Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes regulate microglia phenotypes:a promising treatment for acute central nervous system injury

There is growing evidence that long-term central nervous system(CNS)inflammation exacerbates secondary deterioration of brain structures and functions and is one of the major determinants of disease outcome and progression.In acute CNS injury,brain microglia are among the first cells to respond and play a critical role in neural repair and regeneration.However,microglial activation can also impede CNS repair and amplify tissue damage,and phenotypic transformation may be responsible for this dual role.Mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)-derived exosomes(Exos)are promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of acute CNS injuries due to their immunomodulatory and regenerative properties.MSC-Exos are nanoscale membrane vesicles that are actively released by cells and are used clinically as circulating biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis.MSC-Exos can be neuroprotective in several acute CNS models,including for stroke and traumatic brain injury,showing great clinical potential.This review summarized the classification of acute CNS injury disorders and discussed the prominent role of microglial activation in acute CNS inflammation and the specific role of MSC-Exos in regulating pro-inflammatory microglia in neuroinflammatory repair following acute CNS injury.Finally,this review explored the potential mechanisms and factors associated with MSCExos in modulating the phenotypic balance of microglia,focusing on the interplay between CNS inflammation,the brain,and injury aspects,with an emphasis on potential strategies and therapeutic interventions for improving functional recovery from early CNS inflammation caused by acute CNS injury.

Ultrathin Zincophilic Interphase Regulated Electric Double Layer Enabling Highly Stable Aqueous Zinc‑Ion Batteries

The practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries for large-grid scale systems is still hindered by uncontrolled zinc dendrite and side reactions.Regulating the elec-trical double layer via the electrode/electrolyte interface layer is an effective strategy to improve the stability of Zn anodes.Herein,we report an ultrathin zincophilic ZnS layer as a model regu-lator.At a given cycling current,the cell with Zn@ZnS electrode displays a lower potential drop over the Helmholtz layer(stern layer)and a suppressed diffuse layer,indicating the regulated charge distribution and decreased electric double layer repulsion force.Boosted zinc adsorption sites are also expected as proved by the enhanced electric double-layer capacitance.Consequently,the symmetric cell with the ZnS protection layer can stably cycle for around 3,000 h at 1 mA cm^(-2) with a lower overpotential of 25 mV.When coupled with an I2/AC cathode,the cell demonstrates a high rate performance of 160 mAh g^(-1) at 0.1 A g^(-1) and long cycling stability of over 10,000 cycles at 10 A g^(-1).The Zn||MnO_(2) also sustains both high capacity and long cycling stability of 130 mAh g^(-1) after 1,200 cycles at 0.5 A g^(-1).

Optimizing nitrogen management can improve stem lodging resistance and stabilize the grain yield of japonica rice in rice-crayfish coculture systems

Nitrogen(N)significantly affects rice yield and lodging resistance.Previous studies have primarily investigated the impact of N management on rice lodging in conventional rice monoculture(RM);however,few studies have performed such investigations in rice-crayfish coculture(RC).We hypothesized that RC would increase rice lodging risk and that optimizing N application practices would improve rice lodging resistance without affecting food security.We conducted a two-factor(rice farming mode and N management practice)field experiment from2021 to 2022 to test our hypothesis.The rice farming modes included RM and RC,and the N management practices included no nitrogen fertilizer,conventional N application,and optimized N treatment.The rice yield and lodging resistance characteristics,such as morphology,mechanical and chemical characteristics,anatomic structure,and gene expression levels,were analyzed and compared among the treatments.Under the same N application practice,RC decreased the rice yield by 11.1-24.4% and increased the lodging index by 19.6-45.6% compared with the values yielded in RM.In RC,optimized N application decreased the plant height,panicle neck node height,center of gravity height,bending stress,and lodging index by 4.0-4.8%,5.2-7.8%,0.5-4.5%,5.5-10.5%,and 1.8-19.5%,respectively,compared with those in the conventional N application practice.Furthermore,it increased the culm diameter,culm wall thickness,breaking strength,and non-structural and structural carbohydrate content by 0.8-4.9%,2.2-53.1%,13.5-19.2%,2.2-24.7%,and 31.3-87.2%,respectively.Optimized N application increased sclerenchymal and parenchymal tissue areas of the vascular bundle at the culm wall of the base second internode.Furthermore,optimized N application upregulated genes involved in lignin and cellulose synthesis,thereby promoting lower internodes on the rice stem and enhancing lodging resistance.Optimized N application in RC significantly reduced the lodging index by 1.8-19.5%and stabilized the rice yield(>8,570 kg ha~(-1)on average).This study systematically analyzed and compared the differences in lodging characteristics between RM and RC.The findings will aid in the development of more efficient practices for RC that will reduce N fertilizer application.

OsPPG encodes a pseudouridine-5'-phosphate glycosidase and regulates rice spikelet development

Florets are the basic structural units of spikelets,and their morphogenesis determines the yield and quality of rice grains.However,whether and how pseudouridine-5’-phosphate glycosidase participates in rice spikelet development remains an open question.In this study,we identified a novel gene,OsPPG,which encodes a peroxisome-localized pseudouridine-5’-phosphate glycosidase and regulates the development of rice spikelets.osppg mutants exhibited abnormal sterile lemma,lemma,palea,lodicule,stamens,and pistils;male sterility;shorter panicles;and reduced plant height.OsPPG was found to regulate several OsMADS genes,thereby affecting the morphogenesis of rice spikelets.Furthermore,metabolomics revealed that the OsPPG gene was involved in the decomposition of pseudouridine via the pyrimidine metabolism pathway and may affect the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.These results suggest that OsPPG is a key regulator of rice spikelet development.

A novel histone methyltransferase gene Cg SDG40 positively regulates carotenoid biosynthesis during citrus fruit ripening

The flesh color of pummelo(Citrus maxima)fruits is highly diverse and largely depends on the level of carotenoids,which are beneficial to human health.It is vital to investigate the regulatory network of carotenoid biosynthesis to improve the carotenoid content in pummelo.However,the molecular mechanism underlying carotenoid accumulation in pummelo is not fully understood.In this study,we identified a novel histone methyltransferase gene,CgSDG40,involved in carotenoid regulation by analyzing the flesh transcriptome of typical white-fleshed pummelo,red-fleshed pummelo and extreme-colored F1 hybrids from a segregated pummelo population.Expression of CgSDG40 corresponded to flesh color change and was highly coexpressed with CgPSY1.Interestingly,CgSDG40 and CgPSY1 are located physically adjacent to each other on the chromosome in opposite directions,sharing a partially overlapping promoter region.Subcellular localization analysis indicated that CgSDG40 localizes to the nucleus.Overexpression of CgSDG40 significantly increased the total carotenoid content in citrus calli relative to that in wild type.In addition,expression of CgPSY1 was significantly activated in overexpression lines relative to wild type.Taken together,our findings reveal a novel histone methyltransferase regulator,CgSDG40,involved in the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in citrus and provide new strategies for molecular design breeding and genetic improvement of fruit color and nutritional quality.

New food sources and production systems:a comparison of international regulations and China’s advancements in novel foods with synthetic biology

The global shift towards sustainable food systems has sparked innovations in food sources and production systems,including cell-based meat,plant-based food products,precision fermentation,and 3D food printing.These advancements pose regulatory challenges and opportunities,with China emerging as a critical player in adopting and regulating new food technologies.This review explores the international landscape of new food sources and production systems(NFPS),focusing on China’s role and regulatory approaches compared to global practices.Through this comparative analysis,we aim to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on food safety regulation,offering insights and recommendations for policymakers,industry stakeholders,and researchers engaged in the global food system’s evolution.This comprehensive overview underscores the dynamic nature of regulatory frameworks governing NFPS,highlighting the international efforts to ensure food safety,consumer protection,and the sustainable evolution of the food industry.

Selection of Negative Charged Acidic Polar Additives to Regulate Electric Double Layer for Stable Zinc Ion Battery

Zinc-ion batteries are promising for large-scale electrochemical energy storage systems,which still suffer from interfacial issues,e.g.,hydrogen evolution side reaction(HER),self-corrosion,and uncontrollable dendritic Zn electrodeposition.Although the regulation of electric double layer(EDL)has been verified for interfacial issues,the principle to select the additive as the regulator is still misted.Here,several typical amino acids with different characteristics were examined to reveal the interfacial behaviors in regulated EDL on the Zn anode.Negative charged acidic polarity(NCAP)has been unveiled as the guideline for selecting additive to reconstruct EDL with an inner zincophilic H_(2)O-poor layer and to replace H_(2)O molecules of hydrated Zn^(2+)with NCAP glutamate.Taking the synergistic effects of EDL regulation,the uncontrollable interface is significantly stabilized from the suppressed HER and anti-self-corrosion with uniform electrodeposition.Consequently,by adding NCAP glutamate,a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.83%of Zn metal is achieved in Zn|Cu asymmetrical cell for over 2000 cycles,and NH4V4O10|Zn full cell exhibits a high-capacity retention of 82.1%after 3000 cycles at 2 A g^(-1).Recapitulating,the NCAP principle posted here can quicken the design of trailblazing electrolyte additives for aqueous Zn-based electrochemical energy storage systems.

Adaptive Optimal Output Regulation of Interconnected Singularly Perturbed Systems With Application to Power Systems

This article studies the adaptive optimal output regulation problem for a class of interconnected singularly perturbed systems(SPSs) with unknown dynamics based on reinforcement learning(RL).Taking into account the slow and fast characteristics among system states,the interconnected SPS is decomposed into the slow time-scale dynamics and the fast timescale dynamics through singular perturbation theory.For the fast time-scale dynamics with interconnections,we devise a decentralized optimal control strategy by selecting appropriate weight matrices in the cost function.For the slow time-scale dynamics with unknown system parameters,an off-policy RL algorithm with convergence guarantee is given to learn the optimal control strategy in terms of measurement data.By combining the slow and fast controllers,we establish the composite decentralized adaptive optimal output regulator,and rigorously analyze the stability and optimality of the closed-loop system.The proposed decomposition design not only bypasses the numerical stiffness but also alleviates the high-dimensionality.The efficacy of the proposed methodology is validated by a load-frequency control application of a two-area power system.

Sensing-Communication-Computing-Control Closed Loop for NOMA-UAV Systems

In the areas without terrestrial communication infrastructures,unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)can be utilized to serve field robots for mission-critical tasks.For this purpose,UAVs can be equipped with sensing,communication,and computing modules to support various requirements of robots.In the task process,different modules assist the robots to perform tasks in a closed-loop way,which is referred to as a sensing-communication-computing-control(SC3)loop.In this work,we investigate a UAV-aided system containing multiple SC^(3)loops,which leverages non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)for efficient resource sharing.We describe and compare three different modelling levels for the SC^(3)loop.Based on the entropy SC^(3)loop model,a sum linear quadratic regulator(LQR)control cost minimization problem is formulated by optimizing the communication power.Further for the assure-to-be-stable case,we show that the original problem can be approximated by a modified user fairness problem,and accordingly gain more insights into the optimal solutions.Simulation results demonstrate the performance gain of using NOMA in such task-oriented systems,as well as the superiority of our proposed closed-loop-oriented design.

Event-triggered robust cooperative output regulation for a class of linear multi-agent systems with an unknown exosystem

This paper investigates the robust cooperative output regulation problem for a class of heterogeneousuncertain linear multi-agent systems with an unknown exosystem via event-triggered control (ETC). By utilizingthe internal model approach and the adaptive control technique, a distributed adaptive internal model isconstructed for each agent. Then, based on this internal model, a fully distributed ETC strategy composed ofa distributed event-triggered adaptive output feedback control law and a distributed dynamic event-triggeringmechanism is proposed, in which each agent updates its control input at its own triggering time instants. It isshown that under the proposed ETC strategy, the robust cooperative output regulation problem can be solvedwithout requiring either the global information associated with the communication topology or the bounds ofthe uncertain or unknown parameters in each agent and the exosystem. A numerical example is provided toillustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Research on Regulation Method of Energy Storage System Based on Multi-Stage Robust Optimization

To address the scheduling problem involving energy storage systems and uncertain energy,we propose a method based on multi-stage robust optimization.This approach aims to regulate the energy storage system by using a multi-stage robust optimal control method,which helps overcome the limitations of traditional methods in terms of time scale.The goal is to effectively utilize the energy storage power station system to address issues caused by unpredictable variations in environmental energy and fluctuating load throughout the day.To achieve this,a mathematical model is constructed to represent uncertain energy sources such as photovoltaic and wind power.The generalized Benders Decomposition method is then employed to solve the multi-stage objective optimization problem.By decomposing the problem into a series of sub-objectives,the system scale is effectively reduced,and the algorithm’s convergence ability is improved.Compared with other algorithms,the multi-stage robust optimization model has better economy and convergence ability and can be used to guide the power dispatching of uncertain energy and energy storage systems.

Research Progress on the Association Between Gut Microbiota and Respiratory System Diseases

This paper aims to review the association between gut microbiota and respiratory system diseases, and explore their potential mechanisms and clinical significance. Gut microbiota, as an important microbial ecosystem in the human body, has profound effects on host health. Recent studies have shown that the imbalance of gut microbiota is closely related to the occurrence and development of respiratory system diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pneumonia. We comprehensively analyzed the current research progress and found that gut microbiota may affect respiratory system diseases through various pathways, including immune regulation, inflammatory responses, and airway mucus secretion. Additionally, environmental factors, lifestyle, and dietary habits are also closely related to gut microbiota and respiratory system health. Understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and respiratory system diseases not only helps to reveal the mechanisms of disease occurrence but also provides a theoretical basis for the development of new treatment strategies. Future research should focus on exploring the types and functions of gut microbiota, conducting clinical trials based on this, investigating the effects of gut microbiota modulation on the treatment and prevention of respiratory system diseases, and providing new directions for personalized medicine.

The Barrier of the Child and Parent Expected Models for Entering the School System-A Secondary Publication

The recognition of the positive value of student diversity and their right to full participation are key aspects of inclusion as a means of managing heterogeneity of the school population from an equality perspective.As the school cannot welcome the diversity of children without including their families,the same logic needs to apply to the relationship between the school and parents,particularly in the current environment where the school-family partnership appears as a privileged institutional leverage in the fight against inequalities at school.Based on an ethnographical study exploring how the relationship between the school and the families builds up in a Swiss school located in a context of strong cultural diversity,this paper interrogates how the school norm can be the main limitation to the inclusion of students and parents who are unfamiliar with the school.Derived from field observations and interviews,our results show how the teachers tend to approach their relationship with new students and their parents from the standpoint of narrowly defined expected models,leading them to engage in a vain attempt to conform the students and parents when they deviate from these models.The possibility of entering the school system for students and parents unfamiliar with school is hindered by the exclusive and excluding normativity on which the models of the child and the parent expected by the teachers are grounded.Based on these observations,we discuss how an inclusive approach seems to us to require in the first place a necessary process of decentering from the school and teachers,as a condition for recognition of the actual child and parent.

Water hammer protection for diversion systems in front of pumps in long-distance water supply projects

For a water supply system with long-distance diversion pipelines, in addition to the water hammer problems that occur beyond pumps, the safety of the water diversion pipeline in front of pumps also deserves attention. In this study, a water hammer protection scheme combined with an overflow surge tank and a regulating valve was developed. A mathematical model of the overflow surge tank was developed, and an analytical formula for the height of the overflow surge tank was derived. Furthermore, a practical water supply project was used to evaluate the feasibility of the combined protection scheme and analyze the sensitivity of valve regulation rules. The results showed that the combined protection scheme effectively reduced the height of the surge tank, lessened the difficulties related to construction, and reduced the necessary financial investment for the project. The two-stage closing rule articulated as fast first and then slow could minimize the overflow volume of the surge tank when the power failure occurred, while the two-stage opening rule articulated as slow first and then fast could be more conducive to the safety of the water supply system when the pump started up.

Charge-transfer-regulated bimetal ferrocene-based organic frameworks for promoting electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

The ferrocene(Fc)-based metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)are regarded as compelling platforms for the construction of efficient and robust oxygen evolution reaction(OER)electrocatalysts due to their superior conductivity and flexible electronic structure.Herein,density functional theory simulations were addressed to predict the electronic structure regulations of CoFc-MOF by nickel doping,which demonstrated that the well-proposed CoNiFc-MOFs delivered a small energy barrier,promoted conductivity,and well-regulated d-band center.Inspired by these,a series of sea-urchin-like CoNiFc-MOFs were successfully synthesized via a facile solvothermal method.Moreover,the synchrotron X-ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements manifested that the introduction of nickel could tailor the electronic structure of the catalyst and induce the directional transfer of electrons,thus optimizing the rate-determining step of^(*)O→^(*)OOH during the OER process and yielding decent overpotentials of 209 and 252 mV at 10 and 200 mA cm^(−2),respectively,with a small Tafel slope of 39 mV dec^(−1).This work presents a new paradigm for developing highly efficient and durable MOF-based electrocatalysts for OER.

Review of peri-urban agriculture as a regional ecosystem service

The peri-urban area possesses mixed characteristics of rural and urban areas,i.e.,agricultural,and built-up land.This review explains various themes and concepts of peri-urban areas and the importance of peri-urban agriculture(PUA)as an ecosystem service(ES)for their surrounding areas.The methodological approach is a systematic literature search and explanatory review of books and journal articles.The focus of the discussion is as follows:(1)quantification of review results,(2)urbanization pressures,peri-urban,and governance,(3)two different concepts about the peri-urban area,(4)protection of PUA and their resilience,and(5)role of PUA in providing ESs to other regions.The review shows that PUA is more crucial in urban areas than in rural areas in terms of food supply,ecology and biodiversity preservation,disaster mitigation,and recreation.One of the primary causes of PUA loss is massive urban expansion,which entails the conversion of agricultural land in peri-urban areas into built-up land.Hence,we suggest that every country should develop a peri-urban management policy.We argue that sociocultural biases in PUA have resulted in many institutional constraints on peri-urban management being incorporated within existing political and regulatory frameworks,including planning practices and longstanding laws and regulations.

Cross-kingdom regulation by plant-derived miRNAs in mammalian systems

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are small noncoding RNA molecules ubiquitously distributed across diverse organisms,serving as pivotal regulators of genetic expression.Notably,plant-derived miRNAs have been demonstrated to have unique bioactivity and certain stability in mammalian systems,thereby facilitating their capacity for cross-kingdom modulation of gene expression.While there is substantial evidence supporting the regulation of mammalian cells by plant-derived miRNAs,several questions remain unanswered.Specifically,a comprehensive investigation of the mechanisms underlying the stability and transport of plant miRNAs and their cross-kingdom regulation of gene expression in mammals remains to be done.In this review,we summarized the origin,processing,and functional mechanisms of plant miRNAs in mammalian tissues and circulation,emphasizing their greater resistance to mammalian digestion and circulation systems compared to animal miRNAs.Additionally,we introduce four well-known plant miRNAs that have been extensively studied for their functions and mechanisms in mammalian systems.By delving into these aspects,we aim to offer a fundamental understanding of this intriguing field and shed light on the complex interactions between plant miRNAs and mammalian biology.

Role of CAST-Drp1 Pathway in Retinal Neuron-Regulated Necrosis in Experimental Glaucoma

Objective Numerous studies have indicated that excitatory amino acid toxicity,such as glutamate toxicity,is involved in glaucoma.In addition,excessive glutamate can lead to an intracellular calcium overload,resulting in regulated necrosis.Our previous studies have found that the calpastatin(CAST)-calpain pathway plays an important role in retinal neuron-regulated necrosis after glutamate injury.Although inhibition of the calpain pathway can decrease regulated necrosis,necrotic cells remain.It has been suggested that there are other molecules that participate in retinal neuron-regulated necrosis.CAST is an important regulator of dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1)-mediated mitochondrial defects.Thus,the aim of this study was to determine whether the CAST-Drp1 pathway may be an underlying signaling axis in neuron-regulated necrosis.Methods Using cultured retinal neurons and in an in-vivo glaucoma model induced by glutamate overload,members of the CAST-Drp1 pathway were assessed by immunofluorescence,Western blotting,Phos-tagTM SDS-PAGE,and co-immunoprecipitation assays.Moreover,the black and white box test was performed on the rats.Results We found that more retinal neuron-regulated necrosis and Drp1 activation as well as lower CAST levels were present in the glutamate-induced glaucoma model.Rats with glutamate-induced glaucoma exhibited impaired visual function.We also observed retinal neuron-regulated necrosis and Drp1 activity decreased,and impaired vision recovered after CAST active peptide application,indicating that the CAST-Drp1 pathway plays a critical role in retinal neuron-regulated necrosis and visual function.Conclusion The results of this study indicate that the CAST-Drp1 pathway protects against retinal neuron-regulated necrosis,which may expand the therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders involving dysfunction of glutamate metabolism,such as glaucoma.

Computing of LQR Technique for Nonlinear System Using Local Approximation

The main idea behind the present research is to design a state-feedback controller for an underactuated nonlinear rotary inverted pendulum module by employing the linear quadratic regulator(LQR)technique using local approximation.The LQR is an excellent method for developing a controller for nonlinear systems.It provides optimal feedback to make the closed-loop system robust and stable,rejecting external disturbances.Model-based optimal controller for a nonlinear system such as a rotatory inverted pendulum has not been designed and implemented using Newton-Euler,Lagrange method,and local approximation.Therefore,implementing LQR to an underactuated nonlinear system was vital to design a stable controller.A mathematical model has been developed for the controller design by utilizing the Newton-Euler,Lagrange method.The nonlinear model has been linearized around an equilibrium point.Linear and nonlinear models have been compared to find the range in which linear and nonlinear models’behaviour is similar.MATLAB LQR function and system dynamics have been used to estimate the controller parameters.For the performance evaluation of the designed controller,Simulink has been used.Linear and nonlinear models have been simulated along with the designed controller.Simulations have been performed for the designed controller over the linear and nonlinear system under different conditions through varying system variables.The results show that the system is stable and robust enough to act against external disturbances.The controller maintains the rotary inverted pendulum in an upright position and rejects disruptions like falling under gravitational force or any external disturbance by adjusting the rotation of the horizontal link in both linear and nonlinear environments in a specific range.The controller has been practically designed and implemented.It is vivid from the results that the controller is robust enough to reject the disturbances in milliseconds and keeps the pendulum arm deflection angle to zero degrees.

Optimal Unit Commitment with Renewable Energy in Regulated and Deregulated Systems

In this paper, the impact of the wind power generation system on the total cost and profit of the system is studied by using the proposed procedure of binary Sine Cosine (BSC) optimization algorithm with optimal priority list (OPL) algorithm. As well, investigate the advantages of system transformation from a regulated system to a deregulated system and the difference in the objective functions of the two systems. The suggested procedure is carried out in two parallel algorithms;The goal of the first algorithm is to reduce the space of searching by using OPL, while the second algorithm adjusts BSC to get the optimal economic dispatch with minimum operation cost of the unit commitment (UCP) problem in the regulated system. But, in the deregulated system, the second algorithm adopts the BSC technique to find the optimal solution to the profit-based unit commitment problem (PBUCP), through the fast of researching the BSC technique. The proposed procedure is applied to IEEE 10-unit test system integrated with the wind generator system. While the second is an actual system in the Egyptian site at Hurghada. The results of this algorithm are compared with previous literature to illustrate the efficiency and capability of this algorithm. Based on the results obtained in the regulated system, the suggested procedure gives better results than the algorithm in previous literature, saves computational efforts, and increases the efficiency of the output power of each unit in the system and lowers the price of kWh. Besides, in the deregulated system the profit is high and the system is more reliable.