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In this paper, the synchronization of Genesio chaotic system is discussed. Based on the nonlinear cascaded system’s stabilization theory and the time-limited stabilization theory, the controlled input step is designed. The simulation proves that step method is able to simplify Genesio chaotic system. The synchronization of Genesio chaotic system is realized

Background: As the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic continues, medical workers may have allostatic load. Objective: During the reopening of society, medical and nonmedical workers were compared in terms of allostatic load. Methods: An online study was performed; 3,590 Chinese subjects were analyzed. Socio-demographic variables, allostatic load, stress, abnormal illness behavior, global well-being, mental status, and social support were assessed. Results: There was no difference in allostatic load in medical workers compared to nonmedical workers (15.8 vs. 17.8%; p = 0.22). Multivariate conditional logistic regression revealed that anxiety (OR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.18–1.31; p < 0.01), depression (OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.17–1.29; p < 0.01), somatization (OR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.14–1.25; p < 0.01), hostility (OR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.18–1.30; p < 0.01), and abnormal illness behavior (OR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.34–1.66; p < 0.01) were positively associated with allostatic load, while objective support (OR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.78–0.89; p < 0.01), subjective support (OR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.80–0.88; p < 0.01), utilization of support (OR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.72–0.88; p < 0.01), social support (OR = 0.90; 95% CI 0.87–0.93; p < 0.01), and global well-being (OR = 0.30; 95% CI 0.22–0.41; p < 0.01) were negatively associated. Conclusions: In the post-COVID-19 epidemic time, medical and nonmedical workers had similar allostatic load. Psychological distress and abnormal illness behavior were risk factors for it, while social support could relieve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, two new electron acceptors, BTTPC and BTTPC-Br, are developed through extending the conjugation of terminal electron accepting moieties with thiophene and bromine units. Such a structural design effectively improves the hole transfer of exciton dynamics in blends, revealing that BTTPC-Br and BTTPC based blends, in the presence of a smaller energetic offset as a driving force, exhibit faster hole transfer from acceptors to the polymeric donor interface, 4 times (BTTPC-Br) and 1.5 times (BTTPC) faster than 0.44 picoseconds of unmodified Y5. As a result, organic solar cells (OSCs) based on the BTTPC-Br acceptor, outperforming those of BTTPC:PBDB-T and Y5:PBDB-T, reach a power conversion efficiency of 15.22%, which is so far one of the highest among the single junction OSCs made with PBDB-T polymer donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the magnetic properties and the magnetocaloric effect of a GdCoO3−δ epitaxial thin film which was successfully grown on a (001) LaAlO3 substrate by a simple polymer assisted deposition (PAD) method. A paramagnetic–antiferromagnetic magnetic phase transition has been observed in the film at TN (Gd) = 3.2 K. This film exhibits a considerable magnetocaloric effect derived from the interaction between the localized 4f moment of Gd3+ (J = S = 7/2 and L = 0) ions with −ΔSM = 489.75 mJ K−1 cm−3 for a field change of 70 kOe at T = 3.5 K. The significant magnetic entropy change together with the large refrigerant capacity indicate that the GdCoO3−δ epitaxial thin film has potential for cryogenic magnetic cooling of microdevices and microsystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The hallmark characteristics of the murine model of drug addiction include the escalation of cocaine consumption and compulsive punishment-resistant drug seeking. In this study, we evaluated the motivation for drug seeking in cocaine self-administering rats exposed to an escalated dosing regimen that endeavored to mimic the characteristic of escalating drug intake in human addicts. Tropisetron is a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist and α7-nicotinic receptor partial agonist. Utilizing rats trained on the escalated-dosing regimen, we examined the effects of tropisetron on control over compulsive drug-seeking behavior that was defined as footshock-resistant lever pressing. Methods Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine with incremental-infusion doses (from 0.6 to 2.4 mg/kg/infusion) across training sessions (3 h/session) or with a long-access paradigm (i.e. 0.6 mg/kg/infusion, 6 h/d training session). The drug-seeking motivations of 2 groups were estimated by the patterns of drug intake and progressive-ratio schedule. The compulsivity for drug seeking of the group with an escalated dose was further evaluated using the footshock-associated seeking-taking chain task. Results The rats trained on the dose-escalated protocol achieved the same levels of motivated drug seeking as those subjected to a long-access paradigm, as indicated by cocaine intake per training session and breakpoints on a progressive ratio schedule. Tropisetron attenuated compulsive behavior of rats when pressing of the seeking lever potentially led to footshock. Intriguingly, tropisetron did not change the motivation to seek cocaine when footshock was absent. Tropisetron had no effect on locomotor activities or saccharin self-administration. Conclusions These results demonstrate that tropisetron restored control over compulsive cocaine seeking, and they indicate that 5-HT3/α7-nicotinic receptors may be potential therapeutic targets for relieving compulsive drug seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A cholesteryloxyallene (1) bearing chiral cholesteryl pendant group was designed and synthesized. Living polymerization of this monomer with an allylnickel complex as a catalyst give poly(cholesteryloxyallene)s (poly- 1ms) in high yields with controllable molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions. These polymers were found to possess a dynamic helical conformation with a preferred handedness in n-hexane as confirmed by circular dichroism and absorption spectra as well as optical ratios. The helical conformation of the polymers was revealed to stabilize as the number of repeat units increased until the degree of polymerization reached 100. The helical conformation of poly- 1100 could be controlled by altering the temperature of solutions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 2227-2233 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ligand (L) and its mercury(II) complex have been synthesized under mild conditions. X-ray single-crystal structural analyses reveal 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D supermolecular structure of L and HgLI2. Solvent molecules and various weak interactions, including hydrogen bonds (N–H···N, O–H···O, and O–H···N) and π–π interactions play significant roles in the final supermolecular structures. Detailed investigation on 1H NMR spectra of L and HgLI2 are presented. Their photophysical properties were investigated both experimentally and theoretically. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The simultaneous achievement of a low energy loss and high external quantum efficiency (EQE) response is the prerequisite for high power conversion efficiencies of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, this issue is examined through the design of two novel near‐infrared (NIR) nonfullerene acceptors (X‐PCIC and X1‐PCIC) with an absorption extending to 900 nm, which is realized by using benzobis(thiazole) unit as the core. This study reveals that benzobis(thiazole) unit with the quinoid‐resonance effect and electron‐withdrawing property is a good building block in extending absorption and maintaining suitable energy levels. Single crystal cultivation proves the function of S···N noncovalent interaction in locking molecular geometry. Besides, through adopting two different terminals (fluorinated terminal for X‐PCIC and thiophene‐fused terminal for X1‐PCIC), it is found that an increase in the J‐aggregation strength has a significant positive effect on the EQE response of the devices through the formation of more suitable domain sizes and crystallinity in the films, while the energy loss remains low (≈0.53 eV) and unaffected. Thus, a high efficiency of 11.50% is presented for OSC based on the X‐PCIC with stronger J‐aggregation strength, better than that (10.17%) based on the X1‐PCIC with weaker J‐aggregation strength. This work clearly demonstrates the application of benzobis(thiazole) unit in efficient small molecule acceptors and the importance of J‐aggregation modulation for the simultaneous achievement of low energy loss and high EQE response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the pore structure of SBA-15, which is tuned by varying the hydrothermal temperature (90–150 °C), is investigated on nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon. It is found that the pore structure of SBA-15 yields effects on both the composition and the pore structure of carbon, which thereby affecting its electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). XPS reveals that the nitrogen content of the template-free carbon is 2.79 at.%, while dramatically increases to 4.48, 5.01 and 4.16 at.% for the three template-aided carbon catalysts with SBA-15 synthesized at 90, 130 and 150 °C, respectively. Nitrogen ad/desorption isotherms show that the specific surface area of the template-free carbon is 257 m 2 g −1 , which increases to 724, 731 and 691 m 2 g −1 for the above three carbons. Such changes correlate well with the electrochemical results. RRDE results show that the template-aided carbon catalysts yield better activity and selectivity for the ORR than does the template-free one. And the best performance is achieved for the carbon catalyst with SBA-15 synthesized at 130 °C, which coincidentally has the highest nitrogen content and surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile social isolation (SI) and neglect have a negative impact on neurodevelopment persistently, which is associated with cognitive dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders. Given the critical role of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in synaptic homeostasis of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), pharmacological intervention on mGluRs has been attempted in order to improve cognitive dysfunction in animal models of neurodevelopmental disorder, as well as in clinical trials. Here we examined the effects of the mGluR2/3 antagonist LY341495 on prefrontal synaptic transmission, spatial working memory, and recognition memory in adult C57BL/6J mice that experienced juvenile SI. We found that SI-reared mice exhibited working memory impairment and decreased excitatory presynaptic release probability of pyramidal neurons in the medial PFC compared with group-reared mice. The positive effect of LY341495 on excitatory synaptic transmission in SI-reared mice was more prominent than the effect in group-reared mice. A single treatment with mGluR2/3 antagonist LY341495 significantly improved the performance of SI-reared mice in the Y-maze test but not in the novel object recognition (NOR) test, while repeated treatments were effective in both tasks. These findings suggest that enhancing glutamatergic transmission via inhibition of mGluR2/3 signaling might represent a promising strategy for improving cognitive function in neurodevelopmental disorders. • Juvenile social isolation induced cognitive deficits in adulthood. • Decreased excitatory presynaptic release probability of pyramidal neurons in the mPFC of socially isolated mice. • The effect of LY341495 on presynaptic regulation was more prominent in socially isolated mice. • LY341495 improved working memory with relatively high synaptic strength in the mPFC of socially isolated mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol abuse, a prevalent global health issue, is associated with the onset of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. Actin filaments (F-actin) and microtubules (MTs) polymerized from monomeric globular actin (G-actin) and tubulin form the structural basis of the neuronal cytoskeleton. Precise regulation of the assembly and disassembly of these cytoskeletal proteins, and their dynamic balance, play a pivotal role in regulating neuronal morphology and function. Nevertheless, the effect of prolonged alcohol exposure on cytoskeleton dynamics is not fully understood. This study investigates the chronic effects of alcohol on cognitive ability, neuronal morphology and cytoskeleton dynamics in the mouse hippocampus., Methods: Mice were provided ad libitum access to 5% (v/v) alcohol in drinking water and were intragastrically administered 30% (v/v, 6.0 g/kg/day) alcohol for six weeks during adulthood. Cognitive functions were then evaluated using the Y maze, novel object recognition and Morris water maze tests. Hippocampal histomorphology was assessed through hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Nissl staining. The polymerized and depolymerized states of actin cytoskeleton and microtubules were separated using two commercial assay kits and quantified by Western blot analysis., Results: Mice chronically exposed to alcohol exhibited significant deficits in spatial and recognition memory as evidenced by behavioral tests. Histological analysis revealed notable hippocampal damage and neuronal loss. Decreased ratios of F-actin/G-actin and MT/tubulin, along with reduced levels of polymerized F-actin and MTs, were found in the hippocampus of alcohol-treated mice., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that chronic alcohol consumption disrupted the assembly of the actin cytoskeleton and MTs in the hippocampus, potentially contributing to the cognitive deficits and pathological injury induced by chronic alcohol intoxication., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) significantly affect the mitochondrial state. In this work, TC-2 and TC-8 were constructed through side-chain engineering, in which TC-2 bearing the poorer hydrophobicity could localize on mitochondria better. Interestingly, short-wave emission was captured due to the sensitive response of TC-2 to SO 2 (LOD = 13.8 nM). Meanwhile, the probe could bind with DNA, presenting enhanced long-wave emission. Encouragingly, TC-2 could migrate from mitochondria to the nucleus when MMP was decreased, accompanied by the increase of fluorescence lifetime (9-fold). Hence, TC-2 could be used for dual-channel monitoring of mitochondrial SO 2 and MMP, which showed a completely different pathway from the commercial MMP detectors JC-1/JC-10. The cellular experiments showed that MMP was gradually decreased due to reactive oxygen species-triggered oxidative stress, and the SO 2 level was up-regulated simultaneously. Overall, this work proposed a new method to investigate and diagnose the mitochondrial-related diseases.

Photo-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by organic photosensitizers (PSs), which show potential in significant fields such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), are highly dependent on the formation of the excited triplet state through intersystem crossing (ISC). The current research on ISC of organic PSs generally focuses on molecular structure optimization. In this manuscript, the influence of aggregation patterns on ISC was investigated by constructing homologous monomers (S-TPA-PI and L-TPA-PI) and their homologous dimers (S-2TPA-2PI and L-2TPA-2PI). In contrast to J -aggregated S-TPA-PI, S-2TPA-2PI-aggregate forming "end-to-end" stacking through π-π interaction could generate ROS more efficiently, due to a prolonged exciton lifetime and enhanced ISC rate constant ( k ISC ), which were revealed by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. This finding was further validated by the regulation of aggregation patterns induced by host-guest interaction. Moreover, S-2TPA-2PI could target mitochondria and achieve rapid mitophagy to cause more significant cancer cell suppression. Overall, the delicate supramolecular dimerization tactics not only revealed the structure-property relationship of organic PSs but also shed light on the development of a universal strategy in future PDT and photocatalysis fields., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)