Effects of high hydrostatic pressure processing on the physicochemical properties, functional characteristics, and antioxidant activity of silkworm pupae protein.

With the rising demand for sustainable proteins, edible insects such as silkworm pupae are gaining recognition for their high-quality protein and essential nutrients. Advanced technologies like high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing have the potential to enhance the functional properties of insect proteins. This study investigated the application of HHP to silkworm pupa protein, focusing on its effects on physicochemical properties, functional characteristics, and bioactivity.

Characterization of γ-CD-MOF-stabilized thymol Pickering emulsion films with enhanced preservation properties for Basa (Pangasius) fish.

Maintaining the freshness of perishable foods, especially seafood, is a major challenge due to rapid spoilage. This study developed active packaging films by incorporating thymol-loaded Pickering emulsions stabilized by γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (γ-CD-MOF) into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The films were characterized for their physical, mechanical, and barrier properties.

Unraveling the promotion for SO and HO resistance of transition metal-doped CeO-TiO catalysts in NH-SCR reaction: A DFT study.

SO and HO can cause severe deactivation of CeO-TiO catalysts for NH-SCR reaction. Transition metal doping is an effective method to improve the SO and HO resistance of CeO-TiO catalysts. In this study, five transition metals (W, Nb, Mo, Fe, Mn) were selected as doped elements for the CeO-TiO catalysts.

Fusarium oxysporum NAD hydrolase FonNADase1 is essential for pathogenicity and inhibits plant immune responses.

Plants use nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as a key signaling molecule to activate immune responses. However, whether pathogens secrete specific NAD hydrolases (NADases) to affect plant NAD levels for infection remains unclear. Here, we report the function and possible mechanism of fungal NADases in watermelon Fusarium wilt fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.

Bio-assisted synthesis of cobalt-based heterostructures in carbon nanobelts for enhanced oxygen catalysis in Zn-air battery.

The delicate design and fabrication of transition metal-based heterostructures with abundant active sites are a crucial issue for achieving superior electrocatalytic properties. In this work, we introduce a novel bio-assisted strategy for assembling cobalt-based heterostructures on nitrogen and phosphorus codoped carbon nanobelts, which serve as highly efficient bifunctional oxygen catalysts. The fungus of Rhizopus is utilized to encapsulate the Co-CoTe within the in-situ formed nitrogen and phosphorus codoped carbon nanotubes (NPCNT), resulting in hairy nanobelts with a porous structure and excellent flexibility.

The NAC transcription factor PagNAC17 enhances salt tolerance in poplar by alleviating photosynthetic inhibition.

The NAC transcription factor family is essential for plant growth, development, and stress responses. This study, based on RNA-Seq data from 84K poplar and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), identified PagNAC17 as a key factor in the salt stress response of poplar. A total of 202 PtrNAC TFs were identified and categorized into two major subfamilies, with their conserved motifs, gene structures, and cis-acting elements analyzed.

Thienopyrimidine: A promising scaffold in the development of kinase inhibitors with anticancer activities.

Protein kinases represent a highly promising drug target, with over 80 drugs that target about two dozen different protein kinases have been approved by the US FDA, particularly in cancer treatment. Over the past decades, the unique structural characteristics of the thienopyrimidine ring system provide an adaptive platform for designing potent anticancer agents, especially various kinase inhibitors, which has attracted widespread attention. Some of these thienopyrimidines as anticancer kinase inhibitors have already been marketed or are currently undergoing clinical/preclinical studies for the treatment of cancers, such as Olmutinib, Pictilisib, SNS-314, PF-03758309, and Fimepinostat, highlighting the substantial advantages of the thienopyrimidine scaffold in the discovery of anticancer agents.

Intrinsic roles of nanosheet characteristics in two-dimensional montmorillonite membranes for efficient Li/Mg separation.

Stacking two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets into lamellar membranes holds great promise in the selective separation of Li and Mg from salt-lake brines, but revealing the intrinsic effect of nanosheet properties on the ion transport remains a great challenge. The primary reasons are inevitable emerging defects and changes in surface functional groups during nanosheet preparation. Here, we successfully demonstrated the intrinsic dependence of ion separation on the size and layer charge density of 2D building blocks using defect-free and inherently permanent charged clay nanosheets.

Oxygen-Doped γ-MoN as High-Performance Catalyst for Ammonia Decomposition.

γ-MoN catalysts exhibit excellent activity and stability in ammonia decomposition reactions. However, the influence of oxygen on its activity is still unknown. In this work, two γ-MoN catalysts with different oxygen content are synthesized using temperature-programmed nitridation of α-MoO.

High-Entropy Layered Double Hydroxides for Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation.

The electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is considered as an effective method to replace oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for efficient hydrogen production. However, the sluggish kinetics and the difficulty of breaking C─H bond of the Ni-based catalysts limit further application. Herein, three high-entropy layered double hydroxides (HELHs), namely ZnNiFeCoV-HELH, ZnNiFeCoCr-HELH, and ZnNiFeCoAl-HELH (denoted as V-HELH, Cr-HELH, and Al-HELH, respectively), are successfully synthesized.

Autonomous Aerosol and Plasma Co-Jet Printing of Metallic Devices at Ambient Temperature.

Additive manufacturing of metallic materials holds the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of functional devices unattainable via traditional methods. Despite recent advancements, printing metallic materials typically requires thermal processing at elevated temperatures to form dense structures with desired properties, which presents a major challenge for direct printing and integration with temperature-sensitive materials. Herein, a unique co-jet printing (CJP) method is reported integrating an aerosol jet and a non-thermal, atmospheric pressure plasma jet to enable concurrent aerosol deposition of metal nanoparticle inks and in situ sintering at ambient temperature.

Highly Extensible Physically Crosslinked Hydrogels for High-Speed 3D Bioprinting.

Hydrogels have emerged as promising materials for bioprinting and many other biomedical applications due to their high degree of biocompatibility and ability to support and/or modulate cell viability and function. Yet, many hydrogel bioinks have suffered from low efficiency due to limitations on accessible printing speeds, often limiting cell viability and/or the constructs which can be generated. In this study, a highly extensible bioink system created by modulating the rheology of physically crosslinked hydrogels comprising hydrophobically-modified cellulosics and either surfactants or cyclodextrins is reported.

Battery Cathode Recycling With Superior Dissolution Kinetics by Laser Augmentation.

The application of lithium-ion batteries challenges environmental sustainability and calls for efficient recycling toward circular economics. Hydrometallurgical recycling, despite being commercialized, still faces challenges such as harsh chemicals, high secondary waste generation, and low efficiencies. Intuitively, higher temperature leads to exponentially higher reaction kinetics (following Arrhenius's law), yet the dissolution temperature is limited to below 100 °C while heating the solution means more energy consumption.

Time-resolved Solvothermal Synthesis for Controlling Lateral Size of 2D Metal-Organic Layers.

Metal-Organic Layers (MOLs), 2D analogs of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), feature monolayer structures with the potential for various applications. Controlling the lateral size of MOLs is essential for enhancing their dispersibility in solvents and optimizing performance. However, reducing lateral dimensions while preserving monolayer thickness presents a challenge due to the precise conditions required for monolayer formation.

Morphological development of the endosperm epidermal cells in waxy wheat cultivars.

Endosperm epidermal cells (EECs) accumulate large quantities of nutrients; they also play key roles in facilitating solute transport. Comprehensive knowledge about the dynamic development of EECs is needed to understand the relationship between their dual functions. In this study, the developmental characteristics of EECs in wheat grains of two near-isogenic lines (Shimai19-P and Shimai19-N) and in the parent wheat cultivar Shimai19 were compared using light and scanning electron microscopy.

DNA methylation-based telomere length is more strongly associated with long-term all-cause mortality than quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based telomere length among middle-aged and older hypertensive adults.

Background: Telomere length (TL) has been linked to mortality risk across various populations. However, its predictive value for mortality risk specifically in hypertensive adults remains unclear.

Methods: This cohort study utilized data from the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Transthyretin, a novel prognostic marker of POCD revealed by time-series RNA-sequencing analysis.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is defined as a declined cognition, measured by neuropsychological tests, that persists for months or even longer after surgery. Heterogeneities in the diagnosis of POCD usually involve differences in the test batteries, the cutoffs, and the timing of assessments. Although peripheral and CSF markers of neuroinflammation have been shown to correlate with increased risk of POCD, most of them are non-specific and cannot be used for POCD diagnosis.

Effect of PM exposure on susceptibility to allergic asthma in elderly rats treated with allergens.

Fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM) is a prevalent atmospheric pollutant that is closely associated with asthma. Elderly patients have a high incidence of asthma with a long course of illness.

A new analogous organ in bony fishes and amphibians: an anatomical structure related with the cerebrospinal fluid circulation.

The myodural bridge (MDB) was described as a dense fibrous tissue connecting the suboccipital musculature with the spinal dura mater. Now, the concept of the MDB was perceived as an exact anatomical structure likely essential for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation. The MDB has been shown to be universal across mammals, reptiles, and birds.

Adaptive variable channel heat dissipation control of ground control station under various work modes.

To address the challenges posed by varying heat generation modules in Ground Control Stations (GCS) during various work modes, a cooling system has been developed. This research introduces an Adaptive Variable Channel Control (AVCC) cooling approach using the Deep Reinforcement Learning Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) algorithm. The primary contributions of this paper include: (1) the design of a distributed cooling module featuring multiple cooling fans, which enables a variable channel cooling structure; (2) the development of a multi-module temperature control platform that simulates the heat generation conditions of each module under six work modes, providing a training environment for the cooling control algorithm; (3) the formulation of a model-free control method based on the SAC algorithm, AVCC, to optimize the cooling efficiency and endurance of the GCS.

Nucleolar NOL9 regulated by DNA methylation promotes hepatocellular carcinoma growth through activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Ribosome biogenesis (RiboSis) and ribosomal stress are critical in tumor progression, positioning RiboSis as a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment and for overcoming drug resistance. In this study, we examined the role of RiboSis in the progression from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection to HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), focusing specifically on nucleolar protein 9 (NOL9) and its influence on HCC pathogenesis and therapeutic response. Our findings showed that NOL9 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues, correlating with larger tumor sizes and more advanced pathological grades.

Abnormal beam steering with kirigami reconfigurable metasurfaces.

Dynamically controlling electromagnetic waves at will is highly desired in many applications, but most previously realized mechanically reconfigurable metasurfaces are of restricted wave-control capabilities due to the limited tuning ranges of structural properties (e.g., lattice constant or meta-atoms).

Identification of ferroptosis-related genes in periodontitis through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation.

Background: Periodontitis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease of periodontal tissues. Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death, which is characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and involved in various inflammatory diseases. This study aims to identify ferroptosis-related genes associated with periodontitis and further validate their relevance through in vitro experiments.

Simultaneous profiling of acC and mC modifications from nanopore direct RNA sequencing.

N4-acetylcytidine (acC) and 5-methylcytidine (mC) play important roles in mRNA stability, translation efficiency, and cellular stress responses. Current methods for detecting RNA modifications from nanopore sequencing data do not support simultaneous de novo identification of both modifications. In this study, we generate in vitro transcripts from a cDNA library with modifications, and develop modCnet, a deep learning frame utilizing nanopore direct RNA sequencing to identify acC and mC from a single sample.

Alpha-lipoic acid alleviated intermittent hypoxia-induced myocardial injury in mice by promoting autophagy through Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a prevalent sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH). Myocardial injury is a common complication associated with OSAS. Alpha-lipoic acid (LA), a potent antioxidant, has been utilized in various disease contexts and has demonstrated significant protective effects in myocardial infarction models.