Cellular response toβ-amyloid neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease and implications in new therapeutics

β-Amyloid(Aβ)is a specific pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease(AD).Because of its neurotoxicity,AD patients exhibit multiple brain dysfunctions.Disease-modifying therapy(DMT)is the central concept in the development of AD thera-peutics today,and most DMT drugs that are currently in clinical trials are anti-Aβdrugs,such as aducanumab and lecanemab.Therefore,understanding Aβ's neurotoxic mechanism is crucial for Aβ-targeted drug development.Despite its total length of only a few dozen amino acids,Aβis incredibly diverse.In addition to the well-known Aβ_(1-42),N-terminally truncated,glutaminyl cyclase(QC)catalyzed,and pyroglutamate-modified Aβ(pEAβ)is also highly amyloidogenic and far more cytotoxic.The extracel-lular monomeric Aβ_(x-42)(x=1-11)initiates the aggregation to form fibrils and plaques and causes many abnormal cellular responses through cell membrane receptors and receptor-coupled signal pathways.These signal cascades further influence many cel-lular metabolism-related processes,such as gene expression,cell cycle,and cell fate,and ultimately cause severe neural cell damage.However,endogenous cellular anti-Aβdefense processes always accompany the Aβ-induced microenvironment alterations.Aβ-cleaving endopeptidases,Aβ-degrading ubiquitin-proteasome system(UPS),and Aβ-engulfing glial cell immune responses are all essential self-defense mechanisms that we can leverage to develop new drugs.This review discusses some of the most recent advances in understanding Aβ-centric AD mechanisms and suggests prospects for promising anti-Aβstrategies.

Infection of post-harvest peaches by Monilinia fructicola accelerates sucrose decomposition and stimulates the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway

To study the changes in sugar metabolism caused by fungal infection in post-harvest peaches,fruit from two cultivars(‘Baifeng’and‘Yulu’)was inoculated with Monilinia fructicola and stored at 10°C.During disease development,soluble sugar content was monitored,as well as the activities and expression of selected enzymes.Disease progression was accompanied by a decrease in sucrose content and increases in reducing sugars and soluble solids,consistent with higher enzyme activities for acid invertase,neutral invertase and sucrose synthase-cleavage,and lower activities for sucrose synthase-synthesis and sucrose phosphate synthase.Activities of phosphofructokinase,hexokinase,and pyruvate kinase,which are related to hexose metabolism,also increased.These changes stimulate the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas(EMP)pathway.We conclude that the fungal disease in peach fruit accelerates the decomposition of sucrose,thereby providing more glucose as a substrate to the EMP pathway.

Exploring the morphological effect of Ni_xMg_(1-x)O catalysts on CO_2 reforming of methane

To gain deep insight into the Morphological effect of NixMg1-xO catalysts on the reaction of CO2reforming with methane, we designed and fabricated three different spatial structural NixMg1-xO catalysts.These NixMg1-xO catalysts with specific models such as rod, sheet and sphere, exhibited various activity and stability in CO2reforming reaction. Herein NixMg1-xO nanorods displayed higher catalytic activity, in which methane conversion was up to 72% and CO2conversion was 64% at 670°C with a space velocity of 79,200 mL/(gcath), compared with nanosheet and nanosphere counterparts. Furthermore, both catalysts of NixMg1-xO nanorod and nanosheet showed a high resistance toward coke deposition and sintering of active sites in the process of CO2reforming of methane.

Human Posture Estimation using Visual Information

Human-robot cooperation is one of the central research issues in robotics.All kinds of sensors will be used since the robot should understand human's intention.This article will focus on the human posture estimation by using Microsoft Kinect.The visual Information from Kinect can be acquired and used to extract the human skeletal information and further,calculate the human posture.The experiment results have been compared with a Qualisys system,which has been proved quite precisely.

Green manufacturing for achieving carbon neutrality goal requires innovative technologies:A bibliometric analysis from 1991 to 2022

Recent years have seen a significant increase in interest in green manufacturing as a key driver of global carbon-neutral efforts and sustainable development.To find the research hotspots of green manufacturing and reveal future research trends,this study reviewed and analyzed research articles from the Web of Science database on green manufacturing from1991 to 2022 using a bibliometric method.The findings indicate a significant rise in the number of articles related to green manufacturing since the 2010s.Moreover,there has been an increase in the involvement of scholars from developing countries such as China and India in this field.Based on the literature review and bibliometric cluster analysis on green manufacturing,we believed that future research may continue following the lines of intelligent technology integration,adoption of frontier engineering techniques,and industry development in line with carbon reduction targets.A framework for future green manufacturing development is proposed,with a focus on Chinese policies.The framework could provide policy implications for developing countries looking to pursue opportunities for development in green manufacturing.

An effective bimetallic oxide catalyst of RuO_(2)-Co_(3)O_(4) for alkaline overall water splitting

The rational design of effective bifunctional electrocatalysts is of paramount importance for overall water-splitting technology in sustainable energy conversion.Herein,bimetallic oxide catalysts(RuO_(2)-Co_(3)O_(4))derived from Ru combined MOF-derivatives(MOF=metal-organic framework)were demonstrated effective for overall water splitting in an alkaline solution,owing to the combined merits such as the two-dimensional interconnected network structure,the synergetic coupling effects and increased chemical stability.The as-prepared RuO_(2)-Co_(3)O_(4) only requires an overpotential of 260 mV for oxygen evolution and 75 mV for hydrogen evolution at 10 mA/cm^(2) in 1 M KOH solution;a low cell voltage of 1.54 V was required to reach the kinetic current density of 10 mA/cm^(2) for the water electrolysis when supporting on glass carbon electrode,and very good stability for 40 h was observed.Experimental and theoretical results demonstrated the electronic structure optimization of bimetallic RuO_(2)-Co_(3)O_(4) compared to the individual metal oxide,which promoted interface charges redistribution and the d-band center downshift,resulting in increased activity and stability for water-splitting reactions.This work provides a feasible approach for developing bimetallic oxides for application in energy-relevant electrocatalysis reactions.

Relationships between blood chromium exposure and liver injury:Exploring the mediating role of systemic inflammation in a chromate-exposed population

Hexavalent chromium and its compounds are prevalent pollutants,especially in the work environment,pose a significant risk for multisystem toxicity and cancers.While it is known that chromium accumulation in the liver can cause damage,the dose-response relationship between blood chromium(Cr)and liver injury,as well as the possible potential toxic mechanisms involved,remains poorly understood.To address this,we conducted a follow-up study of 590 visits from 305 participants to investigate the associations of blood Cr with biomarkers for liver injury,including serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),total bilirubin(TBIL),and direct bilirubin(DBIL),and to evaluate the mediating effects of systemic inflammation.Platelet(PLT)and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)were utilized as biomarkers of systemic inflammation.In the linear mixed-effects analyses,each 1-unit increase in blood Cr level was associated with estimated effect percentage increases of 0.82%(0.11%,1.53%)in TBIL,1.67%(0.06%,3.28%)in DBIL,0.73%(0.04%,1.43%)in ALT and 2.08%(0.29%,3.87%)in AST,respectively.Furthermore,PLT mediated 10.04%,11.35%,and 10.77%increases in TBIL,DBIL,and ALT levels induced by chromate,respectively.In addition,PLR mediated 8.26%and 15.58%of the association between blood Cr and TBIL or ALT.These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying blood Cr-induced liver injury,which is partly due to worsening systemic inflammation.

Kinetics process for structure-engineered integrated gradient porous paper-based supercapacitors with boosted electrochemical performance

Due to their rich and adjustable porous network structure,paper-based functional materials have become a research hotspot in the field of energy storage.However,reasonably designing and making full use of the rich pore structure of paper-based materials to improve the electrochemical performance of paper-based energy storage devices still faces many challenges.Herein,we propose a structure engineering technique to develop a conductive integrated gradient porous paper-based(CIGPP)supercapacitor,and the kinetics process for the influence of gradient holes on the electrochemical performance of the CIGPP is investigated through experimental tests and COMSOL simulations.All results indicate that the gradient holes endow the CIGPP with an enhanced electrochemical performance.Specifically,the CIGPP shows a significant improvement in the specific capacitance,displays rich frequency response characteristics for electrolyte ions,and exhibits a good rate performance.Also,the CIGPP supercapacitor exhibits a low self-discharge and maintains a stable electrochemical performance in different electrolyte environments because of gradient holes.More importantly,when the CIGPP is used as a substrate to fabricate a CIGPP-PANI hybrid,it still maintains good electrochemical properties.In addition,the CIGPP supercapacitor also shows excellent stability and sensitivity for monitoring human motion and deaf-mute voicing,showing potential application prospects.This study provides a reference and feasible way for the design of structure-engineered integrated paper-based energy storage devices with outstanding comprehensive electrochemical performance.

Intramolecular hydroamination of alkynes driven by isomeric Au_(36)(SR)_(24)nanocluster catalysts

It remains elusive to realize the distinct catalysis of isomeric catalysts because it becomes challenging to identify structural isomers in the polydisperse nanoparticles.Herein we investigate catalysis of two geometric isomers for 36-gold-atom nanoclusters with different Au cores arrangements but the same thiolate ligands,thereby providing access to isomer catalysts readily participate in a desired reaction.Compared to the Au_(36)(SR)_(24)with a one-dimensional(1D)layout of Au4 tetrahedral units,the Au_(36)(SR)_(24)with a two-dimensional(2D)layout of Au4 tetrahedral units is more effective for the intramolecular hydroamination of alkyne.Our study suggests that the exposed Au sties of the two Au_(36)(SR)_(24)catalysts favor different reaction intermediates and pathways.The intramolecular H transfer leads to intermediates with the C-N and with C=N for the 1D and 2D Au_(36)(SR)_(24)respectively,and hence the different on-site and off-site pathways for the successive reaction steps account for the different performances of the two Au_(36)(SR)_(24)catalysts.

Impact of energy structure adjustment on air quality:a case study in Beijing,China

Energy consumption is a major cause of air pollution in Beijing,and the adjustment of the energy structure is of strategic importance to the reduction of carbon intensity and the improvement of air quality.In this paper,we explored the future trend of energy structure adjustment in Beijing till 2020,designed five energy scenarios focusing on the fuel substitution in power plants and heating sectors,established emission inventories,and utilized the Mesoscale Modeling System Generation 5(MM5)and the Models-3/Community Multiscale Air Quality Model(CMAQ)to evaluate the impact of these measures on air quality.By implementing this systematic energy structure adjustment,the emissions of PM_(10),PM_(2.5),SO_(2),NO_(x),and non-methane volatile organic compounds(NMVOCs)will decrease distinctly by 34.0%,53.2%,78.3%,47.0%,and 30.6%respectively in the most coalintensive scenario of 2020 compared with 2005.Correspondingly,MM5-Models-3/CMAQ simulations indicate significant reduction in the concentrations of major pollutants,implying that energy structure adjustment can play an important role in improving Beijing’s air quality.By fuel substitution for power plants and heating boilers,PM_(10),PM_(2.5),SO_(2),NO_(x),and NMVOCs will be reduced further,but slightly by 1.7%,4.5%,11.4%,13.5%,and 8.8%respectively in the least coal-intensive scenario.The air quality impacts of different scenarios in 2020 resemble each other,indicating that the potential of air quality improvement due to structure adjustment in power plants and heating sectors is limited.However,the CO_(2) emission is 10.0%lower in the least coal-intensive scenario than in the most coal-intensive one,contributing to Beijing’s ambition to build a low carbon city.Except for energy structure adjustment,it is necessary to take further measures to ensure the attainment of air quality standards.

Trap Characteristics and Their Temperature-dependence of Silicone Gel for Encapsulation in IGBT Power Modules

Silicone gel is a prevailing material for encapsulation in insulated gate bipolar transistor(IGBT)power modules.The space charge transport behavior in silicone gel is significant to evaluate the electrical insulation characteristics.This paper focuses on the trap characteristics and electrical properties of the silicone gel,which were rarely studied before.The experiments are performed on the surface potential decay of silicone gel after the charge injection.Then,the energy distributions of electron or hole traps are determined by a double-trap energy level model,which can be fitted by the Gaussian distribution.In addition,the mobilities of positive and negative charges are determined,which are 1.38×10^(-12) m^(2)·V^(-1)·s^(-1) and 1.74×10^(12) m^(2)·V^(-1)·s^(-1),respectively.Furthermore,considering the heat as a byproduct resulting in thermal issues,the temperature-dependence of surface potential decay characteristics are also studied in this paper.When temperature rises,the decay rate of surface potential increases,especially when the temperature is higher than 80℃.Finally,the contrastive analysis illustrates that the trap characteristics of silicone gel are between the trap characteristics in liquid-state material and solid-state material,which supports the phenomenon that silicone gel is more resistive to the sharp edges in power modules.This work can provide a useful reference for the design of encapsulation in high-voltage IGBT power modules.

Tuning Selectivity in Catalytic Conversion of CO_(2) by One-Atom-Switching of Au9 and Au8Pd1 Catalysts

The optimization of catalysts for CO_(2) hydrogenation that is carried out in a traditional fixed-bed reactor predominantly focuses on pursuing various nanoparticles at the nanoscale.Much less is known about how heterogeneous catalysts can be exploited to precisely control the reaction pathways of CO_(2) conversion at the atomic level.