The blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), a physical barrier between the blood and spinal cord parenchyma, prevents the toxins, blood cells, and pathogens from entering the spinal cord and maintains a ...tightly controlled chemical balance in the spinal environment, which is necessary for proper neural function. A BSCB disruption, however, plays an important role in primary and secondary injury processes related to spinal cord injury (SCI). After SCI, the structure of the BSCB is broken down, which leads directly to leakage of blood components. At the same time, the permeability of the BSCB is also increased. Repairing the disruption of the BSCB could alleviate the SCI pathology. We review the morphology and pathology of the BSCB and progression of therapeutic methods targeting BSCB in SCI.
Simple and practical noble‐metal‐free catalyzed hydrogen production from sustainable resources, such as renewable formic acid, is highly desirable. Herein, the development of an efficient ...photocatalytic hydrogen production from aqueous solution of formic acid using in situ generated Ni/CdS photocatalytic system was described. CdS−Cys (Cys=l‐cysteine) quantum dots (QDs) acting as photocatalyst with Ni(OAc)2 as H2 production catalyst precursor, a 94 % yield was obtained within 5 h under visible light irradiation at 50 °C. The average rate of H2 production reached up to 282 μmol mg−1 h−1 with 99.8 % H2 selectivity. Mechanistic studies indicate cooperation of dynamic quenching and static quenching of CdS−Cys QDs by Ni(OAc)2. Especially, Ni0, generated in the dynamic quenching, accelerated the electron transfer by acting as an electron outlet and enhancing the stability of CdS to slow down the photocorrosion distinctly, delivering efficient H2 production with high selectivity. Our study will inspire exploration of various efficient non‐noble‐metal catalysts for practical H2 production from bio‐based formic acid.
Efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production from an aqueous solution of formic acid was achieved using an in situ generated Ni/CdS photocatalytic system. The dynamic quenching and static quenching of CdS−Cys (Cys=l‐cysteine) quantum dots by Ni(OAc)2 accelerate the electron transfer and enhance the stability of CdS, leading to enhanced activity and selectivity.
The integration of pyrolysis and prepositive anaerobic digestion could be a solution to improve energy recovery from sewage sludge. However, it is not clear whether this integrated pathway always ...outperforms the two single technologies when dealing with different types of sludge. In this study, the integrated pathway is compared with anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis from the points of view of life cycle environmental impacts and energy efficiency. In addition, the effect of the organic content in the feed sludge on the performance of the three pathways is investigated. The results indicated that the environmental impacts of the three pathways are heavily dependent on their energy inputs and outputs. The single pyrolysis pathway exhibited the lowest energy efficiency and the heaviest environmental burden, and only the sludge with volatile solids in total solids (VS/TS) higher than 63% allowed the system generate a net energy output. The integrated pathway had better environmental performance and energy efficiency than single pyrolysis because prepositive anaerobic digestion enhanced the conversion of sludge organic matter to energy. When sludge VS/TS exceeded 61%, the integrated system exported surplus heat. Anaerobic digestion performed the best among the three pathways because it required no energy and material expenditure for thermal drying and pyrolysis. Also, a VS/TS of 52% in the feed sludge corresponded to the balance point for equal energy input and output. Therefore, anaerobic digestion should be the first choice when designing a sewage sludge disposal system. The integrated pathway is an alternative for high organic content sludge because of its high conversion rate of sludge to energy.
•Anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and their integration are compared from two aspects.•Energy flow is the major factor determining their environmental impact.•The integrated system has the highest conversion rate from sludge to energy.•The integrated system is only suitable for high-organic-content sludge.•Sludge organic contents required for net energy output are concluded for the systems.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is among the most prevalent environmental factors that influence human health and disease. Even 1 h of UV irradiation extensively damages the genome. To cope with resulting ...deleterious DNA lesions, cells activate a multitude of DNA damage response pathways, including DNA repair. Strikingly, UV‐induced DNA damage formation and repair are affected by chromatin state. When cells enter S phase with these lesions, a distinct mutation signature is created via error‐prone translesion synthesis. Chronic UV exposure leads to high mutation burden in skin and consequently the development of skin cancer, the most common cancer in the United States. Intriguingly, UV‐induced oxidative stress has opposing effects on carcinogenesis. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of UV‐induced DNA damage responses will be useful for preventing and treating skin cancer with greater precision. Excitingly, recent studies have uncovered substantial depth of novel findings regarding the molecular and cellular consequences of UV irradiation. In this review, we will discuss updated mechanisms of UV‐induced DNA damage responses including the ATR pathway, which maintains genome integrity following UV irradiation. We will also present current strategies for preventing and treating nonmelanoma skin cancer, including ATR pathway inhibition for prevention and photodynamic therapy for treatment.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an extremely prevalent environmental factor that extensively damages the genome. Cells respond to UV‐induced DNA damage by activating multiple biological processes: DNA damage checkpoint for cell cycle arrest, DNA repair that is affected by chromatin state, and DNA damage tolerance that may promote survival with mutations. Chronic UV exposure increases mutation burden, leading to skin cancer development. This process is facilitated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammation and immunosuppression. Recent studies have elucidated precise molecular and cellular consequences of UV irradiation. Targeting UV‐induced DNA damage responses is an effective means to prevent and treat skin cancer.
While the fifth-generation systems are being rolled out across the globe, researchers have turned their attention to the exploration of radical next-generation solutions. At this early evolutionary ...stage, we survey five main research facets of this field, namely Facet 1: next-generation architectures, spectrum, and services; Facet 2: next-generation networking; Facet 3: Internet of Things; Facet 4: wireless positioning and sensing; and Facet 5: applications of deep learning in 6G networks. In this article, we provide a critical appraisal of the literature of promising techniques ranging from the associated architectures, networking, and applications, as well as designs. We portray a plethora of heterogeneous architectures relying on cooperative hybrid networks supported by diverse access and transmission mechanisms. The vulnerabilities of these techniques are also addressed and carefully considered for highlighting the most of promising future research directions. Additionally, we list a rich suite of learning-driven optimization techniques. We conclude by observing the evolutionary paradigm shift that has taken place from pure single-component bandwidth efficiency, power efficiency, or delay optimization toward multi-component designs, as exemplified by the twin-component ultra-reliable low-latency mode of the fifth-generation system. We advocate a further evolutionary step toward multi-component Pareto optimization, which requires the exploration of the entire Pareto front of all optimal solutions, where none of the components of the objective function may be improved without degrading at least one of the other components.
Gastrointestinal microbiota may be involved in
associated gastric cancer development. The aim of this study was to explore the possible microbial mechanisms in gastric carcinogenesis and potential ...dysbiosis arising from
infection.
Deep sequencing of the microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene was used to investigate alterations in paired gastric biopsies and stool samples in 58 subjects with successful and 57 subjects with failed anti-
treatment, relative to 49
negative subjects.
In
positive subjects, richness and Shannon indexes increased significantly (both p<0.001) after successful eradication and showed no difference to those of negative subjects (p=0.493 for richness and p=0.420 for Shannon index). Differential taxa analysis identified 18 significantly altered gastric genera after eradication. The combination of these genera into a Microbial Dysbiosis Index revealed that the dysbiotic microbiota in
positive mucosa was associated with advanced gastric lesions (chronic atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia/dysplasia) and could be reversed by eradication. Strong coexcluding interactions between
and
,
,
,
,
were found only in advanced gastric lesion patients, and were absent in normal/superficial gastritis group. Changes in faecal microbiota included increased
after successful
eradication and more upregulated drug-resistant functional orthologs after failed treatment.
infection contributes significantly to gastric microbial dysbiosis that may be involved in carcinogenesis. Successful
eradication potentially restores gastric microbiota to a similar status as found in uninfected individuals, and shows beneficial effects on gut microbiota.
•The impact of pH on anaerobic fermentation of food waste was investigated thoroughly.•Fermentation types and metabolic pathways were concluded at different pH conditions.•The main product shifted ...from lactic acid to VFAs along with pH increase.•The maximum rate of hydrolysis and acidification occurred at pH 4.5–4.7.
Anaerobic fermentation is widely used to recover different products from food waste, and in this study, the evolution of fermentation products and microbial community along with pH variation was investigated thoroughly using four long-term reactors. Lactic fermentation dominated the system at pH 3.2–4.5 with lactic acid concentration of 5.7–13.5 g/L, and Lactobacillus was the superior sort. Bifidobacteria increased significantly at pH 4.5, resulting in the increase of acetic acid. Butyric acid fermentation was observed at pH 4.7–5.0. Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Olsenella were still dominant, but the lactic acid produced by them was converted to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) rapidly by Megasphaera, Caproiciproducens, Solobacteria, etc. Mixed acid fermentation occurred at pH 6.0 with the highest concentration 14.2 g/L of VFAs, and the dominant Prevotella and Megasphaera converted substrates to VFAs directly. On the whole, pH 4.5 and 4.7 led to the highest hydrolysis rate of 50% and acidification rate of 45%.
A
bstract
We propose simple models with a flavor-dependent global U(1)
ℓ
and a discrete ℤ
2
symmetries to explain the anomalies in the measured anomalous magnetic dipole moments of muon and electron, ...(
g −
2)
μ,e
, while simultaneously accommodating a dark matter candidate. These new symmetries are introduced not only to avoid the dangerous lepton flavor-violating decays of charged leptons, but also to ensure the stability of the dark matter. Our models can realize the opposite-sign contributions to the muon and electron
g −
2 via one-loop diagrams involving new vector-like leptons. Under the vacuum stability and perturbative unitarity bounds as well as the constraints from the dark matter direct searches and related LHC data, we find suitable parameter space to simultaneously explain (
g −
2)
μ,e
and the relic density. In this parameter space, the coupling of the Higgs boson with muons can be enhanced by up to
∼
38% from its Standard Model value, which can be tested in future collider experiments.
Dear Editor,
The recent controversial studies of man-made avian flu viruses caused a media storm, and brought new con-cerns to the potential of an avian influenza H5N1 virus pandemic, which has been ...pending since 1997 1, 2. Although the estimated mortality rate of avian influenza A H5N1 virus infection in humans could be as high as 60%, the World Health Organization （WHO） phase of pandemic alert is currently set at 3, due to that there has not been human-to-human or community-level transmis-sion （http：//www.who.int/influenza/preparedness/pan- demic/h5nlphase/en/index.html）.
The effects of covalent cross-linking of soy protein isolate (SPI-12%) with tannic acid (TA-29,58,88,117,146 μmol/g SPI) in an alkaline environment on the structure, antioxidant activity and gelation ...characteristics of SPI-TA conjugates were found to improve all properties. After alkali treatment, the tryptophan content in the conjugate decreased and the covalent binding rate increased. The addition of TA initiated irreversible SPI modifications, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate−polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. The texture analysis of the gel showed that hardness and elasticity were optimal at pH 11, and the rheological properties of the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) increased with higher TA concentrations. Analysis of the microstructure indicates that an increase in TA concentration results in a more compact network structure. Our results indicate that pH-dependent interactions between SPI and TA modify the formation of the gel in a way that improves the rheology and textural properties of the gels.
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•Hydrogels were formed by soy protein isolate (SPI) and tannic acid (TA).•The covalent cross-linking reaction changed the secondary and tertiary structure of SPI.•Crosslinking with TA further improved the antioxidant capacity of SPI.•Higher pH value induced the covalently reactive of stable hydrogel by SPI and TA.
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