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Tunneling splittings observed in molecular rovibrational spectra are significant evidence for tunneling motion of hydrogen nuclei in water clusters. Accurate calculations of the splitting sizes from first principles require a combination of high-quality inter-atomic interactions and rigorous methods to treat the nuclei with quantum mechanics. Many theoretical efforts have been made in recent decades. This Perspective focuses on two path-integral based tunneling splitting methods whose computational cost scales well with the system size, namely, the ring-polymer instanton method and the path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) method. From a simple derivation, we show that the former is a semiclassical approximation to the latter, despite that the two methods are derived very differently. Currently, the PIMD method is considered to be an ideal route to rigorously compute the ground-state tunneling splitting, while the instanton method sacrifices some accuracy for a significantly smaller computational cost. An application scenario of such a quantitatively rigorous calculation is to test and calibrate the potential energy surfaces of molecular systems by spectroscopic accuracy. Recent progress in water clusters is reviewed, and the current challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring an efficient nonnoble metal catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for industrial alkaline water electrolysis. However, it remains a great challenge due to the additional energy required for H─OH bond cleavage and the lack of enough H2O adsorption sites for most catalysts. Herein, the integration of oxophilic Eu2O3 with NiCo alloy with evoked multisite synergism to facilitate water dissociation for alkaline HER is proposed. The optimized Eu2O3‐NiCo exhibits excellent HER activity with a low overpotential of only 60 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and good electrochemical stability, which is superior to that of Eu2O3‐free NiCo and comparable to benchmark Pt/C. The key roles of Eu2O3 on the enhanced HER performance of Eu2O3‐NiCo are identified by in situ Raman spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. It is discovered that the Eu2O3 with strong oxophilicity facilitates the adsorption of H2O and the breakage of H─OH bonding while evoking the electron redistribution at Eu2O3/NiCo interface and accelerating the Volmer step in alkaline HER. Furthermore, the obtained Eu2O3‐NiCo as both anode and cathode displays excellent overall water‐splitting activity and stability in 1.0 M KOH solution. It is believed that this study provides an important inspiration to design high‐performance electrocatalysts toward HER based on rare‐earth materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Berberine (BBR) is an alkaloid found in plants. It has neuroprotective, anti‐inflammatory and lipid‐lowering activity. However, the efficacy of treatment with BBR and the mechanisms through which it acts need further study. Aims: This study investigated the therapeutic effects and the mechanism of action of BBR on obesity‐induced insulin resistance in peripheral tissues. Methods: High‐fat‐fed C57BL/6J mice and low‐fat‐fed C57BL/6J mice with miR‐27a overexpression were given BBR intervention (100 mg/kg, po), and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were performed. Palmitic acid‐stimulated hypertrophic adipocyte models were treated with BBR (10 μM). Related indicators and protein expression levels were examined. Results: The AUCs of the OGTT and the ITT in the BBR intervention group were reduced significantly (p < 0.01) (p < 0.05), and the serum biochemical parameters, including FBG, TC, TG and LDL‐C were significantly reduced after BBR intervention. In the in vitro experiments, the triglyceride level and volume of lipid droplets decreased significantly after BBR intervention (p < 0.01) (p < 0.05). Likewise, BBR ameliorates skeletal muscle and pancreas insulin signalling pathways in vivo and in vitro. Discussion: The results showed that BBR significantly ameliorated insulin resistance, reduced body weight and percent body fat and improved serum biochemical parameters in mice. Likewise, BBR reduced triglyceride level and lipid droplet volume in hypertrophic adipocytes, BBR improved obesity effectively. Meanwhile, BBR ameliorated the histomorphology of the pancreas, and skeletal muscle and pancreas insulin related signalling pathways of islets in in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results further demonstrated that BBR inhibited miR‐27a levels in serum from obese mice and supernatant of hypertrophic adipocytes. miR‐27a overexpression in low‐fat fed mice indicated that miR‐27a caused insulin resistance, and BBR intervention significantly improved the miR‐27a induced insulin resistance status. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the important role of BBR in obesity‐induced peripheral insulin resistance and suggest that the mechanism of its effect may be inhibition of miR‐27a secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AgBiSe2 undergoes two structural transitions in its service temperature range. Increasing entropy by alloying is considered an effective solution for modulating phase transition, but the efficacy of increasing entropy is limited by solubility and the selection of alloying components depends on trial and error. This study first confirmes that trigonal AgBiSe2 is metavalently bonded and searches metavalent PbTe as the alloying material based on the 2D map spanned by quantitative chemical bonding descriptors of electrons transferred (ET) and electrons shared (ES). The large solubility can be explained by the same bonding mechanism. PbTe alloying successfully stabilizes cubic AgBiSe2 to room temperature. Further, by optimizing the carrier concentration, the average ZT value from 300 to 773 K of (AgBiSe2)0.7(PbTe)0.3Cu0.02 reaches 0.42, which is 40% higher than that of pristine AgBiSe2. Simultaneously, heavy alloying leads to solid solution strengthening with enhanced hardness. This study not only paves the way for practical applications of AgBiSe2‐based materials but also provides an effective strategy for screening potential alloying candidates to solve the structure‐transition issue from the viewpoint of chemical bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Host-associated resident microbiota can protect their host from pathogens—a community-level trait called colonization resistance. The effect of the diversity of the resident community in previous studies has shown contradictory results, with higher diversity either strengthening or weakening colonization resistance. To control the confounding factors that may lead to such contradictions, we use mathematical simulations with a focus on species interactions and their impact on colonization resistance. We use a mediator-explicit model that accounts for metabolite-mediated interactions to perform in silico invasion experiments. We show that the relationship between colonization resistance and species richness of the resident community is not monotonic because it depends on two underlying trends as the richness of the resident community increases: a decrease in instances of augmentation (invader species added, without driving out resident species) and an increase in instances of displacement (invader species added, driving out some of the resident species). These trends hold consistently under different parameters, regardless of the number of compounds that mediate interactions between species or the proportion of the facilitative versus inhibitory interactions among species. Our results show a positive correlation between resistance and diversity in low-richness communities and a negative correlation in high-richness communities, offering an explanation for the seemingly contradictory trend in the resistance-diversity relationship in previous reports. Author summary: Empirically, different trends have been observed between the richness of a resident community and how resistant that community is against the introduction of new members: resident communities with higher richness can be more resistant against invaders in some cases and less resistant in other cases. To explain what can cause such seemingly contradictory trends, we used simulations of the invasion process using a simple model of microbial interactions through metabolites and metabolic byproducts. We found that two underlying trends consistently exist: the chance of augmentation (invader species added, without driving out resident species) and the chance of displacement (invader species added, driving out some of the resident species) decreases, in communities with higher richness. The combination of these two trends can lead to a not monotonic relationship between resistance against invaders and the species richness of the resident community. Our model predicts that in low-richness (versus high-richness) communities, resistance-diversity has a positive (versus negative) correlation, explaining the previously observed trends in the resistance-diversity relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aortic dissection is usually managed with interventional therapy, conservative therapy, and surgery to inhibit disease progression and improve prognoses. Nevertheless, the absence of meticulous and effective nursing during the treatment greatly increases the complication rates, which is detrimental to the recovery of patients. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of predictive pain intervention in the nursing process of patients with aortic dissection. Sixty patients with aortic dissection who were admitted to our hospital from December 2018 to December 2020 were observed in this study. Specifically, these patients were randomly and equally classified into Group A (patients who were given conventional nursing intervention) and Group B (patients who were given predictive pain intervention). Subsequently, the pain score, complication rates, and nursing satisfaction in the two groups were compared and analyzed. Compared with patients in Group A, patients in Group B had significantly lower pain scores (P< 0.05); complication rates were significantly lower in Group B than in Group A (6.67% vs. 23.33%, P< 0.05); patient satisfaction with care was significantly better in Group B compared to Group A (96.67% vs. 73.33%, P< 0.05). Predictive pain intervention is widely recognized as useful in the treatment of patients with aortic dissection. It has significant clinical application value as it can largely alleviate pain and is relatively safe for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cardiac dysfunction after sepsis the most common and severe sepsis-related organ failure. The severity of cardiac damage in sepsis patients was positively associated to mortality. It is important to look for drugs targeting sepsis-induced cardiac damage. Our previous studies found that 4-phenylbutyric acid (PBA) was beneficial to septic shock by improving cardiovascular function and survival, while the specific mechanism is unclear. Objectives: We aimed to explore the specific mechanism and PBA for protecting cardiac function in sepsis. Methods: The cecal ligation and puncture-induced septic shock models were used to observe the therapeutic effects of PBA on myocardial contractility and the serum levels of cardiac troponin-T. The mechanisms of PBA against sepsis were explored by metabolomics and network pharmacology. Results: The results showed that PBA alleviated the sepsis-induced cardiac damage. The metabolomics results showed that there were 28 metabolites involving in the therapeutic effects of PBA against sepsis. According to network pharmacology, 11 hub genes were found that were involved in lipid metabolism and amino acid transport following PBA treatment. The further integrated analysis focused on 7 key targets, including Comt, Slc6a4, Maoa, Ppara, Pparg, Ptgs2 and Trpv1, as well as their core metabolites and pathways. In an in vitro assay, PBA effectively inhibited sepsis-induced reductions in Comt, Ptgs2 and Ppara after sepsis. Conclusions: PBA protects sepsis-induced cardiac injury by targeting Comt/Ptgs2/Ppara, which regulates amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism. The study reveals the complicated mechanisms of PBA against sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) widely exists in the hospital environment and is one of the important conditional pathogens of hospital-acquired infection. To investigate the distribution of integrons and carbapenem-resistant genes in clinical ECC, 70 isolates of ECC from non-sputum specimens were collected. Class 1 and class 2 integron integrase gene intI1 and intI2, as well as common carbapenem-resistant genes, blaKPC, blaVIM, blaIMP, blaNDM, blaGES, and blaOXA-23, were screened. Gene cassette arrays and common promoters of class 1 integron together with subtypes of carbapenem-resistant genes were determined by sequencing. Resistant rates to commonly used antimicrobial agents between class 1 integron-positive and integron-negative ECC isolates were analyzed. The whole-genome of blaNDM-7 harboring Enterobacter hormaechei was sequenced and the sequence around blaNDM-7 was analyzed. Twenty isolates were positive for intI1. Nineteen different antimicrobial-resistant gene cassettes and 11 different gene cassette arrays, including aadA22-lnuF, were detected in this study. Common promoters of class 1 integron PcH1, PcW, PcW-P2, and PcH2 were detected in 12, 4, 3, and 1 isolates, respectively. The rates of antimicrobial resistance of intI1-positive isolates were higher than those of intI1-negative isolates to clinical commonly used antimicrobial agents. Carbapenem-resistant genes blaKPC-2, blaNDM-1, blaNDM-2, and blaNDM-7 were detected in 2, 1, 1, and 1 isolates, respectively. blaNDM-7 was located between bleMBL and IS5. To the best of our knowledge, this study reported for the first time of blaNDM-7 in ECC isolate in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit extracts on oxidative stress levels in rodent models. Animal studies meeting the inclusion criteria were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and VIP Periodical Service Platform. The Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk‐of‐bias tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies. A meta‐analysis was performed based on the guidelines provided in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (CHSRI) by using Stata 17.0 software. Nineteen studies were included in the meta‐analysis. Jujube fruit extracts significantly decreased the level of malonaldehyde (MDA) and increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px). Meanwhile, there was no significant improvement in the catalase (CAT) levels. In addition, there was considerable heterogeneity in the results of the meta‐analysis. The results of the subgroup analysis indicated that the animal model, type of extracts, and source of target parameters may have contributed to the heterogeneity. Jujube fruit extracts are healthy and effective antioxidant dietary supplements that may be an effective adjunctive therapy for diseases in which oxidative stress is a major pathological factor. However, the overall methodological quality of the included studies was low, and additional research is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Skin color is an important trait that determines the cosmetic appearance and quality of fruits. In cucumber, the skin color ranges from white to brown in mature fruits. However, the genetic basis for this important trait remains unclear. We conducted a genome‐wide association study of natural cucumber populations, along with map‐based cloning techniques, on an F2 population resulting from a cross between Pepino (with yellow‐brown fruit skin) and Zaoer‐N (with creamy fruit skin). We identified CsMYB60 as a candidate gene responsible for skin coloration in mature cucumber fruits. In cucumber accessions with white to pale yellow skin color, a premature stop mutation (C to T) was found in the second exon region of CsMYB60, whereas light yellow cucumber accessions exhibited splicing premature termination caused by an intronic mutator‐like element insertion in CsMYB60. Transgenic CsMYB60c cucumber plants displayed a yellow‐brown skin color by promoting accumulation of flavonoids, especially hyperoside, a yellow‐colored flavonol. CsMYB60c encodes a nuclear protein that primarily acts as a transcriptional activator through its C‐terminal activation motif. RNA sequencing and DNA affinity purification sequencing assays revealed that CsMYB60c promotes skin coloration by directly binding to the YYTACCTAMYT motif in the promoter regions of flavonoid biosynthetic genes, including CsF3′H, which encodes flavonoid 3′‐hydroxylase. The findings of our study not only offer insight into the function of CsMYB60 as dominantly controlling fruit coloration, but also highlight that intronic DNA mutations can have a similar phenotypic impact as exonic mutations, which may be valuable in future cucumber breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to investigate the preoperative prediction value of computed tomography (CT) radiomics combined with traditional imaging features in the grading of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) by extracting and analyzing the CT radiomics information of patients with CCRCC. One hundred thirty four patients with CCRCC who were admitted to our Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University (Futian, Shenzhen), between June 2019 and June 2023 were enrolled in this study. According to the WHO/ISUP classification standard, the patients were divided into the high differentiation group (III + IV) and the low differentiation group (I + II); they were divided into the study group and the validation group, with a ratio of 7:3 and the best features of the validation group were screened to construct the radiomics model. There were significant differences in the radiomics scores between the high differentiation group and the low differentiation group of CCRCC (p < 0.05). Computed tomography radiomics combined with traditional imaging features has favourable effects on predicting the differentiation degree of CCRCC before surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) with the star‐quad cable having reference conductor is analyzed by using the proposed model, which is based upon multi‐conductor transmission line theory. Expressions for common‐mode (CM) and differential‐mode (DM) currents are developed. Two cases are mainly discussed: the first case is the star‐quad cable with a central reference conductor, and the second case with the outside reference conductor. A rigorous comparison between these two cases shows that when the reference conductor is placed at the center, the magnitude of CM current is reduced dramatically, which is beneficial for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). The CM current magnitude of the outside reference conductor is relatively very high due to the large CM current loop area, which is the least possible for the central reference conductor. There is no significant change in the DM current magnitude for both cases because the DM current has no direct dependence on the CM current loop area. A commercial software, FEKO, which utilizes the method of momentum (MoM), is used to compare the results of our proposed method, which are in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional ferromagnetic topological semi-metals have attracted much interest owing to their fascinating spintronic applications. Using first-principles calculations, we propose a stable transition metal nitrogen halide compound, namely, VNI monolayer, to display intrinsic ferromagnetism with high Curie temperature TC (∼510 K) and strong out-of-plane magnetism. It is found to be a topological Weyl nodal line material, which can be fully spin-polarized by controlling the on-site Coulomb interaction. Its nodal line can be destroyed by orienting the magnetization axis. Additionally, biaxial strain enables efficient tuning of the magnetic properties by switching the easy magnetic axis from an out-of-plane to in-plane direction with an enhanced TC to 540 K. These results highlight the great application potential of a VNI monolayer in low-dimensional topological magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment investigated the influences of different dietary fat levels on histology, oxidative status, and immune response in gill and kidney of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco). Three diets with different fat levels of 63.1 g/kg (low-fat, LF), 93.3 g/kg (medium-fat, MF), and 153.2 g/kg (high-fat, HF) were prepared to feed yellow catfish. The experiment continued for 56 days, and at the end of the experiment, gill and kidney tissues were sampled. As a result, both gill and kidney showed different degrees of tissue damage in HF group in terms of histology observation. HF increased the malondialdehyde content in gill but showed no effect on kidney, indicating that gill is more susceptible to injury than kidney under high-energy intake conditions. Additionally, HF diet significantly increased the activities of total-superoxide dismutase and catalase to eliminate excess peroxides both in gill and kidney. Moreover, HF diet significantly upregulated the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines (il6 and tnfα) and downregulated the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (il10), indicating that HF-diet-induced inflammatory response both in gill and kidney. These findings reveal the potential regulatory approach for fish gill and kidney health by dietary fat level, which will help to understand the adverse impacts of dietary lipid imbalance on the health of fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, atmospheric composite pollution has become increasingly serious, and accelerating VOC governance has become the focus of and difficulty in atmospheric governance. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) come from a wide range of sources, and industrial sources are the main source of anthropogenic VOC emissions in China. Chemicals, oil refining, and solvents are three typical VOC-emitting industries, and their control is an important part of accelerating and optimizing VOC governance. It can be controlled by source control, process control, and pipe end treatment; among these, pipe end treatment is divided into recovery technology and destruction technology. In pipeline end treatment, with the key materials of adsorption, absorption, catalytic oxidation, and catalytic combustion, the research and development of adsorbents, absorbents and catalysts has become a hot spot in recent years. This paper summarizes the chemical materials used in typical VOC pipe end-treatment technology (including adsorbents used in the adsorption method, absorbents used in the adsorption method, and catalysts used in the catalytic oxidation and catalytic combustion methods), summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various materials and their application range, and looks forward to the direction of future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Empathy is a critical component of nursing care, impacting both nurses' and patients' outcomes. However, perceived empathy from spouses during pregnancy and its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are unclear. This study aimed to examine pregnant women's perceived empathy from their spouses and assess the relation of perceived empathy on HRQoL. Methods: This cross-sectional study, performed in the obstetric clinics or wards of four well-known hospitals in Anhui Province, China, included 349 pregnant women in the second or third trimester; participants were recruited by convenience sampling and enrolled from October to December 2021. A general information questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a purpose-designed empathy questionnaire and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used to evaluate the pregnant women's general information, perceptions of empathy and HRQoL. Data were analysed using SPSS 22 at a threshold of P < 0.05. Descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, Student's t test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis were used for analysis. Results: The pregnant women's total empathy, physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores were 41.6 ± 9.0, 41.6 ± 7.6, and 47.7 ± 9.1, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that the purpose-designed empathy questionnaire items were significantly positively correlated with perspective taking and empathic concern but were not correlated with the personal distress dimension and were only partially correlated with the fantasy dimension. Maternal physical condition during pregnancy, planned pregnancy, and occupational stress were predictors of the PCS score (β = 0.281, P < 0.01; β = 0.132, P = 0.02; β = -0.128, P = 0.02). The behavioural empathy item of our purpose-designed empathy questionnaire and empathic concern were important predictors of the MCS score (β = 0.127, P = 0.02; β = 0.158, P < 0.01), as well as other demographic and obstetric information, explaining 22.0% of the variance in MCS scores totally (F = 12.228, P < 0.01). Conclusions: Pregnant women perceived lower empathy from their spouses and reported lower HRQoL. Perceived empathy, particularly behavioural empathy, may significantly impact pregnant women's MCS scores but has no effect on their PCS scores. Strategies that foster perceived empathy from spouses among pregnant women are essential for facilitating healthy pregnancies and potentially improving maternal and child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the dynamics (including shadowing property, expansiveness, topological stability and entropy) of several types of upper semi-continuous set-valued maps are mainly considered from differentiable dynamical systems points of view. It is shown that (1) if f is a hyperbolic endomor-phism then for each ε> 0 there exists a C1-neighborhood U of f such that the induced set-valued map F f , U has the ε-shadowing property, and moreover, if f is an expanding endomorphism then there exists a C1-neighborhood U of f such that the induced set-valued map F f , U has the Lipschitz shadowing property; (2) when a set-valued map F is generated by finite expanding endomorphisms, it has the shadowing property, and moreover, if the collection of the generators has no coincidence point then F is expansive and hence is topologically stable; (3) if f is an expanding endomorphism then for each ε> 0 there exists a C1-neighborhood U of f such that h (F f , U , ε) = h (f) (4) when F is generated by finite expanding endomorphisms with no coincidence point, the entropy formula of F is given. Furthermore, the dynamics of the set-valued maps based on discontinuous maps on the interval are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the uncertainty of the structure and environment of the electric driving system (EDS), the fault signature of the rotating mechanism is complicated. A novel method based on Hilbert transform with modified fast kurtogram (HTMFK), which is used for identifying the bearing faults in the EDS, is proposed. The modified principle and algorithm flow of the proposed method are derived. A high pass filter based on the frequency band identified by HTMFK is constructed and applied to fault diagnosis. Simulation signals demonstrate the ability of demodulating signals and identifying the fault resonance band. The bearing fault bench experiment of EDS is carried out in a semianechoic chamber. The corresponding fault tests are conducted according to different operating conditions. The applicability of HTMFK is verified by comparing the square envelope spectrums. Compared with other methods, the proposed method identifies the fault resonance frequency band more effectively and expands the application range of bearing fault diagnosis in EDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical communication is a particularly compelling technology for tackling the speed and capacity bottlenecks in data communication in modern society. Currently, the silicon photodetector plays a dominant role in high-speed optical communication across the visible-near-infrared spectrum. However, its intrinsic rigid structure, high working bias and low responsivity essentially limit its application in next-generation flexible optoelectronic devices. Herein, we report a narrow-bandgap non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) with a remarkable π-extension in the direction of both central and end units (CH17) with respect to the Y6 series, which demonstrates a more effective and compact 3D molecular packing, leading to lower trap states and energetic disorders in the photoactive film. Consequently, the optimized solution-processed organic photodetector (OPD) with CH17 exhibits a remarkable response time of 91 ns (λ = 880 nm) due to the high charge mobility and low parasitic capacitance, exceeding the values of most commercial Si photodiodes and all NFA-based OPDs operating in self-powered mode. More significantly, the flexible OPD exhibits negligible performance attenuation (<1%) after bending for 500 cycles, and maintains 96% of its initial performance even after 550 h of indoor exposure. Furthermore, the high-speed OPD demonstrates a high data transmission rate of 80 MHz with a bit error rate of 3.5 |$ \times $| 10−4, meaning it has great potential in next-generation high-speed flexible optical communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of 3d–4f single molecule magnets (SMMs) with novel topologies and exploration of the magnetic relaxation mechanism of SMMs have continuously received considerable attention because high performance SMMs could be obtained. In this work, we selected N-3-methoxysalicylidene-2-amino-3-hydroxypyridine (H2L) and di-2-pyridyl ketone (dpk) for reaction with Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, Dy(NO3)3·5H2O and trimethylamine in a CH3OH solution, and a novel Ni4Dy4 complex, [Ni4Dy4(L)6(L′)2{(py)2C(OCH3)O}2(μ3-CO3)2(CH3OH)2]·10CH3OH·13H2O (1, (py)2C(OCH3)(OH) = the hemiacetal form of dpk), was obtained. The magnetic diluted complex, [Ni4Y3.91Dy0.09(L)6(L′)2{(py)2C(OCH3)O}2(μ3-CO3)2(CH3OH)2]·10CH3OH·12H2O (2), and the Y analogue of 1, [Ni4Y4(L)6(L′)2{(py)2C(OCH3)O}2(μ3-CO3)2(CH3OH)2]·10CH3OH·11H2O (3), were also obtained. The carbonate ions in 1–3 were formed by spontaneous fixation of atmospheric CO2. Structural analysis revealed that the metallic core in 1 can be viewed as a Ni2Dy2 butterfly connecting two NiDy subunits on each side. To our knowledge, the structural topologies of 1–3 were not reported previously. The magnetic susceptibilities of 3 were fitted by PHI, indicating that the magnetic coupling between Ni1 and Ni1a in the "Ni2Y2 butterfly" subunit of 3 is ferromagnetic. Alternating-current (ac) susceptibility studies revealed that 1–2 exhibit single molecule magnet behavior under a zero dc field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Neuro-inflammatory response promotes the initiation and sustenance of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Protectin D1 (PD1), as a new type of specialized pro-resolving mediator (SPM), can improve the prognosis of various inflammatory diseases. Recent studies have shown that over representation of calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP) may activate nociceptive signaling following nerve injury. Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) is ubiquitously expressed in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and plays a role in the pathogenesis of LDH. In this study, we investigated the analgesic effects of PD1 and elucidated the impact of neurogenic inflammation in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain induced by non-compressive lumbar disc herniation (NCLDH) in a rat model. Methods. NCLDH models were established by applying protruding autologous nucleus pulposus to the L5 Dorsal root ganglion (DRG). PD1, SIRT1 antagonist or agonist, CGRP or antagonist were administered as daily intrathecal injections for three consecutive days postoperatively. Behavioral tests were conducted to assess mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. The ipsilateral lumbar (L4–6) segment of the spinal dorsal horn was isolated for further analysis. Alterations in the release of SIRT1 and CGRP were explored using western blot and immunofluorescence. Results. Application of protruded nucleus (NP) materials to the DRG induced mechanical and thermal allodynia symptoms, and deregulated the expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in rats. Intrathecal delivery of PD1 significantly reversed the NCLDH-induced imbalance in neuro-inflammatory response and alleviated the symptoms of mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. In addition, NP application to the DGRs resulted the spinal upregulation of CGRP and SIRT1 expression, which was almost restored by intrathecal injection of PD1 in a dose-dependent manner. SIRT1 antagonist or agonist and CGRP or antagonist treatment further confirmed the result. Conclusion. Our findings indicate PD1 has a potent analgesic effect, and can modulate neuro-inflammation by regulating SIRT1-mediated CGRP signaling in NCLDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed and sensitivity solution-processed organic photodetectors (OPDs) have drawn great attention for their promising applications in next-generation optoelectronics, including optical communication, imaging, autonomous driving, and military security. However, current OPDs commonly suffer from slow response speed due to low charge mobility, significantly hindering their applications in optical wireless communication. Herein, a pair of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs), featuring a prominent π extension in the central units with respect to Y6, are synthesized with the same backbone but different halogenations in end cap groups, namely, CH-4Cl and CH-4F. The OPD based on CH-4Cl exhibits a remarkably short response time of 270 ns (λ = 850 nm) and detectivity of >1013 Jones in a self-powered mode, improving 34% and 500% compared to the values of OPD with CH-4F NFA, respectively, which ranks the highest speed among self-powered solution-processed binary OPD-based on NFAs. This outstanding performance is attributed to the low trap states and energetic disorders of OPDs with CH-4Cl. Furthermore, the high-speed OPD demonstrates a promising application in high-speed optical wireless communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: A study in eastern China has found that over 40% of zoo animals are infected with gastrointestinal parasites, which pose a threat to their welfare and the health of visitors and veterinarians. More than 11 parasite species were identified in the study conducted at Zhuyuwan Zoo, including two species of Ascaris, and they detected Paramphistomum spp. eggs in the captive Père David's deer and Fasciola spp. eggs in sika deer, which had not been previously reported in Chinese zoos. The study highlights the need for prevention and control measures to be implemented to tackle parasitic diseases in zoo animals. The burden of gastrointestinal parasites in zoo animals has serious implications for their welfare and the health of veterinarians and visitors. Zhuyuwan Zoo is located in the eastern suburb of Yangzhou city in eastern China, in which over 40 species of zoo animals are kept. In order to understand the infection status of GI parasites in Zhuyuwan Zoo, a total of 104 fresh fecal samples collected randomly from birds (n = 19), primates (n = 19), and non-primate mammals (n = 66) were analyzed using the saturated saline flotation technique and nylon sifter elutriation and sieving method for eggs/oocysts, respectively. Two Ascaris species were molecularly characterized. The results showed that the overall prevalence of parasitic infection was 42.3% (44/104). The parasitic infection rate in birds, primates, and non-primate mammals were 26.3% (5/19), 31.6% (6/19), and 50.0% (33/66), respectively. A total of 11 species of parasites were identified, namely, Trichostrongylidae, Capillaria sp., Trichuris spp., Strongyloides spp., Amidostomum sp., Toxascaris leonina, Baylisascaris transfuga, Parascaris equorum, Paramphistomum spp., Fasciola spp., and Eimeria spp. Paramphistomum spp. eggs were first detected from the captive Père David's deer, and Fasciola spp. eggs were first reported from sika deer in zoo in China. A sequence analysis of ITS-2 and cox1 showed that the eggs isolated from the African lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus, 1758) were T. leonina, and the eggs from the brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) were B. transfuga. The public health threat posed by these potential zoonotic parasitic agents requires attention. These results lay a theoretical foundation for prevention and control of wild animal parasitic diseases at zoos in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient orogens within the supercontinent like Columbia can remain stable evolution as long as the cratons. What kind of lithospheric mantle was beneath those orogens and how it evolved into a stable state are still enigmatic. The Trans‐North China orogen (TNCO) is one of the typical collisional orogens within the Columbia supercontinent and was formed at ca. 1.85 Ga. Our work reveals that a cluster of kimberlites intruded the orogenic belt at ca. 1.54 Ga. These rocks were originally generated under a thick lithosphere (>200 km). Their entrained olivine cores show a composition of overlapping olivines from refractory mantle peridotites. The results suggest a thick and refractory lithospheric mantle beneath the TNCO at ca. 1.54 Ga. Such craton‐like property may result from large volume melt extraction from the lithospheric mantle, possibly caused by the ca. 1.78 Ga large igneous event, which eventually induces the long‐term stability of the TNCO during the subsequent supercontinent cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs first‐principles calculations to investigate the structural stability, electronic properties, and elastic properties of Co‐, Ni‐, Cu‐, and Mo‐doped β‐Si3N4. After optimizing the structure of each doped system, it can be determined that all systems are stable structures, as evidenced by the binding energy and forming energy. Then, the electronic properties of the doped systems are analyzed using the energy band and density of states. The findings reveal that the introduction of Co, Ni, and, Cu, reduces the energy bandgap compared to pure Si3N4. More notably, the doping of Mo eliminates the bandgap and results in strong metallicity in the doped systems. Moreover, all doped systems display magnetic moments. Finally, the investigation of elastic properties shows that all doped structures are ductile. The doping of Co, Ni, Cu, and Mo metals improves the toughness of Si3N4. In addition, the doping change of Co is the most obvious. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for future research on the preparation of ductile Si3N4 ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of generative models, abused Deepfakes have aroused public concerns. As a defense mechanism, face forgery detection methods have been intensively studied. Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) technology extract heartbeat signal from recorded videos by examining the subtle changes in skin color caused by cardiac activity. Since the face forgery process inevitably disrupts the periodic changes in facial color, rPPG signal proves to be a powerful biological indicator for Deepfake detection. Motivated by the key observation that rPPG signals produce unique rhythmic patterns in terms of different manipulation methods, we regard Deepfake detection also as a source detection task. The Multi-scale Spatial–Temporal PPG map is adopted to further exploit heartbeat signal from multiple facial regions. Moreover, to capture both spatial and temporal inconsistencies, we propose a two-stage network consisting of a Mask-Guided Local Attention module (MLA) to capture unique local patterns of PPG maps, and a Temporal Transformer to interact features of adjacent PPG maps in long distance. Abundant experiments on FaceForensics + + and Celeb-DF datasets prove the superiority of our method over all other rPPG-based approaches. Visualization also demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-based vitrimers present a promising solution to the issues associated with non-renewable and non-recyclable attributes of traditional thermosetting resins, showcasing extensive potential for diverse applications. However, their broader adoption has been hindered by the requirement for catalyst inclusion during the synthesis process. In this study, a cardanol-based curing agent with poly-hydroxy and tertiary amine structures was prepared by a clean synthetic method under the theory of click chemistry. The reaction of a cardanol-based curing agent with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A formed catalyst-free, self-healing, and recyclable bio-based vitrimers. The poly-hydroxy and tertiary amine structures in the vitrimers promoted the curing of epoxy-carboxylic acid in the cross-linked network and served as internal catalysts of dynamic transesterification. In the absence of catalysts, the vitrimers network can achieve topological network rearrangement through dynamic transesterification, exhibiting excellent reprocessing performance. Moreover, the vitrimers exhibited faster stress relaxation (1500 s at 180 °C), lower activation energy (92.29 kJ·mol−1) and the tensile strength of the recycled material reached almost 100% of the original sample. This work offers a new method for preparing cardanol-based epoxy vitrimers that be used to make coatings, hydrogels, biomaterials, adhesives, and commodity plastics in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1,2:3,4:9,10:9,19-tetraseco-cycloartane triterpene spiroketal lactone, pseudoamaolide P (1), two new labdane-type diterpenoids, pseudoamains A and B (2-3), and four known cembrane-type diterpenoids (4–7) were isolated from the seeds of Pseudolarix amabilis. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, including HRESIMS, 1D-, and 2D-NMR. The anti-inflammatory activities of the compounds were evaluated by suppressing the transcription of the NF-κB-dependent reporter gene in LPS-induced 293 T/NF-κB-luc cells. All compounds do not show potent activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using first-principles calculations, we propose a new two-dimensional Ge2S (space group P21212) with unique mechanical and electronic properties. Monolayer Ge2S has excellent thermal, mechanical, and dynamic stabilities, exhibiting a semiconducting behavior with an indirect bandgap and anisotropic carrier mobility. The uniaxial strain along the zigzag direction can induce an indirect-to-direct bandgap transition. Remarkably, Ge2S possesses large in-plane negative Poisson's ratios, comparable with that of well-known penta-graphene. Moreover, we identify Ge2S as a high-performance anode material for metal-ion batteries. It shows metallic features after adsorbing Na, K, and Mg, providing good electrical conductivity during the charge/discharge process. The diffusion of metal ions on Ge2S is anisotropic with modest energy barriers in the armchair direction of 0.12, 0.39, and 0.76 eV for Na, K, and Mg, respectively. Ge2S can adsorb metal atoms up to a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1, which yields storage capacities of 151.17, 151.17, and 302.35 mA h g−1 for Na, K, and Mg, respectively. The volume of Ge2S shrinks slightly upon the adsorption of metal ions even at high concentrations, ensuring a good cyclic stability. Besides, the average open circuit voltage (0.30–0.70 V) falls within the acceptable range (0.1–1.0 V) of the anode materials. These results make Ge2S a promising anode material for the design of future metal-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesion modes and endocytosis pathway of spherocylindrical nanoparticles (NPs) are investigated numerically using molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained implicit-solvent model. The investigation is performed systematically with respect to the adhesion energy density ξ, NP's diameter D, and NP's aspect ratio α. At weak ξ, the NP adheres to the membrane through a parallel mode, i.e., its principal axis is parallel to the membrane. However, for relatively large ξ, the NP adheres through a perpendicular mode, i.e., the NP is invaginated, such as its principal axis is nearly perpendicular to the membrane. The value of ξ at the transition from the parallel to the perpendicular mode decreases with increasing the D or α, in agreement with theoretical arguments based on the Helfrich Hamiltonian. As ξ is further increased, the NP undergoes endocytosis, with the value of ξ at the endocytosis threshold that is independent of the aspect ratio but decreases with increasing D. The kinetics of endocytosis depends strongly on ξ and D. While for low values of D, the NP first rotates to a parallel orientation then to a perpendicular orientation. At high values of ξ or D, the NP is endocytosed while in the parallel orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Cu doped CeO 2 (Cu-CeO 2) nanoparticles were synthesized via the hydrothermal method, exhibiting multiple nanozyme activities such as good oxidase-like (OXD), peroxidase-like (POD) and catalase-like (CAT) activities. These Cu-CeO 2 nanoparticles were successfully utilized to modulate the levels of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide in cells. The OXD and POD mimics showed optimal at pH of 3.5 and 4.0, but their activities significantly decreased under neutral or slightly acidic conditions. On the other hand, the CAT activity was excellent at pH 6.5, while the OXD and POD mimics were less effective. These findings demonstrated that nanozyme activity of Cu-CeO 2 nanoparticles is pH-dependent. Consequently, within the microenvironment of tumor cells, the CAT can efficiently catalyze the conversion of H 2 O 2 into O 2 , unaffected by H 2 O 2 /O 2 consuming mimics. Both oxygen indicator and oxygen tester measurements confirmed a significant increase in O 2 levels in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Furthermore, confocal microscopic imagings using fluorescence probes for H 2 O 2 and O 2 validated the variations of H 2 O 2 /O 2 in cells. This study highlights the ability of Cu-CeO 2 to regulate intracellular reactive oxygen levels and its tremendous potential in nanotherapy and alleviating tumor hypoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now, no recommendations of gestational weight gain (GWG) after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diagnosis for Chinese women was made. This study aimed to explore the optimal GWG after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for Chinese women with GDM. The GWG status of 11,570 women was retrospectively analyzed. Binary regression model and restricted cubic spline were used to estimate the association between GWG after OGTT and the predicted probability of adverse outcomes. Based on above, the optimal GWG was defined as the range that not exceed 1% increase in the predicted probability from the lowest point. Results shown that every increased one unit GWG after OGTT was associated with higher risks of macrosomia, cesarean section and LGA, and lower risk of preterm birth. According to the WHO and Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC) recommended pre-pregnancy BMI category, the optimal GWG were proposed: 3.66 to 6.66 kg/3.66 to 6.66 kg in underweight group, 3.07 to 6.50 kg/3.02 to 6.40 kg in normal weight group, 1.06 to 2.73 kg/0 to 1.99 kg in overweight group, and not applicable/− 0.22 to 2.53 kg in obese group, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to classified Chinese population based on the WGOC recommended pre-pregnancy BMI category, that influenced the contribution of pre-pregnancy BMI groups and the optimal GWG recommendation for GDM women with overweight or obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possible laser cooling of AuAl molecules was investigated using high‐level ab initio calculations and considering the spin‐orbit coupling effect. Multi‐reference configuration interaction and the Davidson correction were also employed. Six Λ‐S electronic states were obtained, which were divided into 14 Ω states via spin‐orbit coupling. The optical transition A1Π1→X1∑0+ showed potential for laser‐cooling applications owing to its highly diagonal Franck‐Condon factors and larger vibrational branching ratios. A possible optical cycling scheme using four lasers at near‐resonance wavelengths to eliminate vibrational branching loss is proposed. This scheme can be experimentally tested in future laser‐cooling experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External-cavity diode laser (ECDL) can continuously change the output wavelength by scanning its optical resonance cavity (ORC), which is a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) actuated mechanical system. However, because of the inherent hysteresis characteristic of PZT and limited system bandwidth, the dynamic response of the ORC system exhibits both the nonlinearity and vibration while high-frequency triangular wave scanning, thereby resulting in the degradation of the output wavelength performance of the ECDL. As a result, a trajectory optimization method is presented to improve the scanning characteristics of the ORC system. Firstly, the hysteresis behavior of PZT is described by the elliptic model to generate a compensation voltage for the PZT. Secondly, the cusp region of the compensation voltage is optimized by a frequency domain objective function to greatly reduce the high-order harmonic components of the compensation voltage. Finally, an optimal voltage trajectory for driving the ORC system is obtained. The experimental results demonstrate the validity of our proposed trajectory optimization method for simultaneously suppressing the nonlinearity and vibration of the ORC system within the scanning frequency of 100 Hz. • A trajectory optimization method is designed based on an ellipse model and spectrum shaping. • The method can improve the scanning characteristics of the ORC system. • A frequency domain objective function is developed to minimize the ORC system vibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intraseasonal Pacific–Japan (PJ) pattern, characterized by a pronounced quasi-biweekly oscillation, is triggered by deep convection around the western North Pacific. Three possible dynamical mechanisms on multiple timescales responsible for the growth and decay of the quasi-biweekly PJ pattern are proposed in this study based on daily reanalysis data from the Japanese 55 year Reanalysis for the 1958‒2021 period. First, the eastward-propagating wave energy associated with the quasi-biweekly circumglobal teleconnection in the upstream region enters the mid-latitude North Pacific and induces the wavelike barotropic geopotential height anomalies, amplifying the magnitudes of three mid-latitude centers of the PJ pattern by about 40% through their linear constructive interference. Secondly, the barotropic feedback forcing of both high-frequency and low-frequency transient eddies triggered by the pronounced meridional SST gradient over the mid-latitude Pacific is beneficial to the development and persistence of the PJ-related centers to the east of Japan and around the Bering Strait, whereas it damps the PJ-related center in the Gulf of Alaska, increasing the amplitude difference between the former two centers and the latter center. Such feedback forcing also leads to the asymmetry of the positive and negative PJ events. Thirdly, the dry energy conversion from the background atmospheric circulation and the moist process due to the convective heating over the western North Pacific are both efficient enough to energize the PJ pattern in the developing and mature stages, indicating that the quasi-biweekly PJ pattern can be viewed as a convectively coupled dynamical mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have become a hot topic in the field of luminescence wherein the crystalline porous organic frameworks (metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), hydrogen‐bonded organic frameworks (HOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs))‐based RTP materials are receiving considerable attention. Beyond all doubt, crystalline porous organic frameworks‐based RTP materials perfectly integrate the advantages of crystalline porous organic frameworks and RTP materials. This review provides a timely and brief outline for the development of crystalline porous organic frameworks RTP materials including the construction strategy of MOFs/HOFs/COFs‐based RTP materials and their RTP performance as well as potential applications. Moreover, the conclusion and outlook are also discussed to present the challenges and prospects for further development of high‐performance MOFs/HOFs/COFs‐based RTP materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe and often fatal pulmonary disease. Current treatments for ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are limited. Natural product metabolites have shown promise as therapeutic alternatives. However, the effects of Licochalcone B (LCB) on ALI are largely unknown. We investigated the effects of LCB on lipopolysaccharide-challenged mice and human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells. Cell viability, apoptosis, and ROS production were assessed. Lung tissue histopathology and oxidative stress and inflammation markers were evaluated. Protein expression levels were measured. LCB had no cytotoxic effects on cells and increased cell viability. It reduced apoptosis and ROS levels in cells. In mice with ALI, LCB decreased lung tissue weight and improved oxidative stress and inflammation markers. It also enhanced expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 while reducing Keap1. LCB protects against LPS-induced acute lung injury in cells and mice. The Keap1/Nrf2 pathway may be involved in its protective effects. LCB shows potential as a strategy to alleviate ALI caused by LPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the potential of a NAD+ metabolism-related lncRNA signature as a reliable prognostic biomarker for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Transcriptome profiles and clinical data of AML patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. NAD+ metabolism-related genes (NMRGs) were identified from the KEGG and Reactome databases. Coexpression analysis was used to screen NAD+ metabolism-related lncRNAs. The NAD+ metabolismrelated lncRNA signature was constructed using univariate analysis, LASSO regression, and multivariate analysis. High- and low-risk groups were compared for survival, tumor mutation burden, immune cell infiltration, and response to immunotherapy. Enrichment analysis explored the biological functions. LINC01679, AC079922.2, TRAF3IP2-AS1, and LINC02465 were identified to construct the risk model. The model exhibited good predictive power and outperformed age and gender as an independent prognostic marker. High-risk patients showed poorer survival, distinct TP53 mutations, and altered immune cell infiltration compared to low-risk patients. Additionally, low-risk patients exhibited greater sensitivity to immunotherapy. Enriched biological functions included leukocyte migration and positive regulation of cytokine production. The NAD+ metabolism-related lncRNA signature shows promise in predicting clinical outcomes for AML patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing molecular fluorophores with enhanced fluorescence in aggregate state for the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) imaging is highly desirable but remains a tremendous challenge due to the lack of reliable design guidelines. Herein, we report an aromatic substituent strategy to construct highly bright NIR‐II J‐aggregates. Introduction of electron‐withdrawing substituents at 3,5‐aryl and meso positions of classic boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) skeleton can promote slip‐stacked J‐type arrangement and further boost NIR‐II fluorescence of J‐aggregates via increased electrostatic repulsion and intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction. Notably, NOBDP‐NO2 with three nitro groups (−NO2) shows intense NIR‐II fluorescence at 1065 nm and high absolute quantum yield of 3.21 % in solid state, which can be successfully applied in bioimaging, high‐level encoding encryption, and information storage. Moreover, guided by this electron‐withdrawing substituent strategy, other skeletons (thieno‐fused BODIPY, aza‐BODIPY, and heptamethine cyanine) modified with −NO2 are converted into J‐type aggregates with enhanced NIR‐II fluorescence, showing great potential to convert aggregation caused emission quenching (ACQ) dyes into brilliant J‐aggregates. This study provides a universal method for construction of strong NIR‐II emissive J‐aggregates by rationally manipulating molecular packing and establishing relationships among molecular structures, intermolecular interactions, and fluorescence properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing molecular fluorophores with enhanced fluorescence in aggregate state for the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) imaging is highly desirable but remains a tremendous challenge due to the lack of reliable design guidelines. Herein, we report an aromatic substituent strategy to construct highly bright NIR‐II J‐aggregates. Introduction of electron‐withdrawing substituents at 3,5‐aryl and meso positions of classic boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) skeleton can promote slip‐stacked J‐type arrangement and further boost NIR‐II fluorescence of J‐aggregates via increased electrostatic repulsion and intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction. Notably, NOBDP‐NO2 with three nitro groups (−NO2) shows intense NIR‐II fluorescence at 1065 nm and high absolute quantum yield of 3.21 % in solid state, which can be successfully applied in bioimaging, high‐level encoding encryption, and information storage. Moreover, guided by this electron‐withdrawing substituent strategy, other skeletons (thieno‐fused BODIPY, aza‐BODIPY, and heptamethine cyanine) modified with −NO2 are converted into J‐type aggregates with enhanced NIR‐II fluorescence, showing great potential to convert aggregation caused emission quenching (ACQ) dyes into brilliant J‐aggregates. This study provides a universal method for construction of strong NIR‐II emissive J‐aggregates by rationally manipulating molecular packing and establishing relationships among molecular structures, intermolecular interactions, and fluorescence properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A boron and iron co-doped biochar (B-Fe/biochar) from Masson pine bark was fabricated and used to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for the degradation of guaiacol (GL). The roles of the dopants and the contribution of the radical and non-radical oxidations were investigated. The results showed that the doping of boron and iron significantly improved the catalytic activity of the biochar catalyst with a GL removal efficiency of 98.30% within 30 min. The degradation of the GL mainly occurred through the generation of hydroxyl radicals (·OHs) and electron transfer on the biochar surface, and a non-radical degradation pathway dominated by direct electron transfer was proposed. Recycling the B-Fe/biochar showed low metal leaching from the catalyst and satisfactory long-term stability and reusability, providing potential insights into the use of metal and non-metal co-doped biochar catalysts for PDS activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are classified as different diseases but have many similar pathogenic genes and clinical symptoms. Previous research has focused on mutated genes. This study was conducted to identify key molecular mechanisms and explore effective therapeutic targets. Methods: Myocardial tissue was harvested from patients with HCM (n = 3) or DCM (n = 4) during surgery. Hearts donated by healthy traffic accident victims were treated as controls (n = 4). Total proteins were extracted for liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were annotated via GO and KEGG analyses. Selected distinguishing protein abundance was confirmed by western blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, there were 121 and 76 DEPs in the HCM and DCM groups, respectively. GO terms for these two comparisons are associated with contraction‐related components and actin binding. Additionally, the most significantly upregulated and downregulated proteins were periostin and tropomyosin alpha‐3 chain in both comparisons. Moreover, when comparing the HCM and DCM groups, we found 60 significant DEPs, and the GO and KEGG terms are related to the calcium signalling pathway. Expression of the calcium regulation–related protein peptidyl‐prolyl cis‐trans isomerase (FKBP1A) was significantly upregulated in multiple samples. Conclusion: HCM and DCM have many mutual pathogenetic pathways. Calcium ion‐related processes are among the most significant factors affecting disease development. For HCM and DCM, research on regulating linchpin protein expression or interfering with key calcium‐related pathways may be more beneficial than genetic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel three-dimensional coordination compound has been solvothermally synthesized based on a tetracarboxylate ligand H4L (H4L = 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-carboxylphenyl)pyrene), Zn2L(H2O)2·2DEF (1) (DEF = N,N′-diethylformamide). Each Zn ion is coordinated by four carboxylate oxygen atoms from four L4− ligands and one oxygen atom from a water molecule to provide a distorted square-pyramidal geometry. Pairs of adjacent Zn cations are bridged by four carboxylate groups of four different L4− ligands to generate a paddle-wheel [Zn2(COO)4(H2O)2] secondary building unit (SBU). Each SUB is further linked to four L4− ligands to give a three-dimensional framework with cds-type (CdSO4-type) topology. The crystal structure has been determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the compound was characterized by elemental and thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and solid-state photoluminescence measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotope substitution is an important experimental technique that offers deep insight into reaction mechanisms, as the measured kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) can be directly compared with theory. For multiple proton transfer processes, there are two types of mechanisms: stepwise transfer and concerted transfer. The Bell–Limbach model provides a simple theory to determine whether the proton transfer mechanism is stepwise or concerted from KIEs. Recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments have studied the proton switching process in water tetramers on NaCl(001). Theoretical studies predict that this process occurs via a concerted mechanism; however, the experimental KIEs resemble the Bell–Limbach model for stepwise tunneling, raising questions on the underlying mechanism or the validity of the model. We study this system using ab initio instanton theory, and in addition to thermal rates, we also considered microcanonical rates, as well as tunneling splittings. The instanton theory predicts a concerted mechanism, and the KIEs for tunneling rates (both thermal and microcanonical) upon deuteration are consistent with the Bell–Limbach model for concerted tunneling but could not explain the experiments. For tunneling splittings, partial and full deuteration change the size of it in a similar fashion to how they change the rates. We further examined the Bell–Limbach model in another system, porphycene, which has both stepwise and concerted tunneling pathways. The KIEs predicted by instanton theory are again consistent with the Bell–Limbach model. This study highlights differences between KIEs in stepwise and concerted tunneling and the discrepancy between theory and recent STM experiments. New theory/experiments are desired to settle this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The worldwide prevention of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a significant health challenge. Plant-based dietary patterns are a series dietary habits that emphasized foods derived from plant sources more and from animal foods less. Now, no consensus exists on the effects of plant-based dietary patterns on the incident of GDM. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the effects of plant-based dietary patterns on the risk of developing GDM. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following the checklist of PRISMA. Six electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wangfang, and Chinese Scientific Journals Database were searched from inception to November 20, 2022. A fixed or random effect model was used to synthesize results of included studies. Then, subgroup analysis, meta-regression and sensitivity analysis were performed to assure the reliability and stability of the results. Results: Ten studies including 32,006 participants were identified. The results of this study showed that the better adherence to the plant-based dietary patterns was related to the lower risk of developing GDM (RR = 0.88[0.81 to 0.96], I2 = 14.8%). The slightly stronger association between plant-based diets and the risk of developing GDM was found when healthy plant-based dietary pattern index was included in pooled estimate (RR = 0.86[0.79 to 0.94], I2 = 8.3%), compared with that unhealthy one was included (RR = 0.90[0.82 to 0.98], I2 = 8.3%). Conclusion: The plant-based dietary patterns are associated with a lower risk of developing GDM. Furthermore, healthy plant-based dietary patterns are more recommended than unhealthy one. It is significant to help medical staff to guide pregnant women to choose reasonable diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies reported that the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) had lower activation during visuospatial attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while the functional connectivity (FC) between the IPL and other brain regions and how cognitive demand might modulate IPL's FC remain unclear. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment recruiting two task conditions with relatively low and high cognitive demand of visuospatial attention. Forty-four children with ADHD and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. IPL's regional activation and FC intensities were compared between groups and correlated with clinical measurements. We found that the IPL had significantly reduced activation in children with ADHD compared to healthy controls and this abnormal activation was not modulated by the cognitive demand of visuospatial attention. Importantly, further analysis revealed that the functional connectivity between IPL and inferior frontal gyrus was modulated by the cognitive demand of visuospatial attention in children with ADHD. These results revealed a modulatory effect of cognitive demand of visuospatial attention on IPL's functional connectivity but not IPL's activation in children with ADHD. More generally, these results highlight the functional reorganization of the brain activity as a possible compensatory strategy in response to the symptoms of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular simulations are currently receiving significant attention for their ability to offer a microscopic perspective that explains macroscopic phenomena. An essential aspect is the accurate characterization of molecular structural parameters and the development of realistic numerical models. This study investigates the surface morphology and elemental distribution of silicon nitride fibers through TEM and EDS, and SEM and EDS analyses. Utilizing a customized molecular dynamics approach, molecular models of amorphous and multi-interface silicon nitride fibers with complex structures were constructed. Tensile simulations were conducted to explore correlations between performance and molecular structural composition. The results demonstrate successful construction of molecular models with amorphous, amorphous–crystalline interface, and mixed crystalline structures. Mechanical property characterization reveal the following findings: (1) The nonuniform and irregular amorphous structure causes stress concentration and crack formation under applied stress. Increased density enhances material strength but leads to higher crack sensitivity. (2) Incorporating a crystalline reinforcement phase without interfacial crosslinking increases free volume and relative tensile strength, improving toughness and reducing crack susceptibility. (3) Crosslinked interfaces effectively enhance load transfer in transitional regions, strengthening the material's tensile strength, while increased density simultaneously reduces crack propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury was suggested associated with intestinal flora. However, irisin has demonstrated beneficial effects on myocardial I/R injury, thus increasing interest in exploring its mechanism. Therefore, whether irisin interferes in gut microbiota and gut mucosal barrier during myocardial I/R injury was investigated in the present study. Irisin was found to reduce the infiltration of inflammatory cells and fracture in myocardial tissue, myocardial enzyme levels, and the myocardial infarction (MI) area. In addition, the data showed that irisin reverses I/R-induced gut dysbiosis as indicated by the decreased abundance of Actinobacteriota and the increased abundance of Firmicutes, and maintains intestinal barrier integrity, reduces metabolic endotoxemia, and inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Based on the results, irisin could be a good candidate for ameliorating myocardial I/R injury and associated diseases by alleviating gut dysbiosis, endothelial dysfunction and anti-inflammatory properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large mammalian herbivores are vital components of terrestrial ecosystems, influencing the plants they feed on, but also serving as ecosystem engineers that impact the occurrence and survival of many other organisms. Arthropods are the most abundant and diverse animal group on earth, filling all trophic levels in food webs and facilitating essential ecosystem services. However, the impacts of large herbivores on arthropod communities and the mechanisms via which these impacts are mediated are not fully understood.Here, we experimentally separated the mechanistic pathways whereby large herbivores affect arthropod food webs using a 24‐year manipulative multi‐site field experiment in the Netherlands. We analysed the abundance, biomass and community composition of arthropods in the plant canopy and on the soil surface, both in grazed sites or sites where large herbivores were excluded.We found that the presence of large herbivores resulted in considerable differences in vegetation properties and microclimate which influenced the abundance and biomass of arthropods to varying trophic levels. Large herbivore grazing enhanced the overall abundance and biomass of arthropod herbivores, pollinators, omnivores and soil‐dwelling predators, but reduced that of detritivores, scavengers, parasitoids and canopy predators. Structural equation models revealed that different trophic groups are affected by grazing via different pathways. Specially, large herbivores facilitated herbivores via increasing plant quality and enhanced ground‐dwelling predators via increasing plant diversity. In contrast, plant‐dwelling predators were suppressed via decreased plant quantity, and parasitoids were mainly affected by changes in microclimate conditions.Synthesis. Our results show that large mammalian herbivores play a significant role in shaping grassland arthropod food webs, and that these impacts were independently mediated by multiple aspects of vegetation properties, that is, physical structure, plant diversity, standing crop biomass and leaf nutrient content. Arthropods of different trophic groups responded differently to the large herbivores, and these functional group‐specific responses in turn may have strong cascading effects on numerous ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]