Ligand-mediate exciton allocation enables efficient cluster-based white light-emitting diodes via single and heavy doping.

Despite potential in high-resolution and low-cost displays and lighting, multi-doping structures and low concentrations (<1%) limit repeatability and stability of single-emissive-layer white light-emitting devices. Herein, we report a singly doped white-emitting system of blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence host matrix (CzAcSF) doped by yellow Cu4I4 cluster ([tBCzDppy]2Cu4I4). CzAcSF:x% [tBCzDppy]2Cu4I4 films realize photo- and electro-luminescence colors from cool white to warm white at x = 20-40. The external quantum efficiency of 23.5% was achieved at x = 30, indicating the record-high efficiency among solution-processed analogs and the largest doping concentration among efficient white light-emitting devices. It shows that di(tert-butyl)carbazole moieties in [tBCzDppy]2Cu4I4 provide high-lying excited energy levels at~2.6 eV to mediate energy transfer from CzAcSF (2.9 eV) to coordinated Cu4I4 (2.2 eV). Our results demonstrate the antenna effect of ligands on optimizing charge and energy transfer in organic-cluster systems and superiority of white cluster light-emitting diodes in practical applications.

A hydrogel-functionalized silver nanocluster for bacterial-infected wound healing.

The ever-growing challenges of traditional antibiotic therapy and chronic wound healing have created a hot topic for the development and application of new antimicrobial agents. Silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) with ultrasmall sizes (<2 nm) and antibacterial effects are promising candidates for next-generation antibiotics, particularly against multi-drug resistant strains. However, the biosafety in the clinical application of Ag NCs remains suboptimal despite some existing studies of Ag NCs for biomedical applications. Considering this, an ultrasmall Ag NC with excellent water solubility was synthesized by a two-phase ligand-exchange method, which exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial performance. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of Ag NCs against MRSA, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli were evaluated as 50, 80, 5 and 5 µg mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, a carbomer hydrogel was prepared to be incorporated into the Ag NCs for achieving excellent biocompatibility and biosafety. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the Ag NC-gel exhibits good antibacterial properties with lower cytotoxicity. Finally, in vivo experiments suggest that this ultrasmall Ag NC functionalized with the hydrogel can serve as an effective and safe antimicrobial agent to aid in wound healing.

Supportive Care Needs of Patients With Temporary Ostomy in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: A Mixed-Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), a global surgical quality improvement initiative, reduces the length of stay in the hospital. Temporary stoma care for rectal cancer is complex, and patients require prolonged care services to adjust to the stoma. The shorter stay durations in the new model challenge the conventional care pathways and create new patient needs. PURPOSE: This study was designed to explore the supportive care needs of patients under the new surgical model to provide a reference for the design of ERAS nursing care plans. METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used in this study. Patients with temporary stomas for rectal cancer were recruited using a convenience sampling method in gastrointestinal surgery wards and wound & stoma clinics in two public tertiary care hospitals in China. Standardized questionnaires were administered to 140 patients to collect quantitative data, and semistructured interviews were conducted individually with 13 patients to collect qualitative data. The questionnaire data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: "Health system and information needs" and "care and support needs" were identified in both the qualitative and quantitative analyses as the most significant unmet needs of the participants. In addition, the qualitative analysis identified receiving focused stoma care instructions and easily understandable information as essential to fulfilling health system and information needs. Care and support needs included access to continued postdischarge services and attention from medical professionals. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The participants in this study experienced a variety of unmet supportive care needs under the ERAS protocol, with gaps particularly notable in two categories: "health system and information needs" and "care and support needs." Increased perioperative care and shorter hospital stays under the ERAS protocol reduce opportunities for patients to receive targeted instruction and shift much of the ostomy education and care workload out of the hospital, requiring greater attention from clinical nurses to ensure quality of care.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and human health outcomes: An umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: Although evidence on the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and human health outcomes has grown exponentially, specific health outcomes and their potential associations with PFASs have not been conclusively evaluated. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search through the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to February 29, 2024, to identify systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies examining the associations between the PFASs and multiple health outcomes. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool, and credibility of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) criteria. The protocol of this umbrella review (UR) had been registered in PROSPERO (CRD 42023480817). RESULTS: The UR identified 157 meta-analyses from 29 articles. Using the AMSTAR measurement tool, all articles were categorized as of moderate-to-high quality. Based on the GRADE assessment, significant associations between specific types of PFASs and low birth weight, tetanus vaccine response, and triglyceride levels showed high certainty of evidence. Moreover, moderate certainty of evidence with statistical significance was observed between PFASs and health outcomes including lower BMI z-score in infancy, poor sperm progressive motility, and decreased risk of preterm birth as well as preeclampsia. Fifty-two (33%) associations (e.g., PFASs and gestational hypertension, cardiovascular disease, etc) presented low certainty evidence. Additionally, eighty-five (55%) associations (e.g., PFASs with infertility, lipid metabolism, etc) presented very low certainty evidence. CONCLUSION: High certainty of evidence supported that certain PFASs were associated with the incidence of low birth weight, low efficiency of the tetanus vaccine, and low triglyceride levels.

Electrochemical Cross-Coupling between N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-sulfonamides and 2-Naphthols: Synthesis of 2,2'-Bis(arenol)s.

We herein present an electrochemical method for the dehydrogenative cross-coupling of N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-sulfonamides and 2-naphthols. This transformation provides a direct and scalable approach to a wide range of C1-symmetric 2,2'-bis(arenol)s with moderate to high yields under mild conditions. Preliminary attempts with the asymmetric variant of this reaction were also performed with ≤55% ee for the synthesis of 2,2'-bis(arenol)s. Control experiments were conducted to propose a plausible mechanism for the reaction.

Characterization and Hydrolysis Mechanism Analysis of a Cold-Adapted Trypsin-Like Protease from Antarctic Krill.

Cold-adapted proteases are capable of efficient protein hydrolysis at reduced temperatures, which offer significant potential applications in the area of low temperature food processing. In this paper, we attempted to characterize cold-adapted proteases from Antarctic krill. Antarctic krill possesses an extremely active autolytic enzyme system in their bodies, and the production of peptides and free amino acids accompanies the rapid breakdown of muscle proteins following the death. The crucial role of trypsin in this process is recognized. A cold-adapted trypsin named OUC-Pp-20 from Antarctic krill genome was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Recombinant trypsin is a monomeric protein of 26.8 ± 1.0 kDa with optimum reaction temperature at 25 °C. In addition, the catalytic specificity of OUC-Pp-20 was assessed by identifying its hydrolysis sites through LC-MS/MS. OUC-Pp-20 appeared to prefer Gln and Asn at the P1 position, which is an amino acid with an amide group in its side chain. Hydrolysis reactions on milk and shrimp meat revealed that it can effectively degrade allergenic components in milk and arginine kinase in shrimp meat. These findings update the current knowledge of cold-adapted trypsin and demonstrate the potential application of OUC-Pp-20 in low temperature food processing.

Bioconversion of α-Chitin by a Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase OsLPMO10A Coupled with Chitinases and the Synergistic Mechanism Analysis.

The whole enzymatic conversion of chitin is a green and promising alternative to current strategies, which are based on lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) and chitinases. However, the lack of LPMOs with high activity toward α-chitin limits the efficient bioconversion of α-chitin. Herein, we characterized a high chitin-active LPMO from Oceanobacillus sp. J11TS1 (OsLPMO10A), which could promote the decrystallization of the α-chitin surface. Furthermore, when coupled with OsLPMO10A, the conversion rate of α-chitin to N-acetyl chitobiose [(GlcNAc)2] by three chitinases (Serratia marcescens, ChiA, -B, and -C) reached 30.86%, which was 2.03-folds that without the addition of OsLPMO10A. Moreover, the results of synergistic reactions indicated that OsLPMO10A and chitinases promoted the degradation of α-chitin each other mainly on the surface. To the best of our knowledge, this study achieved the highest yield of N-acetyl chitooligosaccharides (N-acetyl COSs) among reported LPMOs-driven bioconversion systems, which could be regarded as a promising candidate for α-chitin bioconversion.

Ultra-processed food consumption and metabolic disease risk: an umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies.

Background and aims: There is an ongoing debate on whether to advocate reducing ultra-processed food (UPF) in dietary guidelines to control metabolic disease (such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM]). We aimed to summarize the evidence from systematic reviews with meta-analyses between UPF consumption and metabolic diseases risk, assess the credibility, and verify the robustness of these associations. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases from their inception to July 15, 2023, to identify relevant systematic reviews with meta-analyses. We used the random-effects model to evaluate the summary effect size, along with 95% confidence interval and prediction interval. We also assessed heterogeneity, evidence of small-study effects and excess significance bias, and categorized the credibility of each association based on quantitative umbrella review criteria. Additionally, we conducted subgroup and sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of associations based on continents, study design, dietary assessment methods, definition methods of UPF, population, and units of UPF consumption. Results: Overall, 6 systematic reviews with 13 meta-analyses were included. Three (23.08%) meta-analyses were classified as highly suggestive evidence for meeting the criteria that associations were significant at p < 10-6, had more than 1,000 cases, and presented the largest study with significance at p < 0.05. Among them, the highest UPF consumption quantile was associated with an increased risk of obesity (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.36-1.77) when compared with the lowest UPF consumption quantile. The highest UPF consumption quantile was associated with an increased risk of T2DM (RR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.23-1.59) when compared with the lowest UPF consumption quantile, and a 10% increase in UPF consumption (% g/d) was associated with an increased risk of T2DM (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.10-1.13). Meanwhile, the robustness of these associations was verified by a series of subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: UPF consumption may be a risk factor for several metabolic diseases. However, well-designed studies are still needed to verify our findings in the future.

Aryliodonium Salt-Induced Regioselective Access to meta-Substituted Anilines by Arylation of Azoles.

A highly efficient aryliodonium salt-induced regioselective access to meta-substituted anilines by arylation of azoles has been developed under catalyst-free conditions. This efficient transformation provides a facile and scalable approach to a wide range of biologically active N-arylazoles with moderate to high yields. According to the control experiments, two plausible pathways, including a Michael pathway and a free radical coupling pathway, for the reaction were proposed.

MYC-Targeting Inhibitors Generated from a Stereodiversified Bicyclic Peptide Library.

Here, we present the second generation of our bicyclic peptide library (NTB), featuring a stereodiversified structure and a simplified construction strategy. We utilized a tandem ring-opening metathesis and ring-closing metathesis reaction (ROM-RCM) to cyclize the linear peptide library in a single step, representing the first reported instance of this reaction being applied to the preparation of macrocyclic peptides. Moreover, the resulting bicyclic peptide can be easily linearized for MS/MS sequencing with a one-step deallylation process. We employed this library to screen against the E363-R378 epitope of MYC and identified several MYC-targeting bicyclic peptides. Subsequent in vitro cell studies demonstrated that one candidate, NT-B2R, effectively suppressed MYC transcription activities and cell proliferation.

Molecular modelling studies reveal cryoprotective mechanism of L-Proline during the frozen storage of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).

This study aimed to investigate the cryoprotective properties of proline (1% and 3% (w/v)) on shrimp. The cryoprotective mechanism was studied using physico-chemical experiments and molecular simulations. Proline had a notable positive impact on the thawing loss and texture of shrimp in comparison to the control. The denaturation of myosin in frozen shrimp was delayed by proline. Microscopy analysis demonstrated that proline effectively lowered the harm caused by ice crystals to shrimp muscle. Molecular simulations indicated that proline potentially exerted a cryoprotective effect primarily through the "water substitution" and "glassy state" hypotheses. Proline formed hydrogen bonds with myosin to replace the water molecules around myosin. Additionally, proline interacted with water molecules to form a glassy state, impeding the growth of ice crystals. Consequently, the stability of shrimp myosin was enhanced during freezing. In conclusion, proline demonstrated promise as an efficacious cryoprotectant for aquatic products.

High-Yield Synthesis of Phosphatidylserine in a Well-Designed Mixed Micellar System.

A sustainable enzymatic system is essential for efficient phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis in industrial production. Conventional biphasic systems face challenges such as excessive organic solvent usage, enzyme-intensive processes, and increased costs. This study introduces a novel approach using chitin nanofibrils (ChNFs) as an immobilization material for phospholipase D (PLD) in a mixed micellar system stabilized by the food-grade emulsifier sodium deoxycholate (SDC). The immobilized enzyme, ChNF-chiA1, was quickly prepared in a one-step process, eliminating the need for purification. By optimizing the reaction conditions, including l-Ser concentration (1.0 M), SDC concentration (10 mM), reaction time (8 h), and enzyme dosage (1.0 U), a remarkable PS yield of 96.74% was achieved in the solvent-free mixed micellar system. The catalytic efficiency of ChNF-chiA1 surpassed that of the free PLD-chiA1 biphasic system by 6.0-fold. This innovative and green biocatalytic technology offers a reusable solution for the high-value enzymatic synthesis of phospholipids, providing a promising avenue for industrial applications.

Magnetic macroporous chitin microsphere as a support for covalent enzyme immobilization.

In this study, a novel magnetic macroporous chitin microsphere (MMCM) was developed for enzyme immobilization. Chitin nanofibers were prepared and subsequently subjected to self-assembly with magnetic nanoparticles and PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate). Following this, microspheres were formed through spray drying, achieving a porous structure through etching. The MMCM serves as an effective support for immobilizing enzymes, allowing for their covalent immobilization both on the microsphere's surface and within its pores. The substantial surface area resulting from the porous structure leads to a 2.1-fold increase in enzyme loading capacity compared to non-porous microspheres. The MMCM enhances stability of the immobilized enzymes under various pH and temperature conditions. Furthermore, after 20 days of storage at 4 °C, the residual activity of the immobilized enzyme was 2.93 times that of the free enzyme. Even after being recycled 10 times, the immobilized enzyme retained 56.7 % of its initial activity. It's noteworthy that the active sites of the enzymes remained unchanged after immobilization using the MMCM, and kinetic analysis revealed that the affinity of the immobilized enzymes rivals that of the free enzymes.

Novel reaction systems for catalytic synthesis of structured phospholipids.

Phospholipids are distinctive, adaptable molecules that are crucial to numerous biological systems. Additionally, their various architectures and amphiphilic characteristics support their unrivaled crucial functions in scientific and industrial applications. Due to their enormous potential for use in the fields of medicine, food, cosmetics, and health, structured phospholipids, which are modified phospholipids, have garnered increased attention. Traditional extraction methods, however, are pricy, resource-intensive, and low-yielding. The process of enzyme-catalyzed conversion is effective for producing several types of structured phospholipase. However, most frequently employed catalytic procedures involve biphasic systems with organic solvents, which have a relatively large mass transfer resistance and are susceptible to solvent residues and environmental effects due to the hydrophobic nature of phospholipids. Therefore, the adoption of innovative, successful, and environmentally friendly enzyme-catalyzed conversion systems provides a new development route in the field of structured phospholipids processing. Several innovative catalytic reaction systems are discussed in this mini-review, including aqueous-solid system, mixed micelle system, water-in-oil microemulsion system, Pickering emulsion system, novel solvent system, three-liquid-phase system, and supercritical carbon dioxide solvent system. However, there is still a glaring need for a thorough examination of these systems for the enzymatic synthesis of structural phospholipids. In terms of the materials utilized, applicability, benefits and drawbacks, and comparative effectiveness of each system, this research establishes further conditions for the system's selection. To create more effective biocatalytic processes, it is still important to build green biocatalytic processes with improved performance. KEY POINTS: • The latest catalytic systems of phospholipase D are thoroughly summarized. • The various systems are contrasted, and their traits are enumerated. • Different catalytic systems' areas of applicability and limitations are discussed.

Knowledge, attitudes, practices and associated factors regarding high output stoma of ileostomy among colorectal surgical nurses: a multicentre cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: High output stoma(HOS) is one of the most common complications after ileostomy, leading to fluid and electrolyte disturbances and renal dysfunction, and increasing the risk of readmission. Routine health education for HOS should be provided, and nurses, as the primary educators, should have adequate knowledge and skills in this area. However, there is a paucity of research on the knowledge and practice of HOS management. This study used the Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioural Practice Model to assess the management of HOS by colorectal surgery nurses and to explore the factors that influence it. METHOD: Using a multi-centre, cross-sectional study design, 398 colorectal surgery nurses from 6 hospitals in 6 cities in 6 provinces were surveyed using a structured electronic questionnaire to assess general information and knowledge, attitudes and management practices and training needs related to HOS of ileostomy. RESULTS: Colorectal surgery nurses' knowledge and practice of HOS was low. The presence or absence of training is an important factor influencing nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practice, with most nurses having no training and stoma specialist nurses scoring relatively high on knowledge and practice. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses play a very important role in the management of HOS, but this study shows that the current level of knowledge and practice of HOS among colorectal surgery nurses is concerning, and whether or not they have received training is the most critical influencing factor; therefore, training related to HOS is urgently needed.

Genome Sequencing-Based Mining and Characterization of a Novel Alginate Lyase from Vibrio alginolyticus S10 for Specific Production of Disaccharides.

Alginate oligosaccharides prepared by alginate lyases attracted great attention because of their desirable biological activities. However, the hydrolysis products are always a mixture of oligosaccharides with different degrees of polymerization, which increases the production cost because of the following purification procedures. In this study, an alginate lyase, Alg4755, with high product specificity was identified, heterologously expressed, and characterized from Vibrio alginolyticus S10, which was isolated from the intestine of sea cucumber. Alg4755 belonged to the PL7 family with two catalytic domains, which was composed of 583 amino acids. Enzymatic characterization results show that the optimal reaction temperature and pH of Alg4755 were 35 °C and 8.0, respectively. Furthermore, Alg4755 was identified to have high thermal and pH stability. Moreover, the final hydrolysis products of sodium alginate catalyzed by Alg4755 were mainly alginate disaccharides with a small amount of alginate trisaccharides. The results demonstrate that alginate lyase Alg4755 could have a broad application prospect because of its high product specificity and desirable catalytic properties.

Large-scale synthesis, mechanism, and application of a luminescent copper hydride nanocluster.

Elucidating the structure-property relationships of ultra-small metal nanocluster with basic nuclear is of great significance for understanding the evolution mechanism in both the structures and properties of polynuclear metal nanoclusters. In this study, an ultra-small copper hydride (CuH for short) nanocluster was simply synthesized with high yield, and the large-scale preparation was also achieved. Single crystal X-ray diffractometer (SC-XRD) analysis shows that this copper NC contains a tetrahedral Cu4 core co-capped by four PPh2Py ligands and two Cl in which the existence of the central H atom in tetrahedron was further identified experimentally and theoretically. This CuH nanocluster exhibits bright yellow emission, which is proved to be the mixture of phosphorescence and fluorescence by the sensitivity of both emission intensity and lifetime to O2. Furthermore, the temperature-dependent emission spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the luminescence of CuH mainly originates from the metal-to-ligand charge transfer and cluster-centered triplet excited states. This work offers new insights into understanding the structure-property relationship of basic nuclear CuH nanocluster.

Genome-wide identification of CXE and PuCXE15 functions in the catabolism of volatile ester in 'Nanguo' pear fruit.

Volatile esters are the main aromatic components that affect consumer sensory preferences. Aroma is a crucial characteristic of the 'Nanguo' pear (Pyrus ussriensis Maxim). Carboxylesterases (CXEs) are positively correlated with the catabolism of volatile esters in peaches; however, the mechanism of action of CXE family members in 'Nanguo' pear is poorly understood. In this study, 40 PuCXEs were identified in the 'Nanguo' pear and assigned into seven groups. In addition, we found that most PuCXEs were relatively conserved and contained cytoplasmic proteins. This hypothesis was supported by phylogenetic analysis, investigation of conserved domains and gene structures, and prediction of subcellular localization. Based on the content of volatile esters and expression levels of PuCXEs analysis, four PuCXEs, including PuCXE7, PuCXE15, PuCXE20, and PuCXE25, had a significant negative correlation with volatile ester accumulation. Particularly, the correlation of PuCXE15 far exceeded that of the other PuCXEs. The results of the transient expression assay showed that PuCXE15 promoted the degradation of ester in vivo. Subcellular localization experiment revealed that PuCXE15 is located in the plasma membrane and nucleus. These results show that PuCXE15 functions in the catabolism of volatile ester in 'Nanguo' pear fruit, and provides a foundation for enhancing aroma quality by artificial control in pear.

Structure-based mining of a chitosanase with distinctive degradation mode and product specificity.

Chitosan derivates with varying degrees of polymerization (DP) have attracted great concern due to their excellent biological activities. Increasing the abundance of chitosanases with different degradation modes contributes to revealing their catalytic mechanisms and facilitating the production of chitosan derivates. However, the identification of endo-chitosanases capable of producing chitobiose and D-glucosamine (GlcN) from chitosan substrates has remained elusive. Herein, an endo-chitosanase (CsnCA) belonging to the GH46 family was identified based on structural analysis in phylogenetic evolution. Moreover, we demonstrate that CsnCA acts in a random endo-acting manner, producing chitosan derivatives with DP ≤ 2. The in-depth analysis of CsnCA revealed that (GlcN)3 serves as the minimal substrate, undergoing cleavage in the mode that occupies the subsites - 2 to + 1, resulting in the release of GlcN. This study succeeded in discovering a chitosanase with distinctive degradation modes, which could facilitate the mechanistic understanding of chitosanases, further empowering the production of chitosan derivates with specific DP. KEY POINTS: • Structural docking and evolutionary analysis guide to mining the chitosanase. • The endo-chitosanase exhibits a unique GlcN-producing cleavage pattern. • The cleavage direction of chitosanase to produce GlcN was identified.

Virtual screening and structure optimization of xanthine oxidase inhibitory peptides from whole protein sequences of Pacific white shrimp via molecular docking.

Xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory peptides are safer than conventional pharmacological therapy in relieving hyperuricemia. However, traditional enzymatic hydrolysis, separation, and purification techniques for bio-active peptide preparation are time-consuming, inefficient, and labor-intensive. In this study, molecular docking and BLAST were used to virtually screen XO inhibitory peptides from whole protein sequences of Pacific white shrimp according to the bio-active peptides database, and the structure of peptides was optimized based on the structure-effective relationship. Seven new XO inhibitory peptides were virtual screened rapidly from Pacific white shrimp, and YNITGW (IC50 = 9.78 ± 0.13 mM) showed the strongest activity. The results of YNITGW optimization showed that the insertion of Trp residue in the middle position of peptides could effectively enhance the activity. This study revealed that screening and optimizing peptides by molecular docking were a novel and feasible method to obtain bio-active peptides.