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In addressing the pH constraints encountered in real-world electrolyte environments, it is of great practical significance to establish a universal electrocatalyst capable of facilitating the hydrogen production reaction (HER) across all pH levels. Herein, non-precious metals NiCoMn were incorporated into a nickel foam skeleton and subjected to phosphorization treatment, yielding the NiCoMn-O-P@NF catalyst suitable for HER across the entire pH spectrum. Leveraging the synergistic effects of these three metals and phosphating regulation, the synthesized NiCoMn-O-P@NF demonstrates efficient HER catalytic performance in acidic (−0.05 V RHE at 10 mA cm−2), alkaline (−0.17 V RHE at 10 mA cm−2), and neutral (−0.25 V RHE at 10 mA cm−2) electrolytes, with exceptional stability. This study presents a cost-effective electrocatalyst with robust and enduring catalytic performance for HER over the full pH range, offering an environmentally friendly solution to the challenges of practical hydrogen generation. [Display omitted] • NiCoMn-O-P@NF features abundant nanoflowers decorated with dense nanorods. • The unique structure enables the catalyst with abundant active sites towards HER. • Trimetal doping and phosphorization further improve the HER performance. • NiCoMn-O-P@NF exhibits high HER activities across the full pH spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active ingredients of the Chinese medical herb Paris polyphylla, P. polyphylla ethanol extract (PPE) and polyphyllin I (PPI), potentially inhibit epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumors. However, the roles of these ingredients in inhibiting EMT in adenomyosis (AM) remain to be explored. The primary goal of the study was to uncover the underlying molecular processes through which PPE and PPI suppress EMT in AM, alongside assessing the safety profiles of these substances. To assess the suppressive impact of PPE on adenomyosis-derived cells (AMDCs), we employed Transwell and wound healing assays. The polyphyllins (PPI, PPII, PPVII) contained in PPE were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Then, bioinformatics techniques were performed to pinpoint potential PPI targets that could be effective in treating AM. Immunoblotting was used to verify the key proteins and pathways identified via bioinformatics. Furthermore, we examined the efficacy of PPE and PPI in treating Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice with AM by observing the morphological and pathological features of the uterus and performing immunohistochemistry. In addition, we assessed safety by evaluating liver, kidney and spleen pathologic features and serum test results. Three major polyphyllins of PPE were revealed by HPLC, and PPI had the highest concentration. In vitro experiments indicated that PPE and PPI effectively prevent AMDCs invasion and migration. Bioinformatics revealed that the primary targets E-cadherin, N-cadherin and TGFβ1, as well as the EMT biological process, were enriched in PPI-treated AM. Immunoblotting assays corroborated the hypothesis that PPE and PPI suppress the TGFβ1/Smad2/3 pathway in AMDCs to prevent EMT from progressing. Additionally, in vivo studies showed that PPE (3 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg) and PPI (3 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg), successfully suppressed the EMT process through targeting the TGFβ1/Smad2/3 signaling pathway. Besides, it was observed that lower doses of PPE (3 mg/kg) and PPI (3 mg/kg) exerted minimal effects on the liver, kidneys, and spleen. PPE and PPI efficiently impede the development of EMT by inhibiting the TGFβ1/Smad2/3 pathway, revealing an alternative pathway for the pharmacological treatment of AM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Nasal polyposis (NP) is recognized as aberrant epithelial remodeling, but the molecular mechanism underlying this process is poorly understood. Two important p53 homologues (p63 and p73) play a key role in orchestrating the epithelial development. Objective We intended to study whether p63 and p73 are involved in the epithelial remodeling seen in patients with NP and their response to oral glucocorticosteroid (GC) treatment. Methods Nasal polyp tissues were obtained from 65 patients, and inferior turbinates were obtained from 19 control subjects without NP. Among patients with NP, 20 were treated with oral prednisone, so that 2 sets of polyp biopsy specimens were taken before (GC naive) and after (GC treated) treatment. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR were performed to determine the expression levels of p63 and p73. Results The increase in p63-positive cell numbers was significant in GC-naive NP epithelium (46%) compared with that seen in control epithelium (5%), and it was positively related to the epithelial hyperplasia in patients with NP. The increase in N-terminal transactivation domain p73–positive cell numbers was found in 27% of GC-naive patients with NP and 16% of control subjects, with no statistical difference. The mRNA expression of both p63 and p73 was significantly upregulated in GC-naive patients with NP versus control subjects, and a positive correlation between the p63 and p73 mRNAs was found in all nasal tissues. Furthermore, the improvement of epithelial structure and reduction of p63 mRNA/protein levels were found in patients with NP after GC treatment. Conclusions Our results suggest that the ectopic expression of p63 in multiple cell layers is an important pathologic phenomenon in the epithelial remodeling seen in chronically inflamed airway epithelium (eg, in patients with NP), and its aberrant expression can be suppressed with GC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A core mismatch type optical fiber SPR refractive index sensor is proposed, which has both a tapered structure and a U-shaped structure. • Parameters such as resonance valley depth and comprehensive evaluation indicator are defined. • The valley depth influence law is found. • A high comprehensive evaluation indicator SPR sensor refractive index test is realized. In the fiber SPR sensor, the resonance superposition caused by many cladding modes and the low intensity ratio of the cladding modes lead to low sensitivity and a broad and shallow resonance spectrum, which is not conducive to high precision sensing. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a core mismatch SPR sensor with tapered and U-shaped structure. The simulation and experimental results show that the introduction of single-mode fiber (SMF) makes the effective sensing area longer, so the resonance valley depth (RVD) increases. And the tapered structure enables cutoff of some higher-order modes, so full width at half maxima (FWHM) becomes narrower. And experiments proved that there is an optimal value of the gold film thickness and macro-bending degree after the introduction of SMF and tapered structure. After parameter optimization, the sensor has 2.5 times higher comprehensive evaluation indicator (CEI, CEI = S*RVD/FWHM) than the U-shaped multimode fiber sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few-layer thin crystals of WS 2 , MoS 2 , WSe 2 , MoSe 2 and ReS 2 were synthesized via the microwave-induced-plasma-assisted method. The synthesis was accomplished in plasma that was formed inside sealed quartz ampoules heated by plasma surrounding the sealed ampoule. Powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy indicate thin crystals of high-quality. The proposed method is rapid, reproducible and environmentally friendly. It is applicable to practically every direct reaction between metals and nonmetals if the nonmetal vapor pressure can reach a pressure of a few torr, which is required for plasma formation inside a sealed ampoule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]