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We have established a long-term, stable primary chick forebrain neuron (FBN) culture on a microelectrode array platform as a biosensor system for neurotoxicant screening and for neuroelectrophysiological studies for multiple purposes. This paper reports some of our results, which characterize the biosensor pharmacologically. Dose-response experiments were conducted using NMDA receptor antagonist AP5 and GABAA receptor agonist musimol (MUS). The chick FBN biosensor (C-FBN-biosensor) responds to the two agents in a pattern similar to that of rodent counterparts; the estimated EC50s (the effective concentration that causes 50% inhibition of the maximal effect) are 2.3 μM and 0.25 μM, respectively. Intercultural and intracultural reproducibility and long-term reusability of the C-FBN-biosensor are addressed and discussed. A phenomenon of sensitization of the biosensor that accompanies intracultural reproducibility in paired dose-response experiments for the same agent (AP5 or MUS) is reported. The potential application of the C-FBN-biosensor as an alternative to rodent biosensors in shared sensing domains (NMDA receptor and GABAA receptor) is suggested. Keywords: Biosensor, Microelectrode array, Neurotoxicity, Chick forebrain neuron, AP5, Musimol

Cancer support group has been studied as an intervention to improve patient psychosocial well-being. The effectiveness of support groups among Asian breast cancer (BC) patients has been unclear and received limited attention to the evidence of its effectiveness. The social-cognitive processing theory underlies the principles of support groups and advocates that a positive, supportive social environment can improve cognitive processing. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrative review of research evidence on the effectiveness of cancer support groups with Asian BC patients. Empirical studies related to support group among Asian and Asian American BC patients published between 1982 and April 2014 are reviewed. There are 15 studies selected (12 from the Asian-Pacific region and 3 from Western countries). The review includes 1 qualitative study, 3 descriptive studies, 1 mixed method design, and 10 experimental or quasi-experimental studies. The support group intervention activities include psycho-educational program such as health education, problem-solving, and stress management. These studies support the effectiveness of support group in alleviating psychological distress and supporting quality of life of Asian BC women. Overall, there is limited research on the use and effectiveness of support groups with Asians cancer patients in Asia and in Western countries. Without accounting for Asian immigrants overseas, the Asian population is expected to grow from 4.3 to 5.3 billion by 2050. As cancer patients become more diverse due to global emigration, more rigorous studies examining the effectiveness of psychosocial intervention among transcultural cancer patients are needed.

Objective: This paper summarizes the barriers and challenges in cancer care reported from a validation project of a self-management intervention handbook from Chinese-American cancer patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Methods: Seven health-care providers (HCPs) and 16 Chinese-American cancer survivors with LEP were invited to validate a self-management intervention handbook through networking sampling method. Bilingual versions were developed and validated using the repeated translation process. Online and paper-based survey and interview were conducted to collect information on the perception of barriers and experiences on cancer care. Data were analyzed by the content analysis method. Results: The HCPs reported a bilingual self-management handbook which is useful and feasible for patient self-management. The challenges in giving cancer care to LEP patients included: patients do not engage in discussion, different cultural health beliefs, unable to speak to patients in their primary language, and patients are less likely to discuss emotional and social challenges during treatments. The common barriers and experiences during cancer care included: limited understanding about treatment/medication and side effects, language barriers such as unable to communicate to make the decision, unable to understand information related to resources and do not know what questions to ask, and do not know what to expect during their cancer treatment. Conclusions: The current findings highlight the need of cancer self-management support for culturally diverse LEP cancer patients. Further research can include applying the supportive intervention to all LEP cancer patients.

Functional regulation of proteins by ligand-protein interactions plays a crucial role in understanding biological processes and identifying potential drugs. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) plays a pivotal role in sterile inflammation as a key immunomodulatory protein. Genistein, a well-known isoflavone compound, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects. In this study, we investigated the genistein-HMGB1 interactions using experimental and computational approaches. Our results revealed that genistein binds to HMGB1 with a KD value of 6.06 × 10 -5  M. The addition of genistein significantly quenched the fluorescence of HMGB1. Thermodynamic analyses demonstrated that hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic forces are the primary forces during the binding process. Furthermore, the interaction between genistein and HMGB1 led to changes in the microenvironment of protein chromogenic amino acids and subtle alterations in the protein secondary structure. Molecular modeling results indicate that Pro95, Pro98, and Lys154 are the major amino acid residues for genistein binding to HMGB1. Meanwhile, at the cellular level, an inhibitory effect of genistein on HMGB1-induced NO release from microglia was observed, demonstrating an inhibition rate of 42.1 %. Our studies demonstrated that genistein could be applied in treating neurological diseases through its interaction with HMGB1., 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 integration of photothermal therapy (PTT) and gas therapy (GT) on a nanoplatform shows great potential in cancer treatment. In this paper, a tumor-targeted near-infrared/ultraviolet (NIR/UV) triggered PTT/GT synergistic therapeutic nanoplatform, PB-CD-PLL(NF)-FA, was designed based on Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles, 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzotrifluoro (NF)-grafted polylysine (PLL(NF)), and folic acid (FA). PB serves as a core to load PLL(NF) through host-guest interaction and can further modify FA. PB-CD-PLL(NF)-FA can be enriched in tumor tissues by passive targeting with enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and active targeting with FA, and can promote the decomposition of NF under UV light irradiation to achieve the precise release of nitric oxide (NO). PB has a good photothermal conversion efficiency in the NIR region and can be used for PTT. The results of in vivo and in vitro studies showed that PB-CD-PLL(NF)-FA has high photothermal conversion efficiency under NIR laser irradiation, and can release NO on demand under UV light irradiation, which shows a good synergistic therapeutic effect of tumor PTT/GT., 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 © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Calcium-based nanomaterials-mediated Ca 2+ overload-induced pyroptosis and its application in tumor therapy have received considerable attention. However, the calcium buffering capacity of tumor cells can maintain mitochondrial calcium homeostasis, so it is important to effectively disrupt this homeostasis to activate pyroptosis. Here, a nano-modulator CUR@CaCO 3 -PArg@HA (CCAH) was developed to regulate calcium overload in multiple channels and activate pyroptosis. Hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated nano-modulators achieve tumor targeting, and under the weakly acidic conditions of the tumor microenvironment (TME), CaCO 3 nanoparticles rapidly release curcumin (CUR), inhibit the outflow of intracellular Ca 2+ , and release exogenous Ca 2+ . Meanwhile, poly-L-arginine (PArg) reacts with reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by mitochondrial imbalance, releasing nitric oxide (NO) and stimulating the endoplasmic reticulum to release endogenous Ca 2+ . The combined action of endogenous and exogenous Ca 2+ effectively activates caspase-1, which cleaves gasdermin-D (GSDMD) to produce the active N-terminus (GSDMD-N), effectively activating pyroptosis. Notably, the generated ROS and NO can also generate more oxidizing ONOO - , further exacerbating the imbalance in mitochondrial homeostasis. This work demonstrates that simultaneous modulation of exogenous and endogenous Ca 2+ can disrupt mitochondrial Ca 2+ homeostasis and effectively activate pyroptosis to treat tumors, which is expected to promote the progression of cancer treatment in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Minimally verbal children with autism are understudied and lack effective treatment options. Personalized continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) targeting the amygdala and its circuitry may be a potential therapeutic approach for this population., Methods: In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, minimally verbal children with autism (ages 2-8 years) received 4 weeks of cTBS. An amygdala-optimized functional connectivity (AOFC) group (N=23) received personalized stimulation targeting a left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex site functionally connected with the amygdala. A non-optimized (NO) control group (N=21) received stimulation at a standard prefrontal site. We assessed changes in Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule scores, amygdala volume, spontaneous neural activity, and functional connectivity., Results: Personalized AOFC-guided cTBS improved social and communication skills with an effect size twice that of the NO group (Cohen's d = 0.55 vs. 0.24). The AOFC group showed greater reductions in amygdala volume, spontaneous neural activity, and hyper-connectivity. Network-level amygdala connectivity changes with default mode, frontoparietal, and dorsal attention networks were correlated with clinical improvements. Field mapping analysis revealed that greater electric field overlap between standard and optimized targets predicted better treatment outcomes., Conclusions: Personalized AOFC-guided cTBS enhanced social skills and communication in minimally verbal children with autism by modulating amygdala structure and connectivity. Changes in amygdala network connectivity predicted clinical improvements, suggesting a mechanistic link between neural circuit plasticity and behavioral outcomes. These findings demonstrate the potential of precision-targeted neuromodulation in addressing a critical gap in autism treatment for this understudied population., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Zn is a common heavy metal pollutant in water bodies and accounts for the largest proportion of heavy metal pollutants in many rivers entering the sea. This study investigated the growth and physiological response characteristics of Sargassum fusiforme under different divalent Zn ion concentration gradients. We observed that low concentration Zn 2+ treatment (<2 mg L -1 ) exerted no significant effect on the growth rate, photosynthesis, and nitrogen metabolism-related indicators of S. fusiforme. Treatment with medium to high Zn 2+ concentrations (2-25 mg L -1 ) significantly affected the growth rate, photosynthetic activity, nitrogen absorption rate, antioxidant enzyme activity, membrane lipids, and DNA peroxidation damage-related indicators of S. fusiforme. Under medium-to-high concentration treatments, the SOD activity of S. fusiforme decreased with increasing concentration, and the CAT activity increased with increasing treatment concentration. The MDA and H 2 O 2 contents increased with increasing Zn 2+ concentrations. At a Zn 2+ concentration of 5 mg L -1 , the relative conductivity of S. fusiforme significantly increased. Treatment with higher Zn 2+ concentrations significantly increased the 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) content, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) activity, and Histone H2AX content of S. fusiforme, thus indicating that Zn 2+ stress causes DNA damage. All Zn 2+ concentrations induced mannitol accumulation, and soluble protein content decreased with increasing Zn 2+ concentration. In summary, we observed that a Zn 2+ concentration of 2-5 mg L -1 may be the critical value for the response of S. fusiforme to Zn 2+ stress. Higher concentrations of Zn in the environment can exert toxic effects on the growth, development, and biomass accumulation of S. fusiforme. This study provides a reference for the risk assessment and aquaculture management of seaweeds., 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 © 2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the depletion of cholinergic neurons and the accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques. The complexity and multifaceted nature of AD necessitate further exploration of multi-target drugs for its treatment. In this study, a series of novel pyrazolinone-based compounds were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and antioxidants. The lead compounds ET11 and ET21 showed strong inhibitory activity against human AChE, with IC 50 values of 6.34 and 1.81 nM, respectively. In vitro DPPH and ORAC FL assays confirmed the compounds' strong antioxidant capabilities. ET11 exhibited excellent neuroprotective activity in the tBHP-induced SH-SY5Y cell damage model. Benefiting from the pyridopyrazolone moiety, ET11 showed significant Cu 2+ chelating ability and effectively inhibited Cu 2+ -induced Aβ aggregation. In vivo behavioral studies and histopathology analysis preliminarily confirmed the compound's cognitive improvement and neuroprotective effects. Overall, these findings suggested that compound ET11 is expected to play a synergistic role in the treatment of AD, potentially slowing disease progression., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a minimally invasive therapeutic approach, that uses ultrasound activating sonosensitizers to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for inducing the tumor cell death. However, the SDT is always limited by the dissatisfactory performance of sonosensitizers and hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME). Nano iron oxide is a narrow bandgap semiconductor material with good biocompatibility. The doping of manganese into iron oxide (Mn-doped iron oxide nano-crystals named Mn-Fe 2 O 3 NCs) not only reduced the band gap of iron oxide and altered the valence band position of iron oxide, but also introduced more oxygen vacancies and inhibited the complexation of electrons (e - ) and holes (h + ), significantly enhancing the ability to generate ROS. The Mn-Fe 2 O 3 NCs improved the hypoxic TME by self-generating oxygen and consuming endogenous glutathione (GSH), which amplified oxidative stress and further enhanced the SDT. The therapeutic results showed that the prepared Mn-Fe 2 O 3 NCs could efficiently inhibit the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells by SDT (80.49 % inhibition ratio in vivo). Overall, we propose a simple method to design inorganic sonosensitizers for enhancing efficient sonodynamic therapy., 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 development of biomass-based eco-friendly aerogel with superior flame retardancy, thermal insulation, and mechanical properties at the same time has long been a tough challenge. In this study, the polysaccharide-based aerogels composed of konjac glucomannan, sodium alginate, and supramolecular assembled melamine phytate (MPA) nanosheets were successfully fabricated through the freeze-drying method. Owing to the excellent charcoal-forming and non-combustible gas-releasing effect of MPA nanosheets, the thermal stability and flame retardancy properties of the aerogels were both significantly enhanced, with the highest limiting oxygen index value reaching 42.4 %. Meanwhile, appropriate MPA embedded in the pore walls greatly enhanced the compressive strength of the aerogel (364.9 kPa) and can withstand >7100 times its weight without visual deformation. Moreover, the thermal insulation effect was quite attractive with a thermal conductivity of 0.0385-0.0420 W/mK. The present work provided an environmentally friendly method for the fabrication of multifunctional sustainable fire-resistant aerogels, which showed promising prospects in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The glioma is one of the most aggressive tumors in humans, which is difficult to eradicate clinically. Therefore, we devised a porphyrin-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) crosslinking hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel nanocomposite through double-network (Cu-MOF-S-S-HA-Gel, CSSH-Gel), which is tumor responsive for enhanced gas therapy and sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Firstly, the hydrogels show extraordinary injectability and biocompatibility, which enables intratumor administration to circumvent the danger associated with surgery. The Cu-MOF-Cys and HA-Cys are interconnected through ether and disulfide bonds to establish a dual-network gel structure. The overexpressed glutathione (GSH) in tumor microenvironment (TME) reacts with disulfide bonds to release of the nanosensitizer (Cu-MOF). Subsequently, Cu-MOF generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon ultrasound irradiation for SDT, and releases L-cysteine(L-Cys) catalyzed by 3-mercapto pyruvate sulfotransferase (3-MST) to generate H 2 S for gas therapy. The CSSH-Gel obtained excellent synergistic anti-tumor effects (82.34 % inhibition ratio in vivo), which holds tremendous promise for the advancement of minimally invasive glioma therapies., 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.)

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) plays an important role in synovial inflammation and joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As the most abundant mRNA modification, N6-methyladenosine (m 6 A) is involved in the development of various diseases; however, its role in RA remains to be defined. In this study, we reported the elevated expression of the m 6 A demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) in FLS and synovium from RA patients. Functionally, FTO knockdown or treatment with FB23-2, an inhibitor of the mRNA m 6 A demethylase FTO, inhibited the migration, invasion and inflammatory response of RA FLS, however, FTO-overexpressed RA FLS exhibited increased migration, invasion and inflammatory response. We further demonstrated that FTO promoted ADAMTS15 mRNA stability in an m 6 A-IGF2BP1 dependent manner. Notably, the severity of arthritis was significantly reduced in CIA mice with FB23-2 administration or CIA rats with intra-articular injection of FTO shRNA. Our results illustrate the contribution of FTO-mediated m 6 A modification to joint damage and inflammation in RA and suggest that FTO might be a potential therapeutic target in RA., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Research Question: Does luteal phase support (LPS) with oral progesterone improve the live birth rate (LBR) in patients undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles with letrozole?, Design: This retrospective cohort study included 1199 IUI cycles with letrozole between January 2017 and December 2021. A nearest neighbour random matching approach was employed to pair the LPS group and the control group in a 1:2 ratio. Eight variables were chosen for matching in the propensity score matching (PSM) model: age; body mass index; duration of infertility; cause(s) of infertility; antral follicle count; basal concentration of FSH; rank of IUI attempts; and leading follicle size. LBR was selected as the primary outcome., Results: In total, 427 LPS cycles were matched with 772 non-LPS (control) cycles after PSM. The LBR was significantly higher in the LPS group compared with the control group (19.7% versus 14.5%; P = 0.0255). The clinical pregnancy rate (23.2% versus 17.6%; P = 0.0245) and ongoing pregnancy rate (20.6% versus 15.8%; P = 0.0437) were also significantly higher in the LPS group. The biochemical pregnancy rate, ectopic pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate were similar in the two groups (P > 0.05). The intergroup comparison revealed no significant variances in terms of gestational age, mode of delivery, ectopic pregnancy rate or abortion rate. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in birth weight or birth length between the two groups., Conclusions: Luteal support with oral progesterone significantly improved the LBR in IUI cycles with letrozole, but did not affect neonatal outcomes., (Copyright © 2024 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The mechanical, barrier properties, and water resistance of packaging materials are crucial for the preservation of fruits and vegetables. In this study, zein was incorporated as a hydrophobic substance into the konjac glucomannan (KGM)/curdlan (KC) system. The KC/zein (KCZ) showed good compatibility with the zein aggregates uniformly distributed in the network formed by an entanglement of KGM and curdlan micelles based on hydrogen bonds. The presence of zein inhibited the extension of the KC entangled structure and enhanced the solid-like behavior. The high content of zein (>6 %) increased zein aggregation and negatively affected the structure and properties of KCZ. The zein addition significantly improved the water vapor permeability, tensile strength, and elongation at break. The hydrophobicity of the KCZ films was significantly enhanced, accompanied by the water contact angle increasing from 81° to 112°, and the moisture content, swelling, and soluble solid loss ratio decreasing apparently. The K 56 C 40 Z 4 coating exhibited an excellent preservation effect to inhibit the respiration of cherry tomatoes, significantly reducing the water loss and firmness decline and maintaining the appearance, total solid, total acid, and ascorbic acid content. This work provided a strategy to fabricate hydrophobic packaging for the preservation of fruits and vegetables., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hip fracture always requires hospitalization with high cost, which cause the complicated experiences and feelings., Objective: To inform pre- and in-hospital communication practices between healthcare professionals and patients through a systematic review and qualitative research that synthesizes the experiences and feelings of older patients with hip fracture during the perioperative period., Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and three Chinese databases for relevant studies. Qualitative studies were included if they were related to the experiences and needs of hospitalization of older patients with hip fracture. Study quality was evaluated using the 2016 Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation criteria for qualitative research, and the results were consolidated using an thematic synthesis approach., Results: Sixteen studies were included in our meta-synthesis. We extracted 58 clear research topics. Eight new categories were formed after induction and integration, which were finally merged into three integrated results. Integration result 1: Patients suffered a large amount of physical and psychological trauma. Integration result 2: A balance of proper protection and independence for patients is required. Integration result 3: Adequate pre-discharge preparation is required., Conclusions: Our review suggests that healthcare professionals should reduce pain catastrophizing and the fear of falling after surgery among older people with hip fracture. Furthermore, adequate pre-discharge preparation should be made jointly with patients. Meeting patients' diverse needs by various methods will promote active and healthy aging., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) causes millions of premature deaths each year worldwide. Oxidative potential (OP) has been proposed as a better metric for aerosol health effects than PM 2.5 mass concentration alone. In this study, we report for the first time online measurements of PM 2.5 OP in wintertime Beijing and surroundings based on a dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. These measurements were combined with co-located PM chemical composition measurements to identify the main source categories of aerosol OP. In addition, we highlight the influence of two distinct pollution events on aerosol OP (spring festival celebrations including fireworks and a severe regional dust storm). Source apportionment coupled with multilinear regression revealed that primary PM and oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) were both important sources of OP, accounting for 41 ± 12 % and 39 ± 10 % of the OP v DTT (OP normalized by the sampled air volume), respectively. The small remainder was attributed to fireworks and dust, mainly resulting from the two distinct pollution events. During the 3.5-day spring festival period, OP v DTT spiked to 4.9 nmol min -1  m -3 with slightly more contribution from OOA (42 ± 11 %) and less from primary PM (31 ± 15 %). During the dust storm, hourly-averaged PM 2.5 peaked at a very high value of 548 μg m -3 due to the dominant presence of dust-laden particles (88 % of total PM 2.5 ). In contrast, only mildly elevated OP v DTT values (up to 1.5 nmol min -1  m -3 ) were observed during this dust event. This observation indicates that variations in OP v DTT cannot be fully explained using PM 2.5 alone; one must also consider the chemical composition of PM 2.5 when studying aerosol health effects. Our study highlights the need for continued pollution control strategies to reduce primary PM emissions, and more in-depth investigations into the source origins of OOA, to minimize the health risks associated with PM exposure in Beijing., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although a peak incidence of psoriasis in women aged around 60 years has been observed, the link between reproductive lifespan and late-onset psoriatic diseases is underexplored. This study aims to elucidate the association between reproductive lifespan and the risk of late-onset psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Utilizing the UK Biobank data, we conducted a prospective cohort study in postmenopausal women without baseline psoriatic diseases. The exposure variables included age at natural menopause (ANM) and duration from menarche to menopause, termed reproductive years. The outcome variables were incident psoriasis and PsA. We employed Cox regression analysis, factoring in polygenic risk scores for psoriatic diseases and recognized risk factors. We found that later ANM and longer reproductive years were significantly associated with decreased risks of late-onset psoriasis and PsA in a dose-dependent manner (P<.05). ANM after age 55 years led to a 34 and 46% risk reduction in late-onset psoriasis and PsA, respectively, compared with ANM before age 45 years (P<.001). The population-attributable risks of ANM were 17.4% for late-onset psoriasis and 21.6% for PsA. In conclusion, reproductive lifespan, with its inherent homeostasis, plays a pivotal yet overlooked role in late-onset psoriatic diseases. Investigations into estrogen-centric causes and sex-specific interventions are imperative., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As one of the major public health problems, cancers seriously threaten the human health. Among them, lung cancer is considered to be one of the most life-threatening malignancies. Therefore, developing early diagnosis technology and timely treatment for lung cancer is urgent. Recent research has witnessed that measuring changes of biomarkers expressed in lung cancer has practical significance. Meanwhile, we note that bioimaging with organic fluorescent probes plays an important role for its high sensitivity, real-time analysis and simplicity of operation. In the past years, kinds of organic fluorescent probes targeting lung cancer related biomarker have been developed. Herein, we summarize the research progress of organic fluorescent probes for the detection of lung cancer related biomarkers in this review, along with their design principle, luminescence mechanism and bioimaging application. Additionally, we put forward some challenges and future prospects from our perspective., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mitophagy plays indispensable roles in maintaining intracellular homeostasis in most eukaryotic cells by selectively eliminating superfluous components or damaged organelles. Thus, the co-operation of mitochondrial probes and lysosomal probes was presented to directly monitor mitophagy in dual colors. Nowadays, most of the lysosomal probes are composed of groups sensitive to pH, such as morpholine, amine and other weak bases. However, the pH in lysosomes would fluctuate in the process of mitophagy, leading to the optical interference. Thus, it is crucial to develop a pH-insensitive probe to overcome this tough problem to achieve exquisite visualization of mitophagy., Results: In this study, we rationally prepared a pH-independent lysosome probe to reduce the optical interference in mitophagy, and thus the process of mitophagy could be directly monitored in dual color through cooperation between IVDI and MTR, depending on Förster resonance energy transfer mechanism. IVDI shows remarkable fluorescence enhancement toward the increase of viscosity, and the fluorescence barely changes when pH varies. Due to the sensitivity to viscosity, the probe can visualize micro-viscosity alterations in lysosomes without washing procedures, and it showed better imaging properties than LTR. Thanks to the inertia of IVDI to pH, IVDI can exquisitely monitor mitophagy with MTR by FRET mechanism despite the changes of lysosomal pH in mitophagy, and the reduced fluorescence intensity ratio of green and red channels can indicate the occurrence of mitophagy. Based on the properties mentioned above, the real-time increase of micro-viscosity in lysosomes during mitophagy was exquisitely monitored through employing IVDI., Significance and Novelty: Compared with the lysosomal fluorescent probes sensitive to pH, the pH-inert probe could reduce the influence of pH variation during mitophagy to achieve exquisite visualization of mitophagy in real-time. Besides, the probe could monitor the increase of lysosomal micro-viscosity in mitophagy. So, the probe possesses tremendous potential in the visualization of dynamic changes related to lysosomes in various physiological processes., 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.)

To enhance the water-resistance and antibacterial properties of KGM films, mandarin oil (MO), was directly emulsified by pectin and then dispersed to the KGM matrix. The effect of MO concentration (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2 wt%) on the performance of the film-forming emulsions as well as the emulsion films was investigated. The results revealed that pectin could encapsulate and protect MO, and KGM as film matrix could further contributed to the high stability of the film-forming emulsions. The FT-IR, XRD, and SEM suggested that MO stabilized by pectin was uniformly distributed in the KGM matrix. The compatibility and good interaction between KGM and pectin contributed to highly dense and compact structure. Furthermore, increasing the concentration of MO effectively improved water-resistance, oxygen barrier, and antimicrobial activity of the KGM based films. The 1.5 wt% MO loaded KGM film had the highest tensile strength (72.22 MPa) and water contact angle (θ = 95.73°), reduced the WVP and oxygen permeability by about 25.8 % and 32.8 times, respectively, prolonged the shelf life of strawberries for 8 days. As demonstrated, the 1.5 wt% MO-loaded KGM film has considerable potential for high-performance natural biodegradable active films to ensure food safety and reduce environmental impacts., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The emergence of nanotechnology has opened up a new way for tumor therapy. Among them, self-assembled nanotechnology has received extensive attention in medicine due to its simple preparation process, high drug-loading capacity, low toxicity, and low cost. This review mainly summarizes the preparation methods of self-assembled nano-delivery systems, as well as the self-assembled mechanism of carrier-free nanomedicine, polymer-carried nanomedicine, polypeptide, and metal drugs, and their applications in tumor therapy. In addition, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages, future challenges, and opportunities of these self-assembled nanomedicines, which provide important references for the development and application of self-assembled nanotechnology in the field of medical therapy., 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.)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are high-profile organic pollutants to be poisonous, carcinogenic, and mutagenic, and widely distributed at trace levels in the environment. In order to effectively enrich PAHs, two stable covalent organic frameworks (COFs, TAPT-OMe-PDA and TPB-DMTP) were prepared by combining 2,4,6-tri(4-aminophenyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TAPT) and 1,3,5-tri(4-aminophenyl) benzene (TAPB) with 2,5-dimethoxy-phenyl-1,4-diformaldehyde (OMe-PDA), respectively. Even though the surface area of TAPT-OMe-PDA was much lower than that of TPB-DMTP, it still demonstrated much better extraction efficiencies towards PAHs as the solid phase microextraction (SPME) coating. Therefore, the TAPT-OMe-PDA coated fiber was coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to establish a practical and sensitive method, after the extraction parameters (extraction time, extraction temperature, desorption temperature, desorption time, salt concentration and pH) were optimized. This developed analytical method showed wide linear ranges, low limits of detection, good repeatability and reproducibility. Finally, five PAHs in three water samples were detected and quantified precisely (2.72-38.7 ng·L -1 ) with satisfactory recoveries (88.3%-118%)., 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., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Due to aging, older adults with cancer (OAC) may be confronted with a complex interplay of multiple age-related issues; coupled with receiving cancer treatment, OAC may experience multiple concurrent symptoms that require the identification of the core symptom for effective management. Constructing symptom networks will help in the identification of core symptoms and help achieve personalized and precise interventions. Currently, few studies have used symptom networks to identify core symptoms in OAC. Our objectives were to construct symptom networks of OAC, explore the core symptoms, and compare the differences in symptom networks among various subgroups., Materials and Methods: Secondary analysis was performed using data from 485 OAC collected in 2021 from a cross-sectional survey named the Shanghai CANcer Survivor (SCANS) Report. The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) was used to assess the incidence and severity of cancer-related symptoms. We used the R package to construct symptom networks and identify the centrality indices. The network comparison test was used to compare network differences among the subgroups., Results: The most common and severe symptoms reported were fatigue, disturbed sleep, and difficulty remembering. The network density was 0.718. Vomiting (r s  = 1.81, r b  = 2.13), fatigue (r s  = 1.54, r b  = 1.93), and sadness (r s  = 0.81, r b  = 0.69) showed the highest strength values, which suggested that these symptoms were more likely to co-occur with other symptoms. The network comparison tests showed significant differences in symptom network density between the subgroups categorized as survival "< 5 years" and survival "≥ 5 years" (p = 0.002), as well as between the those with comorbidities and those without comorbidities (p = 0.037)., Discussion: Our study identified symptom networks in 485 OAC. Vomiting, fatigue, and sadness were important symptoms in the symptom networks of OAC. The symptom networks differed among populations with different survival durations and comorbidities. Our network analysis provides a reference for future targeted symptom management and interventions in OAC. In the future, conducting dynamic research on symptom networks will be crucial to explore interaction mechanisms and change trends between symptoms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Designing carbon materials with specific oxygen-containing functional groups is very attractive for the precise decoration of carbon electrode materials and the basic understanding of specific charge storage mechanisms, which contributes to the further development of high-performance carbon materials for energy storage and conversion applications. In this contribution, a hydroxyl-rich micropore-dominated porous carbon material was obtained by direct carbonization of cellulose. The content of oxygen atoms in hydroxyl form in the obtained carbon is nearly 6 at.%. With the pyrolysis temperature changed, the macroscopic morphology, the specific surface area, surface functional groups, and graphitization degree of the carbon materials were changed strongly. Besides, the carbon material obtained with a carbonization temperature of 900 °C (C9) showed enhanced specific capacitance in sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, and sodium sulfate aqueous electrolytes, which mainly originates from the contribution of pseudocapacitance. The pseudocapacitance mainly depends on the presence of surface hydroxyl functional groups. Besides, the pseudocapacitance value of C9 material in neutral electrolytes (151.34 F g -1 ) is about twice that in acidic (75.9 F g -1 ) and alkaline (75.78 F g -1 ) electrolytes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts to declare. 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.)

Fruit is prone to rot and deterioration due to oxidative browning and microbial infection during storage, which can cause serious economic losses and food safety problems. It is urgent to develop a multifunctional composite coating to extend the shelf life of fruits. In this work, multifunctional quaternized chitosan nanoparticles (QCs/TA NPs) with excellent antibacterial and antioxidant properties were prepared based on electrostatic interaction using tannic acid instead of conventional cross-linking agents. Meanwhile, konjac glucomannan (KGM) with high viscosity, edible and biodegradable properties was used as a dispersant to disperse and stabilize the nanoparticles, and as a film-forming agent to form a multifunctional composite coating. The composite coating exhibited excellent oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, antioxidant, antibacterial, mechanical properties, hydrophobicity, and UV shielding properties. Surprisingly, the oxygen permeability of the K-NPs-15 composite film was as low as 1.93 × 10 -13 (cm 3 ·cm)/(cm 2 ·s·Pa). The banana spray preservation experiments proved that the K-NPs-15 composite coating could effectively prolong the shelf life of bananas. Therefore, this study provides a new idea for designing multifunctional freshness preservation coatings, which has a broad application prospect., 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 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Vegetable oils-based pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are green and sustainable but face unsatisfactory adhesion strengths and are prone to aging during storage and application due to the existence of residual double bonds and massive ester bonds. Nine common antioxidants (tea polyphenol palmitate (TPP), caffeic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene, tertiary butylhydroquinone, butylated hydroxyanisole, propyl gallate, and tea polyphenols) were grafted into epoxidized soybean oils-PSA (ESO-PSA) system to enhance antiaging properties and adhesion strengths. Results showed ESO-PSAs grafted with caffeic acid, tertiary butylhydroquinone, butylated hydroxyanisole, propyl gallate, tea polyphenols, or TPP didn't occur failure with TPP having best performance. The optimal conditions were ESO reacted with 0.9 % TPP, 70 % rosin ester, and 7.0 % phosphoric acid at 50 °C for 5 min, under which peel strength and loop tack increased to 2.460 N/cm and 1.66 N, respectively, but peel strength residue reduced to 138.09 %, compared with control (0.407 N/cm, 0.43 N, and 1669.99 %). Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric results showed TPP grafting increased the glass transition temperature of ESO-PSA slightly but improved its thermal stability significantly. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance results showed TPP, phosphoric acid, and rosin ester all partially participated in the covalently crosslinking polymerization of ESO-PSAs and the rest existed in the network structures in the free form., 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.)

In cold storage, fruits and vegetables still keep a low respiratory rate. Although cold storage is beneficial to maintain the quality of some fruits and vegetables, several factors (temperature and humidity fluctuations, heat inflow, air velocity, light, etc.) will accelerate moisture loss. Biopolymer films have attracted great attention for fruits and vegetables preservation because of their biodegradable and barrier properties. However, there is still a certain amount of water transfer occurring between storage environment/biopolymer films/fruits and vegetables (EFF). The effect of biopolymer films to inhibit moisture loss of fruits and vegetables and the water transfer mechanism in EFF system need to be studied systematically. Therefore, the moisture loss of fruits and vegetables, crucial properties, major components, fabrication methods, and formation mechanisms of biopolymer films were reviewed. Further, this study highlights the EFF system, responses of fruits and vegetables, and water transfer in EFF. This work aims to clarify the characteristics of EFF members, their influence on each other, and water transfer, which is conducive to improving the preservation efficiency of fruits and vegetables purposefully in future studies. In addition, the prospects of studies in EFF systems are shown., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biogenic and anthropogenic organic vapors are crucial precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the atmosphere. Here we conducted real-time measurements of gaseous organic compounds using a Vocus proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (Vocus PTR-MS) at the Shanghuang mountain site (1128 m a.s.l.) in southeastern China during November 2022. Our results revealed a substantial impact of mixed biogenic and anthropogenic compounds at the mountain site, with oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) comprising 74 % of the organic vapors. Two distinct periods, characterized by sunny days (P1) and persistent cloud events (P2), were observed. P1 exhibited higher concentrations of biogenic-related emissions compared to P2. For instance, isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes during P1 were 2.4-2.9 times higher than those during P2. OVOCs such as acetaldehyde, MVK + MACR, acetone, and MEK also showed higher concentrations during P1, indicating a dominant source from the photochemical oxidation of biogenic VOCs. Anthropogenic-related VOCs like benzene and toluene had higher concentrations during P2, displaying different diurnal cycles compared to P1. Our analysis identified four biogenic-related factors dominated by isoprene and sesquiterpene oxidation products, and two anthropogenic-related factors. During P1, biogenic sources contributed approximately 80 % to total organic compounds, while during P2, anthropogenic sources, particularly the aromatic-related factor, increased from 16 % to 35 %. Furthermore, a unique factor characterized by C 2 amines and C 3 amides and periodic plumes indicated the influence of industrial emissions from regional transport. The study highlights the significant variations in sources and compositions of gaseous organic compounds at regional mountain sites due to changes in meteorology and photochemical processing, potentially impacting regional ozone and SOA formation., 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.)

Objective: This study aimed to translate the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Eight Symptom Scale (BESS) into Chinese and subsequently examine the latent constructs and psychometric properties of the Chinese BESS (C-BESS) among patients with breast cancer., Methods: In Phase 1, the BESS was translated from English into Chinese using the FACIT translation method. An expert panel was convened to assess the content validity, and pilot testing was performed with 20 patients with breast cancer. In Phase 2, a total of 427 patients with breast cancer from four Grade-A public hospitals in China were recruited to examine psychometric properties of the C-BESS. The internal consistency was evaluated based on the Cronbach's α, and the construct validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and discriminant validity., Results: The C-BESS demonstrated satisfactory content validity index (item-level content validity index [I-CVI]: 0.8-1.0; scale-level content validity index [S-CVI]: 0.97). The Cronbach's α value for the entire C-BESS scale was 0.92. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that eight-factor structure of the C-BESS was a good fit to the data (CFI = 0.959, AGFI = 0.904, RMSEA = 0.05, RMR = 0.029). The scale exhibited good convergent validity and discriminant validity., Conclusions: This study translated and validated the C-BESS for use in the Chinese population. The results demonstrate that the C-BESS exhibits good reliability and validity, with ideal psychometric properties for assessing the symptom burden in Chinese patients with breast cancer. This tool can be effectively integrated into the routine symptom monitoring of patients with breast cancer in China, helping Chinese clinical professionals in conducting comprehensive assessments of symptom burden., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

The size of the adsorbent has the potential to influence extraction performance, but the size effect at the nanoscale is still poorly understood. In this study, organic-inorganic hybrid nanospheres (OIHNs) with controllable nanoscale sizes of 30, 50, and 100 nm were successfully prepared. These materials were further fabricated as solid phase microextraction (SPME) coatings with similar thicknesses, and coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to investigate their extraction performance. The results showed that the extraction capacities of OIHNs for chlorobenzenes (CBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were much better than those of their corresponding derived carbon materials, despite the smaller specific surface areas and lower porosities of them. In addition, the enrichment performance increased significantly with decreasing particle size, and the OIHN-30 coating demonstrated the best performance, with enrichment factors ranging from 1098 to 6853 for CBs. Finally, a highly sensitive and practical analytical method was established with a wide linear range of 0.5-5000 ng·L -1 , and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.43-1.7 ng·L -1 . The determinations of ultratrace CBs in five marine water samples and five fresh water samples were realized successfully. This study is expected to contribute to a deep understanding of the environmental effects of nanoparticles and the design of high-performance adsorbents., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Simultaneous quantification of multiple heavy metal ions (HMIs) is essential due to enhanced toxicity induced by synergistic effects. The currently available detection methods suffer from drawbacks such as costly devices, poor anti-interference, and specificity. In this work, a ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor for simultaneous detection of trace lead (Pb 2+ ) and mercury ions (Hg 2+ ) was developed. Here, a metal-organic framework, UiO-66-CNTs, with inherent and stable electrochemical signal was used for loading complementary strands (CSs) and internal reference. Guanine-rich and thymine-rich oligonucleotides, labelled with carbon dots (CDs), acted as aptamers (Apts) and hybridized with CSs to form M-shaped DNA complexes. Pb 2+ and Hg 2+ could be recognized and captured by Apts to form Pb 2+ -G-quadruplex and T-Hg 2+ -T complexes, leading to the destruction of M-shaped DNA complexes and changes in CDs' signal. The current ratios, I CDs /I UiO-66-CNTs , were applied to quantify Pb 2+ and Hg 2+ . Benefiting from the anti-interference ability of the ratiometric strategy and the specificity of Apts, the proposed method enabled detection Pb 2+ and Hg 2+ through simple instrumentation, with detection limits of 2.0 ng mL -1 and 0.5 ng mL -1 . Moreover, it was applied to assess Pb 2+ and Hg 2+ contamination in series of aquatic edible vegetables. The experimental results were consistent with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), demonstrating its potential in practical applications., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Synthetic mRNA switches are powerful cell fate manipulation tools that sense cellular input molecules to directly control protein expression at the translational level. The lack of available switch designs that can mimic the natural sophisticated protein regulation is a fundamental issue that limits the application of synthetic mRNA switches. Here we report a new set of synthetic mRNA switches by incorporating self-feedback loop machineries to dynamically control protein expression levels upon sensing cellular microRNAs. We redesigned the coding region of the switch to express output protein along with mRNA regulatory proteins. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and RBP-binding RNA motifs (aptamers) guide the regulatory proteins to act on their own mRNAs, enhancing or flattening the effect of microRNA sensing. Importantly, we demonstrated that the switches with the positive feedback feature can enlarge a high-or-low microRNA effect into a nearly all-or-none pattern, substantially boosting the use of synthetic mRNA switches as high-performance microRNA sensors or binary cell regulation tools. We believe these novel mRNA switch designs provide new strategies to construct complex mRNA-based genetic circuits for future molecular sensing and cell engineering., 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.)

The unknown daytime source of HONO has been extensively investigated due to unexplained atmospheric oxidation capacity and current modelling bias, especially during cold seasons. In this study, abrupt morning increases in atmospheric HONO at a rural site in the North China Plain (NCP) were observed almost on daily basis, which were closely linked to simultaneous rises in atmospheric water vapor content and NH 3 concentrations. Dew and guttation water formation was frequently observed on wheat leaves, from which water samples were taken and chemically analyzed for the first time. Results confirmed that such natural processes likely governed the daily nighttime deposition and daytime release of HONO and NH 3 , which have not been considered in the numerous HONO budget studies investigating its large missing daytime source in the NCP. The dissolved HONO and NH 3 in leaf surface water droplets reached 1.4 and 23 mg L -1 during the morning on average, resulting in averaged atmospheric HONO and NH 3 increases of 0.89 ± 0.61 and 43.7 ± 29.3 ppb during morning hours, with relative increases of 186 ± 212 % and 233 ± 252 %, respectively. The high atmospheric oxidation capacity contained within HONO was stored in near surface liquid water (such as dew, guttation and soil surface water) during nighttime, which prevented its atmospheric dispersion after sunset and protected it from photodissociation during early morning hours. HONO was released in a blast during later hours with stronger solar radiation, which triggered and then accelerated daytime photochemistry through the rapid photolysis of HONO and subsequent OH production, especially under high RH conditions, forming severe secondary gaseous and particulate pollution. Results of this study demonstrate that global ecosystems might play significant roles in atmospheric photochemistry through nighttime dew formation and guttation processes., 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.)

The strategy of emulsion coating was used for grape preservation. Camellia oil (CO) was incorporated with KGM/curdlan (KC) to fabricate KC-CO emulsion systems. KC-CO emulsions were analyzed by droplet size distribution and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and KC-CO films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), mechanical properties, dissolution, gas permeability, water contact angle (WCA). KC-CO coating was used for preservation of 'Kyoho' grapes. The results indicated that the addition of CO had a positive effect on KC system. CO could form a uniform emulsion with KC, and the droplets were evenly dispersed in the KC matrix. KC-CO films displayed a continuous microstructure, and elongation at break (EAB) was improved, while tensile strength decreased. The dissolution, water vapor permeability (WVP), and WCA were significantly enhanced, while the permeability of oxygen and carbon dioxide exhibited no advantage compared with KC film. KC-CO-10 possessed optimal properties and was selected as an emulsion coating for preservation. The results suggested that KC-CO-10 significantly maintained the appearance, total solid and acid content of 'Kyoho' grapes, and delayed the weight loss and firmness decrease. This study contributed to the understanding of polysaccharide-lipid emulsion system and the applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There is none to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microcystis aeruginosa and ammonia pollution are two important environmental stress factors in water eutrophication. Herein, we simulated environmental conditions to investigate the effects of chronic exposure (single and combined) to M. aeruginosa and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) on lipid metabolism and muscle quality in zebrafish. Our results showed that M. aeruginosa and TAN significantly induced lipid deposition and tissue damage in the liver of zebrafish. Liver transcriptomic analysis revealed that M. aeruginosa and TAN disrupted the balance in lipid synthesis, decomposition, and transport, ultimately leading to hepatic lipid accumulation. Moreover, exposure to M. aeruginosa or TAN alone resulted in decreased crude protein content and increased lipid content in muscle, as well as disrupted muscle fatty acid composition. Metabolomic analysis of muscle revealed significant alterations in metabolites such as glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids and fatty acids. The co-exposure of M. aeruginosa and TAN had a more significant effect on liver lipid dysfunction and muscle quality deterioration in zebrafish. These findings provide valuable insights into the potential risks and hazards of M. aeruginosa and TAN in eutrophic water bodies subject to Microcystis blooms, and can help inform effective strategies for monitoring and managing these toxins in aquatic ecosystems., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) produced by cyanobacteria blooms poses a serious risk to aquatic organisms. Rice straw-derived biochar (BC) is gradually being utilized as an effective adsorbent to remove water pollutants. In the present study, the combined toxicity of MC-LR and BC on hepatic antioxidant capacity and metabolic phenotype of zebrafish (Danio rerio) were conducted due to the increasing concern of eutrophication in aquatic environments. Female zebrafish were exposed to solutions of MC-LR (10 μg/L) and BC (100 μg/L) individually and in combination for 30 days. The results indicated that sub-chronic MC-LR exposure induced oxidative stress and metabolic disorders, with a significant elevation of several amino acids, glucose as well as unsaturated fatty acids. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that the ascorbate and aldarate metabolism and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids were affected under MC-LR stress. Significantly increased MDA levels along with significantly decreased CAT and GPx activities were observed in the MC-LR group. Nevertheless, MDA levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, and the relevant gene expressions (cat1, nrf2a, HO-1, keap1a) returned to baseline in the co-exposure group. These findings revealed that MC-LR resulted in metabolic disorders of protein, sugar, and lipid related to energy production, and BC could relieve MC-LR-induced metabolic disorder and oxidative stress in the liver of zebrafish. However, the potential risk of BC-induced metabolic disorder should not be neglected. Our present results highlight the potential of BC as a tool for mitigating the negative impacts of MC-LR on aquatic organisms in blooms-contaminated water., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Enrichment and detection of trace pollutants in the real matrix are essential for evaluating water quality. In this study, benefiting from the good affinities of 1,3,6,8-tetra(4-carboxylphenyl)pyrene) (H 4 TBAPy) with itself and melamine (MA) respectively, the composite hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs, MA/PFC-1), PFC-1 self-assembled by 1,3,6,8-tetra(4-carboxylphenyl)pyrene), were successfully constructed by the mild strategy of solvent evaporation at room temperature. Through a series of characterizations, such as Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analyses, and N 2 adsorption-desorption, etc., the MA/PFC-1 was confirmed to be a stable and excellent material. In addition, it possessed high surface area, hierarchical micropores, strong hydrogen bonds, and rich function groups containing N and O heteroatoms, since the newly introduced MA could be another hydrogen bonding motif, as well as increased the polarity of reaction solvent. These advantages make MA/PFC-1 be an ideal coating material for solid phase microextraction (SPME). Satisfactory enrichment factors for nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) were got by the MA/PFC-1 fiber under the optimized conditions obtained by the control variables (extraction time of 60 min, extraction temperature of 80 °C, desorption time of 6 min, desorption temperature of 260 °C, pH value of 7, and stirring speed of 250 rpm). MA/PFC-1 was further used to develop an analytical method for NACs based on head-space SPME coupled with gas chromatography‒mass spectrometry (GC‒MS). The developed method with low limits of detection (4.30-20.83 ng L -1 ) and good reproducibility (relative standard deviations <8.6%). The excellent performance allowed the successful application of the developed method in the determinations of trace NACs in real water samples with recoveries of 80.1%-119%. This study proposed a mild approach to synthesize composite HOFs via doping MA and developed an environmentally friendly method for the precise determinations of NACs in the environment., 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. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background and Aims: Copper is an essential dietary element with a crucial role in physiological regulation. However, the relationship between dietary copper intake and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) remains uncertain., Methods and Results: This study encompassed a cohort of 2535 adults aged over 40 years, derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014. Dietary copper intake from both food sources and supplements was assessed through two 24-h dietary recall interviews. AAC was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and classified into 3 groups using the Kauppila score system. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the association between dietary copper intake and AAC. Among the participants, a total of 771 individuals (30.4%) were diagnosed with AAC, of which 239 (9.4%) exhibited severe AAC. Higher dietary copper intake was significantly associated with a lower incidence of severe AAC. Specifically, for each 1 mg/day increase in dietary copper intake, the incidence of severe AAC decreased by 38% (odds ratios [OR] 0.62, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.39-0.98) after adjustment for relevant covariates. Moreover, individuals in the third tertile of copper intake had a 37% lower incidence of AAC compared to those in the first tertile [OR 0.63, 95% CI (0.43-0.95)]. However, no significant associations were found between supplemental copper intake or serum copper levels and AAC., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that lower dietary copper intake, rather than serum copper levels or supplement copper intake, is significantly associated with a higher prevalence of AAC in adults ≥40 years old in the United States., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although BCL2 mutations are reported as later occurring events leading to venetoclax resistance, many other mechanisms of progression have been reported though remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze longitudinal tumor samples from 11 patients with disease progression while receiving venetoclax to characterize the clonal evolution of resistance. All patients tested showed increased in vitro resistance to venetoclax at the posttreatment time point. We found the previously described acquired BCL2-G101V mutation in only 4 of 11 patients, with 2 patients showing a very low variant allele fraction (0.03%-4.68%). Whole-exome sequencing revealed acquired loss(8p) in 4 of 11 patients, of which 2 patients also had gain (1q21.2-21.3) in the same cells affecting the MCL1 gene. In vitro experiments showed that CLL cells from the 4 patients with loss(8p) were more resistant to venetoclax than cells from those without it, with the cells from 2 patients also carrying gain (1q21.2-21.3) showing increased sensitivity to MCL1 inhibition. Progression samples with gain (1q21.2-21.3) were more susceptible to the combination of MCL1 inhibitor and venetoclax. Differential gene expression analysis comparing bulk RNA sequencing data from pretreatment and progression time points of all patients showed upregulation of proliferation, B-cell receptor (BCR), and NF-κB gene sets including MAPK genes. Cells from progression time points demonstrated upregulation of surface immunoglobulin M and higher pERK levels compared with those from the preprogression time point, suggesting an upregulation of BCR signaling that activates the MAPK pathway. Overall, our data suggest several mechanisms of acquired resistance to venetoclax in CLL that could pave the way for rationally designed combination treatments for patients with venetoclax-resistant CLL., (© 2023 by The American Society of Hematology.)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained increasing attention in various biomedical applications. However, conventional therapeutic approaches, such as direct intravenous injection, are associated with low cell survival due to the shear force during injection and the oxidative stress microenvironments in the lesion area. Herein, a photo-crosslinkable antioxidant hydrogel based on tyramine- and dopamine-modified hyaluronic acid (HA-Tyr/HA-DA) was developed. Meanwhile, human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) were encapsulated in HA-Tyr/HA-DA hydrogel using a microfluidic system to create size-controllable microgels (hUC-MSCs@microgels). The HA-Tyr/HA-DA hydrogel was demonstrated to have good rheology, biocompatibility, and antioxidant properties for cell microencapsulation. The hUC-MSCs encapsulated in microgels showed a high viability and a significantly improved the survival rate under oxidative stress conditions. Therefore, the presented work provides a promising platform for MSCs microencapsulation, which may further improve the stem cell-based biomedical applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood carries genetic variations associated with tumors. There is evidence indicating that the abundance of single nucleotide variant (SNV) in ctDNA is correlated well with cancer progression and metastasis. Thus, accurate and quantitative detection of SNVs in ctDNA may benefit clinical practice. However, most current methods are unsuitable for the quantification of SNV in ctDNA that usually differentiates from wild-type DNA (wtDNA) only by a single base. In this setting, ligase chain reaction (LCR) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) was developed to simultaneously quantify multiple SNVs using PIK3CA ctDNA as a model. Mass-tagged LCR probe set for each SNV including mass-tagged probe and three DNA probes was firstly designed and prepared. Then, LCR was initiated to discriminate SNVs specifically and amplify the signal of SNVs in ctDNA selectively. Afterward, a biotin-streptavidin reaction system was used to separate the amplified products, and photolysis was initiated to release mass tags. Finally, mass tags were monitored and quantified by MS. After optimizing conditions and verifying performance, this quantitative system was applied for blood samples from breast cancer patients, and risk stratification for breast cancer metastasis was also performed. This study is among the first to quantify multiple SNVs in ctDNA in a signal amplification and conversion manner, and also highlights the potential of SNV in ctDNA as a liquid biopsy marker to monitor cancer progression and metastasis., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) are commonly used for photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer because of their good biocompatibility and photothermal conversion capability. However, it is difficult to achieve a good tumor inhibition effect with a single PTT of PDA. Therefore, in this work, we prepared a combined anticancer nanosystem for enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT)/PTT by coating PDAs with an (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)/iron (Fe) metal-polyphenol network (MPN). The MPN shell of this nanosystem named EGCG@PDA is degraded by the weakly acidic environment intracellular, releasing EGCG and Fe 3+ . EGCG inhibits the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in cancer cells, thus eliminating their thermal protection against cancer cells for enhanced PTT. Meanwhile, the reductive EGCG can also reduce Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ , to catalyze the decomposition of overexpressed hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in cancer cells to generate strong oxidative hydroxyl radicals (OH), i.e., catalyzing the Fenton reaction, for CDT. After the Fenton reaction, the re-oxidized Fe ions can be reduced again by EGCG and reused to catalyze the Fenton reaction, which can achieve enhanced CDT. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that EGCG@PDA has low dark toxicity and good anticancer effects. It is expected to be used for precision cancer therapy., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

The synergistic effect of high microporosity and abundant heteroatoms is important for improving the performance of biochar in various fields. However, it is still challenging to create enough micropores for biochar, while simultaneously retaining the heteroatoms from biomass. A series of biochar with variable microstructures was successfully prepared by carbonization and following ball milling on lotus pedicel (LP), watermelon rind (WR), and litchi rind (LR). The pore structures and heteroatoms of biochar were characterized in detail. Notably, high microporosity could be realized by the carbonization of LR, and further ball milling resulted in a higher microporous surface area (1323.4 m 2 ·g -1 ) and richer oxygen. Furthermore, the obtained biochar was fabricated as solid phase microextraction (SPME) coatings with uniform morphologies and similar thicknesses to deeply investigate the relationships between the microstructures and extraction performance. The best performance was demonstrated by the LR800BM, with enrichment factors from 1780 to 155,217. Finally, it was coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to develop an analytical method with a wide linear range (1-50,000 ng·L -1 ), low limits of detection (0.10-1.4 ng·L -1 ), good repeatability (0.83 %-7.5 %) and reproducibility (4.2 %-8.9 %). This work provides valuable insights into the structure-performance relationship of biochar, which is important for the design of high-performance biochar-based adsorbents and their applications in the environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Liposarcomas are extremely rare in the oral cavity and mainly observed in the buccal mucosa, tongue, floor of the mouth, gingiva, and lips, while those occurring in the jaws have not been reported so far. Clinically, the initial presentation of liposarcoma is usually a painless soft tissue mass. The aim of this study was to report a case of liposarcoma with osteolysis of the maxilla as the first symptom, and review the relevant literature to summarize its clinical features, imaging features, pathological features and treatment methods., 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 Ltd.)

Nowadays, the emission source and formation mechanism of fine particulate nitrate (pNO 3 - ) in China are mired in controversy. In this study, the stable nitrogen isotope (δ 15 N-NO 3 - ) and triple oxygen isotope (Δ 17 O-NO 3 - ) were determined for the pNO 3 - samples collected at three heights under different atmospheric oxidation capacity (AOC) (O x = O 3 + NO 2 : 107 ± 29 μg m -3 at ground, 102 ± 28 μg m -3 at 118 m, 122 ± 23 μg m -3 at 488 m) conditions during the sampling period based on the Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China. The Bayesian mixing model showed that coal combustion was the largest contributor to pNO 3 - in this city, followed by biomass burning, vehicle exhaust, and soil emission. Interestingly, we found that vertical NO x and pNO 3 - concentrations displayed an opposite pattern owing to the different formation mechanisms among heights. The average contributions of oxidation pathways for (NO 2 + OH, P1), (NO 3 + DMS/HC, P2), and (N 2 O 5 + H 2 O, P3) were 61 %, 12 %, and 27 % at the ground, respectively, and these values would vary greatly among heights. These results implied that both AOC and NO x loading played an important role in pNO 3 - production. The pNO 3 - displayed a positive correlation with NO x (r = 0.95) with an enhanced contribution of the P1 pathway under the relatively high AOC condition. However, pNO 3 - has a negative correlation with NO x (r = -0.99) with a rise of heterogeneous reaction (P2 and P3) under the relatively low AOC condition. Therefore, the current emission control strategy for air pollution in China needs to consider the AOC conditions among regions to effectively mitigate particulate air pollution., 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.)

A fluorescent probe was developed for the detection of phosgene based on 1,8-naphthalimide, of which o-diaminobenzene was used as the recognition moiety. The probe does not fluoresce due to nonradiative decay. The probe reacts rapidly with phosgene via an intramolecular cyclization reaction, which induces large fluorescence due to increased rigidity in the resulting molecule and a low detection limit (0.23 nM). This probe has excellent selectivity for phosgene against competing interference analytes and, in the form of probe-loaded test paper, is an extremely sensitive method for phosgene sensing in the gas phase below 1 ppm concentrations., 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.)

As a controllable, simple method with few side effects, near-infrared (NIR) light-based photothermal therapy (PTT) has been proven an effective cancer therapeutic approach. However, PTT-induced inflammation is a potential negative factor. And the overexpressed heat shock proteins (HSPs) by cancer cells can protect them from hyperthermia during PTT. In this work, small-size Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanosheets with high photothermal conversion efficiency in the region of NIR, high cargo loading capability and good free radical scavenging capability were chosen for cancer PTT and anti-inflammation. And (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was applied to form EGCG/Fe metal-polyphenol nanodots on the nanosheets. EGCG being released in acid cancer cells could reduce the expression of HSPs and could be used for anti-inflammation. As a result, the complex nanosheets named MXene@EGCG could achieve enhanced cancer PTT and be anti-inflammatory. Both in vitro and in vivo studies proved the good photothermal ability of MXene@EGCG and demonstrated that it could inhibit the expression of HSPs in tumor cells and relieve PTT-induced inflammation. Therefore, the nanosheets show good results in tumor ablation with a low level of inflammation, which provides another possibility for cancer therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Photothermal therapy (PTT)-induced inflammation plays an essential role in some important stages of tumor development and is unfavorable for cancer treatment. And hyperthermia leads to the overexpression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in cancer cells, which limits the therapeutic effect of PTT. Therefore, we coated small-size Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanosheets with (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)/Fe metal-polyphenol nanodots and named them as MXene@EGCG. This system shows a good photothermal conversion efficiency at 808 nm. And it can release EGCG in cancer cells to inhibit the expression of HSPs, thus achieving an enhanced cancer PTT. Both MXene and EGCG can also diminish the PTT-trigged inflammation. Both in vitro and in vivo studies prove the good anti-cancer PTT effect and anti-inflammation capability of MXene@EGCG., 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 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Research Question: What is the optimal lead follicle size in letrozole, human menopausal gonadotrophin and intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles with and without spontaneous LH surges?, Design: This retrospective cohort study included 3797 letrozole HMG IUI cycles between January 2010 and May 2021. All cycles were divided into two groups: the HCG trigger group (trigger day LH ≤15 mIU/ml) and the spontaneous LH surge group (trigger day LH >15 mIU/ml). These two groups were subdivided into smaller groups based on the diameter of the follicles. The primary outcome measure was clinical pregnancy rate. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore other risk factors., Results: In the HCG trigger group, the clinical pregnancy rate varied significantly, with rates of 20.8%, 14.9% and 11.8% for the 16.1-18.0, 18.1-20.0 and 20.1-22.0 mm groups, respectively (P = 0.005). In the spontaneous LH surge group, the pregnancy rate of follicles within 14.1-16.0 mm was significantly higher than that of follicles within 20.1-22.0 mm (adjusted OR 0.533, 95% CI 0.308 to 0.923, P = 0.025). Also, patients with two lead follicles were 2.569 times more likely to achieve a clinical pregnancy than those with only one lead follicle (adjusted OR 2.569, 95% CI 1.258 to 5.246, P = 0.010). The duration of infertility was also found to be a common influencing factor in both groups., Conclusions: The optimal lead follicle size was between 16.1 and 18.0 mm in HCG-triggered letrozole HMG IUI cycles. If the lead follicle size is relatively small (14.1-18.0 mm) when a spontaneous LH surge occurs, there is no need to cancel the IUI cycle., (Copyright © 2022 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)