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Birefringent materials are key components to control the light polarization in laser science and technology as well as optical communication. However, the performance of current commercial birefringent materials has been limited by the magnitude of birefringence, optical transparency range, or the attainability of large-scale single crystals. To explore new birefringent materials, we strategically incorporated a lone pair cation (Se 4+ ) with large optical anisotropy, an alkali metal, and halogen ions (Rb + and Cl - ) with superior UV transparent capacity; thus a new compound, RbCl·(H 2 SeO 3 ) 2 , was successfully discovered with the aid of the facile hydrothermal method. Interestingly, Rb-Cl chains locate in the [H 2 SeO 3 ] ∞ skeleton, which makes RbCl·(H 2 SeO 3 ) 2 a salt-inclusion selenite. Millimeter-sized single crystals (up to 4 × 2 × 1 mm 3 ) were obtained, and the transmittance spectrum revealed that its UV cut-off edge can be as low as 230 nm. In addition, the calculated birefringence of RbCl·(H 2 SeO 3 ) 2 is 0.14 at 589 nm that is similar to the birefringent value of famous α-BaB 2 O 4 . Wide UV transparency, large birefringence, and feasible crystal growth make RbCl·(H 2 SeO 3 ) 2 a new member of birefringent materials for UV light applications.

Due to its environmental cleanliness and high energy density, hydrogen has been deemed as a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Photocatalytic water-splitting using semiconductor materials is a good prospect for hydrogen production in terms of renewable solar energy utilization. In recent years, halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are emerging as a new class of fascinating nanomaterial for light harvesting and photocatalytic applications. This is due to their appealing optoelectronic properties, such as optimal band gaps, high absorption coefficient, high carrier mobility, long carrier diffusion length, etc. In this review, recent progress in halide perovskite NCs for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is summarized. Emphasis is given to the current strategies that enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of halide perovskite NCs. Some scientific challenges and perspectives for halide perovskite photocatalysts are also proposed and discussed. It is anticipated that this review will provide valuable references for the future development of halide perovskite-based photocatalysts used in highly efficient hydrogen evolution.

Mixed human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) are widely applied in clinical trials to treat various diseases due to their multipotent differentiation potential and immune regulatory activities. However, the lack of a clear understanding of their heterogeneity hampers their application to precisely treat diseases. Moreover, few studies have experimentally authenticated the functions of so-called UC-MSC subpopulations classified from scRNA-seq samples. Here, this work draws a large-scale single-cell transcriptomic atlas and identified three clusters (C1, C2, and C3), representing the primed, intermediate, and stem statuses individually. The C1 and C3 clusters feature higher expression of cytokines and stemness markers, respectively. Surprisingly, further experimental assays reveal that the BAMBI high MFGE8 high C1 subgroup has a unique phenotype, distinct transcriptomic profile, and limited adipogenic differentiation potential but compromised immunosuppressive activity in vitro and in vivo in lupus mice. Thus, this work is helpful to clarify the nature of human UC-MSCs and to choose optimal MSC types to treat specific diseases in the future., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Heterojunction construction, especially the inorganic/organic hybrids, is regarded as a universal and effective strategy to achieve high-performance photocatalysts. Herein, a 2D/2D inorganic/organic hybrid photocatalyst was constructed by the electrostatic self-assembly of the lead-free double-perovskite of Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 nanosheets (NSs) and covalent triazine framework (CTF) NSs. The resultant Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 /CTF-1 (CABB/CTF-1) hybrid possessed a large surface-to-surface contact area, ensuring intimate interfacial interaction and efficient charge transfer/separation. Meanwhile, the periodical pore structure of CTF-1 endowed the CABB/CTF-1 hybrid with enhanced CO 2 adsorption/activation capacity. Consequently, the 2D/2D CABB/CTF-1 hybrid exhibited a remarkable photocatalytic performance toward CO 2 reduction. Based on the band structure analysis and various characterization techniques, for example, X-ray photoelectron spectra and electron spin resonance, an S-scheme charge transfer mechanism was proposed. This study presents a new protocol for designing 2D/2D inorganic/organic hybrid photocatalytic systems, which hold great potentials in solar fuel applications.

Sepsis most often involves the kidney and is one of the most common causes of acute kidney injury. The prevalence of septic acute kidney injury has increased significantly in recent years. The gut microbiota plays an important role in sepsis. It interacts with the kidney in a complex and multifactorial process, which is not fully understood. Sepsis may lead to gut microbiota alteration, orchestrate gut mucosal injury, and cause gut barrier failure, which further alters the host immunological and metabolic homeostasis. The pattern of gut microbiota alteration also varies with sepsis progression. Changes in intestinal microecology have double-edged effects on renal function, which also affects intestinal homeostasis. This review aimed to clarify the interaction between gut microbiota and renal function during the onset and progression of sepsis. The mechanism of gut-kidney crosstalk may provide potential insights for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for sepsis., 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 © 2022 Xu, Kong, Zhu, Xu, Mao, Li, Zhang and Zhu.)

Background: Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation has shown the potential in the detection and prognostic testing in multiple cancers. Herein, we thoroughly investigate the performance of cfDNA methylation in the detection and prognosis of ovarian cancer (OC)., Methods: The OC-specific differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified by sequencing ovarian tissue samples from OC (n = 61), benign ovarian disease (BOD, n = 49) and healthy controls (HC, n = 37). Based on 1,272 DMRs, a cfDNA OC detection model (OC-D model) was trained and validated in plasma samples from patients of OC (n = 104), BOD (n = 56) and HC (n = 56) and a prognostic testing model (OC-P model) was developed in plasma samples in patients with high-grade serous OC (HG-SOC) in the training cohort and then tested the rationality of this model with International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) tissue methylation data. Mechanisms were investigated in the TCGA-OC cohort., Findings: In the validation cohort, the cfDNA OC-D model consisting of 18 DMRs achieved a sensitivity of 94.7% (95% CI: 85.4%‒98.9%) at a specificity of 88.7% (95% CI: 78.7%‒94.9%), which outperformed CA 125 (AUC: 0.967 vs 0.905, P = 0.03). Then the cfDNA OC-P model consisting of 15 DMRs was constructed and associated with a better prognosis of HG-SOC in multivariable Cox regression analysis (HR: 0.29, 95% CI, 0.11‒0.78, P = 0.01) in the training cohort, which was also observed in the ICGC cohort using tissue methylation (HR: 0.56, 95% CI, 0.32‒0.98, P = 0.04). Investigation into mechanisms revealed that the low-risk group had higher homologous recombination deficiency and immune cell infiltration (P < 0.05)., Interpretation: Our study demonstrated the potential utility of cfDNA methylation in the detection and prognostic testing in OC. Future studies with a larger population are warranted., Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Chengcheng Li, Yuchen Liao, Guoqiang Wang, Jiayue Xu, Yuzi Zhang, Jing Zhao, Xiaofang Wen, Xin Zhu, and Shangli Cai are employees of Burning Rock Biotech. The other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

METTL3 encodes the predominant catalytic enzyme to promote m 6 A methylation in nucleus. Recently, accumulating evidence has shown the expression of METTL3 in cytoplasm, but its function is not fully understood. Here we demonstrated an m 6 A-independent mechanism for METTL3 to promote tumour progression. In gastric cancer, METTL3 could not only facilitate cancer progression via m 6 A modification, but also bind to numerous non-m 6 A-modified mRNAs, suggesting an unexpected role of METTL3. Mechanistically, cytoplasm-anchored METTL3 interacted with PABPC1 to stabilize its association with cap-binding complex eIF4F, which preferentially promoted the translation of epigenetic factors without m 6 A modification. Clinical investigation showed that cytoplasmic distributed METTL3 was highly correlated with gastric cancer progression, and this finding could be expanded to prostate cancer. Therefore, the cytoplasmic METTL3 enhances the translation of epigenetic mRNAs, thus serving as an oncogenic driver in cancer progression, and METTL3 subcellular distribution can assist diagnosis and predict prognosis for patients with cancer., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The rational design of a two-dimensional (2D)/2D "face-to-face" heterojunction photocatalyst is crucial for the mediation of interfacial charge transfer/separation. Herein, a unique 2D/2D step-scheme (S-scheme) photocatalyst of CsPbBr 3 /BiOCl is constructed by the self-assembly of CsPbBr 3 and BiOCl nanosheets (NSs). Profiting from the effective interface contact and appropriate band structures between CsPbBr 3 and BiOCl NSs, a valid S-scheme heterojunction of CsPbBr 3 /BiOCl is established. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and a series of characterization techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), and electron spin resonance (ESR) systematically corroborate the S-scheme charge-transfer mechanism between CsPbBr 3 and BiOCl. The formation of an S-scheme heterojunction endows the photocatalyst with boosted charge separation and retainment of the highest redox ability. As a result, the obtained 2D/2D CsPbBr 3 /BiOCl S-scheme photocatalyst shows much superior CO 2 -reduction performance to single CsPbBr 3 and BiOCl. This investigation provides new insights into the construction of novel S-scheme heterojunctions based on 2D/2D photocatalytic systems.

Background: As an original traditional Chinese medicinal formula, Qin Huang formula (QHF) is used as adjuvant therapy for treating lymphoma in our hospital and has proven efficacy when combined with chemotherapy. However, the underlying mechanisms of QHF have not been elucidated., Methods: A network pharmacological-based analysis method was used to screen the active components and predict the potential mechanisms of QHF in treating B cell lymphoma. Then, a murine model was built to verify the antitumor effect of QHF combined with Adriamycin (ADM) in vivo. Finally, IHC, ELISA, 18 F-FDG PET-CT scan, and western blot were processed to reveal the intriguing mechanism of QHF in treating B cell lymphoma., Results: The systemic pharmacological study revealed that QHF took effect following a multiple-target and multiple-pathway pattern in the human body. In vivo study showed that combination therapy with QHF and ADM potently inhibited the growth of B cell lymphoma in a syngeneic murine model, and significantly increased the proportion of tumor infiltrating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Furthermore, the level of CXCL10 and IL-6 was significantly increased in the combination group. Finally, the western blot exhibited that the level of TLR2 and p38 MAPK increased in the combination therapy group., Conclusion: QHF in combination of ADM enhances the antitumor effect of ADM via modulating tumor immune microenvironment and can be a combination therapeutic strategy for B cell lymphoma patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Time-varying exposure is an important issue that should be addressed in longitudinal observational studies using routinely collected data (RCD) for drug treatment effects. How well investigators designed, analysed and reported time-varying exposure, and to what extent the divergence that can be observed between different methods used for handling time-varying exposure in these studies remains uncertain. We will conduct a cross-sectional study to comprehensively address this question., Methods and Analysis: We have developed a comprehensive search strategy to identify all studies exploring drug treatment effects including both effectiveness and safety that used RCD and were published in core journals between 2018 and 2020. We will collect information regarding general study characteristics, data source profile, methods for handling time-varying exposure, results and the interpretation of findings from each eligibility. Paired reviewers will screen and extract data, resolving disagreements through discussion. We will describe the characteristics of included studies, and summarise the method used for handling time-varying exposure in primary analysis and sensitivity analysis. We will also compare the divergence between different approaches for handling time-varying exposure using ratio of risk ratios., Ethics and Dissemination: No ethical approval is required because the data we will use do not include individual patient data. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are widely involved in the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of multiple biological processes. The transcriptional regulatory ability of RBPs was indicated by the identification of chromatin-enriched RBPs (Che-RBPs). One of these proteins, KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP), is a multifunctional RBP that has been implicated in mRNA decay, alternative splicing, and miRNA biogenesis and plays an essential role in myeloid differentiation by facilitating the maturation of miR-129. In this study, we revealed that KHSRP regulates monocytic differentiation by regulating gene transcription and RNA splicing. KHSRP-occupied specific genomic sites in promoter and enhancer regions to regulate the expression of several hematopoietic genes through transcriptional activation and bound to pre-mRNA intronic regions to modulate alternative splicing during monocytic differentiation. Of note, KHSRP had co-regulatory effects at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels on MOGOH and ADARB1. Taken together, our analyses revealed the dual DNA- and RNA-binding activities of KHSRP and have provided a paradigm to guide the analysis of other functional Che-RBPs in different biological systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health Inc., on behalf of the Chinese Medical Association (CMA) and Institute of Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (IHCAMS).)

In-depth profiling of genetic variations in the gut microbiome is highly desired for understanding its functionality and impacts on host health and disease. Here, by harnessing the long read advantage provided by Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT), we characterize fine-scale genetic variations of structural variations (SVs) in hundreds of gut microbiomes from healthy humans. ONT long reads dramatically improve the quality of metagenomic assemblies, enable reliable detection of a large, expanded set of structural variation types (notably including large insertions and inversions). We find SVs are highly distinct between individuals and stable within an individual, representing gut microbiome fingerprints that shape strain-level differentiations in function within species, complicating the associations to metabolites and host phenotypes such as blood glucose. In summary, our study strongly emphasizes that incorporating ONT reads into metagenomic analyses expands the detection scope of genetic variations, enables profiling strain-level variations in gut microbiome, and their intricate correlations with metabolome., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Transcranial magneto-acoustic electrical stimulation (TMAES) is a novel method of brain nerve regulation and research, which uses induction current generated by the coupling of ultrasound and magnetic field to regulate neural electrical activity in different brain regions. As the second special envoy of nerve signal, calcium plays a key role in nerve signal transmission. In order to investigate the effect of TMAES on prefrontal cortex electrical activity, 15 mice were divided into control group, ultrasound stimulation (TUS) group and TMAES group. The TMAES group received 2.6 W/cm 2 and 0.3 T of magnetic induction intensity, the TUS group received only ultrasound stimulation, and the control group received no ultrasound and magnetic field for one week. The calcium ion concentration in the prefrontal cortex of mice was recorded in real time by optical fiber photometric detection technology. The new object recognition experiment was conducted to compare the behavioral differences and the time-frequency distribution of calcium signal in each group. The results showed that the mean value of calcium transient signal in the TMAES group was (4.84 ± 0.11)% within 10 s after the stimulation, which was higher than that in the TUS group (4.40 ± 0.10)% and the control group (4.22 ± 0.08)%, and the waveform of calcium transient signal was slower, suggesting that calcium metabolism was faster. The main energy band of the TMAES group was 0-20 Hz, that of the TUS group was 0-12 Hz and that of the control group was 0-8 Hz. The cognitive index was 0.71 in the TMAES group, 0.63 in the TUS group, and 0.58 in the control group, indicating that both ultrasonic and magneto-acoustic stimulation could improve the cognitive ability of mice, but the effect of the TMAES group was better than that of the TUS group. These results suggest that TMAES can change the calcium homeostasis of prefrontal cortex nerve clusters, regulate the discharge activity of prefrontal nerve clusters, and promote cognitive function. The results of this study provide data support and reference for further exploration of the deep neural mechanism of TMAES.

Heterojunction manipulation has been deemed as a promising approach in exploring efficient photocatalysts for CO 2 reduction. In this article, a novel step-scheme (S-scheme) photocatalyst of CsPbBr 3 quantum dots/BiOBr nanosheets (CPB/BiOBr) was fabricated via a facile self-assembly process. The strong interaction, staggered energy band alignments, and much different Fermi levels between CsPbBr 3 and BiOBr promised the formation of an S-scheme heterojunction. The resultant CPB/BiOBr heterojunction delivered remarkable photocatalytic performance in CO 2 reduction, with an electron consumption rate of 72.3 μmol g -1 h -1 , which was 4.1 and 5.7 times that of single CsPbBr 3 and BiOBr, respectively. The superior photocatalytic performance originated from the impactful spatial separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs, as well as the preservation of strongly reductive electrons for CO 2 reduction. This work offers a rational strategy to design S-scheme heterojunctions based on lead halide perovskites, which are expected to have potential applications in the field of photocatalysis and solar energy utilization.

This study investigates the effects of a high pressure processing pre-treatment (pre-HPP) on the juice yield of persimmon ( Diospyros kaki L.) pulp and the pre-HPP plus HPP or thermal processing (TP) on microorganism inactivation and quality changes of the persimmon juice. The "Gongcheng" persimmon was selected with the highest juice yield (48.9%), and the pre-HPP set at 300 MPa/8 min increased the juice yield by 60% through an increasing pectin methylesterase (PME) activity of 25.03% and by maintaining polygalacturonase (PG) activity. For different processing modes, namely, pre-HPP plus HPP at 550 Mpa/5 min and pre-HPP plus TP treatment at 95 °C/5 min, both of the guaranteed microorganisms in the juice were below 2.0 lg CFU/mL; however, the persimmon juice treated by the pre-HPP plus HPP had higher contents of total phenol and ascorbic acid which were 16.07 mg GAE/100 g and 17.92 mg/100 mL, respectively, a lower content of soluble tannin which was 55.64 μg/mL, better clarity which was 18.6% and less color change where the Δ E was only 2.68.

Birefringence, an important optical performance parameter for optoelectronic functional materials, is mainly influenced by the types of anion groups and their spatial arrangement. Inspired by the relationship between the structure and properties of chalcogenides, combined with the dimensional transformation, we successfully synthesized a sulfide compound (Cs 2 ZnSn 3 S 8 ) with a two-dimensional layered structure and a large birefringence. The experimental results showed that, compared with Rb 10 Zn 4 Sn 4 S 17 , Cs 2 ZnSn 3 S 8 achieved the structural transition from a zero-dimensional arrangement to a two-dimensional lamellar arrangement and achieved a breakthrough of birefringence from 0 to 0.12, which was determined by both experiments and first-principles calculations. These findings demonstrated that Cs 2 ZnSn 3 S 8 was a potential birefringent material and provided instructions for the study of the synthesis of birefringent materials.

Background: Differentiating malignant lung tumors from benign pulmonary nodules is a great challenge. While the analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is used for diagnosing infections and interstitial lung diseases, there is limited evidence to support its use for lung cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to interrogate the potential of using BALF cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to discriminate malignant lesions from benign nodules., Methods: Fifty-three patients with solid pulmonary nodules (≤2 cm) were prospectively enrolled, including 21 confirmed with benign disease and 32 with malignant tumors. Mutations were profiled for 30 tumor tissues and 40 BALFs. Paired BALFs and plasma from 48 patients underwent DNA methylation profiling. A methylome-based classification model was developed for BALF and plasma separately., Results: Among the 30 patients with paired tissues and BALFs, 96.7% and 70% had alterations detected from their tissues (79 alterations) and BALFs (53 alterations), respectively. Using tissues as references, BALFs revealed 14 new alterations and missed 41. BALF mutation displayed a sensitivity of 71%, specificity of 77.8%, and accuracy of 72.5% in detecting lung cancer. BALF methylation achieved an accuracy of 81.3%, with both sensitivity and specificity being 81%. Plasma methylation showed a 66.7% sensitivity, 71.4% specificity, and 68.8% accuracy. BALF methylation also demonstrated 82.4% sensitivity in stage I patients. Parallel bronchoscopy, lavage cytology, and bronchial brushing demonstrated an inferior sensitivity of 23%, 3.1%, and 9.7%, respectively, compared with BALF methylation and mutation (P<0.0001)., Conclusions: BALF cfDNA can serve as a liquid biopsy media for both mutation and methylation profiling, demonstrating better sensitivities in distinguishing small malignant tumors from benign nodules than conventional methods., Keywords: Lung cancer diagnosis; pulmonary nodule; bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); methylation; genomic mutation., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-21-2579). JX, LS, BL, HL, and BL are employees of Burning Rock Biotech. JJ received the funding from Jiangsu Province Special Program of Medical Science (BE2016672). The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Over the last 5 years, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have emerged as promising photocatalysts for CO 2 reduction because of their extraodinary visible-light-harvesting capabilities and appropriate band structure. However, the CO 2 photoreduction activity of pristine MHPs is still unsatisfactory because of the phase instability, serious radiative recombination, and insufficient surface-active sites. This Perspective summarizes the strategies employed in recent studies for enhancing the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction performance of MHPs from the standpoint of structure engineering, which includes composition/dimension regulation, surface modification, and heterostructure construction. The relationship between the structure (composition, dimension, and shape) and photocatalytic performance is established, which is instructive for exploiting highly efficient perovskite-based photocatalysts in artificial photosynthesis applications. Further, some important challenges and future prospects of MHPs in this field are proposed and discussed.

Background: Hypoxia contributes to a cascade of inflammatory response mechanisms in kidneys that result in the development of renal interstitial fibrosis and subsequent chronic renal failure. Nonetheless, the kidney possesses a self-protection mechanism under a certain degree of hypoxia and this mechanism its adaptation to hypoxia. As the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) axis is a key pathway for neovascularization, the activation of this axis is a target for renal hypoxia therapies., Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to normobaric hypoxia and subdivided into three groups, namely group A (21% O 2 ), group B (10% O 2 ), and group C (7% O 2 ). Renal tissue samples were processed and analyzed to determine pathological morphological changes, the expression of HIF, VEGF, inflammation factor and vascular density., Results: We found that as the duration of hypoxia increased, destructive changes in the kidney tissues became more severe in group C (7% O 2 ). In contrast, the increased duration of hypoxia did not exacerbate kidney damage in group B (10% O 2 ). As the hypoxia was prolonged and the degree of hypoxia increased, the expression of HIF-1α increased gradually. As hypoxia time increased, the expression of VEGF increased gradually, but VEGF expression in group B (10% O 2 ) was the highest. Group C (7% O 2 ) had higher levels of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-alpha. Additionally, the highest vascular density was observed in group B., Conclusion: These findings suggest that activating the HIF-VEGF signaling pathway to regulate angiogenesis after infliction of hypoxic kidney injury may provide clues for the development of novel CKD treatments., 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 © 2021 Xu, Kong, Li, Cui, Wei, Xu, Zhu and Zhu.)

The low abundance of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in plasma samples makes the analysis of ctDNA biomarkers for the detection or monitoring of early-stage cancers challenging. Here we show that deep methylation sequencing aided by a machine-learning classifier of methylation patterns enables the detection of tumour-derived signals at dilution factors as low as 1 in 10,000. For a total of 308 patients with surgery-resectable lung cancer and 261 age- and sex-matched non-cancer control individuals recruited from two hospitals, the assay detected 52-81% of the patients at disease stages IA to III with a specificity of 96% (95% confidence interval (CI) 93-98%). In a subgroup of 115 individuals, the assay identified, at 100% specificity (95% CI 91-100%), nearly twice as many patients with cancer as those identified by ultradeep mutation sequencing analysis. The low amounts of ctDNA permitted by machine-learning-aided deep methylation sequencing could provide advantages in cancer screening and the assessment of treatment efficacy.

Hypertension, a major risk factor of many severe chronic diseases and leading cause of global disease burden, is reported to be associated with long-term exposure to PM 2.5 . China's high PM 2.5 pollution level has become a major public health issue. However, existing studies from China have got inconsistent results with very limited investigation into the multi-ethnic peoples. This study adds multi-ethnic evidence from Sichuan Province, southwestern China, and assesses ethnic differences of PM 2.5 exposure effect on hypertension. We pooled large cross-sectional data from two surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018 to examine the association of long-term exposure to PM 2.5 on prevalence of hypertension in adults aged 30 years old and above. Community-specified annual PM 2.5 concentration was estimated using satellite data. Thirty-one thousand four hundred sixty-two participants with average exposure concentration of 32.8 μg/m 3 were included. The proportions of the Han, the Tibetan, the Yi, and other ethnic people were 89.2%, 7.3%, 3.2%, and 0.3%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 1.08 (95% CI, 1.04-1.12) for a 10 μg/m 3 PM 2.5 concentration increment. The adjusted ORs for the Han, the Tibetan, and the Yi were 1.08 (95% CI, 1.04-1.12), 0.03 (95% CI, 0.00-0.27), and 1.75 (95% CI, 1.28-2.38) for a 10 μg/m 3 PM 2.5 concentration increment, respectively. Stratification analysis found stronger associations in participants with chronic diseases and Yi minority population. The results showed that long-term exposure to PM 2.5 may increase the risk of hypertension prevalence in Chinese multi-ethnic adults. The associations were different among ethnicities.

Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has long been used for the treatment of common metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the main limitation of its wider application is ingredient complexity of this formula. Thus, it is critically important to identify the major active ingredients of GQD and to illustrate mechanisms underlying its action. Here, we compared the effects of GQD and berberine, a hypothetical key active pharmaceutical ingredient of GQD, on a diabetic rat model by comprehensive analyses of gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, proinflammatory cytokines, and ileum transcriptomics. Our results show that berberine and GQD had similar effects on lowering blood glucose levels, modulating gut microbiota, inducing ileal gene expression, as well as relieving systemic and local inflammation. As expected, both berberine and GQD treatment significantly altered the overall gut microbiota structure and enriched many butyrate-producing bacteria, including Faecalibacterium and Roseburia, thereby attenuating intestinal inflammation and lowering glucose. Levels of short-chain fatty acids in rat feces were also significantly elevated after treatment with berberine or GQD. Moreover, concentration of serum proinflammatory cytokines and expression of immune-related genes, including Nfkb1, Stat1, and Ifnrg1, in pancreatic islets were significantly reduced after treatment. Our study demonstrates that the main effects of GQD can be attributed to berberine via modulating gut microbiota. The strategy employed would facilitate further standardization and widespread application of TCM in many diseases., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recently, all-inorganic halide perovskite (CsPbX 3 , (X = Cl, Br, and I)) nanocrystals (NCs) based hybrid architectures have attracted extensive attention owing to their distinct luminescence characteristics. However, due to stress and lattice mismatch, it is still a challenge to construct heterojunctions between perovskite NCs and the nanostructures with different lattice parameters and non-cubic contour. In this work, a room temperature mechanochemical method is presented to construct TiO 2 @CsPbBr 3 hybrid architectures, in which TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) with a hard lattice as nano "balls" mill off the angles and anchor to the CsPbBr 3 NCs with a soft lattice. On the contrary, to ball-mill without TiO 2 or with conventional ceramics balls replacing TiO 2 , CsPbBr 3 NCs still maintain cubic contour deriving from their cubic crystal structures. Moreover, the TiO 2 @CsPbBr 3 architectures display distinct improvement of photoluminescence quantum yields and more excellent thermal stability in contrast with pristine CsPbBr 3 owing to the passivation of surface defect, small surface area, and energy transfer from CsPbBr 3 to TiO 2 . Meanwhile, there is distinct luminous decay characteristic under the radiation of UV and visible light due to the "on" and "off" TiO 2 response. The method provides an alternative strategy to acquire other anchoring heterojunctions based on perovskite NCs for further regulating their luminescent characteristics., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/Bi 2 Te 3 composite powders were fabricated via a one-step in situ reductive method, and their corresponding bulk composites were prepared by a cold-pressing combing pressureless sintering process or a hot-pressing process. The influences of the preparation methods on the thermoelectric properties of the SWCNT/Bi 2 Te 3 bulk composites were investigated. All the bulk composites showed negative Seebeck coefficients, indicating n-type conduction. A maximum power factor of 891.6 μWm -1 K -2 at 340 K was achieved for the SWCNT/Bi 2 Te 3 bulk composites with 0.5 wt % SWCNTs prepared by a hot-pressing process, which was ~5 times higher than that of the bulk composites (167.7 μWm -1 K -2 at 300 K) prepared by a cold-pressing combing pressureless sintering process, and ~23 times higher than that of the bulk composites (38.6 μWm -1 K -2 at 300 K) prepared by a cold-pressing process, mainly due to the enhanced density of the hot-pressed bulk composites.

Recently, CsPbX 3 (X = Cl, Br, and I) perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have exhibited significant potential for application in the field of lighting. However, their self-absorption and agglomeration significantly decrease their photoluminescence when their solution is centrifuged to form a powder; this hinders their applications in the field of solid-state lighting. Currently, there is lack of efficient solutions to overcome the self-absorption issue for CsPbX 3 QDs. Thus, herein, an effective strategy is proposed via the in situ growth of CsPbBr 3 (CPB) QDs in a mesoporous silica (m-SiO 2 ) matrix, where self-absorption originating from the agglomeration of the QD powder is distinctly suppressed in the m-SiO 2 matrix. Furthermore, due to its higher transmissivity, some photons can transport along the channels of m-SiO 2 with less light loss. As a result, the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 68% for the CsPbBr 3 /m-SiO 2 (CPB/MS) powder is distinctly higher than that of the discrete CPB powder (36%). In addition, the chemical stability, thermal quenching and luminous decay were evidently improved for the CPB/MS nanocomposite. Finally, a remote flexible light-emitting diode with ultrahigh stability and arbitrary bending angle was achieved, which presented a pathway for the application of CPB QDs in solid-state lighting.

The generation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from embryonic endothelial precursors and pre-HSCs is precisely regulated by signaling pathways and transcription factors. Nevertheless, regulatory roles of non-coding RNAs remain unknown. Taking advantage of our ability to capture rare pre-HSCs and HSCs in vivo, we generated a single-cell landscape of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) during HSC development. Combining bioinformatics and functional screening, we identified 6 lncRNAs influencing hematopoiesis in vitro. We further revealed that H19 lncRNA is pivotal for in vivo HSC emergence in aorta-gonads-mesonephros region. Early H19 lncRNA deficiency blocked endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition, which was independent of the H19-derived miR, miR-675. Moreover, H19-deficient pre-HSCs displayed promoter hypermethylation and concomitant downregulation of several master hematopoietic transcription factors, including Runx1 and Spi1. H19 deficiency increased the activity of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, a regulator of DNA methylation, which partially contributed to the observed hematopoietic defect. Our findings provide a resource for further analysis of lncRNAs in embryonic HSC development., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In order to utilize solar light more efficiently, a Bi 2 WO 6 photocatalyst was sensitized by Cu(ii) meso-tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (CuTCPP). The obtained CuTCPP/Bi 2 WO 6 composite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of an organic pollutant, rhodamine B (RhB), under simulated solar light irradiation as well as visible light beyond the absorption edge of Bi 2 WO 6 (λ > 450 nm). The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the sensitization effect of CuTCPP, which increased the visible-light harvesting, as well as the well-matched overlapping band structures between CuTCPP and Bi 2 WO 6 , which facilitated the separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Therefore, the CuTCPP/Bi 2 WO 6 nanohybrid may be used as a promising photocatalyst in environmental remediation.

Europium-doped bismuth silicate (Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 ) phosphor has been prepared by microwave irradiation method and its crystal structure is determined using Rietveld method. As-prepared phosphor consists of spherical, monodispersed particles with few agglomeration, high crystallinity, and narrow grain size distribution. The phosphor can be efficiently excited in the wavelength range of 260-400 nm, which matched well with the emission wavelengths of NUV LED chips. The photoluminescence spectra exhibit the highest emission peak at 703 nm originating from 5 D 0  →  7 F 4 transition of Eu 3+ under NUV excitation. The luminescence lifetime for Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 : 2 at% Eu 3+ phosphor decreases from 2.11 to 1.86 ms with increasing temperature from 10 to 498 K. This behavior of decays is discussed in terms of radiative and nonradiative decays dependence on temperature. The thermal quenching mechanism of 5 D 0 emission of Eu 3+ in Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 phosphor is a crossover process from the 5 D 0 level of Eu 3+ to a ligand-to-europium (O 2-  → Eu 3+ ) charge transfer state. The quantum efficiency of the phosphor under 393 nm excitation is found to be 14.5%, which is higher than that of the commercial red phosphors Y 2 O 3 : Eu 3+ , Y 2 O 2 S: Eu 3+ . The temperature effect on CIE coordinate was discussed in order to further investigate the potential applications.

Low cost and high conductivity make copper (Cu) nanowire (NW) electrodes an attractive material to construct flexible and stretchable electronic skins, displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells, and electrochromic windows. However, the vulnerabilities that Cu NW electrodes have to oxidation, bending, and stretching still present great challenges. This work demonstrates a new Cu@Cu4Ni NW conductive elastomer composite with ultrahigh stability for the first time. Cu@Cu4Ni NWs, facilely synthesized through a one-pot method, have highly crystalline alloyed shells, clear and abrupt interfaces, lengths more than 50 μm, and smooth surfaces. These virtues provide the NW-elastomer composites with a low resistance of 62.4 ohm/sq at 80% transparency, which is even better than the commercial ITO/PET flexible electrodes. In addition, the fluctuation amplitude of resistance is within 2 ohm/sq within 30 days, meaning that at ΔR/R0 = 1, the actual lifetime is estimated to be more than 1200 days. Neither the conductivity nor the performances of OLED with elastomers as conductive circuits show evident degradation during 600 cycles of bending, stretching, and twisting tests. These high-performance and extremely stable NW elastomeric electrodes could endow great chances for transparent, flexible, stretchable, and wearable electronic and optoelectronic devices.