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Printed zinc ion micro‐batteries (PZIMBs) possess characteristics such as miniaturization, customizability, and affordability, making them highly promising for the field of flexible electronic devices. Nevertheless, the current development of PZIMBs is seriously hindered by their limited areal capacity. In this study, PZIMBs with a high areal capacity are conducted based on 3D printing technology by optimizing the material properties, electrode ink formulation, and printing parameters. The cathode material, polyvinylpyrrolidone‐induced ammonium vanadate (P‐NVO) nanobelt, exhibits a high capacity of 457.3 mAh g−1 at 0.1 mA g−1, along with good cycling performance and rate capability. The double‐network hydrogel electrolyte, composed of crosslinked polyacrylamide‐polyvinylpyrrolidone (PAM‐PVP hydrogel electrolyte), demonstrates excellent ionic conductivity (107.22 mS cm−1), high stretchability (970%), and viscosity. The constructed PZIMBs exhibit a high areal capacity of 4.02 mAh cm−2 at 0.5 mA cm−2, along with good mechanical flexibility. Moreover, through the integration of PZIMBs with pressure sensors, an interactive system is developed that resembles electronic skin, and this integration enables practical applications of wearable devices. This study presents a novel approach for fabricating PZIMBs with high areal capacity, thereby contributing to and propelling the advancement of flexible energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phospholes react with aldimines in the presence of a mild Lewis acid to C2-bridged biphospholes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducing sodium as anode to develop sodium metal batteries (SMBs) is a promising approach for improving the energy density of sodium‐ion batteries. However, fatal problems, such as uncontrollable sodium dendrite growth, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in low‐cost carbonate‐based electrolytes, and serious safety issues, greatly impede the practical applications. Here, a multifunctionalized separator is rationally designed, by coating PP separator (<25 µm) with a solid‐state NASICON‐type fast ionic conductor layer (NZSP@PP) to replace the widely used thick glass fiber separator (>200 µm) and successfully solves all of the above problems, and for the first time creats high performance SMBs by using Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) cathodes in pouch cell. The Na||NVP full cells can stably cycle over 1200 times with capacity retention of 80% at a high rate of 10 C and deliver a specific capacity of 80 mAh g−1 even at high rate of 30 C, indicating extraordinary fast‐charging characters. The full SMBs can also stably cycle 200 times with a retention of 96.4% under high NVP loading of 10.7 mg cm−2. Most importantly, the SMB pouch cell can also deliver a long‐life cycles as well as high‐temperature battery performance, which guarantees the safety of SMBs in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rearranged during transfection (RET) is a promising target for antitumor drug development. Multikinase inhibitors (MKI) have been developed for RET-driven cancers but displayed limited efficacy in disease control. Two selective RET inhibitors were approved by FDA in 2020 and proved potent clinical efficacy. However, the discovery of novel RET inhibitors with high target selectivity and improved safety is still highly desirable. Herein, we reported a class of 3,5-diaryl-1H-pyrazol-based ureas as new RET inhibitors. The representative compounds 17a/b displayed high selectivity to other kinases, and potently inhibited isogenic BaF3-CCDC6-RET cells harboring wild-type, or gatekeeper mutation (V804M). They also displayed moderate potency against BaF3-CCDC6-RET-G810C with solvent-front mutation. Compound 17b showed better pharmacokinetics properties and demonstrated promising oral in vivo antitumor efficacy in a BaF3-CCDC6-RET-V804M xenograft model. It may be utilized as a new lead compound for further development. [Display omitted] • Approved RET inhibitors displayed side effects due to off-target interactions. • 3,5-Diaryl-1 H -pyrazol-based ureas are developed as potent RET inhibitors. • Compound 17b displayed high target selectivity. • Compound 17b demonstrated promising in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes to prepare hydrophobic alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortars with methyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a hydrophobic polymer with low surface energy, to minimize its water sorptivity and efflorescence. To depict the efflorescence process of PDMS-modified AAS mortars, visual inspections of efflorescence features, the leaching behavior of sodium ions, water absorption characteristics of mortars and contact angle tests were conducted. Additionally, the hydration process, microscopic morphology, and chemical structure of PDMS-modified AAS mortars and pastes were examined by compressive strength, isothermal calorimetry, TEM, SEM, FT-IR, 29Si NMR, enabling the explanation of PDMS working mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the addition of PDMS successfully mitigated esthetic issues and the spalling of mortars caused by efflorescence. Furthermore, PDMS reduced the risk of long-term durability issues of AAS mortars by restricting the loss of sodium ions after efflorescence. At the same time, the introduction of PDMS with dosage below 5 % did not significant retarder the hydration reaction process or the development of strength of AAS. However, it did alter the micromorphology and chemical structure of the hydration product. PDMS linked to the hydration products through covalent bonds and acted as a bridging role to alter the micromorphology of the hydration products. The resulting multi-structured material exhibited micropapillary and nano-coating layers with hydrophobic methyl functional groups, imparting hydrophobicity to the PDMS-AAS hydration product. • PDMS mitigated esthetic issues and the spalling of AAS mortars caused by efflorescence. • PDMS-modified AAS mortars restricted the loss of sodium ions after efflorescence. • PDMS altered the micromorphology and chemical structure of the hydration product. • The nano-coating layers in PDMS-modified AAS were formed by the remained PDMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cavefish can be important models for understanding the relationships among evolution, adaptation, and development in extreme environments. However, cavefish remain poorly studied, particularly at the genome level. Here, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of three cavefish in the family Nemacheilidae (Paranemachilus pingguoensis, Oreonectes polystigmus, and Heminoemacheilus longibarbatus), which were collected from karst caves in South China. The mitogenomes each contained 37 genes (13 protein coding, 22 tRNA, and two rRNA genes) and a single control region, with the same genetic arrangement and distribution as those found in vertebrates. The non-synonymous/synonymous mutation ratios (Ka/Ks) of the mitogenomes indicated that the protein-coding genes (PCGs) of the three cavefish evolved under purifying selection. The mitogenomes of the three cavefish exhibit nucleotide composition biases for PCGs, tRNAs, rRNAs, and the whole genome, indicating that the mitochondrial DNA might have been subjected to evolutionary selection in response to extreme cave environments. Divergence time and evolutionary history analyses suggested that the speciation and diversification of the cavefish coincided with the Miocene uplift of the southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which greatly changed cave habitats. Overall, our study sheds light on the mitogenomes, phylogeny, and evolutionary history of nemacheilid cavefish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, oleogel as a viscoelastic semi-solid to replace trans fatty acids and reduce saturated fatty acids in food has received more and more attention. Herein, an emulsion template method was used to produce soybean oil–based oleogels with seven different ester emulsifiers and soy protein isolate as oleogelators. The chemical and physical characteristics of oleogels produced via various crosslinking factors were comparatively examined. Results revealed that all oleogels generated β-type needle crystals and exhibited high oil-holding capacity (>80 %), among which glycerol monolaurate G2 and diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono–diglycerides G6 exhibited the strongest oil-holding capacity (96.6 % and 96.2 %, respectively). Furthermore, all oleogels exhibited strong thixotropic recovery, high thermal stability, as well as high gel strength (G′ > G′′). Of these, G2 and G6 exhibited the highest thixotropic recovery rates at 74.54 % and 78.19 %, respectively. Additionally, in accelerated oxidation trials, the peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances of all oleogels had low oxidation rates, indicating high oxidative stability. These results contribute to a better understanding of oleogels for formulating trans-free and low-saturated foodstuffs with desired physical and functional properties. [Display omitted] • Soybean oil-based oleogels were produced with the emulsion template method by soy protein isolate/ seven ester emulsifiers. • Oleogels caused a compact 3D network structure and showed the high oil bonding capacity and physical stability. • All oleogels showed good oxidative stability in accelerated oxidation experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is the most complex system of the body. The CNS, especially the brain, is generally regarded as immune-privileged. However, the specialized immune strategies in the brain and how immune cells, specifically macrophages in the brain, respond to virus invasion remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the potential immune response of macrophages in the brain of orange-spotted groupers (Epinephelus coioides) following red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) infection. We observed that RGNNV induced macrophages to produce an inflammatory response in the brain of orange-spotted grouper, and the macrophages exhibited M1-type polarization after RGNNV infection. In addition, we found RGNNV-induced macrophage M1 polarization via the CXCR3.2- CXCL11 pathway. Furthermore, we observed that RGNNV triggered M1 polarization in macrophages, resulting in substantial proinflammatory cytokine production and subsequent damage to brain tissue. These findings reveal a unique mechanism for brain macrophage polarization, emphasizing their role in contributing to nervous tissue damage following viral infection in the CNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of patients with craniotomy at high risk for postoperative 30-day mortality may contribute to achieving targeted delivery of interventions. The present study aimed to develop a personalized nomogram and scoring system for predicting the risk of postoperative 30-day mortality in such patients. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 18,642 patients with craniotomy were stratified into a training cohort (n=7,800; year of surgery, 2012–2013) and an external validation cohort (n=10,842; year of surgery, 2014–2015). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) model was used to select the most important variables among the candidate variables. Furthermore, a stepwise logistic regression model was established to screen out the risk factors based on the predictors chosen by the LASSO model. The model and a nomogram were constructed. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and calibration plot analysis were used to assess the model's discrimination ability and accuracy. The associated risk factors were categorized according to clinical cutoff points to create a scoring model for postoperative 30-day mortality. The total score was divided into four risk categories: Extremely high, high, intermediate and low risk. The postoperative 30-day mortality rates were 2.43 and 2.58% in the training and validation cohort, respectively. A simple nomogram and scoring system were developed for predicting the risk of postoperative 30-day mortality according to the white blood cell count; hematocrit and blood urea nitrogen levels; age range; functional health status; and incidence of disseminated cancer cells. The ROC AUC of the nomogram was 0.795 (95% CI: 0.764 to 0.826) in the training cohort and it was 0.738 (95% CI: 0.7091 to 0.7674) in the validation cohort. The calibration demonstrated a perfect fit between the predicted 30-day mortality risk and the observed 30-day mortality risk. Low, intermediate, high and extremely high risk statuses for 30-day mortality were associated with total scores of (−1.5 to −1), (−0.5 to 0.5), (1 to 2) and (2.5 to 9), respectively. A personalized nomogram and scoring system for predicting postoperative 30-day mortality in adult patients who underwent craniotomy were developed and validated, and individuals at high risk of 30-day mortality were able to be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cronobacter is a group of foodborne pathogens linked to serious and deadly infections in newborns and babies through the consumption of contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF). Meanwhile, antimicrobial misuse has led to emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Cronobacter strains, affecting food safety. Here, a lytic phage vB_CsaM_CBT2 (CBT2) was isolated from a wastewater treatment plant in Hefei as an effective antimicrobial alternative to antibiotics. Phage CBT2 has a broad host spectrum. It can target and lyse 17 strains including MDR clinical strain C. sakazakii GZcsf-1 from four species of C. sakazakii , C. turicensis, C. muytjensii and C. condimenti in the genus Cronobacter. Some Cronobacter phages have a narrow host range and have only been confirmed to infect a single strain of Cronobacter. In addition, excellent tolerance to temperature (25 °C–70 °C) and pH values (3-11) of phage CBT2 were determined. Based on genomic and phylogenetic analyses, the phage CBT2 was successfully identified belonging to the Straboviridae , and genes related with drug resistance and virulence were not observed. After treatment of the phage CBT2 in four brands of rehydrated PIF, the viable counts of host bacteria (C. sakazakii GZcsf-1) were reduced 3.0 log CFU/mL (＞99.9%) after 6 h at 37 °C. The findings in this study provided an alternative tool for prevention and control of Cronobacter contamination in PIF. • Cronobacter phage vB_CsaM_CBT2 was isolated from sewage. • Phage CBT2 was able to lyse four species of Cronobacter spp. • Phage CBT2 was stable (25–70 °C; pH 3–11). • Phage CBT2 had good antibacterial activity to Cronobacter in PIF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The giant grouper is one of the most important farmed marine animals worldwide; however, red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) has seriously affected its survival. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study on the same pedigree population of 202 giant grouper individuals for full-genome screening to identify markers and candidate genes for RGNNV resistance. The results were used to screen for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci and candidate genes that significantly correlated with RGNNV traits. We detected 2,360,340 SNP loci and used a general linear model to identify 54 SNP loci with significant anti-RGNNV associations. We screened for candidate genes in a 100-kb zone (50 kb upstream and 50 kb downstream) around each SNP locus and detected 25 candidate genes. Of these, G protein-coupled receptor 143 (gpr143) was a candidate gene for disease resistance in giant groupers. RT-qPCR was used to examine the expression of gpr143 in various tissues of healthy groupers and was found to be highly expressed in the eye and brain. Following RGNNV infection, gene expression analysis revealed that gpr143 mRNA expression was significantly upregulated in the brains of susceptible fish, suggesting that GPR143 plays a role in viral invasion. GPR143 overexpression in giant grouper cells significantly promoted RGNNV replication, accelerated the cytopathic effects of RGNNV infection, and increased viral gene transcription. Our results suggest that markers linked to RGNNV disease resistance, including SNP markers and genes, could be useful for marker-assisted introgression, allowing for the development of highly RGNNV-resistant giant groupers. • Gwas screened the fish anti-virus-related SNPS and genes. • GPR143 aided in the transcription of viral genes and sped up the cytotoxic effects of RGNNV infection. • The quantity of the Epinephelus lanceolatus experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The accumulative deformation of shield tunnels is a serious threat to long-term safety of metro tunnels. In the case of metro tunnels crossing underneath high-speed railways (HSR), although the long-term dynamic load of high-speed trains (HST) is small, which can still induce dynamic response of the tunnel linings underneath HSR, thereby causing accumulative deformation of the tunnel structure. With the aim of investigating the effect of long-term dynamic load of HST on the accumulative deformation of tunnel linings underneath HSR, the present paper conducted a 1/10 scaled model experiment and numerical modelling based on the case of Guangzhou metro line 9 underneath Wuhan to Guangzhou passenger-dedicated HSR. The analysis of numerical modelling and physical model experiment results, in terms of the dynamic response of tunnel linings, the displacement of tunnel segments, diameter convergence of tunnel linings and the mechanism of accumulative deformation suggest that, the tunnel rings underneath HSR indeed go through an accumulative process, exhibiting tunnel invert shifts inwards. The deformation of the involved tunnel rings increases slightly at first and heavily later, attributing to the joint dislocation and opening. This paper reveals the influence of long-term dynamic load of HST on the accumulative deformation of the subjacent tunnels, which convinces us that the influence of long-term dynamic load induced by HST should be took into consideration in the design work of similar engineering cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a nonreversible heat-induced supramolecular gel based on natural products was reported for the first time. This natural triterpenoid, fupenzic acid (FA), isolated from the roots of Rosa laevigata , was discovered to be capable of forming supramolecular gel spontaneously in 50 % ethanol-water solution induced by heating. Distinguished from the common thermosensitive gels, the FA-gel showed a distinctive nonreversible phase transition from the liquid to gel state upon heating. In this work, the entire gelation process of FA-gel induced by heating was recorded digitally by microrheology monitor. And a unique heat-induced gelation mechanism based on self-assembled FA has been proposed by using various experimental methods and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Its excellent injectability and stability were also demonstrated. Furthermore, the FA-gel had been evaluated to exhibit better anti-tumor activity and higher biosafety comparing with its equivalent free-drug, which opened up a new possibility to reinforce antitumor efficacy by using natural product gelator originated from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) without any complicated chemical modifications. [Display omitted] • A novel low-molecular-weight gel based on natural fupenzic acid (FA) was reported. • The unique heat-induced nonreversible gelation process was recorded entirely. • The self-assembled mechanism of FA was investigated in detail. • The better anti-tumor effect and higher biosafety of FA-gel was evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clavipyrrine A (1), a novel polycyclic nitrogenous meroterpenoid with a pyrrolo[1,2- a ]imidazole and a 10-membered carbocycle fused with an α,β-epoxy-γ-lactone, was isolated from Clitocybe clavipes , a basidiomycete. X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic analysis were used to fully elucidate its structure. The biosynthetic origin of the pyrrole unit in this nitrogenous meroterpenoid was identified by incorporating 15N-labeled γ-aminobutyric acid. Compound 1 displayed promising anti-glioma activities and induced glioma cell apoptosis through inhibiting the JAK/STAT3 pathway and reinforcing SOCS1/3. [Display omitted] • One polycyclic nitrogenous meroterpenoid was isolated from Clitocybe clavipes. • The pyrrolo[1,2- a ]benziimidazole skeleton was biosynthetically postulated. • Compound 1 displayed promising anti-glioma activities. • Compound 1 induced glioma cell apoptosis through inhibiting JAK/STAT3 pathway. Clavipyrrine A (1), a novel polycyclic nitrogenous meroterpenoid with a pyrrolo[1,2- a ]imidazole and a 10-membered carbocycle fused with an α,β-epoxy-γ-lactone, was isolated from Clitocybe clavipes , a basidiomycete. X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic analysis were used to fully elucidate its structure. The biosynthetic origin of the pyrrole unit in this nitrogenous meroterpenoid was identified by incorporating 15N-labeled γ-aminobutyric acid. Compound 1 displayed promising anti-glioma activities and induced glioma cell apoptosis through inhibiting the JAK/STAT3 pathway and reinforcing SOCS1/3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SP and AP performances and mechanisms in recovering heavy oil are compared. • AP flooding acts via W/O emulsification while SP via ultra-low IFT and O/W emulsification. • AP significantly outperforms SPs. • Solitary use of SPs may be wasteful but this is easily remedied by foam formation. • Enlargement of sweep volume is the precondition for heavy-oil recovery. The performances of surfactant-polymer (SP) and alkali-polymer (AP) systems in recovering heavy oil were systematically compared via interfacial tension (IFT), emulsification, and oil displacement experiments. Significant differences of heavy-oil-recovery mechanism by SPs and APs are firstly revealed, those are, ultra-low IFT and oil-in-water (O/W) emulsification dominate using the former, while water-in-oil (W/O) emulsification dominates using the latter. Further more, AP (and its corresponding mechanisms) significantly outperform the SP in terms of heavy-oil recovery. Fortunately, the SPs can be improved by increasing the slug size, using preformed particle gels or bubble assistance, among which bubble-assisted ultra-low-IFT SP (foam) behaved the best. The success of AP and foam suggests two feasible routes for improving heavy-oil recovery: (i) forming W/O emulsions using alkali-containing systems; and (ii) improving ultra-low-IFT systems using profile-control agents, e.g. bubble. If the problem of scaling using alkali is considered, then the second idea may be the best option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A large-scale test of 1/10 was carried out to investigate the fatigue behavior of metro tunnels. • The complex dynamic load of high-speed trains was simplified to a simple sinusoidal wave by numerical simulation. • The judgment method of structural fatigue of segmental linings was put forward. • The prone position of fatigue failure was discussed in detail by comparing two different models. • Segmental linings can meet the operation requirements of metro tunnel under the influence of high-speed raliway. As the acceleration of urbanization and modernization process in China, there will be more and more cross-projects between metros and high-speed railways and other projects. For near distance cross-projects, the structural fatigue problems caused by dynamic loads of high-speed trains are also becoming increasingly serious in tunnel engineering. A large-scale model test was utilized to study structural fatigue problems of shield tunnels under high-speed railway dynamic loads. Firstly, based on a large number of numerical simulations, the complex dynamic load of high-speed railway was simplified to a simple sinusoidal wave, and the most unfavorable position of segmental linings was proposed. Then, the fatigue assessment method of segmental linings in the prototype and cyclic load times in the laboratory were also put forward. Finally, in the model test, some key technical details were also analyzed, including the types of segmental linings, similarity principle and materials, sensors layout, and model fabrication. The results illustrate that the simplified waveform is well applied to numerical simulation and model experiment under the action of a single load. The experiment reveals that there are no obvious fatigue cracks and structural failure during the whole loading process, and the research draws the conclusion that the fatigue life of metro shield tunnels can meet the requirements of the service life of 120 years. Furthermore, there is an important phenomenon of the uplift and dislocation of segmental linings in a certain range. Therefore, the research results can also provide a good guidance for the design of a new metro tunnel and the repair and maintenance of built metro tunnels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P-type organic cathode materials typically exhibit high redox potentials and fast redox kinetics, presenting broad application prospects in aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs). However, most of the reported p-type organic cathode materials exhibit limited capacity (<100 mAh g -1 ), which is attributable to the low mass content ratio of oxidation-reduction active functional groups in these materials. Herein, we report a high-capacity p-type organic material, 5,12-dihydro-5,6,11,12-tetraazatetracene (DHTAT), for aqueous zinc batteries. Both experiments and calculation indicate the charge storage of DHTAT mainly involves the adsorption/desorption of ClO 4 - on the -NH- group. Benefitting from the high mass content ratio of the -NH- group in DHATA molecule, the DHATA electrode demonstrates a remarkable capacity of 224 mAh g -1 at a current density of 50 mA g -1 with a stable voltage of 1.12 V. Notably, after 5000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g -1 , DHTAT retains 73 % of its initial capacity, showing a promising cycling stability. In addition, DHTAT also has good low-temperature performance and can stably cycle at -40 °C for 4000 cycles at 1 A g -1 , making it a competitive candidates cathode material for low-temperature batteries., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Reliable quantification of the association between hypertension requiring medication and postoperative 30-day mortality in adult patients who undergo craniotomy for tumor resection is limited. We aimed to explore the associations between these factors., Materials and Methods: This work was a retrospective cohort study that used propensity score matching (PSM) among 18,642 participants from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database between 2012 and 2015. Hypertension requiring medication and postoperative 30-day mortality were the independent and dependent target variables, respectively. PSM was conducted via nonparsimonious multivariate logistic regression to balance the confounders. Robust estimation methods were used to investigate the association between hypertension requiring medication and postoperative 30-day mortality., Results: A total of 18,642 participants (52.6% male and 47.4% female) met our inclusion criteria; 7,116 (38.17%) participants with hypertension required medication and had a 3.74% mortality rate versus an overall mortality rate of 2.46% in the adult cohort of patients who underwent craniotomy for tumor resection. In the PSM cohort, the risk of postoperative 30-day mortality significantly increased by 39.0% among patients with hypertension who required medication (OR = 1.390, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.071-1.804, p  = 0.01324) after adjusting for the full covariates. Compared with participants without hypertension requiring medication, those with hypertension requiring medication had a 34.0% greater risk of postoperative 30-day mortality after adjusting for the propensity score (OR = 1.340, 95% CI: 1.040-1.727, p  = 0.02366) and a 37.6% greater risk of postoperative 30-day mortality in the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) cohort (OR = 1.376, 95% CI: 1.202, 1.576, p  < 0.00001)., Conclusion: Among U.S. adult patients undergoing craniotomy for tumor resection, hypertension requiring medication is a notable contributor to 30-day mortality after surgery, with odds ratios ranging from 1.34 to 1.39., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Hu, Zheng, Deng, Yang, Zhang, Li, Chen, Chen, Ji and Huang.)

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB), characterized by its marked heterogeneity, is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. The status and functionality of mitochondria are crucial in regulating NB cell behavior. While the significance of mitochondria-related genes (MRGs) in NB is still missing in key knowledge., Materials and Methods: This study leverages consensus clustering and machine learning algorithms to construct and validate an MRGs-related signature in NB. Single-cell data analysis and experimental validation were employed to characterize the pivotal role of FEN1 within NB cells., Results: MRGs facilitated the classification of NB patients into 2 distinct clusters with considerable differences. The constructed MRGs-related signature and its quantitative indicators, mtScore and mtRisk, effectively characterize the MRGs-related patient clusters. Notably, the MRGs-related signature outperformed MYCN in predicting NB patient prognosis and was adept at representing the tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor cell stemness, and sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic agents Cisplatin, Topotecan, and Irinotecan. FEN1, identified as the most contributory gene within the MRGs-related signature, was found to play a crucial role in the communication between NB cells and the TME, and in the developmental trajectory of NB cells. Experimental validations confirmed FEN1's significant influence on NB cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and invasiveness., Conclusion: The MRGs-related signature developed in this study offers a novel predictive tool for assessing NB patient prognosis, immune infiltration, stemness, and chemotherapeutic sensitivity. Our findings unveil the critical function of FEN1 in NB, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Tan, Jin, Li, Yang, Jia, Xia, Gong, Dong and Zhao.)

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) represents as the most formidable intracranial malignancy. The systematic exploration of natural compounds for their potential applications in GBM therapy has emerged as a pivotal and fruitful avenue of research., Purpose: In the present study, a panel of 96 diterpenoids was systematically evaluated as a repository of potential antitumour agents. The primary objective was to discern their potency in overcoming resistance to temozolomide (TMZ). Through an extensive screening process, honatisine, a heptacyclic diterpenoid alkaloid, emerged as the most robust candidate. Notably, honatisine exhibited remarkable efficacy in patient-derived primary and recurrent GBM strains. Subsequently, we subjected this compound to comprehensive scrutiny, encompassing GBM cultured spheres, GBM organoids (GBOs), TMZ-resistant GBM cell lines, and orthotopic xenograft mouse models of GBM cells., Results: Our investigative efforts delved into the mechanistic underpinnings of honatisine's impact. It was discerned that honatisine prompted mitonuclear protein imbalance and elicited the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt). This effect was mediated through the selective depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded subunits, with a particular emphasis on the diminution of mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM). The ultimate outcome was the instigation of deleterious mitochondrial dysfunction, culminating in apoptosis. Molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments validated honatisine's binding affinity to TFAM within its HMG-box B domain. This binding may promote phosphorylation of TFAM and obstruct the interaction of TFAM bound to heavy strand promoter 1 (HSP1), thereby enhancing Lon-mediated TFAM degradation. Finally, in vivo experiments confirmed honatisine's antiglioma properties. Our comprehensive toxicological assessments underscored its mild toxicity profile, emphasizing the necessity for a thorough evaluation of honatisine as a novel antiglioma agent., Conclusion: In summary, our data provide new insights into the therapeutic mechanisms underlying honatisine's selective inducetion of apoptosis and its ability to overcome chemotherapy resistance in GBM. These actions are mediated through the disruption of mitochondrial proteostasis and function, achieved by the inhibition of TFAM-mediated mtDNA transcription. This study highlights honatisine's potential as a promising agent for glioblastoma therapy, underscoring the need for further exploration and investigation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled, “Diterpenoid honatisine overcomes temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma by inducing mitonuclear protein imbalance through disruption of TFAM-mediated mtDNA transcription”., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Understanding the propagation of agricultural droughts (AD) is important to comprehensively assess drought events and develop early warning systems. The present study aims to assess the impacts of climate change and human activities on drought characteristics and propagation from meteorological drought (MD) to AD in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) over the 1950-2021 period using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI). In total, the YRB was classified into three groups of catchments for spring wheat and four groups of catchments for winter wheat based on different human influence degrees (HId). In addition, the entire study period was divided into periods with natural (NP), low (LP), and high (HP) impacts of human activities, corresponding to 1950-1971, 1972-1995, and 1996-2021, respectively. The results demonstrated the significance and credibility of the application of the natural and human-impacted catchment comparison method for drought characteristics and propagation from meteorological to agricultural drought in the YRB. Winter wheat showed a more pronounced drying trend than spring wheat under both MD and AD. The results showed meteorological drought intensity (MDI) and agricultural drought intensity (ADI) intensified for spring and winter wheat in NP, with correspondingly a short propagation time, followed by those in the LP and HP in catchments minimally impacted by human activities. On the other hand, increases in the MDI and ADI, as well as in their times, for both spring and winter wheat were observed from the LP to the HP in all catchments. The MDI, ADI, and their propagation times for winter wheat generally showed greater fluctuations than those for spring wheat. Human activities increasingly prolonged the drought propagation time. In contrast, climate change insignificantly shortened the drought propagation time., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The use of segmentation architectures in medical imaging, particularly for glioma diagnosis, marks a significant advancement in the field. Traditional methods often rely on post-processed images; however, key details can be lost during the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) process. Given the limitations of these techniques, there is a growing interest in exploring more direct approaches. The adaption of segmentation architectures originally designed for road extraction for medical imaging represents an innovative step in this direction. By employing K-space data as the modal input, this method completely eliminates the information loss inherent in FFT, thereby potentially enhancing the precision and effectiveness of glioma diagnosis., Methods: In the study, a novel architecture based on a deep-residual U-net was developed to accomplish the challenging task of automatically segmenting brain tumors from K-space data. Brain tumors from K-space data with different under-sampling rates were also segmented to verify the clinical application of our method., Results: Compared to the benchmarks set in the 2018 Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge, our proposed architecture had superior performance, achieving Dice scores of 0.8573, 0.8789, and 0.7765 for the whole tumor (WT), tumor core (TC), and enhanced tumor (ET) regions, respectively. The corresponding Hausdorff distances were 2.5649, 1.6146, and 2.7187 for the WT, TC, and ET regions, respectively. Notably, compared to traditional image-based approaches, the architecture also exhibited an improvement of approximately 10% in segmentation accuracy on the K-space data at different under-sampling rates., Conclusions: These results show the superiority of our method compared to previous methods. The direct performance of lesion segmentation based on K-space data eliminates the time-consuming and tedious image reconstruction process, thus enabling the segmentation task to be accomplished more efficiently., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://qims.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/qims-23-946/coif). Y.X.J.W. serves as the Editor-In-Chief of Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. D.L. serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Due to its highly aggressiveness and malignancy, glioblastoma (GBM) urgently requires a safe and effective treatment strategy. Zeylenone, a natural polyoxygenated cyclohexenes compound isolated from Uvaria grandiflora , has exhibited potential biological activities in various human diseases, including tumors. Methods: We designed and synthesized a series of (+)-Zeylenone analogues and evaluated their anti-GBM roles through structural-activity analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8, TUNEL, transwell and flow cytometry were employed for investigating the anticancer effects of CA on GBM cells. Western blotting, molecular docking, qRT-PCR and ChIP assays were performed to reveal the underlying mechanisms by which CA regulates the GBM cell cycle. The nude mouse xenograft model, HE staining, immunohistochemistry and was used to evaluate the anticancer effect of CA in vivo . Results: We identified CA ((1R, 2R, 3S)-3-p-fluorobenzoyl-zeylenone) as having the lowest IC 50 value in GBM cells. CA treatment significantly inhibited the malignant behaviors of GBM cells and induced G0/G1 phase arrest in vitro . Furthermore, we validated the molecular mechanism by which CA interferes with EZH2, attenuating the down-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p27 and p16 by the PRC2 complex. By establishing orthotopic nude mice models, we further validated the inhibitory role of CA on tumorigenesis of GBM cells in vivo and its potential values to synergistically potentiate the anti-tumor effects of EZH2 inhibitors. Conclusion: Overall, this paper elucidated the anti-GBM effects and potential mechanisms of CA, and may provide a therapeutic drug candidate for GBM treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Su, Cao, Ma, Li, Li, Liu, Chen, Chen, Li, Cui and Huang.)

The genus Allogalathea belongs to the subfamily Galatheoidea of the family Galatheidae. Here, we report a mitogenome of Allogalathea elegans (Adams & White, 1848). In this study, we obtained the complete mitochondrial genome of Allogalathea elegans by sequencing, which was 16,263 bp in length. The mitogenome contained 37 genes, including the typical set of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 2 Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. The nucleotides A, C, G, and T distribution was 36.40%, 19.44%, 9.09%, and 35.07%, respectively. The length of the total protein-coding genes was 11,172 bp, which accounts for 68.69% of the whole mitochondrial genome. The phylogenetic result generated by IQ-Tree based on 13 PGCs showed that the infraorder Anomura is monophyletic, and the infraorder Anomura is a sister group of the infraorder Glypheidea. The discovery of the complete mitochondrial genome of A. elegans would help to conduct in-depth research on the infraorder Anomura., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to compare the relative safety and efficacy of cannulated compression screw (CCS) and femoral neck system (FNS) in treating patients with femoral neck fractures and to provide evidence-based medical evidence for FNS in treating femoral neck fractures., Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched to collect outcomes related to femoral neck fractures treated with FNS and CCS, including time to fracture healing, incidence of non-union, incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head, incidence of failure of internal fixation, rate of femoral neck shortening, Harris hip score, Barthel index, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, fluoroscopy frequency, and complications. A meta-analysis was performed using RevManv5.4 (The Cochrane Collaboration) and Stata v14.0 software., Results: This analysis included 21 studies involving 1,347 patients. The results showed that FNS was superior to CCS in terms of fracture healing time [mean difference (MD) = -0.75, 95% CI = (-1.04, -0.46), P  < 0.05], incidence of bone non-union [odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% CI = (0.29, 0.98), P  = 0.04], incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head [OR = 0.49, 95% CI = (0.28, 0.86), P  = 0.01], incidence of internal fixation failure [OR = 0.30, 95% CI = (0.18, 0.52), P  < 0.05], rate of femoral neck shortening [OR = 0.38, 95% CI = (0.27, 0.54), P  > 0.05], Harris hip score [MD = 3.31, 95% CI = (1.99, 4.63), P  < 0.001], Barthel index [MD =  4.31, 95% CI = (3.02, 5.61), P  < 0.05], intraoperative bleeding [MD = 14.72, 95% CI = (8.52, 20.92), P  < 0.05], fluoroscopy frequency [OR = 0.53, 95% CI = (0.29, 0.98), P  = 0.04], and complications [OR = 0.31, 95% CI = (0.22, 0.45), P  < 0.05]. The difference between FNS and CCS in operative time was not statistically significant [MD = -2.41, 95% CI = (-6.88, 2.05), P  = 0.29]., Conclusion: FNS treatment of femoral neck fracture can shorten the fracture healing time; reduce the incidence and translucent rate of bone non-union, osteonecrosis of the femoral head, and internal fixation failure; reduce intraoperative blood loss and postoperative complications; and improve hip joint function and activity. We are confident in the findings that FNS, an effective and safe procedure for internal fixation of femoral neck fractures, is superior to CCS., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Zhou, Li, Lao, Wang, Zhang, Dai and Fan.)

In this paper, an optical transmitter authentication method using hardware fingerprints based on the characteristic of electro-optic chaos is proposed. By means of phase space reconstruction of chaotic time series generated by an electro-optic feedback loop, the largest Lyapunov exponent spectrum (LLES) is defined and used as the hardware fingerprint for secure authentication. The time division multiplexing (TDM) module and the optical temporal encryption (OTE) module are introduced to combine chaotic signal and the message to ensure the security of the fingerprint. Support vector machine (SVM) models are trained to recognize legal and illegal optical transmitters at the receiver. Simulation results show that LLES of chaos has the fingerprint characteristic and is highly sensitive to the time delay of the electro-optic feedback loop. The trained SVM models can distinguish electro-optic chaos generated by different feedback loops with a time delay difference of only 0.03ns and have a good anti-noise ability. Experimental results show that the recognition accuracy of the authentication module based on LLES can reach 98.20% for both legal and illegal transmitters. Our strategy can improve the defense ability of optical networks against active injection attacks and has high flexibility.

PPARγ agonists have been reported to induce cell death in pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET) cell cultures. However, the therapeutic effects of PPARγ agonists in vivo remain unclear. In the present study, we found that intranasal 15d-PGJ2, an endogenous PPARγ agonist, resulted in growth suppression of Fischer 344 rat lactotroph PitNETs induced by subcutaneous implantation with a mini-osmotic pump containing estradiol. Intranasal 15d-PGJ2 reduced the volume and weight of the pituitary gland and the level of serum prolactin (PRL) in rat lactotroph PitNETs. 15d-PGJ2 treatment attenuated pathological changes and significantly decreased the ratio of PRL/pituitary-specific transcription factor 1 (Pit-1) and estrogen receptor α (ERα)/Pit-1 double-positive cells. Moreover, 15d-PGJ2 treatment induced apoptosis in the pituitary gland characterized by an increased ratio of TUNEL-positive cells, cleavage of caspase-3, and elevated activity of caspase-3. 15d-PGJ2 treatment decreased the levels of cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Furthermore, 15d-PGJ2 treatment markedly increased the protein expression of PPARγ and blocked autophagic flux, as evidenced by the accumulation of LC3-II and SQSTM1/p62 and the decrease in LAMP-1 expression. Importantly, all these effects mediated by 15d-PGJ2 were abolished by cotreatment with the PPARγ antagonist GW9662. In conclusion, intranasal 15d-PGJ2 suppressed the growth of rat lactotroph PitNETs by inducing PPARγ-dependent apoptotic and autophagic cell death. Therefore, 15d-PGJ2 may be a potential new drug for lactotroph PitNETs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Li, Chen, Zhang, Huang, Yang, Li, Wang, Meng and Huang.)

The compound of essential oils (EOs) is a key approach to achieving the superimposed efficacy of plant EOs. In this article, grey correlation analysis was applied for the first time to explore the compound ratios and contribution between constituents and the bioactivity of the compound EOs. There were 12 active constituents shared in rosemary and magnolia EOs prepared by negative pressure distillation. With different proportions, these two EOs were blended and analyzed for the antioxidant, bacteriostatic and antitumor effects. According to the results of the inhibition circle, minimum bactericidal and inhibitory concentration, the most obvious inhibition effect of the compound EOs on different strains of bacteria was shown in Staphylococcus aureus. The results of antioxidant test showed that single EO from rosemary had the best antioxidant effect, and its EO content was directly proportional to the antioxidant effect. The cytotoxicity results showed that, there was a significant difference in the lethality of the compound EOs between tumor cells Mcf-7 (human breast cancer cells) and SGC-7901 cells (human gastric cancer cells). Furthermore, single EO from magnolia had an obvious inhibitory effect on the growth of Mcf-7 cells and SGC-7901 cells, and the cell lethality rate was as high as 95.19 % and 97.96 %, respectively. As the results of grey correlation analysis, the constituents with the maximal correlation of inhibitory effects on bacteria were as follows: S. aureus - Terpinolene (0.893), E. coli - Eucalyptol (0.901), B. subtilis - α-Pinene (0.823), B. cereus - Terpinolene (0.913) and Salmonella - α-Phellandrene (0.855). For the ABTS and DPPH scavenging effects, the constituents with the maximal correlation were (-)-Camphor (0.860) and β-Pinene (0.780), respectively. In terms of the effects of the active constituents of compound EOs on the inhibitory activities of tumor cells Mcf-7 and SGC-7901, the three active constituents of γ-Terpinene, (R)-(+)-β-Citronellol and (-)-Camphor were in the top three, and their correlation were Mcf-7 (0.833, 0.820, 0.795) and SGC-7901 (0.797, 0.766, 0.740). Our study determined the contribution degree of active constituents in the antibacterial, antioxidant, and antitumor bioactivities of rosemary-magnolia compound EOs, and also provided new insights for the research of EOs combination formulations., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Large-scale laser gyroscopes with sufficiently high sensitivity for measurement of the rotation rate of the Earth Ω E are inertial sensors with the capability to provide Earth orientation parameters, i.e., rotation rate and polar motion in near real time. Larger-scale passive resonant gyroscopes (PRGs) theoretically have a lower shot-noise limit. However, the cavity perimeter fluctuations and laser frequency noise become challenges in a passive gyro. In this paper, we introduce a three-wave differential locking scheme for large-scale PRGs, resulting in an in situ measurement of the cavity perimeter with nanometer resolution. Furthermore, the laser frequency noise is effectively suppressed with an additional gain of 30 dB by a double-stage locking system, based on the three-wave differential locking scheme. Finally, the rotation rate resolution of our 3 m ×3 m gyroscope improves to 1.1×10 -9 r a d / s over 200 s. The simplicity, robustness, and effectiveness of the locking scheme are important to the long-term operation of large-scale PRGs aiming for applications in the geosciences.

PPARγ agonists have been proven to be neuroprotective in vitro and in vivo models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we identified ligustrazine piperazine derivative (LPD) as a novel PPARγ agonist, which was detected by a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. LPD treatment dose-dependently reduced Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels in PC12 cells stably transfected with APP695swe and PSEN1dE9. Intragastric administration of LPD for 3 months dose-dependently reversed cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice. LPD treatment substantially decreased hippocampal Aβ plaques in APP/PS1 mice and decreased the levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, LPD treatment induced mitophagy in vivo and in vitro and increased brain 18 F-FDG uptake in APP/PS1 mice. LPD treatment significantly increased OCR, ATP production, maximal respiration, spare respiratory capacity, and basal respiration in APP/PS1 cells. Mechanistically, LPD treatment upregulated PPARγ, PINK1, and the phosphorylation of Parkin (Ser65) and increased the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio but decreased SQSTM1/p62 in vivo and in vitro. Importantly, all these protective effects mediated by LPD were abolished by cotreatment with the selective PPARγ antagonist GW9662. In summary, LPD could increase brain glucose metabolism and ameliorate cognitive deficits through PPARγ-dependent enhancement of mitophagy in APP/PS1 mice., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Pituitary adenoma (PA) includes invasive pituitary adenoma (IPA) and noninvasive pituitary adenoma (NIPA), which are associated with the endocrine system. The gut microbiome plays an important role in human metabolism, but the association between the gut microbiome and pituitary adenoma remains unclear. A total of 44 subjects were enrolled in this study. Of these, 29 PA patients were further divided into IPA patients ( n = 13) and NIPA patients ( n = 16), while 15 healthy age-matched subjects were defined as control subjects. We collected faecal samples and characterized the gut microbial profiles by metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina X-ten platform. PLS-DA showed different microbial clusters among the three groups, and slightly different microbial ecological networks were observed. LEfSe analysis revealed significant alterations in the microbial community among PA patients. In particular, the enrichment of Clostridium innocuum, along with the reduced abundance of Oscillibacter sp. 57&#95;20 and Fusobacterium mortiferum, were observed both in the IPA and NIPA groups compared to the control group. Moreover, PA patients could be effectively classified based on these bacteria using a support vector machine algorithm. In summary, this study demonstrated significant differences in the gut microbiome between PA patients and healthy controls. Future mechanistic experiments are needed to determine whether such alterations are a cause or consequence of pituitary adenoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hu, Yang, Chen, Meng, Zhang, Li, Li and Huang.)

RIOK2 is an atypical kinase implicated in multiple human cancers. Although recent studies establish the role of RIOK2 in ribosome maturation and cell cycle progression, its biological functions remain poorly elucidated, hindering the potential to explore RIOK2 as a therapeutic target. Here, we report the discovery of CQ211 , the most potent and selective RIOK2 inhibitor reported so far. CQ211 displays a high binding affinity ( K d = 6.1 nM) and shows excellent selectivity to RIOK2 in both enzymatic and cellular studies. It also exhibits potent proliferation inhibition activity against multiple cancer cell lines and demonstrates promising in vivo efficacy in mouse xenograft models. The crystal structure of RIOK2- CQ211 sheds light on the molecular mechanism of inhibition and informs the subsequent optimization. The study provides a cell-active chemical probe for verifying RIOK2 functions, which may also serve as a leading molecule in the development of therapeutic RIOK2 inhibitors.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor with an extremely low survival rate. New and effective approaches for treatment are therefore urgently needed. Here, we successfully developed M1-like macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles (M1EVs) that overcome multiple challenges via guidance from two macrophage-related observations in clinical specimens from GBM patients: enrichment of M2 macrophages in GBM; and origination of a majority of infiltrating macrophage from peripheral blood. To maximize the synergistic effect, we further functionalized the membranes of M1EVs with two hydrophobic agents (the chemical excitation source CPPO (C) and the photosensitizer Ce6 (C)) and loaded the hydrophilic hypoxia-activated prodrug AQ4N (A) into the inner core of the M1EVs. After intravenous injection, the inherent nature of M1-derived extracellular vesicles CCA-M1EVs allowed for blood-brain barrier penetration, and modulated the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment via M2-to-M1 polarization, which increased hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) levels. Furthermore, the reaction between H 2 O 2 and CPPO produced chemical energy, which could be used for Ce6 activation to generate large amounts of reactive oxygen species to achieve chemiexcited photodynamic therapy (CDT). As this reaction consumed oxygen, the aggravation of tumor hypoxia also led to the conversion of non-toxic AQ4N into toxic AQ4 for chemotherapy. Therefore, CCA-M1EVs achieved synergistic immunomodulation, CDT, and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy in GBM to exert a potent therapeutic effect. Finally, we demonstrated the excellent effect of CCA-M1EVs against GBM in cell-derived xenograft and patient-derived xenograft models, underscoring the strong potential of our highly flexible M1EVs system to support multi-modal therapies for difficult-to-treat GBM., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The detection effect of the transient electromagnetic method is ambiguous in engineering applications due to the existence of interference sources, so explaining the influence of these fixed interference sources on is crucial. In this paper, the response characterisation of transient electromagnetic signals of fixed interference sources are thoroughly investigated. First, the secondary field generated by these interference sources is analyzed, and a typical fixed interference source is calculated. Then, a sensitivity analysis of the transient electromagnetic response curve is carried out. Finally, the mathematical superposition method for multiple field sources is proposed and verified. The results illustrate that the transient electromagnetic response curve of uniform full-space surrounding rock with a single fixed interference source has an apparent lifting phenomenon in the middle stage and presents an approximate horizontal change rule at the late stage. The transient electromagnetic response curves of multiple field sources separately illustrate the response characterisation of different field sources at different time stages. These research results can provide a valuable reference for the on-site interpretation of detection signals.

The striking dominance of groundwater-related defects in the operational high-speed railway tunnels in China calls for swift and accurate detection and identification. Thus, it is a new attempt to detect the water-bearing defects at 5 to 10 meters via train-borne transient electromagnetic method in operating tunnels. Due to the short detection distance, the interaction between transmitting and receiving coils is more important than those normally used coils. Thus, numerical and experimental methods are combined to investigate the mutual induction. The influence of turns, current and coil size on the mutual induction and the impact of damping coefficient on the receiving system are manifested. To further verify these findings, full-scale model experiments are conducted. During these physical experiments, the detection results of different coil parameters including coil size, number of turns, and emission current are compared and analyzed. Then, a special effort to minimize the induction between transmitting and receiving coils is expended to acquire the suitable coils for close range detection in the tunnel context. Finally, in order to verify the availability of the detection system, different detection distances are conducted. It turns out that different detection distances have slight difference at the detection results, but they are still within the measuring range of the detection instrument. Obviously, these findings can provide theoretical support for the detection of water-bearing anomalies in operating tunnels and it also has reference significance for the detection of anomalies at close distance.

A novel product-derived bimetallic palladium complex catalyzes a sulfonylazide-transfer reaction with the σ-donor/π-acceptor ligand CO, and is advantageous given its broad substrate scope, high efficiency, and mild reaction conditions (atmospheric pressure of CO at room temperature). This methodology provides a new approach to sulfonylureas, which are present in both pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The synthesis of Glibenclamide on a gram scale further revealed the practical utility of this procedure. Mechanistically, the generation of a bridged bimetallic palladium species derived from the product sulfonylurea is disclosed as the crucial step for this catalytic cycle., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Learning and memory disorders arise from distinct age-associated processes, and aging animals are often used as a model of memory impairment. The root of Polygala tenuifolia has been commonly used in some Asian countries as memory enhancer and its memory improvement has been reported in various animal models. However, there is less research to verify its effect on memory functions in aged animals. Herein, the memory-enhancing effects of the crude extract of Polygala tenuifolia (EPT) on normal aged mice were assessed by Morris water maze (MWM) and step-down passive avoidance tests. In MWM tests, the impaired spatial memory of the aged mice was partly reversed by EPT (100 and 200 mg/kg; P < 0.05) as compared with the aged control mice. In step-down tests, the nonspatial memory of the aged mice was improved by EPT (100 and 200 mg/kg; P < 0.05). Additionally, EPT could increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO) and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) activities, and decrease the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain tissue of the aged mice. The results showed that EPT improved memory functions of the aged mice probably via its antioxidant properties and via decreasing the activities of MAO and AChE.