Enhanced degradation activity of PET plastics by fusion protein of anchor peptide LCI and Thermobifida fusca cutinase.

The substantial accumulation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste in the environment has exacerbated the issue of plastic pollution. The biodegradation of PET plastics using biological enzymes has garnered considerable attention due to its efficiency and environmentally friendly nature. Nevertheless, the low binding affinity of PET plastics presents a significant limitation to the application of biocatalysts in their degradation.

Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protects Mucosal Melanoma from Ferroptosis via the KLF14-SLC7A11 Signaling Pathway.

Background: Mucosal melanoma (MM) is epidemiologically, biologically, and molecularly distinct from cutaneous melanoma. Current treatment strategies have failed to significantly improve the prognosis for MM patients. This study aims to identify therapeutic targets and develop combination strategies by investigating the mechanisms underlying the tumorigenesis and progression of MM.

[Research progress on colorectal cancer identification based on convolutional neural network].

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor that seriously threatens human health. CRC presents a formidable challenge in terms of accurate identification due to its indistinct boundaries. With the widespread adoption of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in image processing, leveraging CNNs for automatic classification and segmentation holds immense potential for enhancing the efficiency of colorectal cancer recognition and reducing treatment costs.

Rigid covalent organic frameworks with thiazole linkage to boost oxygen activation for photocatalytic water purification.

Owing to their capability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) under solar irradiation, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with pre-designable structure and unique architectures show great potentials for water purification. However, the sluggish charge separation, inefficient oxygen activation and poor structure stability in COFs restrict their practical applications to decontaminate water. Herein, via a facile one-pot synthetic strategy, we show the direct conversion of reversible imine linkage into rigid thiazole linkage can adjust the π-conjugation and local charge polarization of skeleton to boost the exciton dissociation on COFs.

Altered Intrinsic Brain Activity in Ischemic Stroke Patients Assessed Using the Percent Amplitude of a Fluctuation Method.

Ischemic stroke is a vascular disease that may cause cognitive and behavioral abnormalities. This study aims to assess abnormal brain function in ischemic stroke patients using the percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) method and further explore the feasibility of PerAF as an imaging biomarker for investigating ischemic stroke pathophysiology mechanisms. Sixteen ischemic stroke patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning, and the resulting data were analyzed using PerAF.

Rhizophagus Irregularis regulates flavonoids metabolism in paper mulberry roots under cadmium stress.

Broussonetia papyrifera is widely found in cadmium (Cd) contaminated areas, with an inherent enhanced flavonoids metabolism and inhibited lignin biosynthesis, colonized by lots of symbiotic fungi, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which Rhizophagus irregularis, an AM fungus, regulates flavonoids and lignin in B. papyrifera under Cd stress remain unclear.

Photoluminescent Transparent Wood with Excellent UV-Shielding Function.

At present, light transmission, energy saving, environmental protection, and UV-shielding materials are very important for optimizing indoor living environment. Here, a fluorescent transparent wood (FTW) with UV-shielding function was prepared by encapsulating a carbon quantum dot and epoxy resin into a delignification wood template. FTW exhibits excellent optical transmittance (about 91%), water absorption stability (weight gain rate less than 9%), longitudinal tensile strength (139 MPa), and UV-shielding properties.

Twisted-layer boron nitride ceramic with high deformability and strength.

Moiré superlattices formed by twisted stacking in van der Waals materials have emerged as a new platform for exploring the physics of strongly correlated materials and other emergent phenomena. However, there remains a lack of research on the mechanical properties of twisted-layer van der Waals materials, owing to a lack of suitable strategies for making three-dimensional bulk materials. Here we report the successful synthesis of a polycrystalline boron nitride bulk ceramic with high room-temperature deformability and strength.

Structural transition and migration of incoherent twin boundary in diamond.

Grain boundaries (GBs), with their diversity in both structure and structural transitions, play an essential role in tailoring the properties of polycrystalline materials. As a unique GB subset, {112} incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs) are ubiquitous in nanotwinned, face-centred cubic materials. Although multiple ITB configurations and transitions have been reported, their transition mechanisms and impacts on mechanical properties remain largely unexplored, especially in regard to covalent materials.

Retrospective study of risk factors for pericardial effusion after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children.

Objectives: The clinical characteristics, risk factors and survival prognosis of pericardial effusion (PE) after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children were investigated.

Methods: Clinical data of children who underwent HSCT at the Children's Hospital Affiliated with Chongqing Medical University from January 2016 to December 2022 were analysed retrospectively. Cox proportional hazards regression and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to analyse the risk factors for post-HSCT PE and its impact on outcomes, respectively.

Study protocol: How does cognitive flexibility relate to other executive functions and learning in healthy young adults?

Background: Cognitive flexibility (CF) enables individuals to readily shift from one concept or mode of practice/thoughts to another in response to changes in the environment and feedback, making CF vital to optimise success in obtaining goals. However, how CF relates to other executive functions (e.g.

(Fe, Cr)(OH) Coprecipitation in Solution and on Soil: Roles of Surface Functional Groups and Solution pH.

The simultaneous precipitation of (Fe, Cr)(OH) nanoparticles in solution (homogeneous) and on soil surfaces (heterogeneous), which controls Cr transport in soil and aquatic systems, was quantified for the first time in the presence of model surfaces, i.e., bare and natural organic matter (NOM)-coated SiO and AlO.

Formation and Evolution of Micro/Nano Periodic Ripples on 2205 Stainless Steel Machined by Femtosecond Laser.

The preparation of micro/nano periodic surface structures using femtosecond laser machining technology has been the academic frontier and hotspot in recent years. The formation and evolution of micro/nano periodic ripples were investigated on 2205 stainless steel machined by femtosecond laser. Using single spot irradiation with fixed laser fluences and various pulse numbers, typical ripples, including nano HSFLs (‖), nano LSFLs (⟂), nano HSFLs (⟂) and micro grooves (‖), were generated one after another in one test.

Pathogenic ecological characteristics of PCV2 in large-scale pig farms in China affected by African swine fever in the surroundings from 2018 to 2021.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) has been identified as the causal agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), an economically important multifactorial disease of the swine industry worldwide. This research designed a dual nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection method to simultaneously monitor porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and PCV3. The limit of detection (LoD) of sensitivity for PCV2 and PCV3 was ten copies/mL for both viruses.

Effects of Diamond on Microstructure, Fracture Toughness, and Tribological Properties of TiO-Diamond Composites.

The reinforcements represented by graphene nanoplatelets, graphite, and carbon nanotubes have demonstrated the great potential of carbon materials as reinforcements to enhance the mechanical properties of TiO. However, it is difficult to successfully prepare TiO-diamond composites because diamond is highly susceptible to oxidation or graphitization at relatively high sintering temperatures. In this work, the TiO-diamond composites were successfully prepared using high-pressure sintering.

In Situ Observation of Fracture along Twin Boundaries in Boron Carbide.

The observation of fracture behaviors in perfect and twinned B C crystals via in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) mechanical testing is reported. The crystal structure of the synthesized B C, composed of B C icosahedra connected by boron-deficient C-▫-C chains in a chemical formula of B C , is determined by state-of-the-art aberration-corrected scanning TEM. The in situ TEM observations reveal that cracking is preferentially initiated at the twin boundaries (TBs) in B C under both indentation and tension loading.

Active Pt-Nanocoated Layer with Pt-O-Ce Bonds on a CeO Nanowire Cathode Formed by Electron Beam Irradiation.

A Pt-nanocoated layer (thickness of approx. 10-20 nm) with Pt-O-Ce bonds was created through the water radiolysis reaction on a CeO nanowire (NW), which was induced by electron beam irradiation to the mixed suspension of KPtCl aqueous solution and the CeO NW. In turn, when Pt-nanocoated CeO NW/C (Pt/C ratio = 0.

A real-time multi-function digital coincidence spectrometer for neutron copper activation diagnostics.

Copper activation has been a standard diagnostic for measuring 14.1-MeV neutron yields in deuterium-tritium fusion experiments, which is essential to evaluate their performance for potential ignition in the future. Copper-activation equipment, especially data-acquisition systems, is updated constantly thanks to the rapid developments in electronics.

Modeling mean estimation tasks in within-trial and across-trial contexts.

The mean estimation task, which explicitly asks observers to estimate the mean feature value of multiple stimuli, is a fundamental paradigm in research areas such as ensemble coding and cue integration. The current study uses computational models to formalize how observers summarize information in mean estimation tasks. We compare model predictions from our Fidelity-based Integration Model (FIM) and other models on their ability to simulate observed patterns in within-trial weight distribution, across-trial information integration, and set-size effects on mean estimation accuracy.

Extreme mechanical anisotropy in diamond with preferentially oriented nanotwin bundles.

Mechanical properties of covalent materials can be greatly enhanced with strategy of nanostructuring. For example, the nanotwinned diamond with an isotropic microstructure of interweaved nanotwins and interlocked nanograins shows unprecedented isotropic mechanical properties. How the anisotropic microstructure would impact on the mechanical properties of diamond has not been fully investigated.

Detecting protagonists and antagonists in the voice quality of American cartoon characters: a quantitative LTAS-based analysis.

The voices of heroes and villains in cartoons contribute to their uniqueness and helps shape how we perceive them. However, not much research has looked at the acoustic properties of character voices and the possible contributions these have to cartoon character archetypes. We present a quantitative examination of how voice quality distinguishes between characters based on their alignment as either protagonists or antagonists, performing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the Long-term Average Spectra (LTAS) of concatenated passages of the speech of various characters obtained from four different animated cartoons.

Acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis in a Chinese boy associated with a novel compound heterozygous LPIN1 variant: a case report.

Background: LPIN1-related acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis (RM), first reported in 2008, is an autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disease. In recent years, LPIN1 gene variants have been identified as one of the main causes of severe RM in children in Western countries. The disease is extremely rare in China, and we report a case of acute recurrent RM caused by a novel compound heterozygous LPIN1 variant.

What makes a prototype a prototype? Averaging visual features in a sequence.

After viewing a series of sequentially presented visual stimuli, subjects can readily generate mean representations of various visual features. Although these average representations seem to be formed effortlessly and obligatorily, it is unclear how such averages are actually computed. According to conventional prototype models, the computation entails an equally weighted average taken over all the stimuli.