Electronic waste contains gold at concentrations far exceeding natural ores, yet efficient and selective recovery remains challenging. Here, we present a covalent organic framework (COF), tetra-(4-aminophenyl)-porphyrin–4,4′-(thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazol-2,5-diyl)bis(2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde)–COF (TAPP-TZ-OMe-COF), in which thiazole and methoxy groups create abundant AuCl₄⁻ binding sites and modulate the electronic structure via donor–acceptor interactions and p–π conjugation. These features narrow the band gap, enhance charge separation, and accelerate photogenerated electron transfer, enabling synergistic adsorption and visible-light reduction of Au(III) to Au(0). TAPP-TZ-OMe-COF delivers a gold recovery capacity of 4,109 mg g⁻¹ and achieves 99.9% recovery from computer processing unit-board leachate with >10⁵-fold selectivity and excellent cycling stability. This molecular-engineering approach offers a generalizable blueprint for integrating adsorption and photocatalysis in COFs, advancing the recovery of gold from complex waste streams for sustainable resource reclamation.

Septic cardiomyopathy, a severe complication of sepsis, is characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, and its effective management remains an important challenge. Although fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) has been shown to exert cardioprotective effects, its role in septic cardiomyopathy has not been extensively investigated. To address this knowledge gap, FGF2 knockout (FGF2^−/−) mice were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to establish septic cardiomyopathy in vivo, and the resulting cardiac injury was evaluated after 72 h. The results demonstrated that LPS inhibited FGF2 expression in cardiomyocytes, and genetic ablation of FGF2 exacerbated myocardial inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and cardiac dysfunction. Notably, treatment with recombinant FGF2 (rFGF2) effectively reversed these detrimental effects. Proteomic analysis revealed that FGF2 significantly modulated mitophagy, and further verification assays confirmed that FGF2 prevented LPS-induced mitochondrial injury and followed apoptosis by activating FUNDC1-mediated mitophagy. Molecular studies demonstrated that rFGF2 triggered the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway, leading to the activation of FUNDC1-mediated mitophagy, which in turn mitigated myocardial mitochondrial injury and apoptosis. These findings suggest that FGF2 exerts its cardioprotective effects in septic cardiomyopathy by activating the AMPK–FUNDC1-mediated mitophagy pathway, thereby providing a potential therapeutic strategy for mitigating sepsis-induced cardiac damage.

The cost-effective upcycling method of waste anode graphite (SG) presents an important challenge within the field of spent lithium-ion battery recycling. In this study, waste graphite was recovered from waste lithium-ion batteries by a one-step mechanochemical method and the high-efficiency graphene-based adsorbent OMG17 was synthesized. Following this, titanium dioxide microspheres (TiO₂) were integrated through electrostatic self-assembly to create an in situ photo-regeneration adsorbent, referred to as OMG17@TiO₂. The synthesized OMG17@TiO₂ exhibits a well-developed pore structure, characterized by regular crack-like pores and an abundance of functional groups. Furthermore, OMG17@TiO₂ was fabricated into a membrane via the vacuum filtration method, enhancing its practicality for collection in water bodies. The results indicate that the adsorption capacities of OMG17@TiO₂ for methylene blue and rhodamine B reached 673.67 and 966.58 mg/g, respectively, as determined by the Langmuir isothermal model, significantly exceeding the performance of comparable graphitic adsorbents. Additionally, the regeneration efficiency achieved through ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was found to be as high as 70%. In contrast to traditional desorption methods, the in situ photo-regeneration approach offers distinct advantages in preserving the structural integrity of the material, including the maintenance of pore structure and recovery of specific surface area. Through density functional theory calculations and an examination of the adsorption mechanism, it was established that the pore structure and oxygen-containing functional groups are the primary determinants of the adsorption capacity, while the in situ degradation of pollutants within the pores via UV light serves as the principal mechanism for regeneration.

Postinjury restenosis is a common complication of peripheral arterial disease treated via endovascular techniques. Its pathogenesis mainly involves neointimal hyperplasia and persistent inflammation. Although antiproliferative drugs used clinically can temporarily slow restenosis, their effects are limited by short action duration and lack of precise regulation. In this investigation, tRF-49:69-chrM.Trp-TCA (tRF-Trp-TCA) was identified through sequencing data from an animal restenosis model, and its regulatory effects on endothelial cell migration and inflammation were confirmed. Additionally, we discovered that cabbage exosome-like nanoparticles (CELNs) could precisely target injured blood vessels in vivo, enhance the stability of nucleic acid therapeutics, and more effectively inhibit neointimal hyperplasia in a carotid artery balloon injury model. Our results demonstrated that tRF-Trp-TCA is crucial in restenosis induced by arterial injury and CELNs loaded with tRF-Trp-TCA effectively inhibit neointimal hyperplasia following carotid artery injury in rats, showing good biocompatibility. This study has, for the first time, identified the target tRF-Trp-TCA for treating restenosis after vascular injury and has also, for the first time, used CELNs as the delivery system. This discovery could provide new insights for noninvasive treatments or mitigation of restenosis post-endovascular therapy.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a progressive and disabling condition characterized by bone microenvironmental dysregulation, including imbalanced bone remodeling, impaired angiogenesis, and dysregulated osteoimmunity. In hip-preserving surgeries for early-stage ONFH, the most common approach is core decompression with grafting. Although widely used synthetic scaffolds, such as ceramics and metals, provide structural support or partially improve blood supply, they cannot counteract the complex pathological microenvironment of ONFH, resulting in poor long-term efficacy. To address these limitations, bioactive scaffolds incorporating functional agents have been developed to modulate pathological abnormalities and improve regenerative outcomes. This review summarizes recent advances in bioactive scaffolds for ONFH, focusing on systems functionalized with small molecules, growth factors, stem cells, exosomes, and metal ions that regulate cellular behaviors and signaling pathways in ONFH microenvironment. Emerging evidence indicates that osteoclasts exhibit heterogeneity, influencing resorptive, angiogenic, osteogenic, and immunoregulatory processes. Building on these insights, we discuss osteoclast heterogeneity and its potential relevance to ONFH, proposing that future scaffold strategies may harness osteoclast-mediated regulation to restore the osteonecrotic niche. By integrating mechanistic insights with material design, bioactive scaffolds provide a framework for targeted microenvironmental modulation and functional bone regeneration in ONFH.

Sepsis is a complex clinical syndrome marked by dysregulated immune responses, systemic inflammation, and subsequent organ dysfunction. Sepsis involves the interplay of multiple signaling pathways. Traditional sepsis treatment mainly depends on antibiotics and early directed therapy, with limited effectiveness. This article reviews major signaling pathways in sepsis, such as those related to nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), Toll-like receptors (TLRs), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), and nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2/Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Nrf2/Keap1). These molecules are pivotal in regulating immune activation, inflammation, and immune cell metabolism. Moreover, mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic reprogramming substantially contribute to sepsis development, as they greatly affect energy production and immune cell function. Selectively inhibiting these pathways shows potential for effectively reducing hyperinflammation and preventing organ failure. We discussed how future research on these signaling pathways can translate into clinical applications and how personalized treatment strategies can handle the complexity and variability of sepsis. Given the dynamic nature of sepsis, treatment strategies should not solely rely on traditional single-target interventions. Instead, a dynamic and personalized multi-target modulatory approach is needed. While reducing side effects of single-target inhibition, inflammatory responses, immune balance, and metabolic disorders can be more precisely regulated. By precisely monitoring multiple sepsis-related signaling pathways and adjusting treatment regimens in real time, we aim to identify more effective intervention points in the complex dynamics of diseases, thus providing new hope for improving prognosis of septic patients.

Several instruments, including LHAASO, have measured γ-ray emission from the direction of V4641 Sgr, a well known microquasar. The emission measured with LHAASO is best described as a power-law spectrum extending into the ultra-high-energy regime with no indication of a cutoff up to the energy of 0.8\mathrm{PeV}. Thus, this source represents a perfect candidate of a super-PeVatron, which accelerates cosmic-ray particles beyond 10\mathrm{PeV}. To prove this exciting hypothesis, a deeper investigation of this source is required. An important progress can be achieved using an array of Cherenkov telescopes, such as Large Array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (LACT), observing the source at large zenith angles. In this paper, we show that already with the first 4 telescopes of LACT one will be able to constraint the key morphological features and the corresponding spectral variations in this source. This will provide the essential observational information for studying the acceleration of cosmic rays in this prominent source.

Metamaterials with stiffness tunability have demonstrated great potential in mechanical systems that operate in variable environments. However, most existing stiffness-tunable metamaterials exhibit high-dimensional and nonlinear structure–property relationships, which hinder precise on-demand tuning and real-time stiffness visualization. Here, we present a reconfigurable hierarchical metamaterial that integrates stiffness tunability, linear structure–property relationship, and real-time self-sensing stiffness visualization into a unified platform. Kinematic analysis shows that the hierarchical metamaterial can be reconfigured through kinematic bifurcations into various single- and multi-level configurations with different numbers of active hinges, and maintain a single degree of freedom in each deformation path. Subsequently, a linear relationship between the number of active hinges and the stiffness of the metamaterial is established through theoretical modelling and verified by experiments, allowing a wide range of tunable stiffness. Furthermore, mechanical logic circuits are embedded into the metamaterial to map transitions between units at different levels to electrical outputs, achieving real-time stiffness visualization via light-emitting diode (LED) states without external sensors. This proposed metamaterial, and more generally, the structure–property–information integration design framework, will greatly advance the development of intelligent adaptive systems.

Industrial microorganisms often struggle to utilize renewable substrates such as methanol, formate, and xylose. Here, we introduce AdaptUC, a computational framework that demonstrates how the fraction of biomass precursors synthesized from unadapted carbon sources governs both the evolutionary driving force and the minimal substrate requirement. AdaptUC predicts gene knockout strategies for constructing the starting strain for adaptive laboratory evolution by selectively blocking metabolic pathways, thereby rendering specific precursor pools dependent on the unadapted substrate. We show that smaller dependency fractions correspond to higher driving forces for evolution of the starting strain. Case studies in Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum, validated against experimental records and literature, confirm AdaptUC’s ability to identify knockout combinations that fine-tune precursor dependency and accelerate adaptation. By leveraging genome-scale metabolic models, AdaptUC navigates vast candidate pools without combinatorial explosion, reducing experimental screening and prioritizing strains with stronger evolutionary drives.

Low-frequency microwave absorption poses an important challenge due to the excessive thickness of absorbers, which inherently correlates with wavelength. Herein, Bi₂Te₃ nanosheets were synthesized via a solvothermal method to achieve high permittivity, aiming to address the issue of low-frequency microwave absorption. The as-prepared nanosheets demonstrate a tunable ultra-high permittivity (up to 282) at 2 GHz, accompanied by a loss tangent below 0.81 and pronounced frequency dispersion characteristics. The nanosheet material demonstrates a synergistic balance of ultrahigh permittivity and appropriate dielectric loss, attributed to its surface-state-conducting and bulk-insulating character. At 2.4 GHz, the composite material composed of Bi₂Te₃ nanosheet achieves an effective absorption with an electrical thickness of 0.032, which is significantly thinner than those reported for state-of-the-art microwave absorbing materials. By leveraging the high permittivity and pronounced frequency dispersion characteristics of Bi₂Te₃ nanosheet composites, broadband microwave absorption is achieved across both 2- to 6-GHz and 6- to 18-GHz ranges through multilayered architectures. This work provides a strategic approach to overcome the longstanding challenge of broadband low-frequency microwave absorption.