The mechanism by which piR-000699 targets SLC39A14 regulates ferroptosis in aging myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a classic type of cardiovascular disease characterized by injury to cardiomyocytes leading to different types of cell death. The degree of irreversible myocardial damage is closely related to age, and ferroptosis is involved in cardiomyocyte damage. However, the mechanisms underlying ferroptosis regulation in aging myocardial I/R injury are still unclear. The present study aims to explore the underlying mechanism of piRNA regulation in ferroptosis. Using left anterior descending coronary artery ligation in an aging rat model and a D-galactose-induced rat cardiomyocyte line (H9C2) to construct an aging cardiomyocyte model, we investigate whether ferroptosis occurs after reperfusion injury in vitro and in vivo. This study focuses on the upregulation of piR-000699 after hypoxia/reoxygenation treatment in aging cardiomyocytes by observing hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury indicators and ferroptosis-related indicators and clarifying the role of piR-000699 in H/R injury caused by ferroptosis in aging cardiomyocytes. Bioinformatics analysis reveals that SLC39A14 is a gene that binds to piR-000699. Our data show that ferroptosis plays an important role in I/R injury both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the results show the potential role of piR-000699 in regulating SLC39A14 in ferroptosis in aging cardiomyocytes under hypoxia/reoxygenation conditions. Together, our results reveal that the mechanism by which piR-000699 binds to SLC39A14 regulates ferroptosis in aging myocardial I/R injury.

"Adjacent Bed Effect" of Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients During the Perioperative Period.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthropathy is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases in the elderly, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the most commonly used treatment for end-stage knee osteoarthropathy. Negative emotions such as anxiety have been extensively documented in knee osteoarthropathy patients. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the Emotional Contagion during hospitalization in patients undergoing TKA. METHODS: Eligible subjects were divided into three case groups according to their anxiety states and bed arrangement. All subjects underwent a unilateral, cemented TKA under general anesthesia. Post-operative recovery outcomes including pain, pain behavior and physical function were recorded pre-operation, 1-day, 1 week, 2-weeks, 1-month and 3-months post-operation. RESULTS: A total of 38 subjects were included in the final analysis. Subjects with anxiety had higher Visual Analogue Scale pain scores, PROMIS-Pain Behavior scores than subjects without anxiety in the Contagion Group preoperation (p ≤ .05). Non-anxiety subjects hospitalized in beds physically adjacent to anxiety subjects experienced more severe pain and poorer function (p ≤ .05). After discharge, all clinical outcomes gradually became lower than anxiety subjects in the Contagion Group, reaching levels similar to non-anxiety subjects in the No Contagion Group within 1 month (p>.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that patients with anxiety may have an "Adjacent Bed Effect" on patients with TKA in the adjacent bed, which may be associated with poorer postoperative recovery, including pain and physical function. We speculate this phenomenon can be effectively avoided by the nursing team through accurately assessing psychological status and reasonable bed arrangements in the inpatient assessment phase.

Extremely Low Lattice Thermal Conductivity and Significantly Enhanced Near-Room-Temperature Thermoelectric Performance in α-Cu2Se through the Incorporation of Porous Carbon.

In this work, a series of Cu2Se/x wt % porous carbon (PC) (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1) composite materials were synthesized by ball milling and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The highly ordered porous carbon was synthesized by a hydrothermal method using mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as the template. X-ray diffraction results show that the incorporation of porous carbon induces a phase transition of Cu2Se from the ß phase to the α phase. Meanwhile, the addition of porous carbon reduces the carrier concentration from 2.7 × 1021 to 2.45 × 1020 cm-3 by 1 order of magnitude. The decrease of the carrier concentration leads to the reduction of electrical conductivity and the increase of the Seebeck coefficient, which results in the enhancement of the power factor. On the other hand, the incorporation of porous carbon into Cu2Se increases the porosity of the composites and also introduces more interfaces between the two materials, which is evidenced by positron annihilation lifetime measurements. Both pores and interfaces greatly enhance phonon scattering, leading to extremely low lattice thermal conductivity. In addition, the decrease of electrical conductivity also causes a sufficient reduction in electronic thermal conductivity. Due to the above synergistic effects, the thermoelectric performance of the Cu2Se/PC composite is significantly enhanced with a maximum ZT value of 0.92 at 403 K in the Cu2Se/1 wt % PC composite, which is close to that of the Bi2Te3-based materials. Our work shows that α-Cu2Se has great potential for near-room-temperature thermoelectric materials.

[Application of femoral I.D.E.A.L localization in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with single bundle anterior cruciate ligament].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of femoral I.D.E.A.L localization in single bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). METHODS: From January 2019 to October 2022, 122 patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury were treated with ACLR, including 83 males and 39 females. The age ranged from 23 to 43 years old, with an average of (32.19 ±8.55) years old. The course of disease ranged from 1 week to 6 months. According to the different surgical schemes, the patients were divided into two groups, namely the traditional group, which adopted the over-the-top femoral lateral positioning scheme, including 64 patients. The I.D.E.A.L group adopted the I.D.E.A.L femoral lateral positioning scheme, including 58 patients. The patient has pain and dysfunction of knee joint before operation. MRI of knee joint indicates anterior cruciate ligament injury. The visual analogue scale(VAS), International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) scoring system and Lysholm scoring system were used to evaluate the knee joint function of the patient. KT-2000 was used to detect the recovery of knee joint after operation and to count the postoperative complications. RESULTS: The wounds healed well after operation. One hundred and twenty-tow patients were followed up for 15 to 46 months, with an average of (25.45±9.22) months. The knee joint stability of patients after operation was significantly increased. The VAS at 1 day and 1 week after operation of patients in the I.D.E.A.L group was significantly lower than that in the traditional group(P<0.05). The IKDC score and Lysholm score of patients in the I.D.E.A.L group were significantly higher than those in the traditional group(P<0.05). In the traditional group, there were 6 cases of short-term (<1 month) complications and 19 cases of long-term (≥1 month)complicatios. In the I.D.E.A.L group, there were 3 cases of short-term complications and 7cases of long-term complications(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The single bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and femoral I.D.E.A.L positioning can achieve better early postoperative effect and reduce early postoperative pain.

Dimensionality reduction induced synergetic optimization of the thermoelectric properties in Bi2Si2X6 (X = Se, Te) monolayers.

Different from three-dimensional bulk compounds, two-dimensional monolayer compounds exhibit much better thermoelectric performance on account of the quantum confinement and interface effect. Here, we present a systematic study on the electronic and thermal transport properties of bulk and monolayer Bi2Si2X6 (X = Se, Te) through theoretical calculations using density functional theory based on first-principles and Boltzmann transport theory. Monolayer Bi2Si2X6 are chemically, mechanically and thermodynamically stable semiconductors with suitable band gaps, and they have lower lattice thermal conductivity (κL) in the a/b direction than their bulk counterparts. The calculated κL of monolayer Bi2Si2Se6 (Bi2Si2Te6) is as low as 0.72 (0.95) W m-1 K-1 at 700 K. Moreover, monolayer Bi2Si2X6 exhibit a higher Seebeck coefficient compared with bulk Bi2Si2X6 owing to the sharper peaks in the electronic density of states (DOS). This results in a significant increase in power factor by dimensionality reduction. Combined with the synergetically suppressed thermal conductivity, the maximum ZT values for monolayer Bi2Si2Se6 and Bi2Si2Te6 are significantly enhanced up to 5.03 and 2.87 with p-type doping at 700 K, which are more than 2 times that of the corresponding bulk compounds. These results demonstrate the superb thermoelectric performance of monolayer Bi2Si2X6 for promising thermoelectric conversion applications.

Right and left ventricular mass development in early infancy: Correlation of electrocardiographic changes with echocardiographic measurements.

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular mass indexed to body surface area (RVMI) decreases and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) increases rapidly and substantially during early infancy. The relationship between these sizeable mass transformations and simultaneous electrocardiographic changes have not been previously delineated. METHODS: Normal term infants (#45 initially enrolled) were prospectively evaluated at 2 days and at 2-week, 2-month, and 4-month clinic visits. Ventricular masses were estimated with 2D echocardiographic methods. QRS voltages were measured in leads V1, V6, I and aVF. RESULTS: Mean QRS axis shifted from 135 (95%CI 124, 146) to 65 degrees (95%CI 49, 81) and correlated with both RVMI decrease and LVMI increase (R = 0.46⁎ vs. 0.25†, respectively. *p < 0.01, †p < 0.05). As RVMI decreased from mean 28.1 (95%CI 27.1, 29.1) to 23.3 g/m2 (95%CI 21.4, 25.2) so did V1R and V6S voltages. RVMI changes correlated with V1R, V6S, and V1R + V6S voltages (R = 0.29*, 0.23† and 0.35*, respectively. *p < 0.01, †p < 0.05) but not with V1R/S ratio. As LVMI increased from 44.6 (95%CI 42.9, 46.3) to 55.4 g/m2 (95%CI 52.3, 58.5) V6R and V6Q increased but V1S voltage did not. LVMI changes correlated with V6R, V6R-S, and V6(Q + R)-S voltages (R = 0.31*, 0.34*, and 0.38* respectively. *p < 0.01) but not with V1S or V6R/S (R = 0.01 and 0.18 respectively, p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: During early infancy the RVMI decrease correlates best with the QRS axis shift and V1R + V6S voltage, and the LVMI increase correlates best with V6R-S and V6(Q + R)-S voltages.

Balanced High Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type and p-Type CuAgSe Realized through Vacancy Manipulation.

As a liquid-like material, CuAgSe has high carrier mobility and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. It undergoes an n-p conduction-type transition during ß- to α-phase transition with increasing temperature. Moreover, optimization of the thermoelectric performance of CuAgSe is rather difficult, owing to the two-carrier conduction in this material. In this work, we reported the free tuning of the conduction type and thermoelectric performance of CuAgSe by manipulating the cation vacancies. Positron annihilation measurements reveal that the increase in CuAg content can effectively suppress the cation vacancies and reduce the hole carrier concentration, resulting in n-type conduction at high temperatures. Doping with Zn at the Cu sublattice in the CuAg-excessive CuAgSe can further decrease the number of vacancies, leading to a significant decrease in hole carrier concentration. Furthermore, the reduction of vacancies leads to weakening of carrier scattering. As a result, carrier mobility is also enhanced, thus improving the thermoelectric performance of n-type CuAgSe. On the other hand, high-performance p-type CuAgSe can be achieved by decreasing the CuAg content to introduce more cation vacancies. Ultimately, both n-type and p-type CuAgSe with superb thermoelectric performance are obtained, with a zTmax of 0.84 in Cu1.01Ag1.02Zn0.01Se (n-type) and 1.05 in (CuAg)0.96Se (p-type) at 600 K and average zT of 0.77 and 0.94 between 470 and 630 K for n-type and p-type, respectively.

Vacancy Suppression Induced Synergetic Optimization of Thermoelectric Performance in Sb-Doped GeTe Evidenced by Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy.

Synergetic optimization of the electrical and thermal transport performance of GeTe has been achieved through Sb doping in this work, resulting in a high thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 2.2 at 723 K. Positron annihilation measurements provided clear evidence that Sb doping in GeTe can effectively suppress the Ge vacancies, and the decrease of vacancy concentration coincides well with the change of hole carrier concentration after Sb doping. The decreased scattering by hole carriers and vacancies causes notable increase in carrier mobility. Despite this, the density of states effective mass is not enhanced by Sb doping, a maximum power factor of 4562 µW m-1 K-2 at 723 K is obtained for Ge0.94Sb0.06Te with an optimized carrier concentration of ∼3.65 × 1020 cm-3. Meanwhile, the electronic thermal conductivity κe is reduced because of the decreased electrical conductivity σ with the increase of the Sb doping amount. In addition, the lattice thermal conductivity κL is also suppressed due to multiple phonon scattering mechanism, such as the large mass and strain fluctuations by the substitution of Sb for Ge atoms, and also the unique microstructure including grain boundary, nano-pore, and dislocation in the samples. In conclusion, a maximum ZT of 2.2 is gained at 723 K, which contributes to preferable TE property for GeTe-based materials.

Extremely Low Lattice Thermal Conductivity Leading to Superior Thermoelectric Performance in Cu4TiSe4.

Low thermal conductivity is crucial for obtaining a promising thermoelectric (TE) performance in semiconductors. In this work, the TE properties of Cu4TiS4 and Cu4TiSe4 were theoretically investigated by carrying out first-principles calculations and solving Boltzmann transport equations. The calculated results reveal a lower sound velocity in Cu4TiSe4 compared to that in Cu4TiS4, which is due to the weaker chemical bonds in the crystal orbital Hamilton population (COHP) and also the larger atomic mass in Cu4TiSe4. In addition, the strong lattice anharmonicity in Cu4TiSe4 enhances phonon-phonon scattering, which shortens the phonon relaxation time. All of these factors lead to an extremely low lattice thermal conductivity (κL) of 0.11 W m-1 K-1 at room temperature in Cu4TiSe4 compared with that of 0.58 W m-1 K-1 in Cu4TiS4. Owing to the suitable band gaps of Cu4TiS4 and Cu4TiSe4, they also exhibit great electrical transport properties. As a result, the optimal ZT values for p (n)-type Cu4TiSe4 are up to 2.55 (2.88) and 5.04 (5.68) at 300 and 800 K, respectively. For p (n)-type Cu4TiS4, due to its low κL, the ZT can also reach high values over 2 at 800 K. The superior thermoelectric performance in Cu4TiSe4 demonstrates its great potential for applications in thermoelectric conversion.

In pursuit of reconstructing missing human hands.

Exploring bio-intelligence of human limbs could provide a new perspective for reconstructing missing limbs.

A Novel Prognostic Marker and Therapeutic Target Associated with Glioma Progression in a Tumor Immune Microenvironment.

Background: Immune microenvironment serves a vital role in glioma progression, and a large number of studies have found that tumor progression can be reduced to some extent by modulating the immune process in tumors. Materials and Methods: ImmuneScore of each sample in CGGA datasets were calculated with Estimate R package, and samples were grouped by median ImmuneScore values for differential analysis to obtain immune microenvironment differential genes. We further conducted survival analysis, ROC curve analysis, independent prognostic analysis, and clinical correlation analysis on glioma sample genes in CGGA to obtain glioma prognostic genes, and then identified their intersection with immune microenvironment DEGs by Venn tool. The GEPIA and UALCAN databases were used to verify the differential expression of intersecting genes in the glioma and normal brain and to identify our target gene. After validation of their prognostic value, we constructed a nomogram to calculate the risk score and to estimate the accuracy of prognostic model. We mined co-expression genes, enriched functions and pathways, and correlations to immune cell infiltration of unigene with an online database. Finally, we verified the differential expression of FCGBP in glioma by immunohistochemical staining. Results: We finally selected Fc fragment of IgG-binding protein (FCGBP) as our study gene. The prognostic values of FCGBP were validated by a series of analyses. Immunohistochemical staining showed that FCGBP expression increased in gliomas and was up-regulated with the progression of glioma grade. Conclusion: As a key unigene in glioma progression, FCGBP contributes to the regulation of immune microenvironment and has the potential to be a prognostic biomarker and immune targets.

Gene Expression Network and Circ_0008012 Promote Progression in MLL/AF4 Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia with MLL/AF4 rearrangement remains a major hurdle to improving outcomes. Gene network and circRNAs have been found to participate in tumorigenesis, while their roles in leukemia still need to be explored. Recent patents have shown that circRNAs exhibit the markers for the children ALL, although the target and related mechanism remain to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the possible targets and mechanisms of ALL with MLLAF4 rearrangement. METHODS: We first generated a gene network focusing on MLL-AF4 rearrangement. Cell viability was determined with Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. The cell apoptosis was tested by the Annexin V/PI assay. The RNA-protein complexes were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and the pathway proteins were analyzed by western blot. RESULTS: This gene network was associated with biological processes, such as nucleic acid metabolism and immunity, indicating its key role in inflammation. We found that circ_0008012 was upregulated in MLL/AF4 ALL cells and regulated cell proliferation and apoptosis. Further computed simulation and RIP showed that IKKß was the strongest protein in the NF-κB pathway binding with circ_0008012. As a result, possible regulation of circ_0008012 is suggested by binding IKKß in the IKKα:IKKß:IKKγ compound, which then phosphorylates IκB and activates NF- κB:p65:p300 compound in cell nucleus, thereby leading to leukemia. CONCLUSION: We identified a gene network for MLL/AF4 ALL. Moreover, circ_0008012 may be a therapeutic target for this subtype of ALL.

The prognostic value and mechanisms of centromere protein M in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Centromere protein M (CENPM) has been reported to exert important roles in promoting tumor initiation and progression. However, the expression, effect, impact on prognosis and underlying mechanism of CENPM in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unclear. Methods: Seventy-eight paired clinical samples of LUAD and corresponding adjacent non-tumor (ANT) tissues were obtained. The clinical pathological data and clinical outcome were tested, including univariate and multivariate Cox regression model. The relationship between CENPM expression and LUAD prognosis were identified according to the data obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, we explored the protein and mRNA levels of CENPM in LUAD and paired ANT tissues, and analyzed the correlation between CENPM and LUAD overall survival in our patients. In vitro studies, LUAD cell lines were treated with CENPM-short hairpin RNA (shRNA) (shCENPM), or transfected with CENPM overexpression plasmids with or without LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) treatment. Cell proliferation ability was determined through cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometer. The migration and invasion ability were assessed through Transwell assay. In vivo studies, the growth of xenografts in nude mice were evaluated after shCENPM stimulated cells injection, and the proliferation and apoptosis of xenografts were also analyzed. Results: CENPM was significantly upregulated in LUAD patients compared with healthy controls, and CENPM upregulation was relevant to the higher pathological stages and poor survival rates in our LUAD patients. The bioinformatics analysis also revealed similar trends. CENPM could promote cell proliferation, cause alterations in cell cycle progression, enhance cell migration and invasion capacity, promote apoptosis in LUAD cell lines and promote the growth of xenografts in nude mice via regulation of AKT1/mTOR signaling pathway. Conclusions: CENPM was upregulated in LUAD patients, and it correlated with higher pathological stages and poor survival rates. CENPM could affect cell proliferation, cell cycle, cell migration and invasion capacity, and apoptosis in LUAD cell lines via regulation of AKT1/mTOR signaling pathway.

Rapid Prediction of Mechanical Properties Based on the Chemical Components of Windmill Palm Fiber.

During spinning, the chemical component content of natural fibers has a great influence on the mechanical properties. How to rapidly and accurately measure these properties has become the focus of the industry. In this work, a grey model (GM) for rapid and accurate prediction of the mechanical properties of windmill palm fiber (WPF) was established to explore the effect of chemical component content on the Young's modulus. The chemical component content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in WPF was studied using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, and an NIR prediction model was established, with the measured chemical values as the control. The value of RC and RCV were more than 0.9, while the values of RMSEC and RMSEP were less than 1, which reflected the excellent accuracy of the NIR model. External validation and a two-tailed t-test were used to evaluate the accuracy of the NIR model prediction results. The GM(1,4) model of WPF chemical components and the Young's modulus was established. The model indicated that the increase in cellulose and lignin content could promote the increase in the Young's modulus, while the increase in hemicellulose content inhibited it. The establishment of the two models provides a theoretical basis for evaluating whether WPF can be used in spinning, which is convenient for the selection of spinning fibers in practical application.

Analysis of the prognostic role and biological characteristics of circulating tumor cell-associated white blood cell clusters in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Recently, circulating tumor-cell-associated white blood cell (CTC-WBC) clusters have been reported to have prognostic value in some cancers. The prognostic role of CTC-WBC clusters in lung cancer has not yet been elucidated. Very little information is available about the biological characteristics of CTC-WBC clusters. Methods: A total of 82 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were included in this study, and 61 patients with advanced-stage disease were closely followed-up. All patients had blood drawn prior to treatment. Subtraction enrichment and immunostaining-fluorescence in situ hybridization (SE-iFISH) platform was used to isolate and identify CTCs and CTC-WBC clusters. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were applied to assess patient progression-free survival (PFS). Further, qualitative and quantitative analyses the size and ploidy characteristics of CTC-WBC clusters. Results: Firstly, CTC-WBC clusters appeared more in the advanced (stage III and IV) stage (P=0.043) than in the early stage. Furthermore, the multivariable analysis (Cox proportional hazards model) revealed that the high-CTC (≥7/6 mL) group and CTC-WBC clusters (≥1/6 mL) positive group both had significantly worse PFS, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.89 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.36-6.17, P=0.006] and 2.18 (95% CI: 1.07-4.43, P=0.031), respectively. In the conjoint analysis, compared to patients with <7 CTCs/6 mL without CTC-WBC clusters, patients with ≥7 CTCs/6 mL with CTC-WBC clusters had the highest risk of progression (HR =7.13, 95% CI: 2.51-20.23, P<0.001). In addition, the presence of ≥3-cell CTC-WBC clusters in patients may indicate a shorter PFS (P<0.05) and a higher risk of progression (HR =2.90, 95% CI: 1.06-7.89, P=0.037). Furthermore, compared with the characteristics of the total CTCs, almost all of the CTCs that could recruit WBCs were large cells (≥5 µm) and exhibited polyploidy (≥ tetraploid) (both P<0.01). Conclusions: The presence of CTC-WBC clusters was an independent prognostic factor for advanced NSCLC. The joint analysis of CTCs and CTC-WBC clusters could provide additional prognostic value to the enumeration of CTCs alone. Besides, most of the CTCs in CTC-WBC clusters were large polyploid cells.

Cloning and characterization of four enzymes responsible for cyclohexylamine degradation from Paenarthrobacter sp. TYUT067.

Paenarthrobacter sp. TYUT067 is a soil bacterium that can degrade and use cyclohexylamine as the sole source of carbon and energy. However, the responsible enzymes involved in cyclohexylamine degradation by TYUT067 have not been cloned and characterized in detail yet. In this study, four possible cyclohexylamine degradation genes, one cyclohexylamine oxidase (Pachao), two cyclohexanone monooxygenases (Pachms) and one lactone hydrolase (Pamlh) were successfully cloned and heterologous expressed in Escherichia coli T7 host cells. The four enzymes were purified and characterized. The optimal pH and temperature of the purified enzymes toward their own substrates were 7.0 (PaCHAO), 8.0 (PaCHM1), 9.0 (PaCHM2 and PaMLH) and 30 °C (PaCHAO and PaMLH), 40 °C (PaCHM2) and 45 °C (PaCHM1), respectively, with KM of 1.1 mM (PaCHAO), 0.1 mM (PaCHM1), 0.1 mM (PaCHM2) and 0.8 mM (PaMLH), and yielding a catalytic efficiency kcat/KM of 16.1 mM-1 s-1 (PaCHAO), 1.0 mM-1 s-1 (PaCHM1), 5.0 mM-1 s-1 (PaCHM2) and 124.4 mM-1 s-1 (PaMLH). In vitro mimicking the cyclohexylamine degradation pathway was conducted by using the combined three cyclohexylamine degradation enzymes (PaCHAO, PaCHM2 and PaMLH) with 10-50 mM cyclohexylamine, 100% conversion of cyclohexylamine could be finished within 12 h without any detected intermediates. The current study confirmed the enzymes responsible for cyclohexylamine degradation in TYUT067 for the first time, provide basic information for further investigation and application of these specific enzymes in pollution control.

ß-Ga2O3: a potential high-temperature thermoelectric material.

The thermoelectric properties of intrinsic n-type ß-Ga2O3 are evaluated by first-principles calculations combined with Boltzmann transport theory and relaxation time approximation. The electron mobility is predicted by considering polar optical phonon scattering in ß-Ga2O3. A temperature power law of T-0.67 is obtained for the intrinsic electron mobility. Due to the ultra-wide band gap of 4.7-4.9 eV, ß-Ga2O3 has a large Seebeck coefficient. As a result, a maximum power factor of 3.1 × 10-3 W m-1 K-2 is obtained at 1600 K. A clear anisotropy in lattice thermal conductivity is observed, with the highest thermal conductivity of 23.1 W m-1 K-1 at 300 K along the [010] direction, and a lower value of 13.2 and 12.2 W m-1 K-1 along the [001] and [100] directions, respectively. A high ZT value of 1.07 at 1600 K can be obtained at the optimal carrier concentration of 2.4 × 1019 cm-3, which is superior to that of most other oxides such as ZnO. In addition, the lattice thermal conductivity can be reduced by precisely adjusting the grain size, and the lattice thermal conductivity at 300 K (1600 K) can be reduced by 73% (39%) when the grain size is decreased to 10 nm. The excellent thermoelectric properties of ß-Ga2O3 have promoted its potential application in the field of high temperature thermoelectric conversion.

Temporal and Spatial Distribution Analysis of Atmospheric Pollutants in Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle.

In order to study the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of atmospheric pollutants in cities (districts and counties) in the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-city Economic Circle (CCEC) and to provide a theoretical basis for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, this paper combined Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) and WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (GAQG) to evaluate atmospheric pollution and used spatial correlation to determine key pollution areas. The results showed that the distribution of atmospheric pollutants in CCEC presents a certain law, which was consistent with the air pollution transmission channels. Except for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), other pollutants reached Grade II of AAQS in 2020, among which particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 10 µm (PM10), PM2.5, sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) have improved. Compared with the air quality guidelines given in the GAQG, PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and O3 have certain effects on human health. The spatial aggregation of PM10 and PM2.5 decreased year by year, while the spatial aggregation of O3 increased with the change in time, and the distribution of NO2 pollution had no obvious aggregation. Comprehensive analysis showed that the pollution problems of particulate matter, NO2 and O3 in CCEC need to be further controlled.

Theoretical Study of Small Molecules Adsorption on Pristine and Transition Metal Doped GeSe Monolayer for Gas Sensing Application.

By using first-principles calculations, the sensing properties of pristine and transition metal (TM) atoms (Ti, V, and Co) embedded germanium selenide (GeSe) monolayer toward small gas molecules (H2, NH3, CO, O2, SO2, NO, and NO2) were investigated. The adsorption energies, electronic structure, optical properties, and recovery time of the adsorption systems were calculated and analyzed in detail. The results indicate that TM doped GeSe has stronger interaction with gas molecules compared with the pristine GeSe monolayer. Especially for Ti- and V-GeSe monolayer, the absolute value of adsorption energies are up to 2 eV for O2, NO, and NO2. The doping with TM atoms also changes the charge transfer and electronic structures of adsorption systems. Combined with the result of the calculated optical properties and recovery time, it can be concluded that Ti-GeSe monolayer has great potential for NH3 detection, while Co-GeSe monolayer can be very promising SO2 gas sensors.