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Rui-zhi Zeng,1 Xiao-dan Lv,2 Geng-feng Liu,1 Guang-li Gu,1 Shi-quan Li,1 Lan Chen,1 Jun-hua Fan,1 Zhao-liang Liang,1 Hui-qin Wang,1 Fei Lu,1 Ling-ling Zhan,2 Xiao-ping Lv1 1Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiao-ping LvDepartment of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, No. 6 of Shuangyong Street, Qingxiu District, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 135 1788 8390Email pingping98987@111.comObjective: To analyze the correlation between site rs962917 of the MYO9B gene and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the Guangxi Zhuang nationality population.Methods: The intestinal mucosa tissue of 153 IBD subjects (Han and Zhuang patients only) in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region comprised the case group, and the intestinal mucosa tissue of 155 healthy subjects (Han and Zhuang patients only) in the same region represented the control group. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from the intestinal mucosa tissue of each experimental group, and the MYO9B gene-target fragment containing the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site rs962917 was designed. Finally, polymerase chain reaction products were obtained by amplification, analyzed, and compared using the sequencing results.Results: The results indicated that the genotype frequency of the MYO9B SNP site rs962917 between Crohn’s disease (CD) and control groups of Zhuang and Han participants differed significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the genotype frequency of MYO9B site rs962917 differed significantly between the Zhuang and Han population groups (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Site rs962917 of the MYO9B gene is related to CD susceptibility and incidence among the Guangxi Zhuang population.Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, ulcerative colitis, UC, Crohn’s disease, CD, MYO9B gene, gene polymorphism

The stability of soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for metal transport and carbon cycling. S,S-ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) is widely used to enhance phytoremediation efficiency for heavy metals in contaminated soils, yet its specific impacts on SOM have been underexplored. This study investigates the effects of EDDS on SOM stability using a rhizobox experiment with ryegrass. Changes in soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and molecular composition were analyzed via Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Results showed that the use of EDDS increased the uptake of Cu, Cd and Pb by ryegrass, but simultaneously induced the destabilization and transformation of SOM. After 7 days of EDDS application, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) concentrations in rhizosphere soils increased significantly by 3.44 and 10.2 times, respectively. In addition, EDDS reduced lipids (56.3%) and proteins/amino sugars-like compounds (52.1%), while increasing tannins (9.11%) and condensed aromatics-like compounds (24.4%) in the rhizosphere DOM. These effects likely stem from EDDS's dual action: extracting Fe/Al from SOM-mineral aggregates, releasing SOM into the DOM pool, and promoting microbial degradation of bioavailable carbon through chain scission and dehydration. Our study firstly revealed that the application of EDDS in phytoremediation increased the mineralization of SOM and release of CO 2 from soil to the atmosphere, which is important to assess the carbon budget of phytoremediation and develop climate-smart strategy in future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Background: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) patients with bacterial infections usually exhibit high mortality rates. Infections frequently involve bacteria such as Vibrio vulnificus and Enterococcus faecalis. Nevertheless, the mechanisms predisposing ALD patients to bacterial infections and the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the intestinal epithelial barrier in ALD remain unclear., Methods: We established ALD mice models of WT, Nlrp3 -/- and Gsdmd -/- through chronic alcohol consumption feeding and acute alcohol induction. We compared alterations in gut microbiota, ileitis, and adhesion protein expression, to analyze the role and potential mechanism of NLRP3 in the early onset of ALD. Concurrently, we examined the changes in inflammation and liver damage in the ileum of ALD and healthy mice following foodborne infection with V. vulnificus., Results: Compared with the control group, the expression levels of ZO-1, Claudin-1 and E-cadherin were reduced in the ileum of ALD mice, while those of NLRP3, caspase-1(p20), GSDMD-N and IL-1β were elevated. Nlrp3 -/- and Gsdmd -/- ALD mice showed an increased gut bacterial load, decreased ileal expression of E-cadherin, more severe ileitis, pronounced liver damage, steatosis and higher plasma levels of FITC-dextran, D-LA and ZO-1 compared with WT mice. Notably, Nlrp3 -/- ALD mice exhibited a higher presence of Deferribacterota and Enterobacteriaceae. Furthermore, ALD mice infected with V. vulnificus infection exhibited no further activation of NLRP3 in the ileum, leading to increased intestinal permeability and bloodstream infections., Conclusions: This study indicated that NLRP3 activation in the ileum of ALD mice stabilizes the inflammation-related gut microbiota, preserves the intestinal epithelial barrier, and diminishes inflammation and liver injury. Furthermore, the compromised immune defence in ALD mice may contribute to their heightened susceptibility to bacterial pathogens., Key Points: Activation of the NLRP3-GSDMD pathway in the ileum of Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) mice. NLRP3 activation maintains homeostasis of gut microbiota and intestinal epithelial barrier in ALD mice. ALD mice infected with V. vulnificus infection exhibited no further activation of NLRP3 in the ileum, leading to increased intestinal permeability and bloodstream infections., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Shanghai Institute of Clinical Bioinformatics.)

GW117 functions as both an MT1/MT2 receptor agonist and a 5-HT2C receptor antagonist. This study aimed to investigate the anxiolytic effects of GW117 through behavioral assessments, including the open field test and novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT) within a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model. GW117 was administered via oral gavage for 21 days to evaluate its sustained anxiolytic effects, with behavioral tests including the NSFT, the Vogel-conflict test, and the O-maze test. To explore the underlying mechanisms, we performed Western blot analyses to assess the expression levels of BCL2-Associated X (Bax), cleaved caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Additionally, BrdU labeling and immunofluorescence staining were used to examine changes in neuronal regeneration and astrocytogenesis. Our results demonstrated that GW117 produced significant anxiolytic effects across all behavioral assays, both in the CUMS model and during long-term administration. Mechanistic studies revealed that GW117 notably increased the expression of BDNF, GFAP, and Bcl-2, while reducing Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels in the hippocampus of CUMS model rats. Furthermore, the populations of BrdU-positive and GFAP-positive cells were elevated. These findings suggest that GW117 exerts anxiolytic effects, potentially through enhancements in hippocampal function., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Nanoplastics are ubiquitous in marine environments, exhibiting high bioavailability and potential toxicity to marine organisms. However, the impacts of nanoplastics with various surface modifications on marine microalgae remain largely unexplored. This study explored the toxicity mechanisms of two nanoplastic types-polystyrene (PS) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-with distinct surface modifications on Skeletonema costatum at cellular and molecular levels. Results showed that nanoplastics significantly impaired the growth of microalgae, particularly PS-NH 2 , which caused the most pronounced growth inhibition, reaching 56.99 % after a 96-h exposure at 50 mg/L. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that nanoplastics disrupted the expression of genes predominantly involved in ribosome biogenesis, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism pathways. The integrated biochemical and transcriptomic evidence highlighted that PS-NH 2 nanoplastics had the most adverse impact on microalgae, affecting fundamental pathways such as ribosome biogenesis, energy metabolism, photosynthesis, and oxidative stress. Our findings underscore the influence of surface-modified nanoplastics on algal growth and contribute new understanding to the toxicity mechanisms of these nanoplastics in marine microalgae, offering critical information for assessing the risks of emerging pollutants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

SHP2-E76K, a mutant encoded by the PTPN11 gene, was associated with various solid tumors, such as lung cancer, glioblastoma, and intellectual disability. SHP2-E76K has become potential drug targets, while there was no effective inhibitor against the mutant currently. At present, the crystal complex structure of SHP099 with SHP2-E76K has been reported in the RCSB PDB protein data bank, however, the dynamic structure of SHP099 binding to the active center of SHP2-E76K protein was still lacking. Therefore, this study used molecular dynamics simulation and Markov model to characterize the kinetics of the inhibitor SHP099 with SHP2-E76K enzyme and to determine the active binding site, which would give a hint of a vital enzyme-substrate interaction in atomistic detail that proposed the potential to be applied for the discovery of more effective SHP2-E76K inhibitors and, in broader terms, dynamic protein-drug interactions.

The direct electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia is an efficient and environmentally friendly technology, however, developing electrocatalysts with high activity and selectivity remains a great challenge. Single-atom catalysts demonstrate unique properties and exceptional performance across a range of catalytic reactions, especially those that encompass multi-step processes. Herein, a straightforward and cost-effective approach is introduced for synthesizing single-atom dispersed Rh on porous TiO 2 spheres (Rh 1 -TiO 2 ), which functions as an efficient electrocatalyst for the electroreduction of NO 3 - to NH 3 . The synthesized Rh 1 -TiO 2 catalyst achieve a maximum NH 3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.7% and an NH 3 yield rate of 29.98 mg h -1 mg cat -1 at -0.5 V versus RHE in a 0.1 M KOH+0.1 M KNO 3 electrolyte, significantly outperforming not only undoped TiO 2 but also Ru, Pd, and Ir single-atom doped titania catalysts. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the incorporation of Rh single atom significantly enhances charge transfer between adsorbed NO 3 - and the active site. The Rh atoms not only serve as the highly active site for electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 RR), but also activates the adjacent Ti sites through optimizating the electronic structure, thereby reducing the energy barrier of the rate-limiting step. Consequently, this results in a substantial enhancement in electrochemical NO 3 RR performance. Furthermore, this synthetic method has the potential to be extended to other single-atom catalysts and scaled up for commercial applications., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In this study, a new emission gain layer for perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) is presented to improve their performance. The emission gain layer consisting of absorption-stable silver nanoparticles is prepared using the post-addition method of the polycaprolactone capping agent (PCL@AgNPs-P). This layer (PCL@AgNPs-P) effectively improves the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the low- n (minor) and high- n (major) phases in a quasi2D perovskite system, thereby increasing the major emission intensity and efficiency. Moreover, this layer also enhances the Purcell effect, thus increasing the spontaneous emission rates and amplifying the electroluminescence. These combined advantages enable the derived PeLED to achieve higher luminance, external quantum efficiency (EQE), and sustained emission purity. As a result, the optimized PeLED with the PCL@AgNPs-P emission gain layer delivers a maximum luminance of 11 320 cd m -2 and an EQE of 15.5%, and maintains high green wavelength emission purity and a narrow emission half-maximum width at various operating currents. Our results not only provide a robust pathway for the development of high-performance PeLEDs, but also open up the possibilities of applying PeLEDs in laser optics, where enhanced efficiency and emission characteristics are crucial for creating efficient and high-emission laser sources.

A new fern species, Whittieriahengduanensis (Ophioglossaceae), from Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan, Southwest China (eastern Himalaya), is described and illustrated. This species is similar to W.engelmannii in the Americas in having a cylindrical rhizome and complex-reticulate venation. In addition, both species grow in open habitat on basic soil. However, the two species are distinguishable in root number per rhizome and the number of the larger areolae per trophophore. Our molecular study also supports that they are sister to each other but divergent at the molecular level. The discovery of W.hengduanensis shows that the genus is intercontinentally disjunct between the Himalaya and the Americas, a unique pattern not having been documented in the literature., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Zhen-Long Liang, Li-Bing Zhang.)

Hydrogels with abundant water and responsiveness to external stimuli have emerged as promising candidates for artificial muscles and garnered significant interest for applications as soft actuators and robots. However, most hydrogels possess amorphous structures and exhibit slow, isotropic responses to external stimuli. These features are far inferior to real muscles, which have ordered structures and endow living organisms with programmable deformations and motions through fast, anisotropic responses in complex environments. In recent years, this issue has been addressed by a conceptual new strategy to develop muscle-like hydrogels with highly oriented nanosheets. These hydrogels exhibit fast, isochoric responses based on temperature-mediated electrostatic repulsion between charged nanosheets rather than water diffusion, which significantly advances the development of soft actuators and robots. This minireview summarizes the recent progress in muscle-like hydrogels and their applications as soft actuators and robots. We first introduce the synthesis of muscle-like hydrogels with monodomain structures and the unique mechanism for rapid and isochoric deformations. Then, the developments of hydrogels with complex ordered structures and hydrogel-based soft robots are discussed. The morphing mechanisms and motion kinematics of the hydrogel actuators and robots are highlighted. Finally, concluding remarks are given to discuss future opportunities and challenges in this field.

Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this study, Mendelian randomization was utilized to investigate how dietary supplement intake can impact hypertension based on circulating plasma metabolite genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets, protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) of plasma proteins, and multiple public summary-level GWAS data. Pathway enrichment analysis combined with the results of inverse variance weighted Mendelian randomization revealed that a lower risk of hypertension was associated with the dietary intake of glucosamine, an anti-inflammatory supplement: odds ratio (OR) (95% CI): 0.888 (0.824-0.958). Additionally, glucosamine 6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase was identified as a protective factor against hypertension, OR (95% CI): 0.995 (0.992-0.998), shedding light on the potential protective mechanism of glucosamine. Mediation Mendelian randomization indicated that the protective effect of glucosamine metabolism was mediated by glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase, with a mediation proportion of 12.1% (5.9-18.2%), p < 0.05. This study offers new insights into preventive strategies for individuals with hypertension risk.

Photonic heterostructures with codable properties have shown great values as versatile information carriers at the micro- and nanoscale. These heterostructures are typically prepared by a step-by-step growth or post-functionalization method to achieve varied emission colors with different building blocks. In order to realize high-throughput and multivariate information loading, we report here a strategy to integrate polarization signals into photonic heterojunctions. A U-shaped di-Pt(II) complex has been assembled into highly polarized yellow-phosphorescent crystalline microrods (Y-rod) by strong intermolecular Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt interaction. Upon end-initiated desorption of the incorporated CH 2 Cl 2 solvents, the Y-rod is transformed in a domino fashion into tri-block polarized photonic heterojunctions (PPHs) with alternate red-yellow-red emissions or red-phosphorescent microrods (R-rods). The red emissions of these structures are also highly polarized; however, their polarization directions are just orthogonal to those of the yellow phosphorescence of the Y-rod. With the aid of a patterned mask, the R-rod can be further programmed into multi-block PPHs with precisely controlled block sizes by side-allowed adsorption of CH 2 Cl 2 vapor. X-ray diffraction analysis and theoretical calculations suggest that the solvent-regulated modulation of the crystal packing and excited-state property is critical for the construction of these PPHs., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Vibrio alfacsensis is traditionally seen as an environmental symbiont within its genus, with no detailedly documented pathogenicity in marine aquaculture to date. This study delves into the largely unexplored pathogenic potential and emerging antibiotic resistance of V. alfacsensis. The VA-1 strain, isolated from recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) effluent of cultured turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), underwent comprehensive analysis including biochemical identification, antibiotic susceptibility testing and reinfection trials. The results confirmed VA-1's pathogenicity and significant multiple antibiotic resistance. VA-1 could induce systemic infection in turbot, with symptoms like kidney enlargement, exhibiting virulence comparable to known Vibrio pathogens, with an LD 50 around 2.36 × 10 6 CFU/fish. VA-1's remarkable resistance phenotype (14/22) suggested potential for genetic exchange and resistance factor acquisition in aquaculture environments. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences and whole-genome sequencing has firmly placed VA-1 within the V. alfacsensis clade, while genome-wide analysis highlights its similarity and diversity in relation to strains from across the globe. VA-1 contained numerous replicons, indicating the possibility for the spread of resistance and virulence genes. This study suggests V. alfacsensis may acquire and transfer pathogenic and resistant traits through horizontal gene transfer, a likelihood intensified by changing environmental and aquaculture conditions, highlighting the need for vigilant pathogen monitoring and new non-antibiotic treatments., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia is characterized by systemic and organ-specific metabolic changes. This study investigates whether intestinal metabolic rewiring is a contributing factor to hypoxia adaptation. We conducted a longitudinal analysis over 108 days, with seven time points, examining fecal metabolomic data from a cohort of 46 healthy male adults traveling from Chongqing (a.s.l. 243 m) to Lhasa (a.s.l. 3,658 m) and back. Our findings reveal that short-term hypoxia exposure significantly alters intestinal metabolic pathways, particularly those involving purines, pyrimidines, and amino acids. A notable observation was the significantly reduced level of intestinal uric acid, the end product of purine metabolism, during acclimatization (also called acclimation) and additional two long-term exposed cohorts (Han Chinese and Tibetans) residing in Shigatse, Xizang (a.s.l. 4,700 m), suggesting that low intestinal uric acid levels facilitate adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia. Integrative analyses with gut metagenomic data showed consistent trends in intestinal uric acid levels and the abundance of key uric acid-degrading bacteria, predominantly from the Lachnospiraceae family. The sustained high abundance of these bacteria in the long-term resident cohorts underscores their essential role in maintaining low intestinal uric acid levels. Collectively, these findings suggest that the rewiring of intestinal uric acid metabolism, potentially orchestrated by gut bacteria, is crucial for enhancing human resilience and adaptability in extreme environments., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

The rapid development of insecticide resistance reinforces the urgent need to develop eco-friendly strategies for controlling Nilaparvata lugens (brown planthopper, BPH), the most destructive insect pest of rice. Both entomopathogens and RNA interference (RNAi) provide attractive alternatives to chemical insecticides. In this study, we demonstrated the synergistic potential of the combination use of entomopathogen- and RNAi-mediated approaches to control BPH. The β-1, 3-glucan recognition protein (βGRP) encoding gene NlGRP3 was identified and its potential role in immune defense was characterized in BPH. The open reading frame (ORF) of NlGRP3 is 1740 bp in length, encoding a 65.8 kDa protein with conserved CBM39 and GH16 domains that typically existed in the βGRP family members. NlGRP3 was shown to be differentially expressed across developmental stages and highly transcribed in the immune responsive tissues haemolymph and fat body. Topical infection with a fungal entomopathogen Metarhizium anisopliae could significantly up-regulate its expression level. RNAi-mediated silencing of NlGRP3 resulted in significantly decreased survival rate and increased susceptibility to fungal challenge in the fifth-instar BPH nymphs. The greatly enhanced mortality of NlGRP3-silenced BPH following fungal infection might be in part directly due to the immune suppression by down-regulating expressions of antimicrobial peptide genes and the imbalance of the bacterial community harboring in BPH body. Our results highly demonstrated that suppressing the insect innate immune defense through RNAi targeting the immune-related genes could effectively strengthen the biocontrol efficacy of fungal entomopathogens, providing clues to the combination use of RNAi and entomopathogens as a promising approach for BPH control., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Spastic paraplegia 47 (SPG47) is a neurological disorder caused by mutations in the adaptor protein complex 4 β1 subunit (AP4B1) gene leading to AP-4 complex deficiency. SPG47 is characterised by progressive spastic paraplegia, global developmental delay, intellectual disability and epilepsy. Gene therapy aimed at restoring functional AP4B1 protein levels is a rational therapeutic strategy to ameliorate the disease phenotype. Here we report that a single delivery of adeno-associated virus serotype 9 expressing hAP4B1 (AAV9/hAP4B1) into the cisterna magna leads to widespread gene transfer and restoration of various hallmarks of disease, including AP-4 cargo (ATG9A) mislocalisation, calbindin-positive spheroids in the deep cerebellar nuclei, anatomical brain defects and motor dysfunction, in an SPG47 mouse model. Furthermore, AAV9/hAP4B1-based gene therapy demonstrated a restoration of plasma neurofilament light (NfL) levels of treated mice. Encouraged by these preclinical proof-of-concept data, we conducted IND-enabling studies, including immunogenicity and GLP non-human primate (NHP) toxicology studies. Importantly, NHP safety and biodistribution study revealed no significant adverse events associated with the therapeutic intervention. These findings provide evidence of both therapeutic efficacy and safety, establishing a robust basis for the pursuit of an IND application for clinical trials targeting SPG47 patients., Competing Interests: Disclosure and competing interests statement MA is co-founder of BlackfinBio and Crucible Therapeutics. NH is a paid consultant to CureAP4. PJS is co-founder of Keapstone Therapeutics and Crucible Therapeutics., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

X-ray ghost imaging with a crystal beam splitter has advantages in highly efficient imaging due to the simultaneous acquisition of signals from both the object beam and reference beam. However, beam splitting with a large field of view, uniform distribution and high correlation has been a great challenge up to now. Therefore, a dedicated beam splitter has been developed by optimizing the optical layout of a synchrotron radiation beamline and the fabrication process of a Laue crystal. A large field of view, consistent size, uniform intensity distribution and high correlation were obtained simultaneously for the two split beams. Modulated by a piece of copper foam upstream of the splitter, a correlation of 92% between the speckle fields of the object and reference beam and a Glauber function of 1.25 were achieved. Taking advantage of synthetic aperture X-ray ghost imaging (SAXGI), a circuit board of size 880 × 330 pixels was successfully imaged with high fidelity. In addition, even though 16 measurements corresponding to a sampling rate of 1% in SAXGI were used for image reconstruction, the skeleton structure of the circuit board can still be determined. In conclusion, the specially developed beam splitter is applicable for the efficient implementation of X-ray ghost imaging., (open access.)

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a severe lung disease in preterm infants, the abnormal proliferate and differentiate ability of type II epithelial cells (AEC II) is the key to the pathological basis of BPD. Mechanisms regarding abnormal AEC II in BPD remain unclear. The present work investigated the role and mechanisms of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in lung disorder in BPD using public datasets, clinical samples, a hyperoxia-induced BPD mouse model and AEC II-iNKT cells transwell co-culture system. Firstly, we found that the NKT cells development factor IL-15 increased over time in patients with BPD in public databases, and clinically collected peripheral blood NKT cells in patients with BPD were increased. Subsequently, the percentage of iNKT cells increased in hyperoxia group compared with normoxia group, with the highest at P7, accompanied by increased activation with abnormal lung development. The administration of anti-CD1d neutralizing antibody to inhibit iNKT cells could alleviate the abnormal lung development of hyperoxia group mice, while α-GalCer administration could aggravate lung injury in hyperoxia group mice, and adoptive transfer of iNKT cells could aggravate the abnormal lung development in hyperoxia group mice. In addition, to further verify the role of iNKT cells on AEC II, AEC II-iNKT cells co-culture system was established. The presence of iNKT cells could aggravate the abnormal expression of SP-C and T1α under hyperoxia. Meanwhile, RNA-seq analysis showed that ferroptosis-related genes were highly expressed in AEC II co-cultured with iNKT cells under hyperoxia. We further validated the effect of the presence of iNKT cells under hyperoxia environment on AEC II ferroptosis levels, suggested that iNKT cells promote AEC II ferroptosis under hyperoxia, accompanied by decreased expression of SP-C and T1α. Our study found that the recruitment of iNKT cells in the lung may be an important cause of alveolarization disorder in BPD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), an endogenous gasotransmitter, plays a key role in several critical physiological and pathological processes in vivo, including vasodilation, anti-infection, anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, and angiogenesis. In colorectal cancer (CRC), aberrant overexpression of H 2 S-producing enzymes has been observed. Due to the important role of H 2 S in the proliferation, growth, and death of cancer cells, H 2 S can serve as a potential target for cancer therapy. In this review, we thoroughly analyzed the underlying mechanism of action of H 2 S in CRC from the following aspects: the synthesis and catabolism of H 2 S in CRC cells and its effect on cell signal transduction pathways; the inhibition effects of exogenous H 2 S donors with different concentrations on the growth of CRC cells and the underlying mechanism of H 2 S in garlic and other natural products. Furthermore, we elucidate the expression characteristics of H 2 S in CRC and construct a comprehensive H 2 S-related signaling pathway network, which has important basic and practical significance for promoting the clinical research of H 2 S-related drugs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hyperoxia-induced acute lung injury (HALI) is a complication of oxygen therapy. Ferroptosis is a vital factor in HALI. This paper was anticipated to investigate the underlying mechanism of wedelolactone (WED) on ferroptosis in HALI. The current study used hyperoxia to injure two models, one HALI mouse model and one MLE-12 cell injury model. We found that WED treatment attenuated HALI by decreasing the lung injury score and lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio and alleviating pathomorphological changes. Then, the inflammatory reaction and apoptosis in HALI mice and hyperoxia-mediated MLE-12 cells were inhibited by WED treatment. Moreover, WED alleviated ferroptosis with less iron accumulation and reversed expression alterations of ferroptosis markers, including MDA, GSH, GPX4, SLC7A11, FTH1, and TFR1 in hyperoxia-induced MLE-12 cells in vitro and in vivo. Nrf2-KO mice and Nrf2 inhibitor (ML385) decreased WED's ability to protect against apoptosis, inflammatory response, and ferroptosis in hyperoxia-induced MLE-12 cells. Collectively, our data highlighted the alleviatory role of WED in HALI by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

In the treatment of lumbar burst fractures with nerve injury, fusion is often required to rebuild spinal stability, but it can lead to the loss of motor units and increase the occurrence of adjacent segment diseases. Thus, a novel approach of lumbar canal decompression with "pedicle-plasty" strategy (DDP) was needed in clincal treatment. Firstly, image measurement analysis, the images of 60 patients with lumbar spine CT examinations were selected to measure osteotomy angle (OA), distance from the intersection of osteotomy plane and skin to the posterior midline (DM),transverse length of the osteotomy plane (TLOP), and sagittal diameter of the outer edge of superior articular process (SD). Secondary, cadaver study, distance between the intermuscular space and midline (DMSM), anterior and posterior diameters of the decompression (APDD), and lateral traction distance of the lumbosacral plexus (TDLP) were measured on 10 cadaveric specimens. Finally, procedure of DDP was demonstrated on cadaver specimens. OA ranged from 27.68°+4.59° to 38.34°+5.97°, DM ranged from 43.44+6.29 to 68.33+12.06 mm, TLOP ranged from 16.84+2.19 to 19.64+2.36 mm, and SD ranged from 22.49+1.74 to 25.53+2.21 mm. DMSM ranged from 45.53+5.73 to 65.46+6.43 mm. APDD were between 10.51+3.59 and 12.12+4.54 mm, and TDLP were between 3.28+0.81 and 6.27+0.62 mm.DDP was successfully performed on cadaveric specimens. DDP, as a novel approach of decompression of burst fractures with pedicle rupture, can fully relieve the occupation and at the same time preserve the spinal motor unit because of no resection of intervertebral discs and no destruction of facet joints,and has certain developmental significance.

Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the severest complications after laparoscopic surgery for middle/low rectal cancer, significantly impacting patient outcomes. Identifying reliable predictive factors for AL remains a clinical challenge. Serum nutritional biomarkers have been implicated in surgical outcomes but are underexplored as predictive tools for AL in this setting. Our study hypothesizes that preoperative serum levels of prealbumin (PA), albumin (ALB), and transferrin (TRF), along with surgical factors, can accurately predict AL risk., Aim: To determine the predictive value of preoperative serum nutritional biomarkers for rectal cancer AL following laparoscopic surgery., Methods: In the retrospective cohort study carried out at a tertiary cancer center, we examined 560 individuals who underwent laparoscopic procedures for rectal cancer from 2018 to 2022. Preoperative serum levels of PA, ALB, and TRF were measured. We employed multivariate logistic regression to determine the independent risk factors for AL, and a predictive model was constructed and evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis., Results: AL occurred in 11.96% of cases, affecting 67 out of 560 patients. Multivariate analysis identified PA, ALB, and TRF as the independent risk factor, each with an odds ratio of 2.621 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.582-3.812, P = 0.012], 3.982 (95%CI: 1.927-4.887, P = 0.024), and 2.109 (95%CI: 1.162-2.981, P = 0.031), respectively. Tumor location (< 7 cm from anal verge) and intraoperative bleeding ≥ 300 mL also increased AL risk. The predictive model demonstrated an excellent accuracy, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.942, a sensitivity of 0.844, and a specificity of 0.922, demonstrating an excellent ability to discriminate., Conclusion: Preoperative serum nutritional biomarkers, combined with surgical factors, reliably predict anastomotic leakage risk after rectal cancer surgery, highlighting their importance in preoperative assessment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Salivary gland neoplasms (SGNs) represent a group of human neoplasms characterized by a remarkable cytomorphologic diversity, which frequently poses diagnostic challenges. Accurate histologic categorization of salivary tumors is crucial to make precise diagnoses and guide decisions regarding patient management. Within the scope of this study, a computer-aided diagnosis model using Vision Transformer (ViT), a cutting-edge deep learning model in computer vision, has been developed to accurately classify the most prevalent subtypes of SGNs. These subtypes include pleomorphic adenoma, myoepithelioma, Warthin tumor, basal cell adenoma, oncocytic adenoma, cystadenoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma. The data set comprised 3046 whole slide images of histologically confirmed salivary gland tumors, encompassing nine distinct tissue categories. SGN-ViT exhibited impressive performance in classifying the eight salivary gland tumors, achieving an accuracy of 0.9966, an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.9899, precision of 0.9848, recall of 0.9848, and an F1 score of 0.9848. When compared with benchmark models, SGN-ViT surpassed them in terms of diagnostic performance. In a subset of 100 whole slide images, SGN-ViT demonstrated comparable diagnostic performance to that of the chief pathologist while significantly reducing the diagnosis time, indicating that SGN-ViT held the potential to serve as a valuable computer-aided diagnostic tool for salivary tumors, enhancing the diagnostic accuracy of junior pathologists., Competing Interests: Disclosure Statement None declared., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Widespread autumn cooling occurred in the northern hemisphere (NH) during the period 2004-2018, primarily due to the strengthening of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Siberian High. Yet, while there has been considerable focus on the warming impacts, the effects of natural cooling on autumn leaf senescence and plant productivity have been largely overlooked. This gap in knowledge hinders our understanding of how vegetation adapts and acclimates to complex climate change. In this study, we utilize over 36,000 in situ phenological time series from 11,138 European sites dating back to the 1950s, and 30 years of satellite greenness data (1989-2018), to demonstrate that leaf senescence dates (LSD) in northern forests responded more strongly to warming than to cooling in autumn. Specifically, a 1 °C increase in temperature caused 7.5 ± 0.2 days' delay in LSD, whereas a 1 °C decrease led to an advance of LSD with 3.3 ± 0.1 days ( P < 0.001). This asymmetry in temperature effects on LSD is attributed to greater preoverwintering plant-resource acquisition requirements, lower frost risk, and greater water availability under warming than cooling conditions. These differential LSD responses highlight the nonlinear impact of temperature on autumn plant productivity, which current process-oriented models fail to accurately capture. Our findings emphasize the need to account for the asymmetric effects of warming and cooling on leaf senescence in model projections and in understanding vegetation-climate feedback mechanisms., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Academy of Sciences.)

Abstract: Urinary incontinence is a common complication following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Urethral length has been identified as a factor affecting postoperative continence recovery. In this meta-analysis, we examined the association between use of the maximal urethral length preservation (MULP) technique and postoperative urinary continence in patients undergoing RARP. We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to December 31, 2023. The quality of the literature was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to synthesize data and calculate the odds ratio (OR) from eligible studies on continence and MULP. Six studies involving 1869 patients met the eligibility criteria. MULP was positively associated with both early continence (1 month after RARP; Z = 3.62, P = 0.003, OR = 3.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.68-5.73) and late continence (12 months after RARP; Z = 2.34, P = 0.019, OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.13-3.90). Oncological outcomes indicated that MULP did not increase the overall positive surgical margin rate or the positive surgical margin status at the prostate apex (both P > 0.05). In conclusion, the use of the MULP technique in RARP significantly improved both early and late postoperative continence outcomes without compromising oncological outcomes., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: ©The Author(s)(2024).)

Endotracheal intubation is a vital means of saving critically ill patients. However, the inserted catheter often causes tissue damage and the formation of tenacious biofilms containing drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, leading to severe ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Currently, the resolution of VAP is usually based on antibiotic treatment and lacks targeted prophylaxis. Here, a quaternary phosphonium salts functionalized hydrogel catheter that enhances tissue compatibility yet inhibits complex and tenacious pathogens in the catheter, thus preventing VAP is reported. By copolymerizing the quaternary phosphonium electrolyte and acrylic acid monomers, the hydrogel catheter demonstrates good shape-supporting ability, and its strength and modulus can be adjusted over a wide range to meet the needs of different ages. Moreover, it possesses good tissue compatibility, antifouling properties, stable lubrication capability, and superior hydrophilicity, which may mitigate tissue damage caused by contact. Importantly, the hydrogel catheter demonstrates potent broad-spectrum intrinsic antimicrobial activity, eradicating nearly 99% of multi-drug resistant bacteria and 80% of fungi. To validate its role in preventing VAP, the real VAP pathogenesis process is mimicked, establishing a polymicrobial infections model considering time effects. The results prove that the hydrogel catheter effectively inhibits the invasion of various drug-resistant pathogens and prevents biofilm formation., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

COVID-19 survivors concerning about the rehabilitation and sustained sequelae of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. We aimed to investigate the sequelae of patients' psychological and physical condition and its related factors in the early and late stages. This longitudinal study tracked 281 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals in Guangdong, China, for one year. Assessments occurred at 2,4,12,24 and 48 weeks post-discharge. We define 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks as early stage, and 24 weeks and 48 weeks as late stage. Psychological health was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scales. Physical health was assessed through laboratory tests, chest computed tomography (CT) scans, and pulmonary function tests. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression models to evaluate the influence of demographic and clinical variables on health outcomes. COVID-19 survivors exhibited psychological and physical sequelae in both the early and late stages. Compared to the early stage, the proportions of patients with depression (early stage 14.6%, late stage 4.6%), anxiety (early stage 8.9%, late stage 5.3%), PTSD(early stage 3.6%, late stage 0.7%), abnormal liver function (early stage 24.6%, late stage 11.0%), abnormal cardiac function (early stage 10.0%, late stage 7.8%), abnormal renal function (early stage 20.6%, late stage 11.0%) and abnormal pulmonary function (early stage 40.9%, late stage 13.5%) were significantly reduced in the late stage. Factors such as gender, age, severity of COVID-19, hospitalization duration, and various comorbidities were significantly associated with these sequelae. We noticed that psychological and physical sequelae occurred to COVID-19 survivors in short and long stages, and these would gradually decrease as time went on. Male gender, age > 50 years old, severe clinical condition, longer hospitalization time and comorbidity history were related factors that significantly affected the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

We report here a step-economic and cost-effective cross-electrophile coupling of aryl thianthrenium salts with widely available aryl bromides, which proceeded effectively via C-S bond activation at ambient temperature in THF in the presence of a palladium catalyst, magnesium turnings, and lithium chloride to enable the facile assembly of a wide array of structurally diverse biaryls in modest to good yields with good functional group compatibility. In addition, the gram-scale reaction could also be realized.

The Asian honey bee ( Apis cerana ) plays a crucial role in providing abundant bee products and in maintaining ecological balance. Despite the availability of the genomic sequence of the Asian honey bee, its transcriptomic information remains largely incomplete. To address this issue, here we constructed three pooled RNA samples from the queen, drone, and worker bees of A. cerana and performed full-length RNA sequencing using Nanopore single-molecule sequencing technology. Ultimately, we obtained 160,811 full-length transcript sequences from 19,859 genes, with 141,189 being novel transcripts, of which 130,367 were functionally annotated. We detected 520, 324, and 1823 specifically expressed transcripts in the queen, worker, and drone bees, respectively. Furthermore, we identified 38,799 alternative splicing (AS) events from 5710 genes, 44,243 alternative polyadenylation (APA) sites from 1649 gene loci, 88,187 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), and 17,387 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Leveraging these transcripts as references, we identified 6672, 7795, and 6804 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) in comparisons of queen ovaries vs drone testes, worker ovaries vs drone testes, and worker ovaries vs queen ovaries, respectively. Our research results provide a comprehensive set of reference transcript datasets for Apis cerana , offering important sequence information for further exploration of its gene functions.

To explore the occurrence characteristics and health risk levels of the new pollutants organophosphate esters （OPEs） in tap water in Shanghai, based on the water supply areas of the Qingcaosha Reservoir, Chenhang Reservoir, Dongfeng Xisha Reservoir, and Upstream Huangpu River water sources, a total of 52 large shopping malls in Shanghai were selected as tap water sampling sites. Solid phase extraction and gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry were used to determine eight types of OPEs in tap water from shopping malls, including three types of chlorinated OPEs, two types of alkyl OPEs, and three types of aryl OPEs. On this basis, the health risk assessment of the substances with high detection frequency and concentration was carried out. The results showed that six types of OPEs were generally detected, and the average levels of eight types of OPEs in tap water collected in summer and winter were 64.3 ng·L -1 and 60.5 ng·L -1 , respectively. The concentration levels and detection rates of different types of OPEs in tap water followed the order of： chlorinated OPEs &gt; alkyl OPEs &gt; aryl OPEs. From the perspective of water sources, the average concentration of OPEs in tap water with Upstream Huangpu River water sources as the water source was the highest （132 ng·L -1 in summer and 170 ng·L -1 in winter）, and OPEs in tap water with Dongfeng Xisha Reservoir as the water source was the lowest （25.1 ng·L -1 in summer and 6.62 ng·L -1 in winter）. The average concentration of chlorinated OPEs in summer （62.1 ng·L -1 ） was higher than that in winter （53.9 ng·L -1 ）. Based on the reference dose of OPEs, there were no health risks to people of all ages through drinking water exposure. However, the OPE exposure in tap water of Shanghai was higher compared with that of other countries and regions, which requires further attention and research.

Background and Aims: Nurse interns may be at a similar or higher risk than registered nurses. The key elements and mechanisms involved in the effects of safety climate on safety performance are not well understood. This study explores the relationship between the perceived hospital safety climate and compliance with occupational safety practices among nurse interns., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 178 nurse interns in three tertiary university hospitals in Chongqing city, China. The Chinese version of the Hospital Safety Climate Scale (HSCS) was used to measure the perceived hospital safety climate of nurse interns. Compliance behavior was measured using the Compliance with Occupational Safety Practice Scale (COSPS). Canonical correlation analysis and multiple linear regression modeling were used to examine their relationship., Results: Total scores for the HSCS and COSPS were 92 (80,100) and 185 (175,185) [ M ( P 25, P 75)], respectively. Canonical correlation coefficients for canonical variates 1 and 2 were 0.636 ( p  < 0.001) and 0.414 ( p  < 0.001), respectively. Nurse interns' compliance with occupational safety practices was mainly influenced by management support, feedback/training, personal protective and engineering control equipment availability, and absence of job hindrance. Multiple linear regression showed that management support of HSCS accounted for 37.1% of the variance in compliance ( β  = 0.283, p  = 0.039)., Conclusion: Nurse interns reported high levels of perceived hospital safety climate and compliance with occupational safety practices. Younger nurse interns reported a lower level of perceived hospital safety climate. Nurse educators can improve interns' compliance by promoting better management support, feedback/training, personal protective and engineering control equipment availability, and fewer job hindrance., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The microbially-mediated reduction processes have potential for the bioremediation of acid mine drainage (AMD), which represents a worldwide environment problem. However, we know little about the microbial interactions in anaerobic AMD sediments. Here we utilized genome-resolved metagenomics to uncover the nature of cooperative and competitive metabolic interactions in 90 AMD sediments across Southern China. Our analyses recovered well-represented prokaryotic communities through the reconstruction of 2625 population genomes. Functional analyses of these genomes revealed extensive metabolic handoffs which occurred more frequently in nitrogen metabolism than in sulfur metabolism, as well as stable functional redundancy across sediments resulting from populations with low genomic relatedness. Genome-scale metabolic modeling showed that metabolic competition promoted microbial co-occurrence relationships, suggesting that community assembly was dominated by habitat filtering in sediments. Notably, communities colonizing more extreme conditions tended to be highly competitive, which was typically accompanied with increased network complexity but decreased stability of the microbiome. Finally, our results demonstrated that heterotrophic Thermoplasmatota associated with ferric iron and sulfate reduction contributed most to the elevated levels of competition. Our study shed light on the cooperative and competitive metabolisms of microbiome in the hazardous AMD sediments, which may provide preliminary clues for the AMD bioremediation in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the therapeutic efficacy and prognostic factors of induction therapy for secondary central nervous system lymphoma (SCNSL)., Methods: Clinical data of patients diagnosed with SCNSL from 2010 to 2021 at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were retrospectively collected. A retrospective cohort study was performed on all and grouped patients to analyze the efficacy and survival. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the adverse prognostic factors., Results: Thirty-seven diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients with secondary central involvement were included in the research. Their 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 46.01% and median survival time was 18.1 months. The 2-year OS rates of HD-MTX group and TMZ group were 34.3% and 61%, median survival time were 8.7 and 38.3 months, and median progression-free survival time were 8.1 and 47 months, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex, IPI, Ann Arbor stage were correlated with patient survival time. The median survival time of patients with CD79B, KMT2D, CXCR4, ERBB2, TBL1XR1, BTG2, MYC, MYD88, and PIM1 mutations was 8.2 months, which was lower than the overall level., Conclusion: HD-MTX combined with TMZ as the first-line strategy may improve patient prognosis, and early application of gene sequencing is beneficial for evaluating prognosis.

Two dual fluorescent/phosphorescent tris-heteroleptic mononuclear Ru(ΙΙ) complexes ( 2 and 3 ) were designed and applied in amyloid-β (Aβ) sensing. These complexes have a general formula of [Ru(phen)(dppz)( L )](PF 6 ) 2 , where L is (2-pyrazinyl)(2-pyridyl)(methyl)amine (H- L ) with different substituents (-OMe for 2 , -H for 3 ), phen is 1,10-phenanthroline, and dppz is dipyridophenazine, respectively. Compared with the previously reported ratiometric probe 1 with a di(pyrid-2-yl)(methyl)amine ligand, complex 2 can be employed for not only ratiometric emissive detection of Aβ aggregation but also ratiometric imaging detection of Aβ fibrils. In ratiometric emissive detection, as the incubation time of the Aβ sample (Aβ 40 and Aβ 42 ) was prolonged, a new phosphorescence emission band appeared with gradual enhancement of the emission intensity, while the fluorescence emission was basically unchanged, which could be treated as an intrinsic internal reference signal. In comparison, a larger ratiometric photoluminescence enhancement ( I 640 / I 440 ) was observed for Aβ 40 aggregation with respect to Aβ 42 . In ratiometric imaging detection, the imaging signals obtained from the phosphorescence emission are much brighter than the fluorescence emission in both Aβ 40 and Aβ 42 fibrils. As indicated by molecular docking results, stronger interactions were found between complex 2 with Aβ 40 fibrils, which included π/π, π/C-H, and π/H interactions between bidentate ligands dppz and phen with amino acid residues. Moreover, computational calculations were carried out to assist the interpretation of these experimental findings.

Incorporating associative interactions as the energy dissipation units has been recognized as an effective strategy to develop tough hydrogels. For hydrogen-bond associations, however, it is highly challenging to stabilize them under aqueous conditions. Although affording cooperativity can enhance and stabilize the hydrogen bonds, it usually requires stepwise polymerization to form these cooperative associations between different polymers and networks. Here, we report a series of tough supramolecular hydrogels with robust hydrogen-bond associations between grafted polymers that are synthesized by polymerization of a macromonomer of poly( N , N -dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAA) and a small monomer of methacrylic acid. The grafted chains of PDMAA form cooperative hydrogen bonds with the main chain of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAAc), forming supramolecular hydrogels with high toughness and good stability. The tough and stiff hydrogels are in a glassy state, exhibit forced elastic deformation at room temperature, and remain stable over a wide pH range. In contrast, hydrogels prepared by the copolymerization of DMAA and MAAc are swollen and weak in water due to the lack of successive hydrogen donor/acceptor units and the absence of cooperative hydrogen bonds. In addition, these tough hydrogels exhibit good recyclability and shape memory properties, owing to the supramolecular nature of the network and the temperature-dependent mechanical properties. The influence of polymer structure on the associative interactions and macroscopic properties of the hydrogels should be informative for the design of tough soft materials with versatile applications.

Aryl 2-pyridyl esters could efficiently undergo cross-electrophile couplings with aryl bromides with the aid of magnesium as a reducing metal in the absence of a transition-metal catalyst, leading to the unsymmetrical diaryl ketones in modest to good yields with wide functionality compatibility. In addition, the reaction could be easily scaled up and applied in the late-stage modification of biologically active molecules. Preliminary mechanistic study showed that the coupling reaction presumably proceeds through the in situ formation of arylmagnesium reagents as key intermediates.

A zinc-mediated cross-electrophile coupling of benzyl sulfonium salts with thiosulfonates via C-S bond cleavage was achieved. The reductive thiolation proceeded well under transition metal-free conditions to afford the desired benzyl sulfides in good yields, exhibiting both broad substrate scope and good functionality tolerance. In addition, the reaction could be applied to the use of selenosulfonate as an effective selenylation agent and be subjected to scale-up synthesis.

With the assistance of nickel as catalyst, 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) as ligand, and manganese as reducing metal, the reductive amidation of isocyanates with readily accessible aryl fluorosulfates could be successfully accomplished. The reactions proceeded effectively via C-O bond activation in DMF at room temperature, enabling the facile synthesis of a range of structurally diverse amides in moderate to high yields with broad functionality compatibility. In addition, the synthetic usefulness of the method was further demonstrated by applying the reaction in scale-up synthesis and the late-stage functionalization of complex molecules with biological activities.

A protein modification strategy was developed based on a thiol-yne click reaction using an electron-deficient yne reagent. This approach demonstrated exceptional selectivity towards thiols and exhibited rapid kinetics, resulting in conjugates with superior acid stability. The conjugation of IgG with an indole-derived fluorophore was achieved for the imaging of PD-L1 in cancer cells.

Urbanization has accelerated dramatically across the world over the past decades. Urban influence on surface temperatures is now being considered as a correction term in climatological datasets. Although prior research has investigated urban influences on precipitation for specific cities or selected thunderstorm cases, a comprehensive examination of urban precipitation anomalies on a global scale remains limited. This research is a global analysis of urban precipitation anomalies for over one thousand cities worldwide. We find that more than 60% of the global cities and their downwind regions are receiving more precipitation than the surrounding rural areas. Moreover, the magnitude of these urban wet islands has nearly doubled in the past 20 y. Urban precipitation anomalies exhibit variations across different continents and climates, with cities in Africa, for example, exhibiting the largest urban annual and extreme precipitation anomalies. Cities are more prone to substantial urban precipitation anomalies under warm and humid climates compared to cold and dry climates. Cities with larger populations, pronounced urban heat island effects, and higher aerosol loads also show noticeable precipitation enhancements. This research maps global urban rainfall hotspots, establishing a foundation for the consideration of urban rainfall corrections in climatology datasets. This advancement holds promise for projecting extreme precipitation and fostering the development of more resilient cities in the future., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Saltmarshes along the Chinese coast are threatened by the invasion of Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora). This study was carried out in the Andong Shoal, Hangzhou Bay, China, with the aim of comprehending the intricate impacts of S. alterniflora invasion on greenhouse gases (GHG) production and emissions. To address this issue, we thoroughly examined the chemistry of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the rate of surface water-porewater interaction. Porewater and surface water samples were collected from farm land, S. alterniflora invaded areas, and Scirpus mariqueter (S. mariqueter) dominated areas. The findings indicated that the invasion of S. alterniflora impeded the interaction between surface water and porewater, resulting in reduced porewater exchange rates within its affected region (0.015-0.440 cm d -1 ), in contrast to areas dominated by S. mariqueter (9.635-18.232 cm d -1 ). The invasion also increased dissolved organic carbon concentration in porewater and created a stable and closed soil environment that resulted in DOM with smaller molecule sizes and higher humification levels. The presence of high tryptophan-like fluorescent DOM caused an increase in the production of methane and carbon dioxide in S. alterniflora invaded area. However, both limited surface-porewater exchange and significant differences in GHG concentrations between porewater and surface water suggested that the aerenchyma tissues of S. alterniflora may play an important role in transporting GHG from soil to the atmosphere., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that there's no conflict of interest for the manuscript entitled ‘Unraveling the impact of Spartina alterniflora invasion on greenhouse gas production and emissions in coastal saltmarshes.’, (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Protein N-phosphorylation is widely present in nature and participates in various biological processes. However, current knowledge on N-phosphorylation is extremely limited compared to that on O-phosphorylation. In this study, we collected 11,710 experimentally verified N-phosphosites of 7344 proteins from 39 species and subsequently constructed the database Nphos to share up-to-date information on protein N-phosphorylation. Upon these substantial data, we characterized the sequential and structural features of protein N-phosphorylation. Moreover, after comparing hundreds of learning models, we chose and optimized gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) models to predict three types of human N-phosphorylation, achieving mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 90.56%, 91.24%, and 92.01% for pHis, pLys, and pArg, respectively. Meanwhile, we discovered 488,825 distinct N-phosphosites in the human proteome. The models were also deployed in Nphos for interactive N-phosphosite prediction. In summary, this work provides new insights and points for both flexible and focused investigations of N-phosphorylation. It will also facilitate a deeper and more systematic understanding of protein N-phosphorylation modification by providing a data and technical foundation. Nphos is freely available at http://www.bio-add.org/Nphos/ and http://ppodd.org.cn/Nphos/., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press and Science Press on behalf of the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation and Genetics Society of China.)

A Na 2 S 2 O 8 -initiated sulfonylation of pyridyl phosphonium salts with sulfinate salts in aqueous media has been developed for facile access to 4-pyridyl sulfones. The reactions, which employed pyridyl phosphonium salts as efficient pyridylation agents via C-P bond activation, showed both broad substrate generality and good functional group compatibility. In addition, the scale-up synthesis and the late-stage modification of pharmaceutically active complex molecules (e.g., loratadine, bisacodyl) could also be successfully realized.

To improve the phenomenon of the volatile organic compounds （VOCs） odor pollution nuisance in industrial parks and to promote the synergistic control of atmospheric VOCs and their odor-causing substances, based on the field observation of atmospheric VOCs in residential living areas and five different types of industrial clusters in industrial parks, we analyzed the pollution characteristics of atmospheric VOCs and their odor-causing volatile organic compounds （O-VOCs） in the residential living areas and each industrial cluster, evaluated the characteristics of the odor activity of the O-VOCs in the industrial parks, and identified the key odor-causing species and their main sources. The results showed that the mean values of atmospheric φ （TVOCs） and φ （O-VOCs） in the residential living area of the industrial park were 102.57×10 -9 and 72.33×10 -9 , respectively. φ （TVOCs） and φ （O-VOCs） were significantly higher in the industrial clusters of basic chemical industry and pharmaceutics than in the other industrial clusters, and the sum （OAV sum ） and maximum （OAV max ） of the odor activity values of these two clusters were relatively high, with a potential risk of odor nuisance. Overall, the O-VOCs species with higher odor intensity were similar in residential living areas and the five industrial clusters, and effective control of O-VOCs species such as acrolein, p-diethylbenzene, p-xylene, and 1,3-diethylbenzene is essential to mitigate or eliminate organic odor pollution. The results of the source apportionment of O-VOCs in the residential area showed that the sources of O-VOCs in the residential area were mainly influenced by natural gas chemical and pharmaceutics, and the coefficients of divergence （CD O-VOCs ） between the O-VOC chemical profiles from residential areas and those from natural gas chemical and pharmaceutics were 0.31 and 0.38, respectively. Principal component analysis （PCA） also confirmed this result, with residential O-VOCs mainly originating from natural gas chemicals and pharmaceutics, followed by iron and steel manufacturing and automobile manufacturing, with the lowest contribution from the basic chemicals.

Seasonality in temperate regions is prominent during the era of increased climatic variability. A hydraulic trait that can adjust to seasonally changing climatic conditions is crucial for tree safety. However, little attention has been paid to the intraspecific seasonality of drought-related traits and hydraulic safety of keystone forest trees. We examined seasonal variations in the key morphological and physiological traits as well as multiple hydraulic safety margins (SMs) at the branch and leaf levels in oriental cork oak (Quercus variabilis Bl.), which is predominant in Chinese temperate forests. Pneumatic measurements indicated that, as seasons progressed, the water potential at which 50% of branch embolisms occur (P50&#95;branch) decreased from -3.34 to -4.23 MPa, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 9.08%. Sapwood capacitance ranged from 48.19 to 248.08 kg m-3 MPa-1, peaking in autumn and reaching minimum in winter (CV 60.58%). Rehydration kinetics confirmed higher leaf embolism vulnerability (P50&#95;leaf) in spring and autumn than those in summer, with values ranging from -1.06 to -3.02 MPa (CV 39.85%). All leaf pressure-volume (PV) traits shifted with growth, with CVs ranging from 6.95% to 46.69%. Sapwood density had significant negative correlations with P50&#95;branch and hydraulic capacitance for elastic water storage, whereas leaf mass per area was linearly associated with PV traits but not with P50&#95;leaf. Furthermore, the branch typical SMs (difference between branch midday water potential and P50&#95;branch) were consistently >1.84 MPa, and vulnerability segmentation was prevalent throughout, implying a plausible hydraulic foundation for the dominance of Q. variabilis. Diverse hydraulic response patterns existed across seasons, leading to positive SMs mediated by the aforementioned physiological traits. Although Q. variabilis exhibits a high level of hydraulic safety, its susceptibility to sudden summer droughts may increase due to global climate change., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)