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Producing high-concentration liquid metal (LM) inks is highly desirable for next-generation flexible electronics, and yet remains a dulling challenging due to the large surface tension and high density of LM droplets. Herein, a general finite-gel strategy is proposed to enable the fabrication of high-concentration liquid metal (LM) inks. In the LM-based inks, the LM droplets are confined in the relaxed finite-gel networks, which provide strong repulsive effects to avoid the reunition of the adjacent LM droplets. The unique structure imparts the LM-based inks with a good colloidal stability even at a very high LM concentration of 30,000.0 g/L. The LM-based inks also present tunable rheological behavior and are suitable for various processing technologies. Moreover, the proposed finite-gel strategy is scalable, and could be expanded to various cryogel systems (e.g., curdlan, gelatin, and gellan gum). This work takes a crucial step forward to producing highly concentrated LM-based inks for flexible electronics. Liquid metal inks are promising for flexible electronics, but it is challenging to produce liquid metal inks due to surface tension and density. Here, the authors design a liquid metal-cryogel system to increase liquid metal concentration.

In mice, postnatal endothelial cell (EC)-specific knockout of the genes coding for transforming growth factor-beta receptor (TGFBR)1 and/or TGFBR2 eliminates TGF-beta signaling in vascular ECs and leads to distinctive central nervous system (CNS) vascular phenotypes. Knockout mice exhibit (1) reduced intraretinal vascularization, (2) choroidal neovascularization with occasional anastomoses connecting choroidal and intraretinal vasculatures, (3) infiltration of diverse immune cells into the retina, including macrophages, T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells, (4) a close physical association between immune cells and retinal vasculature, (5) a pro-inflammatory transcriptional state in CNS ECs, with increased ICAM1 immunoreactivity, and (6) increased smooth muscle actin immunostaining in CNS pericytes. Comparisons of the retinal phenotype with two other genetic models of retinal hypovascularization – loss of Norrin/Fzd4 signaling and loss of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling – show that the immune cell infiltrate is greatest with loss of TGF-beta signaling, more modest with loss of Norrin/Fzd4 signaling, and undetectable with loss of VEGF signaling. The phenotypes caused by loss of TGF-beta signaling in ECs recapitulate some of the cardinal features of retinal and neurologic diseases associated with vascular inflammation. These observations suggest that therapies that promote TGF-beta-dependent anti-inflammatory responses in ECs could represent a promising strategy for disease modulation.

Defect engineering and heteroatom doping can significantly enhance the activity of zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxides (ZnAl-LDHs) in photocatalytic CO2 reduction to fuel. However, the in-depth understanding of the associated intrinsic mechanisms is limited. Herein, we systematically investigated Zn vacancies (VZn), oxygen vacancies (VO), and Cu doping on the geometry and electronic structure of ZnAl-LDH using density functional theory (DFT). We also revealed the related reaction mechanism. The results reveal the concerted roles of VO, VZn, and doped-Cu facilitate the formation of the unsaturated metal complexes (Znδ+-VO and Cuδ+-VO). They can localize the charge density distribution, function as new active centers, and form the intermediate band. Simultaneously, the intermediate band of functionalized ZnAl-LDHs narrows the band gap and lowers the band edge location. Therefore, it can broaden the absorption range of light and improve the selectivity of CO. Additionally, the unsaturated metal complex lowers the Gibbs free energy barrier for effective CO2 activation by bringing the d-band center level closer to the Fermi level. The work provided guidance for developing LDH photocatalysts with high activity and selectivity.

Morphological changes are a very common and effective strategy for pathogens to survive in the mammalian host. During interactions with their host, human pathogenic fungi undergo an array of morphological changes that are tightly associated with virulence. Candida albicans switches between yeast cells and hyphae during infection. Thermally dimorphic pathogens, such as Histoplasma capsulatum and Blastomyces species transform from hyphal growth to yeast cells in response to host stimuli. Coccidioides and Pneumocystis species produce spherules and cysts, respectively, which allow for the production of offspring in a protected environment. Finally, Cryptococcus species suppress hyphal growth and instead produce an array of yeast cells—from large polyploid titan cells to micro cells. While the morphology changes produced by human fungal pathogens are diverse, they all allow for the pathogens to evade, manipulate, and overcome host immune defenses to cause disease. In this review, we summarize the morphology changes in human fungal pathogens—focusing on morphological features, stimuli, and mechanisms of formation in the host.

Improvement in living standards has led to the development and utilization of forest green foods. The study seeks to examine the foundation and potential of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province. By constructing the industrial competitive advantage model, this paper measured and analyzed the competitiveness of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province from 2016 to 2020 by using fuzzy evaluation method and AHP. The conclusions were as follows: (1) The competitiveness of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province was at a medium level with competitiveness index of 83.98. (2) The competitive advantage of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province mainly depended on key factors such as natural endowment and education level. The area is however not having comparative advantage in general factors and important factors. Therefore, there is the need to put in place measures to realise the full potential of forest green food industry in the area by providing players in the sector with requisite skills.

With the rapid development of the low-altitude economy, the intensive take-offs and landings of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) performing logistics transport tasks in urban areas have introduced significant safety risks. To reduce the likelihood of collisions, logistics operators—such as Meituan, Antwork, and Fengyi—have established fixed departure and arrival air routes above vertiports and designed fixed flight air routes between vertiports to guide UAVs to fly along predefined paths. In the complex and constrained low-altitude urban environment, the design of safe and efficient air routes has undoubtedly become a key enabler for successful operations. This research, grounded in both current theoretical research and real-world logistics UAV operations, defines the concept of UAV logistics air routes and presents a comprehensive description of their structure. A parametric model for one-way round-trip logistics air routes is proposed, along with an air route evaluation model and optimization method. Based on this framework, the research identifies four basic configurations that are commonly adopted for one-way round-trip operations. These configurations can be further improved into two optimized configurations with more balanced performance across multiple metrics. Simulation results reveal that Configuration 1 is only suitable for small-scale transport; as the number of delivery tasks increases, delays grow linearly. When the task volume exceeds 100 operations per 30 min, Configurations 2, 3, and 4 reduce average delay by 88.9%, 89.2%, and 93.3%, respectively, compared with Configuration 1. The research also finds that flight speed along segments and the cruise segment capacity have the most significant influence on delays. Properly increasing these two parameters can lead to a 28.4% reduction in the average delay. The two optimized configurations, derived through further refinement, show better trade-offs between average delay and flight time than any of the fundamental configurations. This research not only provides practical guidance for the planning and design of UAV logistics air routes but also lays a methodological foundation for future developments in UAV scheduling and air route network design.

Knowledge, attitude and willingness of ethnic minorities in China towards cadaver donation programs were assessed. Questionnaire and interviews were conducted to investigate Yi, Bai, Hani, Dai and Han ethnicities. Educational level and per capita income of ethnic minorities were lesser than those of Han ethnicity (p<0.01). Agriculture was the primary occupation and proportions of technical personnel and public officials was lesser among ethnic minorities (p<0.01). Surveyed ethnic minorities universally practice religious traditions, Bai and Dai ethnicities practice Buddhist beliefs also (p<0.01). Knowledge of Yi, Bai, Hani and Dai ethnic respondents was lesser than those of Han ethnicity (p<0.01). Over 83.8% of Yi, Bai, Hani and Dai ethnicity residents were unwilling to register for body donation programs with receiving a driver's license (p<0.01). Less than 46.9% of ethnic minorities supported use of honorary certificates (p<0.01). Ethnic minorities were supportive of financial compensation for body donations and denied that financial compensation led to the commercialization of cadaver donation (p<0.01, p<0.01). Willingness of ethnic minorities to participate in cadaver donation programs was primarily related to religious beliefs (p<0.01), economic status (p<0.01). Knowledge, attitude and willingness of ethnic minorities to participate in cadaver donation programs were markedly different from those of Han ethnicity, and the religious belief and economic status played a decisive role. To increase participation, programs based on respecting religious belief should be developed to support improvements in economy, education, medical care and social security system.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a major life-threatening fungal pathogen. In response to the stress of the host environment, C. neoformans produces large polyploid titan cells. Titan cell production enhances the virulence of C. neoformans , yet whether the polyploid aspect of titan cells is specifically influential remains unknown. We show that titan cells were more likely to survive and produce offspring under multiple stress conditions than typical cells and that even their normally sized daughters maintained an advantage over typical cells in continued exposure to stress. Although polyploid titan cells generated haploid daughter cell progeny upon in vitro replication under nutrient-replete conditions, titan cells treated with the antifungal drug fluconazole produced fluconazole-resistant diploid and aneuploid daughter cells. Interestingly, a single titan mother cell was capable of generating multiple types of aneuploid daughter cells. The increased survival and genomic diversity of titan cell progeny promote rapid adaptation to new or high-stress conditions. IMPORTANCE The ability to adapt to stress is a key element for survival of pathogenic microbes in the host and thus plays an important role in pathogenesis. Here we investigated the predominantly haploid human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans , which is capable of ploidy and cell size increases during infection through production of titan cells. The enlarged polyploid titan cells are then able to rapidly undergo ploidy reduction to generate progeny with reduced ploidy and/or aneuploidy. Under stressful conditions, titan cell progeny have a growth and survival advantage over typical cell progeny. Understanding how titan cells enhance the rate of cryptococcal adaptation under stress conditions may assist in the development of novel drugs aimed at blocking ploidy transitions. The ability to adapt to stress is a key element for survival of pathogenic microbes in the host and thus plays an important role in pathogenesis. Here we investigated the predominantly haploid human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans , which is capable of ploidy and cell size increases during infection through production of titan cells. The enlarged polyploid titan cells are then able to rapidly undergo ploidy reduction to generate progeny with reduced ploidy and/or aneuploidy. Under stressful conditions, titan cell progeny have a growth and survival advantage over typical cell progeny. Understanding how titan cells enhance the rate of cryptococcal adaptation under stress conditions may assist in the development of novel drugs aimed at blocking ploidy transitions.

The transmittance, conductivity, and flexibility are the crucial properties for the development of next-generation flexible electrodes. Achieving a good trade-off between transmittance and conductivity of flexible electrodes has been a challenge because the two properties are inversely proportional. Herein, we reveal a good trade-off between transmittance and conductivity of gold nanomesh (AuNM) can be achieved through appropriately increasing the AuNM thickness no more than 40 nm, the mean free path of electrons in Au metal. The further flexibility investigation indicates that the AuNM electrodes with mesh structure show higher tolerance than the Au bulk film, and the AuNM electrodes with smaller inter-aperture wire width can accommodate more tensile strains than a counterpart with bigger inter-aperture wire width. The simulated results based on finite element analysis (FEA) show good agreement with experimental results, which indicates the fabrication method of versatile nanosphere lithography (NSL) is reliable. These results established a promising approach toward next-generation large-scale flexible transparent AuNM electrodes for flexible electronics.

Water entry slamming is a complicated issue in marine engineering, characterized by significant impact loads and complex flow. This paper establishes a 3D numerical model of flat plate water entry slamming based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), and the dynamics and flow field evolution are analyzed during water entry. The results indicate that SPH effectively captures the key dynamic characteristics of flat plate water entry. The experimental data validate the model, and the SPH particles reproduce the phenomena of jet formation, cavity development, and fluid splashing. The observed pressure is maximum at the center of the flat plate, and the maximum pressure and vertical force of the flat plate exhibit a quadratic relationship with the water entry velocity. The flow field evolution from initial jet formation at the time of slamming to droplet splashing shows obvious stages. As the water entry depth of the flat plate increases, the growth rates of the cavity width and splash height gradually slow under fluid viscosity and drag. The water entry velocity has the greatest influence on droplet splashing, whereas its influence on the jet separation point and the position of the free liquid surface is less significant.