Core-Sheath Heterogeneous Interlocked Conductive Fiber Enables Smart Textile for Personalized Healthcare and Thermal Management.

Whereas thermal comfort and healthcare management during long-term wear are essentially required for wearable system, simultaneously achieving them remains challenge. Herein, a highly comfortable and breathable smart textile for personal healthcare and thermal management is developed, via assembling stimuli-responsive core-sheath dual network that silver nanowires(AgNWs) core interlocked graphene sheath induced by MXene. Small MXene nanosheets with abundant groups is proposed as a novel "dispersant" to graphene according to "like dissolves like" theory, while simultaneously acting as "cross-linker" between AgNWs and graphene networks by filling the voids between them. The core-sheath heterogeneous interlocked conductive fiber induced by MXene "cross-linking" exhibits a reliable response to various mechanical/electrical/light stimuli, even under large mechanical deformations(100%). The core-sheath conductive fiber-enabled smart textile can adapt to movements of human body seamlessly, and convert these mechanical deformations into character signals for accurate healthcare monitoring with rapid response(440 ms). Moreover, smart textile with excellent Joule heating and photothermal effect exhibits instant thermal energy harvesting/storage during the stimuli-response process, which can be developed as self-powered thermal management and dynamic camouflage when integrated with phase change and thermochromic layer. The smart fibers/textiles with core-sheath heterogeneous interlocked structures hold great promise in personalized healthcare and thermal management.

Function of hemocyanin-mediated succinate dehydrogenase in glucose metabolism and immunity of Penaeus vannamei.

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is a crucial enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and has established roles in immune function. However, the understanding of SDH in Penaeus vannamei, particularly its involvement in immune responses, is currently limited. Through affinity proteomics, a potential interaction between hemocyanin (HMC) and SDH in shrimp has been identified. The successful cloning of PvSDH in this study has revealed a high degree of evolutionary conservation. Additionally, it has been found that hemocyanin regulates SDH not only at the transcriptional and enzymatic levels but also through confirmed protein-protein interactions observed via Co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) assay. Moreover, by combining PvHMC knockdown and Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge, it was demonstrated that fumaric acid, a product of SDH, enhances the host's immune resistance to pathogen infection by modulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides. This research provides new insights into HMC as a crucial regulator of SDH, potentially impacting glycometabolism and the dynamics of immune responses.

Graph Convolutional Network-Enhanced Model for Screening Persistent, Mobile, and Toxic and Very Persistent and Very Mobile Substances.

The global management for persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances has been further strengthened with the rapid increase of emerging contaminants. The development of a ready-to-use and publicly available tool for the high-throughput screening of PMT/vPvM substances is thus urgently needed. However, the current model building with the coupling of conventional algorithms, small-scale data set, and simplistic features hinders the development of a robust model for screening PMT/vPvM with wide application domains. Here, we construct a graph convolutional network (GCN)-enhanced model with feature fusion of a molecular graph and molecular descriptors to effectively utilize the significant correlation between critical descriptors and PMT/vPvM substances. The model is built with 213,084 substances following the latest PMT classification criteria. The application domains of the GCN-enhanced model assessed by kernel density estimation demonstrate the high suitability for high-throughput screening PMT/vPvM substances with both a high accuracy rate (86.6%) and a low false-negative rate (6.8%). An online server named PMT/vPvM profiler is further developed with a user-friendly web interface (http://www.pmt.zj.cn/). Our study facilitates a more efficient evaluation of PMT/vPvM substances with a globally accessible screening platform.

SARS-CoV-2 main protease mutation analysis via a kinematic method.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 continues to cause millions of deaths globally in part due to immune-evading mutations. SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is an important enzyme for viral replication and potentially an effective drug target. Mutations affect the dynamics of enzymes and thereby their activity and ability to bind ligands. Here, we use kinematic flexibility analysis (KFA) to identify how mutations and ligand binding changes the conformational flexibility of Mpro. KFA decomposes macromolecules into regions of different flexibility near-instantly from a static structure, allowing conformational dynamics analysis at scale. Altogether, we analyzed 47 mutation sites across 69 Mpro-ligand complexes resulting in more than 3300 different structures which includes 69 mutated structures with all 47 sites mutated simultaneously and 3243 single residue mutated structures. We found that mutations generally increased the conformational flexibility of the protein. Understanding the impact of mutations on the flexibility of Mpro is essential for identifying potential drug targets in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Further studies in this area can offer valuable insights into the mechanisms of molecular recognition.

Isomeric Dual-Pore Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks.

Two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with hierarchical porosity have been increasingly recognized as promising materials in various fields. Besides, the 2D COFs with kagome (kgm) topology can exhibit unique optoelectronic features and have extensive applications. However, rational synthesis of the COFs with kgm topology remains challenging because of competition with a square-lattice topology. Herein, we report two isomeric dual-pore 2D COFs with kgm topology using a novel geometric strategy to reduce the symmetry of their building blocks, which are four-armed naphthalene-based and azulene-based isomeric monomers. Owing to the large dipole moment of azulene, as-prepared azulene-based COF (COF-Az) possesses a considerably narrow band gap of down to 1.37 eV, which is much narrower than the naphthalene-based 2D COF (COF-Nap: 2.28 eV) and is the lowest band gap among reported imine-linked dual-pore 2D COFs. Moreover, COF-Az was used as electrode material in a gas sensor and exhibits high selectivity for NO2, including a high response rate (58.7%) to NO2 (10 ppm), fast recovery (72 s), up to 10 weeks of stability, and resistance to 80% relative humidity, which are superior to those of reported COF-based NO2 gas sensors. The calculation and in situ experimental results indicate that the large dipole moment of azulene boosts the sensitivity of the imine linkages. The usage of isomeric building blocks not only enables the synthesis of 2D COFs with isometric kgm topology but also provides an azulene-based 2D platform for studying the structure-property correlations of COFs.

MoTe2/InN van der Waals heterostructures for gas sensors: a DFT study.

Vertical van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures have shown potential for gas sensing owing to their remarkable sensitivity. However, the optimization process for achieving the best gas sensing performance is complicated by the heterostructure's reliance on both physical and electrical characteristics. This study employs density functional theory (DFT) to analyse the structural and electronic parameters of a MoTe2/InN vdW heterostructure. The findings of this study indicate that the vdW heterostructure has a type-II band alignment with higher adsorption energy towards NH3, NO2, and SO2 than the individual monolayers. In specific, the heterostructure is well suited for NO2 detection but has limitations in reliably detecting NH3 and SO2 due to longer recovery times. We find significant hybridization between the adsorbate and interacting surfaces' orbitals and a notable presence of NO2 molecular orbitals in proximity to the Fermi level. Additionally, dielectric and work function modulations offer a viable means to develop optical-based gas sensors that can selectively detect NO2. Our research provides valuable insights into vdW heterostructure design for high-performance gas sensors.

Association between UGS patterns and residents' health status: A report on residents' health in China's old industrial areas.

BACKGROUND: Old industrial areas have low quality and spatial differentiation of urban green space (UGS), which makes it difficult to meet the public's physical activity needs and leads to increased health risks. The purpose of this study is to explore the equity of UGS patterns in old industrial areas and its internal relationship with residents' health status. METHODS: This study selecteds relevant indicators to evaluate the equity of UGS patterns in the Harbin area and used linear regression analysis to explore the correlation between attributes of old industrial areas and UGS patterns. Additionally, this study explored the spatial correlation of UGSs using Moran's index and hotspot analysis. Finally, a report on residents' health was generated through a questionnaire survey, using linear regression analysis to explore the factors affecting residents' self-rated health and the significance of their correlation. RESULTS: The results showed that there is an excess supply around the core industrial zone in the west, while the rural areas in the south face a serious shortage of supply. The significance between the factors representing age and income in industrial attributes and UGS pattern was less than 0.05. We observed that residents' self-rated health was positively affected by the intensity of physical activity (low intensity B = 2.073, medium intensity B = 2.359, high intensity B = 2.512) and the frequency of physical activity (B = 1.174). Ages (B = -0.597) and three generations living together (B = -3.191), which represent the industrial attributes, had a negative impact on residents' self-rated health. CONCLUSION: To a certain extent, industrial attributes aggravate the mismatch of UGS patterns, leading to abnormal areas in spatial clustering. The quality of UGS in the old industrial zone is low and the movement is not strong; thus, the population characteristics and income have become the important factors affecting the health of residents.

Identification and quantification of nine compounds in Fangwen Jiuwei decoction by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation for the treatment of pneumonia developed by Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, which shows remarkable clinical responses. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the main active compounds are crucial for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine prescription in clinical application. In this study, we identified nine active compounds essential for the pharmacological effects of Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction based on the analysis of the Network Pharmacology and relevant literature. Moreover, these compounds can interact with several crucial drug targets in pneumonia based on molecular docking. We applied high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established these nine active ingredients' qualitative and quantitative detections. The possible cleavage pathways of nine active components were determined based on secondary ions mass spectrometry. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were further validated, which show a satisfactory correlation coefficient (r > 0.99), recovery rate (≥93.31%), repeatability rate (≤5.62%), stability (≤7.95%), intra-day precision (≤6.68%), and inter-day precision (≤9.78%). The limit of detection was as low as 0.01 ng/ml. In this study, we established a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the chemical components in the Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction extract.

Oncogenic Wnt3a is a promising sensitive biomarker for monitoring hepatocarcinogenesis.

BACKGROUND: The effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) depends on early diagnosis. Previously, the abnormal expression of Wnt3a as the key signaling molecule in the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway was found in HCC cells and could be released into the circulation. In this study, we used rat model of hepatocarcinogenesis to dynamically investigate the alteration of oncogenic Wnt3a and to explore its early monitor value for HCC. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats (SD) were fed with diet 2-fluorenylacetamide (2-FAA, 0.05%) for inducing hepatocarcinogenesis, and grouped based on liver morphological alteration by Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining; rats fed with normal chow were used as normal control (NC). Total RNA and protein were purified from rat livers. Differently expressed genes (DEGs) or Wnt3a mRNA, cellular distribution, and Wnt3a protein levels were analyzed by whole genome microarray with signal logarithm ratio (SLR log2cy5/cy3), immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS: Models of rat hepatocarcinogenesis were successfully established based on liver histopathological H&E staining. Rats were divided into the cell degeneration (rDeg), precancerosis (rPre-C) and HCC (rHCC) groups. Total numbers of the up- and down-regulated DEGs with SLR ≥ 8 were 55 and 48 in the rDeg group, 268 and 57 in the rPre-C group, and 312 and 201 in the rHCC group, respectively. Significantly altered genes were involved in cell proliferation, signal transduction, tumor metastasis, and apoptosis. Compared with the NC group, Wnt3a mRNA was increased by 4.6 folds (P < 0.001) in the rDeg group, 7.4 folds (P < 0.001) in the rPre-C group, and 10.4 folds (P < 0.001) in the rHCC group; the positive rates of liver Wnt3a were 66.7% (P = 0.001) in the rDeg group, 100% (P < 0.001) in the rPre-C group, and 100% (P < 0.001) in the rHCC group, respectively. Also, there were significant differences of liver Wnt3a (P < 0.001) or serum Wnt3a (P < 0.001) among different groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of Wnt3a was associated with rat hepatocarcinogenesis and it should be expected to be a promising monitoring biomarker for HCC occurrence at early stage.

Direct Evidence for an Intermediate Multiferroic Phase in LiCuFe2(VO4)3.

Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, dielectric, and electric polarization of LiCuFe2(VO4)3 have been investigated. Two sequential antiferromagnetic transitions at TN1 ∼ 9.95 K and TN2 ∼ 8.17 K are observed under zero magnetic field. Although a dielectric peak at TN1 is clearly identified, the measured pyroelectric current also exhibits a sharp peak at TN1, implying the magnetically relevant ferroelectricity. Interestingly, another pyroelectric peak around TN2 with an opposite signal is observed, resulting in the disappearance of electric polarization below TN2. Besides, the electric polarization is significantly suppressed in response to external magnetic field, evidencing a remarkable magnetoelectric effect. These results suggest the essential relevance of the magnetic structure with the ferroelectricity in LiCuFe2(VO4)3, deserving further investigation of the underlying mechanism.

Magnetoelectric Effect in Garnet Mn3Al2Ge3O12.

Searching for novel magnetoelectric (ME) materials has been one of the major issues of multiferroics. In this work, we present a systematic research study on garnet Mn3Al2Ge3O12, including structural, magnetic, heat capacity, and ME characterizations. Below the Néel temperature TN ∼ 6.8 K, Mn2+ spins form a long-range antiferromagnetic order, and a magnetic field H-driven electric polarization P is identified simultaneously. The relationship between P and H is nonlinear under low H and becomes linear under high H. Such transition is believed to originate from the H-induced variation of the magnetic structure. In addition, the P reaches 0.6 µC/m2 under µ0H = 9 T, corresponding to an ME coupling coefficient of αME ∼ 0.08 ps/m under high H. The small αME is attributed to the weak spin-orbit coupling and weak magnetic interactions in Mn3Al2Ge3O12. Furthermore, we realize the stable control of P by periodically varying H, which is crucial for potential application. We provide a rare case that a garnet material shows a first-order ME effect.

Kinematic Vibrational Entropy Assessment and Analysis of SARS CoV-2 Main Protease.

The three-dimensional conformations of a protein influence its function and select for the ligands it can interact with. The total free energy change during protein-ligand complex formation includes enthalphic and entropic components, which together report on the binding affinity and conformational states of the complex. However, determining the entropic contribution is computationally burdensome. Here, we apply kinematic flexibility analysis (KFA) to efficiently estimate vibrational frequencies from static protein and protein-ligand structures. The vibrational frequencies, in turn, determine the vibrational entropies of the structures and their complexes. Our estimates of the vibrational entropy change caused by ligand binding compare favorably to values obtained from a dynamic Normal Mode Analysis (NMA). Higher correlation factors can be achieved by increasing the distance cutoff in the potential energy model. Furthermore, we apply our new method to analyze the entropy changes of the SARS CoV-2 main protease when binding with different ligand inhibitors, which is relevant for the design of potential drugs.

The effect of the street environment on two types of essential physical activity in industrial neighborhoods from the perspective of public health: a study from the Harbin low-income population health survey, China.

A large number of low-income residents in industrial neighborhoods rarely engage in recreational and physical activities in green spaces in extremely cold weather. This study mainly explores the relationship between the street environment and physical activities under special industrial properties and extreme cold weather conditions. In addition, we further divide essential physical activity into two categories, life-type and traffic-type physical activity, to explore and refine the related studies.We use principal component analysis to classify the street environment indicators and use multiple linear regression to analyze the impact of each indicator on different physical activities. The conclusions are as follows. For low-income people, the street environment in industrial neighborhoods has a much greater impact on life-type physical activity than traffic-type physical activity, and there is a conflict between the two. In addition, a high greening density is not conducive to either type of physical activity in the street environment. It reduces the paved area of streets and create sports conflicts between people undertaking different physical activities. The findings contribute to the development and optimization of public health research on environmental interventions in industrial neighborhood streets and enable effective recommendations for increasing outside physical activity among low-income people in severe weather conditions. In future studies, we will use the physical environment as a mediator to explore the relationship between the street environment and high-frequency chronic diseases in old industrial neighborhoods.

CRISPR/Cas12a Coupling with Magnetic Nanoparticles and Cascaded Strand Displacement Reaction for Ultrasensitive Fluorescence Determination of Exosomal miR-21.

Exosomal MicroRNA-21 (miRNA-21, miR-21) is significantly up-regulated in blood samples of patients with lung cancer. Exosomal-derived miR-21 can be used as a promising biomarker for the early diagnosis of lung cancer. This paper develops a fluorescent biosensor based on the combination of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), cascade strand displacement reaction (CSDR) and CRISPR/Cas12a to detect the exosomal miR-21 from lung cancer. The powerful separation performance of MNPs can eliminate the potential interference of matrix and reduce the background signal, which is very beneficial for the improvement of specificity and sensitivity. The CSDR can specifically transform one miR-21 into plenty of DNA which can specifically trigger the trans-cleavage nuclease activity of Cas12a, resulting in the cleavage of ssDNA bi-labeled with fluorescent and a quencher. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the developed fluorescence biosensor exhibited high sensitivity and specificity towards the determination of exosomal-derived miR-21 with a linear range from 10 to 1 × 105 fM and a low detection limit of about 0.89 fM. Most importantly, this method can be successfully applied to distinguish the exosomal miR-21 from the lung cancer patients and the healthy people.

Noble metal (Ag, Au, Pd and Pt) doped TaS2 monolayer for gas sensing: a first-principles investigation.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention in gas sensing due to their graphene-like properties. Although the gas sensing performances of 2D layered semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), including MoS2, WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2, have been extensively studied, it has remained a grand challenge to develop a high-performance gas sensing material that can meet practical applications. Tantalum disulfide (TaS2), as a metallic TMD with low resistance and high current signal, has great promise in high-performance gas sensing. In stark contrast with Mo and W, Ta has a stronger positive charge, which contributes to a higher surface energy to capture gas molecules. Herein, through calculating the adsorption energy, charge transfer, electronic structure, and work function of the adsorption system with first-principles calculations, we first systematically studied the performance of noble metal atom substitution doping on a TaS2 monolayer for toxic nitrogen-containing gas (NH3, NO and NO2) sensing. We found that the TaS2 monolayer exhibits excellent NO sensing performance with an adsorption energy of 0.49 eV and a charge transfer of 0.17 e. However, it has a considerable adsorption energy (-0.22 and -0.39 eV) to NH3 and NO2 molecules, but a low charge transfer (-0.03 and 0.04 e) between the gas molecules and the TaS2 monolayer. To further enhance the gas-sensing performance of the TaS2 monolayer, noble metal atoms (Ag, Au, Pd and Pt) were substitutionally doped into the lattice of the TaS2 monolayer. The results showed that the values of adsorption energy and charge transfer can be significantly improved, and the electronic structure and work function of the doping system has also greatly changed, which makes it much easier to detect the changes in electrical signal due to gas adsorption. Our work indicates that the intrinsic as well as the noble metal doped TaS2 monolayers are promising candidates for high-performance gas sensors.

miR-30e-5p represses angiogenesis and metastasis by directly targeting AEG-1 in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Metastasis is a critical determinant for the treatment strategy and prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). However, the mechanisms underlying SCCHN metastasis are poorly understood. Our study sought to determine the key microRNA and their functional mechanisms involved in SCCHN metastasis. For The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data analysis, quantitative PCR was used to quantify the level of miR-30e-5p in SCCHN and its clinical significance was further analyzed. A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were applied to determine the effects of miR-30e-5p and its target AEG-1 on SCCHN metastasis. A mechanism investigation further revealed that AEG-1 was implicated in the angiogenesis and metastasis mediated by miR-30e-5p. Overall, our study confirms that miR-30e-5p is a valuable predictive biomarker and potential therapeutic target in SCCHN metastasis.

CCL18 promotes the metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck through MTDH-NF-κB signalling pathway.

Metastasis is one of the primary causes for high mortality in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Our previous study showed that chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18), derived from tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), regulates SCCHN metastasis by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and preserving stemness. However, the underlying mechanism needs to be further investigation. Interestingly, metadherin (MTDH) expression was induced when SCCHN cells were stimulated with recombinant CCL18 protein in this study. Suppressing MTDH expression reversed CCL18-induced migration, invasion and EMT in SCCHN cells. Furthermore, the NF-κB signalling pathway was involved in the MTDH knock-down cells with CCL18 stimulation. We performed ELISA to evaluate the CCL18 levels in the serums of 132 treatment-naive SCCHN patients, 25 patients with precancerous lesion and 32 healthy donors. Our results demonstrated that serum CCL18 levels were significantly higher in SCCHN patients than patients with precancerous lesion and healthy individuals. CCL18 levels were found to be significantly correlated with tumour classification, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and histological grade in SCCHN patients. Thus, our findings suggest that CCL18 may serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of SCCHN and promote SCCHN invasion, migration and EMT by MTDH-NF-κB signalling pathway.

Wnt3a promotes radioresistance via autophagy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway and autophagy play critical roles in cancer progression. However, the role of Wnt-mediated autophagy in cancer radioresistance remains unclear. In this study, we found that irradiation activated the Wnt/ß-catenin and autophagic signalling pathways in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Wnt3a is a classical ligand that activated the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway, induced autophagy and decreased the sensitivity of SCCHN to irradiation both in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic analysis revealed that Wnt3a promoted SCCHN radioresistance via protective autophagy. Finally, expression of the Wnt3a protein was elevated in both SCCHN tissues and patients' serum. Patients showing high expression of Wnt3a displayed a worse prognosis. Taken together, our study indicates that both the canonical Wnt and autophagic signalling pathways are valuable targets for sensitizing SCCHN to irradiation.

Tumor-associated macrophages derived CCL18 promotes metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

BACKGROUND: Alternatively activated macrophages in tumor microenvironment is defined as M2 tumor-associated macrophages (M2 TAMs) that promote cancer progression. However, communicative mechanisms between M2 TAMs and cancer cells in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) remain largely unknown. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry were applied to quantify mRNA and protein expression of genes related to M2 TAMs, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness. Wounding-healing and Transwell invasion assays were performed to detect the invasion and migration. Sphere formation assay was used to detect the stemness of SCCHN cells. RNA-sequencing and following bioinformatics analysis were used to determine the alterations of transcriptome. RESULTS: THP-1 monocytes were successfully polarized into M2-like TAMs, which was manifested by increased mRNA and protein expression of CCL18, IL-10 and CD206. Conditioned medium from M2-like TAMs promoted the migration and invasion of SCCHN cells, which was accompanied by the occurrence of EMT and enhanced stemness. Importantly, CCL18 neutralizing antibody partially abrogated these effects that caused by conditional medium from M2-like TAMs. In addition, recombinant human CCL18 (rhCCL18) correspondingly promoted the malignant biological behaviors of SCCHN in vitro. Finally, RNA-sequencing analysis identified 331 up-regulated and 363 down-regulated genes stimulated by rhCCL18, which were statistically enriched in 10 cancer associated signaling pathways. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that CCL18 derived from M2-like TAMs promotes metastasis via inducing EMT and cancer stemness in SCCHN in vitro.