Engineering最新文献

{"title":"Geothermal Power Potential Heats Up","authors":"Mitch Leslie (Senior Technology Writer)","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 14-16"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Petrochemical Industry for the Future","authors":"Yao Zhang ,&nbsp;Enhui Xing ,&nbsp;Wei Han ,&nbsp;Panfeng Yang ,&nbsp;Song Zhang ,&nbsp;Su Liu ,&nbsp;Dongxue Cao ,&nbsp;Mingfeng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.06.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.06.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Petroleum has played a vital role as the major supplier of materials and energy during the evolution of human civilization. Given the change in demand for energy from high to low carbon and ultimately net zero carbon, the energy framework has undergone revolutionary changes. The energy attribute of petroleum will be gradually weakened, while the material and CO₂ emission attributes will be gradually strengthened. Thus, the petrochemical processing basis, scientific concepts, and ideas will undergo major adjustments to reshape the petrochemical industry. Hence, it is necessary to reconsider the evolution of the petrochemical industry from a historical perspective and to clarify the historical causes, development contexts, and possible challenges in future development. Herein, we critically reassess the key drivers and rules guiding the development of the petrochemical industry and propose a reconstruction strategy based on simplified engineering thinking, innate nature of energy and material, and CO₂ emissions, which can be realized through the integration of gasification with CO as the target product and recent C1 chemistry targeting the precise synthesis of chemicals. The concept of the petrochemical industry will change from the product-based process of selection and transformation of raw material molecules to the process of carbon atom reconfiguration driven by product CO₂ emissions. More accurate management of C atoms can be accomplished with greatly improved utilization efficiency and the reduction of separation intensity and CO₂ emissions via the stepwise introduction of a new approach in the current petrochemical industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 99-114"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Re-Evaluating Challenges and Solutions in Wastewater Surveillance","authors":"Jing Han ,&nbsp;Zhou-Hua Cheng ,&nbsp;Dong-Feng Liu,&nbsp;Han-Qing Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.07.023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.07.023","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 22-24"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First RNA-Based Insecticide Reaches Market","authors":"Jennifer Welsh (Senior Technology Writer)","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.10.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.10.010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 8-10"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Baihetan Hydropower Station Project in Jinsha River","authors":"Chunsheng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 28-36"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phloretin Targets Polyphosphate Kinase 1 to Attenuate Acinetobacter baumannii Virulence and Persistence In Vitro and In Vivo","authors":"Hongfa Lv ,&nbsp;Shufang Li ,&nbsp;Jian Guan ,&nbsp;Peng Zhang ,&nbsp;Lingcong Kong ,&nbsp;Hongxia Ma ,&nbsp;Dan Li ,&nbsp;Xuming Deng ,&nbsp;Xiaodi Niu ,&nbsp;Jianfeng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Acinetobacter baumannii</em> (<em>A. baumannii</em>) is well known for its virulence and persistence, particularly in intensive care units. Therefore, new strategies and candidates to treat <em>A. baumannii</em> infection are urgently needed considering the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1) is required for bacterial survival as it is involved in maintaining antibiotic resistance or tolerance, pathogenesis, and adversity resistance. Multiple phenotypic assays related to virulence and persistence were performed in this study, and phloretin was shown to attenuate <em>A. baumannii</em> virulence and persistence by inhibiting PPK1 activity. Phloretin hampered mobility, interfered with biofilm formation and decreased resistance to ampicillin, heat, and hydrogen peroxide stress in <em>A. baumannii</em>. The therapeutic effect was also examined in a mouse pneumonia infection model. Molecular simulation and site-directed mutagenesis revealed that ARG-22, MET-622, ASN-57, and ARG-65 were the sites of phloretin action against PPK1. Phloretin treatment led to changes in metabolic pathways associated with <em>A. baumannii</em> virulence and persistence, including glycerophospholipid metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, phloretin alleviated pneumonic injury in a mouse pneumonia infection model <em>in vivo</em>, indicating that phloretin is a promising compound for preventing <em>A. baumannii</em> infection resistance by targeting PPK1.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 258-271"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Empowering Scenario Planning with Artificial Intelligence: A Perspective on Building Smart and Resilient Cities","authors":"Haiyan Hao ,&nbsp;Yan Wang ,&nbsp;Jiayu Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.06.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.06.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scenario planning is a powerful tool for cities to navigate uncertainties and mitigate the impacts of adverse scenarios by projecting future outcomes based on present-day decisions. This approach is becoming increasingly important given the growing call for building resilient cities to face adverse future scenarios posed by emerging disruptive technologies and climate change. However, conventional scenario planning practices predominantly rely on expert knowledge and judgment, which may be limited in accounting for the complexity of future scenarios. Therefore, we explored the potential integration of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to assist scenario planning practices. We synthesized related studies from various disciplines (e.g., engineering, computer science, and urban planning) to identify the potential applications of AI in the three key components of scenario planning: plan generation, scenario generation, and plan evaluation. We then discuss the challenges and possible solutions for integrating AI into the scenario planning process and highlight the critical role of planning experts in this process. We conclude by outlining future research opportunities in this context. Ultimately, this study contributes to the advancement of scenario planning practices and aids the creation of more resilient cities that can thrive in an uncertain future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 272-283"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141704333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nanofluidic Manipulation of Single Nanometric Objects: Current Progress, Challenges, and Future Opportunities","authors":"Nattapong Chantipmanee ,&nbsp;Yan Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.08.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.08.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The manipulation of nanometric objects, encompassing both non-biological and biological objects, offers a transformative avenue for breakthroughs in diverse fields, such as chemistry, biology, chemical and biomedical engineering, materials and mechanical engineering, and various industrial applications. However, achieving accuracy, precision, and high throughput in the manipulation of nanometric objects, whether on the scale of a single nanometric entity or molecule, is a formidable challenge because of the extremely small dimensions involved. Nanofluidics has already demonstrated unique capabilities for transporting the mass of ions and small molecules at the nanoscale. We posit that chip-based nanofluidic devices provide potent strategies for the precise, accurate, and high-throughput manipulation of single nanometric entities and molecules, benefiting from their dimensions, which are comparable to those of nanometric objects. This article offers an overview of the current progress in nanofluidic manipulation of single nanometric objects. It also discusses the challenges in the development of nanofluidic manipulation technologies. Furthermore, the article explores future opportunities in the field, highlighting possible solutions to the challenges, and aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on nanofluidic manipulation, thus propelling the field to overcome its current limitations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 54-71"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143326456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stock Volatility Increases the Mortality Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Suicide: A Case-Crossover Study of 12 Million Deaths","authors":"Ya Gao ,&nbsp;Peng Yin ,&nbsp;Haidong Kan ,&nbsp;Renjie Chen ,&nbsp;Maigeng Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.05.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.05.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stock volatility constitutes an adverse psychological stressor, but few large-scale studies have focused on its impact on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and suicide. Here, we conducted an individual-level time-stratified case-crossover study to explore the association of daily stock volatility (daily returns and intra-daily oscillations for three kinds of stock indices) with MACEs and suicide among more than 12 million individual decedents from all counties in the mainland of China between 2013 and 2019. For daily stock returns, both stock increases and decreases were associated with increased mortality risks of all MACEs and suicide. There were consistent and positive associations between intra-daily stock oscillations and mortality due to MACEs and suicide. The excess mortality risks occurred at the current day (lag 0 d), persisted for two days, and were greatest for suicide and hemorrhagic stroke. Taking the present-day Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index as an example, a 1% decrease in daily returns was associated with 0.74%–1.04% and 1.77% increases in mortality risks of MACEs and suicide, respectively; the corresponding risk increments were 0.57%–0.85% and 0.92% for a 1% increase in daily returns and 0.67%–0.77% and 1.09% for a 1% increase in intra-daily stock oscillations. The excess risks were more pronounced among individuals aged 65–74 years, males, and those with lower education levels. Our findings revealed considerable health risks linked to sociopsychological stressors, which are helpful for the government and general public to mitigate the immediate cardiovascular and mental health risks associated with stock market volatility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 157-165"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141282105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of an Engineered Sugar Aminotransferase with Simultaneously Improved Stability and Non-Natural Substrate Activity to Synthesize the Glucosidase Inhibitor Valienamine","authors":"Runxi Wang ,&nbsp;Lu Qiao ,&nbsp;Mufei Liu ,&nbsp;Yanpeng Ran,&nbsp;Jun Wang,&nbsp;Wupeng Yan,&nbsp;Yan Feng,&nbsp;Li Cui","doi":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.04.026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eng.2024.04.026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sugar aminotransferases (SATs) catalyze the installation of chiral amines onto specific keto sugars, producing bioactive amino sugars. Their activity has been utilized in artificial reactions, such as using the SAT WecE to transform valienone into the valuable α-glucosidase inhibitor valienamine. However, the low thermostability and limited activity on non-natural substrates have hindered their applications. Simultaneously improving stability and enzyme activity is particularly challenging owing to the acknowledged inherent trade-off between stability and activity. A customized combinatorial active-site saturation test–iterative saturation mutagenesis (CAST-ISM) strategy was used to simultaneously enhance the stability and activity of WecE toward valienone. Fourteen hotspots related to improving the stability–activity trade-off were identified based on evolutionary conservation and the average mutation folding energy assessment of 57 residues in the active site of WecE. Positive mutagenesis and combinatorial mutations of these specific residues were accomplished via site-directed saturation mutagenesis (SSM) and iterative evolution cycles. Compared with those of the wild-type (WT) WecE, the quadruple mutant M4 (Y321F/K209F/V318R/F319V) displayed a 641.49-fold increase in half-life (<em>t</em>_1/2) at 40 °C and a 31.37-fold increase in activity toward the non-natural substrate valienone. The triple mutant M3 (Y321F/K209F/V318R) demonstrated an 83.04-fold increase in (t_1/2) at 40 °C and a 37.77-fold increase in activity toward valienone. The underlying mechanism was dependent on the strengthened interface interactions and shortened transamination reaction catalytic distance, compared with those of the WT, which improved the stability and activity of the obtained mutants. Thus, we accomplished a general target-oriented strategy for obtaining stable and highly active SATs for artificial amino-sugar biosynthesis applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11783,"journal":{"name":"Engineering","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 185-195"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142700862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}