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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)--previously described as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)--is a major driver of liver fibrosis in humans, while liver fibrosis is a key determinant of all-cause mortality in liver disease independent of MASH occurrence. CCAAT/enhancer binding protein [alpha] (CEBPA), as a versatile ligandindependent transcriptional factor, has an important function in myeloid cells, and is under clinical evaluation for cancer therapy. CEBPA is also expressed in hepatocytes and regulates glucolipid homeostasis; however, the role of hepatocytespecific CEBPA in modulating liver fibrosis progression is largely unknown. Here, hepatic CEBPA expression was found to be decreased during MASH progression both in humans and mice, and hepatic CEBPA mRNA was negatively correlated with MASH fibrosis in the human liver. [Cebpa.sup.[DELTA]Hep] mice had markedly enhanced liver fibrosis induced by a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-fructose diet or carbon tetrachloride. Temporal and spatial hepatocyte-specific CEBPA loss at the progressive stage of MASH in [Cebpa.sup.[DELTA]Hep,ERT2] mice functionally promoted liver fibrosis. Mechanistically, hepatocyte CEBPA directly repressed Spp1 transactivation to reduce the secretion of osteopontin, a fibrogenesis inducer of hepatic stellate cells. Forced hepatocyte-specific CEBPA expression reduced MASH-associated liver fibrosis. These results demonstrate an important role for hepatocyte-specific CEBPA in liver fibrosis progression, and may help guide the therapeutic discoveries targeting hepatocyte CEBPA for the treatment of liver fibrosis., Introduction Growing clinical evidence revealed that liver fibrosis is a main determinant of outcomes or all-cause mortality in liver disease (1-6). Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as [...]

All‐solid‐state lithium‐ion batteries (ASSLBs) with inorganic solid‐state electrolytes (ISEs) have great potential for enhanced safety, high energy density, and long lifetime. Numerous works have focused on designing high‐conductive materials and (electro)chemically stable interfaces, contributing to the rapid development of ASSLBs. However, the lack of a comprehensive and in‐depth understanding of the intrinsic ionic conduction and failure mechanisms of ISEs in ASSLBs limits their further improvement. In this work, the analysis of the ionic transport mechanisms is focused in the different crystalline states of ISEs including bulk crystal, grain boundary, and amorphousness. Various failure mechanisms of ISEs concerning structure degradation, mechanical pulverization, and lithium dendrite penetration that trigger the capacity attenuation of cells are also discussed. This work is wraped up by providing the perspective on how to optimize the electrochemical performance of ASSLBs, which can, with the hope, pave the way for achieving the commercialization of ASSLBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to address the issues of excessive brittle intermetallic compounds (IMC) formation in the TC4 brazed joints, two types of novel Ti-Zr-Cu-Ni-Sn amorphous braze fillers were designed. The microstructure and shear strength of the TC4/Ti-Zr-Ni-Cu-Sn/TC4 brazed joints were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and electronic universal materials testing machine. The results show that the optimized Ti35Zr25Ni15Cu20Sn5 braze filler whose chemical composition is closer to the eutectic point possesses a lower melting point compared with the equiatomic Ti23.75Zr23.75Ni23.75Cu23.75Sn5. This was beneficial to the sufficient diffusion of Cu and Ni elements with the base metal during brazing and reduces the residual (Ti,Zr)2(Ni,Cu) content in the joint, which helps to improve the joint performance. The room-temperature and high-temperature shear strength of the TC4 brazed joints using the near eutectic component Ti35Zr25Ni15Cu20Sn5 filler reached a maximum of 472 MPa and 389 MPa at 970 °C/10 min, which was 66% and 48% higher than that of the TC4 joints brazed with the equiatomic Ti23.75Zr23.75Ni23.75Cu23.75Sn5 braze filler. Microstructural evolution and the corresponding mechanical response were in-depth discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research examined whether clusters of loneliness and social anxiety could be identified through latent profile analysis in a longitudinal study of 892 Chinese adolescents (47.8% male), on average 12.96 (SD = 0.62) years old. Six clusters were identified: (a) low loneliness and social anxiety, (b) average loneliness and social anxiety, (c) high social anxiety and low loneliness, (d) high loneliness and low social anxiety, (e) moderate loneliness and social anxiety, and (f) high loneliness and social anxiety. Findings indicated that baseline family dysfunction and school-related stress served as risk factors for membership in the clusters representing higher levels of loneliness and social anxiety compared to the low cluster. Controlling for the baseline levels of respective outcomes, 6 clusters were differentially related to subsequent comprehensive mental health outcomes, underscoring the importance of the roles of both the loneliness and social anxiety processes in adolescents' mental health. Furthermore, these findings indicated that the interactions between social anxiety and loneliness within individuals were differentially related to levels of comprehensive mental health outcomes, implying the need for intervention programs to be tailored to the members of the specific clusters. Impact and Implications: The findings indicated that loneliness and social anxiety occurred simultaneously as well as independently within individuals. Therefore, prior to the treatment of loneliness and social anxiety in adolescents, professionals should evaluate whether individuals experience loneliness and social anxiety together or independently to provide appropriate interventions. Findings also suggested that family dysfunction and school-related stress were risk factors for the clusters reflecting high loneliness and social anxiety compared to the low cluster. Thus, fostering both positive family and school climates appears necessary to promote adolescents' comprehensive mental health.

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, the current study examined the relations among academic achievement, self-esteem, and subjective well-being (SWB) in school among Chinese elementary school students using a longitudinal mediation model. A total of 807 elementary school students (M[subscript age] = 9.43 years; 52.9% male) completed a multimeasure questionnaire that tapped the targeted variables at 3 time points, across 18 months. After controlling for gender, age, and family socioeconomic status, the results revealed that (a) academic achievement positively predicted later SWB in school; (b) self-esteem at Time 2 completely mediated the relation between academic achievement at Time 1 and SWB in school at Time 3; and (c) significant bidirectional relations were observed between self-esteem and SWB in school. Limitations and practical applications related to the cultural context of China were discussed.

Tin-based sulfides, such as SnS2, have garnered attention as lithium-ion anode materials due to their layer structure and high conductivity capacity. However, during the lithium alloying/dealloying cycles, SnS2 material exhibits a rapid capacity decay due to the volume expansion, which hinders the application of SnS2. In this study, a heterostructure composite material anchored on exfoliated graphite, designated as nano SnS2S3/Sn3S4/FeS/Fe7S8 anchored on 15.0 wt% exfoliated graphite (FSS/G-15%), was synthesized by heating a mixture of inexpensive reducing agent Fe powder and SnS2 powder, followed by ball milling with 15.0 wt% commercial graphite. Experimental results demonstrated that FSS/G-15% had exhibited optimal overall Li+ storage performance, achieving approximately 1306.7, 1199.2, 1033.1, 882.3, 707.3, 507, 366.3, 255.6, and 203.5 mA hg−1 at current densities of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 Ag−1, respectively, surpassing the majority of SnS2-based anode materials. The simplicity and efficiency of the synthetic method may have potential implications in various fields in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium‐sulfur batteries utilizing sulfide solid electrolytes hold considerable potential for achieving both high energy density and enhanced safety. However, the substantial volume changes experienced by sulfur during cycling result in mechanical stress accumulation, leading to mechanical degradation and thereby degrading overall electrochemical performance. In this study, a stress‐buffer strategy is proposed to address this challenge by engineering a mechanically resilient crosslinked structure for the composite sulfur cathode. This structure is accomplished through the integration of a highly flexible thermoplastic elastomer (ethylene vinyl acetate, EVA), which enables stress release during sulfur volume variations by the repeated stretching and shrinking of EVA, thereby maintaining stable ionic/electronic diffusion channels within the electrode. By virtue of the mechanically stable architecture, the stress evolution experienced by the entire sulfur electrode is substantially reduced, witnessing a remarkable decrease of ≈33.7%. Consequently, the S‐EVA composite cathode demonstrates exceptional electrochemical performance, especially cycling stability. Notably, the S‐EVA composite cathode, with a high loading of 7.5 mg cm−2, exhibits stable cycling performance close to 3.0 mAh cm−2 within 50 cycles. This work not only offers novel insights into mitigating the mechanical stress within the electrode but also paves the way for developing durable high‐performance all‐solid‐state batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]