Potential transition of depression of older adults affected by socioeconomic status show different styles: A longitudinal study of Chinese older adults.

Socioeconomic status' (SES) impact on depressive symptoms has been extensively examined; however, previous studies have generally used variable-centered approaches and cross-sectional designs. Therefore, this study explored the subtypes of depression and examined the degree of association between SES and latent transition probabilities. We used latent profile and latent transition analyses with the 2015 and 2018 waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (N = 4904). Three subtypes of depression were identified based on symptoms: severe symptom (SS), low symptom (LS), and sub-health (MS). The SS subtype had the highest probability of staying within the original subtype. Individuals in the MS subtype were more likely to move to the SS subtype than those in the LS subtype. The heterogeneity analysis also showed that the effect of SES on latent transition probabilities is heterogeneous to the satisfaction with their relationship with their children, as well as the number of children. Additionally, decision tree analysis found SES and gender can predict transitioning. These findings add to literature on the effects of SES on the heterogeneity of depression and have implications for depression screening and identifying individuals in need of targeted interventions.

Effect of Moringa oleifera leaf polysaccharide on the composition of intestinal microbiota in mice with dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis.

Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) is a natural plant that has excellent nutritional and medicinal potential. M. oleifera leaves (MOL) contain several bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effect of MOL polysaccharide (MOLP) on intestinal flora in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) mice. DSS-induced colitis was deemed to be a well-characterized experimental colitis model for investigating the protective effect of drugs on UC. In this study, we stimulated the experimental mice with DSS 4% for 7 days and prepared the high dose of MOLP (MOLP-H) in order to evaluate its effect on intestinal flora in DSS-induced UC mice, comparing three experimental groups, including the control, DSS model, and DSS + MOLP-H (100 mg/kg/day). At the end of the experiment, feces were collected, and the changes in intestinal flora in DSS-induced mice were analyzed based on 16S rDNA high throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the Shannon, Simpson, and observed species indices of abundance decreased in the DSS group compared with the control group. However, the indices mentioned above were increased in the MOLP-H group. According to beta diversity analysis, the DSS group showed low bacterial diversity and the distance between the control and MOLP-H groups, respectively. In addition, compared with the control group, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the DSS group decreased and the abundance of Helicobacter increased, while MOLP-H treatment improves intestinal health by enhancing the number of beneficial organisms, including Firmicutes, while reducing the number of pathogenic organisms, such as Helicobacter. In conclusion, these findings suggest that MOLP-H may be a viable prebiotic with health-promoting properties.

Unraveling Ros Conversion Through Enhanced Enzyme-Like Activity with Copper-Doped Cerium Oxide for Tumor Nanocatalytic Therapy.

Nanozyme catalytic therapy for cancer treatments has become one of the heated topics, and the therapeutic efficacy is highly correlated with their catalytic efficiency. In this work, three copper-doped CeO2 supports with various structures as well as crystal facets are developed to realize dual enzyme-mimic catalytic activities, that is superoxide dismutase (SOD) to reduce superoxide radicals to H2 O2 and peroxidase (POD) to transform H2 O2 to ∙OH. The wire-shaped CeO2 /Cu-W has the richest surface oxygen vacancies, and a low level of oxygen vacancy (Vo) formation energy, which allows for the elimination of intracellular reactive oxygen spieces (ROS) and continuous transformation to ∙OH with cascade reaction. Moreover, the wire-shaped CeO2 /Cu-W displays the highest toxic ∙OH production capacity in an acidic intracellular environment, inducing breast cancer cell death and pro-apoptotic autophagy. Therefore, wire-shaped CeO2 /Cu nanoparticles as an artificial enzyme system can have great potential in the intervention of intracellular ROS in cancer cells, achieving efficacious nanocatalytic therapy.

All-fiber sensor for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature based on hole-assisted three-core fiber.

A hole-assisted three-core fiber (HATCF) has been proposed as a sensor for simultaneous measurement of refractive index (RI) and temperature. An 8 mm long HATCF is fused between two single mode fibers (SMFs). One air hole of the HATCF is opened by femtosecond laser ablation technique to expose a suspended core to the external environment. Due to the same diameters of the two suspended cores, the resonance couplings between the center core and the two suspended cores occur at the same wavelength, which leads to a strong resonance dip. When the solution is filled into the open air hole, the resonance dip is split in two dips because the phase matching wavelength between center core and the suspended core in the open air hole is changed. Simultaneous measurement of RI and temperature can be achieved by monitoring the wavelengths of the two dips. The measured RI and temperature sensitivities are 1369 nm/RIU in the range of 1.333-1.388 and 83.48 pm/°C in the range of 25-70 °C. The proposed sensor has outstanding advantages such as simple structure, high integration and dual parameter measurement, making it a potential application in the field of biological detection.

Simultaneous measurement of temperature and salinity based on a hole-assisted dual-core fiber.

An optical fiber sensor based on a hole-assisted dual-core fiber (HADCF) has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated for dual-parameter measurements. The dual-mode interferometer created uses the LP01 mode and LP11 mode in the suspended core of a specialist optical fiber, combined with a directional coupler formed by using the suspended core and the center core in a 16 mm long HADCF. Using this, the simultaneous measurement of salinity (due to the presence of NaCl) and temperature has been achieved through monitoring the interference dip and resonance dip. The sensitivities of the measurement of salinity and temperature are 190.7 pm/‰ and -188.2 pm/°C, respectively. The sensor developed has the advantages of simplicity of fabrication, a high level of integration and the potential for measurement of dual parameters, supporting its potential applications in marine environment measurements.

High-resolution compact spectrometer based on periodic tapered coreless fiber.

This Letter proposes a method that balances miniaturization and high performance of fiber optic speckle spectrometers. The periodically tapered coreless fiber is used as the scattering element to excite more higher-order modes in the coreless fiber. As a result, a remarkable spectral resolution of 0.03 nm in the near-infrared spectrum can be achieved with a 5-cm-long fiber. Narrow linewidth and broadband spectra in the wavelength of 1540-1560 nm are reconstructed separately, demonstrating the excellent performance of the designed all-fiber spectrometer. The spectral resolution of our proposed spectrometer is comparable to that of a 2-m multimode fiber spectrometer and has a significant improvement in miniaturization.

Dendritic polymer-functionalized nanomedicine potentiates immunotherapy via lethal energy crisis-induced PD-L1 degradation.

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors ushers in a new era of anti-tumor immunity. However, current clinical anti-PD-L1 antibodies only interdict PD-L1 on the membrane, which cannot diminish the complex cancer-promoting effects of intracellular PD-L1. Therefore, directly reducing the PD-L1 abundance of cancer cells might be a potential PD-L1 inhibitory strategy to circumvent the issues of current anti-PD-L1 antibodies. Herein, we develop a dendritic polymer-functionalized nanomedicine with a potent cellular energy depletion effect on colon cancer cells. Treatment with the nanomedicine significantly promotes phosphorylation of AMPK, which in turn leads to PD-L1 degradation and eventual T cell activation. Meanwhile, the nanomedicine can potently induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) to enhance the anti-cancer immunity. Moreover, the combination of the nanomedicine with PD-1 blockade further enhances the activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and dramatically inhibits tumor growth in vivo without distinct side effects. Overall, this study provides a promising nanoplatform to induce lethal energy crisis and ICD, and suppress PD-L1 expression, thus potentiating cancer immunotherapy.

Intermediates Regulation via Electron-Deficient Cu Sites for Selective Nitrate-to-Ammonia Electroreduction.

Ammonia (NH3 ), known as one of the fundamental raw materials for manufacturing commodities such as chemical fertilizers, dyes, ammunitions, pharmaceuticals, and textiles, exhibits a high hydrogen storage capacity of ≈17.75%. Electrochemical nitrate reduction (NO3 RR) to valuable ammonia at ambient conditions is a promising strategy to facilitate the artificial nitrogen cycle. Herein, copper-doped cobalt selenide nanosheets with selenium vacancies are reported as a robust and highly efficient electrocatalyst for the reduction of nitrate to ammonia, exhibiting a maximum Faradaic efficiency of ≈93.5% and an ammonia yield rate of 2360 µg h-1 cm-2 at -0.60 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The in situ spectroscopical and theoretical study demonstrates that the incorporation of Cu dopants and Se vacancies into cobalt selenide efficiently enhances the electron transfer from Cu to Co atoms via the bridging Se atoms, forming the electron-deficient structure at Cu sites to accelerate NO3 - dissociation and stabilize the *NO2 intermediates, eventually achieving selective catalysis in the entire NO3 RR process to produce ammonia efficiently.

Impairing Tumor Metabolic Plasticity via a Stable Metal-Phenolic-Based Polymeric Nanomedicine to Suppress Colorectal Cancer.

Targeting metabolic vulnerability of tumor cells is a promising anticancer strategy. However, the therapeutic efficacy of existing metabolism-regulating agents is often compromised due to tolerance resulting from tumor metabolic plasticity, as well as their poor bioavailability and tumor-targetability. Inspired by the inhibitive effect of N-ethylmaleimide on the mitochondrial function, a dendronized-polymer-functionalized metal-phenolic nanomedicine (pOEG-b-D-SH@NP) encapsulating maleimide-modified doxorubicin (Mal-DOX) is developed to enable improvement in the overall delivery efficiency and inhibition of the tumor metabolism via multiple pathways. It is observed that Mal-DOX and its derived nanomedicine induces energy depletion of CT26 colorectal cancer cells more efficiently than doxorubicin, and shifts the balance of programmed cell death from apoptosis toward necroptosis. Notably, pOEG-b-D-SH@NP simultaneously inhibits cellular oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, thus potently suppressing cancer growth and peritoneal intestinal metastasis in mouse models. Overall, the study provides a promising dendronized-polymer-derived nanoplatform for the treatment of cancers through impairing metabolic plasticity.

Enzyme-triggered deep tumor penetration of a dual-drug nanomedicine enables an enhanced cancer combination therapy.

Cancer cells could be eradicated by promoting generation of excessive intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) via emerging nanomedicines. However, tumor heterogeneity and poor penetration of nanomedicines often lead to diverse levels of ROS production in the tumor site, and ROS at a low level promote tumor cell growth, thus diminishing the therapeutic effect of these nanomedicines. Herein, we construct an amphiphilic and block polymer-dendron conjugate-derived nanomedicine (Lap@pOEGMA-b-p(GFLG-Dendron-Ppa), GFLG-DP/Lap NPs) that incorporates a photosensitizer, Pyropheophorbide a (Ppa), for ROS therapy and Lapatinib (Lap) for molecular targeted therapy. Lap, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor that plays a role in inhibiting cell growth and proliferation, is hypothesized to synergize with ROS therapy for effectively killing cancer cells. Our results suggest that the enzyme-sensitive polymeric conjugate, pOEGMA-b-p(GFLG-Dendron-Ppa) (GFLG-DP), releases in response to cathepsin B (CTSB) after entering the tumor tissue. Dendritic-Ppa has a strong adsorption capacity to tumor cell membranes, which promotes efficient penetration and long-term retention. Lap can also be efficiently delivered to internal tumor cells to play its role due to the increased vesicle activity. Laser irradiation of Ppa-containing tumor cells results in production of intracellular ROS that is sufficient for inducing cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, Lap efficiently inhibits proliferation of remaining viable cells even in deep tumor regions, thus generating a significant synergistic anti-tumor therapeutic effect. This novel strategy can be extended to the development of efficient membrane lipid-based therapies to effectively combat tumors.

Aggregation-induced bioprobe for plasma membrane-specific imaging and photodynamic cancer cell ablation.

Selective labelling of the plasma membrane (PM) by fluorescence imaging techniques enables an intuitive analysis of cell status together with dynamic changes, and therefore is of great value. We herein disclose a novel carbazole-based probe, CPPPy, that shows aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property and is observed to selectively accumulate at the PM of living cells. Benefiting from its good biocompatibility and PM-targeted specificity, CPPPy can light up the PM of cells by high-resolution imaging even at a low concentration of 200 nM. Simultaneously, CPPPy is capable of generating both singlet oxygen and free radical-dominated species upon visible light irradiation, which further induces irreversible growth inhibition and necrocytosis of tumor cells. This study thus provides new insight into the construction of multifunctional fluorescence probes with PM-specific bioimaging and photodynamic therapy.

Attenuating Metabolic Competition of Tumor Cells for Favoring the Nutritional Demand of Immune Cells by a Branched Polymeric Drug Delivery System.

Tumor cells are dominant in the nutritional competition in the tumor microenvironment, and their metabolic abnormalities often lead to microenvironmental acidosis and nutrient deprivation, thereby impairing the function of immune cells and diminishing the antitumor therapeutic effect. Herein, a branched polymeric conjugate and its efficacy in attenuating the metabolic competition of tumor cells are reported. Compared with the control nanoparticles prepared from its linear counterpart, the branched-conjugate-based nanoparticles can more efficiently accumulate in the tumor tissue and interfere with the metabolic processes of tumor cells to increase the concentration of essential nutrients and reduce the level of immunosuppressive metabolites in the TME, thus creating a favorable environment for infiltrated immune cells. Its combined treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) achieves an enhanced antitumor effect. The work presents a promising approach for targeting metabolic competition in the TME to enhance the chemo-immunotherapeutic effect against cancers.

All-optical vector magnetic field sensor based on a side-polished two-core fiber Michelson interferometer.

A magnetic field sensor based on a side-polished two-core fiber (SPTCF)-based Michelson interferometer (MI) has been developed and demonstrated. The magnetic field sensor is composed of a standard single mode fiber (SMF) and a section of tapered TCF. By side-polishing a segment of the TCF, the effective index of the exposed core can be made sensitive to the environmental refractive index (RI). To evaluate its performance, a magnetic fluid is used to cover the polished region with a magnetic field sensitive material, where the sensor then measures the magnetic field intensity by sensing the RI change of the magnetic fluid through the evanescent field in the polished core. The SPTCF MI device developed allows for vector magnetic field sensing because of its asymmetric structure, with its highest directional sensitivity being 55.2 pm/degree. Experimental results obtained show that when the magnetic field is parallel to the side-polished plane, a sensitivity of 1.262 nm/mT can be achieved, operating over the magnetic flux density region of 0-5 mT and over a temperature range of 20∼85 °C, where the device is minimally affected by temperature changes. The sensor is well suited to a variety of potential applications given its low cost, strong anti-interference ability, simple structure and high stability.

Unveiling the Accelerated Water Electrolysis Kinetics of Heterostructural Iron-Cobalt-Nickel Sulfides by Probing into Crystalline/Amorphous Interfaces in Stepwise Catalytic Reactions.

Amorphization and crystalline grain boundary engineering are adopted separately in improving the catalytic kinetics for water electrolysis. Yet, the synergistic effect and advance in the cooperated form of crystalline/amorphous interfaces (CAI) have rarely been elucidated insightfully. Herein, a trimetallic FeCo(NiS2 )4 catalyst with numerous CAI (FeCo(NiS2 )4 -C/A) is presented, which shows highly efficient catalytic activity toward both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER). Density functional theory (DFT) studies reveal that CAI plays a significant role in accelerating water electrolysis kinetics, in which Co atoms on the CAI of FeCo(NiS2 )4 -C/A catalyst exhibit the optimal binding energy of 0.002 eV for H atoms in HER while it also has the lowest reaction barrier of 1.40 eV for the key step of OER. H2 O molecules are inclined to be absorbed on the interfacial Ni atoms based on DFT calculations. As a result, the heterostructural CAI-containing catalyst shows a low overpotential of 82 and 230 mV for HER and OER, respectively. As a bifunctional catalyst, it delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.51 V, which enables it a noble candidate as metal-based catalysts for water splitting. This work explores the role of CAI in accelerating the HER and OER kinetics for water electrolysis, which sheds light on the development of efficient, stable, and economical water electrolysis systems by facile interface-engineering implantations.

Latent Benefits and Toxicity Risks Transmission Chain of High Dietary Copper along the Livestock-Environment-Plant-Human Health Axis and Microbial Homeostasis: A Review.

The extensive use of high-concentration copper (Cu) in feed additives, fertilizers, pesticides, and nanoparticles (NPs) inevitably causes significant pollution in the ecological environment. This type of chain pollution begins with animal husbandry: first, Cu accumulation in animals poisons them; second, high Cu enters the soil and water sources with the feces and urine to cause toxicity, which may further lead to crop and plant pollution; third, this process ultimately endangers human health through consumption of livestock products, aquatic foods, plants, and even drinking water. High Cu potentially alters the antibiotic resistance of soil and water sources and further aggravates human disease risks. Thus, it is necessary to formulate reasonable Cu emission regulations because the benefits of Cu for livestock and plants cannot be ignored. The present review evaluates the potential hazards and benefits of high Cu in livestock, the environment, the plant industry, and human health. We also discuss aspects related to bacterial and fungal resistance and homeostasis and perspectives on the application of Cu-NPs and microbial high-Cu removal technology to reduce the spread of toxicity risks to humans.

Randomness analysis of end-to-end delay in random forwarding networks.

Random forwarding networks play a significant role in solving security and load balancing problems. As a random quantity easily obtained by both sender and receiver, the end-to-end delay of random forwarding networks can be utilized as an effective random source for cryptography-related applications. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model of Random forwarding networks and give the calculation method of end-to-end delay distribution. In exploring the upper limit of the randomness of end-to-end delay, we find that the end-to-end delay collision of different forwarding routes is the main reason for the decrease of end-to-end delay randomness. Some of these collisions can be optimized by better network deployment, while others are caused by some interesting network topology, which is unavoidable. For further analysis, we propose an algorithm to calculate the inevitable collision in random forwarding networks skillfully by using Symbol Matrix, and we give the optimal node forwarding strategy with the maximum randomness of the end-to-end delay for a given number of middle forwarding nodes and forwarding times. Finally, we introduce a specific application of generating symmetric keys by using the randomness of the end-to-end delay.

Dual stimuli-responsive dendronized prodrug derived from poly(oligo-(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)-based copolymers for enhanced anti-cancer therapeutic effect.

In this study, we developed an enzyme- and pH-responsive dendronized poly(oligo-(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (pOEGMA)-doxorubicin (DOX) polymeric prodrug, which combined the pOEGMA structure with a degradable peptide dendron. The introduction of the dendron in the prodrug hindered the entanglement of brush oligo-(ethylene glycol) (OEG) chains, allowed the prodrug to possess dual stimuli-responsiveness, and mediated self-assembly of the polymeric prodrug to form stable nanoparticles (NPs). Brush conformation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) side chains endowed the NPs with long-term circulation with a half-life of 16.0 h. The dual-responsive dendritic structure enhanced cellular uptake of NPs and facilitated drug release in response to overexpressed cathepsin B and an acidic pH in the tumor microenvironment, resulting in an enhanced therapeutic effect with a tumor inhibition rate of 72.9% for 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. The NPs were demonstrated to possess great hemocompatibility and biosafety. Therefore, this strategy could provide great insight for the design of poly(oligo-(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)-based copolymers as drug delivery carriers. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: We propose a dual-stimuli-responsive dendronized strategy for improving the cancer therapeutic effect of the poly(oligo-(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (pOEGMA)-based drug conjugates. The introduction of the functional dendron promotes self-assembly of the polymeric prodrug into nanoparticles, hindering the entanglement of brush oligo-(ethylene glycol) (OEG) chains in the conjugated drugs. The obtained poly OEGMA-GFLG-Dendron-NH-N=DOX nanoparticles maintains long circulation, while addresses the drug release issue due to the presence of high-density PEG. The drug delivery system exhibits a high therapeutic potentcy with negligible side effects.

A Transformable Amphiphilic and Block Polymer-Dendron Conjugate for Enhanced Tumor Penetration and Retention with Cellular Homeostasis Perturbation via Membrane Flow.

Efficient penetration and retention of therapeutic agents in tumor tissues can be realized through rational design of drug delivery systems. Herein, a polymer-dendron conjugate, POEGMA-b-p(GFLG-Dendron-Ppa) (GFLG-DP), is presented, which allows a cathepsin-B-triggered stealthy-to-sticky structural transformation. The compositions and ratios are optimized through dissipative particle dynamics simulations. GFLG-DP displays tumor-specific transformation and the consequently released dendron-Ppa is found to effectively accumulate on the tumor cell membrane. The interaction between the dendron-Ppa and the tumor cell membrane results in intracellular and intercellular transport via membrane flow, thus achieving efficient deep penetration and prolonged retention of therapeutic agents in the solid tumor tissues. Meanwhile, the interaction of dendron-Ppa with the endoplasmic reticulum disrupts cell homeostasis, making tumor cells more vulnerable and susceptible to photodynamic therapy. This platform represents a versatile approach to augmenting the tumor therapeutic efficacy of a nanomedicine via manipulation of its interactions with tumor membrane systems.

Systematic Characterization of TCP Gene Family in Four Cotton Species Revealed That GhTCP62 Regulates Branching in Arabidopsis.

TEOSINTE-BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) transcription factors play an essential role in regulating various physiological and biochemical functions during plant growth. However, the function of TCP transcription factors in G. hirsutum has not yet been studied. In this study, we performed genome-wide identification and correlation analysis of the TCP transcription factor family in G. hirsutum. We identified 72 non-redundant GhTCP genes and divided them into seven subfamilies, based on phylogenetic analysis. Most GhTCP genes in the same subfamily displayed similar exon and intron structures and featured highly conserved motif structures in their subfamily. Additionally, the pattern of chromosomal distribution demonstrated that GhTCP genes were unevenly distributed on 24 out of 26 chromosomes, and that fragment replication was the main replication event of GhTCP genes. In TB1 sub-family genes, GhTCP62 was highly expressed in the axillary buds, suggesting that GhTCP62 significantly affected cotton branching. Additionally, subcellular localization results indicated that GhTCP62 is located in the nucleus and possesses typical transcription factor characteristics. The overexpression of GhTCP62 in Arabidopsis resulted in fewer rosette-leaf branches and cauline-leaf branches. Furthermore, the increased expression of HB21 and HB40 genes in Arabidopsis plants overexpressing GhTCP62 suggests that GhTCP62 may regulate branching by positively regulating HB21 and HB40.