Wettability Gradient-Induced Diode: MXene-Engineered Membrane for Passive-Evaporative Cooling.

Thermoregulatory textiles, leveraging high-emissivity structural materials, have arisen as a promising candidate for personal cooling management; however, their advancement has been hindered by the underperformed water moisture transportation capacity, which impacts on their thermophysiological comfort. Herein, we designed a wettability-gradient-induced-diode (WGID) membrane achieving by MXene-engineered electrospun technology, which could facilitate heat dissipation and moisture-wicking transportation. As a result, the obtained WGID membrane could obtain a cooling temperature of 1.5 °C in the "dry" state, and 7.1 °C in the "wet" state, which was ascribed to its high emissivity of 96.40% in the MIR range, superior thermal conductivity of 0.3349 W m-1 K-1 (based on radiation- and conduction-controlled mechanisms), and unidirectional moisture transportation property. The proposed design offers an approach for meticulously engineering electrospun membranes with enhanced heat dissipation and moisture transportation, thereby paving the way for developing more efficient and comfortable thermoregulatory textiles in a high-humidity microenvironment.

Bioinspired Hierarchical Multi-Protective Membrane for Extreme Environments via Co-Electrospinning-Electrospray Strategy.

Extreme environments can cause severe harm to human health, and even threaten life safety. Lightweight, breathable clothing with multi-protective functions would be of great application value. However, integrating multi-protective functions into nanofibers in a facile way remains a great challenge. Here, a one-step co-electrospinning-electrospray strategy is developed to fabricate a superhydrophobic multi-protective membrane (S-MPM). The water contact angle of S-MPM can reach up to 164.3°. More importantly, S-MPM can resist the skin temperature drop (11.2 °C) or increase (17.2 °C) caused by 0 °C cold or 70 °C hot compared with pure electrospun membrane. In the cold climate (-5 °C), the anti-icing time of the S-MPM is extended by 2.52 times, while the deicing time is only 1.45 s due to the great photothermal effect. In a fire disaster situation, the total heat release and peak heat release rate values of flame retarded S-MPM drop sharply by 24.2% and 69.3%, respectively. The S-MPM will serve as the last line of defense for the human body and has the potential to trigger a revolution in the practical application of next-generation functional clothing.

Implantable Epigallocatechin Gallate Sustained-Release Nanofibers for the Prevention of Immobilization-Induced Muscle Atrophy.

Long-term immobilization of joints can lead to disuse atrophy of the muscles in the joints. Oral nutrients are used clinically for rehabilitation and therapeutic purposes, but bioavailability and targeting are limited. Here, we report tea polyphenols (dietary polyphenols), sustained-release nanofilms that release tea polyphenols through slow local degradation of core-shell nanofibers in muscles. This dietary polyphenol does not require gastrointestinal consumption and multiple doses and can directly remove inflammatory factors and superoxide generated in muscle tissue during joint fixation. The quality of muscles is increased by 30%, and muscle movement function is effectively improved. Although nanofibers need to be implanted into muscles, they can improve bacterial infections after joint surgery. To investigate the biological mechanism of this core-shell nanomembrane prevention, we conducted further transcriptomic studies on muscle, confirming that in addition to achieving antioxidation and anti-inflammation by inhibiting TNF-α and NF-κB signaling pathways, tea polyphenol core-shell nanofibers can also promote muscle formation by activating the p-Akt signaling pathway.

Toward low-emissivity passive heating: a supramolecular-enhanced membrane with warmth retention.

Maintaining a reasonably stable body temperature is vital for a variety of human activities in an energy-conservation strategy. However, it is well-known that metal-like materials, utilized as radiative reflectors, severely restrict wearability properties, thus posing a tremendous obstacle in personal thermal management (PTM) systems. Herein, we designed a supramolecular-enhanced membrane (SupraEM) acting as a mid-infrared (MIR) reflector to solve the conundrum of warmth-wearability performance. Benefiting from the low-emissivity of decorating titanium carbide (MXene) and the formation of supramolecular interactions, the prototyped polyvinylidene difluoride&Polyurethane/MXene (PVDF&PU/MXene) SupraEM demonstrated a low-emissivity of 0.246 and reinforced mechanical performance, resulting in an evenly higher temperature retention of 8 °C in comparison to the pristine hybrid membrane counterpart, and compared with a commercial textile that is three times thicker, it also exhibited higher temperature retention of 6.2 °C. This work demonstrates the wearability of decorated MXene without sacrificing its temperature retention, overcoming a major bottleneck that has plagued MXene as a thermoregulatory material for PTM systems.

Decoupling trend and emission reduction potential of CO2 emissions from China's petrochemical industry.

This paper aims to study the decoupling status and emission reduction potential of China's petrochemical industry from 1996 to 2019. Firstly, the IPCC method is used to calculate the CO2 emissions of the petrochemical industry in China, then the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method is used to identify the influencing factors of CO2 emissions, then the decoupling index is constructed to analyze the dependence of economic development on CO2 emissions, and finally the emission reduction potential model is established by using the influencing factors to reflect the CO2 emission reduction potential of the petrochemical industry. The results reveal that (1) the CO2 emissions can be divided into two stages of slow decline (1996-2000), (2015-2019), and one stage of rapid growth (2000-2015). (2) The energy intensity effect is the most effective factor to restrain CO2 emission, the economic growth effect is the key factor to promote CO2 emission. (3) From 1996 to 2019, there was a weak decoupling relationship between CO2 emission of petrochemical industry and economic development. Strong decoupling only occurred in 1996-2000 and 2015-2019. The CO2 emissions show only three decoupling score: I, II, and III. (4) CO2 mitigation occurred in four sub periods: 1996-2000, 2005-2010, 2010-2015, and 2015-2019. Therefore, the government should establish an energy-saving and environment-friendly industrial production system, intensify the use of clean energy, and optimize the labor force structure. It not only effectively strengthens the decoupling between the petrochemical industry and economic development, but also provides an empirical example for the carbon emission reduction and economic sustainable development of the petrochemical industry in other countries in the world.

Factor decomposition for ecological pressure of the whole industrial energy carbon footprint: a case study of China.

The purpose of this paper is to study the influencing factors of the ecological pressure of the energy carbon footprint (EPECF) of China's whole industry from 2000 to 2018. First, the EPECF of 48 sub industries is calculated, then divides 48 sub-industries into high-, medium-, and low-pressure industries, and uses the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to analyze and summarize the main driving forces of China's industrial EPECF changes. Finally, policy suggestions for the future industrial decompression are put forward. The main results are as follows: (1) Economic development is the most important factor to promote the growth of EPECF of the three major industries. (2) At present, the population pressure factors of forest and grassland have little effect, and the effect of returning farmland to forest and grassland has not been truly played. (3) The adjustment of industrial structure has gradually become a key factor in reducing EPECF of the three industries. (4) The gradual stability of energy intensity has a certain inhibitory effect on the increase of EPECF in high-pressure industry. (5) The adjustment of energy structure in low-pressure industry has gradually worked. Therefore, the government should establish an economic sustainable development system, vigorously develop clean energy, and realize the green transformation of various industries. This provides an empirical example for other countries in the world to reduce the EPECF.

Lotus Leaf-Inspired Breathable Membrane with Structured Microbeads and Nanofibers.

Electrospinning is a feasible technology to fabricate nanomaterials. However, the preparation of nanomaterials with controllable structures of microbeads and fine nanofibers is still a challenge, which hinders widespread applications of electrospun products. Herein, inspired by the micro/nanostructures of lotus leaves, we constructed a structured electrospun membrane with excellent comprehensive properties. First, micro/nanostructures of membranes with adjustable microbeads and nanofibers were fabricated on a large scale and quantitatively analyzed based on the controlling preparation, and their performances were systematically evaluated. The deformation of diverse polymeric solution droplets in the electrospinning process under varying electric fields was then simulated by molecular dynamic simulation. Finally, novel fibrous membranes with structured sublayers and controllable morphologies were designed, prepared, and compared. The achieved structured membranes demonstrate a high water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) > 17.5 kg/(m2 day), a good air permeability (AP) > 5 mL/s, a high water contact angle (WCA) up to 151°, and a high hydrostatic pressure of 623 mbar. The disclosed science and technology in this article can provide a feasible method to not only adjust micro/nanostructure fibers but also to design secondary multilayer structures. This research is believed to assist in promoting the diversified development of advanced fibrous membranes and intelligent protection.

Driving factors and decoupling trend analysis between agricultural CO2 emissions and economic development in China based on LMDI and Tapio decoupling.

Based on mathematical models, in-depth analysis about the interrelationship between agricultural CO2 emission and economic development has increasingly become a hotly debated topic. By applying two mathematical models including logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) and Tapio decoupling, this work aims to study the driving factor and decoupling trend for Chinese agricultural CO2 emission from 1996 to 2020. Firstly, the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) method is selected to estimate the agricultural CO2 emission from 1996 to 2020, and the LMDI model is adopted to decompose the driving factors of agricultural CO2 emission into four agricultural factors including economic development, carbon emission intensity, structure, and labor effect. Then, the Tapio decoupling model is applied to analyze the decoupling state and development trend between the development of agricultural economy and CO2 emission. Finally, this paper puts forward some policies to formulate a feasible agricultural CO2 emission reduction strategy. The main research conclusions are summarized as follows: 1) During the period from 1996 to 2020, China's agricultural CO2 emission showed two stages, a rapid growth stage (1996-2015) and a rapid decline stage (2016-2020). 2) Agricultural economic development is the first driving factor for the increase of agricultural CO2 emission, while agricultural labor factor and agricultural production efficiency factor play two key inhibitory roles. 3) From 1996 to 2020, on the whole, China's agricultural sector CO2 emission and economic development showed a weak decoupling (WD) state. The decoupling states corresponding to each time period are strong negative decoupling (SND) (1996-2000), expansive negative decoupling (END) (2001-2005), WD (2006-2015) and strong decoupling (SD) (2016-2020), respectively.

Investigation of lipid profile in Acetobacter pasteurianus Ab3 against acetic acid stress during vinegar production.

Elucidation of the acetic acid resistance (AAR) mechanisms of Acetobacter pasteurianus is significant for vinegar production. In this study, cell membrane lipid profile of A. pasteurianus Ab3 was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI) combined with high resolution accurate mass/mass spectrometry (HRAM/MS). We observed that cell remodeled the membrane physical state by decreasing the ratio of saturated fatty acids (SFAs)/unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), and increasing the chain length of fatty acids (FAs) and the content of cyclopropane FAs in response to extreme acid stress. Noticeably, the content of octadecadienoic acid (C18:2) elevated remarkably. Moreover, a continuous reduction in cell membrane fluidity and a "V-type" variance in permeability were discovered. The content of glycerophospholipid and ceramide increased significantly in cells harvested from culture with acidity of 75 g/L and 95 g/L compared to that with acidity of 30 g/L. Among the identified lipid species, the content of phosphatidylcholine (e.g. PC 19:0/18:2 and 19:1/18:0), ceramide (e.g. Cer d18:0/16:1 and d18:0/16:1 + O), and dimethylphosphatidylethanolamine (e.g. dMePE 19:1/16:1) increased notably with increasing acidity. Collectively, these findings refresh our current understanding of the AAR mechanisms in A. pasteurianus Ab3, and should direct future strain breeding and vinegar fermentation.

Dysfunction of B-cell lymphoma 2/adenovirus E1B 19KD interacting protein 3 in decidua is involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: Abnormal decidualization is a contributing factor for the development of preeclampsia. BCL-2/adenovirus E1B 19KD interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) has been identified as an apoptosis regulator in many tumors. Furthermore, our previous studies showed that both BNIP3 and cleaved-caspase 3 were significantly decreased in the decidual tissue of preeclampsia. Therefore, we hypothesized that BNIP3 might affect the development of preeclampsia by regulating both decidualization and apoptosis of decidual cells. METHOD: BNIP3 expression in human decidua and its function during decidualization were investigated using in-vitro cultured human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) and primary hESCs using real-time PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, siRNA techniques, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: The levels of BNIP3 mRNA and protein in the decidua of female preeclampsia patients were lower than those of women with normal pregnancy. The expression of BNIP3 was upregulated after in-vitro decidualization and knock down of BNIP3 with small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly reduced the transcription of decidualization markers. In addition, BNIP3 knockdown upregulated p-mTOR and p-p70s6k as well as decreased apoptosis, whereas rapamycin (which is an inhibitor of mTOR) reversed apoptosis. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that BNIP3 is particularly important for decidualization and may contribute to both the occurrence and development of preeclampsia via mTOR/p70s6k/BCL-2 signaling pathways.

The Attenuation of Trophoblast Invasion Caused by the Downregulation of EZH2 Is Involved in the Pathogenesis of Human Recurrent Miscarriage.

Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is currently defined as two or more losses of a clinically established intrauterine pregnancy. Despite years of research, RM continues to be a clinically frustrating challenge for patients and physicians, and its etiology remains poorly understood. Accumulating evidence has suggested that epigenetic modifications are involved in early embryogenesis, and defects in epigenetic patterning contribute to the development of RM. Here, we studied the role of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) in the pathogenesis of RM and found that the EZH2 expression was significantly decreased in the villi from women with RM compared with that in control villi. EZH2 promoted the invasion of trophoblast cells. Moreover, EZH2 could promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition by epigenetically silencing CDX1. Both chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR and dual-luciferase report assays demonstrated that EZH2 repressed CDX1 transcription via direct binding to its promoter region and then trimethylating Histone3-Lysine27. Furthermore, we discovered that progesterone, which is used extensively in the treatment of miscarriage and RM, increased the expression of EZH2 via the extracellular signaling-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathway. These findings revealed that EZH2 may regulate trophoblast invasion as an epigenetic factor, suggesting that EZH2 might be a potential therapeutic target for RM.

Insights into frequent asthma exacerbations from a primary care perspective and the implications of UK National Review of Asthma Deaths recommendations.

The United Kingdom National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) recommends that patients who require ≥3 courses of oral corticosteroids (OCS) for exacerbations in the past year or those on British Thoracic Society (BTS) Step 4/5 treatment must be referred to a specialist asthma service. The aim of the study was to identify the proportion of asthma patients in primary care that fulfil NRAD criteria for specialist referral and factors associated with frequent exacerbations. A total of 2639 adult asthma patients from 10 primary care practices in Glasgow, UK were retrospectively studied between 2014 and 2015. Frequent exacerbators and short-acting ß2-agonist (SABA) over-users were identified if they received ≥2 confirmed OCS courses for asthma and ≥13 SABA inhalers in the past year, respectively. Community dispensing data were used to assess treatment adherence defined as taking ≥75% of prescribed inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose. The study population included 185 (7%) frequent exacerbators, 137 (5%) SABA over-users, and 319 (12%) patients on BTS Step 4/5 treatment. Among frequent exacerbators, 41% required BTS Step 4/5 treatment, 46% had suboptimal ICS adherence, 42% had not attended an asthma review in the past year and 42% had no previous input from a specialist asthma service. Older age, female gender, BTS Step 4/5, SABA over-use and co-existing COPD diagnosis increased the risk of frequent exacerbations independently. Fourteen per 100 asthma patients would fulfil the NRAD criteria for specialist referral. Better collaboration between primary and secondary care asthma services is needed to improve chronic asthma care.

Dysfunction of pseudogene PGK1P2 is involved in preeclampsia by acting as a competing endogenous RNA of PGK1.

OBJECTIVES: Normal decidualization is essential for normal pregnancy and abnormal decidualization is thought to cause preeclampsia (PE). Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) is an enzyme involved in the glycolytic pathway which is the main metabolism process decidual cells exhibit. Phosphoglycerate kinase 1, pseudogene 2 (PGK1P2), which is also a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), has a high sequence similarity to PGK1 and therefore acquires an ability for sequence-specific regulation. METHODOLOGY: The expression of PGK1 and PGK1P2 in human decidua, as well as their relationship and functions during decidualization was investigated using in vitro cultured human endometrial stromal cell lines (hESCs) and primary ESCs by real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, siRNA techniques and miRNA inhibitor or mimic transfection. RESULTS: The levels of PGK1 and PGK1P2 mRNA and PGK1 protein in severe preeclamptic decidua were lower than those in normal pregnant controls. PGK1 and PGK1P2 mRNAs were both induced after in vitro decidualization and their deficiency caused impaired decidualization in turn. We also found PGK1P2 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to regulate PGK1 expression through miR-330-5p. CONCLUSIONS: We proved that PGK1 and PGK1P2 are a pair of ceRNAs against miR-330-5p and they play a vital role in human decidualization by regulating angiogenesis and glycolysis metabolism. The deficiency of PGK1 and PGK1P2 in the decidua jeopardizes the decidualization process and subsequently might lead to the occurrence of PE. These findings may help in promoting novel predictive, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of PE in future.

Dysregulated Pseudogene HK2P1 May Contribute to Preeclampsia as a Competing Endogenous RNA for Hexokinase 2 by Impairing Decidualization.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder, which seriously undermines the health of maternity and fetus. However, its cause and pathogenesis remain elusive. Flawed decidualization is considered to be related to preeclampsia. Increasing evidence indicates that long noncoding RNAs are correlated with a variety of diseases, including preeclampsia. In this study, we verified the expression of long noncoding RNA HK2P1 (hexokinase 2 pseudogene 1) and its cognate gene HK2 (hexokinase 2), which were found by our previous RNA-sequencing analysis in the decidua of severe preeclampsia patients and matched control subjects. Besides that, we also investigated the function and the mechanism of HK2P1 and HK2 during decidualization. HK2 is the crucial enzyme involved in glycolysis. The HK2P1 and HK2 genes are homologous to each other. The results demonstrated that HK2P1, like HK2, stimulated the glucose uptake and lactate production of human endometrial stromal cells. In addition, HK2P1 and HK2 are indispensable for endometrial decidualization. Downregulated HK2P1 or HK2 inhibited human endometrial stromal cells proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between the expression of HK2P1 and HK2, and HK2P1 regulated the HK2 expression via competition for the shared miR-6887-3p. Taken together, our results indicated that the reduced expression of HK2P1 and HK2 may have contributed to the occurrence and development of preeclampsia by suppressing glycolysis and impairing decidualization. Our study would be helpful to understand the pathogenesis and the regulatory network of preeclampsia.

Dysfunction of DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 in the decidua is relevant to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related disorder that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation and affects 3-5% of all human pregnancies worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of PE still remains poorly understood. A deficiency in decidualization is considered a contributing factor to the development of PE. The DNA damage inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) gene encodes a protein whose main function is inhibiting mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) under stress, and several studies have demonstrated that its expression promotes tumor cell apoptosis. Our previous RNA-Seq results showed that DDIT4 is significantly decreased in the decidua of PE women. Here, we aimed to define the role of DDIT4 in human decidualization and its relationship with PE. The results indicated that DDIT4 was markedly decreased in the decidua of severe PE compared with those from uncomplicated pregnancies. The expression of DDIT4 in human endometrial stromal cell (hESC) line and primary hESCs was up-regulated during decidualization. Knockdown DDIT4 in hESCs and primary hESCs caused a significant reduction in the transcription of decidualization markers, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) and prolactin (PRL). In addition, silencing DDIT4 caused up-regulated p-mTOR and p-p70s6k and reduced apoptosis, whereas rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR, reversed the result of apoptosis. Moreover, the expression of cleaved-caspase 3 in severe PE was significantly lower than that of uncomplicated pregnancies, which was unfavorable for trophoblast invasion. Our data suggest that DDIT4 is critical for normal decidualization and the apoptosis of decidual cells. DDIT4 deficiency is likely involved in the development of PE.

Downregulation of decidual SP1 and P300 is associated with severe preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-induced disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation, affecting 5-7% of pregnancies worldwide. So far, the etiology of PE remains poorly understood. Abnormal decidualization is thought to contribute to the development of PE. SP1 belongs to the Sp/KLF superfamily and can recruit P300 to regulate the transcription of several genes. SP1 is also very important for decidualization as it enhances the expression of tissue factor. In this study, we investigated the expression of SP1 and P300 in deciduae and their relationship with PE. A total of 42 decidua samples were collected, of which 21 were from normal pregnant (NP) and 21 from severe PE. SP1 and P300 expression in deciduae and the levels of SP1 and P300 in cultured human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) and primary hESCs during decidualization were determined. To further investigate the role of SP1 and P300 in human decidualization, RNA interference was used to silence SP1 and P300 in hESCs and primary hESCs. The following results were obtained. We found that the expressions of SP1 and P300 were reduced in decidual tissues with PE compared to those from NP. In the in vitro model of induction of decidualization, we found an increase in both SP1 and P300 levels. Silencing of SP1 and P300 resulted in abnormal decidualization and a significant reduction of decidualization markers such as insulin-like growth factor-binding protein1 and prolactin. Furthermore, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor was also decreased upon SP1 and P300 silencing. Similar results were observed in primary hESCs. Our results suggest that SP1 and P300 play an important role during decidualization. Dysfunction of SP1 and P300 leads to impaired decidualization and might contribute to PE.

[Role of mitochondrial calcium uniporter in cardioprotection induced by ischemic postconditioning in isolated rat heart].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of mitochondrial calcium uniporter in cardioprotection elicited by ischemic postconditioning (Postcond). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for Langendorff isolated heart perfusion. The hearts subjected to global ischemia for 30 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion. Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), maximal rise/fall rate of left ventricular pressure (± dP/dtmax) were measured. The level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the coronary effluent was measured spectrophotometrically, the content of formazan of myocardium was also measured at the end of reperfusion. RESULT: Compared to I/R group, Postcond had an significant increase in the mechanical function of the left ventricle, with LDH release reduced and the content of formazan increased. Spermine, the opener of mitochondrial calcium uniporter, deteriorated the mechanical function of left ventricle and decreased the formazan content, and increased LDH release. Ruthenium red, the inhibitor of mitochondrial calcium uniporter, increased the mechanical function of the left ventricle, decreased the LDH release, but the content of formazan was not increased. CONCLUSION: The inhibition of mitochondrial calcium uniporter is involved in the mechanisms of ischemic postconditioning.