Multicomponent nickel-molybdenum-tungsten-based nanorods for stable and efficient alkaline seawater splitting.

The electrolysis of seawater for hydrogen production holds promise as a sustainable technology for energy generation. Developing water-splitting catalysts with low overpotential and stable operation in seawater is essential. In this study, we employed a hydrothermal method to synthesize NiMoWOX microrods (NiMoWOX@NF). Subsequently, an annealing process yielded a composite N-doped carbon-coated Ni3N/MoO2/WO2 nanorods (NC@Ni3N/MoO2/WO2@NF), preserving the ultrahigh-specific surface area of the original structure. A two-electrode electrolytic cell was assembled using NC@Ni3N/MoO2/WO2@NF as the cathode and NiMoWOX@NF as the anode, demonstrating exceptional performance in seawater splitting. The cell operated at a voltage of 1.51 V with a current density of 100 mA·cm-2 in an alkaline seawater solution. Furthermore, the NC@Ni3N/MoO2/WO2@NF || NiMoWOX@NF electrolytic cell exhibited remarkable stability, running continuously for over 120 h at a current of 1100 mA·cm-2 without any observable delay. These experimental results are corroborated by density functional theory calculations. The NC@Ni3N/MoO2/WO2@NF || NiMoWOX@NF electrolyzer emerges as a promising option for industrial-scale hydrogen production through seawater electrolysis.

Inhibitory Impact Of Cinobufagin In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Metastasis: Involvements Of Macrophage Reprogramming Through Upregulated MME and Inactivated FAK/STAT3 Signaling.

BACKGROUND: Cinobufagin (CBG), a key bioactive component in cinobufacini, exhibits antitumor properties. This study explores CBG's impact on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) metastasis and elucidates the underpinning mechanism. METHODS: Murine xenograft and orthotopic metastatic TNBC models were generated and treated with CBG. The burden of metastatic tumor in the mouse lung, the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and macrophage polarization markers within the tumors were examined. The phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and mobility of TNBCs in vitro in a macrophage-TNBC cell coculture system were analyzed. Physiological targets of CBG were identified by bioinformatics analyses. RESULTS: CBG treatment significantly alleviated lung tumor burden and EMT activity. It triggered an M2-to-M1 shift in TAMs, resulting in decreased TNBC cell migration, invasion, and EMT in vitro. CBG upregulated membrane metalloendopeptidase (MME) expression, suppressing FAK and STAT3 phosphorylation. Silencing of MME, either in mice or TAMs, counteracted CBG effects, reinstating M2 TAM predominance and enhancing TNBC cell metastasis. Cotreatment with Defactinib, a FAK antagonist, reversed M2 TAM polarization and TNBC cell metastasis. Notably, MME silencing in TNBC cells had no impact on CBG-suppressed malignant properties, indicating MME's indirect involvement in TNBC cell behavior through TAM mediation. CONCLUSION: This study unveils CBG's ability to enhance MME expression, deactivate FAK/STAT3 signaling, and inhibit TNBC metastasis by suppressing M2-skewed macrophages.

Hot Air Treatment Elicits Disease Resistance against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Improves the Quality of Papaya by Metabolomic Profiling.

Forced air heat treatment could induce defenses to protect fruit from pathogen attacks and has been applied as an alternative to methyl bromide for phytosanitary treatment before exportation. However, few studies were reported on the regulation mechanism of antifungal effect and delayed physiological disorders of papaya by heat treatment. Therefore, we aim to explore the fruit's resistance to pathogens and the inhibition of physiological disorders by metabolomic profiling. In our study, papaya fruits were treated with 47.2°C for 30, 60, and 90 min by forced hot air treatment. The disease resistance against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, quality parameters, and metabolites of papaya fruits were measured during 10 days of storage after heat treatment by metabolomic profiling. Papaya fruits after 30 and 60 min heat treatment had higher firmness, a delayed degreening and yellowing (lower a value) process, and a higher lightness (L) and hue angle (h) during storage. Heat treatment also delayed ripening, inhibiting the growth of C. gloeosporioides and softening of papaya. Metabolites and enzymes inhibited ROS scavenging, depressed ABA-regulated respiratory, and activated phenylpropanoid metabolism. Our study provides a broad picture of fruit resistance to pathogens and the inhibition of physiological disorders by metabolomic profiling, which is induced by heat treatment.

Vapor heat treatment against Planococcus lilacinus Cockerell (Hemiptera:Pseudococcidae) on dragon fruit.

BACKGROUND: The coffee mealybug Planococcus lilacinus Cockerell, is an invasive pest that infests dragon fruit [Selenicereus undatus (Haworth) D.R. Hunt], that may require a phytosanitary treatment to meet quarantine requirements. In this study, vapor heat treatment was conducted to disinfest P. lilacinus on dragon fruit and the quality of dragon fruit was evaluated thereafter. RESULTS: Adult female P. lilacinus was the most heat-tolerant stage at 47, 48 and 49 °C. The death kinetic model and probit model were used to predict LT99.9968 at the three temperatures. The treatment times predicted by the kinetic model that could effectively disinfest adult female P. lilacinus females were 120.84, 78.06 and 67.96 min at 47, 48 and 49 °C, respectively. In a confirmatory test of vapor heat treatment at 49 °C for 70 min, complete mortality was recorded for 33 195 adult females infesting 148 dragon fruits; thus, the efficacy level of disinfestation was 99.9910% at 95% confidence level. The quality of dragon fruit generally was not affected by heat treatment, fruit firmness was increased remarkably and respiration rate was significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: Our result indicates that vapor heat treatment at 49 °C for a duration of 70 min is an effective phytosanitary treatment for control of P. lilacinus on dragon fruit that minimally impacts fruit quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Prominent Crystallization Promotion Effect of Montmorillonite on PTT/PC Blends with PTT as the Continuous Phase.

To regulate the crystallization of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) retarded by melt blending with polycarbonate (PC), the crystallization of the PTT/PC blend was investigated employing nano-montmorillonite (MMT) as a crystallization promoter with PTT as the continuous phase. The results showed that MMT exhibits a significant promoting effect on PTT crystallization; the presence of 1 wt. % MMT shifts the initial and peak crystallization temperatures of the 70/30 PTT/PC blend to ~17 °C and ~32 °C, respectively. Additionally, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) narrows by ~45%, and the ΔHc increases by 3.7 J.g-1. The accelerating effect of MMT is determined by its distribution and dispersion which depends on the shear intensity, mixing mode, and loading. MMT is easier to exfoliate via the two-step method than by the one-step method. The distribution in the PTT phase is enriched along the phase interface forming an MMT layer. This endows sections of the PTT with abundant nuclei and thus crystallization is promoted markedly compared with the one-step method. Moreover, the finer MMT migrates more readily to the interface to cause a much smoother phase interface. However, a secondary crystallization peak appears when the shear force is not sufficient enough to make MMT finely dispersed, in case of the two-step method and the MMT content is increased to 3 wt. %. The mixing temperature shows little effect on the acceleration of MMT on the crystallization of PTT/PC compared with the shear force. Only when MMT did not exfoliate or uncomplete did the presence of epoxy resin help to promote crystallization because of the improved MMT dispersion.

Band Spacing in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Its Blends with Poly(propylene carbonate): Dependence on Thermal Processing.

The band spherulites grown in neat poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and its blends with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) were observed by polarized optical microscopy. For the spherulites in neat PHB, it is evident that the band spacing increases first and then decreases with melting time. As the melting time is within 7 min, the band spacing increases continuously, which should be attributed to increasing mobility of polymer chains or decreasing viscosity of the melt. When the melting time is prolonged, evident thermal degradation of PHB occurs and results in a great deal of noncrystalline fractions, which is similar with addition of miscible amorphous polymers in the melt, and the band spacing decreases accordingly. The thermal degradation of PHB cannot, however, be detected by a thermogravimetric analyzer because of less volatile productions. An evident decrease of molecular weight can be measured by gel permeation chromatography, indicating occurrence of serious degradation. The decrease of crystallization and melting temperature revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) also prove the thermal degradation. For spherulites in PHB/PPC blends, however, the variation of band spacing differs from that in neat PHB. The band spacing increases continuously when melting time is within 15 min. The crystallization and melting behaviors are not influenced greatly by prolonging melting time in PHB/PPC blends. The variations of Mw for PHB/PPC are slighter than those of the neat PHB and PPC upon heating at 190 °C. Combined with the corresponding DSC results, it is conjectured that blending may prohibit the degradation of PHB to some extent. An intermolecular interaction can be detected between PHB and PPC via Fouriertransform infrared spectra and should help to avoid degradation of PHB to a certain degree. The present results may help widen the applications of PHB and shed some light on understanding the formation mechanism of the band for aliphatic polyester polymers.

Highly Anisotropic P3HT Film Fabricated via Epitaxy on an Oriented Polyethylene Film and Solvent Vapor Treatment.

To improve the epitaxial crystallization ability of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on a highly oriented polyethylene (PE) substrate, controlled solvent vapor treatment (CSVT) is employed. The anisotropic structures and related optical properties depend not only on the solvent used to prepare the film but also on the subsequent solvent vapor treatment pressure and time. A highly oriented PE film facilitates the "side-on" chain orientation of P3HT with its c axis parallel to the drawing direction of the PE film. The dichroic ratio (DR) of the P3HT film reflected by UV-vis spectra can reach as high as 7.1, which is much larger than the value treated by thermal annealing. Moreover, the excitation bandwidth W, indicating the effective conjugation length and molecular order, shows significant anisotropic features. Solvent used for solution processing with a high boiling point is more favorable for inducing anisotropic multiscale structures. In particular, the oriented structures lead to obvious anisotropic carrier mobility. The carrier mobility of P3HT after CSVT along the PE molecular chain direction is 7.5 times higher than that measured perpendicular to the PE chain direction. This is of great importance in fabricating anisotropic thin films of conjugated polymeric semiconductors with enhanced performance.

Antibiotic prescribing practices in secondary and tertiary hospitals in Shaanxi province, western China, 2013-2015.

INTRODUCTION: The irrational use of antibiotics is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to explore how antibiotics were used in secondary and tertiary hospitals in Shaanxi Province, western China from 2013 to 2015. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted with a sample of 16 hospitals in Shaanxi Province (2 tertiary and 14 secondary hospitals; 8 public and 8 private hospitals) using a stratified random sampling method. All of the macro data from these hospitals from 2013 to 2015 were analyzed. All collected data were double-entered and analyzed using Excel 2007. RESULTS: The percentage of injectable antibiotic prescriptions was 26.6% of all of the antibiotic prescriptions in the secondary hospitals and 14.2% in the tertiary hospitals. Injectable antibiotic prescriptions in private tertiary hospitals (enter %) were more than two times that of public tertiary hospitals (enter %). In both tertiary and secondary hospitals, the percentage of antibiotic prescriptions for outpatients, emergency patients and inpatients were within the scope of the national standards, while the intensity of antibiotic use was higher than the national standard of 40 DDD/100 bed-days. The prophylactic antibiotic use rate in clean surgery was 40.4% in tertiary hospitals and 60.7% in secondary hospitals, which were both higher than the national standard of 30%. The preventive use rate of antibiotics in private tertiary hospitals (55.00%) was more than two times that of public tertiary hospitals (25.90%), and the rate was also higher in private secondary hospitals (61.50%) than in public secondary hospitals (59.70%). CONCLUSIONS: Substantial antibiotic abuse occurred in the sample Chinese hospitals, especially in secondary hospitals. The government should continue to strengthen the administration of antimicrobial use in hospitals. At the same time, medical professional training and interventions for physicians should be conducted to fundamentally reduce the irrational use of antibiotics.