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To investigate the association of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the 48‐base pair (bp) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in exon 3 of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene, we genotyped 240 ADHD patients and their parents from Hong Kong. The 4R allele was most common, followed by 2R. We examined association between the 2R allele (relative to 4R) and ADHD by Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT). The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) was 0.90 (0.64–1.3). The p‐value was 0.6. Examining subgroups revealed nominally significant association of 2R with inattentive ADHD: OR = 0.33 (0.12–0.92) and p = 0.03. Because our study used TDT analysis, we meta‐analyzed the association of 2R with ADHD in Asians (1329 patient alleles), revealing results similar to ours: OR = 0.97 (0.80–1.2) and p = 0.8. To examine the association of 2R with inattentive ADHD, we meta‐analyzed all studies (regardless of analysis type or ethnicity, in order to increase statistical power): 702 patient alleles, 1420 control alleles, OR = 0.81 (0.57–1.1) and p = 0.2. Overall, there is no evidence of association between ADHD and the 2R allele, but the suggestive association with the inattentive type warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most stretchable film strain sensors generally present nonlinear electrical responses to applied strain, leading to an inaccurate acquisition of sophisticated signals, difficult signal processing, and zero‐calibration, which hampers practical applications severely. Here, a Janus hetero‐structured microarray film sensor is developed by in‐situ growth of silver nanoparticles on the surface of micro‐patterned elastomer films fabricated via low‐temperature imprinting followed by scraping‐induced particle trapping. Heterogeneous property designs in both modulus and electrical conductivity via introducing polymer microarrays enable modulating the electron transport manner in the conductive layer of elastic Janus films upon stretching, allowing to tune signal linearity effectively. Therefore, such a hetero‐structured film sensor shows good signal linearity (fluctuation of gauge factor [GF] below ±0.02) and relatively high sensitivity (GF > 10) within 55% strain, a detection limit of 0.2% strain, and a response/recovery time of 16.3/46.9 ms, respectively. Correspondingly, it enables monitoring human respiration and body motion with higher resolution compared with the nonlinear one, meanwhile, it is capable of detecting tiny pressure to discriminate braille alphabets via touch identification. Overall, it unveils a simple strategy to fabricate film strain sensors for high‐resolution healthcare and body motion monitoring, as well as electronic skins toward tactile sensing and touch identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mounting body of evidences suggests that patients with chronic heart failure (HF) frequently experience cognitive impairments, but the neuroanatomical mechanism underlying these impairments remains elusive. In this retrospective study, 49 chronic HF patients and 49 healthy controls (HCs) underwent brain structural MRI scans and cognitive assessments. Cortical morphology index (cortical thickness, complexity, sulcal depth and gyrification) were evaluated. Correlations between cortical morphology and cognitive scores and clinical variables were explored. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify risk factors for predicting 3‐year major adverse cardiovascular events. Compared with HCs, patients with chronic HF exhibited decreased cognitive scores (p <.001) and decreased cortical thickness, sulcal depth and gyrification in brain regions involved cognition, sensorimotor, autonomic nervous system (family‐wise error correction, all p values <.05). Notably, HF duration and New York Heart Association (NYHA) demonstrated negative correlations with abnormal cortex morphology, particularly HF duration and thickness in left precentral gyrus (r = −.387, p =.006). Cortical morphology characteristics exhibited positive associations with global cognition, particularly cortical thickness in left pars opercularis (r =.476, p <.001). NYHA class is an independent risk factor for adverse outcome (p =.001). The observed correlation between abnormal cortical morphology and global cognition suggested that cortical morphology may serve as a promising imaging biomarker and provide insights into neuroanatomical underpinnings of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Disruption of the protective stratum corneum barrier increases the skin's vulnerability to microorganisms and facilitates conditions such as dandruff. Dandruff is a disorder of the scalp that causes increased scaling of the SC and is associated with Malassezia fungus. Consequently, many anti‐dandruff commercial products use anti‐fungal active ingredients such as piroctone olamine also known as Octopirox (OPX). OPX is an active ingredient used in a number of topical preparations for the management of dandruff. The characterization of the physicochemical properties of OPX was previously reported. The aim of the present work was to investigate a range of solvent systems for their effects on OPX interaction with human skin. Methods: The solvents used in this study were propylene glycol (PG), diethylene glycol monoethyl ether or Transcutol® (TC), PG monolaurate (PGML), isopropyl myristate (IPM), caprylic/capric triglyceride or Labrafac™ Lipophile WL 1349 (LAB), PG caprylate or Capryol® 90 (CAP), isostearyl isostearate (ISIS) and Plurol® Oleique CC 497 (PIOI). The single solvent systems evaluated were PG, TC, PGML, IPM, ISIS and CAP. For the binary solvent systems, PG and TC were examined. Ternary solvent systems consisted of: PG, TC and LAB; PG, PGML and LAB; and PG, TC and IPM. The concentration of OPX used was 1% (w/v). Heat‐separated human epidermis was used for 24 h permeation experiments performed under finite dose conditions; mass balance studies were also conducted. Results: For the six single solvents examined no permeation was evident. Skin permeation of OPX was observed for binary and ternary solvent systems. The highest permeation for all PG:TC binary solvent system ratios tested was from the PG:TC (75:25) system. For the ternary solvent systems investigated, highest cumulative permeation of OPX was observed for PG:PGML:LAB (60:30:10). Considering all systems, PG:TC (75:25) delivered the greatest amount of OPX through the skin. Although OPX is deposited in the skin following the application of neat solvents, higher skin retention values were generally observed for binary and ternary systems. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the permeation behaviour of OPX for a range of single, binary and ternary solvent systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a serious health problem to be solved. With the development of biomaterials, enhanced diagnostic and controllable therapeutic strategies for cancer have emerged, revealing encouraging results with a promising future. Due to its outstanding tissue penetration and controllability, along with a series of bioeffects on tissues, ultrasound (US), as a common medical technology, has been regarded as an effective tool against cancer, and its use has promoted the exploration of US‐sensitive biomaterials. In this review, the bioeffects of US are first introduced and then the main US‐sensitive biomaterials (containing cavitation nuclei, sonosensitizers, and US‐responsive macromolecular systems) used to treat cancer, followed by a summary of several applications based on US‐sensitive biomaterials, from diagnosis to therapy. Finally, the emerging challenges in this field that need to be overcome are highlighted. This review reports the progress of US‐sensitive biomaterials, providing new possibilities in cancer theranostics and thus benefiting patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of digital technology in higher education requires university students to be digitally proficient. The main objective of this study is to examine the extent to which university students' proficiency in various digital competences could be helpful towards their learning performance. This study adopted DigComp 2.2 to design a data collection instrument for an online questionnaire survey and conducted data analysis on the valid 314 responses using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM). The findings indicate that, with the exception of safety, the digital competence areas of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and problem solving were significant to student learning performance. The findings also revealed that students' current semester had no significant moderating effect on the relationships between their proficiency in digital competence areas and learning performance, with the exception of a relationship between information and data literacy and learning performance, as well as a relationship between problem solving and learning performance, between respondents in semesters 3 and 4, and between respondents in semesters 5 and 6, respectively. The findings contribute to a better understanding of DigComp 2.2's applicability in higher education and can be used by educational institutions and educators to design learning activities and formative assessments that can help students improve their digital competence proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Metallacyclopentadienes are important metallacycles and regarded as intermediates in many reactions, therefore, new methods to achieve them are anticipated. In this study, a formal [3+2] method, through the reactions of an osmapentalyne with benzyl carbanions, was developed. The reactions underwent a nucleophilic attack of carbanions to the Os≡C bond, followed by C—H activation to form the five‐membered osmacyclopentadiene ring. Most of the reactions were carried out at room temperature, the substituents on the aromatic rings of benzyl carbanions are diverse, and the resulting products contain an Os—H bond, representing a novel type of 10C‐carbolong complexes. This work provides a new convenient route to construct metallacyclopentadienes, which is expected to further promote the development of such a type of substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Metallacyclopentadienes are important metallacycles and regarded as intermediates in many reactions, therefore, new methods to achieve them are anticipated. In this study, a formal [3+2] method, through the reactions of an osmapentalyne with benzyl carbanions, was developed. The reactions underwent a nucleophilic attack of carbanions to the Os≡C bond, followed by C—H activation to form the five‐membered osmacyclopentadiene ring. Most of the reactions were carried out at room temperature, the substituents on the aromatic rings of benzyl carbanions are diverse, and the resulting products contain an Os—H bond, representing a novel type of 10C‐carbolong complexes. This work provides a new convenient route to construct metallacyclopentadienes, which is expected to further promote the development of such a type of substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately distinguishing between enantiomeric molecules is a fundamental challenge in the field of chemistry. However, there is still significant room for improvement in both the enantiomeric selectivity (KR(S)/KS(R)) and binding strength of most reported macrocyclic chiral receptors to meet the demands of practical application scenarios. Herein, we synthesized a water‐soluble conjugated tubular host—namely, corral[4]BINOL—using a chiral 1,1′‐bi‐2‐naphthol (BINOL) derivative as the repeating unit. The conjugated chiral backbone endows corral[4]BINOL with good fluorescent emission (QY=34 %) and circularly polarized luminescence (|glum| up to 1.4×10−3) in water. Notably, corral[4]BINOL exhibits high recognition affinity up to 8.6×1010 M−1 towards achiral guests in water, and manifested excellent enantioselectivity up to 18.7 towards chiral substrates, both of which represent the highest values observed among chiral macrocycles in aqueous solution. The ultrastrong binding strength, outstanding enantioselectivity, and facile accessibility, together with the superior fluorescent and chiroptical properties, endow corral[4]BINOL with great potential for a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dandruff and its more severe related condition, seborrheic dermatitis affects a high proportion of the population at some point in their life. Piroctone olamine, also known as Octopirox® (OPX) is the monoethanolamine salt of piroctone and is an antifungal agent widely used for the management of dandruff. The aim of the present work was to characterize the physicochemical properties of piroctone olamine and to conduct pre‐formulation studies for the development of novel topical formulations of this active. Methods: An HPLC method was developed and validated for the analysis of OPX. The melting point was determined using the DSC Q2000 (TA Instruments, USA). The distribution coefficient (logD(O/PBS)) and partition coefficient (log Po/w) was determined in phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) AND deionized (DI) water using the shake flask method. All experiments were performed at room temperature. The solubility was determined experimentally by adding amount of active to a solvent. The samples were kept at 32° ± 1°C for 48 h in a water bath. The stability of the compound was determined in a range of solvents by preparing solutions of 1 mg mL−1 in the relevant solvents. These solutions were kept and stirred throughout the experiment at 32 ± 1°C, and aliquots were taken at 24, 48 and 96 h. Results: The HPLC method was developed successfully; however, samples at the lower end of the calibration curve showed lower degrees of precision and accuracy. Based on experiments with DSC, the melting point was observed at an onset temperature of 132.4°C. The LogD was determined to be 1.84. The compound had the highest solubility in methanol (278.4 mg mL−1) and propylene glycol (PG), with a value of 248.8 mg mL−1. The lowest solubility for OPX was in dimethyl isosorbide (9.9 mg mL−1), Labrafac™ (3.6 mg mL−1) and isostearyl isostearate (0.5 mg mL−1). Over the 4 days, OPX showed stability in ethanol and PG, while a notable decrease in OPX was observed in PBS and DI water at 32 ± 1°C. Conclusion: The physicochemical properties of OPX were characterized to find suitable excipients able to target the epidermis for topical delivery. Building on these findings, future work will focus on the development of novel topical formulation of OPX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead‐free xBiFeO3–(1−x)BaTiO3–SrTiO3 solid‐solution ceramics are synthesized and their structure and dielectric and ferroelectric properties are studied. It is observed that the dielectric relaxation process (marked as Region I) triggered by polar nanoregions (PNRs) related to Fe2+/Fe3+ valences may cover the relaxation process induced by oxygen vacancies (OVs, marked as Region II) at 1150 and 1200 °C. The changes in relaxation peak heights show that with the increase of annealing temperature and BiFeO3 content, the PNR concentration increases while OV concentration decreases. Cole–Cole diagram analysis indicates that dielectric relaxations are likely based on changes in grain interior, grain boundary, and the increased electrode/ceramic interface as the doping content increases. The possible causes of relaxation behavior dependence are analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self‐healing capability is highly desirable in semiconductors to develop advanced devices with improved stability and longevity. In this study, the automatic self‐healing in silicon nanowires is reported, which are one of the most important building blocks for high‐performance semiconductor nanodevices. A recovery of fracture strength (10.1%) on fractured silicon nanowires is achieved, which is demonstrated by in situ transmission electron microscopy tensile tests. The self‐healing mechanism and factors governing the self‐healing efficiency are revealed by a combination of atomic‐resolution characterizations and atomistic simulations. Spontaneous rebonding, atomic rearrangement, and van der Waals attraction are responsible for the self‐healing in silicon nanowires. Additionally, the self‐healing efficiency is affected by the fracture surface roughness, the nanowire size, the nanowire orientation, and the passivation of dangling bonds on fracture surfaces. These new findings shed light on the self‐healing mechanism of silicon nanowires and provide new insights into developing high‐lifetime and high‐security semiconductor devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar interfacial vapor generation based on low evaporation energy requirements is an effective technology to speed up water purification under natural sunlight, offering great potential to alleviate the current global water crisis. The external electric field and hydrogel are two independent methods enabling low‐energy water evaporation. However, the complicated external equipment for generating an electric field and the restricted activation area of hydrogels significantly limit their practical application in steam generation. Thus, a piezoelectric fiber membrane is embedded into a highly hydratable light‐absorbing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel for synergistic water activation. The integrated evaporator is capable of continuously converting the wave energy reserved in the ocean into electrical energy, activating the water in the hydrogel. It is found that the activation effect leads to an improvement of over 23% compared to a non‐piezoelectric hydrogel evaporator. This work provides an evaporation prototype based on the synergistic water activation of wave‐triggered electricity and highly hydratable hydrogel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial solar vapor generation is an emerging technology that has the potential to alleviate the current global water crisis. However, water evaporation is an energy‐intensive phase‐change process and thus suffers from an inherently low evaporation yield. New stable and environmentally tolerant materials that can reduce energy requirements and accelerate water evaporation stand out from various studies. In this contribution, a piezoelectric ultrathin nanofilm is integrated into a solar evaporation membrane for simultaneous power generation and water activation. The resulting evaporator is used to continuously convert the wave energy in the ocean into electrical energy. It is found that the electrical energy generated by the evaporator can activate water in adjacent regions, facilitating water evaporation with an additional improvement of over 20% compared to an equivalent non‐piezoelectric evaporator. This paper presents the innovation of a promising membrane evaporation prototype based on the integration of wave‐triggered electricity and water activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Apurinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) has been suggested as an oncogene of lung tumours and our bioinformatics analysis identified the association between Erlotinib resistance and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). Thus, we performed this work to delineate the mechanistic actions of APE1/IL‐6 signalling in Erlotinib resistance of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We selected human NSCLC cell lines HCC827 and PC9 to establish Erlotinib‐resistant HCC827R and PC9R cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) were isolated from Erlotinib‐sensitive HCC827P and PC9P cells (PCSCs) and from HCC827R and PC9R cells (RCSCs). Further, extracellular vesicles (EVs) were separated from PCSCs (PCSC‐EVs) and RCSCs (RCSC‐EVs) and co‐cultured with RCSCs with or without short hairpin RNA (shRNA)‐targeting APE1 (APE1 shRNA) transduction. In addition, functional assays were conducted to determine the effect of APE1 shRNA on malignant phenotypes of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo and the activation of IL‐6/STAT3 signalling. Results: It was found that NSCLC cells could internalize both RCSC‐EVs and PCSC‐EVs. RCSC‐EVs augmented the resistance of NSCLC cells to Erlotinib. The overexpression of APE1 occurred in NSCLC tissues, and IL‐6 was enriched in serum samples of patients with NSCLC. APE1 shRNA was demonstrated to restrict the Erlotinib resistance of NSCLC cells by inactivating the IL‐6/STAT3 signalling. Additionally, shAPE1‐loaded RCSC‐EVs suppressed the Erlotinib resistance of NSCLC via the IL‐6/STAT3 axis both in vitro and in vivo, as reflected by impeded malignant phenotypes and xenograft tumour formation. Conclusions: Collectively, these data indicate that APE1 confers Erlotinib resistance by activating the IL‐6/STAT3 signalling, suggesting targeting APE1 as a possible therapeutic target in Erlotinib‐resistant NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with mild asthma had already developed airway remodeling (wall thickening without notable airway luminal narrowing) from the 3rd to 9th generation. Keywords: airway remodeling; asthma; bronchodilation; optical coherence tomography EN airway remodeling asthma bronchodilation optical coherence tomography 646 649 4 02/01/22 20220201 NES 220201 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Prof. Zheng Jing-ping, Prof. Gao Yi, Prof. Xie Yan-qing, Dr. [Extracted from the article]

Alternating therapeutic plasma exchange with double plasma molecular adsorption system can rapidly remove bilirubin and ammonia and supplement the essential substance from the blood, which could be used as an effective treatment for fulminant hepatic failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudopotentials for the chemical cross‐links comprising the glutamic‐ and aspartic‐acid side chains bridged with adipic‐ (ADH) or pimelic‐acid hydrazide (PDH), and the lysine side chains bridged with glutaric (BS2G) or suberic acid (BS3) for coarse‐grained cross‐link‐assisted simulations were determined by canonical molecular dynamics with the Amber14sb force field. The potentials depend on the distance between side‐chain ends and on side‐chain orientation, this preventing from making cross‐link contacts across the globule in simulations. The potentials were implemented in the UNRES coarse‐grained force field and their effect on the quality of models was assessed with 11 monomeric and 1 dimeric proteins, using synthetic or experimental cross‐link data. Simulations with the new potentials resulted in improvement of the generated models compared to unrestrained simulations in more instances compared to those with the statistical potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as cocatalyst for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is promising but still in its infancy due to the challenge to fabricate high‐quality MOFs coated photoelectrodes. Herein, a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method is used to fabricate high‐quality conformal and ultrathin MOFs overlayer with preferred orientation on nanoporous BiVO4 films. 20 molecular monolayers of Co‐MOF coated BiVO4 photoanodes exhibit 3.1‐folds of photocurrent density in comparison with pristine BiVO4. The onset potential shows a negative shift of 320 mV. To further demonstrate the extensibility of SILAR method, the alternative Co‐MOF and Ni‐MOF coated BiVO4 photoanodes deliver an enhanced photocurrent density of 2.97 mA cm−2. The PEC performance achieved rivals the reported results of BiVO4 and MOF hybrid photoanodes. The PEC improvements should be attributed to the high‐quality conformal and ultrathin MOFs overlayer, which can efficiently passivate the surface states of BiVO4, and accelerate the hole transfer through Co‐MOF layer. Three critical roles of Co‐MOF overlayer are elaborately revealed. In contrast, hydrothermally prepared BiVO4/Co‐MOF photoanodes possess inferior PEC performance, such as the photocurrent, and stability. This work clearly demonstrates SILAR method is a simple and efficient approach to realize conformal and ultrathin MOF coating with high‐quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the shortest segment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) offer a well‐defined alternative for CNTs as the fluorophores in bioimaging. However, most of CPPs emit blue or yellow light, the bright red‐emitting CPP materials required by bioimaging, particularly in vivo imaging, are still lacking. Here, it is shown that a CPP (TB[9]CPP) with red emission up to 650 nm is successfully synthesized and characterized. The fluorescence quantum yields of TB[9]CPP are measured up to 44% in chloroform and 17% as nanodots in aqueous media. Meanwhile, the water‐soluble nanodots present outstanding three‐photon fluorescence performances, thereby are utilized for in vivo probing of brain vessels by three‐photon fluorescence microscopic imaging technique, exhibiting a high penetration depth, good resolution, and clear image contrast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI), as a common oxidative stress‐related renal disease, causes high mortality in clinics annually, and many other clinical diseases, including the pandemic COVID‐19, have a high potential to cause AKI, yet only rehydration, renal dialysis, and other supportive therapies are available for AKI in the clinics. Nanotechnology‐mediated antioxidant therapy represents a promising therapeutic strategy for AKI treatment. However, current enzyme‐mimicking nanoantioxidants show poor biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as non‐specific ROS level regulation, further potentially causing deleterious adverse effects. Herein, the authors report a novel non‐enzymatic antioxidant strategy based on ultrathin Ti3C2‐PVP nanosheets (TPNS) with excellent biocompatibility and great chemical reactivity toward multiple ROS for AKI treatment. These TPNS nanosheets exhibit enzyme/ROS‐triggered biodegradability and broad‐spectrum ROS scavenging ability through the readily occurring redox reaction between Ti3C2 and various ROS, as verified by theoretical calculations. Furthermore, both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate that TPNS can serve as efficient antioxidant platforms to scavenge the overexpressed ROS and subsequently suppress oxidative stress‐induced inflammatory response through inhibition of NF‐κB signal pathway for AKI treatment. This study highlights a new type of therapeutic agent, that is, the redox‐mediated non‐enzymatic antioxidant MXene nanoplatforms in treatment of AKI and other ROS‐associated diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radial conjugated π‐system of cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) makes them intriguing fluorophores and unique supramolecular hosts. However, the bright photoluminescence (PL) of CPPs was limited to the blue light and the supramolecular assembly behavior of large CPPs was rarely investigated. Here we present the synthesis of tetra‐benzothiadiazole‐based [12]cycloparaphenylene (TB[12]CPP), which exhibits a lime to orange PL with an excellent quantum yield up to 82 % in solution. The PL quantum yield of TB[12]CPP can be further improved to 98 % in polymer matrix. Benefiting from its enlarged size, TB[12]CPP can accommodate a fullerene derivative or concave–convex complexes of fullerene and buckybowl through the combined π–π and C−H⋅⋅⋅π interactions. The latter demonstrates the first case of a ternary supramolecule of CPPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of O2 to solid Li2O2 on discharge and the reverse oxidation of Li2O2 to O2 on recharge are the essential processes to determine the performance of Li‐O2 batteries. The discovery of effective catalysts with a favorable Li2O2 formation/decomposition mechanism is vital for the development of high‐performance Li‐O2 batteries. Here, a soluble catalyst of iodosylbenzene (PhIO) that can offer a highly reversible O2 conversion is reported for the first time. Benefiting from its ability to capture and couple the LiO2 intermediate, which is endowed by its polarized I3+O2− bond where the I atom and O atom can serve as a Lewis acidic site and basic site (dual site) to interact with O2− and Li+, respectively, the formation and decomposition of Li2O2 by a one‐electron pathway can be effectively promoted, thus greatly improving the electrode surface passivation issue and the reaction kinetics. In addition, the side reactions caused by the traditional high‐reactive LiO2 intermediate can also be effectively suppressed by forming a series of low‐reactive intermediates (LiO23PhIO, (LiO2)24PhIO, and Li2O24PhIO) instead. Consequently, the PhIO‐catalyzed Li–O2 batteries exhibit a low overpotential, a large capacity, and a good cyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are great challenges to fabricate a highly selective and sensitive enzyme‐free biomimetic sensor. Herein for the first time a unique nanostructure of porous molybdenum carbide impregnated in N‐doped carbon (p‐Mo2C/NC) is synthesized by using SiO2 nanocrystals‐templating method and is further used as an enzyme‐free electrochemical biosensor toward highly selective, sensitive detection of H2O2, of which the limit of detection, dynamic detection range and sensitivity accomplish as 0.22 μM, 0.05–4.5 mM and 577.14 μA mM−1 cm−2, respectively, and are much superior to the non‐porous molybdenum carbide impregnated in N‐doped carbon (Mo2C/NC). The sensor is also used to monitor H2O2 released from A549 living cells. This work holds a great promise to be used to monitor the presence of H2O2 in biological research while offering an important knowledge to design a highly selective and sensitive biomimetic sensor by synthesizing a porous catalyst to greatly improve the reaction surface area rather than conventionally only relying on dispersing the catalyst material into porous carbon substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effects of isorhamnetin on myocardial ischaemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in Langendorff‐perfused rat hearts. Isorhamnetin treatment (5, 10 and 20 μg/mL) significantly alleviated cardiac morphological injury, reduced myocardial infarct size, decreased the levels of marker enzymes (LDH and CK) and improved the haemodynamic parameters, reflected by the elevated levels of the left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), coronary flow (CF) and the maximum up/down velocity of left ventricular pressure (+dp/dtmax). Moreover, isorhamnetin reperfusion inhibited apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in the rats subjected to cardiac I/R in a dose‐dependent manner concomitant with decreased protein expression of Bax and cleaved‐caspase‐3, as well as increased protein expression of Bcl‐2. In addition, I/R‐induced oxidative stress was manifestly mitigated by isorhamnetin treatment, as showed by the decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px). These results indicated that isorhamnetin exerts a protective effect against I/R‐induced myocardial injury through the attenuation of apoptosis and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are great challenges to fabricate a highly selective and sensitive enzyme‐free biomimetic sensor. Herein for the first time a unique nanostructure of porous molybdenum carbide impregnated in N‐doped carbon (p‐Mo2C/NC) is synthesized by using SiO2 nanocrystals‐templating method and is further used as an enzyme‐free electrochemical biosensor toward highly selective, sensitive detection of H2O2, of which the limit of detection, dynamic detection range and sensitivity accomplish as 0.22 μM, 0.05–4.5 mM and 577.14 μA mM−1 cm−2, respectively, and are much superior to the non‐porous molybdenum carbide impregnated in N‐doped carbon (Mo2C/NC). The sensor is also used to monitor H2O2 released from A549 living cells. This work holds a great promise to be used to monitor the presence of H2O2 in biological research while offering an important knowledge to design a highly selective and sensitive biomimetic sensor by synthesizing a porous catalyst to greatly improve the reaction surface area rather than conventionally only relying on dispersing the catalyst material into porous carbon substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental investigation of intermolecular charge transport in π‐conjugated materials is challenging. Herein, we describe the investigation of charge transport through intermolecular and intramolecular paths in single‐molecule and single‐stacking thiophene junctions by the mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) technique. We found that the ability for intermolecular charge transport through different single‐stacking junctions was approximately independent of the molecular structure, which contrasts with the strong length dependence of conductance in single‐molecule junctions with the same building blocks, and the dominant charge‐transport path of molecules with two anchors transited from an intramolecular to an intermolecular path when the degree of conjugation increased. An increase in conjugation further led to higher binding probability owing to the variation in binding energies, as supported by DFT calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Together with the more intuitive and commonly recognized conductance mechanisms of charge‐hopping and tunneling, quantum‐interference (QI) phenomena have been identified as important factors affecting charge transport through molecules. Consequently, establishing simple and flexible molecular‐design strategies to understand, control, and exploit QI in molecular junctions poses an exciting challenge. Here we demonstrate that destructive quantum interference (DQI) in meta‐substituted phenylene ethylene‐type oligomers (m‐OPE) can be tuned by changing the position and conformation of methoxy (OMe) substituents at the central phenylene ring. These substituents play the role of molecular‐scale taps, which can be switched on or off to control the current flow through a molecule. Our experimental results conclusively verify recently postulated magic‐ratio and orbital‐product rules, and highlight a novel chemical design strategy for tuning and gating DQI features to create single‐molecule devices with desirable electronic functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of blood pump flow rate on the cardiac functions of hemodialysis patients with arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate if blood pump flow rate (Qb) and AVF access flow rate (Qa) can affect the cardiac function of Chinese hemodialysis patients. A total of 72 patients undergoing AVF hemodialysis were included from March 2010 to June 2014 and dichotomized into the high‐ and low‐flow groups using the medians of Qb (220 mL/min) and Qa (1000 mL/min) as the cutoffs. The cardiac function parameters were measured by ultrasound dilution technique within the first (t + 30) and the last (t − 30) 30 min of dialysis. At t + 30, Qb‐high group had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) than Qb‐low group. At t − 30, Qb‐high group had higher SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and MAP than Qb‐low group. Qa‐high group had higher SBP, MAP, cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), central blood volume (CBV), and lower peripheral resistance than Qa‐low group. Multiple linear regression showed that at t − 30, Qb was positively correlated with SBP and MAP. Qa was positively correlated with CO, CI, CBV, and PR but negatively correlated with heart rate. Although Qb > 220 mL/min and Qa >1000 mL/min would elevate some parameters, the means of SBP, DBP, MAP remain within the normal range, indicating that appropriate increase in blood pump flow rate has little effect on the cardiac function of hemodialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bowl inversion is a unique property of buckybowls. The polarity and assembly configuration of buckybowls are reversed after bowl inversion. So far, this unique phenomenon has been studied in solution and on surface, but not in solid state due to spatial constraint. Now a series of exo‐type supramolecular assemblies of trithiasumanene and nanographene are investigated. Tuning the electron density of the nanogaphene component was found to directly affect the binding constant of the complex. Reversible bowl inversion in the solid state was then successfully achieved by subjecting the trithiasumanene–nanographene assembly with the weakest binding strength to repeated heating–cooling cycles, which was unambiguously observed by single crystal X‐ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is the key enzyme of the salvage pathway of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide synthesis. NAMPT can also be secreted and functions as a cytokine. We have previously shown that in the brain, NAMPT expression and secretion can be induced in microglia upon neuroinflammation and injury. Yet the mechanism for NAMPT secretion remains unclear. Here we show that NAMPT can be actively secreted from microglia upon the treatment of ischemia‐like injury – oxygen‐glucose deprivation and recovery (OGD/R). We confirmed that classical ER‐Golgi pathway is not involved in NAMPT secretion. NAMPT secretion was further enhanced by ATP, and the secretion was mediated by P2X7 receptor and by intracellular Ca2+. Importantly, we found that phospholipase D inhibitor, n‐butanol, phospholipase D siRNA, and wortmannin significantly decreased OGD/R‐induced and ATP‐enhanced release of NAMPT in microglia. After excluding the mechanisms of involving secretory autophagy, endosomes, and secretory lysosome, we have concluded that microglial NAMPT is secreted mainly via exosome. Immune‐electron microscopy identifies NAMPT in extracellular vesicles with the size and morphology characteristic of exosome. With the vesicles harvested by ultra‐centrifugation, exosomal NAMPT is further confirmed by Western blotting analysis. Intriguingly, the amount of NAMPT relative to exosomal protein markers remains unchanged upon the treatment of OGD/R, suggesting a constant load of exosomal NAMPT in microglia. Taken together, we have identified NAMPT is actively secreted via exosome from microglia during neuroinflammation of ischemic injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular components are vital to introduce and manipulate quantum interference (QI) in charge transport through molecular electronic devices. Up to now, the functional molecular units that show QI are mostly found in conventional π‐ and σ‐bond‐based systems; it is thus intriguing to study QI in multicenter bonding systems without both π‐ and σ‐conjugations. Now the presence of QI in multicenter‐bond‐based systems is demonstrated for the first time, through the single‐molecule conductance investigation of carborane junctions. We find that all the three connectivities in carborane frameworks show different levels of destructive QI, which leads to highly suppressed single‐molecule conductance in para‐ and meta‐connected carboranes. The investigation of QI into carboranes provides a promising platform to fabricate molecular electronic devices based on multicenter bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an acute, severe, and refractory pulmonary inflammation with high morbidity and mortality. Excessive activation of fibroblast during the fibroproliferative phase plays a pivotal role in the prognosis of ARDS. Our previous study demonstrated that the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is mediated by lentivirus attenuates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced ARDS in a murine model, and VIP inhibits the release of interleukin‐17A (IL‐17A) from activation macrophages. However, the effects of VIP on the activation of murine fibroblast and expression of IL‐17 receptor (IL‐17R) in ARDS remain unclear. Here, a mouse model of ARDS was established by an intratracheal injection of LPS. We found that the gene expression of col3a1 and hydroxyproline contents in the lungs were significantly increased 24 h after LPS injection. IL‐17RC rather than IL‐17RA was increased in the lungs of mice with ARDS. In vitro, LPS activated NIH3T3 cells, which was suppressed by VIP in a dose‐dependent manner. In detail, VIP reduced the hydroxyproline content and col3a1 messenger RNA induced by LPS in NIH3T3 cells, as well as the expression of α‐smooth muscle actin. Furthermore, we found that VIP inhibited the expression of IL‐17R in the lungs of mice with ARDS and NIH3T3 cells stimulated with LPS, which was partly inhibited by antagonists of protein kinase A and protein kinase C. Taken together, our results demonstrated that VIP inhibited the activation of fibroblast via downregulation of IL‐17RC, which may contribute to the protective effects of VIP against ARDS in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of open‐shell polycyclic hydrocarbons with large diradical characters is challenging because of their high reactivities. Herein, two diindeno‐fused corannulene regioisomers DIC‐1 and DIC‐2, curved fragments of fullerene C104, were synthesized that exhibit open‐shell singlet ground states. The incorporation of the curved and non‐alternant corannulene moiety within diradical systems leads to significant diradical characters as high as 0.98 for DIC‐1 and 0.89 for DIC‐2. Such high diradical characters can presumably be ascribed to the re‐aromatization of the corannulene π system. Although the DIC compounds have large diradical characters, they display excellent stability under ambient conditions. The half‐lives are 37 days for DIC‐1 and 6.6 days for DIC‐2 in solution. This work offers a new design strategy towards diradicaloids with large diradical characters yet maintain high stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoresponsive molecular systems are essential for molecular optoelectronic devices, but most molecular building blocks are non‐photoresponsive. Employed here is a photoinduced proton transfer (PIPT) strategy to control charge transport through single‐molecule azulene junctions with visible light under ambient conditions, which leads to a reversible and controllable photoresponsive molecular device based on non‐photoresponsive molecules and a photoacid. Also demonstrated is the application of PIPT in two single‐molecule AND gate and OR gate devices with electrical signal as outputs. Out of the blue: By using a photoinduced proton‐transfer (PIPT) strategy, a non‐photoresponsive 1,3‐azulene derivative can be modulated in single‐molecule junctions by blue light, with conductance variation by almost one order of magnitude. This behavior can lead to potential applications in single‐molecule logic gate devices with electrical outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bulky substituents play important roles in controlling the reaction pathways or producing selected products. This work reports that the shift of metallafuran rings in a metallapentalenofuran complex can be promoted by the substituent effect via a reversible C−H bond reductive elimination and oxidative addition. The starting osmapentalyne, a so‐called 7‐carbon carbolong complex, was produced by the oxidation of a metallapentalenofuran with FeCl3. It was then allowed to react with nucleophiles, followed by a C−H activation, to give the aforementioned metallapentalenofuran complex. This work enriches the family of carbolong complexes and reveals a new strategy to promote, but not prevent reactions by the bulky substituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Metallacycles with chelating polydentate conjugated‐carbon chain ligands are called carbolong complexes, which are expected to have interesting properties. In this work, the preparation of 12‐carbon carbolong complexes in which all of the coordinated atoms in the equatorial plane are carbon atoms was studied. With the help of the well‐established mechanism, a new approach to prepare coplanar carbolong complexes bearing different organic functional groups was developed by adding different terminal alkynes in sequence. In the presence of HBF4, these coplanar carbolong complexes were converted to η3‐allyl osmapentalene derivatives, which can be produced directly from the reaction of cyclopropaosmapentalene 1 with terminal alkynes in the presence of AgBF4 under anhydrous conditions. This study offers a new route for the preparation of functional osmium carbolong complexes with excellent photothermal properties, which can be used to prepare photothermal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Titanium (Ti) and its corresponding alloys have been widely applied in dental and orthopedic implants. Owing to abrasion and corrosion of implants in the unfavorable electrolytic aqueous environment of the host body, Ti ions could be released from implants and accumulated in local tissues. Recent studies have found that excessive Ti ions were toxic to osteoblasts in adjacent bone tissues and subsequently influenced long‐term effects on implant prostheses. However, the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the damage to osteoblasts induced by Ti ions remained unclear. Hippo signaling has been confirmed to be involved in organ size and tissue regeneration in many organs, while its roles in osteoblasts differentiation and bone repair remained elusive. Therefore, we hypothesize that YAP, a regulator of Hippo pathway, inhibited osteoblast growth, skeletal development and bone repair, as well as excessive Ti ions promoted the progression of YAP activation. This study aimed to explore the role of Hippo/YAP signaling pathway in the biotoxicity effect of Ti ions on osteoblast behaviors. Here, we confirmed that 10 ppm Ti ions, a minimum concentration gradient previously reported that was capable of suppressing osteoblasts growth, induced nuclear expression of YAP in osteoblasts in our study. Furthermore, 10 ppm Ti ion‐induced YAP activation was found to downregulate osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3‐E1 cells. Most importantly, the hypothesis we proposed that knockdown of YAP did reverse the inhibitory effect of 10 ppm Ti ions on osteogenesis has been verified. Taken together, our work provides insights into the mechanism of which YAP is involved in regulating osteoblast behaviors under the effect of Ti ions, which may help to develop therapeutic applications for Ti implant failures and peri‐implantitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correspondence: A combination of sectional micro-anatomy and micro-stereoscopic anatomy is an improved micro-dissection method The space between the hippocampus, fimbria, and thalamus is not the lateral ventricle cavity, but rather belongs to the extracerebral space between the basal surface of the cerebral hemisphere and the surface of the thalamus. The space between the basal surface of the cerebral hemisphere and the surface of the thalamus is a potential space on the brain surface, which is separated from the lateral ventricle cavity by the choroid fissure (figures 9 and 10; Wu et al., 2021). [Extracted from the article]

We experimentally investigate the behavior of the mode instability (MI) threshold in the double cladding Yb-doped fiber amplifier when the amplifier is pumped by broad linewidth laser diodes and narrow linewidth laser diodes respectively. It is found that the MI threshold increases by 26% when the amplifier is pumped by the broad linewidth laser diodes. Experiment results show that the MI threshold is affected by the local heat load rather than the average or the total heat load. The calculation shows that the local heat deposit actually plays the key role to stimulate the MI behaviour. At the MI threshold position in the fiber, the local heat deposit also changes dramatically. The effect of the thermal conductivity on the MI threshold is also studied. Our investigation shows that the MI threshold increases from 1269 W to 1950 W when the thermal conductivity of the fiber amplifier is increased from 0.3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A protein can be in different conformations when fulfilling its function. Yet depiction of protein structural ensembles remains difficult. Here we show that the accurate measurement of solvent paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (sPRE) in the presence of an inert paramagnetic cosolute allows the assessment of protein dynamics. Demonstrated with two multi-domain proteins, we present a method to characterize protein microsecond-millisecond dynamics based on the analysis of the sPRE. Provided with the known structures of a protein, our method uncovers an ensemble of structures that fully accounts for the observed sPRE. In conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations, our method can identify protein alternative conformation that has only been theorized before. Together, our method expands the application of sPRE beyond structural characterization of rigid proteins and complements the established PRE NMR technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is highly attractive but challenging to develop earth-abundant electrocatalysts for energy-saving electrolytic hydrogen generation. Herein, we report that Ni2P nanoarrays grown in situ on nickel foam (Ni2P/NF) behave as a durable high-performance non-noble-metal electrocatalyst for hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) in alkaline media. The replacement of the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction with such the more thermodynamically favorable HzOR enables energy-saving electrochemical hydrogen production with the use of Ni2P/NF as a bifunctional catalyst for anodic HzOR and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. When operated at room temperature, this two-electrode electrolytic system drives 500 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage as low as 1.0 V with strong long-term electrochemical durability and 100 % Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution in 1.0 m KOH aqueous solution with 0.5 m hydrazine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Marinating is a Chinese traditional meat-processing method using aged brine that brings popular flavor together with food safety issues. In this study a novel method named quantitative marinating ( QM) was developed to improve Chinese traditional marinating ( TM). Flavor compounds and sensory profiles of two marinated products were determined to verify if the improved marinating method could maintain the characteristic flavors of TM. RESULTS Fifty-four, 60, 60, 60 and 44 volatile flavor compounds were identified from four processing stages of QM and TM respectively. Contents of taste compounds first increased and then decreased in the processing stages of QM. The total free amino acid contents of QM and TM products were 789 and 536 mg per 100 g respectively. The total nucleotide content of QM product (22.21 mg per 100 g) was higher than that of TM (20.75 mg per 100 g), while the fatty acid content of QM product (26.66 mg g−1) was lower than that of TM (44.43 mg g−1). Finally, QM received higher sensory scores than TM. CONCLUSION Volatile flavor compounds, taste compounds and sensory properties of QM were richer than those of TM, indicating that QM can not only maintain the original aroma of TM but also have advantages in taste compounds. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Development of earth‐abundant bifunctional electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly desirable but still remains a great challenge. In this Communication, we demonstrate that a Ni‐P alloy nanoparticle film electrodeposited on Ni foam (Ni‐P/NF) acts as an efficient bifunctional water‐splitting electrocatalyst with strong durability in alkaline media. This electrode needs overpotentials of 80 and 309 mV to drive 10 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively, in 1.0  m KOH, and its two‐electrode water electrolyzer requires voltage of 1.67 V to reach 10 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]