Unveiling potential therapeutic targets for diabetes-induced frozen shoulder through Mendelian randomization analysis of the human plasma proteome.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess the causal relationship between diabetes and frozen shoulder by investigating the target proteins associated with diabetes and frozen shoulder in the human plasma proteome through Mendelian randomization (MR) and to reveal the corresponding pathological mechanisms. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We employed the MR approach for the purposes of establishing: (1) the causal link between diabetes and frozen shoulder; (2) the plasma causal proteins associated with frozen shoulder; (3) the plasma target proteins associated with diabetes; and (4) the causal relationship between diabetes target proteins and frozen shoulder causal proteins. The MR results were validated and consolidated through colocalization analysis and protein-protein interaction network. RESULTS: Our MR analysis demonstrated a significant causal relationship between diabetes and frozen shoulder. We found that the plasma levels of four proteins were correlated with frozen shoulder at the Bonferroni significance level (p<3.03E-5). According to colocalization analysis, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHLH) was moderately correlated with the genetic variance of frozen shoulder (posterior probability=0.68), while secreted frizzled-related protein 4 was highly correlated with the genetic variance of frozen shoulder (posterior probability=0.97). Additionally, nine plasma proteins were activated during diabetes-associated pathologies. Subsequent MR analysis of nine diabetic target proteins with four frozen shoulder causal proteins indicated that insulin receptor subunit alpha, interleukin-6 receptor subunit alpha, interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein, glutathione peroxidase 7, and PTHLH might contribute to the onset and progression of frozen shoulder induced by diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified a causal relationship between diabetes and frozen shoulder, highlighting the pathological pathways through which diabetes influences frozen shoulder.

[Clinical Efficacy of Modified Arthroscopic Revision Release of Gluteal Muscle Contracture With Residual Symptoms After Open Surgery]. / æ”¹è‰¯åŽçš„å ³èŠ‚é•œç¿»ä¿®æ¾è§£æœ¯å¯¹å¼€æ”¾æœ¯åŽæœ‰æ®‹ç•™ç—‡çŠ¶çš„è‡€è‚ŒæŒ›ç¼©ç—‡çš„ä¸´åºŠç–—æ•ˆ.

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of modified arthroscopic revision release for patients who have gluteal muscle contracture and who have poor outcomes after traditional open surgery. Methods: The data of patients who underwent modified arthroscopic revision release for residual symptoms of gluteal muscle contracture after traditional open surgery were retrospectively collected and analyzed. All subjects underwent the procedure between December 2015 and December 2022. The surgical efficacy was assessed by evaluating improvements in specific symptoms, including bilateral lower extremity inequality, hip internal rotation and adduction mobility, squatting with both knees pressed together, and the ability to cross one's legs in supine position, as well as the preoperative and postoperative results for the gluteal muscle contracture functionality scale. Paired t-test was performed to examine whether the differences between preoperative and postoperative measurements were statistically significant. Results: A total of 36 patients were followed up systematically, with the mean follow-up period being (22.4±4.9) months. All patients had significantly higher scores for assessment with the gluteal muscle contracture functionality scale at the last follow-up than their preoperative assessment results, showing an increase from the preoperative scores of 40.2±5.5 to 78.4±4.9 (P<0.05). At the follow-up, all patients showed improvement in hip adduction and internal rotation mobility compared with their preoperative status and all patients were able to squat with both knees pressed together. Moreover, only 1 patient still had difficulty in crossing his legs. A total of 27 cases (75%) had preoperative leg length inequality, all of which improved to varying degrees at follow-up. Among all the patients (72 hips/cases), 8 cases had subcutaneous hematomas and incisional ecchymosis, which were resolved after conservative treatments such as hot compresses. 3 cases showed decreased hip abductor strength, but the muscle strength gradually recovered after postoperative exercise and rehabilitation. There were no complications such as subcutaneous exudate, neurovascular injury, or surgical site infection. Conclusion: Modified arthroscopic revision release of gluteus muscle contracture is suitable for cases with poor outcomes after conventional open surgery.

Exogenous methyl jasmonate treatment induced the transcriptional responses and accumulation of volatile terpenoids in Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC.

Water dropwort is favored by consumers for its unique flavor and medicinal value. Terpenoids were identified as the main volatile compounds related to its flavor. In this study, water dropwort was treated with different concentrations of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA). The contents of volatile terpenoids were determined under various MeJA treatments. The results indicated that 0.1 mM of MeJA most effectively promoted the biosynthesis of flavor-related terpenoids in water dropwort. Terpinolene accounted the highest proportion among terpene compounds in water dropwort. The contents of jasmonates in water dropwort were also increased after exogenous MeJA treatments. Transcriptome analysis indicated that DEGs involved in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway were upregulated. The TPS family was identified from water dropwort, and the expression levels of Oj0473630, Oj0287510 and Oj0240400 genes in TPS-b subfamily were consistent with the changes of terpene contents under MeJA treatments. Oj0473630 was cloned from the water dropwort and designated as OjTPS3, which is predicted to be related to the biosynthesis of terpinolene in water dropwort. Subcellular localization indicated that OjTPS3 protein was localized in chloroplast. Protein purification and enzyme activity of OjTPS3 protein were conducted. The results showed that the purified OjTPS3 protein catalyzed the biosynthesis of terpinolene by using geranyl diphosphate (GPP) as substrate in vitro. This study will facilitate to further understand the molecular mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis and provide a strategy to improve the flavor of water dropwort.

Contracting pore channels of a magnesium-based metal-organic framework by decorating methyl groups for effective Xe/Kr separation.

A new magnesium-based metal-organic framework with unprecedented short-chain secondary building units and ultra-micropore channels approaching the kinetic diameters of Xe is fabricated by decorating methyl groups on ligands. Due to the contracted pores, this MOF exhibits very high selectivity values for Xe/Kr, which ranks it among the top porous absorbents.

A silver and manganese dioxide composite with oxygen vacancies as a high-performance cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) are regarded as a promising alternative for energy storage due to their safety, cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness. Manganese dioxide is considered a promising cathode material for energy storage because of its abundant reserves and high energy density. However, its inherent low electronic conductivity and limited cycling performance due to structural instability hinder its further development. Herein, a silver and manganese dioxide composite (Ag@MnO2) enriched with oxygen vacancies was prepared by a simple liquid-phase reduction method. The introduction of silver particles facilitates the improvement of electrical conductivity, and the incorporation of oxygen vacancies helps change the surface properties of manganese dioxide, providing additional active sites for ion transport, enhancing the overall electrochemical kinetics, and further improving the battery performance. As a result, the Ag@MnO2 cathode exhibits an astonishingly high capacity of 353 mAh g-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g-1 and a capacity retention of 78% after 1500 cycles. Additionally, electrochemical and structural analyses have revealed that the Ag@MnO2 cathode undergoes a reversible and stable process of H+ and Zn2+ insertion/extraction.

Cucumber mosaic virus-induced gene and microRNA silencing in water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC).

Water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC), an aquatic perennial plant from the Apiaceae family, rich in dietary fibert, vitamins, and minerals. It usually grows in wet soils and water. Despite accumulating the transcriptomic data, gene function research on water dropwort is still far behind than that of the other crops. The cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) induced gene silencing was established to study the functions of gene and microRNA (miRNA) in the water dropwort. CMV Fast New York strain (CMV-Fny) genomic RNAs 1, 2, and 3 were individually cloned into pCB301 vectors. We deleted part of the ORF 2b region and introduced recognition sites. A CMV-induced gene silencing vector was employed to suppress the expression of endogenous genes, including phytoene desaturase (PDS). In order to assess the efficacy of gene silencing, we also cloned conserved sequence of gibberellin insensitive dwarf (GID1) cDNA sequences into the vector and inoculated the water dropwort. The height of CMV-GID1-infected plants was marginally reduced as a result of GID1 gene silencing, and their leaves were noticeably longer and thinner. Additionally, we also used a CMV-induced silencing vector to analyze the roles of endogenous miRNAs. We used a short tandem target mimic approach to clone miR319 and miR396 from water dropwort into the CMV vector. Plants with CMV-miRNA infection were driven to exhibit the distinctive phenotypes. We anticipate that functional genomic research on water dropwort will be facilitated by the CMV-induced gene silencing technique.

Causal relationship between lipid profile and muscle atrophy: A bi-directional Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the bi-directional causal relationship between lipid profile and characteristics related to muscle atrophy by using a bi-directional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. METHODS: The appendicular lean mass (ALM), whole body fat-free mass (WBFFM) and trunk fat-free mass (TFFM) were used as genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for evaluating muscle mass; the usual walking pace (UWP) and low grip strength (LGS) were used as GWAS data for evaluating muscle strength; and the triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), apolipoprotein A-1 (Apo A-1), and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were used as GWAS data for evaluating lipid profile. For specific investigations, we mainly employed inverse variance weighting for causal estimation and MR-Egger for pleiotropy analysis. RESULTS: MR results showed that the lipid profile predicted by genetic variants was negatively correlated with muscle mass, positively correlated with UWP, and was not causally correlated with LGS. On the other hand, the muscle mass predicted by genetic variants was negatively correlated with lipid profile, the UWP predicted by genetic variants was mainly positively correlated with lipid profile, while the LGS predicted by genetic variants had no relevant causal relationship with lipid profile. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this MR analysis suggest that hyperlipidemia may affect muscle mass and lead to muscle atrophy, but has no significant effect on muscle strength. On the other hand, increased muscle mass may reduce the incidence of dyslipidemia.

Combined analysis of microRNA and mRNA profiles provides insights into the pathogenic resistant mechanisms of the lotus rhizome rot.

Lotus rhizome rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum is a common vascular fungal disease in plants that significantly impacts the yield. However, only a few studies have studied the mechanism of Nelumbo nucifera responding to lotus rhizome rot. Here, we investigated the pathogenic genes and miRNAs in lotus rhizome rot to uncover the pathogenic resistant mechanisms by transcriptome and small RNA sequencing of lotus roots after inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum. GO and KEGG functional enrichment analysis showed that differential miRNAs were mostly enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, glutathione metabolism, brassinosteroid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Twenty-seven upregulated miRNAs, 19 downregulated miRNAs and their target genes were identified. Correlation analysis found that miRNAs negatively regulate target genes, which were also enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism and glutathione metabolism pathways. Their expression was measured by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and the results were consistent with the transcriptome analysis, thus verifying the reliability of transcriptome data. We selected three miRNAs (miRNA858-y, miRNA171-z and a novel miRNA novel-m0005-5p) to test the relationship between miRNAs and their target genes. The activity of the GUS testing assay indicated that miRNA could decrease the GUS activity by inhibiting the expression of their target genes. Collectively, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of transcriptome and small RNA sequencing of lotus root after inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum, and we identified candidate miRNAs and their target genes for breeding strategies of Nelumbo nucifera.

An Evolutionary Perspective of Codon Usage Pattern, Dinucleotide Composition and Codon Pair Bias in Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Virus.

Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is a significant virus of ornamental plants and fruit trees. It is essential to study this virus due to its impact on the horticultural industry. Several studies on PNRSV diversity and phytosanitary detection technology were reported, but the content on the codon usage bias (CUB), dinucleotide preference and codon pair bias (CPB) of PNRSV is still uncertain. We performed comprehensive analyses on a dataset consisting of 359 coat protein (CP) gene sequences in PNRSV to examine the characteristics of CUB, dinucleotide composition, and CPB. The CUB analysis of PNRSV CP sequences showed that it was not only affected by natural selection, but also affected by mutations, and natural selection played a more significant role compared to mutations as the driving force. The dinucleotide composition analysis showed an over-expression of the CpC/GpA dinucleotides and an under-expression of the UpA/GpC dinucleotides. The dinucleotide composition of the PNRSV CP gene showed a weak association with the viral lineages and hosts, but a strong association with viral codon positions. Furthermore, the CPB of PNRSV CP gene is low and is related to dinucleotide preference and codon usage patterns. This research provides reference for future research on PNRSV genetic diversity and gene evolution mechanism.

Fabrication of Pillar-Cage Fluorinated Anion Pillared Metal-Organic Frameworks via a Pillar Embedding Strategy and Efficient Separation of SO2 through Multi-Site Trapping.

Flue gas desulfurization is crucial for both human health and ecological environments. However, developing efficient SO2 adsorbents that can break the trade-off between adsorption capacity and selectivity is still challenging. In this work, a new type of fluorinated anion-pillared metal-organic frameworks (APMOFs) with a pillar-cage structure is fabricated through pillar-embedding into a highly porous and robust framework. This type of APMOFs comprises smaller tetrahedral cages and larger icosahedral cages interconnected by embedded [NbOF5 ]2- and [TaOF5 ]2- anions acting as pillars. The APMOFs exhibits high porosity and density of fluorinated anions, ensuring exceptional SO2 adsorption capacity and ultrahigh selectivity for SO2 /CO2 and SO2 /N2 gas mixtures. Furthermore, these two structures demonstrate excellent stability towards water, acid/alkali, and SO2 adsorption. Cycle dynamic breakthrough experiments confirm the excellent separation performance of SO2 /CO2 gas mixtures and their cyclic stability. SO2 -loaded single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the preferred adsorption domains for SO2 molecules. The multiple-site host-guest and guest-guest interactions facilitate selective recognition and dense packing of SO2 in this hybrid porous material. This work will be instructive for designing porous materials for flue gas desulfurization and other gas-purification processes.

Nickel Phosphonate MOF Derived N-Doped Carbon-Coated Phosphorus-Vacancies-Rich Ni2 P Particles as Efficient Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst.

The design of non-noble metal bifunctional electrocatalysts with outstanding performance and remarkable stability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the most essential issues to the realization of rechargeable zinc-air battery, and transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have emerged as robust candidates for oxygen electrocatalysts. Herein, N-doped carbon-coated phosphorus-vacancies-rich Ni2 P particles (Vp -Ni2 P@NC) is proposed via simple carbonization and following Ar plasma treatment from a single nickel phosphonate metal-organic framework (MOF) without extra phosphine and nitrogen sources. The facile and rapid plasma treatment can achieve phosphorus vacancies which could modulate the electronic structure to enhance the inherent active and electrical conductivity. Meanwhile, the pyridine-N and graphitized-N produced during calcination also could provide more active sites and increase the electrical conductivity. The resultant Vp -Ni2 P@NC catalyst shows excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity (OER/ORR) based on synergistic effect of introducing P vacancies into Ni2 P and N-doped carbon. Vp -Ni2 P@NC catalyst shows more advantageous ΔE value (0.70 V) compared to Pt/C+RuO2 (0.73 V) and most reported catalysts. Additionally, the zinc-air bbatterie (ZAB) employing Vp -Ni2 P@NC as air cathode shows excellent performance. The maximum power density of 203.48 mW cm-2 , the cycling stability of more than 150 h at 10 mA cm-2 .

Integrated morphological, metabolome, and transcriptome analyses revealed the mechanism of exogenous gibberellin promoting petiole elongation in Oenanthe javanica.

Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC. is a popular vegetable with unique flavor and its leaf is the main product organ. Gibberellin (GA) is an important plant hormone that plays vital roles in regulating the growth of plants. In this study, the plants of water dropwort were treated with different concentrations of GA3. The plant height of water dropwort was significantly increased after GA3 treatment. Anatomical structure analysis indicated that the cell length of water dropwort was elongated under exogenous application of GA3. The metabolome analysis showed flavonoids were the most abundant metabolites and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were also regulated by GA3. The exogenous application of GA3 altered the gene expressions of plant hormone signal transduction (GID and DELLA) and metabolites biosynthesis pathways to regulate the growth of water dropwort. The GA contents were modulated by up-regulating the expression of GA metabolism gene GA2ox. The differentially expressed genes related to cell wall formation were significantly enriched. A total of 22 cellulose synthase involved in cellulose biosynthesis were identified from the genome of water dropwort. Our results indicated that GA treatment promoted the cell elongation by inducing the expression of cellulose synthase and cell wall formation in water dropwort. These results revealed the molecular mechanism of GA-mediated cell elongation, which will provide valuable reference for using GA to regulate the growth of water dropwort.

Unveiling the Remarkable Stability and Catalytic Activity of a 6-Electron Superatomic Ag30 Nanocluster for CO2 Electroreduction.

Nanocluster catalysts face a significant challenge in striking the right balance between stability and catalytic activity. Here, we present a thiacalix[4]arene-protected 6-electron [Ag30(TC4A)4(iPrS)8] nanocluster that demonstrates both high stability and catalytic activity. The Ag30 nanocluster features a metallic core, Ag104+, consisting of two Ag3 triangles and one Ag4 square, shielded by four {Ag5@(TC4A)4} staple motifs. Based on DFT calculations, the Ag104+ metallic kernel can be viewed as a trimer comprising 2-electron superatomic units, exhibiting a valence electron structure similar to that of the Be3 molecule. Notably, this is the first crystallographic evidence of the trimerization of 2-electron superatomic units. Ag30 can reduce CO2 into CO with a Faraday efficiency of 93.4% at -0.9 V versus RHE along with excellent long-term stability. Its catalytic activity is far superior to that of the chain-like AgI polymer ∞1{[H2Ag5(TC4A)(iPrS)3]} (∞1Agn), with the composition similar to Ag30. DFT calculations elucidated the catalytic mechanism to clarify the contrasting catalytic performances of the Ag30 and ∞1Agn polymers and disclosed that the intrinsically higher activity of Ag30 may be due to the greater stability of the dual adsorption mode of the *COOH intermediate on the metallic core.

Characterization and Coexpression Analysis of the TIFY Family Genes in Euryale ferox Related to Leaf Development.

TIFYs are plant-specific transcription factors that contain the TIFY structural domain and play an important role in plant leaf growth and development. However, the role played by TIFY in E. ferox (Euryale ferox Salisb.) leaf development has not been investigated. In this study, 23 TIFY genes were identified in E. ferox. Phylogenetic analyses of the TIFY genes showed clustering into three groups (JAZ, ZIM, and PPD). The TIFY domain was shown to be conserved. JAZ was mainly expanded via wholegenome triplication (WGT) in E. ferox. Based on analyses of the TIFY genes in nine species, we found that JAZ has a closer relationship with PPD, in addition to appearing the most recently and expanding most rapidly, leading to the rapid expansion of TIFYs in Nymphaeaceae. In addition, their different evolution types were discovered. Different gene expressions showed the distinct and corresponsive expression patterns of the EfTIFYs in different stages of tissue and leaf development. Finally, The qPCR analysis revealed that the expression of EfTIFY7.2 and EfTIFY10.1 showed an upward trend and high expression throughout leaf development. Further co-expression analysis indicated that EfTIFY7.2 might be more important for the development of E. ferox leaves. This information will be valuable when exploring the molecular mechanisms of EfTIFYs in plants.

Ultralight elastic Al2O3 nanorod-graphene aerogel for pressure sensing and thermal superinsulation.

Novel nanorod aerogels have gained tremendous attention owing to their unique structure. However, the intrinsic brittleness of ceramics still severely limits their further functionalization and application. Here, based on the self-assembly between one-dimensional (1D) Al2O3 nanorods and two-dimensional (2D) graphene sheets, lamellar binary Al2O3 nanorod-graphene aerogels (ANGAs) were prepared by the bidirectional freeze-drying technique. Thanks to the synergistic effect of rigid Al2O3 nanorods and high specific extinction coefficient elastic graphene, the ANGAs not only exhibit robust structure and variable resistance under pressure, but also possess superior thermal insulation properties compared to pure Al2O3 nanorod aerogels. Therefore, a series of fascinating features such as ultra-low density (3.13-8.26 mg cm-3), enhanced compressive strength (6 times higher than graphene aerogel), excellent pressure sensing durability (500 cycles at 40% strain) and ultra-low thermal conductivity (0.0196 W m-1 K-1 at 25 °C and 0.0702 W m-1 K-1 at 1000 °C) are integrated in ANGAs. The present work provides fresh insight into the fabrication of ultralight thermal superinsulating aerogels and the functionalization of ceramic aerogels.

Molecular identification of phenylalanine ammonia lyase-encoding genes EfPALs and EfPAL2-interacting transcription factors in Euryale ferox.

Flavonoids are one of the most important secondary metabolites in plants, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the first rate-limiting enzyme for their biosynthesis. However, detailed information on the regulation of PAL in plants is still little. In this study, PAL in E. ferox was identified and functionally analyzed, and its upstream regulatory network was investigated. Through genome-wide identification, we obtained 12 putative PAL genes from E. ferox. Phylogenetic tree and synteny analysis revealed that PAL in E. ferox was expanded and mostly preserved. Subsequently, enzyme activity assays demonstrated that EfPAL1 and EfPAL2 both catalyzed the production of cinnamic acid from phenylalanine only, with EfPAL2 exhibiting a superior enzyme activity. Overexpression of EfPAL1 and EfPAL2 in Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively, both enhanced the biosynthesis of flavonoids. Furthermore, two transcription factors, EfZAT11 and EfHY5, were identified by yeast one-hybrid library assays as binding to the promoter of EfPAL2, and further luciferase (LUC) activity analysis indicated that EfZAT11 promoted the expression of EfPAL2, while EfHY5 repressed the expression of EfPAL2. These results suggested that EfZAT11 and EfHY5 positively and negatively regulate flavonoid biosynthesis, respectively. Subcellular localization revealed that EfZAT11 and EfHY5 were localized in the nucleus. Our findings clarified the key EfPAL1 and EfPAL2 of flavonoid biosynthesis in E. ferox and established the upstream regulatory network of EfPAL2, which would provide novel information for the study of flavonoid biosynthesis mechanism.

Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Metabolites and Metabolic Pathways Involved in the Growth and Quality of Water Dropwort [Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC.] under Nutrient Solution Culture.

Water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica (Blume) DC.) is an important vegetable crop. Nutrient liquid culture has become an important cultivation method in the production of water dropwort. However, the effects of different nutrient solution cultivation methods on the growth and quality of water dropwort remains unclear. In this study, to screen the most suitable nutrient solution formula for the cultivation of water dropwort, the effects of different nutrient solution formulas (Hoagland, Cooper, Dutch greenhouse, Garden-style, Yamasaki and SCAU) on plant physiological and quality characteristics are investigated. The plant height, root length, water content (%), distribution rate of dry matter (%), chlorophyll, VC, flavonoid, total phenolic, DPPH and dietary fiber of water dropwort under different nutrient solutions were determined. According to the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) of the growth index and quality index of water dropwort under different nutrient solutions, the Yamazaki nutrient solution was considered to be the most suitable nutrient solution formula for water dropwort. To further confirm the differences of water dropwort under nutrient solution culture and soil culture, the broadly targeted metabolomics were performed. A total of 485 metabolites were detected in water dropwort under optimal nutrient solution and soil cultivation. Metabolomics analysis showed that flavonoids were the most abundant differential accumulated metabolites, and most flavonoids were up-regulated. A qRT-PCR assay indicated that the structural genes of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway (PAL, C4H, CHS, CHI, F3H, DFR, UFGT) were significantly higher under the Yamasaki nutrient solution treatment. The current study provided a theoretical basis and technical guidance for the nutrient solution cultivation of water dropwort. Meanwhile, this study provides new insights into the study of flavonoids in water dropwort.

Single-Atom and Hierarchical-Pore Aerogel Confinement Strategy for Low-Platinum Fuel Cells.

Achieving high catalytic performance through the lowest possible content of platinum (Pt) is the key to cost reduction of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, lowering the Pt loading in PEMFCs leads to the high mass-transport resistance of oxygen originating from the limited active sites, and causes less stability of the catalysts due to Pt size growth after long-time operation. Herein, Pt-metal/metal-N-C aerogel catalysts are designed that substantially reduce oxygen-related mass transport resistance and have long-term durability. The tailoring of the Fe-N-C aerogel support with hierarchical and interconnecting pores enable a low local oxygen transport resistance (0.18 s cm-1 ) for PEMFCs with ultralow Pt loading (50 ± 5 µgPt cm- 2 ). Chemical confinement of Fe─N sites ensures high stability of the loaded-Pt both in the processes of synthesis up to 1000 °C and practical application in PEMFCs. The ultralow Pt PEMFC displays a low voltage loss of 8 mV at 0.80 A cm- 2 and unchanged electrochemical surface area after 60 000 cycles of accelerated durability testing. The allying of the hierarchical pores, the aerogel, and the single atoms can fully reflect their structural advantages and expand the understanding for the synthesis of advanced fuel cell PEMFCs catalysts.

Ultralight Ceramic Fiber Aerogel for High-Temperature Thermal Superinsulation.

Emerging fiber aerogels with excellent mechanical properties are considered as promising thermal insulation materials. However, their applications in extreme environments are hindered by unsatisfactory high-temperature thermal insulation properties resulting from severely increased radiative heat transfer. Here, numerical simulations are innovatively employed for structural design of fiber aerogels, demonstrating that adding SiC opacifiers to directionally arranged ZrO2 fiber aerogels (SZFAs) can substantially reduce high-temperature thermal conductivity. As expected, SZFAs obtained by directional freeze-drying technique demonstrate far superior high-temperature thermal insulation performance over existing ZrO2-based fiber aerogels, with a thermal conductivity of only 0.0663 W·m-1·K-1 at 1000 °C. Furthermore, SZFAs also exhibit excellent comprehensive properties, including ultralow density (6.24-37.25 mg·cm-3), superior elasticity (500 compression cycles at 60% strain) and outstanding heat resistance (up to 1200 °C). The birth of SZFAs provides theoretical guidance and simple construction methods for the fabrication of fiber aerogels with excellent high-temperature thermal insulation properties used for extreme conditions.

Effects of Slow-Release Fertilizer on Lotus Rhizome Yield and Starch Quality under Different Fertilization Periods.

Slow-release fertilizer is an environmentally friendly fertilizer that is widely used in crop cultivation instead of traditional nitrogen fertilizer. However, the optimal application time of slow-release fertilizer and its effect on starch accumulation and rhizome quality of lotus remains unclear. In this study, two slow-release fertilizer applications (sulfur-coated compound fertilizer, SCU, and resin-coated urea, RCU) were fertilized under three fertilization periods (the erect leaf stage, SCU1 and RCU1; the erect leaf completely covering the water stage, SCU2 and RCU2; and the swelling stage of lotus rhizomes, SCU3 and RCU3) to study the effects of different application periods. Compared with CK (0 kg∙ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer), leaf relative chlorophyll content (SPAD) and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) remained at higher levels under SCU1 and RCU1. Further studies showed that SCU1 and RCU1 increased yield, amylose content, amylopectin and total starch, and the number of starch particles in lotus, and also significantly reduced peak viscosity, final viscosity and setback viscosity of lotus rhizome starch. To account for these changes, we measured the activity of key enzymes in starch synthesis and the relative expression levels of related genes. Through analysis, we found that these parameters increased significantly under SCU and RCU treatment, especially under SCU1 and RCU1 treatment. The results of this study showed that the one-time application at the erect leaf stage (SCU1 and RCU1) could improve the physicochemical properties of starch by regulating the key enzymes and related genes of starch synthesis, thus improving the nutritional quality of lotus rhizome. These results provide a technical choice for the one-time application of slow-release fertilizer in lotus rhizome production and cultivation.