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Efficient occlusion of particulate additives into a single crystal has garnered an ever‐increasing attention in materials science because it offers a counter‐intuitive yet powerful platform to make crystalline nanocomposite materials with emerging properties. However, precisely controlling the spatial distribution of the guest additives within a host crystal remains highly challenging. We herein demonstrate a unique, straightforward method to engineer the spatial distribution of copolymer nanoparticles within calcite (CaCO3) single crystals by judiciously adjusting initial [Ca2+] concentration used for the calcite precipitation. More specifically, polymerization‐induced self‐assembly is employed to synthesize well‐defined and highly anionic poly(3‐sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium)41‐block‐poly(benzyl methacrylate)500 [PSPMA41‐PBzMA500] diblock copolymer nanoparticles, which are subsequently used as model additives during the growth of calcite crystals. Impressively, such guest nanoparticles are preferentially occluded into specific regions of calcite depending on the initial [Ca2+] concentration. These unprecedented phenomena are most probably caused by dynamic change in electrostatic interaction between Ca2+ ions and PSPMA41 chains based on systematic investigations. This study not only showcases a significant advancement in controlling the spatial distribution of guest nanoparticles within host crystals, enabling the internal structure of composite crystals to be rationally tailored via a spatioselective occlusion strategy, but also provides new insights into biomineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MUC5AC was recently identified to play important roles in the proliferation and metastasis of malignant mucinous lung tumor cells. Resveratrol (Res), a natural compound with anticancer effects in lung cancer cells, has been reported to inhibit mucin production in airway epithelial cells. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Res on MUC5AC expression in lung mucinous adenocarcinoma cells and the potential mechanisms.Methods: Mucus-producing A549 human lung carcinoma cells were used to test the effects of Res on SPDEF and MUC5AC expression. Gene and protein expression was assessed by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunofluorescence and western blotting assays. SPDEF lentivirus was used to upregulate SPDEF expression levels in mucus-producing A549 human lung carcinoma cells. Cell proliferation was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay.Results: Res decreased MUC5AC expression in an SPDEF-dependent manner in mucus-producing A549 human lung carcinoma cells, and this change was accompanied by decreased ERK expression and AKT pathway activation. Moreover, SPDEF was found to be overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), especially in mucinous adenocarcinoma. In-vitro functional assays showed that overexpression of SPDEF reduced the chemosensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin (DDP). In addition, Res treatment increased A549 cell chemosensitivity to DDP by inhibiting the SPDEF-MUC5AC axis.Conclusion: Our results indicate that the SPDEF-MUC5AC axis is associated with DDP sensitivity, and that Res decreases SPDEF and MUC5AC expression by inhibiting ERK and AKT signaling in A549 cells, which provides a potential pharmacotherapy for the prevention and therapeutic management of mucinous adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is an important part of urban reconstruction and terrain surveying. In TLS applications, 4-point congruent set (4PCS) technology is widely used for the global registration of point clouds. However, TLS point clouds usually enjoy enormous data and uneven density. Obtaining the congruent set of tuples in a large point cloud scene can be challenging. To address this concern, we propose a registration method based on the voxel grid of the point cloud in this paper. First, we establish a voxel grid structure and index structure for the point cloud and eliminate uneven point cloud density. Then, based on the point cloud distribution in the voxel grid, keypoints are calculated to represent the entire point cloud. Fast query of voxel grids is used to restrict the selection of calculation points and filter out 4-point tuples on the same surface to reduce ambiguity in building registration. Finally, the voxel grid is used in our proposed approach to perform random queries of the array. Using different indoor and outdoor data to compare our proposed approach with other 4-point congruent set methods, according to the experimental results, in terms of registration efficiency, the proposed method is more than 50% higher than K4PCS and 78% higher than Super4PCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crayfish, an aquatic food consumed globally, has been reported to accumulate heavy metal. To assess the health risk to the crayfish-consuming population, we investigated heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ba, and As) in crayfish tissues (exoskeleton, abdominal muscle, gills, and hepatopancreas) and sediments from uncultivated and cultivated ponds in the middle reach of the Yangtze River. The metals, except for As, were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and As was measured by atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The distribution of heavy metals differed significantly among tissues and concentrations were generally highest in the hepatopancreas. The average concentrations of heavy metals were higher in crayfish from uncultivated ponds than in crayfish from cultivated ponds. Heavy metal concentrations in crayfish correlated positively with sediment concentrations in uncultivated ponds, indicating that heavy metals can accumulate in crayfish. However, this positive correlation between sediment concentration and crayfish concentration was not observed in cultivated ponds. Source identification, using correlation analysis, indicated that heavy metals in the sediments derive from transportation and agriculture. Based on correlations between heavy metal concentration and body weight, and data on metal distribution in organs, heavy metals accumulate in the hepatopancreas of crayfish in uncultivated ponds, but not in cultivated ponds. Heavy metal concentrations were somewhat higher in female crayfish than in male crayfish and the difference was significant for Fe and Pb. The target hazard quotient (THQ) was used to evaluate non-carcinogenic health risk, with THQ < 1 considered to be safe. All THQ values were < 1, except for Cu in the hepatopancreas (THQ = 1.38) of cultured crayfish and Pb (THQ = 1.01) and Cd (THQ = 1.69) in the hepatopancreas of wild crayfish. Thus, the health risk posed by consuming crayfish, particularly cultured crayfish is low. Our research was designed to protect food safety and the results indicate that the health risk posed by heavy metals in crayfish is low. Unlabelled Image • The average concentration of heavy metal in wild crayfish was higher than those in cultured crayfish. • Heavy metals accumulated in hepatopancreas in wild crayfish • Heavy metals in female crayfish were more than those in male crayfish. • Consuming crayfish don't cause considerable risk to human health [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Openings such as windows and doors are essential components of architectural wall surfaces. It is still a challenge to reconstruct them robustly from unstructured 3D point clouds because of occlusions, noises and non-uniformly distributed points. Current research primarily focuses on meliorating the robustness of detection and pays little attention to the geometric correctness. To improve the reconstruction quality, assumptions on the opening layout are usually applied as rules to support the reconstruction algorithm. The commonly used assumptions, such as the strict grid and symmetry pattern, however, are not suitable in many cases. In this paper, we propose a novel approach, named an inference machine, to identify and use flexible rules in wall opening modelling. Our method first detects and models openings through a data-driven method and then refines the opening boundaries by global and flexible rules. The key is to identify the global flexible rules from the detected openings, composed by various combinations of alignments. As our method is oblivious of the type of architectural layout, it can be applied to both interior wall surfaces and exterior building facades. We demonstrate the flexibility of our approach in both outdoor and indoor scenes with a variety of opening layouts. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation results indicate the potential of the approach to be a general method in opening detection and modelling. However, this data-driven method suffers from the existence of occlusions and non-planar wall surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although strategies of olefin hydroalkylation continue to emerge rapidly, the precise control of the regio- or chemoselectivity and the expansion of the reaction range are still challenges. Herein, a straightforward route for cobalt-catalyzed anti-Markovnikov hydroalkylation of unactivated olefins with alkyl iodides has been achieved. The developed reaction is compatible with oxa-, aza-, cyclo- and a series of other functional groups as well as the frameworks of some bioactive compounds. Mechanism studies confirm that an alkyl radical is involved and cobalt–alkyl insertion followed by protonation with water are possible pathways in this reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A squeezed‐coherent‐cat state (SCCS) in a mechanical system not only plays an important role for macroscopic quantum coherence, but also can be a carrier for quantum information. A scheme to generate a SCCS in a two‐mode optomechanical system is proposed, in which the modulated hopping interaction of two cavities is introduced. The two cavity modes couple with the same mechanical mode with linear and quadratic interaction, respectively. The SCCS is analytically deduced under an appropriate initial state, and the average phonon number and the parameter of squeeze are numerically calculated. Wigner function shown the properties of superposition and squeezing is plotted. Including the dissipation of the environment, the results show that a high quality mechanical resonator and a low noise environment are required to obtain high fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is the main food crop today world-wide. In order to improve its yields, researchers are committed to understand the relationships between wheat genotypes and phenotypes. Compared to progressive technology of wheat gene section identification, wheat trait measurement is mostly done manually in a destructive, labor-intensive and time-consuming way. Therefore, this study will be greatly accelerated and promoted if we can automatically discover wheat phenotype in a nondestructive and fast manner. In this paper, we propose a novel pipeline based on 3D morphological processing to detect wheat spike grains and stem nodes from 3D X-ray micro computed tomography (CT) images. We also introduce a set of newly defined 3D phenotypes, including grain aspect ratio, porosity, Grain-to-Grain distance, and grain angle, which are very difficult to be manually measured. The analysis of the associations among these traits would be very helpful for wheat breeding. Experimental results show that our method is able to count grains more accurately than normal human performance. By analyzing the relationships between traits and environment conditions, we find that the Grain-to-Grain distance, aspect ratio and porosity are more likely affected by the genome than environment (only tested temperature and water conditions). We also find that close grains will inhibit grain volume growth and that the aspect ratio 3.5 may be the best for higher yield in wheat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the enhancement in electrochemical performance of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes by surface modification is investigated. For the proposed microfabrication process, pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on their surface are obtained by developing GM-1060 photoresist in mixture of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) and CNTs, and following pyrolysis of a micropatterned photoresist. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/H2SO4 electrolyte (1 M) was applied to assemble this carbon/CNT microelectrode-based all-solid-state microsupercapacitor (carbon/CNT-MSC). The carbon/CNT-MSC shows a higher electrochemical performance compared with that of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrode-based MSC (carbon-MSC). The specific areal and volumetric capacitances of carbon/CNT-MSC (4.80 mF/cm2 and 32.0 F/cm3) are higher than those of carbon-MSC (3.52 mF/cm2 and 23.4 F/cm3) at the scan rate of 10 mV/s. In addition, higher energy density and power density of carbon/CNT-MSC (2.85 mWh/cm3 and 1.98 W/cm3) than those of carbon-MSC (2.08 mWh/cm3 and 1.41 W/cm3) were also achieved. This facile surface modification and optimization are potentially promising, being highly compatible with modern microfabrication technologies and allowing integration of highly electrically conductive CNTs into pyrolyzed carbon to assemble MSCs with improved electrochemical performance. Moreover, this method can be potentially applied to other high-performance micro/nanostructures and microdevices/systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A scheme of weak force detection in coupled oscillator optomechanical system has been proposed. By introducing the auxiliary oscillator, we can improve the sensitivity, reduce the additional noise and enlarge the intensity of the output spectrum. Different with employing squeezing light to directly reduce shot noise, our method make use of destructive coherence effect between the cavity field and the additional oscillator to cancel the cavity noise, which provides us a alternatively promising platform for improving the sensitivity of ultrasensitive detection in optomechanical system. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extended lifespan of mechanical oscillator enables its utilization as a reliable medium for information storage. Optomechanical system coupling the cavity mode with mechanical oscillator is a promising device that can transfer the information from the light field to the mechanical oscillator for storage. In this paper, we propose an efficient scheme for quantum state transfer between the optical mode and mechanical oscillator by introducing pulsed coupling to an optomechanical system. By analyzing all the second-order moments, we give a general condition for the pulsed coupling that can guarantee the optomechanical state conversion stably. Then, we take a Gaussian-type pulsed coupling as an example to examine the analysis and show that the state initially prepared in optical mode can be transferred to the mechanical mode stably with high fidelity for storage. Moreover, our scheme exhibits high robustness against the thermal fluctuation of mechanical mode, as well as the variations in the control pulse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2‐Acylindoles possess widespread applications in functional chemicals. However, the convenient and selective synthesis of such important substructures has to date remained a challenge. Herein, a method to achieve 2‐acylindoles from sulfoxonium ylides with o‐aminoaryl aldehydes catalysed by Iridium has been developed with the merits of broad substrate scope, good functional tolerance, high efficiency and operational simplicity, which provides an alternative way to access functionalized indoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoredox alkene or alkyne alkylsulfonylation has been achieved with phthalimide esters and sulfinates providing unexpected α-sulfones. Mechanistic studies disclose that the preferential alkyl radical addition to the alkene or the Markovnikov hydrosulfonation of the alkyne should contribute to the formation of the β-alkylated α-sulfones. Moreover, the reaction is easy to operate covering quite large substrate scales including primary, secondary and tertiary alkyl groups and all sorts of terminal aryl alkenes or alkynes. Besides, the reaction was also suitable for the sulfonylation of several drug molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV), a member of the genus Polerovirus in the family Luteoviridae, causes severe damage and represents a great threat to sugarcane cultivation and sugar industry development. In this study, inoculation of Nicotiana benthamiana plants with a potato virus X (PVX)-based vector carrying the SCYLV P0 gene induced typical mosaic, leaf rolling symptoms and was associated with a hypersensitive-like response (HLR) necrosis symptom, which is accompanied with a systemic burst of H2O2 and also leads to higher PVX viral genome accumulation levels. Our results demonstrate that SCYLV P0 is a pathogenicity determinant and plays important roles in disease development. To further explore its function in pathogenic processes, a yeast two-hybrid assay was performed to screen the putative P0-interacting host factors. The recombinant plasmid pGBKT7-P0 was constructed as a bait and transformed into the yeast strain Y2HGold. The ROC22 cultivar (an important parental resource of the main cultivar in China) cDNA prey library was constructed and screened by co-transformation with the P0 bait. We identified 28 potential interacting partners including those involved in the optical signal path, plant growth and development, transcriptional regulation, host defense response, and viral replication. To our knowledge, this is the first time we have reported the host proteins interacting with the P0 virulence factor encoded by sugarcane yellow leaf virus. This study not only provides valuable insights into elucidating the molecular mechanism of the pathogenicity of SCYLV, but also sheds light on revealing the probable new pathogenesis of Polerovirus in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biominerals can exhibit exceptional mechanical properties owing to their hierarchically‐ordered organic/inorganic nanocomposite structure. However, synthetic routes to oriented artificial biominerals of comparable complexity remain a formidable technical challenge. Herein we design a series of soft, deformable nanogels that are employed as particulate additives to prepare nanogel@calcite nanocomposite crystals. Remarkably, such nanogels undergo a significant morphological change—from spherical to pseudo‐hemispherical—depending on their degree of cross‐linking. This deformation occurs normal to the growth direction of the (104) face of the calcite and the underlying occlusion mechanism is revealed by in situ atomic force microscopy studies. This model system provides new mechanistic insights regarding the formation of oriented structures during biomineralization and offers new avenues for the design of synthetic nanocomposites comprising aligned anisotropic nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This methodology can be employed to synthesize a wide range of target compounds and to introduce different functional groups into the β-aminoketone skeleton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pistacia chinensis Bunge is a bioenergy tree whose seed oil has been proposed as a promising feedstock for both edible and industrial oil that can be used for biodiesel production in China. However, the transcriptomic information available for P. chinensis and the genes involved in biosynthesis of oil remain largely unknown. We used Illumina RNA-sequencing technology to sequence the complete transcriptome of P. chinensis for the first time. Over 56 million high-quality reads (5.27 Gb total) were obtained and assembled into 127,545 unigenes with a total length of 89.65 Mb and an average length of 703 bp. Among the unigenes identified, 265 were potentially involved in oil biosynthesis, including FA biosynthesis (71 unigenes), elongation (54 unigenes), desaturation (38 unigenes); triacylglycerol (TAG) and oil body (OB) biosynthesis (65 unigenes); and regulation of acyl editing during TAG biosynthesis (six unigenes). Furthermore, 31 unigenes encoding six activators and five inhibitors of TFs were associated with oil biosynthesis. Expression pattern of two desaturase enzymes were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in five tissues of P. chinensis, the results shown seeds had the highest expression level. This study is the first to characterize the P. chinensis transcriptome and sequence information of those genes that are involved in oil biosynthesis could be used for metabolic engineering of pistacia to accelerate the breeding of new tree strains with better agronomic oil yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ru(II) complexes have attracted attention as photosensitizers for their promising photodynamic properties. Herein, novel tris-bipyridine based Ru(II) complexes (6a-e) were synthesized by introducing saturated heterocycles to improve photodynamic properties and lipid-water partition coefficients. Among them, 6d demonstrated significant phototoxicity towards three cancer cells, with IC 50 values of 5.66–7.17 μM, exceeding values in dark (IC 50 s > 100 μM). Under hypoxic conditions, 6d maintained excellent photodynamic activity in A549 cells, with PI values exceeding 24, highlighting its potential for highly effective type-I/-II photodynamic therapy by inducing ROS generation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial damage. Additionally, it induced ferroptosis and immunogenic cell death of A549 cells by regulating the expression of relevant markers. Finally, 6d remarkably inhibited the growth of A549 transplanted tumor growth by 95.4 %. This Ru(II) complex shows great potential for cancer treatment with its potent photodynamic activity and diverse mechanisms of tumor cell death. [Display omitted] • Five novel tris-bipyridine based Ru(II) complexes as photosensitizers were designed, synthesized, and characterized. • 6d exhibited type I/II photodynamic characteristics and excellent phototoxicity under both normoxia and hypoxia. • 6d demonstrated highly effective PDT by inducing significant generation of ROS, oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. • 6d induced ferroptosis and immunogenic cell death of A549 cells by modulating the expression of relevant markers. • 6d remarkably inhibited the growth of A549 transplanted tumor growth by 95.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machilus chuanchienensis is an ecological tree distributed in southwestern China. It has a significant valuation with making Hawk tea using its leaves, an ethnic traditional tea-like beverage with a long history in Chinese tea culture. The whole chloroplast (cp) genome is an ideal model for the phylogenetic study of Lauraceae because of its simple structure and highly conserved features. There have been numerous reports of complete cp genome sequences in Lauraceae, but little is known about M. chuanchienensis. Here, the next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to sequence the M. chuanchienensis cp genome. Then, a comprehensive comparative genome analysis was performed. The results revealed that the M. chuanchienensis's cp genome measured 152,748 base pairs (bp) with a GC content of 39.15% and coded 126 genes annotated, including comprising eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA), 36 transporter RNA (tRNA), and 82 protein-coding genes. In addition, the cp genome presented a typical quadripartite structure comprising a large single-copy (LSC; 93,811) region, a small single-copy (SSC; 18,803) region, and the inverted repeats (IRs; 20,067) region and contained 92 simple sequence repeat (SSR) locus in total. Phylogenetic relationships of 37 species indicated that M. chuanchienensis was a sister to M. balansae, M. melanophylla, and M. minutiflora. Further research on this crucial species may benefit significantly from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a method to access 3-trifluoromethyl-1,4-benzoxazines from CF3-imidoyl sulfoxonium ylides and 2-bromophenols has been demonstrated. This synthetic protocol proceeds via a one-pot two-step sequence that includes the lithium-bromide-promoted O–H insertion of sulfoxonium ylides and annulation, and has the merits of broad substrate scope, excellent functional tolerance and operational simplicity, which provides an alternative means of obtaining CF3-substituted heterocycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrochemical oxidative regio- and stereo-selective thio(seleno)cyanation of enamides has been developed to access (E)-β-thio(seleno)cyanated enamide compounds under environmentally-benign conditions without metal and exogenous oxidant in an undivided cell. The protocol features good reaction efficiency and functional group tolerance, providing a sustainable pathway for the thio(seleno)cyanation of enamides. The practicabilities of this protocol were further demonstrated by intramolecular cross-coupling reactions to prepare six- and seven-membered heterocycles by varying the position of halide substituents. Mechanistic investigation reveals that the reaction may proceed via [1,5]-H sigmatropic rearrangement to achieve exclusive E stereoselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To determine the optimal contrast injection protocol for 64-MDCT coronary angiography. Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty consecutive patients scheduled to undergo retrospectively electrocardiographically gated 64-MDCT. Each 30 patients were assigned to use a different contrast protocol: group 1: uniphasic protocol (contrast injection without saline flush); group 2: biphasic protocol (contrast injection with saline flush); group 3A, 3B and 3C: triphasic protocol (contrast media+different saline diluted contrast media+saline flush). Image quality scores and artifacts were compared and evaluated on both transaxial and three-dimensional coronary artery images among each contrast protocol. Results: Among the triphasic protocol groups, group 3A (30%:70% contrast media–saline mixture was used in second phase) used the least contrast media and had the least frequency of streak artifacts, but there were no significant differences in coronary artery attenuation, image quality, visualization right and left heart structures. Among the uniphasic protocol group (group 1), biphasic protocol group (group 2) and triphasic protocol subgroup (group 3A), there were no significant differences in image quality scores of coronary artery (P =0.18); uniphasic protocol group had the highest frequency of streak artifacts (20 cases) (P <0.05) and had the most amount contrast media (67.0±5.3ml); biphasic protocol group had the least amount of contrast media (59.9±4.9ml) (P <0.05) and had the highest attenuation of left main coronary artery and right coronary artery (P <0.01), but had the least amount of clear visualization right heart structure (6 cases); triphasic protocol group (group 3A) had the most amount of clear visualization right heart structures (29 cases) were the most among the three groups (P <0.05). Conclusion: Biphasic protocol are superior to the traditional uniphasic protocols for using the least total contrast media, having the least Streak artifacts and without image quality degradation. However, it is also important to visualize the right atrium and ventricle, so triphasic protocol (30%:70% contrast media–saline mixture was used in second phase) should be used for 64-MDCT coronary CT angiography. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The key role of an inhibitory receptor, Programmed Death-1, has been evaluated in 273 patients with autoimmune myasthenia gravis. At the genetic level, SNP''s genotyping showed no significant association to the disease. Gene expressions in patients were not different from that in controls. Interestingly, at the cell-surface protein level, there were significant elevated levels of PD-1 on T cells and its ligand PD-L1 on monocytes in the patients compared to controls. However, we could not demonstrate any secreted soluble forms of PD-1 among the patients and controls. Thus, our study shows PD-1 might have a natural regulatory property behind MG. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Herein, a new strategy for the direct synthesis of functionalized pyrroles from β-amino alcohols and ynones via ruthenium-catalyzed acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling has been demonstrated. This developed methodology proceeds in an atom- and step-economic fashion together with the merits of broad substrate scope, operational simplicity, and water and hydrogen gas as the sole by-products, which provides an alternative and sustainable way to access functionalized pyrroles. Further, this method was applied to the rapid synthesis of the COX-1/COX-2 inhibitor and boron dipyrromethene derivative successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3‐Acylquinolines possess widespread applications in functional chemicals. However, the convenient and selective synthesis of such important substructures has to date remained a challenge. Herein, we report a method to access 3‐acylquinolines from α, β‐unsaturated ketones and 2‐aminoaryl alcohols in one pot with a copper nanocatalyst supported on nitrogen‐silica‐doped carbon (Cu/N−SiO2−C). Mechanistically, the construction of the product involves a cascade procedure including radical‐type oxidation of 2‐aminoaryl alcohols, aza‐Michael addition and annulation. This developed protocol proceeds with merits of mild reaction conditions, good functional group tolerance, earth‐abundant and reusable copper catalyst, easily available stocks and O2 as the sole oxidant, which provides an alternative way for the sustainable synthesis of quinoline derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal imide functional units in perylene-g-C 3 N 4 semiconductors can promote the photocatalytic efficiency under white-light LED irradiation and room temperature due to the enhanced generation of decisive specie O 2 −. • Internal imide groups of different ratios were introduced in perylene-g-C 3 N 4 semiconductors. • The imide groups accelerate charge-carrier separation and improve superoxide radical generation. • The photocatalyst exhibits excellent efficiency of oxidative hydroxylation of arylboric acid. • O 2 − is the decisive specie in photocatalytic hydroxylation compared with OH and 1O 2. A metal-free and straightforward protocol for the photocatalytic synthesis of phenols from arylboronic acids has been demonstrated using perylene-tri-s-triazine (perylene-g-C 3 N 4) polymeric semiconductors. Tri-s-triazine and perylene are connected through imide bonds to give catalysts P−M of high imide-bond ratio and P+M of low imide-bond ratio. The aerobic hydroxylation of arylboronic acids can be operated at room temperature and atmospheric environment under white-light LED irradiation. This research work has revealed that internal imide functional groups within the catalyst's molecular structures can facilitate the ROS (O 2 −, OH and 1O 2) generation and O 2 − is the decisive specie in the hydroxylation due to the faster reaction rate compared with OH and 1O 2 , with yield as high as 97%. This environment-friendly method and the molecule design principle will provide a valuable strategy for developing metal-free polymeric semiconductors with specific molecular structures and deep insights into the ROS− involved catalysis in photo-generated chemical transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology, clinical features, treatment and outcome of Noninvasive ventilation (NIV)‐treated acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients in secondary hospitals of Shanghai. Method: Relying on Shanghai alliances for respiratory diseases, a retrospective observational study was performed in 34 secondary hospitals of Shanghai. The AECOPD patients treated with NIV and admitted to the respiratory department or respiratory intensive care unit were recruited between December 1, 2016, and November 30, 2017. Results: There were 555 patients finally recruited in this study. The age was 75.8 ± 9.6 years old and 380 patients (68.5%) were male. 70.5% of all patients had respiratory acidosis (pH <7.35). 55.3% of all patients received nebulised bronchodilator and 77.7% were treated with systemic or inhaled corticosteroids during hospitalisation. 525 patients (94.6%) recovered successfully and the mortality was 3.2%. The hospitalisation was 15.3 ± 6.7 days and hospital expenses were 22 911 ± 13 595 RMB. Inadequate and nonstandard drug treatments were the most important problems during management. Conclusion: The NIV can be successfully used for AECOP patients in local hospitals of Shanghai, but accompanied by high costs and long hospital stays. However, the treatments for exacerbation and stable COPD patients are still insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observing the phonon blockade in a nanomechanical oscillator is clear evidence of its quantum nature. However, it is still a severe challenge to measure the strong phonon blockade in an optomechanical system with effective nonlinear coupling. In this paper, we put forward a theoretical proposal for predicting the phonon blockade effect in a quadratically coupled optomechanical system by exploiting supervised machine learning. The detected optical signals are injected into the neural network as the input, while the output is the mechanical equal-time second-order correlation. Our results show that our scheme has great advantages in predicting phonon blockade. Specifically, it is effective and feasible for nonlinear coupling systems; it shows a high precision for predicting strong phonon blockade; it is robust against the slight disturbance of systemic parameters. The trained neural network is convenient for measuring phonon blockade directly in the experiment. Our work provides a promising way to predict phonon blockade in nonlinear coupled quantum systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nonreciprocal‐amplified scheme for signal transmission is proposed in a coupled rotation‐cavity system, where the two cavities rotate with opposite directions, and an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) is attached to one cavity. The coupling between cavities can effectively compensate and enhance the frequency shift of the Sagnac effect, and a perfect nonreciprocity can be achieved. Owing to the introduction of an OPA medium, eigenvalues of the dynamic matrix exhibit exceptional points (EPs), and the amplified‐nonreciprocal transmission can be obtained around EPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient heterogeneous catalyst nickel oxide supported on graphene nanoplatelets (NiO/Gr) has been developed for the aerobic and additive‐free dehydrogenation of N‐heterocycles. This catalyst was easily prepared by atomic layer deposition from nickel(II) diketonate–diamine and ozone, which has advantages of excellent activity, low metal loading, simple preparation, stability for multiple reuse. The reactions proceed in good yields with broad substrate scope under mild conditions by using tiny quantity of catalyst. Interestingly, pharmaceutically relevant tetrahydro‐β‐carboline derivative can also be oxidized successfully to afford the important intermediate. The control experiments suggest that this catalytic dehydrogenation experiences radical‐type oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark hawk tea, produced through pile-fermentation of Lauraceae family leaves, which is rich in various beneficial ingredients and health functions, relies heavily on microbial activity for its unique characteristics. However, the processing technology of dark hawk tea and the microorganisms' dynamic changes during its pile-fermentation remain largely unknown. In this study, based on the previous work, we optimized pile-fermentation parameters for analyzing changes in dark hawk tea's chemical components, volatile substances, and microbial diversity. The tea exhibited superior sensory scores and biochemical qualities under optimal conditions (35 °C, 62% water, 24 h), measuring 5.7 mg/g amino acid content. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) identified 108 volatile compounds, notably terpenes, ketones, and esters. Microbial analysis revealed Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium as dominant bacteria and Cladosporium and Mortierella as dominant fungi. Cladosporium prevailed in early fermentation, shifting to Mortierella later. Predicted metabolic pathways highlighted microbial functional genes predominantly participated in carbohydrate, amino acid, and energy metabolism during the pile-fermentation. These results hold important implications for expanding the variety of hawk tea products and deepening our understanding of microbial community dynamics through the pile-fermentation of dark hawk tea. • Enhanced processing techniques for dark hawk tea have been developed. • Dark hawk tea contains 108 identified volatile compounds, predominantly terpenoids. • Microbial compositions in the pile-fermentation process of dark hawk tea. • Microbial metabolic activities were predominantly enriched in four pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy has been regarded as an inflammation-associated defensive mechanism against chronic liver disease, which has been highlighted as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of liver fibrosis. We herein aimed to study the effects of catalpol on liver fibrosis in vivo and in vitro , and to elucidate the role of autophagy in catalpol-induced anti-inflammation. Catalpol protected the liver against CCl 4 -induced injury, as evidenced by mitigated hepatic steatosis, necrosis, and fibrotic septa. Catalpol decreased the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and bilirubin as well as the liver/body weight ratio. Masson and sirius red staining along with hydroxyproline detection showed that catalpol decreased collagen deposition significantly compared to that of the model group. Catalpol inhibited CCl 4 -induced liver fibrosis, manifested as decreased expressions of α-SMA, fibronectin and α1(I)-procollagen at both transcriptional and translational levels. Inflammatory factors, such as IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-18, IL-6 and COX-2, were significantly elevated in rats receiving CCl 4 and down-regulated by catalpol in a dose-dependent manner in vivo . Western blot and immunofluorescence assay revealed that catalpol activated the autophagy of rats with CCl 4 -caused liver fibrosis, as indicated by up-regulation of LC3-II and beclin1 and down-regulation of P62. The results of in vitro experiments were consistent. Interestingly, inhibition or depletion of autophagy by LY294002 or Atg5 siRNA significantly attenuated catalpol-induced anti-inflammatory effects on activated hepatic stellate cells in vitro . In conclusion, catalpol relieved liver fibrosis mainly by inhibiting inflammation, and autophagy inhibition attenuated the catalpol-induced anti-inflammatory effect on liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel β-carboline-based hydroxamate derivatives 12a-k were designed and synthesized, and their biological activities in a series of in vitro assays were evaluated. Several of these β-carboline derivatives not only showed excellent HDAC1/3/6 inhibitory effects, but also displayed significant antitumor activities against five human cancer cells. The most potent compound 12f demonstrated the highest anticancer potency against cancer cell lines with IC 50 values of 0.53–1.56 μM, which was considerably more potent than harmine (IC 50  = 46.7–55.3 μM) and also three-to ten-fold lower than that of SAHA (IC 50  = 4.48–6.26 μM). Immunoblot analysis revealed that 12f dose-dependently inhibited histone H3 and α-tubulin acetylation, confirming its HDAC inhibitory effects. Moreover, 12f significantly arrested HepG2 cells at G2/M phase through inhibiting cell cycle related protein CDK1 and cyclin B in a concentration dependent manner. Interestingly, 12f also exerted strong anti-metastasis activity by simultaneously reducing the protein level of MMP2 and MMP9 and inhibiting MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]