Chao Wang

Monocyte-derived tumor-associated macrophages (Mo-TAMs) intensively infiltrate diffuse gliomas with remarkable heterogeneity. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we chart a spatially resolved transcriptional landscape of Mo-TAMs across 51 patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wild-type glioblastomas or IDH-mutant gliomas. We characterize a Mo-TAM subset that is localized to the peri-necrotic niche and skewed by hypoxic niche cues to acquire a hypoxia response signature. Hypoxia-TAM destabilizes endothelial adherens junctions by activating adrenomedullin paracrine signaling, thereby stimulating a hyperpermeable neovasculature that hampers drug delivery in glioblastoma xenografts. Accordingly, genetic ablation or pharmacological blockade of adrenomedullin produced by Hypoxia-TAM restores vascular integrity, improves intratumoral concentration of the anti-tumor agent dabrafenib, and achieves combinatorial therapeutic benefits. Increased proportion of Hypoxia-TAM or adrenomedullin expression is predictive of tumor vessel hyperpermeability and a worse prognosis of glioblastoma. Our findings highlight Mo-TAM diversity and spatial niche-steered Mo-TAM reprogramming in diffuse gliomas and indicate potential therapeutics targeting Hypoxia-TAM to normalize tumor vasculature.

As the most promising hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts, platinum (Pt)-based catalysts still struggle with sluggish kinetics and expensive costs in alkaline media. Herein, we accelerate the alkaline hydrogen evolution kinetics by optimizing the local environment of Pt species and metal oxide heterointerfaces. The well-dispersed PtRu bimetallic clusters with adjacent MO2–x (M = Sn and Ce) on carbon nanotubes (PtRu/CNT@MO2–x) are demonstrated to be a potential electrocatalyst for alkaline HER, exhibiting an overpotential of only 75 mV at 100 mA cm–2 in 1 M KOH. The excellent mass activity of 12.3 mA μg–1Pt+Ru and specific activity of 32.0 mA cm–2ECSA at an overpotential of 70 mV are 56 and 64 times higher than those of commercial Pt/C. Experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the heterointerfaces between Pt clusters and MO2–x can simultaneously promote H2O adsorption and activation, while the modification with Ru further optimizes H adsorption and H2O dissociation energy barriers. Then, the matching kinetics between the accelerated elementary steps achieved superb hydrogen generation in alkaline media. This work provides new insight into catalytic local environment design to simultaneously optimize the elementary steps for obtaining ideal alkaline HER performance.

In China, the construction of asphalt pavement has a significant impact on the environment, and energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from asphalt pavement construction have been receiving increasing attention in recent years. At present, there is no universal criterion for the evaluation of GHG emissions in asphalt pavement construction. This paper proposes to define the system boundaries for GHG emissions from asphalt pavement by using a process-based life cycle assessment method. A method for evaluating GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction is suggested. The paper reports a case study of GHG emissions from a typical asphalt pavement construction project in China. The results show that the greenhouse gas emissions from the mixture mixing phase are the highest, and account for about 54% of the total amount. The second highest GHG emission phase is the production of raw materials. For GHG emissions of cement stabilized base/subbase, the production of raw materials emits the most, about 98%. The GHG emission for cement production alone is about 92%. The results indicate that any measures to reduce GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction should be focused on the raw materials manufacturing stage. If the raw materials production phase is excluded, the measures to reduce GHG emissions should be aimed at the mixture mixing phase.

The extent of flooding in China is more significant than in any other country. Our research reveals that approximately 66 % of China’s landmass is submerged by flooding, affecting about 50 % of the population. Furthermore, the financial toll of flooding now accounts for approximately 1.42 % of the annual gross domestic product (GDP), which is almost 40 times higher than the corresponding figure for the United States. We have observed that Zhengzhou city in Henan province, which faced a devastating flood in 2021, received a significant amount of rainfall, specifically a total of 552.5 mm within a 24-hour period. The floods in Henan province in 2021 caused considerable damage, including impacting nearly 15 million people, resulting in almost 400 deaths, damaging over 10,000 square kilometers of agricultural land, causing almost $19 billion in economic losses, and leading to the collapse of over 35,000 households and damage to various properties. In a similar manner, the significant flooding that occurred in southern China in 2020 impacted approximately 7.1 million individuals across eight provinces and resulted in 54 fatalities, the collapse of 6,700 houses, and incurred a direct economic loss of US$3.33 billion. We found that rainstorms have significantly increased to 10 % in the last 60 years in China. In this paper, we delved into exploring the existing published articles, reports, and government and authoritative legal texts to analyze the causes and impacts of flooding in China’s flood-prone regions and potential mitigation strategies to reduce the repercussions of distressing flood events. We believe this study will help policymakers by providing new insights while formulating policy to reduce the loss caused by high-level flooding.