Gut microbiota reportedly affects both efficacy and toxicity in drug metabolism. Probiotics possess several enzymes and are increasingly used in clinical and food settings. However, the effect of probiotics on in vivo drug metabolism, activity, efficacy, and toxicity remains a pressing topic of investigation. We assessed the effects of the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Zhang (LCZ) on lovastatin in vitro and in vivo. In vitro experiments indicated that LCZ metabolically activates lovastatin into lovastatin hydroxy acid. Subsequent in vivo investigations revealed that the combination of LCZ and low-dose lovastatin significantly improved the anti-hyperlipidemic effect in golden hamsters. However, the enhanced efficacy was not attributed to LCZ-mediated metabolism but rather to the modulation of the gut metabolite environment, facilitating lovastatin absorption. Increased lovastatin absorption elevated the expression of genes responsible for liver bile acid metabolism and lovastatin transformation, thereby enhancing drug efficacy. Furthermore, the effect of LCZ on lovastatin was dose-dependent, with higher lovastatin doses prompting increased absorption and potential toxicity. Comprehensive analyses of the metagenome and metabolites of commensal gut microbes, as well as the serum metabolome of the host, helped elucidate the mechanisms of probiotic-mediated absorption. This study highlights the interactions between probiotics and drugs from a safety perspective, providing insights into probiotic–drug co-treatment strategies and precision probiotics for personalized medicine.

Depressurization and heat injection are viewed as the main methods to be used in natural gas hydrate (NGH) exploitation. However, these methods have limitations, such as low energy-utilization efficiency or a limited extraction range, and are still far from commercial exploitation. In this work, we propose a potential commercial method to exploit NGHs by effectively using geothermal energy inside deep reservoirs. Specifically, a loop well structure is designed to economically extract geothermal energy. Based on an analysis of our developed model, when the looping well is coupled with depressurization, the profits of high NGH production can surpass the drilling costs of extracting geothermal energy. Moreover, as the temperature of fluids from the geothermal layer exceeds 62 °C, the fluid heat is mainly consumed by the rock matrix of the hydrate formation, instead of promoting NGH dissociation. Based on this threshold temperature, a loop well drilled to a depth of about 4000 m for hydrate sediment in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea would be able to efficiently extract geothermal energy, leading to an approximate 73% increase in gas production in comparison with conventional depressurization. An economic analysis suggests that our proposed method can reduce the exploitation cost of methane to 0.46 USD·m⁻³. Furthermore, as the hydrate saturation increases to 0.5, the exploitation cost can be further reduced to 0.14 USD·m⁻³. Overall, a looping well coupled with geothermal energy and depressurization is expected to pave the way for commercial NGH exploitation.

To maintain power grid stability under the increasing integration of renewable energy, the operational flexibility of thermal power plants is assuming growing significance. Flame stability and responsiveness on the combustion side under the extreme conditions of ultra-low loads and rapid load-change processes are the key to increasing the flexibility of thermal power plants. In this paper, a burner based on pre-gasification combustion technology is developed. The flexibility of the pre-gasification burner on a 5-MW pilot platform is investigated through simulation and performance verification. The results indicate that a single pre-gasification burner can maintain flame stability under a 9% load when burning bituminous coal, and a fuel load variation rate of 10% min^–1 can be supported. The pre-gasification combustion has a faster stabilization rate compared with traditional combustion under coal flow and air flow disturbances. The application of pre-gasification burners in different classes of boiler is simulated, and the results indicate that the pre-gasification burner has the potential to improve the flexibility of industrial to full-scale coal-fired boilers.

With the rapid growth of the global population and the increasing demand for healthier diets, improving the nutrient utilization efficiency of staple food crops has become a critical scientific and industrial challenge, prompting innovation in food processing technologies. This review introduces first the common nutritional challenges in the processing of staple food crops, followed by the comprehensive examination of research aiming to enhance the nutritional quality of staple food crop-based foods through innovative processing technologies, including microwave (MW), pulsed electric field (PEF), ultrasound, modern fermentation technology, and enzyme technology. Additionally, soybean processing is used as an example to underscore the importance of integrating innovative processing technologies for optimizing nutrient utilization in staple food crops. Although these innovative processing technologies have demonstrated a significant potential to improve nutrient utilization efficiency and enhance the overall nutritional profile of staple food crop-based food products, their current limitations must be acknowledged and addressed in future research. Fortunately, advancements in science and technology will facilitate progress in food processing, enabling both the improvement of existing techniques as well as the development of entirely novel methodologies. This work aims to enhance the understanding of food practitioners on the way processing technologies may optimize nutrient utilization, thereby fostering innovation in food processing research and synergistic multi-technological strategies, ultimately providing valuable references to address global food security challenges.

Carbonated recycled aggregate concrete (CRAC), which involves the recycling of concrete waste and fixing CO₂, is expected to achieve a good positive net CO₂ benefit. Unfortunately, the existing studies imply that the application of recycled aggregates and carbonation modification have both advantages and disadvantages in producing a net climate benefit. To explore the net CO₂ benefit of CRAC, the life-cycle CO₂ emissions of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and CRAC are calculated considering the uncertainty of CO₂ emissions from material production. Three different scenarios are analyzed: transporting CO₂ through pipelines, producing recycled concrete on site, and using clean-energy transportation. Based on the analyzed data, a machine learning model is well trained and can be used to efficiently pre-estimate the possibility of a positive net CO₂ benefit of RAC/CRAC in practical engineering design. Based on the analysis results, the authors suggest the adoption of high-efficiency carbonation treatment on recycled aggregates, specifically when the CO₂ curing duration is less than 48 h and the strength ratio is greater than 0.95. The combination of clean-energy transportation and high-efficiency carbonized recycled aggregates is a promising path to achieve good life-cycle CO₂ benefits in the construction industry.

Historical legacy effects and the mechanisms underlying primary producer community succession are not well understood. In this study, environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing technology and chronological sequence analysis in sediments were utilized to examine long-term changes in cyanobacterial and aquatic plant communities. The analysis results indicate that the nutritional status and productivity of aquatic ecosystems have been relatively high since 2010, which could reflect a period of eutrophication due to high long-term rates of organic matter deposition (33.22–42.08 g·kg⁻¹). The temporal and spatial characteristics of community structure were related to environmental filtering based on trophic status between 1849 and 2020. Turnover in the primary producer community was confirmed through change-point model analyses with regime shifts toward new ecological states. On the basis of ecological data and geochronological techniques, it was determined that the quality of habitats at a local scale may affect ecological niche shifts between cyanobacterial and aquatic plant communities. These observations suggest how primary producers respond to rapid urbanization, serving as an invaluable guide for protecting freshwater biodiversity.

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with adapted rheology continues to attract interest considering the requirement for novel processing techniques such as self-consolidating, pumping, spraying, and three-dimensional (3D) printing. The rheology of UHPC is complex due to its high solid volume fraction, low water content, and wide range of constituent materials that affect its flow properties. This work provides guidance for tailoring the mixture proportioning of UHPC to secure proper rheological properties and performance of UHPC for various applications. In the first part of this work, key physical, physicochemical, and chemical factors that can affect the rheological properties of UHPC are discussed. Rheological measurement methods and interpretation of the test results are provided to accurately determine the rheological parameters. The effects of constituent materials on the yield stress, viscosity, thixotropy, and structural build-up of UHPC are elaborated. The rheological parameters can increase by up to 100 times with the decrease in water-to-binder ratio. Such an increase can be reduced to less than 10 times through optimization of the particle size distribution and selection of superplasticizer. Rheology control strategies for UHPC for various applications are outlined. Multiple chemical admixtures with an organized molecular architecture must be used to achieve contradictory rheological requirements (e.g., low yield stress but high viscosity; low dynamic yield stress but high static yield stress). Finally, challenges and future demands to fine-tune the rheological properties of sustainable UHPC are showcased. Of special interest in future studies is the interaction between low-clinker binder and chemical admixtures and its effect on the microstructure of fresh UHPC.

Optical monitoring of object position and alignment with nanoscale precision is critical for ultra-precision measurement applications, such as micro/nano-fabrication, weak force sensing, and microscopic imaging. Traditional optical nanometry methods often rely on precision nanostructure fabrication, multi-beam interferometry, or complex post-processing algorithms, which can limit their practical use. In this study, we introduced a simplified and robust quantum measurement technique with an achievable resolution of 2.2 pm and an experimental demonstration of 1 nm resolution, distinguishing it from conventional interferometry, which depended on multiple reference beams. We designed a metasurface substrate with a mode-conversion function, in which an incident Gaussian beam is converted into higher-order transverse electromagnetic mode (TEM) modes. A theoretical analysis, including calculations of the Fisher information, demonstrated that the accuracy was maintained for nanoscale displacements. In conclusion, the study findings provide a new approach for precise alignment and metrology of nanofabrication and other advanced applications.

Sequential-modular-based process flowsheeting software remains an indispensable tool for process design, control, and optimization. Yet, as the process industry advances in intelligent operation and maintenance, conventional sequential-modular-based process-simulation techniques present challenges regarding computationally intensive calculations and significant central processing unit (CPU) time requirements, particularly in large-scale design and optimization tasks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel process-simulation parallel computing framework (PSPCF). This framework achieves layered parallelism in recycling processes at the unit operation level. Notably, PSPCF introduces a groundbreaking concept of formulating simulation problems as task graphs and utilizes Taskflow, an advanced task graph computing system, for hierarchical parallel scheduling and the execution of unit operation tasks. PSPCF also integrates an advanced work-stealing scheme to automatically balance thread resources with the demanding workload of unit operation tasks. For evaluation, both a simpler parallel column process and a more complex cracked gas separation process were simulated on a flowsheeting platform using PSPCF. The framework demonstrates significant time savings, achieving over 60% reduction in processing time for the simpler process and a 35%–40% speed-up for the more complex separation process.

In deep oil reservoir development, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques encounter significant challenges under high-temperature and high-salinity conditions. Traditional profile-control agents often fail to maintain stable blocking under extreme conditions and exhibit poor resistance to high temperature and high salinity. This study develops a functionalized nanographite system (the MEGO system) with superior high-temperature dispersibility and thermosalinity-responsive capability through polyether amine (PEA) grafting and noncovalent interactions with disodium naphthalene sulfonate (DNS) molecules. The grafted PEA and DNS provide steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion, enhancing thermal and salinity resistance. After ten days of aggregation, the MEGO system forms stable particle aggregates (55.51–61.80 µm) that are suitable for deep reservoir migration and profile control. Both experiments and simulations reveal that particle size variations are synergistically controlled by temperature and salt ions (Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺). Compared with monovalent ions, divalent ions promote nanographite aggregation more strongly through double-layer compression and bridging effects. In core displacement experiments, the MEGO system demonstrated superior performance in reservoirs with permeabilities ranging from 21.6 to 103 mD. The aggregates formed within the pore throats significantly enhanced flow resistance, expanded the sweep volume, and increased the overall oil recovery to 56.01%. This research indicates that the MEGO system holds excellent potential for EOR in deep oil reservoirs.