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Layered metal-organic frameworks would be a diverse source of crystalline sheets with nanometer thickness for molecular sieving if they could be exfoliated, but there is a challenge in retaining the morphological and structural integrity. We report the preparation of 1-nanometer-thick sheets with large lateral area and high crystallinity from layered MOFs. They are used as building blocks for ultrathin molecular sieve membranes, which achieve hydrogen gas (H2) permeance of up to several thousand gas permeation units (GPUs) with H2/CO2 selectivity greater than 200. We found an unusual proportional relationship between H2 permeance and H2 selectivity for the membranes, and achieved a simultaneous increase in both permeance and selectivity by suppressing lamellar stacking of the nanosheets.

Trochlear dysplasia (TD) is a skeletal deformity that causes abnormal morphology of the trochlear groove, leading to patellar instability and related joint issues. Despite its clinical importance, the molecular mechanisms behind TD are not well understood. This study aims to explore these mechanisms using an integrated proteomic and metabolomic approach in a rat model of TD. A rat model was developed by inducing a flat trochlear groove and increasing the sulcus angle. Validation was performed using gross morphology and micro-CT. Subchondral bone loss was evaluated through micro-CT. Non-targeted metabolomics was applied to identify differential metabolites, and proteomics was conducted to identify altered proteins. Pathway enrichment and interaction analyses were used to interpret the data. The TD rat model exhibited significant morphological and bone density changes, including notable subchondral bone loss. Metabolomic analysis identified 52 differentially expressed metabolites, with creatine and L-malic acid prominently altered. Proteomic analysis revealed 204 differentially expressed proteins. KEGG analysis highlighted critical pathways such as glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Integrative analysis showed correlations between key metabolites and proteins, providing deeper insights into TD-related molecular changes. This study integrates proteomic and metabolomic analyses to uncover molecular alterations in a rat model of TD. Significant findings include upregulation of Col3a1 and altered metabolites such as creatine and L-malic acid. These results highlight the role of metabolic disturbances such as glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in TD pathology. The study provides valuable biomarkers and insights into the mechanisms of TD, offering potential targets for future therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.

A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.

Thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) membrane has been widely applied in nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis, including a PA rejection layer by interfacial polymerization on a porous support layer. However, the separation performance of TFC membrane is constrained by the trade-off relationship between permeability and selectivity. Although thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane can enhance the permeability, due to the existence of functionalized nanoparticles in the PA rejection layer, the introduction of nanoparticles leads to the problems of the poor interface compatibility and the nanoparticles agglomeration. These issues often lead to the defect of PA rejection layers and reduction in selectivity. In this review, we summarize a new class of structures of TFN membranes with functionalized interlayers (TFNi), which promises to overcome the problems associated with TFN membranes. Recently, functionalized two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have received more attention in the assembly materials of membranes. The reported TFNi membranes with 2D interlayers exhibit the remarkable enhancement on the permeability, due to the shorter transport path by the “gutter mechanism” of 2D interlayers. Meanwhile, the functionalized 2D interlayers can affect the diffusion of two-phase monomers during the interfacial polymerization, resulting in the defect-free and highly crosslinked PA rejection layer. Thus, the 2D interlayers enabled TFNi membranes to potentially overcome the longstanding trade-off between membrane permeability and selectivity. This paper provides a critical review on the emerging 2D nanomaterials as the functionalized interlayers of TFNi membranes. The characteristics, function, modification, and advantages of these 2D interlayers are summarized. Several perspectives are provided in terms of the critical challenges for 2D interlayers, managing the trade-off between permeability, selectivity, and cost. The future research directions of TFNi membranes with 2D interlayers are proposed.

Abstract A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.

FAU-type zeolite membranes were prepared on porous α-Al₂O₃ tubes by a two-stage in situ synthesis method. The synthesis was carried out in clear solutions without the aid of seeds or organic templates. The first stage synthesis was devoted to the in situ nucleation of FAU-type zeolite, aiming to induce an evenly covered zeolite layer on the support. In situ aging played an important role at this stage as it suppressed LTA phase and promoted the formation of a continuous zeolite layer. The second stage synthesis was performed in a dilute solution, where the pre-formed zeolite layer went on to grow and became compact. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations show that the membranes were made up of well-shaped intergrown crystals, with the thickness around 7 μm. Pervaporation (a membrane-based separation process in which the liquid components diffuse through a membrane and are subsequently vaporized due to the low-pressure exerted on the permeate side of the membrane) measurements were carried out in a water/ethanol (10/90, w/w) mixture to evaluate the membrane performance. The structural and morphological evolutions of FAU-type zeolite membranes during synthesis were tracked down by X-ray diffraction and SEM. The formation mechanism was illuminated based on the experimental results.

The intestinal tract of humans harbors a dynamic and complex bacterial community known as the gut microbiota, which plays a crucial role in regulating functions such as metabolism and immunity in the human body. Numerous studies conducted in recent decades have also highlighted the significant potential of the gut microbiota in promoting human health. It is widely recognized that training and nutrition strategies are pivotal factors that allow athletes to achieve optimal performance. Consequently, there has been an increasing focus on whether training and dietary patterns influence sports performance through their impact on the gut microbiota. In this review, we aim to present the concept and primary functions of the gut microbiota, explore the relationship between exercise and the gut microbiota, and specifically examine the popular dietary patterns associated with athletes’ sports performance while considering their interaction with the gut microbiota. Finally, we discuss the potential mechanisms by which dietary patterns affect sports performance from a nutritional perspective, aiming to elucidate the intricate interplay among dietary patterns, the gut microbiota, and sports performance. We have found that the precise application of specific dietary patterns (ketogenic diet, plant-based diet, high-protein diet, Mediterranean diet, and high intake of carbohydrate) can improve vascular function and reduce the risk of illness in health promotion, etc., as well as promoting recovery and controlling weight with regard to improving sports performance, etc. In conclusion, although it can be inferred that certain aspects of an athlete’s ability may benefit from specific dietary patterns mediated by the gut microbiota to some extent, further high-quality clinical studies are warranted to substantiate these claims and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

The technology of automatic fare collection system for urban rail transit is an important technology for achieving automatic fare collection for public transportation facilities such as urban subways. This article studies the relevant characteristics of the AFC system. Through introducing queuing models, simulation comparative experiments, and neural network debugging, it is found that the automatic fare collection system for urban rail transit not only effectively helps station staff to allocate tickets in a timely and reasonable manner, adjust station ticket supply, but also facilitates station passengers to query tickets, and passengers can freely choose whether to take the train according to their actual needs. The experiment shows that the AFC system can effectively help passengers avoid traffic congestion during peak hours, greatly improve management level, and reduce labor intensity.

High-performance silicalite-1 membranes were synthesized on silica tubes by in-situ hydrothermal synthesis. By using the "solution-filling (SF)" method, the average flux of membranes with the SF method was improved by about 25% compared to that of the membranes without using the SF method; the flux and the separation factor of the membranes prepared with the SF method for an ethanol/water mixture at 60 ℃ were 0.99 kg/(m2·h) and 73, respectively. It was found that the membranes synthesized on silica tubes exhibited high thermal stability and high reproducibility, and the relatively standard deviations (R.S.D.) of the average flux and separation factor were only 9.6% and 5.6%, respectively, which suggests that the silica support is more suitable than other kinds of supports for preparing high-performance silicalite-1 membranes.

A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.