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All-solid-state potassium metal batteries have caught increasing interest owing to their abundance, cost-effectiveness, and high energy/power density. However, their development is generally constrained by the lack of suitable solid-state electrolytes. Herein, we report a new complex KCB 9 H 10  ⋅ 2C 3 H 4 N 2 , synthesized by grinding and heating the mixture of potassium decahydrido-monocarba-closo-decaborate (KCB 9 H 10 ) and imidazole (C 3 H 4 N 2 ) under mild conditions, to achieve the K-ion superionic solid-state electrolyte. The crystal structure was revealed as an orthorhombic lattice with the space group of Pna2 1 by FOX software. The diffusion properties for K + in the crystal structure were calculated using the climbing image nudged elastic band (CI-NEB) method. KCB 9 H 10  ⋅ 2C 3 H 4 N 2 exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.3×10 -4  S cm -1 at 30 °C, four orders of magnitude higher than that of KCB 9 H 10 . This ionic conductivity is also the highest value of hydridoborate-based K + conductors reported. Moreover, KCB 9 H 10  ⋅ 2C 3 H 4 N 2 demonstrated a K + transference number of 0.96, an electrochemical stability window of 1.2 to 3.2 V vs. K/K + , and good stability against the K metal coated by a layer of potassium imidazolate (KIm). These great performances make KCB 9 H 10  ⋅ 2C 3 H 4 N 2 a promising K-ion solid-state electrolyte., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Laser ignition of primary explosives presents more reliable alternative to traditional electrical initiation methods. However, the commercial initiator lead azide (LA) requires a high-power density laser to detonate, with the minimum laser initiation energy (E min ) of 2402 mJ. Currently, the laser-ignitable metal complex-based igniters still suffer from weak detonation capabilities and high E min values. Here, the approach is first proposed to design laser ignition primary explosives within the high energy azide and tetrazole-based energetic coordination compounds (ECCs), [Co(N 3 )(2-bmttz)(H 2 O)] 2 1 and [Co(N 3 )(2-bmttz)(MeOH)] 2 2 as additives to LA. Material 1e with 4 wt.% of 1 in LA, exhibits ultra-low laser initiation threshold (E min = 1.6 mJ) and ultrafast corresponding time (T min = 0.2 ms). Specially, compared to LA, the threshold of 1e is as low as 1/1500 of that of LA. Moreover, 30 mg 1e successfully detonates RDX with a laser energy of 1.6 mJ. Theoretical calculations and experiment results reveal that 1 exhibits the superior additive effect compared to 2, attributed to its more enhanced ability to generate free radicals and higher photothermal conversion efficiency under laser conditions. This work represents a paradigm shift, with the potential to develop a laser-driven micro-detonator combining powerful detonation capabilities with exceptionally low laser initiation energy., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a prevalent hemorrhagic stroke characterized by a significant fatality rate and severe neurological impairments. Stress hyperglycemia has been confirmed to have a significant prognostic role in a range of diseases. However, studies on the association between stress hyperglycemia and the outcome of ICH have not currently been reported. Critically ill patients diagnosed with ICH in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database were included in our study. Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyze the correlation between stress hyperglycemia and the outcome of ICH. The predictive ability of different glucose metrics was demonstrated by the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and was further compared by the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) index. A total of 880 ICH patients in the MIMIC-IV database were included in this study. In logistic regression and Cox regression, blood glucose level (BGL), glycemic gap (GG), and stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) were independent predictors of unfavorable outcomes in ICH after adjustment for other confounders. The IDI results indicated that the 5-day maximum stress hyperglycemia ratio had better predictive performance than glycemic gap and blood glucose level in-hospital mortality and 1-year mortality, and the predictive performance of the 5-day maximum stress hyperglycemia ratio was better than that of stress hyperglycemia ratio measured at admission. In the age-stratified subgroup analysis, the 5-day maximum stress hyperglycemia ratio was more sensitive in predicting long-term outcomes in the young subgroup than in the elderly subgroup. The 5-day maximum stress hyperglycemia ratio is strongly correlated with an elevated risk of mortality in ICH patients and displays a better predictive ability than glycemic gap and blood glucose level in the short/long-term prognosis of ICH., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval/Informed Consent: This study was an analysis of third-party deidentified publicly available databases with pre-existing ethical review board (ERB) approval. Consent to publish: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Candida albicans is the most common pathogen in systemic fungal diseases, exhibits a complex pathogenic mechanism, and is increasingly becoming drug tolerant. Therefore, it is particularly important to study the genes associated with virulence and resistance of C. albicans . Here, we identified a gene ( orf19.1588 ) that encodes a conserved mitochondrial protein known as CaSDH8 , upon deletion of CaSdh8 , the deleted strain ( Casdh8Δ/Δ ) experienced impaired growth, hyphal development, and virulence. Casdh8Δ/Δ displayed a reduced capacity to utilize alternative carbon sources, along with detrimental alterations in reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depolarization, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. Interestingly, Casdh8Δ/Δ demonstrated resistance to azole drugs, and under the influence of fluconazole, the cell membrane permeability and mitochondrial function of Casdh8Δ/Δ were less compromised than those of the wild type, indicating a reduction in the detrimental effects of fluconazole on Casdh8Δ/Δ . These findings highlight the significance of CaSDH8 as a crucial gene for the maintenance of cellular homoeostasis. Our study is the first to document the effects of the CaSDH8 gene on the virulence and azole resistance of C. albicans at both the molecular and animal levels, providing new clues and directions for the antifungal infection and the discovery of antifungal drug targets.

In the field of finding ground and excited states, where quantum computation holds significant promise, using a variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) is a typical approach. However, the success of this approach is vulnerable to two factors: classical optimization for the ansätz parameters and noise from quantum devices. To address these challenges, we adopted particle swarm optimization (PSO) based on swarm intelligence for VQE and presented its performance. Furthermore, a modified PSO, gradient-based adaptive quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (GAQPSO), is proposed. This algorithm adaptively upgrades parameters based on gradients or shared information within the swarm, enhancing optimization capability and noise resistance. We tested this algorithm using VQE simulations on several molecular systems with different geometries and found that, when using random initial values, GAQPSO achieves accurate results even in the presence of noise, whereas traditional PSO, QPSO, COBYLA, and gradient-based algorithms (GD and L-BFGS-B) fail. The GAQPSO algorithm presents a novel approach to optimizing VQE, demonstrating superior performance in parameter optimization and noise resilience compared to traditional optimization algorithms. This effectively advances the process of achieving a quantum advantage for quantum computing in quantum chemistry problems.

The trigonal planar unit possesses significant hyperpolarizability and polarizability anisotropy, which makes it useful for optimizing nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, however, chalcogenide with this unit has seldom been reported. In this work, a novel approach is introduced by integrating the unprecedented trigonal planar MS 3 (M = Cd/In, Hg/In) motifs into the nearly optically isotropic tetrahedral units, resulting in two novel chalcogenides CsM 2 In 2 S 6 (M = Cd/In, 1; Hg/In, 2). Notably, structures 1 and 2 feature nearly planar triangular units at the center, encircled by three trimers, further interconnecting each other to create 3D frameworks. Importantly, phases 1 and 2 display phase-matching (PM) capabilities, primarily attributed to incorporating trigonal planar MS 3 units that additionally enhance polarizability anisotropy. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 2 demonstrate moderate second-harmonic generation (SHG) signals (0.70 and 0.84 × AgGaS2@1.7 µm). This study pioneers an efficient strategy for the design of infrared NLO crystals with PM capabilities., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Candida albicans , a common commensal and opportunistic fungal pathogen in humans, can occasionally progress to disseminated candidiasis which is a serious condition with a high morbidity and fatality rate. The emergence of drug-resistant fungal strains compels us to look for an efficient treatment solution. Our earlier studies have demonstrated that the unique antimicrobial peptide AMP-17 from Musca domestica has a strong antifungal impact on C. albicans in vitro . Here, we verified the therapeutic effects of AMP-17 on systemic candidiasis in vivo and the peptide interacts with fluconazole, a common antifungal medication, to treat systemic candidiasis. In the disseminated candidiasis model of Galleria mellonella and mice challenged with C. albicans , AMP-17 increased the survival rates of infected larvae and mice to 66.7 and 75%, respectively. Furthermore, the peptide lowered the load of C. albicans in the infected larvae and the kidneys of the mice by nearly 90%. Additional histological examination and measurements of plasma cytokines showed that the injection of AMP-17 markedly reduced the inflammatory response and balanced cytokine expression. Furthermore, checkerboard micro dilution experiments demonstrated that AMP-17 and fluconazole worked in synergy to inhibit C. albicans in the biofilm mode. According to morphological studies, AMP-17 and fluconazole together decreased the production of hyphae throughout the C. albicans biofilm formation process, loosening the mature biofilms' structure and lowering the amount of carbohydrates in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the biofilms. Taken together, these results showed that AMP-17 would be a viable treatment for systemic candidiasis and might be a different approach to combating Candida biofilm, either by itself or in conjunction with fluconazole., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Sun, Zhu, Yang, Tian, Jiao, Huang, Peng and Guo.)

Scaling up quantum dots to two-dimensional (2D) arrays is a crucial step for advancing semiconductor quantum computation. However, maintaining excellent tunability of quantum dot parameters, including both nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor couplings, during 2D scaling is challenging, particularly for silicon quantum dots due to their relatively small size. Here, we present a highly controllable and interconnected 2D quantum dot array in planar silicon, demonstrating independent control over electron fillings and the tunnel couplings of nearest-neighbor dots. More importantly, we also demonstrate the wide tuning of tunnel couplings between next-nearest-neighbor dots, which play a crucial role in 2D quantum dot arrays. This excellent tunability enables us to alter the coupling configuration of the array as needed. These results open up the possibility of utilizing silicon quantum dot arrays as versatile platforms for quantum computing and quantum simulation.

Efficient removal of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) impurities from polymer-grade ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) in a simple, clean manner remains a challenging goal in industry. The use of porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is promising for this aim but the acquisition of high purification performance is still hindered by few knowledge on the purification process because the previous conclusions were derived basically from the non-breakthrough tests or ignored the influence of structural difference (crystal structure, morphology, or defect). Here we propose an unprecedented in situ stimulus response strategy to minimize the influence of structural difference, obtain the gas-loading crystal structures of the same MOF before and after light or heat stimulation, directly observe the evolution of pore charge distribution and pore⋅⋅⋅gas interactions under light/heat induction, and finally summarizes the favorable structure for highly efficient purification of C 2 H 4 . This study opens a new route to understand the relationship between the structure and separation performance for porous materials., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Fucoxanthin, a dietary carotenoid, is predominantly found in edible brown algae and is commonly consumed worldwide. Fucoxanthin has been shown to possess beneficial health activities such as antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and antiobesity; however, the effects of fucoxanthin on VEGF-mediated angiogenesis and its possible binding with VEGF are unknown. Here, different lines of evidence supported the suppressive roles of fucoxanthin in VEGF-mediated angiogenesis. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells, fucoxanthin remarkedly suppressed VEGF-mediated cell proliferative, migration, and invasive abilities, as well as tube formation, without cytotoxicity. In addition, fucoxanthin inhibited the subintestinal vessel formation of zebrafish in vivo . In signaling cascades, fucoxanthin was proposed to interact with VEGF, thus attenuating VEGF's functions in activating the VEGF receptor and its related downstream signaling, i.e., phosphorylations of MEK and Erk. Fucoxanthin also significantly blocked VEGF-triggered ROS formation. Furthermore, the outcomes of applying fucoxanthin in cancer cells were identified, which included (i) inhibiting VEGF-mediated cell proliferation and migration and (ii) inhibiting NF-κB translocation via limiting MMP2 expression. These lines of investigations supported the antiangiogenic roles of fucoxanthin, as well as reviewing its signaling mechanisms, in blocking the VEGF-triggered responses. The results would benefit the potential development of fucoxanthin for the prevention and treatment of angiogenesis-related diseases.

Solid-state sodium metal batteries have been extensively investigated because of their potential to improve safety, cost-effectiveness, and energy density. The development of such batteries urgently required a solid-state electrolyte with fast Na-ion conduction and favorable interfacial compatibility. Herein, the progress on developing the NaB 3 H 8 solid-state electrolytes is reported, which show a liquid-like ionic conductivity of 0.05 S cm -1 at 56 °C with an activation energy of 0.35 eV after an order-disorder phase transformation, matching or surpassing the best single-anion hydridoborate conductors investigated up to now. The steady polarization voltage and significantly decreased resistance are achieved in the symmetric Na/NaB 3 H 8 /Na cell, indicating the great electrochemical stability and favorable interfacial contact with the Na metal of NaB 3 H 8 . Furthermore, a Na/NaB 3 H 8 /TiS 2 battery, the first high-rate (up to 1 C) solid-state sodium metal battery using the single-anion hydridoborate electrolyte, is demonstrated, which exhibits superior rate capability (168.2 mAh g -1 at 0.1 C and 141.2 mAh g -1 at 1 C) and long-term cycling stability (70.9% capacity retention at 1 C after 300 cycles) at 30 °C. This work may present a new possibility to solve the interfacial limitations and find a new group of solid-state electrolytes for high-performance sodium metal batteries., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Infrared birefringent crystals that hold significant importance for optoelectronic application have been rarely reported. Traditional tetrahedral PS 4 , ethane-like P 2 S 6 , and octahedral InS 6 units in thiophosphates typically manifest near isotropy, often resulting in extremely small birefringence. However, this study prepares α-Rb 2 InP 2 S 7 (1), β-Rb 2 InP 2 S 7 (2), and Cs 2 InP 2 S 7 (3), consisting of the aforementioned microstructures, notably exhibiting the highest refractive index difference or birefringence values (0.247, 0.298, and 0.250 at 546 nm, respectively) among thiophosphates, the middle one being larger than that of commercial birefringent materials. This unusual increase in birefringence can be primarily attributed to two key factors: (1) simultaneous stretching and compressing of the P-S and In-S covalent bond interactions, generating high polarizability anisotropy of InS 6 , PS 4 , and P 2 S 6 polyhedral units; (2) the additional incorporation of alkali metals that further reduces the dimensionality of the crystal structure, creating one-dimensional [InP 2 S 7 ] 2- structures with increasing polarizability anisotropy. This study presents an alternative approach to enhance birefringent materials by reconstructing covalent bond interactions and specific spatial arrangements., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been hailed as a rich source of medicine, but many types of herbs and their functions still need to be rapidly discovered and elucidated. HerboChip, a target-based drug screening platform, is an array of different fractions deriving from herbal extracts. This study was designed to identify effective components from TCM that interact with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a target using HerboChip., Methods: Selected TCMs that are traditionally used as remedies for cancer prevention and wound healing were determined and extracted with 50% ethanol. Biotinylated-VEGF was hybridized with over 500 chips coated with different HPLC-separated fractions from TCM extracts and straptavidin-Cy5 was applied to identify plant extracts containing VEGF-binding fractions. Cytotoxicity of selected herbal extracts and their activities on VEGF-mediated angiogenic functions were evaluated., Results: Over 500 chips were screened within a week, and ten positive hits were identified. The interaction of the identified herbal extracts with VEGF was confirmed in cultured endothelial cells. The identified herbs promoted or inhibited VEGF-mediated cell proliferation, migration and tube formation. Results from western blotting analysis demonstrated the identified herbal extracts significantly affected VEGF-triggered phosphorylations of eNOS, Akt and Erk. Five TCMs demonstrated potentiating activities on the VEGF response and five TCMs revealed suppressive activities., Conclusions: The current results demonstrated the applicability of the HerboChip platform and systematically elucidated the activity of selected TCMs on angiogenesis and its related signal transduction mechanisms., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Clinically, chronic pain and depression often coexist in multiple diseases and reciprocally reinforce each other, which greatly escalates the difficulty of treatment. The neural circuit mechanism underlying the chronic pain/depression comorbidity remains unclear. The present study reports that two distinct subregions in the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) play different roles in this pathological process. In the first subregion PVT posterior (PVP), glutamatergic neurons (PVP Glu ) send signals to GABAergic neurons (VLPAG GABA ) in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (VLPAG), which mediates painful behavior in comorbidity. Meanwhile, in another subregion PVT anterior (PVA), glutamatergic neurons (PVA Glu ) send signals to the nucleus accumbens D1-positive neurons and D2-positive neurons (NAc D1→D2 ), which is involved in depression-like behavior in comorbidity. This study demonstrates that the distinct thalamo-subcortical circuits PVP Glu →VLPAG GABA and PVA Glu →NAc D1→D2 mediated painful behavior and depression-like behavior following spared nerve injury (SNI), respectively, which provides the circuit-based potential targets for preventing and treating comorbidity., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Quantum interference is a natural consequence of wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics, and is widely observed at the atomic scale. One interesting manifestation of quantum interference is coherent population trapping (CPT), first proposed in three-level driven atomic systems and observed in quantum optical experiments. Here, we demonstrate CPT in a gate-defined semiconductor double quantum dot (DQD), with some unique twists as compared to the atomic systems. Specifically, we observe CPT in both driven and nondriven situations. We further show that CPT in a driven DQD could be used to generate adiabatic state transfer. Moreover, our experiment reveals a nontrivial modulation to the CPT caused by the longitudinal driving field, yielding an odd-even effect and a tunable CPT. Our results broaden the field of CPT, and open up the possibility of quantum simulation and quantum computation based on adiabatic passage in quantum dot systems.

Metals containing d-orbitals are typically characterized by strong deformation and polarization, yet they tend to induce narrow bandgaps that render them little-appreciated by high-power nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals. Incorporating highly electropositive polycations into d-orbital-containing chalcogenides to modify them into salt-inclusion chalcogenides (SICs) that are competitive in NLO materials, is a viable solution to this predicament. In the present work, two isostructural SICs [K 4 Cl][MGa 9 S 16 ] (M = Mn, 1; Hg, 2) are successfully synthesized by the high-temperature molten-salt growth method. Both compounds demonstrate commendable second-harmonic-generation (SHG) responses (0.6-1.0 × AgGaS 2 @1910 nm), which can be attributed to their well-designed [MGa 9 S 16 ] 3- anionic frameworks; and compound 2 exhibits the widest optical bandgap (3.41 eV) among the Hg-based NLO chalcogenides. Also, an interesting dual-band photoluminescence emission centered at ∼650 and ∼718 nm is detected in 1 at 77 K, with long lifetimes of 0.94 and 1.35 ms, respectively., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Introduction: Acinetobacter baumannii ( A. baumannii ) is an important opportunistic pathogen causing nosocomial infection in the clinic. The occurrence rate of antibiotic resistance is increasing year by year, resulting in a highly serious situation of bacterial resistance., Methods: To better understand the local epidemiology of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii , an investigation was conducted on the antibiotic resistance of different types of A. baumannii and its relationship with the genes of A. baumannii . Furthermore, the molecular mechanism underlying antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii was investigated through transcriptome analysis., Results: These results showed that a total of 9 STs were detected. It was found that 99% of the strains isolated in the hospital belonged to the same STs, and the clone complex CC208 was widely distributed in various departments and all kinds of samples. Furthermore, these A. baumannii strains showed high resistance to ertapenem, biapenem, meropenem, and imipenem, among which the resistance to ertapenem was the strongest. The detection rate of bla OXA -51 gene in these carbapenem resistance A. baumannii (CRAB) reached 100%; Additionally, the transcriptome results showed that the resistance genes were up-regulated in resistance strains, and these genes involved in biofilm formation, efflux pumps, peptidoglycan biosynthesis, and chaperonin synthesis., Discussion: These results suggest that the CC208 STs were the main clonal complex, and showed high carbapenem antibiotic resistance. All these resistant strains were distributed in various departments, but most of them were distributed in intensive care units (ICU). The bla OXA -23 was the main antibiotic resistance genotype; In summary, the epidemic trend of clinical A. baumannii in Guiyang, China was analyzed from the molecular level, and the resistance mechanism of A. baumannii to carbapenem antibiotics was analyzed with transcriptome, which provided a theoretical basis for better control of A. baumannii ., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Qiu, Yuan, Cao, Chen, Chen, Mo, Guo and Peng.)

Antifungal peptides (AFPs) are emerging as promising candidates for advanced antifungal therapies because of their broad-spectrum efficacy and reduced resistance development. In silico design of AFPs, however, remains challenging, due to the lack of an efficient and well-validated quantitative assessment of antifungal activity. This study introduced an AFP design approach that leverages an innovative quantitative metric, named the antifungal index (AFI), through a three-step process, i.e. , segmentation, single-point mutation, and global multipoint optimization. An exhaustive search of 100 putative AFP sequences indicated that random modifications without guidance only have a 5.97-20.24% chance of enhancing antifungal activity. Analysis of the search results revealed that (1) N-terminus truncation is more effective in enhancing antifungal activity than the modifications at the C-terminus or both ends, (2) introducing the amino acids within the 10-60% sequence region that enhance aromaticity and hydrophobicity are more effective in increasing antifungal efficacy, and (3) incorporating alanine, cysteine, and phenylalanine during multiple point mutations has a synergistic effect on enhancing antifungal activity. Subsequently, 28 designed peptides were synthesized and tested against four typical fungal strains. The success rate for developing promising AFPs, with a minimal inhibitory concentration of ≤5.00 μM, was an impressive 82.14%. The predictive and design tool is accessible at https://antifungipept.chemoinfolab.com.

Extensive microbial interactions occur within insect hosts. However, the interactions between the Huanglongbing (HLB) pathogen and endosymbiotic bacteria within the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) in wild populations remain elusive. Thus, this study aimed to detect the infection rates of HLB in the ACP across five localities in China, with a widespread prevalence in Ruijin (RJ, 58%), Huidong (HD, 28%), and Lingui (LG, 15%) populations. Next, microbial communities of RJ and LG populations collected from citrus were analyzed via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The results revealed a markedly higher microbial diversity in the RJ population compared to the LG population. Moreover, the PCoA analysis identified significant differences in microbial communities between the two populations. Considering that the inter-population differences of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity in the RJ population exceeded those between populations, separate analyses were performed. Our findings indicated an increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in individuals infected with HLB in both populations. Random forest analysis also identified Enterobacteriaceae as a crucial indicator of HLB infection. Furthermore, the phylogenetic analysis suggested a potential regulatory role of ASV4017 in Enterobacteriaceae for ACP, suggesting its possible attractant activity. This research contributes to expanding the understanding of microbial communities associated with HLB infection, holding significant implications for HLB prevention and treatment.

Objective: To explore a precise association between tumor location and lymph node (LN) biopsy algorithm in uterine confined endometrial cancer (EC)., Materials and Methods: Patients with EC treated in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, South Branch of Fujian Provincial Hospital were included in this observational retrospective study. Based on the procedure of treatment, patients were separated to stage I (2015.07-2019.09) and stage II (2019.09-2021.9). In each stage, patients were separated to high and low-risk group by the predicted results. Patients in the high-risk group received systematic lymphadenectomy in stage I and sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection in stage II. The efficiency of lymph node metastasis (LNM) detection rates was compared between stage I and stage II cases. Precise lymph node biopsy algorithm was also constructed based on the outcomes of stage II., Results: Overall, 43 patients, 28 in stage I and 15 in stage II, were included in the study. No recurrence or death cases had been found within follow-up terms. Based on the difference in the detection efficiency of LNM (p > 0.05), there was no difference between two stages. Thus, systematic lymphadenectomy and SLN biopsy provided similar success rates. The location of tumor site was also important for deciding whether pelvic or para-aortic SLN should be sampled for LNM., Conclusions: Precise SLN biopsy for EC confined to the uterus showed comparable LNM detection rate as systematic lymphadenectomy. EC location may be used to determine whether pelvic or para-aortic SLN sampling should be conducted for treatment., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Insect chitinases have been proposed as potential targets for pest control. In this work, a novel group IV chitinase gene, MdCht9, from Musca domestica was found to have multiple functions in the physiological activity, including chitin regulation, development and antifungal immunity. The MdCht9 gene was cloned and sequenced, its phylogeny was analysed and its expression was determined in normal and 20E treated larvae. Subsequently, RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated MdCht9 knockdown was performed, followed by biochemical assays, morphological observations and transcriptome analysis. Finally, the recombinant protein MdCht9 (rMdCht9) was purified and tested for anti-microbial activity and enzyme characteristics. The results showed that MdCht9 consists of three domains, highly expressed in a larval salivary gland. RNAi silencing of MdCht9 resulted in significant down-regulation of chitin content and expression of 15 chitin-binding protein (CBP) genes, implying a new insight that MdCht9 might regulate chitin content by influencing the expression of CBPs. In addition, more than half of the lethality and partial wing deformity appeared due to the dsMdCht9 treatment. In addition, the rMdCht9 exhibited anti-microbial activity towards Candida albicans (fungus) but not towards Escherichia coli (G-) or Staphylococcus aureus (G+). Our work expands on previous studies of chitinase while providing a potential target for pest management., (© 2023 Royal Entomological Society.)

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), an important opportunistic pathogen, is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections. The polymyxins (colistin and polymyxin B) are the last line of defense in the treatment of CRAB infections, and there is an urgent need to develop novel alternative therapeutic strategies. In this study, we found that the antimicrobial peptide DvAMP exhibited satisfactory antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against CRAB. In addition, DvAMP showed tolerable stability in salt ions and serum and exhibited low toxicity in vivo. Investigation of the underlying mechanism demonstrated that DvAMP disrupts cell membrane structural integrity and specifically binds to exogenous lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and phospholipids (PG/CL), resulting in increased membrane permeability and dissipating proton motive force (PMF), further reducing intracellular ATP levels and inducing ROS accumulation, leading to bacterial death. Furthermore, DvAMP therapy efficiently improved survival rates and decreased the bacterial load in the lungs of mice in a mouse pneumonia model, showing that DvAMP administration reduced CRAB susceptibility to lung infection. These results indicate that the peptide DvAMP is a promising alternative therapeutic agent to combat CRAB infection., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mermithid nematodes are entomopathogens that parasitize and kill insect hosts and are used for biological control. It is widely believed that mermithid nematodes kill their host upon nematode emergence, unlike other parasites that depend on virulence factors. In this study, we disproved this theory by demonstrating that the mermithid nematode Ovomermis sinensis mediates host mortality by serine protease-induced apoptosis., Results: Successful parasitism of O. sinensis increased with the infection rate, and the inhibition of host immunity by O. sinensis increased with the parasitic load. A serine protease was identified from the host hemolymph. This protease belongs to the trypsin-like serine protease family, which is an apoptosis-inducing serine protease. Specifically, Os-sp was highly expressed only during the parasitic stage and could be induced by host hemocytes and the fat body. Importantly, host immune effectors (melanization, phenoloxidase activity, and encapsulation) were suppressed by the recombinant protein rOs-sp that induced apoptosis of hemocytes and fat body in a dose-dependent manner, which contributes to host death., Conclusion: Serine protease mediates O. sinensis-inhibited host immune responses by inducing apoptosis that is lethal to the insect host. Our findings have broader implications for understanding the mechanism of successful parasitism and killing of host by nematodes. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The electronic energies of molecules have been successfully evaluated on quantum computers. However, more attention is paid to the dynamics simulation of molecules in practical applications. Based on the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm, Fedorov et al. proposed a correlated sampling (CS) method and demonstrated the vibrational dynamics of H2 molecules [J. Chem. Phys. 154, 164103 (2021)]. In this study, we have developed a quantum approach by extending the CS method based on the VQE algorithm (labeled eCS-VQE) for simulating chemical reaction dynamics. First, the CS method is extended to the three-dimensional cases for calculation of first-order energy gradients, and then, it is further generalized to calculate the second-order gradients of energies. By calculating atomic forces and vibrational frequencies for H2, LiH, H+ + H2, and Cl- + CH3Cl systems, we have seen that the approach has achieved the CCSD level of accuracy. Thus, we have simulated dynamics processes for two typical chemical reactions, hydrogen exchange and chlorine substitution, and obtained high-precision reaction dynamics trajectories consistent with the classical methods. Our eCS-VQE approach, as measurement expectations and ground-state wave functions can be reused, is less demanding in quantum computing resources and is, therefore, a feasible means for the dynamics simulation of chemical reactions on the current noisy intermediate-scale quantum-era quantum devices., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Birefringent materials are of great significance to the development of modern optical technology; however, research on halide birefringent crystals with a wide transparent range remains limited. In this work, mercuric bromide (HgBr 2 ) has been investigated for the first time as a promising birefringent material with a wide transparent window spanning from ultraviolet (UV) to far-infrared (far-IR) spectral regions (0.34-22.9 μm). HgBr 2 has an exceptionally large birefringence (Δ n , 0.235 @ 546 nm), which is 19.6 times that of commercial MgF 2 . The ordered linear motif [Br-Hg-Br] with high polarizability anisotropy within the molecule is the inherent source of excellent birefringence, making it an efficient building block for birefringent materials. In addition, HgBr 2 can be easily grown under mild conditions and remain stable in air for prolonged periods. Studying the birefringent properties of HgBr 2 crystals would provide new ideas for future exploration of wide-spectrum birefringent materials., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: The Alcian blue (AB) and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stains are representative mucus markers in gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC). They are low-cost special staining methods used to detect acidic mucus and neutral mucus, respectively. However, the clinical importance of the special combined AB and PAS stain is unclear., Aim: To investigate AB expression, PAS expression and the AB-to-PAS (A/P) ratio in gastric SRCC patients and to assess patient prognosis., Methods: Paraffin-embedded sections from 83 patients with gastric SRCC were stained with AB and PAS, and signet ring cell positivity was assessed quantitatively. Immunohistochemical staining for Ki67, protein 53 (P53) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was performed simultaneously. The cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate was estimated via Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazards models were used for univariate and multivariate survival analyses., Results: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the 3-year CSS rate was significantly greater in the high-PAS-expression subgroup than in the low-PAS-expression subgroup ( P < 0.001). The 3-year CSS rate in the A/P ≤ 0.5 group was significantly greater than that in the A/P > 0.5 group ( P = 0.042). Univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the factors affecting prognosis included tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, vessel carcinoma embolus, tumor stage, the A/P ratio and the expression of Ki67, P53 and the PAS. Cox multivariate regression analysis confirmed that low PAS expression [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.809, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.563-9.283, P = 0.003] and large tumor diameter (HR = 2.761, 95%CI: 1.086-7.020, P = 0.033) were independent risk factors for poor prognosis., Conclusion: A/P > 0.5 is potentially a risk factor for prognosis, and low PAS expression is an independent risk factor in the prognosis of gastric SRCC. PAS expression and the A/P ratio could help in predicting the clinical prognosis of patients with SRCC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial peptides are potential alternatives to traditional antibiotics in the face of increasing bacterial resistance. Insects possess many antimicrobial peptides and have become a valuable source of novel and highly effective antimicrobial peptides. Hermetia illucens as a resource insect, for example, has the highest number of antimicrobial peptides of any dipteran. However, most antimicrobial peptides, especially cecropin, have not been comprehensively identified and have not been evaluated for their antimicrobial ability. In this study, we analyzed the localization and gene structure of 33 cecropin molecules in the H. illucens genome and evaluated their activity against common human pathogens. The results showed that 32 cecropin molecules were concentrated on 1 chromosome, most with 2 exons. More importantly, most of the cecropins had a good antibacterial effect against Gram-negative bacteria, and were not hemolytic. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the cecropin designated H3 against E. coli was 4 μg/mL. The toxicity, killing time kinetics, and anti-biofilm activity of H3 were further investigated and confirmed its antimicrobial ability. Overall, H3 is a potential candidate for the development of new antimicrobials to treat severe infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens such as E. coli., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Reducing the dark current of photodetectors is an important strategy for enhancing the detection sensitivity, but hampered by the manufacturing cost due to the need for controlling the complex material composition and processing intricate interface. This study reports a new single-component photochromic semiconductor, [(HDMA) 4 (Pb 3 Br 10 )(PhSQ) 2 ] n (1, HDMA = dimethylamine cation, PhSQ = 1-(4-sulfophenyl)-4,4'-bipyridinium), by introducing a redox-active monosubstituted viologen zwitterion into inorganic semiconducting skeleton. It features yellow to green coloration after UV irradiation with the sharply dropping intrinsic conductivity of 14.6-fold, and the photodetection detection sensitivity gain successfully doubles. The reason of decreasing conductivity originates from the increasing the band gap of the inorganic semiconducting component and formation of Frenkel excitons with strong Coulomb interactions, thereby decreasing the concentration of thermally excited intrinsic carriers., (© 2023 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The study of facile-synthesis and low-cost X-ray scintillators with high light yield, low detection limit and high X-ray imaging resolution plays a vital role in medical and industrial imaging fields. However, the optimal balance between X-ray absorption, decay lifetime and excitonic utilization efficiency of scintillators to achieve high-resolution imaging is extremely difficult due to the inherent contradiction. Here two thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-actived coinage-metal clusters M 6 S 6 L 6 (M=Ag or Cu) were synthesized by simple solvothermal reaction, where the cooperation of heavy atom-rich character and TADF mechanism supports strong X-ray absorption and rapid luminescent collection of excitons. Excitingly, Ag 6 S 6 L 6 (SC-Ag) displays a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 91.6 % and scintillating light yield of 17420 photons MeV -1 , as well as a low detection limit of 208.65 nGy s -1 that is 26 times lower than the medical standard (5.5 μGy s -1 ). More importantly, a high X-ray imaging resolution of 16 lp/mm based on SC-Ag screen is demonstrated. Besides, rigid core skeleton reinforced by metallophilicity endows clusters M 6 S 6 L 6 strong resistance to humidity and radiation. This work provides a new view for the design of efficient scintillators and opens the research door for silver clusters in scintillation application., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Introduction: Bacterial infections have become serious threats to human health, and the excessive use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. E. coli is a human bacterial pathogen, which can cause severe infectious. Antimicrobial peptides are considered the most promising alternative to traditional antibiotics., Materials and Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and hemolytic activity were determined by the microdilution method. The antimicrobial kinetics of MR-22 against E. coli were studied by growth curves and time-killing curves. The cytotoxicity of MR-22 was detected by the CCK-8 assay. The antimicrobial activity of MR-22 in salt, serum, heat and trypsin was determined by the microdilution method. The antimicrobial mechanism of MR-22 against drug-resistant E. coli was studied by Scanning Electron Microscope, laser confocal microscopy, and Flow Cytometry. The in vivo antibacterial activity of MR-22 was evaluated by the mice model of peritonitis., Results and Discussion: In this study, MR-22 is a new antimicrobial peptide with good activity that has demonstrated against MDR E. coli . The antimicrobial activity of MR-22 exhibited stability under conditions of high temperature, 10% FBS, and Ca 2+ . However, a decline of the activity was observed in the presence of Na + , serum, and trypsin. MR-22 had no significant cytotoxicity or hemolysis in vitro . SEM and fluorescent images revealed that MR-22 could disrupt the integrity of cell membrane. DCFH-DA indicated that MR-22 increased the content of reactive oxygen species, while it decreased the content of intracellular ATP. In mice model of peritonitis, MR-22 exhibited potent antibacterial activity in vivo . These results indicated that MR-22 is a potential drug candidate against drug-resistant E. coli ., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Tian, Zhao, Yang, Lin, Cai, Zhang, Peng and Guo.)

Noncentrosymmetric phosphides have garnered significant attention as promising systems of infrared (IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Herein, a new quaternary diamond-like phosphide family I-III-IV 2 -V 4 and its inaugural member, namely, CuInSi 2 P 4 (CISP), were successfully fabricated by isovalent and aliovalent substitution based on ZnGeP 2 . First-principles calculations revealed that CISP has a large NLO coefficient ( d 14 = 110.8 pm/V), which can be attributed to the well-aligned tetrahedral [CuP 4 ], [InP 4 ], and [SiP 4 ] units. Remarkably, the extremely small thermal expansion anisotropy (0.09) of CISP enables it to exhibit a considerable laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT, 5.0 × AgGaS 2 @1.06 μm) despite the relatively narrow band gap (0.81 eV). This work improves the chemical diversity of inorganic phosphide and promotes the development of phosphide systems, which may provide valuable perspectives for future exploration of IR NLO materials.

The typical chalcopyrite AgGaQ 2 (Q = S, Se) are commercial infrared (IR) second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) materials; however, they suffer from unexpected laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) primairy due to their narrow band gaps. Herein, what sets this apart from previously reported chemical substitutions is the utilization of an unusual cationic substitution strategy, represented by [[SZn 4 ]S 12 + [S 4 Zn 13 ]S 24 + 11ZnS 4 ⇒ MS 12 + [M 4 Cl]S 24 + 11GaS 4 ], in which the covalent S x Zn y units in the diamond-like sphalerite ZnS are synergistically replaced by cationic M x Cl y units, resulting in two novel salt-inclusion sulfides, M[M 4 Cl][Ga 11 S 20 ] (M = A/Ba, A = K, 1; Rb, 2). As expected, the introduction of mixed cations in the GaS 4 anionic frameworks of 1 and 2 leads to wide band gaps (3.04 and 3.01 eV), which exceeds the value of AgGaS 2 , facilitating the improvement of high LIDTs (9.4 and 10.3 × AgGaS 2 @1.06 µm, respectively). Furthermore, compounds 1 and 2 exhibit moderate second-harmonic generation intensities (0.84 and 0.78 × AgGaS 2 @2.9 µm, respectively), mainly originating from the orderly packing tetrahedral GaS 4 units. Importantly, this study demonstrates the successful application of the cationic substitution strategy based on diamond-like structures to provide a feasible chemical design insight for constructing high-performance NLO materials., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Lanthanide-based molecular materials showing efficient circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) activity with a high quantum yield are attractive due to their potential applications in data storage, optical sensors, and 3D displays. Herein we present an innovative method to achieve enhanced CPL activity and a high quantum yield by doping a chromophore ligand into a coordination polymer superhelix. A series of homochiral europium(III) phosphonates with a helical morphology were prepared with the molecular formula S -, R -[Eu(cyampH) 3-3n (nempH) 3n ]·3H 2 O ( S / R -Eu-n , n = 0-5%). The doping of chromophore ligand S - or R -nempH 2 into superhelices of S / R -Eu-0% not only turned on the CPL activity with the dissymmetry factor | g lum | on the order of 10 -3 but also increased the quantum yield by about 14-fold. This work may shed light on the development of efficient CPL-active lanthanide-based coordination polymers for applications.

The selectivity control of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in the direct CO esterification with methyl nitrite toward dimethyl oxalate (DMO) or dimethyl carbonate (DMC) remains a grand challenge. Herein, Pd NPs are incorporated into isoreticular metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), namely UiO-66-X (X=-H, -NO 2 , -NH 2 ), affording Pd@UiO-66-X, which unexpectedly exhibit high selectivity (up to 99 %) to DMC and regulated activity in the direct CO esterification. In sharp contrast, the Pd NPs supported on the MOF, yielding Pd/UiO-66, displays high selectivity (89 %) to DMO as always reported with Pd NPs. Both experimental and DFT calculation results prove that the Pd location relative to UiO-66 gives rise to discriminated microenvironment of different amounts of interface between Zr-oxo clusters and Pd NPs in Pd@UiO-66 and Pd/UiO-66, resulting in their distinctly different selectivity. This is an unprecedented finding on the production of DMC by Pd NPs, which was previously achieved by Pd(II) only, in the direct CO esterification., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Widening the photoresponse range while enhancing the electrical properties of semiconductors could reduce the complexity and cost of photodetectors or increase the power conversion efficiency of solar cells. Surface doping through charge transfer with organic species is one of the most effective and widely used approaches to achieve this aim. It usually features easier preparation over other doping methods but is still limited by the low physicochemical stability and high cost of the used organic species or low improvement of electrical properties. This work shows unprecedented surface doping of semiconductors with highly stable, easily obtained, and strong electron-accepting viologen components, realizing the significant improvement of both the photoresponse range and conductivity. Coating the chalcogenide semiconductor KGaS 2 with dimethyl viologen dichloride (MV) yields a charge-transfer complex (CTC) on the surface, which broadens the photoresponse range by nearly 300 nm and improves the conductivity by 5 orders of magnitude. The latter value surpasses all records obtained by surface doping through charge transfer with organic species.

By the coordination assembly of a redox photoactive functional motif and a cyanide-bridged moiety, a cyanide-bridged Mn II -Fe III compound with large photoinduced magnetic change at room-temperature due to photoinduced electron transfer was obtanied. This compound also shows unprecedented radical-quenched spin glass in molecule based magnets.

Crystallographically, noncentrosymmetricity (NCS) is an essential precondition and foundation of achieving nonlinear optical (NLO), pyroelectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric materials. Herein, structurally, octahedral [SmCl 6 ] 3- is substituted by the acentric tetrahedral polyanion [CdBr 4 ] 2- , which is employed as a templating agent to induce centrosymmetric (CS)-to-NCS transformation based on the new CS supramolecule [Cd 5 P 2 ][SmCl 6 ]Cl (1), thereby providing the NCS supramolecule [Cd 4 P 2 ][CdBr 4 ] (2). Meanwhile, this replacement further results in the host 2D ∞ 2 [Cd 5 P 2 ] 4+ layers converting to yield the twisted 3D ∞ 3 [Cd 4 P 2 ] 2+ framework, which promotes the growth of bulk crystals. Additionally, phase 2 possesses well-balanced NLO properties, enabling considerable second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses (0.8-2.7 × AgGaS 2 ) in broadband spectra, the thermal expansion anisotropy (2.30) together with suitable band gap (2.37 eV) primarily leading to the favorable laser-induced damage threshold (3.33 × AgGaS 2 ), broad transparent window, and sufficient calculated birefringence (0.0433) for phase-matching ability. Furthermore, the first polyanion substitution of the supramolecule plays the role of templating agent to realize the CS-to-NCS transformation, which offers an effective method to rationally design promising NCS-based functional materials., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system (CNS) disease with complicated etiology. Multifocal demyelination and invasion of inflammatory cells are its primary pathological features. Fasudil has been confirmed to improve experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. However, Fasudil is accompanied by several shortcomings in the clinical practice. Hydroxyfasudil is a metabolite of Fasudil in the body with better pharmaceutical properties. Therefore, we attempted to study the influence of Hydroxyfasudil upon EAE mice. The results demonstrated that Hydroxyfasudil relieved the symptoms of EAE and the associated pathological damage, reduced the adhesion molecules and chemokines, decreased the invasion of peripheral immune cells. Simultaneously, Hydroxyfasudil modified the rebalance of peripheral T cells. Moreover, Hydroxyfasudil shifted the M1 phenotype to M2 polarization, inhibited inflammatory signaling cascades as well as inflammatory factors, and promoted anti-inflammatory factors in the CNS. In the end, mice in the Hydroxyfasudil group expressed more tight junction proteins, indirectly indicating that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was protected. Our results indicate that Hydroxyfasudil may be a prospective treatment for MS., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chalcohalides not only keep the balance between the nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficient and wide band gap, but also provide a promising solution to achieve sufficient birefringence for phase-matching ability in NLO crystals. In this study, a novel chalcohalide, Cs 4 Zn 5 P 6 S 18 I 2 (1) is successfully synthesized, by incorporating the highly electropositive Cs and the large electronegative I element into the zinc thiophosphate. Its 3D open framework features an edge-shared by distorted [ZnS 4 ], ethanol-like [P 2 S 6 ], and unusual [ZnS 2 I 2 ] polyhedrons, which is inconsistent with the soft-hard-acids-bases theory. Remarkably, compound 1 simultaneously exhibits the large second-harmonic generation (SHG, 1.1×AgGaS 2 , @1.3 µm) and a wide band gap (3.75 eV) toward a high laser-induced damage threshold (16.7×AgGaS 2 , @1.06 µm), satisfying the rigorous requirements for a prominent infrared NLO material with concurrent SHG intensity (≥0.5×AGS) and band gap (≥3.5 eV). Moreover, to the best of the knowledge, the experimental result shows that phase 1 has the largest birefringence (0.108, @546 nm) in chalcohalide and meets phase-matching behavior demand originating from the polarizable anisotropy of NLO-functional motifs. This finding may provide great opportunities for designing birefringent chalcohalides., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Single-component semiconductors with photoresponse to full solar spectrum are highly desirable to simplify the device structure of commercial photodetectors and to improve solar conversion or photocatalytic efficiency but remain scarce. This work reports bottom-up photosynthesis of an air-stable radical semiconductor using BiI 3 and a photochromism-active benzidine derivative as a photosensitive functional motif. This semiconductor shows photoconductivity to full solar spectrum contributed by radical and non-radical forms of the benzidine derivative. It has also the potential to detect X-rays because of strong X-ray absorption coefficient. This finding opens up a new synthetic method for radical semiconductors and may find applications on extending photoresponsive ranges of perovskites, transition metal sulfides, and other materials., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Anisotropic charge transport plays a pivotal role in clarifying the conductivity mechanism in direct X-ray detection to improve the detection sensitivity. However, the anisotropic photoelectric effect of semiconductive single crystal responsive to X-ray is still lacking of theoretical and experimental proof. The semiconductive coordination polymers (CPs) with designable structures, adjustable functions, and high crystallinity provide a suitable platform for exploring the anisotropic conductive mechanism. Here,the study first reveals a 1D conductive transmission path for direct X-ray detection from the perspective of structural chemistry. The semiconductive copper(II)-based CP 1 single crystal detector exhibits unique anisotropic X-ray detection performance. Along the 1D π-π stacking direction, the single crystal device (1-SC-a) shows a superior sensitivity of 2697.15 µCGy air -1  cm -2 and a low detection limit of 1.02 µGy air  s -1 among CPs-based X-ray detectors. This study provides beneficial guidance and deep insight for designing high-performance CP-based X-ray detectors., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Inspired by natural biological systems, chiral or handedness inversion by altering external and internal conditions to influence intermolecular interactions is an attractive topic for regulating chiral self-assembled materials. For coordination polymers, the regulation of their helical handedness remains little reported compared to polymers and supramolecules. In this work, we choose the chiral ligands R -pempH 2 (pempH 2 = (1-phenylethylamino)methylphosphonic acid) and R -XpempH 2 (X = F, Cl, Br) as the second ligand, which can introduce C-H⋯π and C-H⋯X interactions, doped into the reaction system of the Tb( R -cyampH) 3 ·3H 2 O (cyampH 2 = (1-cyclohexylethylamino)methylphosphonic acid) coordination polymer, which itself can form a right-handed superhelix by van der Waals forces, and a series of superhelices R -1H- x , R -2F- x , R -3Cl- x , and R -4Br- x with different doping ratios x were obtained, whose handedness is related to the second ligand and its doping ratio, indicating the decisive role of interchain interactions of different strengths in the helical handedness. This study could provide a new pathway for the design and self-assembly of chiral materials with controllable handedness and help the further understanding of the mechanism of self-assembly of coordination polymers forming macroscopic helical systems., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Cations that can regulate the configuration of anion group are greatly important but regularly unheeded. Herein, the structural transformation from 2D CS to 3D noncentrosymmetric (NCS, which is the prerequisite for second-order NLO effect) is rationally designed to newly afford two sulfides LiMGa 8 S 14 (M = Rb/Ba, 1; Cs/Ba, 2) by introducing the smallest alkali metal Li + cation into the interlamination of 2D centrosymmetric (CS) RbGaS 2 . The unusual frameworks of 1 and 2 are constructed from C 2 -type [Ga 4 S 11 ] supertetrahedrons in a highly parallel arrangement. 1 and 2 display distinguished NLO performances, including strong phase-matchable second-harmonic generation (SHG) intensities (0.8 and 0.9 × AgGaS 2 at 1910 nm), wide optical band gaps (3.24 and 3.32 eV), and low coefficient of thermal expansion for favorable laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs, 4.7, and 7.6 × AgGaS 2 at 1064 nm), which fulfill the criteria of superior NLO candidates (SHG intensity >0.5 × AGS and band gap >3.0 eV). Remarkably, 1 and 2 melt congruently at 873.8 and 870.5 °C, respectively, which endows them with the potential of growing bulk crystals by the Bridgeman-Stockbarge method. This investigated system provides a new avenue for the structural evolution from layered CS to 3D NCS of NLO materials., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Cryptococcus neoformans is an important opportunistic human fungal pathogen that causes cryptococcosis in immunocompromised patients. However, the number of drugs for the treatment of cryptococcosis is restricted, and the development of novel antifungal drugs and innovative strategies for the treatment of cryptococcosis is urgently needed. In this study, we validated that DvAMP is a novel antimicrobial peptide with antimicrobial activity and that it was obtained by pre-screening from the UniProt database of more than three million unknown functional sequences based on the quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) protocol (http://www.chemoinfolab.com/antifungal). The peptide exhibited satisfactory biosafety and physicochemical properties, and relatively rapid fungicidal activity against C. neoformans. Meanwhile, DvAMP was able to inhibit the static biofilm of C. neoformans and cause a reduction in the thickness of the capsule. In addition, DvAMP exerts antifungal effects through membrane-mediated mechanisms (membrane permeability and depolarization) and mitochondrial dysfunction, involving a hybrid multi-hit mechanism. Furthermore, by using the C. neoformans-Galleria mellonella infection model, we demonstrated that DvAMP has significant therapeutic effects in vivo and that it significantly reduces the mortality and fungal burden of infected larvae. These results suggest that DvAMP may be a potential antifungal drug candidate for the treatment of cryptococcosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Achieving self-consistent convergence with the conventional effective-mass approach at ultra-low temperatures (below 4.2 K) is a challenging task, which mostly lies in the discontinuities in material properties (e.g. effective-mass, electron affinity, dielectric constant). In this article, we develop a novel self-consistent approach based on cell-centered finite-volume discretization of the Sturm-Liouville form of the effective-mass Schrödinger equation and generalized Poisson's equation (FV-SP). We apply this approach to simulate the one-dimensional electron gas formed at the Si-SiO 2 interface via a top gate. We find excellent self-consistent convergence from high to extremely low (as low as 50 mK) temperatures. We further examine the solidity of FV-SP method by changing external variables such as the electrochemical potential and the accumulative top gate voltage. Our approach allows for counting electron-electron interactions. Our results demonstrate that FV-SP approach is a powerful tool to solve effective-mass Hamiltonians., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Inflammatory responses after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) contribute to severe secondary brain injury, leading to poor clinical outcomes. However, the responsible genes for effective anti-inflammation treatment in ICH remain poorly elucidated. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of human ICH were explored by online GEO2R. Go and KEGG were used to explore the biological function of DEGs. Protein-protein interactions (PPI) were built in the String database. Critical modules of PPI were identified by a molecular complex detection algorithm (MCODE). Cytohubba was used to determine the hub genes. The mRNA-miRNA interaction network was built in the miRWalk database. The rat ICH model was applied to validate the key genes. A total of 776 DEGs were identified in ICH. Go and KEGG analyses indicated that DEGs were mainly involved in neutrophil activation and the TNF signaling pathway. GSEA analysis presented that DEGs were significantly enriched in TNF signaling and inflammatory response. PPI network was constructed in the 48 differentially expressed inflammatory response-related genes. The critical module of the PPI network was constructed by 7 MCODE genes and functioned as the inflammatory response. The top 10 hub genes with the highest degrees were identified in the inflammatory response after ICH. CCL20 was confirmed as a key gene and mainly expressed in neurons in the rat ICH model. The regulatory network between CCL20 and miR-766 was built, and the miR-766 decrease was confirmed in a human ICH dataset. CCL20 is a key biomarker of inflammatory response after intracerebral hemorrhage, providing a potential target for inflammatory intervention in ICH., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aims to explore the neuroprotective effect of bilobalide(BB) and the mechanisms such as inhibiting inflammatory response in macrophage/microglia, promoting neurotrophic factor secretion, and interfering with the activation and differentiation of peripheral CD4~+ T cells. BB of different concentration(12.5, 25, 50, 100 μg·mL~(-1)) was used to treat the RAW264.7 and BV2 cells for 24 h. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay and cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) were employed to detect the cytotoxicity of BB and appropriate concentration was selected for further experiment. Lipopolysaccharide(LPS) was applied to elicit inflammation in RAW264.7 and BV2 cells, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages(BMDMs), and primary microglia, respectively. The effect of BB on cell proliferation and secretion of inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophic factors was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Spleen monocytes of C57BL/6 female mice(7-8 weeks old) were isolated, and CD4~+ T cells were separated by magnetic beads under sterile conditions. Th17 cells were induced by CD3/CD28 and the conditioned medium for eliciting the inflammation in BMDMs. The content of IL-17 cytokines in the supernatant was detected by ELISA to determine the effect on the activation and differentiation of CD4~+ T cells. In addition, PC12 cells were incubated with the conditioned medium for eliciting inflammation in BMDMs and primary microglia and the count and morphology of cells were observed. The cytoto-xicity was determined by lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) assay. The result showed that BB with the concentration of 12.5-100 μg·mL~(-1) had no toxicity to RAW264.7 and BV2 cells, and had no significant effect on the activity of cell model with low inflammation. The 50 μg·mL~(-1) BB was selected for further experiment, and the results indicated that BB inhibited LPS-induced secretion of inflammatory cytokines. The experiment on CD4~+ T cells showed that the conditioned medium for LPS-induced inflammation in BMDMs promoted the activation and differentiation of CD4~+ T cells, while the conditioned medium of the experimental group with BB intervention reduced the activation and differentiation of CD4~+ T cells. In addition, BB also enhanced the release of neurotrophic factors from BMDMs and primary microglia. The conditioned medium after BB intervention can significantly reduce the death of PC12 neurons, inhibit neuronal damage, and protect neurons. To sum up, BB plays a neuroprotective role by inhibiting macrophage and microglia-mediated inflammatory response and promoting neurotrophic factors.

The template-based design of the crystal structure is a direct and highly efficient method to achieve optimal nonlinear optical (NLO, meaning second-order NLO) performances. The structural flexibility of porous salt-inclusion chalcogenides (SICs) provides an alternative platform for modulating the enlargement of the band gap (that is generally positive with laser-induced damage threshold) and second harmonic generation (SHG) response simultaneously. By applying the "pore reconstruction" strategy to SIC [K 3 Cl][Mn 2 Ga 6 S 12 ] (1), a new derivative K 3 Rb 3 [K 3 Cl][Li 2 Mn 4 Ga 12 S 27 ] (2) is successfully isolated, which unusually features a heterologous nanopore framework with inner diameters of 8.90 and 9.16 Å. Guided by such a strategy, compound 2 possesses the widest band gap (3.31 eV) among the magnetic NLO chalcogenides; this finding is dominantly attributed to the porous structure and the "dimensional deduction" effect. Moreover, phase 2 displays a remarkable phase-matchable SHG intensity (1.1 × AgGaS 2 at the incident laser of 1910 nm) that originated from the oriented alignment of NLO-functional motifs, as well as the rich terminal S atoms in the nanopore structure. Furthermore, the "pore reconstruction" strategy offers an efficient pathway to explore potential NLO candidates with excellent comprehensive performances; in particular, it settles the conflicting issue of enhancing the band gap (>3.0 eV) and SHG intensity (>1.0 × AgGaS 2 ) concurrently.

Background: Homeobox A (HOXA) family is involved in the development of malignancies as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes. However, their roles in glioblastoma (GBM) and clinical significance have not been fully elucidated., Methods: HOXA mutation and expressions in pan-cancers were investigated using GSCA and Oncomine, which in GBM were validated by cBioPortal, Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. Kaplan-Meier analyses were conducted to determine prognostic values of HOXAs at genetic and mRNA levels. Diagnostic roles of HOXAs in tumor classification were explored by GlioVis and R software. Independent prognostic HOXAs were identified using Cox survival analyses, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, quantitative real-time PCR, and immunohistochemical staining. A HOXAs-based nomogram survival prediction model was developed and evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, time-dependent Area Under Curve, calibration plots, and Decision Curve Analysis in training and validation cohorts., Results: HOXAs were highly mutated and overexpressed in pan-cancers, especially in CGGA and TCGA GBM datasets. Genetic alteration and mRNA expression of HOXAs were both found to be prognostic. Specific HOXAs could distinguish IDH mutation (HOXA1-7, HOXA9, HOXA13) and molecular GBM subtypes (HOXA1-2, HOXA9-11, HOXA13). HOXA1/2/3/10 were confirmed to be independent prognostic members, with high expressions validated in clinical GBM tissues. The HOXAs-based nomogram model exhibited good prediction performance and net benefits for patients in training and validation cohorts., Conclusion: HOXA family has diagnostic values, and the HOXAs-based nomogram model is effective in survival prediction, providing a novel approach to support the treatment of GBM patients., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

We develop a method to fabricate an undoped Ge quantum well (QW) under a 32 nm relaxed Si 0.2 Ge 0.8 shallow barrier. The bottom barrier contains Si 0.2 Ge 0.8 (650 °C) and Si 0.1 Ge 0.9 (800 °C) such that variation of Ge content forms a sharp interface that can suppress the threading dislocation density (TDD) penetrating into the undoped Ge quantum well. The SiGe barrier introduces enough in-plane parallel strain (ε ∥ strain -0.41%) in the Ge quantum well. The heterostructure field-effect transistors with a shallow buried channel obtain an ultrahigh two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) mobility over 2 × 10 6 cm 2 /(V s) and a very low percolation density of (5.689 ± 0.062) × 10 10 cm -2 . The fractional indication is also observed at high density and high magnetic fields. This strained germanium as a noise mitigation material provides a platform for integration of quantum computation with a long coherence time and fast all-electrical manipulation.