Research on the Adsorption Mechanism and Performance of Cotton Stalk-Based Biochar.

In this research, we produced two types of biochar (BC) using cotton stalks as raw material and KOH as an activator, and compared their performance and adsorption mechanisms in the removal of tetracycline (TC) and methylene blue (MB) from wastewater. The results showed that the biochar generated using both procedures formed pores that connected to the interior of the biochar and had extensive microporous and mesoporous structures. The molten salt approach produces biochar with a higher specific surface area, larger pore size, and higher pore volume than the impregnation method, with a maximum specific surface area of 3095 m/g.

Multiplex Detection of SNPs for Genetic Monitoring in Laboratory Mice by Luminex xTAG Assay.

The genetic quality of laboratory mice may have a direct impact on the results of research. Therefore, it is essential to improve genetic monitoring methods to guarantee research quality. However, few current methods boast high efficiency, high throughput, low cost, and general applicability at the same time.

Pre-pregnancy BMI modifies the associations between triglyceride-glucose index in early pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes: a 5-year cohort study of 67,936 women in China.

Background: Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index was suggested as a possible surrogate for insulin resistance and a predictor for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in the non-pregnant population. However, the relationship between TyG index in early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs), and the contribution of pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was still illusive.

Methods: A large retrospective cohort study involving 67,936 pregnant Chinese women between 2017 and 2022 was conducted.

Network pharmacology and molecular docking to explore the potential mechanism of chlorogenic acid in septic acute liver injury and experimental validation of TLR4/NF-κB pathway in vivo.

The objective of this study was to investigate the biological activities and mechanisms of chlorogenic acid (CGA) in the treatment of septic acute liver injury (SALI) based on the network pharmacology, molecular docking, in vivo studies, and other techniques. Chlorogenic acid and potential related targets of septic acute liver injury were searched from the public databases. Then, the protein-protein interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted.

Silicon photonic MEMS switches based on split waveguide crossings.

The continuous push for high-performance photonic switches is one of the most crucial premises for the sustainable scaling of programmable and reconfigurable photonic circuits for a wide spectrum of applications. Conventional optical switches rely on the perturbative mechanisms of mode coupling or mode interference, resulting in inherent bottlenecks in their switching performance concerning size, power consumption and bandwidth. Here we propose and realize a silicon photonic 2×2 elementary switch based on a split waveguide crossing (SWX) consisting of two halves.

Anti-dendrite separator interlayer enabling staged zinc deposition for enhanced cycling stability of aqueous zinc batteries.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries exhibit great prospects due to their low cost and high safety, while their lifespan is limited by severe dendritic growth problems. Herein, we develop an anti-dendrite hot-pressing separator interlayer through a mass-producible hot-pressing strategy, by spreading metal-organic framework (MOF) precursor on nonwoven matrix followed by a simple hot-pressing process. The in situ modification of MOF crystals on fiber surface processes abundant nitrogenous functional groups and high specific surface area (190.

Versatile parallel signal processing with a scalable silicon photonic chip.

Silicon photonic signal processors promise a new generation of signal processing hardware with significant advancements in processing bandwidth, low power consumption, and minimal latency. Programmable silicon photonic signal processors, facilitated by tuning elements, can reduce hardware development cycles and costs. However, traditional programmable photonic signal processors based on optical switches face scalability and performance challenges due to control complexity and transmission losses.

Potential and characteristics on nitrobenzene degradation by biological acidification.

Biological acidification, efficient and low-cost biotechnology, is crucial in treating pharmaceutical, pesticide water, and petrochemical wastewater. Nitrobenzene is a typical organic pollutant in petrochemical wastewater with high toxicity and long persistence. However, its effect on hydrolysis acidification is yet to be fully elucidated.

Bacterial Shedu immune nucleases share a common enzymatic core regulated by diverse sensor domains.

Prokaryotes possess diverse anti-bacteriophage immune systems, including the single-protein Shedu nuclease. Here, we reveal the structural basis for activation of Bacillus cereus Shedu. Two cryoelectron microscopy structures of Shedu show that it switches between inactive and active states through conformational changes affecting active-site architecture, which are controlled by the protein's N-terminal domain (NTD).

Integration of volatilomics and microbiome diversity reveals key flavor-related metabolic pathways in semi-dried large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea).

A complex microbial community is critical for developing unique flavors in semi-dried large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea). Volatilomics analysis identified hexanal, heptanal, nonanal, phenylacetaldehyde, 1-octen-3-ol, and butanoic acid were identified as the key flavor compounds in the fish. Clostridium sensu stricto was the dominant genus, with a relative abundance of 79.

Determination of carbonation rate of precipitated calcium carbonate in carbonation process based on headspace gas chromatography.

This paper reports a method for determining the carbonation rate (CR) of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) during carbonation process based on headspace gas chromatography technique. The method was carried out by simultaneously detecting the signal values of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Then the carbonation rate of precipitated calcium carbonate in the carbonation process can be calculated by the ratio (γ) of carbon dioxide to oxygen based on a new mathematical model.

Genome-wide identification, classification, and expression profiling of LAC gene family in sesame.

Background: Laccases (LACs) are vital plant growth and development enzymes, participating in lignin biopolymerization and responding to stress. However, the role of LAC genes in plant development as well as stress tolerance, is still not well understood, particularly in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), an important oilseed crop.

[Luteolin inhibits proliferation of lung cancer A549 cells by increasing ROS production and inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and HO-1 expression].

Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of luteolin for inhibiting proliferation of lung cancer A549 cells.

Methods: A549 cells treated with different concentrations of luteolin for 48 h were evaluated for changes in cell viability, proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis using MTT assay, plate cloning assay, EdU staining, DCFH-DA assay and Hoechst33258 staining. The changes in cell autophagy were examined with MDC staining, and the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-9), autophagy-related proteins (LC3B, Beclin 1, and P62), AKT/mTOR pathway proteins, and HO-1 protein were detected using Western blotting.

Tailored protein corona behavior in titanium dioxide nanosheet fluorescence biosensor for protein quantification assays.

The spontaneous adsorption of proteins onto nanoparticles, known as the protein corona, provides a unique perspective for designing protein-sensing biosensors. This study proposes a tailored protein corona method mediated by Tween-20 and develops a reverse-capture approach for protein quantification assays. The protein-coated microplate captures titanium dioxide nanosheets (TiO-NS) in a phosphate buffer containing Tween-20 and generates fluorescence signals via the photocatalytic reduction of resazurin to resorufin, thereby indicating the amount of protein.

Bibliometric and visual study of narcolepsy from 2000 to 2023.

Background: More studies explored the prevalence, causes, associated conditions, and therapeutic strategies of narcolepsy. With an increasing focus on understanding narcolepsy's prevalence, associated conditions, and therapeutic strategies, there's a notable absence of bibliometric analyses summarizing trends in research and identifying emerging areas of focus within this field.

Aim: To conduct a bibliometric analysis to investigate the current status and frontiers of narcolepsy.

Trace Metal Impurities Induce Differences in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with exceptional conductivity have been widely adopted in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. While trace metal impurities in CNTs have demonstrated electrocatalytic activity in various catalytic processes, their influence on sulfur electrocatalysis in Li-S batteries has been largely overlooked. Herein, we reveal that the trace metal impurities content in CNTs significantly improves the specific capacity and cycling performance of Li-S batteries by analyzing both our own results and previous literature with CNTs as the sulfur hosts.

Directly Grown Polyimide Covalent Organic Framework Films with High Electrochromic and Energy-Storage Performance.

Two dimensional covalent organic framework (2D COF) films based on triphenylamine are considered to be promising electrochromic and energy-storage materials owing to their interlayer π-π electron delocalization, one-dimensional (1D) nanopores, and stable chemical structures. Triphenylamine-based 2D COF electrochromic films, nevertheless, rarely exhibit transparency and high optical contrast, which severely limited the scope of their application. In this work, two directly grown triphenylamine-based polyimide 2D COF films, TAPA-PMDA and TAPA-NTCDA PI COF, were prepared through solvothermal technology.

The 24-kDa subunit of mitochondrial complex I regulates growth, microsclerotia development, stress tolerance, and virulence in Verticillium dahliae.

Background: The complete mitochondrial respiratory chain is a precondition for maintaining cellular energy supply, development, and metabolic balance. Due to the evolutionary differentiation of complexes and the semi-autonomy of mitochondria, respiratory chain subunits have become critical targets for crop improvement and fungal control. In fungi, mitochondrial complex I mediates growth and metabolism.

Spatial and temporal distribution of arsenic concentration in rural drinking water and health risk assessment in Northern China from 2013 to 2022: a case study of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Background: By monitoring arsenic levels in rural drinking water in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2013 to 2022 and evaluating their health risks, this study provides a basis for further developing strategies to promote public health.

Methods: One stable centralized water supply point was randomly selected in each township of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. One finished water sample and 1-3 tap water samples were collected at each supply point.

Polarization-insensitive thermo-optic Mach-Zehnder switches on silicon.

Polarization-insensitive photonic switches are crucial for the case with random polarization states encountered in optical systems. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a polarization-insensitive 2 × 2 thermo-optic Mach-Zehnder switch (PIMZS) on a 340-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform by incorporating low-loss polarization-insensitive multimode interference (PIMMI) couplers whose core width is varied optimally. The fabricated 2 × 2 PIMZS exhibits a low excess loss of 0.

Construction of Se-doped carbon encapsulated CuSe yolk-shell structure for long-life rechargeable aluminum batteries.

Rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) are promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries in large-scale energy storage applications owing to the abundance of their raw materials and high safety. However, achieving high energy density and long cycling life simultaneously holds great challenges for RABs, especially for high capacity transition metal selenide (TMS)-based positive materials suffering from structural collapse and dissolution in acidic ionic liquid electrolyte. Herein, Se-doped carbon encapsulated CuSe with yolk-shell structure (YS/Se-C@CuSe) is rationally constructed to address such issues.

Towards large-scale programmable silicon photonic chip for signal processing.

Optical signal processing has been playing a crucial part as powerful engine for various information systems in the practical applications. In particular, achieving large-scale programmable chips for signal processing are highly desirable for high flexibility, low cost and powerful processing. Silicon photonics, which has been developed successfully in the past decade, provides a promising option due to its unique advantages.

Correction: Predicting physician departure with machine learning on EHR use patterns: A longitudinal cohort from a large multi-specialty ambulatory practice.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.