Aim: To develop a bioengineered nanomedicine integrating vascular regeneration and nitric oxide modulation for precision therapy of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Materials and Methods: The nanomedicine (A-M@P-Q) was synthesized through mesoporous polydopamine/polydopamine (mPDA/PDA) coordination, functionalized with VEGF receptor (VEGFR)-targeting peptide (QK), and loaded with l-arginine. Therapeutic validation incorporated cellular hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) models and murine myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) studies, supported by in vivo biodistribution tracking and biosafety evaluation. Results: The A-M@P-Q nanomedicine demonstrated dual therapeutic efficacy: QK peptide promoted angiogenesis via VEGFR2 (Kdr) activation, while l-arginine restored NO homeostasis. In vitro studies revealed that both M@P-Q and A-M@P-Q enhanced NO production, downregulated cellular and mitochondrial ROS level, improved mitochondrial function, inhibited cell apoptosis, and promoted angiogenesis in H/R-triggered endothelial cells; however, A-M@P-Q exerted a stronger effect. Short-term in vivo studies found that A-M@P-Q enhanced phosphor-Kdr and NO level, inhibited cell apoptosis, and promoted early angiogenesis in myocardial I/R mice. Biodistribution study confirmed Kdr-targeted accumulation of M@P-Q nanoparticles in the infarcted myocardium. Systemic biocompatibility study showed negligible toxicity of the nanomedicine. Conclusion: This bifunctional nanosystem A-M@P-Q pioneers a coordinated therapeutic paradigm synchronizing neovascularization with NO promotion, establishing a clinically translatable strategy for I/R injury management through targeted myocardial repair.

Fenchone alleviates 7-ketocholesterol-induced oxiapoptophagy through activation of KLF4-PPARγ-Arg1-mediated M2 macrophage signalling.

Biodegradable microplastics induce more soil nitrous oxide emission than conventional in semi-arid Loess Plateau.

Quantifying, tracing and mitigating N2O production by ammonia-oxidizing archaea during mainstream nitrogen removal.

Biofilm increases N2O production in a sidestream partial nitritation system under low dissolved oxygen conditions.

How operational strategies influence nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide emissions: Insights from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant.

An N2O emissions model featuring newly integrated abiotic pathways in nitrification.

Nitrous oxide recovery from wastewater via microbial denitrification.

Deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying of Xin Xue Granule on LPS-induced pyrexia rats: A multi-omics analysis.

Suspensaditerpenes A-Q, anti-inflammatory labdane and nor-labdane diterpenoids from the seeds of Forsythia suspensa.

A chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. HZ-5 derived from the leaf of Hypericum wilsonii N. Robson, led to the discovery of four alkaloids, including two undescribed compounds, penibutanoic A (1), a suspected extracting artefact, and penibutanoic B (2), along with two known compounds (3 and 4). Their structures were characterised by extensive spectroscopic and ECD calculations. Remarkably, the anti-inflammatory activities evaluation results revealed that compounds 1 and 2 possessed a moderate NO production inhibitory effects with the IC50 values of 14.6 ± 0.2 and 13.9 ± 0.8 µM, respectively.

Soil denitrification mediated by microbial communities is a major source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. However, the regulatory roles of keystone taxa in this process remain poorly understood, particularly under distinct edaphic conditions. Black soil (BS) and fluvo-aquic soil (FS), two representative agricultural soils in China, exhibit contrasting N2O emission potentials, offering an ideal model for exploring microbial mechanisms driving soil-specific denitrification dynamics. We integrated microbial co-occurrence networks, metagenomics, and functional phenotyping to identify and characterize keystone bacterial taxa involved in denitrification across the two soil types. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analyses revealed strong associations between keystone taxa and denitrification rates and N2O emission patterns. Ensifer ASV205 was identified as a conserved keystone taxon in both soils and exhibited strain-level niche specialization. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that variations in denitrification gene composition and carbon-nitrogen metabolic pathways enabled Ensifer strains to act either as N2O producers or reducers, depending on environmental conditions. Our findings demonstrate that soil-specific denitrification processes and N2O emissions are governed by keystone taxa through adaptive genomic and metabolic strategies shaped by environmental filtering. This study provides new insights into the microbial mechanisms regulating N2O emissions and lays the groundwork for developing microbiome-informed strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural soils.

Mechanotransduction is a fundamental cellular process. Intercellular communication of mechanotransduction integrates cells, irrespective of whether they are of the same or different types, into a cohesive functional unit, which plays a critical role in tissue and organ regeneration, cell differentiation, cell division, and responses to external stimuli. However, research on intercellular communication in mechanotransduction remains underexplored owing to the absence of highly efficient techniques for the real-time, in situ acquisition of biochemical information at the single-cell level. In this work, we developed an electrochemical analysis method to investigate the pathways and dynamics of lamellipodium-mediated intercellular communication. Specifically, an electric field-driven strategy was developed to fabricate microdisk electrochemical sensors based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/single-walled carbon nanotubes (PEDOT/SWCNTs), followed by decoration with Au nanoparticles to prepared Au/PEDOT/SWCNTs. The resulting Au/PEDOT/SWCNTs microdisk electrochemical sensor exhibits exceptional electrochemical performance. As a concept application, this Au/PEDOT/SWCNTs microdisk electrochemical sensor was employed to monitor NO release during intercellular communication of mechanotransduction between human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Our findings demonstrated that lamellipodia can transmit mechanical stimulation from a stimulated HUVEC to a recipient HUVEC connected via lamellipodia, thereby triggering NO production and release in the recipient cells. The transmission takes approximately 70 ± 20 ms, with a transmission efficiency of approximately 77.2%. This study provides novel insights into the lamellipodia-mediated intercellular communication in mechanotransduction and offers a method for investigating such processes.

ABSTRACT Accurate prediction and control of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal combustion critically depend on understanding nitrogen release mechanisms from individual coal particles. This study establishes a model predicting the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) during the combustion of a single pulverized coal particle. The model integrates the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) framework with heterogeneous char surface reactions. Crucially, this model represents the first approach incorporating the significant contribution of N2O to nitrogen oxide formation pathways. This capability allows tracking concentration profiles of key species throughout the particle combustion process. The model reasonably predicts N2O formation under high-temperature, low-oxygen conditions and effectively captures dynamic interactions between NO and N2O. Under varying oxygen concentrations and initial NO levels, the model clearly reveals mechanistic influences of O2 and NO on N2O production. These results provide a robust framework for understanding nitrogen oxide formation mechanisms and informing targeted emission control strategies.

Myocardial tissue engineering employs cell-loaded biomaterial scaffolds to repair heart damage, but poor vascularization limits effectiveness. Meanwhile, post-infarction cardiac tissue suffers severe vascular deficiency, creating a hypoxic microenvironment that critically impairs the viability of engrafted cells. Current engineered tissues have 7-fold fewer microvessels than natural heart tissue, highlighting the need for better vascularization methods. Mechanical forces can regulate cellular behaviors like proliferation and morphogenesis, especially promote vascular network formation by enhancing endothelial sprouting. Moreover, unlike other blood vessels, cardiovascular vessels perceive mechanical stimulation derived from both hemodynamic forces and cardiac cyclic strain. Inspired by this, we designed a biomimetic mechanical stimulation system by combining a 3D printed myocardial-like structure scaffold and a frequency and volume adjustable ventilator. This system replicated native myocardial architecture, including cellular alignment, and delivered biomimetic forces with tunable intensity and frequency. By applying human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (HCMECs) to this system, we proved that biomimetic mechanical stimulation enhances NO production and tube formation through Piezo2 activation. And the therapeutic efficacy of biomimetic mechanical stimulated HCMECs is validated in the MI mice model. The biomimetic mechanical stimulation system replicates the mechanical microenvironment of the heart and provides a new strategy in vascularization improvement of myocardial tissue engineering.

Abstract. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microscopic phototrophs (“microalgae”) can synthesize the potent greenhouse gas and ozone depleting pollutant nitrous oxide (N2O). However, we do not know how much microalgae contribute to aquatic N2O emissions because these organisms co-occur with prolific N2O producers like denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria. Here we demonstrate for the first time that microalgae produce distinct N2O isotopic signatures that will enable us to fill this knowledge gap. The eukaryotes Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris, and the prokaryote Microcystis aeruginosa synthesized N2O 265 – 755 nmol g-DW−1 h−1 when in darkness and supplied with 10 mM nitrite (NO2-). The N2O isotopic composition (δ15N, δ18O, and site preference, SP) of each species was determined using a modified off-axis integrated-cavity-output spectroscopy analyser with an offline sample purification and homogenisation system. The SP values differed between eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae (25.8 ± 0.3 ‰ and 24.1 ± 0.2 ‰ for C. reinhardtii and C. vulgaris, respectively vs 2.1 ± 3.0 ‰ for M. aeruginosa), as did bulk isotope values. Both values differ from SP produced by denitrifiers. This first characterization of the N2O isotopic fingerprints of microscopic phototrophs suggests that SP-N2O could be used to untangle algal, bacterial, and fungal N2O production pathways. As the presence of microalgae could influence N2O dynamics in aquatic ecosystems, field monitoring is also needed to establish the occurrence and significance of microalgal N2O synthesis under relevant conditions.

One new nor-28-oleanane glycoside (1) and fifteen known compounds (2 − 16) were separated from a methanol extract of Syzygium formosum leaves. Their structures were elucidated via HRESIMS and NMR spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined based on ECD spectra calculated using TD-DFT methods. Among the isolates, syringin (11) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, with an IC50 value of 18.4 μM. Compounds 1 − 3 displayed moderate inhibitory effects, with IC50 values of 58.4–79.2 μM.

Uncoupled nitrification-denitrification reduces nitrous oxide emissions in canals affected by ship disturbance.

Twenty-two new monoterpene-coumarins, comprising the initial disclosure of 11 enantiomeric pairings, were isolated from the rhizomes of Luvunga scandens with the aid of LC-MS/MS based on molecular networking. Luvunscandins A-G (1-7) are dihydrofurancoumarins with a furan ring connection, and luvunscandins H-K (8-11) are dihydrofurancoumarins connected through a pyran ring. Chemical structures and absolute configurations were determined by analysis of spectroscopic data and X-ray diffraction analysis. The neuroprotective effects of all the isolates on LPS-stimulated NO production in BV2 microglia were evaluated. Compounds 6a, 7a, 7b, 8b, 9a, 9b, 11a, and 11b demonstrated more potent inhibitory effects than the positive control PDTC. Structural-activity relationship analysis revealed that neuroprotective activity was primarily associated with pyran-type dihydrofurancoumarins or compounds bearing a C3'R,6'R configuration, whereas furan-type analogs or compounds with a C3'S,6'S configuration exhibited weak or no activity. (+)-Luvunscandin I (9a) showed the most significant inhibitory activity (IC50 = 4.9 ± 0.6 μg/mL) through suppression of the inflammatory transcription factors p65NF-κB and iNOS.

Abstract Cold atmospheric plasma jets show promising results in chronic wound healing. In this study, three AC kHz helium plasma jet configurations are characterized: two standard linear plasma jets and an innovative large area diffusive jet. The latter consists of a linear tube with an expansion bell closed at its end by sintered glass material generating a 50 mm² uniform plasma. First, three configurations are compared with respect to their physicochemical aspects: the ionization front propagation and interaction with dielectric and liquid target is monitored using and electric field probe, and the production of H2O2 and NO2 -in liquid target as a function of the energy dose is measured. Second, a preliminary study is conducted on simple biological models in vitro: collagen secretion from primary fibroblasts and proliferation from keratinocytes (HaCaT) are assessed. It results that collagen secretion and cell proliferation are enhanced when treated with the diffusive jet, contrary to linear jets. The diffusive jet produces higher electric field and lower concentration of H2O2 and NO2 -compared to standard linear jets. This suggests that the balance between electric field and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species is critical to stimulate cell responses.