An Elastomeric Lithium-Conducting Interlayer for High-Performance LATP-Based Lithium Metal Batteries.

In response to the critical challenges of interfacial impedance and volumetric changes in Li(1+x)AlxTi(2­x)(PO4)3 (LATP)-based lithium metal batteries, an elastomeric lithium-conducting interlayer fabricates from fluorinated hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (F-HNBR) matrix is introduced herein. Owing to the vulcanization, vapor-phase fluorination, and plasticization processes, the lithium-conducting interlayer exhibits a high elasticity of 423%, exceptional fatigue resistance (10 000 compression cycles), superior ionic conductivity of 6.3 × 10-4 S cm-1, and favorable lithiophilicity, rendering it an ideal buffer layer. By integrating the F-HNBR interlayer, the LATP-based lithium symmetric cells demonstrate an extended cycle life of up to 1600 h at 0.1 mA cm-2 and can also endure deep charge/discharge cycles (0.5 mAh cm-2) for the same duration. Furthermore, the corresponding lithium metal full cells achieve 500 cycles at 0.5 C with 98.3% capacity retention and enable a high-mass-loading cathode of 11.1 mg cm-2 to operate at room temperature.

Study of the effect of calcium signal participating in the antioxidant mechanism of yeast under high-sugar environment.

BACKGROUND: Saccharomyces cerevisiae is susceptible to high-sugar stress in the production of bioethanol, wine and bread. Calcium signal is widely involved in various physiological and metabolic activities of cells. The present study aimed to explore the effects of Ca2+ signal on the antioxidant mechanism of yeast during high-sugar fermentation. RESULTS: Compared to yeast without available Ca2+, yeast in the high glucose with Ca2+ group had higher dry weight, higher ethanol output at 12 and 24 h and higher glycerol output at 24 and 36 h. During the whole growth process, the trehalose synthesis capacity of yeast in the high glucose with Ca2+ group was lower and intracellular reactive oxygen species content was higher compared to yeast without available Ca2+. Intracellular malondialdehyde content of yeast under high glucose with Ca2+ was significantly lower than yeast under high glucose without available Ca2+ except for 6 h. The superoxide dismutase and catalase activities of yeast and glutathione content were higher in the high glucose with Ca2+ group compared to yeast in high glucose without available Ca2+. The expression levels of SOD1, GSH1, GPX2 genes were higher for high glucose without available Ca2+ at 6 h, while yeast in the high glucose with Ca2+ group had a higher expression of antioxidant-related genes except SOD1 and CTT1 at 12 h. The expression levels of antioxidant-related genes of yeast for high glucose with Ca2+ were higher at 24 h, and those of genes except SOD1 of yeast in the high glucose with Ca2+ group were higher at 36 h. CONCLUSION: High-glucose stress limited the growth of yeast, while a moderate extracellular Ca2+ signal could improve the antioxidant capacity of yeast in a high-glucose environment by regulating protectant metabolism and enhancing the antioxidant enzyme activity and expression of antioxidant genes in a high-sugar environment. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of Ca2+ signal on the activities of key enzymes and expression of related genes in yeast ethanol metabolism and mitochondrial function during high sugar fermentation.

BACKGROUND: During high sugar fermentation, yeast is mainly affected by high sugar stress in the early stage. It becomes jointly affected by high sugar and ethanol stress as ethanol accumulates during fermentation. Ca2+, as the second messenger of the cell, mediates various metabolic processes. In this study, the effects of the Ca2+ signal on the activities of key enzymes, expression of related genes of ethanol metabolism, and mitochondrial function were investigated. RESULTS: The results showed a significant increase in the activities of enzymes related to ethanol metabolism in yeast cells under a high sugar environment. Ca2+ significantly promoted the activities of enzymes related to mitochondrial respiratory metabolism and regulated the carbon flow between ethanol metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The high sugar environment affected the expression of genes related to carbon metabolism, while the addition of Ca2+ stabilized the expression of related genes. CONCLUSION: Ca2+ signal participated in ethanol and mitochondrial metabolism and regulated the key enzymes and related gene expression to enhance the resistance of yeast to stress during high sugar fermentation. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Astrocytes in Parkinson's Disease: From Role to Possible Intervention.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons. While neuronal dysfunction is central to PD, astrocytes also play important roles, both positive and negative, and such roles have not yet been fully explored. This literature review serves to highlight these roles and how the properties of astrocytes can be used to increase neuron survivability. Astrocytes normally have protective functions, such as releasing neurotrophic factors, metabolizing glutamate, transferring healthy mitochondria to neurons, or maintaining the blood-brain barrier. However, in PD, astrocytes can become dysfunctional and contribute to neurotoxicity, e.g., via impaired glutamate metabolism or the release of inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, astrocytes represent a double-edged sword. Restoring healthy astrocyte function and increasing the beneficial effects of astrocytes represents a promising therapeutic approach. Strategies such as promoting neurotrophin release, preventing harmful astrocyte reactivity, or utilizing regional astrocyte diversity may help restore neuroprotection.

Advances in Cas12a-Based Amplification-Free Nucleic Acid Detection.

In biomedicine, rapid and sensitive nucleic acid detection technology plays an important role in the early detection of infectious diseases. However, most traditional nucleic acid detection methods require the amplification of nucleic acids, resulting in problems such as long detection time, complex operation, and false-positive results. In recent years, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) systems have been widely used in nucleic acid detection, especially the CRISPR-Cas12a system, which can trans cleave single-stranded DNA and can realize the detection of DNA targets. But, amplification of nucleic acids is still required to further improve detection sensitivity, which makes Cas12a-based amplification-free nucleic acid detection methods a great challenge. This article reviews the recent progress of Cas12a-based amplification-free detection methods for nucleic acids. These detection methods apply electrochemical detection methods, fluorescence detection methods, noble metal nanomaterial detection methods, and lateral flow assay. Under various optimization strategies, unamplified nucleic acids have the same sensitivity as amplified nucleic acids. At the same time, the article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each method and further discusses the current challenges such as off-target effects and the ability to achieve high-throughput detection. Amplification-free nucleic acid detection technology based on CRISPR-Cas12a has great potential in the biomedical field.

Regulation of fructose levels on carbon flow and metabolites in yeast during food fermentation.

In this study, the effects of fructose levels on yeast growth, metabolic pathways and products, and redox status were investigated by simulated dough medium. The results showed that yeast was subjected to oxidative stress and damage under both sugar-free and high-fructose conditions. Yeast has a strong ability to metabolize pentose phosphate, trehalose, and tricarboxylic acid under sugar-free conditions. In the high fructose environment, yeast preferentially produced trehalose and glycerol in the early stage and gradually increased the metabolism of pentose phosphate in the later stage. Compared with the low fructose concentration, yeast had stronger pentose phosphate and tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) metabolism to ensure nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in higher fructose levels. Therefore, sugar-free and high fructose levels affected the growth of yeast cells and yeast responded to fructose levels by regulating the metabolic carbon flow of glycolysis, pentose phosphate, trehalose, and TCA.

Effect of calcium levels on structure and function of mitochondria in yeast under high glucose fermentation.

In this study, the effects of calcium levels on structure and function of mitochondria under high glucose environment were studied. In the high glucose environment, yeast growth capacity was inhibited, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content was increased from 6 h to 12 h, while ROS content was reduced in group with 1 × 10-1 and 1 g/L CaCl2 level from 24 h to 36 h. Exogenous calcium addition had a significant effect on the elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and cytochrome C content in yeast from 6 h to 12 h; mitochondrial membrane potential decreased with the increase of CaCl2 level under high glucose levels. Mitochondrial swelling of yeast was influenced by high glucose levels and showed a regulatory dynamic change by Ca2+ levels. Isocitrate dehydrogenase activity increased in 1 × 10-3 g/L CaCl2 level from 6 h to 12 h, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activity increased with an increase in CaCl2 level from 6 h to 24 h. Calcium affected the structure and function of mitochondria by regulating the intracellular signal, enzymes in tricarboxylic acid cycle, and cytochrome system of yeast under high glucose stress.

The uncovered biases and errors in clinical determination of bone age by using deep learning models.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate AI biases and errors in estimating bone age (BA) by comparing AI and radiologists' clinical determinations of BA. METHODS: We established three deep learning models from a Chinese private dataset (CHNm), an American public dataset (USAm), and a joint dataset combining the above two datasets (JOIm). The test data CHNt (n = 1246) were labeled by ten senior pediatric radiologists. The effects of data site differences, interpretation bias, and interobserver variability on BA assessment were evaluated. The differences between the AI models' and radiologists' clinical determinations of BA (normal, advanced, and delayed BA groups by using the Brush data) were evaluated by the chi-square test and Kappa values. The heatmaps of CHNm-CHNt were generated by using Grad-CAM. RESULTS: We obtained an MAD value of 0.42 years on CHNm-CHNt; this result indicated an appropriate accuracy for the whole group but did not indicate an accurate estimation of individual BA because with a kappa value of 0.714, the agreement between AI and human clinical determinations of BA was significantly different. The features of the heatmaps were not fully consistent with the human vision on the X-ray films. Variable performance in BA estimation by different AI models and the disagreement between AI and radiologists' clinical determinations of BA may be caused by data biases, including patients' sex and age, institutions, and radiologists. CONCLUSIONS: The deep learning models outperform external validation in predicting BA on both internal and joint datasets. However, the biases and errors in the models' clinical determinations of child development should be carefully considered. KEY POINTS: • With a kappa value of 0.714, clinical determinations of bone age by using AI did not accord well with clinical determinations by radiologists. • Several biases, including patients' sex and age, institutions, and radiologists, may cause variable performance by AI bone age models and disagreement between AI and radiologists' clinical determinations of bone age. • AI heatmaps of bone age were not fully consistent with human vision on X-ray films.

Exendin-4 alleviates ß-Amyloid peptide toxicity via DAF-16 in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Alzheimer's disease.

Epidemiological analyses indicate that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). They share common pathophysiological mechanisms. Thus, it has been increasingly suggested that several anti-T2DM drugs may have therapeutic potential in AD. Exendin-4, as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, is an approved drug used to treat T2DM. In this research, the neuroprotective effect of Exendin-4 was investigated for the first time using transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results demonstrated that Exendin-4 attenuated the amyloid-ß (1-42) (Aß1-42) toxicity via multiple mechanisms, such as depressing its expression on protein and mRNA and reducing Aß (1-42) accumulation. Exendin-4 at 0.5 mg/ml had been shown to extend life by 34.39% in CL4176 and delay the onset of paralysis in CL4176 and CL2006 which were increased by 8.18 and 8.02%, respectively. With the treatment of Exendin-4, the nuclear translocation of DAF-16 in the transgenic nematode TJ356 was enhanced. Superoxide dismutase-3 (SOD-3), as a downstream target gene regulated by DAF-16, was upregulated on mRNA level and activity. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was decreased. In contrast, we observed that the ability of Exendin-4 to regulate SOD was decreased in CL4176 worms with the DAF-16 gene silenced. The activity of SOD and the mRNA level of sod-3 were downregulated by 30.45 and 43.13%, respectively. Taken together, Exendin-4 attenuated Aß (1-42) toxicity in the C. elegans model of AD via decreasing the expression and the accumulation of Aß (1-42). Exendin-4 exhibited the ability of antioxidant stress through DAF-16. With continuous research, Exendin-4 would become a potential therapeutic strategy for treating AD.

Spatiotemporal variations and structural characteristics of carbon emissions at the county scale: a case study of Wu'an City.

In China, the county is not only an important component of industrial areas and a large contributor of carbon emissions, but also a key administrative unit for the implementation of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and policies. The spatiotemporal variations and structural characteristics of carbon emissions at the county scale are of great significance to China's dual goals of regional carbon policy implementation and low carbon spatial planning. Thus, it is important and insightful to conduct an in-depth and detailed examination of these characteristics while focusing on a typical iron and steel industry county-level city in North China. This study systematically calculated the carbon emissions of the county-level city of Wu'an from 2008 to 2017, and explored their structural characteristics and spatiotemporal variations. The results showed that (1) under the influence of macroeconomic and national policies, the carbon emissions of county-level cities dominated by the iron and steel industry show obvious phased characteristics; (2) there is a significant negative correlation between industry carbon emission concentrations and industrial carbon emissions; (3) within the steel industry system, sintering, iron smelting, steelmaking, and metal product processing are the main sources of carbon emissions, and the coal-based production process of the iron and steel industry needs a fundamental reformation; and (4) the carbon emission of Wu'an City shows obvious spatial differentiation characteristics. The geographic distribution of carbon emissions in Wu'an City is very unbalanced and tended to cluster together in urban areas, industrial and mining areas, and major towns. Taking 2014 as the turning point, the spatial pattern of carbon emissions in Wu'an City presents different variation characteristics.

Effect of glucose levels on carbon flow rate, antioxidant status, and enzyme activity of yeast during fermentation.

BACKGROUND: The physiological metabolism of yeast has a significant impact on the quality of fermentation products. The present study aimed to investigate yeast metabolism in response to a changing glucose content environment, especially in fermentation products, as well as the change of carbon flow rate, antioxidant status, and yeast enzyme activity. RESULTS: Yeast in a 0 g L-1 glucose level was subjected to carbon starvation stress, cell growth retardation and cell proliferation was significantly inadequate; in the logarithmic growth stage of yeast, at a 30 g L-1 glucose level, the carbon source mainly flowed to tricarboxylic acid cycle and pentose phosphate metabolism, cell division, proliferation, and increased cell growth. In later logarithmic growth period and stable period, carbon flowed into glycerol and trehalose metabolism, to cope with the environmental stress; yeast in 60 and 150 g L-1 glucose levels faced high glucose stress at the beginning, the content of reactive oxygen increased, malondialdehyde content increased, cell damage was reduced through the regulation of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activities, and most of the carbon flowed into the metabolic pathway of ethanol, glycerol, and trehalose to cope with high glucose stress, the pentose phosphate pathway showed a large late influx, and NADPH also started to increase rapidly after 24 h. CONCLUSION: Yeast was stressed in a high-sugar environment and ensured the activity of yeast by preferentially increasing the metabolic intensity of trehalose, glycerol, and glycolytic metabolism, weakening tricarboxylic acid metabolism, and first weakening and then increasing pentose phosphate metabolism. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Geographical Detection of Spatial Heterogeneity and Drivers of PM2.5 in the Yangtze River Economic Belt].

Based on ground monitoring data, we explored the spatiotemporal characteristics and drivers of PM2.5 in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) in 2018 using spatial autocorrelation analysis and geodetector modeling methods. The results showed that:① the PM2.5 concentration in the YREB posed the obvious characteristics of low values in summer and high values in winter, seasonal variation in spring and autumn, monthly U-shaped variation, and daily pulse variation. The low value area was mainly concentrated in the south bank of the upper reaches, whereas the high value area was located in the north of the middle-lower reaches of the YREB. ② PM2.5 pollution in the YREB had a stable positive spatial correlation, and the local association pattern showed a significant HH and LL spatial convergence. ③ The spatial correlation of PM2.5 in the YREB decreased with the increase in geographical distance, and its spatial autocorrelation threshold was approximately 870 km, within which the spatial agglomeration of PM2.5 pollution was strong. ④ The influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on PM2.5 had significant spatial differences. Altitude, relief, and population density were the high impact factors of PM2.5 pollution in the YREB. The interaction of factors had a far greater explanatory power on PM2.5 pollution than that of single factors. The dominant interaction factor was industrial structure ∩ altitude, which reflected the complexity of the drivers of air pollution in the YREB.

PEGylated (NH4)xWO3 nanorods as efficient and stable multifunctional nanoagents for simultaneous CT imaging and photothermal therapy of tumor.

The simultaneous imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors have attracted much attention, and a prerequisite is to obtain multifunctional nanomaterials. Ideally, one kind of nanoparticles with single component can be used as both imaging agent and photothermal agent. Herein, we have developed the PEGylated (NH4)xWO3 (denoted as (NH4)xWO3-PEG) nanorods as multifunctional nanoparticles with single semiconductor component. (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods with about 30nm diameter and length of several hundred nanometers have been obtained through a solvothermal synthesis-PEGylation two-step route. Under the irradiation of 980-nm laser with intensity of 0.72Wcm-2, aqueous dispersion of (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods (0.67-5.44mmol/L) displays high elevation (17.6-34.5°C) of temperature in 400s, accompanied by an excellent long-term photothermal stability. Furthermore, (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods exhibit as high as 6 times X-ray attenuation ability compared to that of the clinically used iodine-based X-ray computed tomography (CT) contrast agent (Iopromide). More importantly, after PBS solution of (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods is injected into the tumor of mice, the tumor can be effectively detected by CT imaging. Moreover, cancer cells in vivo can be further destroyed by the photothermal effects of (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods, under the irradiation of 980-nm laser with the safe intensity of 0.72Wcm-2 for 10min. Therefore, (NH4)xWO3-PEG nanorods can be used as a new kind of stable and efficient multifunctional nanoagent with single component for simultaneous CT imaging and photothermal therapy of tumor.

Multifunctional gold nanocomposites designed for targeted CT/MR/optical trimodal imaging of human non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Multifunctional gold nanocomposites, which were designed as dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles functionalized with gadolinium, cyanine dye (Cy5.5), and folic acid, were synthesized to be used as the first dendrimer-based clinical nanoprobes for targeted X-ray computed tomography/magnetic resonance/optical trimodal imaging in vitro and in vivo of human non-small cell cancer cells.