Designing macroscopic, 3D porous conductive materials with high mechanical strength is of great importance in many fields, including energy storage, catalysis, etc. This study reports a novel ...approach to fabricate polyaniline‐coated 3D carbon x‐aerogels, a special type of aerogels with mechanically strong, highly cross‐linked structure that allows the originally brittle aerogels machinable. This approach is accomplished by introducing a small amount of graphene into the sol–gel process of resorcinol and formaldehyde, followed by physical activation and subsequent cross‐linking with polyaniline via electropolymerization. The resulting x‐aerogels are not only porous and conductive, but also mechanically robust with high compressibility and fast recovery. The strong combination of these properties makes the x‐aerogels promising for high performance supercapacitors that are designed to provide additional functionality for wearable and portable electronics. Such multi‐functionality leads to a significant increase in electrochemical performance, in particular high volumetric capacitance, which results from the more densely packed electroactive structure in three dimensions. More importantly, monoliths of carbon x‐aerogels are machinable into thin slices without losing their properties, thus enabling effective integration into devices with different sizes and shapes.
Strong, machinable carbon aerogels are reported, developed to be not only porous and conductive, but also mechanically robust with high compressibility and fast recovery. The synergistic combination of these properties makes the aerogels promising for high performance supercapacitors that are designed to provide additional functionality for wearable and portable electronics.
With the increasing contradiction between water demand and supply in a telecoupled society where nature and human interplay intensively over distance, virtual water trade (VWT) plays an indispensable ...role in global water use sustainability. There has been little quantitative analysis of global water use sustainability depicting both overall system characteristics and flows between subsystems. In such a context, the extent to which virtual water transfer deviates from possible ideal expectations (i.e., virtual water flows from water-abundant regions to water-scarce ones), and its impact on global water use sustainability, are not well evaluated. Therefore, the global VWT vulnerability framework is proposed to delineate the gap between the real VWT and the possible optimal scenario, providing potential space for future optimization and regulation. Represented by the ratio of weighted total virtual water volume to the original one, the vulnerability is assessed from 2005 to 2015 based on the Eora input-output database and Virtual Water Transfer Multiplier which assigns differentiated weights to per unit volume of virtual water transfer based on the water stress levels of importers and those of exporters. Results show that the global VWT vulnerability has increased by 18.9% during the study period, with Africa and Southern and Central Asia making the biggest contribution. Developed countries contributed around 80% of the increased global VWT vulnerability. However, the proportion has fallen a bit, in terms of the conventional view of developed countries taking the approach of transferring responsibility to developing countries. Instead, the proportions of transferring responsibility between developing countries have rose by 10% to 30% during 2005–2015, partially due to stronger trade ties among developing countries. Our findings support policy decisions on tracing environmental responsibility for water scarcity and call for action to prevent water ecological downsides due to international trade.
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•Vulnerability of global virtual water trade is proposed to assess sustainability.•Overall system features and interactions between subsystems are both quantified.•National and regional contribution to global VWT vulnerability is evaluated.•Shared responsibility for national contribution to global VWT vulnerability is tracked.•Shifting responsibility from developed to developing countries is common but weakened.
The common knowledge is that Pt and Pt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) less than 2 nm are not desirable for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, whether the same trend is expected in Pt-based ...nanowires (NWs) and nanoplates remains questionable because there is no scalable approach to make such Pt nanostructures. We report a general approach for preparing subnanometer Pt alloy NWs with a diameter of only 4 to 5 atomic layer thickness, ranging from monometallic Pt NWs to bimetallic PtNi and PtCo NWs and to trimetallic PtNiCo NWs. In a sharp contrast to Pt alloy NPs, the subnanometer Pt alloy NWs demonstrate exceptional mass and specific activities of 4.20 A/mg and 5.11 mA/cm
at 0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively, 32.3 and 26.9 times higher than those of the commercial Pt/C. Density functional theory simulations reveal that the enhanced ORR activities are attributed to the catalytically active sites on high-density (111) facets in the subnanometer Pt alloy NWs. They are also very stable under the ORR condition with negligible activity decay over the course of 30,000 cycles. Our work presents a new approach to maximize Pt catalytic efficiency with atomic level utilization for efficient heterogeneous catalysis and beyond.
Goji berry, as a kind of typical and special agricultural material, has high water content, high sugar content, thin epidermis with waxy covering, and dense fleshy cell structure, which makes the ...drying process more complex than the dehydration of other bio-materials. To obtain high drying efficiency and the high quality products, most researchers have paid much attention on the different kinds of pretreatment and drying technology. This study aimed to examine all the corresponding published data in the literature and to compare the drying characteristics and quality of wolfberry dried by conventional and advanced wolfberry drying methods as well as different drying parameters. We conclude that heat pump drying with simultaneous control of temperature and humidity could replace traditional hot air drying in commercial production to increase the drying efficiency and quality of wolfberry. Infrared drying and microwave drying can be combined with other drying methods to improve drying efficiency; freeze drying, pulsed vacuum drying and electro-hydrodynamic drying are conducive to maintain the appearance and nutrients as well as higher rehydration ratio because of more porous microstructure compared with hot air drying. In addition, this study gives some suggestions and new horizons for directed wolfberry drying development both on the research and application in the future.
The gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila has been increasingly recognized for its therapeutic potential in treating metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, and ...metabolicdysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). However, its underlying mechanism involved in its well-known metabolic actions needs further evaluation. The present study explored the therapeutic effect and mechanism of A. muciniphila in intervening MAFLD by using a high-fat and high-cholesterol (HFC) diet induced obese mice model. Mice treated with A. muciniphila efficiently reversed MAFLD in the liver, such as hepatic steatosis, inflammatory, and liver injury. These therapeutic effects persisted after long-term drug withdrawal and were slightly weakened in the antibiotics-treated obese mice. A. muciniphila treatment efficiently increased mitochondrial oxidation and bile acid metabolism in the gut-liver axis, ameliorated oxidative stress-induced cell apoptosis in gut, leading to the reshaping of the gut microbiota composition. These metabolic improvements occurred with increased L-aspartate levels in the liver that transported from the gut. The administration of L-aspartate in vitro or in mice displayed the similar beneficial metabolic effects mentioned above and efficiently ameliorated MAFLD. Together, these data indicate that the anti-MAFLD activity of A. muciniphila correlated with lipid oxidation and improved gut-liver interactions through regulating the metabolism of L-aspartate. A. muciniphila could be a potential agent for clinical intervention in MAFLD.
Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM), one of the frequently used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has now attracted rising interests for a possible alternative in the management of diabetes. This ...review is aimed to providing a comprehensive perspective of SM in phytochemical constituents, pharmacological activities against diabetes and its complications, and safety.
A comprehensive search of published literatures was conducted to locate original publications pertaining to SM and diabetes till the end of 2017 using PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, National Science and Technology Library, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Web of Science database. The main inquiry was used for the presence of the following keywords in various combinations in the titles and abstracts: Salvia miltiorrhiza, diabetes, obesity, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and safety. About 200 research papers and reviews were consulted.
SM exhibited anti-diabetic activities by treating macro- and micro-vascular diseases in preclinical experiments and clinical trials through an improvement of redox homeostasis and inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation via the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin, TSP-1/TGF-β1/STAT3, JNK/PI3K/Akt, kinin B2 receptor-Akt-GSK-3β, AMPKβ/PGC-1α/Sirt3, Akt/AMPK, TXNIP/NLRP3, TGF-β1/NF-κB, mineralocorticoid receptor/Na+/K+-ATPase, AGEs/RAGE, Nrf2/Keap1, CaMKKβ/AMPK, AMPK/ACC, IRS-1/PI3K signaling pathways, and modulation of K+-Ca2+ channels, as well as influence of VEGF, NOS, AGEs, PPAR expression and hIAPP aggregation. The antidiabetic effects of this herb may be related to its TCM characters of improving blood circulation and reliving blood stasis. The main ingredients of SM included salvianolic acids and diterpenoid tanshinones, which have been well studied in the diabetic animals. Acute and subacute toxicity studies supported the notion that SM is well tolerated.
SM may offer a new strategy for prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications that stimulates extensive research into identifying potential anti-diabetic compounds and fractions as well as exploring the underlying mechanisms of this herb. Further scientific evidences are still required from well-designed preclinical experiments and clinical trials on its anti-diabetic effects and safety.
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The TNNT1 gene encoding the slow skeletal muscle TnT has been identified as a causative gene for nemaline myopathy. TNNT1 nemaline myopathy is mainly characterized by neonatal-onset muscle weakness, ...pectus carinatum and respiratory insufficiency. Herein, we report on a Chinese girl with TNNT1 nemaline myopathy with mild clinical phenotypes without thoracic deformities or decreased respiratory function. Muscle biopsy showed moderate to marked type 1 fiber atrophy and nemaline rods. Next-generation sequencing identified the compound heterozygous c. 587dupA (p. D196Efs*41) and c. 387+5G>A mutations in the TNNT1 gene according to the transcript NM_003283.4. RNA sequencing revealed complete exon 9 skipping caused by the c. 387+5G>A mutation. Through quantitative PCR, we found that both the truncation c. 587dupA (p. D196Efs*41) and the splicing c. 387+5G>A mutations triggered nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). Western blotting showed the residual amount of the truncated TNNT1 protein by deletion of exon 9, which may ameliorate the disease to some extent.
Abstract A dependable assessment of quality-induced water scarcity (QualWS) is essential for tackling the issue and achieving sustainable development goals. The conventional Emission-based grey water ...footprint (GWF) may over- or under-estimate QualWS, as it solely focuses on local pollutant emissions while disregarding other influential factors, such as water body self-purification capacity, transboundary water flows and the potential under- or over-estimation of water pollution emissions. To address this limitation, we propose the State-based GWF to reflect the quality status of local water resources accurately. The indicator is applied in annual and monthly QualWS assessments at the provincial scale in China. In 2021, 19 provinces were identified as QualWS hotspots, comprising seven moderate and 12 slight hotspots for at least one pollutant. Notably, the State-based assessment revealed eight previously overlooked hotspots undetected by conventional methods. Furthermore, total phosphorus emerged as the most critical water pollutant, followed by total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand. Our assessment presents an innovative perspective for understanding QualWS and establishes a scientific basis for effective aquatic environment management.
Cardiac fibrosis is associated with various cardiovascular diseases and can eventually lead to heart failure. Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has recently been recognized as one of ...the key mechanisms involved in cardiac diseases. However, the potential roles and underlying mechanisms of lncRNAs in cardiac fibrosis have not been explicitly delineated.
Using a combination of
and
studies, we identified a lncRNA NONMMUT022555, which is designated as a pro-fibrotic lncRNA (PFL), and revealed that PFL is up-regulated in the hearts of mice in response to myocardial infarction (MI) as well as in the fibrotic cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). We found that knockdown of PFL by adenoviruses carrying shRNA attenuated cardiac interstitial fibrosis and improved ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) in MI mice. Further study showed that forced expression of PFL promoted proliferation, fibroblast-myofibroblast transition and fibrogenesis in mice CFs by regulating let-7d, whereas silencing PFL mitigated TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast generation and fibrogenesis. More importantly, PFL acted as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of let-7d, as forced expression of PFL reduced the expression and activity of let-7d. Moreover, let-7d levels were decreased in the MI mice and in fibrotic CFs. Inhibition of let-7d resulted in fibrogenesis in CFs, whereas forced expression of let-7d abated fibrogenesis through targeting platelet-activating factor receptor (
). Furthermore, overexpression of let-7d by adenoviruses carrying let-7d precursor impeded cardiac fibrosis and improved cardiac function in MI mice.
Taken together, our study elucidated the role and mechanism of PFL in cardiac fibrosis, indicating the potential role of PFL inhibition as a novel therapy for cardiac fibrosis.
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•This is the first case study to apply metacoupling framework to virtual water trade.•Different coupling types and processes in global virtual water trade were identified.•Intensity ...and linking relations of intra-, peri-, and tele-coupling were quantified.•Scenarios of with-trade, no-trade, only-distant-trade, only-adjacent-trade were set.•Impacts of various types of trade on global water stress pattern were distinguished.
With water scarcity increasingly becoming a growing global risk, it is prevalent to explore water supply-demand interaction within and beyond national borders driven by global virtual water trade and its effects on water sustainability. However, there is little study on system integration of differential environmental impacts of various types of trade. Based on metacoupling framework highlighting human-nature interactions across space- within a place (intracoupling), between adjacent places (pericoupling), and between distant places (telecoupling), this study quantified the linkages and intensities of three kinds of coupling processes during global virtual water trade for the first time. Correspondingly, water stress changes under a set of trade scenarios were evaluated based on the indicator of UN SDG 6.4.2 to distinguish the influence of trade taking place on different spatial scales. Results show that during 2005–2015, local water resources supported 80% of global water consumption. Distant virtual water import was about 5 times in volume as large as adjacent virtual water import, alleviating 99.8% of global average water stress. Virtual water trade reduced water stress in 86% of developed countries and increased that in 71% of developing countries in 2005. Owing to trade, water stress in many countries with poor water resources endowment declined while that of many with relatively good endowment went up from 2005 to 2015. Our findings can help to systematically understand the influence of virtual water trade on water stress change and provide scientific guidance for sustainable water management and regional regulations.
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