A study investigated the chemistry and biology of multicomponent reactions (MCRs) and considers the advantages of MCR flows. Among the advantages of MCRs is their very high bond-forming index.
The occurrence of microplastics in the beach sand of the Bohai Sea was investigated for the first time. The Bohai Sea is the largest Chinese inner sea and its coastal region is one of the most ...densely urbanized and industrialized zones of China. Samples from three costal sites (i.e., Bijianshan, Xingcheng and Dongdaihe) were collected, quantified and identified for microplastic analysis. Effects of sample depth and tourism activity were investigated. Surface samples (2 cm) contained higher microplastic concentrations than deep samples (20 cm). Samples from the bathing beach exhibited higher microplastic concentrations than the non-bathing beach, suggesting the direct contribution of microplastics from tourism activity. Of eight types of microplastics that were found, PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate), LDPE (light density polyethylene) and PS (polystyrene) were the largest in abundances. Moreover, the non-plastic items from samples were analyzed and results revealed that the majority abundance of the observed non-plastics were viscose cellulose fibers. Further studies are required to evaluate the environmental hazards of microplastics, especially as they may “act as a contaminant transporter” to the Bohai Sea ecosystem.
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•Microplastics in bathing beaches and non-bathing beaches of Bohai Sea were quantified and characterized.•The abundance of microplastics was in the range of 102.9–163.3 pieces/kg sand.•Eight chemical types of microplastics were identified.•Effects of sampling depth and tourism activity on microplastic concentration were studied.•Viscose fibers were found to be the dominant non-plastic fibers.
The abundance and chemical composition of microplastics in the beach sand of the Bohai Sea seashore were investigated.
Pemphigus is an autoimmune skin disease. Ectopic lymphoid-like structures (ELSs) were found to be commonly present in the pemphigus lesions, presumably supporting in situ desmoglein (Dsg)-specific ...antibody production. Yet functional phenotypes and the regulators of Lymphoid aggregates in pemphigus lesions remain largely unknown. Herein, we used microarray technology to profile the gene expression in skin lesion infiltrating mononuclear cells (SIMC) from pemphigus patients. On top of that, we compared SIMC dataset to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) dataset to characterize the unique role of SIMC. Functional enrichment results showed that mononuclear cells in skin lesions and peripheral blood both had over-represented IL-17 signaling pathways while neither was characterized by an activation of type I Interferon signaling pathways. Cell-type identification with relative subsets of known RNA transcripts (CIBERSORT) results showed that naïve natural killer cells (NK cells) were significantly more abundant in pemphigus lesions, and their relative abundance positively correlated with B cells abundance. Meanwhile, plasma cells population highly correlated with type 1 macrophages (M1) abundance. In addition, we also identified a lncRNA LINC01588 which might epigenetically regulate T helper 17 cells (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) balance via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway. Here, we provide the first transcriptomic characterization of lesion infiltrating immune cells which illustrates a distinct interplay network between adaptive and innate immune cells. It helps discover new regulators of local immune response, which potentially will provide a novel path forward to further uncover pemphigus pathological mechanisms and develop targeted therapy.
In this study, an intelligent decision support system for education was successfully constructed by integrating data mining techniques, evaluation similarity matrix and novel braided net clustering ...method. Based on the evaluation similarity matrix, this system brings together decision-making members with similar views through clustering analysis. It calculates these categorized groups’ preferences, consistency indexes, and decision values to derive the optimal solution. The research in this paper empirically validates the effectiveness of the intelligent decision support system against the background of actual teaching scenarios and with all students in their classes as the research subjects. The validation results show that in the Powerpoint Practical and PS Practical tests, the average scores of the students in the experimental class reached 87.1 and 86.2, respectively, and this score is significantly higher than that of the control class. In addition, in the Analysis of the four dimensions of pre-course learning behavior (including interest in learning, attitude toward learning, etc.), the mean values of the experimental class (4.46, 3.99, 3.89, 4.18) were also significantly higher than those of the control class (3.2, 2.73, 2.94, 2.89). The application of the Intelligent Decision Support System increased students’ learning interest and effectively improved their performance in both machine and written tests. The main effect of its teaching method is significant with an F-value of 18.029 and a P-value of less than 0.001. The results of this study confirm the practical application of intelligent decision support systems in teaching and learning, and provide a new methodology and perspective for computer-intelligent teaching.
A critical challenge for next-generation lithium-based batteries lies in development of electrolytes that enable thermal safety along with the use of high-energy-density electrodes. We describe ...molecular ionic composite electrolytes based on an aligned liquid crystalline polymer combined with ionic liquids and concentrated Li salt. This high strength (200 MPa) and non-flammable solid electrolyte possesses outstanding Li
conductivity (1 mS cm
at 25 °C) and electrochemical stability (5.6 V versus Li|Li
) while suppressing dendrite growth and exhibiting low interfacial resistance (32 Ω cm
) and overpotentials (≤120 mV at 1 mA cm
) during Li symmetric cell cycling. A heterogeneous salt doping process modifies a locally ordered polymer-ion assembly to incorporate an inter-grain network filled with defective LiFSI and LiBF
nanocrystals, strongly enhancing Li
conduction. This modular material fabrication platform shows promise for safe and high-energy-density energy storage and conversion applications, incorporating the fast transport of ceramic-like conductors with the superior flexibility of polymer electrolytes.
Mariculture activities including enclosure, raft and cage cultures employ a variety of plastic gear such as fishing nets, buoyant material and net cages. The plastic gear poses a potential source of ...microplastics to the coastal environment, but relevant data on the impacts of mariculture are still limited. To this end, a semi-enclosed narrow bay (i.e., Xiangshan Bay, China) with a long-term mariculture history was investigated to assess how mariculture activities affect microplastics in seawater and sediment. The results indicated that mariculture-derived microplastics accounted for approximately 55.7% and 36.8% of the microplastics in seawater and sediment, respectively. The average microplastic abundances of seawater and sediment were 8.9 ± 4.7 (mean ± SD, n = 18) items/m3 seawater and 1739 ± 2153 (n = 18) items/kg sediment, respectively. The types of mariculture-derived microplastics included polyethylene (PE) foam, PE nets, PE film, polypropylene (PP) rope, polystyrene (PS) foam and rubber. PE foam had the highest proportion (38.6%) in the seawater samples. High usage rates and the porous structure of PE foam led to the high abundance. The average microplastic sizes of seawater and sediment are 1.54 ± 1.53 mm and 1.33 ± 1.69 mm, respectively. The spatial variations in the abundance and size of microplastics implied that the mariculture-derived microplastics in Xiangshan Bay were transported along the Bay to the open sea. The results of this study indicate that mariculture activity can be a significant source of microplastics. Further research is required to investigate how the high microplastic abundance in mariculture zone affects marine organisms, especially cultured seafood.
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•The surface seawater of Xiangshan Bay had 8.9 ± 4.7 (n = 18) microplastics per m3 seawater.•The sediments of Xiangshan Bay had 1739 ± 2153 (n = 18) microplastics per kg sediment.•Approximately 55.7% and 36.8% of the seawater and sediment microplastics were from mariculture, respectively.•The porous structure of PE foam led to high fragmentation.•Mariculture-derived microplastics in Xiangshan Bay were transported to the open sea.
Results of this work imply that the long-term intensive mariculture activities have caused a significant microplastic issue for Xiangshan Bay, China.
Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising energy storage solutions with low cost and superior safety, but they suffer from chemical and electrochemical degradations closely related to the ...electrolyte. Here, a new zinc salt design and a drop‐in solution for long cycle‐life aqueous ZIBs are reported. The salt Zn(BBI)2 with a rationally designed anion group, N‐(benzenesulfonyl)benzenesulfonamide (BBI−), has a special amphiphilic molecular structure, which combines the benefits of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups to properly tune the solubility and interfacial condition. This new zinc salt does not contain fluorine and is synthesized via a high‐yield and low‐cost method. It is shown that 1 m Zn(BBI)2 aqueous electrolyte with a widened cathodic stability window effectively stabilizes Zn metal/H2O interface, mitigates chemical and electrochemical degradations, and enables both symmetric and full cells using a zinc‐metal electrode.
A new aqueous Zn salt with an anion group, N‐(benzenesulfonyl)benzenesulfonamide C12H10N(SO2)2−, (BBI−) is designed and synthesized. The 1 m Zn(BBI)2 electrolyte decreases the decomposition activity of H2O molecules, suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction, enables compact and uniform zinc deposition, and improves the cycling and calendar stabilities of aqueous Zn batteries.
•A novel echelon preheating strategy is proposed for all-climate battery.•A novel electro-thermal coupled model has proposed for calculating battery thermal.•The proposed method can get high and ...homogeneous temperature rise rate.•Results show that the proposed strategy has no apparent damage on battery health.
Battery preheating at low temperatures is essential to ensure the efficient operation of electric vehicles in all climate conditions. Alternating current heating is proposed as an effective preheating method to improve the poor performance of lithium-ion batteries operated at low temperatures. To describe the dynamic voltage behavior accurately, the Butler-Volmer equation has been employed, and then a novel electro-thermal coupled model has been proposed for accurately calculating the thermal behavior of a battery. To obtain the optimal preheating performance, the electro-thermal coupled model-based available heating current computational method has been developed to obtain the optimal echelon preheating strategy. This method has the potential to balance the heat generation rate and degradation on battery lifetime. Finally, the proposed echelon heating strategy has been verified by battery cells and battery packs. Results show that the battery cell can be heated from the temperature of −20.3 °C to 10.02 °C by 13.7 min with an average temperature-rise 2.21 °C/min. And the battery pack can be heated from −20.84 °C to 10 °C by 12.4 min with an average temperature-rise is 2.47 °C/min.
ZBP1 is an interferon‐induced cytosolic nucleic acid sensor that facilitates antiviral responses via RIPK3. Although ZBP1‐mediated programmed cell death is widely described, whether and how it ...promotes inflammatory signaling is unclear. Here, we report a ZBP1‐induced inflammatory signaling pathway mediated by K63‐ and M1‐linked ubiquitin chains, which depends on RIPK1 and RIPK3 as scaffolds independently of cell death. In human HT29 cells, ZBP1 associated with RIPK1 and RIPK3 as well as ubiquitin ligases cIAP1 and LUBAC. ZBP1‐induced K63‐ and M1‐linked ubiquitination of RIPK1 and ZBP1 to promote TAK1‐ and IKK‐mediated inflammatory signaling and cytokine production. Inhibition of caspase activity suppressed ZBP1‐induced cell death but enhanced cytokine production in a RIPK1‐ and RIPK3 kinase activity‐dependent manner. Lastly, we provide evidence that ZBP1 signaling contributes to SARS‐CoV‐2‐induced cytokine production. Taken together, we describe a ZBP1‐RIPK3‐RIPK1‐mediated inflammatory signaling pathway relayed by the scaffolding role of RIPKs and regulated by caspases, which may induce inflammation when ZBP1 is activated below the threshold needed to trigger a cell death response.
Synopsis
ZBP1 is a nucleic acid sensor that induces cell death via RIPK3. This study describes a ZBP1‐induced inflammatory signaling pathway that is independent of cell death and is mediated by non‐degradative ubiquitin chains, and RIPK1 and RIPK3 as scaffolds.
ZBP1 stimulates signaling and cytokine production independently of cell death.
ZBP1 signaling relies on the scaffolding functions of RIPK3 and RIPK1, but not their kinase activities.
ZBP1 signaling is mediated by K63‐ and M1‐linked ubiquitin chains generated by cIAPs and LUBAC.
ZBP1 contributes to cytokine production after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.
ZBP1 is a nucleic acid sensor that induces cell death via RIPK3. This study describes a ZBP1‐induced inflammatory signaling pathway that is independent of cell death and is mediated by non‐degradative ubiquitin chains, and RIPK1 and RIPK3 as scaffolds.
Compressible large-eddy simulations are carried out to study the aero-optical distortions caused by Mach 0.5 flat-plate turbulent boundary layers at Reynolds numbers of ${\mathit{Re}}_{\theta } = ...875$, 1770 and 3550, based on momentum thickness. The fluctuations of refractive index are calculated from the density field, and wavefront distortions of an optical beam traversing the boundary layer are computed based on geometric optics. The effects of aperture size, small-scale turbulence, different flow regions and beam elevation angle are examined and the underlying flow physics is analysed. It is found that the level of optical distortion decreases with increasing Reynolds number within the Reynolds-number range considered. The contributions from the viscous sublayer and buffer layer are small, while the wake region plays a dominant role, followed by the logarithmic layer. By low-pass filtering the fluctuating density field, it is shown that small-scale turbulence is optically inactive. Consistent with previous experimental findings, the distortion magnitude is dependent on the propagation direction due to anisotropy of the boundary-layer vortical structures. Density correlations and length scales are analysed to understand the elevation-angle dependence and its relation to turbulence structures. The applicability of Sutton’s linking equation to boundary-layer flows is examined, and excellent agreement between linking equation predictions and directly integrated distortions is obtained when the density length scale is appropriately defined.
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