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At present, there are no official approved drugs for improving muscle endurance. Our previous research found acute phase protein orosomucoid (ORM) is an endogenous anti‐fatigue protein, and macrolides antibiotics erythromycin can elevate ORM level to increase muscle bioenergetics and endurance parameters. Here, we further designed, synthesized and screened a new erythromycin derivative named HMS‐01, which lost its antibacterial activity in vitro and in vivo. Data showed that HMS‐01 could time‐ and dose‐dependently prolong mice forced‐swimming time and running time, and improve fatigue index in isolated soleus muscle. Moreover, HMS‐01 treatment could increase the glycogen content, mitochondria number and function in liver and skeletal muscle, as well as ORM level in these tissues and sera. In Orm‐deficient mice, the anti‐fatigue and glycogen‐elevation activity of HMS‐01 disappeared. Therefore, HMS‐01 might act as a promising small molecule drug targeting ORM to enhance muscle endurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation has emerged as a potential treatment for ischemic stroke. Preconditioning with pharmacological agents before cell transplantation has been shown to increase the efficiency of cell therapy. In this study, trehalose (Tre), an autophagy inducer, was used as a pharmacological agent to treat BMSCs, and the neuroprotective effect of BMSCs preconditioned with Tre on cerebral ischemia was assessed. BMSCs were treated in vitro with different concentrations of Tre. Immunofluorescence staining of LC3B was performed to detect autophagy, and Western blotting for LC3, Beclin1, p-AMPK, and p-mTOR was performed. Flow cytometry and Western blotting analysis were performed to measure cell apoptosis in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to test the secretion levels of neurotrophic factors. An in vivo ischemia/reperfusion model was generated by middle cerebral artery occlusion in male Sprague Dawley rats, and Tre-preconditioned BMSCs were administered intralesionally 24 hours after ischemic injury. Histopathological examination and neurological function studies were conducted. In vitro, Tre promotes autophagy of BMSCs through the activation of the AMPK signal pathway. Tre protected BMSCs from H2O2-induced cell viability reduction and apoptosis. Moreover, Tre pretreatment increased the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor. In vivo, preconditioning with Tre could further enhance the survival of BMSCs, reduce infarct size, alleviate cell apoptosis, abate vessel decrease, and ultimately improve functional recovery. Our study indicates that Tre can enhance the survival of BMSCs under oxidative stress and enhance BMSC-based treatment of ischemia/reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aristolochic acids (AAs) are a family of natural compounds with AA I and AA II being known carcinogens, whose bioactivation causes DNA adducts formation. However, other congeners have rarely been investigated. This study aimed to investigate genotoxicity of AA IVa, which differs from AA I by a hydroxyl group, abundant in Aristolochiaceae plants. AA IVa reacted with 2'-deoxyadenosine (dA) and 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) to form three dA and five dG adducts as identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry, among which two dA and three dG adducts were detected in reactions of AA IVa with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA). However, no DNA adducts were detected in the kidney, liver, and forestomach of orally dosed mice at 40 mg/kg/day for 2 days, and bone marrow micronucleus assay also yielded negative results. Pharmacokinetic analyses of metabolites in plasma indicated that AA IVa was mainly O-demethylated to produce a metabolite with two hydroxyl groups, probably facilitating its excretion. Meanwhile, no reduced metabolites were detected. The competitive reaction of AA I and AA IVa with CT DNA, with adducts levels varying with pH of reaction revealed that AA IVa was significantly less reactive than AA I, probably by hydroxyl deprotonation of AA IVa, which was explained by theoretical calculations for reaction barriers, energy levels of the molecular orbits, and charges at the reaction sites. In brief, although it could form DNA adducts in vitro, AA IVa was non-genotoxic in vivo, which was attributed to its low reactivity and biotransformation into an easily excreted metabolite rather than bioactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient detection of small molecules is of significance for environmental monitoring, pharmacology, metabolomics, and lipidomics. The laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) platform enables high sensitivity, accuracy, resolution, and throughput in molecular analysis, but its analytical capability with respect to small molecules is limited due to inherent drawbacks arising from conventional organic matrices. The selection of an appropriate matrix is thus a precondition for small molecule detection by LDI MS. To date, various inorganic matrices have been developed, with a growing interest in composite materials displaying synergetic effects. This Minireview highlights the development of nanocomposites as LDI matrices driven by numerous innovations in material science, and their emerging use in small‐molecule analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial transformation of sulfate minerals plays an important role in controlling the behavior of heavy metals in mining areas. Here, the anaerobic reduction of Cr (VI)-loaded schwertmannite by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (S. oneidensis MR-1) was investigated. The release of ferrous iron (Fe(II)) to the solution demonstrated the microbial reduction of structural Fe(III) from the schwertmannite to Fe(II). The concentration of Cr in solution decreased in all treatments, indicating that no Cr was released to the solution during this bio-reduction process of schwertmannite. The incorporation of chromate into the mineral structure of schwertmannite increased the microbial stability of the mineral, retarding the formation of secondary phases during bio-reduction process. Analysis of the XRD, SEM and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results further showed that goethite formed after 3 or 7 days with a lower content (0.22% or 0.37%) of Cr in schwertmannite, while no secondary mineral was observed with a higher concentration of Cr (0.6 wt%) incorporated in schwertmannite until 22 days. These results imply that microbial reduction of Cr(VI)-loaded schwertmannite does not lead to the release of Cr to the solution, and the microbial stability of schwertmannite will be increased by the incorporation of chromate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study proposed and demonstrated a novel process for the bioconversion of syngas (mainly CO and H 2 ) to valuable volatile fatty acids (VFA) by integrating with mesophilic alkaline fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS). The results showed that although pH 9 was suitable for VFA production from WAS, 62.5% of the consumed CO was converted to methane due to the presence of hydrogenogenic pathway for CO conversion. The increase of pH from 9 to 9.5 inhibited the methane production from CO because of the possible presence of only acetogenic pathway for CO conversion. However, methane was still produced from H 2 contained in syngas through hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, and around 32–34% of the consumed syngas was converted to methane. At both pH 9 and 9.5, methane was produced by hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanobacteriales . Further increase of pH to 10 effectively inhibited methane production from syngas, and efficient VFA (mainly acetate with the concentration of around 135 mM) production by simultaneous conversion of syngas and WAS was achieved. High acetate concentrations (>150 mM) were shown to have serious negative effects on the conversion of syngas. The addition of syngas to the mesophilic alkaline fermentation of WAS at pH 10 not only resulted in the enrichment of some known bacteria related with syngas conversion, but also changed the microbial community compositions for the fermentation of WAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver malignancy is one of serious sicknesses which undermine human life and wellbeing. Concentrates on the treatment of liver malignancy have attracted widespread consideration. Utilization of drug delivery system cannot just enhance particular medication conveyance to liver tissue and enhance the bioavailability of medication, yet additionally can lessen the reactions of medications when it is uniquely changed in the regards of structure adjustment or particular target particles improvement. Docetaxel (Dxtl) remains the favored decision of enhancing the survival of patients with hormone stubborn liver malignancy, however numerous patients experience the ill effects of humble medication reaction and huge lethality. In the present examination, we researched the productivity of novel Dtxl stacked gold doped apatite (Dtxl-GHANPs) and increase insights into the molecular mechanism of the apoptosis initiated by these novels Dxtl- stacked nanoparticles. In vitro anticancer tests demonstrated that Dtxl-GHANPs had a higher cytotoxicity against human liver cancer cells (HepG2). The dual staining and Hoechst measure uncovered the dynamic idea of Dtxl-GHANPs in the cell core of the HepG2 cells. The potential mitochondrial break by apoptosis in HepG2 cells enormously expanded cell passing. Our discoveries demonstrated that nanoparticles, more than basic medication carriers, may assume a dynamic part in intervening the organic impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation of pyrite under acidic conditions, an important process leading to the formation of acid mine drainage, has been the subject of intense research yet remains incompletely understood. In this study, the mechanism of the electrochemical oxidation of pyrite in a pH 2 electrolyte was investigated using electrochemical techniques. The morphological changes and oxidation products of pyrite were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). At low potential of 0.50 V, electrochemical oxidation of pyrite was diffusion-limited due to a sulfur-rich layer (S 0 ) that formed and covered the pyrite surface, resulting in surface passivation. As the potential increased to 0.60 V, diffusion-limitation and surface passivation of pyrite oxidation ceased due to the conversion of amorphous elemental sulfur (S 8 ) to crystalline S 8 , resulting in the previously covered active sites being re-exposed which allowed continued oxidation of pyrite. At higher potentials of 0.70 and 0.80 V, more S 8 and polysulfides (S n 2− ), together with an iron-rich layer composed of Fe(OH) 3 , FeO and Fe 2 O 3 , formed and accumulated on the pyrite surface. These products led to a decreased rate of oxidation rather than a complete passivation of the surface. AFM imaging revealed that surface roughness increased with oxidation potential and that the oxidation of the pyrite surface was inhomogeneous. These findings provide further insight into the physical and chemical changes that pyrite undergo during electrochemical oxidation, which deepens our understanding of this important process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanation of propionate requires syntrophic interaction of propionate-oxidizing bacteria and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, which is referred to as interspecies electron transfer. The present study showed that 10 mg/L conductive magnetite enhanced the methane production rate from propionate by around 44% in batch experiments, and both direct interspecies electron transfer and interspecies H 2 transfer were thermodynamically feasible with the addition of magnetite. The methanation of propionate facilitated by magnetite was also demonstrated in a long-term operated continuous reactor. The methane production rate from acetate by the enriched mixed culture with magnetite was higher than that without magnetite, while similar methane production rates were found from H 2 /CO 2 by the enriched mixed culture with and without magnetite. The ability to utilize molecular H 2 indicated interspecies H 2 transfer played a role in the enriched culture with magnetite, and propionate-oxidizing bacteria relating with interspecies H 2 transfer were also detected by metagenomic sequencing. Metagenomic sequencing analysis also showed that Thauera , possibly relating with direct interspecies electron transfer, were enriched with the addition of magnetite. iTRAQ quantitative proteomic analysis, which was used in mixed culture for the first time, showed that magnetite induced the changes of protein expression levels involved in various pathways during the methanation of propionate. The up-regulation of proteins involved in propionate metabolism were found, and they were mainly originated from propionate-oxidizing bacteria which were not reported to be capable of direct interspecies electron transfer until now. Cytochrome c oxidase was also revealed as the possible protein relating with direct interspecies electron transfer considering its up-regulation with the addition of magnetite and origination from Thauera . Most of the up-regulated proteins in methane metabolism were originated from Methanosaeta , while most of the enzymes with down-regulated proteins were originated from Methanosarcina . However, the up-regulated proteins relating with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis were originated from neither Methanosaeta nor Methanosarcina , indicating they were not involved in direct interspecies electron transfer. The hydrogenotrophic methanogens, e.g. Methanospirillum , Methanosphaerula et al., might be involved in direct interspecies electron transfer. Overall, the present study showed that both direct interspecies electron transfer and interspecies H 2 transfer were present during methanation of propionate facilitated by magnetite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is an emerging and promising technology for the conversion of wet biomass into bio-crude, however, little attention has been paid to the utilization of hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater (HTLWW) with high concentration of organics. The present study investigated biogas production from wastewater obtained from HTL of straw for bio-crude production, with focuses on the analysis of the microbial communities and characterization of the organics. Batch experiments showed the methane yield of HTLWW (R-HTLWW) was 184 mL/g COD, while HTLWW after petroleum ether extraction (PE-HTLWW), to extract additional bio-crude, had higher methane yield (235 mL/g COD) due to the extraction of recalcitrant organic compounds. Sequential batch experiments further demonstrated the higher methane yield of PE-HTLWW. LC-TOF-MS, HPLC and gel filtration chromatography showed organics with molecular weight (MW) < 1000 were well degraded. Results from the high-throughput sequencing of full-length 16S rRNA genes analysis showed similar microbial community compositions were obtained for the reactors fed with either R-HTLWW or PE-HTLWW. The degradation of fatty acids were related with Mesotoga infera , Syntrophomonas wolfei et al. by species level identification. However, the species related to the degradation of other compounds (e.g. phenols) were not found, which could be due to the presence of uncharacterized microorganisms. It was also found previously proposed criteria (97% and 98.65% similarity) for species identification of 16S rRNA genes were not suitable for a fraction of 16S rRNA genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study compared the mesophilic and thermophilic alkaline fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) for hydrogen production with focus on homoacetogenesis, which mediated the consumption of H 2 and CO 2 for acetate production. Batch experiments showed that hydrogen yield of WAS increased from 19.2 mL H 2 /gVSS at 37 °C and pH 10–80.1 mL H 2 /gVSS at 55 °C and pH 10. However, the production of volatile fatty acids (mainly acetate) was higher at 37 °C and pH 10 by comparison with 55 °C and pH 10. Hydrogen consumption due to homoacetogenesis was observed at 37 °C and pH 10 but not 55 °C and pH 10. Higher expression levels of genes relating with homoacetogenesis and lower expression levels of genes relating with hydrogen production were found at 37 °C and pH 10 compared to 55 °C and pH 10. The continuous experiment demonstrated the steady-state hydrogen yield of WAS was comparable to that obtained from batch experiments at 55 °C and pH 10, and homoacetogenesis was still inhibited. However, the steady-state hydrogen yield of WAS (6.5 mL H 2 /gVSS) was much lower than that (19.2 mL H 2 /gVSS) obtained from batch experiments at 37 °C and pH 10 due to the gradual enrichment of homoacetogens as demonstrated by qPCR analysis. The high-throughput sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that the abundance of genus Clostridium , containing several homoacetogens, was 5 times higher at 37 °C and pH 10 than 55 °C and pH 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptide-decorated dendrimers (PDDs) are a class of spherical, regular, branched polymers that are modified by peptides covalently attached to their surface. PDDs have been used as protein mimetics, novel biomaterials, and in a wide range of biomedical applications. Since their design and development in the late eighties, poly- l-lysine has been a preferred core structure for PDDs. However, numerous recent innovations in polymer synthesis and ligation chemistry have re-energized the field and led to the emergence of well-defined peptide dendrimers with more diverse core structures and functions. This Minireview highlights the development of PDDs driven by significantly improved ligation chemistry incorporating structurally well-defined peptides and the emerging use of PDDs in imaging and drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptid‐dekorierte Dendrimere (PDDs) bilden eine Klasse kugelförmiger, regulärer, verzweigter Polymere, die an ihren Oberflächen kovalent durch Peptide modifiziert sind. PDDs sind als Proteinmimetika, neuartige Biomaterialien sowie für ein breites Spektrum biomedizinischer Anwendungen zum Einsatz gekommen. Seit ihrer Konzeption und Entwicklung in den späten 1980er Jahren ist Poly‐l‐lysin die bevorzugte Kernstruktur für PDDs. Jüngst haben zahlreiche Innovationen in der Polymer‐ und Ligationschemie das Feld neu belebt. Dies hat dazu geführt, dass heute wohldefinierte Dendrimere mit vielfältigeren Strukturen und Funktionen vorliegen. Dieser Kurzaufsatz beleuchtet die Entwicklung von PDDs als Produkte einer signifikant verbesserten Ligationschemie unter Einbeziehung strukturell wohldefinierter Peptide sowie erste Anwendungen von PDDs in den Bereichen Bildgebung und Wirkstoffentwicklung. Peptid‐Dekomaterial: Peptid‐dekorierte Dendrimere (PDDs) sind eine Klasse sphärischer Polymere mit kovalent an ihren Oberflächen angebrachten Peptiden mit Anwendungen in der Bildgebung und Wirkstoffentwicklung. Dieser Kurzaufsatz präsentiert Anwendungen in der Biologie und beschreibt die Entwicklung von PDD‐Synthesen, bei denen verschiedene chemische Konjugationen genutzt werden. Grüne Kugel: Peptid, blaue Struktur: Dendrimergerüst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for the conversion of CO to H 2 was developed by anaerobic mixed culture in the current study. Higher CO consumption rate was obtained by anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) compared to waste activated sludge (WAS) at 55 °C and pH 7.5. However, H 2 was the intermediate and CH 4 was the final product. Fermentation at pH 5.5 by AGS inhibited CH 4 production, while the lower CO consumption rate (50% of that at pH 7.5) and the production of acetate were found. Fermentation at pH 7.5 with the addition of chloroform achieved efficient and selective conversion of CO to H 2 . Stable and efficient H 2 production was achieved in a continuous reactor inoculated with AGS, and gas recirculation was crucial to increase the CO conversion efficiency. Microbial community analysis showed that high abundance (44%) of unclassified sequences and low relative abundance (1%) of known CO-utilizing bacteria Desulfotomaculum were enriched in the reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-cardiomyocytes (non-CMs) play an important role in the process of cardiac remodeling of chronic heart failure. The mechanism of non-CMs transit and interact with each other remains largely unknown. Here, we try to characterize the cellular landscape of non-CMs in mice with chronic heart failure by using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and provide potential therapeutic hunts. Cellular and molecular analysis revealed that the most affected cellular types are mainly fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Specially, Fib_0 cluster, the most abundant cluster in fibroblasts, was the only increased one, enriched for collagen synthesis genes such as Adamts4 and Crem, which might be responsible for the fibrosis in cardiac remodeling. End_0 cluster in endothelial cells was also the most abundant and only increased one, which has an effect of blood vessel morphogenesis. Cell communication further confirmed that fibroblasts and endothelial cells are the driving hubs in chronic heart failure. Furthermore, using fibroblasts and endothelial cells as the entry point of CMap technology, histone deacetylation (HDAC) inhibitors and HSP inhibitors were identified as potential anti-heart failure new drugs, which should be evaluated in the future. The combined application of scRNA-seq and CMap might be an effective way to achieve drug repositioning. [Display omitted] • Comprehensive transcriptional landscape of non-cardiomyocytes in the failing heart of mice. • Detection of major cell types and characterization of transcriptional heterogeneity. • Identified and characterized unique fibroblasts and endothelial cells subcluster. • Cell-Cell communication patterns after heart failure • Identified HDAC inhibitors and HSP inhibitors as potential anti-heart failure new drugs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation plays an important role in the development of heart failure (HF) after myocardial infarction (MI). Suppression of post-infarction inflammatory cascade has become a new strategy to delay or block the progression of HF. At present, there are no approved anti-inflammatory drugs used to prevent HF following MI. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used clinically for cardiovascular disease for a long time. Here, we summarized the recent progress about some TCM which could both improve cardiac function and inhibit inflammation in patients or experimental models with MI or HF, in order to provide evidence for their potential application in reducing the onset of HF following MI. Among them, single Chinese medicinal herbs (eg. Astragalus and Salvia miltiorrhiza) and Chinese herbal formulas (eg. Gualou Xiebai Decoction and Sini Tang) are discussed separately. The main targets for their anti-inflammation effect are mainly involved the TLR4/NF-κB signaling, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 or TNF-α. It is worthy of further evaluating their potential, experimentally or clinically, in the prevention or delay of HF following MI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) mostly originates from tumors and its level correlates with treatment. We assessed whether the level of plasma cfDNA could help monitor recurrence after nephrectomy. Methods: This study included 92 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (cRCC). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the level of plasma cfDNA before and after nephrectomy. Results: The pretreatment level of plasma cfDNA in patients with metastatic cRCC (6.04 ± 0.72) was significantly higher than in those with localized cRCC (5.29 ± 0.53, p = 0.017) or controls (0.65 ± 0.29, p < 0.001). Of patients with localized cRCC, those with recurrence had a significantly higher plasma cfDNA level than those without (p = 0.024). The patients with a high plasma cfDNA level had a significantly higher recurrence rate than those with a low plasma cfDNA level before and after nephrectomy (p = 0.018). Conclusion: The level of plasma cfDNA may be useful as a tool to monitor patients during follow-up and guide further diagnostic work-up for the detection of recurrence. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High-quality colonoscopy is essential to prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancers. The data of colonoscopy are mainly stored in the form of images. Therefore, artificial intelligence-assisted colonoscopy based on medical images is not only a research hotspot, but also one of the effective auxiliary means to improve the detection rate of adenomas. This research has become the focus of medical institutions and scientific research departments and has important clinical and scientific research value. Methods: In this paper, we propose a YOLOv5 model based on a self-attention mechanism for polyp target detection. This method uses the idea of regression, using the entire image as the input of the network and directly returning the target frame of this position in multiple positions of the image. In the feature extraction process, an attention mechanism is added to enhance the contribution of information-rich feature channels and weaken the interference of useless channels; Results: The experimental results show that the method can accurately identify polyp images, especially for the small polyps and the polyps with inconspicuous contrasts, and the detection speed is greatly improved compared with the comparison algorithm. Conclusions: This study will be of great help in reducing the missed diagnosis of clinicians during endoscopy and treatment, and it is also of great significance to the development of clinicians' clinical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft robotics is one of the most popular areas in the field of robotics due to advancements in bionic technology, novel materials, and additive manufacturing. Existing soft crawling robots with specific structures have a single locomotion mode and cannot complete turning. Moreover, some silicone-based robots lack stiffness, leading to unstable movements especially when climbing walls, and have limited environmental adaptability. Therefore, in this study, a novel crawling soft robot with a multi-movement mode and high environmental adaptability is proposed. As the main structure of the robot, pneumatic single-channeled and double-channeled actuators are designed, inspired by the worm's somite expansion and contraction. Model-based methods are employed to evaluate and analyze the characteristics of the actuators. By the application of selective laser sintering technology and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material, the fabricated actuators with an auxetic cavity structure are able to maintain a certain stiffness. Via the coordination between the actuators and the suckers, two locomotion modes—straight-line and turning—are realized. In the testing, the speed of straight-line crawling was 7.15 mm/s, and the single maximum turning angle was 28.8 degrees. The testing verified that the robot could realize crawling on flat ground, slopes, and smooth vertical walls with a certain stability and equipment-carrying capacity. This research could lay the foundation for subsequent applications, including large tank interior inspections, civil aviation fuselage and wing inspections, and wall-cleaning in high-rise buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The amount of ice in both unfrozen steamed bread dough (UFD) and prefermented frozen steamed bread dough (PFD) with and without glycerol was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The quality of unfrozen steamed bread (UFB)/prefermented frozen dough steamed bread (PFB) was also evaluated. Frozen stability and steaming performance of prefermented frozen dough were negatively correlated with ice crystal growth. Glycerol effectively prevented the formation of ice crystals during freezing and frozen storage, maintaining the quality of steamed bread from prefermented frozen dough even over a period of 30 days. The best steamed bread performance was observed with the dough containing 2% of glycerol (flour weight basis) addition. Prefermenting conditions significantly affected the quality of UFB/PFB. The highest quality scores of steamed bread from prefermented frozen dough were obtained from 32°C and 85% rh for 40min. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

At present, there are still no official or semi-official recommendations for the treatment of muscle fatigue. We previously reported that acute phase protein orosomucoid (ORM) can enhance muscle endurance and exert anti-fatigue effect. In attempting to seek anti-fatigue drugs that target ORM, we found macrolide antibiotics, particularly erythromycin, were effective. Erythromycin can significantly prolong the time of mice forced-swimming and treadmill running, increase muscle fatigue index, alleviate fatigue-induced tissue damage, and elevate glycogen content, mitochondria function and ATP level in the muscle. Also, erythromycin increases ORM protein expression in a dose- and time- dependent manner both in vitro and in vivo. Further studies found that erythromycin could increase the activity of ORM promoter and the stability of ORM mRNA, which might both be responsible for the ORM up-regulation. ORM knockdown or knockout could abolish the promoting effect of erythromycin in mice forced-swimming time, muscle fatigue index and glycogen level. Furthermore, those effects were also abolished in mice with C-C motif chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) antagonist administration or AMPKα2 deficiency. Therefore, erythromycin could enhance muscle glycogen and endurance via up-regulating the level of ORM and activating CCR5-AMPK pathway, indicating it might act as a potential drug to treat muscle fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• LncRNAs, as the emerging master regulators, play an indispensable role in heart failure. • Explore basic characterization of lncRNAs, involving sequence, coding capacity, subcellular localization and subcellular localization of LncRNAs. • Determinate of lncRNA function: loss-of-function strategies and gain-of-function strategies in heart failure. • Map lncRNA interactions categorized into three points: lncRNA interacts with RNA; lncRNA binds to proteins; lncRNA interacts with chromatin. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) was once considered to be the "noise" of genome transcription without biological function. However, increasing evidence shows that lncRNA is dynamically expressed in developmental stage or disease status, playing a regulatory role in the process of gene expression and translation. In recent years, lncRNA is considered to be a core node of functional regulatory networks that controls cardiac and also involves in multiple process of heart failure such as myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, angiogenesis, etc., which would be a therapeutic target for diseases. In fact, it is the development of technology that has improved our understanding of lncRNAs and broadened our perspective on heart failure. From transcriptional "noise" to star molecule, progress of lncRNAs can't be achieved without the combination of multidisciplinary technologies, especially the emergence of high-throughput approach. Thus, here, we review the strategies and technologies available for the exploration lncRNAs and try to yield insights into the prospect of lncRNAs in clinical diagnosis and treatment in heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-effect of AS- IV in HF. Heart failure (HF) has become a worldwide public health problem that seriously threatens human's health. Due to "multi-target" effect, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in this field. Chinese herb-derived active components would provide valuable candidate compounds for new drug development. Astragaloside IV(AS-IV) is a main effective ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus , a commonly used Chinese patent medicine for the patients with chronic heart failure(CHF). Our aim is to review the recent progresses of AS-IV in HF, and provide potential evidence for its clinical application. Data showed that AS-IV could protect myocardial ischemia, regulate sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, promote angiogenesis, improve energy metabolism, inhibit cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, reduce myocardial cell apoptosis, etc , which are direct or indirect involved in the beneficial effects of AS-IV in rodents or cellular models of HF. AS-IV or its derivatives may act as a potential therapeutic drug in the clinical treatment of HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic fingerprints in serum characterize diverse diseases for diagnostics and biomarker discovery. The identification of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by serum metabolic fingerprints (SMFs) will facilitate precision medicine in SLE in an early and designed manner. Here, a discovery cohort of 731 individuals including 357 SLE patients and 374 healthy controls (HCs), and a validation cohort of 184 individuals (SLE/HC, 91/93) are constructed. Each SMF is directly recorded by nano‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) within 1 minute using 1 µL of native serum, which contains 908 mass to charge features. Sparse learning of SMFs achieves the SLE identification with sensitivity/specificity and area‐under‐the‐curve (AUC) up to 86.0%/92.0% and 0.950 for the discovery cohort. For the independent validation cohort, it exhibits no performance loss by affording the sensitivity/specificity and AUC of 89.0%/100.0% and 0.992. Notably, a metabolic biomarker panel is screened out from the SMFs, demonstrating the unique metabolic pattern of SLE patients different from both HCs and rheumatoid arthritis patients. In conclusion, SMFs characterize SLE by revealing its unique metabolic pattern. Different regulation of small molecule metabolites contributes to the precise diagnosis of autoimmune disease and further exploration of the pathogenic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro diagnosis (IVD) is pivotal in modern medicine, enabling early disease detection and treatment optimization. Omics technologies, particularly proteomics and metabolomics, offer profound insights into IVD. Despite its significance, omics analyses for IVD face challenges, including low analyte concentrations and the complexity of biological environments. In addition, the direct omics analysis by mass spectrometry (MS) is often hampered by issues like large sample volume requirements and poor ionization efficiency. Through manipulating their size, surface charge, and functionalization, as well as the nanoparticle‐fluid incubation conditions, nanomaterials have emerged as a promising solution to extract biomolecules and enhance the desorption/ionization efficiency in MS detection. This review delves into the last five years of nanomaterial applications in omics, focusing on their role in the enrichment, separation, and ionization analysis of proteins and metabolites for IVD. It aims to provide a comprehensive update on nanomaterial design and application in omics, highlighting their potential to revolutionize IVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we designed alkylated lysine-dendron oxytocin amphiphiles (ALOAs) 1G-OTK and 2G-OTK, which were self-assembled into spherical nanoparticles and nanostrips, respectively, and showed superior stability compared to native oxytocin. We found similar trends in the functional activity of ALOAs and native OT for human oxytocin receptor. This work may inspire the development of peptide drugs for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous metal–organic frameworks (aMOFs) are an emerging family of attractive materials with great application potential, however aMOFs are usually prepared under harsh conditions and aMOFs with complex compositions and structures are rarely reported. In this work, an aMOF‐dominated nanocomposite (aMOF‐NC) with both structural and compositional complexity has been synthesized using a facile approach. A ligand‐competition amorphization mechanism is proposed based on experimental and density functional theory calculation results. The aMOF‐NC possesses a core–shell nanorod@nanosheet architecture, including a Fe‐rich Fe‐Co‐aMOF core and a Co‐rich Fe‐Co‐aMOF shell in the core–shell structured nanorod, and amorphous Co(OH)2 nanosheets as the outer layer. Benefiting from the structural and compositional heterogeneity, the aMOF‐NC demonstrates an excellent oxygen evolution reaction activity with a low overpotential of 249 mV at 10.0 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of 39.5 mV dec−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous metal–organic frameworks (aMOFs) are an emerging family of attractive materials with great application potential, however aMOFs are usually prepared under harsh conditions and aMOFs with complex compositions and structures are rarely reported. In this work, an aMOF‐dominated nanocomposite (aMOF‐NC) with both structural and compositional complexity has been synthesized using a facile approach. A ligand‐competition amorphization mechanism is proposed based on experimental and density functional theory calculation results. The aMOF‐NC possesses a core–shell nanorod@nanosheet architecture, including a Fe‐rich Fe‐Co‐aMOF core and a Co‐rich Fe‐Co‐aMOF shell in the core–shell structured nanorod, and amorphous Co(OH)2 nanosheets as the outer layer. Benefiting from the structural and compositional heterogeneity, the aMOF‐NC demonstrates an excellent oxygen evolution reaction activity with a low overpotential of 249 mV at 10.0 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of 39.5 mV dec−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: [synthetic routes and selected applications in imaging, drug developement and bioapplications; 79 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sulfur mustard (SM) is a highly toxic chemical warfare agent that has caused numerous casualties during wars and conflicts in the past century. Specific antidotes or therapeutic strategies are rare due to the complicated mechanism of toxicity, which still awaits elucidation. Clinical data show that acute lung injury (ALI) is responsible for most mortality and morbidity after SM exposure. Extracellular vesicles are natural materials that participate in intercellular communication by delivering various substances and can be modified. In this study, we aim to show that extracellular vesicles derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (hucMSC-EVs) could exert therapeutic effects on SM-induced ALI, and to explain the underlying mechanism of effects. Methods: MiR-146a-5p contained in hucMSC-EVs may be involved in the process of hucMSC-EVs modulating the inflammatory response to SM-induced ALI. We utilized miR-146a-5p delivered by extracellular vesicles and further modified hucMSCs with a miR-146a-5p mimic or inhibitor to collect miR-146a-5p-overexpressing extracellular vesicles (miR-146a-5p+-EVs) or miR-146a-5p-underexpressing extracellular vesicles (miR-146a-5p−-EVs), respectively. Through in vivo and in vitro experiments, we investigated the mechanism. Results: The effect of miR-146a-5p+-EVs on improving the inflammatory reaction tied to SM injury was better than that of hucMSC-EVs. We demonstrated that miR-146a-5p delivered by hucMSC-EVs targeted TRAF6 to negatively regulate inflammation in SM-induced ALI models in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: In summary, miR-146a-5p delivered by hucMSC-EVs targeted TRAF6, causing hucMSC-EVs to exert anti-inflammatory effects in SM-induced ALI; thus, hucMSC-EVs treatment may be a promising clinical therapeutic after SM exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different pretreatment methods on anaerobic H2 production from a sucrose-rich synthetic wastewater was investigated in this work. The substrate utilization, formation of aqueous products, H2 production and microbial diversity in anaerobic sludge all markedly depended on these pretreatment methods. The highest H2 production according to the values for the maximum H2 production rate of 27.57 ml h-1, specific H2 production rate of 2.962 ml g-VSS h-1, and H2 yield of 1.617 mol H2 mol glucose-1 was observed in the H2 production by the sludge pretreated with butyrate (pH = 2). Correspondingly, the main microbial communities were Clostridium sp. HPB-16, Clostridium sp. HPB-46, Clostridium sp. HPB-2, Clostridium sp. HPB-4, Oxalobacteraceae bacterium QD1, uncultured bacterium clone HPR93, uncultured Olsenella sp. clone J27, and uncultured bacterium clone SR_FBR_E5. This result demonstrates that acid pretreatment such as butyrate could be also as an effective method to enrich H2-producing bacteria from anaerobic sludge for large-scale biological H2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ras–GAP SH3 domain binding proteins (G3BPs) are a family of RNA-binding proteins that include G3BP1 and G3BP2 in mammals. The protein structure of G3BP2 allows it to bind with RNA or protein and regulate the nucleoplasmic shuttle, therefore participating in a variety of biological functions such as cell growth, differentiation and migration, and RNA and protein metabolism. G3BP2 is abnormally expressed in many tumors and diseases, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, cardiac hypertrophy, and atherosclerosis. Many researchers have found that G3BP2 may be a potential therapeutic target. In this review, we examine the structure and expression regulation of G3BP2, and further summarize the function of G3BP2 from three aspects: RNA stabilization, protein subcellular localization, and stress granules assembling to provide a broader understanding of the role of G3BP2. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi‐modal serum profiling platform holds promise for precision diagnosis of diseases. Still, advanced tools are in demand to deliver the multi‐modal serum profiling. Herein, a bimodal spectrometric protocol is designed for stoke serum profiling using an alloy platform, by integrating label‐free surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI‐MS). The PdAu@Au concave cube with a wide localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) range simultaneously enhances the signals from SERS and LDI‐MS, enabling high‐throughput co‐detection of vibrational and metabolic fingerprints of 0.1 µL serum in 2 min with simple pretreatment. Further, a dual‐fingerprints screening model of stroke is constructed, by adaptive machine learning with a programming nonlinear fitting model. The area under the curve are 0.949 (0.917–0.977, 95% confidence interval (CI)) and 0.911 (0.812–0.984, 95% CI), in the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. Finally, five metabolites are identified that correlated to SERS signals and mapped the relevant pathways. This study features high performance in terms of throughput, speed, sample volume, and accuracy, providing new insight into the construction of multiplexed characterization platforms for precision diagnostic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), revealed cardioprotective effects in both experimental models and human. There is far less information on the mechanisms that produce antiatherogenic effects. We assessed the expression of acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT-1) and  adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), which have been implicated in regulating cellular cholesterol homeostasis and therefore play critical roles in foam cell formation, in THP-1-derived foam cells in the presence of various concentration of ghrelin. Methods: After 48 h of culture in the presence of phorbol myristate acetate, THP-1 monocytes differentiated to macrophages. After another 24 h of culture with ox-LDL, the differentiated cells transformed to foam cells. Different concentrations of ghrelin and other intervention factors were added, respectively. The expression of ACAT-1 and ABCA1 was detected by a technique in molecular biology. The content of cellular cholesterol was measured by zymochemistry via a fluorospectrophotometer. Results: Ghrelin could down-regulate the expression of ACAT-1 and up-regulate the expression of ABCA1 in a dose-dependent manner simultaneously. Ghrelin also decreased cellular cholesterol content and increased cholesterol efflux. These effects could be abolished by the specific antagonist of GHS-R and a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)-specific inhibitor, respectively. Conclusions: The results suggest that ghrelin inhibited foam cell formation via simultaneously down-regulating the expression of ACAT-1 and up-regulating ABCA1. Those effects may be achieved via pathways involving GHS-R and PPARγ. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Simple Summary: In the past, radiomics studies of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were only based on basic MR sequences. Previous studies have shown that radiomics methods based on T2-weighted imaging and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging have been successfully used to improve the prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to explore the predictive efficacy of radiomics analyses based on readout-segmented echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging (RESOLVE-DWI) which quantitatively reflects the diffusion motion of water molecules for prognosis evaluation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Several prognostic radiomics models were established by using diffusion-weighted imaging, apparent diffusion coefficient maps, T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging to predict the risk of recurrence or metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the predictive effects of different models were compared. The results show that the model based on MRI DWI can successfully predict the prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and has higher predictive efficiency than the model based on the conventional sequence, which suggests MRI DWI-radiomics can provide a useful and alternative approach for survival estimation. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the predictive efficacy of radiomics analyses based on readout-segmented echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging (RESOLVE-DWI) for prognosis evaluation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in order to provide further information for clinical decision making and intervention. Methods: A total of 154 patients with untreated NPC confirmed by pathological examination were enrolled, and the pretreatment magnetic resonance image (MRI)—including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-T1WI)—was collected. The Random Forest (RF) algorithm selected radiomics features and established the machine-learning models. Five models, namely model 1 (DWI + ADC), model 2 (T2WI + CE-T1WI), model 3 (DWI + ADC + T2WI), model 4 (DWI + ADC + CE-T1WI), and model 5 (DWI + ADC + T2WI + CE-T1WI), were constructed. The average area under the curve (AUC) of the validation set was determined in order to compare the predictive efficacy for prognosis evaluation. Results: After adjusting the parameters, the RF machine learning models based on extracted imaging features from different sequence combinations were obtained. The invalidation sets of model 1 (DWI + ADC) yielded the highest average AUC of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.79–0.81). The average AUCs of the model 2, 3, 4, and 5 invalidation sets were 0.72 (95% CI: 0.71–0.74), 0.66 (95% CI: 0.64–0.68), 0.74 (95% CI: 0.73–0.75), and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.74–0.76), respectively. Conclusion: A radiomics model derived from the MRI DWI of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma was generated in order to evaluate the risk of recurrence and metastasis. The model based on MRI DWI can provide an alternative approach for survival estimation, and can reveal more information for clinical decision-making and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of semiconducting metal‐organic framework based heterostructures is emerging as a promising strategy for enhancing their photocatalytic performances. Here, tetrapod‐like NH2‐MIL‐125@ZnS heterostructures with tunable heterojunction coverage and well‐matched band structure are synthesized as photocatalysts. When used for photocatalytic O2 reduction reaction, a heterojunction coverage of ≈45.1% leads to the best performance with a hydrogen peroxide production rate of ≈120 mm g−1 h−1, outperforming control samples with either larger or smaller heterojunction coverages and most reported MOF based photocatalysts in similar reaction systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in the Raman spectra of pyrite were studied from 113 to 853 K at room pressure with a Linkam heating and freezing stage, and for 297–513 K and pressures up to 1.9 GPa with a hydrothermal diamond anvil cell. All observed frequencies decreased continuously with an increase in temperatures up to 653 K at ambient pressure. Hematite began to form at 653 K, all pyrite had transformed to hematite (H) at 688 K, and the hematite melted at 853 K. An increase in temperature at every initial pressure (group 1: 0.5 GPa, group 2: 1.1 GPa, group 3: 1.7 GPa, group 4: 1.9 GPa), showed no evidence for chemical reaction or pyrite decomposition. Two or three Raman modes were observed because of crystal orientation or temperature-induced fluorescence effects. The pressure groups showed a decreasing trend of frequency with gradual heating. The interaction of pressure and temperature led to a gradual decrease in Ag and Eg mode at a lower pressure (0.5 GPa and 1.1 GPa) than other pressure groups. Pressure and temperature effects are evident for groups 1 and 2; however, for groups 3 and 4, the temperature shows a larger effect than pressure and leads to a sharp decrease in Ag and Eg modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic analysis in biofluids interprets the end products in the bioprocess, emerging as an irreplaceable disease diagnosis and monitoring platform. Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS)‐based metabolic analysis holds great potential for clinical applications in terms of high throughput, rapid signal readout, and minimal sample preparation. There are two essential elements to construct the LDI MS‐based metabolic analysis: 1) well‐designed nanomaterials as matrices; 2) machine learning algorithms for data analysis. This review highlights the development of various inorganic matrices to comprehend the advantages of LDI MS in metabolite detection and the recent diagnostic applications based on target metabolite detection and untargeted metabolic fingerprints in biological fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐temperature treatment of metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) is a promising route to prepare a variety of functional materials with diverse applications. However, it is challenging to prepare highly crystalline metal oxides such as TiO2 with controllable structures and morphologies via direct calcination of MOFs. Here, we report a soft interface adaptive transformation strategy for the synthesis of MOFs derived TiO2 nanoparticles with elaborate structures. The soft interface is constructed by coating a thin silica layer on the external surface of Ti‐MOFs with an octahedral morphology. This soft interface can partially adapt to the significant shrinkage and counteract the contraction force during the MOFs‐to‐TiO2 conversion. As a result, TiO2 hollow octahedrons are formed with a concave morphology, high specific surface area, abundant oxygen vacancy sites, and consequently enhanced photocatalytic activity, which cannot be obtained by direct calcination or coating a thick/rigid silica layer. The opposite impact of the interface on MOFs derived metal oxides and carbon materials is further elucidated. This contribution provides new understandings in the synthesis of MOFs derived functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method for producing graphene/hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) composite with a fine dispersion of graphene is established. The thermoresponsive HPC, with low a critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior, becomes self-associated into nanospheres when its homogeneous solution is heated to a temperature higher than the LCST. The formed nanospheres of HPC can then 'clamp' graphene layers and get them finely dispersed in solution and in the polymer matrix. Incorporating graphene via this method can largely prevent graphene from agglomeration. Compared with the conventional casting method, the proposed LCST method can further enhance the electrical conductivity of HPC/graphene composites by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The percolation threshold value of RGO loading is as low as 0.11 vol%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationally designed carbon materials with superstructures are promising candidates in applications such as electrocatalysis. However, the synthesis of highly porous carbon superstructures with macropores and carbon defects from a simple crystalline solid remains challenging. In this work, superstructured macroporous carbon rods composed of defective graphitic nanosheets are synthesized by direct carbonization of crystalline poly tannic acid (PTA) rods as precursors. During carbonization, PTA rods with a highly ordered lamellar structure induce a spatially confined two‐step localized contraction that takes place in different dimensions and directions in each step. The unexpected contraction behavior results in the sponge‐like macroporous carbon superstructure with large surface area, high porosity, and abundant defects, thus showing a superior electrocatalytic performance with high activity and selectivity for oxygen reduction reaction. The study provides new understandings in the design of functional carbon materials with distinctive structures and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia (SZ) detection enables effective treatment to improve the clinical outcome, but objective and reliable SZ diagnostics are still limited. An ideal diagnosis of SZ suited for robust clinical screening must address detection throughput, low invasiveness, and diagnosis accuracy. Herein, we built a multi‐shelled hollow Cr2O3 spheres (MHCSs) assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) platform for the direct metabolic profiling of biofluids towards SZ diagnostics. The MHCSs displayed strong light absorption for enhanced ionization and microscale surface roughness with stability for the effective LDI of metabolites. We profiled urine and serum metabolites (≈1 μL) with the enhanced LDI efficacy in seconds. We discriminated SZ patients (SZs) from healthy controls (HCs) with the highest area under the curve (AUC) value of 1.000 for the blind test. We identified four compounds with optimal diagnostic power as a simplified metabolite panel for SZ and demonstrated the metabolite quantification for clinic use. Our approach accelerates the growth of new platforms toward a precision diagnosis in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia (SZ) detection enables effective treatment to improve the clinical outcome, but objective and reliable SZ diagnostics are still limited. An ideal diagnosis of SZ suited for robust clinical screening must address detection throughput, low invasiveness, and diagnosis accuracy. Herein, we built a multi‐shelled hollow Cr2O3 spheres (MHCSs) assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) platform for the direct metabolic profiling of biofluids towards SZ diagnostics. The MHCSs displayed strong light absorption for enhanced ionization and microscale surface roughness with stability for the effective LDI of metabolites. We profiled urine and serum metabolites (≈1 μL) with the enhanced LDI efficacy in seconds. We discriminated SZ patients (SZs) from healthy controls (HCs) with the highest area under the curve (AUC) value of 1.000 for the blind test. We identified four compounds with optimal diagnostic power as a simplified metabolite panel for SZ and demonstrated the metabolite quantification for clinic use. Our approach accelerates the growth of new platforms toward a precision diagnosis in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MOF-on-MOF hybrids exhibit distinctive properties compared to single MOF. • This is the first review dedicated to the advances of MOF-on-MOF hybrids. • The synthetic strategies and structures of MOF-on-MOF hybrids are presented. • The potentials of MOF-on-MOF hybrids in selected applications are demonstrated. • Challenges and future directions of MOF-on-MOF hybrids are discussed. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of porous crystalline materials with diverse applications, the properties of which are dependent on their structures including both compositions and architectures. The intensive research of MOFs has led to an emerging family of MOF-on-MOF hybrid materials constructed by the conjugation of two or more MOFs units. The advances in the field of MOFs have been summarized in numerous excellent reviews on single MOFs, MOFs-based composites via conjugation with non-MOF materials and their derivates. However, there is a lack of dedicated review on MOF-on-MOF hybrids. Within this context, herein we provide a timely and comprehensive summary on the achievements of MOF-on-MOF hybrids. An introduction of the synthetic strategy/formation mechanism is firstly presented to explain the interaction between host and guest MOFs. Then, the structural diversity in MOF-on-MOF systems is discussed in detail to demonstrate how MOF-on-MOF hybrid systems enable advances in various applications. Finally, challenges and future directions of MOF-on-MOF development are described as our own perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste activated sludge (WAS) from wastewater treatment plants is an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The fate of ARGs in this process was not revealed previously. The present study applied metagenomic approach to examine the occurrence and fate of ARGs in thermophilic alkaline fermentation followed by mesophilic anaerobic digestion (TM), by comparison with mesophilic alkaline fermentation followed by mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MM) and one-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion (M) process. The removal efficiency of two-stage anaerobic digestion (AD) to total ARGs is higher than that of one-stage AD. The hydrogen and methane production stages of two-stage AD processes have dissimilar impact on the fate of ARGs. Macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin (MLS) resistance genes were enriched, especially in the hydrogen production reactors of TM and MM processes. Statistical analysis of metagenomic profiles analysis suggested that bac A may be the differential ARG subtype of two-stage AD process. ARG-like sequences encoding antibiotic efflux pump, antibiotic inactivation and antibiotic target alteration mechanisms were identified as the dominant ARGs resistance mechanisms in all samples. Procrustes analysis showed that microbial community composition structured the resistome. Co-occurrence patterns between ARGs and microbial phylogeny revealed that 26 bacterial species might be potential hosts of 94 ARG subtypes. ga1 • Two-stage anaerobic digestion caused a more great elimination of the total ARGs. • MLS were enriched in hydrogen production reactor of two-stage anaerobic digestion. • bac A may be the differential ARG subtype of two-stage anaerobic digestion. • Microbial community composition determined the ARGs composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) for quantum dots (QDs) enrichment and signal amplification is an emerging strategy for improving the detection sensitivity of lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). In this study, a new and convenient approach is developed to prepare water‐dispersible DMSNs‐QDs. A series of DMSNs with various diameters (138, 251, 368, and 471 nm) are studied for loading QDs and LFIA applications. The resultant water‐dispersible DMSNs‐QDs exhibit a high fluorescence retention of 81.8%. The increase in particle size from 138 to 471 nm results in an increase in loading capacity of QDs and a decrease in binding quantity of the DMSNs‐QDs in the test line of LFIA. This trade‐off leads to an optimal DMSNs‐QDs size of 368 nm with a limit of detection reaching 10 pg mL−1 (equivalent to 9.0 × 10−14m) for the detection of C‐reactive protein, which is nearly an order of magnitude more sensitive than the literature. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the distinctive role of DMSN's size for QDs enrichment and LFIA. The strategy developed from this work is useful for the rational design of high‐quality QDs‐based nanoparticles for ultrasensitive detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the carcinogenic risk of herbs containing aristolochic acids (AAs) is a global health issue, quantitative evaluation of toxicity is needed for the regulatory decision-making and risk assessment of AAs. In this study, we selected AA I (AAI), the most abundant and representative compound in AAs, to treat transgenic gpt delta mice at six gradient doses ranging from 0.125 to 4 mg/kg/day for 28 days. AAI-DNA adduct frequencies and gpt gene mutation frequencies (MFs) in the kidney, as well as Pig-a gene MFs and micronucleated reticulocytes (MN-RETs) frequencies in peripheral blood, were monitored. The dose–response (DR) relationship data for these in vivo genotoxicity endpoints were quantitatively evaluated using an advanced benchmark dose (BMD) approach with different critical effect sizes (CESs; i.e. BMD5, BMD10, BMD50 and BMD100). The results showed that the AAI-DNA adduct frequencies, gpt MFs and the MN-RETs presented good DR relationship to the administrated doses, and the corresponding BMDL100 (the lower 90% confidence interval of the BMD100) values were 0.017, 0.509 and 3.9 mg/kg/day, respectively. No positive responses were observed in the Pig-a MFs due to bone marrow suppression caused by AAI. Overall, we quantitatively evaluated the genotoxicity of AAI at low doses for multiple endpoints for the first time. Comparisons of BMD100 values across different endpoints provide a basis for the risk assessment and regulatory decision-making of AAs and are also valuable for understanding the genotoxicity mechanism of AAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described here is that Au−C≡C bonds showed the highest stability under biological conditions, with abundant thiols, and the best electrochemical performance compared to Au−S and Au−Se bonds. The new finding was also confirmed by theorical calculations. Based on this finding, a specific molecule for recognition of Fe2+ was designed and synthesized, and used to create a selective and accurate electrochemical sensor for the quantification of Fe2+. The present ratiometric strategy demonstrates high spatial resolution for real‐time tracking of Fe2+ in a dynamic range of 0.2–120 μM. Finally, a microelectrode array with good biocompatibility was applied in imaging and biosensing of Fe2+ in the different regions of live mouse brains. Using this tool, it was discovered that the uptake of extracellular Fe2+ into the cortex and striatum was largely mediated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) through the CREB‐related pathway in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described here is that Au−C≡C bonds showed the highest stability under biological conditions, with abundant thiols, and the best electrochemical performance compared to Au−S and Au−Se bonds. The new finding was also confirmed by theorical calculations. Based on this finding, a specific molecule for recognition of Fe2+ was designed and synthesized, and used to create a selective and accurate electrochemical sensor for the quantification of Fe2+. The present ratiometric strategy demonstrates high spatial resolution for real‐time tracking of Fe2+ in a dynamic range of 0.2–120 μM. Finally, a microelectrode array with good biocompatibility was applied in imaging and biosensing of Fe2+ in the different regions of live mouse brains. Using this tool, it was discovered that the uptake of extracellular Fe2+ into the cortex and striatum was largely mediated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) through the CREB‐related pathway in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]