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Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are considered one of the most promising candidates for large-scale energy storage. However, VFBs suffer from relatively low power density due to severe electrochemical polarization. Herein, we report Bi single atoms supported by an N-doped carbon-regulated graphite felt electrode (Bi SAs/NC@GF) with high electrocatalytic activity and stability, owing to the greatly improved active sites and optimized Bi-N 4 configuration. Electrochemical in situ characterization and theoretical calculations elucidate the desolvation process and specific inner sphere reaction mechanism of [V(H 2 O) 6 ] 3+ /[V(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ . As a result, a VFB single cell assembled with Bi SAs/NC@GF achieves a much higher energy efficiency of 81.1% at 240 mA cm -2 than NC@GF (70.5%). Moreover, a 5 kW VFB stack equipped with Bi SAs/NC@GF is assembled for the first time and ran stably for over 400 cycles. This work confirms that a single-atom catalyst is efficient for scalable VFBs with high power density and low cost.

Alkaline ferri/ferro-cyanide-based flow batteries are well suited for energy storage because of their features of high electrochemical activity, good kinetics and low material cost. However, they suffer from low energy density and poor temperature adaptability. The ferri/ferro-cyanide catholyte exhibits low solubility (~0.4 M at 25 °C) in NaOH- or KOH-based supporting electrolyte and can easily form precipitates below room temperature. Here we report a lithium-based supporting electrolyte that significantly enhances the solubility of ferrocyanide. The use of LiOH intensifies the ion-dipole interaction between water molecules and solutes and cripples polarization among ferrocyanide ions. Thus, we have achieved a ferrocyanide-based catholyte of 1.7 M at 25 °C and of 0.8 M at -10 °C. A zinc-ferricyanide flow battery based on the lithium-based supporting electrolyte demonstrates a steady charge energy of ~72 Wh L-1catholyte at 25 °C for ~4200 cycles (~4200 hours). Furthermore, it remains stable for ~800 cycles (~800 hours) at -10 °C., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Dysregulation of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway regulates cancer stem cells (CSCs) and drug sensitivity, whereas it remains largely unknown how feedback regulatory mechanisms are hijacked to fuel drug-resistant CSCs. Through a genome-wide CRISPR activation screen utilizing stem-like drug-resistant properties as a readout, the TGF-β receptor-associated binding protein 1 (TGFBRAP1) is identified as a TGF-β-inducible positive feedback regulator that governs sensitivity to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and promotes liver cancer stemness. By interacting with and stabilizing the TGF-β receptor type 1 (TGFBR1), TGFBRAP1 plays an important role in potentiating TGF-β signaling. Mechanistically, TGFBRAP1 competes with E3 ubiquitin ligases Smurf1/2 for binding to TGFΒR1, leading to impaired receptor poly-ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Moreover, hyperactive TGF-β signaling in turn up-regulates TGFBRAP1 expression in drug-resistant CSC-like cells, thereby constituting a previously uncharacterized feedback mechanism to amplify TGF-β signaling. As such, TGFBRAP1 expression is correlated with TGFΒR1 levels and TGF-β signaling activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, as well as overall survival and disease recurrence in multiple HCC cohorts. Therapeutically, blocking TGFBRAP1-mediated stabilization of TGFBR1 by selective inhibitors alleviates Regorafenib resistance via reducing CSCs. Collectively, targeting feedback machinery of TGF-β signaling pathway may be an actionable approach to mitigate drug resistance and liver cancer stemness., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background:  Chronic hydrocephalus is a common complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH); however, the risk factors and the mechanisms underlying its occurrence have yet to be fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify biomarkers that could be used to predict chronic hydrocephalus after aSAH and to investigate the relationships., Methods:  We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 19 patients with chronic hydrocephalus after aSAH and 44 controls without hydrocephalus after aSAH. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the levels of leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), Smad1, Smad4, Smad5, Smad8, activin receptor-like kinase 1 (Alk-1), activin receptor-like kinase 5 (Alk-5), P38, and TGF-β type II receptor (TGFßRII) in CSF samples., Results:  In the CSF of patients with chronic hydrocephalus after aSAH, the levels of LRG, TGF-β, Alk-1, Smad5, and TGFßRII were significantly increased ( p  < 0.05) and the levels of Smad1, Smad4, and Smad8 were significantly decreased ( p  < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups concerning the levels of P38 and Alk-5 ( p  > 0.05). The analysis also identified significant correlations between specific biomarkers: LRG and Smad1, LRG and Smad5, TGF-β and Alk-1, and Alk-1 and Smad4 ( p  < 0.05); the Pearson's correlation coefficients for these relationships were -0.341, 0.257, 0.256, and -0.424, respectively., Conclusion:  The levels of LRG, TGF-β, Alk-1, TGFßRII, Smad1/5/8, and Smad4 in the CSF are potentially helpful as predictive biomarkers of chronic hydrocephalus after aSAH. Moreover, the LRG-TGF-β-Alk-1/TGFßRII-Smad1/5/8-Smad4 signaling pathway is highly likely to be involved in the pathogenic process of chronic hydrocephalus after aSAH., Competing Interests: None declared., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Aqueous Zn/V 2 O 5 batteries are featured for high safety, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, complex electrode components in real batteries impede the fundamental understanding of phase transition processes and intercalation chemistry. Here, model batteries based on V 2 O 5 film electrodes which show similar electrochemical behaviors as the real ones are built. Advanced surface science characterizations of the film electrodes allow to identify intercalation trajectories of Zn 2+ , H 2 O, and H + during V 2 O 5 phase transition processes. Protons serve as the vanguard of intercalated species, facilitating the subsequent intercalation of Zn 2+ and H 2 O. The increase of capacity in the activation process is mainly due to the transition from V 2 O 5 to more active V 2 O 5 ·nH 2 O structure caused by the partial irreversible deintercalation of H 2 O rather than the increase of active sites induced by the grain refinement of electrode materials. Eventually, accumulation of Zn species within the oxide electrode results in the formation of inactive (Zn 3 (OH) 2 V 2 O 7 ·2H 2 O) structure. The established intercalation chemistry helps to design high-performance electrode materials., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Nanofiltration (NF) is a promising technology in the treatment of microelectronic wastewater. However, the treatment of concentrate derived from NF system remains a substantial technical challenge, impeding the achievement of the zero liquid discharge (ZLD) goal in microelectronic wastewater industries. Herein, a ZLD system, coupling a two-stage NF technology with anaerobic biotechnology was proposed for the treatment of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-contained microelectronic wastewater. The two-stage NF system exhibited favorable efficacy in the removal of conductivity (96 %), total organic carbon (TOC, 90 %), and TMAH (96 %) from microelectronic wastewater. The membrane fouling of this system was dominated by organic fouling, with the second stage NF membrane experiencing a more serious fouling compared to the first stage membrane. The anaerobic biotechnology achieved a near-complete removal of TMAH and an 80 % reduction in TOC for the first stage NF concentrate. Methyloversatilis was the key genus involved in the anaerobic treatment of the microelectronic wastewater concentrate. Specific genes, including dmd-tmd, mtbA, mttB and mttC were identified as significant players in mediating the dehydrogenase and methyl transfer pathways during the process of TMAH biodegradation. This study highlights the potential of anaerobic biodegradation to achieve ZLD in the treatment of TMAH-contained microelectronic wastewater by NF system., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mn 2+ /MnO 2 aqueous battery is a promising candidate for large-scale energy storage owing to its feature of low-cost and abundant crustal reserves. However, the inherent MnO 2 shedding issue results in a limited areal capacity and poor cycling life, which prohibits its further commercialization. In this manuscript, it is revealed that the cause of shedding is the cracking of MnO 2 layer due to stress. To circumvent this challenge, carbon nanotubes framework is introduced on pristine carbon felt, which provides more deposition sites and induces the formation of a porous deposition layer. Compared to the dense deposition layer on pristine carbon felt, the porous structure can effectively avoid cracking and subsequent shedding issue. Moreover, the porous deposited layer is conducive to proton diffusion and rich in defects, which facilitates the subsequent dissolution reaction. As results, the assembled Zn/Mn battery demonstrates more than 200 cycles with the areal capacity of 15 mAh cm -2 at 40 mA cm -2 . Even with a high areal capacity of 40 mAh cm -2 , it can still run for more than 60 cycles. This breakthrough paves a way toward practical manganese-based batteries, bringing us closer to achieve cost-effective batteries., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: Previous research has demonstrated that neuroinflammation is a key element in the progress of epilepsy. Nevertheless, it is currently unidentified which inflammatory factors and proteins increase or decrease the risk of epilepsy., Methods: We adopted Mendelian randomization techniques to explore the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory factors and proteins and various epilepsy. Our principal approach was inverse variance weighting, supplemented by several sensitivity analyses to guarantee the robustness of our findings., Results: Studies have identified associations between epilepsy and specific inflammatory factors and proteins: three inflammatory factors and six proteins are linked to epilepsy in general; one inflammatory factor and four proteins are associated with focal epilepsy with no documented lesions; two inflammatory factors and three proteins are related to focal epilepsy, excluding cases with hippocampal sclerosis; two inflammatory factors and two proteins are connected to juvenile myoclonic epilepsy; two inflammatory factors and five proteins are linked to juvenile absence epilepsy; four inflammatory proteins are associated with childhood absence epilepsy; two inflammatory factors are related to focal epilepsy overall; two inflammatory factors and two proteins are connected to generalized epilepsy; and two inflammatory proteins are linked to generalized epilepsy with tonic-clonic seizures. Additionally, six inflammatory factors may play a downstream role in focal epilepsy., Conclusion: Our study uncovers various inflammatory factors and proteins that influence the risk of epilepsy, offering instructive insights to the diagnosis and therapy of the condition., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Alkaline zinc-ferricyanide flow batteries are efficiency and economical as energy storage solutions. However, they suffer from low energy density and short calendar life. The strongly alkaline conditions (3 mol L -1 OH - ) reduce the solubility of ferri/ferro-cyanide (normally only 0.4 mol L -1 at 25 °C) and induce the formation of zinc dendrites at the anode. Here, we report a new zinc-ferricyanide flow battery based on a mild alkalescent (pH 12) electrolyte. Using a chelating agent to rearrange ferri/ferro-cyanide ion-solvent interactions and improve salt dissociation, we increased the solubility of ferri/ferro-cyanide to 1.7 mol L -1 and prevented zinc dendrites. Our battery has an energy density of ~74 Wh L -1 catholyte at 60 °C and remains stable for 1800 cycles (1800 hours) at 0 °C and for >1400 cycles (2300 hours) at 25 °C. An alkalescent zinc-ferricyanide cell stack built using this alkalescent electrolyte stably delivers 608 W of power for ~40 days., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Clean hydrogen production via conventional water splitting involves sluggish anodic oxygen evolution, which can be replaced with more valuable electrosynthesis reactions. Here, we propose one novel strategy for coupling in situ organic electrosynthesis with high-purity hydrogen production. A benzoquinone-derivative disodium 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-benzenedisulfonate (Tiron)-o1 and a naphthoquinone-derivative 2,6,8-trismethylaminemethylene-3,5-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (TANQ) were in situ electrosynthesized and directly used in a flow battery without any further purification treatment. Constant, simultaneous production of TANQ and hydrogen was demonstrated for 61 hours, while stable charge-discharge capacities were retained for 1000 cycles. The work provided a new avenue for achieving in situ redox-active molecule synthesis and high-purity hydrogen., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Epidemiological research has shown that a variety of circulating bioactive factors are associated with epilepsy, including macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α. To further investigate the associations between epilepsy and 41 inflammatory cytokines, this Mendelian randomization was performed. This study presents genome-wide association study summary data on 41 inflammatory cytokines and epilepsy. Epilepsy incorporates generalized and focal epilepsy. A two-sample Mendelian randomization method was used. In order to analyze causal relationships between exposures and outcomes, the inverse variance-weighted method was mainly used. The findings suggested that increased levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonists and interleukin-5 may be significantly associated with increased risks of focal epilepsy (beta: 0.080, P = .043; beta: 0.083, P = .015). In addition, regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted factor and Macrophage colony-stimulating factor may be significantly associated with generalized epilepsy (beta: 0.110, P = .042; beta: -0.114, P = .024). Furthermore, inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-10, interleukin-1β, interleukin-1Ra, interleukin-7, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ may be identified as the result of focal epilepsy (beta: 0.152, P = .031; beta: 0.214, P = .037; beta: 0.214, P = .047; beta: 0.222, P = .031; beta: 0.224, P = .025; beta: 0.161, P = .018). This study suggests that interleukin-5 and interleukin-1 receptor antagonists are potentially correlated factors with focal epilepsy etiology, macrophage colony-stimulating factor and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted factor are potentially correlated factors with generalized epilepsy etiology, while several inflammatory cytokines possibly contribute to focal epilepsy development downstream., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Previous studies explored the prognostic value of pretreatment platelet count, fibrinogen, and d-dimer level in patients with several types of cancer, however, a comprehensive conclusion has not been reached in osteosarcoma patients., Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and CNKI databases were systematically searched for eligible studies up to May 09, 2023, and pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the prognostic impact of these indicators in osteosarcoma patients., Results: Twelve studies from China consisting of 1682 patients were finally included. Our findings revealed that an elevated level of pretreatment platelet or d-dimer was associated with a worse outcome of overall survival (platelet: HR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.18-2.26, P = .003; d-dimer: HR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.58-3.31, P < .001)., Conclusion: Based on current evidence, pretreatment platelet count and d-dimer level could be good prognostic biomarkers for Chinese osteosarcoma patients. However, future validation is also needed., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objectives: The majority of esophageal squamous dysplasia (ESD) patients progress slowly, while a subset of patients can undergo recurrence rapidly or progress to invasive cancer even after proper treatment. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these clinical observations are still largely unknown., Methods: By sequencing the genomic data of 160 clinical samples from 49 tumor-free ESD patients and 88 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, we demonstrated lower somatic mutation and copy number alteration (CNA) burden in ESD compared with ESCC., Results: Cross-species screening and functional assays identified ACSM5 as a novel driver gene for ESD progression. Furthermore, we revealed that miR-4292 promoted ESD progression and could serve as a non-invasive diagnostic marker for ESD., Conclusions: These findings largely expanded our understanding of ESD genetics and tumorigenesis, which possessed promising significance for improving early diagnosis, reducing overtreatment, and identifying high-risk ESD patients., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest. Professor Qimin Zhan is a member of Medical Review editorial board and is not involved in the peer review and decision process of this article., (© 2024 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.)

Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 is recognized as a promising cathode for high energy density sodium-ion batteries due to its high average potential of ∼3.95 V (vs Na/Na + ). A high-voltage-resistant electrolyte is of high importance due to the long duration of 4.2 V (vs Na/Na + ) when improving cyclability. Herein, a targeted electrolyte containing additives with two -C≡N groups like succinonitrile has been designed. In this design, one -C≡N group is accessible to the solvation sheath and enables the other -C≡N in dinitrile being exposed and subsequently squeezed into the electric double layer. Then, the squeezed -C≡N group is prone to a preferential adsorption on the electrode surface prior to the exposed -CH 2 /-CH 3 in Na + -solvent and oxidized to construct a stable and electrically insulating interface enriched CN - /NCO - /Na 3 N. The Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 -based sodium-ion batteries within a high-voltage of 2-4.3 V (vs Na/Na + ) can accordingly achieve an excellent cycling stability (e.g., 95.07% reversible capacity at 1 C for 1,5-dicyanopentane and 98.4% at 2 C and 93.0% reversible capacity at 5 C for succinonitrile after 1000 cycles). This work proposes a new way to design high-voltage electrolytes for high energy density sodium-ion batteries.

The high freezing point of polybromides, charging products, is a significant obstacle to the rapid development of zinc-bromine flow batteries (Zn-Br 2 FBs). Here, a choline-based complexing agent (CCA) is constructed to liquefy the polybromides at low temperatures. Depending on quaternary ammonium group, choline can effectively complex with polybromide anions and form dense oil-phase that has excellent antifreezing property. Benefiting from indispensable strong ion-ion interaction, the highly selectively compatible CCA, consisting of choline and N-methyl-N-ethyl-morpholinium salts (CCA-M), can be achieved to further enhance bromine fixing ability. Interestingly, the formed polybromides with CCA-M are able to keep liquid even at -40 °C. The CCA-M endows Zn-Br 2 FBs at 40 mA cm -2 with unprecedented long cycle life (over 150 cycles) and high Coulombic efficiency (CE, average ≈98.8%) at -20 °C, but also at room temperature (over 1200 cycles, average CE: ≈94.7%). The CCA shows a promising prospect of application and should be extended to other antifreezing bromine-based energy storage systems., (© 2023 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Bioconjugation chemistry has emerged as a powerful tool for the modification of diverse biomolecules under mild conditions. Tetrazole, initially proposed as a bioorthogonal photoclick handle for 1,3-dipolar cyclization with alkenes, was later demonstrated to possess broader photoreactivity with carboxylic acids, serving as a versatile bioconjugation and photoaffinity labeling probe. In this study, we unexpectedly discovered and validated the photoreactivity between tetrazole and primary amine to afford a new 1,2,4-triazole cyclization product. Given the significance of functionalized N -heterocycles in medicinal chemistry, we successfully harnessed the serendipitously discovered reaction to synthesize both pharmacologically relevant DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs) and small molecule compounds bearing 1,2,4-triazole scaffolds. Furthermore, the mild reaction conditions and stable 1,2,4-triazole linkage found broad application in photoinduced bioconjugation scenarios, spanning from intramolecular peptide macrocyclization and templated DNA reaction cross-linking to intermolecular photoaffinity labeling of proteins. Triazole cross-linking products on lysine side chains were identified in tetrazole-labeled proteins, refining the comprehensive understanding of the photo-cross-linking profiles of tetrazole-based probes. Altogether, this tetrazole-amine bioconjugation expands the current bioconjugation toolbox and creates new possibilities at the interface of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) are considered a promising energy storage technology due to the sustainability and designability of organic active molecules. Despite this, most of AORFBs suffer from limited stability and low voltage because of the chemical instability and high redox potential of organic molecules in anolyte. Herein, we propose a new phenazine derivative, 4,4'-(phenazine-2,3-diylbis(oxy))dibutyric acid (2,3- O -DBAP), as a water-soluble and chemically stable anodic active molecules. By combining calculations and experiments, we demonstrate that 2,3- O -DBAP exhibits a higher solubility, a lower redox potential (-0.699 V vs SHE), and greater chemical stability than other O -DBAP isomers. Then, we demonstrate a long-lasting flow cell with an average discharge voltage of 1.12 V, a low fade rate of 0.0127%, and a lifespan of 62 days at pH 14 using 2,3- O -DBAP paired with ferri/ferrocyanide. The negligible self-discharge behavior also verifies the high stability of 2,3- O -DBAP. These results highlight the importance of molecular engineering for AORFBs.

Objective: The aim of the study is to identify clinical and dosimetric factors that could predict the risk of radiation-induced hypothyroidism(RIHT) in head and neck cancer(HNC) patients following intensity-modulated radiotherapy(IMRT)., Methods: A total of 103 HNC patients were included in our study. General clinical characteristic and dosimetric data of all recruited patients were analyzed, respectively. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression anlalysis were successively conducted to identify optimal predictors, which aim to construct the nomogram. And the joint prediction was performed., Results: The incidence of patients with HNC was 36.9% (38/103). Among the clinical factors, gender, N stage, chemotherapy, frequency of chemotherapy and surgery involving the thyroid were related to RIHT. Logistic regression analysis showed that thyroid volume, Dmean, VS 45 , VS 50 , VS 60 and V 30,60 were independent predictors of RIHT, which were also incorporated in the nomogram. An AUC of 0.937 (95%CI, 0.888-0.958) also was showed outstanding resolving ability of the nomogram. When the volume of the thyroid was greater than 10.6 cm 3 , the incidence of RIHT was 14.8%, and when the volume of the thyroid was equal to or smaller than 10.6 cm 3 , the incidence was 72.5%. The incidence rates of RIHT in the group with VS 60 ≦8.4cm 3 and VS 60  > 8.4cm 3 were 61.4% and 19.3%, respectively., Conclusions: Thyroid volume and thyroid VS 60 are independent predictors of RIHT in patients with HNC. Moreover, more attention should be paid to patients with thyroid volume ≤ 10.6cm 3 . Thyroid VS 60  > 8.4cm 3 may be a useful threshold for predicting the development of RIHT. The nomogram conducted by the research may become a potential and valuable tool that could individually predict the risk of RIHT for HNC patients., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been linked to metabolic diseases. However, the effects of PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1.0 µm (PM 1 ) on metabolic diseases remain unclear. This study is aimed at assessing the associations of PM 1 with metabolic disease risk and quantifying the concentration-response (C-R) relationship of PM 1 with metabolic disease risk. A national cross-sectional study was conducted, including 12,495 middle-aged and older adults in 123 Chinese cities. The two-year average concentration of PM 1 was evaluated using satellite-based spatiotemporal models. Metabolic diseases, including abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, were identified based on physical examination, blood standard biochemistry examination, and self-reported disease histories. Generalized linear models and C-R curves were used to evaluate the associations of PM 1 with metabolic diseases. A total of 12,495 participants were included in this study, with a prevalence of 45.73% for abdominal obesity, 20.22% for diabetes, 42.46% for hypertension, 41.01% for dyslipidemia, and 33.78% for metabolic syndrome. The mean ± standard deviation age of participants was 58.79 ± 13.14 years. In addition to dyslipidemia, exposure to PM 1 was associated with increased risks of abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. Each 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 1 concentrations was associated with 39% (odds ratio (OR) = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33, 1.46) increase in abdominal obesity, 18% (OR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.12, 1.25) increase in diabetes, 11% (OR = 1.11, 95%CI 1.06, 1.16) increase in hypertension, and 25% (OR = 1.25, 95%CI 1.19, 1.31) in metabolic syndrome, respectively. C-R curves showed that the OR values of abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome were increased gradually with the increase of PM 1 concentrations. Subgroup analysis indicated that exposure to PM 1 was associated with increased metabolic disease risks among participants with different lifestyles and found that solid fuel users were more susceptible to PM 1 than clean fuel users. This national cross-sectional study indicated that exposure to higher PM 1 might increase abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome risk, and solid fuel use might accelerate the adverse effects of PM 1 on metabolic syndrome risk. Further longitudinal cohort studies are warranted to establish a causal inference between PM 1 exposure and metabolic disease risk., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a prevalent type of hydrocephalus, including secondary normal pressure hydrocephalus (SNPH) and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH). However, its clinical diagnosis and pathological mechanism are still unclear. Leucine-rich α-2 glycoprotein (LRG) is involved in various human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nervous system diseases. Now the physiological mechanism of LRG is still being explored. According to the current research results on LRG, we found that the agency of LRG has much to do with the known pathological process of NPH. This review focuses on analyzing the LRG signaling pathways and the pathological mechanism of NPH. According to the collected literature evidence, we speculated that LRG probably be involved in the pathological process of NPH. Finally, based on the mechanism of LRG and NPH, we also summarized the evidence of molecular targeted therapies for future research and clinical application., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Effective treatment for metastasis, a leading cause of cancer-associated death, is still lacking. To seed on a distal organ, disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) must adapt to the local tissue microenvironment. However, it remains elusive how DCCs respond the pro-metastatic niche signals. Here, systemic motif-enrichment identified myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D) as a critical sensor of niche signals to regulate DCCs adhesion and colonization, leading to intrahepatic metastasis and recurrence of liver cancer. In this context, MEF2D transactivates Itgb1 (coding β1-integrin) and Itgb4 (coding β4-integrin) to execute temporally unique functions, where ITGB1 recognizes extracellular matrix for early seeding, and ITGB4 acts as a novel sensor of neutrophil extracellular traps-DNA (NETs-DNA) for subsequent chemotaxis and colonization. In turn, an integrin-FAK circuit promotes a phosphorylation-dependent USP14-orchastrated deubiquitination switch to stabilize MEF2D via circumventing degradation by the E3-ubiquitin-ligase MDM2. Clinically, the USP14(pS432)-MEF2D-ITGB1/4 feedback loop is often hyper-active and indicative of inferior outcomes in human malignancies, while its blockade abrogated intrahepatic metastasis of DCCs. Together, DCCs exploit a deubiquitination-dependent switch on MEF2D to integrate niche signals in the liver mesenchyme, thereby amplifying the pro-metastatic integrin-FAK signaling. Disruption of this feedback loop is clinically applicable with fast-track potential to block microenvironmental cues driving metastasis., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Pituitary adenoma (PA) is the third most common central nervous system tumor originating from the anterior pituitary, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. The Wnt signaling pathway is a conserved pathway involved in cell proliferation, Self-renewal of stem cells, and cell differentiation. It is related to the occurrence of various tumors, including PA. This article reviews the latest developments in Wnt pathway inhibitors and pathway-targeted drugs. It discusses the possibility of combining Wnt pathway inhibitors with immunotherapy to provide a theoretical basis for the combined treatment of PA., 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 © 2023 Wang, Ma, Zhao, Liu, Ye and Li.)

Microwave (MW) thermal therapy has been widely used for the treatment of cancer in clinics, but it still shows limited efficacy and a high recurrence rate owing to non-selective heat delivery and thermo-resistance. Regulating glycolysis shows great promise to improve MW thermal therapy since glycolysis plays an important role in thermo-resistance, progression, metabolism, and recurrence. Herein, we developed a delivery nanosystem of shikonin (SK)-loaded and hyaluronic acid (HA)-modified hollow Fe-MOF (HFM), HFM@SK@HA, as an efficient glycolysis-meditated agent to improve the efficacy of MW thermal therapy. The HFM@SK@HA nanosystem shows a high SK loading capacity of 31.7 wt %. The loaded SK can be effectively released from the HFM@SK@HA under the stimulation of an acidic tumor microenvironment and MW irradiation, overcoming the intrinsically low solubility and severe toxicity of SK. We also find that the HFM@SK@HA can not only greatly improve the heating effect of MW in the tumor site but also mediate MW-enhancing dynamic therapy efficiency by catalyzing the endogenous H 2 O 2 to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). As such, the MW irradiation treatment in the presence of HFM@SK@HA in vitro enables a highly improved anti-tumor efficacy due to the combined effect of released SK and generated ROS on inhibiting glycolysis in cancer cells. Our in vivo experiments show that the tumor inhibition rate is up to 94.75% ± 3.63% with no obvious recurrence during the 2 weeks after treatment. This work provides a new strategy for improving the efficacy of MW thermal therapy.

Realizing decarbonization and sustainable energy supply by the integration of variable renewable energies has become an important direction for energy development. Flow batteries (FBs) are currently one of the most promising technologies for large-scale energy storage. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art progress in FBs from the new perspectives of technological and environmental sustainability, thus guiding the future development of FB technologies. More importantly, we evaluate the current situation and future development of key materials with key aspects of green economy and decarbonization to promote sustainable development and improve the novel energy framework. Finally, we present an analysis of the current challenges and prospects on how to effectively construct low-carbon and sustainable FB materials in the future.

Objective: To Analysis of the mediation effects of adverse mental health outcomes in HIV-infected women of childbearing age from multiple perspectives including discrimination perception, social capital, and other factors., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 553 people in Xinjiang region of China using Survey scale. AMOS was used to identify factors that influenced the "discrimination perception/mental resilience/social capital-depression-poor mental health outcomes" pathway., Results: A total of 44.85% and 42.13% of the study participants had anxiety and depression symptoms, as perceived discrimination increased, the higher the level of depression in HIV-infected women of childbearing age. Correlation coefficient among depression with poor mental health outcomes was also significant. Psychological resilience, social capital and depression have mediating effects on perceived discrimination and poor mental health outcomes, discrimination perception had an indirect effect on depression through social capital and an indirect effect on adverse mental health outcomes through depression and psychological resilience. The modified model has a good fitting effect., Conclusion: Discrimination perception was shown to affect adverse mental health outcomes by impacting mental resilience, depression, and social capital. The findings suggest the need for measures to reduce adverse mental health outcomes by decreasing discrimination perception, increasing social capital, and enhancing psychological resilience., Competing Interests: All authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2023 Zheng et al.)

The development of water-soluble redox-active molecules with high potentials is one of the effective ways to enhance the energy density of aqueous organic flow batteries (AOFBs). Herein, a series of promising N-substituted benzidine analogues as water-soluble catholyte candidates with controllable redox potentials (0.78-1.01 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)) were obtained by the molecular engineering of aqueous irreversible benzidines. Theoretical calculations reveal that the redox potentials of these benzidine derivatives in acidic solution are determined by their electronic structure and alkalinity. Among these benzidine derivatives, N,N,N',N'-tetraethylbenzidine(TEB) shows both high redox potential (0.82 V vs. SHE) and good solubility (1.1 M). Pairing with H 4 [Si(W 3 O 10 ) 4 ] anolyte, the cell displayed discharge capacity retention of 99.4 % per cycle and a high coulombic efficiency (CE) of ∼100 % over 1200 cycles. The stable discharge capacity of 41.8 Ah L -1 was achieved at the 1.0 M TEB catholyte with a CE of 97.2 % and energy efficiency (EE) of 91.2 %, demonstrating that N-substituted benzidines could be promising for AOFBs., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH.)

Reprogrammed cellular metabolism is essential for maintaining cancer stem cells (CSCs) state. Here, we report that mitochondrial D-lactate catabolism is a necessary initiating oncogenic event during tumorigenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We discover that cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) phosphorylates nuclear Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) at S127 and S397 sites and enhances its transcription function, which promotes D-lactate dehydrogenase (LDHD) protein expression. Moreover, LDHD is enriched significantly in ESCC-CSCs rather than differentiated tumor cells and high LDHD status is connected with poor prognosis in ESCC patients. Mechanistically, the CDK7-YAP-LDHD axis helps ESCC-CSCs escape from ferroptosis induced by D-lactate and generates pyruvate to satisfy energetic demands for their elevated self-renewal potential. Hence, we conclude that esophageal CSCs adopt a D-lactate elimination and pyruvate accumulation mode dependent on CDK7-YAP-LDHD axis, which drives stemness-associated hallmarks of ESCC-CSCs. Reasonably, targeting metabolic checkpoints may serve as an effective strategy for ESCC therapy., (© 2023. West China Hospital, Sichuan University.)

Importance: DL-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) is a drug for treating acute ischemic stroke and may play a neuroprotective role by acting on multiple active targets. The efficacy of NBP in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving reperfusion therapy remains unknown., Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of NBP in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving reperfusion therapy of intravenous thrombolysis and/or endovascular treatment., Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel randomized clinical trial was conducted in 59 centers in China with 90-day follow-up. Of 1236 patients with acute ischemic stroke, 1216 patients 18 years and older diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ranging from 4 to 25 who could start the trial drug within 6 hours from symptom onset and received either intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) or endovascular treatment or intravenous rt-PA bridging to endovascular treatment were enrolled, after excluding 20 patients who declined to participate or did not meet eligibility criteria. Data were collected from July 1, 2018, to May 22, 2022., Interventions: Within 6 hours after symptom onset, patients were randomized to receive NBP or placebo in a 1:1 ratio., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients with a favorable outcome based on 90-day modified Rankin Scale score (a global stroke disability scale ranging from 0 [no symptoms or completely recovered] to 6 [death]) thresholds of 0 to 2 points, depending on baseline stroke severity., Results: Of 1216 enrolled patients, 827 (68.0%) were men, and the median (IQR) age was 66 (56-72) years. A total of 607 were randomly assigned to the butylphthalide group and 609 to the placebo group. A favorable functional outcome at 90 days occurred in 344 patients (56.7%) in the butylphthalide group and 268 patients (44.0%) in the placebo group (odds ratio, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.35-2.14; P < .001). Serious adverse events within 90 days occurred in 61 patients (10.1%) in the butylphthalide group and 73 patients (12.0%) in the placebo group., Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis and/or endovascular treatment, NBP was associated with a higher proportion of patients achieving a favorable functional outcome at 90 days compared with placebo., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03539445.

2-Thiobenzazole is among the privileged heterocyclic scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. Constructing such structural components in DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) may promote related bioactive hit discovery in a high-throughput fashion. Herein, we reported a DNA-compatible mild-condition synthetic methodology to efficiently forge functionalized 2-thiobenzazole scaffolds, realizing on-DNA sulfhydryl incorporation with broad substrate scope, thereby expanding the scope of 2-thiobenzazole-focused DNA-encoded chemical libraries.

Background: Esophageal cancers are primarily categorized as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). While various (epi) genomic alterations associated with tumor development in ESCC and EAC have been documented, a comprehensive comparison of the transcriptomes in these two cancer subtypes remains lacking., Methods: We collected 551 gene expression profiles from publicly available sources, including normal, ESCC, and EAC tissues or cell lines. Subsequently, we conducted a systematic analysis to compare the transcriptomes of these samples at various levels, including gene expression, promoter activity, alternative splicing (AS), alternative polyadenylation (APA), and gene fusion., Results: Seven distinct cluster gene expression patterns were identified among the differentially expressed genes in normal, ESCC, and EAC tissues. These patterns were enriched in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and the activation of extracellular matrix organization and exhibited repression of epidermal development. Notably, we observed additional genes or unique expression levels enriched in these shared pathways and biological processes related to tumor development and immune activation. In addition to the differentially expressed genes, there was an enrichment of lncRNA co-expression networks and downregulation of promoter activity associated with the repression of epidermal development in both ESCC and EAC. This indicates a common feature between these two cancer subtypes. Furthermore, differential AS and APA patterns in ESCC and EAC appear to partially affect the expression of host genes associated with bacterial or viral infections in these subtypes. No gene fusions were observed between ESCC and EAC, thus highlighting the distinct molecular mechanisms underlying these two cancer subtypes., Conclusions: We conducted a comprehensive comparison of ESCC and EAC transcriptomes and uncovered shared and distinct transcriptomic signatures at multiple levels. These findings suggest that ESCC and EAC may exhibit common and unique mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology.)

A healthy sewage pipe system plays a significant role in urban water management by collecting and transporting wastewater and stormwater, which can be assessed by hydraulic model. However, sewage pipe defects have been observed frequently in recent years during regular pipe maintenance according to the captured interior videos of underground pipes by closed-circuit television (CCTV) robots. In this case, hydraulic model constructed based on a healthy pipe would produce large deviations with that in real hydraulic performance and even be out of work, which can result in unanticipated damages such as blockage collapse or stormwater overflows. Quick defect evaluation and defect quantification are the precondition to achieve risk assessment and model calibration of urban water management, but currently pipe defects assessment still largely relies on technicians to check the CCTV videos/images. An automated sewage pipe defect detection system is necessary to timely determine pipe issues and then rehabilitate or renew sewage pipes, while the rapid development of deep learning especially in recent five years provides a fantastic opportunity to construct automated pipe defect detection system by image recognition. Given the initial success of deep learning application in CCTV interpretation, the review (i) integrated the methodological framework of automated sewage pipe defect detection, including data acquisition, image pre-processing, feature extraction, model construction and evaluation metrics, (ii) discussed the state-of-the-art performance of deep learning in pipe defects classification, location, and severity rating evaluation (e.g., up to ~96 % of accuracy and 140 FPS of processing speed), and (iii) proposed risk assessment and model calibration in urban water management by considering pipe defects. This review introduces a novel practical application-oriented methodology including defect data acquisition by CCTV, model construction by deep learning, and model application, provides references for further improving accuracy and generalization ability of urban water management models in practical application., 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.)

With the rising demand for nuclear energy, the storage/transportation of radioactive nuclear by-products are critical safety issues for humans and the environment. These by-products are closely related to various nuclear radiations. In particular, neutron radiation requires specific protection by neutron shielding materials due to its high penetrating ability to cause irradiation damage. Herein, a basic overview of neutron shielding is presented. Since gadolinium (Gd) has the largest thermal neutron capture cross-section among various neutron absorbing elements, it is an ideal neutron absorber for shielding applications. In the last two decades, there have been many newly developed Gd-containing (i.e., inorganic nonmetallic-based, polymer-based, and metallic-based) shielding materials developed to attenuate and absorb the incident neutrons. On this basis, we present a comprehensive review of the design, processing methods, microstructure characteristics, mechanical properties, and neutron shielding performance of these materials in each category. Furthermore, current challenges for the development and application of shielding materials are discussed. Finally, the potential research directions are highlighted in this rapidly developing field.

The incorporation of N -containing heterocycles with potential bioactivity into DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs) represents an important approach to synthesizing medicinally useful compound collections for high-throughput screening. Herein, we reported a synthetic methodology to afford a benzotriazinone core as a drug-like scaffold in a DNA-compatible manner through aryl diazonium intermediates. Starting from DNA-conjugated amines, anthranilic acid or isatoic anhydride building blocks were coupled to form chemically diversified anthranilamides, which were subsequently transformed into 1,2,3-benzotriazin-4(3 H )-one via tert -butyl nitrite-triggered cyclization. This methodology features DEL synthesis compatibility through a mild diazonium intermediate mechanism, allowing late-stage decoration of the bioactive benzotriazinone cap on DNA-conjugated amines. The broad substrate scope and high conversion render this methodology a promising approach to diversifying and decorating DNA-encoded combinatorial peptide-like libraries with medicinally relevant heterocyclic moieties.

Water quality monitoring stations are crucial for detecting excess pollutants in river sections, but identifying the causes of these exceedances can be challenging, especially in heavily polluted rivers with multiple contamination sources. To address this issue, we used the SWAT model to simulate pollution loads from various sources in the Haihe River Basin, analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of pollutants from seven nitrogen/phosphorus sources in sub-basins. Our results show that crop production is the primary contributor to nitrogen and phosphorus loads in the Haihe River Basin, with the highest loads occurring in summer, followed by fall, spring, and winter. However, industries, atmospheric deposition, and municipal sewage treatment plants have a greater downstream impact on nitrogen/phosphorus contributions due to land use changes. The study highlights the need for targeted prevention and control policies based on the primary sources of pollution loads in different regions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The corresponding 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 Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Membranes with fast and selective ion transport are essential for separations and electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices. Metal-coordinated polymers are promising for fabricating ion-conducting membranes with molecular channels, however, the structures and ion transport channels remain poorly understood. Here, we reported mechanistic insights into the structures of metal-ion coordinated polybenzimidazole membranes and the preferential K + transport. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that coordination between metal ions and polybenzimidazole expanded the free volume, forming subnanometre molecular channels. The combined physical confinement in nanosized channels and electrostatic interactions of membranes resulted in a high K + transference number up to 0.9 even in concentrated salt and alkaline solutions. The zinc-coordinated polybenzimidazole membrane enabled fast transport of charge carriers as well as suppressed water migration in an alkaline zinc-iron flow battery, enabling the battery to operate stably for over 340 hours. This study provided an alternative strategy to regulate the ion transport properties of polymer membranes by tuning polymer chain architectures via metal ion coordination., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

As a green route for large-scale energy storage, aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) are attracting extensive attention. However, most of the reported AORFBs were operated in an inert atmosphere. Herein, we clarify this issue by using the reported AORFB (i.e., 3, 3'-(9,10-anthraquinone-diyl)bis(3-methylbutanoicacid) (DPivOHAQ)||Ferrocyanide) as an example. We demonstrate that the dissolved O 2 can oxidize the discharged DPivOHAQ in anolyte, leading to capacity-imbalance between anolyte and catholyte. Therefore, this cell shows continuous capacity fading when operated in an air atmosphere. We propose a simple strategy for this challenge, in which the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in catholyte is employed to balance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in anolyte. When using the Ni(OH) 2 -modifed carbon felt (CF) as a current collector for catholyte, this cell shows an excellent stability in air atmosphere because the Ni(OH) 2 -induced OER capacity in catholyte exactly balances the ORR capacity in anolyte. Such O 2 -balance strategy facilitates AORFBs' practical application., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Achieving net-zero emissions requires low-cost and reliable energy storage devices that are essential to deploy renewables. Alkaline zinc-based flow batteries such as alkaline zinc-iron (or nickel) flow batteries are well suited for energy storage because of their high safety, high efficiency, and low cost. Nevertheless, their energy density is limited by the low solubility of ferro/ferricyanide and the limited areal capacity of sintered nickel electrodes. Here, combining the electrochemical reaction with the chemical reaction of ferro/ferricyanide couple in a homemade nickel electrode, an alkaline zinc-iron/nickel hybrid flow battery with a high energy density of 208.9 Wh L -1 and an energy efficiency of 84.7% at a high current density of 80 mA cm -2 is reported. The reversible chemical reactions between dual couples are proven to stabilize the nickel electrode by promoting the activation of the nickel electrode and further preventing the formation of γ-NiOOH. A kW-scale stack is demonstrated by the integration of ferro/ferricyanide couple with nickel electrode, delivering a coulombic efficiency of 98% and an energy efficiency of 89% at 40 mA cm -2 . This work demonstrates a promising pathway for constructing and upscaling flow batteries with high energy density and low cost., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Long bones are generated by mesoderm-derived skeletal progenitor/stem cells (SSCs) through endochondral ossification, a process of sequential chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation tightly controlled by the synergy between intrinsic and microenvironment cues. Here, we report that loss of TRIM28, a transcriptional corepressor, in mesoderm-derived cells expands the SSC pool, weakens SSC osteochondrogenic potential, and endows SSCs with properties of ectoderm-derived neural crest cells (NCCs), leading to severe defects of skeletogenesis. TRIM28 preferentially enhances H3K9 trimethylation and DNA methylation on chromatin regions more accessible in NCCs; loss of this silencing upregulates neural gene expression and enhances neurogenic potential. Moreover, TRIM28 loss causes hyperexpression of GREM1, which is an extracellular signaling factor promoting SSC self-renewal and SSC neurogenic potential by activating AKT/mTORC1 signaling. Our results suggest that TRIM28-mediated chromatin silencing establishes a barrier for maintaining the SSC lineage trajectory and preventing a transition to ectodermal fate by regulating both intrinsic and microenvironment cues., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Poly(ether sulfone) (PES) is a kind of polymer materials with excellent electrical insulation and acid/alkali stability. PES can be operated at high temperature continuously for a long time and still maintain excellent property stability in the environments with rapidly changed temperature, namely, great thermostability. Moreover, PES has low molding shrinkage, good dimensional stability and excellent film-forming characteristics. Compared with inorganic membranes, PES-based membranes have lower cost, which have received more attention and wide recognition in the field of clean energy technologies in recent years, such as flow batteries, fuel cells, water treatment, and gas separation. Therefore, this review summarizes the research status and prospect of the utilization of PES-based membranes in clean energy fields, in order to further promote their development and application., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Multidrug Resistance (MDR) in tumor cells, a phenomenon in which tumor cells become resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs with different chemical structures and mechanisms of action, is a major obstacle to tumor therapy and is an urgent problem to be addressed. Autophagy, widely found in eukaryotic cells, is a lysosome-dependent pathway of self-degradation. In different environments, autophagy can play different roles in the self-protection of cells. At different stages of tumorigenesis, autophagy can play two distinct roles: inhibition of cancer and promotion of cancer. The relationship between autophagy and drug resistance in tumor cells is complex. Moreover, autophagy can play a role in promoting drug resistance and drug sensitivity through different molecular pathways. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between autophagy and drug resistance in tumor cells from the perspective of molecular mechanisms., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Mn 2+ /Mn 3+ redox pair has been considered as a promising cathode for high energy density batteries, due to its attractive features of high redox potential, solubility and outstanding kinetics. However, the disproportionation side reaction of Mn 3+ , which results in accumulation of "dead" MnO 2 limits its reversibility and further energy density. Herein, a novel catholyte based on mixture of Mn 2+ and Br - was proposed for flow batteries with high energy density and long cycle life. In the design, the "dead" MnO 2 can be fully discharged via Br - by a chemical-electrochemical reaction. Coupled with Cd/Cd 2+ as anode, the assembled Bromine-Manganese flow battery (BMFB) demonstrates a high energy efficiency of 76 % at 80 mA cm -2 with energy density of 360 Wh L -1 . The battery assembled with silicotungstic acid as anode could continuously run for over 2000 cycles at 80 mA cm -2 . With high power density, energy density and durability, the BMFB shows great potential for large-scale energy storage., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by misexpression of the DUX4 transcription factor in skeletal muscle that results in transcriptional alterations, abnormal phenotypes and cell death. To gain insight into the kinetics of DUX4-induced stresses, we activated DUX4 expression in myoblasts and performed longitudinal RNA sequencing paired with proteomics and phosphoproteomics. This analysis revealed changes in cellular physiology upon DUX4 activation, including DNA damage and altered mRNA splicing. Phosphoproteomic analysis uncovered rapid widespread changes in protein phosphorylation following DUX4 induction, indicating that alterations in kinase signaling might play a role in DUX4-mediated stress and cell death. Indeed, we demonstrate that two stress-responsive MAP kinase pathways, JNK and p38, are activated in response to DUX4 expression. Inhibition of each of these pathways ameliorated DUX4-mediated cell death in myoblasts. These findings uncover that the JNK pathway is involved in DUX4-mediated cell death and provide additional insights into the role of the p38 pathway, a clinical target for the treatment of FSHD., Competing Interests: Competing interests At the time that these studies were performed, C.M.B., A.S.H., M.S.A., X.L., V.M., S.G., L.X., T.G., A.H., M.M., R.M., J.O., and N.C. were all Pfizer employees and declare potential conflicts of interest due to income received from their employment., (© 2022. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Forging carbon-carbon (C-C) linkage in DNA-encoded combinatorial library synthesis represents a fundamental task for drug discovery, especially with broad substrate scope and exquisite functional group tolerance. Here we reported the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura, Heck and Hiyama type cross-coupling via DNA-conjugated aryl diazonium intermediates for DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) synthesis. Starting from commodity arylamines, this synthetic route facilely delivers vast chemical diversity at a mild temperature and pH, thus circumventing damage to fragile functional groups. Given its orthogonality with traditional aryl halide-based cross-coupling, the aryl diazonium-centered strategy expands the compatible synthesis of complex C-C bond-connected scaffolds. In addition, DNA-tethered pharmaceutical compounds ( e.g. , HDAC inhibitor) are constructed without decomposition of susceptible bioactive warheads ( e.g. , hydroxamic acid), emphasizing the superiority of the aryl diazonium-based approach. Together with the convenient transformation into an aryl azide photo-crosslinker, aryl diazonium's DNA-compatible diversification synergistically demonstrated its competence to create medicinally relevant combinatorial libraries and investigate protein-ligand interactions in pharmaceutical research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that this technology is covered by a patent application (CN112851733A)., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

White-light emission (WLE) materials based on organic-inorganic hybrid lead halides have drawn considerable attention because of their applications in light-emission equipment. Despite considerable efforts, there is still a lack of two-dimensional (2D) lead-chlorine white-light emitting halides with high photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE). Herein, we report the preparation of a new 2D layered hybrid halide, [DTHPE]Pb 4 Cl 10 , which exhibits bright wide-band WLE, a high PLQE of 8.86% and high anti-water stability. To the best of our knowledge, the PLQE of [DTHPE]Pb 4 Cl 10 exceeds that of most 2D lead chlorides. Furthermore, the emission intensity is unchanged even after continuous immersion in water for 7 days. Photoluminescence measurements indicate that the WLE originates from self-trapped excitons. [DTHPE]Pb 4 Cl 10 is a promising visible-blind UV hybrid halide owing to its excellent photoelectric response. [DTHPE]Pb 4 Cl 10 is an effective white-light emitting material for display applications. The coexistence of a high performance visible-blind UV response and high efficiency white-light emission provides attractive possibilities for potential applications in the multifunctional photoelectronic field.

The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from coking industry severely reduces air quality. Using both offline and online methods, the emissions of 124 VOCs and non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) in a typical top-charging coke oven were analyzed during the coking process (emissions form the coke oven flue gas, charging, pushing, coke dry quenching, and topside of the coke oven). The concentrations of VOCs in coke oven flue gas and exhaust gas during charging were the highest, which reached 98.2 mg/m 3 and 136.6 mg/m 3 , respectively. This was followed by the concentrations of exhaust gases sourced from the topside of the coke oven, pushing, and coke dry quenching, which were 12.0 mg/m 3 , 1.8 mg/m 3 , and 0.8 mg/m 3 , respectively. The main components of VOCs for the different exhaust emission sources were significantly different. The ozone formation potentials (OFPs) of coke oven flue gas and exhaust gas during charging were the largest, and unsaturated hydrocarbons such as alkenes and benzenes were the main source of ground-level ozone. These data can support researchers in developing adsorption, catalytic oxidation, and other technologies for the removal of VOCs generated by the coking process., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Transcription factors with basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) motifs can control neural progenitor fate determination to neurons and oligodendrocytes. How bHLH transcription factors regulate astrogenesis remains largely unknown. Here, we report that NPAS3, a bHLH transcription factor, is a critical regulator of astrogenesis. Npas3 deficiency impairs cortical astrogenesis, correlating with abnormal brain development and autistic-like behaviors. Single-cell transcriptomes reveal that Npas3 knockout induces abnormal transition states in the differentiation trajectories from radial glia to astrocytes. Analysis of chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing data in primary cortical astrocytes shows that NPAS3 binding targets are involved in functions of brain development and synapse organization. Co-culture assay further indicates that NPAS3-impaired astrogenesis induces synaptic deficits in wild-type neurons. Astrocyte-specific knockdown of NPAS3 in wild-type cortex causes synaptic and behavioral abnormalities associated with the core symptoms in autism. Together, our findings suggest that transcription factor NPAS3 regulates astrogenesis and its subsequent consequences for brain development and behavior., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)