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Xuexin Chen,1,2 Hongxiang Chen,1,2 Dongchang Jiang1,2 1Department of Neonatology, Meizhou People’s Hospital, Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Meizhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine and Clinical Translational Research of Hakka Population, Meizhou People’s Hospital, Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Meizhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xuexin Chen, Department of Neonatology, Meizhou People’s Hospital, Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 63 Huangtang Road, Meijiang District, Meizhou, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 753-2131-230, Email chencheng815222@163.comBackground: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) leads to different degree of neurological sequelae. The incidence of HIE is relatively high, and the risk factors associated with HIE are still controversial. It is necessary to identify the risk factors associated with HIE.Methods: A total of 258 neonates (110 HIE patients and 148 controls) were enrolled in this study. The characteristics of pregnant women and fetuses during pregnancy and delivery were compared between HIE patients and controls, and the risk factors of HIE were analyzed.Results: The proportions of premature infants, low-birth-weight infants and the levels of 1-minute Apgar score, 5-minute Apgar score in HIE group were significantly lower than those in control group, while the proportion of amniotic fluid contamination in the HIE group was significantly higher than those of the controls. When HIE was taken as the end point of 1-minute Apgar score, and 5-minute Apgar score, the cut-off value of 1-minute Apgar score was 3, and 5-minute Apgar score was 7 by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low birth weight (< 2.5 kg) (OR 1.780, 95% CI: 0.124– 25.463, P=0.016), amniotic fluid contamination (OR 3.223, 95% CI: 1.049– 9.901, P=0.041), low 1-minute Apgar score (≤ 3) (OR 92.425, 95% CI: 15.522– 550.343, P< 0.001), and low 5-minute Apgar score (≤ 7) (OR 12.641, 95% CI: 2.894– 55.227, P=0.001) may increase risk of HIE. In addition, amniotic fluid contamination, low 1-minute Apgar score (≤ 3), and low 5-minute Apgar score (≤ 7) may increase risk of HIE among newborns born to women without previous childbearing history, but not in newborns born to women with previous childbearing history.Conclusion: Low birth weight (< 2.5 kg), amniotic fluid contamination, low 1-minute Apgar score (≤ 3), and 5-minute Apgar score (≤ 7) may increase risk of HIE.Keywords: hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, risk factors, clinical characteristics, newborns, birth weight

Cutaneous warts caused by human papillomavirus are benign proliferative lesions that occur at any ages in human lives. Updated, comprehensive and systematic evidence-based guidelines to guide clinical practice are urgently needed.We collaborated with multidisciplinary experts to formulate this guideline based on evidences of already published literature, focusing on 13 clinical questions elected by a panel of experts. We adopted Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to form classification of recommendations as well as the improved Delphi method to retain respective recommendations with a consensus degree of over 80%.Our guideline covered aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous warts such as diagnostic gold standard, transmission routes, laboratory tests, treatment principle, clinical cure criterion, definitions, and treatments of common warts, flat warts, plantar warts, condyloma acuminatum, and epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Recommendations about special population such as children and pregnant women are also listed. In total, 49 recommendations have been obtained.It is a comprehensive and systematic evidence-based guideline and we hope this guideline could systematically and effectively guide the clinical practice of cutaneous warts and improve the overall levels of medical services.

Quantum error correcting codes protect quantum computation from errors caused by decoherence and other noise. Here we study the problem of designing logical operations for quantum error correcting codes. We present an automated procedure that generates logical operations given known encoding and correcting procedures. Our technique is to use variational circuits for learning both the logical gates and the physical operations implementing them. This procedure can be implemented on near-term quantum computers via quantum process tomography. It enables automatic discovery of logical gates from analytically designed error correcting codes and can be extended to error correcting codes found by numerical optimization. We test the procedure by simulating small quantum codes of four to fifteen qubits showing that our procedure finds most logical gates known in the current literature. Additionally, it generates logical gates not found in the current literature for the [[5,1,2]] code, the [[6,3,2]] code, the [[8,3,2]] code, and the [[10,1,2]] code.

IntroductionPsoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease recognized by the World Health Organization as "an incurable chronic, noninfectious, painful, disfiguring and disabling disease." The fact that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is the most common and important comorbidities of psoriasis suggests an important role of lipid metabolism in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Narciclasine (Ncs) is an alkaloid isolated from the Amaryllidaceae plants. Its biological activities include antitumor, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, anti-angiogenic and promoting energy expenditure to improve dietinduced obesity. Here, we report that Ncs may be a potential candidate for psoriasis, acting at both the organismal and cellular levels.MethodsThe therapeutic effect of Ncs was assessed in IMQ-induced psoriasis-like mouse model. Then, through in vitro experiments, we explored the inhibitory effect of Ncs on HaCaT cell proliferation and Th17 cell polarization; Transcriptomics and lipidomics were used to analyze the major targets of Ncs; Single-cell sequencing data was used to identify the target cells of Ncs action.ResultsNcs can inhibit keratinocyte proliferation and reduce the recruitment of immune cells in the skin by inhibiting psoriasis-associated inflammatory mediators. In addition, it showed a direct repression effect on Th17 cell polarization. Transcriptomic and lipidomic data further revealed that Ncs extensively regulated lipid metabolismrelated genes, especially the Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) family, and increased antiinflammatory lipid molecules. Combined with single-cell data analysis, we confirmed that keratinocytes are the main cells in which Ncs functions.DiscussionTaken together, our findings indicate that Ncs alleviates psoriasiform skin inflammation in mice, which is associated with inhibition of PLA2 in keratinocytes and improved phospholipid metabolism. Ncs has the potential for further development as a novel anti-psoriasis drug.

The development of supramolecular photonic crystal hydrogels (SPCHs) with responsive and self-healing properties has been established as an important topic.

In order to obtain polyurethane micelles with targeting property and excellent stability, Fe3O4-modified magnetic amphiphilic polyurethane (MAPU) was successfully synthesized by grafting amphiphilic polyurethane to the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The structure of MAPU was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), gel permeation chromatography and thermogravimetric analyzer. MAPU could form micelles with the particle size of less than 45 nm, and the micelles showed excellent stability of anti-dilution and storage, determined by dynamic light scattering. MAPU micelles had superparamagnetic property, and magnetically targeted property in HeLa cells measured by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Prussian blue staining method, respectively. Methyltetrazolium (MTT) assay experiment indicated that MAPU micelles were almost non-cytotoxic. In addition, MAPU micelles could encapsulate hydrophobic model drugs such as Indometacin (IMC) and had a release-sustained effect for IMC.

In this article, two continuous control set model predictive control (CCS-MPC) methods with one-step prediction horizon for three-level flying capacitor boost converter (FCBC) that can provide constant switching frequency are presented. The first one is explicit model predictive control (EMPC), which can provide explicit solution. In order to further reduce the complexity and the computational burden of EMPC while meeting the control requirements, a simple model predictive control (SMPC) is proposed as the second CCS-MPC method. The proposed CCS-MPC will be used as the inner-loop controller to control the inductor current and flying capacitor (FC) voltage. Besides, a suitable outer-loop control strategy for the output voltage is proposed to provide a suitable inductor current reference to improve the dynamic response of the output voltage while avoiding overcurrent. Compared with the previous control method for three-level FCBC, the proposed control method has good dynamic performance and stronger ability to resist input voltage disturbance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulation and experimental results.

The development of multifunctional supramolecular hydrogels with high mechanical strength and multifunction is in high demand. In this work, the diblock copolymer poly(acrylamide-co-1-benzyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide)-block-polyAzobenzene is synthesized through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The dynamic host-guest interactions between the host molecule cucurbit[8] uril and guest units are used to fabricate a 3D network of supramolecular hydrogels. Investigations on the properties of the supramolecular hydrogels show that the tensile stress of the sample is 1.46 MPa, eight times higher than that of hydrogel without liquid-crystalline block copolymer, and the self-healing efficiency of the supramolecular hydrogels at room temperature is 88.3% (fracture stress) and 100% (fracture strain) after 24 h. Results show that microphase-separated structure plays a key role in the high-strength hydrogel, whereas the host-guest interaction endows the hydrogel with self-healing properties. The supramolecular hydrogels with high mechanical strength, photo-responsivity, injectability, and biocompatibility can be used in various potential applications.

Balancing the second-harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient, band gap, and birefringence is a vital but addressable challenge for designing infrared nonlinear optical materials. By applying a "rigidity-flexibility coupling" strategy, a quaternary diamond-like phosphide, Mg2In3Si2P7, with wurtzite-type superstructure was successfully designed and synthesized. Remarkably, it achieved the rare coexistence of giant second-harmonic generation (2 × ZnGeP2 and 7.1 × AgGaS2), suitable band gap (2.21 eV), moderate birefringence (0.107), and wide IR transparent range (0.56-16.4 μm). First-principles calculations revealed that the giant SHG response and large birefringence can be attributed to the synergy of arrangement-aligned [InP4] and [SiP4] tetrahedra. This work not only opens a new avenue for designing advanced infrared nonlinear optical materials but also may spur more explorations on quaternary diamond-like pnictides.

ASPM is a protein encoded by primary microcephaly 5 ( MCPH5 ) and is responsible for ensuring spindle position during mitosis and the symmetrical division of neural stem cells. We recently reported that ASPM promotes homologous recombination (HR) repair of DNA double strand breaks. However, its potential role in DNA replication and replication stress response remains elusive. Interestingly, we found that ASPM is dispensable for DNA replication under unperturbed conditions. However, ASPM is enriched at stalled replication forks in a RAD17-dependent manner in response to replication stress and promotes RAD9 and TopBP1 loading onto chromatin, facilitating ATR-CHK1 activation. ASPM depletion results in failed fork restart and nuclease MRE11-mediated nascent DNA degradation at the stalled replication fork. The overall consequence is chromosome instability and the sensitization of cancer cells to replication stressors. These data support a role for ASPM in loading RAD17-RAD9/TopBP1 onto chromatin to activate the ATR-CHK1 checkpoint and ultimately ensure genome stability.

Type I cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) has been reported to exhibit favorable anti-inflammation and anti-pruritus effects against inflammation-based skin diseases, but the specific mechanism remains to be explored. In this study, we found that the activation of CB1R significantly relieved the scratching behavior and skin inflammation in psoriatic mouse model, while CB1R antagonist aggravated these symptoms. As the expression of CB1R was abundant in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), we constructed mice with conditional CB1R knockout (CB1R-cKO) in primary sensory neurons and found that imiquimod (IMQ) induced psoriasiform inflammation and itch were both worsened in CB1R-cKO mice. Next, we observed that the CB1R mostly located in peptidergic neurons and deletion of CB1R in primary sensory neurons promoted the production and release of substance P (SP) to the skin tissue. Furthermore, the elevated SP in the skin affected the activation of ERK in keratinocytes and induced the accumulation of mast cells in the dermis. Last, we demonstrated that blocking the SP signal significantly alleviated the exacerbation of psoriasiform inflammation and itch caused by IMQ in CB1R-cKO mice. Together, our work reveals that CB1R in sensory neurons plays a key role in psoriasiform skin inflammation and pruritus via regulating SP expression.

In order to not only improve the stability of nanomicelles in blood circulation but also promote the cellular uptake in tumors and rapidly release the encapsulated drugs in tumor cells, a kind of acid/reduction dual-sensitive amphiphilic graft polyurethane with folic acid and detachable poly(ethylene glycol) (FA-PUSS-g

Background: As a cause of respiratory tract infections in humans, influenza remains with high morbidity and mortality, with associated significant healthcare burden and increased financial burden. Traditional Chinese medicine injections (TCMIs) combined with oseltamivir (TCMIs + oseltamivir) are the representative therapeutic strategies for influenza, which is a compliant with clinical applications in China. The aim of this study was to describe the comparative efficacy and safety of TCMIs + oseltamivir in patients with influenza, based on the current evidence.Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP information resource integration service platform databases, and the Chinese biomedical literature service system were searched to find randomized controlled trials where TCMIs + oseltamivir are the representative therapeutic strategies for influenza, from inception until October 2021, without language restriction. Two investigators independently screened eligibility criteria, extracted data, and appraised the risk of bias with the same criteria. We conducted a network meta-analysis using the Bayesian random method for each outcome and performed the sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, and Egger’s and Begg’s tests for the reliability and robustness of our results.Results: Thirty-one trials including 2,893 participants proved eligible and reported on four TCMIs + oseltamivir versus oseltamivir. Network meta-analysis showed Yanhuning (YHN) +oseltamivir (MD = −1.7, 95% CrI: −2.5 to −0.88; SUCRA = 0.89; low certainty of evidence) in fever disappearance time, Tanreqing (TRQ) +oseltamivir (MD = −1.9, 95% CrI: −2.8 to −1; SUCRA = 0.97; low certainty of evidence) in cough disappearance time, and Xiyanping (XYP) +oseltamivir (OR = 5.9, 95% CrI: 3.1 to 11; SUCRA = 0.82; very low certainty of evidence) in the response rate to be more efficacious than oseltamivir alone with the best SUCRA. Based on the combined SUCRA value for primary outcomes, TRQ + oseltamivir is probably better in cough disappearance time, and XYP + oseltamivir and YHN + oseltamivir may be better in fever disappearance time than others. No significant difference in safety between the treatments.Conclusion: In patients with influenza, TCMIs + oseltamivir only partially improve flu symptoms. Overall therapeutic efficacy and safety are inconclusive, based on low to very low certainty of evidence. However, the safety remains uncertain, and TCMI treatments for influenza should be considered with caution. More high-quality studies examining the efficacy and safety of TCMIs are needed.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42021286994

Background: Psoriasis is characterized by keratinocyte proliferation and massive inflammatory leukocytes infiltration, affecting 0.14%–1.99% of the world’s population. Our aim was to identify novel potential therapeutic strategies for psoriasis.Methods: Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify gene modules that were closely related to psoriasis based on the GSE30999 dataset, which contained expression data from 85 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Then, angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), one of the most related hub genes, was selected for in vitro and in vivo functional assays. In our experiments, imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasiform dermatitis in mice and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells were used to study the potential roles and mechanisms of ANGPTL4 in psoriasis.Results: WGCNA analysis revealed the turquoise module was most correlated with psoriasis, and ANGPTL4 is one of the most related hub genes that significantly upregulated in psoriasis lesions compared with non-lesional skin. Consistent with the bioinformatic analysis, the expression of ANGPTL4 was significantly upregulated in IMQ-induced psoriasiform skin of mice. Exogenous recombinant ANGPLT4 protein treatment could promote the proliferation and induce the expression of inflammatory cytokines in HaCaTs, whereas silencing of ANGPTL4 effectively inhibited these effects. Then we demonstrated that recombinant ANGPTL4 protein exacerbated psoriasiform inflammation and epidermal hyperproliferation in vivo. Mechanismly, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways were involved in ANGPTL4-mediated regulation of proliferation and inflammation.Conclusion: We found ANGPTL4 was significantly increased in IMQ-induced psoriasiform skin of mice. ANGPTL4 could promote keratinocyte proliferation and inflammatory response via ERK1/2 and STAT3 dependent signaling pathways in psoriasis.

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) with hourglass fermion surface state have attracted a lot of attention and are further enriched by crystalline symmetries and magnetic order. Here, the emergence of hourglass fermion surface state and exotic phases in the newly discovered, air-stable ErAsS single crystals are shown. In the paramagnetic phase, ErAsS is expected to be a TCI with hourglass fermion surface state protected by the nonsymmorphic symmetry. Dirac-cone-like bands and nearly linear dispersions in large energy range are experimentally observed, consistent well with theoretical calculations. Below T

Cohesin, a four-subunit ring comprising SMC1, SMC3, RAD21 and SA1/2, tethers sister chromatids by DNA replication-coupled cohesion (RC-cohesion) to guarantee correct chromosome segregation during cell proliferation. Postreplicative cohesion, also called damage-induced cohesion (DI-cohesion), is an emerging critical player in DNA damage response (DDR). In this review, we sum up recent progress on how cohesin regulates the DNA damage checkpoint activation and repair pathway choice, emphasizing postreplicative cohesin loading and DI-cohesion establishment in yeasts and mammals. DI-cohesion and RC-cohesion show distinct features in many aspects. DI-cohesion near or far from the break sites might undergo different regulations and execute different tasks in DDR and DSB repair. Furthermore, some open questions in this field and the significance of this new scenario to our understanding of genome stability maintenance and cohesinopathies are discussed.

Background: Cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) is a potential target for anti-inflammatory and pain therapeutics given its significant immunomodulatory and analgesic effects. However, the role of CB2R in imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasiform dermatitis (PsD) and itch is poorly understood.Objective: To investigate the function and mechanism of CB2R in PsD and itch in mice.Methods: Following daily treatment with topical IMQ cream for 5-7 consecutive days in C56BL/6 wild-type (WT) and CB2R gene knockout (KO) mice, we assessed the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores and the scratch bouts every day, and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, toluidine blue staining were used to observe the histological changes. mRNA levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Protein levels were detected by western blotting (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) and cytometric bead array (CBA). Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to examine the proportion of Th17/Treg cells.Results: We found that CB2R expression levels were increased in mice with psoriasis. Compared with WT mice, CB2R deficiency exacerbated IMQ-induced PsD and scratching bouts and upregulated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines by increasing the infiltration of CD4+ T cells and the Th17/Treg ratio. Obvious proliferation and prolongation of nerve fibers and high expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) were observed in PsD and CB2R KO mice. Pretreatment with the CB2R agonist, JWH-133 significantly reversed inflammation and scratching bouts. CB2R didn't participate in the induction of itch in psoriasis by regulating the expression of IL-31, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and mast cells in mouse skins.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that CB2R plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of psoriasis, providing a new potential target for anti-inflammatory and antipruritic drugs.

The present study aimed to investigate whether apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptides (A3) are involved in the regulation of cervical cancer development and human papilloma virus (HPV)16 sustained infection in Uighur females. Cervical tissues of Uygur patients with HPV16 with cervical lesions were collected. Expression levels of A3C, A3F and A3G were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. A model of SiHa cells with high expression levels of A3C, A3F and A3G was constructed. Hypermutation was detected using the differential DNA denaturation PCR and positive samples were amplified and sequenced. There were significant differences in A3 expression levels in cervical lesions of different grades. A3C and A3F mRNA and protein expression in cervical cancer tissues were significantly lower, whereas the A3G mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly higher compared with the cervicitis and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I–III groups. Hypermutation rates were increased with cervical lesion development. C>T and G>A base substitutions were detected in all hypermutation samples and numbers of C>T and G>A base substitutions in single samples in the cervical cancer group were significantly higher compared with those in the CIN I–III and cervicitis groups. Following transfection of A3F and A3G, HPV E2 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly decreased in SiHa cells. Numerous C>T and G>A base substitutions were detected in the HPV E2 gene in A3G and A3C overexpressing SiHa cells. A3 family proteins inhibit viral replication during HPV16 infection and regulate the HPV16 integration by inducing C>T and G>A hypermutations in the HPV16 E2 gene, thus affecting the cervical cancer pathogenesis and development.

To improve the electro-optical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film, the size and number of liquid crystal droplets were regulated by changing component, curing method, curing...

There is a trade-off between water resistance and mechanical properties of the waterborne polyurethane film. Aiming to solve this problem, the waterborne polyurethane-acrylate (WPUBH) was prepared by post-chain extension of dithiol instead of diamine, which could improve the storage stability and reduce the water absorption rate due to the absence of urea groups, and by terminating with hydroxyethyl acrylate, which could reduce the water absorption rate and improve the mechanical properties at the same time deriving from the crosslinking of double bonds after heating. The rate of water absorption for WPUBH-2 film decreased down to 2.87%, and the tensile strength reached 8.5 MPa. The water resistance and the mechanical properties of WPUBH obtained a good balance compared with those of the carboxylate-based waterborne polyurethane-acrylate in the previous reports. They had excellent bonding properties for wood joints, and the tensile shear strength was up to 4.53 MPa.

Targeting delivery of photosensitizers to mitochondria as the most sensitive cellular organelles to reactive oxygen species (ROS) by positively charged polymeric nanocarriers (NCs) is one of the useful methods for efficient photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the NCs with positively charged mitochondria-targeting moieties are easily cleaned during circulation, restricting their in vivo applications. Herein, to address this issue and enhance in vivo PDT efficacy, we developed a sequential-targeting delivery system consisting of mitochondria-targeting micelles as the core prepared from the cationic amphiphilic copolymer for loading chlorin e6 (Ce6) and a tumor-targeting pH-dependent charge transformational layer as the shell obtained from 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride modified Biotin-PEG4000-NH2 (BioPEGDMA) via electrostatic interaction. Concealed by the anionic shell, the as-prepared NCs showed longer retention within the first stage of tumor-targeting. Then, the accumulated NCs conversed to positive charge in tumor extracellular microenvironment (pH ∼ 6.5), which could be more effectively internalized by tumor cells, and the re-exposed triphenylphosphonium (TPP) groups endowed their second-stage targetability to the mitochondria. In vivo experiments revealed that the Ce6-loaded NCs exhibited remarkable tumor inhibition rates of 84.1% and 93.2% on BALB/c nude mice and Kunming mice, respectively, under 660 nm NIR irradiation, and stimulated immune responses with upregulated expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α and CD3+ in tumor tissues, and enhanced activation of CD3+/CD4+, CD3+/CD8+ T lymphocytes and DCs in both tumor tissues and lymph glands. This work provided a new pathway for the development of smart drug delivery system with advanced PDT efficacy. Statement of significance Although the existing targeting delivery of photosensitizers to mitochondria by positively charged nanocarriers (NCs) have efficiently enhanced photodynamic therapy (PDT), their positive charges caused rapid clearance during circulation, which has restricted their in vivo applications. Therefore, we fabricated a novel sequential-targeting NC to solve the problem. The tumor accumulated NCs conversed to positive charge in tumor extracellular microenvironment, and the re-exposed triphenylphosphonium groups initiated second-stage targetability to mitochondria. This system exhibited remarkable tumor inhibition efficiency both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, as we hypothesized, mitochondria-located PDT could promote immune response, resulting in improvement of PDT. The strategy of sequential targeting-based PDT in combination with augmented immune response showed a novel pathway for the development of smart drug delivery system with advanced PDT.

The introduction of structured microsphere composites into hydrogels is found to improve their mechanical strength capability. Herein, chitosan microspheres were functionalized with poly(acrylamide-co-1-benzyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide) (CS-P(AM-G)), which was synthesized through an in situ copolymerization of acrylamide and a guest functional monomer. Supramolecular hydrogels were fabricated by dynamic host-guest interactions between guest units and the host molecule cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). Investigations on the mechanical properties of the hydrogels show that the tensile stress and the compress stress of the hydrogels are five times higher than those of CB[8] hydrogels without CS, and the healing efficiency of the hydrogels at room temperature is 88% after 24 h. The results show that CS microspheres serve as both polyfunctional initiating and cross-linking centers, whereas the dynamic host-guest interactions endow the hydrogels with a higher self-healing property. The process provides a novel method for the production of tough and self-healing supramolecular hydrogels with various potential applications.

Eight 6FDA-TFDB polyimide (PI) samples with absolute molecular weights ranging from 1.25 × 105 g·mol−1 to 3.11 × 105 g·mol−1 are obtained by precipitation fractionation. Rheological experiments are conducted to determine the influence of molecular weight on the associating behavior of PI in N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF) solutions in a broad volume fraction, including abnormal steady shear flow, solution heterogeneity, and scaling behavior. Abnormal flow behaviors, i.e., multi-region shear thinning and weak shear thickening, are studied, and these behaviors have not been reported in literature. The heterogeneity of PI/DMF solutions is examined by dynamic rheological test. By plotting ηsp versus ϕ/ϕη, four concentration regions of I–IV can be distinguished for all PI samples with various molecular weights. The scaling results in different concentration regions are in good agreement with the associative polymer theory proposed by Rubinstein and Semenov. The scaling exponents do not show molecular weight dependence in concentration regions I and II. In concentration regions III and IV, the scaling exponents change little when the molecular weight is below 242 k but increase when the molecular weight increases from 242 k to 311 k. This work can help us to understand polyimide solution properties from dilute to semidilute entangled solutions, and will guide the polyimide solution preparation for different processing.

User behavior has been validated to be effective in revealing personalized preferences for commercial recommendations. However, few user-item interactions can be collected for new users, which results in a null space for their interests, i.e., the cold-start dilemma. In this paper, a two-tower framework, namely, the model-agnostic interest learning (MAIL) framework, is proposed to address the cold-start recommendation (CSR) problem for recommender systems. In MAIL, one unique tower is constructed to tackle the CSR from a zero-shot view, and the other tower focuses on the general ranking task. Specifically, the zero-shot tower first performs cross-modal reconstruction with dual auto-encoders to obtain virtual behavior data from highly aligned hidden features for new users; and the ranking tower can then output recommendations for users based on the completed data by the zero-shot tower. Practically, the ranking tower in MAIL is model-agnostic and can be implemented with any embedding-based deep models. Based on the co-training of the two towers, the MAIL presents an end-to-end method for recommender systems that shows an incremental performance improvement. The proposed method has been successfully deployed on the live recommendation system of NetEase Cloud Music to achieve a click-through rate improvement of 13% to 15% for millions of users. Offline experiments on real-world datasets also show its superior performance in CSR. Our code is available.

Melanoma is the most lethal skin cancer with rising incidence worldwide. Despite significant advances in target therapy and immunotherapy, low response rates and the development of drug resistance remain key clinical barriers affecting patient prognosis. The complex interplay between multiple signaling molecules and pathways has brought little understanding of melanoma pathogenesis and resistance. The genetic mutation and hypermetabolic environment of melanoma cells lead to increasing demands for protein synthesis and perturb proteostasis resulting in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Subsequently, three unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling branches, represented by IRE1α, PERK and ATF6, are activated to direct cell fate towards pro-survival or pro-apoptosis depending on the intensity and duration of ER stress. In this review, we summarize ER stress and UPR in melanoma cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells along with the crosstalk among these pathways. We provide the latest advances in understanding melanoma pathogenesis and resistance and discuss the potential of targeting the ER stress or UPR process for melanoma therapy.

Balancing the second-harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient, band gap, and birefringence is a vital but addressable challenge for designing infrared nonlinear optical materials. By applying a "rigidity-flexibility coupling" strategy, a quaternary diamond-like phosphide, Mg

The crystal structure, magnetic, electronic, and thermal properties of $\mathrm{Sr}{({\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{x})}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ crystals grown by transition metal arsenide flux have been systematically investigated. A miscibility gap with $x$ ranging from 0.4362(4) to 0.9612(9) is found in the $\mathrm{Sr}({\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{x}){\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ system---for $xl0.4362(4)$, the phase remains in the parent tetragonal structure [space group $I4/mmm$ (No. 139)], whereas for $\mathrm{x}g0.9612(9)$, the phase exhibits a trigonal structure [space group $P\text{\ensuremath{-}}3\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{m}1$ (No. 164)]. Based on our observation, the spin density wave order for $xl0.0973(1)$ is suppressed, followed by an abnormal and broadened increase in the ordering temperature from $x=0.0973(1)$ to $x=0.2055(2)$. No real-space phase separation of Mn and Fe was detected for $xl0.2055(2)$, indicating that the broadened increase in ordering temperature is attributable to a possibly intrinsic Griffiths phase. No superconducting signal was observed down to 2 K in the whole composition range with $0lxl1$. A phase diagram with multicritical points of Mn-doped $\mathrm{Sr}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ system is established accordingly.

BACKGROUND We studied the effect of APOBEC3G on persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the correlation between APOBEC3G polymorphism and HPV persistent infection and cervical disease progression in Uygur women in China. MATERIAL AND METHODS From January 2015 to December 2017, we enrolled 529 Uygur ethnic group patients with HPV infection. SIHA cells were transfected with APOBEC3G. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot analysis were used to detect mRNA and protein expression levels of APOBEC3G and HPV E6 and p53. Exon 3 of APOBEC3G was sequenced by first-generation sequencing. RESULTS The mRNA and protein expression levels of APOBEC3G in the cervical cancer group were significantly higher than in the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) group (p

Vesicular structures of block copolymers and inorganic nanoparticles with good stability have potential applications in therapeutic drug release and bioimaging. Herein, a block copolymer of polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PS48-b-PAA67) and water-soluble AgInS2/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) capped with gelatin and thioglycolic acid were coassembled in tetrahydrofuran by adding water. The positively charged QDs bind to negatively charged PAA segments through electrostatic interaction. Numerous vesicular structures, such as uniform bilayer vesicles, flowerlike large compound vesicles, onionlike lamellar structures consisting of alternating PS and PAA&QD layers, and multilamellar vesicles with spaces between concentric vesicle layers were obtained from the coassembly of PS48-b-PAA67 with QDs. The binding of the positively charged QDs to the PAA block influenced both the intra-aggregate PAA corona conformation and the interaggregate interactions. The key parameters affecting the formation of these vesicu...

2H-NbSe2, a typical layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD), has attracted tremendous research interest for its higher superconducting transition temperature (Tc = 7.2 K) than Tc of other TMDs (2–4 K) and hosting of charge density wave (CDW). The van der Waals (vdW) bonding between NbSe2 layers makes it a good platform for tuning the crystal structure, CDW, and superconducting gap by intercalation. Here we report the crystal structure and superconductivity of Rb-intercalated NbSe2 prepared by solid-state reaction. For Rb intercalation with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.025, there is only one phase with space group P63/mmc. With Rb intercalation, Tc of RbxNbSe2 decreases from 7.2 K for x = 0 to 4.2 K for x = 0.025 in an L-shaped way. The suppression rate of Tc is similar to the one with magnetic Fe doping, but much quicker than those with Li, Ga, and Cu doping. The superconducting phase diagram of RbxNbSe2 is established accordingly and is compared with those of LixNbSe2, CuxNbSe2, FexNbSe2, and GaxNbSe2. The suppression of superconductivity is discussed based on the ionic radius, valence, and magnetism of doping elements and the expansion between the NbSe2 layers.

Background Previous observational studies suggest that the development of acne may be triggered by dairy intake. Objective This study aimed to investigate the association of dairy intake and acne in Kabul citizens. Methods From February to September 2018, 279 acne patients and 279 controls aged 10-24 years were enrolled in a case control study at the dermatologic outpatient department of Maiwand Teaching Hospital in Kabul City, Afghanistan. The acne severity was determined by a dermatologist using the Global Acne Severity Scale. Results The consumption of whole milk 3 days or more per week was associated with moderate to severe acne (OR =2.36, 95% CI, 1.39-4.01). The association for low fat milk was less marked than for whole milk (OR 1.95 CI, 1.10-3.45). The risk was increased in those with a family history of acne in siblings (OR =4.13, 95% CI, 2.55-6.69). The risk was reduced in subjects doing physical exercise. No association with smoking emerged. A protective effect was associated with chicken consumption (OR =0.27, 95% CI, 0.15-0.49). Consumption of chocolate and chips was positively associated with acne. Conclusion This study showed an association between high intakes of dairy products and acne in adolescence suggesting that dairy intake may be a factor contributing to acne.

Here, we report the crystal structures and properties of RbxNbSe2, with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5. With Rb intercalation, RbxNbSe2 evolves from 2H (Phase I) for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.025, to 6R (Phase II) for x ∼ 0.2 with s...

We report a new type of MAX phase (M=transition metals, A=main group elements, and X=C/N), Nb3 As2 C, designated as 321 phase. It differs from all the previous Mn+1 AXn phases in that it consists of an alternate stacking of one MX layer and two MA layers in its unit cell, while only one MA layer is allowed in usual MAX phases. The new 321 phase exhibits a bulk modulus of Nb3 As2 C up to 225(3) GPa as determined by high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction, one of the highest values among MAX phases. Isostructural 321 phases V3 As2 C, Nb3 P2 C, and Ta3 P2 C are also found to exist. First-principles calculations reveal the outstanding elastic stiffness in 321 phases. Among all 321 phases, Nb3 P2 C is predicted to have the highest elastic properties. These 321 phases, represented by a chemical formula Mn+1 An X, were added as new members to the MAX family and their other properties deserve future investigations.

Psoriasis is a chronic hyperproliferative skin disease characterised by excessive growth of keratinocytes. Indeed, inducing keratinocyte apoptosis is a key mechanism responsible for psoriatic plaques clearance following some important existing therapies, which display pro-oxidant activity. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), acting as a tuneable source of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), can controllably transfer RONS to the cellular environment, deliver antiproliferative RONS concentrations and exert antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects. This study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic potential of CAP in psoriasis. We used cell models of psoriasis-like inflammation by adding lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) to HaCaT keratinocytes. Indirect plasma, plasma-activated medium (PAM), was administered to HaCaT cells. Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) was applied directly to imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasiform dermatitis in mice. The results showed that PAM induced an increase in intracellular ROS and caused keratinocyte apoptosis. Moreover, cells under inflammation showed lesser viability and larger apoptosis rate. With repeated administration of APPJ, psoriasiform lesions showed ameliorated morphological manifestation and reduced epidermal proliferation. Overall, this study supports that CAP holds good potential in psoriasis treatment.