Concurrent regulation of crystallographic orientation and thickness of zirconium metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF) membranes is challenging but promising for their performance enhancement. In this study, we pioneered the fabrication of uniform triangular-shaped, 40 nm thick UiO-66 nanosheet (NS) seeds by employing an anisotropic etching strategy. Through innovating confined counter-diffusion-assisted epitaxial growth, highly (111)-oriented 165 nm-thick UiO-66 membrane was prepared. The significant reduction in thickness and diffusion barrier in the framework endowed the membrane with unprecedented CO2 permeance (2070 GPU) as well as high CO2 /N2 selectivity (35.4), which surpassed the performance limits of state-of-the-art polycrystalline MOF membranes. In addition, highly (111)-oriented 180 nm-thick NH2 -UiO-66 membrane showing superb H2 /CO2 separation performance with H2 permeance of 1230 GPU and H2 /CO2 selectivity of 41.3, was prepared with the above synthetic procedure.

Complete twin suppression in oriented NH2-MIL-125 film via facile coordination modulation.

Complete suppression of twin crystal formation in oriented metal-organic framework (MOF) film remains a great challenge. In this study, we successfully avoided the twin generation in c-oriented NH2-MIL-125 film through simple competitive metal ion-based coordination modulation. Simultaneously, relevant mechanism associated with twin suppression was elucidated.

Antibiotic-loaded Bone Cement Combined with Vacuum-assisted Closure Facilitating Wound Healing in Wagner 3-4 Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

This study explored the clinical effectiveness of antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) combined with vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) on the treatment of Wagner 3-4 diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). This is a retrospective study, including 32 patients with Wagner 3-4 DFUs who had undergone treatment between August 2019 and June 2021. Patient age, sex, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), ankle brachial index (ABI), white blood cells (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, comorbidities and wound closure methods were recorded. Patients were divided into the study group and control group according to the treatment modality. Patients in the study group received the combination treatment of ALBC and VAC, while patients in the control group received single VAC treatment. Clinical endpoints were assessed and compared between the two groups, including wound complete healing time and complications after operation. All patients were followed-up 6 months postoperation. Results showed that the mean healing time of the study group (44.20 ± 16.72 days) was shorter than that of the control group (64.00 ± 29.85 days) (P < .05). The infection rate of the study group on the 10th day postoperation was lower than that of the control group (6.67%, 47.06%, P < .05). And there were no significant statistical differences between the two groups in terms of bleeding and necrosis complications postoperation (P = .603, P = .603). Based on the findings, we conclude that the application of ALBC combined with VAC can facilitate wound healing in Wagner 3-4 DFUs patients. It can help to control wound infections and shorten wound healing time.

Titanium-Oxo Cluster Assisted Fabrication of a Defect-Rich Ti-MOF Membrane Showing Versatile Gas-Separation Performance.

Although having shown great promise for efficient gas separation, relevant study of Ti-MOF membranes remains very scarce, owing to limited Ti source types and uncertain factors which dominate the separation properties. In this work, we pioneered the use of the Ti8 (µ2 -O)8 (OOCC6 H5 )16 cluster as the Ti source of MIL-125 membranes, which led to lower reaction temperature and higher missing-linker number within the framework and therefore, enhanced CO2 /N2 adsorption selectivity. The MIL-125 membrane prepared by combining single-mode microwave heating with tertiary growth displayed an ideal CO2 /N2 selectivity of 38.7, which ranked the highest among all pristine pure MOF membranes measured under comparable conditions. In addition, the ideal H2 /N2 and H2 /CH4 selectivity was as high as 64.9 and 40.7, thus showing great promise for versatile utility in gas separation.

Sulforaphane regulates the proliferation of leukemia stem-like cells via Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Sulforaphane (SFN), the main ingredient in broccoli/broccoli sprouts, has a good anticancer effect in a wide variety of tumors, but whether SFN affects acute leukemia is not elucidated. Due to the self-renewal capability for leukemia stem cells, acute leukemia has a high relapse rate. This study explored the effects and related molecular mechanisms of SFN on the proliferation of leukemia stem-like cells in acute myeloid leukemia cells. We found that SFN inhibited the proliferation of leukemia stem-like cells in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, we observed that SFN could regulate the stem characteristic of leukemia cells. After SFN treatment, the expression of the key players in the Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway was significantly decreased at the transcriptional and protein levels. To further determine the contribution of the Shh signaling molecular mechanism to SFN-mediated self-renewal capability of LSCs, we then manipulated the Shh gene in the leukemia cells to either overexpress the gene using lentiviral vector transduction or knockdown the gene via siRNA. The results demonstrated that SFN suppressed proliferation in Shh-overexpressed cells more than in Shh-downregulated cells, suggesting that SFN negatively modulates proliferation of leukemia stem-like cells via affecting the Shh signaling pathway. Altogether, these results suggest that SFN is a potent anti-leukemia agent that has inhibitory effects on leukemia stem-like cells' proliferation by regulating the Shh signaling pathway.

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In the new era, ecological restoration of territorial space is the important task of maintaining regional ecological security, improving regional ecological quality and providing high-quality ecological products. From the perspective of ecological security, accurately determination of key areas to be restored in the territorial space is the primary work, and it is also a key and difficult problem to scientifically carry out ecological restoration. Based on the mainstream ecological security pattern theory, taking Shanghai as the research area, we integrated morphological spatial pattern analysis method and InVEST model to identify ecological sources, extracted ecological corridors, ecological "pinch points" and obstacle points with circuit theory, comprehensively determined the key areas to be restored, and proposed targeted restoration strategies. The results showed that the ecological sources of Shanghai were mainly distributed in the Yangtze River estuary, Chongming Island, Hangzhou Bay coast, and Dianshan Lake, accounting for about 17.9% of the study area. There were 103 key ecological corridors. The key areas to be repaired included 12 ecological "pinch points" and 54 ecological obstacle points, which were mainly distributed at the border of ecological source and ecological corridor, as well asthe intersection or turning point of ecological corridor and ecological corridor. According to the typical problems of key areas to be restored and land use conditions, three types of restoration strategy zones were proposed: ecological landscape reshaping, important corridor penetration, and ecological shoreline protection and restoration. The results could provide reference for compiling a territorial space ecological restoration plan in Shanghai and building a medium-scale ecological security pattern and carrying out systemic ecological restoration work in other regions of China.

Increasing NADPH impairs fungal H2O2 resistance by perturbing transcriptional regulation of peroxiredoxin.

NADPH provides the reducing power for decomposition of reactive oxygen species (ROS), making it an indispensable part during ROS defense. It remains uncertain, however, if living cells respond to the ROS challenge with an elevated intracellular NADPH level or a more complex NADPH-mediated manner. Herein, we employed a model fungus Aspergillus nidulans to probe this issue. A conditional expression of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-strain was constructed to manipulate intracellular NADPH levels. As expected, turning down the cellular NADPH concentration drastically lowered the ROS response of the strain; it was interesting to note that increasing NADPH levels also impaired fungal H2O2 resistance. Further analysis showed that excess NADPH promoted the assembly of the CCAAT-binding factor AnCF, which in turn suppressed NapA, a transcriptional activator of PrxA (the key NADPH-dependent ROS scavenger), leading to low antioxidant ability. In natural cell response to oxidative stress, we noticed that the intracellular NADPH level fluctuated "down then up" in the presence of H2O2. This might be the result of a co-action of the PrxA-dependent NADPH consumption and NADPH-dependent feedback of G6PD. The fluctuation of NADPH is well correlated to the formation of AnCF assembly and expression of NapA, thus modulating the ROS defense. Our research elucidated how A. nidulans precisely controls NADPH levels for ROS defense.

Intranasal immunization with O-2'-Hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Newcastle disease virus DNA vaccine enhances mucosal immune response in chickens.

BACKGROUND: There has been a great interest in developing strategies for enhancing antigen delivery to the mucosal immune system as well as identifying mucosal active immunostimulating agents. To elevate the potential of O-2'-Hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (O-2'-HACC) as an adjuvant and mucosal immune delivery carrier for DNA vaccine, we prepared the O-2'-HACC loaded with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) F gene plasmid DNA and C3d6 molecular adjuvant (O-2'-HACC/pFDNA microparticles). RESULTS: The O-2'-HACC/pFDNA exhibited a regular spherical morphology with a particle size of 202.3 ± 0.52 nm, a zeta potential of 50.8 ± 8.21 mV, encapsulation efficiency of 90.74 ± 1.10%, and a loading capacity of 49.84 ± 1.20%. The plasmid DNA could be sustainably released from the O-2'-HACC/pFDNA after an initial burst release. Intranasal vaccination of chickens immunized with O-2'-HACC/pFDNA not only induced higher anti-NDV IgG and sIgA antibody titers but also significantly promoted lymphocyte proliferation and produced higher levels of IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, CD4+, and CD8 + T lymphocytes compared with the NDV commercial live attenuated vaccine. Intranasal delivery of the O-2'-HACC/pFDNA enhanced humoral, cellular, and mucosal immune responses and protected chickens from the infection of highly virulent NDV compared with the intramuscular delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings indicated that the O-2'-HACC could be used as a vaccine adjuvant and delivery system for mucosal immunity and have an immense application promise.

[Effect and Mechanism of Sulforaphane on G2/M Phase Arrest of Acute Myeloid Leukemia KG1a and KG1 Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on G2/M phase arrest of acute myeloid leukemia cells and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: KG1a and KG1cells were treated by different concentrations of SFN for 48 h. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to analyze the phase distribution of cell cycle. High-throughput sequencing was used to detect the effect of SFN on the expression of cell cycle related genes in KG1a cells. The mRNA expression of P53, P21, CDC2 and CyclinB1 were detected by qPCR. The protein expression of P53, CDC2, P-CDC2 and CyclinB1 were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Cells in the G2/M phase were increased from 11.9% to 54.0% in KG1a cells and 18.5% to 83.3% in KG1 cells after treated by SFN (8 µ mol / L) for 48 hours（P<0.001）. KEGG analysis indicated that P53 pathway was enriched in KG1a cells after treated by SFN. The heat-map graph showed that SFN could change the relevant genes of the cell cycle in KG1a cells. After SFN treatment, the mRNA level of P53 and P21 were significantly increased in KG1 and KG1a cells（P<0.05 or P<0.01）. The mRNA level of CDC2 showed a decrease trend with the increasing dose of SFN. At the dosage of 8 µmol /L, the mRNA expression levels of CDC2 was significantly lower than that in control group（P<0.05）. At the same time, the protein level of P53 was significantly increased in KG1 and kG1a cells after treated by SFN（P<0.05）. The protein level of CDC2 showed a decrease trend with the increasing dose of SFN in a dose manner（r=0.9482 and r=0.8977）. The protein levels of CDC2 in SFN 8 and 12 µ mol/L groups were significantly lower than that in control group(P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein levels of P-CDC2 was increased. But the change of mRNA and protein level of CyclinB1 was not significant. CONCLUSION: SFN induces leukemia cells to block in G2/M phase by activating P53 signaling pathway, which can inhibit the expression of CDC2 and the activity of CDC2/cyclinB1.