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Structurally colored objects with 3D geometries are intriguing in optical devices and visual sensors, but their preparation is bottlenecked by complicated procedures and limited material choices. Herein, a facile supramolecular 3D printing strategy is proposed via direct ink writing (DIW) supramolecular colloidal inks (SCIs) consisting of polymers and colloids based on supramolecular interactions to construct healable and recyclable structurally colored objects. Optimized supramolecular interactions balance the rheological requirements for DIW and the high particle volume fraction for the one‐step and immediate generation of structural color. The shear‐thinning and thixotropy features of the SCIs, characterized by a two‐order‐of‐magnitude decrease in viscosity during the printing process and 50% storage modulus recovery thereafter, ensure the reversible solid–liquid transition during the extrusion and deposition process. The short‐range ordered arrangements of colloids within the matrix give rise to angle‐independent structural color. Moreover, 3D structurally colored objects from the SCIs are healable and, more importantly, can be closed‐looped recycled thanks to the reversibility of supramolecular interactions. Leveraging optimized supramolecular interactions, various SCIs with a wide range of material choices meeting the DIW process are extended to construct 3D structurally colored objects directly. This study paves the way for constructing advanced 3D materials with a supramolecular strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terahertz (THz) photodetection, the efficient interaction between light and matter is crucial for enhancing material properties in nonequilibrium states. This work introduces an innovative approach using spiral plasmonic architectures to effectively control inversion‐symmetry coupling, promoting the operational efficiency of light‐induced hot‐carrier effects in the THz band. The strategic design of the spiral structures, focusing on chirality and symmetry, enables the successful manipulation of a self‐driven photocurrent, adapting its direction and magnitude as needed. This design facilitates the improvement of THz detectors in terms of sensitivity and responsiveness. Additionally, the integration of asymmetric metallization and black phosphorus in the detectors has achieved noteworthy performance metrics, such as a maximum responsivity of 70.2 V W−1 at 0.30 THz, a fast response time below 6 µs, and a noise‐equivalent power lower than 1.95 × 10−10 W Hz−1/2. Harnessing the potential of light‐induced hot carrier effects and advanced band‐structure engineering, this research offers a pragmatic approach for the development of high‐efficiency THz photodetectors, opening new avenues for applications like remote sensing and rapid imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) bioimaging technology shows broad application prospects in the field of biomedical due to its significant superiority in deep tissue penetration and high signal‐to‐background ratio. Among them, organic small molecule fluorophores have received progressively more consideration due to their low biotoxicity, high biocompatibility, rapid clearance, and good modification properties. As the key acceptor core, 2, 1, 3‐benzothiadiazole (BTD) derivative plays an essential role in the construction of donor‐acceptor‐donor type NIR‐II fluorophores. This mini‐review summarizes the research development of NIR‐II small molecule fluorophores based on BTD derivatives in the field of bioimaging, focusing on molecular design and photophysical properties, and introduces a part of the applications in the biological field. Furthermore, the challenges of BTD‐based NIR‐II fluorophores in the future development and application are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of novel topological semimetal materials, accompanied by exotic non‐equilibrium properties, not only provides a fertile playground for a fundamental level of interest but also opens exciting opportunities for inventing new applications by making use of different light‐induced effects such as nonlinear optics, optoelectronics, especially for the highly pursued terahertz (THz) technology due to the gapless electronic structures. Exploring type‐II Weyl semimetal endowed with the richness of quantum wavefunction and peculiar band structure, underlie strong nonlinear coupling with THz waves. Here, the selective growth of type‐II Weyl semimetal NbIrTe4 by means of a self‐flux approach is reported, which hosts strongly tilted Weyl cones and exotic Fermi arcs. The oscillating THz field induced by the antenna is engineered in terms of planar metal‐topological semimetal‐metal structure, along with van der Waals stacking, which allows for self‐powered photodetection at room temperature. The results elucidate the superior performance of NbIrTe4‐graphene heterostructure‐based photodetectors with responsivity up to 264.6 V W−1 at 0.30 THz, fast response of 1 µs as well as low noise equivalent power ˂0.28 nW Hz−0.5 is achieved, already exhibiting high‐quality imaging at THz frequency. The results promise superb impacts in exploring topological Weyl semimetals for efficient low‐energy photon harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Citrate anticoagulation is an important anticoagulation method in hemodialysis (HD) but cannot completely prevent the occurrence of coagulation in the extracorporeal circulation (ECC) circuit, and the clinical coagulation status can significantly affect the effect of citrate anticoagulation. In this study, the relationships between clinical coagulation status indicators and coagulation in the ECC circuit in HD patients receiving individualized citrate anticoagulant were studied to explore indicators that may predict coagulation in the ECC circuit. Methods: This study was a single‐center, retrospective clinical study, and clinical data and laboratory tests related to the coagulation status of HD patients receiving individualized regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) were collected. The relationships between indicators commonly used in clinical practice to evaluate clinical coagulation status and coagulation in the ECC circuit were statistically analyzed to find indicators that can predict the occurrence of coagulation in the ECC circuit. Results: The individualized RCA had a good anticoagulation effect, and the actual citrate infusion rate in nearly 80% of the patients was within ±10% of the theoretical infusion rate. The combined diseases or conditions that affect the coagulation status in vivo may increase the incidence of coagulation in the ECC circuit. The clinical D‐dimer level is an independent risk factor that affects and can predict coagulation in the ECC circuit, with a cutoff value of 2.03 mg/L, sensitivity of 59%, and specificity of 78%. Conclusion: Individualized RCA can meet the needs of most HD treatments. Abnormal coagulation status in HD patients may increase the incidence of coagulation in the ECC circuit during individualized RCA for HD, and the D‐dimer level can predict the occurrence of coagulation in the ECC circuit during this treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermoelectric generator (TEG) can convert heat to electricity and is widely used. To overcome the limitation for low efficiency of thermoelectric materials, optimizing the performance of TEG in given system is necessary. This study proposes a method to match individual TEG components to the system environment based on two boundary conditions—temperature and heat flux. With this method, TEG geometrical parameters can be determined to optimize the system performance by varying temperature as an independent variable. Using this method, the TEG in an undersea Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (u‐RTG) is optimized. The TEG system exhibits an output power of 14.10 W when powered by a 200 W heat source. The simulate result in the comprehensive system model of u‐RTG is 14.04 W, which has 0.45% deviation from the TEG optimization result. It is proved that the TEG optimized by this method matches the system, the optimization results are accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Phenolic endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are widespread and easily ingested through the food chain. They pose a serious threat to human health. Magnetic solid‐phase extraction (MSPE) is an effective sample pre‐treatment technology to determine traces of phenolic EDCs. RESULTS: Magnetic covalent organic framework (COF) (Fe3O4@COF) nanospheres were prepared and characterized. The efficient and selective extraction of phenolic EDCs relies on a large specific surface and the inherent porosity of COFs and hydrogen bonding, π–π, and hydrophobic interactions between COF shells and phenolic EDCs. Under optimal conditions, the proposed magnetic solid‐phase extraction‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–ultra violet (MSPE‐HPLC‐UV) based on the metallic covalent organic framework method for phenolic EDCs shows good linearities (0.002–6 μg mL−1), with R2 of 0.995 or higher, and low limits of detection (6–1.200 ng mL−1). CONCLUSION: Magnetic covalent organic frameworks (Fe3O4@COFs) with good MSPE performance for phenolic EDCs were synthesized by the solvothermal method. The magnetic covalent organic framework‐based MSPE‐HPLC‐UV method was applied successfully to determine phenolic EDCs in beverage and water samples with satisfactory recoveries (90.200%–123%) and relative standard deviations (2.100%–12.100%). © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a devastating neurological disease, spinal cord injury (SCI) results in severe tissue loss and neurological dysfunction. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a ligand‐activated nuclear receptor with a major regulatory role in xenobiotic and endobiotic metabolism and recently has been implicated in the central nervous system. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of PXR in SCI. Methods: The clip‐compressive SCI model was performed in male wild‐type C57BL/6 (PXR+/+) and PXR‐knockout (PXR−/−) mice. The N2a H2O2‐induced injury model mimicked the pathological process of SCI in vitro. Pregnenolone 16α‐carbonitrile (PCN), a mouse‐specific PXR agonist, was used to activate PXR in vivo and in vitro. The siRNA was applied to knock down the PXR expression in vitro. Transcriptome sequencing analysis was performed to discover the relevant mechanism, and the NRF2 inhibitor ML385 was used to validate the involvement of PXR in influencing the NRF2/HO‐1 pathway in the SCI process. Results: The expression of PXR decreased after SCI and reached a minimum on the third day. In vivo, PXR knockout significantly improved the motor function of mice after SCI, meanwhile, inhibited apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress induced by SCI. On the contrary, activation of PXR by PCN negatively influenced the recovery of SCI. Mechanistically, transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that PXR activation downregulated the mRNA level of heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) after SCI. We further verified that PXR deficiency activated the NRF2/HO‐1 pathway and PXR activation inhibited this pathway in vitro. Conclusion: PXR is involved in the recovery of motor function after SCI by regulating NRF2/HO‐1 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two extreme cases of static stability are voltage stability and power angle stability. The general stability analysis only focuses on one of the voltage stability or power angle stability. The stability limit and state change are studied for a certain kind of stability characteristics. In this paper, the stability limits of static voltage and power angle are derived, respectively. Therefore, different stability characteristics and their interrelationships can be further studied. The index to judge the dominant stability characteristic is defined. The proposed index only needs the system wide‐area measurement information to quickly and accurately judge the dominant static stability characteristics. The dominant instability (DI) characteristic index proposed in this paper is equal to 1 or −1, which can help to quickly identify whether the power angle stability or voltage stability is dominant. The effectiveness of the method is proved by a simple system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The segment‐valve graph model is widely used in the reliable evaluation of water distribution networks (WDNs). However, as an undirected graph, a segment‐valve graph does not express the upstream‐downstream relationships between segments, which hinders finding valves that need to be closed when a pipe bursts and the water outage region. Therefore, in this paper, directed edges applied to a segment‐valve graph are introduced to demonstrate the downstream segments of critical segments, and an improved segment‐valve graph with flow directions is proposed. The improved model is used to solve the valve isolation problem and evaluate the reliability of WDNs. The results show that the improved model can determine that the valve needs to be closed more quickly when a pipe burst occurs. In addition, we improve the traditional classical indicators based on the segment‐valve graph model. The new indicators based on the improved model can reflect the actual impact and the disposal difficulty of pipe network accidents more accurately and clearly. The proposed method can play a critical role in accident processing and reliability analysis of WDNs. Key Points: A novel analysis model of the water distribution networks is proposed to solve the problem of valve isolation and reliability evaluationThe flow direction of critical valves is marked with directed edges in the segment‐valve modelThe improved model could be useful to solve the problem of valve isolation and reliability evaluation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermosetting composites are a range of high‐performance materials with important applications in multiple fields. However, inaccessible damage such as microcracks ingress from the environment may appear with long term use. Over time, the micro‐damage further expands and leads to material failure. The damage includes the interface damage and the matrix damage. Therefore, the healing technology of composites needs to respond and heal the micro‐damage of the interface and resin in the composites synchronously. In this work, siloxane dynamic bond was introduced into matrix and interface respectively. Specifically, a new type of crosslinker containing polysiloxane was synthesized and used to cure epoxy resin. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane was modified on the surface of carbon fibers (CFs) by sizing method. The prepared resin showed great mechanical properties and thermal stability, while the mechanical strength and surface activity of the CFs were also improved. Due to siloxane chain exchange reaction, matrix and interface could healing synchronously with good healing efficiency. Furthermore, the composites could retain about 65% of their original mechanical properties after healing multiple times. Composites realized synchronous healing of the resin matrix and the interface and laid foundation for extending the service life and performance of advanced resin‐based composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have established that the regulation of prolonged, distal neuronal inhibition by the GABAB heteroreceptor (GABABR) is determined by its stability, and hence residence time, on the plasma membrane. Aims: Here, we show that GABABR in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of rats affects the development of cocaine‐induced behavioral sensitization by mediating its perinucleus internalization and membrane expression. Materials & Methods: By immunofluorescent labeling, flow cytometry analysis, Co‐immunoprecipitation and open field test, we measured the role of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) to the control of GABABR membrane anchoring and cocaine induced‐behavioral sensitization. Results: Repeated cocaine treatment in rats (15 mg/kg) significantly decreases membrane levels of GABAB1R and GABAB2R in the NAc after day 3, 5 and 7. The membrane fluorescence and protein levels of GABABR was also decreased in NAc GAD67+ neurons post cocaine (1 μM) treatment after 5 min. Moreover, the majority of internalized GABAB1Rs exhibited perinuclear localization, a decrease in GABAB1R‐pHluroin signals was observed in cocaine‐treated NAc neurons. By contrast, membrane expression of phosphorylated CaMKII (pCaMKII) post cocaine treatment was significantly increased after day 1, 3, 5 and 7. Baclofen blocked the cocaine induced behavioral sensitization via inhibition of cocaine enhanced‐pCaMKII‐GABAB1R interaction. Conclusion: These findings reveal a new mechanism by which pCaMKII‐GABABR signaling can promote psychostimulant‐induced behavioral sensitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic mucosal inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses. It is classified into CRS without nasal polyps and CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). CRSwNP has high recurrence, especially CRSwNP with massive eosinophil infiltration which is mediated by type 2 inflammatory response. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, it has powerful antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects in addition to regulating biological rhythms. There are no studies on melatonin for the treatment of CRS, so we aimed to explore whether melatonin could be used for the treatment of CRS. Materials and Methods: In this study, we used melatonin to treat a cell model of CRS. Subsequently, MTT assay was performed to examine the cell viability of human nasal epithelial cells (HNEpCs), a reactive oxygen species (ROS) kit to detect ROS production, a malondialdehyde (MDA) kit to detect the MDA content in the cell culture supernatant, and an apoptosis kit and Western blot analysis to detect apoptosis. The expressions of Nrf2, HO‐1, IL‐33, TSLP, and IL‐25 were detected by Western blot analysis. Results: Melatonin improved the viability of HNEpCs, reduced lipopolysaccharide‐induced ROS, reduced the MDA content, and inhibited their apoptosis. More importantly, melatonin reduced the expression of IL‐33 and TSLP, an important phenomenon for the treatment of CRSwNP. Conclusion: Melatonin protects HNEpCs from damage in inflammation and reduces IL‐33 and TSLP expression of HNEpCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) into metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as a promising innovation for upcycling of waste plastics. However, previous solvothermal methods suffer from toxic solvent consumption, long reaction time, high pressure, and high temperature. Herein, a mechanochemical milling strategy was reported to transform waste PET into a series of MOFs with high yields. This strategy had the merits of solvent‐free conditions, ambient reaction temperature, short running time, and easy scale‐up for large‐scale production of MOFs. The as‐prepared MOFs exhibited definite crystal structure and porous morphology composed of agglomerated nanoparticles. It was proven that, under mechanochemical milling, PET was firstly decomposed into 1,4‐benzenedicarboxylate, which acted as linkers to coordinate with metal ions for forming fragments, followed by the gradual arrangement of fragments into MOFs. This work not only promotes high value‐added conversion of waste polyesters but also offers a new opportunity to produce MOFs in a green and scalable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upcycling waste plastics into advanced semiconductor photocatalysts provides a new strategy to reasonably and economically solve the huge amount of waste plastics, which remains challenging. Herein, a carbon nitride‐based donor–acceptor (D–A) conjugated copolymer by copolymerization of dicyandiamide and terephthalic acid from discarded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using Zn(OH)2 as catalyst and template at 360–440 °C is synthesized. The morphology and structure of the conjugated copolymer are well regulated by the calcination temperature. The resultant conjugated copolymer exhibits merits of high light absorption and low electron–hole recombination probability. Consequently, it works excellently in the persulfate‐based advanced oxidation process for visible light‐driven photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline. The kinetic constant (3.4 × 10−2 min−1) is 40.5 and 2.3 times that of the conjugated copolymer system and persulfate system, respectively. Furthermore, the reactive species (including •OH, SO4•−, •O2−, 1O2, and h+) and degradation intermediates of tetracycline are analyzed to expound its degradation process. This work not only pioneers design guidelines on upcycling of waste plastics in a sustainable manner, but also provides a facile strategy to synthesize carbon nitride‐based D–A conjugated copolymers for the efficient activation of persulfate‐based advanced oxidation process in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the letter, a circularly polarized (CP) patch antenna is proposed, which consists of a slotted radiation patch, a slotted parasitic loop with a short pin, and a ground plane. The slot with one open and one circular end is etched in the radiation patch, and the current distribution of the radiation patch is disturbed to excite the first CP mode. The currents distributed on the slotted radiation patch and parasitic loop can superimpose or cancel each other to produce the second CP mode. Impedance matching and the performance of the first CP can be improved by the two slots and short pin introduced into the parasitic loop, but without effect on the second CP mode. A prototype is designed, and a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 21.3% (3.10–3.84 GHz), a 3‐dB axial‐ratio bandwidth of 10.1% (3.29–3.64 GHz), an in‐band radiation efficiency of 75%, and unidirectional left‐hand circular‐polarized radiation pattern with in‐band gain of 8.0 dBi are realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic human pathogen, which raises a worldwide concern for its increasing resistance. Nonthermal plasma, which is also called cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), is an alternative therapeutic approach for clinical infectious diseases. However, the bacterial factors that affect CAP treatment remain unclear. The sterilization effect of a portable CAP device on different P. aeruginosa strains was investigated in this study. Results revealed that CAP can directly or indirectly kill P. aeruginosa in a time‐dependent manner. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope showed negligible surface changes between CAP‐treated and untreated P. aeruginosa cells. However, cell leakage occurred during the CAP process with increased bacterial lactate dehydrogenase release. More importantly, pigmentation of the P. aeruginosa culture was remarkably reduced after CAP treatment. Further mechanical exploration was performed by utilizing mutants with loss of functional genes involved in pyocyanin biosynthesis, including P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain‐derived phzA1::Tn, phzA2::Tn, ΔphzA1/ΔphzA2, phzM::Tn and phzS::Tn, as well as corresponding gene deletion mutants based on clinical PA1 isolate. The results indicated that pyocyanin and its intermediate 5‐methyl phenazine‐1‐carboxylic acid (5‐Me‐PCA) play important roles in P. aeruginosa resistance to CAP treatment. The unique enzymes, such as PhzM in the pyocyanin biosynthetic pathway, could be novel targets for the therapeutic strategy design to control the growing P. aeruginosa infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equivalent model of modern power system is more and more difficult to describe its complex stability characteristics, with the continuous promotion of power conversion. This paper proposes an improved equivalent method to consider the voltage deviation between the system side and the load side. On this basis, the voltage stability margin index is derived. Therefore, the relationship between voltage stability margin and reactive power compensation can be analyzed. Finally, the correctness and effectiveness of the method are verified by IEEE39 node system and actual provincial grid. The proposed method can obviously improve the voltage stability margin when applied to the small summer mode of the actual system. (The stability margin of the weakest node increased by 12.8%, and the average stability margin of the whole network increased by 1.5%.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of four‐seed pods and 100‐grain weight are important yield components in soybean. Typically, they are negatively correlated traits. Generally, soybean varieties with a high 100‐grain weight and a higher number of three‐ or four‐seed pods are more likely to obtain a high yield. It is difficult to select for double‐excellent traits that meet the needs of farmers and the market using conventional breeding methods. The purpose of this study was to mine genes associated with the number of four‐seed pods and 100‐grain weight in soybean. Whole‐transcriptome sequencing was performed on four specific chromosome segment substitution lines (HWMN, HWFN, LWMN and LWFN) combined with the distribution of blocks imported from wild soybean DNA fragments and gene annotation. The material was sampled in each of the eight development stages. Among them, globular embryo formation, heart embryo formation, and cotyledon primordium formation were used to mine differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 3792 DEGs were identified, and 25 expression patterns were obtained by the K‐means rapid clustering method. GO enrichment analysis of DEGs was performed by Agrigo, and a total of 43 GO terms were enriched. Through annotation analysis, 126 DEGs associated with seed size and number were obtained. Combined with analysis of the introduced DNA fragments of wild soybean ZYD00006, 19 genes that eventually aligned on those blocks were obtained. Six representative genes were selected as candidate genes, namely, Glyma.07G218200, Glyma.05G162100, Glyma.19G240800, Glyma.04G180300, Glyma.05G214400 and Glyma.12G146700. They may regulate the formation of 100‐grain weight and the number of four‐seed pods, which will provide reference information for the genetic improvement of agronomic traits, such as seed number per pod and 100‐grain weight of soybean, in the future and will enrich the theoretical basis of high yield in soybean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has always been the goal of researchers to enhance the interfacial properties of carbon fiber composites on the basis of maintaining the mechanical strength of carbon fibers. Herein, the technology of zinc nanosheets (Zn NSs) electrophoresis on the surface of carbon fibers is studied, and a method of electrophoresis within 10 s is provided to realize the construction of Zn NSs on the surface of continuous carbon fibers. It is shown that the strength of carbon fibers can be improved by 13.0% due to the ability of Zn NSs to repair the surface defects of carbon fibers. Moreover, the Zn NS bends when the NSs are thermally treated during the curing process of CF/epoxy resin composite. Using the carbon fiber with thermally bent Zn NSs as the anchor, the interfacial interaction of carbon fiber/epoxy composites is improved from 33.5 MPa of desized carbon fiber to 63.3 MPa of Zn NSs‐modified carbon fibers, namely, improvement of 88.9%. The enhancement is ascribed to the special‐shaped anchorage structure on the surface of carbon fibers that are constructed by the bent Zn NSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact pattern diversity patch antenna working at 5.8 GHz is proposed. The patch antenna has two ports, which are responsible for the broadside radiation and omni‐directional radiation, respectively. The broadside radiation is achieved by inserting a substrate slot‐loaded integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity at the center of the patch antenna, and the omni‐directional pattern is realized by exciting the shorted patch in‐phase from both sides of the SIW cavity. Although the two operating modes share the same radiator, but a high isolation of over 30 dB is achieved, due to the cancellation of current at the inputs. In addition, two approaches are investigated to enhance the operation bandwidths. The pattern diversity antenna is prototyped and measured, showing an impedance bandwidth of 5.69–5.92 GHz for both modes/channels, and a high inter‐channel isolation over 30 dB, making it suitable for indoor wireless communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the association of baseline anti‐Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels with ovulation, time to ovulation and fertility outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) receiving clomiphene citrate (CC) and compare this with placebo. Design: Secondary analysis of the PCOSAct trial (NCT01573858). Setting: 27 trial centres in mainland China. Population or sample: 1000 infertile women with PCOS receiving either CC or placebo. Methods: Baseline serum AMH was measured and analysed as a continuous and as a categorical variable. Interaction between AMH and CC was tested. Predictive values of AMH for ovulation, time to ovulation and fertility outcomes were assessed. Main outcome measures: Ovulation and time to ovulation. Results: 900 baseline AMH data were available for analysis. There were no significant interactions with ovulation or conception for AMH and CC treatment (P = 0.782 and 0.419, respectively). Women in the upper quartile of AMH >15.88 ng/ml had significant lower ovulation (odds ratio [OR] 0.34, 95% CI 0.20–0.58) and conception rates (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.42–1.00) compared with women in the lower quartile. Associations of AMH with clinical pregnancy (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.95–1.01) and live birth (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–1.01) were not significant. Ovulation rate increased until baseline AMH levels ≥7.0 ng/ml in women treated with CC but decreased when AMH increased in women with placebo. When AMH <7.0 ng/ml, an AMH threshold at 4.11 ng/ml predicted ovulation in women receiving CC (area under the curve [AUC] 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.86), with a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 62%, whereas prediction was poor for AMH ≥7.0 ng/ml (AUC 0.38, 95% CI 0.28–0.47). Median time to ovulation was 35 days in the lower quartile for women with placebo but this was significantly prolonged up to 98 days in the upper quartile. CC significantly shortened the time to ovulation up to 56 days. Conclusions: Among women with PCOS, high baseline AMH levels were associated with a 20.1% lower chance of ovulation with a 63‐day longer time to ovulation. AMH can predict ovulation only when the baseline AMH level was <7.0 ng/ml in women with PCOS undergoing ovulation induction with CC. Ovulation rate increased until baseline AMH levels ≥7.0 ng/ml in women treated with CC; a successful ovulation and time to ovulation was highly associated with baseline AMH level in these women. Ovulation rate increased until baseline AMH levels ≥7.0 ng/ml in women treated with CC; a successful ovulation and time to ovulation was highly associated with baseline AMH level in these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study revealed that Epimedii Folium (EF) and Codonopsis Radix (CNR) significantly promoted tumor growth on a subcutaneous mouse model of prostate cancer (PCa) via enhancing the mRNA and protein expressions of androgen receptor (AR), while Astragali Radix (AGR) inhibited tumor growth via suppressing the protein expression of AR. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential interactions between EF, CNR or AGR and AR antagonist (abiraterone acetate [ABI]) on the tumor growth using subcutaneous and orthotopic PCa mouse models. EF, CNR, AGR and ABI were intragastrically given to mice once every 2 days for 4 weeks. The pharmacokinetics of ABI were evaluated in the plasma of rats when combined with EF, CNR, or AGR. Our results demonstrated that EF or CNR could weaken the anti‐tumor effects of ABI via increasing the AR expression involving activation of the PI3K/AKT and Rb/E2F pathways and decreasing the bioavailability of ABI, while AGR could enhance the anti‐tumor effects of ABI through suppressing the AR expression via inhibiting the activations of PI3K/AKT and Rb/E2F pathways and increasing the bioavailability of ABI. These findings imply that cautions should be exercised when prescribing EF and CNR for PCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials combining efficient thermal insulation and high mechanical properties are needed in many areas of technology. Various aerogels provide a convenient design framework for thermal insulators, but they are often brittle. Furthermore, the spectrum of advanced properties is constantly expanding while requirements to the degree of control of the three‐dimensional gel‐forming network is constantly increasing. Here, we report on biomimetic aramid nanofibers aerogels with the structure replicating articular cartilage, prepared by supercritical drying of 3D networks held together by hydrogen bonds. Owing to the branching morphology of the nanofibers, the three‐dimensional nanoscale networks with extensive percolation and high interconnectivity can be obtained. The aerogels showed high porosity with an average open pore size of 21.5 nm and correspondingly low specific density of 0.0081 g/cm3. The aerogels also possess a high compressive strength of 825 kPa at a strain of 80%. Due to the unique aramid chemistry of the parent nanofibers, aramid aerogels combine low thermal conductivity of 0.026 W/m·K with high thermal stability up to 530°C, which is unusually high for polymeric and composite materials of any type, opening a broad range of applications from electronics to space travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop straws represent enormous biomass resource convertible for biofuels and bioproducts, but lignocellulose recalcitrance restricts its saccharification for commercial utility. Despite genetic modification of lignin biosynthesis being attempted to reduce recalcitrance in bioenergy crops, it remains challenging to optimize lignin deposition without an unacceptable yield penalty. Based on gene expression analysis and phylogenetic tree profiling, a cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase gene (OsCAD2) as the target for genetic engineering of lignin biosynthesis in rice was selected in this study. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, independent homozygous transgenic lines with precise site mutation of OsCAD2, which showed slightly reduced lignin levels but markedly decreased p‐hydroxyphenyl (H) contents in lignin by 34% and increased guaiacyl (G) contents by 16%, compared to the wild type were generated in this study. Under mild alkali pretreatment (1% NaOH, 50°C), the OsCAD2 site‐modified lines showed effective lignin extraction up to 70% (of total lignin) from mature rice straws, which caused either significantly increased biomass porosity and cellulose accessibility or remarkably reduced cellulase adsorption to lignin in pretreated lignocellulose residues. These consequently led to almost complete biomass enzymatic saccharification with increased hexoses yields by 61%–72% in the modified lines, being much higher than those of the lignin‐altered lines reported in previous studies. Hence, this study has demonstrated a novel genetic engineering strategy to reduce lignocellulose recalcitrance with minimized biomass loss for cost‐effective biomass conversion to bioethanol in rice and bioenergy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D layered materials have sparked great interest from the perspective of basic physics and applied science in the past few years. Extraordinarily, many novel stacked structures that bring versatile properties and applications can be artificially assembled, as exemplified by vertical van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, twisted multilayer 2D materials, hybrid dimensional structures, etc. Compared with the ordinary synthesis process, the stacking technique is a powerful strategy to achieve high‐quality and freely controlled 2D material stacked structures with atomic accuracy. This review highlights the most advanced stacking techniques involving the preparation, transfer, and stacking of high‐quality single crystal 2D materials. Apart from the 2D–2D stacked structures, 2D–0D, 2D–1D, and 2D–3D structures offer a prospective platform for the increasing application of 2D materials. The assembly strategy and physical properties of these stacked structures strongly depend on the factors in the stacking process, including the surface quality, angle control, and sample size. In addition, comparative analysis tables on the techniques involved are also available. The summary of these strategies and techniques will hopefully provide a valuable reference for relevant work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular packing and microstructure can play a crucial role in the photophysical and electronic properties of organic semiconductor materials. This article presents six pyrene‐fused dibenzoazatetracenes 3 and the relationship between their molecular structures and the emission, and as well as the morphology has been investigated. All of the compounds display an aggregation‐caused emission quenching effect due to the extended π‐conjugation associated with the close π‐π stacking in their crystal structures. In terms of fluorescence, the compounds emitted sky‐blue emission with a maximum peak (λmaxem) in the range 469–474 nm with a quantum yield (Φf) of 0.37–0.50 in solution. In the solid state, the emission maximum red‐shifts to ∼528 nm and possesses a relatively low quantum yield (<0.16). In addition, the electronic effects of the terminal group shows only a limited effect on the emission behavior. On the other hand, tert‐butyl groups have been introduced at the pyrene core, and contribute to enhance the solubility of the compound, and also improve the quality of the morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering synthetic materials that mimic the complex rhythmic oscillatory behavior of living cells is a fundamental challenge in science and technology. Up to now, the reported synthetic model system still cannot compete with nature in oscillatory modes and amplitudes. Presented here is a novel alternating copolymer vesicle that exhibits drastic and multimode shape oscillations in real time, which are controlled by polymer concentrations and driven by the Belousov—Zhabotinsky oscillatory reaction, including swelling/deswelling, twisting/detwisting, stretching/shrinking, fusion/fission, and multiple division. Some of them, especially the fission oscillation, have not been observed before. In addition, the oscillation magnitude with regard to diameter is much larger than that of previously reported self‐oscillating vesicles. Such a self‐oscillating vesicle transformer would extend the complexity and capacity of membrane deformations in synthetic systems, approaching those of natural cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, two‐dimensional (2D) atomic crystals represented by graphene have opened up new fields of 2D physics. Layered materials with atomic layer thickness are self‐assembled into van der Waals heterostructures by weak van der Waals forces without considering lattice matching. Van der Waals heterostructures can not only enhance the performance of its constituent materials but also show new characteristics. High‐quality heterostructures require mechanically cleaved intrinsic 2D materials and flexible 2D material stacking techniques. Here, we summarize in detail the reliable exfoliation methods for large‐area single‐layer 2D materials and the dry and wet stacking techniques with high success rates. The twisted bilayer graphene is used as an example to briefly introduce the single‐crystal tearing method, which is currently the most practical method for preparing isotropic twisted heterostructures with high‐precision rotation angles. We hope to provide a valuable reference for researchers of 2D materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorption of myo‐inositol hexakisphosphate (IHP), a common type of organic phosphorus in soils, largely controls its mobility and bioavailability. Research on the interaction between IHP and phyllosilicate minerals such as kaolinite, which is commonly present in highly weathered soils, has often been neglected, probably due to the common assumption that negatively charged phyllosilicate minerals have low sorption capacity and binding affinity to IHP and thus do not play any significant role in its fate. Here, the interaction between IHP and poorly crystallized kaolinite (KGa‐2) was investigated in batch experiments using Zeta (ζ) potential measurement and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results showed that dissolved Al(III) concentration at the adsorption initiation stage increased with increasing IHP concentration at pH 4.0. From pH 2.5 to 9.0, IHP presented a maximum sorption capacity (50 μmol g−1) at pH 4.0 at 24 hr. With IHP sorption, the ζ potential of kaolinite first decreased sharply to a negative value, then gradually increased with resorption of Al(III) released from kaolinite dissolution at acidic pH, and finally approached the original value of the pure kaolinite. 31P NMR spectroscopy and ζ potential analyses revealed that IHP formed inner‐sphere surface complexes and aluminium phytate precipitated on kaolinite at low pH (2.5 and 4.0), whereas the formation of inner‐sphere surface complexes was the dominant sorption mechanism at pH ≥ 5.5. This study implies that various mechanisms, depending on ambient pH condition, can dominate the IHP sorption onto kaolinite, which impacts the mobility and bioavailability of phosphorus in highly weathered soils. Highlights: IHP promotes the dissolution of kaolinite mainly through the formation of aluminium phytate complex.IHP sorption presents a sharp maximum at pH 4.0.IHP forms inner‐sphere complexes at the surface of kaolinite.Formation of aluminium phytate surface precipitates is favourable at relatively low pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glial glutamate transporter 1 (GLT‐1) plays a vital role in the induction of brain ischemic tolerance (BIT) by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). However, the mechanism still needs to be further explained. The aim of this study was to investigate whether peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) participates in regulating GLT‐1 during the acquisition of BIT induced by IPC. Initially, cerebral IPC induced BIT and enhanced PPARγ and GLT‐1 expression in the CA1 hippocampus in rats. The ratio of nuclear/cytoplasmic PPARγ was also increased. At the same time, the up‐regulation of PPARγ expression in astrocytes in the CA1 hippocampus was revealed by double immunofluorescence for PPARγ and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Then, the mechanism by which PPARγ regulates GLT‐1 was studied in rat cortical astrocyte‐neuron cocultures. We found that IPC [45 min of oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)] protected neuronal survival after lethal OGD (4 h of OGD), which usually leads to neuronal death. The activation of PPARγ occurred earlier than the up‐regulation of GLT‐1 in astrocytes after IPC, as determined by western blot and immunofluorescence. Moreover, the preadministration of the PPARγ antagonist T0070907 or PPARγ siRNA significantly attenuated GLT‐1 up‐regulation and the neuroprotective effects induced by IPC in vitro. Finally, the effect of the PPARγ antagonist on GLT‐1 expression and BIT was verified in vivo. We observed that the preadministration of T0070907 by intracerebroventricular injection dose‐dependently attenuated the up‐regulation of GLT‐1 and BIT induced by cerebral IPC in rats. In conclusion, PPARγ participates in regulating GLT‐1 during the acquisition of BIT induced by IPC. Cover Image for this issue: doi: 10.1111/jnc.14532. Open Science: This manuscript was awarded with the Open Materials Badge For more information see: https://cos.io/our-services/open-science-badges/ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted to investigate the efficacy of concurrent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) and estrogen deprivation in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer.Methods: Eligible patients with AJCC stage IIB to stage IIIC, ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive NCT with or without estrogen deprivation. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR).Results: A total of 249 patients were assigned to either neoadjuvant chemoendocrine therapy (NCET) (125 patients) or the NCT group (124 patients). In the intention-to-treat analysis, the ORR was found to be significantly higher in the NCET group compared with the NCT group (84.8% vs 72.6%; odds ratio, 2.11 [95% CI, 1.13-3.95; P = .02). The efficacy of NCET was more prominent in tumors with a higher Ki-67 index (>20%), with an ORR of 91.2% reported in the NCET group versus 68.7% in the NCT group (P = .001). The pathologic complete response and pathological response rates did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Although there was no significant difference with regard to progression-free survival (PFS) between the 2 groups (P = .188), patients with a higher baseline Ki-67 index appeared to derive a greater PFS benefit from NCET (2-year PFS rate of 91.5% in the NCET group vs 76.5% in the NCT group; P = .058). Adding endocrine agents to NCT did not result in significant differences in adverse events (grade 3 or 4; graded according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 3.0]) between the 2 groups.Conclusions: The addition of estrogen deprivation to NCT appears to improve the clinical response in patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, especially for those individuals with a higher Ki-67 index. Patients with a higher Ki-67 index might derive more PFS benefit from concurrent neoadjuvant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fuel cells have attracted more attentions due to many advantages they can provide, including high energy efficiency and low environmental burden. To form a stable, low cost and efficient catalyst, we presented here the state of the art of electrocatalyst fabrication approaches, involving carbon nanotubes and their multifunctional nanocomposites incorporated with noble metals, such as Pt, Pd, Au, their binary and ternary systems. Both fuel oxidation reactions and oxygen reduction reactions were emphasized with comprehensive examples and future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a novel strategy to design and prepare poly(p‐phenylenebenzobisoxazole) (PBO)/graphene composite. Amino graphene (AG) was first modified by terephthalic acid (PTA) to improve the reactivity, solubility, and dispersivity of graphene in PBO. Without separation and purification, AG‐PTA was further incorporated with PBO through in situ polymerization, and PBO/AG composite films were obtained by thermoforming process. The structure and morphology of AG‐PTA and PBO/AG films were characterized and the mechanical and thermal properties were investigated. The incorporation of graphene improved the thermal stability of PBO. Mechanical property measurements revealed that the PBO/AG films exhibited a tensile strength (155 MPa) and Young's modulus (6.7 GPa) at a AG loading of 1.5 wt%, corresponding to 46 and 86% increase compared to the PBO film, respectively. The one‐pot in situ procedure wraps AG with PBO chains, improves the dispersion and alignment of AG in PBO matrix, and enhances PBO chain packing order, which are considered to be the main reasons for the performance improvement of PBO. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:2969–2976, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A batch experiment is conducted to evaluate the influence of root exudates on the removal of triclosan (TCS) in soil samples under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The BIOLOG method and quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) is used to analyze the microbial metabolic characteristics and bacterial absolute abundance, respectively. The results shows that TCS is removed relatively faster in aerobic groups than anaerobic ones, especially in the aerobic group with artificial root exudates solution (ARES) addition. However, no difference can be seen in TCS removal performance between anaerobic groups with or without ARES addition (p > 0.05). The results of BIOLOG show that the average metabolic activity of microorganisms (AWCD) increases significantly in the aerobic group with ARES addition with time, followed by the aerobic control group and anaerobic groups. The carbon source utilization behavior of soil microbes exhibit significant differences. Carbohydrates can be utilized easily in the aerobic group with ARES addition, while the fractional content of amines in the anaerobic group with ARES is highest. Furthermore, bacterial abundance shows positive correlation with the TCS removal under aerobic conditions. Overall, ARES addition can greatly promote the removal efficiency of TCS under aerobic conditions, but have a small effect under anaerobic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Plant lodging resistance is an important integrative agronomic trait of grain yield and quality in crops. Although extensin proteins are tightly associated with plant cell growth and cell wall construction, little has yet been reported about their impacts on plant lodging resistance. In this study, we isolated a novel extensin‐like (OsEXTL) gene in rice, and selected transgenic rice plants that expressed OsEXTL under driven with two distinct promoters. Despite different OsEXTL expression levels, two‐promoter‐driven OsEXTL‐transgenic plants, compared to a rice cultivar and an empty vector, exhibited significantly reduced cell elongation in stem internodes, leading to relatively shorter plant heights by 7%–10%. Meanwhile, the OsEXTL‐transgenic plants showed remarkably thickened secondary cell walls with higher cellulose levels in the mature plants, resulting in significantly increased detectable mechanical strength (extension and pushing forces) in the mature transgenic plants. Due to reduced plant height and increased plant mechanical strength, the OsEXTL‐transgenic plants were detected with largely enhanced lodging resistances in 3 years field experiments, compared to those of the rice cultivar ZH11. In addition, despite relatively short plant heights, the OsEXTL‐transgenic plants maintain normal grain yields and biomass production, owing to their increased cellulose levels and thickened cell walls. Hence, this study demonstrates a largely improved lodging resistance in the OsEXTL‐transgenic rice plants, and provides insights into novel extensin functions in plant cell growth and development, cell wall network construction and wall structural remodelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passive fluctuation of the node voltage (NVPF) and the active fluctuation of node voltage (NVAF) are defined to analyse the dynamic coupling characteristic between the source, the network and the load. The NVPF indicates how the effect of come from by other nodes or regions, and the NVAF indicates the voltage impact on other nodes or region. Their combination can comprehensively reflect the coupling characteristic relationship of each part which is closely related to the power flow and the electrical connection. A method in non‐analytical complex domain is proposed to find this relationship. Finally, the method is validated by the simulations on a three‐bus system, the IEEE39‐bus system and an actual system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A density functional theory study is performed on the reactions of α,β-unsaturated oxime pivalates and alkenes through Cp*RhIII-catalyzed (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) C-H activation. The catalytic cycle involves reversible metalation-deprotonation, migratory alkene insertion, pivaloyl transfer to the Rh center, and reductive elimination, among other steps. The results show that the migratory alkene insertion is rate-determining and that the reductive elimination to form the product-ligated species makes the reaction irreversible (exergonic by 60 kcal/mol). If the electron-donating ability of the substituents on the cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligand is increased or an electron-withdrawing group is introduced into the terminus of the alkene, the apparent activation energy of the reaction increases. In contrast, if a stronger electron-donating group is introduced at the 2-position of the α,β-unsaturated oxime pivalate, the apparent activation energy of the reaction decreases greatly, and the reaction can be performed at room temperature. On the other hand, for phenyl groups at the 2-position, the introduction of a more electron-deficient p-CF3- phenyl group increases the apparent activation energy. Finally, the diastereoselectivity of the reaction with cyclohexylethylene as the substrate is attributable to a clash between the cyclohexyl group and the α,β-unsaturated oxime pivalate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerated life testing (ALT) design is usually performed based on assumptions of life distributions, stress-life relationship, and empirical reliability models. Time-dependent reliability analysis on the other hand seeks to predict product and system life distribution based on physics-informed simulation models. This paper proposes an ALT design framework that takes advantages of both types of analyses. For a given testing plan, the corresponding life distributions under different stress levels are estimated based on time-dependent reliability analysis. Because both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty sources are involved in the reliability analysis, ALT data is used in this paper to update the epistemic uncertainty using Bayesian statistics. The variance of reliability estimation at the nominal stress level is then estimated based on the updated time-dependent reliability analysis model. A design optimization model is formulated to minimize the overall expected testing cost with constraint on confidence of variance of the reliability estimate. Computational effort for solving the optimization model is minimized in three directions: (i) efficient time-dependent reliability analysis method; (ii) a surrogate model is constructed for time-dependent reliability under different stress levels; and (iii) the ALT design optimization model is decoupled into a deterministic design optimization model and a probabilistic analysis model. A cantilever beam and a helicopter rotor hub are used to demonstrate the proposed method. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed ALT design optimization model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhodotorula taiwanensis RS1 (Rt) is a high-aluminum (Al)-tolerant yeast that can survive Al at concentrations up to 200 mM. In this study, we compared Rt with an Al-sensitive congeneric strain, R. mucilaginosa AKU 4812 (Rm) and Al sensitive mutant 1 ( alsm1) of Rt, to explore the Al tolerance mechanisms of Rt. The growth of Rm was completely inhibited by 1 mM Al, but that of Rt was not inhibited until Al concentration was more than 70 mM. The growth of alsm1 was inhibited much more by 70 mM and 100 mM Al than that of Rt. Compared with Rm cells, Rt cells accumulated less Al in the cell wall and cytoplasm. A time-course analysis showed that Al was absorbed by Rm cells much more rapidly than by Rt cells when exposed to the same Al concentration. Meanwhile, the Al content of alsm1 was higher than that of Rt. Although the cell wall of Rt was thicker than that of alsm1 and Rm under control and 0.1 mM Al, that of Rt was thinner than that of alsm1 under 70 mM Al despite that their cell walls were thickened. The alcian blue adsorption was lower and cell wall zeta-potential was higher in Rt and alsm1 than in Rm, indicating a less negative charge of cell wall of Rt and alsm1 than that of Rm. Taken together, the less negatively charged cell wall of Rt may restrict the adsorption of cationic Al in cells, potentially contributing to its high Al tolerance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]