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HighlightsA layered segregated shielding network was organized in porous PBAT/Fe3O4@MWCNTs/Ag composite by scCO2 foaming and scraping techniques.The composite foam achieved an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of up to 68.0 dB and a reflectivity of as low as 23% due to the “absorption-reflection-re-absorption” shielding mechanism.The solid and foamed PBAT/Fe3O4@MWCNTs/Ag composites displayed superior retention (> 92%) of EMI SE even after peeling experiment of 500 times under 100 g weight pressure.The utilization of eco-friendly, lightweight, high-efficiency and high-absorbing electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites is imperative in light of the worldwide promotion of sustainable manufacturing. In this work, magnetic poly (butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) microspheres were firstly synthesized via phase separation method, then PBAT composite foams with layered structure was constructed through the supercritical carbon dioxide foaming and scraping techniques. The merits of integrating ferroferric oxide-loaded multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4@MWCNTs) nanoparticles, a microcellular framework, and a highly conductive silver layer have been judiciously orchestrated within this distinctive layered configuration. Microwaves are consumed throughout the process of “absorption-reflection-reabsorption” as much as possible, which greatly declines the secondary radiation pollution. The biodegradable PBAT composite foams achieved an EMI shielding effectiveness of up to 68 dB and an absorptivity of 77%, and authenticated favorable stabilization after the tape adhesion experiment.

Plant biomass is a highly abundant renewable resource that can be converted into several types of high-value-added products, including chemicals, biofuels and advanced materials. In the last few decades, an increasing number of biomass species and processing techniques have been developed to enhance the application of plant biomass followed by the industrial application of some of the products, during which varied technologies have been successfully developed. In this review, we summarize the different sources of plant biomass, the evolving technologies for treating it, and the various products derived from plant biomass. Moreover, the challenges inherent in the valorization of plant biomass used in high-value-added products are also discussed. Overall, with the increased use of plant biomass, the development of treatment technologies, and the solution of the challenges raised during plant biomass valorization, the value-added products derived from plant biomass will become greater in number and more valuable.

Lycopene, a potent antioxidant, has been widely used in the fields of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. However, the production of lycopene extracted from natural sources is far from meeting the demand. Consequently, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have been employed to develop microbial cell factories for lycopene production. Due to the advantages of rapid growth, complete genetic background, and a reliable genetic operation technique, Escherichia coli has become the preferred host cell for microbial biochemicals production. In this review, the recent advances in biological lycopene production using engineered E. coli strains are summarized: First, modification of the endogenous MEP pathway and introduction of the heterogeneous MVA pathway for lycopene production are outlined. Second, the common challenges and strategies for lycopene biosynthesis are also presented, such as the optimization of other metabolic pathways, modulation of regulatory networks, and optimization of auxiliary carbon sources and the fermentation process. Finally, the future prospects for the improvement of lycopene biosynthesis are also discussed.

High-fidelity simulations of wave breaking processes are performed with a focus on the small-scale structures of breaking waves, such as bubble/droplet size distributions. Very large grids (up to 12 billion grid points) are used in order to resolve the bubbles/droplets in breaking waves at the scale of hundreds of micrometres. Wave breaking processes and spanwise three-dimensional interface structures are identified. It is speculated that the Görtler type centrifugal instability is likely more relevant to the plunging wave breaking instabilities. Detailed air entrainment and spray formation processes are shown. The bubble size distribution shows power-law scaling with two different slopes which are separated by the Hinze scale. The droplet size distribution also shows power-law scaling. The computational results compare well with the available experimental and computational data in the literature. Computational difficulties and challenges for large grid simulations are addressed.

Achieving high-efficiency indium tin oxide (ITO)-free organic optoelectronic devices requires the development of high-conductivity and high-transparency materials for being used as the front electrode. Herein, sol-gel-grown zinc oxide (ZnO) films with high conductivity (460 S cm −1 ) and low optical absorption losses in both visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions are realized utilizing the persistent photoinduced doping effect. The origin of the increased conductivity after photo-doping is ascribed to selective trapping of photogenerated holes by oxygen vacancies at the surface of the ZnO film. Then, the conductivity of the sol-gel-grown ZnO is further increased by stacking the ZnO using a newly developed sequential deposition strategy. Finally, the stacked ZnO is used as the cathode to construct ITO-free organic solar cells, photodetectors, and light emitting diodes: The devices based on ZnO outperform those based on ITO, owing to the reduced surface recombination losses at the cathode/active layer interface, and the reduced parasitic absorption losses in the electrodes of the ZnO based devices. A highly conductive and transparent electrode is essential to achieving a high efficiency in indium tin oxide-free optoelectronic devices. Here, the authors strategically prepare sol-gel-grown zinc oxide films based on photoinduced doping effect and demonstrate enhanced performance of devices.

Body-fitted mesh generation has long been the bottleneck of simulating fluid flows involving complex geometries. Immersed boundary methods are non-boundary-conforming methods that have gained great popularity in the last two decades for their simplicity and flexibility, as well as their non-compromised accuracy. This paper presents a summary of some numerical algori- thms along the line of sharp interface direct forcing approaches and their applications in some practical problems. The algorithms include basic Navier-Stokes solvers, immersed boundary setup procedures, treatments of stationary and moving immersed bounda- ries, and fluid-structure coupling schemes. Applications of these algorithms in particulate flows, flow-induced vibrations, biofluid dynamics, and free-surface hydrodynamics are demonstrated. Some concluding remarks are made, including several future research directions that can further expand the application regime of immersed boundary methods.

Rhodopseudomonas palustris , a purple nonsulfur bacterium, is a bacterium with the properties of extraordinary metabolic versatility, carbon source diversity and metabolite diversity. Due to its biodetoxification and biodegradation properties, R. palustris has been traditionally applied in wastewater treatment and bioremediation. R. palustris is rich in various metabolites, contributing to its application in agriculture, aquaculture and livestock breeding as additives. In recent years, R. palustris has been engineered as a microbial cell factory to produce valuable chemicals, especially photofermentation of hydrogen. The outstanding property of R. palustris as a microbial cell factory is its ability to use a diversity of carbon sources. R. palustris is capable of CO 2 fixation, contributing to photoautotrophic conversion of CO 2 into valuable chemicals. R. palustris can assimilate short-chain organic acids and crude glycerol from industrial and agricultural wastewater. Lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates can also be degraded by R. palustris . Utilization of these feedstocks can reduce the industry cost and is beneficial for environment. Applications of R. palustris for biopolymers and their building blocks production, and biofuels production are discussed. Afterward, some novel applications in microbial fuel cells, microbial electrosynthesis and photocatalytic synthesis are summarized. The challenges of the application of R. palustris are analyzed, and possible solutions are suggested.

Inner ear hair cells (HCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are the core components of the auditory system. However, they are vulnerable to genetic defects, noise exposure, ototoxic drugs and aging, and loss or damage of HCs and SGNs results in permanent hearing loss due to their limited capacity for spontaneous regeneration in mammals. Many efforts have been made to combat hearing loss including cochlear implants, HC regeneration, gene therapy, and antioxidant drugs. Here we review the role of autophagy in sensorineural hearing loss and the potential targets related to autophagy for the treatment of hearing loss.

Our previous study’s introduction of the malonic acid assimilation pathway into Escherichia coli enabled biosynthesis of 3-Hydroxypropionate (3-HP) from malonate. However, the relatively low uptake activity of tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) malonic acid transporter (MatPQM) is considered rate-limiting in malonate utilization. Here, to improve the transport performance of this importer, MatP variants were obtained via directed evolution and a novel developed enzyme-inhibition-based high throughput screening approach. This plate chromogenic screening method is based on the fact that malonic acid inhibits both of succinate dehydrogenase activity and further the capability of the reduction of methylene-blue to methylene-white. The best mutant E103G/S194G/Y218H/L235P/N272S showed twofold increased transport efficiency compared to the wild-type. ITC assay and structural analysis revealed that increased binding affinity of the mutant to the ligand was the reason for improved uptake activity of MatPQM. Finally, the engineered strain harboring the evolved mutant produced 20.08 g/L 3-HP with the yield of 0.87 mol/mol malonate in a bioreactor. Therefore, the well-established directed evolution strategy can be regarded as the reference work for other TRAP-type transporters engineering. And, this transporter mutant with enhanced malonic acid uptake activity has broad applications in the microbial biosynthesis of malonyl-CoA-derived valuable compounds in bacteria.Key points• We reported directed evolution of a TRAP-type malonic acid transporter.• We found the enhanced malonate uptake activity of mutant lies in improved affinity.• We enhanced 3-HP bioproduction with high yield by employing the best mutant.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the impact of three-dimensional knowledge-targeted teaching combined with immersive clinical experiences on otology education. Methods A prospective study was conducted on 100 undergraduate interns in their eighth semester of otolaryngology training at Anhui Medical University from June 2023 to November 2024. They were randomly assigned to either a control group ( n  = 50), which received conventional teaching, or an observation group ( n  = 50), which received a teaching model combining three-dimensional knowledge-targeted instruction integrated with immersive clinical experience (ICE). ICE involved supervised role-playing, progressive hands-on skill training, real-time instructor feedback, case discussions, and reflective journaling. Primary outcomes included teaching quality scores, clinical practice ability assessed by the Mini-CEX scale, and teaching satisfaction. Results In the post-intervention assessment, the observation group scored significantly higher than the control group both in teaching quality (all five dimensions; all P  < 0.01) and in Mini-CEX-evaluated clinical abilities, including humanistic care (7.25 ± 0.33 vs. 5.45 ± 0.20), clinical judgment (7.56 ± 0.31 vs. 6.10 ± 0.31), medical interview (7.45 ± 0.66 vs. 6.20 ± 0.11), organizational efficiency (7.45 ± 0.69 vs. 6.45 ± 0.35), communication skills (7.45 ± 0.22 vs. 6.40 ± 0.20), physical examination (7.40 ± 0.41 vs. 6.30 ± 0.21), and overall performance (7.45 ± 0.62 vs. 6.56 ± 0.23) (all P  < 0.01). Teaching satisfaction was also higher in the observation group than in the control group (90.00% vs. 72.00%; P  = 0.021). Conclusion Integrating three-dimensional knowledge-targeted teaching with immersive clinical experience enhances students’ performance in clinical practice and overall satisfaction. This innovative teaching model suggests a potential benefit of comprehensive student development, improves teaching satisfaction, and strengthens the foundation for advancing otology education.