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Here, we show that NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) can be used as a peroxidase-like catalyst for Fenton-like degradation of methylene blue (MB) in water. The iron-based NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) metal organic framework (MOF) was synthesized by a facile and rapid microwave heating method. It was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. The NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) MOF possesses intrinsic oxidase-like and peroxidase-like activities. The reaction parameters that affect MB degradation were investigated, including the solution pH, NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) MOF and H 2 O 2 concentrations, and temperature. The results show that the NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) MOF exhibits a wide working pH range (pH 3.0–11.0), temperature tolerance, and good recyclability for MB removal. Under the optimal conditions, complete removal of MB was achieved within 45 min. In addition, removal of MB was above 80% after five cycles, showing the good recyclability of NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe). The NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) MOF has the features of easy preparation, high efficiency, and good recyclability for MB removal in a wide pH range. Electron spin resonance and fluorescence probe results suggest the involvement of hydroxyl radicals in MB degradation. These findings provide new insight into the application of high-efficient MOF-based Fenton-like catalysts for water purification.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a natural process during aging and a leading cause of lower back pain. Here, we generate a comprehensive atlas of nucleus pulposus cells using single-cell RNA-seq analysis of human nucleus pulposus tissues (three males and four females, age 41.14 ± 18.01 years). We identify fibrotic late-stage nucleus pulposus cells characterized by upregulation of serglycin expression which facilitate the local inflammatory response by promoting the infiltration of inflammatory cytokines and macrophages. Finally, we discover that daphnetin, a potential serglycin ligand, substantially mitigates the local inflammatory response by downregulating serglycin expression in an in vivo mouse model, thus alleviating intervertebral disc degeneration. Taken together, we identify late-stage nucleus pulposus cells and confirm the potential mechanism by which serglycin regulates intervertebral disc degeneration. Our findings indicate that serglycin is a latent biomarker of intervertebral disc degeneration and may contribute to development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Aging-related intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a leading cause of lower back pain. Here, the authors perform scRNA-seq analysis of intervertebral disc cells from patients, and identify cell populations and mechanisms associated with IVDD.

Various analytical applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been rapidly developed in the past few years. However, the employment of MOFs as catalysts in chemiluminescence (CL) analysis is rare. Here, for the first time, we found that MIL-53(Fe) MOFs could significantly enhance the CL of luminol in the presence of H 2 O 2 in an alkaline medium. The CL intensity in the luminol–H 2 O 2 –MIL-53(Fe) system was about 20 times higher than that in the luminol–H 2 O 2 system. Moreover, the XRD pattern of MIL-53(Fe) after CL reaction was almost the same as that of the original MIL-53(Fe), confirming the catalytic role of MIL-53(Fe) in the luminol–H 2 O 2 –MIL-53(Fe) system. The possible mechanism behind the enhancing phenomenon was discussed based on the results from the CL spectra, FL probe experiments, and active oxygen species measurements. By coupling with the glucose oxidase-based catalytic oxidation reaction, a sensitive and selective CL method was developed for the detection of glucose. There is a linear relationship between the logarithm of CL intensity and the logarithm of glucose concentration in the range from 0.1 to 10 μM, and a detection limit of 0.05 μM (S/N = 3) is obtained. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of glucose in human serum samples with satisfactory results. Graphical abstract MIL-53(Fe) MOFs are found to greatly enhance the chemiluminescence emission of the luminol–H 2 O 2 system, and this finding resulted in a new chemiluminescence method for biosensing of glucose when coupled with the glucose oxidase.

Aiming at the effect of principal stress rotation (PSR) in gently inclined coal seam roadways, this study has established a strength criterion that comprehensively considers the coupling effects of multiple factors. Through integrated theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and physical model testing, this study quantifies the influence of critical parameters on support stability, encompassing principal stress deflection angle, bolt support angle, damage factor, principal stress ratio, and friction coefficient. Quantitative analysis demonstrates that parameter sensitivity exhibits the following hierarchy: damage factor > principal stress deflection angle > principal stress ratio > friction coefficient. The investigation determines optimal roof support angles of 45–55°, with diminished angle sensitivity observed under high dip conditions ( ψ  ≥ 60°). Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fiber optic sensors were utilized to monitor principal stress rotation, providing high-precision measurements of stress field evolution. This analysis reveals asymmetric PSR distribution characteristics in the roof structure, manifesting rotation angles of 84.23° and 58.45° on the left and right sides respectively. These findings facilitate the development of a regionalized differential support methodology. Field implementation validates the theoretical framework, demonstrating substantial improvements in roadway stability.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a main cause of low back pain, and inflammatory factors play key roles in its pathogenesis. Gremlin-1 (Grem1) was reported to induce an inflammatory response in other fields. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of Grem1 in the degenerative process of intervertebral discs. Dysregulated genes were determined by analyzing microarray profiles. The expression of Grem1 in 17 human disc samples (male:female = 9:8) and rat models ( n  = 5 each group) was measured by western blotting (WB), real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The regulatory effects of Grem1 on apoptosis were examined using siRNAs, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence (IF), and WB. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by locally injecting specific Grem1 siRNA into IVDD rats. The expression of Grem1 was significantly increased in human degenerative intervertebral discs; furthermore, the expression of Grem1 positively correlated with the level of intervertebral disc degeneration. Grem1 was significantly overexpressed in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced degenerative NP cells. Apoptosis in degenerative NP cells transfected with siRNA targeting Grem1 was significantly lower than that in the control group. Specific Grem1 siRNA markedly repressed the development of IVDD in surgery-induced IVDD rats. These results indicated that the expression of Grem1 was positively correlated with the severity of intervertebral disc degeneration, and Grem1 siRNA could inhibit Grem1-induced apoptosis and extracellular matrix alterations by mediating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. This study may provide a therapeutic strategy for alleviating inflammation-induced apoptosis associated with intervertebral disc degeneration. Disc generation: Protein identified as potential therapeutic target Gene expression profiling reveals an important factor underlying degeneration of the discs that connect and cushion individual vertebrae, a primary cause of lower back pain. This degeneration generally originates in the central portion of the disc known as the nucleus pulposus (NP). Researchers led by Jianru Wang and Zhaomin Zheng of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, compared NP cells from healthy individuals with those from patients with disc degeneration. They observed strongly increased expression of a protein called Gremlin-1, which is critical to development and also associated with osteoarthritis. Gremlin-1 expression correlated strongly with degeneration and death in cultured NP cells, and the researchers identified key signaling pathways affected by this protein. Targeted inhibition of Gremlin-1 prevented tissue damage in a rat model of disc degeneration, highlighting a potential therapeutic opportunity.

Strong interaction between emitters and plasmonic nanocavity has various applications in quantum fields at room temperature. As Rabi oscillation gives the direct proof to the energy exchange in strong coupling, it is more intuitive and necessary to analyze the interaction in time domain. In this paper, we give the Rabi oscillation in a high-dissipation plasmonic nanocavity by using full-quantum method and draw a new strong coupling criterion about mode volume which provides a significant guidance in plasmonic nanocavitys nanofabrication. Moreover, we reveal the relation between Rabi oscillation and Rabi splitting, which is beneficial for exploring emitter-plasmon hybrid systems time-domain property through frequency-domain response. An emitter-hexagon hybrid system with ultrasmall mode volume is designed to verify our theory. The numerical simulation shows good agreements with our theoretical results. Our work has applications in quantum information and quantum computing in the future.

Background To investigate the relationships between sagittal parameters and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores following anterior cervical hybrid decompression and fusion (ACHDF) of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to study the impact of the T1 slope (T1 s). Methods In total, 42 patients with complete radiographic measurements following ACHDF in the Spine Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from August 2014 to January 2017 were retrospectively analysed. Radiographic measurements included C2–7 lordosis, T1 s, C2–7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), cervical tilting and cranial tilting. The neck disability index (NDI) was used to evaluate the HRQOL. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated between pairs of cervical sagittal parameters and NDI scores. Results Preoperative NDI scores were correlated with preoperative T1 s ( r  = 0.413); follow-up NDI scores were correlated with follow-up T1 s ( r  = 0.534). The regression analysis indicated that a preoperative T1 s value of 42.36° corresponded to a preoperative NDI score of 25 (r 2  = 0.171, P  < 0.001). A follow-up T1 s value of 48.61° corresponded to a follow-up NDI score of 25 (r 2  = 0.421, P  < 0.01). The differences in C2–7 SVA and cranial tilting before and after the operation were statistically significant ( P  < 0.05). Conclusion This study showed that the sagittal balance of the cervical vertebrae changed significantly after ACHDF, showing a forward trend. The sagittal parameters after ACHDF were related to clinical prognosis. An excessive T1 s can be considered a risk factor. The T1 s could provide a reference value to determine the correction of the sagittal balance of the cervical spine.

This paper presents a finite-element (FE) model of a manipulator with a flexible link and flexible joint as well as embedded PZT actuators and proposes a corrected rebuilt reduced model (CRRM) to make its dynamic characteristics more consistent with reality and facilitate control design. The CRRM considers the holding torque of the manipulator driving motor and eliminates the response divergence induced by a fault of the mass matrix of the FE model. In order to reduce the dimensions and maintain the precision of the model, an iterated improved reduction system (IIRS) method is adopted. Additionally, a LQR controller is designed based on the output function of the improved model. The simulation results demonstrate that the CRRM is consistent with reality and the active controller has good performance in suppressing vibration of the manipulator with both the flexible link and the flexible joint.

Thermochromic smart windows offer an efficient solution to reduce building energy consumption by regulating solar radiation without external energy input. However, conventional thermochromic windows often struggle to achieve high luminous transmittance (>70%), strong solar modulation, and an optimal transition temperature (30–40 °C) simultaneously. Here, we present a hydrated ionic polymer thermochromic smart window, which transitions between transparent and blue states through temperature-induced hydration and dehydration. Notably, the smart windows exhibit significant solar modulation (Δ T sol  = 30.5%) and high luminous transmittance ( T lum  = 87.7%), with an adjustable transition temperature range from 25 °C to 42 °C. Additionally, no significant performance degradation was observed after 200 heating-cooling cycles and 120 days under high-humidity conditions. Field tests showed that the smart windows can reduce indoor temperatures by up to 10 °C compared to clear windows. Simulations indicate a most probable energy-saving efficiency of 11.4% compared to clear windows, with further improvements up to 17.7% when combined with Low-E glass in warm climates. This work delivers a high-performance thermochromic smart window and offers a promising strategy for improving building energy efficiency and promoting global sustainability. Thermochromic smart windows often face trade-offs among luminous transmittance, solar modulation, and transition temperature, limiting their effectiveness in building energy savings. Here, the authors describe a hydrated ionic polymer window that reversibly transitions between transparent and blue states via temperature-induced hydration and dehydration, achieving high transmittance, strong solar modulation, and tunable transition temperature.

Edaravone dexborneol (EDB) is widely recognized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is clinically applied in the treatment of acute cerebral infarction. Ferroptosis is a critical process in the pathophysiology of brain injury following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, it remains unclear whether EDB can ameliorate ICH through the modulation of ferroptosis. This study aimed to evaluate the function and mechanism of EDB in treatment of ICH. With a male rat ICH model, animal behavior tests, histopathological staining, magnetic resonance imaging and evans blue staining were used to evaluate the neural protective function of EDB on ICH rats. The potential molecular mechanism was investigated using RNA sequencing. With the administration of Fer-1, a range of ferroptosis-related biomarkers, including Fe 2+ , 4-hydroxynonenal, malondialdehyde, etc., were analyzed to ascertain whether EDB confers neuroprotective effects through the modulation of P53/GPX4 pathways to inhibit ferroptosis. Finally, the findings were further corroborated using an in vitro ICH model with a P53 inhibitor. EDB has the potential to markedly enhance nerve and motor function, mitigate pathological damage, facilitate hematoma clearance, and repair BBB injury in ICH rats. KEGG analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were associated with signaling pathways, including P53 and ferroptosis. Both EDB and Fer-1 substantially reduced the concentrations of Fe 2+ , 4-hydroxynonenal, malondialdehyde, increased the amount of anti-oxidants, decreased the expression of P53, and concurrently upregulated the expression of GPX4. Besides, the P53 inhibitor PFT-α was observed to significantly reduce the levels of 4-HNE and lipid peroxides, while concurrently increasing the expression of GPX4. This investigation has shed light on the crucial neuroprotective role of EDB by regulating ferroptosis in ICH disease, which provided a theoretical basis for the clinical application of EDB in the treatment of ICH.