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Multifunctional molecular switches have attracted much attention because of their unique stimulus response behavior and advanced applications. However, precise regulation of the structure for property enrichment is still a great challenge. Herein, the first case of a single‐molecule switch BN‐S with multiple structurally tunable and full‐color fluorescent properties is reported. Interestingly, BN‐S exhibits a butterfly‐like "metamorphosis" crystal growth process accompanied by full‐color fluorescence emission (including white light, CIE = 0.33, 0.33; 456 nm → 610 nm). It is shown that this is related to the reversible B←N bonding and the tunability of the spatial structure of the BN‐S. Thus, BN‐S exhibits superior multicolor tunability in different states (solid, liquid, and film), and its applications in white‐light optical light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and multicolor fluorescent inks also show great promise. This will provide a new strategy for designing and synthesizing the development of multifunctional molecular switching materials and enriching the variety of organoboron luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The nuclear factor Y (NF‐Y) transcription factors play important roles in plant development and physiological responses. However, the relationship between NF‐Y, plant hormone and plant stress resistance in tropical crops remains unclear. In this study, we identified MeNF‐YC15 gene in the NF‐Y family that significantly responded to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam) treatment. Using MeNF‐YC15‐silenced and ‐overexpressed cassava plants, we elucidated that MeNF‐YC15 positively regulated disease resistance to cassava bacterial blight (CBB). Notably, we illustrated MeNF‐YC15 downstream genes and revealed the direct genetic relationship between MeNF‐YC15 and 1‐aminocyclopropane‐1‐carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase (MeACO1)‐ethylene module in disease resistance, as evidenced by the rescued disease susceptibility of MeNF‐YC15 silenced cassava plants with ethylene treatment or overexpressing MeACO1. In addition, the physical interaction between 2C‐type protein phosphatase 1 (MePP2C1) and MeNF‐YC15 inhibited the transcriptional activation of MeACO1 by MeNF‐YC15. In summary, MePP2C1‐MeNF‐YC15 interaction modulates ethylene biosynthesis and cassava disease resistance, providing gene network for cassava genetic improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-pressure pure waterjet (WJ) technology is widely used in the hole drilling process for carbon fiber–reinforced polymers (CFRP) laminates because of its high processing efficiency and zero heat affected zones. However, the phenomena of the delamination zone and poor roundness pose significant challenges to the hole processing of CFRP laminates. In this study, the numerical and experimental investigation of a high-pressure pure WJ CFRP laminate drilling process are conducted, to improve the quality of the pure WJ drilling process. A comprehensive coupled fluid–solid numerical model based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method is developed to simulate the pure WJ drilling process of CFRP laminates and determine mechanism of the material removal. Thereafter, extensive pure WJ drilling experiments are conducted on two stacking sequence CFRP laminates to obtain a hole with remarkable roundness. The simulation results illustrate that during the WJ drilling of CFRP laminates, the material removal process and damage zones of each inter-laminate interface are mainly extended along the fiber direction (the direction of longitudinal Young's modulus). Water-wedging action is observed to play an important role in the damage of inter-laminate interface and propagation of peel-up and push-down delamination. Furthermore, the experimental results show that an increase in the WJ pressure contributes to the reduced hole taper and surface roughness of sidewalls. Holes with diameters below 2 mm are successfully drilled, and a roundness error of 0.05 mm is obtained for the [0/45/–45/90]2s CFRP laminate, which is 1/6 of that of the [0]16 laminate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As information messengers for cell‐to‐cell communication, exosomes, typically small membrane vesicles (30–150 nm), play an imperative role in the physiological and pathological processes of living systems. Accumulating studies have demonstrated that exosomes are potential biological candidates for theranostics, including liquid biopsy‐based diagnosis and drug delivery. However, their clinical applications are hindered by several issues, especially their unspecific detection and insufficient targeting ability. How to upgrade the accuracy of exosome‐based theranostics is being widely explored. Aptamers, benefitting from their admirable characteristics, are used as excellent molecular recognition elements to empower exosomes for precision theranostics. With high affinity against targets and easy site‐specific modification, aptamers can be incorporated with platforms for the specific detection of exosomes, thus providing opportunities for advancing disease diagnostics. Furthermore, aptamers can be tailored and functionalized on exosomes to enable targeted therapeutics. Herein, this review emphasizes the empowering of exosomes by aptamers for precision theranostics. A brief introduction of exosomes and aptamers is provided, followed by a discussion of recent progress in aptamer‐based exosome detection for disease diagnosis, and the emerging applications of aptamer‐functionalized exosomes for targeted therapeutics. Finally, current challenges and opportunities in this research field are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic radical luminescent materials have attracted worldwide attention because of their absolute spin‐allowed radiative transition and sensitivity to the environment, which give it multiple stimulus response properties. Nowadays, how to regulate and utilize the sensitivity of radicals has become a hot and difficult issue. Here, arylphosphonium bromide salts are introduced into the molecular backbone of naphthimide (NMI) using an intramolecular counterion strategy, and prepared a novel multifunctional stabilized radical luminescent: TPP‐o‐3OMe‐NMI‐Br. Interestingly, this molecule exhibits different assembly modes in different solvents, resulting in the generation of two crystals with different fluorescence (green: G‐C; orange–yellow: Y‐C), in which the Y‐C crystalline powder exhibits excellent stabilization properties for doublet and triplet excitons, which induce the emission of orange–yellow radical afterglow, and exhibits multi‐stimuli responsiveness to external pressure (P), temperature (T) and water (W). Moreover, interesting time‐dependent photoactivated colorful fluorescence and orange–yellow radical afterglow can be observed in TPP‐o‐3OMe‐NMI‐Br@PMMA films with different doping ratios and exhibit multi‐color tunability, multiple stimulus responses, multiple data encryption, and optical information erase/write behavior. This study not only broadens the types and applications of organic radical long afterglow materials but also provides new ideas for designing new organic "chameleon" luminescent materials in the field of smart luminescence materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular profiling of protein markers on small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) is a promising strategy for the precise detection and classification of ovarian cancers. However, this strategy is challenging owing to the lack of simple and practical detection methods. In this work, using an aptamer‐based nanoflow cytometry (nFCM) detection strategy, a simple and rapid method for the molecular profiling of multiple protein markers on sEVs was developed. The protein markers can be easily labeled with aptamer probes and then rapidly profiled by nFCM. Seven cancer‐associated protein markers, including CA125, STIP1, CD24, EpCAM, EGFR, MUC1, and HER2, on plasma sEVs were profiled for the molecular detection and classification of ovarian cancers. Profiling these seven protein markers enabled the precise detection of ovarian cancer with a high accuracy of 94.2 %. In addition, combined with machine learning algorithms, such as linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF), the molecular classifications of ovarian cancer cell lines and subtypes were achieved with overall accuracies of 82.9 % and 55.4 %, respectively. Therefore, this simple, rapid, and non‐invasive method exhibited considerable potential for the auxiliary diagnosis and molecular classification of ovarian cancers in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis (EMs) is a gynecological disorder. Ligustrazine has been reported to exert an anti-inflammatory effect on EMs. However, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. To investigate the effects of ligustrazine on the progression of EMs and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) were isolated from patients with EMs or control subjects. HESCs were treated with 25, 50, 100, or 200 μM ligustrazine for 1, 3, 6, or 12 h. Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to determine the levels of proteins and inflammatory cytokines, respectively. The binding between STAT3 and insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) was assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assays. The relationship between IGF2BP1 and RELA was assessed by RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assay. Phosphorylated STAT3, IGF2BP1, RELA, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β were upregulated in EMs tissues compared with control tissues (by 1.79-, 2.55-, 1.58-, 3.01-, 2.55-, and 3.34-fold, respectively). Ligustrazine inhibited the expression of p-STAT3, IGF2BP1, RELA, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Overexpression of STAT3 promoted RELA-mediated inflammatory responses, while ligustrazine (100 µM) notably reversed this phenomenon. Ligustrazine also alleviated RELA-induced inflammation via downregulating IGF2BP1. STAT3 bound to the promoter of IGF2BP1, and IGF2BP1 bound to the RELA mRNA. Ligustrazine inhibited inflammation in EMs via regulating the STAT3/IGF2BP1/RELA axis. These findings propose a new agent against EMs and support the development of ligustrazine-based treatment strategies for EMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pure waterjet (WJ) drilling process of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates causes damage, such as tears and delamination, leading to poor-quality hole-wall. Ultrasonic-vibration-assisted technology can improve the quality of hole walls and repair such damage, particularly the delamination of CFRP laminates. In this study, we conducted a numerical and experimental investigation of a high-pressure pure WJ drilling process of CFRP laminates performed using ultrasonic vibration to improve the delamination phenomena of the pure WJ drilling process. An explicit dynamic model using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method was employed to simulate the ultrasonic-vibration-assisted WJ drilling of CFRP laminates and ascertain the optimal drilling performance. Thereafter, WJ drilling experiments were conducted to verify the numerical simulation. The results illustrate that the employment of ultrasonic vibration significantly increased the material removal rate by approximately 20%. Moreover, the water-wedging action that induces the propagation of delamination was weakened with an increase in the amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration. The hole-wall quality was optimal with the following drilling parameters: amplitude, 10 μm; frequency, 20 kHz; and WJ velocity, 900 m/s. The delamination zone length was only 0.19 mm and was reduced by 85.6% compared with the values obtained using non-assisted WJ drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting technology has notable advantages such as high cutting efficiency and cost-effectiveness, particularly for machining difficult-to-process metal matrix composites such as SiCp/Al. However, the uncontrollable kerf shape, cutting depth, and surface quality render AWJ grooving on SiCp/Al substrate challenging. In this study, a novel method for grooving on SiCp/Al substrate using AWJ, with the aim of enhancing the quality of AWJ machining processes, is proposed. First, a predictive model based on the improved model of erosion by the impact of solid particle is established for the geometry of groove kerf profiles. Second, a comprehensive analysis is performed to investigate the influence of process parameters on the quality of grooves using the waterjet cutting mechanism, thereby identifying the optimal process parameters for achieving superior results. Finally, the proposed predictive model of the kerf depth is used to predict the groove depth in multi-pass waterjet cutting. The results reveal that the combination of machining parameters comprising 100 MPa, 500 mm/min, and two waterjet passes achieves a desirable kerf shape, lowest roughness value of 5.11 μm, and flattest bottom profile. Additionally, these parameters achieve a high material removal rate of up to 1326.17 mm3/min. The predicted depth results agree well with the five multi-pass experimental results, and the average difference between the predicted model and the experimental results is 5.24%. This study can provide crucial guidelines for the AWJ grooving process of SiCp/Al substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is an effective technique for carotid artery stenosis and has been widely used. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) has good effect on the treatment of both painful and non-painful diseases. To investigate the efficacy of SGB in terms of cerebral protection in patients undergoing CEA and to analyze its mechanism Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 120 patients who underwent CEA were enrolled and divided into study group (SG) (60 cases, general anesthesia and SGB) and control group (CG) (60 cases, general anesthesia). The differences in hemodynamic indexes, middle cerebral artery (MCA) hemodynamic indexes, and endocrine-related indexes between the two groups at the baseline, after induction of anesthesia (induction), and skin incision (incision) were compared. The differences in neurological function and pain level between two groups 1 day pre-operatively (pre-op 1), 1 day postoperatively (POD 1), 2 day postoperatively (POD 2), and 7 day postoperatively (POD 7) were also evaluated. Perioperative adverse events and intraoperative anesthetics dosage were compared between two groups; Results: The systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean pulse pressure difference, and heart rate of SG at incision were lower than those of the CG (p < 0.05); Vs, Vd, and Vm of MCA were significantly higher in the SG than in CG at induction and incision (p < 0.05). Cortisol and aldosterone levels were lower and potassium and insulin levels were higher in the SG than in CG at induction and incision (p < 0.05); At pre-op 1, POD 1, POD 2, and POD 7, the VAS scores of patients in the SG were significantly lower than those in CG at POD 1, POD 2, and POD 7 (p < 0.05). The patients in SG showed decreased incidence of perioperative adverse events compared with the CG (p < 0.05); The consumption of anesthetics in the SG was lower than that in CG (p < 0.05). Conclusion: SGB in patients undergoing CEA treatment can improve perioperative cerebral blood supply and reduce the consumption of anesthetics and the incidence of perioperative adverse events, which is safe and feasible as a cerebral protection measure. Meanwhile, SGB may also help stabilize patients' perioperative hemodynamic indexes, but the result still needs to be supported by further large sample data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), the development of new AIE fluorogens (AIEgens) has become a significant field owing to their versatile application in diverse fields. To achieve aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) to AIE conversion, considerable attention is paid to the strategy of changing the stacking pattern of molecules, and several researchers are focused on modulating the electronic structure of the excited state of molecules. In this study, acetoxy and methoxy electron-donating groups (EDG) and carboxyl and ester electron-withdrawing groups (EWG) were introduced onto quinoline through a facile Suzuki coupling reaction. The experimental results reveal that the behavior of quinoline derivatives can be converted from ACQ to AIE by altering substituents from EDG to EWG. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) and transient and steady-state spectra were employed to reveal that their AIE mechanism involved the restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM). In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the ACQ to AIE transition can be achieved by changing the reorganization energy distribution of the molecule with different substituents in the excited state. Furthermore, the coordination of quinoline nitrogen atoms to Fe3+ facilitated the production of larger nanofibers that possessed enhanced AIE properties. This unique characteristic was utilized to leverage the capabilities of methyl 4-(quinolin-5-yl)benzoate (5-MQB) as a ratiometric fluorescent probe for detecting Fe3+ in aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]