Xusheng Wang

INTRODUCTION Our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and bipolar disorder (BD), lags behind other fields of medicine. The diagnosis and study of these disorders currently depend on behavioral, symptomatic characterization. Defining genetic contributions to disease risk allows for biological, mechanistic understanding but is challenged by genetic complexity, polygenicity, and the lack of a cohesive neurobiological model to interpret findings. RATIONALE The transcriptome represents a quantitative phenotype that provides biological context for understanding the molecular pathways disrupted in major psychiatric disorders. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in a large cohort of cases and controls can advance our knowledge of the biology disrupted in each disorder and provide a foundational resource for integration with genomic and genetic data. RESULTS Analysis across multiple levels of transcriptomic organization—gene expression, local splicing, transcript isoform expression, and coexpression networks for both protein-coding and noncoding genes—provides an in-depth view of ASD, SCZ, and BD molecular pathology. More than 25% of the transcriptome exhibits differential splicing or expression in at least one disorder, including hundreds of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), most of which have unexplored functions but collectively exhibit patterns of selective constraint. Changes at the isoform level, as opposed to the gene level, show the largest effect sizes and genetic enrichment and the greatest disease specificity. We identified coexpression modules associated with each disorder, many with enrichment for cell type–specific markers, and several modules significantly dysregulated across all three disorders. These enabled parsing of down-regulated neuronal and synaptic components into a variety of cell type– and disease-specific signals, including multiple excitatory neuron and distinct interneuron modules with differential patterns of disease association, as well as common and rare genetic risk variant enrichment. The glial-immune signal demonstrates shared disruption of the blood-brain barrier and up-regulation of NFkB-associated genes, as well as disease-specific alterations in microglial-, astrocyte-, and interferon-response modules. A coexpression module associated with psychiatric medication exposure in SCZ and BD was enriched for activity-dependent immediate early gene pathways. To identify causal drivers, we integrated polygenic risk scores and performed a transcriptome-wide association study and summary-data–based Mendelian randomization. Candidate risk genes—5 in ASD, 11 in BD, and 64 in SCZ, including shared genes between SCZ and BD—are supported by multiple methods. These analyses begin to define a mechanistic basis for the composite activity of genetic risk variants. CONCLUSION Integration of RNA-seq and genetic data from ASD, SCZ, and BD provides a quantitative, genome-wide resource for mechanistic insight and therapeutic development at Resource.PsychENCODE.org. These data inform the molecular pathways and cell types involved, emphasizing the importance of splicing and isoform-level gene regulatory mechanisms in defining cell type and disease specificity, and, when integrated with genome-wide association studies, permit the discovery of candidate risk genes. The PsychENCODE cross-disorder transcriptomic resource. Human brain RNA-seq was integrated with genotypes across individuals with ASD, SCZ, BD, and controls, identifying pervasive dysregulation, including protein-coding, noncoding, splicing, and isoform-level changes. Systems-level and integrative genomic analyses prioritize previously unknown neurogenetic mechanisms and provide insight into the molecular neuropathology of these disorders.

2D black phosphorus (BP) nanomaterials are presented as a delivery platform. The endocytosis pathways and biological activities of PEGylated BP nanosheets in cancer cells are revealed for the first time. Finally, a triple-response combined therapy strategy is achieved by PEGylated BP nanosheets, showing a promising and enhanced antitumor effect. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

INTRODUCTION Strong genetic associations have been found for a number of psychiatric disorders. However, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms remains challenging. RATIONALE To address this challenge, the PsychENCODE Consortium has developed a comprehensive online resource and integrative models for the functional genomics of the human brain. RESULTS The base of the pyramidal resource is the datasets generated by PsychENCODE, including bulk transcriptome, chromatin, genotype, and Hi-C datasets and single-cell transcriptomic data from ~32,000 cells for major brain regions. We have merged these with data from Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), ENCODE, Roadmap Epigenomics, and single-cell analyses. Via uniform processing, we created a harmonized resource, allowing us to survey functional genomics data on the brain over a sample size of 1866 individuals. From this uniformly processed dataset, we created derived data products. These include lists of brain-expressed genes, coexpression modules, and single-cell expression profiles for many brain cell types; ~79,000 brain-active enhancers with associated Hi-C loops and topologically associating domains; and ~2.5 million expression quantitative-trait loci (QTLs) comprising ~238,000 linkage-disequilibrium–independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms and of other types of QTLs associated with splice isoforms, cell fractions, and chromatin activity. By using these, we found that >88% of the cross-population variation in brain gene expression can be accounted for by cell fraction changes. Furthermore, a number of disorders and aging are associated with changes in cell-type proportions. The derived data also enable comparison between the brain and other tissues. In particular, by using spectral analyses, we found that the brain has distinct expression and epigenetic patterns, including a greater extent of noncoding transcription than other tissues. The top level of the resource consists of integrative networks for regulation and machine-learning models for disease prediction. The networks include a full gene regulatory network (GRN) for the brain, linking transcription factors, enhancers, and target genes from merging of the QTLs, generalized element-activity correlations, and Hi-C data. By using this network, we link disease genes to genome-wide association study (GWAS) variants for psychiatric disorders. For schizophrenia, we linked 321 genes to the 142 reported GWAS loci. We then embedded the regulatory network into a deep-learning model to predict psychiatric phenotypes from genotype and expression. Our model gives a ~6-fold improvement in prediction over additive polygenic risk scores. Moreover, it achieves a ~3-fold improvement over additive models, even when the gene expression data are imputed, highlighting the value of having just a small amount of transcriptome data for disease prediction. Lastly, it highlights key genes and pathways associated with disorder prediction, including immunological, synaptic, and metabolic pathways, recapitulating de novo results from more targeted analyses. CONCLUSION Our resource and integrative analyses have uncovered genomic elements and networks in the brain, which in turn have provided insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders. Our deep-learning model improves disease risk prediction over traditional approaches and can be extended with additional data types (e.g., microRNA and neuroimaging). A comprehensive functional genomic resource for the adult human brain. The resource forms a three-layer pyramid. The bottom layer includes sequencing datasets for traits, such as schizophrenia. The middle layer represents derived datasets, including functional genomic elements and QTLs. The top layer contains integrated models, which link genotypes to phenotypes. DSPN, Deep Structured Phenotype Network; PC1 and PC2, principal components 1 and 2; ref, reference; alt, alternate; H3K27ac, histone H3 acetylation at lysine 27.

As a novel 2D material, black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets are considered as a promising candidate for drug delivery platform for synergistic chemo/photothermal therapy. However, the intrinsic instability of bare BP poses a challenge in its biomedical applications. To date, some strategies have been employed to prevent BP from rapid ambient degradation. Unfortunately, most of these strategies are not suitable for the drug delivery systems. Here, a simple polydopamine modification method is developed to enhance the stability and photothermal performance of bare BP nanosheets. Then, this nanocapsule is used as a multifunctional codelivery system for the targeted chemo, gene, and photothermal therapy against multidrug-resistant cancer. The enhanced tumor therapy effect is demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo studies.

A bifunctional imidazolium functionalized Zr-based metal–organic framework, (I⁻)Meim-UiO-66, was successfully prepared, which can serve as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst towards the capture and coupling of CO₂ with epoxides.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) displays a long asymptomatic stage before dementia. We characterize AD stage-associated molecular networks by profiling 14,513 proteins and 34,173 phosphosites in the human brain with mass spectrometry, highlighting 173 protein changes in 17 pathways. The altered proteins are validated in two independent cohorts, showing partial RNA dependency. Comparisons of brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid proteomes reveal biomarker candidates. Combining with 5xFAD mouse analysis, we determine 15 Aβ-correlated proteins (e.g., MDK, NTN1, SMOC1, SLIT2, and HTRA1). 5xFAD shows a proteomic signature similar to symptomatic AD but exhibits activation of autophagy and interferon response and lacks human-specific deleterious events, such as downregulation of neurotrophic factors and synaptic proteins. Multi-omics integration prioritizes AD-related molecules and pathways, including amyloid cascade, inflammation, complement, WNT signaling, TGF-β and BMP signaling, lipid metabolism, iron homeostasis, and membrane transport. Some Aβ-correlated proteins are colocalized with amyloid plaques. Thus, the multilayer omics approach identifies protein networks during AD progression.

Deposition of insoluble protein aggregates is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. The universal presence of β-amyloid and tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has facilitated advancement of the amyloid cascade and tau hypotheses that have dominated AD pathogenesis research and therapeutic development. However, the underlying etiology of the disease remains to be fully elucidated. Here we report a comprehensive study of the human brain-insoluble proteome in AD by mass spectrometry. We identify 4,216 proteins, among which 36 proteins accumulate in the disease, including U1-70K and other U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U1 snRNP) spliceosome components. Similar accumulations in mild cognitive impairment cases indicate that spliceosome changes occur in early stages of AD. Multiple U1 snRNP subunits form cytoplasmic tangle-like structures in AD but not in other examined neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Comparison of RNA from AD and control brains reveals dysregulated RNA processing with accumulation of unspliced RNA species in AD, including myc box-dependent-interacting protein 1, clusterin, and presenilin-1. U1-70K knockdown or antisense oligonucleotide inhibition of U1 snRNP increases the protein level of amyloid precursor protein. Thus, our results demonstrate unique U1 snRNP pathology and implicate abnormal RNA splicing in AD pathogenesis.

Direct conversion of methane into methanol and other liquid oxygenates still confronts considerable challenges in activating the first C–H bond of methane and inhibiting overoxidation. Here, we report that ZnO loaded with appropriate cocatalysts (Pt, Pd, Au, or Ag) enables direct oxidation of methane to methanol and formaldehyde in water using only molecular oxygen as the oxidant under mild light irradiation at room temperature. Up to 250 micromoles of liquid oxygenates with ∼95% selectivity is achieved for 2 h over 10 mg of ZnO loaded with 0.1 wt % of Au. Experiments with isotopically labeled oxygen and water reveal that molecular O2, rather than water, is the source of oxygen for direct CH4 oxidation. We find that ZnO and cocatalyst could concertedly activate CH4 and O2 into methyl radical and mildly oxidative intermediate (hydroperoxyl radical) in water, which are two key precursor intermediates for generating oxygenated liquid products in direct CH4 oxidation. Our study underlines two equally significant aspects for realizing direct and selective photooxidation of CH4 to liquid oxygenates, i.e., efficient C–H bond activation of CH4 and controllable activation of O2.

The molecular circuits by which antigens activate quiescent T cells remain poorly understood. We combined temporal profiling of the whole proteome and phosphoproteome via multiplexed isobaric labeling proteomics technology, computational pipelines for integrating multi-omics datasets, and functional perturbation to systemically reconstruct regulatory networks underlying T cell activation. T cell receptors activated the T cell proteome and phosphoproteome with discrete kinetics, marked by early dynamics of phosphorylation and delayed ribosome biogenesis and mitochondrial activation. Systems biology analyses identified multiple functional modules, active kinases, transcription factors and connectivity between them, and mitochondrial pathways including mitoribosomes and complex IV. Genetic perturbation revealed physiological roles for mitochondrial enzyme COX10-mediated oxidative phosphorylation in T cell quiescence exit. Our multi-layer proteomics profiling, integrative network analysis, and functional studies define landscapes of the T cell proteome and phosphoproteome and reveal signaling and bioenergetics pathways that mediate lymphocyte exit from quiescence.

Lithium sulfide (Li2S) is a promising cathode material for Li–S batteries with high capacity (theoretically 1166 mAh g–1) and can be paired with nonlithium–metal anodes to avoid potential safety issues. However, the cycle life of coarse Li2S particles suffers from poor electronic conductivity and polysulfide shuttling. Here, we develop a flexible slurryless nano-Li2S/reduced graphene oxide cathode paper (nano-Li2S/rGO paper) by simple drop-coating. The Li2S/rGO paper can be directly used as a free-standing and binder-free cathode without metal substrate, which leads to significant weight savings. It shows excellent rate capability (up to 7 C) and cycle life in coin cell tests due to the high electron conductivity, flexibility, and strong solvent absorbency of rGO paper. The Li2S particles that precipitate out of the solvent on rGO have diameters 25–50 nm, which is in contrast to the 3–5 μm coarse Li2S particles without rGO.

The lateral flow assay is one of the most convenient analytical techniques for analyzing the immune response, but its applicability to precise genetic analyses is limited by the false-positive signal and tedious and inefficient hybridization steps. Here, we introduce the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) /Cas system into the lateral flow assay, termed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated lateral flow nucleic acid assay (CASLFA), to address such issues. In this study, CASLFA is utilized to identify Listeria monocytogenes, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and African swine fever virus (ASFV) at a detection limit of hundreds of copies of genome samples with high specificity within 1 h. We further evaluated the performance of CASLFA in a nonlaboratory environment and successfully confirmed 27 ASFV-infected samples from 110 suspected swine serum samples, with an accuracy of 100% when compared to real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assay. CASLFA satisfies some of the characteristics of a next-generation molecular diagnostics tool due to its rapidity and accuracy, allowing for point-of-care use without the need for technical expertise and complex ancillary equipment. This method has great potential for gene analysis in resource-poor or nonlaboratory environments.

A nanocarrier system of d ‐a‐tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS)‐functionalized polydopamine‐coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NPs) is developed for sustainable and pH‐responsive delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug for the treatment of drug‐resistant nonsmall cell lung cancer. Such nanoparticles are of desired particle size, drug loading, and drug release profile. The surface morphology, surface charge, and surface chemical properties are also successfully characterized by a series of techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET) method, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The normal A549 cells and drug‐resistant A549 cells are employed to access the cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of the NPs. The therapeutic effects of TPGS‐conjugated nanoparticles are evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Compared with free DOX and DOX‐loaded NPs without TPGS ligand modification, MSNs‐DOX@PDA‐TPGS exhibits outstanding capacity to overcome multidrug resistance and shows better in vivo therapeutic efficacy. This splendid drug delivery platform can also be sued to deliver other hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs.

Mechanoluminescence (ML) is generated during exposures of certain materials to mechanical stimuli. Many solid materials produce ML during their fracturing, however, the irreversibility of fracto-induced ML limits the practical applications of these materials. In 1999, Chao-Nan Xu discovered an intense and reproducible ML from trap-controlled materials, including ZnS:Mn2+ and SrAl2O4:Eu2+, and introduced the principles and applications of hybrid inorganic/organic mechanoluminescent (ML) composites, and related sensors to visualize stress/strain in target structures. This discovery has triggered intense research interest in trap-controlled ML materials and composites over the past 2 decades. Notable achievements of this research include the development of trap-controlled materials that exhibit bright ML emission from the ultraviolet to the near infra-red, and multiscale mechano-optical sensitivities. This research has also increased our understanding of the mechanisms of ML phenomena, enabling the rational design of trap-controlled ML materials. Practical applications of ML are also being driven by the discovery that ML composites can serve as “mechano-optical sensitive skin” for structural health diagnosis, stress sensors for biomechanics, and mechanically-activated light sources. This review focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization, optimization and application of trap-controlled ML materials, and concludes with discussions on future directions of ML research and specific challenges to improve ML materials for real-world applications.

The gastrointestinal tract harbors a complex and diverse microbiota that has an important role in host metabolism. Microbial diversity is influenced by a combination of environmental and host genetic factors and is associated with several polygenic diseases. In this study we combined next-generation sequencing, genetic mapping, and a set of physiological traits of the BXD mouse population to explore genetic factors that explain differences in gut microbiota and its impact on metabolic traits. Molecular profiling of the gut microbiota revealed important quantitative differences in microbial composition among BXD strains. These differences in gut microbial composition are influenced by host-genetics, which is complex and involves many loci. Linkage analysis defined Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) restricted to a particular taxon, branch or that influenced the variation of taxa across phyla. Gene expression within the gastrointestinal tract and sequence analysis of the parental genomes in the QTL regions uncovered candidate genes with potential to alter gut immunological profiles and impact the balance between gut microbial communities. A QTL region on Chr 4 that overlaps several interferon genes modulates the population of Bacteroides, and potentially Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes-the predominant BXD gut phyla. Irak4, a signaling molecule in the Toll-like receptor pathways is a candidate for the QTL on Chr15 that modulates Rikenellaceae, whereas Tgfb3, a cytokine modulating the barrier function of the intestine and tolerance to commensal bacteria, overlaps a QTL on Chr 12 that influence Prevotellaceae. Relationships between gut microflora, morphological and metabolic traits were uncovered, some potentially a result of common genetic sources of variation.

Temperature monitoring plays an important role in ensuring product quality, saving energy, promoting the development of national economy and providing basic diagnostic criteria in the field of biomedicine. Due to the importance and universality of temperature measurement, the study of temperature sensing property and the pursuit of high sensitivity have become an important research field of rare-earth luminescent materials in recent years, and have received extensive attention. In this paper, different optical temperature sensing methods and principles, the application of rare-earth luminescent materials in optical temperature sensing, and the types of up-conversion luminescent thermometry materials are reviewed. First, we introduce that optical thermometry can realize non-contact temperature measurement, large-scale imaging, wide dynamic range and rapid response in biological fluorescent tag, accurate measurement of local temperature in medical treatment, and direct temperature measurement of an inaccessible object, which has a very broad application prospect. Meanwhile, we emphasize that the fluorescence intensity ratio technique based on the thermally coupled levels of rare-earth ions has been considered as a reliable and promising non-contact optical temperature sensing method due to its high accuracy and reliability. In the later sections, we review the fundamentals and research progress of rare-earth luminescent materials in optical temperature sensing. Double-doped up-conversion thermometry materials with diverse activators and Yb3+ as sensitizers are mainly introduced, as well as tri-doped multi-color optical thermometry materials. Finally, we summarize the current research results and discuss further research directions on the basis of their current developments. It is hoped that this review could provide new inspiration for the subsequent novel temperature sensors in the future.

A macroporous free-standing nano-sulfur/graphene (S-rGO) paper is introduced directly as an electrode for lithium-sulfur battery. The S-rGO paper is synthesized through a facile freeze drying route followed by low-temperature heat treatment. The flexible S-rGO paper not only provides a conductive framework for electron transport but also alleviates volume effect during cycling. The as-designed S-rGO paper exhibits excellent rate capability and cyclability. The specific discharge capacity is 800 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 300 mA g−1 and the capacity fading rate is only 0.035% per cycle. Even at a high current density of 1500 mA g−1, it still shows a good performance. We ascribe the high performance of the S-rGO paper to stable macroporous structure and strong interaction between sulfur nanoparticles and graphene.

Gold-nanoparticles-based colorimetric assay is an attractive detection format, but is limited by the tedious and ineffective posthybridization manipulations for genomic analysis. Here, we present a new design for a colorimetric gene-sensing platform based on the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system. In this strategy, programmable recognition of DNA by Cas12a/crRNA and RNA by Cas13a/crRNA with a complementary target activates the trans-ssDNA or -ssRNA cleavage. Target-induced trans-ssDNA or ssRNA cleavage triggers an aggregation behavior change for the designed AuNPs–DNA probes pair, enabling the completion of naked-eye gene detection (transgenic rice, African swine fever virus, and miRNAs as the models) within 1 h. This platform is also showing promise as a fast and inexpensive tool for bacteria identification using 16S rDNA or 16S rRNA. A CRISPR/Cas-based colorimetric platform shows superior characteristics, such as probe universality, compatibility with isothermal reaction conditions, on-site detection capability, and high sensitivity, thus, demonstrating its use as a robust next-generation gene detection platform.

The recently reported freezing-based labeling method for constructing DNA-AuNP probes is rapid but still requires thiol modification. Here, we evaluated a poly(A)-tagged DNA sequence using the freezing-based labeling method, and the results demonstrated that approximately 10 A bases at the sequence ends are essential. More detailed observations revealed that some DNA sequences tend to form secondary structures and thus shield exposed A bases, resulting in inefficient or failed labeling. However, successful labeling was restored by simply increasing the poly(A)-base number. Building on these discoveries, we developed three kinds of AuNP-based bioprobes, DNA-AuNP, RNA-AuNP, and DNA-enzyme-AuNP, using the freezing-based labeling method. This method was completed in a single mixing step with no need for thiol modification, representing one of the most convenient and lowest cost AuNP bioprobe labeling techniques ever reported. In addition, the resulting AuNP bioprobes were further used to advance CRISPR-based diagnostics through the development of user-friendly colorimetric, fluorescence, and lateral flow detection strategies.

Skin stem cells can regenerate epidermal appendages; however, hair follicles (HF) lost as a result of injury are barely regenerated. Here we show that macrophages in wounds activate HF stem cells, leading to telogen-anagen transition (TAT) around the wound and de novo HF regeneration, mostly through TNF signalling. Both TNF knockout and overexpression attenuate HF neogenesis in wounds, suggesting dose-dependent induction of HF neogenesis by TNF, which is consistent with TNF-induced AKT signalling in epidermal stem cells in vitro. TNF-induced β-catenin accumulation is dependent on AKT but not Wnt signalling. Inhibition of PI3K/AKT blocks depilation-induced HF TAT. Notably, Pten loss in Lgr5+ HF stem cells results in HF TAT independent of injury and promotes HF neogenesis after wounding. Thus, our results suggest that macrophage-TNF-induced AKT/β-catenin signalling in Lgr5+ HF stem cells has a crucial role in promoting HF cycling and neogenesis after wounding.

The fixation of atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia is one of the most essential processes for sustaining life. Since the NN bond in dinitrogen is one of the strongest bonds in chemistry, it remains a grand challenge to develop efficient catalysts for fixation of N2 under ambient conditions. Herein we report for the first time on visible-light-assisted photocatalytic nitrogen fixation by metal organic framework material at room temperature and pressure. The Ti3+ species induced by electron transfer from ligand-to-metal charge transfer process provide active sites for N2 reduction. Furthermore, visible-light-assisted photocatalytic N2 fixation is achieved by ligands functionalization which extend the light harvesting of the MOF to visible region. The integration of Ti sites and amine-functionalized linkers in NH2-MIL-125 (Ti) shows the highest visible light photocatalysis efficiency at a rate of 12.3 μmol g−1 h−1. This Ti MOF system therefore shows a potential as a new design of combining light-harvesting and catalytic components in a single solid platform for green NH3 production.

A mesoporous cationic Cr-MOF, termed FJI-C10, containing imidazolium moieties, Lewis acidic Cr3+ sites and free halogens is constructed for the first time by a topology-guided one-pot synthesis. FJI-C10 exhibits excellent performances in CO2 adsorption (20.2 wt% at 273 K and 1 bar) and chemical fixation of CO2 into cyclic carbonates without the use of co-catalyst under atmospheric pressure.

The small-scale compressed air energy storage system (CAES) combined with renewable energy sources (RES) is becoming increasing popular in distributed energy system (DES), which allows RES uninterrupted and improves the supply capacity of power system. In order to balance the electricity load and improve the energy efficiency of CCHP system in combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system, the paper described a CCHP system combined with solar and compressed air energy storage (CCHP-S-CAES). Solar energy was coupled with the CAES in this paper to heat the high-pressure air from air storage cavern. The proposed system consists of a conventional CCHP, a CAES and a solar energy collector/storage system, which stores the surplus electric power of gas turbine during off-peak time and releases it during on-peak time. Sensitivity analysis on the CCHP-S-CAES system was conducted to investigate the effects of the key parameters on its performances. It is clear that the performances of the CCHP-S-CAES system are mainly determined by the pressure ratio of compressor, the inlet pressure and temperature of turbine and the effectiveness of heat exchangers. In addition, a multi-objective optimization based on the Non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is performed for obtaining the optimum performance of the CCHP-S-CAES system from the view of investment cost and exergy efficiency. The results show that the optimal exergy efficiency of the proposed system is about 53.10% and 45.36% in maximum heating condition and maximum cooling condition respectively.

Developing unique single atoms as active sites is vitally important to boosting the efficiency of photocatalytic CO2 reduction, but directly atomizing metal particles and simultaneously adjusting the configuration of individual atoms remain challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a facile strategy at a relatively low temperature (500 °C) to access the in situ metal atomization and coordination adjustment via the thermo-driven gaseous acid. Using this strategy, the pyrolytic gaseous acid (HCl) from NH4Cl could downsize the large metal particles into corresponding ions, which subsequently anchored onto the surface defects of a nitrogen-rich carbon (NC) matrix. Additionally, the low-temperature treatment-induced C═O motifs within the interlayer of NC could bond with the discrete Fe sites in a perpendicular direction and finally create stabilized Fe-N4O species with high valence status (Fe3+) on the shallow surface of the NC matrix. It was found that the Fe-N4O species can achieve a highly efficient CO2 conversion when accepting energetic electrons from both homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysts. The optimized sample achieves a maximum turnover number (TON) of 1494 within 1 h in CO generation with a high selectivity of 86.7% as well as excellent stability. Experimental and theoretical results unravel that high valence Fe sites in Fe-N4O species can promote the adsorption of CO2 and lower the formation barrier of key intermediate COOH* compared with the traditional Fe-N4 moiety with lower chemical valence. Our discovery provides new points of view in the construction of more efficient single-atom cocatalysts by considering the optimization of the atomic configuration for high-performance CO2 photoreduction.

Abstract Aqueous energy‐storage systems have attracted wide attention due to their advantages such as high security, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the specific chemical properties of water induce the problems of narrow electrochemical stability window, low stability of water–electrode interface reactions, and dissolution of electrode materials and intermediate products. Therefore, new low‐cost aqueous electrolytes with different water chemistry are required. The nature of water depends largely on its hydroxyl‐based hydrogen bonding structure. Therefore, the super‐concentrated hydroxyl‐rich sugar solutions are designed to change the original hydrogen bonding structure of water. The super‐concentrated sugars can reduce the free water molecules and destroy the tetrahedral structure, thus lowering the binding degree of water molecules by breaking the hydrogen bonds. The ionic electrolytes based on super‐concentrated sugars have the expanded electrochemical stability window (up to 2.812 V), wide temperature adaptability (–50 to 80 °C), and fair ionic conductivity (8.536 mS cm −1 ). Aqueous lithium‐, sodium‐, potassium‐ion batteries and supercapacitors using super‐concentrated sugar‐based electrolytes demonstrate an excellent electrochemical performance. The advantages of ultralow cost and high universality enable a great practical application potential of the super‐concentrated sugar‐based aqueous electrolytes, which can also provide great experimental and theoretical assistance for further research in water chemistry.

Based on amyloid cascade and tau hypotheses, protein biomarkers of different Aβ and tau species in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood/plasma/serum have been examined to correlate with brain pathology. Recently, unbiased proteomic profiling of these human samples has been initiated to identify a large number of novel AD biomarker candidates, but it is challenging to define reliable candidates for subsequent large-scale validation.We present a comprehensive strategy to identify biomarker candidates of high confidence by integrating multiple proteomes in AD, including cortex, CSF and serum. The proteomes were analyzed by the multiplexed tandem-mass-tag (TMT) method, extensive liquid chromatography (LC) fractionation and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for ultra-deep coverage. A systems biology approach was used to prioritize the most promising AD signature proteins from all proteomic datasets. Finally, candidate biomarkers identified by the MS discovery were validated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and TOMAHAQ targeted MS assays.We quantified 13,833, 5941, and 4826 proteins from human cortex, CSF and serum, respectively. Compared to other studies, we analyzed a total of 10 proteomic datasets, covering 17,541 proteins (13,216 genes) in 365 AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and control cases. Our ultra-deep CSF profiling of 20 cases uncovered the majority of previously reported AD biomarker candidates, most of which, however, displayed no statistical significance except SMOC1 and TGFB2. Interestingly, the AD CSF showed evident decrease of a large number of mitochondria proteins that were only detectable in our ultra-deep analysis. Further integration of 4 cortex and 4 CSF cohort proteomes highlighted 6 CSF biomarkers (SMOC1, C1QTNF5, OLFML3, SLIT2, SPON1, and GPNMB) that were consistently identified in at least 2 independent datasets. We also profiled CSF in the 5xFAD mouse model to validate amyloidosis-induced changes, and found consistent mitochondrial decreases (SOD2, PRDX3, ALDH6A1, ETFB, HADHA, and CYB5R3) in both human and mouse samples. In addition, comparison of cortex and serum led to an AD-correlated protein panel of CTHRC1, GFAP and OLFM3. In summary, 37 proteins emerged as potential AD signatures across cortex, CSF and serum, and strikingly, 59% of these were mitochondria proteins, emphasizing mitochondrial dysfunction in AD. Selected biomarker candidates were further validated by ELISA and TOMAHAQ assays. Finally, we prioritized the most promising AD signature proteins including SMOC1, TAU, GFAP, SUCLG2, PRDX3, and NTN1 by integrating all proteomic datasets.Our results demonstrate that novel AD biomarker candidates are identified and confirmed by proteomic studies of brain tissue and biofluids, providing a rich resource for large-scale biomarker validation for the AD community.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics empowers deep profiling of proteome and protein posttranslational modifications (PTMs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we review the advances and limitations in historic and recent AD proteomic research. Complementary to genetic mapping, proteomic studies not only validate canonical amyloid and tau pathways, but also uncover novel components in broad protein networks, such as RNA splicing, development, immunity, membrane transport, lipid metabolism, synaptic function, and mitochondrial activity. Meta-analysis of seven deep datasets reveals 2,698 differentially expressed (DE) proteins in the landscape of AD brain proteome (n = 12,017 proteins/genes), covering 35 reported AD genes and risk loci. The DE proteins contain cellular markers enriched in neurons, microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and epithelial cells, supporting the involvement of diverse cell types in AD pathology. We discuss the hypothesized protective or detrimental roles of selected DE proteins, emphasizing top proteins in "amyloidome" (all biomolecules in amyloid plaques) and disease progression. Comprehensive PTM analysis represents another layer of molecular events in AD. In particular, tau PTMs are correlated with disease stages and indicate the heterogeneity of individual AD patients. Moreover, the unprecedented proteomic coverage of biofluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid and serum, procures novel putative AD biomarkers through meta-analysis. Thus, proteomics-driven systems biology presents a new frontier to link genotype, proteotype, and phenotype, accelerating the development of improved AD models and treatment strategies.

The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into C2+ products such as ethylene is a promising path toward the carbon neutral goal but remains a big challenge due to the high activation barrier for CO2 and similar reduction potentials of many possible multi-electron-transfer products. Herein, an effective tandem photocatalysis strategy has been developed to support conversion of CO2 to ethylene by construction of the synergistic dual sites in rhenium-(I) bipyridine fac-[ReI(bpy)(CO)3Cl] (Re-bpy) and copper-porphyrinic triazine framework [PTF(Cu)]. With these two catalysts, a large amount of ethylene can be produced at a rate of 73.2 μmol g-1 h-1 under visible light irradiation. However, ethylene cannot be obtained from CO2 by use of either component of the Re-bpy or PTF(Cu) catalysts alone; with a single catalyst, only monocarbon product CO is produced under similar conditions. In the tandem photocatalytic system, the CO generated at the Re-bpy sites is adsorbed by the nearby Cu single sites in PTF(Cu), and this is followed by a synergistic C-C coupling process which ultimately produces ethylene. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the coupling process between PTF(Cu)-*CO and Re-bpy-*CO to form the key intermediate Re-bpy-*CO-*CO-PTF(Cu) is vital to the C2H4 production. This work provides a new pathway for the design of efficient photocatalysts for photoconversion of CO2 to C2 products via a tandem process driven by visible light under mild conditions.

Ecological risks can vary dramatically depending on abiotic factors, such as soil properties and the background values of elements. This study developed a framework for an integrated risk assessment system to derive soil quality criteria (SQC) for heavy metals (HMs) applicable to different soil types and to assess ecological risks at a multi-regional scale. Through the construction of normalization and species sensitivity distribution models, 248 SQC values for Cd, Pb, Zn, As, Cu, Cr, Sb, and Ni in 31 Chinese provinces were derived. These SQC considered the soil types and background values of the elements and effectively reduced the uncertainty caused by spatial heterogeneity. Using the derived SQC values, the qualitative and quantitative ecological risks of HMs in the terrestrial environment of China were comprehensively assessed using a three-level ecological risk assessment (ERA) approach. Compared to traditional ERA methods, the new methodology reached a more quantitative conclusion. The mean overall probabilities of ecological risk in China were 2.42 % (Cd), 2.82 % (Pb), 12.17 % (Zn), 14.89 % (As), 10.42 % (Cu), 32.20 %(Cr), and 8.88 % (Ni). The new framework could be useful for the ERA of various soil types.

Elastico-deformation luminescence in strontium aluminates was investigated systematically using precisely controlled pure-phase Eu-doped strontium aluminates of SrAl12O19, Sr4Al14O25, SrAl4O7, α-SrAl2O4, β-SrAl2O4, Sr3Al2O6 and their mixed phases. This study revealed that only the α-SrAl2O4 phase produces strong elastico-deformation luminescence; other strontium aluminates show no deformation luminescence. Correlation of deformation luminescence and crystal structure was found. The α-SrAl2O4 has the lowest symmetry, crystallizing in a monoclinic structure. This finding can be applied in designing strong elastico-deformation-luminescent materials.

LEA proteins are late embryonic proteins abundant in higher plant embryos. It has been found that LEA genes are a gene family and play important roles in the protection of water stress. In this study, we employed bioinformatics approaches to identify new members of LEA gene family in rice. A total of 34 rice LEA (OsLEA) genes were identified, of which 25 were new. Four OsLEA genes were found to have alternative splicing. The OsLEA genes are distributed on all rice chromosomes except for chromosomes 10 and 12. Two independent series of gene conversion events were observed. Microarray data and semiquantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis revealed that the expressions of OsLEA genes are very diverse, some are consititutive, some are regulated and some appear to be related to stress tolerance. Two conserved motifs CACGTA and CACGCACG were found to be overrepresented in the 1 kb upstream regions of the ABA-induced and drought-induced LEA genes.

This study prepared (1−x)BaTiO3–xCaTiO3 (x=0.20–1.0) ceramics. Their structural and electric properties were analyzed. High electrostrictive strain of 0.22%, higher by 157% as compared to BaTiO3 ceramic, was obtained near the solubility limit in the side of composite (x=0.23), which is a diphasic ceramic composed of a ferroelectric tetragonal Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 solid solution and a normal dielectric orthorhombic Ba0.07Ca0.93TiO3 solid solution. This enhanced electrostriction resulted from the coupling of the large ionic polarization in Ba0.07Ca0.93TiO3 with the non-180° domains in Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 during the external electric field exertion.

High-nitrogen loadings of rivers and aquifers systems are a major concern because of potential effects on human health and water quality impacts such as eutrophication of lakes and coastal zones. This nitrogen enrichment is commonly attributed to anthropogenic sources such as sewage and agricultural and industrial wastes. The aims of this study were to delineate spatial distribution of groundwater ammonium in the coastal aquifer system in Pearl River Delta (PRD), China and to identify the origin of the abnormally high ammonium. A total of 40 boreholes were drilled to collect core samples of the aquitard and groundwater samples in the basal aquifer. The core samples were used for extraction of pore water for centrifugation and bulk chemical analyses in laboratory. Unlike previous studies which focused mainly on the aquifer, this study treated the aquifer-aquitard system as a hydrogeochemical continuum. The results show that the aquifer-aquitard system contains an exceptionally large total ammonium mass. Ammonium occurred at concentrations up to 390 mg/L in the basal sand Pleistocene aquifer 20−50 m deep, the largest concentration reported for groundwater globally. This ammonium was natural, areally extensive (1600 km2) and originated in the overlying Holocene−Pleistocene aquitard and entered the aquifer by groundwater transport and diffusion. Total ammonium in the aquifer (190 × 106 kg) was exceeded by total ammonium in the aquitard (8600 × 106 kg) by a factor of 45. Much organic nitrogen remained in the aquitard available for conversion to ammonium. This natural ammonium in the aquifer was slowly transported into the PRD river channels and the estuary of the South China Sea. The rate of this contribution will likely be greatly increased by sand dredging in the river channels and estuary. Although the ammonium in PRD groundwater occurred in the largest concentrations and mass reported globally, the literature shows no reports of other delta aquitards having been examined for ammonium occurrence and therefore abundant ammonium formed in aquitards rich in organic matter may not be uncommon and this “geologic” source of ammonium may present a large and hitherto unappreciated source of nitrogen discharging to surface waters.

Color manipulation of intense multiluminescence from CaZnOS:Mn2+ has been realized by adjusting Mn2+ concentration. Not only the photoluminescence (PL) of Mn2+ emission from 4T1(4G) to 6A1(6S) shows a red shift from yellow to red with increasing Mn2+ concentration, which is in contrast to the fixed PL emission reported by Hintzen et al. (Chem. Mater., 2009), but also mechanoluminescence (ML) and cathodoluminescence (CL) have a similar variation. More attractively, the brightness of multiluminescence is surprisingly intense for all the CaZnOS:Mn2+ with a large-scale Mn2+ doping (0.1–10 mol %). Based on the investigation of crystal field, various spectral results, and PL lifetimes, the red-shift mechanism of multiluminescence reported here has been proposed to arise from the exchange interaction effect of Mn2+ pairs at higher concentrations. In addition to correcting the previous misunderstanding on the emission of CaZnOS:Mn2+, these findings extend the tunable emission window, opening up new opportunities in multifunctional applications of PL, ML, and CL involving multicolor light sources, displays, and stress imaging, especially providing a novel resolution to design ML colors.

The elastico-mechanoluminescence (EML) properties of CaZnOS:Mn2+ are investigated. The CaZnOS:Mn2+/epoxy resin composite can simultaneously "feel" (sense) and "see" (image) various types of mechanical stress over a wide energy and frequency range (ultrasonic vibration, impact, friction and compression) as an intense red emission (610 nm) from Mn2+ ions. Further, the accurate linear relation between emission intensity and different stress parameters (intensity, energy and deformation rate) are confirmed. The EML mechanism is explained using a piezoelectrically induced trapped carrier excitation mode. All the results imply that CaZnOS:Mn2+ has potential as a stress probe to sense and image multiple mechanical stresses and decipher the stress intensity distribution.

Ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (MNPs) were decorated on soluble porous coordination polymers (PCPs) with high metal loadings. The solubility of the composite and the size of the MNPs can be controlled by varying the ratio of the precursors to the supports. The soluble PCPs can serve as a platform to homogenize heterogeneous MNPs catalysts, which exhibited excellent activity and recyclability in C–H activation and Suzuki reactions. This strategy combines the advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and may bring new inspiration to catalysis.

Phenome-wide association is a novel reverse genetic strategy to analyze genome-to-phenome relations in human clinical cohorts. Here we test this approach using a large murine population segregating for ∼5 million sequence variants, and we compare our results to those extracted from a matched analysis of gene variants in a large human cohort. For the mouse cohort, we amassed a deep and broad open-access phenome consisting of ∼4,500 metabolic, physiological, pharmacological and behavioural traits, and more than 90 independent expression quantitative trait locus (QTL), transcriptome, proteome, metagenome and metabolome data sets--by far the largest coherent phenome for any experimental cohort (www.genenetwork.org). We tested downstream effects of subsets of variants and discovered several novel associations, including a missense mutation in fumarate hydratase that controls variation in the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in both mouse and Caenorhabditis elegans, and missense mutations in Col6a5 that underlies variation in bone mineral density in both mouse and human.

A novel layered SnSSe material is designed as a high-performance anode for sodium-ion batteries with characteristics of high capacity, superior cyclability, facile synthetic method, and large-scale production ability. The transformation from bulk SnSSe particles into closely packed nanoplate aggregates with greater resistance to structure pulverization and the partial pseudocapacitive capacity contribution may engender excellent cycling performance and rate capability. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Database search programs are essential tools for identifying peptides via mass spectrometry (MS) in shotgun proteomics. Simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and high specificity during a database search is crucial for improving proteome coverage. Here we present JUMP, a new hybrid database search program that generates amino acid tags and ranks peptide spectrum matches (PSMs) by an integrated score from the tags and pattern matching. In a typical run of liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem MS, more than 95% of MS/MS spectra can generate at least one tag, whereas the remaining spectra are usually too poor to derive genuine PSMs. To enhance search sensitivity, the JUMP program enables the use of tags as short as one amino acid. Using a target-decoy strategy, we compared JUMP with other programs (e.g. SEQUEST, Mascot, PEAKS DB, and InsPecT) in the analysis of multiple datasets and found that JUMP outperformed these preexisting programs. JUMP also permitted the analysis of multiple co-fragmented peptides from "mixture spectra" to further increase PSMs. In addition, JUMP-derived tags allowed partial de novo sequencing and facilitated the unambiguous assignment of modified residues. In summary, JUMP is an effective database search algorithm complementary to current search programs.

Protein ubiquitination is an essential post-translational modification regulating neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory, and its dysregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases. Here we report a systematic analysis of ubiquitinated proteome (ubiquitome) in rat brain using a newly developed monoclonal antibody that recognizes the diglycine tag on lysine residues in trypsinized peptides (K-GG peptides). Initial antibody specificity analysis showed that the antibody can distinguish K-GG peptides from linear GG peptides or pseudo K-GG peptides derived from iodoacetamide. To evaluate the false discovery rate of K-GG peptide matches during database search, we introduced a null experiment using bacterial lysate that contains no such peptides. The brain ubiquitome was then analyzed by this antibody enrichment with or without strong cation exchange (SCX) prefractionation. During SCX chromatography, although the vast majority of K-GG peptides were detected in the fractions containing at least three positive charged peptides, specific K-GG peptides with two positive charges (e.g., protein N-terminal acetylated and C-terminal non-K/R peptides) were also identified in early fractions. The reliability of C-terminal K-GG peptides was also extensively investigated. Finally, we collected a data set of 1786 K-GG sites on 2064 peptides in 921 proteins and estimated their abundance by spectral counting. The study reveals a wide range of ubiquitination events on key components in presynaptic region (e.g., Bassoon, NSF, SNAP25, synapsin, synaptotagmin, and syntaxin) and postsynaptic density (e.g., PSD-95, GKAP, CaMKII, as well as receptors for NMDA, AMPA, GABA, serotonin, and acetylcholine). We also determined ubiquitination sites on amyloid precursor protein and alpha synuclein that are thought to be causative agents in Alzhermer's and Parkinson's disorders, respectively. As K-GG peptides can also be produced from Nedd8 or ISG15 modified proteins, we quantified these proteins in the brain and found that their levels are less than 2% of ubiquitin. Together, this study demonstrates that a large number of neuronal proteins are modified by ubiquitination and provides a feasible method for profiling the ubiquitome in the brain.

Recoverable mechanoluminescence (ML), characterized by nondestructive and repetitive luminescence in response to a mechanical stress, has shown considerable promise in a variety of practical applications including lighting and display, as well as stress sensing and imaging. However, the progress in utilizing ML processes has been constrained by the difficulties in developing new ML materials and in ascertaining ML mechanism. In this paper, we report a new strategy to constructing recoverable ML materials by doping piezoelectric hosts with luminescent lanthanide ions, which simultaneously create luminescent centers and carrier traps in the host lattice. The viability of the strategy has been confirmed by assessing a series of Pr3+ activated calcium niobates composed of mCaO·Nb2O5 (m = 1, 2, and 3). Furthermore, systematical characterizations of the series of calcium niobates also reveal an unusual host dependent ML phenomenon. Our results are expected to expand the scope of designing ML materials and to deepen our understanding of ML mechanism, thereby promoting further utilization of recoverable ML.

The photoluminescence of Pr doped (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 ferroelectric ceramics prepared by conventional solid-state reaction were investigated. A bright red emission is observed at room temperature, which ascribed to 1D2→3H4 transition. The excitation bands are mainly located at 440 ∼ 505 nm, which is adaptable to the emission band of commercial blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) chips. The optimal emission intensity was also obtained when Pr doping level was 0.003 mol. Meanwhile, the enhanced ferroelectric properties were obtained by Pr doping. The results show that Pr doped (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 ceramics as a multifunctional material may be useful for white LEDs, sensor, and optical-electro integration.

Genetic analyses have linked microRNA-137 (MIR137) to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. miR-137 plays important roles in neurogenesis and neuronal maturation, but the impact of miR-137 loss-of-function in vivo remains unclear. Here we show the complete loss of miR-137 in the mouse germline knockout or nervous system knockout (cKO) leads to postnatal lethality, while heterozygous germline knockout and cKO mice remain viable. Partial loss of miR-137 in heterozygous cKO mice results in dysregulated synaptic plasticity, repetitive behavior, and impaired learning and social behavior. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that the miR-137 mRNA target, phosphodiesterase 10a (Pde10a), is elevated in heterozygous knockout mice. Treatment with the Pde10a inhibitor papaverine or knockdown of Pde10a ameliorates the deficits observed in the heterozygous cKO mice. Collectively, our results suggest that MIR137 plays essential roles in postnatal neurodevelopment and that dysregulation of miR-137 potentially contributes to neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.

Personalized cancer therapy targeting somatic mutations in patient tumors is increasingly being incorporated into practice. Other therapeutic vulnerabilities resulting from changes in gene expression due to tumor specific epigenetic perturbations are progressively being recognized. These genomic and epigenomic changes are ultimately manifest in the tumor proteome and phosphoproteome. We integrated transcriptomic, epigenomic, and proteomic/phosphoproteomic data to elucidate the cellular origins and therapeutic vulnerabilities of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). We discovered that alveolar RMS occurs further along the developmental program than embryonal RMS. We also identified deregulation of the RAS/MEK/ERK/CDK4/6, G2/M, and unfolded protein response pathways through our integrated analysis. Comprehensive preclinical testing revealed that targeting the WEE1 kinase in the G2/M pathway is the most effective approach in vivo for high-risk RMS.

Silicon‐based cells could convert more solar energy to electrical energy if the cells could absorb more light. However, the nanostructured cells have demonstrated relatively low power conversion efficiency even when its reflection is very low; thus, they are still far from becoming real products of the photovoltaic industry. Here, nanoscale pseudo‐pyramid textured multi‐crystalline silicon (Pmc‐Si) solar cells, with the best efficiency of ≈18.45%, are fabricated by using a metal‐catalyzed chemical etching plus a post alkaline etching on an industrial production line. Such Pmc‐Si solar cells have showed similar light trapping ability as single crystalline silicon solar cells of micrometer pyramid texture, and the improved efficiency is mainly ascribed to its enhanced light absorption while the nanostructured surface still keeps acceptable passivation quality, that is, the short‐circuit current density has an increase of ≈300 mA cell –1 , while the open‐circuit voltage has only a slight decrease of ≈1 mV. Further elevations of the efficiency are expected by optimizing both micrometer‐ and nanotextures, and exploring more effective passivation technique. More excitingly, the technique presented here has been verified in the production line for several batches as a real technique of low cost and high efficiency.

In cancer, both histopathologic images and genomic signatures are used for diagnosis, prognosis, and subtyping. However, combining histopathologic images with genomic data for predicting prognosis, as well as the relationships between them, has rarely been explored. In this study, we present an integrative genomics framework for constructing a prognostic model for clear cell renal cell carcinoma. We used patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (n = 410), extracting hundreds of cellular morphologic features from digitized whole-slide images and eigengenes from functional genomics data to predict patient outcome. The risk index generated by our model correlated strongly with survival, outperforming predictions based on considering morphologic features or eigengenes separately. The predicted risk index also effectively stratified patients in early-stage (stage I and stage II) tumors, whereas no significant survival difference was observed using staging alone. The prognostic value of our model was independent of other known clinical and molecular prognostic factors for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Overall, this workflow and the shared software code provide building blocks for applying similar approaches in other cancers. Cancer Res; 77(21); e91-100. ©2017 AACR.

Abstract A three‐dimensional microporous anionic metal–organic framework (MOF) (Et 4 N) 3 [In 3 (TATB) 4 ] ( FJI‐C1 , H 3 TATB=4,4′,4′′‐ s ‐triazine‐2,4,6‐triyltribenzoic acid) with large unit cell volume has been synthesized. Assisted by the organic cation group Et 4 N in the pores of the compound, FJI‐C1 not only shows high adsorption uptakes of C 2 and C 3 hydrocarbons, but also exhibits highly selective separation of propane, acetylene, ethane, and ethylene from methane at room temperature. Furthermore, it also exhibits high separation selectivity for propane over C 2 hydrocarbons and acetylene can be readily separated from their C 2 hydrocarbons mixtures at low pressure due to the high selectivity for C 2 H 2 in comparison to C 2 H 4 and C 2 H 6 . In addition, FJI‐C1 with hydrophilic internal pores surfaces shows highly efficient adsorption separation of polar molecules from nonpolar molecules. Notably, it exhibits high separation selectivity for benzene over cyclohexane due to the π–π interactions between benzene molecules and s ‐triazine rings of the porous MOF.

Trap depth is an important factor in the design of long-persistent (LPL) or photostimulated luminescence (PSL) materials, lithium tantalate is a promising matrix with abundant defect traps owing to the volatile lithium. The new long-persistent luminescence material LiTaO3:Bi3+ exhibits intense indigo blue photoluminescence (PL) and long-persistent luminescence with the maximum peak located at 430 nm, which is ascribed to the 3P1 → 1S0 transition of Bi3+, while the decay rate of afterglow increases when the concentration of Bi3+ dopant improves. Under near-infrared (NIR) stimulation, the synthetic phosphor shows bright indigo blue photostimulated luminescence, but the UV–Vis stimulation light can quench afterglow rapidly due to its efficient photostimulation effect related to the distribution and depth of defect traps in matrix crystal. By means of photostimulated luminescence spectra, thermoluminescence (TL) curves and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the impact of antisite-tantalum defect traps on luminescence property is characterized. The findings give insight into the mechanism of photostimulated luminescence and expand the application field of long-persistent luminescence materials in optical information storage.

Low targeting efficiency limits the applications of nanoparticles in cancer therapy. The fact that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) trapped in the lung after systemic infusion is a disadvantage for cell therapy purposes. Here, we utilized MSC as lung cancer-targeted drug delivery vehicles by loading nanoparticles (NP) with anti-cancer drug. MSC showed a higher drug intake capacity than fibroblasts. In addition, MSC showed predominant lung trapping in both rabbit and monkey. IR-780 dye, a fluorescent probe used to represent docetaxel (DTX) in NP, delivered via MSC accumulated in the lung. Both in vitro MSC/A549 cell experiments and in vivo MSC/lung cancer experiments validated the intercellular transportation of NP between MSC and cancer cells. In vivo assays showed that the MSC/NP/DTX drug delivery system exerted primary tumor inhibition efficiency similar to that of a NP/DTX drug system. Collectively, the MSC/NP drug delivery system is promising for lung-targeted drug delivery for the treatment of lung cancer and other lung-related diseases.

Blood-based protein measurement is a routine practice for detecting biomarkers in human disease. Comprehensive profiling of blood/plasma/serum proteome is a challenge due to an extremely large dynamic range, as exemplified by a small subset of highly abundant proteins. Antibody-based depletion of these abundant proteins alleviates the problem but introduces experimental variations. We aimed to establish a method for direct profiling of undepleted human serum and apply the method toward biomarker discovery for Alzheimer's disease (AD), as AD is the most common form of dementia without available blood-based biomarkers in clinic.We present an ultra-deep analysis of undepleted human serum proteome by combining the latest 11-plex tandem-mass-tag (TMT) labeling, exhaustive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC/LC) fractionation (the 1st LC: 3 h for 180 fractions, and the 2nd LC: 3 h gradient per fraction), coupled with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). AD (n = 6) and control (n = 5) sera were analyzed in this pilot study. In addition, we implemented a multiplexed targeted LC-MS3 method (TOMAHAQ) for the validation of selected target proteins.The TMT-LC/LC-MS/MS platform is capable of analyzing 4826 protein components (4368 genes), covering at least 6 orders of magnitude in dynamic range, representing one of the deepest serum proteome analysis. We defined intra- and inter- group variability in the AD and control groups. Statistical analysis revealed differentially expressed proteins in AD (26 decreased and 4 increased). Notably, these altered proteins are enriched in the known pathways of mitochondria, fatty acid beta oxidation, and AGE/RAGE. Finally, we set up a TOMAHAQ method to confirm the decrease of PCK2 and AK2 in our AD samples.Our results show an ultra-deep serum discovery study by TMT-LC/LC-MS/MS, and a validation experiment by TOMAHAQ targeted LC-MS3. The MS-based discovery and validation methods are of general use for biomarker discovery from complex biofluids (e.g. serum proteome). This pilot study also identified deregulated proteins, in particular proteins associated with mitochondrial function in the AD serum samples. These proteins may serve as novel AD candidate biomarkers.

Black phosphorus (BP) nanomaterials have shown great potential as near-infrared (NIR) photothermal therapy agents and drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. However, their practical applications were still severely limited as their lack of stability under ambient conditions. Here we reported a strategy of using drug itself to stabilize BP. The active species of platinum-based anticancer drugs (DACHPt and Pt(NH3)2) were utilized to coordinate with BP nanosheets to form complex BP/DACHPt and BP/Pt(NH3)2 and improve their stability. BP nanosheets were proved to load DACHPt twice their weight and released it in acid- and NIR-responsive manner, indicating an excellent drug carrier. In vitro cytotoxicity results and apoptosis mechanism showed BP/DACHPt would almost kill all the cancer cells by combined photothermal and chemo effects. Finally in vivo results confirmed BP/DACHPt-PEG would accumulate efficiently in tumor and exert tumor ablation. Thus this novel strategy of using drug itself to stabilize BP, would not only evade the potential clinical application risks, but also construct stable BP-based drug delivery system for combined photothermal and chemo cancer therapy.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane proteins that modulate physiology across human tissues in response to extracellular signals. GPCR-mediated signalling can differ because of changes in the sequence1,2 or expression3 of the receptors, leading to signalling bias when comparing diverse physiological systems4. An underexplored source of such bias is the generation of functionally diverse GPCR isoforms with different patterns of expression across different tissues. Here we integrate data from human tissue-level transcriptomes, GPCR sequences and structures, proteomics, single-cell transcriptomics, population-wide genetic association studies and pharmacological experiments. We show how a single GPCR gene can diversify into several isoforms with distinct signalling properties, and how unique isoform combinations expressed in different tissues can generate distinct signalling states. Depending on their structural changes and expression patterns, some of the detected isoforms may influence cellular responses to drugs and represent new targets for developing drugs with improved tissue selectivity. Our findings highlight the need to move from a canonical to a context-specific view of GPCR signalling that considers how combinatorial expression of isoforms in a particular cell type, tissue or organism collectively influences receptor signalling and drug responses. Transcriptomics, proteomics, single-cell RNA sequencing, population-wide genetic association studies and structure–function analyses provide a picture of how the differential expression of G-protein-coupled receptor isoforms can diversify signalling in different tissues.

Rational control of photoluminescence against a change in temperature is important for fundamental research and technological applications. Herein, we report an anomalous temperature dependence of upconversion luminescence in Yb/Ho co-doped Sc2Mo3O12 crystals. By leveraging negative thermal expansion of the crystal lattice, energy transfer between the lanthanide dopants is promoted as the temperature is increased from 303 to 573 K, resulting in an ∼5-fold enhancement of the emission. Meanwhile, the emission profile is also substantially altered due to the concurrent thermal quenching of selective energy states, corresponding to a clear shift in color from green to red. Via correlation of the red-to-green emission intensity ratio of Ho3+ dopant ions with temperature, a ratiometric luminescence thermometer is constructed with a maximum sensitivity of 2.75% K–1 at 543 K. As the Sc2Mo3O12 crystals are thermally stable and nonhygroscopic, our findings highlight a general approach for highly reversible control of upconversion by temperature in ambient air.

A luminescence ferroelectric oxide, Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 (NBN), system with bismuth layer structure introduced by lanthanide ion (Er3+) has been demonstrated to exhibit reversible, high-contrast luminescence modulation (95%) and excellent fatigue resistance based on visible-light-driven photochromism (407 nm or sunlight). The coloration and decoloration process can be effectively read out by dual modes, upconversion and downshifting, and reversibly converted between green and dark gray by alternating visible light or sunlight irradiation and thermal stimulus. The luminescence modulation degree upon photochromic reactions is strongly dependent upon irradiation light wavelength and irradiation time. After undergoing several cycles, there are no significant degradations, showing high reversibility. Considering its high-contrast photoswitchable luminescence feature and intrinsic ferroelectricity of NBN host, NBN-based multifunctional materials can be suggested as a promising candidate for new potentials in photonic storage and optoelectronic multifunctional devices.

Reversible luminescence photoswitching upon photochromic reactions with excellent reproducibility is achieved in a new inorganic luminescence material: Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9: Pr3+ (NBN:Pr) ferroelectric oxides. Upon blue light (452 nm) or sunlight irradiation, the material exhibits a reversible photochromism (PC) performance between dark gray and green color by alternating visible light and thermal stimulus without inducing any structure changes and is accompanied by a red emission at 613 nm. The coloration and decoloration process can be quantitatively evaluated by in situ photoluminescence spectroscopy. Meanwhile, the luminescence emission intensity based on PC reactions is effectively tuned by changing irradiation time and excitation wavelength, and the degree of luminescence modulation has no significant degradation after several periods, showing very excellent reproducibility. On the basis of the luminescence modulation behavior, a double-exponential relaxation model is proposed, and a combined equation is adopted to well describe the luminescence response to light irradiation, being in agreement with the experimental data.

Isobaric labeling quantification by mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful technology for multiplexed large-scale protein profiling, but measurement accuracy in complex mixtures is confounded by the interference from coisolated ions, resulting in ratio compression. Here we report that the ratio compression can be essentially resolved by the combination of pre-MS peptide fractionation, MS2-based interference detection, and post-MS computational interference correction. To recapitulate the complexity of biological samples, we pooled tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeled Escherichia coli peptides at 1:3:10 ratios and added in ∼20-fold more rat peptides as background, followed by the analysis of two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS. Systematic investigation shows that quantitative interference was impacted by LC fractionation depth, MS isolation window, and peptide loading amount. Exhaustive fractionation (320 × 4 h) can nearly eliminate the interference and achieve results comparable to the MS3-based method. Importantly, the interference in MS2 scans can be estimated by the intensity of contaminated y1 product ions, and we thus developed an algorithm to correct reporter ion ratios of tryptic peptides. Our data indicate that intermediate fractionation (40 × 2 h) and y1 ion-based correction allow accurate and deep TMT profiling of more than 10 000 proteins, which represents a straightforward and affordable strategy in isobaric labeling proteomics.

N-terminal acetylation is an abundant modification influencing protein functions. Because ∼80% of mammalian cytosolic proteins are N-terminally acetylated, this modification is potentially an untapped target for chemical control of their functions. Structural studies have revealed that, like lysine acetylation, N-terminal acetylation converts a positively charged amine into a hydrophobic handle that mediates protein interactions; hence, this modification may be a druggable target. We report the development of chemical probes targeting the N-terminal acetylation-dependent interaction between an E2 conjugating enzyme (UBE2M or UBC12) and DCN1 (DCUN1D1), a subunit of a multiprotein E3 ligase for the ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8. The inhibitors are highly selective with respect to other protein acetyl-amide-binding sites, inhibit NEDD8 ligation in vitro and in cells, and suppress anchorage-independent growth of a cell line with DCN1 amplification. Overall, our data demonstrate that N-terminal acetyl-dependent protein interactions are druggable targets and provide insights into targeting multiprotein E2-E3 ligases.

The photoreduction of toxic Cr(VI) to environmental Cr(III) driven by visible-light is highly desired. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as one class of outstanding porous materials, had been utilized for photoreduction of Cr(VI). Current methods modulated the photoreduction of Cr(VI) mainly by selection of suitable metal ions or organic ligands in single component MOFs. However, most of them still exhibit limited photoreduction performance due to low Cr(VI) adsorption rate/capacity, weak light harvesting efficiency, and/or poor electronic utilization efficiency. Multivariate metal-organic frameworks with highly visible-light photosensitive unit and strong Cr(VI) adsorption strut into one single phase is therefore expected to be an effective strategy to improve the photoreduction of Cr(VI), but remains unexplored. Herein, intense visible-light absorption porphyrin unit and strong toxic anions adsorption strut were integrated into one single MOF simultaneously via a sequential mixed-ligand and ionization method, which strongly improve the photoreduction performance of Cr(VI). The synergistic effect of strong adsorption of Cr2O72− and efficient utilization of light endowed H2TCPP⊂(I-)Meim-UiO-66 with highly efficient photoreduction activity toward toxic Cr2O72− under visible light in a rate of 13.3 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min, much higher than the reported MOF-based photocatalysts including typical NH2-UiO-66 (0.2 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min) and NH2-MIL-125 (1.6 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min). As far as we know, this is the best catalyst among all the reported MOF-based photocatalysts for Cr(VI) photoreduction, in which the I- in our imidazolium functionalized MOF acts as sacrificial agent. Based on the results from time-resolved photoluminescence spectra, electron spin resonance, and theoretical calculation etc., a photoreduction mechanism of Cr2O72- over H2TCPP⊂(I-)Meim-UiO-66 was also well proposed. This general and facial strategy, combining the advantages of adsorption and photosensitivity in a multivariate MOF, paves the way to design of higher efficient photocatalytic materials.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐based materials have shown good performance as electrodes in flexible energy storage devices owing to their physical properties, high specific surface area, and excellent electrical conductivity. Here, a novel road is reported for fabricating high‐performance supercapacitors based on 3D rGO electrodes and solid electrolyte multilayers via pressure spray printing and machine coating. These supercapacitors demonstrate high and adjustable volumetric capacitance, excellent flexibility, and stretchability. The results show that this commercial strategy has its essential merits such as low‐cost, inexpensive, and simple fabrication for large area production. These properties are in the favor of fabricating high‐performance supercapacitor to meet the practical energy demands in devices, especially flexible electronic devices. Furthermore, this novel 3D interdigital electrode concept can be widely applied to other energy devices for enhancing performances and to other micro devices for reducing cost.

Near- and off-shore fresh groundwater resources become increasingly important with the social and economic development in coastal areas. Although large scale (hundreds of km) submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to the ocean has been shown to be of the same magnitude order as river discharge, submarine fresh groundwater discharge (SFGD) with magnitude comparable to large river discharge is never reported. Here, we proposed a method coupling mass-balance models of water, salt and radium isotopes based on field data of (223)Ra, (226)Ra and salinity to estimate the SFGD, SGD. By applying the method in Laizhou Bay (a water area of ~6000 km(2)), we showed that the SFGD and SGD are 0.57 ~ 0.88 times and 7.35 ~ 8.57 times the annual Yellow River flux in August 2012, respectively. The estimate of SFGD ranges from 4.12 × 10(7) m(3)/d to 6.36 × 10(7) m(3)/d, while SGD ranges from 5.32 × 10(8) m(3)/d to 6.20 × 10(8) m(3)/d. The proportion of the Yellow River input into Laizhou Bay was less than 14% of the total in August 2012. Our method can be used to estimate SFGD in various coastal waters.

There is increasing evidence that the inputs of nutrients to the Bohai Sea are closely related to submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). In this study, the naturally occurring isotope of radon (222Rn) was used as a tracer to assess SGD in eastern Laizhou Bay. The 222Rn concentration during a tidal period was measured continuously and a mass balance model that included atmospheric loss, tidal effects, mixing loss, diffusion from sediments, and SGD was established. The model budget indicated that 222Rn flux attributed to SGD accounted for 58.3% of the total tracer input to the study area. The time-series of 222Rn revealed that the SGD flux ranged from 6.64 to 7.21 cm d−1, with an average of 6.93 cm d−1, in September 2014. The estimated SGD flux is reasonable compared with those previously estimated in other studies by direct measurement methods, hydrogeological simulation and geochemical tracers. This result, as well as the current understanding of nutrients dissolved in groundwater, confirms the importance of SGD in delivering nutrients to Laizhou Bay and possible impact on marine ecological environment.

Proteogenomics is an emerging approach to improve gene annotation and interpretation of proteomics data. Here we present JUMPg, an integrative proteogenomics pipeline including customized database construction, tag-based database search, peptide-spectrum match filtering, and data visualization. JUMPg creates multiple databases of DNA polymorphisms, mutations, splice junctions, partially trypticity, as well as protein fragments translated from the whole transcriptome in all six frames upon RNA-seq de novo assembly. We use a multistage strategy to search these databases sequentially, in which the performance is optimized by re-searching only unmatched high-quality spectra and reusing amino acid tags generated by the JUMP search engine. The identified peptides/proteins are displayed with gene loci using the UCSC genome browser. Then, the JUMPg program is applied to process a label-free mass spectrometry data set of Alzheimer's disease postmortem brain, uncovering 496 new peptides of amino acid substitutions, alternative splicing, frame shift, and "non-coding gene" translation. The novel protein PNMA6BL specifically expressed in the brain is highlighted. We also tested JUMPg to analyze a stable-isotope labeled data set of multiple myeloma cells, revealing 991 sample-specific peptides that include protein sequences in the immunoglobulin light chain variable region. Thus, the JUMPg program is an effective proteogenomics tool for multiomics data integration.

The conventional CCHP systems often operate at part load and cause power surplus under the operation mode of power following thermal load. In order to improve the energy efficiency of CCHP systems, a novel combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system combined with compressed air energy storage (CAES) was proposed. However, the output power of CAES was probably not high due to the low temperature of high-pressure air at air turbine inlet. In this paper, solar energy was introduced to heat the high-pressure air from air storage cavern. For the further energy utilization of the air turbine exhaust with relatively high temperature, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was proposed to recover the heat carried by air turbine exhaust. To obtain the off-design characteristics of the proposed system, the typical off-design models of gas turbine, compressor and air turbine were built through the performance equations of each component. The sensitivity analysis on S-CAES with ORC system was investigated to evaluate the effects of several key parameters on its performances. The results show that the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of S-CAES with ORC system reach 98.30% and 68.94% respectively, in a whole round trip cycle. A case study of the proposed system in a typical hotel building with 180,000 m2 located in South China concludes that, compared with the conventional CCHP, the energy consumption can be reduced by 124.78 GJ, 33.82 GJ and 62.1 GJ and the average energy efficiency increased by 7.72%, 1.47% and 3.61% in summer, transition season and winter typical days, respectively.

The popular operation mode of following thermal load often causes power surplus and efficiency decrease in CCHP (combined cooling, heating and power) systems at part load. CAES (compressed air energy storage) is thus one of the appropriate technologies to improve CCHP part-load efficiency through peak load shifting. However，the output power of CAES is possibly not high due to low temperature of the compressed air entering air turbine. In view of these problems, this paper proposed a gas turbine based CCHP combined with solar thermal energy and compressed air energy storage (S-CAES). The off-design models of gas turbine based CCHP and S-CAES were built. The merits and flaws of two different control strategies of S-CAES were analyzed. The characteristics of the proposed system indicate that the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency are both higher than those of the CCHP system without S-CAES. The performances of S-CAES are mainly influenced by the designed parameters, load distribution of demand side and the capacity of gas turbine. A case study of the proposed CCHP with S-CAES system in an 180000m2 hotel building located in South China shows that the optimal power capacity of S-CAES comes to 435 kW; and energy efficiency increment gains 1.015% in comparison with a corresponding optimized CCHP system without S-CAES.

The application of nanoparticles (NPs) to soils, as either fertilizers or fungicides (e.g., CuO NPs), has been proposed to improve the sustainability of agriculture. The observed effects could result directly from the NP-plant interactions or indirectly through effects on the soil microbiome. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of CuO NPs on the changes in the bacterial community structure and nitrogen-cycling-associated functions in a high pH soil and to correlate these changes with nitrate accumulation, soil parameter changes, and plant growth over 28 days. Triticum aestivum seedlings were exposed to 50 mg/kg CuO NPs, 50 mg/kg CuSO4, or 0.5 mg/kg CuSO4 in a standard soil (Lufa 2.1 soil, pH adjusted to 7.6). While Cu treatments reduced nitrate accumulation in the bulk soil, the effects were opposite in the rhizosphere (the soil influenced by root exudates). While nitrate accumulation in bulk soil negatively correlated with total Cu concentration, part of the nitrate concentration in the rhizosphere was explained by root uptake during plant growth, the rest being modulated by Cu treatments. The abundance of genes involved in the nitrogen cycle in the rhizosphere soil correlated with the ionic copper concentration. The increased nitrate concentration in the rhizosphere correlated with an increase of the gene abundance related to the nitrogen fixation and a decrease of denitrification gene abundance. Microbial diversity in bulk or rhizosphere soil under the different treatments alone could not explain these variations, while differences in the assemblages of bacteria associated with these functional gene abundances gave good insights. This study highlights the complexity of microbial N-related function in the rhizosphere and the need to characterize the rhizosphere soil, plant growth and root activity, NP (bio)transformations, along with microbial networks, to understand the impact of agrochemicals (here CuO NPs) on soil fertility.

Abstract The rechargeable aqueous metal‐ion battery (RAMB) has attracted considerable attention due to its safety, low costs, and environmental friendliness. Yet the poor‐performance electrode materials lead to a low feasibility of practical application. A hybrid aqueous battery (HAB) built from electrode materials with selective cation channels could increase the electrode applicability and thus enlarge the application of RAMB. Herein, we construct a high‐voltage K–Na HAB based on K 2 FeFe(CN) 6 cathode and carbon‐coated NaTi 2 (PO 4 ) 3 (NTP/C) anode. Due to the unique cation selectivity of both materials and ultrafast ion conduction of NTP/C, the hybrid battery delivers a high capacity of 160 mAh g −1 at a 0.5 C rate. Considerable capacity retention of 94.3 % is also obtained after 1000 cycles at even 60 C rate. Meanwhile, high energy density of 69.6 Wh kg −1 based on the total mass of active electrode materials is obtained, which is comparable and even superior to that of the lead acid, Ni/Cd, and Ni/MH batteries.

Er/Yb co-doped NBN photochromics exhibit excellent luminescence readout capability by using a two-photon absorption mode with extremely low destruction on information recording.

A kind of new photosensitive material, Sm doped K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ (KNN) ceramics, exhibits excellent photochromism and reversible luminescence switching properties.

Ho³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped ZnWO₄phosphors were synthesized using a solid state reaction method. The optical temperature sensing properties of ZnWO₄:0.01Ho³⁺/0.15Yb³⁺phosphors have been discussed by using four-level system and the intensity ratio between the red and green emissions.

This paper proposed a solid oxide fuel cell–gas turbine (SOFC-GT) hybrid system combined with anode and combustor exhaust recirculation loops. The ejector technology is introduced to perform the recirculation loops. And the hybrid system is fueled by a typical farm biogas. Furthermore, the interaction between these two recirculation is discussed. Results show that the anode recycle loop can rise the electrical efficiency of hybrid system and drop the SOFC temperature gradient. Meanwhile, the anode exhaust recirculation is beneficial to avoid the carbon deposition in reformer and prevent the fuel cell thermal crack, and the combustor exhaust recirculation can allow the system safety operated over a wider temperature range. The optimal recirculation ratio of 0.4 and 0.425 are determined in anode and combustor exhaust respectively to obtain the maximum power generation efficiency and ensure the safety operation of SOFC. The design efficiency of described system can reach to 62.21%. In addition, a parametric analysis is carried out to evaluate the coupling effect among multiple working parameters on the performance of SOFC-GT. Results indicated that the reasonable air flow rate, fuel flow rate, fuel utilization and steam to carbon ratio are the necessary prerequisite to safeguard the healthy operation of SOFC-GT.

Cellular heterogeneity in the human brain obscures the identification of robust cellular regulatory networks, which is necessary to understand the function of non-coding elements and the impact of non-coding genetic variation. Here we integrate genome-wide chromosome conformation data from purified neurons and glia with transcriptomic and enhancer profiles, to characterize the gene regulatory landscape of two major cell classes in the human brain. We then leverage cell-type-specific regulatory landscapes to gain insight into the cellular etiology of several brain disorders. We find that Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated epigenetic dysregulation is linked to neurons and oligodendrocytes, whereas genetic risk factors for AD highlighted microglia, suggesting that different cell types may contribute to disease risk, via different mechanisms. Moreover, integration of glutamatergic and GABAergic regulatory maps with genetic risk factors for schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) identifies shared (parvalbumin-expressing interneurons) and distinct cellular etiologies (upper layer neurons for BD, and deeper layer projection neurons for SCZ). Collectively, these findings shed new light on cell-type-specific gene regulatory networks in brain disorders.

Emotion recognition is a hot research in modern intelligent systems. The technique is pervasively used in autonomous vehicles, remote medical service, and human–computer interaction (HCI). Traditional speech emotion recognition algorithms cannot be effectively generalized since both training and testing data are from the same domain, which have the same data distribution. In practice, however, speech data is acquired from different devices and recording environments. Thus, the data may differ significantly in terms of language, emotional types and tags. To solve such problem, in this work, we propose a bimodal fusion algorithm to realize speech emotion recognition, where both facial expression and speech information are optimally fused. We first combine the CNN and RNN to achieve facial emotion recognition. Subsequently, we leverage the MFCC to convert speech signal to images. Therefore, we can leverage the LSTM and CNN to recognize speech emotion. Finally, we utilize the weighted decision fusion method to fuse facial expression and speech signal to achieve speech emotion recognition. Comprehensive experimental results have demonstrated that, compared with the uni-modal emotion recognition, bimodal features-based emotion recognition achieves a better performance.

Abstract Background Cultured epidermal stem cells (Epi-SCs) and skin-derived precursors (SKPs) were capable of reconstituting functional hair follicles after implantation, while the signaling pathways that regulate neogenic hair follicle formation are poorly investigated. In this study, we aimed to understand the interactions between Epi-SCs and SKPs during skin organoid formation and to uncover key signal pathways crucial for de novo hair follicle regeneration. Methods To track their fate after transplantation, Epi-SCs derived from neonatal C57BL/6 mice were labeled with tdTomato, and SKPs were isolated from neonatal C57BL/6/GFP mice. A mixture of Epi-SCs-tdTomato and SKPs-EGFP in Matrigel was observed under two-photon microscope in culture and after implantation into excisional wounds in nude mice, to observe dynamic migrations of the cells during hair follicle morphogenesis. Signaling communications between the two cell populations were examined by RNA-Seq analysis. Potential signaling pathways revealed by the analysis were validated by targeting the pathways using specific inhibitors to observe a functional loss in de novo hair follicle formation. Results Two-photon microscopy analysis indicated that when Epi-SCs and SKPs were mixed in Matrigel and cultured, they underwent dynamic migrations resulting in the formation of a bilayer skin-like structure (skin organoid), where Epi-SCs positioned themselves in the outer layer; when the mixture of Epi-SCs and SKPs was grafted into excisional wounds in nude mice, a bilayer structure resembling the epidermis and the dermis formed at the 5th day, and de novo hair follicles generated subsequently. RNA-Seq analysis of the two cell types after incubation in mixture revealed dramatic alterations in gene transcriptome, where PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in Epi-SCs was significantly upregulated; meanwhile, elevated expressions of several growth factors and cytokine potentially activating PI3K were found in SKPs, suggesting active reciprocal communications between them. In addition, inhibition of PI3K or Akt by specific inhibitors markedly suppressed the hair follicle regeneration mediated by Epi-SCs and SKPs. Conclusions Our data indicate that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway plays a crucial role in de novo hair follicle regeneration, and the finding may suggest potential therapeutic applications in enhancing hair regeneration.

Dual cocatalyst which integrates the merits of metal and metal oxide has been endowed with competitive advantages over noble metals for achieving efficient H2 evolution. In this case, developing spatially separated dual cocatalyst in carbon substrate with more efficient charge extraction and separation would be beneficial for further enhancing the photocatalytic activity. Herein, we utilized ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) Co-based MOF (Co-MOF) nanosheets as specific precursors for preparing carbon matrix encapsulated dual cobalt active species (Co and CoOx) on the surface of CdS for high-efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible-light irradiation. The fundamental roles of 2D-MOF derived carbon matrix towards rational construction of dual cobalt active species have been visualized by combining a series of in-situ and ex-situ temperature-dependent analytic strategies. The carbon matrix as well as co-existed dual cobalt active species bring great improvement on charge carrier transportation and photogenerated electron-hole separation for enhanced photocatalytic activities, and an approximate 12.5-fold enhancement of H2 generation performance from 0.161 mmol h−1 of CdS to 1.997 mmol h−1 of the newly formed CdS-Co-CoOx@C with the apparent quantum efficiency of 43.7 % at 420 nm has been achieved. This work might provide the basic understanding and new opportunities in manipulating MOF structure through pyrolysis to fabricate high efficient cocatalysts for versatile photocatalytic reactions.

Cobalt phosphide (CoPx) has been developed as a cost-effective cocatalyst for photocatalytic H2 evolution with the advantages of excellent conductivity, strong reduction ability, good thermal and chemical stability. In this work, a facile preparation strategy was proposed to fabricate ultrafine CoPx nanoparticles on the surface of CdS. The effective H2 production over ultrafine CoPx nanoparticles has been realized. In addition, we found Ca2+ as an alkaline earth metal ion can promote the interaction between CdS and CoPx. Both experimental results and density function theory indicate that the Ca2+ dopant can act as surface trapping sites on CdS and lead to efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The integration of CoPx and Ca2+ dopant can synergistically enhance both photogenerated electron-hole separation as well as interfacial charge transfer, which enables a remarkable improvement on the H2 generation performance of CdS. The photocatalytic H2 generation rate of Ca-modified CoPx@CdS can reach up to 2441.5 μmol h−1 under optimal conditions with the apparent quantum efficiency as high as 35.4% at 420 nm. This finding motivates the development of simplified fabrication procedures for constructing and modifying cobalt active sites with efficient photocatalytic H2 generation performance.

Capability of energy absorption in sandwich curved high-order beam structures is investigated in this study. The structure is composed of two surrounding piezoelectric layers with a composite core on a viscoelastic foundation. The composite core is made of carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy with 3 different patterns. Equivalent composite material properties are obtained utilizing Halpin-Tsai approach. Moreover, scale effects in this nano-composite is introduced using modified coupled stress theory (MCS) and the governing equations are derived employing Hamilton's principle. Generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) along with Newmark-beta are used as a high performance and suitable method to numerically obtain time response of the system. In addition, artificial neural network is employed to overcome the complexity in formulation and solving differential equations with extremely lower computational costs. Utilization of ANN requires a valid dataset from experimental or numerical analyses. This dataset is collected from the numerical results in this study. The results are validated by comparing outcomes of the vibrational and damping responses of the present structure with results of a published study in this field. Afterwards, a detailed displacement–time analysis is presented for the current structure. In addition, the ANN shows capability of presenting high accuracy results to predict the amplitude, damping and frequency responses of the current structure in new loading and boundary conditions.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn-MnO2 batteries are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems, yet still plagued by the phase transition and structural collapse issues of MnO2 cathodes during cycling. Interlayer intercalation for the layered MnO2 turns out to be a viable alternative and become the mainstream structure design strategy. However, the characteristics of Mn octahedral layers are generally neglected. Herein, for the first time we elucidate apart from interlayer ions, how layer symmetry of birnessites exerts on the electrochemical performance. The Mn(II) ions stabilized hexagonal birnessite exhibits elevated charge storage performance than its monoclinic precursor, attributing to the layer cation vacancies generated after symmetry transformation, interlayer Mn(II) ions and nanosized morphology. A high specific capacity of 279 mAh g−1 at 1 C is achieved, as well as an outstanding long-term cycling stability with 97% retention over 8000 cycles. The reaction mechanism is comprehensively illustrated. This work previews a new gateway for the design of high-performance layered cathode materials by synergistic manipulation of the crystal structure of the layers and the interlayer environment.

Enabling catalysts to be highly active for CO2 activation is a crucial priority in photocatalytic CO2 reduction, but extremely challenging. To achieve this, significant electronic modulations based on the atomic-level knowledge of the operational catalytic site are necessary. Herein, a d-band center tuning strategy is proposed to promote the photocatalytic CO2 activation. In a model system taking Zn2GeO4 as photocatalysts, Mn dopants and oxygen vacancies (Vo) were engineered in Zn2GeO4 nanorods (denoted as Mn-ZGO-Vo) to collectively uplift the d-band centers, induced by the ligand and electron redistribution effects. This leads to a strong interaction between the CO2 molecules and Mn-ZGO-Vo, which weakens the C = O bonds for breaking. Temperature-dependent experiments and theoretical calculations reveal that Mn-ZGO-Vo exhibits a low energy barrier of CO2 photoreduction to CO, thereby significantly accelerating the rate-determining step, *COOH formation. Our optimal Mn-ZGO-Vo catalysts, without cocatalyst and sacrificing reagent, demonstrate a high selectivity of 82.9% for photoreducing CO2 to CO, with a CO yield of up to 40.02 μmol g-1h−1, which is nearly 8 times higher compared to pristine Zn2GeO4. Overall, this work not only demonstrates an effective strategy for promoting photocatalytic CO2 adsorption/activation/reduction, but also enriches the application of the d-band tuning concept in the field of photocatalysis.

The real biological effect is not generated by the total content of heavy metals (HMs), but rather by bioavailable content. A new bioavailability-based ecological risk assessment (BA-based ERA) framework was developed for deriving bioavailability-based soil quality criteria (BA-based SQC) and accurately assessing the ecological risk of soil HMs at a multi-regional scale in this study. Through the random forest (RF) models and BA-based ERA framework, the 217 BA-based SQC for HMs in 31 Chinese provinces were derived and the BA-based ERA was comprehensively assessed. This study found that bioavailable HMs extraction methods (BHEMs) and total HMs content play the predominant role in affecting HMs (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) bioavailability by explaining 27.55-56.11% and 9.20-62.09% of the variation, respectively. The RF model had accurate and stable prediction ability for the bioavailability of soil HMs with the mean R2 and RMSE of 0.83 and 0.43 for the test set, respectively. The results of BA-based ERA showed that bioavailability could avoid the overestimation of ecological risks to some extent after reducing the uncertainty of soil differences. This study confirmed the feasibility of using bioavailability for ERA and will utilised to revise the soil environmental standards based on bioavailability for HMs.

Gas sensing materials of WO3 loaded with 1 wt.% metal oxides were prepared and applied for NH3 and NO detection. The measurement of NH3 and NO sensing properties of the materials revealed that WO3+1 wt.% Mg, WO3+1 wt.% Zn, WO3+1 wt.% Mo and WO3+1 wt.% Re characterized good responses to NH3 and NO. As a whole, these materials have low resistance, high sensitivity and fast response to NH3 and NO compared with pure WO3. The possibility of NH3–NO equivalent point sensor was discussed. It can be used for real time monitoring, and controlling the reduction of NO using NH3.

A new zwitterionic stationary phase based on silica bonded with 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium was synthesized and characterized in this paper. The materials have been confirmed and evaluated by elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Potassium and calcium were separated simultaneously with several common inorganic anions including an iodate, chloride, bromide, nitrate and iodide on the phase. The effects of the concentration, organic solvent and pH of the eluent on the separation of anions were studied. Operated in the anion-exchange mode, this new stationary phase shows considerable promise for the separation of anions. Bases, vitamins and three imidazolium ionic liquids with different alkyl chains are also separated successfully on this column. The stationary phase has multiple retention mechanisms, such as anion-exchange, electrostatic attraction and repulsion interactions, and hydrophobic interaction between the zwitterionic stationary phase and specimens.

A remarkably diverse set of traits maps to a region on mouse distal chromosome 1 (Chr 1) that corresponds to human Chr 1q21-q23. This region is highly enriched in quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control neural and behavioral phenotypes, including motor behavior, escape latency, emotionality, seizure susceptibility (Szs1), and responses to ethanol, caffeine, pentobarbital, and haloperidol. This region also controls the expression of a remarkably large number of genes, including genes that are associated with some of the classical traits that map to distal Chr 1 (e.g., seizure susceptibility). Here, we ask whether this QTL-rich region on Chr 1 (Qrr1) consists of a single master locus or a mixture of linked, but functionally unrelated, QTLs. To answer this question and to evaluate candidate genes, we generated and analyzed several gene expression, haplotype, and sequence datasets. We exploited six complementary mouse crosses, and combed through 18 expression datasets to determine class membership of genes modulated by Qrr1. Qrr1 can be broadly divided into a proximal part (Qrr1p) and a distal part (Qrr1d), each associated with the expression of distinct subsets of genes. Qrr1d controls RNA metabolism and protein synthesis, including the expression of approximately 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Qrr1d contains a tRNA cluster, and this is a functionally pertinent candidate for the tRNA synthetases. Rgs7 and Fmn2 are other strong candidates in Qrr1d. FMN2 protein has pronounced expression in neurons, including in the dendrites, and deletion of Fmn2 had a strong effect on the expression of few genes modulated by Qrr1d. Our analysis revealed a highly complex gene expression regulatory interval in Qrr1, composed of multiple loci modulating the expression of functionally cognate sets of genes.

Er 3+ ‐doped Ca Bi 4 Ti 4 O 15 ( CBT ) bismuth layer structured ferroelectric ceramics were synthesized by the solid state method. Photoluminescence (UC), dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties were systematically studied for the first time. The Er 3+ ‐doped CBT sample showed a bright up‐conversion UC while simultaneously obtaining an increased Curie temperature ( T c ), enhanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. The UC properties of Er 3+ ‐doped CBT were investigated as a function of Er 3+ concentration and incident pump power. A bright green (556 nm) and a weak red (674 nm) emission bands were obtained under excitation (980 nm) at room temperature, which correspond to the transitions from 4 S 3/2, and 4 F 9/2 to 4 I 15/2 , respectively. The dependence of UC emission intensity on pumping power indicated that three‐photon and two‐photon processes are involved in the green and red UC emission, respectively. Studies on dielectric properties indicated that the introduction of Er increased the T c with relatively smaller values of dielectric loss of CBT , thus making this ceramic suitable for sensor applications at higher temperatures. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric measurements showed that the Er 3+ ‐doped ceramics showed an increase in remnant polarization and piezoelectric constant. As a multifunctional material, Er ‐doped CBT ferroelectric oxide showed great potential in sensor, optical‐electro integration, and coupling device applications.

Genetical genomics is a strategy for mapping gene expression variation to expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). We performed a genetical genomics experiment in four functionally distinct but developmentally closely related hematopoietic cell populations isolated from the BXD panel of recombinant inbred mouse strains. This analysis allowed us to analyze eQTL robustness/sensitivity across different cellular differentiation states. Although we identified a large number (365) of "static" eQTLs that were consistently active in all four cell types, we found a much larger number (1,283) of "dynamic" eQTLs showing cell-type-dependence. Of these, 140, 45, 531, and 295 were preferentially active in stem, progenitor, erythroid, and myeloid cells, respectively. A detailed investigation of those dynamic eQTLs showed that in many cases the eQTL specificity was associated with expression changes in the target gene. We found no evidence for target genes that were regulated by distinct eQTLs in different cell types, suggesting that large-scale changes within functional regulatory networks are uncommon. Our results demonstrate that heritable differences in gene expression are highly sensitive to the developmental stage of the cell population under study. Therefore, future genetical genomics studies should aim at studying multiple well-defined and highly purified cell types in order to construct as comprehensive a picture of the changing functional regulatory relationships as possible.

The existence of stagnation points in nested flow systems is relevant to a range of geologic processes. There has been no analytical study on the characteristics and locations of stagnation points in nested flow systems. We derived analytical solutions for hydraulic head and stream function in basins with isotropic and depth‐decaying hydraulic conductivity. The solutions of hydraulic head and stream function are used to identify the positions of stagnation points and discuss the dynamics of groundwater around the stagnation points. Three types of stagnation points are identified by analytical and graphical means. For stagnation points on the basin bottom below the valley, only two regional flow systems converge from opposite directions. For stagnation points on the basin bottom below the regional high, only two regional flow systems part toward opposite directions. In contrast, for stagnation points under counterdirectional local flow systems, flow systems converging from and parting toward opposite directions coexist, and these stagnation points move deeper as the water table configuration becomes more rugged and the decay exponent of hydraulic conductivity increases. Moreover, the dividing streamlines around stagnation points under counterdirectional local flow systems are used to divide the local, intermediate, and regional flow systems accurately, from which the penetration depths of local and intermediate flow systems are precisely determined. A clear understanding of the location of stagnation points is critical for characterizing the pattern of hierarchically nested flow systems and has potential implication in studying solute and mineral concentration distributions in drainage basins.

What proportion of genes with intense and selective expression in specific tissues, cells, or systems are still almost completely uncharacterized with respect to biological function? In what ways do these functionally enigmatic genes differ from well-studied genes? To address these two questions, we devised a computational approach that defines so-called ignoromes. As proof of principle, we extracted and analyzed a large subset of genes with intense and selective expression in brain. We find that publications associated with this set are highly skewed--the top 5% of genes absorb 70% of the relevant literature. In contrast, approximately 20% of genes have essentially no neuroscience literature. Analysis of the ignorome over the past decade demonstrates that it is stubbornly persistent, and the rapid expansion of the neuroscience literature has not had the expected effect on numbers of these genes. Surprisingly, ignorome genes do not differ from well-studied genes in terms of connectivity in coexpression networks. Nor do they differ with respect to numbers of orthologs, paralogs, or protein domains. The major distinguishing characteristic between these sets of genes is date of discovery, early discovery being associated with greater research momentum--a genomic bandwagon effect. Finally we ask to what extent massive genomic, imaging, and phenotype data sets can be used to provide high-throughput functional annotation for an entire ignorome. In a majority of cases we have been able to extract and add significant information for these neglected genes. In several cases--ELMOD1, TMEM88B, and DZANK1--we have exploited sequence polymorphisms, large phenome data sets, and reverse genetic methods to evaluate the function of ignorome genes.

The development of high-resolution liquid chromatography (LC) is essential for improving the sensitivity and throughput of mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. Here we present systematic optimization of a long gradient LC-MS/MS platform to enhance protein identification from a complex mixture. The platform employed an in-house fabricated, reverse-phase long column (100 μm × 150 cm, 5 μm C18 beads) coupled to Q Exactive MS. The column was capable of achieving a peak capacity of ∼700 in a 720 min gradient of 10-45% acetonitrile. The optimal loading level was ∼6 μg of peptides, although the column allowed loading as many as 20 μg. Gas-phase fractionation of peptide ions further increased the number of peptide identification by ∼10%. Moreover, the combination of basic pH LC prefractionation with the long gradient LC-MS/MS platform enabled the identification of 96,127 peptides and 10,544 proteins at 1% protein false discovery rate in a post-mortem brain sample of Alzheimer's disease. Because deep RNA sequencing of the same specimen suggested that ∼16,000 genes were expressed, the current analysis covered more than 60% of the expressed proteome. Further improvement strategies of the LC/LC-MS/MS platform were also discussed.

Pr3+ doped CaBi2Ta2O9 based bismuth layered-structure oxides were synthesized by a simple solid state reaction method. The photoluminescence properties of the samples were investigated by excitation and emission spectra. Photoluminescence excitation spectra show that the samples have broad blue excitation band located at 430–510 nm, which covers the emission wavelength of commercial blue light-emitting diode (LED) chips. Upon the excitation of 450 nm light, a novel red emission centered at 621 nm of Pr doped CaBi2Ta2O9 makes it useful in the white LEDs. In addition, it was also found that the photoluminescence can been improved by partial substituting Sr for Ca. These Pr3+ doped CaBi2Ta2O9 based ferroelectrics could possibly be used as a multifunctional material for a wide range of applications, such as integrated electro-optical devices.

In this work, Chlorella pyrenoidosa was converted into bio-oil via solvolysis liquefaction in sub/supercritical ethanol–water system. The influence of reaction temperature (220–300 °C), retention time (0–120 min), solid/liquid ratio (6.3/75–50.0/75 g/mL) and ethanol content (0–100%) on bio-oil yield and property was investigated. The increase of reaction temperature and retention time both improved the bio-oil yield. The bio-oil yield increased firstly and then decreased when the solid/liquid ratio and ethanol content exceeded 18.8/75 g/mL and 80%, respectively. As the reaction temperature <260 °C and retention time <30 min, a soft and unsticky product was insoluble in dichloromethane (DCM) during the extraction process. The chemical composition of the DCM-insoluble product was analyzed by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry). The change tendency of O/C and H/C atomic ratio of bio-oil indicated that the addition of ethanol contributed to deoxygenation and hydrogen-donating for bio-oil, due to the dehydration and decarboxylation reaction. 1H NMR (hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance) analysis indicated that the main chemical compositions of bio-oil were aliphatic functional groups and heteroatomic functionalities (80.00–83.58%). The addition of ethanol enhanced the transesterification to form more ester. The NER (net energy ratio, the ratio of energy output to energy consumption) of solvolysis liquefaction in ethanol–water system (NER < 1) was less than that of hydrothermal liquefaction in sole water system (NER = 1.29), but the NERs of 20% and 40% ethanol content (NER = 0.91, 0.70 for 20% and 40% ethanol content) were larger than pyrolysis technology (NER = 0.66). The high bio-oil yield, better bio-oil property and high NER were achieved at reaction temperature of 300 °C, with retention time of 60 min, solid/liquid ratio of 18.8/75 g/mL and ethanol content of 40% (bio-oil yield = 39.75%, HHV (higher heating value) = 39.31 MJ/kg and NER = 0.70).

Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped ZnWO4 phosphors were synthesized by a solid state reaction method and their structure, photoluminescence and temperature sensing properties were characterized. The color-tunable upconversion emissions (from green to red) were observed by increasing the doped Er3+/Yb3+ concentration. The temperature sensing properties were studied by using the fluorescence intensity ratio technique in the temperature range of 83-583 K, and high performance was obtained. The maximum sensitivity is found to be 0.0099 K-1 at 583 K. The XRD Rietveld refinement revealed that the phosphors crystallized in monoclinic structure with the space group P2/c (13) at room temperature. The results suggest that the phosphors could be an exceptional choice for next generation luminescence-based temperature sensing devices as well as in multiple biolabels.

High luminescent switching contrast of photochromic materials is extremely important in improving the sensitivity and resolution of optical switches and high-density optical data storage devices. To date, conventional methods, such as tuning absorption and emission bands based on electron or resonance energy transfer mechanisms in well-known organic photochromic molecules or compounds, have routinely been adopted to tune luminescent switching behavior. However, these strategies and mechanisms are not effectively applied to luminescence switching in inorganic materials because their crystal structures differ strongly from those of organic materials. In this paper, we report a new method to significantly tune the luminescent switching contrast by modifying the excitation energy of luminescent centers in a newly synthesized photochromism material: Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15:Re (Re = Sm, Pr, Er). A significant enhancement of luminescence switching contrast was achieved when the luminescent centers were excited by low energy photons at a given irradiation wavelength, intensity, and time, compared with high excitation energy photons. The trend “the lower the excitation energy, the higher the luminescence switching contrast” is universal in different rare earth ion-doped Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15 ferroelectrics. The changes in the luminescent switching contrast based on excitation energy are ascribed to nonradiative energy transfer from the luminescent center to the color center by dipole–dipole interactions according to Dexter theory. This possible utilization of excitation energy at lower energy levels is usually less destructive to both information recording and the recording material itself during luminescent readout processes while achieving higher luminescence switching contrast.

A class of novel, environmental friendly ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized by on-fiber preparation strategy and modified on graphene oxide (GO)-coated stainless steel wire, which was used as a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber for efficient enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalate esters (PAEs). Surface characteristic of the ILs and polymeric-ILs (PILs) fibers with the wave-structure were inspected by scanning electron microscope. The successfully synthesis of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (NTf2(-))-based ILs were also characterized by energy dispersive spectrometer analysis. Through the chromatograms of the proposed two ILs (1-aminoethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (C2NH2MIm(+)Br(-)), C2NH2MIm(+)NTf2(-)) and two PILs (polymeric 1-vinyl-3-hexylimidazolium bromide (poly(VHIm(+)Br(-))), poly(VHIm(+)NTf2(-)))-GO-coated fibers for the extraction of analytes, NTf2(-)-based PIL demonstrated higher extraction capacity for hydrophobic compounds than other as-prepared ILs. Analytical performances of the proposed fibers were investigated under the optimized extraction and desorption conditions coupled with gas chromatography (GC). Compared with the poly(VHIm(+)Br(-))-GO fiber, the poly(VHIm(+)NTf2(-))-GO SPME fiber brought wider linear ranges for analytes with correlation coefficient in the range of 0.9852-0.9989 and lower limits of detection ranging from 0.015-0.025μgL(-1). The obtained results indicated that the newly prepared PILs-GO coating was a feasible, selective and green microextraction medium, which could be suitable for extraction and determination of PAHs and PAEs in potatoes and food-wrap sample, respectively.

ABSTRACT In arid and semi‐arid regions, groundwater availability is one of the controls on vegetation distribution. This groundwater‐dependent distribution of vegetation has been particularly observed in the Hailiutu River catchment, a semi‐arid region in North China. We used remote sensing images of vegetation index (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) and field data of depth to water table (DWT) to assess the response of vegetation distribution on increase of DWT at the regional scale. The frequency distribution curves of NDVI with respect to different DWT were obtained. The statistical distributions of NDVI values at different DWT intervals indicate that higher vegetation coverage and more plant diversity exist at places of shallow groundwater. Both the mean and the standard deviation of NDVI values decrease with the increase of groundwater depth when DWT is less than 10 m. Beyond that depth, a low level of vegetation coverage and diversity is maintained. Comparisons of different sub‐areas within the region with different dominant species showed that the NDVI of shrubs is sensitive to DWT. In contrast, NDVI of herbs is not significantly influenced by DWT. The relationship between NDVI and groundwater depth in farmlands could not be reliably determined because of disturbance by human activities. We conclude that application of this methodology may significantly improve our ability on sustainable management of land and groundwater resources. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The design of multifunctional nanocarriers for the co-delivery of anticancer drugs and genetic agents offers an effective and promising strategy to combat multidrug-resistant cancer. Herein, we developed a simple and facile method to fabricate a drug-self-gated and pH-sensitive mesoporous silica vehicle as a "four-in-one" versatile co-delivery system, which possesses targeted chemo and gene therapy capability against multidrug-resistant cancer. P-gp siRNA molecules were loaded into the channels of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. A chemotherapeutic drug (DOX) was employed as a gatekeeper via a pH-sensitive benzoic-imine covalent bond. Folic acid conjugation onto the surface endowed this system with an excellent tumor-targeting effect, which was demonstrated by the cellular and tumor targeting assay. The effective downregulation of P-gp protein by the co-delivered P-gp siRNA was observed by western blotting. Both the in vitro cell viability study and in vivo tumor inhibition assay showed a synergistic effect in suppressing cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, this drug-self-gated nanosystem exhibited great potential for improved multidrug-resistant cancer treatment without any further potential risks of capping agents.

Hair follicles form during embryonic development and, after birth, undergo recurrent cycling of growth, regression, and relative quiescence. As a functional mini-organ, the hair follicle develops in an environment with dynamic and alternating changes of diverse molecular signals. Over the past decades, genetically engineered mouse models have been used to study hair follicle morphogenesis and significant advances have been made toward the identification of key signaling pathways and the regulatory genes involved. In contrast, much less is understood in signals regulating hair follicle regeneration. Like hair follicle development, hair follicle regeneration probably relies on populations of stem cells that undergo a highly coordinated and stepwise program of differentiation to produce the completed structure. Here, we review recent advances in the understanding of the molecular signals underlying hair follicle morphogenesis and regeneration, with a focus on the initiation of the primary hair follicle structure placode. Knowledge about hair follicle morphogenesis may help develop novel therapeutic strategies to enhance cutaneous regeneration and improve wound healing.

The Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped MgWO₄ phosphor exhibited green UC and DC emission at excited by of 980 nm (a) and 379 nm (b) light, respectively.

Ferroelectric oxides with optical, electrical and mechanical multifunctions have great potential applications in future optoelectronic devices. We examined the Er doped BaBi4Ti4O15 (BBT) layered ferroelectric oxides and demonstrated that a certain amount of Er doped ceramic sample shows a bright up-conversion photoluminescence (UC) while simultaneously obtaining enhanced ferroelectric properties and increased Curie temperature (Tc). The UC properties of doped BBT ceramics were investigated as functions of Er3+ concentration and incident pump power. Green (557 nm) and red (670 nm) emission bands were obtained under 980 nm excitation at room temperature. Studies of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with different temperature indicated that introduction of Er increased the Tc with relatively lower values of dielectric loss of BBT thus making this ceramic suitable for sensor applications at higher temperatures. Meanwhile, Er introduction improved the ceramic’s ferroelectric properties by increasing the remnant polarization making it suitable for effective ferroelectric devices. As a multifunctional material, Er doped BBT showed a great potential to be used in sensor, optical-electrical integration and coupling devices.

When a Si photocathode is used in a photoelectrochemical cell for H2 production, an open nanostructure capable of enhanced light absorption, low surface recombination, and being fully protected by thin protective layer is highly desirable. Here, we explored a highly stable and efficient multi-crystalline (mc) n+p silicon photocathode. A pyramid-like surface nanostructure on mc-Si wafer was fulfilled through a two-step metal-catalyzed chemical etching process, and then a n+p junction photocathode protected by a thin Al2O3 layer was constructed. The photocathode exhibits a high stability of continuous photoelectrochemical H2 production for above 100 h after a thin layer of Al2O3 is coated on its surface, and its energy conversion efficiency can be up to 6.8% after Pt loading, due to the lowered surface light reflection, increased surface area and minority carrier life time on the electrode surface.

How lake systems are maintained and water is balanced in the lake areas in the Badain Jaran Desert (BJD), northeast of China have been debated for about a decade. In this study, continuous 222Rn measurement is used to quantify groundwater discharge into two representative fresh and brine water lakes in the desert using a steady-state mass-balance model. Two empirical equations are used to calculate atmospheric evasion loss crossing the water–air interface of the lakes. Groundwater discharge rates yielded from the radon mass balance model based on the two empirical equations are well correlated and of almost the same values, confirming the validity of the model. The fresh water and brine lakes have a daily averaged groundwater discharge rate of 7.6 ± 1.7 mm d−1 and 6.4 ± 1.8 mm d−1, respectively. The temporal fluctuations of groundwater discharge show similar patterns to those of the lake water level, suggesting that the lakes are recharged from nearby groundwater. Assuming that all the lakes have the same discharge rate as the two studied lakes, total groundwater discharge into all the lakes in the desert is estimated to be 1.59 × 105 m3 d−1. A conceptual model of water balance within a desert lake catchment is proposed to characterize water behaviors within the catchment. This study sheds lights on the water balance in the BJD and is of significance in sustainable regional water resource utilization in such an ecologically fragile area.

An urgent challenge to popularize diamond-wire-sawn single-crystalline silicon (DWS sc-Si) wafers to PV industry is to develop a proper texture process, specially eliminating its severe saw marks and forming uniform pyramid texture. Using a simple pre-polishing step with TMAH plus routine texture process, the saw marks as well as amorphous silicon layer are removed effectively, thus benefiting the formation of a random pyramid structure on DWS sc-Si wafers, and the texturing mechanism beyond was discussed. With new texture surface, DWS sc-Si cells demonstrated similar reflection ~5% and same efficiency level ~19.15% to the traditional multi-wire-slurry-sawn solar cells. The techniques present in this article can be easily scaled up in PV industry.