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Vitiligo is a depigmented skin disease due to the destruction of melanocytes. Under oxidative stress, keratinocyte‐derived chemokine C‐X‐C motif ligand 16 (CXCL16) plays a critical role in recruiting CD8+ T cells, which kill melanocytes. Autophagy serves as a protective cell survival mechanism and impairment of autophagy has been linked to increased secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines. However, the role of autophagy in the secretion of CXCL16 under oxidative stress has not been investigated. Herein, we initially found that autophagy was suppressed in both keratinocytes of vitiligo lesions and keratinocytes exposed to oxidative stress in vitro. Autophagy inhibition also promoted CXCL16 secretion. Furthermore, upregulated transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 2 (TRPM2) functioned as an upstream oxidative stress sensor to inhibit autophagy. Moreover, TRPM2‐mediated Ca2+ influx activated calpain to shear autophagy related 5 (Atg5) and Atg12–Atg5 conjugate formation was blocked to inhibit autophagy under oxidative stress. More importantly, Atg5 downregulation enhanced the binding of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) to the CXCL16 promoter region by activating Tank‐binding kinase 1 (TBK1), thus promoting CXCL16 secretion. These findings suggested that TRPM2‐restrained autophagy promotes CXCL16 secretion via the Atg5‐TBK1‐IRF3 signaling pathway under oxidative stress. Inhibition of TRPM2 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of vitiligo. © 2024 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection shortly after vaccination on vaccine‐induced immunity is unknown, which is also one of the concerns for some vaccinees during the pandemic. Here, based on a cohort of individuals who encountered BA.5 infection within 8 days after receiving the fourth dose of a bivalent mRNA vaccine, preceded by three doses of inactivated vaccines, we show that booster mRNA vaccination provided 48% protection efficacy against symptomatic infections. At Day 7 postvaccination, the level of neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) against WT and BA.5 strains in the uninfected group trended higher than those in the symptomatic infection group. Moreover, there were greater variations in Nabs levels and a significant decrease in virus‐specific CD4+ T cell response observed in the symptomatic infection group. However, symptomatic BA.5 infection significantly increased Nab levels against XBB.1.9.1 and BA.5 (symptomatic > asymptomatic > uninfected group) at Day 10 and resulted in a more gradual decrease in Nabs against BA.5 compared to the uninfected group at Day 90. Our data suggest that BA.5 infection might hinder the early generation of Nabs and the recall of the CD4+ T cell response but strengthens the Nab and virus‐specific T cell response in the later phase. Our data confirmed that infection can enhance host immunity regardless of the short interval between vaccination and infection and alleviate concerns about infections shortly after vaccination, which provides valuable guidance for developing future vaccine administration strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various vaccines have been challenged by SARS‐CoV‐2 variants. Here, we reported a yeast‐derived recombinant bivalent vaccine (Bivalent wild‐type [Wt]+De) based on the wt and Delta receptor‐binding domain (RBD). Yeast derived RBD proteins based on the wt and Delta mutant were used as the prime vaccine. It was found that, in the presence of aluminium hydroxide (Alum) and unmethylated CpG‐oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG) adjuvants, more cross‐protective immunity against SARS‐CoV‐2 prototype and variants were elicited by bivalent vaccine than monovalent wtRBD or Delta RBD. Furthermore, a heterologous boosting strategy consisting of two doses of bivalent vaccines followed by one dose adenovirus vectored vaccine exhibited cross‐neutralization capacity and specific T cell responses against Delta and Omicron (BA.1 and BA.4/5) variants in mice, superior to a homologous vaccination strategy. This study suggested that heterologous prime‐boost vaccination with yeast‐derived bivalent protein vaccine could be a potential approach to address the challenge of emerging variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of hepatitis E vaccination strategies in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Methods: Based on the societal perspective, the cost‐effectiveness of three hepatitis E vaccination strategies—vaccination without screening, screening‐based vaccination, and no vaccination—among CHB patients was evaluated using a decision tree–Markov model, and incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated. Values for treatment costs and health utilities were estimated from a prior investigation on disease burden, and values for transition probabilities and vaccination‐related costs were obtained from previous studies and government agencies. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken for assessing model uncertainties. Results: It was estimated that CHB patients superinfected with hepatitis E virus (HEV) incurred significantly longer disease course, higher economic burden, and more health loss compared to those with HEV infection alone (all p < 0.05). The ICERs of vaccination without screening and screening‐based vaccination compared to no vaccination were 41,843.01 yuan/quality‐adjusted life year (QALY) and 29,147.32 yuan/QALY, respectively, both lower than China's per‐capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. The screening‐based vaccination reduced the cost and gained more QALYs than vaccination without screening. One‐way sensitivity analyses revealed that vaccine price, vaccine protection rate, and decay rate of vaccine protection had the greatest impact on the cost‐effectiveness analysis. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses confirmed the base‐case results, and if the willingness‐to‐pay value reached per‐capita GDP, the probability that screening‐based vaccination would be cost‐effective was approaching 100%. Conclusions: The disease burden in CHB patients superinfected with HEV is relatively heavy in China, and the screening‐based hepatitis E vaccination strategy for CHB patients is the most cost‐effective option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EG.5.1 variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has been prevalent since mid‐July 2023 in the United States and China. The variant BA.2.86 has become a major concern because it is 34 mutations away from the parental variant BA.2 and >30 mutations from XBB.1.5. There is an urgent need to evaluate whether the immunity of the population and current vaccines are protective against EG.5.1 and BA.2.86. Based on a cohort of two breakthrough‐infected groups, the levels of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against different subvariants were measured using pseudovirus‐based neutralization assays. XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86 are comparably immune‐evasive from neutralization by the plasma of individuals recovered from BA.5 infection (BA.5‐convalescent) or XBB.1.9.2/XBB.1.5 infection following BA.5 infection (BA.5‐XBB‐convalescent). NAb levels against EG.5.1 and BA.2.86 subvariants remained >120 geometric mean titers (GMTs) in BA.5‐XBB‐convalescent individuals 2 months postinfection but were <40 GMTs in BA.5‐convalescent individuals. Furthermore, the XBB‐targeting messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine RQ3033 induced higher levels of NAbs against XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86 than against BA.5‐XBB infection. The results suggest that BA.2.86 and EG.5.1 are unlikely to cause more severe concerns than the currently circulating XBB subvariants and that the XBB.1.5‐targeting mRNA vaccine tested has promising protection against EG.5.1 and BA.2.86. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full‐color LED display requires Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) 1931 coordinates of (0.14, 0.08), based on the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) blue standard. However, such deep‐blue perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) still lag far behind in terms of device efficiency. Moreover, spectral stability remains a big challenge. To settle these issues, a kind of deep eutectic solvent (DES) is introduced as the perovskite precursor solvent additive, which is formed from a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) choline chloride and a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) urea via the hydrogen bond interaction. The incorporation of DES has multiple advantages, shown as follows: 1) improves the solubility of CsCl to yield dense perovskite morphology, 2) inhibits the growth of the perovskite crystal to achieve low‐n phases with narrow distribution, and 3) stabilizes the halide anions in the lattice to ensure stable electroluminescence (EL) spectra. As a result, the as‐prepared PeLED shows the maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 2.71% with a CIE coordinate of (0.134, 0.055). With the increase in the DES concentration, the spectra stability is also obviously enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that extracellular free radical reactive oxygen species (ROS) rather than intracellular ROS plays a non‐substitutable role in regulation of tumor‐suppressing (M1) tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) polarization. However, most therapeutic nanoplatforms mainly provide intracellular ROS and exhibit insufficient accumulation near TAMs, which strongly limits the macrophage‐based immunotherapeutic effects. Here we design and synthesize chiral MoS2/CoS2 nanozymes with peroxidase (POD)‐like and catalase (CAT)‐like activities to efficiently modulate TAMs polarization and reverse tumor immunosuppression by harnessing their chirality‐specific interactions with biological systems. MoS2/CoS2 nanoparticles coordinated with d‐chirality (d‐NPs, right‐handed) show improved pharmacokinetics with longer circulating half‐life and higher tumor accumulation compared with their l (left‐handed)‐ and dl (racemate)‐counterparts. Further, d‐NPs can escape from macrophage uptake in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with the aid of cell‐unpreferred opposite chirality and act as extracellular hydroxyl radicals (⋅OH) and oxygen (O2) generators to efficiently repolarize TAMs into M1 phenotype. On the contrary, l‐NPs showed high cellular uptake due to chirality‐driven homologous adhesion between l‐NPs and macrophage membrane, leading to limited M1 polarization performance. As the first example for developing chiral nanozymes as extracellular‐localized ROS generators to reprogram TAMs for cancer immunotherapy, this study opens an avenue for applications of chiral nanozymes in immunomodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitiligo, autoreactive CD8+ T cells have been established as the main culprit considering its pathogenic role in mediating epidermal melanocyte‐specific destruction. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic molecule that plays a central role in various immune processes including the activation and proliferation of T cells; but whether MIF is intertwined in vitiligo development and progression and its involvement in aberrantly activated CD8+ T cells remains ill‐defined. In this study, we found that MIF was overabundant in vitiligo patients and a mouse model for human vitiligo. Additionally, inhibiting MIF ameliorated the disease progression in vitiligo mice, which manifested as less infiltration of CD8+ T cells and more retention of epidermal melanocytes in the tail skin. More importantly, in vitro experiments indicated that MIF‐inhibition suppressed the activation and proliferation of CD8+ T cells from the lymph nodes of vitiligo mice, and the effect extended to CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of vitiligo patients. Finally, CD8+ T cells derived from MIF‐inhibited vitiligo mice also exhibited an impaired capacity for activation and proliferation. Taken together, our results show that MIF might be clinically targetable in vitiligo treatment, and its inhibition might ameliorate vitiligo progression by suppressing autoreactive CD8+ T cell activation and proliferation. © 2023 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, mRNA‐based therapeutics have been a fast‐growing new class of biologics that can, in principle, encode any protein(s) directly in patients to treat various diseases. mRNA vaccines have been proven to work efficiently, have high potency, and can be rapidly developed and deployed, which is critical for a quick responses in the case of a pandemic. Such agile development is enabled by rapid synthesis of RNA in vitro using recombinant enzymes rather than relying on lengthy and complex cell culture processes. mRNA exhibits physical and chemical properties differing from protein‐based therapeutics. It is highly negatively charged and the hydroxyl group makes mRNA less stable and more susceptible to hydrolysis and nucleophilic cleavage. This novel work shares comprehensive studies carried out to compare the performance of various mRNA purification strategies by considering its scalability and critical quality attributes. In addition, the paper provides insights on how to establish a scalable mRNA purification process that consists of ultrafiltration/diafiltration and chromatography steps with good recoveries. Alternative Oligo(dT) based columns were further explored aiming to improve total process recovery. With Oligo(dT) as a capture step, overall recoveries of 70% can be achieved for mRNAs studied here that encode anti‐influenza immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic cracking technology is an important candidate for the crude‐to‐chemicals, which is promising to convert oil into chemicals by a clean and efficient way. n‐Heptane, methylcyclohexane and cyclopentene catalytic cracking over HZSM‐5 zeolites were studied at 320–550 °C under atmosphere, and a particular attention was paid to the effects of reaction temperature and time on stream. The cracked gas was analyzed by an online gas chromatograph, and the spent HZSM‐5 zeolites were characterized by TG, N2 physisorption and NH3‐TPD. It provided detailed information about the conversion, product distribution, coke formation and catalyst deactivation. Furthermore, the roles of molecular structure in the reaction network were discussed based on the carbenium ion mechanism. It was found that the protolytic cracking and hydride transfer was favored by n‐heptane due to the linear structure; the demethylation, protolytic ring‐opening and protolytic dehydrogenation was favored by methylcyclohexane due to the methyl group and cyclic structure; the protonation and oligomerization was favored by cyclopentene due to the cyclic and C=C structure. This made a significant difference on the catalytic performance: The activity was in a descending order of n‐heptane≈cyclopentene>methylcyclohexane. Alkane formation was in a descending order of n‐heptane>methylcyclohexane>cyclopentene. Aromatic and coke formation were in a descending order of cyclopentene>methylcyclohexane>n‐heptane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pH value in the wound milieu plays a key role in cellular processes and cell cycle processes involved in the process of wound healing. Here, a microfluidic assembly technique is employed to fabricate micro‐gel ensembles that can precisely tune the pH value of wound surface and accelerate wound healing. The micro‐gel ensembles consist of poly (hydroxypropyl acrylate‐co‐acrylic acid)‐magnesium ions (poly‐(HPA‐co‐AA)‐Mg2+) gel and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) gel, which can release and absorb hydrogen ion (H+) separately at different stages of healing in response to the evolution of wound microenvironment. By regulating the wound pH to affect the proliferation and migration of cell on the wound and the activity of various biological factors in the wound, the physiological processes are greatly facilitated which results in much accelerated healing of chronic wound. This work presents an effective strategy in designing wound healing materials with vast potentials for chronic wound management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single ventricle (SV) heart defect is a rare complex congenital cardiac malformation, accounting for approximately 1%–2% of congenital heart diseases. Surgical intervention is the mainstay treatment for SV patients, although patients who do not receive surgical intervention may also survive. We followed up four adult patients who had SV since birth without surgical intervention and they had a good prognosis. The common characteristics of four long‐term SV survivors were investigated by reviewing their medical records and the literature, and the current treatment methods for SV patients were also reviewed. The clinical presentation and long‐term prognosis of SV patients without surgical intervention depend on the presence or absence of pulmonary blood flow obstruction, pulmonary vascular resistance, ventricular shape and function, aortic blood flow obstruction, and the atrioventricular valve shape and function. While the Fontan operation has become a common and effective method for SV treatment, long‐term outcomes are fraught with morbidity and mortality. In our opinion, such patients with balanced hemodynamic condition could be followed and treated conservatively. Major cardiac surgery which leads to gross hemodynamic adjustments should be avoided. However, additional prospective study will be necessary to verify this assertion. This report aims to improve the prognosis as well as quality of life of SV patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel dual single‐atom catalyst comprising adjacent Fe‐N4 and Mn‐N4 sites on 2D ultrathin N‐doped carbon nanosheets with porous structure (FeMn‐DSAC) was constructed as the cathode for a flexible low‐temperature Zn‐air battery (ZAB). FeMn‐DSAC exhibits remarkable bifunctional activities for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Control experiments and density functional theory calculations reveal that the catalytic activity arises from the cooperative effect of the Fe/Mn dual‐sites aiding *OOH dissociation as well as the porous 2D nanosheet structure promoting active sits exposure and mass transfer during the reaction process. The excellent bifunctional activity of FeMn‐DSAC enables the ZAB to operate efficiently at ultra‐low temperature of −40 °C, delivering 30 mW cm−2 peak power density and retaining up to 86 % specific capacity from the room temperature counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient catalysts is pivotal for pollution abatement to guarantee a sustainable and green industrial production. Supported single atom catalysts (SACs) with the advantages of maximum atom utilization, unique electronic structure, and distinguished metal support interaction have recently become a hotspot in the catalysis community, and bring new opportunities for environmental catalysis. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest progress on the environmental SACs from both the fundamental and practical points of view. It starts with highlighting the state‐of‐the‐art synthesis strategies of great values for the practical use to construct challenging SACs. The applications of SACs in the environmental remediation processes are critically summarized, including CO oxidation, NOx decomposition, volatile organic compounds incineration, CO2 conversion, and water purification. Meanwhile, the topic also sketches out the recent progress for the non‐mercury catalyzed acetylene hydrochlorination reaction to address the environmental‐benign synthesis. Emphasis is placed on the elucidation of the structure–activity relationships and the underlying catalytic mechanisms to shed light on the guidelines for catalyst optimization and upgradation. Finally, the remaining challenges and perspectives for this flourishing field are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even a well‐designed system can only control stem cell adhesion, release, and differentiation, while other cell manipulations such as in situ labeling and retention in target tissues, are difficult to achieve in the same system. Herein, native ligand cluster‐mimicking islands, composed of topologically engineered ligand, anchoring point AuNP, nuclease mimetics CeIV complexes and magnetic core Fe3O4, are designed to facilitate comprehensive cell manipulations in a programmable manner. Three islands with different amounts of AuNPs are constructed, which means tunable interligand spacing within a cluster. These nanostructures are chemically coupled to a substrate using DNA tethers. Under a tissue‐penetrative magnetic field, this integrated system promotes stem cell adhesion, proliferation, mechanosensing, differentiation, detachment, in situ effective magnetic labeling and retention both in vitro and in vivo, offering fascinating opportunities for a biomimetic matrix in regenerative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Host cell proteins (HCP) that co‐purify with biologics produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells have been shown to impact product quality through proteolytic degradation of recombinant proteins, leading to potential product losses. Several problematic HCPs can remain in the final product even after extensive purification. Each recombinant cell line has a unique HCP profile that can be determined by numerous upstream and downstream factors, including clonal variation and the protein sequence of the expressed therapeutic molecule. Here, we worked with recombinant cell lines with high levels of copurifying HCPs, and showed that in those cell lines even modest downregulation (≤50%) of the difficult to remove HCP Cathepsin D, through stable short hairpin RNA interference or monoallelic deletion of the target gene using CRISPR‐Cas9, is sufficient to greatly reduce levels of co‐purifying HCP as measured by high throughput targeted LC‐MS. This reduction led to improved product quality by reducing fragmentation of the drug product in forced degradation studies to negligible levels. We also show the potential of cell engineering to target other undesired HCPs and relieve the burden on downstream purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: The synthesis of an Asp lactam derivative of A‐183, a selective inhibitor of Factor 7a with good anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity, is described. Our synthesis depends on the use of a removable backbone modification (RBM) strategy to prevent aspartimide formation, which thwarted all attempts to synthesize this target using direct solid‐phase peptide synthesis. Validation of the RBM strategy in the synthesis of a second Asp lactam derivative was also accomplished. The RBM strategy is therefore proposed as a general method for the synthesis of Asp lactam cyclic peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, soybean protein isolate (SPI)‐konjac glucomannan (KGM) conjugates were fabricated via the Maillard reaction and their potential to improve enzymatic hydrolysate with ACE inhibitory activity stability was assessed. Briefly, we loaded the enzymatic hydrolysate into SPI‐KGM conjugates using a pH‐driven method. Thereafter, the transport pathway of enzymatic hydrolysate with angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity SPI‐KGM (ACE‐SPI‐KGM) core–shell nanogels was investigated using CaCo‐2 cell monolayer. The results of microstructure, encapsulation efficiency, ACE inhibition ratio and IC50 value verified that the nanogels displayed a spherical structure and excellent physicochemical properties. The ζ‐potential, Z‐average diameter and polydispersity index demonstrated that the stability of the core–shell nanogels was significantly superior to that of the enzymatic hydrolysate. In addition, the transport of the enzymatic hydrolysate in nanogels onto the CaCo‐2 cell monolayer revealed a higher transport capacity and was dominated by cell bypass transport. In summary, the SPI‐KGM conjugates could serve as potential as delivery systems for enzymatic hydrolysate with ACE inhibitory activity to fortify functional foods and medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: The synthesis of an Asp lactam derivative of A‐183, a selective inhibitor of Factor 7a with good anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity, is described. Our synthesis depends on the use of a removable backbone modification (RBM) strategy to prevent aspartimide formation, which thwarted all attempts to synthesize this target using direct solid‐phase peptide synthesis. Validation of the RBM strategy in the synthesis of a second Asp lactam derivative was also accomplished. The RBM strategy is therefore proposed as a general method for the synthesis of Asp lactam cyclic peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic glycan labeling (MGL) followed by bioorthogonal chemistry provides a powerful tool for tumor imaging and therapy. However, selectively metabolic labeling of cells or tissues of interest remains a challenge. Particularly, owing to tumor heterogeneity including tumor subtypes and interpatient heterogeneity, it is far more difficult to realize tumor‐cell‐selective metabolic labeling for precise diagnosis. Inspired by nature, we designed azidosugar‐functionalized metal–organic frameworks camouflaged with cancer cell membranes to accomplish cancer‐cell‐selective MGL in vivo. With abundant receptors, this biomimetic platform not only selectively targets homotypic cells but also realizes different breast cancer subtype‐selective MGL. Moreover, the endo/lysosomal‐escaped ZIF‐8 can make azidosugar escape from lysosomes and accelerate its metabolic incorporation. This strategy also takes advantage of cancer‐tissue‐derived cell membranes, which may have huge potential for personalized diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) polymorphism is one of the causes of the toxicity of thiopurines, but this is rarely seen in Asian populations. Rather, the nucleoside diphosphate‐linked X‐component motif 15 (NUDT15) gene is frequently linked to mercaptopurine (MP) intolerance and myelotoxicity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in East Asians; however, little is known about the NUDT15 polymorphism in healthy children, especially in ethnic minorities in China. Methods: A total of 162 cases of healthy children with Bai nationality were enrolled for NUDT15 genotyping. Results: Three coding variants were identified in the NUDT15 gene including rs186364861, rs746071566 and rs116855232. Notably, the rs746071566 and rs116855232 in NUDT15 showed much higher frequencies in healthy children with Bai nationality compared with healthy East Asian populations, suggesting a concentrated distribution of these variants in the Bai ethnic group. Conclusions: This finding reveals the genetic polymorphism of NUDT15 in children with Chinese Bai nationality, providing a biological genetic background for the individualized therapy of thiopurines for children with Bai nationality in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Maltose is an essential derivative of starch. To understand the processability and stability of maltose‐containing foods, material characterization of the phase and state transition from its amorphous state is required. Although the crystallization of amorphous maltose is well understood, few studies have reported the relationship between the crystallization and the glass transition temperature (Tg)‐related molecular mobility. In this study, water sorption, crystallization, Tg‐related α‐relaxation, and the corresponding time factor for amorphous maltose and maltose / whey protein isolate (WPI) mixtures are measured at various water activity (aw) levels and 25 °C. RESULTS: The water‐additive principle for maltose / WPI mixtures was observed at aw ≤ 0.440 at the molecular level, whereas the crystallization of amorphous maltose occurred at high aw values (≥0.534). The crystal formation and crystallization kinetics of amorphous maltose were affected by water and WPI at aw ≥ 0.534 and 25 °C, as determined by X‐ray diffraction. The relationship between Tg and the water content was fitted by the Gordon–Taylor model, and its constant showed a compositional dependence for the maltose / WPI mixtures. The α‐relaxation temperature of the amorphous samples decreased due to water plasticization, but increased with an increase in the WPI quantity. The Strength (S) value for amorphous maltose, which was a quantitative estimate of the compositional effects on molecular mobility, was based on the William–Landel–Ferry (WLF) equation. CONCLUSION: The S concept exhibits considerable potential for application in controlling the crystallization of amorphous maltose and improving the processability and stability of maltose‐containing foods. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is important in the diagnosis of many diseases. Because ALP is used to detect biomarkers for many diseases, many researchers conduct investigations to develop ALP detection strategies. The use of fluorescent material has attracted attention because of the technique's high sensitivity and the low sample volume required. Herein, we review and discuss the working mechanisms and advantages of four main categories:DNA fluorescent probes, molecular fluorescent probes, chemical coordination‐based probes, and nanoparticle probes. Development prospects and trends are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum dot (QD)‐based liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are emerging as a new generation of LCDs due to their good performance. However, the QD fluorescent materials in LCDs are vulnerable to water and high temperatures, severely limiting their practical and long‐term use. Here, flexible and ultrastable QD‐based color‐converting films for LCD backlights are fabricated using robust poly(styrene‐methyl‐methacrylate‐acrylic acid) (poly(St‐MMA‐AA)) nanoparticle/polyamide 66 nanofiber (NPs@PA66) film with unique fiber–particle–fiber microstructure as protective substrate. Through an emerging strategy called electro‐microfluidic spinning technology (EMST), the nanofiber film not only exhibits excellent flexibility but also remarkably improves the mechanical property via the in situ particle‐mediated enhancement mechanism. An LCD backlight using the NPs@PA66 nanofiber film as QD loading substrate shows a wide color gamut of 116% and long‐term fluorescence stability under high temperature of 200 °C. More importantly, the fluorescence lifetime of NPs@PA66/QDs backlight reaches up to ≈64500 h, ≈22 times higher than that using encapsulated sandwiched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) QD film. These findings offer a promising method toward high‐strength nanofiber manufacturing, high‐stability flexible electronics and optoelectronic display devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

XLP‐2 is known as a rare primary immunodeficiency disease, which is characterized by the susceptibility to EBV infection and potential development into the pHLH. The existing studies believe that the dysfunction of XIAP represents one of the most significant pathogenic mechanisms of XLP‐2, and allo‐HSCT is regarded as a crucial treatment for the long‐term survival in XLP‐2 patients. In our present study, a 2‐year‐old male patient was diagnosed with XLP‐2. After receiving chemotherapy by using HLH‐2004 without allo‐HSCT, he reached a complete remission, and his EBV load was brought under control. Our family survey revealed a novel frameshift mutation in the XIAP gene in this patient, as well as in his cousin and grandfather. Until now, the patient has been followed up for 22 months with no recurrence reported yet. Based on these findings, it is believed that for child pHLH patients with XLP‐2, the treatment by controlling symptoms alone without allo‐HSCT and with regular monitoring of EBV load could be conducive to a long‐term survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitiligo is a common skin depigmenting disorder characterized by the loss of functional melanocytes. Its pathogenesis is complicated and oxidative stress plays a critical role in the development of vitiligo. Thus, antioxidant therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent or even reverse the progression of depigmentation. Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761 has been confirmed to have protective effects on neurons against oxidative stress. Notably, several clinical trials have shown that patients with stable vitiligo achieved repigmentation after taking EGb761. However, the exact mechanism underlying the protective effects of EGb761 on melanocytes against oxidative stress has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we found that EGb761 effectively protected melanocytes against oxidative stress‐induced apoptosis and alleviated the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation by enhancing the activity of antioxidative enzymes. Furthermore, the antioxidative effect of EGb761 was achieved by activating Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidative genes. In addition, interfering Nrf2 with siRNA abolished the protective effects of EGb761 on melanocytes against oxidative damage. In conclusion, our study proves that EGb761 could protect melanocytes from H2O2‐induced oxidative stress by activating Nrf2. Therefore, EGb761 is supposed to be a potential therapeutic agent for vitiligo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In vitiligo, cutaneous depigmentation is accompanied by increased T cell cytolytic activity targeting melanocytes, indicating that autoimmune tolerance is disrupted. The inhibited amount and function of Tregs have been indicated to be involved in the autoimmune intolerance in vitiligo, however, with the conclusion still controversial and the involved mechanism unknown. In this study, we explored the molecular and cellular alterations accounting for the impaired Treg response in vitiligo. Our results showed that the amount of Tregs was drastically reduced in peripheral blood of active vitiligo patients. Furthermore, the immunoregulatory function of Tregs was attenuated, with lower expression of CTLA4, IL‐10 and TGF‐β. Moreover, the expression of HO‐1, a functional modulator of Tregs, was decreased in vitiligo Tregs, and the concentrations of HO‐1 metabolites, including bilirubin, CoHb and iron, were correspondingly decreased in serum of vitiligo patients. In addition, we treated the Tregs from vitiligo patients with Hemin, an agonist of HO‐1, and found that enhanced HO‐1 expression restored the function of Tregs by up‐regulating IL‐10 expression. Our study demonstrates the essential role of HO‐1 in the impaired Treg response in vitiligo and indicates the potential of HO‐1 as a therapeutic target in vitiligo management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presented a new design of boost circuit in pixel, which could meet the demand for high driving voltage in some special applications and avoid the increasing cost caused by using chips with high‐voltage output. The main circuit of pixel unit contained 3 TFTs and 3 capacitors. Compared with conventional TFT‐LCD, 2 new kinds of signals were added. 1 clock signal was shared by all pixels and 1 additional scanning signal was designed for each row. Through reasonable circuit parameters and timing design, the circuit scheme proposed in this paper could achieve effective boost. The simulation showed the pixel voltage was increased by 60%, compared with the voltage provided by the data line. In the actual sample verification, the voltage was increased by 50%. Therefore, the feasibility of circuit function was verified. Details of design, simulation and verification would be introduced in the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low cost solutions for long tag display were proposed in this paper. Fewer IC chips were used in the new circuit which was proved to be feasible by simulation. In our scheme, the display area was divided into several parts and each part was controlled by a separate master switch which was connected to the additional TFT switch of every pixel in this partition. In this way, each part of the picture could be refreshed in turn. The total number of gate lines could be reduced by several times and fewer signal terminals of IC were required in a result. The simulation results of schematic and signal timing showed that the driving voltages in different regions could all meet the display requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a simple, low-temperature chemical etching method for selective preparation of monodispersed, hexagonal, single-crystal ZnO nanostructures. The morphological evolution from nanoplates (NPs) to nanoseals (NSs), nanobowls (NBs), and nanorings (NRs) is initiated by positively charged (0 0 0 1) Zn polar surface and driven by the principle of minimum energy. The relationship among the morphology, dimensions, and function of ZnO was determined by investigating polar planes, surface areas, energy bands, defects, optical properties, and catalytic activity for rhodamine B degradation. The ZnO NBs and ZnO NRs exhibit improved photocatalytic performance because of enhanced light harvesting and plasmonic resonance enhanced absorption. Surface recombination plays a key role in the apparent rate constant k for ZnO NBs with small size and those formed at low reaction temperatures. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO NBs formed at high reaction temperatures decreases with increasing size because of the decreased surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and electrostatically driven approach has been developed to prepare bicontinuous polymer nanocomposites that is based on the polyoxometalate (POM) macroion induced phase transition of PS- b-P2VP from an initial lamellar phase to a stable bicontinuous phase. The multi-charged POMs can electrostatically cross-link P2VP blocks and give rise to bicontinuous phases in which the POM hybrid conductive domains occupy a large volume fraction of more than 50 %. Furthermore, the POMs can give rise to high proton conductivity and serve as nanoenhancers, endowing the bicontinuous nanocomposites with a conductivity of 0.1 mS cm−1 and a Young's modulus of 7.4 GPa at room temperature; these values are greater than those of pristine PS- b-P2VP by two orders of magnitude and a factor of 1.8, respectively. This approach can provide a new concept based on electrostatic control to design functional bicontinuous polymer materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 29-year-old man presented with chest tightness and shortness of breath. Physical examination showed jugular venous distention. Echocardiography showed a large saccular anechoic structure in the right atrium, swinging with the cardiac cycle. The operator initially mistook the lesion for a right atrial cystic tumor; however, color Doppler imaging showed abundant, high-velocity blood flow signals, leading to the diagnosis of giant aortic sinus rupture into the right atrium. Aortic sinus aneurysm is a rare and usually asymptomatic lesion. However, rupture leads to chest tightness and dyspnea, suggesting left or right heart failure. Surgery is the primary treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitiligo is a common skin depigmenting disorder characterized by the loss of functional melanocytes. Its pathogenesis is complicated and oxidative stress plays a critical role in the development of vitiligo. Thus, antioxidant therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent or even reverse the progression of depigmentation. Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761 has been confirmed to have protective effects on neurons against oxidative stress. Notably, several clinical trials have shown that patients with stable vitiligo achieved repigmentation after taking EGb761. However, the exact mechanism underlying the protective effects of EGb761 on melanocytes against oxidative stress has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we found that EGb761 effectively protected melanocytes against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and alleviated the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation by enhancing the activity of antioxidative enzymes. Furthermore, the antioxidative effect of EGb761 was achieved by activating Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidative genes. In addition, interfering Nrf2 with siRNA abolished the protective effects of EGb761 on melanocytes against oxidative damage. In conclusion, our study proves that EGb761 could protect melanocytes from H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress by activating Nrf2. Therefore, EGb761 is supposed to be a potential therapeutic agent for vitiligo., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)