The effect of isovalent V5+ substitution for Nb5+ on the crystal structure and oxide ion conductivity of Ba7Nb4-xVxMoO20 (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.15) has been investigated. Despite no change in nominal oxide ion carrier concentration, a significantly reduced bulk oxide ion conductivity is observed below similar to 400 C-degrees upon increasing x, suggesting enhanced local oxide ion trapping. This may arise from the formation of defect associates between V5+ centres and interstitial oxide ions, creating energetically favourable trapping sites that reduce the population of mobile charge carriers available for long-range diffusion. This behaviour contrasts with that of Ba3Nb1-xVxMoO8.5, where moderate V5+ substitution significantly improves oxide ion transport. This suggests that oxide ion migration in Ba7Nb4MoO20 is more sensitive to local structural perturbations than the hexagonal perovskite derivative Ba3NbMoO8.5. At higher temperatures, thermal activation overcomes trapping effects, while lattice expansion and increased tetrahedral distortion promote oxide ion diffusion so that the conductivities of the substituted and unsubstituted compositions converge near 650 C-degrees. These results highlight the importance of local structural chemistry in controlling oxide ion transport in hexagonal perovskite derivative oxide ion conductors.
Observed differences between paddy and upland croplands in soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) may reflect environmental and data-provenance imbalances rather than land-use effects. We reconstructed independent SOC and SIC profile datasets across China, harmonized depths, and separated fullsample comparisons from a prespecified comparable subset. Among all topsoil SOC profiles retained after applying the inclusion criteria (334 paddy, 347 upland), the median Upland-minus-Paddy contrast was -2.12 g kg- 1; within the shared subset (97/95), it attenuated to -0.35 g kg- 1 (95% interval, -1.74 to 1.55). For 97 paddy soils, changing only the land-use indicator to upland while holding observed soil and environment states fixed yielded a mean SOC contrast of -0.58 g kg- 1 (joint 95% interval, -1.02 to -0.15), with 78.4% negative. A layer-resolved Extra Trees S-learner supported this scenario with out-of-fold R2 = 0.72 and mean R2 = 0.72 across ten spatial partitions. The shared topsoil SIC subset retained only 9 paddy and 7 upland profiles, so adjusted SIC could not be estimated. Aridity index (AI) stratification showed the strongest negative SOC contrast in more humid high-AI croplands (-1.08 g kg- 1; -1.62 to -0.56), whereas low- and middle-AI strata crossed zero; the high-minus-middle difference was -1.29 g kg- 1 (-2.09 to -0.60). Among comparable croplands, observed topsoil SOC differed little between paddy and upland fields, but model predictions indicated lower SOC under upland land use, particularly in humid regions. These results suggest a modest SOC advantage of paddy croplands, while SIC differences remain unresolved.
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are key regulators of tumor progression and treatment resistance. Among their functions, efferocytosis, the clearance of apoptotic cells, often suppresses antitumor immunity and can support cancer stem cell (CSC) survival in tumors. Trained immunity further shapes this process by reprogramming macrophages through epigenetic and metabolic mechanisms, thereby influencing efferocytic activity and CSC-related phenotypes. These findings identify the trained immunity-macrophage efferocytosis-CSC axis as a potential target for CSC-directed therapy. However, clinical translation of trained immunity inducers is limited by poor targeting, pharmacokinetic instability, insufficient accumulation, and systemic toxicity. Nanomedicine offers a potential solution by improving cargo stability, tissue retention, controlled release, and macrophage-targeted delivery. In this review, we summarize the molecular links between trained immunity, macrophage efferocytosis, and CSC fate, discuss nanomaterial-based strategies to modulate this axis, and outline the key challenges and future opportunities for developing next-generation antitumor nanomedicines. Unlike previous reviews that discuss these fields separately, this review integrates trained immunity, macrophage efferocytosis and CSC biology into a unified axis, and proposes nanomedicine-enabled TAM reprogramming as a strategy to redirect efferocytic outcomes and suppress CSC-supportive tumor niches. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) offer environmental benefits, but range anxiety remains a barrier to adoption. Public chargers help alleviate this concern. This paper provides causal evidence on how public rapid-charging infrastructure influences BEV adoption across local authorities in England. Instrumenting endogenous charger placement using the historical distribution of public car parks, we estimate that the elasticity of BEV adoption—measured as the annual net change in privately registered BEV stock—with respect to public rapid-charger stock is approximately 0.3. The effect is spatially heterogeneous—stronger in more deprived areas or those with better road-network connectivity, but weaker in rural areas or those with larger baseline charger stocks. It also weakens where on-street parking is widespread and home charging is consequently difficult, suggesting that public rapid-charging expansion may need complementary investment in non-rapid residential kerbside charging. These findings support geographically targeted public rapid-charger investment, an approach used in recent UK policies.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) sustains ecosystem productivity, soil health, and sequesters atmospheric CO2. Straw return (StrawR) effectively compensates for carbon (C) losses by SOC mineralization in croplands. Quantifying the straw-derived SOC and straw conversion efficiency (SCE; the percentage of straw C converted to SOC) enables a direct assessment of C sequestration potential. This study integrates 13C isotopic tracer data with machine learning approaches to evaluate straw-derived SOC and SCE. A random forest model was further used to identify the key environmental and management drivers controlling straw-derived SOC and SCE, and to extrapolate their spatial patterns at the global scale. Straw-derived SOC content decreased over time, primarily due to the relative accumulation of recalcitrant compounds. Such dynamics are typically mediated by changes in microbial metabolic strategies in response to shifting resource availability. Random forest analysis identified StrawR amount, straw particle size, and soil bulk density (BD) as the key drivers of straw-derived SOC content (IncMSE percentages: 42%, 20%, and 19%, respectively). High soil BD potentially reduces soil aeration and suppresses microbial metabolic capacity, reducing C sequestration. Machine learning predictions indicate a straw C residual ratio of 17 +/- 3.4% after 1 year and a global average SCE of 10 +/- 1.1% after 5 years of StrawR, which supports our hypothesis that initial StrawR practices elevated C sequestration potential and SCE compared with prolonged StrawR application. Assuming 100% global adoption, StrawR offers a theoretical maximum biophysical potential of 1.7 Pg C yr(-1) over five years. This maximum capacity would theoretically offset 52% of agricultural CO2 emissions and 16% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This study addresses critical gaps in straw conversion dynamics and updated estimates of C sequestration capacity, highlighting the contribution of StrawR as a climate change mitigation strategy.
