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The coffee-growing areas in the Gaoligong Mountains of China face ecological challenges including soil erosion and water pollution from traditional processing methods. To analyze the drivers of stakeholder participation in addressing these issues, this study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Social Network Embeddedness Theory (SNET), which together explain how individual cognitions and social structures shape cooperative behavior. Data from a stratified survey of 137 stakeholders were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrate that (1) Both emotional networks (ENW) and suggestive networks (SNW) have significant direct effects on participation intention. (2) Indirectly, ENW enhances intention by strengthening individual behavioral attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control through emotional bonds and identity. (3) SNW improves intention primarily by boosting perceived behavioral control through information dissemination. And (4) the core TPB constructs (attitude, norm, control) are confirmed as key mediators. This paper contributes a validated integrated framework that elucidates the social-psychological pathways for fostering effective ecological co-management.

The mechano-bactericidal activity of nanostructured surfaces has become the focus of intensive research toward the development of a new generation of antibacterial surfaces, particularly in the current era of emerging antibiotic resistance. This work demonstrates the effects of an incremental increase of nanopillar height on nanostructure-induced bacterial cell death. We propose that the mechanical lysis of bacterial cells can be influenced by the degree of elasticity and clustering of highly ordered silicon nanopillar arrays. Herein, silicon nanopillar arrays with diameter 35 nm, periodicity 90 nm and increasing heights of 220, 360, and 420 nm were fabricated using deep UV immersion lithography. Nanoarrays of 360-nm-height pillars exhibited the highest degree of bactericidal activity toward both Gram stain-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram stain-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, inducing 95 ± 5% and 83 ± 12% cell death, respectively. At heights of 360 nm, increased nanopillar elasticity contributes to the onset of pillar deformation in response to bacterial adhesion to the surface. Theoretical analyses of pillar elasticity confirm that deflection, deformation force, and mechanical energies are more significant for the substrata possessing more flexible pillars. Increased storage and release of mechanical energy may explain the enhanced bactericidal action of these nanopillar arrays toward bacterial cells contacting the surface; however, with further increase of nanopillar height (420 nm), the forces (and tensions) can be partially compensated by irreversible interpillar adhesion that reduces their bactericidal effect. These findings can be used to inform the design of next-generation mechano-responsive surfaces with tuneable bactericidal characteristics for antimicrobial surface technologies.

To promote carbon neutrality, carbon compensation in mountaineering tourism destinations must be studied from the perspectives of both carbon sources and carbon sinks. This study established a carbon neutral calculation framework for the Qomolangma mountaineering tourism area using the “bottom-up” tourism carbon footprint analysis model and a carbon sink calculation model. Three types of data were obtained through field surveys, Internet searches, and literature review and used for the subsequent quantitative analysis. The results showed that: (1) in 2019, the case site had a carbon surplus, with a total 3.87E + 06 kg in carbon emissions and a total 3.22E + 09 kg in carbon sequestration capacity; (2) among the carbon sources, tourist catering accounted for 45.78% of the total, which was the largest share, followed by transportation at 39.83%; the carbon footprint of waste was the smallest, accounting for only 0.66%; and (3) according to the current carbon price in China, the Qomolangma mountaineering tourism area should have theoretically been compensated with 1.15E + 07 CNY (equivalent to 1.67E + 06 USD) in 2019. Finally, based on the above research conclusions, suggestions were proposed to further improve the nature reserve’s carbon balance and plan for the future.

Biological nanopores are capable of resolving small analytes down to a monoatomic ion. In this research, tetrachloroaurate(III), a polyatomic ion, is discovered to bind to the methionine residue (M113) of a wild-type α-hemolysin by reversible Au(III)-thioether coordination. However, the cylindrical pore geometry of α-hemolysin generates shallow ionic binding events (~5–6 pA) and may have introduced other undesired interactions. Inspired by nanopore sequencing, a Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopore, which possesses a conical pore geometry, is mutated to bind tetrachloroaurate(III). Subsequently, further amplified blockage events (up to ~55 pA) are observed, which report the largest single ion binding event from a nanopore measurement. By taking the embedded Au(III) as an atomic bridge, the MspA nanopore is enabled to discriminate between different biothiols from single molecule readouts. These phenomena suggest that MspA is advantageous for single molecule chemistry investigations and has applications as a hybrid biological nanopore with atomic adaptors. Engineered biological nanopores enable observation of single molecule chemistry events; however a cylindrical pore geometry can have undesired effects. The authors report a conical biological pore which was embedded with tetrachloroaurate(III) to allow for discrimination between different biothiols.

Studies have shown that prepregnancy overweight and obesity can increase the risk of gestational complications. However, research on the medium- to short-term impact on mothers and their offspring is limited. This study is aimed at investigating the association between prepregnancy overweight and obesity and subsequent weight issues in mothers and their children, specifically focusing on the period spanning 4-7 years postpartum. This prospective cohort study included 112 mother-child pairs recruited from Peking University International Hospital between 2017 and 2019. Anthropometric and metabolic parameters were assessed in mothers and their offspring 4-7 years postpartum. Mothers also underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and assays for lipid, inflammatory, and adipokine markers. Based on prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), participants were classified into an overweight and obese group ( = 28) or an underweight and normal weight group ( = 84). At 4-7 years postpartum, a higher proportion of mothers with prepregnancy overweight and obesity remained overweight (39.29%) or obese (39.29%), compared to mothers who were underweight and normal weight before pregnancy (13.10% overweight, 0% obese). Among offspring, the prevalence of obesity was higher in children of the overweight and obese maternal group (17.86% vs. 7.14%). After adjusting for various factors such as parity, gestational age, gestational weight gain, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), logistic regression analysis indicated that prepregnancy overweight and obesity were strongly associated with maternal overweight and obesity at follow-up (OR = 30.70, 95% CI: 8.69-108.51, < 0.01) but not with offspring overweight and obesity (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 0.54-4.06, = 0.440). This study demonstrates a strong association between prepregnancy overweight and obesity and lasting weight issues 4-7 years postpartum, underscoring the importance of preconception weight management as a key preventive health strategy.

Chloroplast development, maintenance and function depend on the coordinated expression of chloroplast and nuclear genes. The retrograde chloroplast signals are essential in coordinating nuclear gene expression. Although the sources of signals in chloroplasts have been identified and the associated transcription factors in the nucleus extensively studied, the molecular mechanism that relays chloroplast signals to the nucleus remains a mystery. Here we show that PTM, a chloroplast envelope-bound plant homeodomain (PHD) transcription factor with transmembrane domains, functions in multiple retrograde signal pathways. The proteolytic cleavage of PTM occurs in response to retrograde signals and amino-terminal PTM accumulates in the nucleus, where it activates ABI4 transcription in a PHD-dependent manner associated with histone modifications. These results provide a molecular basis for the critical function of PTM in retrograde chloroplast signaling and shed new light on the mechanism whereby chloroplast signals are transmitted to the nucleus through the cytosol. Retrograde chloroplast signals are essential in coordinating nuclear gene expression, but the mechanism that relays chloroplast signals to the nucleus remains elusive. In this study, a chloroplast envelope-bound transcription factor PTM is shown to transmit chloroplast signals to the nucleus.

The spreading of a liquid droplet on flat surfaces is a well-understood phenomenon, but little is known about how liquids spread on a rough surface. When the surface roughness is of the nanoscopic length scale, the capillary forces dominate and the liquid droplet spreads by wetting the nanoscale textures that act as capillaries. Here, using a combination of advanced nanofabrication and liquidphase transmission electron microscopy, we image the wetting of a surface patterned with a dense array of nanopillars of varying heights. Our real-time, high-speed observations reveal that water wets the surface in two stages: 1) an ultrathin precursor water film forms on the surface, and then 2) the capillary action by nanopillars pulls the water, increasing the overall thickness of water film. These direct nanoscale observations capture the previously elusive precursor film, which is a critical intermediate step in wetting of rough surfaces.

Heat stress (HS) poses a significant challenge to plant survival, necessitating sophisticated molecular mechanisms to maintain cellular homeostasis. Here, we identify SICKLE (SIC) as a key modulator of HS responses in Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ). SIC is required for the sequestration of RNA DEBRANCHING ENZYME 1 (DBR1), a rate-limiting enzyme of lariat intronic RNA (lariRNA) decay, into stress granules (SGs). The sequestration of DBR1 by SIC enhances the accumulation of lariRNAs, branched circular RNAs derived from excised introns during pre-mRNA splicing, which in turn promote the transcription of their parental genes. Our findings further demonstrate that SIC-mediated DBR1 sequestration in SGs is crucial for plant HS tolerance, as deletion of the N-terminus of SIC (SIC 1–244 ) impairs DBR1 sequestration and compromises plant response to HS. Overall, our study unveils a mechanism of transcriptional regulation in the HS response, where lariRNAs are enriched through DBR1 sequestration, ultimately promoting the transcription of heat stress tolerance genes. SICKLE sequestrates DBR1 into stress granules to promote the accumulation of lariRNAs, which upregulate heat stress-related genes and enhance heat-stress tolerance.

Stroke is the second-leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in much of the world. In particular, China faces the greatest challenge from stroke, since the population is aged quickly. In decades of clinical trials, no neuroprotectant has had reproducible efficacy on primary clinical end points, because reperfusion is probably a necessity for neuroprotection to be clinically beneficial. Fortunately, the success of thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy has taken us into a reperfusion era of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) therapy. Brain cytoprotective agents can prevent detrimental effects of ischaemia, and therefore ‘freeze’ ischaemic penumbra before reperfusion, extend the time window for reperfusion therapy. Because reperfusion often leads to reperfusion injury, including haemorrhagic transformation, brain oedema, infarct progression and neurological worsening, cytoprotective agents will enhance the efficacy and safety of reperfusion therapy by preventing or reducing reperfusion injuries. Therefore, reperfusion and cytoprotective agents are a mutually beneficial pair in AIS therapy. In this review, we outline critical pathophysiological events causing cell death within the penumbra after ischaemia or ischaemia/reperfusion in the acute phase of AIS, focusing on excitotoxicity and free radicals. We discuss key pharmacological targets for cytoprotective therapy and evaluate the recent advances of cytoprotective agents going through clinical trials, highlighting multitarget cytoprotective agents that intervene at multiple levels of the ischaemic and reperfusion cascade.

Plant hormone brassinosteroids (BRs) play key roles in plant adaptation to biotic stresses, including various pathogen infections. As a core factor in BR signaling, the transcription factor BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1) activates BR responses via regulating the expression of target genes. However, the molecular mechanism of BRs in regulating plant immunity is unclear, and the key components are not identified. In this study, we found that BR biosynthesis and signaling transduction are essential for plant resistance to pathogen infection, and BR biosynthesis or BR signaling-deficient mutants displayed susceptibility to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 ( Pst DC3000) infection [including more serious symptoms and more photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry damage]. We identified a callose synthase gene GLUCAN SYNTHASE-LIKE 8 ( GSL8 ) as a direct target of BES1, and its expression was induced by BRs/BES1. Meanwhile, BRs induced callose accumulation after Pst DC3000 infection. Moreover, BES1 gain-of-function mutant bes1-D showed promoted Pst DC3000 resistance. GSL8 T-DNA insertion mutant gsl8-1 was susceptible to DC3000, while brassinolide (BL) treatment partially rescued gsl8-1 susceptible phenotypes. Our study suggests that BR-induced pathogen resistance partly depends on the BR-induced BES1-GSL8 cascade to mediate callose accumulation.