Search

This study investigates the development of superhydrophobic coatings on microfiber surfaces, with a specific focus on cotton, tweed, felt, and polyester fabrics. The resulting coatings demonstrated significant hydrophobicity, with water contact angles ranging from 128.5° for polyester to 148.9° for tweed. In addition, this investigation delves into the influence of pH levels on water contact angles, revealing notable fluctuations; specifically, higher pH levels resulted in decreased contact angles. The results indicated that the tweed fabric had the highest water contact angle at 151.7°, observed at a pH of 4. This study not only underscores the effective hydrophobic performance of these coatings but also highlights their practical applications. In particular, the research demonstrates the potential use of superhydrophobic coatings in the construction of traditional Kazakh ui (yurts), especially emphasizing the promising water repellency properties of felt fibers. Furthermore, this research illustrates a promising approach for producing superhydrophobic coatings on various microfiber surfaces, underlining their extensive potential applications within the textile industry. Overall, the findings suggest that the innovative use of superhydrophobic coatings can significantly enhance the water resistance of traditional and modern fabrics, paving the way for their broader application in various industries, including outdoor textiles and protective clothing.

Background: This study explored chromosome number variation, phylogenetic divergence, and mechanisms underlying speciation in East Asian thistle Cirsium Mill. sect. Onotrophe (Cass.) DC. subsect. Nipponocirsium Kitam. (Compositae). The study focused on the newly identified species from Taiwan: Cirsium pengii Y.H. Tseng, P.C. Liao & Chih Y. Chang. Utilizing phylotranscriptomic data to reconstruct evolutionary relationships between the Taiwanese and Japanese taxa of Cirsium subsect. Nipponocirsium as well as their divergence times and chromosomal characteristics. Additionally, the chromosome number, morphology, and pollen morphology of the unknown Cirsium taxon are compared with other known subsect. Nipponocirsium taxa from Taiwan., Results: Phylotranscriptomic analysis reveals a division within subsect. Nipponocirsium into Japanese and Taiwanese clades. In the Taiwanese clade, C. pengii is basal, while C. tatakaense remains monophyletic with other Taiwanese species despite higher genetic diversity. The prevalent chromosome number in this subsection is tetraploid (2n = 4x = 68), common in Japanese taxa, while Taiwanese members have 2n = 4x = 64. Notably, C. pengii has a diploid number (2n = 32), indicating descending dysploidy followed by polyploidization in Taiwan. This polyploidization, driven by glaciations, likely shaped the evolution of Nipponocirsium. Divergence time estimates suggest the separation of Japanese and Taiwanese clades around 0.74 million years ago (Myr) during glacial periods. Cirsium pengii diverged around 0.47 Myr, while tetraploid species C. kawakamii and C. tatakaense diverged around 0.35 Myr. These species likely evolved in separate refugia, with distinct species boundaries confirmed through species delimitation analysis, karyotype, morphology, and pollen morphology comparisons., Conclusions: These findings enhance our understanding of chromosomal evolution and speciation within subsect. Nipponocirsium and underscore the importance of integrating transcriptomic data in phylogenetic studies. This study provides a comprehensive framework for further investigations into the genetic diversity and adaptive mechanisms of this ecologically vital group., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Although remarkable breakthroughs have been witnessed in the field of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), achieving efficient and stable blue PeLEDs still remains as a critical challenge to towards commercial applications. Inspired by the protection effect and water-repellent properties of swan feathers, 2H,2H,3H,3H-heptadecafluoroundecanoic acid (HFUA) has been designed as adsorbed functional molecule for blue perovskites, which can simultaneously enhance the electroluminescence performance and moisture stability. The HFUA molecule features a long-chain structure where the carboxylic acid group acts as an anchor, coordinating with undercoordinated lead atoms in blue perovskites. The fluorine atoms at the opposite end of the chain form ionic bonds with the halogen octahedron, thereby stabilizing the octahedral structure. In addition, HFUA adsorption lowers the adsorption energy of organic spacers on the perovskite lattice, optimizing the reduced-dimensional phase distribution to facilitate smooth exciton transfer. Furthermore, the unique molecular structure of HFUA, rich in fluorine atoms, enhances the hydrophobicity of the perovskite surface, effectively inhibiting moisture penetration and preventing perovskite hydrolysis. The target blue PeLEDs obtain a maximum external quantum efficiency of 22.88 % at 490 nm and exhibit greatly improved air stability under humid and high-temperature conditions. Our findings provide a unique and effective strategy for producing efficient and stable blue PeLEDs., (© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

It is always important and fascinating to explore new organic emitters that exploit unconventional pathways to unveil their emission with unique properties, such as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). In this study, we report that the rarely explored sulfur lone pair (n) is a promising alternative, where the correlated π* → n emission can be used to attain strong TADF and thus practical OLEDs. The designed strategy incorporates several key concepts (Figure 1a), in which the persulfide aromatic spirocycle enhances spin-orbit coupling, thereby increasing the intersystem crossing rate. Next, molecules with a twisted donor-acceptor configuration bridged by spiro[4.4]nonane as well as spatially orthogonal sulfur lone pairs and π* features significantly reduce the singlet-triplet gap. Finally, the rigid spirocyclic backbone inhibits nonradiative transitions. The proof-of-concept is given by compound 1 , which achieves nπ* thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) maximized at 635 nm with photoluminescence quantum yields as high as 52% in CH 2 Cl 2 . Wet-processed OLEDs containing 1 achieved a maximum external quantum efficiency of 6.4% at a brightness of 189 cd m -2 (∼600 nm), opening an alternative 1 nπ* route for practical π* → n TADF OLEDs.

Ependymal cells line the wall of cerebral ventricles and ensure the unidirectional cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow by beating their motile cilia coordinately. The ependymal denudation or ciliary dysfunction causes hydrocephalus. Here, we report that the deficiency of regulator of G-protein signaling 22 (RGS22) results in severe congenital hydrocephalus in both mice and rats. Interestingly, RGS22 is specifically expressed in ependymal cells within the brain. Using conditional knock-out mice, we further demonstrate that the deletion of Rgs22 exclusively in nervous system is sufficient to induce hydrocephalus. Mechanistically, we show that Rgs22 deficiency leads to the ependymal denudation and impaired ciliogenesis. This phenomenon can be attributed to the excessive activation of lysophosphatidic acid receptor (LPAR) signaling under Rgs22 -/- condition, as the LPAR blockade effectively alleviates hydrocephalus in Rgs22 -/- rats. Therefore, our findings unveil a previously unrecognized role of RGS22 in the central nervous system, and present RGS22 as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for hydrocephalus., Competing Interests: Compliance and ethics. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2024. Science China Press.)

Formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI 3 ) perovskite films, ensuring optically active phase purity with uniform crystal orientation, are ideal for photovoltaic applications. However, the optically active α-FAPbI 3 phase is easy to degrade into δ-phase due to numerous defects within randomly oriented films. Here, a "quasi-2D" perovskite template is pre-deposited on the film surface within the crystallization process based on the two-step preparation technology, which directly induced pure and highly orientated crystallization of α-FAPbI 3 across the downward growth process. Furthermore, the enlarged interaction between 2D components with colloidal properties and lead iodide delayed the crystallization process effectively, yielding high crystallinity with low trap state density. The resulting perovskite photovoltaic devices exhibited a champion efficiency as high as 25.79% with comprehensively improved device stability. This work provides new insights into the utilization of 2D components and the formation mechanism behind 2D perovskites., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) still remain poorly developed due to the big challenge of achieving high-quality mixed-halide perovskites with wide optical bandgaps. Halide exchange is an effective scheme to tune the emission color of PeLEDs, while making perovskites susceptible to high defect density due to solvent erosion. Herein, we propose a versatile strategy for nondestructive in-situ halide exchange to obtain high-quality blue perovskites with low trap density and tunable bandgaps through long alkyl chain chloride incorporated chloroform post-treatment. In comparison with conventional halide exchange method, the ionic exchange mechanism of the present strategy is similar to a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution process, which simultaneously modulates perovskite bandgaps and inhibits new halogen vacancy generation. Consequently, efficient PeLEDs across blue spectral regions are obtained, exhibiting external quantum efficiencies of 23.6% (sky-blue emission at 488 nm), 20.9% (pure-blue emission at 478 nm), and 15.0% (deep-blue emission at 468 nm), respectively., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Antimony sulfoselenide (Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 ) is a promising sunlight absorber material for solar energy conversion in photovoltaic (PV) cells and photoelectrochemical (PEC) photoelectrodes due to its excellent photoelectric properties. However, the obtained thin-film and back contact properties significantly influence the PEC performance of photocathodes, causing severe bulk recombination, carrier transport loss, and deteriorating half-cell solar-to-hydrogen (HC-STH) efficiency. This study introduces an intriguing dual back interface engineering strategy for Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 photocathodes by incorporating an intermediate MoO 2 layer and a secondary carrier transport channel of Au to strengthen charge carrier dynamics. The synergistic assembly of these dual back interface layers improves the growth kinetics and achieves the optimal orientation of Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 thin films by increasing substrate wettability. Moreover, by shortening the back contact barrier height and passivating defect-assisted recombinations, these dual back underlayers simultaneously enhance carrier transport and separation efficiencies. As a result, the photocurrent density of the champion Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 photocathode increases from 5.89 to 32.60 mA cm -2 , and the HC-STH conversion efficiency improves significantly from 0.30% to 3.58%, representing the highest value for Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 -based photocathodes. This work highlights the effectiveness of dual back interface engineering in promoting the PEC performance of chalcogenide photocathodes for solar hydrogen evolution applications., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The tumor-associated antigen MUC1 is an attractive target for immunotherapy, however, its weak immunogenicity limits the induction of antitumor immune responses. To overcome this limitation, in this study, MUC1 glycopeptide was covalently linked with a diphtheria toxin-derived T-helper epitope (DT 331-345 ). Subsequently, the resulting DT-MUC1 glycopeptide was physically mixed with natural killer T cell agonist αGalCer to explore their immunomodulatory synergy. Biological results demonstrated that compared to MUC1+αGalCer and DT-MUC1 groups, the specific IgG antibody titer of DT-MUC1+αGalCer group increased by 189- and 3-fold, respectively, indicating that the diphtheria toxin-derived T-helper epitope synergistically enhanced MUC1 immunogenicity with αGalCer. Moreover, the DT-MUC1+αGalCer vaccine induced potent cellular immune responses and significantly inhibited the growth of B16-MUC1 tumors in vivo. Furthermore, it was found that the anti -MUC1 IgG antibody titer induced by DT-MUC1+αGalCer was equivalent to that induced by palmitoylated DT-MUC1+αGalCer (P1-DT-MUC1+αGalCer) and significantly higher than that induced by doubly palmitoylated DT-MUC1+αGalCer (P2-DT-MUC1+αGalCer), suggesting that the easily synthesized DT-MUC1 may not require lipid chain modification and already possess good amphiphilicity. This is the first time that a diphtheria toxin-derived helper T-helper epitope was covalently linked to a glycopeptide antigen to enhance its immunogenicity, and this study may provide an effective vaccine design strategy for MUC1-targeted antitumor vaccines and offer novel insights into the design of fully synthetic peptide vaccines., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 American Chemical Society.)

Efficient and stable red perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) demonstrate promising potential in high-definition displays and biomedical applications. Although significant progress has been made in device performance, meeting commercial demands remains a challenge in the aspects of long-term stability and high external quantum efficiency (EQE). Here, an in situ crystallization regulation strategy is developed for optimizing red perovskite films through ingenious vapor design. Mixed vapor containing dimethyl sulfoxide and carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) is incorporated to conventional annealing, which contributes to thermodynamics dominated perovskite crystallization for well-aligned cascade phase arrangement. Additionally, the perovskite surface defect density is minimized by the CS 2 molecule adsorption. Consequently, the target perovskite films exhibit smooth exciton energy transfer, reduced defect density, and blocked ion migration pathways. Leveraging these advantages, spectrally stable red PeLEDs are obtained featuring emission at 668, 656, and 648 nm, which yield record peak EQEs of 30.08%, 32.14%, and 29.04%, along with prolonged half-lifetimes of 47.7, 60.0, and 43.7 h at the initial luminances of 140, 250, and 270 cd m -2 , respectively. This work provides a universal strategy for optimizing perovskite crystallization and represents a significant stride toward the commercialization of red PeLEDs., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are crucial avenues for achieving full-color displays and lighting based on perovskite materials. However, the relatively low external quantum efficiency (EQE) has hindered their progression towards commercial applications. Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites stand out as promising candidates for blue PeLEDs, with optimized control over low-dimensional phases contributing to enhanced radiative properties of excitons. Herein, the impact of organic molecular dopants on the crystallization of various n-phase structures in quasi-2D perovskite films. The results reveal that the highly reactive bis(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)phosphine oxide (BTF-PPO) molecule could effectively restrain the formation of organic spacer cation-ordered layered perovskite phases through chemical reactions, simultaneously passivate those uncoordinated Pb 2+ defects. Consequently, the prepared PeLEDs exhibited a maximum EQE of 16.6 % (@ 490 nm). The finding provides a new route to design dopant molecules for phase modulation in quasi-2D PeLEDs., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Chronic alcoholic liver disease (CALD) is a global health problem which includes multiple pathological processes such as immune inflammation and oxidative stress. 4-hydroxy-2(3H)-benzoxazolone (HBOA), an alkaloid isolated from Acanthus ilicifolius L, has been shown to exert hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory effects. However, its effects on CALD remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of HBOA on CALD., Methods: Rats were administered alcohol by gavage continuously for 12 weeks to establish the CALD model, and then treated with HBOA by gavage for 4 weeks. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to predict the potential mechanisms of the effects of HBOA on CALD. Liver histology and function, oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines, and the TLR4/NF-κB pathway components were evaluated., Results: HBOA significantly improved alcohol-induced liver injury and steatosis. It decreased the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6), and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione [GSH], and glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px]). Western blotting confirmed that HBOA treatment largely diminished NF-κBp65 nuclear translocation. Comprehensive transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses indicated that HBOA regulated the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway to achieve therapeutic effects in rats with CALD., Conclusion: HBOA has a therapeutic effect on rats with CALD. Its mechanism of action mainly affects the glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway to promote lipid metabolism homeostasis by regulating the expression of Etnppl , Gpcpd1, and Pla2g4c . In addition, it may also inhibit the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby reducing the immune-inflammatory response., 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 Lu, Xing, Wei, Yang, Zhao, Ma, Sun, Guo, Su, Fang, Lin, Liu and Zhu.)

Arthropoda represents the most diverse animal phylum, but clarifying the phylogenetic relationships among arthropod taxa remains challenging given the numerous arthropod lineages that diverged over a short period of time. In order to resolve the most controversial aspects of deep arthropod phylogeny, focusing on the Myriapoda, we conducted phylogenetic analyses based on ten super-matrices comprised of 751 to 1,233 orthologous genes across 64 representative arthropod species, including 28 transcriptomes that were newly generated in this study. Our findings provide unambiguous support for the monophyly of the higher arthropod taxa, Chelicerata, Mandibulata, Myriapoda, Pancrustacea, and Hexapoda, while the Crustacea are paraphyletic, with the class Remipedia supported as the lineage most closely related to hexapods. Within the Hexapoda, our results largely affirm previously proposed phylogenetic relationships among deep hexapod lineages, except that the Paraneoptera (Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, and Psocodea) was recovered as a monophyletic lineage in some analyses. The results corroborated the recently proposed phylogenetic framework of the four myriapod classes, wherein Symphyla and Pauropoda, as well as Chilopoda and Diplopoda, are each proposed to be sister taxa. The findings provide important insights into understanding the phylogeny and evolution of arthropods., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Background: Research on the combined use of ear acupoint embedding beans and warming meridians with cold-dispersing formulas for alleviating resting pain in patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) remains limited., Aim: To explore the therapeutic efficacy of auricular point embedding beans combined with Wenjing Sanhan prescription in alleviating resting pain in patients with lower-limb ASO., Methods: A total of 100 patients with ASO experiencing resting pain who were treated at our hospital from January 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled. They were randomly allocated into two groups using a double-blind approach. The control group was treated using a warming meridian with a cold-dispersing formula, while the study group received additional treatment with ear acupoint embedding beans. The clinical efficacy, ankle-brachial artery pressure ratio, hemorheological indicators, and traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores were compared between the two groups., Results: The clinical efficacy rate in the study group was significantly higher (94.00%) than that in the control group (72.00%, P < 0.05). Moreover, the ankle-brachial artery pressure ratio was significantly higher in the study group after treatment ( P < 0.05). Hemorheological parameters, including whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity (1.83 ± 0.11) mPa/s, fibrinogen levels (3.30 ± 0.21) g/L, platelet adhesion rate (49.87% ± 10.51%), and erythrocyte aggregation index (1.79 ± 0) were improved in the study group compared to the control group. In addition, the scores for decreased skin temperature (1.41 ± 0.26), intermittent claudication (1.30 ± 0.20), and resting pain (1.23 ± 0.31) were significantly lower in the study group than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). The level of oxidative stress in the study group also exhibited significant improvement ( P < 0.05), and the levels of inflammatory factors were considerably lower than those in the control group., Conclusion: The combination of ear point embedding beans and Wenjing Sanhan prescription demonstrates promising clinical efficacy in alleviating resting pain associated with ASO., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are developed rapidly in efficiency and stability in recent years, which can compete with silicon solar cells. However, an important obstacle to the commercialization of PSCs is the toxicity of lead ions (Pb 2+ ) from water-soluble perovskites. The entry of free Pb 2+ into organisms can cause severe harm to humans, such as blood lead poisoning, organ failure, etc. Therefore, this work reports a "lead isolation-capture" dual detoxification strategy with calcium disodium edetate (EDTA Na-Ca), which can inhibit lead leakage from PSCs under extreme conditions. More importantly, leaked lead exists in a nontoxic aggregation state chelated by EDTA. For the first time, in vivo experiments are conducted in mice to systematically prove that this material has a significant inhibitory effect on the toxicity of perovskites. In addition, this strategy can further enhance device performance, enabling the optimized devices to achieve an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.19%. This innovative strategy is a major breakthrough in the research on the prevention of lead toxicity in PSCs., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Fufang Luohanguo Qingfei granules (LQG) is a Chinese patent medicine, clinically used to treat flu-like symptoms including cough with yellow phlegm, impeded phlegm, dry throat and tongue. However, the protective activity of LQG against influenza infection is indeterminate., Aim of the Study: This study is to investigate the therapeutic effect of LQG on influenza infection and elucidate its underlying mechanism., Materials and Methods: In vivo: A viral susceptible mouse model induced by restraint stress was established to investigate LQG's beneficial effects on influenza susceptibility. MAVS knockout (Mavs -/- ) mice were used to verify the potential mechanism of LQG. In vitro: Corticosteroid (CORT)-treated A549 cells were employed to identify the active ingredients in LQG. Mice morbidity and mortality were monitored daily for 21 days. Histopathologic changes and inflammatory cytokines in lung tissues were examined by H&E staining and ELISA. RNA-seq was used to explore the signaling pathway influenced by LQG and further confirmed by qPCR. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to determine the protein levels. CO-IP and DARTS were applied to detect protein-protein interaction and compound-protein interaction, respectively., Results: LQG effectively attenuated the susceptibility of restrained mice to H1N1 infection. LQG significantly boosted the production of IFN-β transduced by mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), while MAVS deficiency abrogated its protective effects on restrained mice infected with H1N1. Moreover, in vitro studies further revealed that mogroside Ⅱ B, amygdalin, and luteolin are potentially active components of LQG., Conclusion: These results suggested that LQG inhibited the mitofusin 2 (Mfn2)-mediated ubiquitination of MAVS by impeding the E3 ligase synoviolin 1 (SYVN1) recruitment, thereby enhancing IFN-β antiviral response. Overall, our work elaborates a potential regimen for influenza treatment through reduction of stress-induced susceptibility., 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 clinical application of the recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) is restricted by its short serum half-life. Herein, site-selective modification of the N-terminus of rhG-CSF with PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-CHO was used to develop a long-acting rhG-CSF. The optimized conditions for rhG-CSF modification with PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-CHO were: reaction solvent system of 3% (w/v) Tween 20 and 30 mM NaCNBH 3 in acetate buffer (20 mmol/L, pH 5.0), molar ratio of PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-CHO to rhG-CSF of 6:1, temperature of 20°C, and reaction time of 12 h, consequently, achieving a PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF product yield of 70.8%. The reaction mixture was purified via preparative liquid chromatography, yielding the single-modified product PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF with a HPLC purity exceeding 95%. The molecular weight of PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF was 19297 Da by MALDI-TOF-MS, which was consistent with the theoretical value. The circular dichroism analysis revealed no significant change in its secondary structure compared to unmodified rhG-CSF. The PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF retained 82.0% of the in vitro biological activity of unmodified rhG-CSF. The pharmacokinetic analyses showed that the serum half-life of PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF was 7.404 ± 0.777 h in mice, 4.08 times longer than unmodified rhG-CSF. Additionally, a single subcutaneous dose of PAL-PEG 3 -Ph-rhG-CSF presented comparable in vivo efficacy to multiple doses of rhG-CSF. This study demonstrated an efficacious strategy for developing long-acting rhG-CSF drug candidates., 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 Wang, Su, Du, Yu and Sun.)

Buried interface modification can effectively improve the compatibility between interfaces. Given the distinct interface selections in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the applicability of a singular modification material remains limited. Consequently, in response to this challenge, we devised a tailored molecular strategy based on the electronic effects of specific functional groups. Therefore, we prepared three distinct silane coupling agents, and due to the varying inductive effects of these functional groups, the electronic distribution and molecular dipole moments of the coupling agents are correspondingly altered. Among them, trimethoxy (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)-silane (F 3 -TMOS), which possesses electron-withdrawing groups, generates a molecular dipole moment directed toward the hole transport layer (HTL). This approach changes the work function of the HTL, optimizes the energy level alignment, reduces the open-circuit voltage loss, and facilitates carrier transport. Furthermore, through the buffering effect of the coupling agent, the interface strain and lattice distortion caused by annealing the perovskite are reduced, enhancing the stability of the tin-based perovskite. Encouragingly, tin PSCs treated with F 3 -TMOS achieved a champion efficiency of 14.67 %. This strategy provides an expedient avenue for the design of buried interface modification materials, enabling precise molecular adjustments in accordance with distinct interfacial contexts to ameliorate mismatched energetics and enhance carrier dynamics., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites are emerging as efficient emitters in blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), while the imbalanced crystallization of the halide-mixed system limits further improvements in device performance. The rapid crystallization caused by Cl doping produces massive defects at the interface, leading to aggravated non-radiative recombination. Meanwhile, unmanageable perovskite crystallization is prone to facilitate the formation of nonuniform low-dimensional phases, which results in energy loss during the exciton transfer process. Here, we propose a multifunctional interface engineering for nucleation and phase regulation by incorporating the zwitterionic additive potassium sulfamate into the hole transport layer. By using potassium ions (K + ) as heterogeneous nucleation seeds, finely controlled growth of interfacial K + -guided grains is achieved. The sulfamate ions can simultaneously regulate the phase distribution and passivate defects through coordination interactions with undercoordinated lead atoms. Consequently, such synergistic effect constructs quasi-2D blue perovskite films with smooth energy landscape and reduced trap states, leading to pure-blue PeLEDs with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 17.32 %, spectrally stable emission at 478 nm and the prolonged operational lifetime. This work provides a unique guide to comprehensively regulate the halide-mixed blue perovskite crystallization by manipulating the characteristics of grain-growth substrate., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Aims: This study aims to analyse the worldwide trends in hypertensive heart disease (HHD) mortality and associations with age, period, and birth cohort and predict the future burden of HHD deaths., Methods and Results: Mortality estimates were obtained from Global Burden of Disease 2019 study. We used age-period-cohort (APC) model to examine the age, period, and cohort effects on HHD mortality between 1990 and 2019. Bayesian APC model was utilized to predict HHD deaths to 2034. The global HHD deaths were 1.16 million in 2019 and were projected to increase to 1.57 million in 2034, with the largest increment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Between 1990 and 2019, middle/high-middle socio-demographic index (SDI) countries had the largest mortality reductions (annual percentage change = -2.06%), whereas low SDI countries saw a lagging performance (annual percentage change = -1.09%). There was a prominent transition in the age distribution of deaths towards old-age population in middle/high-middle SDI countries, while the proportion of premature deaths (aged under 60 years) remained at 24% in low SDI countries in 2019. Amongst LMICs, Brazil, China, and Ethiopia showed typically improving trends both over time and in recent birth cohorts, whereas 63 countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan had unfavourable or worsening risks for recent periods and birth cohorts., Conclusion: The HHD death burden in 2019 is vast and is expected to increase rapidly in the next decade, particularly for LMICs. Limited progress in HHD management together with high premature mortality would exact huge human and medical costs in low SDI countries. The examples from Brazil, China, and Ethiopia suggest that efficient health systems with action on improving hypertension care can reduce HHD mortality effectively in LMICs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Type 1 diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune condition, characterized by destruction of insulin-producing cells, due to the detrimental inflammation in pancreas. Growing evidences have indicated the important role of type I interferon in the development of type 1 diabetes., Methods: Trex1-deficient rats were generated by using CRISPR-Cas9. The fasting blood glucose level of rat was measured by a Roche Accuchek blood glucose monitor. The levels of insulin, islet autoantibodies, and interferon-β were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The inflammatory genes were detected by quantitative PCR and RNA-seq. Hematein-eosin staining was used to detect the pathological changes in pancreas, eye and kidney. The pathological features of kidney were also detected by Masson trichrome and periodic acid-Schiff staining. The distribution of islet cells, immune cells or ssDNA in pancreas was analyzed by immunofluorescent staining., Results: In this study, we established a Trex1-deletion Sprague Dawley rat model, and unexpectedly, we found that the Trex1 -/- rats spontaneously develop type 1 diabetes. Similar to human diabetes, the hyperglycemia in rats is accompanied by diabetic complications such as diabetic nephropathy and cataract. Mechanistical investigation revealed the accumulation of ssDNA and the excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines, including IFN-β, in Trex1 null pancreas. These are likely contributing to the inflammation in pancreas and eventually leading to the decline of pancreatic β cells., Conclusions: Our study links the DNA-induced chronic inflammation to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, and also provides an animal model for type 1 diabetes studies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: To conduct a comparative study of high-frequency ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection, and assess the efficacy of high-frequency ultrasound with RANKL and OPG detection in screening early rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Method: High-frequency ultrasound and MRI were performed on both carpal joints of 60 patients with early RA, and the frequencies of synovitis, joint effusion, tenosynovitis, and bone erosion detected by high-frequency ultrasound and MRI were observed. The serum levels of receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor (OPG) were also detected. The serum levels of RANKL and OPG were also detected in 80 normal healthy examinees. The data were recorded and statistically analyzed., Results: The detection rates of carpal synovitis, joint effusion, tenosynovitis, and bone erosion in RA patients by high-frequency ultrasound were 81.66%, 69.16%, 63.33%, and 1.66%, respectively, while the detection rates by MRI were 80.00%, 71.66%, 65.00%, and 15.00%, respectively. There was no significant difference between high-frequency ultrasound and MRI in the detection rates of carpal synovitis, joint effusion, and tenosynovitis in RA patients (P > 0.05), while the detection rate of bone erosion by high-frequency ultrasound was significantly lower than that by MRI. The serum levels of RANKL and OPG in RA patients were 231.47 and 68.71, respectively, while the serum levels of RANKL and OPG in normal healthy examinees were 123.51 and 385.05, respectively. The serum RANKL levels of RA patients were significantly higher than those of healthy examinees, while the serum OPG levels of RA patients were significantly lower than those of healthy examinees, which were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained by high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection in Synovitis modeling were 0.955 and 0.954, respectively. The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained from the joint fusion modeling using high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection were 0.949 and 0.950, respectively. The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained from modeling Tenosynovitis using high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection were 0.941 and 0.949, respectively. The AUC values of ROC curves obtained by combining high-frequency ultrasound and MRI with serum RANKL and OPG detection in Bone erosion modeling were 0.908 and 0.923, respectively., Conclusion: High-frequency ultrasound combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection has comparable effects to MRI on screening early RA, providing a safe, simple, and cost-effective screening method for the early detection of RA patients. Key Points • High-frequency ultrasound and MRI can effectively detect early lesions of the wrist joints in RA patients. • Ultrasound diagnosis has the advantages of being quick, inexpensive, and repeatable, making it the preferred choice of imaging examination for RA patients at an early stage., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).)

One of the main barriers to early detection and subsequent prevention of kidney diseases is the accessibility and feasibility of testing, especially in urine research. The proteinuria selectivity index (PSI or SI) is a method used to assess changes in glomerular permeability in glomerular diseases. It describes the pattern of proteinuria by comparing the clearance rates of large molecular proteins and transferrin, categorizing it as selective or non-selective. PSI is widely applied for kidney disease classification, prediction of corticosteroid efficacy, and prognosis. Herein, we reviewed the clinical applications and recent advancements of PSI in glomerular diseases, compared it with commonly used renal function biomarkers, and discussed the future research directions for PSI as a potential predictive marker for response to specific biologics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of Corydalis Saxicola Bunting Total Alkaloid (CSBTA) on Porphyromonas gingivalis internalization within macrophages and explore the potential role of Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2) in this process., Methods: We established a P. gingivalis internalization model in macrophages by treating P. gingivalis-infected macrophages (MOI=100:1) with 200 μg/mL metronidazole and 300 μg/mL gentamicin for 1 h. Subsequently, the model was exposed to CSBTA at concentrations of 0.02 g/L or 1 μg/mL Pam3CSK4. After a 6 h treatment, cell lysis was performed with sterile water to quantify bacterial colonies. The mRNA expressions of TLR2 and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in macrophages were analyzed using RT-qPCR, while their protein levels were assessed via Western blot and ELISA respectively., Results: P. gingivalis could internalize into macrophages and enhance the expression of TLR2 and IL-8. Activation of TLR2 by Pam3CSK4 contributed to P. gingivalis survival within macrophages and increased TLR2 and IL-8 expression. Conversely, 0.02 g/L CSBTA effectively cleared intracellular P. gingivalis, achieving a 90 % clearance rate after 6 h. Moreover, it downregulated the expression of TLR2 and IL-8 induced by P. gingivalis. However, the inhibitory effect of CSBTA on the internalized P. gingivalis model was attenuated by Pam3CSK4., Conclusion: CSBTA exhibited the ability to reduce the presence of live intracellular P. gingivalis and lower IL-8 expression in macrophages, possibly by modulating TLR2 activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Antimony selenide (Sb 2 Se 3 ) is a highly promising photovoltaic material thanks to its outstanding optoelectronic properties, as well as its cost-effective and eco-friendly merits. However, toxic CdS is widely used as an electron transport layer (ETL) in efficient Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells, which largely limit their development toward market commercialization. Herein, an effective green Cd-free ETL of SnO x is introduced and deposited by atomic layer deposition method. Additionally, an important post-annealing treatment is designed to further optimize the functional layers and the heterojunction interface properties. Such engineering strategy can optimize SnO x ETL with higher nano-crystallinity, higher carrier density, and less defect groups, modify Sb 2 Se 3 /SnO x heterojunction with better interface performance and much desirable "spike-like" band alignment, and also improve the Sb 2 Se 3 light absorber layer quality with passivated bulk defects and prolonged carrier lifetime, and therefore to enhance carrier separation and transport while suppressing non-radiative recombination. Finally, the as-fabricated Cd-free Mo/Sb 2 Se 3 /SnO x /ITO/Ag thin-film solar cell exhibits a stimulating efficiency of 7.39%, contributing a record value for Cd-free substrate structured Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells reported to date. This work provides a viable strategy for developing and broadening practical applications of environmental-friendly Sb 2 Se 3 photovoltaic devices., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The interaction between sites A, B and X with passivation molecules is restricted when the conventional passivation strategy is applied in perovskite (ABX 3 ) photovoltaics. Fortunately, the revolving A-site presents an opportunity to strengthen this interaction by utilizing an external field. Herein, we propose a novel approach to achieving an ordered magnetic dipole moment, which is regulated by a magnetic field via the coupling effect between the chiral passivation molecule and the A-site (formamidine ion) in perovskites. This strategy can increase the molecular interaction energy by approximately four times and ensure a well-ordered molecular arrangement. The quality of the deposited perovskite film is significantly optimized with inhibited nonradiative recombination. It manages to reduce the open-circuit voltage loss of photovoltaic devices to 360 mV and increase the power conversion efficiency to 25.22%. This finding provides a new insight into the exploration of A-sites in perovskites and offers a novel route to improving the device performance of perovskite photovoltaics., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.)

This article analyzed the mechanism of Danggui Sini Decoction(DSD) in improving kidney injury caused by blood stasis syndrome(BSS) in rats. Firstly, 32 female SD rats were randomly divided into the following four groups: a normal group and a BSS group, both receiving an equal amount of distilled water by gavage; a normal+DSD group and a BSS+DSD group, both receiving 5.103 g·kg~(-1) DSD orally for a total of 14 days. Daily cold water bath was given to establish the BSS model, and on the 14th day, BSS rats were subcutaneously injected with 0.8 mg·kg~(-1) adrenaline. Normal rats were subjected to the water bath at 37 ℃ and injected with an equal volume of distilled water. After the experiment, 24-hour urine, serum, and kidney samples were collected for metabolomic analysis, biochemical measurements, and hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The study then employed ~1H-NMR metabolomic technology to reveal the metabolic network regulated by DSD in improving BSS-induced kidney injury and used network pharmacology to preliminarily elucidate the key targets of the effectiveness of DSD. Pathological and biochemical analysis showed that DSD intervention significantly reduced inflammation and abnormal levels of blood creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and urine protein in the kidneys. Metabolomic analysis indicated that DSD attenuated BSS-induced kidney injury primarily by regulating 10 differential metabolites and three major metabolic pathways(taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, citrate cycle, and acetaldehyde and dicarboxylic acid metabolism). Network pharmacology analysis suggested that the protective effect of DSD against BSS-induced kidney injury might be related to two key genes, ATP citrate lyase(ACLY) and nitric oxide synthase 2(NOS2), and two main metabolic pathways, i.e., arginine biosynthesis, and arginine and proline metabolism. This study, from the perspective of network regulation, provides initial insights and evidence into the mechanism of DSD in improving kidney injury induced by BSS, offering a basis for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying its efficacy.

Eleven new acyl-quinic acids (AQAs) 1a-9, and 18 known AQAs 10-27 were isolated from the root bark of Acanthopanax gracilistylus W. W. Smith (Acanthopanacis Cortex). The planar structures of 1a-9 were determined based on their HR-ESIMS, IR, and NMR data. The absolute configurations of 1a-6 were identified by comparing the experimental and the calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. This is the first report of the isolation of AQAs from Acanthopanacis Cortex. Notably, 1a-6 were determined as unusual oxyneolignan-(-)-quinic acids heterodimers, representing a new class of natural products. The inhibitory activities of 1a-27 on neutrophil elastase (NE) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were studied in vitro, and the results indicated they possessed significant inhibitory activities on COX-2. Among them, the IC 50 values of 1a-9 were 0.63±0.014, 0.75±0.028, 0.15±0.023, 0.63±0.016, 0.30±0.013, 35.63±4.600, 8.70±1.241, 16.51±0.480, 0.69±0.049, 0.39±0.017, and 0.26±0.080 μM, respectively. This study represents the inaugural disclosure of the anti-COX-2 constituents found in Acanthopanacis Cortex, thereby furnishing valuable insights into the exploration of novel COX-2 inhibitors derived from natural reservoirs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Twenty-four monoterpenoids, including three previously undescribed compounds (1-3), were isolated from the root bark of Acanthopanax gracilistylus W. W. Smith (Acanthopanacis Cortex). Their structures were unambiguously established based on spectroscopic analysis (HR-ESIMS, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR), and the absolute configurations of 1-3 were elucidated by comparing their experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. In addition, the structure of 8 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The inhibitory activities of 1-24 against neutrophil elastase, 5-lipoxygenase, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were studied in vitro for the first time, and the results showed that compound 24 possessed a significant inhibitory effect on COX-2 with an IC 50 value of 1.53 ± 0.10 μΜ. This research first reported the presence of monoterpenoids in Acanthopanacis Cortex, including one monoterpenoid 2 with an unusual 4/5 bicyclic lactone system, and compounds 4 and 5 have never been reported in nature., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work. There is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The white epidermis of silkworms is due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals. Abnormal silkworm uric acid metabolism decreases uric acid production, leading to a transparent or translucent phenotype. The oily silkworm op50 is a mutant strain with a highly transparent epidermis derived from the p50 strain. It shows more susceptibility to Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection than the wild type; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study analysed the changes in 34 metabolites in p50 and op50 at different times following BmNPV infection based on comparative metabolomics. The differential metabolites were mainly clustered in six metabolic pathways. Of these, the uric acid pathway was identified as critical for resistance in silkworms, as feeding with inosine significantly enhanced larval resistance compared to other metabolites and modulated other metabolic pathways. Additionally, the increased level of resistance to BmNPV in inosine-fed silkworms was associated with the regulation of apoptosis, which is mediated by the reactive oxygen species produced during uric acid synthesis. Furthermore, feeding the industrial strain Jingsong (JS) with inosine significantly increased the level of larval resistance to BmNPV, indicating its potential application in controlling the virus in sericulture. These results lay the foundation for clarifying the resistance mechanism of silkworms to BmNPV and provide new strategies and methods for the biological control of pests., (© 2023 Royal Entomological Society.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the tendency of myocarditis mortality in 204 countries and areas during the last three decades and its connection with age, epoch, and birth cohort., Materials and Methods: The Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study acquired a cause-specific myocarditis mortality estimate. The net drift, as well as the influence caused by age, period, and birth cohort, were evaluated by the age-period-cohort model. Additionally, we analyzed the tendency in research intensity and international collaboration across countries using 3,983 myocarditis-related publications from four periods during 1990-2019., Results: During the last three decades, 101 of 204 countries and areas experienced an increase (net drifts ≥0.0%) or stagnant declines (≥-0.5%) in the death rate. In particular, increasing death rate was generally discovered in most countries whose Socio-demographic indexes (SDIs) are high and middle-high, such as the United States [net drift=2.11% (95% CI 1.71-2.51)] and Italy [2.65% (1.24-4.08)]. Countries with a higher number of deaths were more active in this field of study, such as the United States (237 publications), China (120), and Italy (73). The United States and Italy, whose total link strengths were 209 and 135, respectively, were more active in international collaborative studies., Conclusions: Despite the global decrease in myocarditis death rate during the last three decades, negative period and cohort effects and elevated mortality were discovered in numerous countries, especially in those whose SDIs were high, and the age distribution of deaths shifted from adolescent to middle-aged and older populations. We also observed a decline in myocarditis research in some countries with increased mortality.

Recognition of intracellular nucleic acids is a vital step for host to mount prompt immune responses against microbial pathogens. However, inappropriate response to self-nucleic acids leads to sustained type I interferon (IFN) production, which is implicated in the development of several autoimmune diseases, such as Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). Therefore, effective confinement of intracellular nucleic acid-induced IFN expression is a potential strategy for the treatment of such autoimmune diseases. In this study, we found that rosmarinic acid (RA), a natural compound isolated from rosemary, inhibits intracellular nucleic acid-stimulated IFN expression. Mechanistic investigation revealed that RA binds to both G3BP1 and cGAS, and impairs cGAS activation through disrupting the binding of DNA with cGAS. More importantly, we showed that RA could effectively attenuate the expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) in the well-established cell models for AGS. Thus, our study provides a promising compound for the treatment of autoimmune responses induced by aberrant nucleic acid-sensing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

To explore how the thickness of the femoral lateral wall influences the effectiveness of internal fixation systems used to treat intertrochanteric fractures. CT images of the pelvis and femur of a male adult were used to construct an intertrochanteric fracture model (AO/OTA 31-A2) with various thicknesses of the femoral lateral wall (FLW). Four finite element (FE) models were created with the lateral femoral walls being 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, and 40 mm thick. The fracture models were fixed with a dynamic hip screw (DHS), a proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA), and a proximal femoral locking compression plate (P-FLCP). A simulated vertical load was applied to the femoral head. The stress and displacement of the implant and femur in each model were recorded for comparison. The FE analysis of the intertrochanteric fracture models showed that the PFNA system could provide better stability than the DHS and P-FLCP with the same thickness of FLW. The FLW provided buttress support to the femoral head and neck when using a DHS and PFNA, and the buttress strength was proportional to the thickness of FLW. The maximum stress in the DHS model was recorded on the DHS plate which accommodated the lag screw. For the PFNA model, the maximum stress appeared at the connection between the nail and blade. In the P-FLCP model, the maximum stresses were highly concentrated at the connection between the cephalic nails and the proximal plate. The thickness of the femoral lateral wall should be considered an important factor when selecting a suitable internal fixation system for intertrochanteric fractures. Based on the FE analysis, intramedullary fixation, such as PFNA, experiences lower stress levels and a moderate displacement in comparison to DHS and P-FCLP when used to treat intertrochanteric fractures., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Metal halide perovskites are ideal candidates for indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) because of their easy-to-adjust bandgaps, which can be designed to cover the spectrum of any artificial light source. However, the serious non-radiative carrier recombination under low light illumination restrains the application of perovskite-based IPVs (PIPVs). Herein, polar molecules of amino naphthalene sulfonates are employed to functionalize the TiO 2 substrate, anchoring the CsPbI 3 perovskite crystal grains with a strong ion-dipole interaction between the molecule-level polar interlayer and the ionic perovskite film. The resulting high-quality CsPbI 3 films with the merit of defect-immunity and large shunt resistance under low light conditions enable the corresponding PIPVs with an indoor power conversion efficiency of up to 41.2% (P in : 334.11 µW cm -2 , P out : 137.66 µW cm -2 ) under illumination from a commonly used indoor light-emitting diode light source (2956 K, 1062 lux). Furthermore, the device also achieves efficiencies of 29.45% (P out : 9.80 µW cm -2 ) and 32.54% (P out : 54.34 µW cm -2 ) at 106 (P in : 33.84 µW cm -2 ) and 522 lux (P in : 168.21 µW cm -2 ), respectively., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The widespread use of pyrethroid pesticides has brought serious economic losses in sericulture, but there is still no viable solution. The key to solving the problem is to improve silkworm resistance to pesticides, which depends on understanding the resistance mechanism of silkworms to pesticides. This study aimed to use transcriptomes to understand the underlying mechanism of silkworm resistance to fenpropathrin, which will provide a theoretical molecular reference for breeding pesticide-resistant silkworm varieties. In this study, the fat bodies of two strains with differential resistance after 12 h of fenpropathrin feeding were analyzed using RNA-Seq. After feeding fenpropathrin, 760 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the p50(r) strain and 671 DEGs in the 8y strain. The DEGs involved in resistance to fenpropathrin were further identified by comparing the two strains, including 207 upregulated DEGs in p50(r) and 175 downregulated DEGs in 8y. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that these fenpropathrin-related DEGs are mainly enriched in the metabolism and transporter pathways. Moreover, 28 DEGs involved in the metabolic pathway and 18 in the transporter pathway were identified. Furthermore, organic cation transporter protein 6 (BmOCT6), a transporter pathway member, was crucial in enhancing the tolerance of BmN cells to fenpropathrin. Finally, the knockdown of the expression of the homologs of BmOCT6 in Glyphodes pyloalis (G. pyloalis) significantly decreased the resistant level of larvae to fenpropathrin. The findings showed that the metabolism and transporter pathways are associated with resistance to fenpropathrin in silkworm, and OCT6 is an effective and potential target not only for silkworm breeding but also for pest biocontrol., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To comprehensively assess osteoporosis in the lumbar spine, a compositional MR imaging technique is proposed to quantify proton fractions for all the water components as well as fat in lumbar vertebrae measured by a combination of a 3D short repetition time adiabatic inversion recovery prepared ultrashort echo time (STAIR-UTE) MRI and IDEAL-IQ., Methods: A total of 182 participants underwent MRI, quantitative CT, and DXA. Lumbar collagen-bound water proton fraction (CBWPF), free water proton fraction (FWPF), total water proton fraction (TWPF), bone mineral density (BMD), and T-score were calculated in three vertebrae (L2-L4) for each subject. The correlations of the CBWPF, FWPF, and TWPF with BMD and T-score were investigated respectively. A comprehensive diagnostic model combining all the water components and clinical characteristics was established. The performances of all the water components and the comprehensive diagnostic model to discriminate between normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis cohorts were also evaluated using receiver operator characteristic (ROC)., Results: The CBWPF showed strong correlations with BMD (r = 0.85, p < 0.001) and T-score (r = 0.72, p < 0.001), while the FWPF and TWPF showed moderate correlations with BMD (r = 0.65 and 0.68, p < 0.001) and T-score (r = 0.47 and 0.49, p < 0.001). The high area under the curve values obtained from ROC analysis demonstrated that CBWPF, FWPF, and TWPF have the potential to differentiate the normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis cohorts. At the same time, the comprehensive diagnostic model shows the best performance., Conclusions: The compositional MRI technique, which quantifies CBWPF, FWPF, and TWPF in trabecular bone, is promising in the assessment of bone quality., Key Points: • Compositional MR imaging technique is able to quantify proton fractions for all the water components (i.e., collagen-bound water proton fraction (CBWPF), free water proton fraction (FWPF), and total water proton fraction (TWPF)) in the human lumbar spine. • The biomarkers derived from the compositional MR imaging technique showed moderate to high correlations with bone mineral density (BMD) and T-score and showed good performance in distinguishing people with different bone mass. • The comprehensive diagnostic model incorporating CBWPF, FWPF, TWPF, and clinical characteristics showed the highest clinical diagnostic capability for the assessment of osteoporosis., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Society of Radiology.)

The silkworm Bombyx mori L. is a model organism of the order Lepidoptera. Understanding the mechanism of pesticide resistance in silkworms is valuable for Lepidopteran pest control. In this study, comparative metabolomics was used to analyze the metabolites of 2 silkworm strains with different pesticide resistance levels at 6, 12, and 24 h after feeding with fenpropathrin. Twenty-six of 27 metabolites showed significant differences after fenpropathrin treatment and were classified into 6 metabolic pathways: glycerophospholipid metabolism, sulfur metabolism, glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, the urea cycle, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. After analyzing the percentage changes in the metabolic pathways at the 3 time points, sulfur metabolism, glycolysis, and the TCA cycle showed significant responses to fenpropathrin. Confirmatory experiments were performed by feeding silkworms with key metabolites of the 3 pathways. The combination of iron(II) fumarate + folic acid (IF-FA) enhanced fenpropathrin resistance in silkworms 6.38 fold, indicating that the TCA cycle is the core pathway associated with resistance. Furthermore, the disruption of several energy-related metabolic pathways caused by fenpropathrin was shown to be recovered by IF-FA in vitro. Therefore, IF-FA may have a role in boosting silkworm pesticide resistance by modulating the equilibrium between the TCA cycle and its related metabolic pathways., (© 2022 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Objective: To investigate the biomechanical characteristics of different internal fixations for Pauwels type Ⅲ femoral neck fracture with defect, and provide reference for the treatment of femoral neck fracture., Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) finite element models of femoral neck fractures were established based on CT images, including fracture and fracture with defects. Four internal fixations were simulated, namely, inverted cannulated screw(ICS), ICS combined with medial buttress plate, the femoral neck system (FNS) and FNS combined with medial buttress plate. The von Mises stress, model stiffness and fracture displacements of fracture models under 2 100 N axial loads were measured and compared., Results: When femoral neck fracture was fixed by ICS and FNS, the peak stress was mainly concentrated on the surface of the screw near the fracture line, and the peak stress of FNS is higher than that of ICS;When the medial buttress plate was combined, the peak stress was increased and transferred to medial buttress plate, with more obvious of ICS fixation. For the same fracture model, the stiffness of FNS was higher than that of ICS. Compared with femoral neck fracture with defects, fracture model showed higher stiffness in the same internal fixation. The use of medial buttress plate increased model stiffness, but ICS increased more than FNS. The fracture displacement of ICS model exceeded that of FNS., Conclusion: For Pauwels type Ⅲ femoral neck fracture with defects, FNS had better biomechanical properties than ICS. ICS combined with medial buttress plate can better enhance fixation stability and non-locking plate is recommended. FNS had the capability of shear resistance and needn't combine with medial buttress plate.

Background: Although many studies have shown that herbs containing aristolochic acids can treat various human diseases, AAΙ in particular has been implicated as a nephrotoxic agent., Methods and Results: Here, we detail the nephrotoxic effect of AAΙ via an approach that integrated 1H NMR-based metabonomics and network pharmacology. Our findings revealed renal injury in mice after the administration of AAΙ. Metabolomic data confirmed significant differences among the renal metabolic profiles of control and model groups, with significant reductions in 12 differential metabolites relevant to 23 metabolic pathways. Among them, there were seven important metabolic pathways: arginine and proline metabolism; glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism; taurine and hypotaurine metabolism; ascorbate and aldehyde glycolate metabolism; pentose and glucosinolate interconversion; alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism; and glyoxylate and dicarboxylic acid metabolism. Relevant genes, namely, nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1), pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1 (PYCR1), nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase 2 (GOT2), were highlighted via network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. Quantitative real-time PCR findings revealed that AAI administration significantly downregulated GOT2 and NOS3 and significantly upregulated NOS1 and PYCR1 expression and thus influenced the metabolism of arginine and proline., Conclusion: This work provides a meaningful insight for the mechanism of AAΙ renal injury., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

4-Nitrophenylacetylene-functionalized Cu 2 O rhombic dodecahedra and cubes have been used to photocatalyze aryl sulfide oxidation generating aryl sulfoxides. With an oxygen supply and light from a blue light-emitting diode (LED), the reaction can be completed in 12 h with a water and methanol mixed solution. Generally high product yields and excellent product selectivity of sulfoxides over sulfones were achieved. In particular, a thioanisole to methyl phenyl sulfoxide yield of 98% was obtained. A mechanistic study has revealed that photogenerated electrons, holes, and superoxide radicals are involved in the oxidation reaction. The benefit of simple photocatalyst preparation and molecular functionalization to boost catalytic performance shows that surface-controlled ionic solids can be very effective photocatalysts for some organic transformations.

Background: Both dopaminergic medication and subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) can improve the amplitude and speed of gait in Parkinson disease (PD), but relatively little is known about their comparative effects on gait variability. Gait irregularity has been linked to the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN)., Objectives: The STN and PPN have reciprocal connections, and we hypothesized that STN DBS might improve gait variability by modulating PPN function. Dopaminergic medication should not do this, and we therefore sought to compare the effects of medication and STN DBS on gait variability., Materials and Methods: We studied 11 patients with STN DBS systems on and off with no alteration to their medication, and 15 patients with PD without DBS systems on and off medication. Participants walked for two minutes in each state, wearing six inertial measurement units. Variability has previously often been expressed in terms of SD or coefficient of variation over a testing session, but these measures conflate long-term variability (eg, gradual slowing, which is not necessarily pathological) with short-term variability (true irregularity). We used Poincaré analysis to separate the short- and long-term variability., Results: DBS decreased short-term variability in lower limb gait parameters, whereas medication did not have this effect. In contrast, STN DBS had no effect on arm swing and trunk motion variability, whereas medication increased them, without obvious dyskinesia., Conclusions: Our results suggest that STN DBS acts through a nondopaminergic mechanism to reduce gait variability. We believe that the most likely explanation is the retrograde activation of cholinergic PPN projection neurons., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by persistent joint inflammation. The development of rheumatoid arthritis is directly correlated with the disturbance of gut microbiome and its metabolites. RA can be effectively treated with the Danggui Sini decoction (DSD), a Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription from the Treatise on Febrile Diseases. Further research is needed to clarify the precise mechanism of DSD in the treatment of RA. In this study, 1 H NMR metabonomics and 16 S rRNA gene sequencing techniques were used to clarify the intervention of DSD on CIA-induced RA. The results of 1 H NMR metabolomics of feces revealed that five metabolites (alanine, glucose, taurine, betaine, and xylose) were disturbed, which could be regarded as potential biomarkers of RA. The intestinal microbiome of RA rats had changed, according to the results of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing; eight microbes (g&#95;norank&#95;f&#95;Eubacterium&#95;coprostanoligenes&#95;group, g&#95;Ruminococcus&#95;torques&#95;group, g&#95;Dubosiell, g&#95;Lactobacillus, g&#95;norank&#95;f&#95;Desulfovibrionaceae, g&#95;Bacteroides, g&#95;Oscillibacter, and g&#95;Romboutsia) occurred significantly at the genus level, and DSD significantly impacted six of them (g&#95;Dubosiell, g&#95;Lactobacillus, g&#95;norank&#95;f&#95;Eubacterium&#95;coprostanoligenes&#95;group, g&#95;Ruminococcus&#95;torques&#95;grou, g&#95;Bacteroides, and g&#95;Romboutsia). Three of them (g&#95;norank&#95;f&#95;Eubacterium&#95; coprostanoligenes&#95;group, g&#95;Romboutsia, and g&#95;Lactobacillus) were regarded as key microbiomes for DSD to treat RA, and three common metabolic pathways (taurine and hypotaurine metabolism; alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism; primary bile acid biosynthesis) were discovered based on the 1 H NMR metabonomics and PICRUST2 prediction of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. Six SCFAs in feces (acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid, caproic acid, isobutyric acid, and valeric acid) increased significantly in RA, according to the outcomes of targeting SCFAs, while five SCFAs (acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid, caproic acid, and valeric acid) had decreased significantly due to DSD treatment. In conclusion, our study indicated that DSD could regulate RA's metabolic disorder by affecting intestinal microbiome and its metabolites. It also establishes a framework for future research into exploiting gut microbes therapeutic to treat RA., 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 © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has posed a huge global health threat since December 2019. Wearing face masks is known as an effective measure for controlling the wide spread of COVID-19 and its variants. But on the other hand, face masks could be a potential source of organophosphate esters (OPEs) and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) as they are extensively added in masks. However, knowledge associated with the occurrence as well as inhalation risks of OPEs and PAEs in masks is limited. In this study, OPEs and PAEs were determined in different types of mask samples collected from the local market. OPEs and PAEs were detected in mask samples ranging from 36.7 to 855 ng/g, and from 251 to 3830 ng/g, respectively. Relatively lower OPEs and PAEs concentrations were observed in disposable mask for toddlers. Simulated inhalation experiment indicated that the mass loss of OPEs and PAEs was 136 and 3910 ng/mask in disposable masks, 71.9 and 763 ng/mask in disposable mask for toddlers, 924 and 1020 ng/mask in N95 mask after 12 h, respectively. Significantly negative correlations were exhibited between the decrement of OPEs in masks and the increment of OPEs in corresponding polyurethane foams (PUFs) during the course, elucidating OPEs released from masks could be well captured by PUFs. With regard to the variation over time, predominant OPE and PAE analogues showed semblable release and absorption tendency in mask and corresponding PUF. Inhalation exposure risk of OPEs and PAEs was estimated based on the increment of pollutants in PUF. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs), hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) were also calculated and they were within the threshold levels. This study provides the evidence of OPEs and PAEs releasing from the face masks during wearing and unveiled a potential source of OPEs and PAEs exposure to humans., 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 © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV), one of the baculoviruses, is a promising biopesticide for pest control. Lepidopteran account for 70% of pests, therefore investigation on highly conserved genes associated with viral infections in the lepidopteran model, the silkworm, will serve as a valuable reference for improving the effectiveness of pest management. BmE74A is a member of the erythroblast transformation-specific (ETS) family of transcription factors in Bombyx mori, which we previously found to be highly conserved and closely associated with BmNPV. This study aimed to elucidate the role of BmE74A in viral infection., Results: A significantly high expression of BmE74A in eggs indicated its important role in embryonic development, as did relatively high expressions in the hemolymph and midgut. Significant differences in BmE74A expression in different resistant strains after BmNPV infection suggested its involvement as a response to viral infection. Moreover, RNA interference (RNAi) and overexpression experiments confirmed the important role of BmE74A in promoting viral infection. BmNPV infection was significantly suppressed and enhanced by BmE74A knockdown and overexpression, respectively. Besides, BmE74A was found to regulate the expression of BmMdm2 and Bmp53. Furthermore, the binding of ETS, the functional domain of BmE74A, to occlusion-derived virus proteins was confirmed by far-western blotting, and four viral proteins that may interact with ETS proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. Similarly, a homolog of BmE74A in Spodoptera litura was also found to be involved in larval susceptibility to BmNPV., Conclusion: BmE74A promotes BmNPV proliferation by directly interacting with the virus, which may be related to the suppression of the p53 pathway. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Cognitive deficits are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and range from mild cognitive impairment to dementia, often dramatically reducing quality of life. Physiological models have shown that attention and memory are predicated on the brain's ability to process time. Perception has been shown to be increased or decreased by activation or deactivation of dopaminergic neurons respectively. Here we investigate differences in time perception between patients with PD and healthy controls. We have measured differences in sub-second- and second-time intervals. Sensitivity and error in perception as well as the response times are calculated. Additionally, we investigated intra-individual response variability and the effect of participant devices on both reaction time and sensitivity. Patients with PD have impaired sensitivity in discriminating between durations of both visual and auditory stimuli compared to healthy controls. Though initially designed as an in-person study, because of the pandemic the experiment was adapted into an online study. This adaptation provided a unique opportunity to enroll a larger number of international participants and use this study to evaluate the feasibility of future virtual studies focused on cognitive impairment. To our knowledge this is the only time perception study, focusing on PD, which measures the differences in perception using both auditory and visual stimuli. The cohort involved is the largest to date, comprising over 800 participants., 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 © 2022 Su, Patel, Bredemeyer, FitzGerald and Antoniades.)

Objective: 3D reconstruction of lumbar intervertebral foramen (LIVF) has been beneficial in evaluating surgical trajectory. Still, the current methods of reconstructing the 3D LIVF model are mainly based on manual segmentation, which is laborious and time-consuming. This study aims to explore the feasibility of automatically segmenting lumbar spinal structures and increasing the speed and accuracy of 3D lumbar intervertebral foramen (LIVF) reconstruction on magnetic resonance image (MRI) at the L4-5 level., Methods: A total of 100 participants (mean age: 42.2 ± 14.0 years; 52 males and 48 females; mean body mass index, 22.7 ± 3.2 kg/m 2 ), were enrolled in this prospective study between March and July 2020. All participants were scanned on L4-5 level with a 3T MR unit using 3D T2-weighted sampling perfection with application-optimized contrast with various flip-angle evolutions (SPACE) sequences. The lumbar spine's vertebra bone structures (VBS) and intervertebral discs (IVD) were manually segmented by skilled surgeons according to their anatomical outlines from MRI. Then all manual segmentation were saved and used for training. An automated segmentation method based on a 3D U-shaped architecture network (3D-UNet) was introduced for the automated segmentation of lumbar spinal structures. A number of quantitative metrics, including dice similarity coefficient (DSC), precision, and recall, were used to evaluate the performance of the automated segmentation method on MRI. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was applied to compare morphometric parameters, including foraminal area, height and width of 3D LIVF models between automatic and manual segmentation. The intra-class correlation coefficient was used to assess the test-retest reliability and inter-observer reliability of multiple measurements for these morphometric parameters of 3D LIVF models., Results: The automatic segmentation performance of all spinal structures (VBS and IVD) was found to be 0.918 (healthy levels: 0.922; unhealthy levels: 0.916) for the mean DSC, 0.922 (healthy levels: 0.927; unhealthy levels: 0.920) for the mean precision, and 0.917 (healthy levels: 0.918; unhealthy levels: 0.917) for the mean recall in the test dataset. It took approximately 2.5 s to achieve each automated segmentation, far less than the 240 min for manual segmentation. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed in the foraminal area, height and width of the 3D LIVF models between manual and automatic segmentation images (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: A method of automated MRI segmentation based on deep learning algorithms was capable of rapidly generating accurate segmentation of spinal structures and can be used to construct 3D LIVF models from MRI at the L4-5 level., (© 2022 The Authors. Orthopaedic Surgery published by Tianjin Hospital and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Antimony sulfide-selenide (Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 ) is a promising light-harvesting material for stable and high-efficiency thin-film photovoltaics (PV) because of its excellent light-harvesting capability, abundant elemental storage, and excellent stability. This study aimed to expand the application of Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 solar cells with a substrate structure as a flexible or tandem device. The use of a hydrothermal method accompanied by a postselenization process for the deposition of Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 film based on the solar cell substrate structure was first demonstrated. The mechanism of postselenization treatment on crystal growth promotion of the Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 film and the defect passivation of the Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 solar cell were revealed through different characterization methods. The crystallinity and the carrier transport property of the Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 film improved, and both the interface defect density of the Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 /CdS interface and the bulk defect density of the Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 absorber decreased. Through these above-mentioned processes, the transport and collection of electronics can be improved, and the defect recombination loss can be reduced. By using postselenization treatment to optimize the absorber layer, Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 solar cells with the configuration SLG/Mo/Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 /CdS/ITO/Ag achieved an efficiency of 4.05%. This work can provide valuable information for the further development and improvement of Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 solar cells.