3D/3D Bamboo Charcoal/BiWO Bifunctional Photocatalyst for Degradation of Organic Pollutants and Efficient H Evolution Coupling with Furfuryl Alcohols Oxidation.

Photocatalysis is one of the most promising pathways to relieve the environmental contamination caused by the rapid development of modern technology. In this work, we demonstrate a green manufacturing process for the 3D/3D rod-shaped bamboo charcoal/BiWO photocatalyst (210BC-BWO) by controlled carbonization temperature. A series of morphology characterization and properties investigations (XRD, SEM, UV-vis DRS, transient photocurrent response, N absorption-desorption isotherms) indicate a 210BC-BWO photocatalyst with higher charge separation efficiency, larger surface area, and better adsorption capacity.

Dynamics of heterogeneous Hopfield neural network with adaptive activation function based on memristor.

Memristor and activation function are two important nonlinear factors of the memristive Hopfield neural network. The effects of different memristors on the dynamics of Hopfield neural networks have been studied by many researchers. However, less attention has been paid to the activation function.

Restoration of Pregnancy Function Using a GT/PCL Biofilm in a Rabbit Model of Uterine Injury.

Biomaterial scaffolds have been used successfully to promote the regenerative repair of small endometrial lesions in small rodents, providing partial restoration of gestational function. The use of rabbits in this study allowed us to investigate a larger endometrial tissue defect and myometrial injury model. A gelatin/polycaprolactone (GT/PCL) gradient-layer biofilm was sutured at the defect to guide the reconstruction of the original tissue structure.

Metformin enhances epithelial cell growth inhibition via the protein kinase-insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 pathway.

Background: Abnormal stromal-epithelial cell communication is a pathogenic mechanism in endometriosis, and metformin can modulate it. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP1) plays a role in endometriosis, but the exact mechanism is unknown. IGFBP1 is reportedly a downstream target of metformin in some diseases.

A new method for examining the co-occurrence network of fossil assemblages.

Currently, studies of ancient faunal community networks have been based mostly on uniformitarian and functional morphological evidence. As an important source of data, taphonomic evidence offers the opportunity to provide a broader scope for understanding palaeoecology. However, palaeoecological research methods based on taphonomic evidence are relatively rare, especially for body fossils in lacustrine sediments.

2D/2D Biochar/BiWO Hybrid Nanosheets with Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activities for Organic Pollutants Degradation.

In this work, a novel two-dimensional/two-dimensional (2D/2D) hybrid photocatalyst consisting of BiWO (BWO) nanosheets and cotton fibers biochar (CFB) nanosheets was successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal process. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by a variety of techniques, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It was revealed that amorphous CFB nanosheets were uniformly immobilized on the surface of crystalline BWO nanosheets, and an intimate contact between CFB and BWO was constructed.

The mechanisms of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction in treating ischaemic stroke based on network pharmacology and experiment verification.

Context: Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction (HGWD) is effective in treating ischaemic stroke (IS). However, its mechanism of action is still unclear.

Objective: Network pharmacology integrated with experiments were used to clarify the underlying mechanisms of HGWD for treating IS.

Current Status of Tissue Regenerative Engineering for the Treatment of Uterine Infertility.

With the recent developments in tissue engineering, scientists have attempted to establish seed cells from different sources, create cell sheets through various technologies, implant them on scaffolds with various spatial structures, or load scaffolds with cytokines. These research results are very optimistic, bringing hope to the treatment of patients with uterine infertility. In this article, we reviewed articles related to the treatment of uterine infertility from the aspects of experimental treatment strategy, seed cells, scaffold application, and repair criteria so as to provide a basis for future research.

The miRNA mir-582-3p suppresses ovarian cancer progression by targeting AKT/MTOR signaling lncRNA TUG1.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignancies of the female reproductive system. The miRNA miR-582-3p is associated with a variety of tumors, and the aim of this study was to investigate the role and mechanisms of miR-582-3p specifically in ovarian carcinogenesis and progression. Low expression of miR-582-3p was noted in OC tissue and cell lines, and lower expression of miR-582-3p correlated with lower overall survival in OC patients.

A new cockroach (Blattodea, Corydiidae) with pectinate antennae from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

A new species of fossil cockroach, , is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species is assigned to the family Corydiidae based on the following combination of characters: pronotum with tubercles, tegmina obovate with smallish anal region and spinules on the antero-ventral margin of the front femur (type C1). The new species is the second reported cockroach with ramified antennae.

NOL6 promotes the proliferation and migration of endometrial cancer cells by regulating expression.

To investigate the role and function of NOL6, a protein related to ribosome biogenesis, in endometrial cancer. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry apoptosis assay, transwell assay and wound healing assays were carried out for evaluating cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and tumor xenograft assays were carried out for detecting the level of protein expression and tumor formation.

Symmetry breaking-induced double-strand helices in H-bonded coassembly.

Double-strand helical structures are important in information storage of biomacromolecules, while the artificial synthesis depends on chirality transfer from the molecular to supramolecular scale, and the synthesis through symmetry breaking has yet been accomplished. In this work, we present the multiple-constituent coassembly of a melamine derivative and an N-terminal aromatic amino acid into double helical nanoarchitectures via symmetry breaking. Multiple intramolecular H-bond formation between constituents played key roles in directing the formation of helical structures.

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) expression plays an important role in the diagnosis and grading of endometrial cancer.

The research aimed to investigate the expression of human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) in cancer tissues and normal endometrium and the expression of HLA-G in the three different grades of Endometrial cancer, to determine if HLA-G expression is related with the diagnosis and grading of endometrial cancer. The expression of HLA-G protein was analysed in the primary tumour in 97 tissue samples obtained from endometrial cancer, in which 30 samples were at pathological Grade 1; 37 samples were at Grade 2; 27 samples were at Grade 3; and the other 5 samples were obtained from normal endometrium. The HLA-G protein level was measured by immunohistochemical method and analysed according to the clinicopathological parameters of patients.

2D Heterostructure of Amorphous CoFeB Coating Black Phosphorus Nanosheets with Optimal Oxygen Intermediate Absorption for Improved Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a paramount role in a variety of electrochemical energy conversion devices, and the exploration of highly active, stable, and low-cost electrocatalysts is one of the most important topics in this field. The exfoliated black phosphorus (EBP) nanosheet with a two-dimensional (2D) layered structure has high carrier mobility but is limited by excessive oxygen-containing intermediate absorption and fast deterioration in air. We here report the fabrication of nanohybrids of amorphous CoFeB nanosheets on EBP nanosheets (EBP/CoFeB).

In situ growth of Z-scheme CuS/CuSCN heterojunction to passivate surface defects and enhance charge transport.

Copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) has been considered as a promising hole transport material (HTMs), attributing to its inherent stability, low-cost, and suitable energy levels. To make it more attractive in practical applications, the drawbacks of CuSCN in poor charge transport and serious defect recombination are bottlenecks that need to be overcome. In this work, we propose an effective strategy of in-situ decorating CuSCN with copper sulfide quantum dots (CuS QDs), a simple one-step electrochemical deposition process, to solve these issues.

Hierarchical Predictive Coding-Based JND Estimation for Image Compression.

The human visual system (HVS) is a hierarchical system, in which visual signals are processed hierarchically. In this paper, the HVS is modeled as a three-level communication system and visual perception is divided into three stages according to the hierarchical predictive coding theory. Then, a novel just noticeable distortion (JND) estimation scheme is proposed.

Possible roles of HLA-G regulating immune cells in pregnancy and endometrial diseases via KIR2DL4.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules bind peptides originated from cellular synthesis and present them at the cell surface for recognition by receptors on immune cells like T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells or mast cells. Such recognition plays a crucial part in autoimmunity, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-tumor responses. Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is a member of non-classical HLA class I molecules which has been studied deeply in recent years into its role in pregnancy and endometrial diseases, including endometrial tumor, endometriosis and adenomyosis, etc.

Expression of BMP7 in cervical cancer and inhibition of epithelial‑mesenchymal transition by BMP7 knockdown in HeLa cells.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) in cervical cancer tissues, the effect of BMP7 on the proliferation, migration and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cervical cancer HeLa cells and the possible mechanism involved. Immunohistochemistry was used to stain the cervical cancer tissues and benign or precancerous lesions. Lentivirus containing BMP7 knockdown was transfected in HeLa cells and western blotting was performed to analyze BMP7 expression.

Hydrogenated ZnInS microspheres: boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by sulfur vacancy engineering and mechanism insight.

In some oxide photocatalysts, changing their surface structure rather than crystal structure by introducing some defects (such as oxygen vacancies) has been proven to be effective in enhancing the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and thus photocatalytic activity. To the best of our knowledge, however, such a surface defect engineering strategy for sulfide photocatalysts has rarely been verified. The present work shows the first case of employing pressure hydrogenation to prepare hydrogenated ZnInS (H-ZIS) microspheres with surface-deficient porous structures, which are favorable for furnishing sufficient surface sulfur vacancies to realize excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions.

Recent Progress and Development in Inorganic Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots for Photoelectrochemical Applications.

Inorganic halide perovskite quantum dots (IHPQDs) have recently emerged as a new class of optoelectronic nanomaterials that can outperform the existing hybrid organometallic halide perovskite (OHP), II-VI and III-V groups semiconductor nanocrystals, mainly due to their relatively high stability, excellent photophysical properties, and promising applications in wide-ranging and diverse fields. In particular, IHPQDs have attracted much recent attention in the field of photoelectrochemistry, with the potential to harness their superb optical and charge transport properties as well as spectacular characteristics of quantum confinement effect for opening up new opportunities in next-generation photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems. Over the past few years, numerous efforts have been made to design and prepare IHPQD-based materials for a wide range of applications in photoelectrochemistry, ranging from photocatalytic degradation, photocatalytic CO reduction and PEC sensing, to photovoltaic devices.

MicroRNA-10a inhibits A30P α-synuclein aggregation and toxicity by targeting proapoptotic protein BCL2L11.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder around the world, and is characterized by progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Certain microRNAs (miRNAs) are aberrantly expressed in the post-mortem brain tissues of patients with PD and PD model mice. However, the role of brain-enriched miRNA (miR)-10a in PD has not been studied.

Hydrogenated TiO Thin Film for Accelerating Electron Transport in Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

Intensive studies on low-temperature deposited electron transport materials have been performed to improve the efficiency of n-i-p type planar perovskite solar cells to extend their application on plastic and multijunction device architectures. Here, a TiO film with enhanced conductivity and tailored band edge is prepared by magnetron sputtering at room temperature by hydrogen doping (HTO), which accelerates the electron extraction from perovskite photoabsorber and reduces charge transfer resistance, resulting in an improved short circuit current density and fill factor. The HTO film with upward shifted Fermi level guarantees a smaller loss on and facilitates the growth of high-quality absorber with much larger grains and more uniform size, leading to devices with negligible hysteresis.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Use of Urban Green Spaces and External Factors Contributing to Their Use in Central Beijing.

Urban green spaces encourage outdoor activity and social communication that contribute to the health of local residents. Examining the relationship between the use of urban green spaces and factors influencing their utilization can provide essential references for green space site selection in urban planning. In contrast to previous studies that focused on internal factors, this study highlights the external factors (traffic convenience, population density and commercial facilities) contributing to the use of urban green spaces.

Compound Homojunction:Heterojunction Reduces Bulk and Interface Recombination in ZnO Photoanodes for Water Splitting.

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is far more efficient thanks to the novel ZnOSe/ZnO/BZO thin-film photoanodes fabricated in this work. A novel structure is developed for simultaneously suppressing the charge recombination in the ZnO bulk and at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface. This structure achieves a five-fold enhancement in water-splitting performance, compared to that of pristine ZnO photoanodes, when illuminated using visible light.

Broadband light trapping based on periodically textured ZnO thin films.

Transparent conductive front electrodes (TCFEs) deployed in photovoltaic devices have been extensively studied for their significance in transporting carriers, coupling and trapping the incident photons in high-performing solar cells. The trade-off between the light-transmission, electrical, and scattering properties for TCFEs to achieve a broadband improvement in light absorption in solar cells while maintaining a high electrical performance has become the key issue to be tackled. In this paper, we employ self-assembled polystyrene (PS) spheres based on a sauna-like method as a template, followed by a double-layer deposition and then successfully fabricate highly-transparent, well-conductive, and large-scale periodically-textured ZnO TCFEs with broadband light trapping properties.