High piezoelectricity of (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) lead‐free materials benefits from a polymorphic phase transition (PPT) around room temperature, but its temperature sensitivity has been a bottleneck ...impeding their applications. It is found that good thermal stability can be achieved in CaZrO3‐modified KNN lead‐free piezoceramics, in which the normalized strain d
33* almost keeps constant from room temperature up to 140 °C. In situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction experiments combined with permitivity measurements disclose the occurrence of a new phase transformation under an electrical field, which extends the transition range between tetragonal and orthorhombic phases. It is revealed that such an electrically enhanced diffused PPT contributed to the boosted thermal stability of KNN‐based lead‐free piezoceramics with high piezoelectricity. The present approach based on phase engineering should also be effective in endowing other lead‐free piezoelectrics with high piezoelectricity and good temperature stability.
A material concept of electrically enhanced diffused polymorphic phase transition (EED‐PPT) is developed to resolve the long‐standing issue of temperature‐sensitivity in lead‐free (K,Na)NbO3 piezoelectrics. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that EED‐PPT can remarkbaly boost the temperature stability of (K,Na)NbO3, where the normalized strain d33* almost keeps constant from room temperature up to 140 °C.
Background
To reveal detailed histopathological changes, virus distributions, immunologic properties and multi‐omic features caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 in the explanted lungs from the world's first ...successful lung transplantation of a COVID‐19 patient.
Materials and methods
A total of 36 samples were collected from the lungs. Histopathological features and virus distribution were observed by optical microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Immune cells were detected by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Transcriptome and proteome approaches were used to investigate main biological processes involved in COVID‐19‐associated pulmonary fibrosis.
Results
The histopathological changes of the lung tissues were characterized by extensive pulmonary interstitial fibrosis and haemorrhage. Viral particles were observed in the cytoplasm of macrophages. CD3+CD4− T cells, neutrophils, NK cells, γ/δ T cells and monocytes, but not B cells, were abundant in the lungs. Higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines iNOS, IL‐1β and IL‐6 were in the area of mild fibrosis. Multi‐omics analyses revealed a total of 126 out of 20,356 significant different transcription and 114 out of 8,493 protein expression in lung samples with mild and severe fibrosis, most of which were related to fibrosis and inflammation.
Conclusions
Our results provide novel insight that the significant neutrophil/ CD3+CD4− T cell/ macrophage activation leads to cytokine storm and severe fibrosis in the lungs of COVID‐19 patient and may contribute to a better understanding of COVID‐19 pathogenesis.
The hypothalamus regulates innate social interactions, but how hypothalamic neurons transduce sex-related sensory signals emitted by conspecifics to trigger appropriate behaviors remains unclear. ...Here, we addressed this issue by identifying specific hypothalamic neurons required for sensing conspecific male cues relevant to inter-male aggression. By in vivo recording of neuronal activities in behaving mice, we showed that neurons expressing dopamine transporter (DAT+) in the ventral premammillary nucleus (PMv) of the hypothalamus responded to male urine cues in a vomeronasal organ (VNO)-dependent manner in naive males. Retrograde trans-synaptic tracing further revealed a specific group of neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) that convey male-relevant signals from VNO to PMv. Inhibition of PMvDAT+ neurons abolished the preference for male urine cues and reduced inter-male attacks, while activation of these neurons promoted urine marking and aggression. Thus, PMvDAT+ neurons exemplify a hypothalamic node that transforms sex-related chemo-signals into recognition and behaviors.
•PMvDAT+ neurons selectively tune to gonad-intact conspecific male urine cues•v-BNST relay male-relevant chemosensory information from VNO to PMvDAT+ neurons•Inhibition of PMvDAT+ neurons blocks male urine preference and decreases attack•Activation of PMvDAT+ neurons promotes urine marking and aggression
How hypothalamic neurons transduce sex signals emitted by conspecifics to trigger appropriate behavioral outputs remains unclear. Chen et al. identify PMvDAT+ neurons as a key node that extract male-relevant information from the chemosensory pathway, via the v-BNST, to coordinate multiple behavioral responses, including male urine preference, inter-male aggression, and urine marking.
Sex differences in emotional behaviors and affective disorders have been widely noted, of which sexually dimorphic secretion of gonadal steroid hormones such as estrogen is suspected to play a role. ...However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We noted that the expression of estrogen receptor 2 (Esr2, or ERβ), a key mediator of estrogen signaling in the brain, was enriched in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), a region involved in emotion regulation. To investigate whether DRN Esr2 expression confers sex‐specific susceptibility or vulnerability in emotional behaviors, we generated a conditional allele of Esr2 that allowed for site‐specific deletion of Esr2 in the DRN via local injection of Cre‐expressing viruses. DRN‐specific Esr2 deletion mildly increased anxiety behaviors in females, as shown by decreased time spent in the center zone of an open field in knockout females. By contrast, DRN Esr2 deletion had no effects on anxiety levels in males, as demonstrated by knockout males spending comparable time in the center zone of an open field and open arms of an elevated‐plus maze. Furthermore, in the tail suspension test, DRN Esr2 deletion reduced immobility, a depression‐like behavior, in a male‐biased manner. Together, these results reveal sex‐specific functions of DRN Esr2 in regulating emotional behaviors and suggest targeted manipulation of DRN Esr2 signaling as a potential therapeutic strategy to treat sex‐biased affective disorders.
A subset of 5‐HT+ neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) expresses the estrogen receptor 2 (Esr2). Cre‐mediated deletion of Esr2 expression in a newly generated conditional mouse line (Esr2fl/fl) led to sexually dimorphic effects on emotional behaviors in mice, increasing anxiety in females and reducing despair‐like behavior in males.
Soil microbial communities play an essential role in driving multiple functions (i.e., multifunctionality) that are central to the global biogeochemical cycles. Long-term fertilization has been ...reported to reduce the soil microbial diversity, however, the impact of fertilization on multifunctionality and its relationship with soil microbial diversity remains poorly understood. We used amplicon sequencing and high-throughput quantitative-PCR array to characterize the microbial community compositions and 70 functional genes in a long-term experimental field station with multiple inorganic and organic fertilization treatments. Compared with inorganic fertilization, the application of organic fertilizer improved the soil multifunctionality, which positively correlated with the both bacterial and fungal diversity. Random Forest regression analysis indicated that rare microbial taxa (e.g. Cyanobacteria and Glomeromycota) rather than the dominant taxa (e.g. Proteobacteria and Ascomycota) were the major drivers of multifunctionality, suggesting that rare taxa had an over-proportional role in biological processes. Therefore, preserving the diversity of soil microbial communities especially the rare microbial taxa could be crucial to the sustainable provision of ecosystem functions in the future.
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•Inorganic fertilization decreased soil multifunctionality.•Organic fertilization increased microbial diversity and multifunctionality.•Rare microbial taxa had an over-proportional role in multifunctionality.
Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), the most common type of adult‐onset hydrocephalus, is a potentially reversible neuropsychiatric entity characterized by dilated ventricles, cognitive ...deficit, gait apraxia, and urinary incontinence. Despite its relatively typical imaging features and clinical symptoms, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of iNPH remain unclear. In this review, we summarize current pathogenetic conceptions of iNPH and its pathophysiological features that lead to neurological deficits. The common consensus is that ventriculomegaly resulting from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics could initiate a vicious cycle of neurological damages in iNPH. Pathophysiological factors including hypoperfusion, glymphatic impairment, disturbance of metabolism, astrogliosis, neuroinflammation, and blood‐brain barrier disruption jointly cause white matter and gray matter lesions, and eventually lead to various iNPH symptoms. Also, we review the current treatment options and discuss the prospective treatment strategies for iNPH. CSF diversion with ventriculoperitoneal or lumboperitonealshunts remains as the standard therapy, while its complications prompt attempts to refine shunt insertion and develop new therapeutic procedures. Recent progress on advanced biomaterials and improved understanding of pathogenesis offers new avenues to treat iNPH.
In this review, we summarized the pathogenesis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and its pathophysiological features that lead to neurological deficits. We also reviewed the current treatment strategies for iNPH and discussed prospective future therapies.
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•Soil bacterial diversity positively correlated with plant biomass.•Soil bacterial diversity - functions relationship could be abiotic factor dependent.•Functional redundancy may be ...overestimated in the agroecological system.
Soil microbial communities play a central role in driving multiple ecosystem functions and ecological processes that are key to maintaining the plant productivity. However, we lack sound evidence for the linkage between soil microbial diversity and plant productivity, which hinders our ability to predict the consequences of microbial diversity loss for food security under the context of global environmental change. Here, we used the dilution-to-extinction approach to test the consequences of soil microbial diversity loss for the aboveground plant biomass in a glasshouse experiment. Compared with original soils, the bacterial alpha-diversity (Observed operational taxonomic units and Shannon index) significantly decreased in treatments with serially diluted inoculum. Principal coordinates analysis showed that the overall bacterial community compositions (beta-diversity) in original soils were clearly separated from the treatments with serially diluted inoculum. The aboveground biomass of lettuce harvested from the original soils was significantly higher than that from the sterilized soils regardless of the inoculation. The ordinary least squares regression model showed a significant linear relationship between the plant biomass and bacterial alpha-diversity, indicating that reduction in soil microbial diversity could result in a significant decline in the biomass of lettuce. No significant correlation was observed between plant biomass and soil processes including soil basal respiration and denitrification rates. Structural equation models suggested that the effects of soil microbial diversity on the plant biomass were maintained even when simultaneously accounting for other drivers (soil properties and biological processes). Our study provides experimental evidence that soil microbial diversity is important to the maintenance of the plant productivity and suggests that the functional redundancy in soil microbial communities may be overestimated especially in the agroecological system.
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•Protein/humic acid were more efficient in Zn2+ and Cd2+ sorption than polysaccharides.•Noticeable electrostatic interaction occurred for proteins/humic acid adsorption.•Freundlich ...model for Cu2+/Cd2+ sorption while Langmuir for Zn2+ on polysaccharide/HA.•Metals sorption on EPS was exothermic process, especially for humic acid and proteins.
To clarify the adsorption behaviors of typical heavy metals onto sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the adsorption capacities and mechanisms, as well as the contributions of the different EPS components (proteins, humic acids and polysaccharides), to the adsorption of Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ were separately explored. Overall, proteins exhibited a relatively high adsorption capacity for the three metals ions, followed by humic acid, whereas least for polysaccharides. The adsorption of Cu2+ and Cd2+ onto proteins, humic acid and polysaccharides fit well to the Freundlich isotherm, whereas Langmuir model was the best fit for Zn2+ bindings onto polysaccharides/humic acid. The binding of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ onto the three EPS components was exothermically favorable, and significant electrostatic interactions were observed for the heavy metals sorption onto humic acid and proteins. In addition, the effect of metal ions sorption on the spectrum of the proteins, polysaccharides and humic acid was also explored.
A three‐plasmon hybrid, in which core–shell Au@Cu2−xS hybrids are bonded with ultrathin Ti3C2Tx MXene, is prepared for high‐efficiency photothermal conversion and membrane‐based solar water ...evaporation for the first time. The MXene/Au nanorod@Cu2−xS hybrids display excellent photothermal conversion efficiency under irradiation of an 808 laser, causing by the three‐plasmon‐induced synergistic plasmonic absorption and heating effects as well as the multichannel charge transfer between the components. Then, Au nanosphere@Cu2−xS and Au nanorod@Cu2−xS hybrids are mixed and combined with MXene to serve as the membrane material, which shows excellent light absorption ranging from ultraviolet to near‐infrared region. By transferring the membrane materials on a hydrophilic cotton piece, the as‐prepared photothermal membrane displays a high evaporation rate of 2.023 kg m−2 h−1 and light‐to‐heat conversion efficiency of 96.1% under 1‐sun irradiation due to the synergistic photothermal conversion and over 96% of solar light absorption efficiency. Furthermore, a home‐made solar evaporation device enabling automatic inflow of untreated water and outflow of evaporated water is designed based on the principles of liquid pressure and connectors. The seawater desalination and sewage treatment experiments performed on the device and membrane indicate the great potential in solar‐light‐driven water purification and drinkable water generation.
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