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The skeletal muscle is one of the largest organs in the body and is responsible for the mechanical activity required for posture, movement and breathing. The effects of current pharmaceutical therapies for skeletal muscle diseases are far from satisfactory; approximately 24% of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) trials have been terminated because of unsatisfactory outcomes. The lack of a skeletal muscle-targeting strategy is a major reason for these unsuccessful trials, contributing to low efficiency and severe side effects. The development of targeting strategies for skeletal muscle-specific drug delivery has shown the potential for increasing drug concentrations in the skeletal muscle, minimising off-target effects, and thereby improving the therapeutic effects of drugs. Over the past few decades, novel methods for specifically delivering cargo to skeletal muscles have been developed. In this review, we categorise targeting methods into four types: peptides, antibodies, small molecules and aptamers. Most research has focused on peptide and antibody ligands, and there are several well-established drugs in this category; however, drawbacks such as protease degradation and immunogenicity limit their use. Aptamers and small molecules have low immunogenicity and are simple to chemically produce. However, small molecule ligands generally exhibit lower affinity because of their small size and high mobility. Aptamers are promising ligands for skeletal muscle-targeting delivery systems. Additionally, if the active site of the cargo is located inside the cell, an internalisation pathway becomes necessary. The order of internalisation ligands and targeting ligands in the complex is a crucial factor, because an inappropriate order could lead to much lower targeting and internalisation efficiencies. Moreover, ligand density also merits consideration, as increasing the density of the targeting ligands may result in steric hindrance, which could impact the accessibility of the receptor and cause enlargement of the targeted ligands. More efforts are required to optimise drug delivery systems that specifically recognise skeletal muscle, with the aim of enhancing quality of life and promoting patient well-being., (© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Optical computing, renowned for its light-speed processing and low power consumption, typically relies on the coherent control of two light sources. However, there are challenges in stabilizing and maintaining high optical spatiotemporal coherence, especially for large-scale computing systems. The coherence requires rigorous feedback circuits and numerous phase shifters, introducing system instability and complexity. Here we propose an innovative logic gate using a single light source, with frequency and polarization serving as two virtual inputs. Our design leverages frequency-polarization multiplexed metasurfaces to achieve all basic logic operations by selectively routing surface plasmon polaritons. This single-channel logic gate maintains inherent coherence between frequency and polarization, thereby considerably eliminating stringent light-source specifications and numerous rigid phase controls and resulting in higher stability. Our device showcases unique application potentials in on-chip readout of encryption information by using random sequences as a one-time pad, unlocking fresh prospects for information protection and optical computing with other simple light sources.

An iron-catalyzed nitrene transfer reaction for the rapid synthesis of sulfinamidines from readily available sulfenamides is reported. This method features mild conditions, short reaction times, and a broad substrate scope, allowing the preparation of a variety of sulfinamidines in good to excellent yields. The synthetic utility of the sulfinamidine products was further demonstrated through their conversion to other valuable sulfur(VI) compounds, such as sulfondiimidoyl fluorides, sulfinamidiate esters, and sulfonimidamides. Preliminary efforts in the development of an asymmetric variant showed moderate enantioselectivity.

Lowered muscle regenerative capacity in the elderly greatly contributes to the development of multiple diseases. The specific roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in muscle regenerative capacity during aging remain unknown. Here, we identify an elevated lncRNA (lncRNA-3), in association with reduced MyoD expression and suppressed muscle regenerative capacity, in the skeletal muscle of aged mice. LncRNA-3 could interact with both the MyoD1 promoter and RbAp46/48, a subunit of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). LncRNA-3 could recruit PRC2 to the MyoD1 promoter and enhance the MyoD1 silencing, which, in turn, suppressed the muscle regenerative capacity. Muscle-specific lncRNA-3 knockdown could restore the muscle regenerative capacity in the aged mice. Exogenous RbAp46/48 binding motif (Rb-motif-2) treatment in skeletal muscle could compete for the lncRNA-3 binding, and therefore, enhance the muscle regenerative capacity in the aged mice. Taken together, lncRNA-3 requires PRC2 for MyoD1 silencing to suppress muscle regenerative capacity during aging. These findings provide a novel therapeutic target and a new strategy to elevate the muscle regenerative capacity in the aged population.

Social networks, functioning as core platforms for modern information dissemination, manifest distinctive user clustering behaviors and state transition mechanisms, thereby presenting new challenges to traditional information propagation models. Based on hypergraph theory, this paper augments the traditional SEIR model by introducing a novel hypernetwork information dissemination SSEIR model specifically designed for online social networks. This model accurately represents complex, multi-user, high-order interactions. It transforms the traditional single susceptible state (S) into active (Sa) and inactive (Si) states. Additionally, it enhances traditional information dissemination mechanisms through reaction process strategies (RP strategies) and formulates refined differential dynamical equations, effectively simulating the dissemination and diffusion processes in online social networks. Employing mean field theory, this paper conducts a comprehensive theoretical derivation of the dissemination mechanisms within the SSEIR model. The effectiveness of the model in various network structures was verified through simulation experiments, and its practicality was further validated by its application on real network datasets. The results show that the SSEIR model excels in data fitting and illustrating the internal mechanisms of information dissemination within hypernetwork structures, further clarifying the dynamic evolutionary patterns of information dissemination in online social hypernetworks. This study not only enriches the theoretical framework of information dissemination but also provides a scientific theoretical foundation for practical applications such as news dissemination, public opinion management, and rumor monitoring in online social networks.

This study rapidly identified and quantified the chemical components of the Wuzhuyu Decoction nanophase(WZYD-N) and suspension phase(WZYD-S) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS). Based on preliminary pharmacodynamic experiments and network pharmacology analysis, the differential anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of WZYD-N and WZYD-S were explored to understand their pharmacodynamic basis. WZYD-N and WZYD-S were separated by differential centrifugation-dialysis, and their particle size, Zeta potential, PDI, and morphology were characterized by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. A method was established to quantify 23 representative components of WZYD using UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS, clarifying the differences in component content between the two phases. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of WZYD-N and WZYD-S were preliminarily investigated using the acetic acid-induced enhanced capillary permeability inflammation model and the acetic acid writhing pain model. Network pharmacology was applied to screen the key anti-inflammatory and analgesic targets and active components of WZYD, and the relationship between the components and pharmacodynamics of WZYD-N and WZYD-S was analyzed based on quantitative results. The results showed that WZYD-N primarily consisted of spherical self-assembled aggregates around 200 nm, with a PDI of approximately 0.299 and a zeta potential of-22.1 mV. With an equivalent amount of crude drugs, obacunone and dihydroevocarpine were quantified in equal amounts in WZYD-N and WZYD-S. The content of rutaecarpine, evocarpine, rutaevine, limonin, and ginsenoside Ro was higher in WZYD-S, while 15 other components, including evodiamine, dehydroevodiamine, ginsenoside Re, 6-gingerol, and ginsenoside Rg_1, were higher in WZYD-N. Moreover, 6-dehydrogingerdione was low in both WZYD-N and WZYD-S. Preliminary pharmacodynamic experiments showed that WZYD-N could reduce the number of writhing responses and inhibit pain responses induced by acetic acid in mice, exhibiting analgesic effects similar to the WZYD group. WZYD-S could reduce the absorbance value of the intraperitoneal lavage fluid in mice, exhibiting anti-inflammatory effects comparable to the WZYD group. Network pharmacology analysis indicated that dehydroevodiamine, rutaecarpine, 6-gingerol, and ginsenoside Rg_1 might be the analgesic active components of WZYD, and limonin, rutaevine, and ginsenoside Ro might be the anti-inflammatory active components of WZYD. This study proposed a novel strategy for elucidating the pharmacodynamic basis of WZYD and innovating classical formulas.

The emergence of nanogenerators, which have the ability to capture mechanical energy from the environment and to collect and transmit tiny energy, is rapidly becoming a hot research topic. The performance of electrode materials is the key to the efficiency of nanogenerators. Covalent organic skeletons (COFs), a class of crystalline organic porous materials with the advantages of large specific surface area, high porosity, tunable structure, and flexible tailorability, have very significant advantages in being used as nanogenerator materials. In this paper, we synthesised two COF materials to investigate the effect of the introduction of active metals on the friction power generation performance of COFs without changing their topology, COF-2 containing zinc ions is capable of generating a short-circuit current of 107.5 µA during friction. The porous structure increases the effective contact area to form a larger charge density, and the introduction of metal ions can accelerate the charge separation and transport. The two bidirectional synergistic effects of the materials significantly improve the output performance of the nanogenerator, and a simple and efficient method is explored for the enhancement of the output performance of COF-based triboelectric nanogenerators., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Sulfur-containing functional groups have garnered considerable attention due to their common occurrence in ligands, pharmaceuticals, and insecticides. Nevertheless, enantioselective synthesis of sulfilimines, particularly diaryl sulfilimines remains a challenging and persistent goal. Herein we report a highly enantio- and chemoselective cross-coupling of sulfenamides with aryl diazonium salt to construct diverse S(IV) stereocenters by Pd catalysis. Bisphosphine ligands bearing sulfinamide groups play a crucial role in achieving high reactivity and selectivity. This approach provides a general, modular and divergent framework for quickly synthesizing chiral sulfilimines and sulfoximines that are otherwise challenging to access. In addition, the origins of the high chemoselectivity and enantioselectivity were extensively investigated using density functional theory calculations., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Currently, the relationship between axial rotation of the vertebrae and bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) remains controversial. The aim of this study is to quantitatively assess the effect of vertebral rotation on volumetric bone mineral density (v-BMD) and areal bone mineral density (a-BMD), further to propose the corrected strategies. To achieve this, a phantom, which was rotated from 0° to 25° in 5° increments, was utilized. Bone mineral content (BMC), a-BMD, v-BMD, and projected area (p-AREA) were measured. The Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test or one-way ANOVA was used to examine the differences in variables between the different groups. The Pearson and Spearman correlation was used to test the relationships between quantitative parameters and rotated angles. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between angles and quantitative parameters. The findings indicate that, as the angle increased, a-BMD and v-BMD decreased (P < 0.001) , and the p-AREA increased (P < 0.001), but the BMC stays constant. The rotated angle was negative correlated (r = - 0.925, P < 0.001) with a-BMD and v-BMD (r = - 0.880, P < 0.001), positive (r = 0.930, P =  < 0.001) correlated with p-AREA. The linear regression analysis showed that a-BMD = 0.808-0.01 × Angle and v-BMD = 151.808-1.588 × Angle. This study showed that, axial rotation might lead to a lower measured for a-BMD and v-BMD, it should be modified. This gives clinicians some insights into how to deal with osteoporosis in scoliosis patients. It's essential for clinicians to incorporate these findings into their diagnostic processes to prevent potential misdiagnosis and over-treatment of osteoporosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Global Natural Products Social (GNPS) molecular networking platform was applied to discovery the undescribed compounds from the common marine fungi Aspergillus versicolor CGF9-1-2, ultimately resulting in isolation of four new polyketides, decumbenone E (1), decumbenone F (2), 2'-epi-8-O-methylnidurufin (6), (-)-phomoindene A (7), one new nucleoside, 3-methyl-9-(2-methylbutene)-xanthine (8), and five known analogues. Their structures were elucidated based on 1D/2D NMR spectroscopic and HRESIMS data analyses, meanwhile, the absolute configurations of new compounds were established based on the X-ray crystallographic experiments, as well as the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analysis. All compounds were predicted pharmaceutical chemistry with ten commonly disease-related proteins by molecular docking. In addition, all compounds against TDP1 were performed in vitro, which was consistent with the docking result, and compound 6 shown a weak inhibitory activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hypernetwork is a useful way to depict multiple connections between nodes, making it an ideal tool for representing complex relationships in network science. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in studies on hypernetworks; however, the comparison of the difference between two hypernetworks has received less attention. This paper proposes a hyper-distance (HD)-based method for comparing hypernetworks. The method is based on higher-order information, i.e, the higher-order distance between nodes and Jensen-Shannon divergence. Experiments carried out on synthetic hypernetworks have shown that HD is capable of distinguishing between hypernetworks generated with different parameters, and it is successful in the classification of hypernetworks. Furthermore, HD outperforms current state-of-the-art baselines to distinguish empirical hypernetworks when hyperedges are randomly perturbed., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Background: Our study aims to investigate the mechanisms through which Fc receptor-like A (FCRLA) promotes renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and to examine its significance in relation to tumor immune infiltration., Materials and Methods: The correlation between FCRLA and data clinically related to RCC was explored using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), then validated using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) gene chip data. Enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were performed for FCRLA and its co-expressed genes. FCRLA was knocked down in RCC cell lines to evaluate its impact on biological behavior. Then the potential downstream regulators of FCRLA were determined by western blotting, and rescue experiments were performed for verification. The relevance between FCRLA and various immune cells was analyzed through GSEA, TIMER, and GEPIA tools. TIDE and ESTIMATE algorithms were used to predict the effect of FCRLA in immunotherapy., Results: Fc receptor-like A was associated with clinical and T stages and could predict the M stage (AUC = 0.692) and 1-3- and 5-year survival rates (AUC = 0.823, 0.834, and 0.862) of RCC patients. Higher expression of FCLRA predicted an unfavorable overall survival (OS) in TCGA-RCC and GSE167573 datasets (p = 0.03, p = 0.04). FCRLA promoted the malignant biological behavior of RCC cells through the pERK1/2/-MMP2 pathway and was associated with tumor immune microenvironment in RCC., Conclusion: Fc receptor-like A is positively correlated with poor outcomes in RCC patients and plays an oncogenic role in RCC through the pERK1/2-MMP2 pathway. Patients with RCC might benefit from immunotherapy targeting FCRLA., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The potential for off-target mutations is a critical concern for the therapeutic application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. Current detection methodologies, such as GUIDE-seq, exhibit limitations in oligonucleotide integration efficiency and sensitivity, which could hinder their utility in clinical settings. To address these issues, we introduce OliTag-seq, an in-cellulo assay specifically engineered to enhance the detection of off-target events. OliTag-seq employs a stable oligonucleotide for precise break tagging and an innovative triple-priming amplification strategy, significantly improving the scope and accuracy of off-target site identification. This method surpasses traditional assays by providing comprehensive coverage across various sgRNAs and genomic targets. Our research particularly highlights the superior sensitivity of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in detecting off-target mutations, advocating for using patient-derived iPSCs for refined off-target analysis in therapeutic gene editing. Furthermore, we provide evidence that prolonged Cas9 expression and transient HDAC inhibitor treatments enhance the assay's ability to uncover off-target events. OliTag-seq merges the high sensitivity typical of in vitro assays with the practical application of cellular contexts. This approach significantly improves the safety and efficacy profiles of CRISPR-Cas9 interventions in research and clinical environments, positioning it as an essential tool for the precise assessment and refinement of genome editing applications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Polygonatum kingianum is a Chinese herbal medicine that belongs to the genus Polygonatum of the family Liliaceae. In June 2023, Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et Hemsl. in nurseries in Qujing, Yunnan Province, China, showed irregular brown spots on the leaves, whole leaf necrosis, and plant death in serious cases, with an incidence of 10-20% (Fig. S1). To identify the pathogens of P. kingianum, six diseased samples were collected from nurseries with 0.6 acre. These diseased sample leaves were soaked in 0.1% HgCl2 for 1 min and 75% ethanol for 2 min and then rinsed thrice with sterile water. Treated leaves were cut into small pieces (5×5 mm) and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) for five days at 28°C. Total thirteen fungal strains were isolated from PDA medium. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA) region of these 13 strains was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal primers ITSI/ITS4 (White et al. 1990). Sequencing and BLAST of the ITS region on NCBI showed that 11 out of 13 fungal strains belonged to the genus Alternaria, with an identity ≥99%. We selected one of the Alternaria strains, HJ-A1, for further study. The HJ-A1 colony appeared grayish brown white-to-gray with a flocculent texture on the front side and a dark gray underside on the PDA medium (Fig. S1). The conidiophores appeared brown, either single or branched, and produced numerous short conidial chains. The conidia were obclavate to obpyriform or ellipsoid in shape and contained 1-4 transverse septa and 0-2 oblique septa. The conidial diameter was 27.30µm in length and 12.27µm in width. (Fig. S1). To further determine the species of HJA1, the genomic DNA of HJ-A1 was extracted using the Lysis Buffer for PCR (AG, Hunan, China). Four Alternaria genomic DNA regions including the ITS, translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1-α), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and Alternaria major allergen gene (Alt a1) were amplified by PCR using the primers as previously reported (Woudenberg et al. 2013, Hong et al. 2005). Sequence analysis revealed that the ITS (484bp) of HJ-A1 (NCBI No. PP082633), TEF1-α (267bp) of HJ-A1 (NCBI No. PP419893), GAPDH (582bp) of HJ-A1 (NCBI No. PP419892), and Alt a1 (522bp) of HJ-A1 (NCBI No. PP228046) shared the highest identity with A. alternata respectively (99≥%). A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was constructed with the combined sequence data sets of ITS, GAPDH, TEF, and Alt a1 using MEGA 7. The results showed that HJ-A1 strain clustered with A. alternate (Fig. S2). The pathogenicity of HJ-A1 was tested according to Koch's postulates by inoculating HJ-A1 conidia suspension (2×105 conidia/mL) into leaves of 1-year-old P. kingianum, with sterile water as a control. Each treatment group included 3 plants with 3 replicates. The tested plants were planted in a phytotron at 28℃ and 90% humidity. Three days after inoculation, symptoms similar to those under natural conditions were observed in the HJ-A1-inoculated plants, whereas no symptoms were observed in the control plants (Fig. S1). The same fungal strains were re-isolated from inoculated leaves and identified by morphologically and sequence of ITS. Previous studies showed that Alternaria alternata funji cause many plant diseases, such as fig fruit rot (Latinović N et al. 2014)，daylily leaf spot (Huang D et al. 2022), fruit blight on sesame (Cheng H et al. 2021)，leaf spot of Cynanchum atratum Bunge (Sun H et al. 2021) and so on. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. alternata causing P. kingianum leaf spot in China. The discovery of this pathogen will help to guide the protection and control of P. kingianum disease.

Sulfilimines are valuable compounds in both organic synthesis and pharmaceuticals. In this study, we present a copper-catalyzed sulfur alkylation of sulfenamides with N -sulfonylhydrazones. In contrast to prior findings, hydrazones derived from aldehydes act as donor-type carbene precursors, effectively engaging in coupling with sulfenamides via a copper catalyst, demonstrating exclusive S selectivity. The utility of the protocol was highlighted in the rapid access to a wide range of sulfoximine derivatives.

The trivalent phosphine-catalyzed [4+1] spiro-annulation reaction of allenyl imide and activated methylene cyclocompounds has been developed for the construction of various spiro-2-cyclopenten-1-ones. Oxindoles, 3-isochromanones, and 2-indanones are selected as 1C synthons to capture the in situ-generated bis-electrophilic α,β-unsaturated ketenyl phosphonium intermediate, affording the corresponding monospiro- and bispiro-cyclopentenones in good to excellent yields (≤91%) under mild conditions. The primary attempt at asymmetric catalysis using monophosphine ( R )-SITCP provides promising enantioselectivity (45% ee). A plausible reaction mechanism is also proposed.

Penicilloneines A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) are the first reported quinolone-citrinin hybrids. They were isolated from the starfish-derived fungus Penicillium sp. GGF16-1-2, and their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic, chemical, computational, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Penicilloneines A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) share a common 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-2(1 H )-quinolone unit; however, they differ in terms of citrinin moieties, and these two units are linked via a methylene bridge. Penicilloneines A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) exhibited antifungal activities against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides , with lethal concentration 50 values of 0.02 and 1.51 μg/mL, respectively. A mechanistic study revealed that 1 could inhibit cell growth and promote cell vacuolization and consequent disruption of the fungal cell walls via upregulating nutrient-related hydrolase genes, including putative hydrolase, acetylcholinesterase, glycosyl hydrolase, leucine aminopeptidase, lipase, and beta-galactosidase, and downregulating their synthase genes 3-carboxymuconate cyclase, pyruvate decarboxylase, phosphoketolase, and oxalate decarboxylase.

As a continuous flow investigation of novel pesticides from natural quinolizidine alkaloids, the chemical compositions of the seeds of Sophora alopecuroides were thoroughly researched. Fifteen new aloperine-type alkaloids ( 1 - 15 ) as well as six known aloperine-type alkaloids ( 16 - 21 ) were obtained from the extract of S. alopecuroides . The structures of 1 - 21 were confirmed via HRESIMS, NMR, UV, IR, ECD calculations, and X-ray diffraction. The antiviral activities of 1 - 21 against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were detected following the improved method of half-leaf. Compared with ningnanmycin (protective: 69.7% and curative: 64.3%), 15 exhibited excellent protective (71.7%) and curative (64.6%) activities against TMV. Further biological studies illustrated that 15 significantly inhibited the transcription of the TMV- CP gene and increased the activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). The antifungal activities of 1 - 21 against Phytophythora capsica , Botrytis cinerea , Alternaria alternata , and Gibberella zeae were screened according to a mycelial inhibition test. Compound 13 displayed excellent antifungal activity against B. cinerea (EC 50 : 7.38 μg/mL). Moreover, in vitro antifungal mechanism studies displayed that 13 causes accumulation of reactive oxygen species and finally leads to mycelia cell membrane damage and cell death in vitro .

As part of our ongoing investigation of natural bioactive substances from the genus Thermopsis of the tribe Fabaceae for agricultural protection, the chemical constituents of the herb Thermopsis lupinoides were systematically investigated, which led to the isolation of 39 quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) ( 1 - 39 ), including 14 new QAs ( 1 - 14 ) and 14 isoflavones ( 40 - 53 ). Their structures were elucidated through comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis (IR, UV, NMR, HRESIMS), ECD calculations, and X-ray crystallography. The antitomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and antifungal (against Botrytis cinerea , Gibberella zeae , Phytophythora capsica , and Alternaria alternata ) and insecticidal (against Aphis fabae and Tetranychus urticae ) activities of the isolated compounds were screened using the lesion counting method, mycelial inhibition assay, and spray method, respectively. The bioassay results showed that 34 exhibited excellent protective activity against TSWV, with an EC 50 value of 36.04 μg/mL, which was better than that of the positive control, ningnanmycin (86.03 μg/mL). The preliminary mechanistic exploration illustrated that 34 induced systemic acquired resistance in the host plant by acting on the salicylic acid signaling pathway. Moreover, 1 showed significant antifungal activity against B. cinerea (EC 50 value of 20.83 μg/mL), while 2 exhibited good insecticidal activity against A. fabae (LC 50 value of 24.97 μg/mL). This research is promising for the invention of novel pesticides from QAs with high efficiency and satisfactory ecological compatibility.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of bone metabolism and fracture risk in the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN)., Methods: A total of 198 T2DM individuals were recruited from January 2017 to December 2020. Patients with DSPN were evaluated by strict clinical and sensory thresholds. Biochemical parameters and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured. The BMD, bone turnover markers, and probability of fracture were compared between two groups, and the factors related to BMD and probability of hip fracture in 10 years were further explored., Results: Compared with type 2 diabetes mellitus without distal symmetric polyneuropathy (T2DN-) patients, type 2 diabetes mellitus with distal symmetric polyneuropathy (T2DN+) patients had lower level of cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTX) (0.32 ± 0.19 vs 0.38 ± 0.21 ng/mL, p = 0.038) and higher level of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) (15.28 ± 5.56 vs 12.58 ± 4.41 μg/mL, p = 0.003). T2DN+ patients had higher BMD of lumbar L1-L4 (1.05 ± 0.19 vs 0.95 ± 0.37, p = 0.027) and higher probability of hip fracture (0.98 ± 0.88 vs 0.68 ± 0.63, p = 0.009) as compared to T2DN- individuals. Univariate correlation analysis showed that BALP level (coefficient (coef) = -0.054, p = 0.038), CTX level (coef = -2.28, p = 0.001), and hip fracture risk (coef = -1.02, p < 0.001) were negatively related to the BMD of L1-L4. As for the risk of hip fracture evaluated by WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), age (coef = 0.035, p < 0.001), use of insulin (coef = 0.31, p =0.015), and levels of BALP (coef = 0.031, p = 0.017) and CTX (coef = 0.7, p = 0.047) were positively related to the risk of hip fracture. Multivariate regression analysis showed that CTX level (coef = -1.41, p = 0.043) was still negatively related to BMD at the lumbar spine., Conclusion: This study indicates that T2DM patients with DSPN have special bone metabolism represented by higher BALP level and lower CTX level which may increase BMD at the lumbar spine., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2024, the Chinese Medical Association.)

The use of microbial inoculant is a promising strategy to improve plant health, but their efficiency often faces challenges due to difficulties in successful microbial colonization in soil environments. To this end, the application of biostimulation products derived from microbes is expected to resolve these barriers via direct interactions with plants or soil pathogens. However, their effectiveness and mechanisms for promoting plant growth and disease resistance remain elusive. In this study, we showed that root irrigation with the extracts of Streptomyces ahygroscopicus strain 769 (S769) solid fermentation products significantly reduced watermelon Fusarium wilt disease incidence by 30% and increased the plant biomass by 150% at a fruiting stage in a continuous cropping field. S769 treatment led to substantial changes in both bacterial and fungal community compositions, and induced a highly interconnected microbial association network in the rhizosphere. The root transcriptome analysis further suggested that S769 treatment significantly improved the expression of the MAPK signalling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction and plant-pathogen interactions, particular those genes related to PR-1 and ethylene, as well as genes associated with auxin production and reception. Together, our study provides mechanistic and empirical evidences for the biostimulation products benefiting plant health through coordinating plant and rhizosphere microbiome interaction., (© 2024 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by Applied Microbiology International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is regarded as one of the most promising platform feedstocks for producing valuable chemicals, fuels, and materials. In this study, we present a controllable fluorination technique for biomass-based 5-HMF and its oxygenated derivatives. This technique allows us to synthesize mono-fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, and acylfluoro-substituted furan compounds by adjusting experimental conditions such as different fluorine sources and mole ratio. To gain a deeper understanding the reactivity order, we conducted intermolecular and intramolecular competition experiments. The results revealed that the hydroxyl group exhibited the highest reactivity, followed by the aldehyde group. This finding provides important theoretical support and opens up the possibility of selective fluorination. The reaction offers several advantages, including mild conditions, no need for inert gas protection, and easy operation. Furthermore, the fluoro-substituted furan compounds can be further transformed for the preparation of drug analogs, offering a new route for the high-value utilization of biomass molecules., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Diabetic cystopathy (DCP) is a prevalent etiology of bladder dysfunction in individuals with longstanding diabetes, frequently leading to bladder interstitial fibrosis. Research investigating the initial pathological alterations of DCP is notably scarce. To comprehend the development of fibrosis and find effective biomarkers for its diagnosis, we prepared streptozotocin-induced long-term diabetic SD rats exhibiting a type 1 diabetes phenotype and bladder fibrosis in histology detection. After observing myofibroblast differentiation from rats' primary bladder fibroblasts with immunofluorescence, we isolated fibroblasts derived exosomes and performed exosomal miRNA sequencing. The co-differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMis) (miR-16-5p and let-7e-5p) were screened through a joint analysis of diabetic rats and long-term patients' plasma data (GES97123) downloaded from the GEO database. Then two co-DEMis were validated by quantitative PCR on exosomes derived from diabetic rats' plasma. Following with a series of analysis, including target mRNAs and transcription factors (TFs) prediction, hubgenes identification, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction and gene enrichment analysis, a miRNA-mediated genetic regulatory network consisting of two miRNAs, nine TFs, and thirty target mRNAs were identified in relation to fibrotic processes. Thus, circulating exosomal miR-16-5p and let-7e-5p are associated with bladder fibrosis of DCP, and the crucial genes in regulatory network might hold immense significance in studying the pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms of fibrosis, which deserves further exploration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) was employed to examine the impact of Coptidis Rhizoma(CR) and its processed products on the metabolism in the rat model of oral ulcer due to excess heat and to compare the effectiveness of CR and its three products. Male SD rats were randomly allocated to the sham-operation(Sham), model(M, oral ulcer due to excess heat), CR, wine/Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens/Euodiae Fructus processed CR(wCR/zCR/eCR), and Huanglian Shangqing Tablets(HST) groups. Except the Sham group, the other groups were administrated with Codonopsis Radix-Astragali Radix decoction by gavage for two consecutive weeks. The anal temperature and water consumption of rats were monitored throughout the modeling period of excess heat. Following the completion of the modeling, oral ulcer was modeled with acetic acid. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining was employed to observe the mucosal pathological changes in oral ulcer. A colorimetric assay was employed to determine the serum level of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was conducted to determine the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and malondialdehyde(MDA) in the serum. The non-targeted metabolomics analysis based on UPLC-Q/TOF-MS was conducted on the serum samples. Metabolic profiles were then built, and the potential biomarkers were screened by principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA). The Mev software was used to establish a heat map and conduct cluster analysis on the quantitative results of the markers. The online databases including MBRole, KEGG, and MetaboAnalyst were used for pathway enrichment analysis and metabolic network building. The experimental results showed that the modeling led to pathological damage to the oral mucosa, elevated serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and MDA, and lowered levels of SOD and GSH-Px in rats. The drug administration recovered all the indices to varying extents, and wCR exhibited the best performance. Non-targeted metabolomics identified 48 differential metabolites including 27 metabolites in the positive ion mode and 21 metabolites in the negative ion mode. Five enriched pathways were common, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. Conclusively, CR and its three processed products could alleviate the inflammation and oxidative stress injury in rats suffering from oral ulcers due to excess heat by regulating lipid and amino acid metabolism. Notably, wCR demonstrated the most significant therapeutic effect.

MOF (metal organic framework) materials have been used as functional materials in a number of fields due to their diverse spatial tunability, which produces rich porous structures with stable and continuous pores and a high specific surface area. A triboelectric nanogenerator can convert trace mechanical energy into electrical energy, and the application of MOF materials to triboelectric nanogenerators has been intensively studied. In this work, we report on two MOFs with similar spatial structures, and the modulation of the end microstructures was achieved using the difference in F content. The output performance of friction power generation increases with the increase in F content, and the obtained polyacidic ligand materials can be used to construct self-powered corrosion protection systems, which can effectively protect metallic materials from corrosion.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is a lack of effective therapeutic drugs. There is great potential for natural products to be used in the development of anti-AD drugs. P-coumaric acid (PCA), a small molecule phenolic acid widely distributed in the plant kingdom, has pharmacological effects such as neuroprotection, but its anti-AD mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In the current study, we investigated the mechanism of PCA intervention in the Aβ 25-35- induced AD model using gut microbiomics and serum metabolomics combined with in vitro and in vivo pharmacological experiments. PCA was found to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction and neuronal cell damage in Aβ 25-35 -injected mice as measured by behavioral, pathological and biochemical indicators. 16S rDNA sequencing and serum metabolomics showed that PCA reduced the abundance of pro-inflammatory-associated microbiota (morganella, holdemanella, fusicatenibacter and serratia) in the gut, which were closely associated with metabolites of the glucose metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, tyrosine metabolism and phospholipid metabolism pathways in serum. Next, in vivo and in vitro pharmacological investigations revealed that PCA regulated Aβ 25-35 -induced disruption of glucose metabolism through activation of PI3K/AKT/Glut1 signaling. Additionally, PCA ameliorated Aβ 25-35 -induced neuroinflammation by inhibiting nuclear translocation of NF-κB and by modulating upstream MAPK signaling. In conclusion, PCA ameliorated cognitive deficits in Aβ 25-35 -induced AD mice by regulating glucose metabolism and neuroinflammation, and the mechanism is related not only to restoring homeostasis of gut microbiota and serum metabolites, but also to PI3K/AKT/Glut1 and MAPK/NF-κB signaling., 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 © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coat color, as a distinct phenotypic characteristic of pigs, is often subject to preference and selection, such as in the breeding process of new breed. Shanxia long black pig was derived from an intercross between Berkshire boars and Licha black pig sows, and it was bred as a paternal strain with high-quality meat and black coat color. Although the coat color was black in the F 1 generation of the intercross, it segregated in the subsequent generations. This study aims to decode the genetic basis of coat color segregation and develop a method to distinct black pigs from the spotted in Shanxia long black pig., Results: Only a QTL was mapped at the proximal end of chromosome 6, and MC1R gene was picked out as functional candidate gene. A total of 11 polymorphic loci were identified in MC1R gene, and only the c.67&#95;68insCC variant was co-segregating with coat color. This locus isn't recognized by any restriction endonuclease, so it can't be genotyped by PCR-RFLP. The c.370G > A polymorphic locus was also significantly associated with coat color, and has been in tightly linkage disequilibrium with the c.67&#95;68insCC. Furthermore, it is recognized by BspHI. Therefore, a PCR-RFLP method was set up to genotype this locus. Besides the 175 sequenced individuals, another more 1,391 pigs were genotyped with PCR-RFLP, and all of pigs with GG (one band) were black., Conclusion: MC1R gene (c.67&#95;68insCC) is the causative gene (mutation) for the coat color segregation, and the PCR-RFLP of c.370G > A could be used in the breeding program of Shanxia long black pig., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in all kinds of environments, and they are of industrial, agricultural and clinical importance. In this study, soil fungal diversity in Southwestern China was investigated, and that of Penicillium turned out to be unexpectedly high. The survey included a total of 179 cultures of the genus isolated from 33 soil samples. Three-locus phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons were carried out. The examinations revealed that they belonged to two subgenera ( Aspergilloides and Penicillium ), 11 sections ( Aspergilloides , Canescentia , Citrina , Exilicaulis , Fasciculata , Gracilenta , Lanata-Divaricata , Penicillium , Ramosum , Robsamsonia , and Sclerotiorum ), 25 series, and 74 species. Forty-three species were discovered as new to science, and a new series, Simianshanica , was established in sect. Aspergilloides . Additionally, 11 species were recorded for the first time in China. Species isolation frequency and distribution of the group were also discussed.

The carbon market is regarded as one of the important means to achieve China's dual carbon target. It has ancillary effect for reducing air pollution while regulating carbon emissions since climate change and air pollution share the same origin and homology. Research on how to design the carbon market mechanism in order to maximize the synergistic effect of reducing greenhouse gas and air pollution will have a very important practical impact for China. This study conducts a theoretical analysis of the collaborative emission reduction path of China's carbon market, and constructs an Energy-Economy-Environment (3E) model of the collaborative emission reduction effect of carbon trading system based on System Dynamics. After analyzing the feedback path of the core cycle of the model and verifying its performance, three main policy factors in the carbon market are explored, and their effects under the dual objectives of emission control and economic development are comprehensively evaluated. This study suggests that the exploration of the potential of carbon market for collaborative governance should be accelerated, and ensure the orderly expansion of coverage and precise setting of limits, so as to ensure the smooth achievement of carbon reduction targets while guaranteeing the social and economic development., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: The prognostic benefit of complete revascularization in elderly patients (aged over 75 years) with multi-vessel disease and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is currently unclear. This study aimed to determine the long-term prognostic impact of complete revascularization in this population., Methods: We conducted this study using data obtained from the BleeMACS (Bleeding complications in a Multicenter registry of patients discharged after an Acute Coronary Syndrome) registry, which was carried out from 2003 to 2014. The objective was to categorize older patients diagnosed with ACS into two groups: those who underwent complete revascularization and those who did not. Propensity score matching and the Kaplan-Meier analysis were employed to examine differences in one-year clinical outcomes. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), which encompassed a combination of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction., Results: Out of 1263 patients evaluated, 445 patients (35.2%) received complete revascularization. Patients who underwent complete revascularization had a higher prevalence of hypertension and prior percutaneous coronary intervention compared to those who did not. During the one-year follow-up period, complete revascularization was associated with a significantly decreased risk of MACE [13.7% vs. 20.5%, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.45-0.88, P = 0.007] and a lower risk of myocardial infarction (5.9% vs. 9.9%, HR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.33-0.92, P = 0.02). However, it was not linked to a lower risk of all-cause death (9.5% vs. 13.5%, HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.45-1.02, P = 0.06). Similar results were observed in the subgroup analysis., Conclusions: Long-term clinical improvements were observed in ACS patients aged over 75 years with multi-vessel disease who achieved complete revascularization. Therefore, adhering to guidelines for complete revascularization should be recommended for elderly patients., (© 2023 JGC All rights reserved; www.jgc301.com.)

Metasurfaces have recently experienced revolutionary progress in sensing and super-resolution imaging fields, mainly due to their manipulation of electromagnetic waves on subwavelength scales. However, on the one hand, the addition of metasurfaces can multiply the complexity of retrieving target information from detected electromagnetic fields. On the other hand, many existing studies utilize deep learning methods to provide compelling tools for electromagnetic problems but mainly concentrate on resolving one single function, limiting their versatilities. In this work, a multifunctional deep learning network is demonstrated to reconstruct diverse target information in a metasurface-target interactive system. First, a preliminary experiment verifies that the metasurface-involved scenario can tolerate the system noises. Then, the captured electric field distributions are fed into the multifunctional network, which can not only accurately sense the quantity and relative permittivity of targets but also generate super-resolution images precisely. The deep learning network, thus, paves an alternative way to recover the targets' information in metasurface-target interactive systems, accelerating the progression of target sensing and superimaging areas. Besides, another new network that allows forward electromagnetic prediction is also proposed and demonstrated. To sum up, the deep learning methodology may hold promise for inverse reconstructions or forward predictions in many electromagnetic scenarios.

Objective: To explore and analyze the imaging features of arrested pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus, so as to provide reference for identifying sphenoid lesions. Methods: From May 2018 to September 2019, a retrospective analysis was conducted on 350 patients (183 males and 167 females, aged between 18 and 73 years) who had been completed the sinus CT examination in the outpatient department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University. Their imaging data were collected and the CT/MRI characteristics of the sphenoid body were observed. SPSS 26.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The rate of arrested pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus was 2.0% (7/350), which occurred in the pteroid process, the slope region, and the sphenoid sinus body, respectively. CT showed a nondilated mixed-density lesion (7/7) in the pneumatizable sphenoid body. Within these regions, both fat and soft tissue density (7/7) were present. Internal curve calcification was observed in part of the region (3/7). The skull base canal structure was not affected (7/7). MRI showed a clear non-dilated lesion with an adipose signal, and none of the lesions showed medulla dilation or cortical destruction. Conclusions: Arrested pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus is a normal anatomic variation. When non-dilated lesions with clear bony boundaries and internal fatty components are encountered in the vaporizable region of the sphenoid sinus, the possibility of arrested pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus should be considered.

Divergent synthesis of fluorine-containing scaffolds starting from a suite of raw materials is an intriguing topic. Herein, we report the solvent-controlled rhodium-catalyzed tunable arylation of 1-bromo-2,2-difluoroethylene. The selection of the reaction solvents provides switchable defluorinated or debrominated arylation from readily available feedstock resources (both arylboronic acids/esters and 1-bromo-2,2-difluoroethylene are commercially available). This switch is feasible because of the difference in coordination ability between the solvent (CH 2 Cl 2 or CH 3 CN) and the rhodium center, resulting in different olefin insertion. This protocol allows the convenient synthesis of monofluoroalkenes and gem-difluoroalkenes, both of which are important scaffolds in the fields of medicine and materials. Moreover, this newly developed solvent-regulated reaction system can be applied to the site-selective dechlorinated arylation of trichloroethylene. Overall, this study provides a useful strategy for the divergent synthesis of fluorine-containing scaffolds and provides insight into the importance of solvent selection in catalytic reactions., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The emergence of nanogenerators, which provide a way to obtain mechanical energy from the environment and to collect and transmit tiny amounts of energy, has attracted a lot of attention. MOFs, because of their diverse structures as well as stable pores and large specific surface area, have very significant advantages to be used as nanogenerator materials. In this paper, two MOFs with similar spatial structures are designed to take advantage of the different coordination numbers of carboxylic acids to achieve the regulation of their microstructures. The output performance of friction power generation was found to be affected significantly by their microstructures. The friction power generation performance improved with the increase of carboxylic acids, and the obtained polyacid ligand materials can be used for light bulb illumination, which is a step forward for the practical exploration., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Hypergraphs have become an accurate and natural expression of high-order coupling relationships in complex systems. However, applying high-order information from networks to vital node identification tasks still poses significant challenges. This paper proposes a von Neumann entropy-based hypergraph vital node identification method (HVC) that integrates high-order information as well as its optimized version (semi-SAVC). HVC is based on the high-order line graph structure of hypergraphs and measures changes in network complexity using von Neumann entropy. It integrates s-line graph information to quantify node importance in the hypergraph by mapping hyperedges to nodes. In contrast, semi-SAVC uses a quadratic approximation of von Neumann entropy to measure network complexity and considers only half of the maximum order of the hypergraph's s-line graph to balance accuracy and efficiency. Compared to the baseline methods of hyperdegree centrality, closeness centrality, vector centrality, and sub-hypergraph centrality, the new methods demonstrated superior identification of vital nodes that promote the maximum influence and maintain network connectivity in empirical hypergraph data, considering the influence and robustness factors. The correlation and monotonicity of the identification results were quantitatively analyzed and comprehensive experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the new methods. At the same time, a key non-trivial phenomenon was discovered: influence does not increase linearly as the s-line graph orders increase. We call this the saturation effect of high-order line graph information in hypergraph node identification. When the order reaches its saturation value, the addition of high-order information often acts as noise and affects propagation.

The phase structure with a small domain size in polymers is expected to provide a template for lithography to fabricate electronic devices, while the uniformity and thermal stability of the phase structure are vital in lithography. In this work, we report an accurately microphase-separated system of comb-like poly(ionic liquid) (PIL)-based homopolymers containing imidazolium cation junctions between the main chain parts and the long alkyl side chains, poly(1-((2-acryloyloxy)ethyl)-3-alkylimidazolium bromide) (P(AOEA m I-Br)). The ordered hexagonally packed cylinder (HEX) and lamellar (LAM) structures with small domain sizes (sub-3 nm) were successfully achieved. Since the microphase separation was induced by the incompatibility between the main chain parts and the hydrophobic alkyl chains, the microdomain spacing of the ordered structure was independent of the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of P(AOEA m I-Br) homopolymers and could be precisely regulated by changing the length of the alkyl side chains. Importantly, the microphase separation was promoted by the charged junction groups; thus, the phase structure and domain size of P(AOEA m I-Br) exhibited excellent thermal stability.

Two new disubstituted maleimides, aspergteroids G-H ( 1 - 2 ), and two trisubstituted butenolides aspergteroids I-J ( 3 - 4 ), along with four known analogs, were isolated and structurally identified from the fermentation extract of soft-coral-associated symbiotic and epiphytic fungus Aspergillus terreus EGF7-0-1. The structures of the new compounds were established mainly via spectroscopic data analyses, and their absolute configurations were determined via X-ray diffraction analysis and comparison of the calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism. Myocardial protection assays showed that compounds 1 , 2 , 5 , and 6 possess protective effects against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced H9c2 (rat myocardial cells) apoptosis at low concentrations. Based on the analyses of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and Western blotting, compound 1 may inhibit the apoptosis and inflammatory response of cardiomyocytes after TBHP induction and improve the antioxidant capacity of cardiomyocytes. We speculate that the anti-inflammatory response of compound 1 is suppressed by the glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β), downregulated by the NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, and suppressed by the expression of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (caspase-3) and B-cell lymphoma-2 associated X protein (Bax).

Two new indole diketopiperazine alkaloids (IDAs), (+)19-epi-sclerotiamide (1) and (-)19-epi-sclerotiamide (2), along with 13 known analogs (3-15), were isolated from a soft coral-associated epiphytic fungus Aspergillus versicolor CGF 9-1-2. The structures of two new compounds were established based on the combination of HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, optical rotation measurements and quantum chemical 13 C-NMR, the absolute configurations were determined by experimental and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. The results of molecular docking showed that all the compounds had a good binding with TDP1, TDP2, TOP1, TOP2, Ache, NLRP3, EGFR, EGFR L858R, EGFR T790M and EGFR T790/L858. Biological evaluation of compounds 3, 6, 8, 11 showed that 3 exerted a strong inhibitory effect on TDP2 with a rate of 81.72 %., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones in sodium chloride(NaCl)-treated suspension cells of Aquilaria sinensis was conducted by UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS and UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Both analyses were performed on a Waters T3 column(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.8 μm) with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution(A)-acetonitrile(B) as mobile phases at gradient elution. MS data were collected by electrospray ionization in positive ion mode. Forty-seven phenylethylchromones was identified from NaCl-treated suspension cell samples of A. sinensis using UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS, including 22 flindersia-type 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones and their glycosides, 10 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones and 15 mono-epoxy or diepoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones. Additionally, 25 phenylethylchromones were quantitated by UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Overall, the rapid and efficient qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenylethylchromones in NaCl-treated suspension cells of A. sinensis by two LC-MS techniques, provides an important reference for the yield of phenylethylchromones in Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum using in vitro culture and other biotechnologies.

Objectives: No consensus was reached on the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in locally invasive thymomas because of the rarity of the thymic epithelial and the variations of study results. Therefore, we aimed to explore the efficacy of PORT in locally invasive thymomas using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database., Methods: Patients diagnosed with thymomas from 2004 to 2016 were identified using the SEER database. Prognostic factors of cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the baseline characteristics., Results: A total of 700 eligible patients were identified. After PSM, 262 paired patients were selected from the two groups, those who received or did not receive PORT. Receiving PORT improved CSS and OS before and after PSM. In the matched population, the multivariate analyses showed that tumour invasion into adjacent organs/structures and non-utilisation of PORT were independent poor prognostic factors for CSS, whereas age ≥62 years,tumour invasion into adjacent organs/structures, and non-utilisation of PORT were independently associated with poorer OS. The subgroup analysis revealed that PORT improved CSS and OS in Masaoka-Koga stage III thymoma, but showed no OS benefit in Masaoka-Koga stage IIB thymoma., Conclusion: Based on the SEER database, we found that PORT provides a significant survival benefit in Masaoka-Koga stage III thymoma with complete or incomplete resection. The role of PORT in thymoma requires further evaluation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study aims at modeling the universal failure in preventing the outbreak of COVID-19 via real-world data from the perspective of complexity and network science. Through formalizing information heterogeneity and government intervention in the coupled dynamics of epidemic and infodemic spreading, first, we find that information heterogeneity and its induced variation in human responses significantly increase the complexity of the government intervention decision. The complexity results in a dilemma between the socially optimal intervention that is risky for the government and the privately optimal intervention that is safer for the government but harmful to the social welfare. Second, via counterfactual analysis against the COVID-19 crisis in Wuhan, 2020, we find that the intervention dilemma becomes even worse if the initial decision time and the decision horizon vary. In the short horizon, both socially and privately optimal interventions agree with each other and require blocking the spread of all COVID-19-related information, leading to a negligible infection ratio 30 days after the initial reporting time. However, if the time horizon is prolonged to 180 days, only the privately optimal intervention requires information blocking, which would induce a catastrophically higher infection ratio than that in the counterfactual world where the socially optimal intervention encourages early-stage information spread. These findings contribute to the literature by revealing the complexity incurred by the coupled infodemic-epidemic dynamics and information heterogeneity to the governmental intervention decision, which also sheds insight into the design of an effective early warning system against the epidemic crisis in the future., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestWe declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Several groups of bacteria have complex life cycles involving cellular differentiation and multicellular structures. For example, actinobacteria of the genus Streptomyces form multicellular vegetative hyphae, aerial hyphae, and spores. However, similar life cycles have not yet been described for archaea. Here, we show that several haloarchaea of the family Halobacteriaceae display a life cycle resembling that of Streptomyces bacteria. Strain YIM 93972 (isolated from a salt marsh) undergoes cellular differentiation into mycelia and spores. Other closely related strains are also able to form mycelia, and comparative genomic analyses point to gene signatures (apparent gain or loss of certain genes) that are shared by members of this clade within the Halobacteriaceae. Genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of non-differentiating mutants suggest that a Cdc48-family ATPase might be involved in cellular differentiation in strain YIM 93972. Additionally, a gene encoding a putative oligopeptide transporter from YIM 93972 can restore the ability to form hyphae in a Streptomyces coelicolor mutant that carries a deletion in a homologous gene cluster (bldKA-bldKE), suggesting functional equivalence. We propose strain YIM 93972 as representative of a new species in a new genus within the family Halobacteriaceae, for which the name Actinoarchaeum halophilum gen. nov., sp. nov. is herewith proposed. Our demonstration of a complex life cycle in a group of haloarchaea adds a new dimension to our understanding of the biological diversity and environmental adaptation of archaea., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

As a continuation of our research on the development of pesticide active quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) from the family Fabaceae, the chemical constituents of the root of Sophora tonkinensis Gagnep. were systematically investigated. Seventeen new matrine-type alkaloids ( 1 - 17 ), including one new naturally occurring compound ( 17 ), along with 20 known ones were isolated from the EtOH extract of S. tonkinensis . Notably, compound 5 possessed an unprecedented 6/6/5/4/6/6 hexacyclic system. Their structures were confirmed via comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis (IR, UV, NMR, HRESIMS), ECD calculation, and X-ray crystallography. Biological tests indicated that compounds 1 , 4 , 10 , 12 , 13 , and 30 displayed significant anti-tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) activities compared with the positive control ningnanmycin. Moreover, compound 12 strongly inhibited the expression of the TSWV N , NSs , and NSm genes and TSWV NSs protein in plant host. Furthermore, compounds 4 , 10 , 12 , 20 , and 22 exhibited moderate insecticidal activities against TSWV thrip vector ( Frankliniella occidentalis ).

Surface waves (SWs) are of great importance in terahertz (THz) photonics applications due to their subwavelength properties. Hence, it is crucial to develop surface wavefront shaping techniques, which is urgent in modern information technologies. In this paper, a new scheme is proposed to realize SW excitation and spin-decoupled wavefront shaping with an ultracompact planar meta-device working in the THz range. The meta-device is composed of two parts: meta-atoms (in the center) and plasmonic metals (on the left and right sides). By carefully setting the geometry size and rotation angle of each meta-atom, the encoded spin-decoupled phase distributions for both left circularly polarized (LCP) and right circularly polarized (RCP) incident THz waves are determined. In this way, circularly polarized (CP) incident THz waves can be converted to SWs propagating along plasmonic metals with unique wavefront profiles, i.e. , Bessel and focusing profiles. Full-wave simulations and THz near-field scanning experiments were performed to verify the functionalities of the meta-device, both of which are in great agreement with theoretical predictions. Our findings may provide more solutions to design THz integrated photonic devices and systems.