Lactobacillus from fermented bamboo shoots prevents inflammation in DSS-induced colitis mice via modulating gut microbiome and serum metabolites

Fermented bamboo shoots(FBS)is a region-specific food widely consumed in Southwestern China,with Lactobacillus as the predominant fermenting bacteria.However,the probiotic potential of Lactobacillus derived from FBS reminds largely unexplored,especially for diseases with a low prevalence in areas consuming FBS,namely,inflammatory bowel disease.In this study,Lactiplantibacillus pentosus YQ001 and Lentilactobacillus senioris YQ005 were screening by in vitro probiotic tests to further investigate the probioticlike bioactivity in dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis(UC)mouse.They exhibited more positive probiotic effects than Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in preventing intestinal inflammatory response.The results revealed that both strains improved the abundance of deficient intestinal microbiota in UC mice,including Muribaculaceae and Akkermansia.In the serum metabolome,they modulated the DSS-disturbed levels of metabolites,with significant increment of cinnamic acid.Meanwhile,they reduced the expression levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6)inflammatory factors and increased zonula occludens-1(ZO-1),Occludin,and cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide(CRAMP)in the colon.Consequently,these results demonstrated that Lactobacillus spp.isolates derived from FBS showed promising probiotic activity based on the gut microbiome homeostasis modulation,anti-inflammation and intestinal barrier protection in UC mice.

Calcium-sensitive protein MLC1 as a possible modulator of the astrocyte functional state

Astrocytes,the main population of glial cells in the central nervous system(CNS),exert essential tasks for the control of brain tissue homeostasis,supporting neuron and other glial cell activity from the developmental stage to adult life.To maintain the optimal functionality of the brain,astroglial cells are particularly committed to reacting to every change in tissue homeostatic conditions,from mild modifications of the physiological environment,a process called astrocyte activation,to the more severe alterations occurring in pathological situations causing astrocyte reactivity or reactive astrogliosis(Escartin et al.,2021).During these reactive states,astrocytes mount an active,progressive response encompassing morphological,molecular,and interactional remodeling,leading to the acquisition of new functions and the loss of others,whose intensity,duration,and reversibility are dependent on the nature of the stimulus and regulated in a context-specific manner.

Neuropeptide cholecystokinin:a key neuromodulator for hippocampal functions

Spatial memory is crucial for survival within external surroundings and wild environments.The hippocampus,a critical hub for spatial learning and memory formation,has received extensive investigations on how neuromodulators shape its functions(Teixeira et al.,2018;Zhang et al.,2024).However,the landscape of neuromodulations in the hippocampal system remains poorly understood because most studies focus on classical monoamine neuromodulators,such as acetylcholine,serotonin,dopamine,and noradrenaline.The neuropeptides,comprising the most abundant neuromodulators in the central nervous system,play a pivotal role in neural information processing in the hippocampal system.Cholecystokinin(CCK),one of the most abundant neuropeptides,has been implicated in regulating various physiological and neurobiological statuses(Chen et al.,2019).CCK-A receptor(CCK-AR)and CCK-B receptors(CCK-BR)are two key receptors mediating the biological functions of CCK,both of which belong to class-A sevenfold transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors(Nishimura et al.,2015).CCK-AR preferentially reacts to sulfated CCK,whereas CCK-BR binds both CCK and gastrin with similar affinities(Ding et al.,2022).The expression patterns of CCK-AR and CCK-BR are distinct,implying that CCK has various functions in target regions.For instance,CCK-AR is widely expressed in the GI and brain subregions and is hence implicated in the control of digestive function and satiety regulation.Conversely,CCK-BR is abundantly and widely distributed in the central nervous system,which majorly regulates anxiety,learning,and memory(Ding et al.,2022).However,the roles of endogenous CCK and CCK receptors in regulating hippocampal function at electrophysiological and behavioral levels have received less attention.

Crystallization Modulation and Holistic Passivation Enables Efficient Two‑Terminal Perovskite/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)Tandem Solar Cells

Two-terminal(2-T)perovskite(PVK)/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)tandem solar cells(TSCs)have been considered as an ideal tandem cell because of their best bandgap matching regarding to Shockley–Queisser(S–Q)limits.However,the nature of the irregular rough morphology of commercial CIGS prevents people from improving tandem device performances.In this paper,D-homoserine lactone hydrochloride is proven to improve coverage of PVK materials on irregular rough CIGS surfaces and also passivate bulk defects by modulating the growth of PVK crystals.In addition,the minority carriers near the PVK/C60 interface and the incompletely passivated trap states caused interface recombination.A surface reconstruction with 2-thiopheneethylammonium iodide and N,N-dimethylformamide assisted passivates the defect sites located at the surface and grain boundaries.Meanwhile,LiF is used to create this field effect,repelling hole carriers away from the PVK and C60 interface and thus reducing recombination.As a result,a 2-T PVK/CIGS tandem yielded a power conversion efficiency of 24.6%(0.16 cm^(2)),one of the highest results for 2-T PVK/CIGS TSCs to our knowledge.This validation underscores the potential of our methodology in achieving superior performance in PVK/CIGS tandem solar cells.

Modulating the microstructure and surface chemistry of carbocatalysts for oxidative and direct dehydrogenation: A review

The catalytic performance of solid catalysts depends on the properties of the catalytically active sites and their accessibility to reactants, which are significantly affected by the microstructure（morphology, shape, size, texture, and surface structure） and surface chemistry（elemental components and chemical states）. The development of facile and efficient methods for tailoring the microstructure and surface chemistry is a hot topic in catalysis. This contribution reviews the state of the art in modulating the microstructure and surface chemistry of carbocatalysts by both bottom‐up and top‐down strategies and their use in the oxidative dehydrogenation（ODH） and direct dehydrogenation（DDH） of hydrocarbons including light alkanes and ethylbenzene to their corresponding olefins, important building blocks and chemicals like oxygenates. A concept of microstructure and surface chemistry tuning of the carbocatalyst for optimized catalytic performance and also for the fundamental understanding of the structure‐performance relationship is discussed. We also highlight the importance and challenges in modulating the microstructure and surface chemistry of carbocatalysts in ODH and DDH reactions of hydrocarbons for the highly‐efficient, energy‐saving,and clean production of their corresponding olefins.

Identification of linear continuous-time system using wavelet modulating filters

An approach to identification of linear continuous-time system is studied with modulating functions. Based on wavelet analysis theory, the multi-resolution modulating functions are designed, and the corresponding filters have been analyzed. Using linear modulating filters, we can obtain an identification model that is parameterized directly in continuous-time model parameters. By applying the results from discrete-time model identification to the obtained identification model, a continuous-time estimation method is developed. Considering the accuracy of parameter estimates, an instrumental variable (Ⅳ) method is proposed, and the design of modulating integral filter is discussed. The relationship between the accuracy of identification and the parameter of modulating filter is investigated, and some points about designing Gaussian wavelet modulating function are outlined. Finally, a simulation study is also included to verify the theoretical results.

A Sort of Gray-scale Morphological Dilations and Erosions

We introduce first a sort of gray-scale morphological dilations and erosions, which might have some further applications in image analysis. Then we show that the dilation and the erosion defined here form adjunctive pairs. The duality between the dilation and the erosion and some other properties, such as homothety, of these operators are discussed the Commuting property with translation and as well.

Modulating intestinal mucus barrier for nanoparticles penetration by surfactants

Improving peroral delivery efficiency is always a persistent goal for both small-molecule and macromolecular drug development. However,intestinal mucus barrier which greatly impedes drug-loaded nanoparticles penetration is commonly overlooked. Therefore,in this study,taking fluorescent labeled PLGA(poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) nanoparticles as a tool,the influence of anionic and nonionic surfactants on mucus penetration ability of nanoparticles and their mucus barrier regulating ability were studied. The movement of PLGA nanoparticles in mucus was tracked by multiple particles tracking method(MPT).Alteration of mucus properties by addition of surfactants was evaluated by rheology and morphology study. Rat intestinal villus penetration study was used to further evaluate penetration enhancement of nanoparticles. The effective diffusivities of the nanoparticles in surfactants pretreated mucus were increased by 2–3 times and the mucus barrier regulating capacity was also surfactant type dependent. Sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) increased the complex viscosity and viscoelastic properties of mucus,but poloxamer presented a decreased trend. Tween 80 maintained the rheological property of the mucus. With the mucus barrier regulated by surfactants,the penetration of nanoparticles in intestinal villus was obviously increased. In summary,the mucus penetration ability of nanoparticles could be enhanced by altering mucus microenvironment with surfactants. Tween 80 which largely retains the original mucus rheology and morphology properties may be a promising candidate for facilitating nanoparticle penetration through the mucus barrier with good safety profile.

New templates of CNN for extracting corners of objects in gray-scale images

A new cellular neural network (CNN) with nonlinear templates is presented forextracting convex corners of objects in gray-scale images. Application examples showed that the newCNN can even detect convex corner characteristics of objects in images with Gaussian noise.

AN ADAPTIVE DIGITAL IMAGE WATERMARK ALGORITHM BASED ON GRAY-SCALE MORPHOLOGY

An adaptive digital image watermark algorithm with strong robustness based on gray-scale morphology is proposed in this paper.The embedded strategies include:The algorithm seeks and extracts adaptively the image strong texture regions.The algorithm maps the image strong texture region to the wavelet tree structures, and embeds adaptively watermark into the wavelet coefficients corresponding to the image's strong texture regions.According to the visual masking features, the algorithm adjusts adaptively the watermark-embedding intensity.Experimental results show the algorithm is robust to compression, filtering, noise as well as strong shear attacks.The algorithm is blind watermark scheme.The image strong texture region extraction method based on morphology in this algorithm is simple and effective and adaptive to various images.

Optimal transport of cold atoms by modulating the velocity of traps

This work experimentally demonstrates a new method of optimizing the transport of cold atoms via modulating the velocity profile imposed on a magnetic quadrupole trap.The trap velocity and corresponding modulation are controlled by varying the currents of two pairs of anti-Helmholtz coils.Cold 87Rb atoms are transported in a non-adiabatic regime over 22 mm in 200 ms.For the transported atoms their final-vibration amplitude dependences of modulation period number,depth,and initial phase are investigated.With modulation period n = 5,modulation depth K = 0.55,and initial phase φ = 0,cold atom clouds with more atom numbers,smaller final-vibration amplitude,and lower temperature are efficiently transported.Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are also provided,which are in good agreement with experimental results.

Boron modulating electronic structure of FeN4C to initiate high-efficiency oxygen reduction reaction and high-performance zinc-air battery

The biggest challenge is to develop a low cost and readily available catalyst to replace expensive commercial Pt/C for efficient electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).In this research,closo-[B_(12)H_(12)]^(2−)and 1,10-phenanthroline-iron complexes were introduced into the porous metal-organic framework by impregnation method,and further annealing treatment achieved the successful anchoring of single-atom-Fe in B-doped CN Matrix(FeN4CB).The ORR activity of FeN4CB is comparable to the widely used commercial 20 wt%Pt/C.Where the half-wave potential(E_(1/2))in alkaline medium up to 0.84 V,and even in the face of challenging ORR in acidic medium,the E_(1/2)of ORR driven by FeN4CB is still as high as 0.81 V.When FeN4CB was used as air cathode,the open circuit voltage of Zn-air battery reaches 1.435 V,and the power density and specific capacity are as high as 177 mW cm^(−2)and 800 mAh g_(Zn)^(−1)(theoretical value:820 mAh g_(Zn)^(−1)),respectively.The dazzling point of FeN4CB also appears in the high ORR stability,whether in alkaline or acidic media,E_(1/2)and limiting current density are still close to the initial value after 5000 times cycles.After continuously running the charge-discharge test for 220 h,the charge voltage and discharge voltage of the rechargeable zinc-air battery with FeN4CB as the air cathode maintained the initial state.Density functional theory calculations reveals that introducing B atom to Fe–N4–C can adjust the electronic structure to easily break O=O bond and significantly reduce the energy barrier of the rate-determining step resulting in an improved ORR activity.

Role of serotonin in modulating the development and function of adult-born neurons in the olfactory bulb

The neuromodulatory transmitter serotonin(5-hydroxytryptamine,5-HT)is synthesized by neurons located in the brainstem,which project more or less densely to the entire central nervous system(Charnay and Leger,2010).Serotonin regulates a variety of physiological functions,including food intake,reward,reproduction,sleep-wake cycle,memory,cognition,emotion,and mood(Charnay and Leger,2010).

Modulating the microenvironment structure of single Zn atom:ZnN_(4)P/C active site for boosted oxygen reduction reaction

The electronic structure of catalytic active sites can be influenced by modulating the coordination bonding of the central single metal atom,but it is difficult to achieve.Herein,we reported the single Zn-atom incorporated dual doped P,N carbon framework(Zn-N_(4)P/C)for ORR via engineering the surrounding coordination environment of active centers.The Zn-N_(4)P/C catalyst exhibited comparable ORR activity(E_(1/2)=0.86 V)and significantly better ORR stability than that of Pt/C catalyst.It also shows respectable performance in terms of maximum peak power density(249.6 mW cm^(-2)),specific capacitance(779 mAh g^(-1)),and charge-discharge cycling stability for 150 hours in Zn-air battery.The high catalytic activity is attributed to the uniform active sites,tunable electronic/geometric configuration,optimized intrinsic activity,and faster mass transfer during ORR-pathway.Further,theoretical results exposed that the Zn-N_(4)P configuration is more electrochemically active as compared to Zn-N_(4) structure for the oxygen reduction reaction.

A new method of demodulating the digital frequency modulation signals

A new method of estimating the frequency-known signals from the strong background noise was presented first. Then the new method was used in the demodulation of the digital frequency modulation (FSK) signals. The new demodulation method can complete the demodulation of the FSK signals only with the carrier frequency and without any carrier phase information. The simulation results show that the performance of anti-noise of the new method is better than that of the incoherent demodulation method and the fluctuation of the carrier phase has little effect on the new method. So the new demodulation method has a fine prospect in the practical applications.

CaCO3-Assisted Preparation of pH-Responsive Immune-Modulating Nanoparticles for Augmented Chemo-Immunotherapy

Due to the negative roles of tumor microenvironment(TME)in compromising therapeutic responses of various cancer therapies,it is expected that modulation of TME may be able to enhance the therapeutic responses during cancer treatment.Herein,we develop a concise strategy to prepare pH-responsive nanoparticles via the CaCO3-assisted double emulsion method,thereby enabling effective co-encapsulation of both doxorubicin(DOX),an immunogenic cell death(ICD)inducer,and alkylated NLG919(aNLG919),an inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1(IDO1).The obtained DOX/aNLG919-loaded CaCO3 nanoparticles(DNCaNPs)are able to cause effective ICD of cancer cells and at the same time restrict the production of immunosuppressive kynurenine by inhibiting IDO1.Upon intravenous injection,such DNCaNPs show efficient tumor accumulation,improved tumor penetration of therapeutics and neutralization of acidic TME.As a result,those DNCaNPs can elicit effective anti-tumor immune responses featured in increased density of tumor-infiltrating CD8+cytotoxic T cells as well as depletion of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells(Tregs),thus effectively suppressing the growth of subcutaneous CT26 and orthotopic 4T1 tumors on the Balb/c mice through combined chemotherapy&immunotherapy.This study presents a compendious strategy for construction of pH-responsive nanoparticles,endowing significantly enhanced chemo-immunotherapy of cancer by overcoming the immunosuppressive TME.

The decadally modulating eddy field in the upstream Kuroshio Extension and its related mechanisms

Both the level of the high-frequency eddy kinetic energy（HF-EKE） and the energy-containing scale in the upstream Kuroshio Extension（KE） undergo a well-defined decadal modulation, which correlates well with the decadal KE path variability. The HF-EKE level and the energy-containing scales will increase with unstable KE path and decrease with stable KE path. Also the mesoscale eddies are a little meridionally elongated in the stable state, while they are much zonally elongated in the unstable state. The local baroclinic instability and the barotropic instability associated with the decadal modulation of HF-EKE have been investigated. The results show that the baroclinic instability is stronger in the stable state than that in the unstable state, with a shorter characteristic temporal scale and a larger characteristic spatial scale. Meanwhile, the regional-averaged barotropic conversion rate is larger in the unstable state than that in the stable state. The results also demonstrate that the baroclinic instability is not the dominant mechanism influencing the decadal modulation of the mesoscale eddy field, while the barotropic instability makes a positive contribution to the decadal modulation.

Effectively Modulating Oxygen Vacancies in Flower‑Likeδ‑MnO_(2)Nanostructures for Large Capacity and High‑Rate Zinc‑Ion Storage

In recent years,manganese-based oxides as an advanced class of cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries(ZIBs)have attracted a great deal of attentions from numerous researchers.However,their slow reaction kinetics,limited active sites and poor electrical conductivity inevitably give rise to the severe performance degradation.To solve these problems,herein,we introduce abundant oxygen vacancies into the flower-likeδ-MnO_(2)nanostructure and effectively modulate the vacancy defects to reach the optimal level(δ-MnO_(2)-x-2.0).The smart design intrinsically tunes the electronic structure,guarantees ion chemisorption-desorption equilibrium and increases the electroactive sites,which not only effectively accelerates charge transfer rate during reaction processes,but also endows more redox reactions,as verified by first-principle calculations.These merits can help the fabricatedδ-MnO_(2)-x-2.0 cathode to present a large specific capacity of 551.8 mAh g^(-1) at 0.5 A g^(-1),high-rate capability of 262.2 mAh g^(-1) at 10 A g^(-1) and an excellent cycle lifespan(83%of capacity retention after 1500 cycles),which is far superior to those of the other metal compound cathodes.In addition,the charge/discharge mechanism of theδ-MnO_(2)-x-2.0 cathode has also been elaborated through ex situ techniques.This work opens up a new pathway for constructing the next-generation high-performance ZIBs cathode materials.

Modulating the Selectivity of Photocatalytic CO_(2)Reduction in Barium Titanate by Introducing Oxygen Vacancies

Artifi cial photosynthetic reduction of CO_(2) into valuable chemicals is one of the most promising approaches to solve the energy crisis and decreasing atmospheric CO_(2) emissions.However,the poor selectivity accompanied by the low activity of photocatalysts limits the development of photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction.Herein,inspired by the use of oxygen vacancy engi-neering to promote the adsorption and activation of CO_(2) molecules,we introduced oxygen vacancies in the representative barium titanate(BaTiO 3)photocatalyst for photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction.We found that oxygen vacancies brought signifi cant diff erences in the CO_(2) photoreduction activity and selectivity of BaTiO 3.The intrinsic BaTiO 3 showed a low photocatalytic activity with the dominant product of CO,whereas BaTiO 3 with oxygen vacancies exhibited a tenfold improvement in photocatalytic activity,with a high selectivity of~90%to CH 4.We propose that the presence of oxygen vacancies promotes CO_(2) and H 2 O adsorption onto the BaTiO 3 surface and also improves the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers,thereby boosting the photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction to CH 4.This work highlights the essential role of oxygen vacancies in tuning the selectivity of photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) into valuable chemicals.

Modulating eg orbitals through ligand engineering to boost the electrocatalytic activity of NiSe for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries

Accelerating the sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides(LiPSs)by electrocatalysis is essential to achieve high performance lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries.However,the issue of insufficient catalytic activity remains to be addressed.Herein,a strategy of modulating e_(g) orbitals through ligand engineering has been proposed to boost the catalytic activity of NiSe for rapid LiPSs redox conversion.The X-ray spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations reveal that partial substitution of Se with N disrupts the octahedral coordination of Ni atoms in NiSe,leading to the reduced degeneracy and upward shift of e_(g) orbitals of Ni 3 d states.As a consequence,the bonding strength of N-substituted NiSe(N-NiSe)with LiPSs is enhanced,which facilitates the interfacial charge transfer kinetics and accelerates the LiPSs redox kinetics.Therefore,the Li-S batteries assembled with N-NiSe present a high capacity of 682.6 mAh g^(-1) at a high rate of 5 C and a high areal capacity of 6.5 mAh cm^(-2)at a high sulfur loading of 6 mg cm^(-2).This work provides a promising strategy to develop efficient transition-metal based electrocatalysts for Li-S batteries through e_(g) orbital modulation.