Advanced TiO-Based Photocatalytic Systems for Water Splitting: Comprehensive Review from Fundamentals to Manufacturing.

The global imperative for clean energy solutions has positioned photocatalytic water splitting as a promising pathway for sustainable hydrogen production. This review comprehensively analyzes recent advances in TiO-based photocatalytic systems, focusing on materials engineering, water source effects, and scale-up strategies. We recognize the advancements in nanoscale architectural design, the engineered heterojunction of catalysts, and cocatalyst integration, which have significantly enhanced photocatalytic efficiency.

Utilizing pillararenes as capping agents to stabilize copper nanoparticles for cost-effective and high-performance SERS application.

Gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) exhibit strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects at specific sizes, which can amplify the Raman signals of adsorbed molecules. However, despite the cost-effectiveness of CuNPs, their applications in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are limited due to their susceptibility to surface oxidation and particle aggregation. In this study, three distinct capping agents-pillararenes, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and sodium citrate-were employed to enhance particle dispersion, improve stability, and protect the CuNPs from oxidation and degradation.

Cost-effective, label-free electrochemical aptasensors for rapid detection of concanavalin A with screen printed electrodes.

Intake of Concanavalin A (Con A), a hazardous lectin protein commonly discovered in legume vegetables, could cause various systemic symptoms including rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Herein, we present a novel label-free and cost-effective electrochemical Con A aptasensor. [Fe(CN)] ions in testing buffer not only generate redox peaks during electrochemical scan, but also serve as electron acceptor/donor to enhance electron transfer.

Strategies to increase the robustness of microbial cell factories.

Engineering microbial cell factories have achieved much progress in producing fuels, natural products and bulk chemicals. However, in industrial fermentation, microbial cells often face various predictable and stochastic disturbances resulting from intermediate metabolites or end product toxicity, metabolic burden and harsh environment. These perturbances can potentially decrease productivity and titer.

Visible-Light-Driven Carboxylative 1,2-Difunctionalization of C=C Bonds with Tetrabutylammonium Oxalate.

Herein, we report a visible-light-induced charge-transfer-complex-enabled dicarboxylation and deuterocarboxylation of C=C bonds with oxalate as a masked CO source under catalyst-free conditions. In this reaction, we disclosed the first example that the tetrabutylammonium oxalate could be able to aggregate with aryl substrates via π-cation interactions to form the charge transfer complexes, which subsequently triggers the single electron transfer from the oxalic dianion to the ammonium countercation under irradiation of 450 nm bule LEDs, releasing CO and CO radical anions. Diverse alkenes, dienes, trienes, and indoles, including challenging trisubstituted olefins, underwent dicarboxylation and anti-Markovnikov deuterocarboxylation with high selectivity to access valuable 1,2- and 1,4-dicarboxylic acids as well as indoline-derived diacids and β-deuterocarboxylic acids under mild conditions.

An accurate IDMS-based method for absolute quantification of phytohemagglutinin, a major antinutritional component in common bean.

Phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a natural tetramer comprising PHA-E and PHA-L subunits that preferentially bind to red and white blood cells, respectively, constitutes a significant antinutritional and allergenic factor in common bean seeds. The accurate measurement of PHA content is a prerequisite for ensuring food safety inspections and facilitating genetic improvements in common bean cultivars with reduced PHA levels. Currently, mainstream methods for PHA quantification involve hemagglutination assays and immunodetection, but these methods often require fresh animal blood and lack specificity and accuracy.

Discovery of 4-(2-phenylethynyl) benzoic acid as a potential potent chemical pruner.

Rocketing labor cost is a major challenge threatening agricultural sustainability and food security worldwide. The replacement of manual pruning of horticultural plants with chemical pruning has long been a goal for saving cost and reducing virus spreading. Here, guided by the structure-function relationship of allelochemical benzoic acid derivatives, we have identified 4-(2-phenylethynyl)-benzoicacid (PEBA) as a highly bioactive compound.

Enhancing medicinal proteins production in plant bioreactors: A focal review on promoters.

The use of plant bioreactors for the production of medicinal proteins has emerged as a promising and cost-effective alternative to traditional microbial and mammalian cell culture systems. This review provides a focused examination of the critical role of promoters in enhancing the production of therapeutic proteins within plant-based platforms. We discuss the latest advancements in promoter discovery, modification, and optimization for the expression of medicinal proteins in plants.

Converging functional phenotyping with systems mapping to illuminate the genotype-phenotype associations.

Illuminating the phenotype-genotype black box under complex traits is an ambitious goal for researchers. The generation of temporally or spatially phenotypic data today has far outpaced its interpretation, due to their highly dynamic nature depending on the environment and developmental stages. Here, we propose an integrated enviro-pheno-geno functional approach to pinpoint the major challenges of decomposing physiological traits.

VTE Prevention Ability Among Community Nurses in the Medical Consortium Based on the Kirkpatrick Mode Evaluation of the Effects of Training.

Purpose: To explore the application of the Kirkpatrick model in VTE prevention training among community nurses in the medical consortium.

Method: A team of experts was established to formulate a VTE prevention ability training program for community nurses in the medical consortium. According to a literature review, the results of a questionnaire survey and the results of on-site supervision surveys of nurses in five community health service centers in the medical consortium.

Yeast metabolism adaptation for efficient terpenoids synthesis via isopentenol utilization.

Microbial biosynthesis has become the leading commercial approach for large-scale production of terpenoids, a valuable class of natural products. Enhancing terpenoid production, however, requires complex modifications on the host organism. Recently, a two-step isopentenol utilization (IU) pathway relying solely on ATP as the cofactor has been proposed as an alternative to the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, streamlining the synthesis of the common terpenoid precursors.

Roles of probiotics against HPV through the gut-vaginal axis.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus, whose persistent infection is the main reason for invasive cervical cancer (ICC), which is the fourth most common type of cancer in women, with more than 500 000 new cases every year. After infection, various alterations occur in the host, facilitating the virus's evasion of immune system clearance and promoting its proliferation. Oral probiotic consumption can influence the whole body's immunity, inflammatory reflection, neural, endocrine humoral, metabolic pathways and other organs by adjusting the components of gut microbiota (GM).

Exploration of cucurbituril-mediated SERS plasmonic nanoarrays with sub-nanometer gaps.

The uneven distribution of hotspots and the challenges associated with precise analyte localization within these hotspots present significant hurdles in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Here, at the water-oil interface, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) interconnected by cucurbiturils[8] (CB[8]) with sub-nanometer gaps (AuNPs:CB[8]) were organized into plasmonic arrays. This arrangement was engineered to generate highly efficient hotspots.

Multilevel structural polylactic acid fabrics for flame retardancy, durability, and electromagnetic interference shielding.

The integration of polylactic acid (PLA) fabrics with bio-based flame retardants and conductive MXene addresses the requirements for safe sustainable development and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. The dehydration and carbonization of phytic acid (PA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) were facilitated by employing 3-glycidyl oxy propyl trimethoxsilane (GPTMS) as an organic crosslinking agent, which was covalently bonded to both the flame retardants and the MXene conductive layer. The prepared multifunctional PLA fabric, designated as PA-PEI-MXene-60, exhibits a high Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of 35.

CD90's role in vascularization and healing of rib fractures: insights from Dll4/notch regulation.

Background: Vascularization after rib fracture is a crucial physiological process that is essential for the repair and healing of the rib. Studies have shown that CD90 plays a critical role in regulating rib fracture healing, but the underlying mechanism of its role has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: CD90 adenovirus knockout mice were used to construct a rib injury model.

Impact of Rhizosphere Biostimulation on Cd Transport and Isotope Fractionation in Cd-Tolerant and Hyperaccumulating Plants Based on MC-ICP-MS and NanoSIMS.

Phytoremediation efficiency can be enhanced by regulating rhizosphere processes, and the Cd isotope is a useful approach for deciphering Cd transport processes in soil-plant systems. However, the effects of adsorption and complexation on Cd isotope fractionation during the rhizosphere processes remain unclear. Here, we cultivated the Cd hyperaccumulator and Cd-tolerance in three different soils with citric acid applied as a degradable rhizosphere biostimulant.

Photoinduced Radical Approach for Desulfurative Alkylation of Cysteine Derivatives to Make Unnatural Amino Acids.

Unnatural amino acids (UAAs) are highly valuable molecules in organic synthesis, pharmaceutical sciences, and material science. Herein, we present a photocatalytic radical approach for desulfurative alkylation of cysteine derivatives with arenethiol as the hydrogen atom transfer catalyst for making UAAs and peptides. The formate salt, acting as the hydrogen atom donor, in situ generates the highly reductive CO radical anion species, which is the key to unlocking the C-S bond cleavage process with a simple benzoyl protecting group.

Raman fiber-optic probe for rapid diagnosis of gastric and esophageal tumors with machine learning analysis or similarity assessments: a comparative study.

Gastric and esophageal cancers, the predominant forms of upper gastrointestinal malignancies, contribute significantly to global cancer mortality. Routine detection methods, including medical imaging, endoscopic examination, and pathological biopsy, often suffer from drawbacks such as low sensitivity and laborious and complex procedures. Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive and label-free optical technique that provides highly sensitive biomolecular information to facilitate effective tumor identification.

Impact of magnetic and electric fields on the free energy to form a calcium carbonate ion-pair.

Electromagnetic fields are used in water treatment and desalination to regulate scale formation and extend the lifetime of membranes. External electric and magnetic fields can promote or suppress mineral nucleation and growth. However, the molecular-scale mechanisms of such processes remain unknown.

Dual Sulfone-Bridged Triphenylamine Heteroaromatics for High-Performance Blue Organic Electroluminescence.

Polycyclic heteroaromatics (PHAs) are a highly versatile class of functional materials, especially applicable as efficient luminophores in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Those constructed by tethered phenyl surrounding the main group center attract extensive attention due to their excellent OLED device performance. However, the development of such a class of emitters is often limited to boron, nitrogen-doped π-conjugated heterocycles.

Benchmarking produced water treatment strategies for non-toxic effluents: Integrating thermal distillation with granular activated carbon and zeolite post-treatment.

The management of produced water (PW) generated during oil and gas operations requires effective treatment and comprehensive chemical and toxicological assessment to reduce the environmental risks associated with reuse or discharge. This study evaluated a treatment train that included a low-temperature thermal distillation pilot system followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) and zeolite post-treatment for processing hypersaline Permian Basin PW. Our study provides a unique and comprehensive assessment of the treatment efficiency considering a targeted chemical scheme together with whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests across four trophic levels regarding aquatic critical receptors of concern (ROC): Raphidocelis subcapitata, Vibrio fischeri, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Danio rerio.

Ultrafast DNA detection based on turn-back loop primer-accelerated LAMP (TLAMP).

Rapid DNA detection is a long-pursuing goal in molecular detection, especially in combating infectious diseases. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a robust and prevailing DNA detection method in pathogen detection, which has been drawing broad interest in improving its performance. Herein, we reported a new strategy and developed a new LAMP variant named TLAMP with a superior amplification rate.

Mechanistic Interrogation on Wound Healing and Scar Removing by the MoB Nanoscaffold Revealed Regulated Amino Acid and Purine Metabolism.

Wound rehabilitation is invariably time-consuming, scar formation further weakens therapeutic efficacy, and detailed mechanisms at the molecular level remain unclear. In this work, a MoB nanoscaffold was fabricated and utilized for wound healing and scar removing in a mice model, while metabolomics was used to study the metabolic reprogramming of metabolome during therapy at the molecular level. The results showed that transition metal borides, called MoB nanoscaffolds, could mimic superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase to eliminate excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the wound microenvironment.