Atomic Valence Reversal-Induced Polarization Resonance Spurs Highly Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption in α-Fe2O3@Carbon Microtubes.

Variegation and complexity of polarization relaxation loss in many heterostructured materials provide available mechanisms to seek a strong electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance. Here we construct a unique heterostructured compound that bonds α-Fe2O3 nanosheets of the (110) plane on carbon microtubes (CMTs). Through effective alignment between the Fermi energy level of CMTs and the conduction band position of α-Fe2O3 nanosheets at the interface, we attain substantial polarization relaxation loss via novel atomic valence reversal between Fe(III) ↔ Fe(III-) induced with periodic electron injection from conductive CMTs under EMW irradiation to give α-Fe2O3 nanosheets. Such heterostructured materials possess currently reported minimum reflection loss of -84.01 dB centered at 10.99 GHz at a thickness of 3.19 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss ≤ -10 dB) of 7.17 GHz (10.83-18 GHz) at 2.65 mm. This work provides an effective strategy for designing strong EMW absorbers by combining highly efficient electron injection and atomic valence reversal.

A moisture-enabled fully printable power source inspired by electric eels.

Great efforts have been made to build integrated devices to enable future wearable electronics; however, safe, disposable, and cost-effective power sources still remain a challenge. In this paper, an all-solid-state power source was developed by using graphene materials and can be printed directly on an insulating substrate such as paper. The design of the power source was inspired by electric eels to produce programmable voltage and current by converting the chemical potential energy of the ion gradient to electric energy in the presence of moisture. An ultrahigh voltage of 192 V with 175 cells in series printed on a strip of paper was realized under ambient conditions. For the planar cell, the mathematical fractal design concept was adapted as printed patterns, improving the output power density to 2.5 mW cm-3, comparable to that of lithium thin-film batteries. A foldable three-dimensional (3D) cell was also achieved by employing an origami strategy, demonstrating a versatile design to provide green electric energy. Unlike typical batteries, this power source printed on flexible paper substrate does not require liquid electrolytes, hazardous components, or complicated fabrication processes and is highly customizable to meet the demands of wearable electronics and Internet of Things applications.

Magnetoelectricity-Mediated Tunable Absorption and Release of Peroxide Dianions.

Peroxide dianion (O22-) has strong oxidizing activity and ease of proton abstraction and is extremely unstable. Direct and controllable adsorption and release of O22- has large application implication and is a large challenge so far. Here, we use a unique metal (Ni)-organic (diphenylalanine, DPA) framework (MOF), Ni(DPA)2, as adsorbents for absorption and release of O22-. This MOF structure has room-temperature magnetoelectricity via distortion of the Ni-centered octahedron {NiN2O4} and thus possesses a tunable ferroelectric polarization under applied electric/magnetic fields. Controllable adsorption and release of O22- are realized in such a MOF system via electrochemical redox measurements. Structural/spectroscopic characterization and calculations reveal that a number of NH active sites in the nanopores of MOF can effectively adsorb O22- by hydrogen bonds and then tunable ferroelectric polarization induces controllable release of O22- under applied magnetic fields. This work presents a constructive way for controllable adsorption and release of reactive oxygen species.

Ten-Day Vonoprazan-Amoxicillin Dual Therapy as a First-Line Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection Compared With Bismuth-Containing Quadruple Therapy.

INTRODUCTION: No study has investigated the efficacy and safety of vonoprazan-amoxicillin dual therapy compared with bismuth quadruple therapy (B-quadruple). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 10-day vonoprazan-amoxicillin dual therapy as a first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection compared with B-quadruple and to explore the optimal dosage of amoxicillin in the dual therapy. METHODS: A total of 375 treatment-naive, H. pylori -infected subjects were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio into 3 regimen groups including VHA-dual (vonoprazan 20 mg twice/day + amoxicillin 750 mg 4 times/day), VA-dual (vonoprazan 20 mg + amoxicillin 1,000 mg twice/day), and B-quadruple (esomeprazole 20 mg + bismuth 200 mg + amoxicillin 1,000 mg + clarithromycin 500 mg twice/day). Eradication rates, adverse events (AEs), and compliance were compared between 3 groups. RESULTS: The eradication rates of B-quadruple, VHA-dual, and VA-dual were 90.9%, 93.4%, and 85.1%, respectively, by per-protocol analysis; 89.4%, 92.7%, and 84.4%, respectively, by modified intention-to-treat analysis; 88.0%, 91.2%, and 82.4%, respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis. The efficacy of the VHA-dual group was not inferior to the B-quadruple group ( P < 0.001), but VA-dual did not reach a noninferiority margin of -10%. The AEs rates of the B-quadruple group were significantly higher than those of the VHA-dual ( P = 0.012) and VA-dual ( P = 0.001) groups. There was no significant difference in medication compliance among 3 treatment groups ( P = 0.995). CONCLUSIONS: The 10-day VHA-dual therapy provided satisfactory eradication rates of >90%, lower AEs rates, and similar adherence compared with B-quadruple therapy as a first-line therapy for H. pylori infection. However, the efficacy of VA-dual therapy was not acceptable.

Enrichment of miR-17-5p enhances the protective effects of EPC-EXs on vascular and skeletal muscle injury in a diabetic hind limb ischemia model.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is highly susceptible to diabetic hind limb ischemia (DHI). MicroRNA (MiR)-17-5p is downregulated in DM and plays a key role in vascular protection. Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC)-released exosomes (EPC-EXs) contribute to vascular protection and ischemic tissue repair by transferring their contained miRs to target cells. Here, we investigated whether miR-17-5p-enriched EPC-EXs (EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p) had conspicuous effects on protecting vascular and skeletal muscle in DHI in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: EPCs transfected with scrambled control or miR-17-5p mimics were used to generate EPC-EXs and EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p. Db/db mice were subjected to hind limb ischemia. After the surgery, EPC-EXs and EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p were injected into the gastrocnemius muscle of the hind limb once every 7 days for 3 weeks. Blood flow, microvessel density, capillary angiogenesis, gastrocnemius muscle weight, structure integrity, and apoptosis in the hind limb were assessed. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and myoblast cells (C2C12 cells) were subjected to hypoxia plus high glucose (HG) and cocultured with EPC-EXs and EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p. A bioinformatics assay was used to analyze the potential target gene of miR-17-5p, the levels of SPRED1, PI3K, phosphorylated Akt, cleaved caspase-9 and cleaved caspase-3 were measured, and a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) was used for pathway analysis. RESULTS: In the DHI mouse model, miR-17-5p was markedly decreased in hind limb vessels and muscle tissues, and infusion of EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p was more effective than EPC-EXs in increasing miR-17-5p levels, blood flow, microvessel density, and capillary angiogenesis, as well as in promoting muscle weight, force production and structural integrity while reducing apoptosis in gastrocnemius muscle. In Hypoxia plus HG-injured ECs and C2C12 cells, we found that EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p could deliver their carried miR-17-5p into target ECs and C2C12 cells and subsequently downregulate the target protein SPRED1 while increasing the levels of PI3K and phosphorylated Akt. EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p were more effective than EPC-EXs in decreasing apoptosis and necrosis while increasing viability, migration, and tube formation in Hypoxia plus HG-injured ECs and in decreasing apoptosis while increasing viability and myotube formation in C2C12 cells. These effects of EPC-EXsmiR-17-5p could be abolished by a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that miR-17-5p promotes the beneficial effects of EPC-EXs on DHI by protecting vascular ECs and muscle cell functions.

Asymmetric Exchange Interaction Induces Highly Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution in RhFe Bimetallene.

An RhFe bimetallene with Fe atoms doped into Rh host for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), is constructed. When two doped Fe atoms occupy neighboring asymmetric spatial positions, their asymmetric exchange interaction drives electron hopping between the dxy orbital of a Fe atom and the dz 2 orbital of its neighboring Fe atom to push the d band center closer to the Fermi level as a result of electronic state reconstruction. The designed bimetallene with thickness of 0.77 nm (5 atomic layers), possesses excellent HER performance. The low overpotentials of 24.4 and 34.6 mV are achieved at the 10 and 100 mA cm-2 current densities in 1 m KOH solution, respectively. An ultra-low Tafel slope of 8.9 mV dec-1 shows that this kind of RhFe bimetallene is of an ultrafast kinetic process. This work provides a strategy for designing HER catalysts with double metal composites.

Antitumor CD8 T cell responses in glioma patients are effectively suppressed by T follicular regulatory cells.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are thought to contribute to tumor pathogenesis by suppressing tumor immunosurveillance and antitumor immunity. T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells are a recently characterized Treg subset that expresses both the Treg transcription factor (TF) Foxp3 and the T follicular helper (Tfh) TF Bcl-6. The role of Tfr cells in glioma patients remains unclear. In this study, we found that the level of Tfr cells, identified as Foxp3+Bcl-6+ CD4 T cells, was significantly elevated in tumor-infiltrating CD4 T cells from resected glioma tumors. Both Tfr cells and Treg cells significantly suppressed the proliferation and the cytotoxic capacity of CD8 T cells toward glioma tumor cells, and the suppression was positively associated with the proportion of Tfr cells and Treg cells, respectively. Tfr and Treg cells from glioma tumor samples demonstrated higher suppression potency than those from healthy blood samples and glioma blood samples. Interestingly, canonical CXCR5- Treg cells could suppress both CXCR5+ and CXCR5- CD8 T cells, albeit with stronger potency toward CXCR5- CD8 T cells. However, Tfr cells presented much higher suppression potency toward CXCR5+ CD8 T cells, whereas CXCR5+ CD8 T cells are a potent CD8 T cell subset previously described to have antiviral and antitumor roles. Overall, these data indicate that Tfr cells are enriched in glioma tumors and have suppressive capacity toward CD8 T cell-mediated effector functions.

Associations among Audiometric, Doppler Hydroacoustic, and Subjective Outcomes of Venous Pulsatile Tinnitus.

OBJECTIVE: Venous pulsatile tinnitus (PT) has received increasing attention recently. As analyses of psychophysical and neuropsychological dimensions of venous PT are lacking, this study aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the correlation among audiometric, hydroacoustic, and subjective outcomes in patients with PT. METHODS: Fifty-five venous PT patients, with or without sigmoid sinus wall anomalies (SSWAs), were subdivided into SSWAs (n = 30) and non-SSWAs (n = 25) groups. Audiometric and hemodynamic evaluations were assessed. Questionnaires including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) were deployed to evaluate the psychological impacts of PT. RESULTS: Among 55 subjects, PT frequency-related pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was significantly different between ipsilesional non-PT frequency-related PTA (p < 0.01), ipsilateral jugular vein compression PTA (p < 0.01), and contralesional ear PTA (p < 0.01). In contrast with the pulsatility index and flow velocity, bilateral EOET and flow volume were significantly different (p < 0.01). Of the 3 questionnaire types, there was a strong correlation between HADS anxiety and AIS scores (r = 0.658, p < 0.01). The duration of PT was not correlated with subjective outcomes, and there was no statistical significance found among audiometric, hemodynamic, and subjective outcomes between SSWAs and non-SSWAs groups. CONCLUSIONS: (1) The duration of PT was irrelevant to the increase of PTA. (2) Venous PT is the perception of vascular flow sound, in which hydroacoustic characteristics can be highly independent. (3) Anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders commonly prevail among PT patients.

Circular RNA circ_0001588 sponges miR-211-5p to facilitate the progression of glioblastoma via up-regulating YY1 expression.

BACKGROUND: As the most common and detrimental brain tumor with high invasiveness and poor prognosis, glioblastoma (GBM) has severely threatened people's health globally. Therefore, it is of great importance and necessary to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis and development, thus contributing to potential therapeutic targets and strategies. METHODS: The level of circ_0001588 was detected in 68 pairs of GBM tissues and adjacent normal tissues and human glioma cell lines via a real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, the effect of circ_0001588 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells was evaluated. In addition, potential downstream targets of circ_0001588 were forecasted by circBANK and Starbase. Their interaction was confirmed by introducing luciferase reporter assays. Moreover, sh-circ_0001588 transfected U251 cells were used to form tumors in vivo. Finally, the functional mechanism of circ_0001588 was identified by qRT-PCR, western blotting, xenograft and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays. RESULTS: The expression of circ_0001588 is markedly up-regulated in GBM tissues and human gliomas cells. Additionally, increased expression of circ_0001588 is positively relevant with poor survival in GBM patients. The down-regulation of circ_0001588 distinctly inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of GBM in vitro, as well as tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, knockdown of circ_0001588 reduces the tumor volume and weight, enhances the relative IHC staining index of E-cadherin and decreases the relative IHC staining index of Ki-67, Yin Yang 1 (YY1) and vinmentin in vivo. Mechanistically, circ_0001588 locates in the cytoplasm, which is directly bound with miR-211-5p. Furthermore, circ_0001588 can positively regulate YY1 via sponging miR-211-5p. Moreover, circ_0001588 accelerates the proliferation, migration and invasion of GBM by modulating miR-211-5p/YY1 signaling. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate a new circ_0001588/miR-211-5p/YY1 regulatory signaling axis in GBM.

Differential diagnosis for esophageal protruded lesions using a deep convolution neural network in endoscopic images.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Recent advances in deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have led to remarkable results in digestive endoscopy. In this study, we aimed to develop CNN-based models for the differential diagnosis of benign esophageal protruded lesions using endoscopic images acquired during real clinical settings. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the images from 1217 patients who underwent white-light endoscopy (WLE) and EUS between January 2015 and April 2020. Three deep CNN models were developed to accomplish the following tasks: (1) identification of esophageal benign lesions from healthy controls using WLE images; (2) differentiation of 3 subtypes of esophageal protruded lesions (including esophageal leiomyoma [EL], esophageal cyst (EC], and esophageal papilloma [EP]) using WLE images; and (3) discrimination between EL and EC using EUS images. Six endoscopists blinded to the patients' clinical status were enrolled to interpret all images independently. Their diagnostic performances were evaluated and compared with the CNN models using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: For task 1, the CNN model achieved an AUC of 0.751 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.652-0.850) in identifying benign esophageal lesions. For task 2, the proposed model using WLE images for differentiation of esophageal protruded lesions achieved an AUC of 0.907 (95% CI, 0.835-0.979), 0.897 (95% CI, 0.841-0.953), and 0.868 (95% CI, 0.769-0.968) for EP, EL, and EC, respectively. The CNN model achieved equivalent or higher identification accuracy for EL and EC compared with skilled endoscopists. In the task of discriminating EL from EC (task 3), the proposed CNN model had AUC values of 0.739 (EL, 95% CI, 0.600-0.878) and 0.724 (EC, 95% CI, 0.567-0.881), which outperformed seniors and novices. Attempts to combine the CNN and endoscopist predictions led to significantly improved diagnostic accuracy compared with endoscopists interpretations alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our team established CNN-based methodologies to recognize benign esophageal protruded lesions using routinely obtained WLE and EUS images. Preliminary results combining the results from the models and the endoscopists underscored the potential of ensemble models for improved differentiation of lesions in real endoscopic settings.

Inhibition of miR-124 improves neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis via an MYPT1 and TLR9 signal regulation mechanism.

BACKGROUNDS: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) was one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates. Our objective was to detect the mechanism of miR-124 in small bowel tissues of NEC. METHODS: Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to detect the repair of the damaged tissues in rat NEC model. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used to evaluate the cell apoptosis level in intestinal tissue. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression level of miR-124, Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1), and Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in NEC tissues and IEC-6 cells. Luciferase reporter assay was used to verify whether ROCK1 is a direct target of miR-124. RESULTS: miR-124 was overexpressed in the NEC tissues, while ROCK1 and MYPT1 was downregulated in the NEC tissues. Inhibition of miR-124, suppressed the intestinal cell apoptosis and promoted the expression of ROCK1 and MYPT1. What is more, overexpression of miR-124 could inhibit the expression of ROCK1, TLR9, and MYPT1. Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-124 can regulate the transcriptional activity of ROCK1 through binding its 3'-UTR region. CONCLUSION: miR-124 was a promoter of NEC, which promotes the intestine cell apoptosis and inflammatory cell infiltration through the inhibition of TLR9 expression by targeting ROCK1.

Antiviral efficacy of entecavir for hepatitis B virus rtA181V/T mutants.

BACKGROUND: The amino acid substitution at position 181 of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase is a multi-drug resistance affecting both the L-nucleoside and acyclic phosphonate nucleotide groups. Data is limited on the efficacy of entecavir (ETV) rescuing chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with rtA181T/V mutation. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with rtA181T/V mutation and 25 patients with rtA181T/V and rtN236T mutation were enrolled. Virological, serological and biochemical outcomes of ETV rescue therapy over 12 months in CHB patients with rtA181T/V mutation strains were investigated. All patients were treated with ETV 0.5 mg/day for 12 months and scheduled follow-up every 3 months. Patients' characteristics, laboratory tests results and clinical outcomes were collected and compared. RESULTS: After emergence of rtA181T/V mutant, serum HBV DNA levels increased over 4 log10 IU/mL, but the total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels raised moderately. No significant difference in baseline characteristics was observed between the rtA181T/V group and rtA181T/V + rtN236T group. After 12 months rescue therapy, total 85.7% (48/56) patients achieved HBV DNA undetectable. No significant difference in the mean reduction of serum HBV DNA and biochemical response was observed between both groups (3.59 ± 1.85 vs. 3.76 ± 2.15 log10 IU/ml; P = 0.756 and 90.3 vs. 80.0%; P = 0.272, respectively). The mean HBV DNA reduction, HBsAg and ALT levels were also similar between different rtA181T/sW172 mutations (P > 0.05). HBV DNA level is the only predictor of 12 months antiviral outcomes (odds ratio 6.723, P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggested that ETV is efficient in rescuing rtA181T/V mutation CHB patients. HBV DNA level could predict viral clearance at the 12th month.

Combined PD-1 blockade and GITR triggering induce a potent antitumor immunity in murine cancer models and synergizes with chemotherapeutic drugs.

BACKGROUND: The coinhibitory receptor Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) inhibits effector functions of activated T cells and prevents autoimmunity, however, cancer hijack this pathway to escape from immune attack. The costimulatory receptor glucocorticoid-induced TNFR related protein (GITR) is up-regulated on activated T cells and increases their proliferation, activation and cytokine production. We hypothesize that concomitant PD-1 blockade and GITR triggering would synergistically improve the effector functions of tumor-infiltrating T cells and increase the antitumor immunity. In present study, we evaluated the antitumor effects and mechanisms of combined PD-1 blockade and GITR triggering in a clinically highly relevant murine ID8 ovarian cancer model. METHODS: Mice with 7 days-established peritoneal ID8 ovarian cancer were treated intraperitoneally (i.p.) with either control, anti-PD-1, anti-GITR or anti-PD-1/GITR monoclonal antibody (mAb) and their survival was evaluated; the phenotype and function of tumor-associated immune cells in peritoneal cavity of treated mice was analyzed by flow cytometry, and systemic antigen-specific immune response was evaluated by ELISA and cytotoxicity assay. RESULTS: Combined anti-PD-1/GITR mAb treatment remarkably inhibited peritoneal ID8 tumor growth with 20% of mice tumor free 90 days after tumor challenge while treatment with either anti-PD-1 or anti-GITR mAb alone exhibited little antitumor effect. The durable antitumor effect was associated with a memory immune response and conferred by CD4⁺ cells and CD8⁺ T cells. The treatment of anti-PD-1/GITR mAb increased the frequencies of interferon-γ-producing effector T cells and decreased immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, shifting an immunosuppressive tumor milieu to an immunostimulatory state in peritoneal cavity. In addition, combined treatment of anti-PD-1/GITR mAb mounted an antigen-specific immune response as evidenced by antigen-specific IFN-γ production and cytolytic activity of spleen cells from treated mice. More importantly, combined treatment of anti-PD-1/GITR mAb and chemotherapeutic drugs (cisplatin or paclitaxel) further increased the antitumor efficacy with 80% of mice obtaining tumor-free long-term survival in murine ID8 ovarian cancer and 4 T1 breast cancer models. CONCLUSIONS: Combined anti-PD-1/GITR mAb treatment induces a potent antitumor immunity, which can be further promoted by chemotherapeutic drugs. A combined strategy of anti-PD-1/GITR mAb plus cisplatin or paclitaxel should be considered translation into clinic.

Dynamic nonlinear CO2 emission effects of urbanization routes in the eight most populous countries.

A dynamic STIRPAT model used in the current study is based on panel data from the eight most populous countries from 1975 to 2020, revealing the nonlinear effects of urbanization routes (percentage of total urbanization, percentage of small cities and percentage of large cities) on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Using "Dynamic Display Unrelated Regression (DSUR)" and "Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS)" regressions, the outcomes reflect that percentage of total urbanization and percentage of small cities have an incremental influence on carbon dioxide emissions. However, square percentage of small cities and square percentage of total urbanization have significant adverse effects on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The positive relationship between the percentage of small cities, percentage of total urbanization and CO2 emissions and the negative relationship between the square percentage of small cities, square percentage of total urbanization and CO2 emissions legitimize the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis. The impact of the percentage of large cities on carbon dioxide emissions is significantly negative, while the impact of the square percentage of large cities on carbon dioxide emissions is significantly positive, validating a U-shaped EKC hypothesis. The incremental effect of percentage of small cities and percentage of total urbanization on long-term environmental degradation can provide support for ecological modernization theory. Energy intensity, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial growth and transport infrastructure stimulate long-term CO2 emissions. Country-level findings from the AMG estimator support a U-shaped link between the percentage of small cities and CO2 emissions for each country in the entire panel except the United States. In addition, the Dumitrescu and Hulin causality tests yield a two-way causality between emission of carbon dioxide and squared percentage of total urbanization, between the percentage of the large cities and emission of carbon dioxide, and between energy intensity and emission of carbon dioxide. This study proposes renewable energy options and green city-friendly technologies to improve the environmental quality of urban areas.

Surface CN bonds mediate photocatalytic CO2 reduction into efficient CH4 production in TiO2-decorated g-C3N4 nanosheets.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4, CN) has garnered considerable attention in the field of photocatalysis due to its favorable band gap and high specific surface area. However, its primary practical limitation lies in the strong radiative recombination of lone pair (LP) electronic states, leading to limited efficiency in separating photogenerated carriers and subsequently diminishing photocatalytic performance. In this study, we devised and synthesized a heterojunction photocatalytic system comprising TiO2 nanosheets supported on modified g-C3N4 (MCN), designated as MCN/TiO2. The presence of CN functional groups on the tri-s-triazine nitrogen captures photogenerated electrons by modifying LP electronic states, resulting in a reduction in the fluorescence emission intensity of g-C3N4. Simultaneously, it forms chemical bonds with the supported TiO2 nanosheets, creating an efficient electron transfer pathway for the accumulation of photogenerated electrons at the active Ti sites. Experimentally, the MCN/TiO2 photocatalytic system exhibited optimal performance in CO2 reduction. The CH4 production rate reached 26.59 µmol g-1 h-1, surpassing that of TiO2 and CN/TiO2 by approximately 8 and 3 times, respectively. Furthermore, this photocatalytic system demonstrated exceptional photostability over five cycles, each lasting 4 h. This research offers a valuable approach for the efficient separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers in composite materials based on g-C3N4.

Modification of carbon nanotube transparent conducting films for electrodes in organic light-emitting diodes.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transparent conducting films (TCFs) were fabricated for the electrodes of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs); three types of film were studied. The as-prepared SWCNT TCFs displayed a relatively low sheet resistance of 82.6 Ω/sq at 80.7 T% with a relatively large surface roughness of 30 nm. The TCFs were top-coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to obtain PEDOT:PSS-coated TCFs. The PEDOT:PSS cover improved the conductivity and decreased the surface roughness to 12 nm at the cost of film transmittance. The SWCNT TCFs mixed with PEDOT:PSS (PM-TCFs) exhibited a high conductivity (70.6 Ω/sq at 81 T%) and a low surface roughness (3 nm) and were thus selected as the best TCFs for OLEDs. Blue flexible OLEDs with 4,4'-bis(2,2'-diphenylvinyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (Dpvbi) as the emitting layer were fabricated on TCFs with the same structures to evaluate the performances of the different types of SWCNT films for use in OLEDs. Of these three types of OLEDs, the PM-TCF devices exhibited the optimal performance with a maximum luminance of 2587 cd m(-2) and a current efficiency of 5.44 cd A(-1). This result was explored using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to further study the mechanisms that are involved in applying SWCNT TCFs to OLEDs.

Combination of EPC-EXs and NPC-EXs with miR-126 and miR-210 overexpression produces better therapeutic effects on ischemic stroke by protecting neurons through the Nox2/ROS and BDNF/TrkB pathways.

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and endothelial progenitor cell (EPCs) exhibit synergistical effects on protecting endothelial cell functions. MiR-126 and miR-210 can protect cell activities by regulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Exosomes (EXs) mediate the beneficial effects of stem cells via delivering microRNAs (miRs). Here, we investigated the combination effects of EXs from EPCs (EPC-EXs) and NPCs (NPC-EXs), and determined whether these EXs with miR-126 (EPC-EXsmiR-126) and miR-210 overexpression (NPC-EXsmiR-210) had better effects on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-injured neurons and ischemic stroke (IS). METHODS: Cultured neurons were subjected to hypoxia for 6 h and then co-cultured with culture medium, NPC-EXs, EPC-EXs, NPC-EXs + EPC-EXs or NPC-EXsmiR-210 + EPC-EXsmiR-126 under normoxia for 24 h. Cell apoptosis, ROS production, neurite outgrowth and BDNF level were analyzed. Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed on C57BL/6 mice to build IS model. The mice were injected with PBS or various EXs via tail vein 2 h after MCAO operation. After 24 h, infarct volume and neurological deficits score (NDS), neuronal apoptosis, ROS production and spine density of dendrites, and brain BDNF level were analyzed. For mechanism study, NADPH oxidase 2(Nox2) and BDNF receptor tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) were determined, and TrkB inhibitor k-252a was used in in vitro and in vivo study. RESULTS: 1) The level of miR-210 or miR-126 was increased after NPC-EXs or EPC-EXs treatment respectively. 2) In H/R-injured neurons, NPC-EXs or EPC-EXs decreased cell apoptosis and ROS production and promoted neurite outgrowth, which were associated with the downregulation of Nox2 and the increase of BDNF and p-TrkB/TrkB level. 3) In MCAO mice, NPC-EXs or EPC-EXs decreased infarct volume and NDS, reduced neural apoptosis and ROS production, and promoted the spine density of dendrites. The levels of Nox2, BDNF and p-TrkB/TrkB in mouse brain tissues changed in similar patterns as seen in the in vitro study. 4) In both cell and mouse models, combination of NPC-EXs and EPC-EXs was more effective than NPC-EXs or EPC-EXs alone on all of these effects. 5) EPC-EXsmiR-126 + NPC-EXsmiR-210 had better effects compared to NPC-EXs + EPC-EXs, which were inhibited by k-252a. CONCLUSION: EPC-EXsmiR-126 combined NPC-EXsmiR-210 further orchestrate the combinative protective effects of EPC-EXs and NPC-EXs on IS, possibly by protecting H/R-injured neurons through the Nox2/ ROS and BDNF/TrkB pathways.

High-density electron transfer in Ni-metal-organic framework@FeNi-layered double hydroxide for efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution.

The electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction is a bottleneck reaction in hydrolysis and electrolysis because the four-step electron transfer leads to slow reaction kinetics and large overpotentials. This situation can be improved by fast charge transfer by optimizing the interfacial electronic structure and enhancing polarization. Herein, a unique metal (Ni) organic (diphenylalanine, DPA) framework Ni(DPA)2 (Ni-MOF) with tunable polarization is designed to bond with FeNi-LDH (layered double hydroxides) nanoflakes. The Ni-MOF@FeNi-LDH heterostructure delivers excellent oxygen evolution performance exemplified by an ultralow overpotential of 198 mV at 100 mA cm-2 compared to other (FeNi-LDH)-based catalysts. Experiments and theoretical calculations show that FeNi-LDH exists in an electron-rich state in Ni-MOF@FeNi-LDH due to polarization enhancement caused by interfacial bonding with Ni-MOF. This effectively changes the local electronic structure of the metal Fe/Ni active sites and optimizes adsorption of the oxygen-containing intermediates. Polarization and electron transfer of Ni-MOF are further enhanced by magnetoelectric coupling consequently giving rise to better electrocatalytic properties as a result of high-density electron transfer to active sites. These findings reveal a promising interface and polarization modulation strategy to improve electrocatalysis.

Preparation of degradable chemically cross-linked polylactic acid films and its application on disposable straws.

The semi-rigidity of the polylactic acid (PLA) molecular chain makes it brittle, poor impact resistance and barrier properties, which severely limits its practical applications. In this paper, a bio-based reactive plasticizer epoxy soybean oil (ESO) was used to improve the mechanical and barrier properties of maleic anhydride grafted polylactic acid (MAPLA) by the chemical reaction between the epoxy and anhydride group. Firstly, the optimum curing conditions were 93.5 °C, 100 °C, and 110.8 °C for 2 h. The effects of different mass fractions of ESO on the properties of MAPLA-ESO (ME) films were systematically investigated. It was found that when the content of ESO was 10 wt%, the tensile properties of the resulting ME films were the best, with a tensile strength of 35.2 MPa. And it had an elongation at break of 20.0 % and toughness of 5.4 MJ/m3, which increased to 690 % and 675 %, respectively, compared with pure MAPLA films. The chemically crosslinked ME films also displayed excellent water resistance, well degradation, low migration properties, and better performance than that of commercial paper straws and PLA straws, exhibiting great application potential as degradable disposable straws. Therefore, this work provides an effective way to develop high-performance, green, and degradable PLA films and products.

A day-to-day management model improves patient compliance to treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection: a prospective, randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The day-to-day (DTD) management model encourages patients to actively participate in their healthcare by setting goals. We determined the effectiveness of the DTD model in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, as compared with conventional outpatient education (OE). METHODS: We randomized 254 H. pylori-positive patients into a DTD group (127 patients) and an OE group (127 patients) prior to primary treatment with 14-day bismuth-containing quadruple therapy, including esomeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin. Both groups received consistent medication instructions. Patients in the DTD group recorded daily attendance after completing their daily medication plan from day 1 to day 14. The medication compliance, follow-up compliance, H. pylori eradication rates, and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated. RESULTS: In the modified intention-to-treat (MITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses, the DTD group showed significantly higher medication compliance than the OE group (P = 0.001 and P = 0.031, respectively). Both the MITT and PP analyses showed significant differences in follow-up compliance (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively) and timing of the review urea breath test (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively) between the two groups. However, no significant differences were observed in the H. pylori eradication rates (95.8% vs. 93.8%, P = 0.529) in the PP analysis, or AEs incidence (25.4% vs. 28.3%, P = 0.603) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the novel application of the DTD model in the treatment of H. pylori infection, which enabled patients to develop habitual medication-taking behaviors without physician intervention.