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The flocculation of dyeing wastewater generated a large amount of sludge that was often disposed as refractory hazardous waste. The resource utilization of flocculation sludge was of great significance in terms of low treatment cost of sludge, low environmental risk and high usage efficiency of reactive dyes. Herein, a flocculation sludge-derived (FSD) adsorbent was prepared via cross-linking of flocculation sludge yielding by carboxymethyl chitosan-based flocculants and dyes. FSD adsorbent had excellent selective adsorption performance for methylene blue (MB) treatment. The highest removal rate of MB and adsorption capacity of FSD adsorbent were 96.48 % and 354.7066 mg/g, attributing to its rich functional groups, negative charges and special micropore structure. FSD adsorbent owned the favorable regeneration efficiency and stability. Its removal rate of MB was still above 71.8 % after 6 regeneration-adsorption cycles. Its leaching rate of dyes was only 0.0016 mg/mg that was rather lower than common dried flocculation sludge. The adsorption processes of FSD adsorbent were complex in accordance with its characteristics, adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics and theoretical calculation. Multiple adsorption mechanisms were present in the treatment of dyeing wastewater by FSD adsorbent. The resource utilization of flocculation sludge, as adsorbents, was a potential candidate in field application.

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The research on bio-based flocculants for waste resource utilization and environmental protection has garnered significant attention. Bio-based flocculants encompass plant-based, animal-based, and microbial variants that are prepared and modified through biological, chemical, and physical methods. These flocculants possess abundant functional groups, unique structures, and distinctive characteristics. This review comprehensively discussed the removal rates of conventional pollutants and emerging pollutants by bio-based flocculants, the interaction between these flocculants and pollutants, their impact on flocculation performance in wastewater treatment, as well as their application cost. Furthermore, it described the common challenges faced by bio-based flocculants in practical applications along with various improvement strategies to address them. With their safety profile, environmental friendliness, efficiency, renewability, and wide availability from diverse sources, bio-based flocculants hold great potential for widespread use in wastewater treatment.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a class of persistent synthetic chemicals extensively utilized across industrial and consumer sectors, raising substantial environmental and human health concerns. Epidemiological investigations have robustly linked PFAS exposure to a spectrum of adverse health outcomes. Altered metabolites stand as promising biomarkers, offering insights into the identification of specific environmental pollutants and their deleterious impacts on human health. However, elucidating metabolic alterations attributable to PFAS exposure and their ensuing health effects has remained challenging. In light of this, this review aims to elucidate potential biomarkers of PFAS exposure by presenting a comprehensive overview of recent metabolomics-based studies exploring PFAS toxicity. Details of PFAS types, sources, and human exposure patterns are provided. Furthermore, insights into PFAS-induced liver toxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, glucose homeostasis disruption, kidney toxicity, and carcinogenesis are synthesized. Additionally, a thorough examination of studies utilizing metabolomics to delineate PFAS exposure and toxicity biomarkers across blood, liver, and urine specimens is presented. This review endeavors to advance our understanding of PFAS biomarkers regarding exposure and associated toxicological effects.

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In the context of measurement-induced entanglement phase transitions, the influence of quantum noises, which are inherent in real physical systems, is of great importance and experimental relevance. In this Letter, we present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the effects of both temporally uncorrelated and correlated quantum noises on entanglement generation and information protection. This investigation reveals that entanglement within the system follows q^{-1/3} scaling for both types of quantum noises, where q represents the noise probability. The scaling arises from the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang fluctuation with effective length scale L_{eff}∼q^{-1}. More importantly, the information protection timescales of the steady states are explored and shown to follow q^{-1/2} and q^{-2/3} scaling for temporally uncorrelated and correlated noises, respectively. The former scaling can be interpreted as a Hayden-Preskill protocol, while the latter is a direct consequence of Kardar-Parisi-Zhang fluctuations. We conduct extensive numerical simulations using stabilizer formalism to support the theoretical understanding. This Letter not only contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between quantum noises and measurement-induced phase transition but also provides a new perspective to understand the effects of Markovian and non-Markovian noises on quantum computation.

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The treatment of full-thickness skin injuries complicated by severe infection is hampered by the lack of comprehensive solutions that can regulate the various stages of wound healing. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a multifunctional dressing capable of multi-level regulation. In this study, we propose a novel solution by covalently integrating ε-poly-l-lysine-grafted gallic acid (EG) and in situ bioreduced silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAP), thereby developing a multi-layered, multifunctional nanoplatform (nHEA). Cell experiments have shown that, compared to nHAP and nHAP loaded only with EG (nHEG), the addition of AgNPs to nHEA confers excellent antibacterial properties while maintaining optimal biocompatibility. The incorporation of EG onto nHEG and nHEA imparts antioxidation, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenic functions, and the release of Ca2+ and EG further enhances fibroblast migration and collagen secretion. In a rat model of full-thickness skin injury with severe infection, nHEA demonstrates remarkable antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, along with promoting collagen remodeling and regeneration. Together, both cell experiments and animal studies confirm the significant potential of this innovative multifunctional nanoplatform in the treatment of full-thickness skin injuries with severe infection. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Treating infected full-thickness skin injuries poses a longstanding challenge due to the lack of comprehensive solutions that can regulate different stages of wound healing. This study introduces a novel multifunctional nanoplatform, nHEA, developed by covalently integrating ε-poly-l-lysine grafted with gallic acid (EG) and in situ bioreduced AgNPs onto nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAP). Cell experiments reveal that the integration of AgNPs enhances nHEA's antibacterial performance while maintaining optimal biocompatibility. The inclusion of EG bestows antioxidant, inflammation-regulating, and angiogenetic properties upon nHEA, and the release of Ca2+ and EG stimulates the migration and collagen secretion of fibroblast cells. Consequently, nHEA exhibits superior antibacterial and inflammation-regulating efficacy, and stimulates collagen remodeling and regeneration in vivo, making it a promising treatment for severely infected skin injuries.

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The variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) framework has been instrumental in advancing near-term quantum algorithms. However, parameter optimization remains a significant bottleneck for VQE, requiring a large number of measurements for successful algorithm execution. In this paper, we propose sequential optimization with approximate parabola (SOAP) as an efficient and robust optimizer specifically designed for parameter optimization of the unitary coupled-cluster ansatz on quantum computers. SOAP leverages sequential optimization and approximates the energy landscape as quadratic functions, minimizing the number of energy evaluations required to optimize each parameter. To capture parameter correlations, SOAP incorporates the average direction from previous iterations into the optimization direction set. Numerical benchmark studies on molecular systems demonstrate that SOAP achieves significantly faster convergence and greater robustness to noise compared with traditional optimization methods. Furthermore, numerical simulations of up to 20 qubits reveal that SOAP scales well with the number of parameters in the ansatz. The exceptional performance of SOAP is further validated through experiments on a superconducting quantum computer using a 2-qubit model system.

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Microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants that are widely detected in drinking water and pose a potential risk to humans. Therefore, the MP removal from drinking water is a critical challenge. Recent studies have shown that MPs can be removed by coagulation. However, the coagulation removal of MPs from drinking water remains inadequately understood. Herein, the efficiency, mechanisms, and influencing factors of coagulation for removing MPs from drinking water are critically reviewed. First, the efficiency of MP removal by coagulation in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and laboratories was comprehensively summarized, which indicated that coagulation plays an important role in MP removal from drinking water. The difference in removal effectiveness between the DWTPs and laboratory was mainly due to variations in treatment conditions and limitations of the detection techniques. Several dominant coagulation mechanisms for removing MPs and their research methods are thoroughly discussed. Charge neutralization is more relevant for small-sized MPs, whereas large-sized MPs are more dependent on adsorption bridging and sweeping. Furthermore, the factors influencing the efficiency of MP removal were jointly analyzed using meta-analysis and a random forest model. The meta-analysis was used to quantify the individual effects of each factor on coagulation removal efficiency by performing subgroup analysis. The random forest model quantified the relative importance of the influencing factors on removal efficiency, the results of which were ordered as follows: MPs shape > Coagulant type > Coagulant dosage > MPs concentration > MPs size > MPs type > pH. Finally, knowledge gaps and potential future directions are proposed. This review assists in the understanding of the coagulation removal of MPs, and provides novel insight into the challenges posed by MPs in drinking water.

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Ground state preparation is classically intractable for general Hamiltonians. On quantum devices, shallow parametrized circuits can be effectively trained to obtain short-range entangled states under the paradigm of variational quantum eigensolver, while deep circuits are generally untrainable due to the barren plateau phenomenon. In this Letter, we give a general lower bound on the variance of circuit gradients for arbitrary quantum circuits composed of local 2-designs. Based on our unified framework, we prove the absence of barren plateaus in training finite local-depth circuits (FLDC) for the ground states of local Hamiltonians. FLDCs are allowed to be deep in the conventional circuit depth to generate long-range entangled ground states, such as topologically ordered states, but their local depths are finite, i.e., there is only a finite number of gates acting on individual qubits. This characteristic sets FLDC apart from shallow circuits: FLDC in general cannot be classically simulated to estimate local observables efficiently by existing tensor network methods in two and higher dimensions. We validate our analytical results with extensive numerical simulations and demonstrate the effectiveness of variational training using the generalized toric code model.

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Activated M1-type macrophages, which produce inflammatory factors that exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis (RA), represent crucial target cells for inhibiting the disease process. In this study, we developed a novel photoresponsive targeted drug delivery system (TPNPs-HA) that can effectively deliver the hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) specifically to activated macrophages. After administration, this metal-organic framework, PCN-224, constructed uing the photosensitizer porphyrin, exhibits the ability to generate excessive toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) when exposed to near-infrared light. Additionally, the oxygen-consumed hypoxic environment further activates the chemotherapeutic effect of TPZ, thus creating a synergistic combination of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy (HaCT) to promote the elimination of activated M1-type macrophages. The results highlight the significantly potential of this photoresponsive nano-delivery system in providing substantial relief for RA. Furthermore, these findings support its effectiveness in inhibiting the disease process of RA, thereby offering new possibilities for the development of precise and accurate strategies for RA.

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Objective@#To explore the effects of protein powder on the bioavailability of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in blood and kidneys of rats and renal function change.@*Methods@#Twenty-four rats of the SD strain were randomly divided into the negative control group, PFASs group and protein powder group, with 8 rats (half males and half females) in each group. PFASs included 13 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and 8 perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs), and the mixture was used as a test subject for intervention. The rats in the negative control group were given deionized water at doses of 20 mL/kg·bw, in the PFASs group were given 5 mL/kg·bw of PFASs mixtures and 15 mL/kg·bw of deionized water, and in the protein powder group were given 5 mL/kg·bw of PFASs mixtures and 15 mL/kg·bw of protein powder (0.258 g/mL). After intervention for 28 successive days, body weight and kidney mass were weighed, and the kidney volume index was calculated. Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were detected by an automatic biochemical analyzer. The PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs contents were quantified in blood and kidney using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and the bioavailability was estimated.@*Results@#There was no significant differences in kidney mass, kidney volume index, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen among the negative control group, PFASs group and protein powder group (all P>0.05). The bioavailability of blood PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs in the protein powder group was not significantly different from the PFASs group (all P>0.05). Compared with the PFASs group, the bioavailability of PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs were significantly increased in kidneys of male rats in the protein powder group (all P<0.05), while were not significant different in those of female rats (all P>0.05).@*Conclusion@#Protein powder at the dose of this study can significantly improve the bioavailability of PFASs in kidneys of male rats, while there no obvious effects on the bioavailability of blood PFASs and renal function.

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Our research demonstrated that novel pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) iridium pyridine sulfonamide complex PySO2NPh-Ir (7) could highly specifically catalyze nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) into the corresponding reducing cofactor NADH in cell growth media containing various biomolecules. The structures and catalytic mechanism of 7 were studied by single-crystal X-ray, NMR, electrochemical, and kinetic methods, and the formation of iridium hydride species Ir-H was confirmed to be the plausible hydride-transfer intermediate of 7. Moreover, benefiting from its high hydrogen-transfer activity and selectivity for NADH regeneration, 7 was used as an optimal metal catalyst to establish a chem-enzyme cascade catalytic hydrogen-transfer system, which realized the high-efficiency preparation of l-glutamic acid by combining with l-glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH).

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The rapid advancements in gene therapy have opened up new possibilities for treating genetic disorders, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and familial hypercholesterolemia. The utilization of the clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system has revolutionized the field of gene therapy by enabling precise targeting of genes. In recent years, CRISPR/Cas9 has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in treating cancer and genetic diseases. However, the susceptibility of nucleic acid drugs to degradation by nucleic acid endonucleases necessitates the development of functional vectors capable of protecting the nucleic acids from enzymatic degradation while ensuring safety and effectiveness. This review explores the biomedical potential of non-viral vector-based CRISPR/Cas9 systems for treating genetic diseases. Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in viral and non-viral vector-based gene therapy for genetic disorders, including preclinical and clinical study insights. Additionally, the review analyzes the current limitations of these delivery systems and proposes avenues for developing novel nano-delivery platforms.

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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1222716.].

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Intracellular redox imbalance, achieved by exploiting the tumor microenvironment (TME), has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapy. In this study, we developed a multifunctional nanoadjuvant, termed GITFe/Z-HA, by modified a metal-organic backbone Fe/ZIF-8 with hyaluronic acid (HA) targeting. The nanocarriers were loaded with glucose oxidase (Gox), neoindocyanine green (IR820) and tilazamine (TPZ). This design aimed to achieve a cascade reaction within tumor cells, mediated by Gox, Fe3+, and IR820, which consumes intrinsic glucose and oxygen, leading to an elevated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This cascade reaction creates a hypoxic environment conducive for TPZ to exert its therapeutic action. Consequently, the combination of photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and chemotherapy demonstrates a good synergistic effect. Moreover, the imbalanced ROS/glutathione (GSH) induced by this treatment approach, along with PTT, promote immunogenic cell death (ICD). This ICD triggers the release of damage-related molecular patterns and CD8+ lymphocyte infiltration sensitizes the immune checkpoint blockade (αPD-L1) response, thereby eliciting a systemic anti-tumor immune response. Collectively, this comprehensive treatment regimen, driven by environmentally stimulated multiple pathways, overcomes the limitations of single therapeutic modalities, thereby improving tumor outcomes. Additionally, these findings provide valuable insights for strategies aimed at modulating the tumor immune microenvironment.

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Background: The primary objective of this study is to thoroughly investigate the intricate correlation between postoperative molecular residual disease (MRD) status in individuals diagnosed with stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and clinicopathological features, gene mutations, the tumour immune microenvironment and treatment effects. Methods: The retrospective collection and analysis were carried out on the clinical data of ninety individuals diagnosed with stage I-IIIA NSCLC who underwent radical resection of lung cancer at our medical facility between January 2021 and March 2022. The comprehensive investigation encompassed an evaluation of multiple aspects including the MRD status, demographic information, clinicopathological characteristics, results from genetic testing, the tumor immune microenvironment, and treatment effects. Results: No significant associations were observed between postoperative MRD status and variables such as gender, age, smoking history, pathological type, and gene mutations. However, a statistically significant correlation was found between MRD positivity and T (tumor diameter > 3 cm) as well as N (lymph node metastasis) stages (p values of 0.004 and 0.003, respectively). It was observed that higher proportions of micropapillary and solid pathological subtypes within lung adenocarcinoma were associated with increased rates of MRD-positivity after surgery (p = 0.007;0.005). MRD positivity demonstrated a correlation with the presence of vascular invasion (p = 0.0002). For the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), tumour positive score (TPS) ≥ 1% and combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 5 were correlated with postoperative MRD status (p value distribution was 0.0391 and 0.0153). In terms of ctDNA elimination, among patients identified as having postoperative MRD and lacking gene mutations, postoperative adjuvant targeted therapy demonstrated superiority over chemotherapy (p = 0.027). Conclusion: Postoperative ctDNA-MRD status in NSCLC patients exhibits correlations with the size of the primary tumor, lymph node metastasis, pathological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, presence of vascular invasion, as well as TPS and CPS values for PD-L1 expression; in postoperative patients with MRD, the effectiveness of adjuvant EGFR-TKI targeted therapy exceeds that of chemotherapy, as evidenced by the elimination of ctDNA.

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Understanding the genetic basis of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) domestication is crucial for further improving natural rubber production to meet its increasing demand worldwide. Here we provide a high-quality H. brasiliensis genome assembly (1.58 Gb, contig N50 of 11.21 megabases), present a map of genome variations by resequencing 335 accessions and reveal domestication-related molecular signals and a major domestication trait, the higher number of laticifer rings. We further show that HbPSK5, encoding the small-peptide hormone phytosulfokine (PSK), is a key domestication gene and closely correlated with the major domestication trait. The transcriptional activation of HbPSK5 by myelocytomatosis (MYC) members links PSK signaling to jasmonates in regulating the laticifer differentiation in rubber tree. Heterologous overexpression of HbPSK5 in Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) can increase rubber content by promoting laticifer formation. Our results provide an insight into target genes for improving rubber tree and accelerating the domestication of other rubber-producing plants.

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Drosophila melanogaster Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule 1 (Dscam1) encodes 19,008 diverse ectodomain isoforms via the alternative splicing of exon 4, 6, and 9 clusters. However, whether individual isoforms or exon clusters have specific significance is unclear. Here, using phenotype-diversity correlation analysis, we reveal the redundant and specific roles of Dscam1 diversity in neuronal wiring. A series of deletion mutations were performed from the endogenous locus harboring exon 4, 6, or 9 clusters, reducing to 396 to 18,612 potential ectodomain isoforms. Of the 3 types of neurons assessed, dendrite self/non-self discrimination required a minimum number of isoforms (approximately 2,000), independent of exon clusters or isoforms. In contrast, normal axon patterning in the mushroom body and mechanosensory neurons requires many more isoforms that tend to associate with specific exon clusters or isoforms. We conclude that the role of the Dscam1 diversity in dendrite self/non-self discrimination is nonspecifically mediated by its isoform diversity. In contrast, a separate role requires variable domain- or isoform-related functions and is essential for other neurodevelopmental contexts, such as axonal growth and branching. Our findings shed new light on a general principle for the role of Dscam1 diversity in neuronal wiring.

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TenCirChem is an open-source Python library for simulating variational quantum algorithms for quantum computational chemistry. TenCirChem shows high-performance in the simulation of unitary coupled-cluster circuits, using compact representations of quantum states and excitation operators. Additionally, TenCirChem supports noisy circuit simulation and provides algorithms for variational quantum dynamics. TenCirChem's capabilities are demonstrated through various examples, such as the calculation of the potential energy curve of H2O with a 6-31G(d) basis set using a 34-qubit quantum circuit, the examination of the impact of quantum gate errors on the variational energy of the H2 molecule, and the exploration of the Marcus inverted region for charge transfer rate based on variational quantum dynamics. Furthermore, TenCirChem is capable of running real quantum hardware experiments, making it a versatile tool for both simulation and experimentation in the field of quantum computational chemistry.

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Tumor drug resistance has long been a major challenge in medical oncology. Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death with promising clinical applications. However, the efficacy of ferroptosis-inducing agents is often limited by endogenous factors when used alone, and thus, synergistic therapy offers a promising strategy to address this issue. In this study, we developed an iron-doped metal-organic framework (MOF), Fe/ZIF-8, loaded with glucose oxidase (Gox), l-arginine (l-arg), and adriamycin hydrochloride (Dox). The folic acid (FA)-targeted ZIF-8 (GLDFe/Z-FA) prepared was shown to be a multifunctional nanoparticle based on endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose, which trigger adaptive cellular responses in cancer cells. The intracellular glucose level and adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) content decreased, indicating that GLDFe/Z-FA reduced the glucose metabolic rate and induced tumor starvation. And the generated •OH and H2O2 induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overload to implement chemodynamic therapy (CDT). ROS catalyzed l-arg released from GLDFe/Z-FA to release nitric oxide (NO), which inhibited P-glycoprotein expression, prevented Dox efflux, and accumulated intracellular content of Dox to enhance cytotoxicity. GLDFe/Z-FA also catalyzed glutathione degradation, which further disrupted intracellular redox homeostasis, enhanced CDT, and induced cell death. It was shown to follow the ferroptosis pathway and strongly inhibited tumor proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate that GLDFe/Z-FA effectively inhibits tumor proliferation, highlighting its potential as a viable therapeutic approach to suppress cancer progression.

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