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Understanding the synergistic effects of inorganic minerals and pore structure on coal pore wettability remains a critical knowledge gap. This study investigates the pore-scale wettability mechanism of five high-rank coals by integrating quantitative inorganic mineral analysis, pore morphological characterization, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) T 2 relaxation spectroscopy. A series of water-droplet-coal wetting experiments, organized into three groups, was conducted to establish a cross-scale framework linking physical pore structure, mineral composition and wetting response. The results indicate that the dual mechanism of strong adsorption on hydrophilic mineral surfaces and capillary forces in micropores drives the wetting process. In terms of mineral aspect, clay minerals exhibit significantly higher wettability than non-clay minerals, and clay content shows a significant negative correlation with wetting parameters R g,24h measured by LF-NMR. Notable, when clay content ranges from 2% to 10%, its regulatory effect on pore wettability is particularly sensitive. In terms of pore structure, an exponential saturation model was employed to fit the pore wetting kinetics. The derived kinetic parameters, including the rate constant k and equilibrium pore diameter R eq are consistent with the trends observed in R g,24h . And the 24 h observation is confirmed to represent quasi-steady state for all samples. Additionaly, Pore wettability is governed by absolute pore capacity when pore volume differences exceed approximately two-fold, whereas at smaller differences, micropore complexity and connectivity dominate. Micropores play a critical role due to capillary force-driven physical contributions. Furthermore, a critical pore diameter of 42.16 nm is identified, above which wetting transitions from capillary-driven to surface-spreading or gravity-dominated regimes. A two-dimensional pore-wet coupling model is proposed, and five representative wettability types were defined. Among them, samples C4 and C5 exhibit synergistic enhancement (type A), while C1 shows mutual inhibition (type B). These results provide a new multidimensional coupling paradigm for understanding wettability in heterogeneous porous media.
Inspired by biomimetic concepts, this study aimed to screen potential calcium-chelating peptides (CCPs) from embryonic egg white (EEW) using an integrated approach combining separation-purification methods, peptidomics technology, and molecular simulation. Through separation-purification approach and molecular docking, 3 key skeleton CCPs, including MAQRASDLF, VVLRQDLMA, and LAEVSKPHAE, were identified from EEW (EEW-CCPs). These peptides, containing amino acids such as Glu and Arg, demonstrated strong calcium-binding capability. Additionally, using peptidomics combined with molecular docking, 3 vital EEW-CCPs-GRCELAAAMKR, AEVDCSRFPN, and CRPTVQAQST-containing amino acids like Arg and Ser were screened and shown to possess strong calcium chelation properties. This study provides both novel insights and a systematic comprehensive approach for screening active CCPs from food sources. (c) 2027 The authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Layered oxide cathodes for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) undergo substantial structural strain during cycling because of the large K+ radius. Here, Co modification is introduced into O3-type Na0.8Cr0.8Ti0.2O2 to regulate structural evolution and electrochemical reversibility. The resulting Na0.8Cr0.8Ti0.15Co0.05O2 (NCTCO) contains substitutional Co in the layered host together with localized CoCr2O4 spinel domains. NCTCO delivers 70.3 mA h g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 and retains 96.4% capacity after 500 cycles at 500 mA g−1 in K-metal half-cells. Electrochemical analysis shows a lower charge-transfer resistance after Co modification. In situ XRD reveals reduced lattice variation during the first charge, with a three-layer-equivalent c-axis expansion of 1.10% compared with 2.50% for NCTO, together with suppression of a high-voltage P1-type component. DFT calculations using idealized layered models indicate that substitutional Co lowers a representative K-ion migration barrier from ∼0.45 to 0.39 eV. These results show that Co modification improves the structural reversibility and electrochemical stability of the O3-type layered cathode while clarifying the distinct experimental and modeled roles of the two Co environments.
Moisture removal is a standard pretreatment to improve lignocellulosic biomass fuel quality, yet its precise impact on fire safety remains insufficiently decoupled from intrinsic fuel chemistry. This study investigates the multi-scale combustion behavior of Pinus sylvestris across a systematic moisture gradient (0% to ∼30%) to separate intrinsic combustion energetics from macroscopic fire hazards. Microscale characterizations via FTIR, TGA, and microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC) reveal that moisture variations do not alter the biopolymer chemical structure, fundamental degradation pathways, or inherent heat release capacity. The intrinsic chemical energy density is strictly preserved. Conversely, bench-scale tests demonstrate that moisture removal exponentially amplifies physical fire hazards. Cone calorimetry indicates that drying eliminates the endothermic thermal buffering of water, substantially advancing ignition and accelerating the fire growth rate index by up to 36.6% under intense radiant heat. Furthermore, smoke density testing shows that the absence of vapor dilution in dried wood drastically intensifies early-stage smoke accumulation, increasing the 4-min visibility hazard by over six-fold. These findings reveal a fundamental decoupling: moisture acts solely as a governing thermophysical state variable regulating heat transfer and volatile dynamics, rather than modifying the intrinsic chemical energy of the matrix. This study provides a mechanistic framework for balancing energy efficiency and fire safety in biomass utilization.
Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant neoplasm displaying highly cancer-related mortality globally. Although our previous studies have confirmed that vitamin D possessed a direct anti-cancer effect on GC cells, the regulatory role of vitamin D on gastric tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unexplored. This study aims to expound the modulation of vitamin D on TME especially on GC-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and to further elucidate the essential role of the CAFs-derived exosomal ingredients in tumor-stroma crosstalk. Patient-derived primary CAFs enhanced the aggressive characteristics of GC cells. When co-cultured with GC cells, CAFs pretreated with 1,25(OH)2D3 (1,25D3), the active form of vitamin D exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on cancer cell invasion and migration. Additionally, exosomes isolated from 1,25D3-pretreated CAFs were found to mediate this inhibitory effect, significantly reducing the migratory and invasive capacity of GC cells. Exosomal RNA sequencing revealed a significant upregulation of miR-378c in CAF-derived exosomes following 1,25D3 treatment. Fluorescence tracing assays confirmed that this treatment augmented the transfer of CAF-derived exosomal miRNA-378c into GC cells. Mechanistically, this elevated miR-378c directly targeted ketodihydrosphinganine reductase (KDSR) in GC cells, further leading to the attenuation of tumor growth in a 615 mice model. Immunophenotypic analysis further revealed that treatment with ago-miR-378c significantly increased intratumoral Granzyme B and CD3 levels and downregulated Foxp3 expression, indicating an activated state of antitumor immunity and a relief from immune suppression within the TME. Correspondingly, the expression of TNF-α and IL-6 was found to be up-regulated, while the immunosuppressive factor IL-10 was reduced in the ago-miR-378c group in comparison to the control group. Moreover, systemic administration of vitamin D suppressed CAF-mediated promotion of in vivo tumor growth, concomitant with elevated intratumoral miR-378c and diminished KDSR expression in a nude mice model. Taken together, our results demonstrate that vitamin D reprograms CAFs to impede GC progression and to promote an anti-tumor immune microenvironment, which might be mediated by exosomal miR-378c/KDSR axis, highlighting a potential therapeutic strategy of using vitamin D to counteract CAF-driven oncogenesis in GC.
