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Yanting Ma,1 Yongyuan Li,2 Zhanfeng Zhang,3 Guomei Du,4 Ting Huang,1 Zhi Zhong Zhao,5 Shou Liu,1 Zhancui Dang1 1Department of Public Health, Medical College, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Disease Control department, Huangzhong District health Bureau, Xining, Qinghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Huangzhong District, Duoba County Health Services Center, Xining, Qinghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Laboratory, Qinghai Red Cross Hospital, Xining, Qinghai, People’s Republic of China; 5Disease Control Department, Qinghai Provincial Center for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Xining, Qinghai, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shou Liu; Zhancui Dang, Email liushou2004@aliyun.com; yxyyy2019@163.comPurpose: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing worldwide, and early prediction of MetS risk is highly beneficial for health outcomes. This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict MetS risk in Qinghai Province, China, and it provides a methodological reference for MetS prevention and control in Qinghai Province, China.Patients and Methods: A total of 3073 participants living between 1900 and 3710 meters above sea level in Qinghai Province participated in this study between March 2014 and March 2016. We omitted 12 subjects who were missing diagnostic component data for MetS, ultimately resulting in 3061 research subjects, 70% of the subjects were assigned randomly to the training set, and the remaining subjects were assigned to the validation set. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis method was used for variable selection via running cyclic coordinate descent with 10-fold cross-validation. Multivariable logistic regression was then performed to develop a predictive model and nomogram. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used for model evaluation, and calibration plot and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used for model validation.Results: Of 24 variables studied, 6 risk predictors were identified by LASSO regression analysis: hyperlipidaemia, hyperglycemia, abdominal obesity, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and body mass index (BMI). A prediction model including these 6 risk factors was constructed and displayed good predictability with an area under the ROC curve of 0.914 for the training set and 0.930 for the validation set. DCA revealed that if the threshold probability of MetS is less than 82%, the application of this nomogram is more beneficial than both the treat-all or treat-none strategies.Conclusion: The nomogram developed in our study demonstrated strong discriminative power and clinical applicability, making it a valuable reference for meets prevention and control in the plateau areas of Qinghai Province.Keywords: metabolic syndrome, nomogram, prediction model, plateau section

Jinzhu Huang,* Jinxin Zhao,* Miao Yi, Yaling Yuan, Peiwen Xia, Bingxue Yang, Jiajia Liao, Zijun Dang, Yun Xia* Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yun Xia, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13668043942, Fax +86-23-89012513, Email xiayun12cn@aliyun.comPurpose: This research aims to profile ten novel strains of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) co-carrying blaKPC and blaNDM.Methods: Clinical CRE strains, along with corresponding medical records, were gathered. To ascertain the susceptibility of the strains to antibiotics, antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted. To validate the transferability and cost of fitness of plasmids, conjugation experiments and growth curves were employed. For determining the similarity between different strains, ERIC-PCR was utilised. Meanwhile, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed to characterise the features of plasmids and their evolutionary characteristics.Results: During the course of this research, ten clinical CRE strains co-carrying blaKPC and blaNDM were gathered. It was discovered that five out of these ten strains exhibited resistance to tigecycline. A closer examination of the mechanisms underlying tigecycline resistance revealed that tmexCD 1-toprJ 1, blaKPC-2, and blaNDM-1 existed concurrently within a single Citrobacter freundii strain (CF10). This strain, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 32 mg/L to tigecycline, was obtained from a sepsis patient. Furthermore, an investigation of genome evolution implied that CF10 belonged to a novel ST type 696, which lacked analogous strains. Aligning plasmids exposed that similar plasmids all had less than 70% coverage when compared to pCF10-tmexCD1, pCF10-KPC, and pCF10-NDM. It was also found that tmexCD 1-toprJ 1, blaKPC-2, and blaNDM-1 were transferred by Tn 5393, IS 5, and Tn 6296, respectively.Conclusion: This research presents the first report of coexistence of tmexCD 1-toprJ 1, blaKPC-2, and blaNDM-1 in a carbapenem and tigecycline-resistant C. freundii strain, CF10.Importance: Tigecycline is considered a “last resort” antibiotic for treating CRE infections. The ongoing evolution of resistance mechanisms to both carbapenem and tigecycline presents an alarming situation. Moreover, the repeated reporting of both these resistance mechanisms within a single strain poses a significant risk to public health. The research revealed that the genes tmexCD 1-toprJ 1, blaKPC-2, and blaNDM-1, which cause carbapenem and tigecycline-resistance in the same strain, were located on mobile elements, suggesting a potential for horizontal transmission to other Gram-negative bacteria. The emergence of such a multi-resistant strain within hospitals should raise significant concern due to the scarcity of effective antimicrobial treatments for these “superbugs”.Keywords: blaKPC, blaNDM, carbapenem-resistantEnterobacteriaceae, tigecycline-resistance, tmexCD 1-toprJ 1

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide statistical data support for the development of thyroid phenotype-related follow-up and reference for follow-up duration and project selection by analyzing the clinical characteristics of thyroid phenotype in Pendred syndrome (PDS) based on multiple databases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PDS-related pathogenic or possibly/pathogenic mutations were searched by Deafness Variation Database (DVD), ClinVar, and PubMed databases, the mutation sites were counted and the characteristics and thyroid phenotypes were analyzed. RESULTS: The median age of hearing phenotype onset in PDS cases reported in multiple databases was 1.0 (1.0, 2.0) years, the median age of thyroid phenotype onset was 14.5 (5.8, 21.0) years, and the median age that thyroid phenotype was more delayed than hearing phenotype was 10.0 (4.0, 17.0) years. There were significant differences in the distribution of onset time between the two phenotypes (Z=-4.560, p<0.01). In these patients, the positive rates of goiter, thyroid nodules, abnormal thyroid function, and perchlorate discharge test (PDT) were 78%, 78%, 69%, and 78%, respectively. Moreover, the number of thyroid phenotype-positive items in the genotype group with frameshift mutation was not significantly higher than that in the group without frameshift mutation (Z=-1.452, p=0.147). CONCLUSIONS: The early missed diagnosis of PDS may be due to the late onset of thyroid phenotype and the non-100% positive rate of examination items. Therefore, multi-item follow-up of the thyroid gland into adulthood will benefit patients. At present, the relationship between genotype and phenotype is still unclear, and prognosis cannot be determined according to genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance to develop an energy-efficient and external oxidant-free strategy for antibiotics removal. In this study, the novel light-dark tandem strategy was established to enhance tetracycline (TC) removal by bifunctional FeCu-doped carbon composites (FeCu@BC) derived from waste cotton fabrics. Interestingly, over 95 % TC was removed by FeCu@BC under light alone and dark alone in 10 min, with the same preferred conditions of pH 7.50 and 0.04 g/L catalyst dosage. Surprisingly, the enhanced mineralization efficiency of TC was achieved by the light-dark tandem without adjusting the parameters as 86.65 %, which was 1.13, 1.46 and 2.12 times higher than those of the dark-light tandem, light alone and dark alone, respectively. The mechanisms were elucidated as that 83.28 % direct degradation and 4.37 % indirect degradation under light while 47.63 % direct degradation and 24.16 % indirect degradation under darkness contributed for TC removal. The synergetic effects of persistent free radicals (PFRs) and FeCu interactions enabled FeCu@BC to work efficiently under both light and darkness, and light enhanced electron transfer between PFRs and FeCu interactions. Furthermore, energetic electrons stored in these active sites under light could be extracted to enhance electron transfer under subsequent darkness and the strongly catalytically active species initiated under light remained in action after cessation of light. Finally, high molecular TC was easily decomposed by energetic photo-catalysis and low molecular intermediates were mineralized under subsequent enhanced dark-catalysis to increase the mineralization efficiency. In general, this study provided an eco-friendly organics removal strategy and mechanisms insights based on the natural day-night cycle., 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.)

Microbial sulfate reduction leads to the formation of various chalcophile trace metal sulfides, thereby immobilizing chalcophile trace metals in sediments. Iron/sulfate-reducing bacteria (ISRB) are ubiquitous in soils and sediments, its ability to reduce Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides and biogeochemical significance have attracted much attention. This research investigated the effect of the goethite and ISRB induced S cycle on cadmium mobility. The experiment demonstrated that the removal of Cd(II) in coexistence of ISRB19 and goethite was more efficiently than their individual components. Combined with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), conclusions can be drawn that goethite enhanced Cd(II) retention by ISRB, which was attributed to the formation of metabolism product during interaction between ISRB19 (Enterobacter chengduensis) and goethite. Our results revealed the interaction of goethite and ISRB in S cycling under anaerobic conditions with its implications for Cd(II) remediation., 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.)

Hematite, a commonly stable iron oxide in the environment, which can not only adsorb Cd in the environment, but also catalyze the photochemical oxidation of Mn(II) in the environment. However, the impact of Mn(II) on the structure of hematite and the adsorption of Cd during the surface oxidation of hematite remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the surface and structural changes of hematite after the photochemical oxidation of Mn(II), as well as the geochemical behavior of Cd during this process. The results demonstrate that Mn(II) was oxidized to Mn(III/IV) on the hematite surface, with some Mn(III) being incorporated into the hematite structure. Simulations using XRD data showed that higher Mn(II) concentrations resulted in increased levels of Mn doping, leading to significant variations in the hematite unit cell. This was further confirmed through FTIR and Raman spectroscopy characterization. The oxidation of Mn(II) on the hematite surface resulted in a shift in surface charge from positive to negative, enhancing the adsorption capacity of Cd. However, when Mn(II) exceeded 0.4 mM, the immobilization of Cd within the system decreased. This was attributed to the competitive adsorption of Mn(II) and a reduction in the relative abundance of Mn(IV) oxides., 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.)

Background: We observed a rare anatomical variation of a persistent first intersegmental vertebral artery in the C1-C2 region in an elderly Chinese male cadaver at Changzhi Medical College. In this case, the vertebral artery, rather than passing through the transverse foramen of the atlas, exits the transverse foramen of C2 and enters the spinal canal at the lower portion of the C1 posterior arch. The original transverse foramen of C1 was filled with connective tissue. This report details the anatomical characteristics of this abnormal vertebral artery and discusses its anatomical, surgical, and developmental implications., Purpose: We describe the detailed morphological features of a rare VA variant and discuss the anatomical, clinical, and developmental aspects of this case., Methods: A case of head dissection. The anatomical characteristics of the VA were studied and documented, and anatomical measurements were collected., Results: In this case, the vertebral artery, rather than passing through the transverse foramen of the atlas, exits the transverse foramen of C2 and enters the spinal canal at the lower portion of the C1 posterior arch. The original transverse foramen of C1 was filled with connective tissue., Conclusion: The anomalous development of segmental arteries in our case is linked to failures in the embryonic sclerotome reconstruction during development and failure., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Upper and lower limb rehabilitation training is essential for restoring patients' physical movement ability and enhancing muscle strength and coordination. However, traditional rehabilitation training methods have limitations, such as high costs, low patient participation, and lack of real-time feedback. The purpose of this study is to design and implement a rehabilitation training evaluation system based on virtual reality to improve the quality of patients' rehabilitation training. This paper proposes an upper and lower limb rehabilitation training evaluation system based on virtual reality technology, aiming to solve the problems existing in traditional rehabilitation training. The system provides patients with an immersive and interactive rehabilitation training environment through virtual reality technology, aiming to improve patients' participation and rehabilitation effects. This study used Kinect 2.0 and Leap Motion sensors to capture patients' motion data and transmit them to virtual training scenes. The system designed multiple virtual scenes specifically for different upper and lower limbs, with a focus on hand function training. Through these scenes, patients can perform various movement training, and the system will provide real-time feedback based on the accuracy of the patient's movements. The experimental results show that patients using the system show higher participation and better rehabilitation training effects. Compared with patients receiving traditional rehabilitation training, patients using the virtual reality system have significantly improved movement accuracy and training participation. The virtual reality rehabilitation training evaluation system developed in this study improves the quality of patients' rehabilitation and provides personalized treatment information to medical personnel through data collection and analysis, promoting the systematization and personalization of rehabilitation training. This system is innovative and has broad application potential in the field of rehabilitation medicine.

The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the viral immune processes of organisms, with STAT being a key transcription factor downstream in this pathway. The STAT gene of Bombyx mori has two splicing forms, named BmSTAT-S and BmSTAT-L . This study compared the effects of the two splicing forms on Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection through cell-level interference and further explored whether BmSTAT participates in the immune response to BmNPV infection via transgenic intervention at the individual level. Our research results indicated that BmNPV upregulates the expression of BmSTAT-S and BmSTAT-L in Bombyx mori BmE cells and larvae. Furthermore, BmE cells with interference of BmSTAT-S or BmSTAT-L displayed significantly higher expression levels of the viral gene GP41 and increased viral fluorescence compared to the control group after 48 h of infection with BmNPV. Then, we constructed transgenic silkworms with genetic interference, and the results showed that both the transgenic silkworms with systemic interference and midgut-specific interference of the two splice forms of BmSTAT exhibited significantly reduced survival rates and increased viral replication numbers after infection with BmNPV. The above results indicated that the BmSTAT gene is involved in the immune response of Bombyx mori to BmNPV and these findings lay the foundation for further research on the mechanism of JAK/STAT signaling pathway involvement in BmNPV infection., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liang, Zhou, Dang, Wang, Zhao, Xia and Lu.)

Surface runoff horizontally distributed chromium (Cr) pollution into various surface environments. Sunlight is a vital factor for the Cr cycle in the surface environment, which may be affected by photoactive substances such as ferrihydrite (Fh) and dissolved black carbon (DBC). Herein, sunlight-driven transformation dynamics of Cr species on DBC-Fh coprecipitates were studied. Under sunlight, the removal of aqueous Cr(VI) by DBC-Fh coprecipitates occurred through sunlight-driven reductive sequestration including adsorption, followed by surface reduction (pathway 1) and aqueous reduction, followed by precipitation (pathway 2). Additionally, coprecipitates with a higher DBC content exhibited a more effective reduction of both adsorbed ( k app,S&#95;red ) and aqueous Cr(VI) ( k app,A&#95;red ). Photoelectrons facilitated Cr(VI) reduction through direct electron transfer; notably, electron donating DBC promoted the production of photoelectrons by consuming photogenerated holes. Photogenerated Fe(II) species (mineral-phase and aqueous Fe(II)) mediated electron transfer for Cr(VI) reduction, which was reinforced via a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) process between DBC-organic ligands and mineral Fe(III). Furthermore, ·O 2 - also mediated Cr(VI) reduction, although this impact was limited. Overall, this study demonstrates that photoelectrons and photogenerated electron mediators play a crucial role in Cr(VI) reductive sequestration on DBC-Fh coprecipitates, providing new insights into the geochemical cycle of Cr pollution in sunlight-influenced surface environments.

Behavioural analysis has been attracting significant attention as a broad indicator of sub-lethal toxicity and has secured a place as an important subdiscipline in ecotoxicology. Among the most notable characteristics of behavioural research, compared to other established approaches in sub-lethal ecotoxicology (e.g. reproductive and developmental bioassays), are the wide range of study designs being used and the diversity of endpoints considered. At the same time, environmental hazard and risk assessment, which underpins regulatory decisions to protect the environment from potentially harmful chemicals, often recommends that ecotoxicological data be produced following accepted and validated test guidelines. These guidelines typically do not address behavioural changes, meaning that these, often sensitive, effects are not represented in hazard and risk assessments. Here, we propose a new tool, the EthoCRED evaluation method, for assessing the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity data, which considers the unique requirements and challenges encountered in this field. This method and accompanying reporting recommendations are designed to serve as an extension of the "Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data (CRED)" project. As such, EthoCRED can both accommodate the wide array of experimental design approaches seen in behavioural ecotoxicology, and could be readily implemented into regulatory frameworks as deemed appropriate by policy makers of different jurisdictions to allow better integration of knowledge gained from behavioural testing into environmental protection. Furthermore, through our reporting recommendations, we aim to improve the reporting of behavioural studies in the peer-reviewed literature, and thereby increase their usefulness to inform chemical regulation., (© 2024 The Author(s). Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

Schwertmannite (Sch) is found in environments abundant in iron and sulfate. Microorganisms that utilize iron or sulfate can induce the phase transition of Schwertmannite, consequently leading to the redistribution of coexisting pollutants. However, the impact of the molar ratio of sulfate to iron (S/Fe) on the microbial-mediated transformation of Schwertmannite and its implications for the fate of cadmium (Cd) have not been elucidated. In this study, we examined how S/Fe influenced mineral transformation and the fate of Cd during microbial reduction of Cd-loaded Schwertmannite by Desulfovibrio vulgaris. Our findings revealed that an increase in the S/Fe ratio facilitated sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in mitigating the toxicity of Cd, thereby expediting the generation of sulfide (S(-II)) and subsequently triggering mineral phase transformation. As the S/Fe ratio increased, the predominant minerals in the system transitioned from prismatic-cluster vivianite to rose-shaped mackinawite. The Cd phase and distribution underwent corresponding alterations. Cd primarily existed in its oxidizable state, with its distribution being directly linked not only to FeS content but also showing a robust correlation with phosphorus. The coexistence of vivianite and FeS minerals proved to be more favorable for Cd immobilization. These findings have significant implications for understanding the biogeochemistry of iron (oxyhydr)oxides and Cd fate in anaerobic environments., 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.)

Increasing the demand for object motion detection (OMD) requires shifts of reducing redundancy, heightened power efficiency, and precise programming capabilities to ensure consistency and accuracy. Drawing inspiration from object motion-sensitive ganglion cells, we propose an OMD vision sensor with a simple device structure of a WSe 2 homojunction modulated by a ferroelectric copolymer. Under optical mode and intermediate ferroelectric modulation, the vision sensor can generate progressive and bidirectional photocurrents with discrete multistates under zero power consumption. This design enables reconfigurable devices to emulate long-term potentiation and depression for synaptic weights updating, which exhibit 82 states (more than 6 bits) with a uniform step of 6 pA. Such OMD devices also demonstrate nonvolatility, reversibility, symmetry, and ultrahigh linearity, achieving a fitted R 2 of 0.999 and nonlinearity values of 0.01/-0.01. Thus, a vision sensor could implement motion detection by sensing only dynamic information based on the brightness difference between frames, while eliminating redundant data from static scenes. Additionally, the neural network utilizing a linear result can recognize the essential moving information with a high recognition accuracy of 96.8%. We also present the scalable potential via a uniform 3 × 3 neuromorphic vision sensor array. Our work offers a platform to achieve motion detection based on controllable and energy-efficient ferroelectric programmability.

Green rust (GR), as a vital intermediate product during the formation of various iron oxides, exists with organic matters and metals contaminants in natural environments. Understanding the effects of these natural factors on the transformation process of GR into iron oxides and the environmental behaviors of heavy metals and organic matters during process are critical for environmental quality management, but the fundamental identification of the interaction mechanisms between them and GR is still challenging. In this study, the transformation mechanisms of Co-bearing green rust (GR-Co) synthesized by co-precipitation, and the redistribution behaviors of Co(II) in an environment containing oxalic acid (OA) and citric acid (CA) were clarified. The findings indicated that OA promoted the Fe(II) dissolution and the transformation of GR-Co to goethite, while CA decreased the Fe(II) dissolution and the proportion of non-extractable Co. Furthermore, in the presence of CA, the transformation products of GR-Co were ferrihydrite, magnetite, lepidocrocite and goethite instead of only lepidocrocite and goethite. Meanwhile, CA prohibited ferrihydrite from transforming into more highly crystalline iron minerals. The finding of this study improves the understanding of the interaction mechanisms between GR-Co and organic matter, and the environmental geochemical behaviors of Co and organic carbon during the transformation processes in nature., 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 Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Currently, there is a deficiency in a strong risk prediction framework for precisely evaluating the likelihood of severe postoperative complications in patients undergoing elective hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery subsequent to experiencing breakthrough infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to find factors predicting postoperative complications and construct an innovative nomogram to pinpoint patients who were susceptible to developing severe complications following breakthrough infection of COVID-19 after undergoing elective hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery., Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients who underwent elective hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeries between January 3 and April 1, 2023 from four hospitals in China. All of these patients had experienced breakthrough infection of COVID-19 prior to their surgeries. Additionally, two groups of patients without preoperative COVID-19 infection were included as comparative controls. Surgical complications were meticulously documented and evaluated using the comprehensive complication index (CCI), which ranged from 0 (uneventful course) to 100 (death). A CCI value of 20.9 was identified as the threshold for defining severe complications., Results: Among 2636 patients who were included in this study, 873 were included in the reference group I, 941 in the reference group II, 389 in the internal cohort, and 433 in the external validation cohort. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that completing a full course of COVID-19 vaccination > 6 months before surgery, undergoing surgery within 4 weeks of diagnosis of COVID-19 breakthrough infection, operation duration of 4 h or longer, cancer-related surgery, and major surgical procedures were significantly linked to a CCI > 20.9. A nomogram model was constructed utilizing CCI > 20.9 in the training cohort [area under the curve (AUC): 0.919, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.881-0.957], the internal validation cohort (AUC: 0.910, 95% CI: 0.847-0.973), and the external validation cohort (AUC: 0.841, 95% CI: 0.799-0.883). The calibration curve for the probability of CCI > 20.9 demonstrated good agreement between the predictions made by the nomogram and the actual observations., Conclusions: The developed model holds significant potential in aiding clinicians with clinical decision-making and risk stratification for patients who have experienced breakthrough infection of COVID-19 prior to undergoing elective hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery., (Copyright © 2024 First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Comparing the efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with lenvatinib plus tislelizumab (TLT) with TACE combined with lenvatinib (TL) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly in determining which patients can benefit more from the TLT treatment., Methods: From March 2021 to September 2023, a total of 169 patients from three centers were included in this study, with 103 patients receiving TLT and 66 patients receiving TL. The Kaplan-Meier method was utilized to evaluate the cumulative overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between the two groups and were assessed using the log-rank test. Subgroup analysis on tumor number, maximum tumor diameter, presence of portal vein thrombosis, AFP level, and Child-Pugh class were conducted., Results: The median OS was 26 months in the TLT group, and 20 months in the TL group. The median PFS was 14 months in the TLT group and 9 months in the TL group. The Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated a significantly superior OS and PFS in the TLT group compared to the TL group. Subgroup analysis showed that for patients with a maximum tumor diameter greater than 7 cm, AFP > 400 ng/ml and accompanied by portal vein tumor thrombus, and Child-Pugh class A, there was a statistically significant difference in OS between TLT and TL groups., Conclusions: OS and PFS were significantly improved in patients who received TLT compared to those who received TL, patients with a largest tumor diameter greater than 7 cm, AFP > 400 ng/ml, Child-Pugh class A and PVTT appeared to derive more benefit., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhao, Wen, Xue, Dang, Nan, Wang, Li, Feng and Chen.)

This work for the first time reported the complete transformation of 17β-estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1) by unknown wild-type enzyme present in the widely used commercial arylsulfatase derived from Helix pomatia. It was found that acetate could effectively inhibit the unknown enzyme with a half inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 140.9 μM, while phosphate and citrate showed no inhibition. Since the buffer solutions with phosphate and citrate have been used in the enzymatic hydrolysis of natural estrogen conjugates for decades, the transformation of E2 to E1 likely occurred during such procedure, inevitably leading to overestimated E1, but underestimated E2. It was further suggested that acetate should be used to prevent this undesirable transformation during the enzymatic hydrolysis of natural estrogen conjugates., 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.)

Polarization-sensitive photodetection grounded on low-symmetry 2D materials has immense potential in improving detection accuracy, realizing intelligent detection, and enabling multidimensional visual perception, which has promising application prospects in bio-identification, optical communications, near-infrared imaging, radar, military, and security. However, the majority of the reported polarized photodetection are limited by UV-vis response range and low anisotropic photoresponsivity factor, limiting the achievement of high-performance anisotropic photodetection. Herein, 2D t-InTe crystal is introduced into anisotropic systems and developed to realize broadband-response and high-anisotropy-ratio polarized photodetection. Stemming from its narrow band gap and intrinsic low-symmetry lattice characteristic, 2D t-InTe-based photodetector exhibits a UV-vis-NIR broadband photoresponse and significant photoresponsivity anisotropy behavior, with an exceptional in-plane anisotropic factor of 1.81@808 nm laser, surpassing the performance of most reported 2D counterparts. This work expounds the anisotropic structure-activity relationship of 2D t-InTe crystal, and identifies 2D t-InTe as a prospective candidate for high-performance polarization-sensitive optoelectronics, laying the foundation for future multifunctional device applications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Cystic echinococcosis, resulting from infection with Echinococcus granulosus, poses a significant challenge as a neglected tropical disease owing to the lack of any known effective treatment. Primarily affecting under-resourced, remote, and conflict-ridden regions, the disease is compounded by the limitations of current detection techniques, such as microscopy, physical imaging, ELISA, and qPCR, which are unsuitable for application in these areas. The emergence of CRISPR/Cas12a as a promising tool for nucleic acid detection, characterized by its unparalleled specificity, heightened sensitivity, and rapid detection time, offers a potential solution. In this study, we present a one-pot CRISPR/Cas12a detection method for E. granulosus (genotype G1, sheep strain) integrating recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) with suboptimal protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) and structured CRISPR RNA (crRNA) to enhance reaction efficiency. The evaluation of the assay's performance using hydatid cyst spiked dog feces and the examination of 62 dog fecal samples collected from various regions of Western China demonstrate its efficacy. The assay permits visual observation of test results about 15 minutes under blue light and displays superior portability and reaction speed relative to qPCR, achieving a sensitivity level of 10 copies of standard plasmids of the target gene. Analytic specificity was verified against four tapeworm species (E. multilocularis, H. taeniaeformis, M. benedeni, and D. caninum) and two other helminths (T. canis and F. hepatica), with negative results also noted for Mesocestoides sp. This study presents a rapid, sensitive, and time-efficient DNA detection method for E. granulosus of hydatid cyst spiked and clinical dog feces, potential serving as an alternative tool for field detection. This novel assay is primarily used to diagnose the definitive host of E. granulosus. Further validation using a larger set of clinical fecal samples is warranted, along with additional exploration of more effective approaches for nucleic acid release., 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.)

The pathogenesis of complex diseases involves intricate gene regulation across cell types, necessitating a comprehensive analysis approach. Here, we present a protocol for analyzing functional gene module (FGM) perturbation during the progression of diseases using a single-cell Bayesian biclustering (scBC) framework. We describe steps for setting up the scBC workspace, preparing and exploring input data, training the model, and reconstructing the data matrix. We then detail procedures for Bayesian biclustering, exploring biclustering results, and uncovering pathway perturbations. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gong et al. 1 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recycling of spent lead-acid batteries (LABs) is extremely urgent in view of environmental protection and resources reuse. The current challenge is to reduce high consumption of chemical reagents. Herein, a closed-loop spent LABs paste (SLBP) recovery strategy is demonstrated through Na 2 MoO 4 consumption-regeneration-reuse. Experimental and DFT calculations verify that MoO 4 2- competes Pb/Ca ions and weakens the metal-oxygen bond of PbSO 4 /CaSO 4 .2H 2 O in SLBP, facilitating PbMoO 4 /CaMoO 4 formation and 99.13 wt% of SO 4 2- elimination. Pb of 99.97 wt% is obtained as zero-carbon precursors (PbO 2 and PbMoO 4 ) by green leaching coupled with re-crystallization. The regeneration of Na 2 MoO 4 is realized at 600 ℃ using LABs polypropylene shells and NaOH as reagents. Compared with the traditional smelting technologies, the temperature is reduced from ＞1000 to 600 °C. The extraction of Na 2 MoO 4 require only water, and satisfactory re-used desulfurization efficiency (98.67 wt%) is achieved. For the residual Na 2 MoO 4 after first SLBP desulfurization, the desulfurization efficiency remains above 97.36 wt% after adding fresh reagents for two running cycles. The new principle enables the reuse of 99.83 wt% of Na 2 MoO 4 and the recycling of 95.27 wt% of Pb without generating wastewater and slags. The techno-economic analysis indicates this strategy is efficient, economical, and environmentally-friendly., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Astrophotonics aims to transfer photonic technology to the development of compact astronomical instruments. However, light coupling from a multimode fiber, typically adopted in modern observatories, to a single-mode photonic device still poses a challenge. Though a photonic lantern can enable this transition in a low-loss way, it requires that the number of single-mode fibers (SMFs) at the output is the same as the number of guided modes in the multimode fiber, resulting in a cumbersome fan-out of many single-mode devices to be connected. Herein, we invent an active device in a waveguide form called "the mode detangler" (MD). We show that it can adaptively transform a complex light field from a multimode fiber to a single-mode-like spot. In this way, only one single-mode device is required at the end. The path leading to the idea and the theory behind the mode detangling effect is explained, followed by numerical simulations and experimental demonstrations using a few-mode fiber as proof of concept. We believe this device has the potential to address the multimode-to-single-mode conversion challenge in astrophotonics but also sheds light on (de)multiplexing applications regarding spatial mode technology in optical communications.

The continued growth in demand for mineral resources has led to a large amount of mining wastes, which is a major challenge in the context of carbon neutrality and climate change. In this study, runoff migration, batch leaching, and column experiments were used to investigate the short-, medium-, and long-term leaching of heavy metals from legacy tailings, respectively; the cumulative metal release kinetic equations were established, and the long-term effects of tailings leaching were verified by HYDRUS-1D. In runoff migration experiments, surface dissolution of tailings and the co-migration of adsorbed soil particles by erosion were the main carriers in the early stages of leachate formation (Mn ∼ 65 mg/L and SO 4 2- up to 2697.2 mg/L). Batch leaching tests showed that the concentration of heavy metals in soil leached by acid rain were 0.1 ∼ 22.0 μg/L for Cr, 0.7 ∼ 26.0 μg/L for Cu, 4.8 ∼ 5646.0 μg/L for Mn, 0.3 ∼ 232.4 μg/L for Ni, and 1.3 ∼ 448.0 μg/L for Zn. The results of column experiments indicated that some soluble components and metals with high mobility showed a significant decreasing trend at cumulative L/S ≤ 2. Additionally, the metals have higher leaching rates under TCLP conditions, as shown by Mn > Co > Zn > Cd > Ni > Cu > Pb > Cr. The fitting results of Langmuir equation were closer to the cumulative release of metals in the real case, and the release amounts of Mn, Zn, Co, and Ni were higher with 55, 5.84, 2.66, and 2.51 mg/kg, respectively. The water flow within tailings affects the spatial distribution of metals, which mainly exist in relatively stable chemical fractions (F3 + F4 + F5 > 90 %) after leaching. Numerical simulation verified that Mn in leachate has reached 8 mg/L at a scale of up to 100 years. The research results are expected to provide technical basis for realizing the resource utilization of tailings in the future., 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 Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Fate and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environments are affected by their heteroaggregation with minerals in the presence of macromolecules. This study investigated the heteroaggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) with goethite nanoparticles (GNPs) under the influence of macromolecules [humic acid (HA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and DNA] and electrolytes. Under 1 mg C/L macromolecule, raising electrolyte concentration promoted heteroaggregation via charge screening, except that calcium bridging with HA also enhanced heteroaggregation at CaCl 2 concentration above 5 mM. At all NaCl concentrations and CaCl 2 concentration below 5 mM, 1 mg C/L macromolecules strongly retarded heteroaggregation, ranking BSA > DNA > HA. Raising macromolecule concentration strengthened such stabilization effect of all macromolecules in NaCl solution and that of DNA and BSA in CaCl 2 solution by enhancing steric hindrance. However, 0.1 mg C/L BSA slightly promoted heteroaggregation in CaCl 2 solution due to stronger electrostatic attraction than steric hindrance. In CaCl 2 solution, raising HA concentration strengthened its destabilization effect via calcium bridging. Macromolecules having more compact globular structure and higher molecular weight may exert greater steric hindrance to inhibit heteroaggregation more effectively. This study provides new insights on the effects of macromolecules and electrolytes on heteroaggregation between nanoplastics and iron minerals in aquatic environments., 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.)

Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit is an important traditional Chinese medicine. In North China, conventional flat planting of P. ternate is prone to root rot during the rainy season, leading to severe yield loss. Variations in planting patterns (e.g., ridge planting) can effectively alleviate this situation. However, the relationship between planting patterns and the changes induced by rhizosphere microbiome still needs to be determined. In this study, we clarified the effect of ridge planting on the yield of P. ternata and rhizosphere microbial community using high-throughput amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA. Field experiments showed that ridge planting could increase the yield of P. ternata by 72.69% compared with flat planting. The high-throughput sequencing results demonstrated that fungal and bacterial communities in rhizosphere siols of flat and ridge planting showed obvious difference in diversity, structure, relative abundance, and community composition. The fungal phyla Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and the bacterial phyla Chlamydiae, Tenericutes, and Hydrogenedentes were present in a higher relative abundance in the rhizosphere of ridge planting. Adonis multivariate analysis of variance results showed that 29 bacterial genera were significantly up/down-regulated, and only 4 fungal genera were changed considerably in ridge planting soil, indicating that the bacterial community composition varied significantly between the two treatments. Correlation analysis revealed that the yield of P. ternata was positively correlated with fungal genera Emericellopsis while negatively correlated with bacterial genera Acetobacter, Iamia, and fungal genera Thielavia. Overall, this study showed that ridge cropping significantly impacts the diversity and composition of the rhizosphere microbiome. It creates an environment favorable for crop growth and can be an effective planting strategy for P. ternata in areas with irrigation and high monsoon rainfall in North China., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Acid mine drainage (AMD) raises a global environmental concern impacting the iron cycle. Although the formation of Fe(III) minerals in AMD-impacted waters has previously been reported to be regulated by biological processes, the role of abiotic processes remains largely unknown. This study first reported that a photochemical reaction coupled with O 2 significantly accelerated the formation of Fe(III) flocculates (i.e., schwertmannite) in the AMD, as evidenced by the comparison of samples from contaminated sites across different natural conditions at latitudes 24-29° N. Combined with experimental and modeling results, it is further discovered that the intramolecular oxidation of photogenerated Fe(II) with a five-coordinative pyramidal configuration (i.e., [(H 2 O) 5 Fe] 2+ ) by O 2 was the key in enhancing the photooxidation of Fe(II) in the simulated AMD. The in situ attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (ATR-FTIR), UV-vis spectroscopy, solvent substitution, and quantum yield analyses indicated that, acting as a precursor for flocculation, [(H 2 O) 5 Fe] 2+ likely originated from both the dissolved and colloidal forms of Fe(III) through homogeneous and surface ligand-to-metal charge transfers. Density functional theory calculations and X-ray absorption spectroscopy results further suggested that the specific oxidation pathways of Fe(II) produced the highly reactive iron species and triggered the hydrolysis and formation of transient dihydroxo dimers. The proposed new pathways of Fe cycle are crucial in controlling the mobility of heavy metal anions in acidic waters and enhance the understanding of complicated iron biochemistry that is related to the fate of contaminants and nutrients.

Objective: To achieve an accurate assessment of orthodontic and restorative treatments, tooth segmentation of dental panoramic X-ray images is a critical preliminary step, however, dental panoramic X-ray images suffer from poorly defined interdental boundaries and low root-to-alveolar bone contrast, which pose significant challenges to tooth segmentation. In this article, we propose a multi-feature coordinate position learning-based tooth image segmentation method for tooth segmentation., Methods: For better analysis, the input image is randomly flipped horizontally and vertically to enhance the data. Our method extracts multi-scale tooth features from the designed residual omni-dimensional dynamic convolution and the designed two-stream coordinate attention module can further complement the tooth boundary features, and finally the two features are fused to enhance the local details of the features and global contextual information, which achieves the enrichment and optimization of the feature information., Results: The publicly available adult dental datasets Archive and Dataset and Code were used in the study. The experimental results were 87.96% and 92.04% for IoU, 97.79% and 97.32% for ACC, and 86.42% and 95.64% for Dice., Conclusion: The experimental results show that the proposed network can be used to assist doctors in quickly viewing tooth positions, and we also validate the effectiveness of the proposed two modules in fusing features., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are promising for high-performance zinc metal batteries (ZMBs), but they encounter critical challenges of low ionic conductivity, limited Zn 2+ transference number ( t Zn2+ ), and an unstable electrolyte-electrode interface. Here, we present an effective approach involving a missing-linker metallic organic framework (MOF)-catalyzed poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)/polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymer SPE for single Zn 2+ conduction and seamless electrolyte-electrode contact. The single-Zn 2+ conduction is facilitated by the anchoring of the OTF - anions onto the unsaturated metal sites of missing-linker MOF, while the PEGDA and PAM chains in competitive coordination with Zn 2+ ions promote rapid Zn ion transport. Our all-solid-state electrolyte simultaneously achieves a superior ionic conductivity of 1.52 mS cm -1 and a high t Zn2+ of 0.83 at room temperature, alongside uniform Zn metal deposition (1000 cycles in symmetric cells) and high Zn plating/striping efficiencies (>99% after 600 cycles in asymmetric cells). Applications of our SPE in Zn//VO 2 full cells are further demonstrated with a long lifespan of 2000 cycles and an extremely low-capacity degradation rate of 0.012% per cycle. This work provides an effective strategy for using a missing-linker MOF to catalyze competitively coordinating copolymers for accelerating Zn 2+ ion conduction, assisting the future design of all-solid-state ZMBs.

Biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (BDOM), is extensively involved in the recrystallization of minerals and the speciation alteration of associated toxic metals. This study investigates how BDOM extracted from tobacco petiole (TP) or tobacco stalk (TS) biochar influences the speciation repartitioning of Cr(VI) in environments impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD), focusing on interactions with secondary minerals during Schwertmannite (Sch) dissolution and recrystallization. TP-BDOM, rich in lignin-like substances, slowed down the Cr-Sch dissolution and Cr release under acidic conditions compared to TS-BDOM. TP-BDOM's higher O/C component exerts a delayed impact on Cr-Sch stability and Cr(VI) reduction. In-situ ATR-FTIR and 2D-COS analysis showed that carboxylic and aromatic N-OH groups in BDOM could interact with Cr-Sch surfaces, affecting sulfate and Cr(VI) release. It was also observed that slight recrystallization occurred from Cr-Sch to goethite, along with increased Cr incorporation into secondary minerals within TS-BDOM. This enhances our understanding of BDOM's role in Cr(VI) speciation changes in AMD-contaminated sites., 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.)

Iron (hydr)oxides, as natural geosorbents, play a crucial role in retaining toxic heavy metals, and their aging process greatly influences heavy metals distributions and migration in soil systems. However, limited attention has been given to the interaction between heavy metals and crystalline-aged goethite. In this study, we investigated the sorption behavior and sorption mechanism of cadmium (Cd) with freshly synthesized or aged goethite. We quantified the total Cd sorption load, as well as the proportion of Cd with different sorption strengths on minerals. It has been found that in different aged goethite samples, approximately 71.3-84.7 % of Cd is strongly bound (bidentate inner-sphere complexes) and 16.0 % to 26.4 % of Cd is weakly bound (electrostatic adsorption and partially through monodentate inner-sphere complexes) by goethite. This observation is consistent with the distribution characteristics of Cd species fitted by the charge distribution and multisite surface complexation model. Additionally, the total Cd load and strongly bound Cd content on goethite aged at pH 7.5 decreased with extended aging time. Upon combining the mineral characterization analysis and surface hydroxyl density calculation, we found that the morphology transformation and the deterioration in sorption ability on goethite results from a condensation process through a surface hydroxyl oxolation reaction on the {110} facet between adjacent goethite crystals during the aging process at pH 7.5. This condensation process causes goethite to lose many hydroxyl sites, which is the dominant reason for the decrease in inner-sphere complexed Cd. The amount of weakly bound Cd decreases slightly with aging, because the decrease in inner-sphere complexed Cd is not conducive to balancing the positively charged mineral surface, resulting in a slight reduction in the amount of Cd adsorbed through electrostatic attractions., 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. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Iron oxide minerals control the environmental behavior of trace elements. However, the potential effects of electron transfer directions by iron oxides between organic acids and trace elements remain unclear. This study investigates the redox capacity of tartaric acid (TA) with chromate (Cr(Ⅵ)) or arsenate (As(V)) on lepidocrocite (Lep) from the perspective of electron transfer. The results demonstrated the configurations of TA (bidentate binuclear (BB)), As(V) (BB), and Cr(Ⅵ) (BB and protonated monodentate binuclear (HMB)) on Lep. Frontier molecular orbital calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) binding energy shifts further indicated different electron transfer directions between TA and the oxyanions on Lep. The iron of Lep might act as electron acceptors when TA is adsorbed, whereas the iron and oxygen of Lep act as electron donors when As(V) is adsorbed. The iron of Lep might accept electrons from its oxygen and subsequently transfer these electrons to Cr(Ⅵ). Macroscopic validation experiments showed the reduction of Cr(VI), whereas no reduction of As(V). The XPS analysis showed a peak shift, with the possible formation of As-Fe-TA ternary complexes and electron transfer on Lep. These findings indicate that mineral interfacial electron transfer considerably influences the transport and transformation of oxyanions., 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.)

Objectives: Clostridioides difficile ranks among the primary sources of healthcare-related infections and diarrhoea in numerous nations. We evaluated the drug susceptibility and resistance mechanisms of C. difficile isolates from a hospital in Chongqing, China, and identified resistance rates and resistance mechanisms that differed from previous findings., Methods: The toxin genes and drug resistance genes of clinical strains were detected using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and these strains were subjected to Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). The agar dilution technique was employed for assessing susceptibility of antibiotics. Clinical data collection was completed through a review of electronic medical records., Results: A total of 67 strains of toxin-producing C. difficile were detected. All C. difficile isolates demonstrated susceptibility to both metronidazole and vancomycin. However, resistance was observed in 8.95%, 16.42%, 56.72%, 56.72%, 31.34% and 5.97% of the isolates for tigecycline, tetracycline, clindamycin, erythromycin, moxifloxacin and rifampin, respectively. Among the strains with toxin genotypes A + B + CDT - and belonging to the ST3, six strains exhibited reduced susceptibility to tigecycline (MIC=0.5mg/L) and tetracycline (MIC=8mg/L). The tetA(P) and tetB(P) genes were present in these six strains, but were absent in tetracycline-resistant strains. Resistance genes (ermB, tetM, tetA(P) and tetB(P)) and mutations (in gyrA, gyrB, and rpoB) were identified in resistant strains., Conclusions: In contrast to prior studies, we found higher proportions of ST3 isolates with decreased tigecycline sensitivity, sharing similar resistance patterns and resistance genes. In the resistance process of tigecycline and tetracycline, the tetA(P) and tetB(P) genes may play a weak role., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Chemotherapy drug efflux, toxic side effects, and low efficacy against drug-resistant cells have plagued safe and efficient cancer theranostics. However, the materials or methods that resolve these defects all-in-one are scarce. Here, a new cancer theranostics strategy is proposed by utilizing changes in lysosomal acidity in cancer cells to activate the membranolytic model to overcome these obstacles together. Therefore, a simple fluorescent anthracene derivative Lyso-Mito is developed, which has a perfect pK a (4.62) value that falls between the pH of lysosomes in cancer and normal cells. Lyso-Mito itself can precisely target and convert the pH perturbation of lysosomes in cancer cells to fluorescent response and membranolytic module activity to accomplish the low drug efflux, weak toxic side effects, and low drug-resistant cancer diagnosis and treatment without linking other functional units or any additional assistance. Hereby, a new cancer theranostics strategy of integrating organelle microenvironment and the membranolytic model is realized., 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.)

Excitonic devices operate based on excitons, which can be excited by photons as well as emitting photons and serve as a medium for photon-carrier conversion. Excitonic devices are expected to combine the advantages of both the high response rate of photonic devices and the high integration of electronic devices simultaneously. However, because of the neutral feature, exciton transport is generally achieved via diffusion rather than using electric fields, and the efficient control of exciton flux directionality has always been difficult. In this work, a precisely designed one-dimensional periodic nanostructure (1DPS) is used to introduce periodic strain field along with resonant mode to the WS 2 monolayer, achieving exciton oriented diffusion with a 7.6-fold exciton diffusion coefficient enhancement relative to that of intrinsic, while enhancing the excitonic emission intensity by a factor of 10 and reducing exciton saturation threshold power by 2 orders of magnitude. Based on the analysis of the density functional theory (DFT) and the finite-element method (FEM), we attribute the anisotropy of exciton diffusion to exciton funneling induced by periodic potentials, which do not require excessive potential height difference for an efficient oriented diffusion. As a result of resonant emission, the exciton diffusion is dragged into the nonlinear regime owing to the high exciton density close to saturation, which improves the exciton diffusion coefficient and diffusion anisotropy more appreciably.

The occurrence of inflammation is closely related to the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. IL-1β produced during the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome has strong pro-inflammatory activity and can also promote the release of inflammatory factors by other immune cells, exacerbating inflammatory damage to tissues. Utilizing IL-1β as the detection index to find small-molecule inhibitors targeting NLRP3 from natural products will benefit the search for drugs for inflammation-related diseases. During the exploration of anti-inflammatory active components derived from the flowers of Dolichos lablab L., an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine with dual applications in both medicinal treatment and dietary consumption, fourteen compounds ( 1 - 14 ), including seven previously unreported ones, named flosdolilabnitrogenousols A-D ( 1 - 4 ) and flosdolilabsaponins A-C ( 5 - 7 ), were found. Their structures were established through extensive NMR spectra determination, HR-ESI-MS analysis, ECD calculations, and chemical reactions. Flosdolilabsaponin A ( 5 ) stands out as an exceptionally rare tetracyclic lactone oleane-type saponin. Additionally, the inhibitory activity on IL-1β release of all compounds, without cytotoxicity, was evaluated using BMDMs stimulated with LPS/Nigericin. An Elisa assay revealed that compounds 1 , 8 , 9 , and 11 - 14 exhibited significant inhibition of IL-1β release at a concentration of 30 μM. Structure-activity relationships were also discussed. This study indicates that D. lablab flowers possess anti-inflammatory activity, which might exert its effect by suppressing the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Long-lasting, controlled-release, and minimally invasive injectable platforms that provide a stable blood concentration to promote bone regeneration are less well developed. Using hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) loaded with dexamethasone (DEX) and poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA), we prepared porous DEX/HMS/PLGA microspheres (PDHP). In contrast to HMS/PLGA microspheres (HP), porous HMS/PLGA microspheres (PHP), DEX/PLGA microspheres (DP), and DEX/HMS/PLGA microspheres (DHP), PDHP showed notable immuno-coordinated osteogenic capabilities and were best at promoting bone mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. PDHP were combined with methacrylated silk (SilMA) and sodium alginate (SA) to form an injectable photocurable dual-network hydrogel platform that could continuously release the drug for more than 4 months. By adjusting the content of the microspheres in the hydrogel, a zero-order release hydrogel platform was obtained in vitro for 48 days. When the microsphere content was 1%, the hydrogel platform exhibited the best biocompatibility and osteogenic effects. The expression levels of the osteogenic gene alkaline phosphatases, BMP-2 and OPN were 10 to 15 times higher in the 1% group than in the 0% group, respectively. In addition, the 1% microsphere hydrogel strongly stimulated macrophage polarization to the M2 phenotype, establishing an immunological milieu that supports bone regrowth. The aforementioned outcomes were also observed in vivo. The most successful method for correcting cranial bone abnormalities in SD rats was to use a hydrogel called SilMA/SA containing 1% drug-loaded porous microspheres (PDHP/SS). The angiogenic and osteogenic effects of this treatment were also noticeably greater in the PDHP/SS group than in the control and blank groups. In addition, PDHP/SS polarized M2 macrophages and suppressed M1 macrophages in vivo, which reduced the local immune-inflammatory response, promoted angiogenesis, and cooperatively aided in situ bone healing. This work highlights the potential application of an advanced hydrogel platform for long-term, on-demand, controlled release for bone tissue engineering.

Based on mortar composites with a low water-cement ratio, the effects of hybrid aramid fiber (AF), calcium sulfate whisker (CSW), and basalt fiber (BF) on their mechanical properties and wear resistance were studied, and the correlation between wear resistance and compressive strength are discussed. A microstructure analysis was conducted through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the nitrogen-adsorption method (BET). The research results show that compared with the control group, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and wear resistance of the hybrid AF, CSW, and BF mortar composites with a low water-cement ratio increased by up to 33.6%, 32%, and 40.8%, respectively; there is a certain linear trend between wear resistance and compressive strength, but the discreteness is large. The microstructure analysis shows that CSW, AF, and BF mainly dissipate energy through bonding, friction, mechanical interlocking with the mortar matrix, and their own pull out and fracture, thereby enhancing and toughening the mortar. A single doping of CSW and co-doping of CSW and AF can refine the pore structure of the mortar, making the mortar structure more compact.

The simultaneous removal of anionic and cationic heavy metals presents a challenge for adsorbents. In this study, acetate (Ac-) was utilized as the intercalating anion for layered double hydroxide (LDH) to prepare a novel biochar composite adsorbent (Ac-LB) designed for the adsorption of Pb(II), Cu(II), and As(V). By utilizing Ac- as the intercalating anion, the interlayer space of the LDH was enlarged from 0.803 nm to 0.869 nm, exposing more adsorption sites for the LDH and enhancing the affinity for heavy metals. The results of the adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption effect of Ac-LB on heavy metals was significantly improved compared to the original FeMg-LDH modified biochar composites (LB), and the maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(II), Cu(II), and As(V) were 402.70, 68.50, and 21.68 mg/g, respectively. Wastewater simulation tests further confirmed the promising application of Ac-LB for heavy metal adsorption. The analysis of the adsorption mechanism revealed that surface complexation, electrostatic adsorption, and chemical deposition were the main mechanisms of action between heavy metals (Pb(II) and Cu(II)) and Ac-LB. Additionally, Cu(II) ions underwent a homogeneous substitution reaction with Ac-LB. The adsorption process of As(V) by Ac-LB mainly relied on complexation and ion-exchange reactions. Lastly, the modification of the LDH structure by Ac - as an intercalating anion, thereby increasing the affinity for heavy metals, was further illustrated using density-functional theory (DFT) calculations., 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 Ltd. All rights reserved.)