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In creativity theory, combining two unrelated concepts into a novel idea is a common means of enhancing creativity. Designers can integrate the Additive concept into the Base concept to inspire and facilitate creative tasks. However, conceiving high-quality combinational ideas poses a challenge that combinational creativity itself demands the consideration of conceptual reasoning and synthesis. We propose an AI foundation model enhanced approach for supporting combinational creativity. This approach derives combinational embodiments, and assists humans in verbalising and externalising combinational ideas. Our experimental study demonstrates that the generated combinational ideas by the approach obtained highest scores compared to those ideas generated without an AI foundation model or combinational strategy. We built a combinational creativity tool called CombinatorX based on this approach to generate ideas. In a study with the comparison of an existing combinational creativity tool and Internet search, we validated that our approach improves the effectiveness of combinational idea generation, enables a reduction in labour force, and facilitates the refinement of combinational ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-inspired Design (BID) is a method that draws principles from biological systems to solve complex real-world problems. While diverse knowledge-based tools have served BID, the retrieval and reasoning capabilities of knowledge graphs have not been explored in BID. This study introduces a novel knowledge graph-based BID approach, exploiting the power of knowledge graphs to support BID. In the approach, a comprehensive ontology is defined and then applied to construct a BID-specific knowledge graph, enabling efficient representation of the diverse and rich biological knowledge. The knowledge graph supports BID by facilitating knowledge retrieval and reasoning. Retrieval in BID is accomplished by finding potential links between biological systems and relevant design applications. Reasoning in BID is supported by a link prediction model that follows the design process of mapping from biological systems to design applications. Two case studies are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. The first case shows that our approach outperforms other benchmarks in retrieving related biological knowledge, and the second case presents how the link prediction model aids in generating relevant and inspirational design ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layout guides the position and scale of design elements for desirable aesthetics and effective demonstration. Recently, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have proved their capability in generating effective layouts. However, current GANs ignore the situation where the amounts and types of the input design elements are given and determined. In this paper, we propose EcGAN, an element-conditioned GAN for graphic layout generation conditioned on specified design elements (design elements' amount and types). We represent each element by a bounding box and propose three components: element mask, element condition loss and two-step discriminators, to solve the bounding box modelling problem for element-conditioned layout generation. Experiments reveal that EcGAN outperforms existing methods quantitatively and qualitatively. We also perform detailed ablation studies to highlight the effect of each component and a user study to further validate our model. Finally, we demonstrate two of EcGAN's applications for practical design scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin wound healing is a dynamic and complex process that involves multiple physiological and cellular events. Grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSP) have strong anti-oxidation and elimination of oxygen free radicals, and have been shown to significantly promote wound healing, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Studies have indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) acts as an upstream signal to induce mitophagy, suggesting that GSP can regulate mitophagy through the signal pathway. This study aimed to investigate whether GSP regulates mitophagy by down-regulating oxidative stress to promote wound healing. In vivo , GSP treatment accelerated wound healing, granulation tissue formation, collagen deposition, and angiogenesis in mice. Moreover, GSP down-regulated ROS levels and promoted the expression of antioxidant proteins by up-regulating the expression of p-JNK/FOXO3a protein, thereby regulating the expression of mitophagy-related proteins. In vitro , 4 μg/mL GSP showed no apparent toxic effects on cells and effectively reduce the oxidative stress damage of cells induced by H 2 O 2. Western blot and superoxide anion fluorescence probe further confirmed that GSP effectively reduced Dihydroethidium content and up-regulated the expression of antioxidant proteins by activation of p-JNK/FOXO3a protein expression, thereby regulating mitophagy. Taken together, the findings from in vitro and in vivo experiments provide new insights into the promotion of wound healing by GSP. Schematic illustration of how GSP promotes wound healing in mouse skin by regulating endothelial mitophagy through the p-JNK/FOXO3A/ROS signaling pathway. Mice were administered GSP via gavage, which upregulated p-JNK protein. Phosphorylated JNK protein activated FOXO3a protein, which in turn upregulated antioxidant proteins (MnSOD and catalase) to reduce ROS levels. The decrease in ROS level regulated mitophagy and accelerated wound healing in mice. [Display omitted] • Grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSP) promotes wound healing. • GSP reduces oxidative stress to regulate mitochondrial autophagy. • The p-JNK/FOXO3a/ROS signaling pathway is regulated by GSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medium-chain fatty acids (C6–C10) have attracted much attention recently for their unique properties compared to their long-chain counterparts, including low melting points and relatively higher carbon conversion yield. Thioesterase enzymes, which can catalyze the hydrolysis of acyl-ACP (acyl carrier protein) to release free fatty acids (FAs), regulate both overall FA yields and acyl chain length distributions in bacterial and yeast fermentation cultures. These enzymes typically prefer longer chain substrates. Herein, seeking to increase bacterial production of MCFAs, we conducted structure-guided mutational screening of multiple residues in the substrate-binding pocket of the E. coli thioesterase enzyme 'TesA. Confirming our hypothesis that enhancing substrate selectivity for medium-chain acyl substrates would promote overall MCFA production, we found that replacement of residues lining the bottom of the pocket with more hydrophobic residues strongly promoted the C8 substrate selectivity of 'TesA. Specifically, two rounds of saturation mutagenesis led to the identification of the 'TesARD−2 variant that exhibited a 133-fold increase in selectivity for the C8-ACP substrate as compared to C16-ACP substrate. Moreover, the recombinant expression of this variant in an E. coli strain with a blocked β -oxidation pathway led to a 1030% increase in the in vivo octanoic acid (C8) production titer. When this strain was fermented in a 5-L fed-batch bioreactor, it produced 2.7 g/L of free C8 (45%, molar fraction) and 7.9 g/L of total free FAs, which is the highest-to-date free C8 titer to date reported using the E. coli type II fatty acid synthetic pathway. Thus, reshaping the substrate binding pocket of a bacterial thioesterase enzyme by manipulating the hydrophobicity of multiple residues altered the substrate selectivity and therefore fatty acid product distributions in cells. Our study demonstrates the relevance of this strategy for increasing titers of industrially attractive MCFAs as fermentation products. • Semi-rational design of 'TesA thioesterase was performed to reshape the acyl binding pocket. • The best variant exhibits a 133-fold increase in selectivity for C8-ACP as compared to C16-ACP substrate. • The highest octanoic acid (2.7 g/L) titer was achieved in E. coli type II fatty acid synthetic pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A theoretical framework for designing catalytic materials was provided. • Several NMF-HEAs were screened out for the NH 3 -SCO process. • The effects of elemental composition and distribution were revealed. The high price and scarcity of Pt require the development of alternative low-cost catalysts for selective catalytic oxidation of ammonia (NH 3 -SCO). This work uses first-principles-based high-throughput calculations to evaluate noble metal-free high-entropy alloys (NMF-HEAs) as potential NH 3 -SCO candidate catalysts to replace Pt. Firstly, by employing empirical rules to determine the formation probability of single-phase solid solution, 350 NMF-HEAs are found to be single-phase solid solution among the vast configuration space (about 104) consisting of 20 non-noble metals. Among these, NMF-HEAs containing Cu and Zn elements are identified as promising catalysts based on the reactivity and selectivity rules of the NH 3 -SCO process. Further analysis of elemental composition and distribution on configurations with N-atom adsorption energies reveals that the co-existence of Cu and Zn elements and the symmetric distribution of surface atoms is conducive to tuning N-binding ability in the optimal region. Finally, full reaction paths of NH 3 -SCO processes on the optimal CuZnNiMoCo HEA are calculated and confirm their activity comparable to that of Pt catalysts and better selectivity. This study gains insight into the effects of the composition and surface configuration of HEAs on the NH 3 -SCO process and provides a theoretical framework for designing and optimizing efficient catalysts of the NH 3 -SCO process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideation is a source of innovation and creativity, and is commonly used in early stages of engineering design processes. This paper proposes an integrated approach for enhancing design ideation by applying artificial intelligence and data mining techniques. This approach consists of two models, a semantic ideation network and a visual concepts combination model, which provide inspiration semantically and visually based on computational creativity theory. The semantic ideation network aims to provoke new ideas by mining potential knowledge connections across multiple knowledge domains, and this was achieved by applying "step-forward" and "path-track" algorithms which assist in exploring forward given a concept and in tracking back the paths going from a departure concept through a destination concept. In the visual concepts combination model, a generative adversarial networks model is proposed for generating images which synthesize two distinct concepts. An implementation of these two models was developed and tested in a design case study, which indicated that the proposed approach is able to not only generate a variety of cross-domain concept associations but also advance the ideation process quickly and easily in terms of quantity and novelty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • UGT51 catalyzes the transformation of glucose into varied sterols. • Complexes with donor substrate UDPG was solved and highlight key residues. • Molecular docking of cholesterol into UGT51 highlight key residues. • Comparison of UGT51 with M7_1 model revealed key factors for substrate specificity. Abstract Sterol glycosyltransferases catalyze the formation of a variety of glycosylated sterol derivatives and are involved in producing a plethora of bioactive natural products. To understand the molecular mechanism of sterol glycosyltransferases, we determined crystal structures of a sterol glycosyltransferase UGT51 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The structures of the UGT51 and its complex with uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) were solved at resolutions of 2.77 Å and 1.9 Å, respectively. The structural analysis revealed that a long hydrophobic cavity, 9.2 Å in width and 17.6 Å in length located at the N-terminal domain of UGT51, is suitable for the accommodation of sterol acceptor substrates. Furthermore, a short, conserved sequence of S847-M851 was identified at the bottom of the hydrophobic cavity, which might be the steroid binding site and play an important role for the UGT51 catalytic specificity towards sterols. Molecular docking simulations indicated that changed unique interaction network in mutant M7_1 (S801A/L802A/V804A/K812A/E816K/S849A/N892D), with an 1800-fold activity improvement toward an unnatural substrate protopanaxadiol (PPD), might influence its substrate preference. This study reported the first sterol glycosyltransferase structure, providing a molecular blueprint for generating tailored sterol glycosyltransferases as potential catalytic elements in synthetic biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of content generation by machine, the state-of-the-art text-to-image model, DALL⋅E, has advanced and diverse capacities for the combinational image generation with specific textual prompts. The images generated by DALL⋅E seem to exhibit an appreciable level of combinational creativity close to that of humans in terms of visualizing a combinational idea. Although there are several common metrics which can be applied to assess the quality of the images generated by generative models, such as IS, FID, GIQA, and CLIP, it is unclear whether these metrics are equally applicable to assessing images containing combinational creativity. In this study, we collected the generated image data from machine (DALL⋅E) and human designers, respectively. The results of group ranking in the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) and the Turing Test (TT) were used as the benchmarks to assess the combinational creativity. Considering the metrics' mathematical principles and different starting points in evaluating image quality, we introduced coincident rate (CR) and average rank variation (ARV) which are two comparable spaces. An experiment to calculate the consistency of group ranking of each metric by comparing the benchmarks then was conducted. By comparing the consistency results of CR and ARV on group ranking, we summarized the applicability of the existing evaluation metrics in assessing generative images containing combinational creativity. In the four metrics, GIQA performed the closest consistency to the CAT and TT. It shows the potential as an automated assessment for images containing combinational creativity, which can be used to evaluate the images containing combinational creativity in the relevant task of design and engineering such as conceptual sketch, digital design image, and prototyping image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Benign lymphangioendothelioma represents a rare lymphatic vascular proliferation characterized by proliferation of irregular and thin-walled vessels dissecting amongst dermal collagen. Immunohistochemical analysis has been lacking in most previously reported cases. Methods Herein, we report the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of four cases of benign lymphangioendothelioma. Immunohistochemical study was completed for all lesions. Results All lesions presented as large, red to brown patches or plaques. Three lesions were located on the thigh and one lesion was located on the neck. Histopathologically, all lesions showed proliferation of anastomotic or retiform thin-walled vessels with a single layer of endothelial cells that dissect the dermis. D2-40 and Prox1 immunostains were positive and Wilms tumor 1 ( WT-1) immunostain was negative in all cases. Conclusion Benign lymphangioendothelioma represents a lymphatic vascular proliferation. A lack of expression of WT-1 suggests it represents a lymphatic vascular malformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many facets to creativity, and the topic has a profound impact on society. Substantial and sustained study on creativity has been undertaken, and much is now known about the fundamentals and how creativity can be augmented. To draw these elements together, a framework was developed called the creativity diamond, formulated on the basis of reviews of prior work, as well as the consideration of 20 PhD studies on the topics of creativity, design, innovation, and product development. The framework embodies the principles that quantity of ideas breeds quality through selection, and that a range of creativity tools can provoke additional ideas to augment our innate creativity. The creativity diamond proposed is a tool consisting of a divergent phase associated with the development of many distinctive ideas and a convergent phase associated with the refinement of ideas. The creativity diamond framework can be used to prompt and help select which tool or approach to use in a creative environment for innovative tasks. The framework has now been used by many students and professionals in diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 3-Cyano-4,6-dimethyl-2-pyridone and 3-cyano-4-methyl-6-phenyl-2-pyridone were synthesized effectively by the reaction of readily available 1,3-diketone and malononitrile directly and in good yield. Upon photoexcitation, 3-cyano-4-methyl-6-phenyl-2-pyridone in ethanol shows strong blue emission. The ground- and excited-state geometries, charge distributions, and excitation energies of 2-pyridone derivatives were evaluated by ab initio calculations. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) made using 3-cyano-4-methyl-6-phenyl-2-pyridone as dopant showed blue light emission with a maximum electroluminescence (EL) emission at around 456nm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 2-Methyl-8-quinolinol reacted with salicylaldehyde to give the corresponding substituted 2-styryl-8-quinolinol. Two schemes were adopted in order to prepare zinc quinolates complex through styryl substitution in 2-position. In , four steps were used including hydrolysis of acetoxy, and single crystal of product of this step was acquired. For , acetoxy exchange reaction was directly used to give Zn complex from the styryl derivative a and Zn(OAc)2 in the presence of ethanol and triethylamine, which is a more facile synthesis method of zinc quinolates through styryl substitution in 2-position. The spectroscopic, thermal and optical properties of Zn complex were investigated. The thermal stability of Zn complex was higher than that of styryl derivative a. The residue yield at 800°C in N2 for Zn complex was 64.3% whereas that for styryl derivative a was almost zero. Solutions of Zn complex in THF emitted yellow light with photoluminescence (PL) maximum at 551nm, which is considerably red-shifted relative to Znq2 (535nm) and Zn(2-Meq)2 (515nm). The ground- and excited-state geometries, charge distributions, and excitation energies of Zn complex were evaluated by ab initio calculations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The antimicrobial activity and stability of essential oils are increased in nanoemulsion formulations. One of the main disadvantages of using plant essential oils is their low solubility in water. Nanoemulsion formulations of essentials oils can increase their water solubilities and facilitate their interactions with microbial cell membranes, thereby facilitating cell lysis. In this study, cinnamon essential oil (CEO) nanoemulsions were prepared by high-pressure homogenization, using an orthogonal test design to optimize the preparation conditions. The stability of the nanoemulsions during storage and its antimicrobial activity against various foodborne pathogens were investigated. The results showed that during preparation, the homogenization pressures, oil phase ratio, and content of modified starch can affect the particle diameter of the emulsion. The incorporation of medium-chain triglycerides into the emulsion can significantly enhance the nanoemulsion stability and effectively reduce the particle size of the nanoemulsions. The CEO nanoemulsions inhibited the growth of different microbial strains, although Gram-negative bacteria were more sensitive to these nanoemulsions than Gram-positive bacteria. These results are of considerable significance for the research and innovation of natural food preservatives. • Cinnamon essential oilnanoemulsions were prepared by optimized preparation conditions. • Nanoemulsions with increased stability and reduced particle size were produced. • The cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions had significant antimicrobial activity. • The stability of essential oils in nanoemulsions was increased compared to the pure form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin-17A therapeutic inhibitors are among the most effective treatment methods for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PP). Reflectance confocal microscopy is a non-invasive imaging technique already documented to be beneficial in evaluating the follow-up of PP under treatment with topical actives and phototherapy. This study aimed to assess the epidermal and dermal changes associated with psoriasis and its treatment with RCM during systemic secukinumab treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe PP. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate RCM as a non-invasive tool for monitoring secukinumab treatment in patients with PP. For patients receiving secukinumab treatment, lesional skin was selected for RCM imaging, which were recorded at all scheduled times. The RCM evaluation criteria were established based on the histopathological diagnostic criteria for psoriasis. The clinical severity of psoriasis was assessed utilizing the psoriasis area severity index. A total of 23 patients with PP were included in the study. Each patient received 300 mg of subcutaneous secukinumab as induction therapy at baseline and weeks 1–4, followed by maintenance therapy every four weeks. Microscopic confocal changes were observed during the treatment. The results identified early microscopic evidence of the anti-inflammatory activity of secukinumab, which was not detected during the clinical examination. RCM findings correlating with the PASI were used to observe the patient's response to treatment and were identified as follows: acanthosis and parakeratosis, presence of epidermal and dermal inflammatory cells, presence of non-edge dermal papillae, and vascularization in the papillary dermis. This study is the first to demonstrate the use of RCM as an effective tool for non-invasive monitoring of secukinumab therapeutic response at a cellular level in a clinical or research setting. Early detection of RCM parameters associated with secukinumab activity may facilitate the identification of an early treatment response. RCM appears to be capable of providing practical and helpful information regarding follow-up in patients with PP undergoing secukinumab treatment. RCM may also provide novel perspectives on the subclinical evaluation of PP's response to biological therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The EGALC from Rhodococcus hoagii 103S shares high sequence identity (92.27%) with previously characterized EGALC from Rhodococcus equi. • The EGALC hydrolyzes 6-gala series glycosphingolipids. • The first crystal structure of EGALC to 1.2 Å resolution. • The conformation and length of Nβ8-Lα1 regions of EGCs are crucial for substrate specificity of EGCs. Endoglycoceramidases (EGCs) are family 5 glycoside hydrolases that catalyze hydrolysis of the glycosidic linkages between the oligosaccharide and ceramide moieties of glycosphingolipids. Three orthologs of EGCs, each with distinct substrate specificity, have been identified to date, including EGC-I, EGC-II, and EGALC. Although the structures of EGC-I and EGC-II have been reported, the substrate preference mechanism of EGC enzymes remains unclear. Here, we determined the crystal structure of EGALC from Rhodococcus hoagii 103S at a resolution of 1.20 Å. Distinct from EGC-I and EGC-II, which both have a tunnel-like substrate binding site, the structure of EGALC accommodates substrates in a long groove. Further, the oligosaccharide-binding region of groove could be divided into two small pockets that separately bind to the Gal1 and to the Gal3/Gla3 present in 6-gala series substrates. Structural and sequence comparisons of EGC enzymes revealed that the conformation and length of their Nβ8-Lα1 regions are crucial in determining the architectures of their specific substrate binding sites. Importantly, molecular docking analyses indicate that the substrate specificity of each EGC is mainly derived from the complementarity of its active site groove/tunnel with substrates adopting particular conformations. Our study provide insights for understanding the catalytic mechanism of EGALC, which will help protein engineering for improving the substrate preference and catalytic efficiency of EGC enzymes toward important glycosphingolipid substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both Wood's lamp and reflective confidential laser scanning microcopy are helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of vitiligo. However, there is few research that contains large samples and consistent observations. Aims: To analyze the characteristics of Wood's lamp images and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) images of vitiligo lesions and to evaluate their significance in vitiligo staging. Methods: We analyzed the characteristics of RCM images, Wood's lamp images, the vitiligo disease activity (VIDA) score, and clinical features to guide vitiligo staging and treatment. Results: The expert consensus based on the clinical features, VIDA score, Wood's lamp findings, and isomorphic response was consistent with the Wood's lamp findings (χ2 = 3.63, p > 0.05) and RCM findings (χ2 = 3.60, p > 0.05) in diagnosing vitiligo and assessing the disease stage. There was a correlation between the three lesion grades based on the Wood's lamp findings and the stage of vitiligo (p < 0.01). Lesions that appeared porcelain white under the Wood's lamp were in the slowly progressive stage; lesions that appeared gray‐white or trichromatic under the Wood's lamp were in the rapidly progressive stage; lesions with clear borders under the Wood's lamp needed further analysis by RCM for the stage to be determined; lesions with blurred borders under the Wood's lamp were in the rapidly progressive stage; lesions that were visible under the naked eye and under the Wood's lamp were in the rapidly progressive stage. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a reliable correlation between the findings of RCM (a sophisticated expensive tool) and Wood's lamp examination (a simple, readily available, inexpensive tool) in the assessment of the disease activity of vitiligo lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, The classical characterization of lichen sclerosus (LS) is pruritic, white, sclerotic, and atrophic plaques.1 However, clinical variants have been separately described as bullous, hemorrhagic, pigmented, and verrucous forms, which are rare.1 We present a patient with extragenital LS with bullous and verrucous forms; it was a challenging diagnosis. The differential diagnosis of hyperpigmented and verrucous eruption includes LS, pemphigus vegetans, chromoblastomycosis, tuberculosis verrucosa cutis, squamous cell carcinoma, mycosis fungoides, viral warts, and pyoderma gangrenosum. The first-line treatment for LS is topical corticosteroids.3 The patients, who have a contraindication for the use of corticosteroids or have failed therapy with ultrapotent corticosteroids, can choose the topical calcineurin inhibitors as an alternative treatment option.3 Patients with associated malignancy or scarring interfering with normal function should undergo surgery after the disease activity has ceased.2 Phototherapy and photodynamic therapy are the third-line therapies used in patients who are resistant to the aforementioned treatments.2 In general, extragenital LS is not as responsive as genital LS, so it may therefore present a therapeutic challenge.3 Footnotes 1 Conflict of interest: None. [Extracted from the article]

Health professions preventing and controlling Coronavirus Disease 2019 are prone to skin and mucous membrane injury, which may cause acute and chronic dermatitis, secondary infection and aggravation of underlying skin diseases. This is a consensus of Chinese experts on protective measures and advice on hand‐cleaning‐ and medical‐glove‐related hand protection, mask‐ and goggles‐related face protection, UV‐related protection, eye protection, nasal and oral mucosa protection, outer ear, and hair protection. It is necessary to strictly follow standards of wearing protective equipment and specification of sterilizing and cleaning. Insufficient and excessive protection will have adverse effects on the skin and mucous membrane barrier. At the same time, using moisturizing products is highly recommended to achieve better protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The esterification of activated amides, N -acylsaccharins, under transition-metal-free conditions with good functional group tolerance has been developed, resulting in C–N cleavage leading to efficient synthesis of a variety of esters in moderate to good yields. This work demonstrates that esterification may proceed by using simple N -acylsaccharins, haloalkanes, and Cs2 CO3 as oxygen source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The MEAM-based interatomic potential was developed for NbTiZrMoV. • The formation of LCOs with B2 structure from the Zr-V pair in NbTiZrMoV was found. • A coupling relationship between lattice distortion and LCO in NbTiZrMoV was found. Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of local chemical order (LCO) in influencing the mechanical properties of high entropy alloys (HEAs). However, experimental investigation of LCO remains a challenging task. In this paper, the potential parameters for NbTiZrMoV system based on the modified embedded atom method are determined by fitting the lattice constants and formation enthalpies of various binary and ternary alloys. A comparison with the results from first-principles calculations shows that the newly-developed potential has a relatively high accuracy. A hybrid MD/MC simulation is performed using the newly-developed potential to investigate the microstructural evolution of equimolar NbTiZrMoV HEA at room temperature. The simulation results show that clustering and dispersion of different elemental pairs can occur after prolonged annealing. Additionally, the Zr-V pair is observed to form LCOs with B2 structure, which may be an early stage of the experimentally observed Laves phase. Furthermore, the simulation results reveal a relationship between LCO and lattice distortion, indicating that an increase in LCO can lead to a decrease in lattice distortion, which is a significant factor in the investigation of HEA mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) level has been associated with various age‐related diseases and its pharmacological modulation emerges as a potential approach for aging intervention. But human NAD+ landscape exhibits large heterogeneity. The lack of rapid, low‐cost assays limits the establishment of whole‐blood NAD+ baseline and the development of personalized therapies, especially for those with poor responses towards conventional NAD+ supplementations. Here, we developed an automated NAD+ analyzer for the rapid measurement of NAD+ with 5 μL of capillary blood using recombinant bioluminescent sensor protein and automated optical reader. The minimal invasiveness of the assay allowed a frequent and decentralized mapping of real‐world NAD+ dynamics. We showed that aerobic sport and NMN supplementation increased whole‐blood NAD+ and that male on average has higher NAD+ than female before the age of 50. We further revealed the long‐term stability of human NAD+ baseline over 100 days and identified major real‐world NAD+‐modulating behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report on a patient with PLACK syndrome carrying compound heterozygous variants in I CAST i and provide a literature review. Dear Editor, PLACK syndrome (OMIM #616295) refers to an extremely rare autosomal-recessive genodermatosis characterized by a constellation of peeling skin, leuconychia, acral punctate keratoses, cheilitis and knuckle pads. [Extracted from the article]

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is rare in young individuals and reported to possess different pathogenetic, clinical and histological features from late-onset BCC. However, the dermoscopic variability of BCC according to age of onset has not been investigated. Anatomic location was revealed to be associated with dermoscopic variation of BCC in Western population, but whether it applies to Asian population remains unknown. We evaluated the clinical and dermoscopic features of 448 BCCs and compared each feature by age of onset (age < 50/ > 50 years) and anatomic location. Early-onset BCCs occurred more frequently on non-sun-exposed sites (OR 3.28, P = 0.001) and were less pigmented than late-onset BCCs (P = 0.003). Blue–gray globules (OR 1.74, P = 0.037) and no vessels (OR 2.04, P = 0.021) were independently associated with early-onset BCCs, whereas arborizing telangiectasia (OR 0.30, P < 0.001), large blue–gray ovoid nests (OR 0.38, P < 0.001) and ulceration (OR 0.33, P < 0.001) were less common in early-onset BCCs. Scalp BCCs were significantly more pigmented than BCCs located elsewhere (P = 0.022). Superficial subtype (OR 5.90, P < 0.001), spoke-wheel areas (OR 4.78, P = 0.034), superficial erosions (OR 4.69, P = 0.003) and polymorph vessels (OR 6.86, P = 0.001) were independently associated with trunk BCCs, whereas nodular subtype (OR 5.48, P < 0.001) and arborizing telangiectasias (OR 3.64, P < 0.001) with BCCs on face and neck. Our findings suggest that age of onset and anatomic location are independent factors affecting the dermoscopic appearance of BCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciplex is a well-known charge transfer excited-state complex formed between electron-donor and electron-acceptor molecules. The exciplex studied here is resulted from between the donor mCP and the acceptor PO-T2T, which acts as the host of orange emitting OLEDs. The emitter is orange phosphor Ir(pq)2acac. Our device based on the exciplex host and orange phosphor is very simple, but excellent EL performance was observed. That is, peak current efficiency of 35.3 cd/A, power efficiency of 31.0 lm/W and EQE of 18.7% at a 1.5 wt% orange phosphor, respectively. To date this is the highest orange OLED compared with other orange OLEDs with identical color performance. The better results were ascribed to reasonable device design and contribution from both singlet and triplet of exciplex host as well efficient energy transfer from exciplex host to the orange phosphor. The conclusion is based on the fact that exciplex emission comes from TADF process in which there is small ΔE s-t . This strategy enables to resolve the problem of the lower reverse intersystem crossing (RISC). Besides, warm white OLED was also achieved by lowering the dopant concentration, by which incomplete energy transfer from exciplex host to the orange phosphor could take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therefore, the mechanisms that promote interactions between metastatic tumour cells and activated tumour-associated lymphatic endothelium in primary tumours and draining lymph nodes should be investigated in more detail to prevent and treat EMPD. Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare tumour presenting with an erythematous spread in elderly patients, mainly in the genital region.[[1]] It is most common in Caucasian women, but in Asian populations, there is a male predominance.[[3]] Given the rarity of this disease, limited studies have reported the 5-year outcomes on the Chinese population; hence a comprehensive survival analysis on the Chinese mainland is still lacking. Additional prospective data are needed to clarify the characteristics of high-risk EMPD patients and to further identify better and more effective superior management approaches to recurrent and potential tumour metastasis. [Extracted from the article]

Asiaticoside, isolated from Centella asiatica, shows great improvement on wound healing and anti-oxidation function in vitro and in vivo. From previous research, asiaticoside possesses the potential capability to delay skin aging and reduce wrinkles clinically, but its underlying mechanism to regulate aging have not well-investigated. The present study found that asiaticoside could improve the viability and maintains a normal morphology in ultraviolet (UV)-exposure cells. In addition, β-galactosidase release was inhibited by treatment of asiaticoside in UV damaged cells was observed. The present study confirmed that UV-induced ROS generation and SOD reduction could be attenuated by incubation of asiaticoside. By using RNA sequencing technology, differential genes between UV and asiaticoside treatment were demonstrated and enriched genes suggested that asiaticoside is able to negatively regulate cell cycle and MAPK pathways. Western blotting was employed to clarify the variation of key proteins in TGF-β1/Smad pathway and cell cycle and the result implied that asiaticoside is capable of attenuating upregulation of TGF-β1, Smad2 and Smad3 to reverse cell senescence. The present study investigated regulation of asiaticoside to TGF-β1/Smad pathway in UV-induced HaCat cells, showing its potential to against photoaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data-driven design is a process to reuse data sources and provide valuable information to provoke creative ideas in the stages of design. However, existing semantic networks for design creativity are built on data sources restricted to technological and scientific information. Existing studies build the edges of a semantic network on statistical or semantic relationships, which are less likely to make full use of the benefits from both types of relationships and discover implicit knowledge for design creativity. Therefore, to overcome the gaps, we constructed WikiLink, a semantic network based on Wikipedia, which is an integrated source of general knowledge and specific knowledge, with broad coverage of disciplines. The weight in WikiLink fuses both the statistic and semantic weights between concepts instead of simply one type of weight, and four algorithms are developed for inspiring new ideas. Evaluation experiments are undertaken, and the results show that the network is characterised by high coverage of terms, relationships and disciplines, which demonstrates and supports the network's effectiveness and usefulness. A demonstration and case study results indicate that WikiLink can serve as an idea generation tool for creativity in conceptual design. The source code of WikiLink and the backend data are provided open-source for more users to explore and develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Texts, widgets, and images on a UI page do not work separately. Instead, they are partitioned into groups to achieve certain interaction functions or visual information. Existing studies on UI elements grouping mainly focus on a specific single UI-related software engineering task, and their groups vary in appearance and function. In this case, we propose our semantic component groups that pack adjacent text and non-text elements with similar semantics. In contrast to those task-oriented grouping methods, our semantic component group can be adopted for multiple UI-related software tasks, such as retrieving UI perceptual groups, improving code structure for automatic UI-to-code generation, and generating accessibility data for screen readers. To recognize semantic component groups on a UI page, we propose a robust, deep learning-based vision detector, UISCGD, which extends the SOTA deformable-DETR by incorporating UI element color representation and a learned prior on group distribution. The model is trained on our UI screenshots dataset of 1988 mobile GUIs from more than 200 apps in both iOS and Android platforms. The evaluation shows that our UISCGD achieves 6.1% better than the best baseline algorithm and 5.4 % better than deformable-DETR in which it is based. • Proposes a universal approach for grouping GUI elements with similar semantics. • Introduces a Transformer-based detector for GUI element grouping. • Empirical studies show superior performance in grouping and downstream tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the plastic deformation behavior of CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) at extreme conditions, the effect of strain rate ranging from 1 × 108 s−1 to 5 × 1010 s−1 on microstructural evolution and deformation mechanism was investigated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our results show that the alloy exhibits completely different deformation mechanism under lower and higher strain rates conditions. The deformation mechanism of the alloy is mainly the formation and evolution of stacking faults and twins driven by Shockley dislocations at lower strain rates, and a continuous phase transformation from FCC to HCP with the BCC phase as the transition at higher strain rates. Between the lower and higher strain rates, there are intermediate strain rates where the two deformation mechanisms coexist. A quantitative model was established to describe the strength of the alloy at intermediate strain rates by considering the contributions of four microstructural features that occur during the plastic deformation. Fitted empirical model with single adjustable parameters can agree well with those calculated by MD simulations. The present work can help researchers better understand the deformation mechanism of the CoCrFeMnNi HEA at different strain rates, thereby pointing out directions for alloy strengthening. • CoCrFeMnNi HEA exhibits different plastic deformation mechanisms at lower and higher strain rates. • The effect of dislocations on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties at different strain rates was analyzed. • A quantitative model was proposed to illustrate the effect of different microstructural evolutions on the mechanical response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) enables good visualization of cutaneous structures, akin to an optical biopsy.[6] The examination takes a few minutes to be performed and is painless even when performed in sensitive areas such as the penis or vulva region. Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is not rare in paediatric dermatology.[1] Although histopathology is gold standard, the diagnosis of VLS is primarily based on clinical findings rather than histopathology,[2] which is may not always be practical or necessary in children.[3] There are no sufficient researches about using non-invasive tools in the diagnosis of VLS,[4] only few case report available on dermoscopy examination,[5] which might be less efficient as it studies only the surface. Notably, all VLS lesions were significantly characterized by the presence of unique highly reflective, quasi-circular large cells in the EDJ and superficial dermis at RCM. [Extracted from the article]

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, and relapsing skin disease characterized by hyperproliferation of keratinocytes and apoptosis delay. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of psoriasis remain elusive. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded, small non-coding RNAs that play a crucial role in the development of psoriasis by promoting targeted mRNA degradation or translational inhibition. Here, we report that miR-214-3p, one of the downregulated miRNAs identified in the skin of psoriatic patients and imiquimod (IMQ)-induced mouse models, can negatively regulate the expression of forkhead box M1 (FOXM1). miR-214-3p inhibition leads to hyperproliferation and increased apoptosis of keratinocytes in vitro. Moreover, we show that miR-214-3p inhibition causes an arrest of the cell cycle at the S stage by elevating the expression of NEK2, KIF20A, CENP-A, CENP-F, and Cyclin B1 and by reducing the expression of Cyclin D1 in HaCaT cells. In vivo, the administration of miR-214-3p attenuates the psoriasis-like phenotype in IMQ-induced mice. Collectively, our results suggest that miR-214-3p/FOXM1 axis in keratinocytes could be a novel target in the treatment of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to investigate the differences in the proteomic profiles of sperm from infertile males with severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia requiring intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and normal control sperm from fertile males. Isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation labeling and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was performed for identifying proteins in the sperm of infertile and fertile males. Differentially expressed proteins were analyzed via the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases through the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery, and protein–protein networks were produced using the Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes. Immunofluorescence and western blotting verified the differential expression of Y-box-binding protein 1(YBX1), adenylate kinase 1 (AK1), and aconitase 2, mitochondrial (ACO2) proteins. Altogether, 3444 proteins were identified in the sperm of infertile and fertile males, and 938 were differentially expressed between the two groups. Pairwise comparisons revealed that 226 and 712 proteins were significantly upregulated and downregulated in infertile males, respectively. These proteins were significantly enriched in metabolic pathways as per KEGG enrichment analysis. YBX1 expression was upregulated in the sperm heads of patients requiring ICSI treatment, whereas AK1 and ACO2, which are critical enzymes involved in energy metabolism, were downregulated in the sperm tails of the same patients. This result indicates that metabolism may have a crucial role in maintaining normal sperm function. Overall, our results provide insights that will further help in investigating the pathogenic mechanisms of infertility and possible therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliable and automatic segmentation of pulmonary lobes in computed tomography scans is an important pre‐condition for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of lung diseases. However, due to the incomplete lobar structures and morphological changes caused by diseases, the lobe segmentation still encounters great challenges. Recently, convolution neural network has exerted a tremendous impact on medical image analysis. Nevertheless, the basic convolution operations mainly obtain local features that are insufficient for accurate lobe segmentation. The idea that the global features are equally crucial especially when lesions appear is considered. Here, a dual‐attention V‐network named DAV‐Net for pulmonary lobe segmentation is proposed. First, a novel dual‐attention module to capture global contextual information and model the semantic dependencies in spatial and channel dimensions is introduced. Second, a progressive output scheme is used to avoid the vanishing gradient phenomenon and obtain relatively effective features in hidden layers. Finally, an improved combo loss is devised to address input and output lobe imbalance problem during training and inference. In the evaluation using the LUNA16 dataset and our in‐house dataset, the proposed DAV‐Net obtains Dice similarity coefficients of 0.947 and 0.934, respectively; these values are superior to those obtained by existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An easy-processing electron extraction layer (EEL) is developed in efficient organic solar cells. • Over 10% improvement is obtained in PTB7-Th:PC 71 BM-based cell after the application of modified EEL. • This EEL helps to polish interface contact, and improve light photons utilization. The performance of polymer solar cells is known to be critically dependent on the characters of the charge extraction layers. In this work, an efficient electron extraction layer (EEL) is developed by doping saccharin into precursor of ZnO. It shows that the introduction of saccharin helps to passivate defects in ZnO EEL and polish the interfacial contact, which lead to efficient charge transport and collection processes, suppressed charge recombination loss, and increased light photon utilization. In poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2–6-diyl)]:[6,6]-phenyl C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7-Th:PC 71 BM) based cells, over 10% enhancement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) is obtained compared to that of the reference cell with pristine ZnO as EEL. This work proves that the strategy of precursor additive has potential to prepare highly efficient EEL for polymer solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to explore the potential differences in proteomic profiles from the testicular tissue of azoospermatic men with impaired spermatogenesis and normal spermatogenesis. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) labeled technology and LC-MS/MS technology were used to identify differentially expressed proteins. Potential functions of differentially expressed proteins were predicted using gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot (WB) were used to verify the differentially expressed proteins. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was built to outline the regulatory network of differentially expressed proteins. A total of 3,945 proteins were identified in men with normal and impaired spermatogenesis. Of these, 116 proteins were differentially expressed in men with impaired spermatogenesis: 39 were upregulated and 77 were downregulated. Furthermore, we found that these differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in the cellular component, which may be mainly associated with the spliceosome, ribosome, and thyroid hormone synthesis signaling pathways. The spliceosome- and ribosome-associated proteins YBX1, FBL, and HNRNPU were downregulated. And the proteomic profile of testicular tissue in men with impaired spermatogenesis is different from that of men with normal spermatogenesis. For this reason, differentially expressed proteins such as YBX1, FBL and HNRNPU might be involved in the pathology of spermatogenesis dysfunction. Abbreviations: iTRAQ: Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation;GO: Gene ontology; KEGG: Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes; IHC: Immunohistochemistry; WB: Western blot; PPI: Protein–protein interaction; ICSI: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection; BP: Biological process; CC: Cellular components; MF: Molecular function; snoRNA: Small nucleolar RNA; snRNA: Small nuclear RNA; LC-MS/MS: Liquid chromatography and MS/MS analysis; BSA: Bovine serum albumin; SD: Spermatogenic dysfunction; micro-TESE: Testicular microscopic sperm extraction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is an unusual variant of pemphigus mediated by paraneoplastic autoimmunity. In addition to blisters, interface dermatitis can be observed in PNP.1, 7 For suspected PNP patients, RCM examination can be performed on the lichenoid lesions to observe the dermal-epidermal junction. The patients in this manuscript have given written informed consent to the publication of their case details. [Extracted from the article]

We report a case of 39‐year‐old female patient with paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) associated with thymoma treated with rituximab plus corticosteroids and methotrexate. After rituximab therapy for 8 weeks, oral ulcerations had cured, lesions on the trunk and limbs improved. Rituximab may be useful for PNP therapy, but further studies are necessary to confirm this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to analyze the results of 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH-monitoring (MII-pH) of the laryngopharynx and esophagus in asymptomatic volunteers. Moreover, we also aimed to gain insight into and establish a baseline for laryngopharyngeal reflux in the healthy population by quantitatively and qualitatively comparing the reflux and pH distribution in both the laryngopharynx and the esophagus. Methods: Healthy volunteers were recruited and observed; they underwent 24-h ambulatory combined MII-pH monitoring. The proximal sensor (pH1) was positioned approximately 1 cm above the upper esophageal sphincter with the aid of a solid-state high-resolution esophageal manometer. Laryngopharyngeal reflux events were detected and characterized by the incidence and property of reflux both in the laryngopharynx and the esophagus. Results: Thirty-eight asymptomatic volunteers who completed all the examinations were included in this study. The median pH detected by the proximal sensor was 6.6 (6.2, 7.0), with an average of 6.58 ± 0.74. A total of 814 laryngopharyngeal reflux events were detected, including 722 (89%) in the upright position and 92 (11%) in the supine position with incidence (0%) in the liquid state, 44 (5%) in the mixture, and 769 (95%) in the gaseous state. Furthermore, 5 incidences (1%) of acid reflux and 809 incidences of non-acid reflux (99%) were noted. A total of 5779 esophageal reflux events were detected, including 5020 (87%) in the upright position, 759 (13%) in the supine position, with 2051 (36%) in the liquid state, 2050 (35%) in the mixed condition, and 1678 (29%) in the gaseous state; adding up to 805 incidences (14%) of acid reflux and 4974 incidences (86%) of non-acid reflux. Conclusion: Non-acid reflux in the upright position is characteristic of laryngopharyngeal reflux. Acid reflux is almost undetectable in healthy subjects. Hence, the diagnostic indicators of gastroesophageal reflux disease are not suitable for laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic hand eczema is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that influences public health. Staphylococcus aureus colonization plays important roles in chronic hand eczema morbidity and progression, which also correlated to chronicity and severity of the disease. In this multicenter clinical trial, we aim to investigate the relationship between S. aureus colonization and chronic hand eczema. Eighty patient volunteers diagnosed with chronic hand eczema in 4 hospitals from 4 cities participated in this study. Staphylococcus aureus colonization was determined using Polymerase Chain Reaction and fluorescent labeling probe to rapidly detect the endemic thermostable nuclease gene nuc of S. aureus in clinical samples. All patients were treated with Halometasone Triclosan Cream for 2 weeks. The changes of clinical symptom scores were observed during the follow-up time. We found that the severity of chronic hand eczema was related to S. aureus colonization. Chronic hand eczema would remain severer than others if S. aureus colonization was not eliminated. Eliminating S. aureus colonization could provide good effectiveness in treatment of chronic hand eczema. Therefore, we make a proposal that detection and treatment of S. aureus should be considered in the clinical treatment of chronic hand eczema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analogy is a core cognition process used to produce inferences as well as new ideas using previous knowledge and experience. Ontology is a formal representation of a set of domain concepts and their relationships. The use of analogy and ontology in design activities to support design creativity have previously been explored. This paper explores an approach to construct ontologies with sufficient richness and coverage to support reasoning over real-world datasets for prompting creative idea generation. This approach has been implemented into a computational tool for assisting designers in generating creative ideas during the early stages of design. The tool, called "the Retriever", has been developed based on ontology by embracing the aspects of analogical reasoning. A case study has indicated that the tool can be effective and useful for idea generation. The results have indicated that the tool, in its current formulation, can significantly improve the fluency and flexibility of idea generation and the usefulness of ideas, as well as slightly increase the originality of ideas, for the case study concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We aim to simplify the device structure due to the low concentration precision and repeatability of white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) based on exciplex host with phosphorescent dopant. Two layers of exciplex used here play the role of blue emitter and excitons adjustment layer, respectively, to manage the excitons. Green and red phosphorescent ultrathin layer are inserted into exciplex layer to form white light-emitting. The maximum efficiency values of current efficiency, power efficiency and EQE reach to 38.8 cd/A, 34.9 lm/W and 15.3%, and remain 29.7 cd/A, 20.4 lm/W and 11.6% at 1000 cd/m2, respectively. Besides, the change of Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage coordinates is only (0.024, 0.013) with the enhanced driving voltages from 4 V to 6 V. Such a high performance of warm WOLEDs with simple structure demonstrates the reasonable excitons management and efficient energy transfer from exciplex and excitons adjustment layer to ultrathin phosphorescent emitters. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Two layers of exciplex as blue emitter and excitons adjustment layer to manage the excitons for high performance WOLEDs. • The maximum CE, PE and EQE reach to 38.8 cd/A, 34.9 lm/W and 15.3%, respectively, with the change of CIE is only (0.024, 0.013). • WOLEDs achieves the reasonable excitons management and efficient energy transfer from exciplex to ultrathin emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly efficient red and white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) employing blue thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitter of mSOAD based acridine/sulfone derivative as the host are realized by efficient management for singlet and triplet excitons. The red OLEDs reach a high maximum current efficiency, power efficiency and EQE of 32.7 cd A −1 , 31.0 lm W −1 and 20.3%, respectively. And the white OLEDs with different dopant concentrations exhibit ultra-high color stability of ±(0.008, 0.001), ±(0.000, 0.003) and ±(0.002, 0.005), respectively. Meantime, the high efficiencies are also achieved with maximum current efficiencies, power efficiencies and EQEs of 28.2–32.0 cd A −1 , 26.3–30.5 lm W −1 and 12.2–17.4%, respectively. The analysis of energy level and transient decay characteristics demonstrate the excellent device performances are mainly stemmed from the sufficient confinement for charges and excitons and efficient energy transfer from the TADF host to dopant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fonsecaea pedrosoi (F. pedrosoi) is the most common agent of chromoblastomycosis. Transformation of this fungus from its saprophytic phase into pathogenic sclerotic cells in tissue is an essential link to the refractoriness of this infection. Experimental studies in murine models have shown that the absence of CD4+ T cells impairs host defense against F. pedrosoi infection. Clinical research has also suggested that a relatively low level of the Th1 cytokine INF-γ and inefficient T cell proliferation are simultaneously present in patients with severe chromoblastomycosis upon in vitro stimulation with ChromoAg, an antigen prepared from F. pedrosoi. In the present study, we show that in mice intraperitoneally infected with F. pedrosoi-spores, -hyphae or in vitro-induced sclerotic cells respectively, the transformation of this causative agent into sclerotic cells contributes to a compromised Th1 cytokine production in the earlier stage of infection with impaired generation of neutrophil reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pan-inhibition of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine production with disseminated infection in the later stage by using a CBA murine Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine kit. In addition, we have further demonstrated that intraperitoneal administration of recombinant mouse IFN-γ (rmIFN-γ) effectively reduces the fungal load in the infected mouse spleen, and dampens the peritoneal dissemination of F. pedrosoi-sclerotic cells. Meanwhile, exogeneous rmIFN-γ contributes to the formation and maintenance of micro-abscess and restores the decrease in neutrophil ROS generation in the mouse spleen infected with F. pedrosoi-sclerotic cells. Of note, we have once again demonstrated that it is a chitin-like component, but not β-glucans or mannose moiety, that exclusively accumulates on the outer cell wall of F. pedrosoi-sclerotic cells which were induced in vitro or isolated from the spleens of intraperitoneally infected BALB/c mice. In addition, our results indicate that decreased accumulation of chitin on the surface of live F. pedrosoi-sclerotic cells after chitinase treatment can be self-compensated in a time-dependent manner. Importantly, we have for the first time demonstrated that exclusive accumulation of chitin on the transformed sclerotic cells of F. pedrosoi is involved in an impaired murine Th1 cytokine profile, therefore promoting the refractoriness of experimental murine chromoblastomycosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Interaction between H and 2.25Cr1Mo was a combination of ionic and covalent bonds via first-principles calculations. • Cr and Mo dopants localized the interaction between H and Fe matrices and they acted as scattering centers for H isotopes diffusion with high energy barriers. • Voigt and Reuss models were proposed to calculate effective H isotopes diffusion coefficients of 2.25Cr1Mo for the first time which agreed with experiments results. • Reliable way to determine effective diffusion coefficient of hydrogen isotopes in multielement alloys was established. Chrome-molybdenum (2.25Cr1Mo) ferritic steel is one of the primary materials used in heat exchanger pipes in the steam generators of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). Studying the tritium diffusion mechanism in 2.25Cr1Mo ferritic steel is of vital importance for the prediction and interpretation of tritium activity concentration in the reactor. However, the permeation of hydrogen isotopes in these alloys remains difficult to predict owing to the lack of understanding of the microscopic interactions between hydrogen isotopes and multicomponent alloys. In this study, the electronic and diffusion properties of the hydrogen isotopes in 2.25Cr1Mo alloy were investigated using first-principles calculations. Hydrogen preferentially intercalated into tetrahedral interstitial sites rather than octahedral ones in 2.25Cr1Mo alloy. The Cr and Mo dopants induced strong repulsion between H and the matrix. Interaction between H and 2.25Cr1Mo exhibited a combination of ionic and covalent bonds with electrons transferred from the steel to H atom. Dopants acted as scattering centers with local interaction with H and expanded the preventive effect of H diffusion to the second-nearest tetrahedral interstitials with a high energy barrier. The effective H diffusion coefficient in the alloy was calculated by an approximate model based on the volumetric ratio of the components for the first time. The obtained pre-exponential factor and activation energy agreed well with the experimental results. The current research provides a reliable way to determine the effective diffusion coefficient of hydrogen isotopes in multielement alloys, which can accelerate R&D of tritium-resistant materials in both fusion and fission reactors. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) supported TiO 2 (rGO@TiO 2 ) as the photocatalyst was synthesized and evaluated. Graphene was oxided using chemical method and the AFM measurements showed that the thickness of the as-synthesized GO was 3–5 nm which indicates 4–6 layers of the resultant graphene oxide. BET surface area showed 62.4 m 2 /g for TiO 2 and 247.3 m 2 /g for rGO@TiO 2 . Size distribution showed when the rGO ratio increases from 5% to 15% (rGO/TiO 2 ), the resultant rGO@TiO 2 samples show better size distribution in the range of 100 nm to 200 nm. Photocatalysis test showed when the exposure time increased to over 100 min, the degradation rate for rGO@TiO 2 could reach to 96.4%. First order kinetics results of the rGO@TiO 2 photocatalyst showed much higher degradation constant than that of the TiO 2 . Reproducibility test showed the rGO@TiO 2 photocatalyst can keep the degradation rates at less for 25 cycles. Results showed rGO@TiO 2 is a promising photocatalyst with long cycling life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, high luminance and high efficiency monochrome and white organic light emitting diodes (OLED) based pure exciplex emission were realized by the application of spacer. First, monochrome exicplex OLED based blue (26DCzPPy:PO-T2T) and yellow (DMAC-MPM:PO-T2T) emission were studied. Then the pure exciplex WOLED based blue and yellow exciplex complementary colors were designed with three spacer materials of DMAC-MPM, 26DCzPPy and DPEPO, respectively. At last, orange exciplex of TAPC:PO-T2T was applied to replace DMAC-MPM:PO-T2T with 26DCzPPy as spacer to construct pure exciplex WOLED. As results, all the pure exciplex WOLED of W1∼W4 achieved a high maximum luminance of ∼10000 cd m−2, current efficiency of ∼20 cd A−1, power efficiency of ∼20 lm W−1 and external quantum efficiency of ∼8%, respectively. As far as we know from literature review, our WOLED with the maximum luminance and efficiency were one of the best among the pure exciplex emission WOLED. The high performances were derived from the high efficiency monochrome exciplex and spacer selection and application. [Display omitted] • High luminance/efficiency monochrome and white OLED based pure exciplex emission were realized. • All the pure exciplex WOLED achieved a high luminance of ∼10000 cd m−2 and EQE of ∼8%. • The high WOLED performances were derived from the high efficiency monochrome exciplex and spacer selection and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fonsecaea pedrosoi (F. pedrosoi), a major agent of chromoblastomycosis, has been shown to be recognized primarily by C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) in a murine model of chromoblastomycosis. Specifically, the β-glucan receptor, Dectin-1, mediates Th17 development and consequent recruitment of neutrophils, and is evidenced to have the capacity to bind to saprophytic hyphae of F. pedrosoi in vitro. However, when embedded in tissue, most etiological agents of chromoblastomycosis including F. pedrosoi will transform into the sclerotic cells, which are linked to the greatest survival of melanized fungi in tissue. In this study, using immunocompetent and athymic (nu/nu) murine models infected subcutaneously or intraperitoneally with F. pedrosoi, we demonstrated that T lymphocytes play an active role in the resolution of localized footpad infection, and there existed a significantly decreased expression of Th17-defining transcription factor Rorγt and inefficient recruitment of neutrophils in chronically infected spleen where the inoculated mycelium of F. pedrosoi transformed into the sclerotic cells. We also found that Dectin-1-expressing histocytes and neutrophils participated in the enclosure of transformed sclerotic cells in the infectious foci. Furthermore, we induced the formation of sclerotic cells in vitro, and evidenced a significantly decreased binding capacity of human or murine-derived Dectin-1 to the induced sclerotic cells in comparison with the saprophytic mycelial forms. Our analysis of β-glucans-masking components revealed that it is a chitin-like component, but not the mannose moiety on the sclerotic cells, that interferes with the binding of β-glucans by human or murine Dectin-1. Notably, we demonstrated that although Dectin-1 contributed to the development of IL-17A-producing CD3+CD4+ murine splenocytes upon in vitro-stimulation by saprophytic F. pedrosoi, the masking effect of chitin components partly inhibited Dectin-1-mediated Th17 development upon in vitro-stimulation by induced sclerotic cells. Therefore, these findings extend our understanding of the chronicity of chromoblastomycosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anal canal condyloma acuminatum (CA) is a refractory disease with a high recurrence rate caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Multiple clinical trials demonstrate that anti-HPV biological dressing is safe and effective in treating HPV infection, which has been used in treating high-risk HPV-positive and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I (CIN I) patients. Yet, there is still a lack of clinical data for the treatment of anal canal CA. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and application value of anti-HPV biological dressing in anal canal CA. Materials and Methods: Taken currently recommended treatment 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) as a positive control, 128 patients were included with 64 in each group, and a prospective, randomized, positive controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial was conducted. After removing visible skin lesions with conventional microwave, the treatment group was given anti-HPV biological dressing, while the control group received the conventional ALA-PDT treatment. Patients were followed up on the 1st, 12th and 24th weeks after the treatment. The cure rate, recurrence rate, HPV-negative conversion rate, and adverse events were recorded. Results: In the 1st, 12th and 24th weeks after treatment, the cure rate, recurrence rate and HPV-negative conversion rate of the treatment group and the control group showed no statistically significant difference. In the treatment group, 56 patients developed transient mild itching and all were relieved spontaneously, while in the control group, most of the patients experienced obvious pain and some patients needed symptomatic treatment. No severe systemic adverse events were observed. Conclusion: Compared with ALA-PDT, topical application of anti-HPV biological dressing has comparable promising outcomes in the treatment of anal canal CA, with fewer side effects and simpler operation making it suitable for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]