Baicalin Ameliorates Depression-like Behaviors via Inhibiting Neuroinflammation and Apoptosis in Mice.

Depression is a common neuropsychiatric disease which brings an increasing burden to all countries globally. Baicalin, a flavonoid extracted from the dried roots of Scutellaria, has been reported to exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects in the treatment of depression. However, the potential biological mechanisms underlying its antidepressant effect are still unclear. In the present study, we conducted extensive research on the potential mechanisms of baicalin's antidepressant effect using the methods of network pharmacology, including overlapped terms-based analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network topology analysis, and enrichment analysis. Moreover, these results were further verified through molecular docking, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), differential gene expression analysis, and subsequent animal experiments. We identified forty-one genes as the targets of baicalin in the treatment of depression, among which AKT1, IL6, TP53, IL1B, and CASP3 have higher centrality in the more core position. Meanwhile, the roles of peripheral genes derived from direct potential targets were also observed. Our study suggested that biological processes, such as inflammatory reaction, apoptosis, and oxidative stress, may be involved in the therapeutic process of baicalin on depression. These mechanisms were validated at the level of structure, gene, protein, and signaling pathway in the present study. Taken together, these findings propose a new perspective on the potential mechanisms underlying baicalin's antidepressant effect, and also provide a new basis and clarified perspective for its clinical application.

Frontiers and hotspots in anxiety disorders: A bibliometric analysis from 2004 to 2024.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze research on anxiety disorders using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to identify research hotspots and future directions. Methods: We conduct ed a comprehensive search on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) for relevant studies about anxiety disorders published within the past two decades (from 2004 to 2024). VOSviewer and CiteSpace were mainly used to analyze the authors, institutions, countries, publishing journals, reference co-citation patterns, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and other aspects to construct a knowledge atlas. Results: A total of 22,267 publications related to anxiety disorders were retrieved. The number of publications about anxiety disorders has generally increased over time, with some fluctuations. The United States emerged as the most productive country, with Harvard University identified as the most prolific institution and Brenda W. J. H. Penninx as the most prolific author in the field. Conclusion: This research identified the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries in the field of anxiety research. Future research directions are involved advanced treatments based on pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy and digital interventions, mechanism exploration to anxiety disorders based on neurobiological and genetic basis, influence of social and environmental factors on the onset of anxiety disorders.

Frontiers and hotspots in comorbid epilepsy and depression: a bibliometric analysis from 2003 to 2023.

Background: Epilepsy ranks among the most common neurological disorders worldwide, frequently accompanied by depression as a prominent comorbidity. This study employs bibliometric analysis to reveal the research of comorbid epilepsy and depression over the past two decades, aiming to explore trends and contribute insights to ongoing investigations. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search on the Web of Science Core Collection database and downloaded relevant publications on comorbid epilepsy and depression published from 2003 to 2023. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were mainly used to analyze the authors, institutions, countries, publishing journals, reference co-citation patterns, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and other aspects to construct a knowledge atlas. Results: A total of 5,586 publications related to comorbid epilepsy and depression were retrieved, with a general upward trend despite slight fluctuations in annual publications. Publications originated from 121 countries and 636 institutions, with a predominant focus on clinical research. The United States led in productivity (1,529 articles), while Melbourne University emerged as the most productive institution (135 articles). EPILEPSY & BEHAVIOR was the journal with the highest publication output (1,189 articles) and citation count. Keyword analysis highlighted emerging trends, including "recognitive impairment" and "mental health," indicating potential future research hotspots and trends. Conclusion: This study is one of the first to perform a bibliometric analysis of the 20-year scientific output of comorbid epilepsy and depression. While research has trended upwards, ambiguity in pathogenesis and the absence of standardized diagnostic guidelines remain concerning. Our analysis offers valuable guidance for researchers, informing that this might be a strong area for future collaborations.

Tartaric Acid Cross-Linking Polyvinyl Alcohol as Degradable Separators for Rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries.

The escalating focus on environmental concerns and the swift advancement of eco-friendly biodegradable batteries raises a pressing demand for enhanced material design in the battery field. The traditional polypropylene (PP) that is monopolistically utilized in the commercial LIBs is hard to recycle. In this work, we prepare a novel water degradable separators via the cross-linking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and dibasic acid (tartaric acid, TA). Through the integration of non-solvent liquid-phase separation, we successfully produced a thermally stable PVA-TA membrane with tunable thickness and a high level of porosity. These specially engineered PVA-TA separators were implemented in LiFePO4 (LFP)|separator|Li cells, resulting in superior multiplicative performance and achieving a capacity of 88 mAh g-1 under 5 C. Additionally, the straightforward small molecule cross-linking technique significantly reduced the crystalline region of the polymer, thereby enhancing ionic conductivity. Notably, after cycling, the PVA-TA separators can be easily dissolved in 95 °C hot water, enabling its reutilization for the production of new PVA-TA separators. Therefore, this work introduces a novel concept to design green and sustainable separators for recyclable lithium batteries.

Characterization of SNCA Multiplication in Parkinson's Disease: 2 New Cases and Evaluation of the Literature.

Background: Alpha-synuclein (SNCA) copy number variations (CNV) have been certified as a causative mutation in patients with familial and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). Case: We report three SNCA duplication cases diagnosed as PD. Through whole-exome sequencing, we identified a de novo 4.56 Mb repeated region in one patient and a 2.50 Mb repeated region in familial PD with two patients. Literature review: In review of previous cases, we suggest that aggressive behavior is more remarkable in CNV4 patients. Meanwhile, frequency of cognition decline and dementia were slightly increased in CNV4 patients. We also illustrate a younger onset age in offspring than parent in familial SNCA multiplication PD cases. No difference was observed in disease duration between parent and offspring generation. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated the clinical and genetic characteristics in PD with SNCA multiplication and provided strong evidence for genetic anticipation. These results may be instructive for future disease diagnosis and genetic counseling.

Deciphering Electrolyte Dominated Na+ Storage Mechanisms in Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Although hard carbon (HC) demonstrates superior initial Coulombic efficiency, cycling durability, and rate capability in ether-based electrolytes compared to ester-based electrolytes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), the underlying mechanisms responsible for these disparities remain largely unexplored. Herein, ex situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra and in situ Raman spectroscopy are combined to investigate the Na storage mechanism of HC under different electrolytes. Through deconvolving the EPR signals of Na in HC, quasi-metallic-Na is successfully differentiated from adsorbed-Na. By monitoring the evolution of different Na species during the charging/discharging process, it is found that the initial adsorbed-Na in HC with ether-based electrolytes can be effectively transformed into intercalated-Na in the plateau region. However, this transformation is obstructed in ester-based electrolytes, leading to the predominant storage of Na in HC as adsorbed-Na and pore-filled-Na. Furthermore, the intercalated-Na in HC within the ether-based electrolytes contributes to the formation of a uniform, dense, and stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) film and eventually enhances the electrochemical performance of HC. This work successfully deciphers the electrolyte-dominated Na+ storage mechanisms in HC and provides fundamental insights into the industrialization of HC in SIBs.

Precisely manipulated π-π stacking of catalytic exfoliated iron polyphthalocyanine/reduced graphene oxide hybrid via pyrolysis-free path.

Metal macrocycles with well-defined molecular structures are ideal platforms for the in-depth study of electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Structural integrity of metal macrocycles is vital but remain challenging since the commonly used high-temperature pyrolysis would cause severe structure damage and unidentifiable active sites. Herein, we propose a pyrolysis-free strategy to precisely manipulate the exfoliated 2D iron polyphthalocyanine (FePPc) anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via π-π stacking using facile high-energy ball milling. A delocalized electron shift caused by π-π interaction is firstly found to be the mechanism of facilitating the remarkable ORR activity of this hybrid catalyst. The optimal FePPc@rGO-HE achieves superior half-wave potential (0.90 V) than 20 % Pt/C. This study offers a new insight in designing stable and high-performance metal macrocycle catalysts with well-defined active sites.

Dynamics of Droplet Coalescence on Hydrophobic Fibers in Oil: Morphology and Liquid Bridge Evolution.

Although droplet self-jumping on hydrophobic fibers is a well-known phenomenon, the influence of viscous bulk fluids on this process is still not fully understood. In this work, two water droplets' coalescence on a single stainless-steel fiber in oil was investigated experimentally. Results showed that lowering the bulk fluid viscosity and increasing the oil-water interfacial tension promoted droplet deformation, reducing the coalescence time of each stage. While the total coalescence time was more influenced by the viscosity and under-oil contact angle than the bulk fluid density. For water droplets coalescing on hydrophobic fibers in oils, the expansion of the liquid bridge can be affected by the bulk fluid, but the expansion dynamics exhibited similar behavior. The drops begin their coalescence in an inertially limited viscous regime and transition to an inertia regime. Larger droplets did accelerate the expansion of the liquid bridge but had no obvious influence on the number of coalescence stages and coalescence time. This study can provide a more profound understanding of the mechanisms underlying the behavior of water droplet coalescence on hydrophobic surfaces in oil.

Realizing High-Performance Cathodes with Cationic and Anionic Redox Reactions in High-Sodium-Content P2-Type Oxides for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

P2-type layered transition-metal oxides with anionic redox reactions are promising cathodes for sodium-ion batteries. In this work, a high-sodium-content P2-type Na7/9Li1/9Mg1/9Cu1/9Mn2/3O2 (NLMC) cathode material is prepared by substituting Li/Mg/Cu for Mn sites in Na2/3MnO2. The Li/Mg ions trigger the anionic redox reaction, while the Cu ions enhance the structure stability during electrochemical cycling. As a result, the oxide has a high reversible capacity of 225 mAh g-1 originating from both cationic and anionic redox activities with a capacity retention of 77% after 100 cycles. The migration energy barrier and Na ion diffusion kinetics are studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction, DFT, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy are applied to reveal the structural evolution and charge compensation of NLMC, providing a thorough understanding of the structural and morphology evolution of Na-deficient oxides during cycling. The results are inspiring for the design of a high-Na content P2-type layered oxide cathode for sodium-ion batteries.

Hippocampal microRNA-26a-3p deficit contributes to neuroinflammation and behavioral disorders via p38 MAPK signaling pathway in rats.

BACKGROUND: Neuronal injury is considered a critical risk factor in the pathogenesis of most neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and identification of potential therapeutic targets for preventing neuronal injury associated with brain function remain largely uncharacterized. Therefore, identifying neural mechanisms would put new insights into the progression of this condition and provide novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these diseases. METHODS: Stereotactic injection of AAV virus was used to knock-down the miR-26a-3p within hippocampus of rats. Behavioral changes was detected by open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM), forced swim test (FST) and sucrose preference test (SPT). The inflammatory cytokines and related proteins were verified by real-time quantitative PCR, immunoblotting or immunofluorescence assay. Golgi staining and electron microscopy analysis was used to observe the dendritic spine, synapse and ultrastructural pathology. SB203580 (0.5 mg/kg) were administered daily to prevent p38 MAPK via an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection. Finally, electrophysiological method was used to examine the synaptic transmission via whole-cell patch-clamp recording. RESULTS: Here, we showed that miR-26a-3p deficiency within hippocampal regions leads to the activation of microglia, increased level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and behavioral disorders in rats, effects which appear to be mediated by directly targeting the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-NF-κB signaling pathway. Specifically, we found that the enhanced glia-activation may consequently result in neuronal deterioration that mainly presented as the dysregulation of structural and functional plasticity in hippocampal neurons. In contrast, preventing p38 pathway by SB203580 significantly ameliorated abnormal behavioral phenotypes and neuronal jury resulting from miR-26a-3p knock-down. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the normal expression of miR-26a-3p exerts neuroprotective effects via suppressing neural abnormality and maintaining neuroplasticity to against behavioral disorders in rats. These effects appear to involve a down-regulation of p38 MAPK-NF-κB signaling within the hippocampal region. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that miR-26a-3p can function as a critical factor in regulating neural activity and suggest that the maintaining of normal structure and function of neurons might be a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Single-Atom Yttrium Engineering Janus Electrode for Rechargeable Na-S Batteries.

The development of rechargeable Na-S batteries is very promising, thanks to their considerably high energy density, abundance of elements, and low costs and yet faces the issues of sluggish redox kinetics of S species and the polysulfide shuttle effect as well as Na dendrite growth. Following the theory-guided prediction, the rare-earth metal yttrium (Y)-N4 unit has been screened as a favorable Janus site for the chemical affinity of polysulfides and their electrocatalytic conversion, as well as reversible uniform Na deposition. To this end, we adopt a metal-organic framework (MOF) to prepare a single-atom hybrid with Y single atoms being incorporated into the nitrogen-doped rhombododecahedron carbon host (Y SAs/NC), which features favorable Janus properties of sodiophilicity and sulfiphilicity and thus presents highly desired electrochemical performance when used as a host of the sodium anode and the sulfur cathode of a Na-S full cell. Impressively, the Na-S full cell is capable of delivering a high capacity of 822 mAh g-1 and shows superdurable cyclability (97.5% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g-1). The proof-of-concept three-dimensional (3D) printed batteries and the Na-S pouch cell validate the potential practical applications of such Na-S batteries, shedding light on the development of promising Na-S full cells for future application in energy storage or power batteries.

Ternary Transition Metal Sulfide as High Real Energy Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Pouch Cell Under Lean Electrolyte Conditions.

Fabrication of a highly porous sulfur host and using excess electrolyte is a common strategy to enhance sulfur utilization. However, flooded electrolyte limits the practical energy density of Li-S pouch cells. In this study, a novel Fe0.34 Co0.33 Ni0.33 S2 (FCN) is proposed as host for sulfur to realize Ah-level Li-S full cells demonstrating excellent electrochemical performances under 2 µL mg-1 lean electrolyte conditions. Moreover, Kelvin probe force microscopy shows that the FCN surface contains positive charge with a potential of ≈70 mV, improving the binding of polysulfides through Lewis acid base interaction. In particular, the FCN@S possesses inherent electrochemical activity of simultaneous anionic and cationic redox for lithium storage in the voltage window of 1.8-2.1 V, which additionally contributes to the specific capacity. Due to the low carbon content (≈10 wt%), the sulfur loading is as high as ≈6 mg cm-2 , approaching an outstanding energy density of 394.9 and 267.2 Wh kg-1 at the current density of 1.5 and 4 mA cm-2 , respectively. Moreover, after 60 cycles at 1.5 mA cm-2 , the pouch cell still retains an energy of 300.2 Wh kg-1 . This study represents a milestone in the practical applications of high-energy Li-S batteries.

Redox of Dual-Radical Intermediates in a Methylene-Linked Covalent Triazine Framework for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) are promising electrodes for rechargeable batteries due to their adjustable structures, rich redox sites, and tunable porosity. However, the CTFs usually exhibit inferior electrochemical stability because of the inactivation of the unstable radical intermediates. Here, a methylene-linked CTF has been synthesized and evaluated as a cathode for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and in situ Raman characterizations demonstrated that the redox activity and reversibility of α-C and triazine radical intermediates are essentially important for the charging/discharging process, which have been efficiently stabilized by the synergetic π conjugation and hindrance effect caused by the adjacent rigid triazine rings and benzene rings in the unique CTF-p framework. Additionally, the methylene groups provided extra redox-active sites. As a result, high capacity and cycling stability were achieved. This work inspires the rational modulation of the radical intermediates to enhance the electrochemical performance of organic electrode materials for the next-generation energy storage devices.

Self-supported nickel iron oxide nanospindles with high hydrophilicity for efficient oxygen evolution.

Engineering nanoarray structures with favorable hydrophilicity is proposed to unlock the electrocatalysis of NiFe2O4 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The resulting electrode, consisting of NiFe2O4 nanospindles directly grown on FeNi3 foam, features enlarged active surface area, high hydrophilicity and increased electronic conductivity, which achieves superior OER activity and remarkable durability.

N-doped carbon coated anatase TiO2 nanoparticles as superior Na-ion battery anodes.

N-doped carbon coated TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2@NC) were synthesized through a simple two-step route, in which dopamine was simultaneously utilized as both nitrogen and carbon sources. With TiO2@NC applied in the Na-ion battery (SIB) anodes, the continuous and uniform N-doped carbon layer can not only enhance the electrical conductivity of TiO2 and facilitate the surface pseudocapacitive process, but also serve as a buffer layer to accommodate the volume expansion during the sodiation-desodiation processes. The as-prepared TiO2@NC exhibits excellent electrochemical performance when utilized as the SIB anodes, which delivers a remarkably high reversible capacity of 250.2 mAh g-1 at a rate of 0.25C (84 mA g-1) after 200 cycles and still retains 122.1 mAh g-1 at 10C (3.35 A g-1) even after 3000 cycles accompanied with a 95.3% retention of the maximum capacity, outperforming most of the reported TiO2/C-based composites as SIB anodes. To our best knowledge, the preparation of TiO2@NC with dopamine as both nitrogen and carbon sources and its application in the SIB anodes are reported for the first time.