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Serum uric acid (SUA) may be involved in the development of cancer by inhibiting oxidative stress, but its relationship with breast cancer remains unclear.

Tailoring a MOF with suitable pore windows for the sieving C3H6/C3H8separation is attractive but challenging, where controlling the local framework flexibility by introducing functionality provides a solution. In this work, four isoreticular ultramicroporous Zn–triazolate–dicarboxylate frameworks, Zn-ATZ-IP(R)(R = −F, −OH, −NH2, and −CH3) (HATZ = 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole; H2IP-R = R group functionalized isophthalic acid) with variable pore apertures, were targeted as platforms to study the effect of functional groups on their separation performance. Single-component adsorption isotherms uncovered the potential of Zn-ATZ-IP(OH)-awith hydroxyl groups as a sieving adsorbent. Single X-ray diffraction (SXRD) measurements revealed that strong intraframework hydrogen bonds hinder the free torsion of ATZ–ligand in Zn-ATZ-IP(OH)-a, defining rigid pore windows that admit C3H6while exclude C3H8, whereas other groups give adaptive larger pores that allow both C3H6and C3H8in. Further, in situXRD measurements suggested that temperature alters the strength of hydrogen bonds, making Zn-ATZ-IP(OH)-aideal for room-temperature sieving of C3H6/C3H8. This work highlights the superiority of customizing sieving pores sustained by hydrogen bonds, which advances the rational design of smart adsorbents for energy-efficient light hydrocarbon separations.

In recent years, rare-earth-based chalcogenides have gained attention promising materials in the field of infrared nonlinear optical (IR-NLO) applications owing to their exceptional physicochemical properties. However, they frequently encounter challenges such as adverse two-photon absorption and low laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) caused by narrow optical band gaps (Eg), which limit their practical utility. In this study, we started with the centrosymmetric (CS) parent compound EuGa2S4to develop two new noncentrosymmetric (NCS) Eu-based chalcogenides, namely, EuZnSiS4and EuCdSiS4, employing a rational cross-substitution strategy. Despite having identical stoichiometry, both compounds crystallize in distinct NCS orthorhombic space groups [Fdd2 (no. 43) vs Ama2 (no. 40)], as confirmed by single-crystal structure analysis. Their crystal structures feature highly distorted tetrahedral motifs interconnected via corner-sharing, forming unique two-dimensional layers that host Eu2+cations. Furthermore, both compounds exhibit robust phase-matching second-harmonic generation (SHG) intensities of 1.5 × AgGaS2for EuZnSiS4and 2.8 × AgGaS2for EuCdSiS4under 2050 nm excitation. They also demonstrate high LIDTs (approximately 14–17 × AgGaS2), wide Eg(>2.5 eV), and transparency windows extending up to 18.2 μm. Particularly noteworthy, EuCdSiS4stands out as a pioneering example in the Eu-based IR-NLO system for successfully combining a broad Eg(>2.56 eV, equivalent to that of AgGaS2) with a significant SHG effect (>1.0 × AgGaS2) simultaneously. Structural analyses and theoretical insights underscore that the reasonable combination of asymmetric functional units plays a pivotal role in driving the CS-to-NCS structural transformation and enhancing the NLO and linear optical properties of these Eu-based chalcogenides. This study presents a promising chemical pathway for advancing rare-earth-based functional materials and suggests exciting opportunities for their future applications in IR-NLO technologies.

An Al2O3/LaAlO3/SiO2 gate stack is designed and implemented on various trench-gate channel planes for high-performance trench power MOSFETs. The designed high-k gate stack achieves a significant enhancement in the gate blocking capability (~1.73X) and maintains a low interface state density (Dit), in comparison to the SiO2­ gate. Moreover, owing to the implementation of the high-k gate stack, the high-k trench gate MOSFETs conduct a drain current of approximately 1.3 times larger than that of the SiO2 trench gate MOSFETs on all 24 channel planes at the same overdrive voltage (Vgs-Vth) of 10 V. An analysis of the mobility limiting mechanisms on different channel planes reveals that the highest channel mobility on the (1120) channel plane is primarily due to its largest Coulomb scattering mobility and surface roughness scattering mobility.

Nonplanar porphyrins play crucial roles in many biological processes and chemical reactions as catalysts. However, the preparation of artificial nonplanar porphyrins suffers from complicated organic syntheses. Herein, we present a new rare-earth porphyrinic metal–organic framework (RE-PMOF), BUT-233, which is a three-dimensional (3D) framework structure with the flutopology consisting of 4-connected BBCPPP-Ph ligands H4BBCPPP-Ph = 5′,5⁗-(10,20-diphenylporphyrin-5,15-diyl)bis([1,1′:3′,1″-terphenyl]-4,4′′ dicarboxylic acid) and 8-connected Eu6clusters. Noteworthily, the porphyrin cores of the BBCPPP-Ph ligands in BUT-233 are nonplanar with a ruffle-like conformation. In contrast, the porphyrin core in the free ligand H4BBCPPP-Ph is in a nearly ideally planar conformation, as confirmed by its single-crystal structure. BUT-233 is microporous with 6–8 Å pores and a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 649 m2/g, as well as high stability in common solvents. The MOF was used as a photocatalyst for the oxidation degradation of a chemical warfare agent model molecule CEES (CEES = 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide) under the light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation and an O2atmosphere at room temperature. CEES was almost completely converted into its nontoxic light-oxidized product CEESO (CEESO = 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfoxide) in only 5 min with t1/2= 2 min (t1/2: half-life). Moreover, the toxic deep-oxidized product 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfone (CEESO2) was not detected. The catalytic activity of BUT-233 was high in comparison with those of some previously reported MOF catalysts. The results of photo/electrochemical property studies suggested that the high catalytic activity of BUT-233 was benefited from the presence of nonplanar porphyrin rings on its pore surface.

To evaluate the potential for practical application of biochar derived from bagasse and polymeric ferric sulfate (BPFSB), its capabilities and mechanisms for the removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and norfloxacin (NOR) were explored. The optimized conditions were as follows: pH=2, dosage of 0.5 g L−1(SMX); pH=6, dosage of 0.5 g L−1(NOR). The maximum removal capacities of SMX were 266.8 (298 K), 265.9 (308 K) and 258.7 mg g−1(318 K), while those of NOR were 197.7 ( 298 K), 198.8 (308 K) and 211.6 mg g−1(318 K), respectively. Their spontaneous removals were dominated by multilayer surface chemisorption. However, the removal of SMX was exothermic (ΔH=-12.27 kJ mol−1) while the removal of NOR was endothermic (ΔH=13.84 kJ mol−1). Their removals followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model better, and liquid film diffusion was the primary rate-controlling step. The electrostatic interactions, H-bonding, complexation and π-π interactions were the main pathways of their chemisorption, while their degradation also contributed significantly to their removals. After five regenerations, the BPFSB was still effective in removing SMX (>85%), suggesting that it was more suitable for SMX removal in practice.

Objective:This study examined changes in wound symptoms and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with newly diagnosed malignant fungating wounds, and explored the factors that impacted the changes in HRQoL.Method:This prospective longitudinal study included patients from three hospitals in China who had been diagnosed with malignant fungating wounds. Questionnaires were used to assess patients' HRQoL and their wound symptoms at the time of diagnosis (T0), as well as at one, three and six (T1, T2 and T3, respectively) months following the treatment period. Factors related to changes in HRQoL were analysed using generalised estimating equation models.Results:A total of 162 patients were included in the study. The patients reported low overall HRQoL. In three health-related dimensions (functional status, social relations and mental health), patients reported lower functional status at the time of wound diagnosis (T0), which then increased slowly with treatment over time. A lower QoL was associated with odour, exudate, bleeding, pruritus, a low performance status and the need for the dressing of wounds.Conclusion:The HRQoL of patients with malignant fungating wounds exhibited significant changes across different periods. It is thus of great importance to formulate pragmatic, patient and family-centred palliative wound care management strategies.

The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) significantly contributes to air pollution and poses a serious threat to human health. Benzene, one of the most toxic VOCs, is difficult for the human body to metabolize and is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen. The development of efficient adsorbents for removing trace amounts of benzene from ambient air is thus of great importance. In this work, we studied the benzene adsorption properties of four Zr-based metal–organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) through static volumetric and dynamic breakthrough experiments. Two previously reported Zr-MOFs, BUT-12 and STA-26, were prepared with a tritopic carboxylic acid ligand (H3L1) functionalized with three methyl groups, and STA-26 is a 2-fold interpenetrated network of BUT-12. Two new isoreticular Zr-MOFs, BUT-12-Et and STA-26-Et, were synthesized using a similar ligand, H3L2, where the methyl groups are replaced with ethyl groups. There are mesopores in BUT-12 and BUT-12-Et and micropores in STA-26 and STA-26-Et. The four Zr-MOFs all showed high stability in liquid water and acidic aqueous solutions. The microporous STA-26 and STA-26-Et showed much higher benzene uptakes than mesoporous BUT-12 and BUT-12-Et at room temperature under low pressures. Particularly, the benzene adsorption capacity of STA-26-Et was high up to 2.21 mmol/g at P/P0= 0.001 (P0= 12.78 kPa), higher than those of the other three Zr-MOFs and most reported solid adsorbents. Breakthrough experiments confirmed that STA-26-Et could effectively capture trace benzene (10 ppm) from dry air; however, its benzene capture capacity was reduced by 90% under humid conditions (RH = 50%). Coating of the crystals of STA-26-Et with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) increased the hydrophobicity of the exterior MOF surfaces, leading to a more than 2-fold improvement in its benzene capture capacity in the breakthrough experiment under humid condition. PDMS coating of STA-26-Et likely slowed down the water adsorption process, and thus, the adsorbent afforded more efficient capture of benzene. This work demonstrates that modifying both the interior and exterior surfaces of MOFs can effectively enhance their performance in capturing trace benzene from ambient air, even under humid conditions. This finding is meaningful for the development of new adsorbents for effective air purification applications.

Noncentrosymmetric (NCS) oxychalcogenides have attracted great attention in recent years due to their immense potential as candidates for IR nonlinear-optical (NLO) applications. Despite notable advancements in this field, the discovery of oxychalcogenides with three-dimensional (3D) framework structures remains a formidable challenge. In this study, we report the discovery of the first hexanary oxychalcogenide, Ba10In2Mn11Si3O12S18, exhibiting second-order NLO activity, using a high-temperature solid-phase method. This compound showcases a novel structure type, featuring an uncommon NCS 3D [In2Mn11Si3O12S18]20–framework formed by vertex-sharing [(Mn/In)S6] octahedra, [(Mn/In)OS3] tetrahedra, and [SiO4] tetrahedra, with charge-balanced Ba2+cations occupying the channels. Our study serves as a source of inspiration for researchers to further investigate the synthesis of novel NLO-active oxychalcogenides with 3D frameworks.

In order to improve the bioavailability of curcumin (Cur) and patient compliance, a type of novel hyaluronic acid (HA) composite microneedles containing Cur-loaded micelles was designed in this paper. On the one hand, the microneedles matrix solution was prepared by screening the optimal concentration of HA and the better proportion of HA to sodium carboxymethyl starch (CMS-Na). On the other hand, the amphiphilic polymer, named as Quercetin-Dithiodipropionic Acid-Oligomeric Hyaluronic Acid (Que-DA-oHA), was synthesized and characterized using 1H-NMR. Subsequently, the dialysis method was used to prepare Cur-loaded Que-DA-oHA micelles with an average size of 172.6 ± 11.4 nm and zeta potential of − 33.71 ± 0.45 mV. A micromolding process was used to prepare the micelle-loaded HA composite microneedles. It had been found that when the concentration of HA was 200 mg/mL and the mass ratio of HA to CMS-Na was 2:1, the prepared HA composite microneedles had good mechanical strength. In-skindissolution kinetics showed that the micelle-loaded HA composite microneedles could dissolve quickly in the skin. In vitro permeation study indicated that the microneedles delivered 74.7% of their drug load over 6 h, which exhibited remarkable drug permeation properties in a short time. Here, we creatively combined micellar technology with microneedle technology to rapidly deliver Cur transdermally for diseases treatment such as melanoma.

Oscillatory Pressure Sintering (OPS) has been demonstrated to be a favorable manufacturing approach for the control of fine and uniform distribution of grains in various ceramic systems, which can lead to enhanced densification and thus improved physical and mechanical properties. In this study, OPS was utilized to prepare pure Ca3Co4O9thermoelectric material. The results show that the electrical properties and thermoelectric properties of Ca3Co4O9prepared by OPS are superior to those of samples sintered by conventional hot pressing (HP) without oscillation. This may be attributed to the better alignment of plate-like grains in the OPS samples, which increase electrical conductivity, and also the higher density of grain boundaries that enhance the phonon scattering and, thus, the reduction of thermal conductivity. This study suggests that a straightforward oscillatory pressure sintering approach can be utilized to obtain high-quality and high-performance thermoelectric materials without the need for doping, templating, or high-temperature sintering.

Addressing Cd(ii) and As(iii) pollution in agricultural irrigation is crucial for ecological and public health protection. This study introduces a S–Fe–C composite (SFC) to improve Cd(ii) and As(iii) removal from irrigation water. Characterization showed homogeneous S-nZVI nanoflake distribution within BC, enhancing adsorption capacities to 405 mg g−1for Cd(ii) and 349 mg g−1for As(iii). The adsorption process adhered to pseudo-second order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm. BC can prevent S-nZVI aggregation and enhance electron mobility. Ca2+and Mg2+reduced Cd(ii) removal, whereas As(iii) and PO43−facilitated it. The efficacy of SFC stemmed from chemical precipitation, surface complexation, ion exchange, oxidation and Fe–Cd–As complex formation. Remarkably, SFC maintained its magnetic properties after five cycles, indicating its potential for recyclability. These results demonstrate the great potential of SFC as a functional material for simultaneous remediation of cadmium–arsenic contaminated irrigation water, which is critical for agricultural productivity and environmental health.

Uricase (or Urate oxidase), a key enzyme involved in purine metabolism, is commonly used in treating conditions such as gout, hyperuricemia, and tumor lysis syndrome. In this study, a uricase-producing strain (named CSAJ-16) was isolated from the soil sample of Cangshan Mountain, Yunnan Province, China. This strain was identified as Arthrobactersp. CSAJ-16. Based on the gene sequence alignment, the uricase gene (named aruox) of Arthrobactersp. CSAJ-16 was amplified and heterologously expressed. The recombinant uricase (ArUOX) was about 32 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature of ArUOX were pH 7 and 20°C, respectively. The ArUOX remained above 50% relative activity after incubation at 37°C for 100 min or at pH 6.0–8.6 for 24 h. Moreover, metal ions such as K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+and Pb2+can significantly enhance the activity of ArUOX (> 200%). These enzymatic properties indicate that ArUOX has potential applications in pharmaceutical enzymes and uric acid detection kits.

Diabetes and its complications reduce quality of life and are life-limiting. At present, diabetes treatment consists of hypoglycemic agents to control blood glucose and the use of insulin-sensitizing drugs to overcome insulin resistance. In diabetes, autophagy is impaired and thus there is poor intracellular environment homeostasis. Pancreatic β-cells and insulin target tissues are protected by enhancing autophagy. Autophagy decreases β-cell apoptosis, promotes β-cell proliferation, and alleviates insulin resistance. Autophagy in diabetes is regulated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and others. Autophagy enhancers can likely be used as a treatment for diabetes and its complications. This review examines the evidence linking autophagy to diabetes.

Functionalized carbon nanorods have attracted extensive attention in materials science and technology, due to their unique structure and excellent properties. Nevertheless, it remains a huge challenge to develop an approach that combines simple, cost-effective implementation paths with outstanding target products. Herein, we propose a soft-template strategy to achieve directional preparation of one-dimensional (1D) “urechis unicinctus”-like nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanorods with abundant nitrogen content (8.35 wt %), high surface area (2560 m2/g), and hierarchical pore structure. The anionic surfactant sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) and melamine are the template agent and main carbon–nitrogen precursor, respectively. By controlling the amount of ammonia (NH4OH), the behavior of AOT molecules in the aqueous phase can be accurately interfered to construct rodlike micellar templates, thereby guiding the preparation of target structural products. The rationality and stability of the original route were verified by the rigorous control experiments and relevant characterization. Moreover, the prepared materials show excellent performance in the evaluation of supercapacitors with an outstanding specific capacitance of 398 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g and 73.4% of original specific capacitance retention at a current density of 20 A/g.

The CDK8–cyclin C complex is an important anti-tumor target, but unlike CDK8, cyclin C remains undruggable. Modulators regulating cyclin C activity directly are still under development. Here, a series of hydrophobic tagging-based degraders of the CDK8–cyclin C complex were designed, synthesized, and evaluated to identify the first dual degrader, LL-K8-22, which induced selective and synchronous degradation of CDK8 and cyclin C. Proteomic and immunoblot studies exhibited that LL-K8-22significantly degraded CDK8 without reducing CDK19 and did not degrade other cyclin proteins except cyclin C. Moreover, LL-K8-22showed enhanced anti-proliferative effects over its parental molecule, BI-1347, with potency increased by 5-fold in MDA-MB-468 cells. LL-K8-22exhibited more pronounced effects on CDK8–cyclin C downstream signaling than BI-1347, suppressing STAT1 phosphorylation more persistently. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that LL-K8-22inhibited E2F- and MYC-driven carcinogenic transcriptional programs. Overall, LL-K8-22is the first-in-class degrader of cyclin C and would be useful for studying the unknown functions of cyclin C.

ABSTRACTIntroductionProtein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) belongs to type II arginine methyltransferases. Since PRMT5 plays an essential role in mammalian cells, it can regulate various physiological functions, including cell growth and differentiation, DNA damage repair, and cell signal transduction. It is an epigenetic target with significant clinical potential and may become a powerful drug target for treating cancers and other diseases.Areas coveredThis review provides an overview of small-molecule inhibitors and their associated combined treatment strategies targeting PRMT5 in cancer treatment patents published since 2018, and also summarizes the progress made by several biopharmaceutical companies in the development, application, and clinical trials of small-molecule PRMT5 inhibitors. The data in this review come from WIPO, UniProt, PubChem, RCSB PDB, National Cancer Institute, and so on.Expert opinionMany PRMT5 inhibitors have been developed with good inhibitory activities, but most of them lack selectivities and are associated with adverse clinical responses. In addition, the progress was almost all based on the previously established skeleton, and more research and development of a new skeleton still needs to be done. The development of PRMT5 inhibitors with high activities and selectivities is still an essential aspect of research in recent years.

Selective remote C–H activating amines using unmodified NH2as a native directing group demonstrate compelling synthetic utilities. The 3-arylpropan-1-amine moiety is present in many drugs and candidates in clinical trials. Selective iodination of 3-arylpropan-1-amines on remote aryl rings gives valuable intermediates for modifying bioactive molecules and synthesizing quinolones. Here we report the first palladium-catalyzed selective ε-C(sp2)–H iodination of free 3-arylpropan-1-amines via a seven-membered palladacycle.

The current study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a denosumab biosimilar, QL1206 (60 mg), compared to placebo in postmenopausal Chinese women with osteoporosis and high fracture risk. At 31 study centers in China, a total of 455 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and high fracture risk were randomly assigned to receive QL1206 (60 mg subcutaneously every 6 months) or placebo. From baseline to the 12-month follow-up, the participants who received QL1206 showed significantly increased bone mineral density (BMD) values (mean difference and 95% CI) in the lumbar spine: 4.780% (3.880%, 5.681%), total hip :3.930% (3.136%, 4.725%), femoral neck 2.733% (1.877%, 3.589%) and trochanter: 4.058% (2.791%, 5.325%) compared with the participants who received the placebo. In addition, QL1206 injection significantly decreased the serum levels of C-terminal crosslinked telopeptides of type 1 collagen (CTX): −77.352% (−87.080%, −66.844%), and N-terminal procollagen of type l collagen (P1NP): −50.867% (−57.184%, −45.217%) compared with the placebo over the period from baseline to 12 months. No new or unexpected adverse events were observed. We concluded that compared with placebo, QL1206 effectively increased the BMD of the lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck and trochanter in postmenopausal Chinese women with osteoporosis and rapidly decreased bone turnover markers. This study demonstrated that QL1206 has beneficial effects on postmenopausal Chinese women with osteoporosis and high fracture risk.

Tailored structural regulation to obtain a new non-centrosymmetric (NCS) compound with excellent optical properties is highly desirable but remains a challenge for nonlinear optical (NLO) material design. In this work, centrosymmetric celsian-type BaGa2Si2O8was selected as a template structure, and a novel NCS oxychalcogenide, namely, Ba5Ga2SiO4S6, was successfully designed via the introduction of heteroanions under high-temperature solid-state conditions. Ba5Ga2SiO4S6adopts the monoclinic space group of Cc(no. 9) and is formed by charges balancing Ba2+cations and discrete [Ga2SiO4S6] clusters made of corner-sharing [SiO4] and [GaOS3] tetrahedra. Notably, Ba5Ga2SiO4S6exhibits the critical requirements as a potential UV NLO candidate, including a phase-matching second-harmonic generation intensity (∼1.0 × KDP), a beneficial laser-induced damage threshold (1.2 × KDP), a large birefringence (Δn= 0.10@546 nm), and a short UV absorption cutoff edge (ca. 0.26 μm). Furthermore, the theoretical calculation is implemented to provide a deeper analysis of the structure–activity relationship. The investigated example of structural regulation originated from heteroanion introduction in this study may offer a feasible strategy for high-performance NLO candidate design.

Grid-side current control based on capacitor-current-feedback (CCF) active damping is a common control method for LCL-type grid-tied inverters. The control system should not only ensure inverter stability under complex grid conditions, but also be simple in structure. Therefore, the multiobjective design for the CCF control is proposed to enhance the passivity, while improving the internal stability. First, the passive constraint of CCF control is derived, from which two general control schemes, namely, negative CCF-based phase-lead (N-Lead) control scheme and positive CCF-based phase-lag (P-Lag) control scheme, are proposed. Then, the two schemes are implemented by the design of a first-order phase-lead CCF controller and a first-order phase-lag compensator-based positive CCF controller. Besides, the parameters design is also given for the convenience of engineering application. Finally, the experimental results verify the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed design methods.

Crystalline solids exhibiting inherently low lattice thermal conductivity (κL) are of great importance in applications such as thermoelectrics and thermal barrier coatings. However, κLcannot be arbitrarily low and is limited by the minimum thermal conductivity related to phonon dispersions. In this work, we report the liquid-like thermal transport in a well-ordered crystalline CsAg5Te3, which exhibits an extremely low κLvalue of ∼0.18 Wm−1K−1. On the basis of first-principles calculations and inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we find that there are lots of low-lying optical phonon modes at ∼3.1 meV hosting the avoided-crossing behavior with acoustic phonons. These strongly localized modes are accompanied by weakly bound rattling Ag atoms with thermally induced large amplitudes of vibrations. Using the two-channel model, we demonstrate that coupling of the particle-like phonon modes and the heat-carrying wave-like phonons is essential for understanding the low κL, which is heavily deviated from the 1/Ttemperature dependence of the standard Peierls theory. In addition, our analysis indicates that the soft structural framework with liquid-like motions of the fluctuating Ag atoms is the underlying cause that leads to the suppression of the heat conduction in CsAg5Te3. These factors synergistically account for the ultralow κLvalue. Our results demonstrate that the liquid-like heat transfer could indeed exist in a well-ordered crystal.Liquid-like heat transfer is observed and explained in a well-ordered crystal, which hosts soft structural framework with liquid-like motions of the fluctuating/rattling Ag atoms.