The long noncoding RNA NEAT1 (nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1) nucleates the formation of paraspeckles, which constitute a type of nuclear body with multiple roles in gene expression. Here we ...identify NEAT1 regulators using an endogenous NEAT1 promoter-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter in human cells coupled with genome-wide RNAi screens. The screens unexpectedly yield gene candidates involved in mitochondrial functions as essential regulators of NEAT1 expression and paraspeckle formation. Depletion of mitochondrial proteins and treatment of mitochondrial stressors both lead to aberrant NEAT1 expression via ATF2 as well as altered morphology and numbers of paraspeckles. These changes result in enhanced retention of mRNAs of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins (mito-mRNAs) in paraspeckles. Correspondingly, NEAT1 depletion has profound effects on mitochondrial dynamics and function by altering the sequestration of mito-mRNAs in paraspeckles. Overall, our data provide a rich resource for understanding NEAT1 and paraspeckle regulation, and reveal a cross-regulation between paraspeckles and mitochondria.
N-doped microporous carbon as an exceptional metal-free catalyst from waste biomass (banana peel as representative) was obtained via fast catalysis carbonization, followed by N-doping modification. ...The method achieves a relatively high C conversion efficiency of ∼41.9%. The final carbon materials are doped by N (∼3 at.%) and possess high surface area (∼1097 m2 g−1) and abundant micropores. Compared to commercial Pt/C materials, the as-prepared carbon catalyst exhibits a comparable electrocatalytic activity and much better stability. Furthermore, the metal-free catalyst loaded Zn-air battery possesses higher discharge voltage and power density as compared with that of commercial Pt/C. This novel technique can also be readily applied to produce metal-free carbon catalysts from other typical waste biomass (e.g., orange peel, leaves) as the carbon sources. The method can be developed as a potentially general and effective industrial route to transform waste biomass into high value-added microporous carbon with superior functionalities.
•Nanoporous carbon was synthesized from waste biomass using a universal method.•The sample possesses excellent ORR activity and high stability in alkaline media.•The sample further exhibits good discharge performance for zinc/air batteries.
With the increasing importance of the stock market, it is of great practical significance to accurately describe the systemic risk of the stock market and conduct more accurate early warning research ...on it. However, the existing research on the systemic risk of the stock market lacks multi-dimensional factors, and there is still room for improvement in the forecasting model. Therefore, to further measure the systemic risk profile of the Chinese stock market, establish a risk early warning system suitable for the Chinese stock market, and improve the risk management awareness of investors and regulators. This paper proposes a combination model of EEMD-LSTM, which can describe the complex nonlinear interaction. Firstly, 35 stock market systemic risk indicators are selected from the perspectives of macroeconomic operation, market cross-contagion and the stock market itself to build a comprehensive indicator system that conforms to the reality of China. Furthermore, based on TEI@I complex system methodology, an EEMD-LSTM model is proposed. The EEMD method is adopted to decompose the composite index sequence into intrinsic mode function components (IMF) of different scales and one trend term. Then the LSTM algorithm is used to predicted and model the decomposed sub-sequences. Finally, the forecast result of the composite index is obtained through integration. The empirical results show that the stock market systemic risk index constructed in this paper can effectively identify important risk events within the sample period. In addition, compared with the benchmark model, the EEMD-LSTM model constructed in this paper shows a stronger early warning ability for systemic financial risks in the stock market.
GaTe is an important III–VI semiconductor with direct bandgap; thus, it holds great potential in the field of optoelectronics. Although it is known that GaTe can exist both in monoclinic and ...hexagonal phases, current studies are still exclusively restricted to the monoclinic phase of two dimensional (2D) GaTe owing to the difficulty in the fabrication of 2D hexagonal GaTe. Both monoclinic and hexagonal GaTe are demonstrated in this work, which can be selectively synthesized via a physical vapor deposition method, under precisely controlled growth temperatures. The pristine Raman and non‐linear optical properties of hexagonal GaTe has been systematically explored for the first time; moreover, a novel selected‐area phase transition from hexagonal to monoclinic of GeTe has been achieved via fs‐laser irradiation. This work may pave the way for widely use of 2D GaTe in various fields in future.
2D hexagonal phase GaTe crystals are synthesized for the first time. Growth temperature is the key factor to realize phase selection between monoclinic and hexagonal. Further, controllable phase transition from hexagonal to monoclinic is achieved via fs‐laser irradiation in an arbitrary pattern design.
The selective reductive catalytic deconstruction (RCD) of lignin into phenolic monomers provides the possibility for making the full use of lignocellulose. However, the widespread use of precious ...metal catalysts and the harsh reaction conditions present the challenge of poor industrial utilization in the current research. Herein, we report a metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived copper oxide catalyst (CuO/c-UiO-66), which exhibits superior catalytic properties in the RCD of hardwood lignin and affords high yields (up to 42.8 wt%) of monomeric phenols
via
the C-O bond scission. The mechanistic reactions using lignin model compounds reveal that phenolic compounds with propyl or propanol end chains are selectively produced during the catalytic hydrogenolysis reaction. The enhanced catalytic reactivity is attributed to the synergy of acid and base sites of the catalyst, which facilitates the C-O bond cleavage process. The new insights of this study provide guidance toward the rational design of Cu-based catalysts for RCD of lignin.
The synergistic effects of the fabricated CuO/c-UiO-66 catalyst and hydrogen lead to the efficient scission of C-O bonds of the methoxylated β-
O
-4′ intermediates, transforming hardwood lignins into monophenols.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of coal combustion is coupled with the one-dimensional hydrodynamic model of supercritical steam, and applied in the simulation of the superheater. The ...convective heat exchangers are neglected. Complex tube arrangements can be modeled with the aid of AutoCAD, and therefore the simulation could offer detailed information on heat exchangers. It is found that the outlet steam temperature of the tube is very sensitive to the variation of ash deposit temperature. Therefore it is not reasonable to use decoupled method for predicting the energy flux transported to the steam. The outlet steam temperature of a row of tubes is compared with the running data from the power plant. The simulation result fits well with running data. Nevertheless, one can impose an average steam temperature plus 50 K as the tube outside surface temperature; then calculates the temperature of the ash deposit according to the thermal resistance of ash deposit and energy flux. The result from this “simplified” coupled method is very close to fully coupled method.
In order to meet people’s diverse, complex, and changeable living requirements and aesthetic requirements, it is necessary to rationalize the design of indoor three-dimensional space. The ...optimization of the indoor environmental space layout is affected by the energy consumption and rationality of functional areas, resulting in indoor environmental space The performance of the layout optimization system deteriorates. In order to improve the performance of the indoor environment spatial layout and meet the living needs of more people, this paper proposes an optimal design of a spatial layout based on multi-intelligence decision-making. The research results of the article show that (1) the average confidence and the average recognition time of logo set B are both smaller than those of logo set A, indicating that logo set B is easier to be recognized by users in the same commercial building environment and can be more quickly recognized. In terms of discrimination, the time used to correct the misrecognition of identification set B is shorter than that of identification set A, which means that the different types of identifications in identification set B are easier to distinguish. (2) The spatial positioning algorithm proposed in this paper has good reliability and practicability, high positioning accuracy, and small error for indoor spatial coordinate positioning. Compared with the traditional method, the projection method of this paper has a significantly smaller error, and the maximum error is only 0.272, which makes the indoor space design more rational. (3) Comparing the energy consumption coefficients of the three spatial layout optimization systems, it can be seen that the indoor environmental spatial layout optimization system based on multi-intelligence decision-making has the lowest energy consumption when optimizing the indoor environmental spatial layout, because the system is in the design process. The indoor environment space layout model is designed, which effectively reduces the energy consumption of the indoor environment space layout optimization. When the indoor environment space layout optimization system based on multi-intelligence decision-making is used to optimize the indoor environment space layout, the average optimization accuracy is 98.32%, while the average indoor environment space layout optimization accuracy of the space layout optimization system with curved shading space layout optimization is 42.2% %, the layout optimization of binocular stereo vision space. When optimizing the indoor space layout, the average optimization accuracy is 70.87%.
Autophagy may represent a common cellular response to nanomaterials. In the present study, it was demonstrated that zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZON)-elicited autophagy contributes to tumor cell killing ...by accelerating the intracellular dissolution of ZONs and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In particular, ZONs could promote Atg5-regulated autophagy flux without the impairment of autophagosome-lysosome fusion, which is responsible for ZON-elicited cell death in cancer cells. On the other hand, a further study revealed that a significant free zinc ion release in lysosomal acid compartments and sequential ROS generation in cells treated with ZONs were also associated with tumor cytotoxicity. Intriguingly, the colocalization between FITC-labeled ZONs and autophagic vacuoles indicates that the intracellular fate of ZONs is associated with autophagy. Moreover, the chemical or genetic inhibition of autophagy significantly reduced the level of intracellular zinc ion release and ROS generation separately, demonstrating that ZON-induced autophagy contributed toward cancer cell death by accelerating zinc ion release and sequentially increasing intracellular ROS generation. The modulation of autophagy holds great promise for improving the efficacy of tumor chemotherapy. Herein, ZONs were verified to enhance chemotherapy in both normal and drug-resistant cancer cells
via
synergistic autophagy elicitation. Further, this elicitation resulted in tremendous zinc ion release and ROS generation, which accounted for enhancing the tumor chemotherapy and overcoming drug resistance. No obvious changes in the expression level of P-gp proteins or the amount of doxorubicin uptake induced by ZONs in MCF-7/ADR cells also indicated that the increased zinc ion release and ROS generation
via
synergistic autophagy induction were responsible for overcoming the drug resistance. Finally,
in vivo
experiments involving animal models of 4T1 tumor cells revealed that the antitumor therapeutic effect of a combinatory administration obviously outperformed those of ZONs or free doxorubicin treatment alone at the same dose, which could be attenuated by the autophagy inhibitor wortmannin or ion-chelating agent EDTA. Taken together, our results reveal the mechanism wherein the autophagy induction by ZONs potentiates cancer cell death and a novel biological application for ZONs in adjunct chemotherapy in which autophagy reinforces zinc ion release and ROS generation.
Enhancing tumor chemotherapy and overcoming drug resistance through autophagy-mediated intracellular dissolution of zinc oxide nanoparticles.
This study aims to evaluate protective effects of brief repetitive bilateral arm ischemic preconditioning (BAIPC) on stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic intracranial ...arterial stenosis (IAS).
A total of 68 consecutive cases with symptomatic IAS, diagnosed by imaging, were enrolled in this prospective and randomized study. All patients received standard medical management. Patients in the BAIPC group (n = 38) underwent 5 brief cycles consisting of bilateral upper limb ischemia followed by reperfusion. The BAIPC procedure was performed twice daily over 300 consecutive days. Incidence of recurrent stroke and cerebral perfusion status in BAIPC-treated patients were compared with the untreated control group (n = 30).
In the control group, incidence of recurrent stroke at 90 and 300 days were 23.3% and 26.7%, respectively. In the BAIPC group, incidence of recurrent stroke was reduced to 5% and 7.9% at 90 and 300 days (p < 0.01), respectively. The average time to recovery (modified Rankin Scale score 0-1) was also shortened by BAIPC. Cerebral perfusion status, measured by SPECT and transcranial Doppler sonography, improved remarkably in BAIPC-treated brain than in control (p < 0.01).
This study provides a proof-of-concept that BAIPC may be an effective way to improve cerebral perfusion and reduce recurrent strokes in patients with IAS. Further investigation of this therapeutic approach is warranted as some patients were excluded after randomization.
Symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis (SIAS) is very common in octo- and nonagenarians, especially in the Chinese population, and is likely the most common cause of stroke recurrence worldwide. ...Clinical trials demonstrate that endovascular treatment, such as stenting, may not be suitable for octogenarians with systemic diseases. Hence, less invasive methods for the octogenarian patients are urgently needed. Our previous study (unique identifier: NCT01321749) showed that repetitive bilateral arm ischemic preconditioning (BAIPC) reduced the incidence of stroke recurrence by improving cerebral perfusion (confirmed by single photon emission computed tomography and transcranial Doppler sonography) in patients younger than 80 years of age; however, the safety and effectiveness of BAIPC on stroke prevention in octo- and nonagenarians with SIAS are still unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of BAIPC in reducing stroke recurrence in octo- and nonagenarian patients with SIAS. Fifty-eight patients with SIAS were enrolled in this randomized controlled prospective study for 180 consecutive days. All patients enrolled in the study received standard medical management. Patients in the BAIPC group (
n
= 30) underwent 5 cycles consisting of bilateral arm ischemia followed by reperfusion for 5 min each twice daily. Those in the control group (
n
= 28) underwent sham-BAIPC twice daily. Blood pressure, heart rate, local skin status, plasma myoglobin, and plasma levels of thrombotic and inflammatory markers were documented in both groups before beginning the study and for the first 30 days. Finally, the incidences of stroke recurrence and magnetic resonance imaging during the 180 days of treatment were compared. Compared with the control, BAIPC had no adverse effects on blood pressure, heart rate, local skin integrity, or plasma myoglobin, and did not induce cerebral hemorrhage in the studied cohort. BAIPC reduced plasma high sensitive C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, leukocyte count, and platelet aggregation rate and elevated plasma tissue plasminogen activator (all
p
< 0.01). In 180 days, 2 infarctions and 7 transient ischemic attacks were observed in the BAIPC group compared with 8 infarctions and 11 transient ischemic attacks in the sham BAIPC group (
p
< 0.05). BAIPC may safely inhibit stroke recurrence, protect against brain ischemia, and ameliorate plasma biomarkers of inflammation and coagulation in octo- and nonagenarians with SIAS. A multicenter trial is ongoing.
Clinical Trial Registration:
www.clinicaltrials.gov
, unique identifier: NCT01570231.
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