In Situ Phosphorization for Constructing Ni5P2-Ni Heterostructure Derived from Bimetallic MOF for Li-S Batteries.

Heterostructured materials commonly consist of bifunctions due to the different ingredients. For host material in the sulfur cathode of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, the chemical adsorption and catalytic activity for lithium polysulfides (LiPS) are important. This work obtains a Ni5P2-Ni nanoparticle (Ni5P2-NiNPs) heterostructure through a confined self-reduction method followed by an in situ phosphorization process using Al/Ni-MOF as precursors. The Ni5P2-Ni heterostructure not only has strong chemical adsorption, but also can effectively catalyze LiPS conversion. Furthermore, the synthetic route can keep Ni5P2-NiNPs inside of the nanocomposites, which have structural stability, high conductivity, and efficient adsorption/catalysis in LiPS conversion. These advantages make the assembled Li-S battery deliver a reversible specific capacity of 619.7 mAh g- 1 at 0.5 C after 200 cycles. The in situ ultraviolet-visible technique proves the catalytic effect of Ni5P2-Ni heterostructure on LiPS conversion during the discharge process.

Self-assembly of rigid amphiphilic graft cyclic-brush copolymers to nanochannels using dissipative particle dynamics simulation.

The synthesis of specific artificial nanochannels remains a formidable challenge in the field of nanomaterials and synthetic chemistry. In particular, the preparation of artificial nanochannels using amphiphilic graft cyclic-brush copolymers (AGCCs) as monomers has garnered substantial attention. Nevertheless, because of the constrained time and length scales inherent in traditional molecular dynamics simulations, a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the morphological regulation mechanism governing the self-assembly of AGCCs into nanochannels remains elusive. In this study, we employed the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method to explore the self-assembly mechanism considering factors such as the DPD interaction parameters, concentrations, and sizes of AGCCs. By calculating the phase diagrams, we predicted the emergence of four distinct nanochannel types: short independent, long independent, parallel, and disordered channels. Importantly, the formation of these nanochannels is highly contingent on specific environmental conditions. Furthermore, we extensively discussed self-assembly processes that lead to different types of nanochannels. The self-assembly of AGCCs is revealed as a multistep process primarily influenced by the interaction parameters. However, while the monomer size and concentration do not introduce novel self-assembly morphologies, they do influence the final aggregation state. The elucidation of the self-assembly mechanism presented in this study deepens our understanding of AGCC nanochannel formation. Consequently, this is a valuable guide for the preparation of copolymer materials with specific functionalities, offering insights into targeted copolymer material design.

Triple Effect of "Conductivity-Adsorption-Catalysis" Enables MXene@FeCoNiP to be Sulfur Hosts for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The weak chemical immobilization ability and poor catalytic effect of MXene inhibit its application in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, a novel MXene@FeCoNiP composite is rationally developed and utilized as a sulfur host for Li-S batteries. In this well-designed MXene-based nanostructure, the introduction of FeCoNiP in the interlayer of MXene nanosheets can not only effectively inhibit the restacking of MXene nanosheets but also act as an accelerator for the adsorption and catalysis of polysulfides to restrain the shuttling effect and facilitate the transformation of polysulfides. The existence of two-dimensional MXene nanosheets provides more active sites and improves the conductivity, which is beneficial for accelerating the reaction kinetics. Thus, the as-prepared MXene@FeCoNiP composites achieve an outstanding performance for Li-S batteries. This work provides an opportunity to construct an ideal sulfur host with the triple effect of "conductivity-adsorption-catalysis".

Mediastinal hematoma after trans-radial cerebral angiography: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Trans-radial (TRA) access has become increasingly prevalent in neurointervention. Nonetheless, mediastinal hematoma after TRA is an infrequent yet grave complication associated with a notably elevated mortality rate. While our review found no reported mediastinal hematoma cases managed conservatively within neuro-interventional literature, similar complications are documented in cardiac and vascular interventional radiology, indicating its potential occurrence across disciplines. CASE PRESENTATION: Carotid computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed calcified plaques with stenosis (Left: Severe, Right: Moderate) in the bilateral internal carotid arteries (ICAs) of an 81-year-old male presented with paroxysmal weakness in the right upper limb. Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel was administered. On day 7, DSA of the bilateral ICAs was performed via TRA. Post-DSA, the patient experienced transient loss of consciousness, chest tightness, and other symptoms without ECG or MRI abnormalities. Hemoglobin level decreased from 110 g/L to 92 g/L. Iodinated contrast-induced laryngeal edema was suspected, and the patient was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone. Neck CT indicated a possible mediastinal hemorrhage, which chest CTA confirmed. The patient's treatment plan involved discontinuing antiplatelet medication as a precautionary measure against the potential occurrence of an ischemic stroke instead of the utilization of a covered stent graft and surgical intervention. Serial CTs revealed hematoma absorption. Discharge CT showed a reduced hematoma volume of 35 × 45 mm. CONCLUSIONS: This case underscores the need for timely identification and precise manipulation of guidewires and guide-catheters through trans-radial access. The critical components of successful neuro-interventional techniques include timely examination, rapid identification, proper therapy, and diligent monitoring.

Short-term culture for rapid identification by mass spectrometry and automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing from positive bottles.

BACKGROUND: Early and appropriate antibiotic treatment improves the clinical outcome of patients with sepsis. There is an urgent need for rapid identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of bacteria that cause bloodstream infection (BSI). Rapid ID and AST can be achieved by short-term incubation on solid medium of positive blood cultures using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) and the BD M50 system. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of rapid method compared to traditional method. METHODS: A total of 124 mono-microbial samples were collected. Positive blood culture samples were short-term incubated on blood agar plates and chocolate agar plates for 5 ∼ 7 h, and the rapid ID and AST were achieved through Zybio EXS2000 MS and BD M50 System, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the traditional 24 h culture for ID, this rapid method can shorten the cultivation time to 5 ∼ 7 h. Accurate organism ID was achieved in 90.6% of Gram-positive bacteria (GP), 98.5% of Gram-negative bacteria (GN), and 100% of fungi. The AST resulted in the 98.5% essential agreement (EA) and 97.1% category agreements (CA) in NMIC-413, 99.4% EA and 98.9% CA in PMIC-92, 100% both EA and CA in SMIC-2. Besides, this method can be used for 67.2% (264/393) of culture bottles during routine work. The mean turn-around time (TAT) for obtaining final results by conventional method is approximately 72.6 ± 10.5 h, which is nearly 24 h longer than the rapid method. CONCLUSIONS: The newly described method is expected to provide faster and reliable ID and AST results, making it an important tool for rapid management of blood cultures (BCs). In addition, this rapid method can be used to process most positive blood cultures, enabling patients to receive rapid and effective treatment.

A theoretical study of the mechanism of cationic polymerization of isobutylene catalysed by EtAlCl2/t-BuCl with bis(2-chloroethyl)ether in hexanes.

The mechanism of cationic polymerization of isobutylene catalyzed by t-BuCl/ethylaluminum dichloride (EADC) combined with bis(2-chloroethyl)ether (CEE) in n-hexane solvent has been investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) and metadynamics (MTD) simulations. The results indicated that the polyisobutylene (PIB) initiation stage involves a clear two-step mechanism. Calculation of the free energy landscapes of the other two ether reactions reveals that the energy barriers of diisopropyl ether (i-Pr2O) and 2-chloroethyl ethyl ether (CEEE) are much higher than those of CEE, which is consistent with the experimental results. During the chain propagation phase, the required free energy barrier gradually decreases and tends to reach equilibrium as the chain length increases. Finally, the oxonium mechanism during the chain initiation stage was investigated by calculating the 1H NMR spectra and MTD simulation. Our calculations can confirm that the existence of tert-butyloxonium ions during the reaction is possible. Their contribution to the whole reaction is further discussed.

THBru attenuates diabetic cardiomyopathy by inhibiting RAGE-dependent inflammation.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a complication of diabetes mellitus characterized by heart failure and cardiac remodeling. Previous studies show that tetrahydroberberrubine (THBru) retrogrades cardiac aging by promoting PHB2-mediated mitochondrial autophagy and prevents peritoneal adhesion by suppressing inflammation. In this study we investigated whether THBru exerted protective effect against DCM in db/db mice and potential mechanisms. Eight-week-old male db/db mice were administered THBru (25, 50 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g.) for 12 weeks. Cardiac function was assessed using echocardiography. We showed that THBru administration significantly improved both cardiac systolic and diastolic function, as well as attenuated cardiac remodeling in db/db mice. In primary neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes (NMCMs), THBru (20, 40 µM) dose-dependently ameliorated high glucose (HG)-induced cell damage, hypertrophy, inflammatory cytokines release, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Using Autodock, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and DARTS analyses, we revealed that THBru bound to the domain of the receptor for advanced glycosylation end products (RAGE), subsequently leading to inactivation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway. Importantly, overexpression of RAGE in NMCMs reversed HG-induced inactivation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway and subsequently counteracted the beneficial effects mediated by THBru. We conclude that THBru acts as an inhibitor of RAGE, leading to inactivation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway. This action effectively alleviates the inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes, ultimately leading to ameliorated DCM.

Bacteria-driven nanosonosensitizer delivery system for enhanced breast cancer treatment through sonodynamic therapy-induced immunogenic cell death.

BACKGROUND: Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has shown promise as a non-invasive cancer treatment due to its local effects and excellent tissue penetration. However, the limited accumulation of sonosensitizers at the tumor site hinders its therapeutic efficacy. Although nanosonosensitizers have improved local tumor accumulation through passive targeting via the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR), achieving sufficient accumulation and penetration into tumors remains challenging due to tumor heterogeneity and inaccurate targeting. Bacteria have become a promising biological carrier due to their unique characteristic of active targeting and deeper penetration into the tumor. METHODS: In this study, we developed nanosonosensitizers consisting of sonosensitizer, hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME), and perfluoro-n-pentane (PFP) loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanodroplets (HPNDs). These HPNDs were covalently conjugated onto the surface of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) using carbodiimine chemistry. EcN acted as an active targeting micromotor for efficient transportation of the nanosonosensitizers to the tumor site in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment. Under ultrasound cavitation, the HPNDs were disrupted, releasing HMME and facilitating its uptakes by cancer cells. This process induced reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cell apoptosis and immunogenic cell death (ICD) in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Our bacteria-driven nanosonosensitizer delivery system (HPNDs@EcN) achieved superior tumor localization of HMME in vivo compared to the group treated with only nanosonosensitizers. This enhanced local accumulation further improved the therapeutic effect of SDT induced-ICD therapeutic effect and inhibited tumor metastasis under ultrasound stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our research demonstrates the potential of this ultrasound-responsive bacteria-driven nanosonosensitizer delivery system for SDT in TNBC. The combination of targeted delivery using bacteria and nanosonosensitizer-based therapy holds promise for achieving improved treatment outcomes by enhancing local tumor accumulation and stimulating ICD.

How outdoor horticultural activities affect elderly adults' thermal, physiological and psychological responses: a field study.

We recruited 162 healthy elderly adults to determine the thermal, physiological, and psychological effects of horticultural activities (flower arranging, transplanting, and rubble masonry) in outdoor open spaces. We linked these to local climate conditions, physiology, and comfort through a questionnaire survey. The results showed that: (1) the neutral physiological equivalent temperature (NPET) before the horticultural activities were 22.18 â„ƒ for flower arranging, 23.67 â„ƒ for transplanting, and 20.78 â„ƒ for rubble masonry, while the NPET decreased to 18.53 â„ƒ, 20.73 â„ƒ and 18.04 â„ƒ (respectively) after activities. (2) The heart rate and blood oxygen saturation changed significantly (p < 0.05) only after rubble masonry. (3) The average positive affect (PA) scores increased after flower arranging by 4.83, transplanting by 3.30, and rubble masonry by 4.00. (4) After activities, the thermal sensation vote was mainly influenced by globe temperature (41.36%), air temperature (33.47%), and wind speed (25.17%). Thermal comfort vote could be promoted because of 37.35% of an increasing positive and 21.20% of decreasing negative emotion.

Pimpinellin ameliorates macrophage inflammation by promoting RNF146-mediated PARP1 ubiquitination.

Macrophage inflammation plays a central role during the development and progression of sepsis, while the regulation of macrophages by parthanatos has been recently identified as a novel strategy for anti-inflammatory therapies. This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic potential and mechanism of pimpinellin against LPS-induced sepsis. PARP1 and PAR activation were detected by western blot or immunohistochemistry. Cell death was assessed by flow cytometry and western blot. Cell metabolism was measured with a Seahorse XFe24 extracellular flux analyzer. C57, PARP1 knockout, and PARP1 conditional knock-in mice were used in a model of sepsis caused by LPS to assess the effect of pimpinellin. Here, we found that pimpinellin can specifically inhibit LPS-induced macrophage PARP1 and PAR activation. In vitro studies showed that pimpinellin could inhibit the expression of inflammatory cytokines and signal pathway activation in macrophages by inhibiting overexpression of PARP1. In addition, pimpinellin increased the survival rate of LPS-treated mice, thereby preventing LPS-induced sepsis. Further research confirmed that LPS-induced sepsis in PARP1 overexpressing mice was attenuated by pimpinellin, and PARP1 knockdown abolished the protective effect of pimpinellin against LPS-induced sepsis. Further study found that pimpinellin can promote ubiquitin-mediated degradation of PARP1 through RNF146. This is the first study to demonstrate that pimpinellin inhibits excessive inflammatory responses by promoting the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of PARP1.

Determining Whether an Individual is 18 Years or Older Based on the Third Molar Root Pulp Visibility in East China.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the age-related changes of the mandibular third molar root pulp visibility in individuals in East China, and to explore the feasibility of applying this method to determine whether an individual is 18 years or older. METHODS: A total of 1 280 oral panoramic images were collected from the 15-30 years old East China population, and the mandibular third molar root pulp visibility in all oral panoramic images was evaluated using OLZE 0-3 four-stage method, and the age distribution of the samples at each stage was analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Stages 0, 1, 2 and 3 first appeared in 16.88, 19.18, 21.91 and 25.44 years for males and in 17.47, 20.91, 22.01 and 26.01 years for females. In all samples, individuals at stages 1 to 3 were over 18 years old. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to determine whether an individual in East China is 18 years or older based on the mandibular third molar root pulp visibility on oral panoramic images.

Using Rayleigh Scattering to Correct the Inner Filter Effect of the Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix.

Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy has been proven to be an effective tool for offline fluorescence analysis. However, the pretreatment of EEM data requires an additional ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectrum for inner filter effect (IFE) correction. This complicates the instrument structure and increases the test flow, thus hindering the practical application of EEM in environmental online monitoring. In this work, Rayleigh scattering in EEM, which is often masked, is leveraged to address this challenge as Rayleigh scattering light itself passes through the sample and experiences absorption. We establish a translation-corrected estimation by the Rayleigh scattering (TCERS) method to estimate absorbance, not only enabling the IFE self-correction of EEM but also providing orthogonal spectroscopy information. TCERS is hierarchically tested in real solutions, simulated turbid liquids, and various natural water samples. Results indicate that the predicted UV-vis absorption spectra have a cosine similarity of over 0.95 with the actual spectra. When using the predicted spectra to correct the IFE of EEM, only about 0.005/1.440 bits of information entropy are lost and the absolute errors in EEM are negligible. The proposed method has the potential to streamline the design of fluorescence spectrometers, making it possible to miniaturize, optimize, and popularize these instruments for various practical applications such as environmental monitoring.

Role of Left-Hand Cut Contributions on Pole Extractions from Lattice Data: Case Study for T_{cc}(3875)

We discuss recent lattice data for the T_{cc}(3875)^{+} state to stress, for the first time, a potentially strong impact of left-hand cuts from the one-pion exchange on the pole extraction for near-threshold exotic states. In particular, if the left-hand cut is located close to the two-particle threshold, which happens naturally in the DD^{*} system for the pion mass exceeding its physical value, the effective-range expansion is valid only in a very limited energy range up to the cut and as such is of little use to reliably extract the poles. Then, an accurate extraction of the pole locations requires the one-pion exchange to be implemented explicitly into the scattering amplitudes. Our findings are general and potentially relevant for a wide class of hadronic near-threshold states.

Lonely Individuals Process the World in Idiosyncratic Ways.

Loneliness is detrimental to well-being and is often accompanied by self-reported feelings of not being understood by other people. What contributes to such feelings in lonely people? We used functional MRI of 66 first-year university students to unobtrusively measure the relative alignment of people's mental processing of naturalistic stimuli and tested whether lonely people actually process the world in idiosyncratic ways. We found evidence for such idiosyncrasy: Lonely individuals' neural responses were dissimilar to those of their peers, particularly in regions of the default-mode network in which similar responses have been associated with shared perspectives and subjective understanding. These relationships persisted when we controlled for demographic similarities, objective social isolation, and individuals' friendships with each other. Our findings raise the possibility that being surrounded by people who see the world differently from oneself, even if one is friends with them, may be a risk factor for loneliness.

Preparation, Structure-Performance Relationship, and Reaction Network of ZnZSM-5 for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane with CO2.

Ethylene (C2 H4 ) is a major chemical for the modern society, and new technologies for its production are of strategic importance globally. Recently, oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (C2 H6 ) using CO2 as a milder oxidant (CO2 -ODH) is proposed as a potential way for C2 H4 production, and development of effective catalysts for the process is drawing wide attention. Here, we report on a facilely prepared ZSM-5 supported Zn system, i. e., ZnZSM-5, which showed great promise in CO2 -ODH. Samples with different Zn loadings were prepared and evaluated, and the highest performance was obtained over 0.05ZnZSM-5 at 700 °C and a CO2 :C2 H6 feeding ratio of 5 : 1. During 340 min TOS, the C2 H6 conversion decreased moderately from 36.2 % to 23.1 %, and the C2 H4 yield stabilized at 21.9 % to 27.9 %. Based on systematic characterization and investigation of reaction conditions, the structure-performance relationship and reaction network were discussed in detail.

Acidaminococcus homini s sp. nov., Amedibacillus hominis sp. nov., Lientehia hominis gen. nov. sp. nov., Merdimmobilis hominis gen. nov. sp. nov., and Paraeggerthella hominis sp. nov., isolated from human faeces.

The human gastrointestinal tract is inhabited by various microorganisms, including thousands of bacterial taxa that have yet to be cultured and characterized. In this report, we describe the isolation, cultivation, genotypic and phenotypic characterization and taxonomy of five novel anaerobic bacterial strains that were recovered during the massive cultivation and isolation of gut microbes from human faecal samples. On the basis of the polyphasic taxonomic results, we propose two novel genera and five novel species. They are Acidaminococcus hominis sp. nov. (type strain NSJ-142T=CGMCC 1.17903T=KCTC 25346T), Amedibacillus hominis sp. nov. (type strain NSJ-176T=CGMCC 1.17933T=KCTC 25355T), Lientehia hominis gen. nov. sp. nov. (type strain NSJ-141T=CGMCC 1.17902T=KCTC 25345T), Merdimmobilis hominis gen. nov. sp. nov. (type strain NSJ-153T=CGMCC 1.17915T=KCTC 25350T) and Paraeggerthella hominis sp. nov. (type strain NSJ-152T=CGMCC 1.17914T=KCTC 25349T).

Data Mining and Graph Network Deep Learning for Band Gap Prediction in Crystalline Borate Materials.

Crystalline borates are an important class of functional materials with wide applications in photocatalysis and laser technologies. Obtaining their band gap values in a timely and precise manner is a great challenge in material design due to the issues of computational accuracy and cost of first-principles methods. Although machine learning (ML) techniques have shown great successes in predicting the versatile properties of materials, their practicality is often limited by the data set quality. Here, by using a combination of natural language processing searches and domain knowledge, we built an experimental database of inorganic borates, including their chemical compositions, band gaps, and crystal structures. We performed graph network deep learning to predict the band gaps of borates with accuracy, and the results agreed favorably with experimental measurements from the visible-light to the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) region. For a realistic screening problem, our ML model could correctly identify most of the investigated DUV borates. Furthermore, the extrapolative ability of the model was validated against our newly synthesized borate crystal Ag3B6O10NO3, supplemented by the discussion of an ML-based material design for structural analogues. The applications and interpretability of the ML model were also evaluated extensively. Finally, we implemented a web-based application, which could be utilized conveniently in material engineering for the desired band gap. The philosophy behind this study is to use cost-effective data mining techniques to build high-quality ML models, which can provide useful clues for further material design.

Deep-Learning-Based Automated Tracking and Counting of Living Plankton in Natural Aquatic Environments.

Plankton are widely distributed in the aquatic environment and serve as an indicator of water quality. Monitoring the spatiotemporal variation in plankton is an efficient approach to forewarning environmental risks. However, conventional microscopy counting is time-consuming and laborious, hindering the application of plankton statistics for environmental monitoring. In this work, an automated video-oriented plankton tracking workflow (AVPTW) based on deep learning is proposed for continuous monitoring of living plankton abundance in aquatic environments. With automatic video acquisition, background calibration, detection, tracking, correction, and statistics, various types of moving zooplankton and phytoplankton were counted at a time scale. The accuracy of AVPTW was validated with conventional counting via microscopy. Since AVPTW is only sensitive to mobile plankton, the temperature- and wastewater-discharge-induced plankton population variations were monitored online, demonstrating the sensitivity of AVPTW to environmental changes. The robustness of AVPTW was also confirmed with natural water samples from a contaminated river and an uncontaminated lake. Notably, automated workflows are essential for generating large amounts of data, which are a prerequisite for available data set construction and subsequent data mining. Furthermore, data-driven approaches based on deep learning pave a novel way for long-term online environmental monitoring and elucidating the correlation underlying environmental indicators. This work provides a replicable paradigm to combine imaging devices with deep-learning algorithms for environmental monitoring.

Green synthesized hydroxyapatite for efficient immobilization of cadmium in weakly alkaline environment.

The development of cost-effective passivators for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils has been a research hotspot and an unsolved challenge. Herein, a novel hydroxyapatite (GSCH) was synthesized by co-precipitating distiller effluent-derived Ca with (NH4)2HPO4 using straw-derived dissolved organic matter (S-DOM) as the dispersant. Batch adsorption experiments and soil incubation tests were performed to assess the immobilization efficiency of GSCH for Cd in weakly alkaline environments. As a result, GSCH showed an excellent adsorption efficiency to Cd with a maximum adsorption amount of ∼222 mg g-1, which was fairly competitive compared to other similar previously materials reported. The kinetic data indicated that the adsorption of Cd on GSCH was a chemical and irreversible process, while the thermodynamic data revealed a spontaneous (ΔG° < 0) and endothermic (ΔH° > 0) adsorption process. Based on mechanism analysis, both physisorption (e.g., electrostatic attraction and pore filling) and chemisorption (e.g., ion exchange and complexation) were responsible for Cd adsorption on GSCH. Particularly, the incorporated S-DOM and hydroxyapatite phase in GSCH acted synergistically in the adsorption process. The incubation results showed that GSCH application could significantly reduce the bioavailability, phytoavailability and bioaccessibility of Cd in soil by 48.4%-57.8%, 20.4%-28.6% and 12.6%-24.0%, respectively. Moreover, GSCH application also improved soil bacterial communities and enhanced soil nutrient availability. Overall, this is the first study to demonstrate the potential application value of GSCH in Cd immobilization, providing promising insights into the development of green and cost-effective hydroxyapatite-based passivators for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils.

Biomechanical Response of Cancer Stem Cells to Low-Intensity Ultrasound.

The presence of stem cells in cancer may increase the chances of drug resistance and invasiveness. Low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS) can regulate the biological and mechanical properties of cells and participate in cellular migration and differentiation. Although LIUS has shown significant potential in cancer treatment, the effects of LIUS on migration and drug resistance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are unclear from a biomechanical perspective. Hence, the objective of this work is to analyze the biomechanical response of LIUS to CSCs. In this study, we selected human ovarian cancer cell line A2780 and ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSCs) were enriched from A2780 cells and observed that OCSCs had higher drug sensitivity and lower invasiveness than A2780 cells after LIUS exposure. Furthermore, we further analyzed the changes in cell morphology, cytoskeleton, and membrane stiffness of A2780 cells and OCSCs at various intensities of LIUS, these results showed that LIUS could induce morphological changes, F-actin formation and increase membrane stiffness, which could help to suppress migration and reduce the drug resistance of OCSCs. Our findings will help establish a better understanding of the biomechanical response to LIUS in CSCs, and future studies on cancer will benefit from the careful consideration of the cellular response of CSCs to LIUS stimulation, ultimately allowing for the development of more effective therapies.