Search

The emergence of various topological semimetal states presents a novel opportunity for enhancing the efficiency of thermoelectric transport. This study introduces a recipe to improve the thermoelectric (TE) performance in topological materials containing single‐pair Weyl points (SP WPs) fermions and phonons. The recipe focuses on two key factors contributing to the enhancement of TE performance: the increase in the density of states to achieve a high power factor, and the introduction of additional phonon scattering to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. The proposed recipe is confirmed in a half‐metallic SP WPs material BaNiIO6 through first‐principles methods. An enhanced density of states arises near the energy of the SP WPs in BaNiIO6, leading to a peak power factor connected to the complex Fermi surface due to the degeneracy of Weyl pockets in energy. Furthermore, it is shown that the SP WPs phonons in BaNiIO6 possess a high scattering rate and can likely contribute to the low lattice thermal conductivity, especially when two crossing points in SP WPs do not degenerate in frequency. The new recipe can be used for discovering high‐performance thermoelectric materials in the future by utilizing the transport advantages of degenerate‐in‐energy SP WPs fermions and non‐degenerate‐in‐frequency SP WPs phonons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of faeces has long been a popular approach for genetic and ecological studies of wildlife. However, the success of molecular marker genotyping and genome resequencing is often unpredictable due to insufficient enrichment of endogenous DNA in the total faecal DNA that is dominated by bacterial DNA. Here, we report a simple and cheap method named PEERS to predominantly lyse animal cells over bacteria by using sodium dodecyl sulphate so as to discharge endogenous DNA into liquid phase before bacterial DNA. By brief centrifugation, total DNA with enriched endogenous fraction can be extracted from the supernatant using routine methods. Our assessments showed that the endogenous DNA extracted by PEERS was significantly enriched for various types of faeces from different species, preservation time and conditions. It significantly improves the genotyping correctness and efficiency of genome resequencing with the total additional cost of $ 0.1 and a short incubation step to treat a faecal sample. We also provide methods to assess the enrichment efficiency of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and models to predict the usability of faecal DNA for genotyping of short tandem repeat, single‐nucleotide polymorphism and whole‐genome resequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D second‐order topological insulators (SOTIs) have sparked significant interest, but currently, the proposed realistic 2D materials for SOTIs are limited to nonmagnetic systems. In this study, for the first time, a single layer of chalcogenide CrSiTe3—an experimentally realized transition metal trichalcogenide is proposed with a layer structure—as a 2D ferromagnetic (FM) SOTI. Based on first‐principles calculations, this study confirms that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits a nontrivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐up channel and a trivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐down channel. Based on the higher‐order bulk–boundary correspondence, it demonstrates that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits topologically protected corner states with a quantized fractional charge (e3$\frac{e}{3}$) in the spin‐up channel. Notably, unlike previous nonmagnetic examples, the topological corner states of the CrSiTe3 monolayer are spin‐polarized and pinned at the corners of the sample in real space. Furthermore, the CrSiTe3 monolayer retains SOTI features when the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is considered, as evidenced by the corner charge and corner states distribution. Finally, by applying biaxial strain and hole doping, this study transforms the magnetic insulating bulk states into spin‐gapless semiconducting and half‐metallic bulk states, respectively. Importantly, the topological corner states persist in the spin‐up channel under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D second‐order topological insulators (SOTIs) have sparked significant interest, but currently, the proposed realistic 2D materials for SOTIs are limited to nonmagnetic systems. In this study, for the first time, a single layer of chalcogenide CrSiTe3—an experimentally realized transition metal trichalcogenide is proposed with a layer structure—as a 2D ferromagnetic (FM) SOTI. Based on first‐principles calculations, this study confirms that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits a nontrivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐up channel and a trivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐down channel. Based on the higher‐order bulk–boundary correspondence, it demonstrates that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits topologically protected corner states with a quantized fractional charge (e3$\frac{e}{3}$) in the spin‐up channel. Notably, unlike previous nonmagnetic examples, the topological corner states of the CrSiTe3 monolayer are spin‐polarized and pinned at the corners of the sample in real space. Furthermore, the CrSiTe3 monolayer retains SOTI features when the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is considered, as evidenced by the corner charge and corner states distribution. Finally, by applying biaxial strain and hole doping, this study transforms the magnetic insulating bulk states into spin‐gapless semiconducting and half‐metallic bulk states, respectively. Importantly, the topological corner states persist in the spin‐up channel under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 2D second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) have garnered considerable interest because of their unique properties. However, only the FeSe monolayer with four corner states (two occupied and two unoccupied states) near the Fermi level has been reported to be a candidate for 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetic SOTIs in theory. The limited amount of antiferromagnetic SOTIs has hindered future research, and corner states should be at the Fermi level in order to manifest interesting physics. Herein, we propose NiRuCl6 as a candidate for 2D antiferromagnetic SOTIs with corner states strictly at the Fermi level. Without spin–orbit coupling (SOC), NiRuCl6 is an antiferromagnetic half-metal with a compensating magnetic moment and decoupled spin bands. In the spin-up channel, NiRuCl6 hosts a nontrivial gap of 1.11 eV, where zero-dimensional corner states appear. In the spin-down channels, NiRuCl6 hosts metallically behaved bands, where a spin-polarized quadratic Weyl point emerges. With SOC, two spin bands are coupled, and NiRuCl6 becomes an antiferromagnetic SOTI with three degenerate corner states at the Fermi level inside the SOC-induced gap with a value of 0.11 eV. Remarkably, the corner states in NiRuCl6 are resistant to changes in SOC strength and magnetization orientation. We also reveal that the phononic second-order topology and corner vibrational modes appear in the phonon dispersion curves of NiRuCl6. The presented results improve the general understanding of antiferromagnetic SOTIs and contribute to the prediction of materials with ideal corner states at the Fermi level, thereby advancing the field of topological antiferromagnetic spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onshore shale oil is difficult to develop due to its special pore structure and low permeability characteristics. Artificial fracturing causes a large amount of fracturing fluid to intrude into the reservoir, resulting in a complex reservoir seepage pattern. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the changes in the reservoir at the macro and micro levels due to the interaction between fracturing fluids and shale oil reservoirs. For this, four rock samples from shale oil reservoirs and two fracturing fluids commonly used in the mine were used. Then, core repulsion, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and CT scanning experiments were carried out successively. The following results were derived from our analyses. (1) Permeability of the rock samples was reduced by an average of 24.47% after replacement by fracturing fluid, while the experimental groups with larger fluid-grain sizes and well-developed fracture networks suffered more significant solid-phase damage and fluid-phase trapping. (2) Fracturing fluids have different effects on fractures at different scales; large fractures (>7.71 μm) were widened, while small fractures (<3.47 μm) were shrunk or even plugged. (3) Based on the water-sensitive effect, fracturing fluids can disperse and transport clay minerals, resulting in fluid-phase damage and an average decrease of 14.33% in clay content in the reservoir. (4) Analysis of the digital core model shows that fracturing fluid intrusion and retention can cause solid-phase damage to the reservoir matrix, with 38.14% and 60% damage to the pore and throat channels, respectively. This paper uses a combination of physical experiments and numerical analysis to investigate the interaction mechanism between fracturing fluids and shale oil reservoirs from both microscopic and macroscopic perspectives. Overall, the results of this study provide experimental support for future studies on the seepage characteristics of this type of reservoir and the design of fracturing construction schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most common form of dementia and a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects over 10% world population with age 65 and older. The disease is neuropathologically associated with progressive loss of neurons and synapses in specific brain regions, deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Despite the intensive effort, there is still no cure for the disorder. Stem cell-derived exosomes hold great promise in treating various diseases, including AD, as they contain a variety of anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant components. Moreover, stem cell-derived exosomes also promote neurogenesis and angiogenesis and can repair damaged BBB. In this review, we will first outline the major neuropathological features associated with AD; subsequently, a discussion of stem cells, stem cell-secreted exosomes, and the major exosome isolation methods will follow. We will then summarize the recent data involving the use of mesenchymal stem cell- or neural stem cell-derived exosomes in treating AD. Finally, we will briefly discuss the challenges, perspectives, and clinical trials using stem cell-derived exosomes for AD therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Immunotherapy represented by PD-1 blockades had become the standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) gradually. Unfortunately, several PD-1 inhibitor-related studies excluded elderly patients with NSCLC over 75 years of age, resulting in relatively limited evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of PD-1 in elderly patients with NSCLC clinically. Objective. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness and safety of PD-1 blockade monotherapy among elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods. Elderly patients with advanced NSCLC (≥65 years) who received PD-1 blockade monotherapy from September 2018 to December 2021 were screened retrospectively, and a total of 68 elderly patients with NSCLC were eligible for inclusion ultimately. The PD-1 blockades in the study were the available PD-1 monoclonal antibodies that had been approved for marketing in China, including camrelizumab, sintilimab, pembrolizumab, and nivolumab. The effectiveness and safety of the patients was collected retrospectively. Additionally, the correlation between prognosis and baseline characteristic subgroups was analyzed to identify the potential risk factors for progression-free survival (PFS). Results. The median age of the 68 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC was 73 years (range: 65–82 years). Best overall response during PD-1 blockade administration suggested that no patients were found with complete response, partial response was found in 14 patients, stable disease was noted in 29 patients, and 25 patients had progressive disease, yielding an objective response rate (ORR) of 20.6% (95%CI: 11.7%–32.1%) and a disease control rate (DCR) of 63.2% (95%CI: 50.7%–74.6%). Furthermore, prognostic analysis exhibited that the median progression-free survival (PFS) of the 68 patients with advanced NSCLC was 3.5 months (95%CI: 2.4–4.6) and the median overall survival (OS) was 10.5 months (95%CI: 6.3–14.7). Additionally, a total of 48 patients were observed with the treatment-related adverse reaction (70.6%) of the 68 elderly patients with NSCLC, and the incidence of grade 3 or above adverse reactions was 16.2%. Specifically, the most common adverse reactions were fatigue, diarrhea, rash, and abnormal liver function with the incidence of 25.0%, 22.1%, 16.2%, and 14.7%, respectively. Exploratory analysis between PFS and baseline characteristic subgroups suggested that ECOG performance status and number of metastatic lesions might be independent factors for PFS. Conclusion. PD-1 blockade monotherapy exhibited potential effectiveness and acceptable toxicity for elderly patients with NSCLC. ECOG performance status and number of metastatic lesions might be potential risk factors to predict the PFS of elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to study the effect of natural plant extracts on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidant capacity and immune function of weaning pigs. A total of 810 weaned piglets with an average body weight of 7 kg were randomly divided into three groups, with five replicates in each group and 54 piglets in each replicate. The piglets in blank group were fed with a basic diet, the piglets in control group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 53.2 mg/kg gritamycin + 39.2 mg/kg Bacillus peptide Zn, the piglets in test group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 500 g/t natural plant (dandelion and licorice, the content was 70%). The experiment lasted for 35 d, including 3 d of pre-experiment and 32 d of formal experiment. The results showed that adding natural plant extracts had a tendency to increase the weight of weaned piglets, ADG, ADFI and F/G (P>0.05). The diarrhea rate of piglets in test group and control group was significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). ALB and HDL in serum of piglets in test group were significantly higher than that of blank group (P<0.05), TC and BUN were significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). T-AOC and the activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px in serum of piglets of test group were significantly higher than those of control group and blank group (P<0.05), and the content of MDA was significantly lower than control group and blank group (P<0.05). The serum levels of IL-4 in test group and control group were significantly higher than blank group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that natural plant extracts of dandelion and licorice can effectively reduce the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets, enhance the piglet's immunity and antioxidant capacity, improve growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives·To investigate the personality traits of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), and compare the differences of personality traits among different subtypes of AN. Methods·A total of 164 patients with AN treated in the Clinical Psychosomatic Ward and Psychological Counseling Clinic of Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from July 2013 to July 2018 were selected and 124 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition), AN was divided into restricting type AN (AN-R), binge-purging type AN (AN-BP) and atypical AN. In AN group, 76 cases were AN-R, 81 cases were AN-BP, and 7 cases were atypical AN. The severity of pathological psychological symptoms of AN patients was evaluated by Eating Disorder Examination-questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0), and the personality traits of perfectionism, impulsivity and self-esteem of AN patients were evaluated by Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Psychological Scale (FMPS), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th Version (BIS-11) and Self-esteem Scale (SES). Independent sample t test and variance analysis were used to compare the differences between AN-R group and AN-BP group and differences between the AN group and HC group, and correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between personality traits and AN clinical symptom. Results·The total FMPS score of the AN group was significantly higher than that of the HC group (P=0.044), and the total score of SES was significantly lower than that of the HC group (P=0.000). The total score of FMPS, non-adaptive dimension score, BIS-11 total score, attentional impulse score, motor impulse score, and unplanned impulse score in the AN-BP group were significantly higher than those in the AN-R group (all P<0.05). Compared with the AN-R group, AN-BP group had significantly lower organization (adaptive dimension) score and SES total score (all P<0.05). The severity of clinical symptoms of AN (EDE-Q 6.0 total score and subscale scores) was positively correlated with perfectionism (FMPS total score) and impulsivity (BIS-11 total score), and negatively correlated with self-esteem (SES total score) (all P=0.000). Conclusion·Patients with AN have perfectionism and low self-esteem. The patients with AN-BP have more perfectionism, high impulsivity and low self-esteem, while the patients with AN-R show low impulsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 2D second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) have garnered considerable interest because of their unique properties. However, only the FeSe monolayer with four corner states (two occupied and two unoccupied states) near the Fermi level has been reported to be a candidate for 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetic SOTIs in theory. The limited amount of antiferromagnetic SOTIs has hindered future research, and corner states should be at the Fermi level in order to manifest interesting physics. Herein, we propose NiRuCl6 as a candidate for 2D antiferromagnetic SOTIs with corner states strictly at the Fermi level. Without spin–orbit coupling (SOC), NiRuCl6 is an antiferromagnetic half-metal with a compensating magnetic moment and decoupled spin bands. In the spin-up channel, NiRuCl6 hosts a nontrivial gap of 1.11 eV, where zero-dimensional corner states appear. In the spin-down channels, NiRuCl6 hosts metallically behaved bands, where a spin-polarized quadratic Weyl point emerges. With SOC, two spin bands are coupled, and NiRuCl6 becomes an antiferromagnetic SOTI with three degenerate corner states at the Fermi level inside the SOC-induced gap with a value of 0.11 eV. Remarkably, the corner states in NiRuCl6 are resistant to changes in SOC strength and magnetization orientation. We also reveal that the phononic second-order topology and corner vibrational modes appear in the phonon dispersion curves of NiRuCl6. The presented results improve the general understanding of antiferromagnetic SOTIs and contribute to the prediction of materials with ideal corner states at the Fermi level, thereby advancing the field of topological antiferromagnetic spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The full length of Rhododendron micranthum Turcz. RmCS was isolated and identified. • RmCS was preferentially expressed in stem, autumn leaf and initial flowering stage. • Overexpression of RmCS increased salt tolerance, alkali tolerance, drought tolerance and aluminum tolerance of transgenic tobacco, but decreased plant height and leaf area. • The roots of tobacco plants overexpressing RmCS secreted higher concentrations of malic acid, citric acid and tartaric acid. Citrate synthase (CS) is a rate-limiting enzyme in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, which is related to numerous plant physiological events, like mitochondrial energy metabolism and stress resistance, and has a key function in aluminum (Al) stress response. Rhododendron micranthum Turcz. has been used as ornamental plants worldwide. This species prefers acidic soils, and thus its growth and ornamental quality are often limited by Al toxicity. In the present work, the full-length cDNA encoding a CS (here designated RmCS) was isolated and characterized. The RmCS contained the conserved CS domain and a N-terminal PWPN-box. RmCS protein was predicted to be localized to the cytoplasm and mitochondria. A neighbor-joining tree indicated that RmCS was similar to CS proteins of Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis and Vitis riparia the most. RmCS was highly expressed in stems; particularly, it shows predominant expression in flowers in the first flowering period, whereas in leaves peak expression levels were detected in September. Southern blotting analysis demonstrated that one to three copies of RmCS were successfully integrated in the genome of transgenic tobacco. Overexpression of RmCS significantly increased salt, alkali, drought, and Al tolerance, but reduced the plant height and leaf area, of transgenic tobacco. Roots of RmCS -overexpressing tobacco plants secreted higher concentrations of malic acid, citric acid, and tartaric acid. Decreased malonaldehyde while elevated proline contents in the leaf suggested that the improved abiotic stress tolerance conferred by RmCS was associated with decreased membrane damage and improved osmotic adjustment. The above findings indicated the potentially vital function of RmCS in abiotic stress responses of R. micranthum , and lays certain theoretical foundation for improving stress resistance of R. micranthum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel approach to induce charge density waves (CDWs) in metallic MA 2 Z 4 materials, resembling the behavior observed in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). This method leverages the intercalating architecture to maintain the same crystal field and Fermi surface topologies. Our investigation reveals that CDW instability in these materials arises from electron-phonon coupling (EPC) between the d band and longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonons, mirroring TMDC's behavior. By combining α-MA 2 Z 4 with 1 H -MX 2 materials in a predictive CDW phase diagram using critical EPC constants, we demonstrate the feasibility of extending CDW across material families with comparable crystal fields and reveal the crucial role in CDW instability of the competition between ionic charge transfer and electron correlation. We further uncover a strain-induced Mott transition in β 2 -NbGe 2 N 4 monolayer featuring star-of-David patterns. This work highlights the potential of intercalating architecture to engineer CDW materials, expanding our understanding of CDW instability and correlation physics.

Shiga toxins are the main virulence factors of Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and S. dysenteriae . There is no effective therapy to counter the disease caused by these toxins. The A1 subunits of Shiga toxins bind the C-termini of ribosomal P-stalk proteins to depurinate the sarcin/ricin loop. The ribosome binding site of Shiga toxin 2 has not been targeted by small molecules. We screened a fragment library against the A1 subunit of Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2A1) and identified a fragment, BTB13086 , which bound at the ribosome binding site and mimicked the binding mode of the P-stalk proteins. We synthesized analogs of BTB13086 and identified a series of molecules with similar affinity and inhibitory activity. These are the first compounds that bind at the ribosome binding site of Stx2A1 and inhibit activity. These compounds hold great promise for further inhibitor development against STEC infection.

Three-dimensional Dirac semimetals with square-net non-symmorphic symmetry, such as ternary ZrXY (X = Si, Ge; Y = S, Se, Te) compounds, have attracted significant attention owing to the presence of topological nodal lines, loops, or networks in their bulk. Orbital symmetry plays a profound role in such materials as the different branches of the nodal dispersion can be distinguished by their distinct orbital symmetry eigenvalues. The presence of different eigenvalues suggests that scattering between states of different orbital symmetry may be strongly suppressed. Indeed, in ZrSiS, there has been no clear experimental evidence of quasiparticle scattering reported between states of different symmetry eigenvalues at small wave vectorq⃗.Here we show, using quasiparticle interference, that atomic step-edges in the ZrSiS surface facilitate quasiparticle scattering between states of different symmetry eigenvalues. This symmetry eigenvalue mixing quasiparticle scattering is the first to be reported for ZrSiS and contrasts quasiparticle scattering with no mixing of symmetry eigenvalues, where the latter occurs with scatterers preserving the glide mirror symmetry of the crystal lattice, e.g. native point defects in ZrSiS. Finally, we show that the electronic structure of the ZrSiS surface, including its unique floating band surface state, can be tuned by a vertical electric field locally applied by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), enabling control of a spin-orbit induced avoided crossing near the Fermi level by as much as 300%., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

Stachysyingzuijieensis , a new species from western Hunan, China, is described and illustrated. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on three nuclear ribosomal DNA loci (ETS, ITS and 5S-NTS) recovered S.yingzuijieensis within the Stachys clade and as a sister group of S.arrecta . The two species can be easily distinguished by the morphology of lamina, corolla and nutlet. A key to all species of Stachydeae from China is also provided., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Ling Xue, Jia-Hua Cai, Min Zhan, Xiao-Ping Li, Lei Wu, Ya-Ping Chen.)

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE), a protocol of various low-power dissipation quantum phenomena and a fundamental precursor of intriguing topological phases of matter, is usually observed in ferromagnetic materials with an orthogonal configuration between the electric field, magnetization, and the Hall current. Here, based on the symmetry analysis, we find an unconventional AHE induced by the in-plane magnetic field (IPAHE) via the spin-canting effect in PT-symmetric antiferromagnetic (AFM) systems, featuring a linear dependence of magnetic field and 2π angle periodicity with a comparable magnitude to conventional AHE. We demonstrate the key findings in the known AFM Dirac semimetal CuMnAs and a new kind of AFM heterodimensional VS&#95;{2}-VS superlattice with a nodal-line Fermi surface and, also, briefly discuss the experimental detection. Our Letter provides an efficient pathway for searching and/or designing realistic materials for a novel IPAHE that could greatly facilitate their application in AFM spintronic devices. National Science Foundation.

To investigate the effect of Huazhi Rougan Granules(HZRG) on autophagy in a steatotic hepatocyte model of free fatty acid(FFA)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and explore the possible mechanism. FFA solution prepared by mixing palmitic acid(PA) and oleic acid(OA) at the ratio of 1∶2 was used to induce hepatic steatosis in L02 cells after 24 h treatment, and an in vitro NAFLD cell model was established. After termination of incubation, cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was performed to detect the cell viability; Oil red O staining was employed to detect the intracellular lipid accumulation; enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay(ELISA) was performed to measure the level of triglyceride(TG); to monitor autophagy in L02 cells, transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to observe the autophagosomes; LysoBrite Red was used to detect the pH change in lysosome; transfection with mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus was conducted to observe the autophagic flux; Western blot was performed to determine the expression of autophagy marker LC3B-Ⅰ/LC3B-Ⅱ, autophagy substrate p62 and silent information regulator 1(SIRT1)/adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK) signaling pathway. NAFLD cell model was successfully induced by FFA at 0.2 mmol·L~(-1) PA and 0.4 mmol·L~(-1) OA. HZRG reduced the TG level(P&lt;0.05, P&lt;0.01) and the lipid accumulation of FFA-induced L02 cells, while elevated the number of autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes to generate autophagic flux. It also affected the functions of lysosomes by regulating their pH. Additionally, HZRG up-regulated the expression of LC3B-Ⅱ/LC3B-Ⅰ, SIRT1, p-AMPK and phospho-protein kinase A(p-PKA)(P&lt;0.05, P&lt;0.01), while down-regulated the expression of p62(P&lt;0.01). Furthermore, 3-methyladenine(3-MA) or chloroquine(CQ) treatment obviously inhibited the above effects of HZRG. HZRG prevented FFA-induced steatosis in L02 cells, and its mechanism might be related to promoting autophagy and regulating SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway.

Based on transcriptome sequencing technology, the mouse model of prediabetes treated with Huangjing Qianshi Decoction was sequenced to explore the possible mechanism of treating prediabetes. First of all, transcriptome sequencing was performed on the normal BKS-DB mouse group, the prediabetic model group, and the Huangjing Qianshi Decoction treatment group(treatment group) to obtain differentially expressed genes in the skeletal muscle samples of mice. The serum biochemical indexes were detected in each group to screen out the core genes of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction in prediabetes. Gene Ontology(GO) database and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) database were used to conduct signaling pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) was used to verify them. The results showed that the levels of fasting blood glucose(FBG), fasting insulin(FINS), insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR), total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) in the mouse model were significantly decreased after treatment with Huangjing Qianshi Decoction. In the results of differential gene screening, there were 1 666 differentially expressed genes in the model group as compared with the normal group, and there were 971 differentially expressed genes in the treatment group as compared with the model group. Among them, interleukin-6(IL-6) and NR3C2 genes, which were closely related to the regulation of insulin resis-tance function, were significantly up-regulated between the model group and the normal group, and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA) genes were significantly down-regulated between the model group and the normal group. However, the expression results of IL-6, NR3C2, and VEGFA genes were adverse between the treatment group and the model group. GO functional enrichment analysis found that the biological process annotation mainly focused on cell synthesis, cycle, and metabolism; cell component annotation mainly focused on organelles and internal components; and molecular function annotation mainly focused on binding molecular functions. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis found that it involved the protein tyrosine kinase 6(PTK6) pathway, CD28-dependent phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT) pathway, p53 pathway, etc. Therefore, Huangjing Qianshi Decoction can improve the state of prediabetes, and the mechanism may be related to cell cycle and apoptosis, PI3K/AKT pathway, p53 pathway, and other biological pathways regulated by IL-6, NR3C2, and VEGFA.

By integrating network pharmacology and animal experiments, we studied the pharmacodynamic mechanism of the Tibetan medicine Liurui Capsules in the treatment of experimental autoimmune uveitis(EAU). The active ingredients and targets of Liurui Capsules were searched against the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine(ETCM), Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine(BATMAN-TCM), and relevant literatures. The EAU-related targets were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO), GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), and Therapeutic Target Database(TTD). The common targets shared by Liurui Capsules and EAU were identified, and the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was established via STRING. Gene Ontology(GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were conducted via g: Profiler. The rat model of EAU was induced by interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein(IRBP) and treated with Liurui Capsules. The inflammatory response of anterior segment and the pathological morphology of retina were observed. The mRNA and protein levels of delta-like ligand 4(DLL4), Notch1, interleukin-17(IL-17), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) were determined by real-time quantitative PCR(q-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. The network pharmacology analysis predicted 51 common targets of Liurui Capsules and EAU, which were mainly involved in IL-17, TNF, and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) signaling pathways, as well as liposome receptors and other biological processes. Compared with the control group, the modeling of EAU caused inflammatory changes in the anterior segment and retina and up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of DLL4, Notch1, IL-17, and TNF-α in ocular tissue. Compared with the model group, Liurui Capsules reduced the inflammatory reaction of anterior segment and retina and down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of DLL4, Notch1, IL-17, and TNF-α. Liurui Capsules can down-regulate the expression of the proteins involved in DLL4/Notch1/IL-17 signaling pathway in ocular tissue and alleviate the ocular inflammation, which may be one of the mechanisms of Liurui Capsules in the treatment of EAU.

Recently discovered high-quality nodal chain spin-gapless semimetals MF&#95;{3} (M=Pd, Mn) feature an ultraclean nodal chain in the spin up channel residing right at the Fermi level and displaying a large spin gap leading to a 100% spin polarization of transport properties. Here, we investigate both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to anomalous and spin transport in this class of materials. The dominant intrinsic origin is found to originate entirely from the gapped nodal chains without the entanglement of any other trivial bands. The side-jump mechanism is predicted to be negligibly small, but intrinsic skew scattering enhances the intrinsic Hall and Nernst signals significantly, leading to large values of respective conductivities. Our findings open a new material platform for exploring strong anomalous and spin transport properties in magnetic topological semimetals.

This study analyzed the molecular mechanism of Huangjing Qianshi Decoction(HQD) in the treatment of prediabetes based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. The active components of HQD were identified and screened based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP, http://Lsp.nwu.edu.cn/tcmsp.php) and then the targets of the components and the genes related to prediabetes were retrieved, followed by identifying the common targets of the decoction and the disease. The medicinal component-target network was constructed by Cytoscape to screen key components. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was established by STRING and hub genes were identified by Cytoscape-CytoNCA, followed by Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) of the hub genes with R-clusterProfi-ler. Thereby, the possible signaling pathways were predicted and the molecular mechanism was deduced. A total of 79 active components of HQD and 785 diabetes-related targets of the components were screened out. The hub genes mainly involved the GO terms of tricarboxylic acid cycle, peptide binding, amide binding, hydrolase activity, and kinase activity regulation, and the KEGG pathways of AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and insulin signaling pathway. Western blot result showed that HQD-containing serum significantly reduced the expression of AKT1, AGE, and RAGE proteins in insulin resistance model cells. HQD's treatment of prediabetes is characterized by multiple pathways, multiple targets, and multiple levels. The main mechanism is that the components zhonghualiaoine, baicalein, kaempferol, and luteolin act on AKT1 and inhibit the AGE-RAGE axis.