Roll-to-Roll Flash Joule Heating to Stabilize Electrocatalysts onto Meter-Scale Ni Foam for Advanced Water Splitting.

The seamless integration of electrocatalysts onto the electrode is crucial for enhancing water electrolyzers, yet it is especially challenging when scaled up to large manufacturing. Despite thorough investigation, there are few reports that tackle this integration through roll-to-roll (R2R) methodology, a technique crucial for fulfilling industrial-scale demands. Here, we develop an R2R flash Joule heating (R2R-FJH) system to process catalytic electrodes with superior performance.

Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis reveals novel potential biomarkers associated with aging and mitochondria in osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis (OP) is a prevalent age-related bone metabolic disease. Aging and mitochondrial dysfunction are involved in the onset and progression of OP, but the specific mechanisms have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to identify novel potential biomarkers associated with aging and mitochondria in OP.

Field-Induced Polarization Rotation in Order-Disorder (K,Na)NbO-Based Ferroelectrics.

Phase boundary is highly recognized for its capability in engineering various physical properties of ferroelectrics. Here, field-induced polarization rotation is reported in a high-performance (K, Na)NbO-based ferroelectric system at the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary. First, the lattice structure is examined from both macroscopic and local scales, implementing Rietveld refinement and pair distribution function analysis, respectively.

Isolation Transformer Based Very Low Frequency Antenna with Enhanced Radiation Characteristics.

Very low frequency electromagnetic waves adeptly propagate in harsh cross-medium environments, surmounting the rapid attenuation that impedes high-frequency counterparts. Traditional low frequency antennas, however, encounter challenges concerning size, efficiency, and power. Here, an isolation transformer based very low frequency loop antenna with compact size and well impedance matching is proposed to enhance radiation characteristics for long-distance communication.

The Value of Necrotic Area Features in Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Distinguishing Between Benign and Malignant Subpleural Pulmonary Lesions.

Objective: To analyze Necrotic Area Features of subpleural pulmonary lesions (SPLs) demonstrated by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and investigate their value in differentiating between malignant and benign SPLs.

Methods: Patients with SPLs who underwent CEUS at our hospital from January to May 2021. The following patient information was recorded: (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) lesion size, (iv) lesion location, (v) size of necrotic areas and (vi) necrotic area morphology, including sieve-like necrosis, necrotic area with septal enhancement, necrotic area with annular enhancement margins, and necrotic area with burr-like enhancement margins.

Chiral whispering gallery modes and chirality-dependent symmetric optical force induced by a spin-polarized surface wave of photonic Dirac semimetal.

Dirac degeneracy is a fourfold band crossing point in a three-dimensional momentum space, which possesses Fermi-arc-like surface states, and has extensive application prospects. In this work, we systematically study the exceptional effects of the robust chiral surface wave supported by photonic Dirac semimetal acts on the dielectric particles. Theoretical results show that orthogonal electromagnetic modes and helical or chiral whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of dielectric particles can be efficiently excited by the unidirectional spin-polarized surface wave.

Augmented Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution by d-p Orbital Electron Coupling.

While high-entropy alloys, high-entropy oxides, and high-entropy hydroxides, are advanced as a novel frontier in electrocatalytic oxygen evolution, their inherent activity deficiency poses a major challenge. To achieve the unlimited goal to tailor the structure-activity relationship in multicomponent systems, entropy-driven composition engineering presents substantial potential, by fabricating high-entropy anion-regulated transition metal compounds as sophisticated oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. Herein, a versatile 2D high-entropy metal phosphorus trisulfide is developed as a promising and adjustable platform.

Efficient production of l-glutathione by whole-cell catalysis with ATP regeneration from adenosine.

l-glutathione (GSH) is an important tripeptide compound with extensive applications in medicine, food additives, and cosmetics industries. In this work, an innovative whole-cell catalytic strategy was developed to enhance GSH production by combining metabolic engineering of GSH biosynthetic pathways with an adenosine-based adenosine triphosphate (ATP) regeneration system in Escherichia coli. Concretely, to enhance GSH production in E.

Museum Skins Enable Identification of Introgression Associated with Cytonuclear Discordance.

Increased sampling of genomes and populations across closely related species has revealed that levels of genetic exchange during and after speciation are higher than previously thought. One obvious manifestation of such exchange is strong cytonuclear discordance, where the divergence in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) differs from that for nuclear genes more (or less) than expected from differences between mtDNA and nuclear DNA (nDNA) in population size and mutation rate. Given genome-scale data sets and coalescent modeling, we can now confidently identify cases of strong discordance and test specifically for historical or recent introgression as the cause.

Progress in the study of intestinal microbiota involved in morphine tolerance.

Morphine is a widely used opioid for treatment of pain. The attendant problems including morphine tolerance and morphine dependence pose a major public health challenge. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the gastrointestinal microbiota in many physiological and pathophysiological processes.

The Effect of Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Maillard Reaction on the Flavor of Chicken Osteopontin.

To reveal the changes in the flavor quality of chicken osteopontin (CO) before and after enzymatic hydrolysis and a thermal reaction, the present study was carried out to evaluate the volatile compounds and non-volatile compounds in CO. The results show that the chicken boneset enzymatic solution (CBES) presented a notably richer aroma after the enzymatic hydrolysis treatment. At the same time, the concentrations of the total free amino acids (FAAs) and 5'-nucleotides in the CBES increased dramatically.

N-acetylcysteine attenuates the incidence of phlebitis induced by carbomer/vinorelbine gel.

Background: The high incidence and severe clinical manifestations of phlebitis pose a complex and urgent clinical challenge. The rapid and simple establishment of animal phlebitis models and the development of preventive strategies are crucial to resolving this problem.

Methods: In this study, we established such models by mixing vinorelbine ditartrate (VNR) and carbomer to form a sustained-release gel carrier, and then injected it around the veins rather than inside the vessels.

Ketogenic diet: a potential adjunctive treatment for substance use disorders.

Substance use disorders (SUD) can lead to serious health problems, and there is a great interest in developing new treatment methods to alleviate the impact of substance abuse. In recent years, the ketogenic diet (KD) has shown therapeutic benefits as a dietary therapy in a variety of neurological disorders. Recent studies suggest that KD can compensate for the glucose metabolism disorders caused by alcohol use disorder by increasing ketone metabolism, thereby reducing withdrawal symptoms and indicating the therapeutic potential of KD in SUD.

Retron-mediated multiplex genome editing and continuous evolution in Escherichia coli.

While there are several genome editing techniques available, few are suitable for dynamic and simultaneous mutagenesis of arbitrary targeted sequences in prokaryotes. Here, to address these limitations, we present a versatile and multiplex retron-mediated genome editing system (REGES). First, through systematic optimization of REGES, we achieve efficiency of ∼100%, 85 ± 3%, 69 ± 14% and 25 ± 14% for single-, double-, triple- and quadruple-locus genome editing, respectively.

Bewildering biogeography: Waves of dispersal and diversification across southern Wallacea by bent-toed geckos (genus: Cyrtodactylus).

Bent-toed Geckos, genus Cyrtodactylus, are one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate groups, and their range extends from South Asia into Australo-Papua and adjacent Pacific islands. Given the generally high faunal endemism on Wallacean islands, it is rather paradoxical that the diversity in these geckos appears to be so low (21 species in Wallacea, 15 in the Philippines) compared with continental shelf assemblages (>300 species on Sunda + Sahul Shelves + adjacent islands). To determine whether this shortfall was real or an artifact of historical undersampling, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences of hundreds of southern Wallacean samples (Lesser Sundas + southern Maluku).

Sponge diversification in marine lakes: Implications for phylogeography and population genomic studies on sponges.

The relative influence of geography, currents, and environment on gene flow within sessile marine species remains an open question. Detecting subtle genetic differentiation at small scales is challenging in benthic populations due to large effective population sizes, general lack of resolution in genetic markers, and because barriers to dispersal often remain elusive. Marine lakes can circumvent confounding factors by providing discrete and replicated ecosystems.

Discovery of inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 main protease using fragment-based drug design.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in which the main protease (Mpro) plays an important role in the virus's life cycle. In this work, two representative peptide inhibitors (11a and PF-07321332) were selected, and their interaction mechanisms of non-covalently bound with Mpro were firstly investigated by means of molecular dynamical simulation. Then, using the fragment-based drug design method, some fragments from the existing SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors were selected to replace the original P2 and P3 fragments, resulting in some new molecules.

A promising research direction for colorectal cancer immunotherapy: The regulatory mechanism of CCL5 in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide, with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop more effective treatments for CRC patients. In recent years, there has been some success in the immunotherapy of tumors, and immunotherapy has been used in many solid tumors including CRC.

Combined treatment of ε-polylysine and heat damages protective structures and spore inner membranes to inactivate Bacillus subtilis spores.

The sterilizing effect of a combination of heat (80, 90, and 100 °C) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL, 0.25 and 1 g/L) treatments on Bacillus subtilis spores was investigated and compared with that of conventional heat sterilization. The inactivation rate of spores and changes in their protective structure were evaluated using different methods and techniques.

Glucose protects the cell membrane, Na+/K+-ATPase, nucleic acids, and proteins in Bacillus subtilis spores under high pressure thermal sterilization.

The extreme resistance of bacterial spores to sterilization makes them a major concern to the food industry and consumers. In this study, the effect of glucose on the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores by high pressure thermal sterilization (HPTS) was evaluated. The results showed that the protective effects of glucose increased with the increase in its concentration.