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Inherently chiral calix[4]arenes represent a unique type of chiral molecules with significant applications, yet their catalytic enantioselective synthesis remains largely underexplored. We report herein the catalytic enantioselective synthesis of inherently chiral calix[4]arenes through the sequential organocatalyzed enantioselective Povarov reaction and aromatizations. The chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed three‐component Povarov reaction involving amino group‐substituted calix[4]arenes, aldehydes and (di)enamides desymmetrized the prochiral calix[4]arene substrates, which was followed by various aromatization methods, resulting in a diverse array of novel quinoline‐containing calix[4]arenes with good yields and high enantioselectivities (up to 75 % yield, 99 % ee). The large‐scale enantioselective synthesis and diverse derivatizations of the chiral calix[4]arene products highlight the value of this method. Furthermore, preliminary exploration into their photophysical and chiroptical properties demonstrate the potential applications of these novel calix[4]arene molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite substantial breakthroughs in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in recent years, many patients are diagnosed in the middle or late stages, denying them the option for surgical excision. Therefore, it is of great importance to find effective therapeutic targets of HCC. In this study, it is found that Gap junction protein beta‐2 (GJB2) is highly enriched in malignant cells based on single‐cell RNA sequencing and higher expression of GJB2 indicates a worse prognosis. The localization of GJB2 in HCC cancer cells is changed compared with normal liver tissue. In cancer cells, GJB2 tends to be located in the cytoplasm and nucleus, while in normal tissues, GJB2 is mainly located on the cell membrane. GJB2 is related to glycolysis, promoting NF‐κB pathway via inducing the ubiquitination degradation of IκBa, and activating HIF‐1α/GLUT‐1/PD‐L1 pathway. In addition, GJB2 knockdown reshapes tumor immune microenvironment and Salvianolic acid B inhibits the activity of GJB2. In conclusion, GJB2 promotes HCC progression by activating glycolysis through cytoplasmic translocation and generating a suppressive tumor microenvironment. Salvianolic acid B inhibits the expression of GJB2 and enhances the sensitivity of anti‐PD1 therapy, which may provide insights into the development of novel combination therapeutic strategies for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal care is critically important for the survival of offspring in various animals. Spiders in the family Lycosidae are known for their hunting ability and maternal care behaviors. Predation on newly hatched spiderlings (pulli) by mother spiders decreases when they come into contact, and they carry the pulli on their dorsal surface. However, the factors inducing maternal care in lycosid spiders have not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated maternal care in Pardosa pseudoannulata (Araneae, Lycosidae) females. We proposed that the physical interaction between pulli and mother spiders induces maternal care via m‐aminophenylacetylene (m‐A), a novel regulator of maternal care. The presence of pulli on the dorsal abdomen of non‐mother spiders suppressed pulli predation and increased the pulli‐carrying rate, and the absence of pulli on the mother spiders increased pulli predation and decreased the pulli‐carrying rate. The compound m‐A was abundant in mother spiders, and it could be induced in non‐mother spiders when they carried pulli. The topical application of m‐A to non‐mother spiders and m‐A injection decreased pulli predation and increased the pulli‐carrying rate, respectively; these findings indicate that m‐A in both internal tissues and the integument is required for the induction of maternal care behavior, and the interaction between pulli and females induces the production of m‐A. In‐depth study of the regulatory mechanism of maternal care will enhance our understanding of spider biology and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB‐N) is the main indicator for evaluating the freshness of fish meal, and accurate detection and monitoring of TVB‐N is of great significance for the health of animals and humans. Here, to realize fast and accurate identification of TVB‐N, in this article, a self‐developed electronic nose (e‐nose) was used, and the mapping relationship between the gas sensor response characteristic information and TVB‐N value was established to complete the freshness detection. RESULTS: The TVB‐N variation curve was decomposed into seven subsequences with different frequency scales by means of variational mode decomposition (VMD). Each subsequence was modelled using different long short‐term memory (LSTM) models, and finally, the final TVB‐N prediction result was obtained by adding the prediction results based on different frequency components. To improve the performance of the LSTM, the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) was used to optimize the number of hidden units, learning rate and regularization coefficient of LSTM. The prediction results indicated that the high accuracy was obtained by the VMD‐LSTM model optimized by SSA in predicting TVB‐N. The coefficient of determination (R2), the root‐mean‐squared error (RMSE) and relative standard deviation (RSD) between the predicted value and the actual value of TVBN were 0.91, 0.115 and 6.39%. CONCLUSIONS: This method improves the performance of e‐nose in detecting the freshness of fish meal and provides a reference for the quality detection of e‐nose in other materials. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental anatomy education for dental technology students should be developed in alignment with digital dental laboratory practices. We hypothesized that a virtually assisted sketching‐based dental anatomy teaching module could improve students' acquisition of skills essential for digital restoration design. The second‐year dental technology curriculum included a novel virtual technology‐assisted sketching‐based module for dental anatomy education. Pre‐ and post‐course assessments evaluated students' skill sets and knowledge bases. Computer‐aided design (CAD) scores were analyzed after one year to assess how the skills students developed through this module impacted their subsequent CAD performance. Participants who undertook the dental sketching‐based teaching module demonstrated significantly improved theoretical knowledge of dental anatomy, dental aesthetic perception, and spatial reasoning skills. A partial least squares structural equation model indicated that the positive effects of this module on subsequent CAD performance were indirectly mediated by dental aesthetic perception, spatial reasoning, and practice time. A virtually assisted sketching‐based dental anatomy teaching module significantly improved students' acquisition of skills and knowledge and positively mediated dental technology students' CAD performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of molecular aggregates is crucial for charge transport and photovoltaic performance in organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, the intermolecular interactions and aggregated structures of nonfused‐ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) are precisely regulated through a halogen transposition strategy, resulting in a noteworthy transformation from a 2D‐layered structure to a 3D‐interconnected packing network. Based on the 3D electron transport pathway, the binary and ternary devices deliver outstanding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 17.46 % and 18.24 %, respectively, marking the highest value for NFREA‐based OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive soil compaction is a major cause of environmental problems and reduced agricultural soil productivity. Soil conditions can affect soil compressive characteristics. The application of organic materials reduces soil susceptibility to compaction. However, the direct effect of incorporated organic matter and interactions among soil conditions and incorporated organic materials on soil compressive characteristics are poorly understood. In this study, uniaxial compressive experiments were conducted to determine the compression curves of repacked brown earth from Northeast China. The effect of variable levels of incorporated corn straw (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 g kg−1) and soil conditions (moisture content 0.14, 0.18, and 0.22 g g−1, and bulk density 1.20, 1.30, 1.45, and 1.60 g cm−3) on the compressive characteristics were investigated. The results showed that compressive characteristics were directly affected by soil conditions and corn straw‐derived organic matter (p < 0.01). Compressive characteristics were also significantly influenced by the interaction between soil conditions and corn straw‐derived organic matter (p < 0.01). By constructing a Entropy Weight Method (EWM) Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution model (EWM‐TOPSIS), the conflicting indicators of soil resistance was comprehensively evaluated. The evaluation results indicated that moisture content at 0.14 g g−1, bulk density at 1.30 g cm−3 and corn straw‐derived organic matter at 34 g kg−1 was the optimal mode for soil resistance in our experiment. The results suggested that the interaction of soil conditions and incorporated organic matter should be considered to evaluate the susceptibility to compaction in the fields accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer‐related death worldwide. This study aimed to establish novel multiclassification prediction models based on machine learning (ML) to predict the probability of malignancy in pulmonary nodules (PNs) and to compare with three published models. Methods: Nine hundred fourteen patients with PNs were collected from four medical institutions (A, B, C and D), which were organized into tables containing clinical features, radiologic features and laboratory test features. Patients were divided into benign lesion (BL), precursor lesion (PL) and malignant lesion (ML) groups according to pathological diagnosis. Approximately 80% of patients in A (total/male: 632/269, age: 57.73 ± 11.06) were randomly selected as a training set; the remaining 20% were used as an internal test set; and the patients in B (total/male: 94/53, age: 60.04 ± 11.22), C (total/male: 94/47, age: 59.30 ± 9.86) and D (total/male: 94/61, age: 62.0 ± 11.09) were used as an external validation set. Logical regression (LR), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) were used to establish prediction models. Finally, the Mayo model, Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) model and Brock model were externally validated in our patients. Results: The AUC values of RF model for MLs, PLs and BLs were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73–0.88), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82–0.99) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67–0.88), respectively. The weighted average AUC value of the RF model for the external validation set was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.67–0.73), and its AUC values for MLs, PLs and BLs were 0.71 (95% CI: 0.68–0.79), 0.98 (95% CI: 0.88–1.07) and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.61–0.74), respectively. The AUC values of the Mayo model, PKUPH model and Brock model were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62–0.74), 0.64 (95% CI: 0.58–0.70) and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.49–0.65), respectively. Conclusions: The RF model performed best, and its predictive performance was better than that of the three published models, which may provide a new noninvasive method for the risk assessment of PNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oats (Avena sativa L. cv. Joyang), cultivated during June 2023 in experimental fields of Naju County, South Korea, exhibited crown rust symptoms resembling those caused by isolates of Puccinia coronata. Yellow urediniospores measuring 15.3 ± 3.2 × 13.6 ± 3.0 μm were identified through microscopic examination. Multilocus sequence typing of housekeeping genes in the DNA of this fungal isolate showed identity with P. coronata var. avenae f.sp. avenae, a pathogen of oats in South Korea previously lacking in taxonomic classification. This finding raises concerns of escalated crown rust disease in South Korea due to enhanced temperatures and humidity from climate shifts. Addressing these emerging concerns may require proactive strategies to protect oat cultivation in South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the development of high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs), the self‐organization of organic semiconductors plays a crucial role. This study focuses on the precisely manipulation of molecular assemble via tuning alkyl side‐chain topology in a series of low‐cost nonfused‐ring electron acceptors (NFREAs). Among the three NFREAs investigated, DPA‐4, which possesses an asymmetric alkyl side‐chain length, exhibits a tight packing in the crystal and high crystallinity in the film, contributing to improved electron mobility and favorable film morphology for DPA‐4. As a result, the OSC device based on DPA‐4 achieves an excellent power conversion efficiency of 16.67 %, ranking among the highest efficiencies for NFREA‐based OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Insect odorant binding proteins (OBPs) were initially regarded as carriers of the odorants involved in chemosensation. However, it had been observed that a growing number of OBP genes exhibited broad expression patterns beyond chemosensory tissues. Here, an OBP gene (OBP31) was found to be highly expressed in the larval ventral nerve cord, adult brain and male reproductive organ of Spodoptera frugiperda. An OBP31 knockout strain (OBP31−/−) was generated by CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis. For OBP31−/−, the larvae needed longer time to pupate, but there was no difference in the pupal weight between OBP31−/− and wild type (WT). OBP31−/− larvae showed stronger phototaxis than the WT larvae, indicating the importance of OBP31 in light perception. For mating rhythm of adults, OBP31−/− moths displayed an earlier second mating peak. In the cross‐pairing of OBP31−/− and WT moths, the mating duration was longer, and hatchability was lower in OBP31−/− group and OBP31+/−♂ group than that in the WT group. These results suggested that OBP31 played a vital role in larval light perception and male reproductive process and could provide valuable insights into understanding the biological functions of OBPs that were not specific in chemosensory tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignant tumour arising from the basal cells of the epidermis or follicular structures. The aetiology of BCC is a multifactorial combination of genotype, phenotype and environmental factors. The pathogenesis of BCC remains unclear, with diverse and complex signalling pathways involved. ARHGAP40 is a Rho GTPase‐activating protein (RhoGAP). Rho GTPases play a crucial role in the formation and progression of numerous cancers. The expression levels and roles of ARHGAP40 in BCC have not been explored. Here, ARHGAP40 expression was detected in a set of formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) samples of basal cell carcinoma, paracancerous normal skin and benign skin lesions. The epigenetic mechanism that downregulates ARHGAP40 in basal cell carcinoma was investigated. We found that ARHGAP40 is expressed in normal basal cells and most benign skin lesions but lost in most basal cell carcinomas. We detected CpG island hypermethylation at the promoter‐associated region of ARHGAP40. Our data suggest that ARHGAP40 is downregulated in BCC due to hypermethylation. ARHGAP40 protein is a potential novel biomarker for distinguishing trichoblastoma from BCC. This report is preliminary, and extensive research into the role of ARHGAP40 in BCC carcinogenesis and its potential as a treatment target is required in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Excessive use of chemical insecticides raises concerns about insecticide resistance, urging the development of novel insecticides. Peptide neurotoxins from spider venom are an incredibly rich source of ion channel modulators with potent insecticidal activity. A neurotoxin U1‐Atypitoxin‐Cs1a from the spider Calommata signata was annotated previously. It was of interest to investigate its insecticidal activity and potential molecular targets. RESULTS: Cs1a was heterologously expressed, purified and pharmacologically characterized here. The recombinant neurotoxin inhibited high‐voltage‐activated calcium channel currents with an median inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 0.182 ± 0.026 μm on cockroach DUM neurons and thus was designated as ω‐Atypitoxin‐Cs1a. The recombinant Cs1a was toxic to three insect pests of agricultural importance, Nilaparvata lugens, Spodoptera frugiperda and Plutella xylostella with median lethal concentration (LD50) values of 0.121, 0.172 and 0.356 nmol g−1, respectively, at 24 h postinjection. Cs1a was equivalently toxic to both insecticide‐susceptible and ‐resistant insects. Cs1a exhibited low toxicity to Danio rerio with an LD50 of 2.316 nmol g−1. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ω‐Atypitoxin‐Cs1a is a potent CaV channel inhibitor and an attractive candidate reagent for pest control and resistance management. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odorant‐binding proteins (OBPs) play key roles in the perception of semiochemicals in insects. Several OBPs in insect olfactory systems have been functionally characterized, and they provide excellent targets for pest control. The functions of some OBPs that are highly expressed in the nonsensory organs of insects remain unclear. Here, the physiological function of an OBP (OBP27) that was highly expressed in the nonsensory organs of Spodoptera frugiperda was studied. OBP27 was nested within the Plus‐C cluster according to phylogenetic analysis. The transcription of OBP27 steadily increased throughout the development of S. frugiperda, and transcripts of this gene were abundant in the fat body and male reproductive organs. An OBP27 knockout strain with an early frameshift mutation was obtained using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9) system. The development time of OBP27−/− larvae was significantly longer than that of other larvae. Both male and female OBP27−/− pupae weighed significantly less than wild‐type (WT) pupae. In crosses of OBP27−/− males or females, the mating rate was lower and the mating duration was longer for OBP27−/− male–WT female pairs than for WT–WT pairs. By contrast, the mating rate, hatching rate, and number of eggs of OBP27−/− female–WT male pairs and WT–WT pairs were similar. These findings indicate that OBP27 plays an important role in the larval development and mating process in male adults. Generally, our findings provide new insights into the physiological roles of nonsensory OBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the ex‐ante effects of the front‐of‐package (FoP) nutrition labeling for food products high in saturated fat, sugar, and/or sodium, which is a new regulation recently announced by Health Canada to combat obesity. The Canadian food industry has until January 1, 2026, to comply with the new regulations. To examine the ex‐ante effects of this policy, an incentivized experiment is conducted in a lab that replicates a grocery store. The results at the product level indicate a significant decrease in the probability of choosing a product with a "high in" label compared to those without "high in" labels. Basket‐level results demonstrate that FoP labeling is significantly associated with a lower quantity share and dollar value share of products high in one of the mentioned nutrients selected in a grocery basket, as well as fewer grams of sugar and sodium in a grocery basket. Furthermore, the study reveals that individuals with higher educational attainment, a risk‐averse nature, and a lower level of self‐reported nutrition knowledge tend to react more to the labeling. The insights from eye‐tracking data further support these results, revealing that product choices are deterred by a fixation on "high in" labels. This study contributes to an improved understanding of the pathway in which labeling schemes influence food choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study is to perform a Bayesian network meta‐analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of prophylactic bolus of different doses of ephedrine, phenylephrine, and norepinephrine for the prevention of spinal hypotension during cesarean section. Methods: The Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library were searched until to May 20, 2022. The indicators included incidence of hypotension, reactive hypertension, bradycardia, nausea and vomiting, umbilical artery pH, and Apgar scores. Results: About 3125 related records were obtained and 17 RCTs met our eligibility criteria. Based on the results, prophylactic bolus injection of 21–30 mg ephedrine (82%) was the best efficacious option for preventing hypotension, followed by 13–16 μg norepinephrine and 81–120 mg phenylephrine; 121–150 μg phenylephrine had the highest probability (62%) caused reactive hypertension, followed by 11–30 mg ephedrine; phenylephrine was most likely to cause bradycardia in a dose‐dependent manner; 81–120 μg phenylephrine had the highest probability (37%) which associated with IONV; 6–12 μg norepinephrine (31%) had the lowest influence on IONV and had highest probability (34%) associated with improving umbilical arterial pH; 13–16 μg norepinephrine had highest probability (67% at 1 min, 49% at 5 min) which associated with improving Apgar scores. Conclusions: Based on this study, 5–10 mg ephedrine and 13–16 μg norepinephrine prophylactic bolus injection may be the optimum dosage of three drugs prevent spinal‐induced hypotension, which has the least impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐performance IR organic photodetectors (OPDs) are of great significance for wireless optical communication, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology, and wearable electronics. However, high dark current and low responsivity (R) hinder their future commercial application. Herein, fullerene and non‐fullerene acceptors‐based OPDs are fabricated to understand the relationship between the trap density and photo‐responsivity. Impressively, the non‐fullerene system (Poly([2,6′‐4,8‐di(5‐ethylhexylthienyl)benzo[1,2‐b;3,3‐b]dithiophene]{3‐fluoro‐2[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl}) (PCE10):BTPV‐4F‐eC9) based OPDs exhibits a record R‐value of 0.56 A W−1 at 900 nm in no gain photodiode‐type OPDs, which results in a high detectivity over 1013 Jones in 400–1030 nm at room temperature. Mechanistic studies show that the low trap density plays critical role in reducing the trap‐assisted recombination and density of thermally generated carriers, thus improving the responsivity and reducing the dark current of the device. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of high‐performance self‐powered near‐infrared OPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been successfully applied in dozens of diverse species; although the screening of successful CRISPR/Cas9 editing events remains particularly laborious, especially for those that occur at relatively low frequency. Recently, a co‐CRISPR strategy was proved to enrich the desired CRISPR events. Here, the co‐CRISPR strategy was developed in the Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, with kynurenine 3‐monooxygenase gene (kmo) as a marker. The kmo mosaics induced by single‐guide RNAs (sgRNAs)/Cas9 displayed the darker green color phenotype in larvae, compared with wild type (brown), and mosaic‐eye adults were significantly acquired from the mosaic larvae group. In the kmo knockout strain, no significant difference was observed in larval development and adult reproduction. Acetylcholinesterase 2 (ace2) and Wnt1 were selected as target genes to construct the co‐CRISPR strategy using kmo marker. By co‐injection of kmo and ace2 sgRNAs, the mutant efficiency of ace2 was significantly increased in the kmo mosaic (larvae or adults) groups. Similarly, more malformed pupae with Wnt1 mutations were observed in the darker green larvae group. Taken together, these results demonstrated that kmo was a suitable visible marker gene for the application and extension of co‐CRISPR strategy in Fall armyworm. Using darker green color in larvae or mosaic‐eye in adults from kmo knockout as a marker, the mutant efficiency of a target gene could be enriched in a Fall armyworm group consisting of marked individuals. The co‐CRISPR strategy is helpful for gene function studies by the knockout technique with no or lethal phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rich nontrivial topological phases rooted in the interplay between magnetism and topology in the layered antiferromagnet EuCd2As2 have captured vast attention, especially the ideal Weyl semimetal state realized in the spin‐polarized ferromagnetic (FM) structure driven by a moderate external magnetic field. In this work, combining magnetization, magneto‐transport, and structure measurements under high pressure and first principles calculations, this study finds that the pressure can drive the in‐plane antiferromagnetic structure of EuCd2As2 across an intermediate in‐plane FM structure then into the out‐of‐plane FM structure. This study also finds butterfly‐shaped MR and anomalous Hall effect under large pressure, which may support the pressure‐driven FM state. High‐pressure angle‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray absorption near‐edge spectroscopy measurements exclude structure transition and/or change of Eu2+ valence state as sources for the magnetic phase transitions. Alternatively, apparently reduced axial ratio (c/a) and compressed Eu‐layer space distance should play important roles. Interestingly, the calculations unveil that the out‐of‐plane FM structure hosts only one pair of Weyl nodes around the Fermi level, suggesting that pressure can be an alternative way to realize the ideal Weyl semimetal state in EuCd2As2 and will be useful for exploring exotic topological properties in such layered magnetic topological phase with strongly competing magnetic exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, the efficacy and safety of salvianolate were compared with enoxaparin in the prevention of perioperative deep vein thrombosis in gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: From October 2017 to September 2019, 563 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery were collected. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 119 patients were divided into two groups: enoxaparin group (n = 65) and salvianolate group (n = 54). Comparisons were made regarding the outcomes: prothrombin time (PT), prothrombin activity (PTA), international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), thrombin time (TT), D‐dimer level (D‐D), platelet count (PLT), hematokrit (HCT), and incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Results: The main outcomes showed no significance between enoxaparin group and salvianolate group (p >.05). The incidence of DVT in salvianolate group was 1.85%, significantly lower than that in enoxaparin group (12.3%) (p <.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in the two groups during treatment. Conclusion: Compared with enoxaparin, salvianolate has an advantage in the prevention of perioperative thrombosis in gastrointestinal surgery with a lower incidence of DVT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The high comorbidity rates of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and gaming disorder (GD) with other psychiatric disorders are concerning. A follow‐up study of gamers from clinical and nonclinical samples with and without diagnoses of IGD or GD was conducted to investigate the changes in diagnoses over a 1‐year period, compare their diagnostic stability, and examine the patterns of co‐occurrence between IGD and GD with other psychiatric disorders over the same period. Methods: Baseline and 1‐year follow‐up data of 279 participants, including 120 problematic gaming patients and 159 gamers from the general population, were analyzed. Information on demographics, gaming habits, and self‐reported psychological status was collected. Additionally, a structured interview was conducted using the Gaming Diagnostic Interview and the Mini‐International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Results: Although there was no significant difference between the changes in IGD/GD diagnosis during the 1‐year period, 34.7% of the participants had a change in IGD diagnosis, while the number of GD cases increased to 60.4%. When evaluating the fixed effects of comorbidity on IGD and GD, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder had the highest odds ratio for both IGD (75.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.67–530.61) and GD (117.02 × 106; 95% CI, 2.23 × 106–6132.64 × 106). Conclusion: These results reveal that a GD diagnosis might be more prone to change than an IGD diagnosis. GD was also found to be more affected by comorbid psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a panel econometric model to assess and examine the relationship between inbound tourism to China and air quality, using data on air quality and inbound tourism at the provincial level in China from 2013 to 2017. It also considers how travelers perceive risk. According to the findings, there has been an increase in foreign tourists visiting China since 2013. However, the air quality index's representation of domestic air quality is not encouraging. Our studies using the fixed effect model demonstrate that domestic air quality has a considerable beneficial impact on the number of inbound tourists, which is still strong when utilizing the mixed effect and random effect models; in comparison to northern China, the impact of air quality in southern China is more clear. Our studies demonstrate that the ongoing decline in China's inbound tourism scale in recent years is strongly correlated with the quality of the country's air, which is influenced by each visitor's personal preferences. In order to improve China's reputation in the global tourism market, the report concludes by outlining solutions to address this impact. These methods include maintaining the promotion of environmental governance while also tightly integrating tourism marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Doping main‐group elements has become a unique strategy to fine‐tune optoelectronic properties of organic π‐conjugated molecules. Herein, we report the first example of diazaphosphinine based polycyclic hydrocarbons (DP‐PAHs) via facile synthetic protocols. Synthesis of diazaphosphinine heterocycles harnesses mild and efficient P−N chemistry. The heterocycles readily undergo photocyclizations by using only oxidants. The photocyclization protocol is applicable to the heterocycles with various P‐centers. We successfully extended the protocols in extended DP‐PAHs with 13‐fused aromatic rings. Further adjusting P‐chemistry allows to efficiently fine‐tune the singlet and triplet emission characteristics. More importantly, single‐molecule white‐light‐emitting character was achieved via the balanced singlet and triplet emission of DP‐PAH. Therefore, this work opens up new horizons in the area of organic π‐conjugated materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large energy loss (Eloss) is one of the main obstacles to further improve the photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs), which is closely related to the charge transfer (CT) state. Herein, ternary donor alloy strategy is used to precisely tune the energy of CT state (ECT) and thus the Eloss for boosting the efficiency of OSCs. The elevated ECT in the ternary OSCs reduce the energy loss for charge generation (ΔECT), and promote the hybridization between localized excitation state and CT state to reduce the nonradiative energy loss (ΔEnonrad). Together with the optimal morphology, the ternary OSCs afford an impressive power conversion efficiency of 19.22% with a significantly improved open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.910 V without sacrificing short‐cicuit density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF) in comparison to the binary ones. This contribution reveals that precisely tuning the ECT via donor alloy strategy is an efficient way to minimize Eloss and improve the photovoltaic performance of OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannibalism is common in spiders. Wolf spider (Lycosidae) females, which exhibit extensive maternal care, have been reported to cannibalize less when they are carrying egg sacs and juveniles. In a laboratory experiment, we demonstrated that cannibalism of early‐instar spiderlings (EIS) by a wolf spider (Pardosa pseudoannulata) mother was almost completely inhibited when she was carrying spiderlings. Compared with virgin and mated‐females, mother spiders tolerated more and predated fewer spiderlings, including gregarious pulli and newly dispersed spiderlings (NDS). Cannibalism of EIS by females during their reproductive period exhibited a V‐shaped pattern, with a gradual decrease from the egg sac‐carrying to pulli‐carrying (PC) stage, and a recovery from the PC stage to post‐reproductive (PR) stage. Notably, there was 0 cannibalism at the PC stage. PC females exhibited no interest in pulli, while PR females were attracted to and predated pulli and NDS as they did their natural prey, Nilaparvata lugens. Interestingly, PC females captured and released NDS in a foraging assay, although attraction was observed from olfactometer measurements. PC mothers possessed a cuticular volatile profile that was closer to that of pulli and NDS than to that of PR females. Moreover, NDS cuticular extract provoked an electrophysiological response in legs of PC females. Therefore, cuticular compound‐mediated chemical communication may be involved in inhibiting cannibalism of EIS by spider mothers, and especially in eliminating cannibalism by PC mothers. Future studies will aim to characterize the specific cuticular compounds and chemoreception mechanism in females, which will facilitate our understanding of intraspecific recognition and cannibalism in spiders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining DNA stability in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and iPSCs‐derived neurons is a challenge in their clinical application. In the present study, we compared DNA stability between primary retinal neurons and differentiated neurons. We found that the basal level of γ‐H2AX phosphorylation, a specific marker of DNA breaks, was notably higher (~26‐folds) in human iPSCs compared to iPSCs‐derived neurons. However, iPSCs‐derived neurons are more sensitive to UV treatment compared to primary rat retinal neurons (postnatal Day 1). UV treatment induced a significantly decreasing in the cell viability of iPSCs‐derived neurons by ~76.1%, whereas ~20.8% in primary retinal neurons. After analyzing the expression levels of genes involved in DNA stability, such as Brca1, Ligase IV, Ku80, and Mre11, we found that Ku80 and its heterodimeric partner, Ku70 were positive in iPSCs‐derived neurons. However, both Ku80 and Ku70 are not expressed in primary retinal neurons and cerebellar neurons. Similarly, both Ku80 and Ku70 are also expressed in 3D retinal organoids from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), except for a few Map2‐negative cells and the hyaloid vessels of mice E12.5 retinas. Hence, Ku80, and Ku70 are specifically expressed in stem cell‐derived neurons. Moreover, using the Ku80 inhibitor Compound L, our data showed that Ku80 promotes the DNA stability and cell viability of iPSCs‐derived neurons. Thus, our results demonstrated that iPSCs‐, ESCs‐derived neurons have specific characteristics of DNA stability. This study provides new insights into the neural differentiation of stem cells but might also warrant the future clinical application of stem cells in neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing high‐temperature polymer electrolyte membranes with sufficient performance and competitive cost is a major scientific checkpoint for promoting the popularization of fuel cells. Herein, poly(biphenyl acetylpyridine) (PBAP) is synthesized by a facile one‐pot Friedel‐Crafts polymerization between 4‐acetylpyridine and biphenyl. The PBAP has excellent solubility in polar solvents, while its membrane shows a significantly high phosphoric acid (PA) absorption capacity due to the presence of amounts of pyridine groups. However, the pure PBAP membrane is dissolved in 85 wt.% PA solution. In order to solve excessive expansion and poor mechanical stability, a series of PBAP blend membranes are fabricated by mixing PBAP with commercial engineering thermoplastic of poly(ether ketone cardo) (PEKC). Blending PEKC significantly improves the dimensional and mechanical stabilities. In particular, blend membranes exhibit remarkable chemical stability as documented by Fenton test, while membranes after Fenton test display slightly higher acid uptakes and conductivities. As a result, the PBAP‐50wt.%PEKC/170%PA membrane shows a conductivity of 0.051 S cm−1 at 160 °C and mechanical strength of 8.3 MPa at 25 °C. The peak power density at 160 °C of the H2‐O2 single cell with above membrane is 632 mW cm−2, indicating the potential of PBAP‐x%PEKC/PA membranes for fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral diarrhea is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children. This study was conducted to disclose the etiological cause and epidemiological features of viral diarrhea among children in China. From 2009 to 2021, active surveillance was performed on pediatric patients with acute diarrhea and tested for five enteric viruses. Positive detection was determined in 65.56% (3325/5072) patients and an age‐specific infection pattern was observed. A significantly higher positive rate was observed in 12–23‐month‐old children for rotavirus (47.46%) and adenovirus (7.06%), while a significantly higher positive rate was observed for norovirus (37.62%) in 6–11‐month‐old patients, and for astrovirus (11.60%) and sapovirus (10.79%) in 24–47‐month‐old patients. A higher positive rate of rotavirus in girls and norovirus in boys was observed only among 6–11 months of patients. We also observed more norovirus among patients from rural areas in the 0–5‐ and 36–47‐month groups and more rotavirus among those from rural areas in the 12–23‐month group. Diarrhea severity was greater for rotavirus in the 6–23‐month group and norovirus in the 6–11‐month group. Coinfections were observed in 29.26% (973/3325) of positive patients, and were most frequently observed between rotavirus and others (89.31%). Our findings could help the prediction, prevention, and potential therapeutic approaches to viral diarrhea in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur‐containing amino acid derived from the essential amino acid methionine (Met). Circulating levels of Hcy in animals can be increased by feeding on Met‐enriched diets, which is generally considered harmful. Spiders are one of the largest groups of obligate carnivores and feed on animals high in protein and Met. We analyzed the Hcy metabolism pathways in 18 species of 3 taxa (Mammalia, Insecta, and Arachnida) and found that the betaine‐dependent remethylation pathway (BRP) was present in all carnivorous arachnid species and mammals but absent in insects and red spider mites. We then studied the Hcy metabolism pathway in Pardosa pseudoannulata. In P. pseudoannulata, Hcy is metabolized through the transsulfuration pathway, BRP, and S‐methylmethionine‐dependent remethylation pathway. Because of a prior duplication event of the betaine homocysteine S‐methyltransferase (BHMT) gene in the BRP, BHMTa and BHMTb are present in tandem in the genome of P. pseudoannulata. The high expression levels of BHMTa and its high abundance in detoxification tissues indicate that it plays an important role in the BRP; the ability of BHMTa and BHMTb to remethylate Hcy using betaine as substrate was similar. Compared with other Hcy metabolic enzyme genes, BHMT responded quickly to the application of Hcy or betaine. In sum, the BRP is important in Hcy metabolism in P. pseudoannulata and in other spider species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRD4 plays an indispensable role in cell cycle regulation, affecting processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis and transcription. In this article, a three‐dimensional quantitative conformational relationship (3D‐QSAR) was used to investigate the molecular simulations related to 45 tetrahydrooxazole BRD4/BD2 selective inhibitors. 3D‐QSAR models were developed based on two different analytical methods, COMFA and COMSIA. All CoMSIA field combinations were compared together and the best CoMSIA model was selected based on external validation and model prediction results. Both CoMSIA (S+E+H+D (q2=0.808, r2=0.99)) and CoMFA models (q2=0.779;,r2=0.962) predicted the internal and external well. Twenty small molecules with higher inhibitory activity than the template compound were designed by 3D‐QSAR model prediction and quantum chemistry analysis, screened by molecular docking and ADMET methods, and five novel compounds were found to have better predicted activity and binding affinity. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that PRO70, PRO371, TYR428, ASN429 and VAL435 are important residues that can interact with the ligands. Moreover, further structural optimization of the more active candidate compounds will provide an essential theoretical basis of the synthesis and design of novel BRD4/BD2 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report the regio‐ and stereoselective synthesis of tetrasubstituted alkenes from N‐carbamoyl indoles and alkynes via ruthenium(II)‐catalyzed C−H alkenylation/directing group migration, in which the carbamoyl directing group is endowed with a dual role of auxiliary group and migrating acylation reagent via C−N bond cleavage. This method features broad substrate scope, high atom‐ and step‐economy, good functional group tolerance and mild redox‐neutral conditions at room temperature. A series of structurally diverse tetrasubstituted alkenes were synthesized in good to excellent yields, highlighting the efficiency of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitellogenin receptor (VgR) is crucial for vitellogenin (Vg) uptake by oocytes. VgR is less known in Arachnida, especially in spiders. Different from only one VgR in an arthropod species, two VgRs, VgR‐1 and VgR‐2, were found in the pond wolf spider, Pardosa pseudoannulata. Both VgRs had the typical domains of the low‐density lipoprotein receptor family except for the absence of the ligand‐binding domain 1 in VgR‐2. Spatiotemporal expression profiles showed that two VgR genes were consistently highly expressed in females and their ovaries, but VgR‐1 was 48‐fold that of VgR‐2 in ovaries. The transcriptional level of VgR‐1 was significantly downregulated by RNAi, but it did not work for VgR‐2 although several trials were performed. Vg‐1 and Vg‐2 might be the ligands of VgR‐1 because their expressions were also decreased in the dsVgR‐1‐treated females. Silencing VgR‐1 prolonged the pre‐oviposition period by 56 h. The expression of VgRs and Vgs were upregulated by juvenile hormones (JHs), which suggested that JHs were the essential factors to vitellogenesis in the spider. The present study revealed the importance of VgR‐1 in the spider oviposition, which will improve the understanding on VgR physiological functions in spiders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total syntheses of two Isodon diterpenes, isorosthin L and isoadenolin I, are reported. The synthetic strategy features a quick assembly of two simple building blocks through a diastereoselective intermolecular aldol reaction and a subsequent radical cyclization for efficient construction of a rather complex advanced intermediate bearing a quaternary stereocenter present in all Isodon diterpenes. Oxidative cleavage of the C−C bond in the cyclopentane enabled the conversion to a lactone moiety which is desired for the construction of the molecular skeleton through reductive coupling with an aldehyde carbonyl group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of wearable electronics, a resistive sensor with high performance and multifunctional monitoring abilities turns out to be a great challenge for industrial application fields. Herein, a wearable 3D porous polyurethane (PU) sponge sensor coated with MXene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composites is self‐assembled through a simple ultrasonic dip‐coating process. The alternate assembly and the synergistic effect of MXene and CNTs contribute to a tough and complete 1D/2D conductive network, which significantly extends the measurement ability of the proposed MXene/CNTs@PU sensor from a wide‐compressive strain range (−80%) to a wide‐stretching strain range (60%). Moreover, benefit from this unique tough multidimensional MXene/CNTs structure, the presented sensor is endowed with excellent electrical response and stability during the long‐term reproducibility test over 5000 cycles. This study also demonstrates the versatile applications (stretching and compression) of the MXene/CNTs@PU sensor, such as detecting subtle expressions, vocal vibrations, body actions of human motions, and lighting light emitting diode lamps. Thus, this advanced sensor indicates great potential for emerging applications in human–machine interaction, healthcare, and wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible sensor technologies have gained extensive interest in recent years owing to the increasing demands of wearable electronics. Here, the authors propose a flexible strain sensor with enhanced sensitivity by designing a new sensing approach for strain detection. The sensing approach uses an over-balanced planar elastomer (OBPE) inspired by Kirigami-like auxetic structure for stretchable sensing. The OBPE substrate is designed and fabricated with four polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) supporting beam embedded into Ecoflex elastomer to realize auxetic characteristics. The auxetic characteristics induce the sensing region of the sensor to expand in directions both along and orthogonally to the stretch loading. Consequently, the local disconnections of the electrically linked paths composed of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the sensing region are enhanced. Gauge factor of the OBPE strain sensor is improved up to 6 times higher than the typical strain sensor without OBPE architecture. Therefore, the enhanced sensor outputs the stronger electrical signals than the typical sensor in perceiving human motions. Moreover, the two-step casting fabrication is a low-cost process and suitable for large volume manufacturing. In addition, as this sensing method is independent of the constituent conductive materials, it has the potential to be further employed for developing other stretchable strain sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid advance of fused‐ring electron acceptors (FREAs) has greatly promoted the leap‐forward development of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, the synthetic complexity of FREAs may be detrimental for future commercial applications. Recently, nonfused‐ring electron acceptors (NREAs) have been developed to be a promising candidate to maintain a rational balance between cost and performance, of which the cores are composed of simple fused rings (NREAs‐I) or nonfused rings (NREAs‐II). Moreover, "noncovalently conformational locks", are used as an effective strategy to enhance the rigidity and planarity of NREAs and improve device performance. Herein, a novel series of NREAs‐II (PhO4T‐1, PhO4T‐2, and PhO4T‐3) is constructed as a valuable platform for exploring the impact of the end group engineering on optoelectronic properties, intermolecular packing behaviors, and device performance. As a result, a high power conversion efficiency of 13.76% is achieved for PhO4T‐3 based OSCs, which is much higher than those of the PhO4T‐1 and PhO4T‐2‐based devices. Compared with several representative FREAs, PhO4T‐3 possesses the highest figure‐of‐merit value of 133.45 based on a cost‐efficiency evaluation. This work demonstrates that the simple‐structured NREAs‐II are promising candidates for low‐cost and high‐performance OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three nonfused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs; 2Th‐2F, BTh‐Th‐2F, and 2BTh‐2F) with thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene bearing two bis(4‐butylphenyl)amino substituents as the core, 3‐octylthiophene or 3‐octylthieno[3,2‐b]thiophene as the spacer, and 3‐(1,1‐dicyanomethylene)‐5,6‐difluoro‐1‐indanone as the terminal group are designed and synthesized. The molar extinction coefficient of acceptors and the electron mobility of blend films gradually increase with increasing π‐conjugation length. Moreover, 2BTh‐2F displays a planar molecular conformation assisted by S···N and S···O intramolecular interactions. More importantly, the molecular stacking changes from 2D packing for the 2Th‐2F analog to 3D network packing for 2BTh‐2F. Due to these comprehensive merits, 2BTh‐2F:PBDB‐T‐based organic solar cells give a high power conversion efficiency of 14.53%. More impressively, when D18 is used as the donor polymer, the power conversion efficiency is further enhanced to 15.44%, which is the highest value reported for solar cells based on NFREAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hypertrophic scar is a common dermal fibroproliferative lesion usually treated with topical silicone. Verapamil, a type of calcium channel blocker, is considered a candidate drug for the treatment of hypertrophic scars. Here, we report that the addition of verapamil to topical silicone gel enhances treatment outcomes of hypertrophic scars. Upon creation of hypertrophic scars with the rabbit ear model, varying concentrations of verapamil‐added silicone gel (0.1, 1, and 10 mg/g) were applied daily for 28 days. After the animals were euthanised, microscopic measurement was performed for (a) scar elevation index (SEI), (b) fibroblast count, and (c) capillary count. On gross analysis, features of hypertrophic scars were significantly alleviated in the verapamil‐added groups. On histologic examination, verapamil‐added groups showed (a) reduced SEI (1.93 (1.79‐2.67) for control vs 1.34 (1.21‐1.51) for silicone only and 1.13 (1.01‐1.65) for verapamil‐added silicone), (b) fibroblast count 700.5 (599.5‐838.5) for control, 613.25 (461‐762.5) for silicone only, and 347.33 (182.5‐527) for verapamil‐added silicone), and (c) capillary formation (52 (35.5‐96.5) for control, 46 (28‐64.5) for silicone only, and 39.83(24‐70) for verapamil‐added silicone) (Kruskal‐Wallis test, P <.05). On western blot, expression levels of collagen I protein was lower in the 1 mg/g and 10 mg/g verapamil‐added silicone compared with control. Therefore, we suggest a therapeutic concentration of verapamil‐added silicone gel of at least over 1 mg/g. Further study regarding maximally effective concentration and deeper insight into the mechanism of action should follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene (ET) is an important gaseous plant hormone. It is highly desirable to develop fluorescent probes for monitoring ethylene in living cells. We report an efficient RhIII‐catalysed coupling of N‐phenoxyacetamides to ethylene in the presence of an alcohol. The newly discovered coupling reaction exhibited a wide scope of N‐phenoxyacetamides and excellent regioselectivity. We successfully developed three fluorophore‐tagged RhIII‐based fluorogenic coumarin‐ethylene probes (CEPs) using this strategy for the selective and quantitative detection of ethylene. CEP‐1 exhibited the highest sensitivity with a limit of detection of ethylene at 52 ppb in air. Furthermore, CEP‐1 was successfully applied for imaging in living CHO‐K1 cells and for monitoring endogenous‐induced changes in ethylene biosynthesis in tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana plants. These results indicate that CEP‐1 has great potential to illuminate the spatiotemporal regulation of ethylene biosynthesis and ethylene signal transduction in living biological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]