Dual crack inhibition mechanism of nano-TiC in steel–copper heterostructures formed by laser powder bed fusion

The formation of microcracks at the interface of steel–copper heterostructures is prone to premature failure, which severely limits the application of heterostructure components. Herein, a new approach was proposed by doping nano-TiC in interface forming by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) to prevent the hot crack nucleation and block the solid-state crack propagation in steel–copper heterostructures . Benefitting from the TiC doping, the tensile strength of laminated steel–copper structures increased from 372 to 526 MPa. The findings of this research present a new approach to inhibit cracking in the fabrication of heterostructure component manufacturing using L-PBF. By doping nano-TiC particles into the steel–copper bimetallic interface, Hot crack nucleation and solid-state crack propagation were inhibited, and the crack-free steel–copper heterostructures were successfully prepared using LPBF.</p

LncRNA JPX contributes to Treg/Th17 imbalance in allergic rhinitis <i>via</i> targeting the miR-378g/CCL5 axis

Aim: T-regulatory (Treg)/T-helper (Th) 17 imbalance contributes to the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis (AR). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in the progression of AR. Herein, the effect of lncRNA JP X on Treg/Th17 balance in AR was explored. Methods: CD4+ T cells were isolated from patients with AR and healthy control. The percentage of Treg and Th17 cells were examined by flow cytometry. The levels of JP X, miR-378g, CCL5, T GF-β, and IL-17A were tested using qRT-P CR. The protein expression of Foxp3 and RORγt was measured by western blot. Results: The data showed that an imbalance of Treg/Th17 was associated with AR. Upregulation of JP X was found in AR, and knockdown of which improved the imbalance of Treg/Th17. Furthermore, JP X functioned as a sponge of miR-378g to upregulate CCL5. Inhibition of miR-378g reversed the effects on Treg/Th17 induced by silencing of JP X. Moreover, overexpression of CCL5 reversed miR-378g-induced effects. Conclusion: In conclusion, depletion of JP X promoted Treg/Th17 balance in AR via regulating the miR-378g/CCL5 axis. The findings provided a novel therapeutic insight for AR.</p

A conserved oxalyl-coenzyme A decarboxylase in oxalate catabolism

The ability to biosynthesize oxalic acid can provide beneficial functions to plants; however, uncontrolled or prolonged exposure to this strong organic acid results in multiple physiological problems. Such problems include a disruption of membrane integrity, mitochondrial function, metal chelation, and free radical formation. Recent work suggests that a CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism plays a critical role in regulating tissue oxalate concentrations in plants. Although this CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism is important, large gaps in our knowledge of the enzymes catalyzing each step remain. Evidence that an oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase (OXC) catalyzes the second step in this pathway, accelerating the conversion of oxalyl-CoA to formyl-CoA, has been reported. Induction studies revealed that OXC gene expression was upregulated in response to an exogenous oxalate supply. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that OXCs are conserved across plant species. Evolutionarily the plant OXCs can be separated into dicot and monocot classes. Multiple sequence alignments and molecular modeling suggest that OXCs have similar functionality with three conserved domains, the N-terminal PYR domain, the middle R domain, and the C-terminal PP domain. Further study of this CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate degradation would benefit efforts to develop new strategies to improve the nutrition quality of crops.</p

Supramolecular Construction of Biohybrid Nanozymes Based on the Molecular Chaperone GroEL as a Promiscuous Scaffold

The study of enzymatic reactions in a confined space can provide valuable insight into the natural selection of nanocompartments for biocatalytic processes. Design of nanozyme capsules with the barrel-shaped protein cage of GroEL has been proposed as a promising means to constrain chemical reactions in a spatiotemporally controllable manner. Herein, we further demonstrate with hemin that the open GroEL cavity can provide a favorable microenvironment for shielding hydrophobic catalytically active species. Meanwhile, it is shown that the GroEL-caged hemin nanozyme not only has a significantly higher catalytic activity than merely dispersed hemin but also exhibits substrate specificity in the model oxidation reactions, which is a merit lacking in natural hemoproteins. To understand the underlying mechanism behind this supramolecular assembly, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the detailed interactions of hemin with the protein cage. This revealed the most likely binding mode and preferred binding residues in the paired hydrophobic α-helices lining the GroEL cavity which are genetically encoded for substrate capture. Finally, we demonstrate that the hemin-GroEL nanozyme has great potential in label-free fluorometric molecular detection when combined with suitable substrates such as homovanillic acid. We believe that our strategy is an advantageous tool for studying confined biocatalytic kinetics as simple mimics of protein-based organelles found in nature and for designing diverse nanozymes or bio-nanoreactors with the promiscuous GroEL binding cavity

Additional file 1 of A new approach to enter Retzius space in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal bilateral inguinal hernia repair

Additional file 1: The raw data

Rational Design of a Novel Core–Shell Cu-ZSM-5@Ru/S‑1 Tandem Catalyst for the Catalytic Combustion of Dichloromethane

To achieve a well synergistic effect between dissociative adsorption and deep oxidation during the dichloromethane (DCM) catalytic combustion process, a novel tandem catalyst, Cu-ZSM-5@Ru/S-1, was developed by rationally designing the catalyst structure. Activity experiments revealed that the Cu-ZSM-5@Ru/S-1 catalyst achieved a DCM conversion and mineralization rate of over 90% under a 5% H2O atmosphere at 290 °C with a low Ru loading of 0.2 wt %. The mineralization rate of the Cu-ZSM-5@Ru/S-1 was approximately 78% higher than that of the Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst, and the activity was approximately 55% higher than that of the Ru/HZSM-5 catalyst. Furthermore, the in situ characterizations and simulation results indicated that the DCM catalytic reaction followed a tandem reaction mechanism. The initial dissociative adsorption and conversion of DCM primarily occurred in internal Cu-ZSM-5 active sites, and the deep oxidation of the intermediates was subsequently achieved on the Ru/S-1 shell. The two steps mentioned above acted synergistically to enhance both DCM dechlorination and deep oxidation. In addition, the PCDD/F emission of Cu-ZSM-5@Ru/S-1 catalyst at 350 and 400 °C met the national standard for municipal solid waste incineration (0.1 ng I-TEQ Nm–3). Overall, this study provides new strategies for developing highly active and cost-effective catalysts for CVOC catalytic combustion

Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Intramolecular C–H Amination Leading to Imidazobenzimidazole Derivatives

A highly efficient copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidative intramolecular C–H amination has been developed using substituted 2-(1<i>H</i>-imidazol-1-yl)-<i>N</i>-alkylbenzenamines as the starting materials, and the corresponding imidazobenzimidazole derivatives were obtained in excellent yields. This is an economical and practical method for the construction of <i>N</i>-heterocycles

Model Liposomes Seed the Concentrated Nucleation and Anisotropic Coalescence of CaCO₃ Droplets

Heterogeneous mineral nucleation is a key step in many geological, biological, and industrial processes, where the roles of recently proposed precursors including prenucleation clusters and dense liquid phases remain a matter of debate. Taking inspiration from cloud droplet condensation around aerosol particles, we constructed carboxyl-/phosphate-rich biomimetic liposomes to induce CaCO3 formation. We observed nanometer-sized CaCO3 clusters at the onset, which are concentrated around liposomes by preformed electrical double layers. They nucleate and grow into liposome-embedded CaCO3 droplets through cluster aggregation with significant participation of curved lipid membranes. It is further seen that the coalescence of CaCO3 droplets with liposomal nuclei is kinetically arrested, which later solidify into nanosphere aggregates or anisotropic nanorods. In combination, our results show a liposome-mediated transition of CaCO3 from a cluster to a liquid and then to supracolloidal assemblies. A similar heterogeneous process may also be active in natural mineralization

Modeling and Optimization of a Large-Scale Ethylene Plant Energy System with Energy Structure Analysis and Management

The energy system of industrial process, particularly in the petrochemical industry, consumes most of the utility cost. In this paper, a superstructure of a large-scale industrial ethylene plant energy system including fuel, steam, electricity and water was studied. In this system, multitype energy is transferred by water, as the working medium, which makes it feasible for the multitype energy to be synthesized according to the heating, cooling, and phase changes of water. The unit models were developed by hybrid modeling method combining thermodynamics and least-square method (LSM). The seasonal energy system optimization based on typical day method was formulated as an mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. Then, an efficient decomposition-based model solving strategy was proposed for solving this difficult problem, in which the fuel, steam, electricity, and water consumption were simultaneously optimized. The optimal operational solution was obtained by the following strategies: (1) regulating the steam flow rate in letdown valves, the condensing steam flow rate extracted from turbines, and selections of power sources for low demand mechanical users synergistically; (2) determining the cooling water temperature to balance the turbine efficiency and the electricity and water consumption; and (3) employing different numbers of cooling towers according to the seasons. The flow rate-related decisions are sensitive to uncertainty in the measurement, while the temperature-related and pressure-related ones are relatively more stable. The results showed that the total energy consumption was reduced by 14.42% in spring–autumn and 13.92% in summer, which were 1.44 and 0.89% better than these using the two-type energy optimization method in literature, respectively. Further energy structure analysis exhibiting consumption proportion of different types of energy showed that part of the fuel consumption was replaced by cheaper steam and electricity to reduce total energy cost. Finally, energy management strategies were formed on the basis of the above results