Supplemental Material: Hydrological fluctuations in the Tarim Basin, northwest China, over the past millennium

 Figures S1–S9 and chronological data </p

Self-Augmented Reactive Oxygen Species-Responsive Nanoformulation with Efficient Curcumin Delivery for Inhibiting Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Growth and Migration

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains the second most-life-threatening carcinoma to women worldwide. Compared to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, natural compounds, especially curcumin (CUR), have been proven to have therapeutical potential in TNBC treatment. To improve the accumulation of CUR at tumor sites, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive nanocarrier was developed (CUR@Bio/PE-NPs) with CUR entrapment and biotin conjugation, exhibiting a strong affinity for breast cancer cells. CUR@Bio/PE-NPs demonstrated a particle size of 142.9 nm, good stability, and an encapsulation efficiency of 63.67%, while realizing a positive feedback loop of ROS-accelerated CUR release and CUR-induced ROS generation in tumor cells. In vitro studies revealed that CUR@Bio/PE-NPs induced ROS generation effectively and promoted ∼1.30- and 1.36-fold cellular uptake of Nile red@Bio/PE-NPs compared to nontargeted nanoparticles in MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cells, respectively. In addition, CUR@Bio/PE-NPs suppressed their proliferation (IC50, MDA-MB-231:3.277 μg/mL, 4T1:5.259 μg/mL) with increased apoptosis and cell cycle arrest while preventing cell-migration and invasion. Importantly, in a 4T1 tumor xenografted mice model, nanoformulation prolonged curcumin accumulation at tumor sites, modulated the tumor immune microenvironment and prevented tumor growth and lung metastases without significant toxicity. In short, the in vitro and in vivo results suggested CUR@Bio/PE-NPs as a promising strategy for TNBC therapy

DataSheet_1_Inflammatory bowel diseases, interleukin-6 and interleukin-6 receptor subunit alpha in causal association with cerebral cortical structure: a Mendelian randomization analysis.pdf

BackgroundNeurological involvement and psychiatric manifestations have been documented in clinical cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, the presence of a causal relationship remains elusive. The objective of this study is to investigate the modifications occurring in the cerebral cortex as a result of IBD.MethodsA compendium of data extracted from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving a maximum of 133,380 European subjects. A series of Mendelian random analyses were applied to exclude heterogeneity and pleiotropy, ensuring the stability of the results.ResultsNeither IBDs nor inflammatory cytokines (IL-6/IL-6Rα) were found to have a significant causality with surface area (SA) and thickness (TH) at the global level. At the regional functional brain level, Crohn’s disease (CD) significantly decreased the TH of pars orbitalis (β=-0.003mm, Se=0.001mm, pivw =4.85×10-4). IL-6 was observed to reduce the SA of middle temporal (β=-28.575mm2, Se=6.482mm2, pivw=1.04×10-5) and increase the TH of fusiform (β=0.008mm, Se=0.002mm, pivw=8.86×10-5) and pars opercularis (β=0.009mm, Se=0.002mm, pivw=2.34×10-4). Furthermore, a causal relationship between IL-6Rα and an increase in the SA of superior frontal (β=21.132mm2, Se=5.806mm2, pivw=2.73×10-4) and the TH of supramarginal (β=0.003mm, Se=0.0002mm, pivw=7.86×10-37). All results passed sensitivity analysis and no heterogeneity and pleiotropy were detected.ConclusionThe correlation between IBD and changes in cerebral cortical structures implies the existence of a gut-brain axis at the organismal level. It is recommended that clinical patients with IBD prioritize long-term management of inflammation, as changes at the organismal level can lead to functional pathologies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be considered as an additional screening option for IBD.</p

Zero-Emission Cement Plants with Advanced Amine-Based CO₂ Capture

Decarbonization of the cement sector is essentially required to achieve carbon neutrality to combat climate change. Amine-based CO2 capture is a leading and practical technology to deeply remove CO2 from the cement industry, owing to its high retrofittability to existing cement plants and extensive engineering experience in industrial flue gas decarbonization. While research efforts have been made to achieve low-carbon cement with 90% CO2 removal, a net-zero-emission cement plant that will be required for a carbon neutrality society has not yet been investigated. The present study proposed an advanced amine-based CO2 capture system integrated with a cement plant to achieve net-zero CO2 emission by pushing the CO2 capture efficiency to 99.7%. Monoethanomaine (MEA) and piperazine/2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (PZ-AMP) amine systems, which are considered to be the first- and second-generation capture agents, respectively, were detailed investigated to deeply decarbonize the cement plant. Compared to MEA, the advanced PZ-AMP system exhibited excellent energy performance with a regeneration duty of ∼2.6 GJ/tonne CO2 at 99.7% capture, 39% lower than the MEA process. This enabled a low CO2 avoided cost of $72.0/tonne CO2, which was 18process and even 16.2analysis revealed that the zero-emission capture cost of the PZ-AMP system would be further reduced to below$56/tonne CO2 at a $4/GJ steam production cost, indicating its economic competitiveness among various CO2 capture technologies to achieve a zero-emission cement plant

Process Modeling of an Advanced NH₃ Abatement and Recycling Technology in the Ammonia-Based CO₂ Capture Process

An advanced NH₃ abatement and recycling process that makes great use of the waste heat in flue gas was proposed to solve the problems of ammonia slip, NH₃ makeup, and flue gas cooling in the ammonia-based CO₂ capture process. The rigorous rate-based model, RateFrac in Aspen Plus, was thermodynamically and kinetically validated by experimental data from open literature and CSIRO pilot trials at Munmorah Power Station, Australia, respectively. After a thorough sensitivity analysis and process improvement, the NH₃ recycling efficiency reached as high as 99.87%, and the NH₃ exhaust concentration was only 15.4 ppmv. Most importantly, the energy consumption of the NH₃ abatement and recycling system was only 59.34 kJ/kg CO₂ of electricity. The evaluation of mass balance and temperature steady shows that this NH₃ recovery process was technically effective and feasible. This process therefore is a promising prospect toward industrial application