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Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a lethal disease caused by inordinate repair of damaged lungs, for which limited strategies are available. Polyphyllin VI (PPVI), extracted and isolated from Paris polyphylla Smith var. chinensis (Franch.) Hara, has been regarded as an important traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of respiratory system diseases. This study evaluated effects of PPVI on PF and its underlying mechanism. Experimental procedure For evaluating the anti‐PF effect of PPVI, we established an in vivo PF mouse model via intratracheal infusion of bleomycin (BLM) in mice and an in vitro PF model induced by TGF‐β1 in NIH/3T3, HPF and A549, respectively. Subsequently, the mechanism of PPVI effects was further explored using RNA sequencing (RNA‐Seq). The in vivo and in vitro results demonstrated that PPVI significantly inhibited inflammation, oxidative damage, and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition. Furthermore, RNA sequencing indicated that PPVI ameliorated PF by modulating inflammation and oxidative stress responses. Furthermore, dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6), was the shared and most significant differentially expressed gene associated with inflammation and oxidative stress response after PPVI treatment. Mechanistically, silencing DUSP6 can eliminate the suppressive impact on PPVI for the activation of fibroblast and the phosphorylation of ERK and AKT. Summarily, our findings revealed the potential of PPVI in mitigating PF via upregulating DUSP6 and highlighted the regulatory function of DUSP6 in the pathogenesis of PF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A terahertz photonic crystal fiber with two sensing channels was designed. Graphene coated on the micro-grooves in the cladding was used as plasma material to introduce tunability. The dispersion relation, mode coupling, and sensing characteristics of the fiber were studied using the finite element method. Ultrahigh sensitivity of 2.014 THz/RIU and 0.734 GHz/°C were obtained for analytes with refractive index in the range of 1.33 to 1.4 and environment temperature in the range of 10–60 °C, respectively. Refractive index resolution can reach the order of 10−5. The dual parameter simultaneous detection, dynamic tunable characteristics, and working in the low-frequency range of terahertz enable the designed photonic crystal fiber to have application prospects in the field of biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral metasurfaces have attracted considerable attention because of their immense potential for diverse applications requiring chiral light-matter interactions. Recently, boosted by a mechanism based on the concept of bound states in the continuum (BICs), high Q factor chiroptical resonances have been exhibited by breaking the inversion symmetries of planar metasurfaces. However, the optical chirality of these chiral metasurfaces is generally intolerable with respect to the structural geometries, especially the geometric asymmetry. Here, we present a novel chiral quasi-BIC with strong optical chirality in an all-dielectric metasurface. By simultaneously breaking the in-plane C 2 rotational and mirror symmetries, the chiral metasurface shows enhanced chiroptical resonances with near-unity CD (∼0.996) and high Q factors (∼2274) at terahertz frequencies. Further analyses based on numerical simulations reveal that the CD of the chiroptical resonance depicts exceptional remarkable tolerableness to the geometry asymmetry δ when δ are present in a broad range, while the corresponding Q factor is modulated accordingly. The results may develop a novel approach to manipulating the advanced optical chirality for potential applications requiring strong CD with enhanced light-matter interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Licochalcone A (LCA) is a bioactive chalcone compound identified in licorice. This study aimed to investigate the effects of LCA on glucolipid metabolism and energy homeostasis, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Blood glucose levels, oral glucose tolerance, serum parameters, and histopathology were examined in high‐fat‐high‐glucose diet (HFD)‐induced diabetic mice, with metformin as a positive control. Additionally, changes in key markers related to glucolipid metabolism and mitochondrial function were analyzed to comprehensively assess LCA's effects on metabolism. The results showed that LCA alleviated metabolic abnormalities in HFD‐induced diabetic mice, which were manifested by suppression of lipogenesis, promotion of lipolysis, reduction of hepatic steatosis, increase in hepatic glycogenesis, and decrease in gluconeogenesis. In addition, LCA restored energy homeostasis by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis, enhancing mitophagy, and reducing adenosine triphosphate production. Mechanistically, the metabolic benefits of LCA were associated with the downregulation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 and activation of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase, the two central regulators of metabolism. This study demonstrates that LCA can alleviate abnormal glucolipid metabolism and restore energy balance in diet‐induced diabetic mice, highlighting its therapeutical potential for the treatment of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na3V2(PO4)2O2F (NVPOF) has received considerable interest as a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries because of its high working voltage and good structural/thermal stability. However, the sluggish electrode reaction resulting from its low intrinsic electronic conductivity significantly restricts its electrochemical performance and thus its practical application. Herein, Nb-doped Na3V2−xNbx(PO4)2O2F/graphene (rGO) composites (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1) were prepared using a solvothermal method followed by calcination. Compared to the un-doped NVPOF/rGO, doping V-site with high-valence Nb element (Nb5+) (Na3V1.95Nb0.05(PO4)2O2F/rGO (NVN05POF/rGO)) can result in the generated V4+/V3+ mixed-valence, ensuring the lower bandgap and thus the increased intrinsic electronic conductivity. Besides, the expanded lattice space favors the Na+ migration. With the structure feature where NVN05POF particles are attached to the rGO sheets, the electrode reaction kinetics is further accelerated owing to the well-constructed electron conductive network. As a consequence, the as-prepared NVN05POF/rGO sample exhibits a high specific capacity of ∼72 mAh·g−1 at 10C (capacity retention of 65.2% (vs. 0.5C)) and excellent long-term cycling stability with the capacity fading rate of ∼0.099% per cycle in 500 cycles at 5C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]