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Spin–orbit coupling forms the physical basis for quantum materials with non-trivial topology and potential spintronics applications. The Rashba interaction is a textbook model of spin–orbit interactions, with charge carriers undergoing linear, isotropic spin-splitting in momentum space. Recently, non-centrosymmetric semiconductors in the family BiTeX (X = Cl, Br, I) have been identified as exemplary Rashba materials due to the strong splitting of their bulk bands, yet a detailed investigation of their spin textures, and their relationships to local crystal symmetry, is currently lacking. We perform high-efficiency spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to directly image the spin texture of surface states of BiTeCl, and we find dramatic deviations from idealized behavior, including a reversal of the spin-polarization near the Fermi level. We show that this behavior can be described by higher-order contributions to the canonical Rashba model with the surface states localized to individual trilayers of the crystal. Due to the prominence of these effects near the Fermi level, they should have a strong impact on the spin-dependent transport of carriers.

The search continues for nickel oxide-based materials with electronic properties similar to cuprate high-temperature superconductors1-10. The recent discovery of superconductivity in the doped infinite-layer nickelate NdNiO2 (refs. 11,12) has strengthened these efforts. Here, we use X-ray spectroscopy and density functional theory to show that the electronic structure of LaNiO2 and NdNiO2, while similar to the cuprates, includes significant distinctions. Unlike cuprates, the rare-earth spacer layer in the infinite-layer nickelate supports a weakly interacting three-dimensional 5d metallic state, which hybridizes with a quasi-two-dimensional, strongly correlated state with [Formula: see text] symmetry in the NiO2 layers. Thus, the infinite-layer nickelate can be regarded as a sibling of the rare-earth intermetallics13-15, which are well known for heavy fermion behaviour, where the NiO2 correlated layers play an analogous role to the 4f states in rare-earth heavy fermion compounds. This Kondo- or Anderson-lattice-like 'oxide-intermetallic' replaces the Mott insulator as the reference state from which superconductivity emerges upon doping.

To shed light on how electronic correlations vary across the phase diagram of the cuprate superconductors, we examine the doping evolution of spin and charge excitations in the single-band Hubbard model using determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC). In the single-particle response, we observe that the effects of correlations weaken rapidly with doping, such that one may expect the random phase approximation (RPA) to provide an adequate description of the two-particle response. In contrast, when compared to RPA, we find that significant residual correlations in the two-particle excitations persist up to 40% hole and 15% electron doping (the range of dopings achieved in the cuprates). These fundamental differences between the doping evolution of single- and multiparticle renormalizations show that conclusions drawn from single-particle processes cannot necessarily be applied to multiparticle excitations. Eventually, the system smoothly transitions via a momentum-dependent crossover into a weakly correlated metallic state where the spin and charge excitation spectra exhibit similar behavior and where RPA provides an adequate description.

Dual active sites with synergistic valence state regulation under oxidizing and reducing conditions are essential for catalytic reactions with step-wise mechanisms to modulate the complex adsorption sites of reactant molecules on the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts with maximized catalytic performances, but it has been rarely explored. In this work, uniformly dispersed CuCo alloy and CoO nanosheet composite catalysts with dual active sites are constructed, which shows huge boost in activity for catalyzing water-gas shift reaction (WGSR), with a record high reaction rate reaching 204.2 μmol CO g cat. -1 s -1 at 300 °C for Cu 1 Co 9 O x amongst the reported Cu-based and Co-based catalysts. A synergistic mechanism is proposed that Co δ+ species can be easily reduced by CO adsorbed on Cu and Co 0 can be oxidized by H 2 O. Systematic in situ characterization results reveal that the addition of Cu can regulate the redox properties of Co species and thus modulate the adsorption properties of catalysts. Particularly, doping of Cu 0 sites weakens the affinity of the surface to CO or CO 2 to a moderate level. Moreover, it also promotes the oxidation of *CO to *COOH and the desorption of the product CO 2 , reducing the carbon poisoning of the catalyst and thus increasing the reactivity. The results would provide guidance for the construction of novel heterogeneous catalyst with dual active sites and clarify its underlying reactivity enhancement mechanism induced by the tunning of valence state of metal centers for heterogeneous catalytic reactions., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Microorganisms serve as biological factories for the synthesis of nanomaterials such as CdS quantum dots. Based on the uniqueness of Acidithiobacillus sp., a one-step route was explored to directly convert cadmium waste into CdS QDs using these bacteria. First, an exhaustive study was conducted to reveal the specific pathways involved in the biosynthesis of CdS QDs. The widely known homologous enzyme, cysteine desulfhydrase, which catalyzes the synthesis of CdS QDs from a cysteine substrate, is also present in Acidithiobacillus sp. and is referred to as the OSH enzyme. The structure of the OSH enzyme was determined through X-ray crystallography. Moreover, we identified two new pathways. One involved the SQR enzyme in Acidithiobacillus sp., which catalyzed the formation of sulfur globules and subsequently catalyzed further reactions with GSH to release H 2 S; subsequently, a CdS QD biosynthesis pathway was successfully constructed. The other pathway involved extracellular polyphosphate, a bacterial metabolic product, which with the addition of GSH and Cd 2+ , resulted in the formation of water-soluble fluorescent CdS QDs in the supernatant. Based on the above-described mechanism, after the bioleaching of Cd 2+ from cadmium waste by Acidithiobacillus sp., CdS QDs were directly obtained from the bacterial culture supernatants. This work provides important insights into cleaner production and cadmium bioremediation with potential industrial applications., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The landmark discovery of gold catalysts has aroused substantial interest in heterogeneous catalysis, yet the catalytic mechanism remains elusive. For carbon monoxide oxidation on gold nanoparticles (NPs) supported on ceria surfaces, it is widely believed that carbon monoxide adsorbs on the gold particles, while the reaction occurs at the gold/ceria interface. Here, we have investigated the dynamic changes of supported gold NPs with various sizes in a carbon monoxide oxidation atmosphere using deep potential molecular dynamics simulations. Our results reveal that the structure of tiny gold particles in carbon monoxide atmospheres becomes highly disordered and undergoes phase transition. Such a liquid-like structure provides massive reactive sites, enabling facile carbon monoxide oxidation on the solid-state gold NP rather than just at the gold/ceria interface. This result is further corroborated by catalytic experiments. This work sheds light on both the size effects and activity in noble metal catalysis and provides insights for the design of more effective nanocatalysts.

Compared to H 2 -assisted activation mode, the direct dissociation of CO 2 into carbonyl (*CO) with a simplified reaction route is advantageous for CO 2 -related synthetic processes and catalyst upgrading, while the stable C = O double bond makes it very challenging. Herein, we construct a subnano MoO 3 layer on the surface of Mo 2 N, which provides a dynamically changing surface of MoO 3 ↔MoO x (x < 3) for catalyzing CO 2 hydrogenation. Rich oxygen vacancies on the subnano MoO x surface with a high electron donating capacity served as a scissor to directly shear the C = O double bond of CO 2 to form CO at a high rate. The O atoms leached in CO 2 dissociation are removed timely by H 2 to regenerate active oxygen vacancies. Owing to the greatly enhanced dissociative activation of CO 2 , this MoO x /Mo 2 N catalyst without any supported active metals shows excellent performance for catalyzing CO 2 hydrogenation to CO. The construction of highly disordered defective surface on heterostructures paves a new pathway for molecule activation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a useful tool to evaluate brain inefficiencies secondary to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); nevertheless, limited fMRI studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of CVDs on brain functional changes and cognitive function. This systematic review aims to explore, synthesise, and report fMRI outcomes (resting state and task-based) and cognitive performance in patients with CVDs., Methods: Two reviewers independently searched published literature until April 2024 on ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov adhering to the PRISMA protocol. A total of 26 eligible studies were considered for full-text screening, of which 10 were included in this review. The methodological quality was assessed by mixed methods appraisal tool and was reported as empirically fair., Results: Among 336 subjects with CVDs, aged between 49.90 ± 6.10 to 72.20 ± 5.70 years, the majority had coronary artery diseases (n = 177, 52.68%) and hypertension (n = 200, 59.52%), and approximately half of them were females (n = 169, 50.30%). Based on the qualitative synthesis, subjects with CVDs demonstrated an increased cognitive decline (reduced Mini-Mental State Examination/Montreal Cognitive Assessment mean values) and attenuated task performance (lower mean 2-back task scores and slower reaction time). Results also indicated impaired brain activity at the supplementary motor area associated with poor ejection fraction; reduced default mode network suppression linked to high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; lower regional homogeneity and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation values; and reduced functional connectivity. In summary, alterations in brain networks connectivity may have contributed to an impaired cognitive performance in patients with cardiovascular diseases., Conclusion: It can be extrapolated that CVDs tend to alter the brain network connectivity and result in cognitive impairment and poorer task performance. However, for future imaging studies, more stringent and homogenous demographic data are highly recommended., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Humayra, Yahya, Ning, Mir, Mohamed and Manan.)

The reverse water gas shift reaction can be considered as a promising route to mitigate global warming by converting CO 2 into syngas in a large scale, while it is still challenging for non-Cu-based catalysts to break the trade-off between activity and selectivity. Here, the relatively high loading of Ni species is highly dispersed on hydroxylated TiO 2 through the strong Ni and -OH interactions, thereby inducing the formation of rich and stable Ni clusters (~1 nm) on anatase TiO 2 during the reverse water gas shift reaction. This Ni cluster/TiO 2 catalyst shows a simultaneous high CO 2 conversion and high CO selectivity. Comprehensive characterizations and theoretical calculations demonstrate Ni cluster/TiO 2 interfacial sites with strong CO 2 activation capacity and weak CO adsorption are responsible for its unique catalytic performances. This work disentangles the activity-selectivity trade-off of the reverse water gas shift reaction, and emphasizes the importance of metal-OH interactions on surface., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: We aimed to explore whether the combination of CLP290 and bumetanide maximally improves neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury (SCI) and its possible molecular mechanism., Methods: Rats were randomly divided into five groups: Sham, SCI + vehicle, SCI + CLP290, SCI + bumetanide, and SCI + combination (CLP290 + bumetanide). Drug administration commenced on the 7th day post-injury (7 dpi) and continued for 14 days. All rats underwent behavioral assessments for 56 days to comprehensively evaluate the effects of interventions on mechanical pain, thermal pain, cold pain, motor function, and other relevant parameters. Electrophysiological assessments, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence detection were performed at different timepoints post-injury, with a specific focus on the expression and changes of KCC2 and NKCC1 proteins in the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord., Results: CLP290 and bumetanide alleviated SCI-associated hypersensitivity and locomotor function, with the combination providing enhanced recovery. The combined treatment group exhibited the most significant improvement in restoring Rate-Dependent Depression (RDD) levels. In the combined treatment group and the two individual drug administration groups, the upregulation of potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (K + -Cl - cotransporter 2, KCC2) expression and downregulation of sodium potassium chloride cotransporter 1 (Na + -K + -Cl - cotransporter 1, NKCC1) expression in the lumbar enlargement area resulted in a significant increase in the KCC2/NKCC1 ratio compared to the SCI + vehicle group, with the most pronounced improvement seen in the combined treatment group. Compared to the SCI + vehicle group, the SCI + bumetanide group showed no significant paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL) improvement at 21 and 35 dpi, but a notable enhancement at 56 dpi. In contrast, the SCI + CLP290 group significantly improved PWTL at 21 days, with non-significant changes at 35 and 56 days. At 21 dpi, KCC2 expression was marginally higher in monotherapy groups versus SCI + vehicle, but not significantly. At 56 dpi, only the SCI + bumetanide group showed a significant difference in KCC2 expression compared to the control group., Conclusion: Combined application of CLP290 and bumetanide effectively increases the ratio of KCC2/NKCC1, restores RDD levels, enhances GABA A receptor-mediated inhibitory function in the spinal cord, and relieves neuropathic pain in SCI; Bumetanide significantly improves neuropathic pain in the long term, whereas CLP290 demonstrates a notable short-term effect., (© 2024 The Author(s). CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Phenytoin, an antiepileptic drug, induces neurotoxicity and abnormal embryonic development and reduces spontaneous locomotor activity in fish. However, its effects on other endpoints remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of phenytoin on the swimming behavior and reproductive ability of Japanese medaka. Abnormalities in swimming behavior, such as imbalance, rotation, rollover, and vertical swimming, were observed. However, when phenytoin exposure was discontinued, the behavioral abnormality rates decreased. Phenytoin exposure also significantly reduced reproductive ability. By investigating reproduction-related gene expression of gnrh1, gnrh2, fshb, and lhb remained unchanged in males and females. In contrast, kiss1 expression was significantly suppressed due to phenytoin exposure in males and females. kiss2 expression was also significantly suppressed in females but not in males. We filmed videos to examine phenytoin exposure effects on sexual behavior. Females showed no interest in the male's courtship. As the kisspeptin 1 system controls sexual behavior in Japanese medaka, phenytoin exposure may have decreased kiss1 expression, which decreased female reproductive motivation; hence, they did not spawn eggs. This is the first study to show that phenytoin exposure induces behavioral abnormalities, and suppresses kiss1 expression and reproductive performance in Japanese medaka., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Oxygen vacancy (O v ) is an anionic defect widely existed in metal oxide lattice, as exemplified by CeO 2 , TiO 2 , and ZnO. As O v can modify the band structure of solid, it improves the physicochemical properties such as the semiconducting performance and catalytic behaviours. We report here a new type of O v as an intrinsic part of a perfect crystalline surface. Such non-defect O v stems from the irregular hexagonal sawtooth-shaped structure in the (111) plane of trivalent rare earth oxides (RE 2 O 3 ). The materials with such intrinsic O v structure exhibit excellent performance in ammonia decomposition reaction with surface Ru active sites. Extremely high H 2 formation rate has been achieved at ~1 wt% of Ru loading over Sm 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 and Gd 2 O 3 surface, which is 1.5-20 times higher than reported values in the literature. The discovery of intrinsic O v suggests great potentials of applying RE oxides in heterogeneous catalysis and surface chemistry., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Sugarcane, a vital cash crop, contributes significantly to the world's sugar supply and raw materials for biofuel production, playing a significant role in the global sugar industry. However, sustainable productivity is severely hampered by biotic and abiotic stressors. Genetic engineering has been used to transfer useful genes into sugarcane plants to improve desirable traits and has emerged as a basic and applied research method to maintain growth and productivity under different adverse environmental conditions. However, the use of transgenic approaches remains contentious and requires rigorous experimental methods to address biosafety challenges. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) mediated genome editing technology is growing rapidly and may revolutionize sugarcane production. This review aims to explore innovative genetic engineering techniques and their successful application in developing sugarcane cultivars with enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses to produce superior sugarcane cultivars.

Introduction: Literature suggests a common pathophysiological ground between carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) and white matter alterations in the brain. However, the association between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) has not been conclusively reported. The current systematic review explores and reports the relationship between CIMT and WMH among asymptomatic/non-stroke adults., Methods: A recent literature search on PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases was conducted in compliance with the PRISMA protocol. The pre-defined Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome-Study (PICOS) criteria included observational studies investigating the CIMT-WMH association among non-stroke adults undergoing magnetic resonance imaging and carotid ultrasound., Results: Out of 255 potential results, 32 studies were critically assessed for selection, and finally, 10 articles were included, comprising 5,116 patients (females = 60.2%; males = 39.8%) aged between 36-71 years. The included studies earned high quality ratings (6-9) based on the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale criteria. Qualitative synthesis showed a significantly parallel relationship between increased CIMT and greater WMH burden in 50% of the studies. In addition, significant risk factors related to the CIMT-WMH association included older age, hypertension, depression, migraine, Hispanic ethnicity, and apolipoprotein E (ɛ4) in postmenopausal women., Conclusion: Overall, the cumulative evidence showed a consistent CIMT-WMH association in asymptomatic middle-aged and older non-stroke adults, indicating that CAS may contribute to the progression of pathologically hyperintense white matter in the brain. However, further research is warranted to infer the plausible relationship between CIMT and WMH in the absence of stroke., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Humayra, Yahya, Ning, Raffali, Mir, Mohamed and Manan.)

Verifying the quality of a random number generator involves performing computationally intensive statistical tests on large data sets commonly in the range of gigabytes. Limitations on computing power can restrict an end-user's ability to perform such verification. There are also random number-based applications where an honest user needs to publicly demonstrate that the random bits they are using pass the statistical tests without the bits being revealed. Here, we report the implementation of an entanglement-based protocol that allows a third party to publicly perform statistical tests without compromising the privacy of the random bits., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Current imaging advancements quantify the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) derived T1 and T2 tissue characterization as robust indicators for cardiomyopathies, but limited literature exists on its clinical application in Takotsubo syndrome (TTS). This systematic review evaluated the T1 and T2 parametric mapping to delineate the current diagnostic and prognostic CMR imaging outcomes in TTS., Methods: A comprehensive literature search until October 2023 was performed on ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library by two independent reviewers adhering to the PRISMA framework. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of studies., Results: Out of 198 results, 8 studies were included in this qualitative synthesis, accounting for a total population of 399 subjects (TTS = 201, controls = 175, acute myocarditis = 14, and acute regional myocardial oedema without infarction = 9). Approximately 50.4 % were TTS patients aged between 61 and 73 years, whereof, females (n = 181, 90.0 %) and apical variants (n = 180, 89.6 %) were significantly higher, and emotional stressor (n = 42; 20.9 %) was more prevalent than physical (n = 27; 13.4 %). The NOS identified 62.5 % of studies as moderate and 37.5 % as high quality. Parametric tissue mapping revealed significantly prolonged T1 and T2 relaxation times at 1.5T and 3T respectively in TTS (1053-1164 msec, 1292-1438 msec; and 56-67 msec, 60-90 msec) with higher extracellular volume (ECV) fraction (29-36 %), compared to healthy subjects (944-1211 msec, 1189-1251 msec; and 46-54 msec, 32-68 msec; 23-29 %) and myocarditis (1058 msec, 60 msec). Other significant myocardial abnormalities included increased left ventricular (LV) end-systolic and diastolic volume and reduced global longitudinal strain. Overall, myocardial oedema, altered LV mass and strain, and worse LV systolic function, with higher native T1, T2, and ECV values were consistent., Conclusions: Future research with substantially larger clinical trials is vital to explore the CMR imaging findings in diverse TTS patient cohorts and correlate the T1 and T2 mapping outcomes with demographic/clinical covariates. CMR is a valuable imaging tool for TTS diagnosis and prognostication. T1 and T2 parametric mapping facilitates the quantification of oedema, inflammation, and myocardial injury in Takotsubo., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Aims: Pre-emptive prediction to avoid myelosuppression and harmful sequelae is difficult given the complex interplay among patients, drugs and treatment protocols. This study aimed to model plasma and bone marrow concentrations and the likelihood of myelotoxicity following administration of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by diverse intravenous (IV) bolus or continuous infusion (cIF) regimens., Methods: Using physicochemical, in vitro and clinical data obtained from the literature consisting of various regimens and patient cohorts, a 5-FU physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed. The predicted and observed PK values were compared to assess model performance prior to examining myelotoxicity potential of IV bolus vs. cIF and DPYD wild type vs. genetic variant., Results: The established model was verified by utilizing 5-FU concentration-time profiles of adequate heterogeneity contributed by 36 regimens from 15 studies. The study provided corroborative evidence to explain why cIF (vs. IV bolus) had lower myelotoxicity risk despite much higher total doses. The PBPK model was used to estimate the optimal dosage in patients heterozygous for the DPYD c.1905 + 1G > A allele and suggested that a dose reduction of at least 25% was needed (compared to the dose in wild-type subjects)., Conclusion: A verified PBPK model was used to explain the lower myelotoxicity risk of cIF vs. IV bolus administration of 5-FU and to estimate the dose reduction needed in carriers of a DPYD variant. With appropriate data, expertise and resources, PBPK models have many potential uses in precision medicine application of oncology drugs., (© 2024 British Pharmacological Society.)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a large amount of tissue cell debris in the lesion site, which interacts with various cytokines, including inflammatory factors, and the intrinsic glial environment of the central nervous system (CNS) to form an inhibitory microenvironment that impedes nerve regeneration. The efficient clearance of tissue debris is crucial for the resolution of the inhibitory microenvironment after SCI. Macrophages are the main cells responsible for tissue debris removal after SCI. However, the high lipid content in tissue debris and the dysregulation of lipid metabolism within macrophages lead to their transformation into foamy macrophages during the phagocytic process. This phenotypic shift is associated with a further pro-inflammatory polarization that may aggravate neurological deterioration and hamper nerve repair. In this review, we summarize the phenotype and metabolism of macrophages under inflammatory conditions, as well as the mechanisms and consequences of foam cell formation after SCI. Moreover, we discuss two strategies for foam cell modulation and several potential therapeutic targets that may enhance the treatment of SCI., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Li, Du, Liu, Zhang, Xu, Ke, Peng, Yang, Li and Gao.)

We present single-molecule labeling and localization microscopy (SMLLM) using dye-conjugated phalloidin to achieve enhanced superresolution imaging of filamentous actin (F-actin). We demonstrate that the intrinsic phalloidin dissociation enables SMLLM in an imaging buffer containing low concentrations of dye-conjugated phalloidin. We further show enhanced single-molecule labeling by chemically promoting phalloidin dissociation. Two benefits of phalloidin-based SMLLM are better preservation of cellular structures sensitive to mechanical and shear forces during standard sample preparation and more consistent F-actin quantification at the nanoscale. In a proof-of-concept study, we employed SMLLM to super-resolve F-actin structures in U2OS and dendritic cells (DCs) and demonstrate more consistent F-actin quantification in the cell body and structurally delicate cytoskeletal proportions, which we termed membrane fibers, of DCs compared to direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy ( d STORM). Using DC2.4 mouse dendritic cells as the model system, we show F-actin redistribution from podosomes to actin filaments and altered prevalence of F-actin-associated membrane fibers on the culture glass surface after lipopolysaccharide exposure. While our work demonstrates SMLLM for F-actin, the concept opens new possibilities for protein-specific single-molecule labeling and localization in the same step using commercially available reagents., Competing Interests: Competing Interests The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Neonicotinoid insecticides, which target insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), have been widely and intensively used to control the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, a highly damaging, globally distributed, crop pest. This has inevitably led to the emergence of populations with resistance to neonicotinoids. However, to date, there have been no reports of target-site resistance involving mutation of B. tabaci nAChR genes. Here we characterize the nAChR subunit gene family of B. tabaci and identify dual mutations (A58T&R79E) in one of these genes (BTβ1) that confer resistance to multiple neonicotinoids. Transgenic D. melanogaster, where the native nAChR Dβ1 was replaced with BTβ1A58T&R79E, were significantly more resistant to neonicotinoids than flies where Dβ1 were replaced with the wildtype BTβ1 sequence, demonstrating the causal role of the mutations in resistance. The two mutations identified in this study replace two amino acids that are highly conserved in >200 insect species. Three-dimensional modelling suggests a molecular mechanism for this resistance, whereby A58T forms a hydrogen bond with the R79E side chain, which positions its negatively-charged carboxylate group to electrostatically repulse a neonicotinoid at the orthosteric site. Together these findings describe the first case of target-site resistance to neonicotinoids in B. tabaci and provide insight into the molecular determinants of neonicotinoid binding and selectivity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists., (Copyright: © 2024 Yin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The F 1 F O -ATP synthase engine is essential for viability and growth of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) by providing the biological energy ATP and keeping ATP homeostasis under hypoxic stress conditions. Here, we report the discovery of the diarylquinoline TBAJ-5307 as a broad spectrum anti-NTM inhibitor, targeting the F O domain of the engine and preventing rotation and proton translocation. TBAJ-5307 is active at low nanomolar concentrations against fast- and slow-growing NTM as well as clinical isolates by depleting intrabacterial ATP. As demonstrated for the fast grower Mycobacterium abscessus, the compound is potent in vitro and in vivo, without inducing toxicity. Combining TBAJ-5307 with anti-NTM antibiotics or the oral tebipenem-avibactam pair showed attractive potentiation. Furthermore, the TBAJ-5307-tebipenem-avibactam cocktail kills the pathogen, suggesting a novel oral combination for the treatment of NTM lung infections., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest G. G., R. W. B., P. R., P. S.-L., and L. K. are inventors on the patent 23306555.6, which is related to the inhibitor described in this article. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The unclear effects of microwaves, as a greener alternative to hot air, on sensory perception, aroma, and hazardous components of sesame oil were investigated. Microwaves (900 W, 6-10 min) created more seed porosity and cell destruction and facilitated more γ-tocopherol release in sesame oil (349.30-408.50 mg/kg) than 200 °C, 20 min hot air (304.90 mg/kg). Microwaves (6-10 min) generated more aromatic heterocyclics (42.40-125.12 mg/kg) and aldehydes (5.15-2.08 mg/kg) in sesame oil than hot air (25.59 mg/kg and 1.34 mg/kg). Microwaves (6 min) produced sesame oil with a stronger roasted sesame flavour, and weaker bitter and burnt flavour than hot air. Microwaves reduced harman (≤775.19 ng/g), norharman (≤1,069.99 ng/g), and benzo(a)pyrene (≤1.59 μg/kg) in sesame oil than hot air (1,319.85 ng/g, 1,168.40 ng/g, and 1.83 μg/kg). Appropriate microwave is a promising alternative to hot air in producing sesame oil with a better sensory profile, more bioactive, and less carcinogenic components., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Ischemic brain injury is a severe medical condition with high incidences in elderly people without effective treatment for the resulting neural damages. Using a unilateral mouse stroke model, we analyze single-cell transcriptomes of ipsilateral and contralateral cortical penumbra regions to objectively reveal molecular events with single-cell resolution at 4 h and 1, 3, and 7 days post-injury. Here, we report that neurons are among the first cells that sense the lack of blood supplies by elevated expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ). To our surprise, the canonical inflammatory cytokine gene targets for C/EBPβ, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), are subsequently induced also in neuronal cells. Neuronal-specific silencing of C/EBPβ or IL-1β and TNF-α substantially alleviates downstream inflammatory injury responses and is profoundly neural protective. Taken together, our findings reveal a neuronal inflammatory mechanism underlying early pathological triggers of ischemic brain injury., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a frequent complication after spinal cord injury (SCI) and can influence the recovery of motor function and metabolism in affected patients. Delaying skeletal muscle atrophy can promote functional recovery in SCI rats. In the present study, we investigated whether a combination of body weight support treadmill training (BWSTT) and glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) could exert neuroprotective effects, promote motor function recovery, and delay skeletal muscle atrophy in rats with SCI, and we assessed the therapeutic effects of the double intervention from both a structural and functional viewpoint. We found that, after SCI, rats given GlyNAC alone showed an improvement in Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores, gait symmetry, and results in the open field test, indicative of improved motor function, while GlyNAC combined with BWSTT was more effective than either treatment alone at ameliorating voluntary motor function in injured rats. Meanwhile, the results of the skeletal muscle myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA), hindlimb grip strength, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) immunostaining analysis demonstrated that GlyNAC improved the structure and function of the skeletal muscle in rats with SCI and delayed the atrophication of skeletal muscle.

Dual-interfacial structure within catalysts is capable of mitigating the detrimentally completive adsorption during the catalysis process, but its construction strategy and mechanism understanding remain vastly lacking. Here, a highly active dual-interfaces of CeO 2-x /CoO 1-x /Co is constructed using the pronounced interfacial interaction from surrounding small CeO 2-x islets, which shows high activity in catalyzing the water-gas shift reaction. Kinetic evidence and in-situ characterization results revealed that CeO 2-x modulates the oxidized state of Co species and consequently generates the dual active CeO 2-x /CoO 1-x /Co interface during the WGS reaction. A synergistic redox mechanism comprised of independent contribution from dual functional interfaces, including CeO 2-x /CoO 1-x and CoO 1-x /Co, is authenticated by experimental and theoretical results, where the CeO 2-x /CoO 1-x interface alleviates the CO poison effect, and the CoO 1-x /Co interface promotes the H 2 formation. The results may provide guidance for fabricating dual-interfacial structures within catalysts and shed light on the mechanism over multi-component catalyst systems., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death and disability in cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis associated with lipid accumulation and chronic inflammation leads to plaques formation in arterial walls and luminal stenosis in carotid arteries. Current approaches such as surgery or treatment with statins encounter big challenges in curing atherosclerosis plaque. The infiltration of proinflammatory M1 macrophages plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis plaque. A recent study shows that TRIM24, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of a Trim family protein, acts as a valve to inhibit the polarization of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, and elimination of TRIM24 opens an avenue to achieve the M2 polarization. Proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology has emerged as a novel tool for the selective degradation of targeting proteins. But the low bioavailability and cell specificity of PROTAC reagents hinder their applications in treating atherosclerosis plaque. In this study we constructed a type of bioinspired PROTAC by coating the PROTAC degrader (dTRIM24)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with M2 macrophage membrane (MELT) for atherosclerosis treatment. MELT was characterized by morphology, size, and stability. MELT displayed enhanced specificity to M1 macrophages as well as acidic-responsive release of dTRIM24. After intravenous administration, MELT showed significantly improved accumulation in atherosclerotic plaque of high fat and high cholesterol diet-fed atherosclerotic (ApoE -/- ) mice through binding to M1 macrophages and inducing effective and precise TRIM24 degradation, thus resulting in the polarization of M2 macrophages, which led to great reduction of plaque formation. These results suggest that MELT can be considered a potential therapeutic agent for targeting atherosclerotic plaque and alleviating atherosclerosis progression, providing an effective strategy for targeted atherosclerosis therapy., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Pharmacological Society.)

Introduction: : Asian children with cystic fibrosis (CF) managed in Malaysia have significant morbidity with limited access to life-sustaining treatments. We determined the morbidity and treatment cost of CF in a resource-limited country., Methods: This cross-sectional study included all children diagnosed with CF in our centre. Data on clinical presentation, genetic mutation, serial spirometry results and complications were collected. Out-of-pocket (OOP) and healthcare costs over 1 year were retrieved for patients who were alive. Cohen's d and odds ratio (OR) were used to determine the effect size., Results: Twenty-four patients were diagnosed with CF. Five patients died at a median (range) age of 18 (0.3-22) years. F508deletion (c. 1521&#95;1523delCTT) was found in 20% of the alleles, while 89% of the variants were detected in nine patients. Body mass index (BMI) Z score was >-1.96 in 70.6% of patients. Two thirds (68%) were colonised with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and this was associated with lower weight (P = 0.009) and BMI (P = 0.02) Z scores. Only 18% had FEV 1 Z scores >-1.96. Early symptom onset (d = 0.74), delayed diagnosis (d = 2.07), a low FEF 25-75 Z score (d = 0.82) and a high sweat conductance (d = 1.19) were associated with death. Inpatient cost was mainly from diagnostic tests, while medications contributed to half of the outpatient cost., Healthcare utilisation cost was catastrophic, amounting to 20% of the total income., Conclusion: Asian children with CF suffer significant complications such as low weight, low lung function and shortened lifespan. P. aeruginosa colonisation was frequent and associated with poor growth. Healthcare cost to parents was catastrophic., Competing Interests: None

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and risk factors associated with tuberculosis (TB) among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China., Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. After the literature was screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, STATA ® version 17.0 software was used for the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity among study data was assessed using I 2 statistics. Subgroup analysis and meta-regressions were performed to further explore the source of heterogeneity., Results: A total of 5241 studies were retrieved. Of these, 44 studies were found to be eligible. The pooled prevalence of HIV/TB co-infection was 6.0%. The risk factors for HIV/TB co-infection included a low CD4 + T cell count, smoking, intravenous drug use and several other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination history was a protective factor., Conclusion: A high prevalence of TB was observed among people living with HIV/AIDS in China. Low CD4 + T cell count, smoking, and intravenous drug use were the primary risk factors for HIV/TB co-infection, whereas BCG vaccination history was a protective factor. Checking for TB should be prioritized in HIV screening and healthcare access., Systematic Review Registration: Registered on PROSPERO, Identifier: CRD42022297754., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Penetrating head injury is a serious open cranial injury. In civilians, it is often caused by non-missile, low velocity flying objects that penetrate the skull through a weak cranial structure, forming intracranial foreign bodies. The intracranial foreign body can be displaced due to its special quality, shape, and location. In this paper, we report a rare case of right-to-left displacement of an airgun lead bullet after transorbital entry into the skull complicated by posttraumatic epilepsy, as a reminder to colleagues that intracranial metal foreign bodies maybe displaced intraoperatively. In addition, we have found that the presence of intracranial metallic foreign bodies may be a factor for the posttraumatic epilepsy, and their timely removal appears to be beneficial for epilepsy control.

The performance and electron (e - ) transfer mechanisms of anaerobic and aerobic denitrification by strain Klebsiella were investigated in this study. The RT-PCR results demonstrated that the membrane bound nitrate reductase gene (narG) and Cu-nitrite reductase gene (nirK) were responsible for both aerobic and anerobic denitrification. The extreme low gene relative abundance of nirK might be responsible for the severe accumulation of NO 2 - -N (nitrogen in the form of NO 2 - ion) under anaerobic condition. Moreover, the nitrite reductase (Nir) activity was 0.31 μg NO 2 - -N min -1 mg -1 protein under anaerobic conditions, which was lower than that under aerobic conditions (0.38 μg NO 2 - -N min -1 mg -1 protein). By using respiration chain inhibitors, the e -  transfer pathways of anaerobic and aerobic denitrification of Klebsiella strain were constructed. Fe-S protein and Complex III were the core components under anaerobic conditions, while Coenzyme Q (CoQ), Complexes I and III played a key role in aerobic denitrification. Nitrogen assimilation was found to be the main way to generate NH 4 + -N (nitrogen in the form of NH 4 + ion) during anaerobic denitrification, and also served as the primary nitrogen removal way under aerobic condition. The results of this study may help to improve the understanding of the core components of strain Klebsiella during aerobic and anaerobic denitrifications, and may suggest potential applications of the strain for nitrogen-containing wastewater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus , poses a severe threat to agro-industrial crops, particularly major cultivated palm species. Infestations result in economic losses due to reduced fruit quality and yield. The entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae , has shown promise as a potential biocontrol agent against the RPW. However, the use of an emulsion formulation of M. anisopliae for managing this serious insect pest has yet to be fully explored. The oil-emulsion formulation containing this entomopathogen may enhance the conidia's stability, prolong its lifetime, and reduce the impact of heat stress or UV irradiation on the fungus. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the bioefficacy of a new oil-in-glycerol emulsion formulation on mycoinsecticidal activity against RPW adults by direct and indirect bioassays. Results showed that conidia concentration was directly proportional to the RPW mortality percentage. The LT 50 of 8.183 days was achieved by the conidial formulation against RPW, with a significantly lower LC 50 (1.910 × 10 5 conidia mL -1 ) compared to the aqueous conidia suspension (LT 50 = 8.716 days; LC 50 = 7.671 × 10 5 conidia mL -1 ). Indirect bioassays revealed that the oil-in-glycerol emulsion had a disease-spreading ability that resulted in up to 56.67% RPW mortality. A zero E-value reading indicates that the DNA sequence being studied is highly similar to that of the fungal species M. anisopliae , which has been identified in the NCBI database. Although the new emulsion formulation has improved the efficacy and pathogenicity of M. anisopliae in vitro, it is important to also consider the fungal pathogen's compatibility with other agricultural practices to prevent any loss of control efficiency in the actual usage environment.

An object pick-and-place system with a camera, a six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot manipulator, and a two-finger gripper is implemented based on the robot operating system (ROS) in this paper. A collision-free path planning method is one of the most fundamental problems that has to be solved before the robot manipulator can autonomously pick-and-place objects in complex environments. In the implementation of the real-time pick-and-place system, the success rate and computing time of path planning by a six-DOF robot manipulator are two essential key factors. Therefore, an improved rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm, named changing strategy RRT (CS-RRT), is proposed. Based on the method of gradually changing the sampling area based on RRT (CSA-RRT), two mechanisms are used in the proposed CS-RRT to improve the success rate and computing time. The proposed CS-RRT algorithm adopts a sampling-radius limitation mechanism, which enables the random tree to approach the goal area more efficiently each time the environment is explored. It can avoid spending a lot of time looking for valid points when it is close to the goal point, thus reducing the computing time of the improved RRT algorithm. In addition, the CS-RRT algorithm adopts a node counting mechanism, which enables the algorithm to switch to an appropriate sampling method in complex environments. It can avoid the search path being trapped in some constrained areas due to excessive exploration in the direction of the goal point, thus improving the adaptability of the proposed algorithm to various environments and increasing the success rate. Finally, an environment with four object pick-and-place tasks is established, and four simulation results are given to illustrate that the proposed CS-RRT-based collision-free path planning method has the best performance compared with the other two RRT algorithms. A practical experiment is also provided to verify that the robot manipulator can indeed complete the specified four object pick-and-place tasks successfully and effectively.

To improve the electron (e - ) transfer efficiency, exogenous redox mediators (RMs) were usually employed to enhance the denitrification efficiency due to the electron shuttling. Previous studies were mainly focused on how to improve the extracellular electron transfer (EET) by exogenous RMs. However, the intracellular electron transfer (IET), another crucial e - transfer pathway, of biological denitrification was scarcely reported, especially for the relationship between the denitrification and IET. In this study, Coenzyme Q, Complexes I, II and III were determined as the core components in the IET chain of denitrification by using four specific respiration chain inhibitors (RCIs). Anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQS) partially recovered the IET of denitrification from NO 3 - -N to N 2 gas when the RCIs were added. Specifically, the generations of N 2 gas were improved by 9.68%-18.25% in the experiments with RCIs and AQS, comparing to that with RCIs. nrfA gene was not detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, suggesting that Klebsiella oxytoca strain could not conduct dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium. Nitrate assimilation was considered as the main NH 4 + -N formation way of K. oxytoca strain. The two e - transfer pathways of denitrification were constructed and the roles of AQS on the IET and EET of denitrification were specifically discussed. The results of this study provided a better understanding of the e - transfer pathways of denitrification, and suggested a potential practical use of exogenous RM on bio-treatment of nitrate-containing wastewater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The inability of damaged neurons to regenerate within the mature central nervous system (CNS) is a significant neuroscientific challenge. Astrocytes are an essential component of the CNS and participate in many physiological processes including blood-brain barrier formation, axon growth regulation, neuronal support, and higher cognitive functions such as memory. Recent reprogramming studies have confirmed that astrocytes in the mature CNS can be transformed into functional neurons. Building on in vitro work, many studies have demonstrated that astrocytes can be transformed into neurons in different disease models to replace damaged or lost cells. However, many findings in this field are controversial, as the source of new neurons has been questioned. This review summarizes progress in reprogramming astrocytes into neurons in vivo in animal models of spinal cord injury, brain injury, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative conditions., Competing Interests: None

Aim: The progression of atherosclerosis can lead to the occurrence of multiple cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, etc.). E prostanoid receptor-3 (EP3) is known to participate in the progression of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which EP3 modulates the development of atherosclerosis., Methods and Results: ApoE -/- mice were used to construct in vivo model of atherosclerosis. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were stimulated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to construct in vitro model of atherosclerosis. mRNA expressions were assessed by qRT-PCR, and western blot was applied to assess the protein levels. CCK-8 assay was applied to assess the cell viability. The inflammatory cytokines levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry was applied to assess cell apoptosis. In vivo experiment was constructed to investigate the impact of EP3 in atherosclerosis development. L-798106 (EP3 inhibitor) significantly inhibited the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in atherosclerosis in vivo. EP3 inhibitor (L-798106) significantly reversed ox-LDL-caused HASMCs injury via inhibiting the apoptosis and inflammatory responses (P < 0.05). The levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in HASMCs were elevated by ox-LDL, whereas L-798106 or knockdown of cyclic AMP (cAMP) response element-binding protein (CREB) notably restored this phenomenon (P < 0.05). EP3 overexpression further aggravated ox-LDL-induced inflammation in HASMCs, and EP3 up-regulated the levels of IL-17 and ICAM-1 in ox-LDL-treated HASMCs (P < 0.05). EP3 up-regulation promoted the inflammatory responses in ox-LDL-treated HASMCs through mediation of cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA)/CREB/IL-17/ICAM-1 axis (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: EP3 inhibitor alleviates ox-LDL-induced HASMC inflammation via mediation of cAMP/PKA/CREB/IL-17/ICAM-1 axis. Our study might shed new lights on discovering novel strategies against atherosclerosis., (© 2022 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Acoustical behavior of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides determines the heat transfer pathway, and thus plays a crucial role in the electronics and optoelectronics design. In this research, van der Waals heterojunctions (vdWHs) consisting of transferred monolayer and bi-layer MoS 2 on GaN substrate were studied. We observed an asymmetric bipolar acoustic strain wave with ∼5 ps duration, which describes the surface of substrate undergoing strong compressive deformation after weak tensile deformation in the out-of-plane direction. We developed a theory to explain the mechanisms responsible for the observed strain waveform in the vdWHs elastic system, and obtained the critical parameters of the carrier dynamics by temporal fitting. Our results not only report a coherent acoustic phonon generated in the vdWHs, which will complement our understanding of the thermal transfer at the 2D/substrate interface, but also provide information about the intrinsic properties in the vdWHs, which would benefit the design of the 2D-based devices in the future., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an invasive malignant tumor with a high incidence rate and mortality. It is imperative to study its tumorigenesis and development for better treatment. CircRNA has been proven to play an important role in various cancers. Our previous studies found that the circ8199 gene is associated with tumor prognosis. To further clarify the role of circ8199 in ESCC, we performed functional experiments and found that overexpression of circ8199 significantly inhibited the proliferation of ESCC cells and the activity of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase ( OGT ) simultaneously. Further experiments demonstrated that circ8199 could interact with OGT , leading to a decrease in OGT 's activity. The reduction of circ8199 expression stimulated the binding activity between OGT and its downstream gene JAK2, promoting the O-GlcNAc glycosylation modification of JAK2 and activating the JAK2-STAT3 pathway. Our study indicated that circ8199 regulates the JAK2-STAT3 pathway through OGT , providing a candidate mechanism for drug discovery and development., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2023.)

Spinal cord injury leads to loss of innervation of skeletal muscle, decreased motor function, and significantly reduced load on skeletal muscle, resulting in atrophy. Factors such as braking, hormone level fluctuation, inflammation, and oxidative stress damage accelerate skeletal muscle atrophy. The atrophy process can result in skeletal muscle cell apoptosis, protein degradation, fat deposition, and other pathophysiological changes. Skeletal muscle atrophy not only hinders the recovery of motor function but is also closely related to many systemic dysfunctions, affecting the prognosis of patients with spinal cord injury. Extensive research on the mechanism of skeletal muscle atrophy and intervention at the molecular level has shown that inflammation and oxidative stress injury are the main mechanisms of skeletal muscle atrophy after spinal cord injury and that multiple pathways are involved. These may become targets of future clinical intervention. However, most of the experimental studies are still at the basic research stage and still have some limitations in clinical application, and most of the clinical treatments are focused on rehabilitation training, so how to develop more efficient interventions in clinical treatment still needs to be further explored. Therefore, this review focuses mainly on the mechanisms of skeletal muscle atrophy after spinal cord injury and summarizes the cytokines and signaling pathways associated with skeletal muscle atrophy in recent studies, hoping to provide new therapeutic ideas for future clinical work., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Xu, Talifu, Zhang, Gao, Ke, Pan, Gong, Du, Yu, Jing, Du, Li and Yang.)

In this study, the reliability characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor structures with low-dielectric-constant (low- k ) materials have been investigated in terms of metal gate area and geometry and thickness of dielectric film effects. Two low- k materials, dense and porous low- k films, were used. Experimental results indicated that the porous low- k films had shorter breakdown times, lower Weibull slope parameters and electric field acceleration factors, and weaker thickness-dependence breakdowns compared to the dense low- k films. Additionally, a larger derivation in dielectric breakdown projection model and a single Weilbull plot of the breakdown time distributions from various areas merging was observed. This study also pointed out that the porous low- k film in the irregular-shaped metal gate MIS capacitor had a larger dielectric breakdown time than that in the square- and circle-shaped samples, which violates the trend of the sustained electric field. As a result, another breakdown mechanism exists in the irregular-shaped sample, which is required to explore in the future work.

Objective: To explore machine learning models for predicting return to work after cardiac rehabilitation., Subjects: Patients who were admitted to the University of Malaya Medical Centre due to cardiac events., Methods: Eight different machine learning models were evaluated. The models included 3 different sets of features: full features; significant features from multiple logistic regression; and features selected from recursive feature extraction technique. The performance of the prediction models with each set of features was compared., Results: The AdaBoost model with the top 20 features obtained the highest performance score of 92.4% (area under the curve; AUC) compared with other prediction models., Conclusion: The findings showed the potential of using machine learning models to predict return to work after cardiac rehabilitation.

In heterogeneous catalysis, the interface between active metal and support plays a key role in catalyzing various reactions. Specially, the synergistic effect between active metals and oxygen vacancies on support can greatly promote catalytic efficiency. However, the construction of high-density metal-vacancy synergistic sites on catalyst surface is very challenging. In this work, isolated Pt atoms are first deposited onto a very thin-layer of MoO 3 surface stabilized on γ-Mo 2 N. Subsequently, the Pt-MoO x /γ-Mo 2 N catalyst, containing abundant Pt cluster-oxygen vacancy (Pt n -O v ) sites, is in situ constructed. This catalyst exhibits an unmatched activity and excellent stability in the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction at low temperature (300 °C). Systematic in situ characterizations illustrate that the MoO 3 structure on the γ-Mo 2 N surface can be easily reduced into MoO x (2 < x < 3), followed by the creation of sufficient oxygen vacancies. The Pt atoms are bonded with oxygen atoms of MoO x , and stable Pt clusters are formed. These high-density Pt n -O v active sites greatly promote the catalytic activity. This strategy of constructing metal-vacancy synergistic sites provides valuable insights for developing efficient supported catalysts., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The nonunion rate of surgically treated basicervical peritrochanteric fractures has been reported to be as high as 9%. Due to the high 1-year mortality rate following revision surgery, finding an effective nonsurgical treatment option is of interest. Over the last decade, numerous reports have been published that have suggested teriparatide as an effective treatment for certain types of fracture nonunion. However, the literature focused on teriparatide treatment for proximal femoral fracture nonunion is scanty. A 70-year-old man suffering from a left hip basicervical peritrochanteric fracture received cephalomedullary nail fixation. Nine months after the surgery, the patient still complained of left hip pain referring to the medial thigh with an antalgic limping gait. No sign of healing was noted for more than a consecutive 3 months of follow-up. Fracture nonunion was diagnosed and further confirmed by the computed tomography (CT). The patient preferred nonsurgical treatment after thorough discussion. He then received 4 months of subcutaneous teriparatide injections, 20 mcg daily. After less than 4 months of teriparatide treatment, a follow-up CT confirmed fracture union and the patient's pain subsided. The patient also tolerated independent ambulation afterward. Teriparatide has been reported to be an effective treatment for certain types of fracture nonunion. Our case goes a step further to expand its possible application for basicervical peritrochanteric fracture nonunion. However, further larger scale studies are needed to confirm its efficacy.

Industrial crops including coconut palm and other palm species are seriously infested by red palm weevil (RPW), resulting in significant economic damage globally. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a mycoinsecticide utilizing conidia of Metarhizium anisopliae to control RPW and sought to investigate a new emulsion formulation for the influences of storage temperature and heat stress on conidia germination in an oil-in-glycerol emulsion system. The mycoinsecticide is an emulsion formulation which comprises an oil carrier, non-ionic surfactants, water, and glycerol, which was optimized by premixing the oil and non-ionic surfactant in different weight ratios (1:0, 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4, 5:5, 4: 6, 3: 7, 2:8, 1:9, and 0:1). From three selected oil-in-glycerol formulations, F25 was more stable in storage and had a smaller particle size (between 154.3 and 236.4 nm in diameter) and stable zeta potential (above + 30 mV) with low surface tension (29.83 ± 0.24 mN/m to 30.72 ± 0.11 mN/m at room temperature. Extended conidial viability was observed at 4 °C overall; the emulsion formulation maintained 12-15% conidial viability until the eighth week at room temperature. Heat of over 30 °C showed an inhibitory effect on conidial germination. This study revealed that the oil-in-glycerol formulation was stable and able to prolong conidial shelf life as compared to non-formulated conidia.

Background: After encountering COVID-19 patients who test positive again after discharge, our study analyzed the pathogenesis to further assess the risk and possibility of virus reactivation., Methods: A separate microarray was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and its samples were divided into two groups: a "convalescent-RTP" group consisting of convalescent and "retesting positive" (RTP) patients (group CR) and a "healthy-RTP" group consisting of healthy control and RTP patients (group HR). The enrichment analysis was performed with R software, obtaining the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Subsequently, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of each group were established, and the hub genes were discovered using the cytoHubba plugin., Results: In this study, 6622 differentially expressed genes were identified in the group CR, among which RAB11B-AS1, DISP1, MICAL3, PSMG1, and DOCK4 were up-regulated genes, and ANAPC1, IGLV1-40, SORT1, PLPPR2, and ATP1A1-AS1 were down-regulated. 7335 genes were screened in the group HR, including the top 5 up-regulated genes ALKBH6, AMBRA1, MIR1249, TRAV18, and LRRC69, and the top 5 down-regulated genes FAM241B, AC018529.3, AL031963.3, AC006946.1, and FAM149B1. The GO and KEGG analysis of the two groups revealed a significant enrichment in immune response and apoptosis. In the PPI network constructed, group CR and group HR identified 10 genes, respectively, and TP53BP1, SNRPD1, and SNRPD2 were selected as hub genes., Conclusions: Using the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression data from GSE166253, we found TP53BP1, SNRPD1, and SNRPD2 as hub genes in RTP patients, which is vital to the management and prognostic prediction of RTP patients., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Overweight and obesity have been described as a global epidemic that seriously affects the health of adults and children. Front of Package (FOP) Nutrition Labeling can increase consumers' awareness of unhealthy foods. The purpose of this study is to find effective deterrence and improve children's health awareness via the FOP., Methods: This study examined children's health awareness of snack packaging using the four labels: guideline daily amounts (GDA), traffic light system (TLS), Apple label (designed in this study), and Warning label. This study recruited 343 children in the sixth grade, including 223 children living in cities and 120 children living in rural areas. First, 30 children in grades 3 to 6 selected 8 snacks that they often buy. Then, each snack was synthesized into these four labels according to their nutritional content for a total of 32 samples. Finally, a questionnaire was used to evaluate the health of snack packaging and the visibility of nutrition labels., Results: Four results can be drawn: (1) GDA, Apple label and TLS can help children determine healthier snack choices, (2) black Warning label cannot induce children to make healthier choices, (3) children who often buy snacks have low health awareness, and (4) rural children have weak health awareness of snack packaging., Conclusions: These results can provide a packaging label design, which can effectively improve children's health awareness., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Transdermal glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) has potential beneficial properties in acute stroke including intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and possible clinical benefits suggested in ultra-early stroke (≤6 h). Our meta-analysis updated the evidence on its safety and benefits in acute stroke., Methods: We searched major electronic databases for randomized trials comparing transdermal GTN versus placebo/control in acute stroke. Primary outcomes were mortality, 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and blood pressure (BP) effects. Secondary outcomes included early, late, resource utilization, and surrogate outcomes. Safety outcomes were adverse events. Reviewers identified studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias (RoB) using a modified Cochrane RoB instrument and quality of evidence (QoE) using GRADE. We also performed a priori subgroup and trial sequential analyses (TSA) on primary outcomes. These subgroup analyses were ICH versus ischemic stroke, minor (NIHSS ≤5) versus major (NIHSS >5) ischemic stroke, ischemic stroke with versus without thrombolysis, prehospital versus non prehospital settings, time from stroke to randomization ≤6 h versus >6 h, and high versus low overall RoB studies., Results: Seven eligible primary trials enrolled 5363 patients. GTN reduced BP (mean difference [MD] = -4.74 mm Hg, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -6.03 to -3.45 mm Hg] and diastolic BP (MD = -2.94 mm Hg, 95% CI = -3.74 to -2.13 mm Hg) 24 h posttreatment but did not affect 4- to 10-day mortality (relative risk [RR] = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.82 to 1.49), 90-day mortality (RR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.77 to 1.19), and 90-day mRS >2 (RR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.93 to 1.03) compared to control/placebo. The QoE was high for primary outcomes with no subgroup effects detected. GTN did not affect secondary outcomes and increased risk of headache and hypotension. TSA generally supported our conclusions regarding primary outcomes., Conclusions: Transdermal GTN reduces BP in acute stroke but does not alter clinical outcomes even in ultra-early stroke (≤6 h)., (© 2021 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)

The metal-support interfaces between metals and oxide supports have long been studied in catalytic applications, thanks to their significance in structural stability and efficient catalytic activity. The metal-rare earth oxide interface is particularly interesting because these early transition cations have high electrophilicity, and therefore good binding strength with Lewis basic molecules, such as H 2 O. Based on this feature, here we design a highly efficient composite Ni-Y 2 O 3 catalyst, which forms abundant active Ni-NiO x -Y 2 O 3 interfaces under the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction condition, achieving 140.6 μmol CO g cat -1 s -1 rate at 300 °C, which is the highest activity for Ni-based catalysts. A combination of theory and ex/in situ experimental study suggests that Y 2 O 3 helps H 2 O dissociation at the Ni-NiO x -Y 2 O 3 interfaces, promoting this rate limiting step in the WGS reaction. Construction of such new interfacial structure for molecules activation holds great promise in many catalytic systems., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Layer-by-layer graphene growth is demonstrated by repeating CVD growth cycles directly on sapphire substrates. Improved field-effect mobility values are observed for the bottom-gate transistors fabricated by using the bilayer graphene channel, which indicates an improved crystallinity is obtained after the second CVD growth cycle. Despite the poor wettability of copper on graphene surfaces, graphene may act as a thin and effective diffusion barrier for copper atoms. The low resistivity values of thin copper films deposited on thin monolayer MoS 2 /monolayer graphene heterostructures have demonstrated its potential to replace current thick liner/barrier stacks in back-end interconnects. The unique van der Waals epitaxy growth mode will be helpful for both homo- and heteroepitaxy on 2D material surfaces., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)