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Aim: Acetaminophen (APAP) is clinically recommended as analgesic and antipyretic among pregnant women. However, accumulating laboratory evidence shows that the use of APAP during pregnancy may alter fetal development. Since fetal stage is a susceptible window for early oogenesis, we aim to assess the potential effects of maternal administration of APAP on fetal oocytes. Results: Pregnant mice at 14.5 dpc (days post-coitus) were orally administered with APAP (50 and 150mg/kg.bw/day) for 3 days; meanwhile, 14.5 dpc ovaries were collected and cultured with APAP or its metabolite N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI; 5 and 15 μM) for 3 days. It showed that APAP caused meiotic aberrations in fetal oocytes through its metabolite NAPQI, including meiotic prophase I (MPI) progression delay and homologous recombination defects. Co-treatment with nicotinamide (NAM) or nicotinamide riboside chloride (NRC), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) supplements, efficiently restored the MPI arrest, whereas the addition of the inhibitor of sirtuin 7 (SIRT7) invalidated the effect of the NAD+ supplement. In addition, RNA sequencing revealed distorted transcriptomes of fetal ovaries treated with NAPQI. Furthermore, the fecundity of female offspring was affected, exhibiting delayed primordial folliculogenesis and puberty onset, reduced levels of ovarian hormones, and impaired developmental competence of MII oocytes. Innovation: These findings provide the first known demonstration that NAPQI, converted from maternal administration of APAP, disturbs meiotic process of fetal oocytes and further impairs female fecundity in adulthood. The concomitant oral dosing with NAM further supports the benefits of NAD+ supplements on oogenesis. Conclusion: Short-term administration of APAP to pregnant mouse caused meiotic aberrations in fetal oocytes by its metabolite NAPQI, whereas co-treatment with NAD+ supplement efficiently relieves the adverse effects by interacting with SIRT7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The branched structures of dendronized polymers can provide good steric stabilization for metal nanoparticle catalysts. In this work, an amphiphilic dendronized copolymer containing hydrophilic branched triethylene glycol moieties and hydrophobic branched ferrocenyl moieties is designed and prepared by one-pot ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and is used as the stabilizer for metal (Au, Ag and Pd) nanoparticles. These metal nanoparticles (Au nanoparticles: 3.5 ± 3.0 nm; Ag nanoparticles: 7.2 ± 4.0 nm; Pd nanoparticles: 2.5 ± 1.0 nm) are found to be highly active in both the 4-nitrophenol reduction and Suzuki–Miyaura reactions. In the 4-nitrophenol reduction, Pd nanoparticles have the highest catalytic ability (TOF: 2060 h−1). In addition, Pd nanoparticles are also an efficient catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura reactions (TOF: 1980 h−1) and possess good applicability for diverse substrates. The amphiphilic dendronized copolymer will open a new door for the development of efficient metal nanoparticle catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The image quality of traditional animated characters is not high, the details are not real enough and so on. The optical image enhancement technology can improve the image quality and visual effect by adjusting the illumination and color of the image, and provide a better image processing means for animation production. This paper explores the effect and feasibility of applying light image enhancement technology to animated character images to provide better visual effects and more realistic image quality for animation production. The embedded image system is selected as the tool, which can process the image in real time and apply the optical image enhancement technology in the animation process. By adjusting the brightness, contrast and color of the image, the quality and fidelity of the animated character image are improved. The results show that the application of light image enhancement technology to animated character images can significantly improve the image quality and visual effect. The images become more realistic and realistic, and the details are sharper. The real-time processing ability of embedded image system ensures the application effect of optical image enhancement technology in animation production, which makes the animated character image more attractive and enjoyable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallopolymers with precise structures and particular properties have emerged as promising functional materials. The applications of metallopolymers depend on the unique characteristics of the metal centers (such as electronic, optical, magnetic, redox, etc.) and the superior mechanical and processing performances of classical polymers. Access to accurately design metallopolymers with well-defined structures and chemical compositions has enabled researchers to detailedly investigate their performances and a series of advanced applications. Along with the rapid development of modern synthetic chemistry and polymerization techniques, various functional metallopolymers have been synthesized largely and have shown many potential applications. Especially, controlled polymerizations, including ATRP, RAFT, ROMP, living anionic polymerization, and so on, are currently attracting considerable attention for the synthesis of well-defined metallopolymers. These polymerizations have become versatile and powerful synthetic tools, which enable the synthesis of new metallopolymers with accurately controlled molecular weight, relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, composition (block, graft, alternating gradient copolymers), and various functionalities. In this review, we highlight the most recent progress on the controlled synthesis of various well-defined metallopolymers. The review summarizes the recent progress on controlled polymerizations (such as ATRP, RAFT, ROMP, living anionic polymerization, etc.) for various well-defined metallopolymers, and these polymerizations enable the synthesis of novel metallopolymers with accurately controlled molecular weight, relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, composition (block, graft, alternating gradient copolymers), and diverse functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting high-efficiency and durable electrocatalysts toward the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is crucial for the advancement of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Herein, we demonstrate the loading of platinum–palladium bimetallic nanoparticles (Pt–Pd NPs) onto poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-embellished titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets as the electrocatalyst (Ti3C2Tx/PEDOT/Pt–Pd) via a facile and rapid chemical reduction-assisted one-pot hydrothermal process. The structural and morphological analyses of Ti3C2Tx/PEDOT/Pt–Pd indicate that the three-dimensional (3D) hybrid structure formed between PEDOT and Ti3C2Tx provides a sizable active surface and more active sites, which enhances the homogeneous dispersion of the Pt–Pd NPs and facilitates mass transfer. The Schottky junctions formed between PEDOT and Pt–Pd NPs contribute to charge transfer. The electronic effects and synergistic interactions between the support and catalyst favor the electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst. The electrochemical test results reveal that the Ti3C2Tx/PEDOT/Pt–Pd catalyst has prominent electrocatalytic capability for the MOR. Compared with Ti3C2Tx/Pt–Pd and commercial Pt/C catalysts, the Ti3C2Tx/PEDOT/Pt–Pd catalyst has a larger electrochemical activity surface area (ECSA = 122 m2 g−1) and higher mass activity (MA = 1445.4 mA mg−1), as well as better CO tolerance and more reliable long-term durability (a peak current density retention of 71% after 5200 s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallopolymers have emerged as a new type of advanced materials for multiple applications, involving nanoscience, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, as well as biomedicine. Metal components play a significant role in the performances and functionalities of metallopolymers, and can endow metallopolymers with unique optical, magnetic, electronic, catalytic and redox characteristics. In addition, the polymer backbones also provide good mechanical, processing and soluble properties to broaden the practicability of metallopolymers. Metal centers can be incorporated into polymer main chain, side chain or network to produce various metallopolymers. The current research interests are to design and develop functional metallopolymers with specific structures and required properties for valuable applications. This review focuses on recent advances of metallopolymers for multiple applications, such as self-assembly, biomaterials, optoelectronic materials, catalysis, smart gels and microgels, and ion-exchange membranes. This review is expected to give some insight into metallopolymers for developing the desired functional materials. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional hydrogels with good stretchability and self‐healing properties have attracted considerable attention in the field of flexible electronic devices. However, hydrogels constructed by traditional chemical crosslinking usually have poor mechanical properties and lack self‐healing, adhesion, and biocompatibility, which cannot meet the requirements of flexible wearable devices. This work introduced multiple dynamic crosslinking, including borate ester bond, Schiff‐base, and host–guest interaction, into polymer networks to fabricate triple‐network gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol/carbon nanotube composite hydrogels with good self‐healing ability (healing efficiency of 95.0%), mechanical strength (54.6 kPa), stretchability (778%), biocompatibility, conductivity, adhesion, and remodeling properties. Carbon nanotubes can serve as the filler to improve the electrical conductivity of the triple‐network hydrogels. The resulting hydrogel can be made into a strain sensor with high strain sensitivity (gauge factor up to 16.0). More importantly, the strain sensor can be used to monitor various human and organ movements. Owing to its good self‐healing ability, the self‐healed hydrogel sensor also can detect human movements with almost the same electrical signal strength as the original one. This study gives novel insights for the design of multifunctional self‐healing hydrogels that have great potential in various application fields such as electronic skins, soft robots, and wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tannic acid is used as a green and efficient stabilizer to fabricate all kinds of TMNPs including AuNPs, AgNPs, CuNPs and PdNPs. These TMNPs possess small sizes ranging from 1 nm to 6 nm, which is conducive to several catalytic reactions in aqueous solution, such as 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction, CuAAC reactions and Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions. This present work has the superiorities of green raw material, simple and efficient preparation process, high catalytic activities, as well as the applicability and generality for various substrates. [Display omitted] Due to the good electrical, optical, magnetic, catalytic properties, transition metal nanoparticles (TMNPs) have been becoming more and more interesting in the fileds of environment, material, biomedicine, catalysis, and so on. Here, tannic acid (TA) is used as a green and efficient stabilizer to fabricate all kinds of TMNPs including AuNPs, AgNPs, CuNPs and PdNPs. These TMNPs possess small sizes ranging from 1 nm to 6 nm, which is conducive to several catalytic reactions in aqueous solution, such as 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction, CuAAC reactions and Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions. AuNPs and PdNPs are found to have distinctly higher catalytic activities than AgNPs and CuNPs in the 4-NP reduction process. Especially, PdNPs show the highest catalytic activities with TOF up to 7200 h−1 in the 4-NP reduction. Furthermore, PdNPs also exhibit satisfying catalytic performance in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling process, and CuNPs are catalytically active in the copper-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reactions. The applicability and generality of PdNPs and CuNPs are respectively confirmed via the reaction between different substrates in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions and the CuAAC reactions. This work present a simple, fast, green and efficient strategy to synthesize TMNPs for multiple catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendrimers with symmetrical 3D structures can be designed with various interior or exterior functional groups, which has been regarded as good stabilizers for various metal nanoparticles in catalysis. Nevertheless, Janus dendrimers with asymmetric structures are hardly researched to load metal nanoparticle catalysts. Here, an amphiphilic Janus dendrimer is used to stabilize metal (Au, Ag and Pd) nanoparticles, whose catalytic activities are also investigated. Au, Ag and Pd nanoparticles have the average diameters of 2.6 ± 2.0 nm, 5.8 ± 3.0 nm and 2.0 ± 1.0 nm, respectively, and show clear lattice fringes. Au and Pd nanoparticles are observed to have significantly higher catalytic performance than that of Ag nanoparticles in the 4-nitrophenol reduction, and Pd nanoparticles possess the highest catalytic activity (TOF: 2250 h−1). In addition, Pd nanoparticles are also highly active in the Suzuki-Miyaura reactions with low catalyst loading (50 ppm) and high TOF (2475 h−1) and show good applicability to tolerate various substituents. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing demand for eco-friendly materials in wearable smart electronic devices, renewable, biocompatible, and low-cost hydrogels based on natural polymers have attracted much attention. Cellulose, as one of the renewable and degradable natural polymers, shows great potential in wearable smart electronic devices. Multifunctional conductive cellulose-based hydrogels are designed for flexible electronic devices by adding sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and MXene into polyacrylic acid networks. The multifunctional hydrogels possess excellent mechanical property (stress: 310 kPa; strain: 1127 %), toughness (206.67 KJ m−3), conductivity (1.09 ± 0.12 S m−1) and adhesion (82.19 ± 3.65 kPa). The multifunctional conductive hydrogels serve as strain sensors (Gauge Factor (GF) = 5.79, 0–700 % strain; GF = 14.0, 700–900 % strain; GF = 40.36, 900–1000 % strain; response time: 300 ms; recovery time: 200 ms) and temperature sensors (Temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) = 2.5755 °C−1 at 35 °C- 60 °C). The sensor detects human activities with clear and steady signals. A distributed array of flexible sensors is created to measure the magnitude and distribution of pressure and a hydrogel-based flexible touch keyboard is also fabricated to recognize writing trajectories, pressures and speeds. Furthermore, a flexible hydrogel-based supercapacitor powers the LED and exhibits good cyclic stability over 15,000 charge-discharge cycles. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Design principles and action mechanisms of cyclodextrin-derived materials in water treatment are summarized. • Applications of cyclodextrin-derived materials in water treatment are discussed. • Challenges and prospects for cyclodextrin-derived materials in water treatment are presented. Modern lifestyle and industrialization have caused huge pressure on the natural environment. Especially, all kinds of toxic organic and inorganic contaminants are released to aquatic systems, ultimately leading to water pollution and human health risks. Therefore, it is an urgent priority to develop effective strategies for removing these contaminants and realizing water recycling. Cyclodextrins have attracted attention in water treatment due to their precise recognition of molecules and ions. This current review summarizes the latest development of the cyclodextrin-derived materials for water treatment. Cyclodextrin-derived materials are obtained from cross-linking, immobilization or self-assembly to enhance their properties for contaminant removal. Cyclodextrin-derived materials interact with contaminants by host–guest, electrostatic, H-bonding, hydrophobic, and π-π stacking interactions. Further emphasis is put on the applications of cyclodextrin-derived materials for adsorption treatment of various organic and inorganic contaminants, catalytic degradation of organic contaminants, oil–water separation, and membrane separation. Finally, future research directions and challenges of cyclodextrin-derived materials are discussed and summarized. This review offers valuable insight on the development of cyclodextrin-derived materials for water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysts immobilized on hydrogels is a win-win mode, which not only improves photocatalysis but also successfully prevents catalyst loss, making it easy to separate and reuse during catalytic process. Here, ZnO-Ti 3 C 2 T X photocatalysts are loaded into the chitosan/polyacrylic acid hydrogel networks, realizing the efficiently photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin. The chitosan-based composite hydrogel features rich functional groups and a dense pore structure, which is beneficial to antibiotic enrichment and photocatalytic degradation. The effects of different catalyst ratios, dosage, initial concentrations and pH on the degradation efficiency are investigated. The norfloxacin degradation rate constant is 0.012 min−1 and its degradation efficiency reaches up to 90 % after 240 min. Importantly, the photocatalytic composite hydrogel still retains 85 % degradation efficiency after 6 cycles. Moreover, e− plays a significant role in the degradation process. This work converts the traditional powder photocatalysts into bulk photocatalysts (photocatalytic hydrogels) to accomplish efficient degradation and rapid recycling for contaminant removal. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Macromolecules containing two or more distinct types of metal centers. • Synthesis of heterometallic macromolecules. • Heterometallic macromolecules for self-assembly. • Heterometallic macromolecules for catalysis. • Heterometallic macromolecules as optoelectronic, magnetic and biomedical materials. Metallomacromolecules allow developing advanced materials with various characteristic properties including inter alia optoelectronics, conductivity, magnetism, self-healing, catalysis and cell targeting. Therefore, they possess broad application prospects in synthesis, nanoscience, bioscience, healthcare, energy storage and environment. In the past several decades, various metallomacromolecules have been developed, but more sophisticated materials involving two or more distinct types of metal centers (i.e. heterometallic macromolecules) have emerged with both possibilities of cumulating polyfunctional multimetallic properties and synergistic cooperative effects. The resulting more complex physical and chemical (reactivity) properties are at the origin of promising applications. This review article will summarize the synthetic methods for heterometallic macromolecules including heterometallopolymeric and heterometallodendritic materials. Their rich and multiple applications including multifunctional, supramolecular and self-assembly nanomaterial aspects in magnetism, optoelectronic, catalysis and biomedicine, are then carefully scrutinized. The current challenges of these heterometallopolymeric and heterometallodendritic nanomaterials are discussed, and perspectives of the field are provided with attempts to visualize new directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their unique physical and chemical features, dendronized polymers (DPs) have received increasing attention in various fields such as hierarchically structured materials, stimuli-responsive materials, catalysis, biosciences, optoelectronic devices, and so on. A large number of synthetic strategies also have been reported to prepare various functionalized DPs. Among these strategies, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and metathesis cyclopolymerization (MCP) using highly active and group-tolerant Ru-based catalysts as initiators were used as living and controlled techniques to fabricate well-defined DPs. The two efficient techniques present a promising prospect in the design and preparation of functional DPs. In this review, we focus on the synthesis of various classes of DPs by ROMP and MCP of dendritic macromonomers, and describe their characteristic structures and properties, as well as various functional applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apocynin has been widely used in vivo as a Nox2‐contaninig nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase inhibitor. However, its time‐dependent tissue distribution and inhibition on organ reactive oxygen species (ROS) production remained unclear. In this study, we examined apocynin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PKPD) after intravenous (iv) injection (bolus, 5 mg/kg) of mice (CD1, 12‐week). Apocynin was detected using a HPLC coupled to a linear ion‐trap tandem mass spectrometer. Apocynin peak concentrations were detected in plasma at 1 minute (5494 ± 400 ng/mL) (t1/2 = 0.05 hours, clearance = 7.76 L/h/kg), in urine at 15 minutes (14 942 ± 5977 ng/mL), in liver at 5 minutes (2853 ± 35 ng/g), in heart at 5 minutes (3161 ± 309 ng/g) and in brain at 1 minute (4603 ± 208 ng/g) after iv injection. These were accompanied with reduction of ROS production in the liver, heart and brain homogenates. Diapocynin was not detected in these samples. Therapeutic effect of apocynin was examined using a mouse model (C57BL/6J) of high‐fat diet (HFD, 16 weeks)‐induced obesity and accelerated aging. Apocynin (5 mmol/L) was supplied in drinking water during the HFD period and was detected at the end of treatment in the brain (5369 ± 1612 ng/g), liver (4818 ± 1340 ng/g) and heart (1795 ± 1487 ng/g) along with significant reductions of ROS production in these organs. In conclusion, apocynin PKPD is characterized by a short half‐life, rapid clearance, good distribution and inhibition of ROS production in major organs. Diapocynin is not a metabolite of apocynin in vivo. Apocynin crosses easily the blood‐brain barrier and reduces brain oxidative stress associated with metabolic disorders and aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Preparation of hydrogel materials. • Strategies for enhancing water evaporation efficiency. • Photothermal hydrogel composites for water evaporation. • Utilization of solar energy. • Challenges and opportunities of hydrogel-based solar evaporators. Water scarcity has forced people to develop advanced water purification techniques. Solar-driven water treatment has the potential to produce clean water through utilizing solar energy to alleviate the global water crisis. The development of advanced materials with new properties contribute to enhancing the photothermal conversion efficiency. Hydrogels have emerged as encouraging material platforms for solar-driven water purification because of good water absorption, water retention and water transport. The rational design of hydrogel structures can lower the heat loss during heat transfer process to improve the photothermal conversion efficiency. This current review summarizes the recent advance on hydrogel-based solar evaporators. Hydrogel materials are generally prepared by chemical or physical cross-linking. The strategies to enhance water evaporation efficiency is also highlighted, which mainly involve the reduction of evaporation enthalpy, photothermal management of interfaces, highly interconnected hole structures and salt resistance. Hydrogels are combined with photothermal materials (including carbon-based materials, polymer materials, semiconductor materials, plasmonic materials and hybrid materials) to prepare hydrogel-based solar evaporators. Finally, challenges of hydrogel-based solar evaporators for water purification are discussed. This review inspires future efforts to design hydrogel solar evaporators for mitigating water shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendronized polymers (DPs) are an increasing field at the interfaces between organic chemistry, polymer synthesis, and materials science, and in particular DPs are expected to provide designed applications as nanoparticle (NP) sensors and catalysts. Herein, we report a new highly-branched amphiphilic dendronized diblock copolymer containing bulky hydrophilic triethylene glycol (TEG) and hydrophobic ferrocenyl (Fc) groups via the living and controlled ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The amphiphilicity drives the self-assembly of the resulting DP into spherical nanoscale micelles in water using THF or DMSO as cosolvents. AuNPs and AgNPs of various sizes depending on the presence of NaBH 4 are successfully prepared using the DP as stabilizers or reductants and used as excellent catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol by NaBH 4. The obtained AuNPs about 2.1 nm show TONs up to 25 000 and TOFs of 26 400 h−1 and remain stable and efficient for this catalysis after two months. Highly-branched amphiphilic ferrocenyl-containing dendronized diblock copolymer is prepared by ROMP and used as stabilizers or reductants to synthesize AuNPs and AgNPs for high-efficiency catalysis in 4-nitrophenol reduction. Image 1 • Ferrocenyl dendronized diblock copolymer is synthesized by ROMP. • Dendronized copolymer can self-assemble into nanoscale spherical micelles. • Dendronized copolymer can be used as reducing and stabilizing agents for AuNPs/AgNPs. • AuNPs and AgNPs show high catalytic activity for 4-nitrophenol reduction. • AuNPs and AgNPs show long-term stability and efficiency for catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract A series of small-sized (about 2.0 nm) gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with apparent lattice fringes are synthesized by NaBH 4 reduction of HAuCl 4 in the presence of stabilizing linear or dendronized 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing ferrocenyl polymers. These AuNPs show high catalytic activity for biphasic 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) by NaBH 4. The lower generation G1 dendronized polymers (DPs) is a more efficient stabilizer for AuNP catalytic activity in the reduction of 4-NP than linear G0 polymers or bulky G2 DPs. The G1 DP-stabilized AuNPs are robust and easily recyclable, and the catalyst is recovered and reused at least twenty times with progressive smooth AuNP size increase along with some decrease of catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer self-assembly has attracted considerable attention for constructing interesting nanostructures. Dendronized polymers with a linear polymer backbone and dendritic wedges possess the potential to self-assemble into ordered nanostructures in solution. Herein, the self-assembly behaviors of dendronized ferrocenyl polymers are investigated in aqueous solution. After being oxidized with FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O, dendronized ferrocenyl polymers form positively charged ferrocenium-containing polyelectrolytes to generate nano-objects in aqueous solution. In addition, the supramolecular polymers obtained from the host–guest interactions between ferrocenyl units and β-cyclodextrin are also able to form nano-objects in aqueous solution. Whereafter, both the oxidized and supramolecular polymers are used to encapsulate Rhodamine B, resulting in the cargo-loaded self-assembly. All self-assembly experiments demonstrate that the dendritic effects would drive ferrocenyl polymers to self-assemble from small micelles to large compound micelles. The ferrocenyl polymers with larger dendritic pendant sizes have a more obvious tendency to self-assemble into large compound micelles. The current work gives a chance to understand the self-assembly behaviors of dendronized polymers, which is expected to generate ordered nanostructures. [Display omitted] • Self-assembly behaviors of dendronized ferrocenyl polymers. • Self-assembly of dendronized ferrocenyl polymers based on oxidation. • Self-assembly of dendronized ferrocenyl polymers based on host−guest interaction. • Cargo-loaded self-assembly of dendronized ferrocenyl polymers. • Role of dendritic pendant sizes in the self-assembly behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of corrected baseline metabolic parameters in fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging (18 F-FDG PET/CT) for 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients and Methods Retrospective clinical and pathological data were collected for 199 patients of DLBCL diagnosed between January 2018 and January 2021. All patients underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans without any form of treatment. The corrected maximum standardized uptake value (corSUVmax), corrected mean standardized uptake value (corSUVmean), corrected whole-body tumor metabolic volume sum (corMTVsum), and corrected total lesion glycolysis of whole body (corTLGtotal) were corrected using the SUVmean in a 1-cm diameter mediastinal blood pool (MBP) from the descending thoracic aorta of patients. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression were used to examine the predictive significance of corrected baseline metabolic parameters on 3-year PFS of patients. The incremental values of corrected baseline metabolic parameters were evaluated by using Harrell's C-indices, receiver operating characteristic, and Decision Curve Analysis. Results The multivariate analysis revealed that only the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)-International Prognostic Index (IPI) and corMTVsum had an effect on 3-year PFS of patients (p < 0.05, respectively). The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated significant differences in PFS between the risk groups classified by corSUVsum, corMTVsum, and corTLGtotal (log-rank test, p < 0.05). The predictive model composed of corMTVsum and corTLGtotal surpasses the predictive performance of the model incorporating MTVsum and TLGtotal. The optimal performance was observed when corMTVsum was combined with NCCN-IPI, resulting in a Harrell's C index of 0.785 and area under the curve values of 0.863, 0.891, and 0.947 for the 1-, 2-, and 3-year PFS rates, respectively. Conclusion The corMTVsum offers significant prognostic value for patients with DLBCL. Furthermore, the combination of corMTVsum with the NCCN-IPI can provide an accurate prediction of the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallol-functionalized polymers are highly desirable for their addressable functions in the fields of materials science, nanotechnology and biomedicine, owing to gallol's unique chemistry including excellent chelating properties to metals, easily oxidability and superior ability to bind proteins. Herein, we report the controlled synthesis of the first polynorbornene-based side-chain gallol-containing homopolymers and block copolymers with pendent triethylene glycol (TEG) moieties by the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using the 3rd generation Grubbs catalyst 1 as the initiator. We describe the direct synthetic route by the ROMP of a gallol-containing norbornene monomer, and the indirect approach via an acetoxyl protection/deprotection route. Among the tested metal ions of Fe 3+ , Mg 2+ , Cr 3+ and Al 3+ , Fe 3+ is the most effective metal ion to induce the gelation of the present gallol-containing polymers, and UV–visible spectroscopy indicates that bis-coordinated state dominates for the interaction between side-chain gallol groups and Fe 3+ ions in DMF. The gelation rate, interior structure, thermal and mechanical properties of the Fe 3+ -induced metallogels can be effectively tuned by changing the gallol/Fe 3+ molar ratio, polymeric molecular weight, and by introducing of organic TEG block. Furthermore, the oxidant-induced organogels were fabricated by adding the oxidant of NaIO 4 into the DMF solution of the gallol-containing polymers, and the gelation rate highly depends on the gallol/IO 4 − molar ratio and the introduction of TEG block. We are convinced that the effective synthesis of well-defined gallol-containing polymers, as illustrated by the present work, will pave the way for their functional applications as smart organogels, coatings, adhesives, capsules, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biopolymer-derived hydrogels with low-cost and sustainable features have been considered as fascinating supported materials for metal nanoparticles. Cellulose, as the most abundant biopolymer, is a renewable raw material to prepare biopolymer-derived hydrogels for catalysis. Here, a cellulose-based hydrogel is designed to load bimetallic (AuAg, AuPd and AgPd) nanoparticles. 4-Nitrophenol reduction and Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions are selected to evaluate and compare the catalytic performance of the resulting bimetallic nanoparticle-loaded cellulose-based composite hydrogels. The bimetallic nanocomposite hydrogels are easy to be recycled over 10 times during the catalytic experiments and possess good applicability and generality for various substrates. The catalytic activity of bimetallic nanocomposite hydrogels was compared with recent literatures. In addition, the possible catalytic mechanism is also proposed. This work is expected to give a new insight for designing and preparing bimetallic nanoparticle-based cellulose hydrogels and proves its applicability and prospect in the catalytic field. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newcache is a secure cache that can thwart cache side-channel attacks to prevent the leakage of secret information. All caches today are susceptible to cache side-channel attacks, despite software isolation of memory pages in virtual address spaces or virtual machines. These cache attacks can leak secret encryption keys or private identity keys, nullifying any protection provided by strong cryptography. Newcache uses a novel dynamic, randomized memory-to-cache mapping to thwart contention-based side-channel attacks, rather than the static mapping used by conventional set-associative caches. In this article, the authors present an improved design of Newcache, in terms of security, circuit design and simplicity. They show Newcache's security against a suite of cache side-channel attacks. They evaluate Newcache's system performance for cloud computing, smartphone, and SPEC benchmarks and find that Newcache performs as well as conventional set-associative caches, and sometimes better. They also designed a VLSI test chip with a 32-Kbyte Newcache and a 32-Kbyte, eight-way, set-associative cache and verified that the access latency, power, and area of the two caches are comparable. These results show that Newcache can be used as L1 data and instruction caches to improve security without impacting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharides are a kind of natural biopolymers and have been widely applied in various fields, especially biomedical applications, due to their fascinating properties, such as renewability, structural diversity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. However, pristine polysaccharides sometimes fail to meet the requirements in biomedical applications. Chemical modifications offer a significant means of changing the physical and chemical properties of polysaccharides and enhancing their functionalities. The traditional modification methods mainly include selective oxidation, carboxymethylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, sulfation, "Click" reactions and polymer grafts. In recent years, mussel-inspired chemistry has emerged as a novel, simple and efficient strategy to modify natural polysaccharides, therefore endowing them with some new and unique properties and broaden their applications in biomedicine. This strategy can give polysaccharides with outstanding adhesive performance, oxidation resistance, antibacterial property, coating capacity, high reactivity, chelating and coordinating abilities, bioactivities, and biological compatibility, and also affords a significant surface modification platform for the fabrication of diverse hybrid materials with specific functionalities. This review summarizes the methods (including surface chemistry and covalent conjugate) to modify various natural polysaccharides (including cellulose, chitin, chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid, heparin, starch, etc.) via mussel-inspired chemistry, and discusses their various biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, hemostasis, wound healing, drug delivery, antibacterial, chemo-photothermal therapy, biosensors and 3D bioprinting. This work is expected to give a better understanding of opportunities and challenges of mussel-inspired strategy for the functionalization of polysaccharides in biomedical applications. It can envision that mussel-inspired strategy will continuously attract attention in the modification of polysaccharides and more significant applications will be explored. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal nanoparticle composite hydrogels (MNCHs) have attracted considerable attention in the catalytic field because hydrogels can provide appropriate microenvironment and enable catalysts to be conveniently separated and recycled. Here, a novel and well-defined gallol-functionalized hydrogel Gel-G was synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The resulting hydrogel Gel-G can be used as template to in situ prepare catalytically active gold nanoparticles hydrogel (AuNPs-Gel-G) and sliver nanoparticles hydrogel (AgNPs-Gel-G) without use of any external reductant based on the strong reducibility and coating property of the gallol moiety. The two MNCHs were well characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both AuNPs-Gel-G and AgNPs-Gel-G exhibited high catalytic activity for the 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction to 4-aminophenol (4-AP), and can be easily separated and reused at least five times. [Display omitted] • Gallol-containing polymer hydrogels are synthesized by ROMP. • Gallol-containing polymer hydrogels are used for in situ fabrication of AuNPs and AgNPs composites. • AuNPs and AgNPs hydrogel composites exhibit good catalytic activity and reusability for 4-nitrophenol reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furthermore, the Supplementary Information file published with this Article contained an error, where the raw data of the Phos-p47 SP phox sp immunoblot was an inadvertent duplication of the Iba-1 raw data immunoblot (both shown in Figure 3, panel A). Correction to: I Scientific Reports i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58422-8, published online 31 January 2020 The original version of this Article contained an error in Figure 3, panel A, where the P-p47 SP phox sp immunoblot was inadvertently duplicated from the Iba-1 immunoblot. (B) p47phox phosphorylation (red) was detected using a phosphorylation specific antibody against p47phox (Ser359) and double stained with antibody against Iba-1 (green) by immunofluorescence. [Extracted from the article]

Ferroptosis is a novel form of membrane-dependent cell death that differs from other cell death modalities such as necrosis, apoptosis, and autophagy. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system primarily affecting brain and spinal cord neurons. Although the pathogenesis of these two conditions may seem unrelated, recent studies have indicated a connection between ferroptosis and multiple sclerosis. In fact, ferroptosis plays a significant role in the development of MS, as evidenced by the presence of elevated iron levels and iron metabolism abnormalities in the brains, spinal cords, and other neurons of MS patients. These abnormalities disrupt iron homeostasis within cells, leading to the occurrence of ferroptosis. However, there is currently a lack of research on the diagnostic value of ferroptosis-related genes in multiple sclerosis. In this study, we employed bioinformatics methods to identify ferroptosis-related genes (ATM, GSK3B, HMGCR, KLF2, MAPK1, NFE2L1, NRAS, PCBP1, PIK3CA, RPL8, VDAC3) associated with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and constructed a diagnostic model. The results demonstrated that the diagnostic model accurately identified the patients’ condition. Subsequently, subgroup analysis was performed based on the expression levels of ferroptosis-related genes, dividing patients into high and low expression groups. The results showed differences in immune function and immune cell infiltration between the two groups. Our study not only confirms the correlation between ferroptosis and multiple sclerosis but also demonstrates the diagnostic value of ferroptosis-related genes in the disease. This provides guidance for clinical practice and direction for further mechanistic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their high catalytic activity, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been exploited as green and efficient catalysts in various chemical reactions, such as the oxidation of CO to CO 2 , aerobic oxidation of alcohols, C C coupling reactions and reduction reactions through transfer hydrogenation. Here, we report an efficient dendritic stabilizer for AuNPs. The dendritic stabilizer is a ferrocene-containing amphiphilic dendronized random copolymer that is synthesized by the ring-opening metathesis polymerization. And, the obtained amphiphilic copolymer can self-assemble into spherical micelles in aqueous solution, resulting in the formation of efficient nanoreactors for AuNPs in the 4-nitrophenol reduction to 4-aminophenol by NaBH 4. It is found that AuNPs obtained by using NaBH 4 as reductant have obviously smaller size and higher catalytic activity than those fabricated by using the ferrocene-based groups as reductant. The reusable experiment indicates that the small-sized AuNPs can be reused at least for fifteen times. We report ferrocene-containing amphiphilic dendronized random copolymer as efficient stabilizer for reusable gold nanoparticles in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) affect patients in acute-care hospitals worldwide. No systematic review has been published on adoption and implementation of the infection prevention and control (IPC) key components. The objective of this systematic review was to assess adoption and implementation of the three areas issued by the "National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China" in acute-care hospitals in Mainland China, and to compare the findings with the key and core components on effective IPC, issued by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Methods: We searched PubMed and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure for reports on the areas "structure, organisation and management of IPC", "education and training in IPC", and "surveillance of outcome and process indicators in IPC" in acute-care facilities in Mainland China, published between January 2012 and October 2017. Results were stratified into primary care hospitals and secondary/tertiary care hospitals. Results: A total of 6580 publications were retrieved, of which 56 were eligible for final analysis. Most of them were survey reports (n = 27), followed by observational studies (n = 17), and interventional studies (n = 12), either on hand hygiene promotion and best practice interventions (n = 7), or by applying education and training programmes (n = 5). More elements on IPC were reported by secondary/tertiary care hospitals than by primary care hospitals. Gaps were identified in the lack of detailing on organisation and management of IPC, education and training activities, and targets of surveillance such as central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and Clostridium difficile infections. Information was available on adoption and implementation of 7 out of the 10 ECDC key components, and 7 out of the 8 WHO core components. Conclusion: To variable degrees, there is evidence on implementation of all NHCPRC areas and of most of the ECDC key components and the WHO core components in acute care hospitals in Mainland China. The results are encouraging, but gaps in effective IPC were identified that may be used to guide future national policy-making in Mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglia express constitutively a Nox2 enzyme that is involved in neuroinflammation by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Amyloid β (Aβ) plays a crucial role in Alzheimer's disease. However, the mechanism of Aβ-induced microglial dysfunction and redox-regulation of microgliosis in aging remains unclear. In this study, we examined Nox2-derived ROS in mediating microglial response to Aβ peptide 1–42 (Aβ42) stimulation in vitro, in aging-associated microgliosis in vivo and in post-mortem human samples. Compared to controls, Aβ42 markedly induced BV2 cell ROS production, Nox2 expression, p47phox and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, cell proliferation and IL-1β secretion. All these changes could be inhibited to the control levels in the presence of Nox2 inhibitor or superoxide scavenger. Compared to young (3–4 months) controls, midbrain tissues from wild-type aging mice (20–22 months) had significantly higher levels of Nox2-derived ROS production, Aβ deposition, microgliosis and IL-1β production. However, these aging-related changes were reduced or absent in Nox2 knockout aging mice. Clinical significance of aging-associated Nox2 activation, microgliosis and IL-1β production was investigated using post-mortem midbrain tissues of humans at young (25–38 years) and old age (61–85 years). In conclusion, Nox2-dependent redox-signalling is crucial in microglial response to Aβ42 stimulation and in aging-associated microgliosis and brain inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We present the controlled synthesis of the polynorbornene-based well-defined block copolymer PNFc- b -PNAd side-chain containing ferrocene (Fc) and adamantane (Ad) units by the ring-opening metathesis polymerization using the 3rd generation Grubbs catalyst. A polycationic amphiphilic block copolymer PNFcium- b -PNAd was then fabricated by the stoichiometric oxidation of Fc into ferricinium (Fcium) cations, and its redox-controlled reversible self-assembly behavior in water was demonstrated by SEM and DLS with glutathione as reductant and FeCl 3 as oxidant. By using benzocaine (BA) as model cargo, the loading ability of the cationic micelles formed by PNFcium- b -PNAd was investigated and confirmed, and the reduction of Fcium could lead to the rapid release of loaded payloads. A new supramolecular copolymer PNFc- b -PNAd@β-CD was further prepared by simply mixing PNFc- b -PNAd and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with equimolar quantity to Ad units, in which host-guest interactions were mainly observed between β-CD and pendant Ad. Owing to the formation of hydrophilic inclusion complexes, PNFc- b -PNAd@β-CD possesses amphiphilic property and exhibits redox-controlled self-assembly behavior in water, too. The oxidation-triggered release of loaded-BA from the supramolecular micelles was observed in a slow and durable way. The present novel redox-responsive micelles provide innovative examples of rational design for stimuli-responsive carriers by using Fc-containing polymers. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyro-phototronic effect plays an important role in improving the photodetection performance of ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs). Here, a novel pyro-phototronic effect between TiO 2 nanoarrays (TiO 2 NRs) and the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy selenophene) (PEDOS) is applied to fabricate a self-powered UV PD with the enhanced photodetection ability. The self-powered p-n heterojunction UV PD is fabricated by a face-to-face hybrid of acid (HCl and H 2 SO 4)-treated TiO 2 NRs with PEDOS. Interestingly, a pyro-phototronic effect is found between TiO 2 NRs/FTO and PEDOS/FTO, and the acid treatment of TiO 2 NRs can dramatically enhance the pyro-phototronic effect. H 2 SO 4 treatment can improve the p-n heterojunction, while HCl treatment can increase carrier concentration due to the introduction of surface oxygen vacancies on the surface of TiO 2 NRs. Under UV light illumination and 0 bias voltage, the rise time (T rise) and fall time (T fall) of UV PD from the face-to-face hybrid of PEDOS/FTO with TiO 2 (HCl)/FTO are 0.080 s and 0.079 s, while the responsivity (R) and detectivity (D*) are 58.706 mA/W and 3.627 × 1011 Jones, respectively. The face-to-face fabrication of UV PDs and the matching of the energy levels between PEDOS and TiO 2 NRs cause the pyro-phototronic effect due to temperature change and pyroelectric effect of TiO 2 NRs under the UV light illumination. This work gives a new idea to generate pyro-phototronic effect between TiO 2 NRs and conducting polymers for application in UV PDs field. [Display omitted] • The UV PD is fabricated by a face-to-face hybrid of TiO 2 NRs/FTO and PEDOS/FTO. • A pyro-phototronic effect is proved between TiO 2 NRs/FTO and PEDOS/FTO. • A simple acid treatment can dramatically enhance the photodetection performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extruded Mg–4Zn–1Mn alloy was prepared and its in vitro corrosion behavior in different physiological solutions of simulated body fluid (SBF), artificial saliva (AS) and artificial urine (AU) was investigated for biomedical applications. The microstructural characterization by optical microscope (OM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) showed that the alloy with an average grain size of approximate 20 ​μm was mainly composed of α-Mg matrix phase along with some MgZn 2 and α-Mn precipitates. The results of electrochemical corrosion and immersion corrosion tests revealed a distinct corrosion behavior for the alloy in different solutions with increasing immersion time. The corrosion morphologies were featured with flocculent precipitates in the SBF, flower-like clusters in the AS and columnar crystals in the AU. The alloy exhibited highest corrosion resistance and lowest corrosion rate in the AS compared with the SBF and the AU, which was attributed to the formation of a stable corrosion products layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO NRs-based self-powered ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have gained significant interest from researcher recently, owing to its high stability and optoelectronic performance. However, the slow responding speed and high dark current caused by defects in ZnO NRs limit the application of self-powered UV PDs. Organic conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene) (PEDOS) has been used as p-type materials, because its good hole transport ability can enable excellent photodetection performances. Here, a self-powered PEDOS/Au NPs-ZnO hybrid UV PD is reported, having a high responsivity of 0.369 mA/W, a favorable detectivity of 1.17 × 1010 Jones as well as fast photo response time (τ rise and τ fall of 0.32 s and 0.44 s) in self-powered mode. In addition, the I ph / I dark ratio of this PD is about 39, and has almost no change after 8 cycles. Comparing with the UV PD without Au NPs (ZnO NRs/PEDOS), the dark current of PEDOS/Au NPs-ZnO UV PD is reduced by 2 times (from 1.52 μA to 0.75 μA) and its photocurrent is increased by 8 times (from 3.79 μA to 29.1 μA). The result shows that p-type PEDOS form p-n heterostructure with ZnO NRs, and the plasmonic effect of Au NPs can enhance response characteristics of the UV PDs. [Display omitted] • A high performance self-powered UV PD was designed based on Au NPs decorated n-type ZnO NRs and p-type PEDOS p-n heterojunction. • The plasma effect of Au NPs on the UV detection performance of PEDOS/Au NPs-ZnO heterojunctions was studied. • The hybrid device exhibits excellent responsivity and detectivity under lower light power (0.32 mW/cm2). • This study presented a new idea to efficiently enhance the properties of the organic-inorganic p-n heterojunction UV PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indole propionic acid (IPA) is one of the important plant growth hormones for promoting rooting and fruiting. Labeling IPA receptor in plant tissues is able to further track the signal transduction processes of IPA and uncover the function mechanism of IPA on crop productions. In this paper, a tunable and nontoxic fluorescent probe for IPA receptors was designed and synthetized base on carbon dots (C dots). Firstly carboxyl-modified carbon dots were prepared by high temperature cracking of citric acid. The fluorescence emission wavelengths of C dots varied with the excitation wavelengths change. Then IPA-modified carbon dots (IPA-C dots) were prepared by coupling the amino of tryptophan with the carboxyl of as-prepared carbon dots. Compared with C dots, the fluorescence intensity of IPA-C dots was double and the fluorescence stability was satisfactory under various conditions. This probe retained the biological activity of IPA and acted as target recognition of IPA receptors in plant tissues. The probe could avoid green fluorescence background of plants. The imaging results showed that the IPA receptors mainly existed on the membrane of stele. The toxicity test indicated the probe was less toxic than traditional inorganic semiconductor quantum dots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels with stimuli-responsive behavior have been of great interest to researchers from many fields, such as biotechnology, drug delivery, and sensors, owing to their "smart" change in properties under external stimuli such as temperature, pH, pressure, redox, magnetic and electric fields. In this work, using the third generation Grubbs' catalyst as the initiator, both temperature and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) stimuli-responsive ferrocenyl hydrogels were prepared with different proportions of hydrophilic norbornene monomer NTEG , ferrocene-containing monomer NFc and crosslinker 1 by using one-pot ROMP (ring-opening metathesis polymerization) reaction. Based on the mechanical and rheological tests, it was found that NFc not only played a crucial role in maintaining the structure of ferrocenyl hydrogels, but also enhanced their physical strength. Comparatively, the increase of the NTEG content in the hydrogel system can improve the toughness of the resulting hydrogels. Furthermore, Results of the swelling ratio test demonstrated that these hydrogels possessed temperature-responsiveness, in which the NTEG block, which contained dendritic oligoethylene glycol structures in the side chain, played a decisive role. Simultaneously, it is worth noting that these ferrocenyl hydrogels also exhibited responsive behavior to β-CD solution due to the host-guest interaction of ferrocene unit with β-CD macromolecule. Therefore, we believe that this study provides a new idea for the design of covalently crosslinked ferrocenyl stimuli-responsive smart hydrogels. Thermo/β-cyclodextrin-responsive ferrocenyl hydrogels were constructed by the ROMP reaction of a hydrophilic norbornene monomer containing dendritic oligoethylene glycol structures in the side chain and a hydrophobic side-chain ferrocene-containing monomer, and their mechanical and swelling properties could regulated by the hydrophilic-hydrophobic ratio, environmental temperature and the addition of β-cyclodextrin. [Display omitted] • Hydrogels with pendent ferrocene and dendritic oligoethylene glycol were prepared. • Ferrocenyl hydrogels were covalently cross-linked through the ROMP reaction. • Ferrocenyl hydrogels had excellent toughness and compression resilience. • Mechanical/swelling behavior of hydrogels can be regulated by changing feed ratio. • Ferrocenyl hydrogels possessed dual-responsiveness to temperature and β-CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel organic-inorganic self-powered UV photodetector (UV PD) is realized by the face-to-face assembling of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene) (PEDOS)/FTO and ZnO nanoarrays (ZnO NRs)/FTO. The ZnO NRs are further modified with carbon quantum dots (CQDs) to achieve high-performance capability of UV PD. As a hole transport material, PEDOS can enhance the charge transfer ability and form p-n heterojunction with ZnO NRs, which can separate the electron-hole pairs under the effect of the built-in electric field, making the UV PD achieve better photoelectric performance without external bias. In addition, a pyroelectric effect is found between ZnO NRs and CQDs and can greatly improve the photoresponsivity and shorten the response time of UV PD. The UV PD from CQDs-ZnO NRs/PEDOS has the excellent performance with photoresponsivity of 22.62 mA W−1 and response speed of 0.09 s/0.12 s (rise time/decay time) under the low ultraviolet light intensity (0.32 mW cm−2, wavelength 365 nm) at 0 V bias. This work provides an effective route to modulate the performance of UV PDs. [Display omitted] • The performance of ZnO based UV photodetector modified by carbon quantum dots is 33 times higher. • Assembled face-to-face organic-inorganic heterojunction ultraviolet photodetector FTO/CQDs-ZnO NRs/PEDOS/FTO. • The pyroelectric effect of carbon quantum dots greatly improves the device response and shortens the response time. • The mechanism of improving device performance by carbon quantum dots is discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acetaminophen (APAP, also known as paracetamol) is a commonly used antipyretic and analgesic that is considered safe to use during pregnancy. However, a growing body of research indicates that gestational administration of APAP increased the risk of neurodevelopmental, reproductive and genitourinary disorders in offspring, alongside impairments in placental development. Notably, over-dosed APAP exhibits direct toxicity to endothelial cells, but there is very limited research investigating the impact of APAP on placental angiogenesis, a gap we aim to address in this study. Pregnant mice were gavaged with APAP (15, 50 and 150 mg/kg/d) from embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) to E13.5. Administration of 150 mg/kg/d APAP leads to low birth weight (LBW) of the offspring and disordered vascular structures within the labyrinthine (Lab) layer of the placenta. This disruption is accompanied by a significant increase in Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 (SOCS3) level, a negative regulator of the Janus kinase signal transducer 1 and activator of the transcription 3 (JAK1/STAT3) signaling. Meanwhile, Human umbilical vein endothelial Cells (HUVECs) with the treatment of 3 mM APAP exhibited reduced cell viability, whereas 1 mM APAP significantly affected the proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenic capacities of HUVECs. Further, SOCS3 was up-regulated in HUVECs, accompanied by inhibition of JAK1/STAT3 pathways. Knocking-down SOCS3 in HUVECs restored the nuclear translocation of STAT3 and efficiently promoted cellular capacity of tube formation. Overall, short-term maternal administration of overdosed APAP impairs angiogenic capacities of fetal endothelial cells via SOCS3/JAK1/STAT3 pathway in the mouse placenta. This study reveals that overdose of APAP during pregnancy may adversely affect placental angiogenesis, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the safe principles of smallest effective dose for the shortest required durations. [Display omitted] • Exposure to acetaminophen (APAP) disrupted placental development in mice. • APAP exposure caused abnormal vascular structures in the placenta. • APAP exposure impaired angiogenesis via SOCS3/JAK1/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A high performance self-powered UV PD was designed based on a sandwich configuration and with p-n junction, which is consisting of ZnO as the bottom n- layer, PEDOS as the top of p-layer, and ZnSe as the insertion layer. • The study suggestion that the ZnSe layer acts a key role in the superior property of the obtained device. • A high detectivity (1.42 × 1011) and a responsivity (5.44 mA/W) values were achieved under low light power (0.32 mW/cm2). • This study presented a new idea to efficiently enhance the properties of the organic–inorganic p-n heterojunction UV PDs. In the present work, a novel self-powered hybrid ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD) based on ZnO @ZnSe nanoarrays/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene) (PEDOS) was fabricated and systematically investigated. The designed PD is based on a sandwich configuration and with p-n junction, which is consisting of ZnO as the bottom n- layer, PEDOS as the top of p-layer, and ZnSe as the insertion layer. The results of the study on the performances of UV PD under different conditions optical power density shows that the ZnO@ZnSe/PEDOS exhibits excellent detection of UV light, the device achieves the excellent responsivity (R) 5.44 mA/W and high detectivity (D*) 1.42 × 1011 Jones under the weaker optical power density (0.32 mW/cm2). The study concludes with a suggestion that the ZnSe layer acts a key role in the superior property of the obtained device, which is introduction of ZnSe layer between the p-PEDOS and n-ZnO layers reduces band migration and thus effectively enhances carrier transport within them, and demonstrating that the responsivity (R) of ZnO@ZnSe/PEDOS is almost 18 times that of the device without the ZnSe layer (0.3 mA/W). On the other hand, as the p- types PEDOS, which enhances the junction quality by reducing the composite center of the carrier, expanding the depletion region and providing a step energy level between the band edges of ZnO and ZnSe, improving the overall collection of photogenerated carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop and validate radiomics signatures based on MRI for preoperative prediction of Ki-67 proliferative index (PI) expression in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). A total of 341 patients with PCNSL were retrospectively analyzed, including 286 patients in one center as the training set and 55 patients in another two centers as the external validation set. Radiomics features were extracted and selected from preoperative contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images, fluid attenuation inversion recovery to build radiomics signatures according to the Ki-67 PI. The predictive performances of the radiomics model were evaluated using four classifiers including random forest, K-Nearest Neighbors, Neural Network and Decision Tree. A combined model was built by incorporating radiomics signature, clinical variables and MRI radiological characteristics using multivariate logistic regression analysis, and a nomogram was established to predict the expression of Ki-67 individually. The predictive performances of the models were evaluated using area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and decision curve analysis (DCA). Radiomics signatures were independent predictors of the expression level of Ki-67 (OR: 2.523, P < 0.001). RF radiomics models had the highest accuracy (0.934 in the training set and 0.811 in the external validation set) and F1 Score (0.920 in the training set and 0.836 in the external validation set). The clinic-radiologic-radiomics nomogram showed better predictive performance with AUCs of 0.877(95 % CI: 0.837–0.918) in the training set and 0.866(95 % CI: 0.774–0.957) in the external validation set. The calibration curve and DCA demonstrated goodness-of-fit and improved benefits in clinical practice of the nomogram. Nomograms integrating MRI-based radiomics and clinical-radiological characteristics could effectively predict Ki-67 PI in primary PCNSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-Tryptophan (L-Trp) is essential for the human body and can only be obtained externally. It is important to develop a method to efficiently detect L-Trp in food. In this work, ionic liquid (IL) modified poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene)/ Titanium carbide (PEDOT/Ti 3 C 2 T X) was used as a substrate material to improve detection sensitivity. Molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) film for specific recognition of L-Trp was fabricated on the surface of modified electrodes using electrochemical polymerization. The monitoring results showed that the molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors (MIECS) exhibited good linearity ranges (10−6 - 0.1 μM and 0.1–100 μM) with a low detection limit (LOD) of 2.09 × 10−7 μM. In addition, the MIECS exhibited remarkable stability, reproducibility, and immunity to interference. A good recovery (93.54–99.59%) was demonstrated in the detection of milk. The sensor was expected to be developed as a highly selective and sensitive portable assay, and applied to the detection of L-Trp in food. • Construction of a 3D conductive framework of PEDOT/Ti 3 C 2 T x /IL as a substrate material to improve the sensitivity of the sensor. • The sensor has good immunity and selectivity for various amino acids and biomolecules. • The sensor enables stable detection of L-Trp for 15 consecutive times. • The sensor has a detection limit of 2.09 × 10−7 μM in the range of 10−6-0.1 and 0.1-100 μM, enabling pic-omolar detection of L-Trp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Ultrasound decreases the dielectric breakdown voltage of the coatings by 45V. [•] Ultrasound increases the contents of α-Al2O3 and 3Al2O3⋅2SiO2 in the coatings. [•] A cross point appears in the time–voltage responses of the two PEO systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • TiO 2 NRs/BiOCl//TiO 2 NRs/BiOCl UV PD produces pyro-phototronic effect by a face-to-face assembly method. • BiOCl increases the surface oxygen vacancies of TiO 2 NRs, reducing the dark current of UV PD. • The Cl ions combined with Se increase the photosensitivity of the material, thus increasing UV PD performance. This study presents the construction of an organic–inorganic heterojunction ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD) through face-to-face assembly. The synergistic effects of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) and titanium dioxide nanorods (TiO 2 NRs) improve carrier transport efficiency and enhance the performance of the UV photodetector. The combination of BiOCl with TiO 2 NRs generates a pyro-phototronic effect and increases the surface oxygen vacancies of TiO 2 NRs, resulting in enhanced carrier transport efficiency, increased transient photocurrent, and reduced dark current in TiO 2 -based UV photodetectors. The enhanced photosensitivity of chloride (Cl) ions bound to selenium (Se) ions promotes easy electron injection from poly (3,4-ethylene dioxyselenophene) (PEDOS) into BiOCl, leading to accelerated electron transfer and a shortened response time. Compared to TiO 2 NRs/BiOCl//TiO 2 NRs/BiOCl, the TiO 2 NRs/BiOCl//PEDOS heterojunction exhibits a fast photoresponse with a rise time of 0.0802 s and a fall time of 79.8 ms. The responsivity is significantly improved from 11.0 mA/W to 108.8 mA/W (a 10-fold enhancement), and the detectivity is increased from 0.67 × 1011 Jones to 1.25 × 1011 Jones at 365 nanomaterials (0 V). These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanism by which BiOCl nanosheets enhance the photodetection performance of devices, contributing to the advancement of UV photodetector technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable biomass-based materials have a huge potential to replace petroleum-based products in food packaging. Herein, pectin/gelatin films loaded with curcumin and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are prepared by solution-pouring technology to serve as antimicrobial multifunctional food packaging films. AgNPs and curcumin are found to equally distribute in the films. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) reveal the hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction among curcumin, AgNPs, pectin and gelatin. The composite films show good antioxidant activity, mechanical performance, hydrophobicity and antibacterial ability. The films of P-G C A 0.5 showed 99.57 ± 0.16 % and 100 % inhibition against E. coli and S. aureus , respectively. The films also demonstrate excellent water vapor barrier qualities. In addition, the composite films possess pH-responsive color change behaviors from yellow (pH 3–8) to light red (pH 8–9) to dark red (pH 11–12), which is suitable for monitoring the freshness of shrimp packaging based on pH changes during deterioration process. As sustainable biomass-based materials, the multifunctional composite films are promising in intelligent food packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors have attracted widespread attention for monitoring contaminants in food and the environment. However, there are still problems such as poor hydrophilicity, easy agglomeration, and low selectivity in its preparation. In this work, a novel molecularly imprinted composite hollow sphere was prepared by a molecular imprinting technique using nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres as matrix material, and PEDOT and poly(methacrylic acid) as monomers. The selective binding capabilities and mechanism of the material to norfloxacin (NOR) were systematically investigated. Then the material-based sensor was constructed, and its electrochemical detection performance toward NOR was thoroughly studied. The sensor exhibited a wide linear range (0.0005–31 μM), a low detection limit (0.061 nM), satisfactory immunity to interference and stability. Besides, the sensor displayed better sensitivity and reliability (spiked recoveries of 98.0–105.2%, relative standard deviation of 3.45–5.69%) for detecting NOR in lake water, honey, and milk than high-performance liquid chromatography. This work provides a new strategy for developing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We build a model to study the sidewall corrugation of fabricated silicon microrings and investigate its impact on the spectral response of the resonator system. From the scanning electron microscope images, the sidewall corrugation can be engineered into certain periodicity and characterized into a group of rectangular gratings, or quasi-gratings, which in turn generate mutual mode coupling between the forward- and backward-propagating modes in the ring and lead to resonance splitting. We find that the reflectivity of the quasi-gratings is proportional to the mutual coupling strength and the resonance splitting only occurs at the resonances where high reflectivity takes place. The model agrees well with the experimental measurements and provides some guideline in applying mutual mode coupling for various functions in the field of optics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although polymers based on polylactic acid (PLA) are considered by researchers as prime candidates for replacing traditional plastics, they are confronted with challenges including high production costs, limited thermal stability, and inferior impact resistance. In this study, novel composites with exceptional impact resistance, robust thermal stability, and satisfactory crystalline properties were fabricated by using PLA and polypropylene (PP) as raw materials, PP- g -MAH was employed as a compatibilizer to enhance the compatibility between the individual components. by adjusting the quantity of discarded cotton stalk fibers (CSF). The optimal mass ratio of CSF was determined to be 20%, resulting in a composite that exhibited a moderate increase of 56.31% in impact strength and a remarkable improvement of 23.05% in Vicat softening temperature. While the crystallinity was enhanced and the crystallization temperature (T c) value decreased, the storage modulus also increased. Furthermore, the observed increase in storage modulus within the temperature range of 80 °C–100 °C was attributed to the influence of polymer cold crystallization. The hydrophobicity of the composite was enhanced. Significantly, this strategy can be extended to the application of other plant fibers, improving the crystalline properties of semi-crystalline polymers such as PLA and exemplifying the true 'valorization of waste' through the secondary utilization of discarded CSF. [Display omitted] • Utilizing discarded cotton stalk fibers, a PLA-based composite was fabricated. • Composite have high impact resistance, thermal stability, and crystalline performance. • The utilization of discarded CSF enhances various properties of PLA-based composites. • It presents a novel strategy for cost-effective applications of PLA-based plastics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally demonstrate all-optical wavelength conversions in a 10 μm radius resonance-split silicon microring resonator based on free carrier dispersion effect. The split resonance is caused by the mutual coupling between the two countertraveling modes inside the ring resonator. Dense wavelength conversions are performed at data rates from 500 Mbytes/s to 5 Gbytes/s and a dual-channel wavelength multicasting is realized at a data rate of 1.25 Gbytes/s. The resonance splitting phenomenon opens up opportunities to convert more closely spaced wavelengths, thus effectively increasing the system capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on various classes of ferrocene-containing hydrogels via covalently cross-linking and supramolecular strategies and analyzes their gelling mechanisms, characteristic structures, properties, and functional applications. • Ferrocene hydrogels fabricated by covalent cross-linking. • Ferrocene hydrogels fabricated by supramolecular assemblies. • Ferrocene hydrogels as biomedical, shape-memory and self-healing materials. • Ferrocene hydrogels present fascinating properties change upon redox switch. • Ferrocene microgels composed of cross-linked three-dimensional polymer networks. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels have lately attracted a lot of attention in the chemistry and material fields because of the "smart" change of their properties under outside stimuli including light, temperature, electric or magnetic field, pH, chemicals, shear stress, and redox reagents. Ferrocenyl (Fc) is often employed as a redox-responsive building unit due to its properties of chemical and electrochemical redox reversibility. This property involves reversible change between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, which endows hydrogels with unexpected features. Also, Fc derivatives are used as guest molecules featuring host–guest interactions with macrocyclic host molecules, mainly including cyclodextrins and pillararenes, commonly leading to the formation of supramolecular hydrogels with shape-memory, self-healing and sol–gel transition performances. This review focuses on the fabrication of various kinds of Fc-containing hydrogels and describes their gelling mechanisms, characteristic structures and properties, as well as functional applications. The review is divided into covalently cross-linked hydrogels and supramolecular cross-linked hydrogels. Furthermore, Fc-containing microgels constructed by chemically cross-linked three-dimensional polymer networks that are related to traditional hydrogels are also discussed. Fc-containing hydrogels and microgels are becoming more and more important as advanced functional materials, especially biomedical, shape-memory and self-healing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercapacitors play a crucial role in energy storage applications due to their high energy and power densities. In this context, synthesizing composites such as: poly(3,4propylenedioxythiophene)/CoNi 2 S 4 @hollow carbon sphere (PProDOT/CoNi 2 S 4 @HCS) through solid-state thermal polymerization and hydrothermal ion exchange has gained significant attention. The PProDOT/CoNi 2 S 4 @HCS composite exhibits exceptional electrochemical performance, including a high specific capacitance of 1054 C g−1 and an initial capacity retention rate of 83.3% at 20 A g−1. This signifies that the composite can effectively store and deliver electrical energy. The composite possesses a three-dimensional core-shell structure, wherein HCS acts as a carbon-based substrate that prevents the aggregation of CoNi 2 S 4 nanoparticles. Simultaneously, the PProDOT film ensures the structural integrity of CoNi 2 S 4 and facilitates efficient electron/ion transfer within the composite. Furthermore, researchers have assembled a quasi-solid-state supercapacitor using the PProDOT/CoNi 2 S 4 @HCS composite and a gel electrolyte composed of polyvinyl alcohol/sulfonated cellulose/gelatin (PVA/sCMC/GEL/KOH). This supercapacitor demonstrates outstanding characteristics, such as a high energy density of 85.3 Wh kg−1, a high power density of 7957 W kg−1, and a capacity retention rate of 87.56% after 15,000 cycles at 4 A g−1. These results indicate that the composite-based supercapacitor can provide long-term stability and reliable performance under demanding operating conditions. [Display omitted] • A ternary core-shell material with ultra-high capacity retention at high current density has been realized. • The conductive polymer coating was prepared by in-situ solid-state thermal polymerization. • Designed a gel electrolyte with high ionic conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]