Engineering active sites on N, S co-doped carbon matrix-encapsulated Ni-modified CoS nanoparticles enabling efficient urea electrooxidation.

Interface engineering and electronic modulation enable precise tuning of the electronic structure, thereby maximizing the efficacy of active sites and significantly enhancing the activity and stability of the electrocatalyst. Herein, a hybrid material composed of Ni-modified CoS nanoparticles ((Co, Ni)S) encapsulated within an N, S co-doped carbon matrix (SNC) and anchored onto S-doped carbonized wood fibers (SCWF) is synthesized using a straightforward simultaneous carbonization and sulfidation approach. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the highly electronegative Ni element promotes electron cloud migration from Co to Ni, shifting the d-band center of Co closer to the Fermi level.

Characteristics identification and mitigating potentials of provincial gaseous reactive nitrogen emissions from livestock and poultry breeding systems in China.

The growth of population and changes in dietary structure have led to a continuous increase in demand for livestock and poultry products, resulting in the increase of the gaseous reactive nitrogen (GNr) emissions from livestock and poultry breeding systems and posing a threat to the human and ecosystem health. The characteristics from GNr emissions of six livestock and poultry breeding systems at the provincial level of China in 2020 were evaluated with the framework of life cycle analysis. Additionally, this study explored the impact of silage maize replacing traditional maize as feed on reducing GNr emissions.

Personalized Dose Selection for Treatment of Patients with Neuropsychiatric Disorders Using tDCS.

: Individualizing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) parameters can improve precision in neuropsychiatric disorders. One important decision for the clinician is the selection of an appropriate montage-conventional or high-definition (HD)-to implement dose-controlled tDCS while maintaining the patient's safety. : The present study simulated tDCS administration using T1-weighted brain images of 50 dementia, 25 depression patients, and 25 healthy individuals for two conventional and HD montages, targeting the regions of interest (ROIs) in the dorsal and ventral pathways that support language processing.

Dedicator of cytokinesis protein 2 activates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal fibrosis through the Rac1/PI3K/AKT pathway.

Renal fibrosis is the most important feature of the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in renal fibrosis. Dedicator of cytokinesis protein 2 (Dock2) is involved in the immune system and the development of a variety of fibrotic diseases. However, its specific role in renal fibrosis remains unclear.

Adipose mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles alleviate renal fibrosis by reducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the FOXS1/Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Background: Adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) exert beneficial effects on kidney disease through a paracrine mechanism. However, the specific molecular mechanisms by which ADSCs treat renal fibrosis are not yet fully understood. Therefore, it is crucial to clarify the therapeutic effects of ADSC-derived extracellular vesicles (ADSC-EVs) on the progression of renal fibrosis and their underlying mechanisms.

A smartphone-based dual-modal lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for multiplex detection of illegal stimulant laxatives in slimming foods.

Stimulant laxatives (especially bisacodyl and sodium picosulfate) are frequently found to be adulterated into slimming foods, causing health-threatening effects to consumers. Sensitive, accurate, easy-to-operate and portable multiplex analytical techniques are still desired for the rapid screening of stimulant laxatives in slimming foods. In this work, a highly sensitive dual-modal colorimetric/photothermal lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) was established based on facilely prepared concentrated gold nanoparticles (cAuNPs).

Too beautiful to be fake: Attractive faces are less likely to be judged as artificially generated.

Technological advances render the distinction between artificial (e.g., computer-generated faces) and real stimuli increasingly difficult, yet the factors driving our beliefs regarding the nature of ambiguous stimuli remain largely unknown.

[Identification and analysis of CmOMT gene family in Chrysanthemum morifolium].

Chrysanthemum morifolium is rich in hydroxyflavonoids and methoxyflavonoids(OMFs), and dissecting the biosynthetic pathway of OMFs in Ch. morifolium is of great theoretical and economic value because of the diverse physiological activities and pharmacological effects of OMFs. To investigate the biosynthetic pathway of OMFs in Ch.

Mercury reduction by agricultural organic waste-derived dissolved organic matter: Kinetic analysis and the role of light-induced free radicals.

Agricultural organic wastes can leach dissolved organic matter (DOM) into surrounding water bodies, establishing them as significant sources of aquatic DOM. Given the importance of DOM in biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg), this DOM may mediate divalent Hg (Hg(II)) reduction, a process that remains poorly understood. This study investigated Hg(II) reduction using DOM derived from six representative agricultural wastes, categorized into livestock manure (chicken, pig, cow) and crop straw (rice, corn, rapeseed), with systematic considerations of the kinetics of reduction processes and the involvement of key free radicals.

The biologically and ecologically important natural products from the Chinese sea hare Bursatella leachii: structures, stereochemistry and beyond.

A novel amide alkaloid, bursatamide A (1), featuring an unprecedented propyl-hexahydronaphthalene carbon framework, was isolated from the infrequently studied sea hare Bursatella leachi, alongside a new 3-phenoxypropanenitrile alkaloid, bursatellin B (2), and twelve known compounds. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated through comprehensive spectroscopic data analyses, while their relative and absolute configurations (ACs) were established through total synthesis and a series of quantum chemical calculations, including calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) methods, and DP4+ probability analyses. Bursatamide A (1) demonstrated inhibitory effects against the human pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio cholerae.

Behenic acid alleviates inflammation and insulin resistance in gestational diabetes mellitus by regulating TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a distinct form of diabetes that poses a significant threat to the health of both pregnant women and fetuses. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of behenic acid (BA) on glucose metabolism, inflammation, and insulin resistance in GDM mice, and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism. Here, we demonstrated that daily administration of 10 mg/mL BA during pregnancy effectively ameliorated abnormal glucose metabolism in GDM mice and their offspring and improved birth outcomes in the offspring.

Characterization and Molecular Engineering of a -Methyltransferase from Edible Leaves Involved in Nuciferine Biosynthesis.

Lotus leaf, traditionally used as both edible tea and herbal medicine in Asia, contains nuciferine, a lipid-lowering and weight-loss compoud. The biosynthetic pathways of nuciferine in remain unclear. We characterized a specific -methyltransferase, NnNMT, which had a novel function and catalyzed only nuciferine synthesis from the aporphine-type alkaloid -nornuciferine.

Air quality and health benefits of achieving carbon-neutrality in building sector over Beijing, China.

To meet the goal of the Paris Agreement, China pledges to realize the "Dual Carbon" targets by 2060. As the capital of China, Beijing plays a leading role in becoming zero-emission or carbon neutral in the future. We project the pollutants emissions of building sector based on current strict clean air policies (PO scenario) and China's carbon neutrality target by 2060 (CN scenario) from 2019 to 2050.

The Chinese visceral adiposity index: a novel indicator more closely related to cardiovascular disease than other abdominal obesity indices among postmenopausal women.

Background: Several abdominal obesity indices including waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) were considered effective and useful predictive markers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in general populations or diabetic populations. However, studies investigating the associations between these indices among postmenopausal women are limited. Our study aimed to investigate the associations of the five indices with incident CVD and compare the predictive performance of CVAI with other abdominal obesity indices among postmenopausal women.

Alleviation of cadmium uptake in rice (Oryza sativa L.) by iron plaque on the root surface generated by Providencia manganoxydans via Fe(II) oxidation.

Iron plaque is believed to be effective in reducing the accumulation of heavy metals in rice. In this work, a known soil-derived Mn(II)-oxidizing bacterium, LLDRA6, which represents the type strain of Providencia manganoxydans, was employed to investigate the feasibility of decreasing cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice by promoting the formation of iron plaque on the root surface. Firstly, the Fe(II) oxidation ability of LLDRA6 was evaluated using various techniques including Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, phenanthroline photometry, and FeS gel-stabilized gradient assays.

Alignment of behaviour and tDCS stimulation site induces maximum response: evidence from online tDCS and ERP.

tDCS modulates the activity of the neuronal networks to induce the desired behavioural changes. Two factors determine its effectiveness- (1) whether the network being stimulated is relevant to the task, and (2) if there is a scope for improvement in behavioral performance. To explore this, both dorsal (sub-lexical) and ventral (lexical) reading networks were stimulated (20 min, 2 mA) in 25 healthy young volunteers.

Carbonized wood fiber-supported S, N-codoped carbon layer-coated multinary metal sulfide nanoarchitecture for efficient oxygen evolution reaction at ampere-level current density.

Multinary metal sulfides (MMSs) are highly suitable candidates for the application of electrocatalysis as they offer numerous parameters for optimizing the electronic structure and catalytic sites. Herein, a stable nanoarchitecture consisting of MMSs ((NiCoCrMnFe)S) nanoparticles embedded in S, N-codoped carbon (SNC) layers derived from metal organic framework (MOF) and supported on carbonized wood fibers (CWF) was fabricated by directly carbonization. Benefiting from this carbon-coated configuration, along with the synergistic effects within multinary metal systems, (NiCoCrMnFe)S@SNC/CWF delivers an exceptionally low overpotential of 260 mV at a high current density of 1000 mA cm, a small Tafel slope of 48.

Case report: A novel compound heterozygous variant in the gene was identified in a patient with autosomal recessive Alport syndrome.

Alport syndrome (AS), a hereditary kidney disease with a high risk for renal failure, is attributed to pathogenic variants in genes , , and that encode type IV collagen. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly applied to the diagnosis of AS, but complex genotype-phenotype correlation, that is, identifying the significance of variants, is still a huge clinical challenge. In this study, we reported the case of a 27-year-old Chinese woman with a family history of hematuria and proteinuria.