Baicalein inhibits mitochondrial apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes by stabilizing MARCH5 expression

Abnormal mitochondrial fission and mitophagy participate in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. Baicalein is a key active component in the roots of traditional Chinese medicinal herb Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. It has been reported that baicalein can resist cardiotoxicity induced by several stress, but the mechanisms of baicalein operate in the protection of cardiomyocytes need to be researched further. Here we report that baicalein can promote cell survival under oxidative stress by up‐regulating the expression level of MARCH5 in cardiomyocytes. Pre‐treatment cells or mice with baicalein can stabilize the expression of MARCH5, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of mitochondrial network and mitophagy. Overexpressed MARCH5 is able to against H₂O₂ and ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) stress by suppressing mitochondrial fission and enhancing mitophagy, and then attenuate cells apoptosis. Altogether, our present study investigated that baicalein exerts a protective effect through regulating KLF4‐MARCH5‐Drp1 pathway, our research also provided a novel theoretical basis for the clinical application of baicalein.     

The role of sphingosine 1‐phosphate and its receptors in cardiovascular diseases

There are many different types of cardiovascular diseases, which impose a huge economic burden due to their extremely high mortality rates, so it is necessary to explore the underlying mechanisms to achieve better supportive and curative care outcomes. Sphingosine 1‐phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid mediator with paracrine and autocrine activities that acts through its cell surface S1P receptors (S1PRs) and intracellular signals. In the circulatory system, S1P is indispensable for both normal and disease conditions; however, there are very different views on its diverse roles, and its specific relevance to cardiovascular pathogenesis remains elusive. Here, we review the synthesis, release and functions of S1P, specifically detail the roles of S1P and S1PRs in some common cardiovascular diseases, and then address several controversial points, finally, we focus on the development of S1P‐based therapeutic approaches in cardiovascular diseases, such as the selective S1PR1 modulator amiselimod (MT‐1303) and the non‐selective S1PR1 and S1PR3 agonist fingolimod, which may provide valuable insights into potential therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases.     

A Review on Additives for Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

Additives are widely adopted for efficient, stable, and hysteresis‐free perovskite solar cells and play an important role in various breakthroughs of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein the various additives adopted for PSCs are reviewed and their functioning mechanism and influence on device performance is described. The main roles of additives, modulating morphology of perovskite films, stabilizing phase of formamidinium (FA) and cesium (Cs)‐based perovskites, adjusting energy level alignment in PSCs, suppressing nonradiative recombination in perovskites, eliminating hysteresis, enhancing operational stability of PSCs, are summarized.     

2D Metal Zn Nanostructure Electrodes for High‐Performance Zn Ion Supercapacitors

Recent supercapacitors show a high power density with long‐term cycle life time in energy‐powering applications. A supercapacitor based on a single metal electrode accompanying multivalent cations, multiple charging/discharging kinetics, and high electrical conductivity is a promising energy‐storing system that replaces conventionally used oxide and sulfide materials. Here, a hierarchically nanostructured 2D‐Zn metal electrode‐ion supercapacitor (ZIC) is reported which significantly enhances the ion diffusion ability and overall energy storage performance. Those nanostructures can also be successfully plated on various flat‐type and fiber‐type current collectors by a controlled electroplating method. The ZIC exhibits excellent pseudocapacitive performance with a high energy density of 208 W h kg^?1 and a power density from 500 W kg^?1, which are significantly higher than those of previously reported supercapacitors with oxide and sulfide materials. Furthermore, the fiber‐type ZIC also shows high energy‐storing performance, outstanding mechanical flexibility, and waterproof characteristics, without any significant capacitance degradation during bending tests. These results highlight the promising possibility of nanostructured 2D Zn metal electrodes with the controlled electroplating method for future energy storage applications.     

Robust Swing‐Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Efficient Blue Energy Harvesting

Ocean wave energy is a promising renewable energy source, but harvesting such irregular, “random,” and mostly ultra‐low frequency energies is rather challenging due to technological limitations. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a potential efficient technology for scavenging ocean wave energy. Here, a robust swing‐structured triboelectric nanogenerator (SS‐TENG) with high energy conversion efficiency for ultra‐low frequency water wave energy harvesting is reported. The swing structure inside the cylindrical TENG greatly elongates its operation time, accompanied with multiplied output frequency. The design of the air gap and flexible dielectric brushes enable mininized frictional resistance and sustainable triboelectric charges, leading to enhanced robustness and durability. The TENG performance is controlled by external triggering conditions, with a long swing time of 88 s and a high energy conversion efficiency, as well as undiminished performance after continuous triggering for 4 00 000 cycles. Furthermore, the SS‐TENG is demonstrated to effectively harvest water wave energy. Portable electronic devices are successfully powered for self‐powered sensing and environment monitoring. Due to the excellent performance of the distinctive mechanism and structure, the SS‐TENG in this work provides a good candidate for harvesting blue energy on a large scale.     

Molecular phylogeny and species delimitation of Stachyuraceae: Advocating a herbarium specimen‐based phylogenomic approach in resolving species boundaries

Species concept and delimitation are fundamental to taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Both inadequate informative sites in the molecular data and limited taxon sampling have often led to poor phylogenetic resolution and incorrect species delineation. Recently, the whole chloroplast genome sequences from extensive herbarium specimen samples have been shown to be effective to amend the problem. Stachyuraceae are a small family consisting of only one genus Stachyurus of six to 16 species. However, species delimitation in Stachyurus has been highly controversial because of few and generally unstable morphological characters used for classification. In this study, we sampled 69 individuals of seven species (each with at least three individuals) covering the entire taxonomic diversity, geographic range, and morphological variation of Stachyurus from herbarium specimens for genome‐wide plastid gene sequencing to address species delineation in the genus. We obtained high‐quality DNAs from specimens using a recently developed DNA reconstruction technique. We first assembled four whole chloroplast genome sequences. Based on the chloroplast genome and one nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence of Stachyurus, we designed primers for multiplex polymerase chain reaction and high throughput sequencing of 44 plastid loci for species of Stachyurus. Data of these chloroplast DNA and nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences were used for phylogenetic analyses. The phylogenetic results showed that the Japanese species Stachyurus praecox Siebold & Zucc. was sister to the rest in mainland China, which indicated a typical Sino‐Japanese distribution pattern. Based on diagnostic morphological characters, distinct distributional range, and monophyly of each clade, we redefined seven species for Stachyurus following an integrative species concept, and revised the taxonomy of the family based on previous reports and specimens, in particular the type specimens. Furthermore, our divergence time estimation results suggested that Stachyuraceae split from its sister group Crossosomataceae from the New World at ca. 54.29 Mya, but extant species of Stachyuraceae started their diversification only recently at ca. 6.85 Mya. Diversification time of Stachyurus in mainland China was estimated to be ca. 4.45 Mya. This research has provided an example of using the herbarium specimen‐based phylogenomic approach in resolving species boundaries in a taxonomically difficult genus.     

Generation of a highly attenuated strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for commercial production of alginate

Alginate is an important polysaccharide that is commonly used as a gelling agent in foods, cosmetics and healthcare products. Currently, all alginate used commercially is extracted from brown seaweed. However, with environmental changes such as increasing ocean temperature and the increasing number of biotechnological uses of alginates with specific properties, there is an emerging need for more reliable and customizable sources of alginate. An alternative to seaweed for alginate production is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common Gram-negative bacterium that can form alginate-containing biofilms. However, P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, we sought to engineer a non-pathogenic P. aeruginosa strain that is safe for commercial production of alginate. Using a homologous recombination strategy, we sequentially deleted five key pathogenicity genes from the P. aeruginosa chromosome, resulting in the marker-free strain PGN5. Intraperitoneal injection of mice with PGN5 resulted in 0% mortality, while injection with wild-type P. aeruginosa resulted in 95% mortality, providing evidence that the systemic virulence of PGN5 is highly attenuated. Importantly, PGN5 produces large amounts of alginate in response to overexpression of MucE, an activator of alginate biosynthesis. The alginate produced by PGN5 is structurally identical to alginate produced by wild-type P. aeruginosa, indicating that the alginate biosynthetic pathway remains functional in this modified strain. The genetic versatility of P. aeruginosa will allow us to further engineer PGN5 to produce alginates with specific chemical compositions and physical properties to meet different industrial and biomedical needs.     

Experimental warming and drought treatments reduce physiological activities and increase mortality of Pinus koraiensis seedlings

Plant Ecology - This study was conducted to investigate physiological responses and mortality of P. koraiensis seedlings under warming and drought treatments. In May 2016, 90 P. koraiensis...