Temperature-swing adsorption(TSA)is an effective technique for CO_(2) capture,but the temperature swing procedure is energy-intensive.Herein,we report a low-energy-consumption system by combining passive radiative coo...Temperature-swing adsorption(TSA)is an effective technique for CO_(2) capture,but the temperature swing procedure is energy-intensive.Herein,we report a low-energy-consumption system by combining passive radiative cooling and solar heating for the uptake of CO_(2) on commercial activated carbons(CACs).During adsorption,the adsorbents are coated with a layer of hierarchically porous poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene)[P(VdF-HFP)HP],which cools the adsorbents to a low temperature under sunlight through radiative cooling.For desorption,CACs with broad absorption of the solar spectrum are exposed to light irradiation for heating.The heating and cooling processes are completely driven by solar energy.Adsorption tests under mimicked sunlight using the CACs show that the performance of this system is comparable to that of the traditional ones.Furthermore,under real sunlight irradiation,the adsorption capacity of the CACs can be well maintained after multiple cycles.The present work may inspire the development of new temperature swing procedures with little energy consumption.展开更多
BACKGROUND Ferroptosis can induce low retention and engraftment after mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)delivery,which is considered a major challenge to the effectiveness of MSC-based pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)ther...BACKGROUND Ferroptosis can induce low retention and engraftment after mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)delivery,which is considered a major challenge to the effectiveness of MSC-based pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)therapy.Interestingly,the cystathionineγ-lyase(CSE)/hydrogen sulfide(H_(2)S)pathway may contribute to mediating ferroptosis.However,the influence of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway on ferroptosis in human umbilical cord MSCs(HUCMSCs)remains unclear.AIM To clarify whether the effect of HUCMSCs on vascular remodelling in PAH mice is affected by CSE/H_(2)S pathway-mediated ferroptosis,and to investigate the functions of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway in ferroptosis in HUCMSCs and the underlying mechanisms.METHODS Erastin and ferrostatin-1(Fer-1)were used to induce and inhibit ferroptosis,respectively.HUCMSCs were transfected with a vector to overexpress or inhibit expression of CSE.A PAH mouse model was established using 4-wk-old male BALB/c nude mice under hypoxic conditions,and pulmonary pressure and vascular remodelling were measured.The survival of HUCMSCs after delivery was observed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging.Cell viability,iron accumulation,reactive oxygen species production,cystine uptake,and lipid peroxidation in HUCMSCs were tested.Ferroptosis-related proteins and S-sulfhydrated Kelchlike ECH-associating protein 1(Keap1)were detected by western blot analysis.RESULTS In vivo,CSE overexpression improved cell survival after erastin-treated HUCMSC delivery in mice with hypoxiainduced PAH.In vitro,CSE overexpression improved H_(2)S production and ferroptosis-related indexes,such as cell viability,iron level,reactive oxygen species production,cystine uptake,lipid peroxidation,mitochondrial membrane density,and ferroptosis-related protein expression,in erastin-treated HUCMSCs.In contrast,in vivo,CSE inhibition decreased cell survival after Fer-1-treated HUCMSC delivery and aggravated vascular remodelling in PAH mice.In vitro,CSE inhibition decreased H_(2)S levels and restored ferroptosis in Fer-1-treated HUCMSCs.Interestingly,upregulation of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway induced Keap1 S-sulfhydration,which contributed to the inhibition of ferroptosis.CONCLUSION Regulation of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway in HUCMSCs contributes to the inhibition of ferroptosis and improves the suppressive effect on vascular remodelling in mice with hypoxia-induced PAH.Moreover,the protective effect of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway against ferroptosis in HUCMSCs is mediated via S-sulfhydrated Keap1/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signalling.The present study may provide a novel therapeutic avenue for improving the protective capacity of transplanted MSCs in PAH.展开更多
Plastic instability,including both the discontinuous yielding and stress serrations,has been frequently observed during the tensile deformation of medium-Mn steels(MMnS)and has been intensively studied in recent years...Plastic instability,including both the discontinuous yielding and stress serrations,has been frequently observed during the tensile deformation of medium-Mn steels(MMnS)and has been intensively studied in recent years.Unfortunately,research results are controversial,and no consensus has been achieved regarding the topic.Here,we first summarize all the possible factors that affect the yielding and flow stress serrations in MMnS,including the morphology and stability of austenite,the feature of the phase interface,and the deformation parameters.Then,we propose a universal mechanism to explain the conflicting experimental results.We conclude that the discontinuous yielding can be attributed to the lack of mobile dislocation before deformation and the rapid dislocation multiplication at the beginning of plastic deformation.Meanwhile,the results show that the stress serrations are formed due to the pinning and depinning between dislocations and interstitial atoms in austenite.Strain-induced martensitic transformation,influenced by the mechanical stability of austenite grain and deformation parameters,should not be the intrinsic cause of plastic instability.However,it can intensify or weaken the discontinuous yielding and the stress serrations by affecting the mobility and density of dislocations,as well as the interaction between the interstitial atoms and dislocations in austenite grains.展开更多
The gut microbiota significantly influences host physiology and provides essential ecosystem services.While diet can affect the composition of the gut microbiota,the gut microbiota can also help the host adapt to spec...The gut microbiota significantly influences host physiology and provides essential ecosystem services.While diet can affect the composition of the gut microbiota,the gut microbiota can also help the host adapt to specific dietary habits.The carrion crow(Corvus corone),an urban facultative scavenger bird,hosts an abundance of pathogens due to its scavenging behavior.Despite this,carrion crows infrequently exhibit illness,a phenomenon related to their unique physiological adaptability.At present,however,the role of the gut microbiota remains incompletely understood.In this study,we performed a comparative analysis using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing technology to assess colonic content in carrion crows and 16 other bird species with different diets in Beijing,China.Our findings revealed that the dominant gut microbiota in carrion crows was primarily composed of Proteobacteria(75.51%)and Firmicutes(22.37%).Significant differences were observed in the relative abundance of Enterococcus faecalis among groups,highlighting its potential as a biomarker of facultative scavenging behavior in carrion crows.Subsequently,E.faecalis isolated from carrion crows was transplanted into model mice to explore the protective effects of this bacterial community against Salmonella enterica infection.Results showed that E.faecalis down-regulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α),interferon gamma(IFN-γ),and interleukin 6(IL-6),prevented S.enterica colonization,and regulated the composition of gut microbiota in mice,thereby modulating the host’s immune regulatory capacity.Therefore,E.faecalis exerts immunoregulatory and anti-pathogenic functions in carrion crows engaged in scavenging behavior,offering a representative case of how the gut microbiota contributes to the protection of hosts with specialized diets.展开更多
Organic solar cells(OSCs)have gained conspicuous progress during the past few decades due to the development of materials and upgrading of the device structure.The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the single-junctio...Organic solar cells(OSCs)have gained conspicuous progress during the past few decades due to the development of materials and upgrading of the device structure.The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the single-junction device had surpassed 19%.The cathode interface layer(CIL),by optimizing the connection between the active layer and the cathode electrode,has become a momentous part to strengthen the performances of the OSCs.Simultaneously,CIL is also indispensable to illustrating the working mechanism of OSCs and enhancing the stability of the OSCs.In this essay,hybrid CILs in OSCs have been summarized.Firstly,the advancement and operating mechanism of OSCs,and the effects and relevant design rules of CIL are briefly concluded;secondly,the significant influence of CIL on enhancing the stability and PCE of OSCs is presented;thirdly,the characteristics of organic hybrid CIL and organic-inorganic hybrid CIL are introduced.Finally,the conclusion and outlook of CIL are summarized.展开更多
Urea oxidation reaction(UOR)is proposed as an exemplary half-reaction in renewable energy applications because of its low thermodynamical potential.However,challenges persist due to sluggish reaction kinetics and comp...Urea oxidation reaction(UOR)is proposed as an exemplary half-reaction in renewable energy applications because of its low thermodynamical potential.However,challenges persist due to sluggish reaction kinetics and complex by-products separation.To this end,we introduce the lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism(LOM),propelling a novel UOR route using a modified CoFe layered double hydroxide(LDH)catalyst termed CFRO-7.Theoretical calculations and in-situ characterizations highlight the activated lattice oxygen(O_(L))within CFRO-7 as pivotal sites for UOR,optimizing the reaction pathway and accelerating the kinetics.For the urea overall electrolysis application,the LOM route only requires a low voltage of 1.54 V to offer a high current of 100 mA cm^(-2) for long-term utilization(>48 h).Importantly,the by-product NCO^(-)−is significantly suppressed,while the CO_(2)2/N_(2) separation is efficiently achieved.This work proposed a pioneering paradigm,invoking the LOM pathway in urea electrolysis to expedite reaction dynamics and enhance product selectivity.展开更多
By both the Charpy V-notched impact and the projectile tests, we here investigated the dynamic fracture behavior of a recently developed ultrastrong lightweight steel comprising a hierarchical martensitic matrix, disp...By both the Charpy V-notched impact and the projectile tests, we here investigated the dynamic fracture behavior of a recently developed ultrastrong lightweight steel comprising a hierarchical martensitic matrix, dispersed ultra-fine-retained austenite grains and oriented δ-ferrite lamellas, the latter being due to high Al and Si contents employed for low-density design. This steel shows a superior combination of specific ultimate tensile strength and impact toughness to other ultrastrong steels and has successfully arrested a real steel-cored bullet shot. These are attributed to the densely textured δ-ferrite lamellas that can deflect the propagating cracks until they are trapped and enclosed besides austenite-to-martensite transformation crack closure, leading to more energy consumed before failure. These results suggest a new pathway for toughening ultrastrong lightweight steels.展开更多
With the rapid growth of information transmission via the Internet,efforts have been made to reduce network load to promote efficiency.One such application is semantic computing,which can extract and process semantic ...With the rapid growth of information transmission via the Internet,efforts have been made to reduce network load to promote efficiency.One such application is semantic computing,which can extract and process semantic communication.Social media has enabled users to share their current emotions,opinions,and life events through their mobile devices.Notably,people suffering from mental health problems are more willing to share their feelings on social networks.Therefore,it is necessary to extract semantic information from social media(vlog data)to identify abnormal emotional states to facilitate early identification and intervention.Most studies do not consider spatio-temporal information when fusing multimodal information to identify abnormal emotional states such as depression.To solve this problem,this paper proposes a spatio-temporal squeeze transformer method for the extraction of semantic features of depression.First,a module with spatio-temporal data is embedded into the transformer encoder,which is utilized to obtain a representation of spatio-temporal features.Second,a classifier with a voting mechanism is designed to encourage the model to classify depression and non-depression effec-tively.Experiments are conducted on the D-Vlog dataset.The results show that the method is effective,and the accuracy rate can reach 70.70%.This work provides scaffolding for future work in the detection of affect recognition in semantic communication based on social media vlog data.展开更多
With the widespread use of machine learning(ML)technology,the operational efficiency and responsiveness of power grids have been significantly enhanced,allowing smart grids to achieve high levels of automation and int...With the widespread use of machine learning(ML)technology,the operational efficiency and responsiveness of power grids have been significantly enhanced,allowing smart grids to achieve high levels of automation and intelligence.However,tree ensemble models commonly used in smart grids are vulnerable to adversarial attacks,making it urgent to enhance their robustness.To address this,we propose a robustness enhancement method that incorporates physical constraints into the node-splitting decisions of tree ensembles.Our algorithm improves robustness by developing a dataset of adversarial examples that comply with physical laws,ensuring training data accurately reflects possible attack scenarios while adhering to physical rules.In our experiments,the proposed method increased robustness against adversarial attacks by 100%when applied to real grid data under physical constraints.These results highlight the advantages of our method in maintaining efficient and secure operation of smart grids under adversarial conditions.展开更多
Dear Editor,Tuberculosis(TB)is an infectious disease which has been considered as a global public health emergency problem during the past 25y.The World Health Organization has estimated that approximately one-third o...Dear Editor,Tuberculosis(TB)is an infectious disease which has been considered as a global public health emergency problem during the past 25y.The World Health Organization has estimated that approximately one-third of the world’s population are infected by TB.However,only 10%of patients with TB is symptomatic.TB can affect multiple organs throughout the body.Eighty percent of those infected are pulmonary TB.Ocular TB can occur with or without lung or other systemic TB.It is a rare extrapulmonary form of the disease and occupied about 3.5%–5%of all of the TB.It should not be disregarded as its potential influence on vision loss.The intraocular and/or extraocular structures could be impacted by ocular TB[1].Uvea was the most common affected structure[2].展开更多
BACKGROUND Dysphagia,or swallowing disorder,is a common complication following stroke,significantly impacting patients'quality of life.Electromyographic biofeedback(EMGBF)therapy has emerged as a potential rehabil...BACKGROUND Dysphagia,or swallowing disorder,is a common complication following stroke,significantly impacting patients'quality of life.Electromyographic biofeedback(EMGBF)therapy has emerged as a potential rehabilitation technique to improve swallowing function,but its efficacy in comparison with conventional treatments remains to be further explored.AIM To investigate the effects of different treatment intensities of EMGBF on swallowing function and motor speed after stroke.METHODS The participants were divided into three groups,all of which received routine neurological drug therapy and motor function rehabilitation training.On the basis of routine swallowing disorder training,the EMGBF group received additional EMGBF training,while the enhanced EMGBF group received two additional training sessions.Four weeks before and after treatment,the degree of swallowing disorder was evaluated using the degree of swallowing disorder score(VGF)and the Rosenbek penetration-aspiration scale(PAS).RESULTS Initially,there was no significant difference in VGF and PAS scores among the groups(P>0.05).After four weeks,all groups showed significant improvement in both VGF scores and PAS scores.Furthermore,the standardized swallowing assessment and videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale scores also improved significantly post-treatment,indicating enhanced swallowing function and motor function of the hyoid-bone laryngeal complex,particularly in the intensive EMGBF group.CONCLUSION EMGBF training is more effective than traditional swallowing training in improving swallowing function and the movement rate of the hyoid laryngeal complex in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.展开更多
BACKGROUND Previous research has highlighted correlations between blood cell counts and chronic liver disease.Nonetheless,the causal relationships remain unknown.AIM To evaluate the causal effect of blood cell traits ...BACKGROUND Previous research has highlighted correlations between blood cell counts and chronic liver disease.Nonetheless,the causal relationships remain unknown.AIM To evaluate the causal effect of blood cell traits on liver enzymes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk.METHODS Independent genetic variants strongly associated with blood cell traits were extracted from a genome-wide association study(GWAS)conducted by the Blood Cell Consortium.Summary-level data for liver enzymes were obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank.NAFLD data were obtained from a GWAS meta-analysis(8434 cases and 770180 controls,discovery dataset)and the Fingen GWAS(2275 cases and 372727 controls,replication dataset).This analysis was conducted using the inverse-variance weighted method,followed by various sensitivity analyses.RESULTS One SD increase in the genetically predicted haemoglobin concentration(HGB)was associated with aβof 0.0078(95%CI:0.0059-0.0096),0.0108(95%CI:0.0080-0.0136),0.0361(95%CI:0.0156-0.0567),and 0.0083(95%CI:00046-0.0121)for alkaline phosphatase(ALP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase,and gammaglutamyl transferase,respectively.Genetically predicted haematocrit was associated with ALP(β=0.0078,95%CI:0.0052-0.0104)and ALT(β=0.0057,95%CI:0.0039-0.0075).Genetically determined HGB and the reticulocyte fraction of red blood cells increased the risk of NAFLD[odds ratio(OR)=1.199,95%CI:1.087-1.322]and(OR=1.157,95%CI:1.071-1.250).The results of the sensitivity analyses remained significant.CONCLUSION Novel causal blood cell traits related to liver enzymes and NAFLD development were revealed through Mendelian randomization analysis,which may facilitate the diagnosis and prevention of NAFLD.展开更多
Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), a specific antigen on the membrane of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected cells, provides a perfect target for therapeutic drugs. The development of reagents with high affin...Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), a specific antigen on the membrane of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected cells, provides a perfect target for therapeutic drugs. The development of reagents with high affinity and specificity to the HBsAg is of great significance to the early-stage diagnosis and treatment of HBV infection. Herein, we report the selection of RNA aptamers that can specifically bind to HBsAg protein and HBsAg-positive hepatocytes. One high affinity aptamer, HBs-A22, was isolated from an initial 115 met library of -1.1 ×10^15 random-sequence RNA molecules using the SELEX procedure. The selected aptamer HBs-A22 bound specifically to hepatoma cell line HepG2.2.15 that expresses HBsAg but did not bind to HBsAg-devoid HepG2 cells. This is the first reported RNA aptamer which could bind to a HBV specific antigen. This newly isolated aptamer could be modified to deliver imaging, diagnostic, and therapeutic agents targeted at HBV-infected cells.展开更多
In lightweight cryptographic primitives, round functions with only simple operations XOR, modular addition and rotation are widely used nowadays. This kind of ciphers is called ARX ciphers. For ARX ciphers, impossible...In lightweight cryptographic primitives, round functions with only simple operations XOR, modular addition and rotation are widely used nowadays. This kind of ciphers is called ARX ciphers. For ARX ciphers, impossible differential cryptanalysis and zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis are among the most powerful attacks, and the key problems for these two attacks are discovering more and longer impossible differentials(IDs) and zero-correlation linear hulls(ZCLHs). However, finding new IDs and ZCLHs for ARX ciphers has been a manual work for a long time, which has been an obstacle in improving these two attacks. This paper proposes an automatic search method to improve the efficiency of finding new IDs and ZCLHs for ARX ciphers. In order to prove the efficiency of this new tool, we take HIGHT, LEA, SPECK three typical ARX algorithms as examples to explore their longer and new impossible differentials and zero-correlation linear hulls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of automatic search method for ARX ciphers on finding new IDs and ZCLHs. For HIGHT, we find more 17 round IDs and multiple 17 round ZCLHs. This is the first discovery of 17 round ZCLHs for HIGHT. For LEA, we find extra four 10 round IDs and several 9 round ZCLHs. In the specification of LEA, the designers just identified three 10 round IDs and one 7round ZCLH. For SPECK, we find thousands of 6 round IDs and forty-four 6 round ZCLHs. Neither IDs nor ZCLHs of SPECK has been proposed before. The successful application of our new tool shows great potential in improving the impossible differential cryptanalysis and zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis on ARX ciphers..展开更多
The environment, such as an accretion disk, could modify the signal of the gravitational wave from astrophysical black hole binaries. In this article, we model the matter field around intermediatemass binary black hol...The environment, such as an accretion disk, could modify the signal of the gravitational wave from astrophysical black hole binaries. In this article, we model the matter field around intermediatemass binary black holes by means of an axion-like scalar field and investigate their joint evolution. In detail, we consider equal mass binary black holes surrounded by a shell of axion-like scalar field both in spherically symmetric and non-spherically symmetric cases, and with different strengths of the scalar field. Our result shows that the environmental scalar field could essentially modify the dynamics. Firstly,in the spherically symmetric case, with increase of the scalar field strength, the number of circular orbits for the binary black hole is reduced. This means that the scalar field could significantly accelerate the merger process. Secondly, once the scalar field strength exceeds a certain critical value, the scalar field could collapse into a third black hole with its mass being larger than that of the binary. Consequently,the new black hole that collapses from the environmental scalar field could accrete the binary promptly and the binary collides head-on with each other. In this process, there is almost no quadrupole signal produced, and, consequently, the gravitational wave is greatly suppressed. Thirdly, when the scalar field strength is relatively smaller than the critical value, the black hole orbit could develop eccentricity through accretion of the scalar field. Fourthly, during the initial stage of the inspiral, the gravitational attractive force from the axion-like scalar field could induce a sudden turn in the binary orbits, hence resulting in a transient wiggle in the gravitational waveform. Finally, in the non-spherical case, the scalar field could gravitationally attract the binary moving toward the center of mass for the scalar field and slow down the merger process.展开更多
Power-conversion-efficiencies(PCEs)of organic solar cells(OSCs)in laboratory,normally processed by spin-coating technology with toxic halogenated solvents,have reached over 19%.However,there is usually a marked PCE dr...Power-conversion-efficiencies(PCEs)of organic solar cells(OSCs)in laboratory,normally processed by spin-coating technology with toxic halogenated solvents,have reached over 19%.However,there is usually a marked PCE drop when the bladecoating and/or green-solvents toward large-scale printing are used instead,which hampers the practical development of OSCs.Here,a new series of N-alkyl-tailored small molecule acceptors named YR-SeNF with a same molecular main backbone are developed by combining selenium-fused central-core and naphthalene-fused endgroup.Thanks to the N-alkyl engineering,NIR-absorbing YR-SeNF series show different crystallinity,packing patterns,and miscibility with polymeric donor.The studies exhibit that the molecular packing,crystallinity,and vertical distribution of active layer morphologies are well optimized by introducing newly designed guest acceptor associated with tailored N-alkyl chains,providing the improved charge transfer dynamics and stability for the PM6:L8-BO:YRSeNF-based OSCs.As a result,a record-high PCE approaching 19%is achieved in the blade-coating OSCs fabricated from a greensolvent o-xylene with high-boiling point.Notably,ternary OSCs offer robust operating stability under maximum-power-point tracking and well-keep>80%of the initial PCEs for even over 400 h.Our alkyl-tailored guest acceptor strategy provides a unique approach to develop green-solvent and blade-coating processed high-efficiency and operating stable OSCs,which paves a way for industrial development.展开更多
Bimolecular interactions play crucial roles in lignin pyrolysis.The tautomerization of key intermediates has a significant impact on the formation of stable products,whereas bimolecular tautomerization has been rarely...Bimolecular interactions play crucial roles in lignin pyrolysis.The tautomerization of key intermediates has a significant impact on the formation of stable products,whereas bimolecular tautomerization has been rarely clarified.In the present work,the bimolecular tautomerization mechanism induced by both concerted and radical interactions was proposed and carefully confirmed.A characteristicβ-O-4 lignin dimer,2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol(α-OH-PPE),was used as the model compound to reveal two representative keto-phenol and enol-keto tautomerism mechanisms,based on theoretical calculations combined with pyrolysis experiments.The results indicate that the unimolecular tautomerism as the rate-determining step limits product generation,due to fairly high energy barriers.While the free hydroxy compounds and radicals derived from initial pyrolysis can further initiate bimolecular tautomerism reactions through the one-step concerted hydroxyl-assisted hydrogen transfer(hydroxylAHT)and two-step radical hydrogen abstraction interactions,respectively.By alleviating and even avoiding the large ring tension of tautomerism,the unstable tautomers(2,4-cyclohexadienone and1-hydroxy styrene)can be rapidly tautomerized into stable phenol and acetophenone with the help of intermolecular interaction.Benefitting from the significant advantage of retro-ene fragmentation in breaking theβ-O-4 bond to form tautomers,a large amount of stable phenolic and ketone products can be generated following bimolecular tautomerization in the pyrolysis ofβ-O-4 linked lignin.展开更多
基金supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(22125804)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21808110,22078155,and 21878149).
文摘Temperature-swing adsorption(TSA)is an effective technique for CO_(2) capture,but the temperature swing procedure is energy-intensive.Herein,we report a low-energy-consumption system by combining passive radiative cooling and solar heating for the uptake of CO_(2) on commercial activated carbons(CACs).During adsorption,the adsorbents are coated with a layer of hierarchically porous poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene)[P(VdF-HFP)HP],which cools the adsorbents to a low temperature under sunlight through radiative cooling.For desorption,CACs with broad absorption of the solar spectrum are exposed to light irradiation for heating.The heating and cooling processes are completely driven by solar energy.Adsorption tests under mimicked sunlight using the CACs show that the performance of this system is comparable to that of the traditional ones.Furthermore,under real sunlight irradiation,the adsorption capacity of the CACs can be well maintained after multiple cycles.The present work may inspire the development of new temperature swing procedures with little energy consumption.
基金the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China,No.ZR2021QH179 and ZR2020MH014.
文摘BACKGROUND Ferroptosis can induce low retention and engraftment after mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)delivery,which is considered a major challenge to the effectiveness of MSC-based pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)therapy.Interestingly,the cystathionineγ-lyase(CSE)/hydrogen sulfide(H_(2)S)pathway may contribute to mediating ferroptosis.However,the influence of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway on ferroptosis in human umbilical cord MSCs(HUCMSCs)remains unclear.AIM To clarify whether the effect of HUCMSCs on vascular remodelling in PAH mice is affected by CSE/H_(2)S pathway-mediated ferroptosis,and to investigate the functions of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway in ferroptosis in HUCMSCs and the underlying mechanisms.METHODS Erastin and ferrostatin-1(Fer-1)were used to induce and inhibit ferroptosis,respectively.HUCMSCs were transfected with a vector to overexpress or inhibit expression of CSE.A PAH mouse model was established using 4-wk-old male BALB/c nude mice under hypoxic conditions,and pulmonary pressure and vascular remodelling were measured.The survival of HUCMSCs after delivery was observed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging.Cell viability,iron accumulation,reactive oxygen species production,cystine uptake,and lipid peroxidation in HUCMSCs were tested.Ferroptosis-related proteins and S-sulfhydrated Kelchlike ECH-associating protein 1(Keap1)were detected by western blot analysis.RESULTS In vivo,CSE overexpression improved cell survival after erastin-treated HUCMSC delivery in mice with hypoxiainduced PAH.In vitro,CSE overexpression improved H_(2)S production and ferroptosis-related indexes,such as cell viability,iron level,reactive oxygen species production,cystine uptake,lipid peroxidation,mitochondrial membrane density,and ferroptosis-related protein expression,in erastin-treated HUCMSCs.In contrast,in vivo,CSE inhibition decreased cell survival after Fer-1-treated HUCMSC delivery and aggravated vascular remodelling in PAH mice.In vitro,CSE inhibition decreased H_(2)S levels and restored ferroptosis in Fer-1-treated HUCMSCs.Interestingly,upregulation of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway induced Keap1 S-sulfhydration,which contributed to the inhibition of ferroptosis.CONCLUSION Regulation of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway in HUCMSCs contributes to the inhibition of ferroptosis and improves the suppressive effect on vascular remodelling in mice with hypoxia-induced PAH.Moreover,the protective effect of the CSE/H_(2)S pathway against ferroptosis in HUCMSCs is mediated via S-sulfhydrated Keap1/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signalling.The present study may provide a novel therapeutic avenue for improving the protective capacity of transplanted MSCs in PAH.
基金support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51831002,51904028,and 52233018)the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation(No.2242048)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(No.FRF-EYIT-23-08).
文摘Plastic instability,including both the discontinuous yielding and stress serrations,has been frequently observed during the tensile deformation of medium-Mn steels(MMnS)and has been intensively studied in recent years.Unfortunately,research results are controversial,and no consensus has been achieved regarding the topic.Here,we first summarize all the possible factors that affect the yielding and flow stress serrations in MMnS,including the morphology and stability of austenite,the feature of the phase interface,and the deformation parameters.Then,we propose a universal mechanism to explain the conflicting experimental results.We conclude that the discontinuous yielding can be attributed to the lack of mobile dislocation before deformation and the rapid dislocation multiplication at the beginning of plastic deformation.Meanwhile,the results show that the stress serrations are formed due to the pinning and depinning between dislocations and interstitial atoms in austenite.Strain-induced martensitic transformation,influenced by the mechanical stability of austenite grain and deformation parameters,should not be the intrinsic cause of plastic instability.However,it can intensify or weaken the discontinuous yielding and the stress serrations by affecting the mobility and density of dislocations,as well as the interaction between the interstitial atoms and dislocations in austenite grains.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFC2601602)Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China(32090023)Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center,China。
文摘The gut microbiota significantly influences host physiology and provides essential ecosystem services.While diet can affect the composition of the gut microbiota,the gut microbiota can also help the host adapt to specific dietary habits.The carrion crow(Corvus corone),an urban facultative scavenger bird,hosts an abundance of pathogens due to its scavenging behavior.Despite this,carrion crows infrequently exhibit illness,a phenomenon related to their unique physiological adaptability.At present,however,the role of the gut microbiota remains incompletely understood.In this study,we performed a comparative analysis using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing technology to assess colonic content in carrion crows and 16 other bird species with different diets in Beijing,China.Our findings revealed that the dominant gut microbiota in carrion crows was primarily composed of Proteobacteria(75.51%)and Firmicutes(22.37%).Significant differences were observed in the relative abundance of Enterococcus faecalis among groups,highlighting its potential as a biomarker of facultative scavenging behavior in carrion crows.Subsequently,E.faecalis isolated from carrion crows was transplanted into model mice to explore the protective effects of this bacterial community against Salmonella enterica infection.Results showed that E.faecalis down-regulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α),interferon gamma(IFN-γ),and interleukin 6(IL-6),prevented S.enterica colonization,and regulated the composition of gut microbiota in mice,thereby modulating the host’s immune regulatory capacity.Therefore,E.faecalis exerts immunoregulatory and anti-pathogenic functions in carrion crows engaged in scavenging behavior,offering a representative case of how the gut microbiota contributes to the protection of hosts with specialized diets.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52263017,21965023,52173170,51973087,and22065025)the Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Jiangxi Province(20212ACB214009)+2 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province(20212ACB203010,20224BAB214007 and20212BAB204052)the Training Project of High-level and Highskilled Leading Talents of Jiangxi Province(2023)the Thousand Talents Plan of Jiangxi Province(jxsq2019201004 and jxsq2020101068)。
文摘Organic solar cells(OSCs)have gained conspicuous progress during the past few decades due to the development of materials and upgrading of the device structure.The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the single-junction device had surpassed 19%.The cathode interface layer(CIL),by optimizing the connection between the active layer and the cathode electrode,has become a momentous part to strengthen the performances of the OSCs.Simultaneously,CIL is also indispensable to illustrating the working mechanism of OSCs and enhancing the stability of the OSCs.In this essay,hybrid CILs in OSCs have been summarized.Firstly,the advancement and operating mechanism of OSCs,and the effects and relevant design rules of CIL are briefly concluded;secondly,the significant influence of CIL on enhancing the stability and PCE of OSCs is presented;thirdly,the characteristics of organic hybrid CIL and organic-inorganic hybrid CIL are introduced.Finally,the conclusion and outlook of CIL are summarized.
基金supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(B220202062)supported by Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China(92047201,92047303,52102237)+1 种基金National Science Funds for Creative Research Groups of China(51421006)supported by Postdoctoral Science Foundations of China and Jiangsu Province(2021M690861,2022T150183,2021K065A)。
文摘Urea oxidation reaction(UOR)is proposed as an exemplary half-reaction in renewable energy applications because of its low thermodynamical potential.However,challenges persist due to sluggish reaction kinetics and complex by-products separation.To this end,we introduce the lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism(LOM),propelling a novel UOR route using a modified CoFe layered double hydroxide(LDH)catalyst termed CFRO-7.Theoretical calculations and in-situ characterizations highlight the activated lattice oxygen(O_(L))within CFRO-7 as pivotal sites for UOR,optimizing the reaction pathway and accelerating the kinetics.For the urea overall electrolysis application,the LOM route only requires a low voltage of 1.54 V to offer a high current of 100 mA cm^(-2) for long-term utilization(>48 h).Importantly,the by-product NCO^(-)−is significantly suppressed,while the CO_(2)2/N_(2) separation is efficiently achieved.This work proposed a pioneering paradigm,invoking the LOM pathway in urea electrolysis to expedite reaction dynamics and enhance product selectivity.
基金financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51831002,51904028 and 52233018),ChinaFundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.06500151),China.
文摘By both the Charpy V-notched impact and the projectile tests, we here investigated the dynamic fracture behavior of a recently developed ultrastrong lightweight steel comprising a hierarchical martensitic matrix, dispersed ultra-fine-retained austenite grains and oriented δ-ferrite lamellas, the latter being due to high Al and Si contents employed for low-density design. This steel shows a superior combination of specific ultimate tensile strength and impact toughness to other ultrastrong steels and has successfully arrested a real steel-cored bullet shot. These are attributed to the densely textured δ-ferrite lamellas that can deflect the propagating cracks until they are trapped and enclosed besides austenite-to-martensite transformation crack closure, leading to more energy consumed before failure. These results suggest a new pathway for toughening ultrastrong lightweight steels.
基金supported in part by the STI 2030-Major Projects(2021ZD0202002)in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.62227807)+2 种基金in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province,China(Grant No.22JR5RA488)in part by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.lzujbky-2023-16)Supported by Supercomputing Center of Lanzhou University.
文摘With the rapid growth of information transmission via the Internet,efforts have been made to reduce network load to promote efficiency.One such application is semantic computing,which can extract and process semantic communication.Social media has enabled users to share their current emotions,opinions,and life events through their mobile devices.Notably,people suffering from mental health problems are more willing to share their feelings on social networks.Therefore,it is necessary to extract semantic information from social media(vlog data)to identify abnormal emotional states to facilitate early identification and intervention.Most studies do not consider spatio-temporal information when fusing multimodal information to identify abnormal emotional states such as depression.To solve this problem,this paper proposes a spatio-temporal squeeze transformer method for the extraction of semantic features of depression.First,a module with spatio-temporal data is embedded into the transformer encoder,which is utilized to obtain a representation of spatio-temporal features.Second,a classifier with a voting mechanism is designed to encourage the model to classify depression and non-depression effec-tively.Experiments are conducted on the D-Vlog dataset.The results show that the method is effective,and the accuracy rate can reach 70.70%.This work provides scaffolding for future work in the detection of affect recognition in semantic communication based on social media vlog data.
基金This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.62303126,62362008,62066006,authors Zhenyong Zhang and Bin Hu,https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/,accessed on 25 July 2024)Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Projects(No.ZK[2022]149,author Zhenyong Zhang,https://kjt.guizhou.gov.cn/,accessed on 25 July 2024)+1 种基金Guizhou Provincial Research Project(Youth)forUniversities(No.[2022]104,author Zhenyong Zhang,https://jyt.guizhou.gov.cn/,accessed on 25 July 2024)GZU Cultivation Project of NSFC(No.[2020]80,author Zhenyong Zhang,https://www.gzu.edu.cn/,accessed on 25 July 2024).
文摘With the widespread use of machine learning(ML)technology,the operational efficiency and responsiveness of power grids have been significantly enhanced,allowing smart grids to achieve high levels of automation and intelligence.However,tree ensemble models commonly used in smart grids are vulnerable to adversarial attacks,making it urgent to enhance their robustness.To address this,we propose a robustness enhancement method that incorporates physical constraints into the node-splitting decisions of tree ensembles.Our algorithm improves robustness by developing a dataset of adversarial examples that comply with physical laws,ensuring training data accurately reflects possible attack scenarios while adhering to physical rules.In our experiments,the proposed method increased robustness against adversarial attacks by 100%when applied to real grid data under physical constraints.These results highlight the advantages of our method in maintaining efficient and secure operation of smart grids under adversarial conditions.
基金Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province(No.2022NSFSC1370).
文摘Dear Editor,Tuberculosis(TB)is an infectious disease which has been considered as a global public health emergency problem during the past 25y.The World Health Organization has estimated that approximately one-third of the world’s population are infected by TB.However,only 10%of patients with TB is symptomatic.TB can affect multiple organs throughout the body.Eighty percent of those infected are pulmonary TB.Ocular TB can occur with or without lung or other systemic TB.It is a rare extrapulmonary form of the disease and occupied about 3.5%–5%of all of the TB.It should not be disregarded as its potential influence on vision loss.The intraocular and/or extraocular structures could be impacted by ocular TB[1].Uvea was the most common affected structure[2].
基金the Research Program of Basic Research Operating Expenses of Provincial Higher Education Institutions in Heilongjiang Province in 2021,No.2021-KYYWF-0369.
文摘BACKGROUND Dysphagia,or swallowing disorder,is a common complication following stroke,significantly impacting patients'quality of life.Electromyographic biofeedback(EMGBF)therapy has emerged as a potential rehabilitation technique to improve swallowing function,but its efficacy in comparison with conventional treatments remains to be further explored.AIM To investigate the effects of different treatment intensities of EMGBF on swallowing function and motor speed after stroke.METHODS The participants were divided into three groups,all of which received routine neurological drug therapy and motor function rehabilitation training.On the basis of routine swallowing disorder training,the EMGBF group received additional EMGBF training,while the enhanced EMGBF group received two additional training sessions.Four weeks before and after treatment,the degree of swallowing disorder was evaluated using the degree of swallowing disorder score(VGF)and the Rosenbek penetration-aspiration scale(PAS).RESULTS Initially,there was no significant difference in VGF and PAS scores among the groups(P>0.05).After four weeks,all groups showed significant improvement in both VGF scores and PAS scores.Furthermore,the standardized swallowing assessment and videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale scores also improved significantly post-treatment,indicating enhanced swallowing function and motor function of the hyoid-bone laryngeal complex,particularly in the intensive EMGBF group.CONCLUSION EMGBF training is more effective than traditional swallowing training in improving swallowing function and the movement rate of the hyoid laryngeal complex in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.
基金the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation of China,No.23ZR1447800and the Fengxian District Science and Technology Commission Project,China,No.20211838.
文摘BACKGROUND Previous research has highlighted correlations between blood cell counts and chronic liver disease.Nonetheless,the causal relationships remain unknown.AIM To evaluate the causal effect of blood cell traits on liver enzymes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk.METHODS Independent genetic variants strongly associated with blood cell traits were extracted from a genome-wide association study(GWAS)conducted by the Blood Cell Consortium.Summary-level data for liver enzymes were obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank.NAFLD data were obtained from a GWAS meta-analysis(8434 cases and 770180 controls,discovery dataset)and the Fingen GWAS(2275 cases and 372727 controls,replication dataset).This analysis was conducted using the inverse-variance weighted method,followed by various sensitivity analyses.RESULTS One SD increase in the genetically predicted haemoglobin concentration(HGB)was associated with aβof 0.0078(95%CI:0.0059-0.0096),0.0108(95%CI:0.0080-0.0136),0.0361(95%CI:0.0156-0.0567),and 0.0083(95%CI:00046-0.0121)for alkaline phosphatase(ALP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase,and gammaglutamyl transferase,respectively.Genetically predicted haematocrit was associated with ALP(β=0.0078,95%CI:0.0052-0.0104)and ALT(β=0.0057,95%CI:0.0039-0.0075).Genetically determined HGB and the reticulocyte fraction of red blood cells increased the risk of NAFLD[odds ratio(OR)=1.199,95%CI:1.087-1.322]and(OR=1.157,95%CI:1.071-1.250).The results of the sensitivity analyses remained significant.CONCLUSION Novel causal blood cell traits related to liver enzymes and NAFLD development were revealed through Mendelian randomization analysis,which may facilitate the diagnosis and prevention of NAFLD.
基金National Mega Research Program of China(2008ZX10002-011)National Natural Science Foundation of China(30700701)National High Tech-nology Research and Development program of China(2006AA02Z128)
文摘Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), a specific antigen on the membrane of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected cells, provides a perfect target for therapeutic drugs. The development of reagents with high affinity and specificity to the HBsAg is of great significance to the early-stage diagnosis and treatment of HBV infection. Herein, we report the selection of RNA aptamers that can specifically bind to HBsAg protein and HBsAg-positive hepatocytes. One high affinity aptamer, HBs-A22, was isolated from an initial 115 met library of -1.1 ×10^15 random-sequence RNA molecules using the SELEX procedure. The selected aptamer HBs-A22 bound specifically to hepatoma cell line HepG2.2.15 that expresses HBsAg but did not bind to HBsAg-devoid HepG2 cells. This is the first reported RNA aptamer which could bind to a HBV specific antigen. This newly isolated aptamer could be modified to deliver imaging, diagnostic, and therapeutic agents targeted at HBV-infected cells.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 61572516, 61402523, 61202491, 61272041 and 61272488
文摘In lightweight cryptographic primitives, round functions with only simple operations XOR, modular addition and rotation are widely used nowadays. This kind of ciphers is called ARX ciphers. For ARX ciphers, impossible differential cryptanalysis and zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis are among the most powerful attacks, and the key problems for these two attacks are discovering more and longer impossible differentials(IDs) and zero-correlation linear hulls(ZCLHs). However, finding new IDs and ZCLHs for ARX ciphers has been a manual work for a long time, which has been an obstacle in improving these two attacks. This paper proposes an automatic search method to improve the efficiency of finding new IDs and ZCLHs for ARX ciphers. In order to prove the efficiency of this new tool, we take HIGHT, LEA, SPECK three typical ARX algorithms as examples to explore their longer and new impossible differentials and zero-correlation linear hulls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of automatic search method for ARX ciphers on finding new IDs and ZCLHs. For HIGHT, we find more 17 round IDs and multiple 17 round ZCLHs. This is the first discovery of 17 round ZCLHs for HIGHT. For LEA, we find extra four 10 round IDs and several 9 round ZCLHs. In the specification of LEA, the designers just identified three 10 round IDs and one 7round ZCLH. For SPECK, we find thousands of 6 round IDs and forty-four 6 round ZCLHs. Neither IDs nor ZCLHs of SPECK has been proposed before. The successful application of our new tool shows great potential in improving the impossible differential cryptanalysis and zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis on ARX ciphers..
基金supported by Beijing Normal University (Grant No. 312232102)partially supported by the Chinese National Youth Thousand Talents Program+3 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 310421107)supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11690022, 11375247, 11435006 and 11647601)by the Strategic Priority Research Program of CAS (Grant No. XDB23030100)by the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences of CAS
文摘The environment, such as an accretion disk, could modify the signal of the gravitational wave from astrophysical black hole binaries. In this article, we model the matter field around intermediatemass binary black holes by means of an axion-like scalar field and investigate their joint evolution. In detail, we consider equal mass binary black holes surrounded by a shell of axion-like scalar field both in spherically symmetric and non-spherically symmetric cases, and with different strengths of the scalar field. Our result shows that the environmental scalar field could essentially modify the dynamics. Firstly,in the spherically symmetric case, with increase of the scalar field strength, the number of circular orbits for the binary black hole is reduced. This means that the scalar field could significantly accelerate the merger process. Secondly, once the scalar field strength exceeds a certain critical value, the scalar field could collapse into a third black hole with its mass being larger than that of the binary. Consequently,the new black hole that collapses from the environmental scalar field could accrete the binary promptly and the binary collides head-on with each other. In this process, there is almost no quadrupole signal produced, and, consequently, the gravitational wave is greatly suppressed. Thirdly, when the scalar field strength is relatively smaller than the critical value, the black hole orbit could develop eccentricity through accretion of the scalar field. Fourthly, during the initial stage of the inspiral, the gravitational attractive force from the axion-like scalar field could induce a sudden turn in the binary orbits, hence resulting in a transient wiggle in the gravitational waveform. Finally, in the non-spherical case, the scalar field could gravitationally attract the binary moving toward the center of mass for the scalar field and slow down the merger process.
基金the support from the NSFC (22209131, 22005121, 21875182, and 52173023)National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFE0132400)+4 种基金Key Scientific and Technological Innovation Team Project of Shaanxi Province (2020TD-002)111 project 2.0 (BP0618008)Open Fund of Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Light-Electricity-Heat Energy-Converting Materials and Applications (Changzhou University, GDRGCS2022002)Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education (Jiangxi Normal University, KFSEMC-202201)acquired at beamlines 7.3.3 and 11.0.1.2 at the Advanced Light Source, which is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC0205CH11231
文摘Power-conversion-efficiencies(PCEs)of organic solar cells(OSCs)in laboratory,normally processed by spin-coating technology with toxic halogenated solvents,have reached over 19%.However,there is usually a marked PCE drop when the bladecoating and/or green-solvents toward large-scale printing are used instead,which hampers the practical development of OSCs.Here,a new series of N-alkyl-tailored small molecule acceptors named YR-SeNF with a same molecular main backbone are developed by combining selenium-fused central-core and naphthalene-fused endgroup.Thanks to the N-alkyl engineering,NIR-absorbing YR-SeNF series show different crystallinity,packing patterns,and miscibility with polymeric donor.The studies exhibit that the molecular packing,crystallinity,and vertical distribution of active layer morphologies are well optimized by introducing newly designed guest acceptor associated with tailored N-alkyl chains,providing the improved charge transfer dynamics and stability for the PM6:L8-BO:YRSeNF-based OSCs.As a result,a record-high PCE approaching 19%is achieved in the blade-coating OSCs fabricated from a greensolvent o-xylene with high-boiling point.Notably,ternary OSCs offer robust operating stability under maximum-power-point tracking and well-keep>80%of the initial PCEs for even over 400 h.Our alkyl-tailored guest acceptor strategy provides a unique approach to develop green-solvent and blade-coating processed high-efficiency and operating stable OSCs,which paves a way for industrial development.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52276189,52106241)Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20221248)for financial support。
文摘Bimolecular interactions play crucial roles in lignin pyrolysis.The tautomerization of key intermediates has a significant impact on the formation of stable products,whereas bimolecular tautomerization has been rarely clarified.In the present work,the bimolecular tautomerization mechanism induced by both concerted and radical interactions was proposed and carefully confirmed.A characteristicβ-O-4 lignin dimer,2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol(α-OH-PPE),was used as the model compound to reveal two representative keto-phenol and enol-keto tautomerism mechanisms,based on theoretical calculations combined with pyrolysis experiments.The results indicate that the unimolecular tautomerism as the rate-determining step limits product generation,due to fairly high energy barriers.While the free hydroxy compounds and radicals derived from initial pyrolysis can further initiate bimolecular tautomerism reactions through the one-step concerted hydroxyl-assisted hydrogen transfer(hydroxylAHT)and two-step radical hydrogen abstraction interactions,respectively.By alleviating and even avoiding the large ring tension of tautomerism,the unstable tautomers(2,4-cyclohexadienone and1-hydroxy styrene)can be rapidly tautomerized into stable phenol and acetophenone with the help of intermolecular interaction.Benefitting from the significant advantage of retro-ene fragmentation in breaking theβ-O-4 bond to form tautomers,a large amount of stable phenolic and ketone products can be generated following bimolecular tautomerization in the pyrolysis ofβ-O-4 linked lignin.