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Spicules are rapidly evolving fine-scale jets of magnetized plasma in the solar chromosphere. It remains unclear how these prevalent jets originate from the solar surface and what role they play in heating the solar atmosphere. Using the Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, we observed spicules emerging within minutes of the appearance of opposite-polarity magnetic flux around dominant-polarity magnetic field concentrations. Data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory showed subsequent heating of the adjacent corona. The dynamic interaction of magnetic fields (likely due to magnetic reconnection) in the partially ionized lower solar atmosphere appears to generate these spicules and heat the upper solar atmosphere.

Heavy metals are inorganic pollutants which pose a serious threat to human and environmental safety, and their effective removal is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a novel group of crystalline porous materials, which have proven to be promising adsorbents because of their extremely high surface areas, optimizable pore volumes and pore size distributions. This study is a systematic review of the recent research on the removal of several major heavy metal ions by MOFs. Based on the different structures of MOFs, varying adsorption capacity can be achieved, ranging from tens to thousands of milligrams per gram. Many MOFs have shown a high selectivity for their target metal ions. The corresponding mechanisms involved in capturing metal ions are outlined and finally, the challenges and prospects for their practical application are discussed.

Magnetoseismology, a technique of magnetic field diagnostics based on observations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, has been widely used to estimate the field strengths of oscillating structures in the solar corona. However, previously magnetoseismology was mostly applied to occasionally occurring oscillation events, providing an estimate of only the average field strength or one-dimensional distribution of field strength along an oscillating structure. This restriction could be eliminated if we apply magnetoseismology to the pervasive propagating transverse MHD waves discovered with the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP). Using several CoMP observations of the Fe xiii 1074.7 nm and 1079.8 nm spectral lines, we obtained maps of the plasma density and wave phase speed in the corona, which allow us to map both the strength and direction of the coronal magnetic field in the plane of sky. We also examined distributions of the electron density and magnetic field strength, and compared their variations with height in the quiet Sun and active regions. Such measurements could provide critical information to advance our understanding of the Sun’s magnetism and the magnetic coupling of the whole solar atmosphere.

Wireless sensor network (WSN) coverage optimization is a critical factor in improving network service quality, yet it faces challenges such as deployment uniformity, high-dimensional optimization, and the balance between exploration and exploitation under limited node resources. To address the shortcomings of the cultural historical optimization algorithm (CHOA), including insufficient global exploration, lack of dynamic regulation, and limited local exploitation accuracy, this paper proposes a film and television strategy-based multi-strategy cultural historical optimization algorithm (FTSCHOA). The proposed algorithm enhances performance through three synergistic mechanisms: a DE-style evolutionary operator that strengthens global exploration and population diversity; a film-and-television strategy that balances exploration and exploitation via random perturbations and adaptive parameter regulation; and a memory-based neighborhood local search that performs refined exploitation around high-quality solution sets to improve local optimization accuracy. Extensive experiments conducted on the CEC2017 and CEC2022 benchmark suites with dimensions of 10, 20, 30, and 50 demonstrate that FTSCHOA outperforms comparative algorithms in terms of optimization accuracy, convergence speed, and stability. The Friedman mean rank test indicates that FTSCHOA consistently achieves the best average ranking, while the Wilcoxon rank-sum test confirms that its performance differences with respect to competing algorithms are statistically significant (p<0.05). When applied to WSN coverage optimization in a 100 m×100 m monitoring region, FTSCHOA achieves coverage rates of 0.9351 and 0.9738 with 25 and 30 sensor nodes, respectively, which are significantly higher than those obtained by PSO, GWO, CHOA, and other algorithms. Moreover, the resulting node deployments exhibit greater uniformity, fewer coverage holes, and lower redundancy. The experimental results demonstrate that FTSCHOA effectively overcomes the limitations of traditional algorithms and provides an efficient and practical solution for WSN node deployment optimization, with strong potential for application in real-world scenarios such as environmental monitoring and smart agriculture.

Magnetic reconnection plays a crucial role in the energy release process for different kinds of solar eruptions and activities. The rapid solar eruption requires a fast reconnection model. Plasmoid instability in the reconnecting current sheets is one of the most acceptable fast reconnection mechanisms for explaining the explosive events in the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scale, which is also a potential bridge between the macroscopic MHD reconnection process and microscale dissipations. Plenty of high-resolution observations indicate that the plasmoid-like structures exist in the high-temperature solar corona, but such evidences are very rare in the lower solar atmosphere with partially ionized plasmas. Utilizing joint observations from the Goode Solar Telescope and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we discovered a small-scale eruptive phenomenon in NOAA Active Region 13085, characterized by clear reconnection cusp structures, supported by nonlinear force-free field extrapolation results. The plasmoid-like structures with a size of about 150 km were observed to be ejected downward from the current sheet at a maximum velocity of 24 km s−1 in the Hα line wing images, followed by enhanced emissions at around the postflare loop region in multiple wavelengths. Our 2.5D high-resolution MHD simulations further reproduced such a phenomenon and revealed reconnection fine structures. These results provide comprehensive evidences for the plasmoid-mediated reconnection in partially ionized plasmas, and suggest a unified reconnection model for solar flares with different length scales from the lower chromosphere to the corona.

As the key carbon (C) fluxes between biosphere and atmosphere, soil respiration (Rs) and ecosystem respiration (Re) play vital roles in regulating global C balance and climate‐biosphere feedback in the Earth system. Despite the fact that numerous manipulative studies and a few meta‐analyses have been conducted to examine the responses of Rs and its components (i.e. autotrophic [Ra] and heterotrophic respiration [Rh]) as well as Re to grazing (G) or global change factors, the interactive effects between grazing and global change factors remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a comprehensive meta‐analysis of manipulative experiments with both grazing and global change factors to quantify their individual and interactive effects on Rs and its components as well as Re. Our results showed that grazing and drought significantly decreased Rs by 12.35% and 20.95%, respectively, whereas warming (W), nitrogen addition (N) and increased precipitation (P) stimulated it by 2.12%, 5.49% and 13.44%, respectively. Similarly, grazing, warming, nitrogen addition and increased precipitation increased Re by 7.21%, 4.94%, 48.45% and 21.57%, respectively, while drought decreased it by 16.86%. However, the combinations of grazing with warming (GW), nitrogen addition (GN) and increased precipitation (GP) exhibited non‐significant effects on Rs. More importantly, additive interactions between grazing and global change factors exhibited a substantial predominance on Rs, Ra, Rh and Re rather than synergistic and antagonistic ones. Synthesis and applications. Our findings highlight the crucial importance of the interactive effects between grazing and global change factors on soil respiration (Rs) and ecosystem respiration (Re). Therefore, incorporating this key influence on ecosystem processes into Earth system models (ESMs) could better improve the prediction of climate‐biosphere feedbacks and develop sustainable strategies for grassland management in the Anthropocene. Our findings highlight the crucial importance of the interactive effects between grazing and global change factors on soil respiration (Rs) and ecosystem respiration (Re). Therefore, incorporating this key influence on ecosystem processes into Earth system models (ESMs) could better improve the prediction of climate‐biosphere feedbacks and develop sustainable strategies for grassland management in the Anthropocene.

Matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9), or gelatinase B, has been hypothesized to be involved in the progression of atherosclerosis. In the arterial wall, accumulated macrophages secrete considerable amounts of MMP‐9 but its pathophysiological functions in atherosclerosis have not been fully elucidated. To examine the hypothesis that macrophage‐derived MMP‐9 may affect atherosclerosis, we created MMP‐9 transgenic (Tg) rabbits to overexpress the rabbit MMP‐9 gene under the control of the scavenger receptor A enhancer/promoter and examined their susceptibility to cholesterol diet‐induced atherosclerosis. Tg rabbits along with non‐Tg rabbits were fed a cholesterol diet for 16 and 28 weeks, and their aortic and coronary atherosclerosis was compared. Gross aortic lesion areas were significantly increased in female Tg rabbits at 28 weeks; however, pathological examination revealed that all the lesions of Tg rabbits fed a cholesterol diet for either 16 or 28 weeks were characterized by increased monocyte/macrophage accumulation and prominent lipid core formation compared with those of non‐Tg rabbits. Macrophages isolated from Tg rabbits exhibited higher infiltrative activity towards a chemoattractant, MCP‐1 in vitro and augmented capability of hydrolysing extracellular matrix in granulomatous tissue. Surprisingly, the lesions of Tg rabbits showed more advanced lesions with remarkable calcification in both aortas and coronary arteries. In conclusion, macrophage‐derived MMP‐9 facilitates the infiltration of monocyte/macrophages into the lesions thereby enhancing the progression of atherosclerosis. Increased accumulation of lesional macrophages may promote vascular calcification.

The high morbidity and mortality rates of liver cancer prompt us to constantly explore new therapeutic strategies. The arachidonic acid metabolism-related pathways play a crucial regulatory role in the growth, invasion and angiogenesis of liver cancer cells, thus becoming a key entry point in liver cancer research. This study aims to explore the role of KIF18A in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of liver cancer cells through the 5-LOX-dependent arachidonic acid pathway, and to construct a prognostic model to predict the prognostic risk of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Through bioinformatics techniques, we screened out prognosis genes related to arachidonic acid metabolism in HCC and constructed a prognostic model of HCC. We evaluated and verified the model, and analyzed the functional enrichment analysis and PPI network analysis of key arachidonic acid metabolism-related genes, and screened out the key prognostic gene KIF18A. Experimental results showed that the expression level of KIF18A in liver cancer cells was significantly higher than that in normal liver cells, and the high expression of KIF18A was associated with the poor prognosis of patients with liver cancer. The overexpression of KIF18A could significantly promote the proliferation, invasion and migration abilities of liver cancer cells, while the knockdown of KIF18A inhibited these cellular behaviors. In addition, KIF18A could promote EMT of liver cancer cells, downregulate E-cadherin and upregulate the expression of N-cadherin. We also found that KIF18A could induce the upregulation of 5-LOX expression and increase the levels of arachidonic acid metabolites, while the 5-LOX inhibitor U73122 could reverse this effect. Therefore, KIF18A may promote the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of liver cancer cells by activating the 5-LOX-dependent arachidonic acid pathway. This study provides a new strategy for the prognostic assessment and targeted therapy of HCC and reveals the important role of KIF18A in the development of liver cancer.

Recent high-resolution solar observations have unveiled the presence of small-scale loop-like structures in the lower solar atmosphere, often referred to as unresolved fine structures, low-lying loops, and miniature hot loops. These structures undergo rapid changes within minutes, and their formation mechanism has remained elusive. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of two small loops utilizing data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, aiming to elucidate the underlying process behind their formation. The GST observations revealed that these loops, with lengths of ∼3.5 Mm and heights of ∼1 Mm, manifest as bright emission structures in Hα wing images, particularly prominent in the red wing. IRIS observations showcased these loops in 1330 Å slit-jaw images, with transition region (TR) and chromospheric line spectra exhibiting significant enhancement and broadening above the loops, indicative of plasmoid-mediated reconnection during their formation. Additionally, we observed upward-erupting jets above these loops across various passbands. Furthermore, differential emission measurement analysis reveals an enhanced emission measure at the location of these loops, suggesting the presence of plasma exceeding 1 MK. Based on our observations, we propose that these loops and associated jets align with the minifilament eruption model. Our findings suggest a unified mechanism governing the formation of small-scale loops and jets akin to larger-scale X-ray jets.

The changing composition of gut microbiota, much like aging, accompanies people throughout their lives, and the inextricable relationship between both has recently attracted extensive attention as well. Modern medical research has revealed that a series of changes in gut microbiota are involved in the aging process of organisms, which may be because gut microbiota modulates aging-related changes related to innate immunity and cognitive function. At present, there is no definite and effective method to delay aging. However, Nobel laureate Tu Youyou's research on artemisinin has inspired researchers to study the importance of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM, as an ancient alternative medicine, has unique advantages in preventive health care and in treating diseases as it already has formed an independent understanding of the aging system. TCM practitioners believe that the mechanism of aging is mainly deficiency, and pathological states such as blood stasis, qi stagnation and phlegm coagulation can exacerbate the process of aging, which involves a series of organs, including the brain, kidney, heart, liver and spleen. Our current understanding of aging has led us to realise that TCM can indeed make some beneficial changes, such as the improvement of cognitive impairment. However, due to the multi-component and multi-target nature of TCM, the exploration of its mechanism of action has become extremely complex. While analysing the relationship between gut microbiota and aging, this review explores the similarities and differences in treatment methods and mechanisms between TCM and Modern Medicine, in order to explore a new approach that combines TCM and Modern Medicine to regulate gut microbiota, improve immunity and delay aging.