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Background: Herpes zoster is one of the most common diseases in middle and old ages, and the incidence rate is constantly increasing. Long-term, severe neuropathological pain continues to afflict the patients, causing trouble and even the inability to live a normal life. Since the occurrence and development of herpes zoster are related to many mechanisms, there is no uniform conclusion and specific treatment method, and only a limited number of people are currently vaccinated against HZ. Objective: This study aimed at exploring the potential mechanism or biomarkers for Herpes zoster. Method: In this study, a data set GSE165112 containing 12 samples was downloaded, out of which, 6 samples were treated with interferon, and 6 samples were not treated. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) analysis, KEGG, GO enrichment analysis, and GSEA were carried out. Results: A total of 264 DEGs were identified, including 32 uP-regulated DEGs and 232 downregulated DEGs. DEGs are mainly enriched in immune response, inflammatory response, chemotaxis, etc. Four key pathways were found to be related to HZ, including IL2-STAT5 signaling, inflammatory response, TNF-a signaling via NF-κB, and IFN-α. Moreover, ten hub genes were also identified. Conclusion: This study shows that exploring DEGs and pathways through bioinformatics analysis is of great significance for understanding the molecular mechanism of HZ, especially the defect of the IFN pathway. It may be helpful in improving the treatment for HZ.

Purpose: Death anxiety is commonly experienced by individuals with advanced cancer who have a limited life expectancy. The Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS) is a validated measure that was created to capture this experience; but no Chinese version is available to date. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the psychometric properties of a Chinese version DADDS (DADDS-C) and address prevalence of death anxiety among patients with advanced cancer.Methods: Patients with advanced cancer were recruited from Peking University Cancer Hospital. Measures administered included: DADDS-C, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), Quality of Life at End of Life in Cancer (QUAL-EC), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-sp). McDonald's Omega, Cronbach's alpha, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to test DADDS-C's reliability and validity. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for death anxiety.Results: Of 300 patients approached, 256 (85%) provided informed consent and completed the questionnaires. Of these participants, 43 (16.8%) had moderate death anxiety based on scores of ≥45 on the DADDS-C. Three factors (feeling shortness of time, dying and death distress, being a burden to others) explained 71.643% of shared variation with factor loadings ranging from 0.629 to 0.822. Cronbach's alpha was 0.939; Omega total was 0.959. DADDS-C had acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. Logistic regression analysis indicated that two factors (better relationship with healthcare providers and preparation for end of life) protected patients from death anxiety.Conclusion: DADDS-C is a valid tool for measuring death anxiety in Chinese patients with advanced cancer. The presence of at least moderate death anxiety in a substantial minority of these patients calls for screening for this symptom and for more routine psychological interventions to alleviate and prevent such distress in this population.

BACKGROUND Both demoralization and depression are common forms of psychological distress in cancer patients. This study aimed to investigate the severity of demoralization in Chinese cancer patients and to explore the factors influencing depression and demoralization and their effects on quality of life to better understand the differences and the relationship between demoralization and depression. METHODS Cross-sectional study design, in-patients sequentially recruited from a tertiary-level cancer hospital in Beijing between January 2016 and April 2016 completed Mandarin version of Demoralization Scale (DS-MV), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Revised Life Orientation Test (CLOT-R), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the 12-items Short Form Health Survey, version 2 (SF-12 V2) and provided socio-demographic and clinical information. RESULTS 296/424 (70.0%) of patients completed questionnaires. The mean score of DS is 30.4 (SD = 13.0). There are 28% (83/296) patients who experienced a low level of depression but a high level of demoralization. Resignation medical coping method (b = 0.279, P < .001), hopelessness (b = 0.492, P < .001), positive life orientation (b = -0.170, P < .001), and education level (b = -0.132, P < .001) were found to be predictors of demoralization, while only resignation medical coping method (b = 0.373, P < .001) and hopelessness (b = 0.350, P < .001) were found to be predictors of depression. Depression is a mediator between demoralization and physical aspects of quality of life (γ = -0.1604, LLCI = -0.244, ULCI = -0.080). CONCLUSION Demoralization is a prevalent psychiatric problem in Chinese cancer patients, and a large proportion of patients had low depression but high demoralization. Therefore, screening for demoralization in Chinese oncology practice is essential. A positive life orientation was found to be protective against demoralization.

Olive oil is a kind of high-quality edible oil obtained by quick extraction from the fresh olive fruit. It has rich biological activity and positive effect on human health which leads to the increase of the demand for olive oil. Olive pomace is a by-product of olive oil during processing which is also rich in biologically active ingredients. But it is often treated as waste, not only causes environmental pollution but also a great waste of resources. In order to explore the high value utilization of olive oil by-products, the extract components of olive oil pomace by benzene, ethanol and acetone were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that there were 109, 70, and 71 components which identified in benzene, ethanol and acetone extracts of olive oil pomade respectively. Many of these components can be resourced in industries of biomedicine, bioenergy, spices, and food additives.

Objective To summarize and evaluate the evidence of guidelines and systematic reviews (SRs) of nonpharmacological interventions for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to support the development of future guidelines and clinical decisions for MCI patients. Methods Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN), National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CNAHL, VIP, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Database were searched for relevant publications, including guidelines and SRs, from January 2014 to March 2019. Two authors independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the publications for adherence to the inclusion criteria. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) was used to assess the quality of the guidelines, and Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR 2) was used to assess the quality of SRs. In addition, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to evaluate the quality of outcomes. Results Thirty-two articles were retrieved, including 1 guideline and 31 SRs. Fourteen SRs of physical exercise for MCI, six articles describing cognitive interventions, four articles describing acupuncture, and seven articles assessing dietary interventions (including four articles employing a Mediterranean diet, one article using vitamin B supplementation, and two articles assessing the effects of tea, coffee, and caffeine) were included. The quality of the articles was very low for 4 (13%), low for 10 (32%), and moderate for 17 (55%). Conclusions Based on the evidence available to date, nonpharmacological interventions may improve the current cognitive function of persons with MCI. In particular, physical exercise, cognitive interventions, and acupuncture exerted promising effects. However, due to the limited number and quality of the included publications, additional high-quality reviews are needed to further confirm.

Previously reported photoelectrochemical (PEC) cytosensing commonly relied on the use of photoelectrodes as both signaling sources and platforms to accommodate the biorecognition events. In such a design, the side reaction between photoelectrodes and potential reductive species in the biological media as well as the interplay between the photoelectrodes and biomolecules will inevitably impair the performance of the corresponding PEC cytosensors. Herein, we presented a facile and efficient PEC cytosensor by separating capture probe from the photoelectrode. The system is operated upon by using a ternary heterostructured photoanode to provide an evident and stable photocurrent signal, an aptamer-based biocathode for recognizing and capturing the target cells, and the corresponding signal reduction from the cell-induced steric hindrance effect. Exemplified by human breast cancer cells (MCF-7), the proposed system realizes the separation of the signaling photoanode and the sensing biocathode toward a sensitive and selective self-powered PEC MCF-7 cytosensor. This work reports a new PEC cytosensing protocol, and it is expected to attract more interest in the research of high-performance PEC cytosensing.

A novel biomaterial, polyglycerol grafted conducting polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedixythiophene) (PEDOT) was electrochemically synthesized. The PEDOT functionalized with hyperbranched polyglycerol (PEDOT-HPG) was simply prepared through the electrochemical polymerization of corresponding monomers, which was synthesized by grafting glycidol into (2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-2-yl)methanol (EDOT-MeOH). The antifouling properties of PEDOT-HPG surfaces were evaluated in terms of protein adsorption and the attachment of mammalian cells, including human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa) and Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7). Through the conjugation of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) antibodies to the PEDOT-HPG surfaces, sensitive immunosensors for AFP were fabricated, with the limit of detection at the level of 0.035 pg/mL. The prepared AFP biosensors exhibited excellent antifouling performance even in complex media and showed promising feasibility for the quantitative analysis of AFP in real samples. The PEDOT derivative with hyperbranched polyglycerol groups was effective to reduce biofouling and facile for surface functionalization. It is expected that this novel antifouling and conducting material may find broad applications in the development of electrochemical sensors and biosensors capable of assaying targets in complex biological media.

Highly sensitive and specific detection of biomarkers is of great importance for diagnosis and treatment of the related diseases or cancers. We herein developed a robust photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensor with enhanced sensitivity and specificity based on evident photocurrent output of the photoanode and significant signal amplification of the biocathode. Prostate specific antigen (PSA, Ag) was used as a target model to exhibit analytical performances of the designed PEC immunosensor. Two kinds of CuInS2 quantum dots (CIS QDs) with different composition were modified on the TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2-NTs) electrode to fabricate the photoanode. Due to the co-sensitization effect of the CIS QDs on TiO2-NTs, an evident photocurrent output was generated at the photoanode. For the biocathode, Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and polydopamine (PDA) were modified in order on indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode to immobilize capture PSA antibody (Ab1). Carboxyl-modified polystyrene (PS) nanospheres were coated with secondary antibodies (Ab2) to form PS@Ab2 conjugates, which were used as signal amplifiers via the specific immunoreaction between Ag and Ab2. Based on joint action of evident photocurrent output of the photoanode and significant signal amplification of the biocathode, the designed PEC immunosensor exhibited an ultralow detection limit of 3.4 fg/mL for target PSA detection. Meanwhile, it also showed an enhanced specificity owing to the separation of the photoanode and the biocathode.

The present study sought to determine if the positive association between positive emotions and life satisfaction can be understood as a function of hope in Chinese. Consistent with the broaden-and...

A novel design of a dual-polarized dipole linear antenna array with controlled beam tilt in vertical plane and 90° beamwidth in horizontal plane is proposed for multi-beam antennas of base stations operating within the frequency band 1.85-1.95 GHz. The multi-beam operation of base station antennas for mobile communications is widely used to subdivide the angular sector of service into the narrower subsectors, each of which is served by own base station. The 12-element linear array has been designed with the controlled beam tilt from 13° to 19°, since the main beam should be directed to the area below base station. A novel modification of cast metal crossed dipoles is used as an array element. To obtain stable 90° half power beamwidth the special metal walls around the dipoles have been introduced into design as well as the vertical walls at the edges of the plane reflector behind the dipoles. Due to these modifications proposed linear array shows high characteristics: measured beamwidth in horizontal plane by the tilt of beam up to 19° is on average 87°, the beamwidth in vertical plane is 7.3°, gain is 16.3 dB, the reflection loss is less than −17 dB, the isolation is better than −29 dB, the cross-polarization component is less than −17 dB. The suggested linear array has compact dimensions and it is designed for installation in the multi-beam base station antenna array.

A 29-year-old female was referred for a recurrence of a right parotid gland malignant tumor. The primary lesion was myoepithelial carcinoma, treated by the local hospital with parotid gland tumor resection. The admission physical examination showed a large mass on the right face, with poor mobility and hard texture. She had normal facial nerve function preoperatively.

A novel design of dual-polarized printed dipole antenna is proposed for base station antennas of 5G mobile communications systems operating within frequency band 3.3–5.9 GHz. Each crossed dipole is excited by microsrtip line stub which is fed by the standard 50-Ohm coaxial line. The configuration of dipole arms has been synthesized by means of Bezier curves of the third order. This approximation provides the accurate tuning of the crossed dipoles mutual coupling and the extension of operational frequency band of antenna. The essential improvement of antenna characteristics in comparison with the known prototypes has been achieved after numerical full wave optimization of the dipole profile. The characteristics of 8-element antenna array of proposed modified planar dipoles have been studied. Over the frequency band 3.3–5.9 GHz (57%) the reflection coefficient is −15 dB, isolation is −28…−30 dB, the beam width for level −10 dB is equal to 120°−4°/+10°.

A novel design of diplexer for base stations of mobile communications operating within frequency bands 1710–1880/1920–2170 MHz is proposed. Diplexer is implemented on the base of inter-digital filters and it has compact design consisting of the all-metal housing including filters and coaxial power divider. The efficient combined technique for synthesis of diplexer is suggested, which is based on utilizing of coupling matrices and full-wave 3D simulation. Since the diplexer has the closely situated pass bands, the filters characteristics slope should be increased. The additional bent resonator is introduced into design to form the attenuation pole, which frequency may be tuned in accordance with specifications of diplexer. The proposed diplexer is characterized with high impedance matching and isolation (S 11 32

Aims This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of patient decision aids on knowledge, decisional conflict and decisional self-efficacy outcomes in patients with diabetes. Methods A comprehensive database search was performed using the Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL (EBASCO), CNKI, VIP, Wan Fang Database and the Ottawa Decision Aid Library Inventory (http://decisionaid.ohri.ca/index.html) from inception to 13 October 2019. Two reviewers independently searched databases, screened articles, extracted data and evaluated the risk bias of included studies. Then Rev Man 5.3 software was adopted for statistical analysis. Results Ten articles containing 1,452 people with diabetes were selected. The results of meta-analysis showed that patient decision aids had a positive effect on reducing decisional conflict and improving decisional self-efficacy among patients with type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, this article also revealed that patient decision aids have beneficial short-term effects on improving knowledge, but there was no significant long-term effect. Conclusion Patient decision aids are capable of becoming support tools to improve shared decision making. Further implementation studies are required to transform patient decision aids tools into clinical practice.

A novel modification of linear antenna array of dielectric rod antennas for operation over the mobile communication frequency band 3.2-6.3 GHz with the dual polarizations tilted by angle ±45° to horizon is proposed and studied. Antenna array provides the near-constant beam width of radiation pattern in the horizontal plane within frequency band about the octave. Proposed concept shows potential for implementation of dual polarized wideband antenna arrays with high characteristics.

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the maxilla is a rare disease. In contrast with a mandibular predominance, maxillary ORN has not been widely reported.To review clinical features, surgical treatments, and results of maxillary ORN and offer recommendations for surgical decision-making.We retrospectively reviewed medical records of maxillary ORN at our hospital between 2002 and 2017. Clinical data were collected, including age, sex, primary tumor characteristics, radiotherapy dose, clinical findings of maxillary ORN, and treatment outcomes. Descriptive statistics and multiple factors were analyzed.Twenty-four patients were included for analysis. The primary symptoms of maxillary ORN were pain, trismus, pus, bone exposure, and skin fistula. Twenty (83.3%) patients were completely cured after single-operation. Thirteen patients underwent sequestrectomy, and the cure rate was 76.9% (10/13). Eleven patients received segmental osteotomy and flap reconstruction, with the cure rate of 90.9% (10/11). There was no significant statistical difference in the cure rate between these two groups (Compared with mandibular ORN, the surgical effect of maxillary lesions is better and the choice of operation methods can be relatively conservative. Both sequestrectomy and segmental osteotomy with flap reconstruction can achieve good results in appropriate conditions.

Studies have reported that taraxasterol (TAR) is effective in the treatment of immune liver injury and alcoholic liver injury. The mechanism of action is mainly related to the inhibition of inflammation. To determine the key molecular mechanisms for the effect of TAR on alleviating ethanol and high-fat diet-induced liver injury, pathological morphology, biochemistry, oxidative stress, inflammatory response and lipid metabolism were examined. Our results showed that TAR could inhibit ethanol-induced hepatocyte death or lipid accumulation, and suppress oxidative stress, inflammatory response and lipid metabolism disorders. More specifically, ethanol-induced TLR-4 and MyD88 inflammatory response were down-regulated, when treated with TAR. Production of CYP2E1, Nrf2 and HO-1, which produced in response to increased oxidative stress, were regulated in TAR treated, ethanol-induced hepatocytes. In summary, TAR could inhibit the inflammatory response and oxidative stress, which was related to the regulation of TAR on TLR-4/MyD88/NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1 pathways.

BACKGROUND Patients with cancer experience multiple symptoms related to cancer, cancer treatment, and the procedures involved in cancer care; however, many patients with pain, depression, and fatigue, especially those outside the hospital, receive inadequate treatment for their symptoms. Using an electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) platform to conduct symptom management follow-up in outpatients with advanced cancer could be a novel and potentially effective approach. However, empirical evidence describing in detail the preparation and implementation courses in a real setting is needed. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper was to describe the implementation process and evaluation of an ePRO platform that facilitates symptom management for patients with cancer, share our experiences and the problems we encountered during the process of implementation, and share the solutions we identified for those problems. Moreover, we tested the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of the ePRO platform. METHODS This was a real-world, ongoing, longitudinal, single-center, prospective study with a total of 7 follow-ups conducted within 4 weeks after the first visit to the symptom management clinic (on days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28). Participants were encouraged to complete scales for physical symptoms (pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath), cognitive symptoms (memory problems and impaired concentration), and affective symptoms (especially depression and anxiety) during follow-up. The design and function of the ePRO-doctor client and ePRO-patient client, the patient-reported outcome (PRO) scales used in the study, and the strategies to promote symptom tracking have been described. Moreover, the training and evaluation for research assistants have been presented. The efficacy of the ePRO platform was assessed with a comparison of the baseline and 4-week outcomes on the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory. RESULTS Using the ePRO platform for symptom management follow-ups in advanced cancer patients was associated with a high completion rate (72.7%-86.4%) and a low drop-off rate (23.6%). The ePRO platform sent 293 alert notifications to both patients and doctors, which promoted patient security. The short and sharp PRO tool selection, user-friendly interface, automatic reminder notifications and alerts, and multiple dimensional training were essential components for the preparation and implementation of the ePRO system. The results showed significant improvements in the mean scores of pain, fatigue, and numbness from baseline to day 28 (P=.02, P=.02, and P CONCLUSIONS The use of an ePRO platform for symptom management follow-ups in advanced cancer patients is time-saving, energy-saving, and effective. PRO tool selection, platform design, and training of research assistants are important aspects for implementation. Future research should validate the ePRO platform in a larger randomized controlled study.

and purpose: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has gained increasing attention in the treatment of psychological disorders, but evidence is required to support practice. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the current evidence for CBT's effectiveness in relieving symptoms of anxiety and depression experienced by patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase databases were systematically searched from inception to March 27, 2020. Both randomized controlled trials and cluster-randomized controlled trials were included in our review. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 15.1 software.A total of six trials, including 675 participants, were analyzed. The results demonstrated that CBT was superior to standard care in relieving symptoms of depression (standardized mean difference = -0.20; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.39 to -0.01; P = 0.004). The effectiveness of CBT in relieving symptoms of anxiety experienced by patients with ICDs (standardized mean difference = -0.70; 95% CI: -1.10 to -0.30; P 0.001) as well as the heterogeneity (IThis meta-analysis indicates that CBT effectively relieves symptoms of anxiety and depression experienced by patients with ICDs. Clinical personnel should pay close attention to the mental health of patients with ICDs and adopt CBT as a management strategy for such patients.

The purpose of this study was to alleviate liver disturbance by applying polysaccharides from Dicliptera chinensis (DCP) to act on the adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase/ nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (AMPK/ Nrf2) oxidative stress pathway and the Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR‐4)/ nuclear factor kappa‐B (NF‐κB) inflammatory pathway and to establish an in vivo liver disturbance model using male C57BL/6J and TLR‐4 knockout (−/−) mice. For this, we evaluated the expression levels of SREBP‐1 and Nrf2 after silencing the expression of AMPK using siRNA technology. Our results show that with regard to the TLR‐4/ NF‐κB inflammatory pathway, DCP inhibits TLR‐4, up‐regulates the expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ (PPAR‐γ), reduces the expression of phospho(p)‐NF‐κB and leads to the reduction of downstream inflammatory factors, such as tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐1β, thereby inhibiting the inflammatory response. Regarding the AMPK/ Nrf2 oxidative stress pathway, DCP up‐regulates the expression of p‐AMPK and Nrf2, in addition to regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and ameliorating liver disturbance symptoms. In summary, our study shows that DCP alleviates liver disturbances by inhibiting mechanisms used during liver inflammation and oxidative stress depression, which provides a new strategy for the clinical treatment of liver disturbance.

Diabetes has emerged as a global health challenge and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is thought to be related to diabetes. We herein reported a dual-locked near-infrared fluorescent probe (DLSP) to monitor the fluctuation of H2S in vitro and in vivo. DLSP displayed excellent selectivity and high sensitivity to H2S comparing with single-locked probes (SLSP-1/2). Using probe DLSP, the visualization of the biosynthesis of endogenous H2S production in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells (IR-HepG2 cells) and the fluctuation of H2S in diabetic mice was realized for the first time.

Natural fibers with functionalities have attracted considerable attention. However, developing facile and versatile strategies to modify natural fibers is still a challenge. In this study, cotton fibers, the most widely used natural fibers, were partially oxidized by sodium periodate in aqueous solution, to give oxidized cotton fibers containing multiple aldehyde groups on their surface. Then poly(hexamethylene guanidine) was chemically grafted onto the oxidized cotton fibers forming Schiff bases between the terminal amines of poly(hexamethylene guanidine) and the aldehyde groups of oxidized cotton fibers. Finally, carbon-nitrogen double bonds were reduced by sodium cyanoborohydride, to bound poly(hexamethylene guanidine) covalently to the surface of cotton fibers. These functionalized fibers show strong and persistent antibacterial activity: complete inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was maintained even after 1000 consecutive washing in distilled water. On the other hand, cotton fibers with only physically adsorbed poly(hexamethylene guanidine) lost their antibacterial activity entirely after a few washes. According to Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and hemolytic analysis, toxicity did not significantly increase after chemical modification. Attributing to the hydrophilicity of poly(hexamethylene guanidine) coatings, the modified cotton fibers were also more hygroscopic compared to untreated cotton fibers, which can improve the comfort of the fabrics made of modified cotton fibers. This study provides a facile and versatile strategy to prepare modified polysaccharide natural fibers with durable antibacterial activity, biosecurity, and comfortable touch.

The syntheses, structures and optical properties of polymethylene-vaulted trans-bis(2-aminotroponato)palladium(II) complexes are described. A series of Pd complexes incorporating nona-, deca-, undeca- and dodecamethylene bridges (1a: n = 9; 1b: n = 10; 1c: n = 11; 1d: n = 12) was newly prepared by reacting Pd(OAc)2 with the corresponding N,N’-[alkane-1,ω-diylbis(azanediyl)]ditropone. NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses unequivocally established the specific structures of these complexes, including trans-coordination and three-dimensional vaulted structures. The photophysical properties of 1a–d exhibit a significant linker length dependence in 2-methyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydrofuran, such that the absorption wavelengths in the vicinity of 420 nm are red-shifted as the linker length is decreased. This trend is the opposite to that observed in the corresponding vaulted trans-bis(salicylaldiminato)Pd(II) analogues 2a–d under similar conditions. The mechanistic rationale for the specific linker-dependence of the absorption wavelengths of 1 is discussed in comparison with that of 2, based on molecular structures and electronic configurations.

Previous work on photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensors has demonstrated that the photoanode-based type possesses satisfying sensitivity, because photoanode utilize electrons as the majority charge carriers and a distinct photocurrent can be generated when electron donors are furnished. However, as hole-oxidation reaction occurs at the photoanode interface, the photoanode-based PEC sensor has inferior anti-interference capacity to reductive substances coexisting in the biological sample, leading to a challenged selectivity. Herein, a universal design on selectivity-enhanced PEC enzyme sensor was proposed by integrating a photoanode with a biocathode. Specifically, the CuInS2 sensitization layer and ZnS passivation layer were deposited in sequence on the TiO2 film modified indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode mainly by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) means, forming the hybrid ZnS/CuInS2/TiO2/ITO photoanode. A carbon fiber paper (CFP) electrode was modified with biocatalysts of enzymes via the assistance of chitosan (CS) to fabricate the biocathode. Utilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) and horserdish peroxidase (HRP) as biocatalysts, a selectivity-enhanced PEC sensor for glucose was developed. The PEC sensing platform integrating photoanode with biocathode not only inherits distinct photocurrent of the photoanode-based sensor but also possesses enhanced selectivity, because just the biocathode was incubated in the biological sample and there is no interaction between the photoanode and coexisting reductive substances.

A thermal THz detector based on commercial CMOS technology working in room temperature is proposed. The THz electromagnetic wave is first selectively absorbed by an on-chip λ/4 dipole antenna realized in the metallization layer. The absorbed wave energy is then converted to Joule heat energy via a polysilicon resistor. The heat-generated temperature rise is finally detected by a proportional to absolute temperature sensor. The theoretical analysis and physical modeling of the detector including the mechanism of the electromagnetic energy absorption, the thermal conversion, and the electrical circuit response, are presented. The detectors at three typical THz frequencies of 1, 2.9, and 28.3 THz are designed in standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology and post-simulated to illustrate the detector's frequency-selective capability in the whole THz range. The simulated detector's voltage responsivity is 18.0 V/W at 1 THz, 18.9 V/W at 2.9 THz, and 18.6 V/W at 28.3 THz, respectively. The noise equivalent power is 1.7 μW/√Hz at the three frequencies.

Ni–Al layered double hydroxides (Ni–Al LDHs) are adopted as an electrorheological (ER) material ascribed to their special layered structure, ample polarizable groups and good dispersibility. The magnetite nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs) are utilized as classical magnetorheological (MR) materials on account of their excellent paramagnetic property. In this work, we report the rational design of high-performance ER/MR materials by integrating the structural merits of Fe 3 O 4 NPs onto a binary layered structure system. The obtained Fe 3 O 4 /Ni–Al LDH NCs dispersed in silicone oil displayed appealing dual ER/MR performances. The work opens a new path toward novel stimuli-responsive materials for industrial applications.

Sargassum fusiforme is widely cultivated in the temperate coastal areas, and is particularly abundant in China, Korea, and Japan. However, information about if large-scale seaweed cultivation can affect the bacterial community in the coastal sea area is limited. This study explores the effects of large-scale cultivation of Sargassum fusiforme on the biodiversity and network structure of marine bacteria in the coastal water of Dongtou Island, China. The diversity of marine bacteria in the surface waters was significantly higher than that in the bottom waters in the cultivation area and adjacent area. The α-diversity metrics showed no significant difference between surface waters and bottom waters in the open sea area. Additionally, permutational multivariate analysis of variances suggested a significant difference in the microbial community structure between location, which were sampled relative to the cultivation area. At the phylum level, the dominant phyla in all groups were Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum, accounting for more than 65% in all groups. The redundancy analysis showed that environmental factors affected the bacterial communities, and the results of an aggregated boosted tree analysis indicated that dissolved oxygen was a critical factor in controlling the bacterial communities in the surface waters, NO3−-N and NH4+-N were identified as primary factors associated with the change in bacterial community composition in the bottom waters. Network analysis revealed that the negative interactions between species pairs were the major relationship in the microbial ecosystem. Bacterial communities at S. fusiforme location were associated with larger sub-modules and a larger number of keystone species. Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were identified as the keystone species in all locations. The results of the present study suggested that the differences in biodiversity and network structure of marine bacteria might be associated with the S. fusiforme cultivation.

A general, efficient strategy for a self-powered PEC immunoassay with an evident photocurrent response was proposed by separating the photoanode from recognition events. The immunoassay demonstrates the exciting features of both high sensitivity and anti-interference capabilities.

Sulfate-bearing geofluids are widespread in many geological environments and play important roles in ore-forming processes. Recent experiments provide evidences that in silica-rich fluids, Na2SO4 solubility exhibits a complex temperature dependence, first decreasing from 25 to 313 °C and then increasing from 313 to 425 °C. The fluid-borne silica have critical implications for sulfate-bearing hydrothermal systems and formations of rare earth element deposits. However, whether other sulfate salts share the same characteristics remains unknown. In this study, fused silica capillary capsules (FSCCs) containing K2SO4-saturated solutions and K2SO4 crystals are used to quantitatively investigate the solubility of K2SO4 at different temperatures in the K2SO4-SiO2-H2O system. In the K2SO4-SiO2-H2O system, K2SO4 shows prograde solubility from 50 to 400 °C, and does not melt through the whole investigated temperature range. The relationship between temperature and the solubility of K2SO4 can be described by a simple linear function with R2 = 0.991: Csulfate = 4.1307 × 10−3 × T + 0.5532, where Csulfate and T represent the solubility of K2SO4 in m (mol/kg H2O) and temperature in °C, respectively. These results show that the solubility of K2SO4 can be enhanced by 3 to 5 times at 300–400 °C by the presence of silica, compared with that in silica-absent system, even without the formation of sulfate melt. Considering that quartz is ubiquitous in the Earth's crust, the solubility of sulfate in natural geofluids may reach a much higher level than previously expected. The temperature dependences of the solubilities of K2SO4 and Na2SO4 in silica-saturated fluids were used to constrain the compositions of the mineralizing fluids of the synmetamorphic hematite-quartz veins at Ouro Fino (SE Brazil) and the Maoniuping REE deposit (SW China), based on the previously reported microthermometric results of fluid inclusions that contain sulfate daughter minerals. For the hematite-quartz vein at Ouro Fino, the sulfate concentration was calculated to be 8.9–19.2 wt%, which is in line with previous laser ablation measurements (~15.3 wt%). For the Maoniuping REE deposit, the total sulfate concentration was determined to be 16.3–27.4 wt%, and the REE concentration of the ore-fluid was further estimated to be 0.30–0.44 wt%.

A novel single-component fluorescent probe HCP using N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) as the hepatocyte-specific moiety and 3-nitrophthalimide as the fluorescent reactive unit was designed and synthesized to specifically detect hepatocellular carbon monoxide (CO) in vitro and in vivo. The spectral experimental results indicate that HCP displayed high selectivity to CO and could be used to detect trace CO in an aqueous solution with a prominent fluorescent response (more than 80 times). Bioimaging results show that HCP could specifically transport to asialoglycoprotein receptor overexpressed HepG2 cells and could image endogenous CO release in HepG2 cells and the liver of zebrafish in situ during acute liver injury.

It remains a great challenge for targeted therapy of heart diseases. To achieve desirable heart targeting, we developed a polyphenol-assisted nanoprecipitation/self-assembly approach for facile engineering of functional nanoparticles. Three different materials were employed as representative carriers, while gallic acid, catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, and tannic acid (TA) served as typical polyphenols with varied numbers of phenolic hydroxyl groups. By optimizing different parameters, such as polyphenol types and the weight ratio of carrier materials and polyphenols, well-defined nanoparticles with excellent physicochemical properties can be easily prepared. Regardless of various carrier materials, TA-derived nanoparticles showed potent reactive oxygen species-scavenging activity, especially nanoparticles produced from a cyclodextrin-derived bioactive material (TPCD). By internalization into cardiomyocytes, TPCD/TA nanoparticles (defined as TPTN) effectively protected cells from hypoxic-ischemic injury. After intravenous injection, TPTN considerably accumulated in the injured heart in two murine models of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest in rats and myocardial hypertrophy in mice. Correspondingly, intravenously delivered TPTN afforded excellent therapeutic effects in both heart diseases. Preliminary experiments also revealed good safety of TPTN. These results substantiated that TPTN is a promising nanotherapy for targeted treatment of heart diseases, while polyphenol-assisted self-assembly is a facile but robust strategy to develop heart-targeting delivery systems.

In this article, we present modeling and simulations of an uncooled thermal THz detector. The detector consists of an on-chip cross-dipole antenna, polysilicon resistors, and a temperature sensor. Electromagnetic, thermal, electrical modeling, and simulations of the detector are presented. The three submodels are as follows: THz electromagnetic energy is first selectively absorbed by the antenna realized in the metallization layer. The absorbed wave energy is then converted to Joule heat energy via resistors. Finally, the heat-generated temperature rise is detected by the temperature sensor. The detectors at three typical THz frequencies of 0.8, 2.9, and 28.3 THz are designed in standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Their simulated voltage responsivity is 6.3 V/W at 0.8 THz, 7.2 V/W at 2.9 THz, and 8.2 V/W at 28.3 THz. The noise equivalent power (NEP) is 0.14 μW/√Hz at the three respective frequencies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of scoparone (SCO) in hepatic fibrosis. For this, we conducted in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vivo rats that were divided into six groups, control, carbon tetrachloride, and colchicine, as well as SCO groups, SCO50, SCO100, and SCO200 treated with 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg SCO doses, respectively. Furthermore, SCO was shown to inhibit Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4)/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB; TLR-4/NF-κB) signals by inhibiting TLR-4, which in turn downregulates the expression of MyD88, promotes NF-κB inhibitor-α, NF-κB inhibitor-β, and NF-κB inhibitor-e activation, while inhibiting NF-κB inhibitor-ζ. Subsequently, the decrease of phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB levels leads to the downregulation of the downstream inflammatory factors' tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1 beta, thus weakening hepatic fibrosis. Notably, the SCO200 treated group presented the most significant improvement. Hence, we conclude that SCO alleviates hepatic fibrosis by inhibiting TLR-4/NF-κB signals.