The application of laser­induced fluorescence in oil spill detection.

Over the past two decades, oil spills have been one of the most serious ecological disasters, causing massive damage to the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well as the socio-economy. In view of this situation, several methods have been developed and utilized to analyze oil samples. Among these methods, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technology has been widely used in oil spill detection due to its classification method, which is based on the fluorescence characteristics of chemical material in oil. This review systematically summarized the LIF technology from the perspective of excitation wavelength selection and the application of traditional and novel machine learning algorithms to fluorescence spectrum processing, both of which are critical for qualitative and quantitative analysis of oil spills. It can be seen that an appropriate excitation wavelength is indispensable for spectral discrimination due to different kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons' (PAHs) compounds in petroleum products. By summarizing some articles related to LIF technology, we discuss the influence of the excitation wavelength on the accuracy of the oil spill detection model and proposed several suggestions on the selection of excitation wavelength. In addition, we introduced some traditional and novel machine learning (ML) algorithms and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms and their applicable scenarios. With an appropriate excitation wavelength and data processing algorithm, it is believed that laser-induced fluorescence technology will become an efficient technique for real-time detection and analysis of oil spills.

Clinical evolution of antisynthetase syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease after COVID-19 in a man with Klinefelter syndrome: A case report.

BACKGROUND: This study presents a case of rapidly developing respiratory failure due to antisynthetase syndrome (AS) following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a 33-year-old man diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). CASE SUMMARY: A 33-year-old man with a diagnosis of KS was admitted to the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine of a tertiary hospital in China for fever and shortness of breath 2 wk after the onset of COVID-19. Computed tomography of both lungs revealed diffuse multiple patchy heightened shadows in both lungs, accompanied by signs of partial bronchial inflation. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid suggested absence of pathogen. A biopsy specimen revealed organizing pneumonia with alveolar septal thickening. Additionally, extensive auto-antibody tests showed strong positivity for anti-SSA, anti-SSB, anti-Jo-1, and anti-Ro-52. Following multidisciplinary discussions, the patient received a final diagnosis of AS, leading to rapidly progressing respiratory failure. CONCLUSION: This study underscores the clinical progression of AS-associated interstitial lung disease subsequent to viral infections such as COVID-19 in patients diagnosed with KS.

A New Residual Subsidence Prediction Method of Short Working Face Goaf for Safety Construction of Urban Viaduct.

The planned viaduct in Jining, Shandong is a priority project in the city. However, the 63 working faces of a mine in Jining is only 3 m away from the planned viaduct, posing a serious threat to the safety of the viaduct's construction. Consequently, it is essential to evaluate the stability of the planned viaduct's goaf area under the influence of the 63 working faces. However, the 63 working faces are short faces, and there is a lack of corresponding prediction of surface residual subsidence. To address this issue, this paper employs theoretical analysis and numerical simulation to uncover the foundation deformation mechanism and characteristics of fractured rock and soil mass in the short goaf. Subsequently, a residual subsidence prediction method for the short goaf was proposed for the viaduct mined-out area. This new approach was implemented for the planned viaduct in Jining, and its effectiveness was validated through InSAR and leveling monitoring results. The research findings offer technical support for viaduct construction in areas affected by underground mining.

Photothermal-promoted multi-functional gallic acid grafted chitosan hydrogel containing tannic acid miniaturized particles for peri-implantitis.

Peri-implantitis, a leading cause of implant failure, currently lacks effective therapeutic strategies. Given that bacterial infection and reactive oxygen species overabundance serve as primary pathogenic and triggering factors, respectively, an adhesive hydrogel has been created for in-situ injection. The hydrogel is a gallic acid-grafted chitosan (CS-GA) hydrogel containing tannic acid miniaturized particles (TAMP). This provides antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the potential role of this hydrogel in preventing and treating peri-implantitis via several experiments. It undergoes rapid formation within a span of over 20 s via an oxidative crosslinking reaction catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide, demonstrating robust adhesion, superior cell compatibility, and a sealing effect. Furthermore, the incorporation of TAMP offer photothermal properties to the hydrogel, enabling it to enhance the viability, migration, and antioxidant activity of co-cultured human gingival fibroblasts when subjected 0.5 W/cm2 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. At higher irradiation power, the hydrogel exhibits progressive improvements in its antibacterial efficacy against Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum. It attains rates of 83.11 ± 5.42 % and 83.48 ± 6.855 %, respectively, under 1 W/cm2 NIR irradiation. In summary, the NIR-controlled CS-GA/TAMP hydrogel, exhibiting antibacterial and antioxidant properties, represents a promising approach for the prophylaxis and management of peri-implantitis.

Cryo-EM structures of human organic anion transporting polypeptide OATP1B1.

Members of the solute carrier organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATPs) family function as transporters for a large variety of amphipathic organic anions including endogenous metabolites and clinical drugs, such as bile salts, steroids, thyroid hormones, statins, antibiotics, antivirals, and anticancer drugs. OATP1B1 plays a vital role in transporting such substances into the liver for hepatic clearance. FDA and EMA recommend conducting in vitro testing of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) involving OATP1B1. However, the structure and working mechanism of OATPs still remains elusive. In this study, we determined cryo-EM structures of human OATP1B1 bound with representative endogenous metabolites (bilirubin and estrone-3-sulfate), a clinical drug (simeprevir), and a fluorescent indicator (2',7'-dichlorofluorescein), in both outward- and inward-open states. These structures reveal major and minor substrate binding pockets and conformational changes during transport. In combination with mutagenesis studies and molecular dynamics simulations, our work comprehensively elucidates the transport mechanism of OATP1B1 and provides the structural basis for DDI predictions involving OATP1B1, which will greatly promote our understanding of OATPs.

Molecular basis for substrate recognition and transport of human GABA transporter GAT1.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, is recycled through specific GABA transporters (GATs). GAT1, which is mainly expressed in the presynaptic terminals of axons, is a potential drug target of neurological disorders due to its essential role in GABA transport. Here we report four cryogenic electron microscopy structures of human GAT1, at resolutions of 2.2-3.2 Å. GAT1 in substrate-free form or in complex with the antiepileptic drug tiagabine exhibits an inward-open conformation. In the presence of GABA or nipecotic acid, inward-occluded structures are captured. The GABA-bound structure reveals an interaction network bridged by hydrogen bonds and ion coordination for GABA recognition. The substrate-free structure unwinds the last helical turn of transmembrane helix TM1a to release sodium ions and substrate. Complemented by structure-guided biochemical analyses, our studies reveal detailed mechanism of GABA recognition and transport, and elucidate mode of action of the inhibitors, nipecotic acid and tiagabine.

The impact of ecological restoration on ecosystem services change modulated by drought and rising CO2.

Ecological restoration projects (ERPs) are an indispensable component of natural climate solutions and have proven to be very important for reversing environmental degradation in vulnerable regions and enhancing ecosystem services. However, the level of enhancement would be inevitably influenced by global drought and rising CO2 , which remain less investigated. In this study, we took the Beijing-Tianjin sand source region (which has experienced long-term ERPs), China, as an example and combined the process-based Biome-BGCMuSo model to set multiple scenarios to address this issue. We found ERP-induced carbon sequestration (CS), water retention (WR), soil retention (SR), and sandstorm prevention (SP) increased by 22.21%, 2.87%, 2.35%, and 28.77%, respectively. Moreover, the ecosystem services promotion from afforestation was greater than that from grassland planting. Approximately 91.41%, 98.13%, and 64.51% of the increased CS, SR, and SP were contributed by afforestation. However, afforestation also caused the WR to decline. Although rising CO2 amplified ecosystem services contributed by ERPs, it was almost totally offset by drought. The contribution of ERPs to CS, WR, SR, and SP was reduced by 5.74%, 32.62%, 11.74%, and 14.86%, respectively, under combined drought and rising CO2 . Our results confirmed the importance of ERPs in strengthening ecosystem services provision. Furthermore, we provide a quantitative way to understand the influence rate of drought and rising CO2 on ERP-induced ecosystem service dynamics. In addition, the considerable negative climate change impact implied that restoration strategies should be optimized to improve ecosystem resilience to better combat negative climate change impacts.

Alamandine/MrgD axis prevents TGF-ß1-mediated fibroblast activation via regulation of aerobic glycolysis and mitophagy.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive, lethal disease in which ectopic lung fibroblast (LF) activation plays a vital part. We have previously shown that alamandine (ALA) exerts anti-fibrosis effects via the MAS-related G-protein coupled receptor D (MrgD). Here, we further investigate how it moderates transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1)-induced LF activation by regulating glucose metabolism and mitochondria autophagy (mitophagy). METHODS: In vitro, we examined glycolysis-related protein hexokinase 2 (HK2), 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3), and lactic acid in cells treated with TGF-ß1. The oxygen consumption rate and the extracellular acidification rate were detected using Seahorse assays. Then, mitophagy was evaluated using transmission electron microscopy, mt-Keima, and the co-localization of Parkin and COX IV with LC3 and LAMP1, respectively. The autophagic degradation of HK2 and PFKFB3 was detected by 3MA and bafilomycin A1 and assessed by their co-localization with LC3 and LAMP1, respectively. The effects of ALA on LF activation markers collagen I and α-SMA were detected. The effects of ALA on glucose metabolism, mitophagy, and the activation of LF were also investigated in vivo. RESULTS: We found that the ALA/MrgD axis improved TGF-ß1-mediated LF activation by repressing glycolysis by downregulating HK2 and PFKFB3 expression. Lactic acid sustained positive feedback between glycolysis and LF activation by maintaining the expression of HK2 and PFKFB3. We also showed that glycolysis enhancement resulted from blocking the autophagic degradation of HK2 and PFKFB3 while upregulated mRNA levels by TGF-ß1, while all of those improved by ALA adding. Importantly, we determined that moderation of Parkin/LC3-mediated mitophagy by TGF-ß1 also promotes glycolysis but is reversed by ALA. Furthermore, we proved that ALA counteracts the effects of bleomycin on HK2, PFKFB3, LC3, Parkin, and LF activation in vivo. CONCLUSION: In this study, we show that the ALA/MrgD axis prevents TGF-ß1-mediated fibroblast activation via regulation of aerobic glycolysis and mitophagy.

Cryo-EM structure of the human sodium-chloride cotransporter NCC.

The sodium-chloride cotransporter NCC mediates the coupled import of sodium and chloride across the plasma membrane, playing vital roles in kidney extracellular fluid volume and blood pressure control. Here, we present the full-length structure of human NCC, with 2.9 Å for the transmembrane domain and 3.8 Å for the carboxyl-terminal domain. NCC adopts an inward-open conformation and a domain-swap dimeric assembly. Conserved ion binding sites among the cation-chloride cotransporters and the Na2 site are observed in our structure. A unique His residue in the substrate pocket in NCC potentially interacts with Na1 and Cl1 and might also mediate the coordination of Na2 through a Ser residue. Putative observed water molecules are indicated to participate in the coordination of ions and TM coupling. Together with transport activity assays, our structure provides the first glimpse of NCC and defines ion binding sites, promoting drug development for hypertension targeting on NCC.

Physicochemical properties of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in microcapsules combined with calcium phosphate cement and their ectopic bone formation.

Calcium phosphate bone cement (CPC) serves as an excellent scaffold material for bone tissue engineering owing to its good biocompatibility, injectability, self-setting property and three-dimensional porous structure. However, its clinical use is limited due to the cytotoxic effect of its setting reaction on cells and difficulties in degradation into bone. In this study, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were encapsulated in alginate chitosan alginate (ACA) microcapsules and compounded with calcium phosphate bone cement. Changes in the compressive strength, porosity, injectability and collapsibility of CPC at different volume ratios of microcapsules were evaluated. At a 40% volume ratio of microcapsules, the composite scaffold displayed high porosity and injectability with good collapsibility and compressive strength. Cell live/dead double staining, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and scanning electron microscopy were used to detect the viability, proliferation and adhesion of cells after cell microcapsules were combined with CPC. The results revealed that cells protected by microcapsules proliferated and adhered better than those that were directly combined with CPC paste, and cell microcapsules could effectively form macropores in scaffold material. The composite was subsequently implanted subcutaneously on the backs of nude mice, and ectopic osteogenesis of the scaffold was detected via haematoxylin-eosin (H&E), Masson's trichrome and Goldner's trichrome staining. CPC clearly displayed better new bone formation function and degradability after addition of pure microcapsules and cell microcapsules. Furthermore, the cell microcapsule treatment group showed greater osteogenesis than the pure microcapsule group. Collectively, these results indicate that BMSCs encapsulated in ACA microcapsules combined with CPC composite scaffolds have good application prospects as bone tissue engineering materials.

Negative Feedback of the cAMP/PKA Pathway Regulates the Effects of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation on Type II Alveolar Epithelial Cell Pyroptosis as a Novel Mechanism of BLM-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) contributes to the development of pulmonary fibrosis, especially in type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) apoptosis. ER stress also promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation which is inhibited by upregulation of cAMP/PKA pathway. However, it is confused whether ER stress-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis in type II alveolar epithelial cells which exacerbates pulmonary fibrosis via a mechanism that is suppressed by cAMP/PKA pathway. In our research, we explored that potential links among NLRP3 inflammasome, ER stress, and cAMP/PKA pathway in type II AECs to explain the new mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis. We found that in vivo, ER stress, NLRP3 inflammasome, and PKA upregulated in the alveolar epithelial area in animal models of pulmonary fibrosis. In addition, immunofluorescence staining further confirmed that ER stress, NLRP3 inflammasome, and cAMP/PKA had potential links on type II AECs in BLM group. In vitro, ER stress stimulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation, promoted pyroptosis, and also upregulated cAMP/PKA pathway. Upregulation of cAMP/PKA pathway inhibited ER stress-induced pyroptosis of A549 cells and vice versa. These results initially supported conclusion that ER stress may stimulate NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis in type II AECs, which exacerbated pulmonary fibrosis, and cAMP/PKA pathway may act as a feedback regulator.

A Nodal enhanced micropeptide NEMEP regulates glucose uptake during mesendoderm differentiation of embryonic stem cells.

TGF-ß family proteins including Nodal are known as central regulators of early development in metazoans, yet our understanding of the scope of Nodal signaling's downstream targets and associated physiological mechanisms in specifying developmentally appropriate cell fates is far from complete. Here, we identified a highly conserved, transmembrane micropeptide-NEMEP-as a direct target of Nodal signaling in mesendoderm differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), and this micropeptide is essential for mesendoderm differentiation. We showed that NEMEP interacts with the glucose transporters GLUT1/GLUT3 and promotes glucose uptake likely through these interactions. Thus, beyond expanding the scope of known Nodal signaling targets in early development and showing that this target micropeptide augments the glucose uptake during mesendoderm differentiation, our study provides a clear example for the direct functional impact of altered glucose metabolism on cell fate determination.

Molecular basis for inhibiting human glucose transporters by exofacial inhibitors.

Human glucose transporters (GLUTs) are responsible for cellular uptake of hexoses. Elevated expression of GLUTs, particularly GLUT1 and GLUT3, is required to fuel the hyperproliferation of cancer cells, making GLUT inhibitors potential anticancer therapeutics. Meanwhile, GLUT inhibitor-conjugated insulin is being explored to mitigate the hypoglycemia side effect of insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes. Reasoning that exofacial inhibitors of GLUT1/3 may be favored for therapeutic applications, we report here the engineering of a GLUT3 variant, designated GLUT3exo, that can be probed for screening and validating exofacial inhibitors. We identify an exofacial GLUT3 inhibitor SA47 and elucidate its mode of action by a 2.3 Å resolution crystal structure of SA47-bound GLUT3. Our studies serve as a framework for the discovery of GLUTs exofacial inhibitors for therapeutic development.

SIRT1 prevents cigarette smoking-induced lung fibroblasts activation by regulating mitochondrial oxidative stress and lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking (CS) is a strong risk factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It can activate lung fibroblasts (LF) by inducing redox imbalance. We previously showed that clearing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) protects against CS-induced pulmonary fibrosis. However, the precise mechanisms of mtROS in LF need further investigation. Here we focused on mtROS to elucidate how it was regulated by CS in LF and how it contributed to LF activation. METHODS: We treated cells with 1% cigarette smoking extract (CSE) and examined mtROS level by MitoSOX™ indicator. And the effect of CSE on expression of SIRT1, SOD2, mitochondrial NOX4 (mtNOX4), fatty acid oxidation (FAO)-related protein PPARα and CPT1a and LF activation marker Collagen I and α-SMA were detected. Nile Red staining was performed to show cellular lipid content. Then, lipid droplets, autophagosome and lysosome were marked by Bodipy 493/503, LC3 and LAMP1, respectively. And lipophagy was evaluated by the colocalization of lipid droplets with LC3 and LAMP1. The role of autophagy on lipid metabolism and LF activation were explored. Additionally, the effect of mitochondria-targeted ROS scavenger mitoquinone and SIRT1 activator SRT1720 on mitochondrial oxidative stress, autophagy flux, lipid metabolism and LF activation were investigated in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We found that CS promoted mtROS production by increasing mtNOX4 and decreasing SOD2. Next, we proved mtROS inhibited the expression of PPARα and CPT1a. It also reduced lipophagy and upregulated cellular lipid content, suggesting lipid metabolism was disturbed by CS. In addition, we showed both insufficient FAO and lipophagy resulted from blocked autophagy flux caused by mtROS. Moreover, we uncovered decreased SIRT1 was responsible for mitochondrial redox imbalance. Furthermore, we proved that both SRT1720 and mitoquinone counteracted the effect of CS on NOX4, SOD2, PPARα and CPT1a in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that CS decreased SIRT1 to activate LF through dysregulating lipid metabolism, which was due to increased mtROS and impaired autophagy flux. These events may serve as therapeutic targets for IPF patients.

Cryo-EM structure of human glucose transporter GLUT4.

GLUT4 is the primary glucose transporter in adipose and skeletal muscle tissues. Its cellular trafficking is regulated by insulin signaling. Failed or reduced plasma membrane localization of GLUT4 is associated with diabetes. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of human GLUT4 bound to a small molecule inhibitor cytochalasin B (CCB) at resolutions of 3.3 Å in both detergent micelles and lipid nanodiscs. CCB-bound GLUT4 exhibits an inward-open conformation. Despite the nearly identical conformation of the transmembrane domain to GLUT1, the cryo-EM structure reveals an extracellular glycosylation site and an intracellular helix that is invisible in the crystal structure of GLUT1. The structural study presented here lays the foundation for further mechanistic investigation of the modulation of GLUT4 trafficking. Our methods for cryo-EM analysis of GLUT4 will also facilitate structural determination of many other small size solute carriers.

Apelin-13 Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses and Acute Lung Injury by Regulating PFKFB3-Driven Glycolysis Induced by NOX4-Dependent ROS.

Purpose: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening condition with limited therapeutic options. Macrophage inflammation plays a key role in the development of ALI. Abnormal glycolysis of macrophages contributes to the inflammatory response. However, the role of macrophage glycolysis in ALI still requires investigation. Apelin-13 has been shown to protect against ALI, whereas the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we explored the effect of apelin-13 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation and ALI via regulation of glycolysis by modulating redox homeostasis in macrophages. Methods: Serums from 34 patients with sepsis and 13 healthy volunteers were analyzed. In vivo, the protective effect of apelin-13 against LPS-induced ALI was evaluated using a mouse model of LPS-induced ALI. In vitro, mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMDMs) were pretreated with the antioxidant, NADPH oxidase (NOX) 4 (NOX4) small-interfering RNA (siRNA), the 6-phosphofructo-2 -kinase/fructose- 2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) siRNA, or the PFKFB3 overexpression plasmid before exposure to LPS. Results: Serum apelin-13 levels were significantly elevated in patients with sepsis and sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (P<0.0001). In vivo, apelin-13 suppressed LPS-induced ALI and inflammatory cytokine production (P<0.05). Furthermore, apelin-13 reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, NOX4 protein levels, and glycolysis. In vitro, LPS stimulation elevated NOX4 protein levels and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (P<0.05). These changes resulted in the accumulation of glycolysis in BMDMs. Treatment with antioxidant or NOX4 siRNA inhibited LPS-induced glycolysis and inflammatory cytokine production (P<0.05). Moreover, in vitro experiments revealed that PFKFB3 regulates the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by modulating glycolysis. In contrast, the action of apelin-13 opposed the effects of LPS. Conclusion: In conclusion, apelin-13 protects against LPS-induced inflammatory responses and ALI by regulating PFKFB3-driven glycolysis induced by NOX4-dependent ROS.

RAGE mediates airway inflammation via the HDAC1 pathway in a toluene diisocyanate-induced murine asthma model.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a significant pathogenic factor for asthma. We previously reported that the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a key role in TDI-induced asthma. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) has been reported to be important in asthmatic pathogenesis. However, its effect on TDI-induced asthma is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the role of RAGE and HDAC in regulating airway inflammation using a TDI-induced murine asthma model. METHODS: BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with TDI to establish an asthma model. FPS-ZM1 (RAGE inhibitor), JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin (HDAC inhibitors) were administered intraperitoneally before each challenge. In vitro, the human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE was stimulated with TDI-human serum albumin (TDI-HSA). RAGE knockdown cells were constructed and evaluated, and MK2006 (AKT inhibitor) was also used in the experiments. RESULTS: In TDI-induced asthmatic mice, the expression of RAGE, HDAC1, and p-AKT/t-AKT was upregulated, and these expressions were attenuated by FPS-ZM1. Airway reactivity, Th2 cytokine levels in lymph supernatant, IgE, airway inflammation, and goblet cell metaplasia were significantly increased in the TDI-induced asthmatic mice. These increases were suppressed by JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin. In addition, JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin ameliorated the redistribution of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in TDI-induced asthma. In TDI-HSA-stimulated 16HBE cells, knockdown of RAGE attenuated the upregulation of HDAC1 and phospho-AKT (p-AKT). Treatment with the AKT inhibitor MK2006 suppressed TDI-induced HDAC1 expression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that RAGE modulates HDAC1 expression via the PI3K/AKT pathway, and that inhibition of HDAC prevents TDI-induced airway inflammation.

Evaluation of the Short-Term Music Therapy on Brain Functions of Preterm Infants Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Music contains substantial contents that humans can perceive and thus has the capability to evoke positive emotions. Even though neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can provide preterm infants a developmental environment, they still cannot fully simulate the environment in the womb. The reduced maternal care would increase stress levels in premature infants. Fortunately, music intervention has been proved that it can improve the NICU environment, such as stabilize the heart rate and the respiratory rate, reduce the incidence of apnea, and improve feeding. However, the effects of music therapy on the brain development of preterm infants need to be further investigated. In this paper, we evaluated the influence of short-term music therapy on the brain functions of preterm infants measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We began by investigating how premature babies perceive structural information of music by calculating the correlations between music features and fNIRS signals. Then, the influences of short-term music therapy on brain functions were evaluated by comparing the resting-state functional connectivity before and after the short-term music therapy. The results show that distinct brain regions are responsible for processing corresponding musical features, indicating that preterm infants have the capability to process the complex musical content. However, the results of network analysis show that short-term music intervention is insufficient to cause the changes in cerebral functional connectivity. Therefore, long-term music therapy may be required to achieve the deserved effects on brain functional connectivity.

Polymer solubility in ionic liquids: dominated by hydrogen bonding.

Polymer solubility in ionic liquids (ILs) cannot be predicted by the solubility parameter approach based on the "like dissolves like" principle. According to the Kamlet-Abraham-Taft (KAT) multi-parameter polarity scale, ILs can be categorized on the basis of hydrogen-bond acidity or basicity ones. The experimental observations, that acidic ILs easily dissolve basic polymers and basic ILs dissolve acidic polymers, reflect the complementary nature of hydrogen-bonding interactions. A quantitative hydrogen-bonding analysis is proposed for predicting the solubility by taking the product of ΔαΔß as an indicator of the competition between cross-association and self-association hydrogen bonding (H-bonding), where Δα is the difference of acidity parameters between the polymer and IL, and Δß is the difference of basicity. This solubility criterion has been validated by the solubility data of 19 polymers (11 acidic and 8 basic) in 11 ILs (7 acidic and 4 basic). These principles based on KAT parameters can be applied to other systems dominated by hydrogen bonding.

Wiggling Mesopores Kinetically Amplify the Adsorptive Separation of Propylene/Propane.

Adsorptive separation is an appealing technology for propylene and propane separation; however, the challenge lies in the design of efficient adsorbents which can distinguish the two molecules having very similar properties. Here we report a kinetically amplified separation by creating wiggling mesopores in structurally robust carbon monoliths. The wiggling mesopores with alternating wide and narrow segments afford a surface area of 413 m2 g-1 and a tri-modal pore size distribution centered at 1.5, 4.2 and 6.6 nm, respectively. The synergistically kinetic and equilibrium effects were observed and quantitatively assessed, which together ensured a remarkable propylene/propane selectivity up to 39. This selectivity outperformed not only the available carbon adsorbents but also highly competitive among the dominated crystalline porous adsorbents. In addition, the wiggling mesoporous carbon adsorbent showed excellent dynamical separation stability, which ensured its great potential in practical molecular separations.