Metal-Loaded Synthetic Melanin via Oxidative Polymerization of Neurotransmitter Norepinephrine Exhibiting High Photothermal Conversion.

Polydopamine (PDA)-derived melanin-like materials exhibit significant photothermal conversion owing to their broad-spectrum light absorption. However, their low near-infrared (NIR) absorption and inadequate hydrophilicity compromise their utilization of solar energy. Herein, we developed metal-loaded poly(norepinephrine) nanoparticles (PNE NPs) by predoping metal ions (Fe3+, Mn3+, Co2+, Ca2+, Ga3+, and Mg2+) with norepinephrine, a neuron-derived biomimetic molecule, to address the limitations of PDA. The chelation between catechol and metal ions induces a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) through the formation of donor-acceptor pairs, modulating the light absorption behavior and reducing the band gap. Under 1 sun illumination, the Fe-loaded PNE coated wood evaporator achieved a high seawater evaporation rate and efficiency of 1.75 kg m-2 h-1 and 92.4%, respectively, owing to the superior hydrophilicity and photothermal performance of PNE. Therefore, this study offers a comprehensive exploration of the role of metal ions in enhancing the photothermal properties of synthetic melanins.

Dual-energy CT improves differentiation of non-hypervascular pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms from CA 19-9-negative pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the utility of dual-energy CT (DECT) in differentiating non-hypervascular pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) with negative carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9). METHODS: This retrospective study included 26 and 39 patients with pathologically confirmed non-hypervascular PNENs and CA 19-9-negative PDACs, respectively, who underwent contrast-enhanced DECT before treatment between June 2019 and December 2021. The clinical, conventional CT qualitative, conventional CT quantitative, and DECT quantitative parameters of the two groups were compared using univariate analysis and selected by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO) analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to build qualitative, conventional CT quantitative, DECT quantitative, and comprehensive models. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of the models were compared using DeLong's test. RESULTS: The AUCs of the DECT quantitative (based on normalized iodine concentrations [nICs] in the arterial and portal venous phases: 0.918; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.852-0.985) and comprehensive (based on tumour location and nICs in the arterial and portal venous phases: 0.966; 95% CI 0.889-0.995) models were higher than those of the qualitative (based on tumour location: 0.782; 95% CI 0.665-0.899) and conventional CT quantitative (based on normalized conventional CT attenuation in the arterial phase: 0.665; 95% CI 0.533-0.797; all P < 0.05) models. The DECT quantitative and comprehensive models had comparable performances (P = 0.076). CONCLUSIONS: Higher nICs in the arterial and portal venous phases were associated with higher blood supply improving the identification of non-hypervascular PNENs.

Distributed Adaptive Optimization Algorithm for High-Order Nonlinear Multi-Agent Stochastic Systems with Lévy Noise.

An adaptive neural network output-feedback control strategy is proposed in this paper for the distributed optimization problem (DOP) of high-order nonlinear stochastic multi-agent systems (MASs) driven by Lévy noise. On the basis of the penalty-function method, the consensus constraint is removed and the global objective function (GOF) is reconstructed. The stability of the system is analyzed by combining the generalized Itô's formula with the Lyapunov function method. Moreover, the command filtering mechanism is introduced to solve the "complexity explosion" problem in the process of designing virtual controller, and the filter errors are compensated by introducing compensating signals. The proposed algorithm has been proved that the outputs of all agents converge to the optimal solution of the DOP with bounded errors. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Balancing Volmer Step by Superhydrophilic Dual-Active Domains for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution.

The reaction kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is largely determined by balancing the Volmer step in alkaline media. Bifunctionality as a proposed strategy can divide the work of water dissociation and intermediates (OH* and H*) adsorption/desorption. However, sluggish OH* desorption plagues water re-adsorption, which leads to poisoning effects of active sites. Some active sites may even directly act as spectators and do not participate in the reaction. Furthermore, the activity comparison under approximate nanostructure between bifunctional effect and single-exposed active sites is not fully understood. Here, a facile three-step strategy is adopted to successfully grow molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) on cobalt-containing nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Co-NCNTs), forming obvious dual active domains. The active sites on domains of Co-NCNTs and MoS2  and the tuned electronic structure at the heterointerface trigger the bifunctional effect to balance the Volmer step and improve the catalytic activity. The HER driven by the bifunctional effect can significantly optimize the Gibbs free energy of water dissociation and hydrogen adsorption, resulting in fast reaction kinetics and superior catalytic performance. As a result, the Co-NCNTs/MoS2  catalyst outperforms other HER electrocatalysts with low overpotential (58 and 84 mV at 10 mA cm-2  in alkaline and neutral conditions, respectively), exceptional stability, and negligible degradation.

Fecal microbiota transplantation as a therapy for treating ulcerative colitis: an overview of systematic reviews.

AIM: The current overview on published systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analysis (MAs) aimed to systematically gather, evaluate, and synthesize solid evidence for using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: Relevant articles published before January 2023 were collected from Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. Two authors used Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) tool, PRISMA checklists, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system were applied by two authors to independently evaluate the methodological quality, reporting quality, and evidence quality, respectively. Re-meta-analysis on the primary RCTs was conducted after excluding overlapping randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RESULTS: Six SRs/MAs involving 12 primary RCTs and 544 participants were included. According to the AMSTAR-2 tool and PRISMA checklist, methodological quality and reporting quality of the included studies was overall satisfactory. The evidence quality of a great majority of outcomes was rated as moderate to high according to the GRADE system. Compared to placebo, the re-meta-analysis found a great advantage of use FMT in inducing combined clinical and endoscopic remission (OR 3.83 [2.31, 6.34]), clinical remission (3.31 [2.09, 5.25]), endoscopic remission (OR 3.75 [2.20, 6.39]), clinical response (OR 2.56 [1.64, 4.00]), and endoscopic response (OR 2.18 [1.12, 4.26]). Pooled data showed no significant difference in serious adverse events between patients receiving FMT and those receiving placebo (OR 1.53 [0.74, 3.19]). Evidence quality of the outcomes derived from re-meta-analysis was significantly higher after overcoming the limitations of previous SRs/MAs. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, moderate- to high-quality evidence supported a promising use of FMT to safely induce remission in UC. However, further trials with larger sample size are still required to comprehensively analyze the delivery route, total dosage, frequency, and donor selection in FMT.

Electric field-induced assembly of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles into nano-reticulation for ultrasensitive SERS.

This paper discusses a method for assembling Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles (NPs) using direct current (DC) electric field to fabricate highly active SERS substrates. Different nanostructures could be obtained by regulating the intensity and action time of DC electric field. Under the condition of 5mA*10 min, we obtained Au-Ag alloy nano-reticulation (ANR) substrate with excellent SERS activity (Enhancement factor on order of magnitude of 106). ANR substrate has excellent SERS performance due to the resonance matching between its LSPR mode and excitation wavelength. The uniformity of the Raman signal on ANR is greatly improved than bare ITO glass. ANR substrate also has the ability to detect multiple molecules: ANR substrate can respectively detect Rh6G and CV molecules with a concentration as low as 10-10 M and 10-9 M and the Raman spectral intensity of the probe molecules on the surface of the ANR substrate has good linear correlation with the molecular concentration (R2 > 0.95). In addition, ANR substrate can detect both thiram and aspartame (APM) molecules far below (thiram for 0.0024 ppm and APM for 0.0625 g/L) the safety standard, which demonstrate its practical application potential.

Capillary-force-assisted self-assembly of gold nanoparticles into highly ordered plasmonic thin films for ultrasensitive SERS.

In this study, a capillary device based on the surface plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering effect was prepared by a simple and easy method. First, the capillary was treated with APTES solution. Due to the electrostatic effect, gold nanoparticles could be easily and tightly assembled in the capillary inner wall. On this basis, the effects of changing the concentration of APTES, the concentration of colloids and the soaking time of the capillary in the colloids on the assembly of gold nanoparticles on the inner wall of the capillary were studied, and the SERS enhancement effect under different conditions was analyzed, and the optimal solution was successfully found. At the same time, the reason why the capillary substrate shows better SERS performance than the traditional planar substrate is deeply discussed. Since the nanoparticles can be attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the inner wall of the capillary, the utilization rate of nanoparticles and laser is improved, thereby achieving higher enhancement. For the detection of the probe molecule rhodamine 6G, it was proved that the substrate has good uniformity and the lowest detection limit can reach 10-10 M. Finally, the real-life pesticide thiram and the food additive aspartame were tested, and the detection limits could reach 10-6 M and 0.25 g L-1. It is confirmed that the prepared capillary shows excellent SERS performance and can be used for rapid detection in various fields.

Low-cost and flexible paper-based plasmonic nanostructure for a highly sensitive SERS substrate.

The application of a noble-metal-based plasmon-enhanced substrate to detect low-concentration analytes has attracted extensive attention. Most of the substrates used in recently reported researches are based on two-dimensional structures. Hence, we prepared a higher efficiency Raman activity substrate with a filter paper structure, which not only provides more plasmonic "hot spots," but also facilitates analyte extraction and detection due to the flexibility of the paper. The preparation of the plasmonic paper substrate adopted centrifugation to deposit the alloy nanoparticles onto the paper base. The optimal particle deposition condition was found by adjusting the centrifugal force and centrifugation time. Then, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) performance of the substrate was enhanced by altering the plasmon resonance peak on the surface of the nanoparticles. The enhancement factor of this paper-based substrate was 1.55×107, with high detection uniformity (10-6 M, rhodamine 6G) and a low detection limit (10-11 M, rhodamine 6G). Then, we applied the SERS substrate to pesticide detection; the detection limit of the thiram reached 10-6 M. As a result, the simple and cost-effective paper-based SERS substrate obtained in this way has high detection performance for pesticides and can be used for rapid detection in the field, which is beneficial to food safety and environmental safety.

Electrically controllable self-assembly of gold nanorods into a plasmonic nanostructure for highly efficiency SERS.

In this Letter, a method for the rapid and efficient preparation of ultrasensitive detection substrates by assembling gold nanorod suspensions with the application of an alternating current (AC) field is proposed, and it is found that frequency and voltage are the effective means of regulation. A sandwich structure (parallel SiO2 plate) not only effectively slows down the evaporation rate, but also visually reveals the changes in the assembly process. Under the optimal assembly conditions, the sensitivity and uniformity of the substrate to different probe molecules are tested. The Raman detection results experimentally show that the detection limits of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G), crystal violet (CV), and Aspartame (APM) molecular solutions are 10-14 M, 10-10 M, and 62.5 mg/L, respectively, and the mixed dye molecular solutions can also be effectively distinguished. Furthermore, Rh6G and CV characteristic peaks at 1647 cm-1 and 1619 cm-1 were measured at randomly selected positions, and their relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 5.63% and 8.45%, respectively, indicating that the substrate has good uniformity. The effective regulation of the self-assembly results of nanoparticles will further enhance the practical application effect of surface-enhanced Raman technology and expand the application prospects of this technology.

Utility of Quantitative Metrics From Dual-Layer Spectral-Detector CT for Differentiation of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor and Neuroendocrine Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND. The 2019 WHO classification of digestive system tumors separates neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) into neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), which are considered to represent pathologically distinct entities warranting different management approaches. Dual-layer spectral-detector CT (DLCT) may aid their differentiation through specific material decomposition. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of quantitative metrics derived from DLCT for the differentiation of pancreatic NET and NEC. METHODS. This retrospective study included 104 patients (mean age, 51 ± 13 [SD] years; 52 women, 52 men) with pathologically confirmed NEN (89 NET, including 22 grade 1, 48 grade 2, and 19 grade 3; 15 NEC) who underwent multiphase DLCT within 15 days before biopsy or resection. Two radiologists independently placed ROIs to record tumor attenuation, iodine concentration (IC), and effective atomic number (Zeff) across phases and assessed qualitative features (composition, homogeneity, margins, calcifications, main pancreatic duct dilatation, vascular invasion, lymphadenopathy). Interobserver agreement was assessed. Mean and median values of both readers' measurements were obtained for quantitative measures; consensus was reached for qualitative features. NET and NEC were compared using multivariable regression analysis and ROC analysis. RESULTS. Interobserver agreement, expressed as intraclass correlation coefficients, ranged from 0.869 to 0.992 for quantitative metrics and, expressed as kappa coefficients, ranged from 0.723 to 0.816 for qualitative features. In multivariable analysis of qualitative and quantitative features, significant independent predictors of NEC (p < .05) were IC in the portal venous phase (median, 1.3 mg/mL for NEC vs 2.7 mg/mL for NET), Zeff in the portal venous phase (median, 8.1 vs 8.6), and attenuation in the portal venous phase (median, 78.2 vs 113.5 HU). AUC for predicting NEC was 0.897 for IC, 0.884 for Zeff, 0.921 for combination of IC and Zeff, and 0.855 for attenuation. Predicted probability based on a combination of IC and Zeff achieved sensitivity of 93.33% and specificity of 80.90% for predicting NEC. Significant independent predictors (p < .05) for differentiating grade 3 NET and NEC were IC (median, 2.0 vs 1.3 mg/mL; AUC = 0.789) and attenuation (mean, 90.3 vs 78.2 HU; AUC = 0.647), both measured in the portal venous phase. CONCLUSION. Incorporation of DLCT metrics improves differentiation of NET and NEC compared with conventional CT attenuation and qualitative features. CLINICAL IMPACT. DLCT may help select patients with pancreatic NENs for platinum-based chemotherapies.

Research on the variants of FGFR1 and CEP290 genes in idiopathic hypogonadotropin hypogonadism.

Idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) is a rare endocrine disease characterized by gonadal dysplasia. According to whether the sense of smell is affected, this disorder is classified into Kallmann syndrome (KS) and normosmic isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (nIHH). In this study, we reported a case of nIHH patient and explored the pathogenic mechanism of FGFR1 in nIHH. A FGFR1 variant (c.2008G>A, p.E670K) and a CEP290 variant (c.964G>A, p.D322N) were detected by the whole exome sequencing in this nIHH patient. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that this FGFR1 variant (c.2008G>A) causes structural perturbations in TK2 domain demonstrating that this variant result in FGFR1 loss-of-function and abnormal signaling. The identification of an additional CEP290 variant (c.964G>A) indicated that CEP290 might play a potential role in developmental abnormalities and inhibition of GnRH neuron release. A protein interaction network analysis showed that CEP290 was predicted to interact with FGFR1. In summary, our study identified the potential pathogenic mechanism(s) of the novel FGFR1 variant and indicated that CEP290 might play a role in the GnRH neuron migration route. Our findings expand the mutation spectrum of FGFR1 and CEP290 and provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of IHH.

Plasmonic alloy nanochains assembled via dielectrophoresis for ultrasensitive SERS.

It is great challenge and interesting for researchers to fabricate substrates for enhanced Raman and sensor, and assemble some easy-to-synthesize metallic nanomaterials into controllable nanostructures with special morphologies and arrangements, via alternating current (AC) electric field. The Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles (Au-Ag alloy NPs) colloidal suspension with excellent dispersibility synthesized by wet chemical method, and the morphology of the assembly can be well controlled by regulating the frequency of the AC electric field. Au-Ag alloy nanochains array (Au-Ag ANCs) with dense plasmonic "hot spots" is formed when the AC electric field of 4Vpp-30kHz is applied, which is supported by the result of finite element method (FEM) numerical simulation. Experimental results demonstrate that Au-Ag ANCs show excellent SERS activity: Au-Ag ANCs can detect both Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and crystal violet (CV) in the magnitude order of 10-10 M, and the Raman peaks intensity and analyte concentration has a strong linear correlation (R2 is 0.99339 and 0.95916, respectively). Besides, the introduction of Au-Ag ANCs makes the Raman spectra intensity of thiram (a pesticide) with a concentration of 30 ppm on the surface of the blank ITO glass significantly enhanced, and it can detect thiram with a concentration as low as 0.03 ppm. In addition, Au-Ag ANCs substrate exhibits great uniformity and stability, so they have considerable application potential in the field of quantitative detection of trace substances.

Effects of Soil pH and Mineral Nutrients on Cadmium Uptake by Rice Grain in the Pearl River Delta, China.

Alluvial soils are rich in mineral nutrients, and contain high heavy metals, especially Cd. The interactions of mineral nutrients with Cd in soil-rice grain systems on natural condition of alluvial plain are highlighted in this study. 110 pairs of rice grain and soil (0-20 cm) samples from the Pearl River Delta were investigated and measured. The results indicated that pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, clay, Ca, Cd, Fe, Mn and Zn are the most important soil characteristics controlling Cd uptake by rice grain. There are synergetic interactions between Cd and mineral elements in the soils, and antagonistic interactions between them in the rice grains. It could provide useful information for the risk assessment of heavy metals in the soils of alluvial plain.

Targeting Microglia for Therapy of Parkinson's Disease by Using Biomimetic Ultrasmall Nanoparticles.

Microglia as an important type of innate immune cell in the brain have been considered as an effective therapeutic target for the treatment of central nervous degenerative diseases. Herein, we report cell membrane coated novel biomimetic Cu2-xSe-PVP-Qe nanoparticles (denoted as CSPQ@CM nanoparticles, where PVP is poly(vinylpyrrolidone), Qe is quercetin, and CM is the cell membrane of neuron cells) for effectively targeting and modulating microglia to treat Parkinson's disease (PD). The CSPQ nanoparticles exhibit multienzyme activities and could effectively scavenge the reactive oxygen species and promote the polarization of microglia into the anti-inflammatory M2-like phenotype to relieve neuroinflammation. We reveal that biomimetic CSPQ@CM nanoparticles targeted microglia through the specific interactions between the membrane surface vascular cells adhering to molecule-1 and α4ß1 integrin expressed by microglia. They could significantly improve the symptoms of PD mice to result in an excellent therapeutic efficacy, as evidenced by the recovery of their dopamine level in cerebrospinal fluid, tyrosine hydroxylase, and ionized calcium binding adapter protein 1 to normal levels. Our work demonstrates the great potential of these robust biomimetic nanoparticles in the targeted treatment of PD and other central nervous degenerative diseases.

Memory Impairment Due to a Small Acute Infarction of the Columns of the Fornix.

BACKGROUND: Clinically infarction of the columns of the fornix is very rare. It is also easy to be overlooked during imaging examination due to the special anatomical localization and features of columns of the fornix. In the meantime, with memory disorder to be its most prominent manifestation, it is very easily false diagnosed as other diseases when the lesion focus is overlooked, causing unnecessary invasive examinations like cerebrospinal fluid tests. METHODS: Case report and Literature review. RESULTS: We presented a 66-year-old woman with memory impairment due to a small acute infarction of the columns of the fornix. Through her diagnosis and treatment, we believed that early diagnosis and treatment were important to these patients who were enduring the disease. In addition, literature review informed us that for those unwilling to undergo cerebral angiography or for small cerebrovascular lesions that cannot be detected by angiography, 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) might be an ideal diagnostic method. CONCLUSION: This case illustrated the significance of MRI in diagnosis for patients with acute memory impairment. When reading MRI results, one needs to pay attention to identify small lesions at special locations. In addition, cerebral apoplexy is still the first consideration of diagnosis when acute memory impairment occurs in patients with cerebrovascular disease risk factors.

[Effect of ethyl gallate on invasion abilities and its mechanism of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells].

This study is to investigate the effect of ethyl gallate on invasion capabilities and its mechanism of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Using cell adhesion and transwell assay, separately, the effects of ethyl gallate on the invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells were measured. The Akt-NF-κB signal pathway protein expressions were analyzed with Western blot. Also, the mRNA levels of MMP-9 and MMP-2 were analyzed by RT-PCR. Ethyl gallate inhibited the abilities of motility, adhesion and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro (P<0.05), inhibited the mRNA levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, phosphorylation of AKt and protein expression of NF-κB. It is concluded that ethyl gallate can inhibit the abilities of invasion of breast cancer in vitro by inhibiting the mRNA levels of MMP-9/MMP-2, phosphorylation of Akt and protein expression of NF-κB.

Do multisource data matter for NGP prediction? Evidence from the G-LSTM model.

Precisely predicting natural gas prices (NGPs) is important because it can provide the necessary decision-making basis for energy scheduling, planning and control. However, NGPs are affected by many factors and exhibit the characteristics of nonlinearity and randomness, which makes accurate predictions challenging. Therefore, in this paper, the information gain of multisource data and the global optimization ability of the gray wolf algorithm are used to build a multifactor-driven NGP hybrid forecasting model to improve the prediction performance. First, the emotional tendency and readability of news text are extracted and calculated by using VADER and textstat tools, respectively. Then the network search index is filtered and integrated by using the correlation coefficient method and the CRITIC method to form alternative variables of multisource data (news and search index). Second, the gray wolf optimization algorithm is used to find and determine the best key parameter group in long short-term memory model. Finally, the spot price of natural gas in Henry Hub from March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2022 is selected as the prediction object, and multi-scenario numerical experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. The ablation experiment results show that the information gain brought by multisource data can effectively improve the prediction effect of NGPs. Furthermore, the proposed model has the best prediction performance in different scenarios and can be regarded as a promising prediction tool.

Quality of evidence supporting the role of probiotics for rheumatoid arthritis: an overview of systematic reviews.

Background: To evaluate the methodological quality, report quality, and evidence quality of meta-analysis (MA) and systematic review (SR) on the efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Databases were used to identify eligible SRs/MAs until February 12, 2024. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using AMSTAR-2 tool, the quality of the literature reports was scored using PRISMA checklists, and the quality of the evidence was graded using GRADE system. Results: Seven reviews including 21 outcomes were included. Methodological quality of the included reviews was of general low, and the entries with poor scores were 2, 4, and 7. By PRISMA checklists, there were some reporting deficiencies, and quality problems were mainly reflected in the reporting registration and protocol, comprehensive search strategy and additional analysis. GRADE results elevated the quality of evidence to be low or very low overall. Conclusions: Probiotics may have a therapeutic effect on RA, based on the evidence provided by the SRs/MAs in this overview. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of conclusive evidence due to methodological limitations in the included research. To make trustworthy judgments regarding the efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of RA, more large-scale, high-quality randomized controlled trials are still required.

[Corrigendum] Ethyl gallate suppresses proliferation and invasion in human breast cancer cells via Akt­NF­κB signaling.

Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that, for the cell migration assay data shown in Fig. 3C on p. 1287, the '2.5 µg/ml' and '5.0 µg/ml' panels appeared to be overlapping, such that these data were apparently derived from the same original source where they were intended to show the results from differently performed experiments. Upon asking the authors to provide an explanation, after having referred back to their original data, the authors realized that they had made an inadvertent error in assembling this figure. The revised version of Fig. 3, now showing the correct data for the '5.0 µg/ml' experiment, is shown on the next page. Note that the error made in assembling the data in Fig. 3 did not greatly affect either the results or the conclusions reported in this paper, and all the authors agree to the publication of this corrigendum. The authors regret that this error went unnoticed prior to the publication of their article, and are grateful to the Editor of Oncology Reports for granting them this opportunity to publish a corrigendum. They also apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 33: 1284­1290, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/or.2014.3682].

Melanin-Inspired Composite Materials: From Nanoarchitectonics to Applications.

Synthetic melanin is a mimic of natural melanin analogue with intriguing properties such as metal-ion chelation, redox activity, adhesion, and broadband absorption. Melanin-inspired composite materials are formulated by assembly of melanin with other types of inorganic and organic components to target, combine, and build up the functionality, far beyond their natural capabilities. Developing efficient and universal methodologies to prepare melanin-based composite materials with unique functionality is vital for their further applications. In this review, we summarize three types of synthetic approaches, predoping, surface engineering, and physical blending, to access various melanin-inspired composite materials with distinctive structure and properties. The applications of melanin-inspired composite materials in free radical scavenging, bioimaging, antifouling, and catalytic applications are also reviewed. This review also concludes current challenges that must be addressed and research opportunities in future studies.