Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology with high efficiency, energy-saving and environmentally friendly, which adsorbs charged ions by polarized electrodes. In this study, the effect ...of the pore size distribution (PSD) on the electrosorption of phosphate was studied by using five carbon electrodes composed of carbon aerogel (CA) and activated carbon (AC) with different pore structures. Based on the PSD, we developed a quantitative prediction model for the adsorption capacity of carbon materials for phosphate. The results show that the adsorption capacity of carbon materials for phosphate is not directly related to typical pore structure indexes, such as specific surface area (SSA), micropore volume, mesoporous volume, and total pore volume. The adsorption capacity of phosphate is highly positively correlated with the pore volume and BETSSA in 1.1–3.5 nm range, which indicates that pores in 1.1–3.5 nm range are the key to achieving a high phosphate adsorption capacity. Pores may be the main sites where phosphate ions are adsorbed in carbon particles. We developed a quantitative prediction model based on the contributions of pores of different sizes to the adsorption capacity, verified by PSD and the adsorption behavior of eight other carbon materials. This study emphasized the importance of PSD to the electrosorption capacity of carbon electrodes. The developed model provides the possibility for accurate prediction of the phosphate removal capacity of carbon materials applied to CDI electrodes and theoretical guidance for the selection of electrode materials.
A raffinate pitch of low-temperature coal tar and abundantly bamboo leaves are usually a waste material. This research proposes a new method for manufacturing an ultralight reticulated carbon foam ...for thermal insulation using a raffinate pitch and abundantly available bamboo leaves. The foam was successfully fabricated by a simple procedure consisting of co-pyrolysis of a raffinate pitch and abundantly available bamboo leaves. The effect of this procedure on the structure and performance of the carbon foams was investigated. The chemical composition of the raffinate pitch can be tailored by changing the concentration of bamboo leaves. The carbon foam containing 10 wt.% of bamboo leaves possessed the lowest density and thermal conductivity. The ultralight reticulated raffinate-pitched carbon foams also exhibited good oxidation resistance at 1000 ℃ in air. The foams had ultralow density, excellent thermal insulation, oxidation resistance, and compress strength compared with other coal tar pitch-based carbon foams. Therefore, these foams can potentially be used as lightweight thermal insulation materials.
•Ultralight reticulated carbon foam was successfully obtained from the raffinate pitch.•Bamboo leaves act as nucleation sites to promote bubble growth in foaming process.•Ultralight reticulated carbon foam demonstrates outstanding oxidation resistance.•Ultralight reticulated carbon foam has suitable compressive strength.
Irinotecan (CPT-11)-induced gastrointestinal toxicity strongly limits its anticancer efficacy.
Fisch., especially flavonoids, has strong anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. Herein, we ...investigate the protective effect of the total flavonoids of
(TFGU) on CPT-11-induced colitis mice from the perspective of gut microbiota and fecal metabolism. The body weight and colon length of mice were measured. Our results showed that oral administration of TFGU significantly attenuated the loss of body weight and the shortening of colon length induced by CPT-11. The elevated disease activity index and histological score of colon as well as the up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the colonic tissue of CPT-11-treated mice were significantly decreased by TFGU. Meanwhile, TFGU restored the perturbed gut microbial structure and function in CPT-11-treated mice to near normal level. TFGU also effectively reversed the CPT-11-induced fecal metabolic disorders in mice, mainly call backing the hypoxanthine and uric acid in purine metabolism. Spearman's correlation analysis further revealed that
abundance negatively correlated with fecal uric acid concentration, suggesting the pivotal role of gut microbiota in CPT-11-induced colitis. Since uric acid is a ligand of the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, TFGU was further validated to inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome by CPT-11. Our findings suggest TFGU can correct the overall gut microbial dysbiosis and fecal metabolic disorders in the CPT-11-induced colitis mice, underscoring the potential of using dietary
as a chemotherapeutic adjuvant.
The decreased antioxidant capacity in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the hallmark of retinal degenerative diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Nevertheless, the exact ...regulatory mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of retinal degenerations remain largely unknown. Here we show in mice that deficiencies in Dapl1, a susceptibility gene for human AMD, impair the antioxidant capacity of the RPE and lead to age-related retinal degeneration in the 18-month-old mice homozygous for a partial deletion of Dapl1. Dapl1-deficiency is associated with a reduction of the RPE's antioxidant capacity, and experimental re-expression of Dapl1 reverses this reduction and protects the retina from oxidative damage. Mechanistically, DAPL1 directly binds the transcription factor E2F4 and inhibits the expression of MYC, leading to upregulation of the transcription factor MITF and its targets NRF2 and PGC1α, both of which regulate the RPE's antioxidant function. When MITF is experimentally overexpressed in the RPE of DAPL1 deficient mice, antioxidation is restored and retinas are protected from degeneration. These findings suggest that the DAPL1-MITF axis functions as a novel regulator of the antioxidant defense system of the RPE and may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of age-related retinal degenerative diseases.
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•DAPL1 deficiency in mice impairs the antioxidant defenses in the RPE and leads to retinal degeneration with AMD-like features.•Overexpression of DAPL1 in the RPE elevates the antioxidant capacity and protects the retina from oxidative damage.•DAPL1 acts as an antioxidant regulator in RPE cells by binding E2F4 to regulate the MYC-MITF-NRF2/PGC1α axis.•Overexpression of MITF in the RPE of Dapl1−/− mice protects retinas from oxidative damage.
Follicular helper T (T
) cells are a specialized subset of CD4
T cells that essentially support germinal center responses where high-affinity and long-lived humoral immunity is generated. The ...regulation of T
cell survival remains unclear. Here we report that T
cells show intensified lipid peroxidation and altered mitochondrial morphology, resembling the features of ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death that is driven by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxidation. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is the major lipid peroxidation scavenger and is necessary for T
cell survival. The deletion of GPX4 in T cells selectively abrogated T
cells and germinal center responses in immunized mice. Selenium supplementation enhanced GPX4 expression in T cells, increased T
cell numbers and promoted antibody responses in immunized mice and young adults after influenza vaccination. Our findings reveal the central role of the selenium-GPX4-ferroptosis axis in regulating T
homeostasis, which can be targeted to enhance T
cell function in infection and following vaccination.
Understanding the complex functions of plant leaves requires a thorough characterization of discrete cell features. Although single-cell gene expression profiling technologies have been developed, ...their application in characterizing cell subtypes has not been achieved yet. Here, we present scStereo-seq (single-cell spatial enhanced resolution omics sequencing) that enabled us to show the bona fide single-cell spatial transcriptome profiles of Arabidopsis leaves. Subtle but significant transcriptomic differences between upper and lower epidermal cells have been successfully distinguished. Furthermore, we discovered cell-type-specific gene expression gradients from the main vein to the leaf edge, which led to the finding of distinct spatial developmental trajectories of vascular cells and guard cells. Our study showcases the importance of physical locations of individual cells for exerting complex biological functions in plants and demonstrates that scStereo-seq is a powerful tool to integrate single-cell location and transcriptome information for plant biology study.
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•Establishing an in situ single-cell spatial transcriptome method in plant•Identification of cell subtypes and subtle transcriptional differences•Cell-type-specific gene expression gradients from the main vein to the leaf edge•scStereo-seq enables the construction of spatially resolved developmental trajectories
Xia et al. establish the single-cell spatial transcriptome technique (scStereo-seq) in Arabidopsis leaves and discover subtle but significant transcriptional differences between cell subtypes, demonstrating that scStereo-seq is a powerful tool to integrate single-cell location and transcriptome information for plant biology study.
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•A new integrated photocatalysis and adsorption process is proposed for OPs removal.•biochar-supported α-Fe2O3/MgO composite is deliberately developed for use in the process.•Biochar ...in BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO promotes the separation of photogenerated e−-h+ pairs.
Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most promising techniques for degrading organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) from wastewater given its low-cost and environmental benignity. Yet, photocatalytic degradation of OPs is an incomplete process, since PO43− is produced after photocatalysis. Here, biochar-supported α-Fe2O3/MgO composite (BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO) is developed for sequential photocatalytic degradation of OPs and recovery of the produced PO43−. The degradation efficiency of N-phosphonomethyl iminodiacetic acid (NPA) by BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO based photocatalysis reaches 90.1% within 80 min, and the recovery ratio of the produced PO43− by BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO is as high as 82.3%. Besides, the as-prepared BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO used in this integrated photocatalysis and adsorption process maintain a high stability towards NPA degradation and PO43− recovery during five cycling experiments. The mechanistic study reveals that holes, •OH, and •O2– radicals generated in the photocatalytic process are responsible for NPA degradation. UV light can activate persistent free radicals on BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO surface, which provide O2 withelectrons for the generation of •O2– and subsequent yield of •OH. Moreover, the presence of α-Fe2O3 and MgO on the surface of biochar leads to the excellent P adsorption performance of BC-α-Fe2O3/MgO. This study opens new possibilities for the recovery of P resource from organophosphorus polluted wastewater.
Although the gut microbiota has been reported to influence osteoporosis risk, the individual species involved, and underlying mechanisms, remain largely unknown. We performed integrative analyses in ...a Chinese cohort of peri-/post-menopausal women with metagenomics/targeted metabolomics/whole-genome sequencing to identify novel microbiome-related biomarkers for bone health. Bacteroides vulgatus was found to be negatively associated with bone mineral density (BMD), which was validated in US white people. Serum valeric acid (VA), a microbiota derived metabolite, was positively associated with BMD and causally downregulated by B. vulgatus. Ovariectomized mice fed B. vulgatus demonstrated increased bone resorption and poorer bone micro-structure, while those fed VA demonstrated reduced bone resorption and better bone micro-structure. VA suppressed RELA protein production (pro-inflammatory), and enhanced IL10 mRNA expression (anti-inflammatory), leading to suppressed maturation of osteoclast-like cells and enhanced maturation of osteoblasts in vitro. The findings suggest that B. vulgatus and VA may represent promising targets for osteoporosis prevention/treatment.
Danggui buxue Decoction (DBD) has been frequently used to treat with blood deficiency, which consisted of Danggui (DG) and Huangqi (HQ) at a ratio of 1:5. Accumulating evidence showed that blood ...deficiency in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was similar to anemia in modern medicine.
The purpose of this study was to explore its therapeutic mechanism of with network pharmacology approach.
We explored the chemical compounds of DBD and used compound ADME screening to identify the potential compounds. Targets for the therapeutic actions of DBD were obtained from the PharmMapper, Swiss, SEA and STITCH. GO analysis and pathway enrichment analysis was performed using the DAVID webserver. Cytoscape was used to visualize the compound-target-pathway network for DBD. The pharmacodynamics and crucial targets were also validated.
Thirty-six potential active components in DBD and 49 targets which the active components acted on were identified. 47 KEGG pathways which DBD acted on were also come to light. And then, according to KEGG pathway annotation analysis, only 16 pathways seemed to be related to the blood nourishing effect of DBD, such as PI3K-AKT pathway, and so on. Only 32 targets participated in these 16 pathways and they were acted on by 29 of the 36 active compounds. Whole pharmacodynamic experiments showed that DBD had significant effects to blood loss rats. Furthermore, DBD could promote the up-regulation of hematopoietic and immune related targets and the down-regulation of inflammatory related targets. Significantly, with the results of effective rate, molecular docking and experimental validation, we predicted astragaloside IV in HQ, senkyunolide A and senkyunolide K in DG might be the major contributing compounds to DBD’s blood enriching effect.
In this study, a systematical network pharmacology approach was built. Our results provided a basis for the future study of senkyunolide A and senkyunolide K as the blood enriching compounds in DBD. Furthermore, combined network pharmacology with validation experimental results, the nourishing blood effect of DBD might be manifested by the dual mechanism of enhancing immunity and promoting hematopoiesis.
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This paper investigates the impact of interest rate liberalization on corporate green investment by taking the cancellation of the lower limit of the loan interest rate of financial institutions by ...the People's Bank of China in July 2013 as an exogenous quasi-natural experiment. We find that the interest rate liberalization will boost corporate green investment. Specifically, for every one standard deviation increase in interest rate liberalization, the enterprise green investment intensity increases by 9.6% of the sample standard deviation on average. Moreover, underlying mechanisms show that interest rate liberalization reform can improve corporate green investment by easing financing constraints, improving market competition, and reducing business risks. In addition, the impacts are more profound on enterprises facing higher environmental supervision intensity, lower attention of capital market, higher degree of regional marketization, and lower degree of financialization. Extended analysis show that interest rate liberalization will further promote the substantive innovation of green technology and improve environmental performance after enhancing the green investment of enterprises. This study contributes to playing the role of financial services in the green transformation of the economy.
•Interest rate liberalization (IRI) will boost corporate green investment.•Financing constraints, Market competition and business risks are main channels.•The effects show significant heterogeneity in term of various firms.•IRI improve the green technology innovation and environmental performance.
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