Underlying anti-hypertensive mechanism of the Mizuhopecten yessoensis derived peptide NCW in spontaneously hypertensive rats via widely targeted kidney metabolomics

The angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE)inhibitory peptide NCW derived from Mizuhopecten yessoensis has been demonstrated to have significant in vivo anti-hypertensive effects,however,its anti-hypertensive mechanism is still not fully clarified.This study established a UPLC-Q-TRAP-MS/MS-based widely targeted kidney metabolomics approach to explore the changes of kidney metabolic profiles and to clarify the antihypertensive mechanism of peptide NCW in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHRs).Multivariate statistical analysis indicated that the kidney metabolic profiles were clearly separated between the SHR-NCW and SHRUntreated groups.A total of 85 metabolites were differentially regulated,and 16 metabolites were identified as potential kidney biomarkers,e.g.,3-hydroxybutyrate,malonic acid,deoxycytidine,and L-aspartic acid.The peptide NCW might regulate kidney metabolic disorder of SHRs to alleviate hypertension by suppressing inflammation and improving nitric oxide production under the regulation of linoleic acid metabolism,folate related pathways,synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies,pyrimidine metabolism,β-alanine metabolism,and retinal metabolism.

Feasibility study of renewable e-methanol production:A substitution pathway from blue to green

Producing renewable e-methanol from e-hydrogen and diverse carbon sources is an essential way for clean methanol preparation.Despite this,the technical and economic feasibility of different e-methanols has yet to be thoroughly compared,leaving the most promising pathway to achieve commercialization yet evident.This paper reports a preliminary analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions and costs of four renewable e-methanols with different carbon sources:bio-carbon,direct air capture(DAC),fossil fuel carbon capture(FFCC),and fossil.The results indicate that renewable e-methanol costs(4167−10250 CNY/tonne)2−4 times the market rate of grey methanol.However,with the carbon tax and the projected decline in e-H2 costs,blue e-methanol may initially replace diesel in inland navigation,followed by a shift from heavy fuel oil(HFO)to green e-methanol in ocean ship-ping.Furthermore,the e-H2 cost and the availability of green carbon are vital factors affecting cost-effectiveness.A reduction in e-H2 cost from 2.1 CNY/Nm3 to 1.1 CNY/Nm3 resulting from a transition from an annual to a daily scheduling period,could lower e-methanol costs by 1200 to 2100 CNY.This paper also provides an in-depth discussion on the challenges and opportunities associated with the various green carbon sources.

LICOM Model Datasets for the CMIP6 Ocean Model Intercomparison Project

The datasets of two Ocean Model Intercomparison Project(OMIP)simulation experiments from the LASG/IAP Climate Ocean Model,version 3(LICOM3),forced by two different sets of atmospheric surface data,are described in this paper.The experiment forced by CORE-II(Co-ordinated Ocean–Ice Reference Experiments,Phase II)data(1948–2009)is called OMIP1,and that forced by JRA55-do(surface dataset for driving ocean–sea-ice models based on Japanese 55-year atmospheric reanalysis)data(1958–2018)is called OMIP2.First,the improvement of LICOM from CMIP5 to CMIP6 and the configurations of the two experiments are described.Second,the basic performances of the two experiments are validated using the climatological-mean and interannual time scales from observation.We find that the mean states,interannual variabilities,and long-term linear trends can be reproduced well by the two experiments.The differences between the two datasets are also discussed.Finally,the usage of these data is described.These datasets are helpful toward understanding the origin system bias of the fully coupled model.

A highly efficient flower-like cobalt catalyst for electroreduction of carbon dioxide

Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into fuel has been regarded as a promising approach to achieve the global carbon cycle.Herein,we report an efficient cobalt catalyst with a unique flower-like morphology synthesized by a green and facile hydrothermal method,in which n-butylamine is used as the capping agent.The resultant catalyst shows superior electrocatalytic activity toward CO2 electroreduction,which is highly selective for generating formate with a Faraday efficiency of 63.4%.Electrochemical analysis reveals that the oxide on the surface is essential for the electrocatalysis of the CO2 reduction reaction.Cyclic voltammograms further suggest that this catalyst is highly active for the oxidation of reduced product,and can thus be seen as a bifunctional catalyst.

Virtual screening,molecular docking and identification of umami peptides derived from Oncorhynchus mykiss

Oncorhynchus mykiss is delicious and contains abundant flavor substances.However,few studies focused on umami peptides of O.mykiss.In the current work,umami peptides derived from O.mykiss were identified using virtual screening,molecular docking,and electronic tongue analysis.First,the O.mykiss protein was hydrolyzed using the PeptideCutter online enzymolysis program.Subsequently,water-soluble and toxicity screening were performed by Innovagen and ToxinPred software,respectively.The potential peptides were docked with umami receptor T1R1/T1R3.Furthermore,taste properties of potential peptides were validated by electronic tongue.Docking results suggested that the three tetrapeptide EANK,EEAK,and EMQK could enter the binding pocket in the T1R1 cavity,wherein Arg151,Asp147,Gln52,and Arg277 may play key roles in the production of umami taste.Electronic tongue results showed that the umami value of EANK,EEAK,and EMQK were stronger than monosodium glutamate.This work provides a new insight for the screening of umami peptides in O.mykiss.

Identification and molecular mechanism of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides from Larimichthys crocea titin

This study aimed to identify novel ACEI peptides from Larimichthys crocea titin using in silico approaches and to clarify the molecular interaction mechanism.The hydrolyzed peptides of titin were compared with known ACEI peptides in the AHTPDB and BIOPEP-UWM database.Furthermore,peptides were evaluated for their solubility,ADMET properties,ΔG(kcal/mol)values,and in vitro ACEI activity.Molecular mechanism of ACE-peptide was performed by molecular interactions and binding orientation study.The results revealed that IC50 values of Trp-Ala-Arg(WAR)and Trp-Gln-Arg(WQR)were(31.2±0.8)and(231.33±0.02)mol/L,respectively.The docking interactions result suggested that ACE-WAR and ACEWQR complexes have same binding site,including the residues LYS511,TYR520,TYR523,HIS353,and HIS513.Molecular docking of two tripeptides WAR and WQR with ACE studies predicted their binding site and clarified the interaction between ACE and its inhibitors.The molecular docking data are consistent with the ACE inhibitory activity of the studied peptides.The results showed that Larimichthys crocea titin may be a valuable source for developing nutraceutical food.

Identifi cation of egg protein-derived peptides as xanthine oxidase inhibitors:virtual hydrolysis,molecular docking,and in vitro activity evaluation

The purpose of this study was to screen the xanthine oxidase(XO)inhibitory peptides from egg white proteins through virtual hydrolysis,in vitro activity validation,and molecular docking.The results demonstrated that tripeptide EEK from ovalbumin exhibited potent XO inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 141μmol/L.The molecular docking results showed that tripeptide EEK bound with the active center of XO via 3 carbon hydrogen bond interactions,2 salt bridges,5 conventional hydrogen bond interactions,and 4 attractive charge interactions.The residues Glu802,Phe1009,and Arg880 may play key roles in the XO catalytic reaction.Especially,the key intermolecular forces of inhibiting XO activity may be special type of hydrogen bonds including carbon hydrogen bond interactions and attraction charge interactions.The novel tripeptide EEK is potential candidates for controlling hyperuricemia.

Active wavefront shaping for controlling and improving multimode fi ber sensor

Wavefront shaping(WFS)techniques have been used as a powerful tool to control light propagation in complex media,including multimode fibers.In this paper,we propose a new application of WFS for multimode fber-based sensors.The use of a single multimode fiber alone,without any special fabrication,as a sensor based on the light intensity variations is not an easy task.The twist effect on multimode fiber is used as an example herein.Experimental results show that light intensity through the multimode fiber shows no direct relationship with the twist angle,but the correlation coefficient(CC)of speckle patterns does.Moreover,if WFS is applied to transform the spatially seemingly random light pattern at the exit of the multimode fiber into an optical focus.The focal pattern correlation and intensity both can serve to gauge the twist angle,with doubled measurement range and allowance of using a fast point detector to provide the feedback.With further development,WFS may find potentials to facilitate the development of multimode fber-based sensors in a variety of scenarios.

Biological evaluation and interaction mechanism of beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 inhibitory pentapeptide from egg albumin

Inhibition of beta-site APP cleaving enzyme1(BACE1)is one of the most promising therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s disease.To find natural products for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,absorption,distribution,metabolism,excretion and toxicity(ADMET)properties and in vitro BACE1 inhibitory activity of the peptides isolated from egg albumin were evaluated.Then,molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were used to explain the molecular mechanism of the interactions between BACE1 and peptides.The IC50 value of peptide KLPGF,with satisfactory ADMET properties,against BACE1 was(8.30±0.56)mmol/L.Molecular docking revealed that KLPGF contacted with the residues of BACE1’s active sites through twelve hydrogen bonds interactions,two hydrophobic interactions,one electrostatic interaction,and two Pi-cation interactions.The 5 ns molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that the structure of KLPGF with BACE1 was stable.Peptide KLPGF contacted the residues Lys321,Asp228,and Asn233 with stable hydrogen bonds.KLPGF may be a potential anti-BACE1 candidate.

Interaction mechanism of egg white-derived ACE inhibitory peptide TNGIIR with ACE and its effect on the expression of ACE and AT1 receptor

The egg white-derived hexapeptide TNGIIR inhibits angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE)activity in vitro.In this work,molecular docking revealed that TNGIIR established hydrogen bonds with the S1(Ala 354),S2(Gln 281,His 513,Tyr 520 and Lys 511)and S1(Glu 162)pockets of ACE.In addition,the potential antihypertensive effect of the oral administration of TNGIIR in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR)was investigated,as was the effect of this peptide on the mRNA expression of ACE and angiotensin type 1(AT1)and type 2(AT2)receptors in renal tissue.The oral administration of TNGIIR(2,10 and 50 mg/kg)for up to four weeks did not reduce the blood pressure of SHR,in contrast to captopril(10 mg/kg,orally),but attenuated the mRNA expression of ACE and AT1 receptor(as did captopril).In contrast,both TNGIIR and captopril enhanced the expression of AT2 receptor mRNA.There was no change in the circulating concentration of angiotensin I,but a slight decrease(about 10%)was seen in the concentration of circulating angiotensin II with TNGIIR and captopril.

Stable overall water splitting in an asymmetric acid/ alkaline electrolyzer comprising a bipolar membrane sandwiched by bifunctional cobalt-nickel phosphide nanowire electrodes

Water splitting has been proposed to be a promising approach to producing clean hydrogen fuel.The two half-reactions of water splitting,that is,the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER),take place kinetically fast in solutions with completely different pH values.Enabling HER and OER to simultaneously occur under kinetically favorable conditions while using exclusively low-cost,earth-abundant electrocatalysts is highly desirable but remains a challenge.Herein,we demonstrate that using a bipolar membrane(BPM)we can accomplish HER in a strongly acidic solution and OER in a strongly basic solution,with bifunctional self-supported cobaltnickel phosphide nanowire electrodes to catalyze both reactions.Such asymmetric acid/alkaline water electrolysis can be achieved at 1.567 V to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm2 with ca.100%Faradaic efficiency.Moreover,using an“irregular”BPM with unintentional crossover the voltage needed to afford 10 mA/cm2 can be reduced to 0.847 V,due to the assistance of electrochemical neutralization between acid and alkaline.Furthermore,we show that BPM-based asymmetric water electrolysis can be accomplished in a circulated single-cell electrolyzer delivering 10 mA/cm2 at 1.550 V and splitting water very stably for at least 25 hours,and that water electrolysis is enabled by a solar panel operating at 0.908 V(@13 mA/cm2),using an“irregular”BPM.BPMbased asymmetric water electrolysis is a promising alternative to conventional proton and anion exchange membrane water electrolysis.

Easy preparation of multifunctional ternary PdNiP/C catalysts toward enhanced small organic molecule electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions

The small organic molecule electro-oxidation(OMEO) and the hydrogen evolution(HER) are two important half-reactions in direct liquid fuel cells(DLFCs) and water electrolyzers,respectively,whose performance is largely hindered by the low activity and poor stability of electrocatalysts.Herein,we demonstrate that a simple phosphorization treatment of commercially available palladium-nickel(PdNi) catalysts results in multifunctional ternary palladium nickel phosphide(PdNiP) catalysts,which exhibit substantially enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability for HER and OMEO of a number of molecules including formic acid,methanol,ethanol,and ethylene glycol,in acidic and/or alkaline media.The improved performance results from the modification of electronic structure of palladium and nickel by the introduced phosphorus and the enhanced corrosion resistance of PdNiP.The simple phosphorization approach reported here allows for mass production of highly-active OMEO and HER electrocatalysts,holding substantial promise for their large-scale application in direct liquid fuel cells and water electrolyzers.

Assessment of the anti-tumor activity of cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside from apple against APN,JAK,and EZH2 target proteins

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor activity and the mechanism of apple polyphenols on aminopeptidase N(APN),janus kinase 3(JAK3)and enhancer of zeste homolog 2(EZH2)using molecular docking and in vitro human colon(Caco-2)cells.The 88 apple polyphenols were docked with targets,i.e.,APN,JAK3,and EZH2,and the potential polyphenol cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside was selected.CCK-8 assay results showed that cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside exerted a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of Caco-2 cells,with an IC50 value of 112±4.36μg mL-1 at 72 h.Results indicated that cyanidin-3-O-glucoside can block S phase to induce cell apoptosis by influencing S phase and the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax.In summary,cyanidin-3-O-glucoside from apple polyphenols may be used as a potential inhibitor to prevent colon cancer.

Long distance all-optical logic operations through a single multimode fiber empowered by wavefront shaping

Multimode fibers(MMFs)are a promising solution for high-throughput signal transmission in the time domain.However,crosstalk among different optical modes within the MMF scrambles input information and creates seemingly random speckle patterns at the output.To characterize this process,a transmission matrix(TM)can be used to relate input and output fields.Recent innovations use TMs to manipulate the output field by shaping the input wavefront for exciting advances in deep-brain imaging,neuron stimulation,quantum networks,and analog operators.However,these approaches consider input/output segments as independent,limiting their use for separate signal processing,such as logic operations.Our proposed method,which makes input/output segments as interdependent,adjusts the phase of corresponding output fields using phase bias maps superimposed on input segments.Coherent superposition enables signal logic operations through a 15-m-long MMF.In experiments,a single optical logic gate containing three basic logic functions and cascading multiple logic gates to handle binary operands is demonstrated.Bitwise operations are performed for multi-bit logic operations,and multiple optical logic gates are reconstructed simultaneously in a single logic gate with polarization multiplexing.The proposed method may open new avenues for long-range logic signal processing and transmission via MMFs.

Recent advances in post-chiroptical manipulation of supramolecular aggregates assembled with molecular modules

Recently,various supramolecular assembly systems have been identified where the pre-existing chiral supramolecular structure can be manipulated through environmental adjustments,such as temperature,solvent,and concentration.These changes result in diverse microscopic morphologies during the assembly process and induce chiroptical variations,particularly in circular dichroism(CD)and circularly polarized luminescence(CPL)spectra.These chiroptical properties serve as direct indicators of the chiral supramolecular structure and hold promise for applications in sensing,molecular recognition,asymmetric synthesis,and material science.This review focuses on research published in the last five years,highlighting instances where assembled structures aggregated by small organic molecular modules demonstrate in-situ chiroptical changes through external condition control.It categorizes and discusses different modes of regulation,aiming to offer insights and guidelines for exploring dynamic changes in assembly processes and designing in-situ adjustable structures of assembly modules.

Mixed iridium-nickel oxides supported on antimony-doped tin oxide as highly efficient and stable acidic oxygen evolution catalysts

Proton exchange membrane(PEM)water electrolysis represents a promising technology for green hydrogen production,but its widespread deployment is greatly hindered by the indispensable usage of platinum group metal catalysts,especially iridium(Ir)based materials for the energy-demanding oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Herein,we report a new sequential precipitation approach to the synthesis of mixed Ir-nickel(Ni)oxy-hydroxide supported on antimony-doped tin oxide(ATO)nanoparticles(IrNiyO_(x)/ATO,20 wt.%(Ir+Ni),y=0,1,2,and 3),aiming to reduce the utilisation of scarce and precious Ir while maintaining its good acidic OER performance.When tested in strongly acidic electrolyte(0.1 M HClO_(4)),the optimised IrNi1Ox/ATO shows a mass activity of 1.0 mAµgIr^(−1) and a large turnover frequency of 123 s^(−1) at an overpotential of 350 mV,as well as a comparatively small Tafel slope of 50 mV dec^(−1),better than the IrOx/ATO control,particularly with a markedly reduced Ir loading of only 19.7µgIr cm^(−2).Importantly,IrNi1O_(x)/ATO also exhibits substantially better catalytic stability than other reference catalysts,able to continuously catalyse acidic OER at 10 mA cm^(−2) for 15 h without obvious degradation.Our in-situ synchrotron-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the Ir^(3+)/Ir^(4+)species are the active sites for the acidic OER.Furthermore,the performance of IrNi1Ox/ATO was also preliminarily evaluated in a membrane electrode assembly,which shows better activity and stability than other reference catalysts.The IrNi1Ox/ATO reported in this work is a promising alternative to commercial IrO_(2) based catalysts for PEM electrolysis.

Direct seawater splitting for hydrogen production:Recent advances in materials synthesis and technological innovation

Direct seawater splitting has emerged as a popular and promising research direction for synthesising clean,green,non-polluting,and sustainable hydrogen energy without depending on high-purity water in the face of the world’s shortage of fossil energy.However,efficient seawater splitting is hindered by slow kinetics caused by the ultra-low conductivity and the presence of bacteria,microorganisms,and stray ions in seawater.Additionally,producing hydrogen on an industrial scale is challenging due to the high production cost.The present review addresses these challenges from the catalyst point of view,namely,that designing catalysts with high catalytic activity and stability can directly affect the rate and effect of seawater splitting.From the ion transfer perspective,designing membranes can block harmful ions,improving the stability of seawater splitting.From the energy point of view,mixed seawater systems and self-powered systems also provide new and low-energy research systems for seawater splitting.Finally,ideas and directions for further research on direct seawater splitting in the future are pointed out,with the aim of achieving low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production.

Adaptive optical focusing through perturbed scattering media with a dynamic mutation algorithm

Optical imaging through or inside scattering media, such as multimode fiber and biological tissues, has a significant impact in biomedicine yet is considered challenging due to the strong scattering nature of light. In the past decade, promising progress has been made in the field, largely benefiting from the invention of iterative optical wavefront shaping, with which deep-tissue high-resolution optical focusing and hence imaging becomes possible. Most of the reported iterative algorithms can overcome small perturbations on the noise level but fail to effectively adapt beyond the noise level, e.g., sudden strong perturbations. Reoptimizations are usually needed for significant decorrelation to the medium since these algorithms heavily rely on the optimization performance in the previous iterations. Such ineffectiveness is probably due to the absence of a metric that can gauge the deviation of the instant wavefront from the optimum compensation based on the concurrently measured optical focusing.In this study, a square rule of binary-amplitude modulation, directly relating the measured focusing performance with the error in the optimized wavefront, is theoretically proved and experimentally validated. With this simple rule, it is feasible to quantify how many pixels on the spatial light modulator incorrectly modulate the wavefront for the instant status of the medium or the whole system. As an example of application, we propose a novel algorithm, the dynamic mutation algorithm, which has high adaptability against perturbations by probing how far the optimization has gone toward the theoretically optimal performance. The diminished focus of scattered light can be effectively recovered when perturbations to the medium cause a significant drop in the focusing performance, which no existing algorithms can achieve due to their inherent strong dependence on previous optimizations. With further improvement, the square rule and the new algorithm may boost or inspire many applications, such as high-resolution optical imaging and stimulation, in instable or dynamic scattering environments.

Wavefront shaping: A versatile tool to conquer multiple scattering in multidisciplinary fields

Optical techniques offer a wide variety of applications as light-matter interactions provide extremely sensitive mechanisms to probe or treat target media.Most of these implementations rely on the usage of ballistic or quasi-ballistic photons to achieve high spatial resolution.However,the inherent scattering nature of light in biological tissues or tissue-like scattering media constitutes a critical obstacle that has restricted the penetration depth of non-scattered photons and hence limited the implementation of most optical techniques for wider applications.In addition,the components of an optical system are usually designed and manufactured for a fixed function or performance.Recent advances in wavefront shaping have demonstrated that scattering-or component-induced phase distortions can be compensated by optimizing the wavefront of the input light pattern through iteration or by conjugating the transmission matrix of the scattering medium.

Edge enhancement through scattering media enabled by optical wavefront shaping

Edge enhancement is a fundamental and important topic in imaging and image processing,as perception of edge is one of the keys to identify and comprehend the contents of an image.Edge enhancement can be performed in many ways,through hardware or computation.Existing methods,however,have been limited in free space or clear media for optical applications;in scattering media such as biological tissue,light is multiple scattered,and information is scrambled to a form of seemingly random speckles.Although desired,it is challenging to accom-plish edge enhancement in the presence of multiple scattering.In this work,we introduce an implementation of optical wavefront shaping to achieve efficient edge enhancement through scattering media by a two-step operation.The first step is to acquire a hologram after the scattering medium,where information of the edge region is accurately encoded,while that of the nonedge region is intentionally encoded with inadequate accuracy.The second step is to decode the edge information by time reversing the scattered light.The capability is demonstrated experimentally,and,further,the performance,as measured by the edge enhancement index(EI)and enhancement-to-noise ratio(ENR),can be controlled easily through tuning the beam ratio.EI and ENR can be reinforced by^8.5 and^263 folds,respectively.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first demonstration that edge information of a spatial pattern can be extracted through strong turbidity,which can potentially enrich the comprehension of actual images obtained from a complex environment.