The current diagnosis and treatment strategy of breast cancer based on multicentre retrospective data in Shaanxi province.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a common malignancy, and early detection coupled with standardized treatment is crucial for patient survival and recovery. This study aims to scrutinize the current state of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Shaanxi province, providing valuable insights into the local practices and outcomes. METHODS: We selected 25 hospitals that typically represent the current diagnosis and treatment strategy of breast cancer in Shaanxi (a province in northwest China). The questionnaire comprised sections on fundamental information, outpatient consultations, breast-conserving surgery, neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, breast reconstruction surgery. RESULTS: A total of 6665 breast cancer operations were performed in these 25 hospitals in 2021. The overall proportion of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is 23.6%. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the annual volume of breast cancer surgery and the implementation rate of BCS (P = 0.004). A total of 2882 cases of neoadjuvant treatment accounted for 43.24% of breast cancer patients treated with surgery in 2017. Hospitals in Xi'an performed more neoadjuvant therapy for patients with breast cancer compared to other districts (P = 0.008). There was a significantly positive correlation between outpatient visits and the implementation rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) (P = 0.005). 14 hospitals in Shaanxi performed reconstructive surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Breast conserving surgery, adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy and sentinel lymph node biopsy in Shaanxi province have reached the China's average level. Moreover, hospitals in Xi 'an have surpassed this average. However, a disparity is observed in the development of breast reconstruction surgery when compared to top-tier hospitals.

Competition in the Periphytic Algal Community during the Colonization Process: Evidence from the World's Largest Water Diversion Project.

Periphytic algal colonization is common in aquatic systems, but its interspecific competition remains poorly understood. In order to fill the gap, the process of periphytic algal colonization in the Middle Route of the South to North Water Diversion Project was studied. The results showed that the process was divided into three stages: the initial colonization stage (T1, 3-6 days), community formation stage (T2, 12-18 days) and primary succession stage (T3, 24-27 days). In T1, the dominant species were Diatoma vulgaris (Bory), Navicula phyllepta (Kützing) and Fragilaria amphicephaloides (Lange-Bertalot) belonging to Heterokontophyta; these species boasted wide niche widths (NWs), low niche overlap (NO) and low ecological response rates (ERRs). In T2, the dominant species were Diatoma vulgaris, Cymbella affinis (Kützing), Navicula phyllepta, Fragilaria amphicephaloides, Gogorevia exilis (Kützing), Melosira varians (C.Agardh), Phormidium willei (N.L.Gardner) and Cladophora rivularis (Kuntze). These species displayed wider NWs, lower NO, and lower ERRs than those in T1. In T3, the dominant species were Diatoma vulgaris, Cymbella affinis, Navicula phyllepta, Fragilaria amphicephaloides, Achnanthes exigu (Grunow), etc. Among them, Heterokontophyta such as Diatoma vulgaris and Cymbella affinis had a competitive advantage based on NWs and ERRs. Cyanobacteria like Phormidium willei lost their dominant status due to the narrower NW and the increased NO. It could be concluded the interspecific competition became fiercer and shaped the colonization process; this study will be helpful in understanding the colonization of periphytic algal communities.

Australian Marine and Terrestrial Streptomyces-Derived Surugamides, and Synthetic Analogs, and Their Ability to Inhibit Dirofilaria immitis (Heartworm) Motility.

A bioassay-guided chemical investigation of a bacterium, Streptomyces sp. CMB-MRB032, isolated from sheep feces collected near Bathurst, Victoria, Australia, yielded the known polyketide antimycins A4a (1) and A2a (2) as potent inhibitors of Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) microfilaria (mf) motility (EC50 0.0013-0.0021 µg/mL), along with the octapeptide surugamide A (3) and the new N-methylated analog surugamide K (4). With biological data suggesting surugamides may also exhibit activity against D. immitis, a GNPS molecular network analysis of a library of microbes sourced from geographically diverse Australian ecosystems identified a further five taxonomically and chemically distinct surugamide producers. Scaled-up cultivation of one such producer, Streptomyces sp. CMB-M0112 isolated from a marine sediment collected at Shorncliff, Qld, Australia, yielded 3 along with the new acyl-surugamides A1-A4 (5-8). Solid-phase peptide synthesis provided additional synthetic analogs, surugamides S1-S3 (9-11), while derivatization of 3 returned the semi-synthetic surugamide S4 (12) and acyl-surugamides AS1-AS3 (13-15). The natural acyl-surugamide A3 (7) and semi-synthetic acyl-surugamide AS3 (15) were shown to selectively inhibit D. immitis mf motility (EC50 3.3-3.4 µg/mL), however, unlike antimycins 1 and 2, were inactive against the gastrointestinal nematode Haemonchus contortus L1-L3 larvae (EC50 > 25 µg/mL) and were not cytotoxic to mammalian cells (human colorectal carcinoma SW620, IC50 > 30 µg/mL). A structure-activity relationship (SAR) study on the surugamides 3-15 revealed that selective acylation of the Lys3-ε-NH2 correlates with anthelmintic activity.

Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Mortality and Clinical Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients.

This study analyzed 550 hemodialysis patients, 469 unvaccinated and 81 vaccinated against COVID-19, to assess the impact on infection rates, mortality, and clinical/laboratory parameters. Gender distribution was similar (p = 0.209), but the vaccinated group's median age was significantly lower (p = 0.005). Hospitalization rates showed no significant difference (p = 0.987), while mortality was lower in the vaccinated group (p = 0.041). Only uric acid levels were significantly higher in the vaccinated group (p = 0.009); other parameters, including creatinine and B-type natriuretic peptide, showed no significant differences. Age was an independent predictor of mortality (HR = 1.07, p < 0.001). Peak mortality occurred in December 2022 and January 2023, predominantly among unvaccinated patients. Although vaccination lowered mortality, it did not significantly affect long-term survival rates (p = 0.308). Logistic regression identified age and dialysis duration as significant mortality factors. Monthly death counts indicated higher mortality among unvaccinated patients during peak pandemic months, suggesting that vaccination provides some protection, though no significant long-term survival benefit was found.

Research Progress and Production Status of Edible Insects as Food in China.

Based on the background of the exacerbating food shortage in the world, it is particularly important to diversify food resources in every possible direction. Among the choices available, edible insects have become an important alternative source of animal food with their high nutritional and functional (pharmacological) values, partially replacing normally consumed animal and livestock protein food sources. The utilization of edible insects has been an ancient custom since the dawn of civilization, attributed to their rich nutrition, alternate protein source, medicinal values, and presence of diverse secondary metabolites and alkaloids. This review provides an introduction to three key aspects of edible insects as food: freshness, long-term preservation, and medicinal value. It also provides details on the food source and products of edible insect species, their detailed nutritional composition and medicinal values, and their potential in producing alternative protein sources. Additionally, the review also encompasses rearing and producing technologies, resource utilization, and industrial development in China. Simultaneously, the problems and challenges faced in the artificial rearing and production development of edible insects, the production advantages over traditional livestock, and the farming evaluation and prospects of edible insects, as well as the lack of specific legislation on edible insects in China, are discussed. This review will be helpful in scientific knowledge propagation regarding edible insects for the public, guiding consumers to establish a diverse perception of sustainable agriculture and food sources in the world that has, as yet, been thwarted by food insecurity. Moreover, though edible insects could potentially serve as part of a commercial and industrial agri-enterprise that could generate a huge income, artificial rearing technology and edible insect product manufacturing and processing have not received sufficient attention from the government on a policy level, thereby leaving an open space for extensive research on edible insects as an alternate food source as well as an examination of the industrial prospects of edible insect products.

The impact of climate policy uncertainty on China's green energy and non-ferrous metals market co-movement: Evidence from spillover perspectives.

The rapid development of green energy would render a profound impact on the non-ferrous metals markets in China. This paper adopts the quantile vector autoregression (QVAR) to investigate the spillover effects between China's green energy and non-ferrous metals markets as well as their dynamic pattern under normal and extreme conditions. Furthermore, GARCH-MIDAS model and quantile regression method are applied to examine the impact of China's climate policy uncertainty on the spillovers between the two markets. In doing so, we find that green energy markets mainly act as transmitters of return spillover effects to non-ferrous metals markets during normal market times and periods of downturns. However, in upturns, the non-ferrous metals markets would easily transit spillover effects to green energy ones. It is further indicated that China's climate policy uncertainty exacerbates the spillover effect, and the exacerbated effect of high uncertainty on the market relationship when the spillover effect is at high level is the most significant.

Discovery of a NCOA4 Degrader for Labile Iron-Dependent Ferroptosis Inhibition.

Ferroptosis, a distinctive form of programmed cell death, has been implicated in numerous pathological conditions, and its inhibition is considered a promising therapeutic strategy. Currently, there is a scarcity of efficient antagonists for directly regulating intracellular ferrous iron. Ferritinophagy, an essential process for supplying intracellular labile iron, relies on nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4), a selective autophagy receptor for the ferritin iron storage complex, thus playing a pivotal role in ferritinophagy. In this study, we reported a novel von Hippel-Lindau-based NCOA4 degrader, V3, as a potent ferroptosis inhibitor with an intracellular ferrous iron inhibition mechanism. V3 significantly reduced NCOA4 levels and downregulated intracellular ferrous iron (Fe2+) levels, thereby effectively suppressing ferroptosis induced by multiple pathways within cells and alleviating liver damage. This research presents a chemical knockdown tool targeting NCOA4 for further exploration into intracellular ferrous iron in ferroptosis, offering a promising therapeutic avenue for ferroptosis-related acute liver injury.

A Methylation-Gated DNAzyme Circuit for Spatially Controlled Imaging of MicroRNA in Cells and Animals.

Epigenetic modification plays an indispensable role in regulating routine molecular signaling pathways, yet it is rarely used to modulate molecular self-assembly networks. Herein, we constructed a bioorthogonal demethylase-stimulated DNA circuitry (DSC) system for high-fidelity imaging of microRNA (miRNA) in live cells and mice by eliminating undesired off-site signal leakage. The simple and robust DSC system is composed of a primary cell-specific circuitry regulation (CR) module and an ultimate signal-transducing amplifier (SA) module. After the modularly designed DSC system was delivered into target live cells, the DNAzyme of the CR module was site-specifically activated by endogenous demethylase to produce fuel strands for the subsequent miRNA-targeting SA module. Through the on-site and multiply guaranteed molecular recognitions, the lucid yet efficient DSC system realized the reliably amplified in vivo miRNA sensing and enabled the in-depth exploration of the demethylase-involved signal pathway with miRNA in live cells. Our bioorthogonally on-site-activated DSC system represents a universal and versatile biomolecular sensing platform via various demethylase regulations and shows more prospects for more different personalized theragnostics.

Physical Properties and Biochemical Composition of Extracellular Matrix-Derived Hydrogels Dictate Vascularization Potential in an Organ-Dependent Fashion.

The inherent extracellular matrix (ECM) originating from a specific tissue impacts the process of vascularization, specifically vascular network formation (VNF) orchestrated by endothelial cells (ECs). The specific contribution toward these processes of ECM from highly disparate organs such as the skin and lungs remains a relatively unexplored area. In this study, we compared VNF and ECM remodeling mediated by microvascular ECs within gel, lung, and combinations thereof (hybrid) ECM hydrogels. Irrespective of the EC source, the skin-derived ECM hydrogel exhibited a higher propensity to drive and support VNF compared to both lung and hybrid ECM hydrogels. There were distinct disparities in the physical properties of the three types of hydrogels, including viscoelastic properties and complex architectural configurations, including fiber diameter, pore area, and numbers among the fibers. The hybrid ECM hydrogel properties were unique and not the sum of the component ECM parts. Furthermore, cellular ECM remodeling responses varied with skin ECM hydrogels promoting matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) secretion, while hybrid ECM hydrogels exhibited increased MMP9, fibronectin, and collagen IV deposition. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the influence of a gel's mechanical properties on VNF was stronger than the biochemical composition. These data indicate that the organ-specific properties of an ECM dictate its capacity to support VNF, while intriguingly showing that ECs respond to more than just the biochemical constituents of an ECM. The study suggests potential applications in regenerative medicine by strategically selecting ECM origin or combinations to manipulate vascularization, offering promising prospects for enhancing wound healing through pro-regenerative interventions.

Prophylactic Effects of n-Acethylcysteine on Inflammation-induced Depression-like Behaviors in Mice.

Depression, affecting individuals worldwide, is a prevalent mental disease, with an increasing incidence. Numerous studies have been conducted on depression, yet its pathogenesis remains elusive. Recent advancements in research indicate that disturbances in synaptic transmission, synaptic plasticity, and reduced neurotrophic factor expression significantly contribute to depression's pathogenesis. In our study, we utilized adult male C57BL/6J mice. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce both chronic and acute depression-like symptoms in mice, a widely used model for studying depression associated with inflammation. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) exhibits anti-inflammatory and ameliorative effects on depressive symptoms. This study sought to determine whether NAC use could mitigate inflammatory depressive behavior through the enhancement of synaptic transmission, synaptic plasticity, and increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In this study, we discovered that in mice modeled with depression-like symptoms, the expression levels of dendrites, BDNF, and miniature excitatory postsynaptic potential (mEPSC) in glutamatergic neurons, as well as the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid glutamate receptors (AMPARs) GluA1 and GluA2 subunits, were significantly decreased. These findings suggest an impairment in the synaptic transmission of glutamatergic neurons. Following treatment with NAC, the previously mentioned levels improved, indicating an enhancement in both synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity. Our results suggest that NAC exerts a protective effect on mouse models of inflammatory depression, potentially through the enhancement of synaptic transmission and plasticity, as well as the restoration of neurotrophic factor expression. These findings offer vital animal experimental evidence supporting NAC's role in mitigating inflammatory depressive behaviors.

Screening of NSAIDs library identifies Tinoridine as a novel ferroptosis inhibitor for potential intervertebral disc degeneration therapy.

Low back pain (LBP) may profoundly impact the quality of life across the globe, and intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is the major cause of LBP; however, targeted pharmaceutical interventions for IVDD are still lacking. Ferroptosis is a novel form of iron-dependent programmed cell death. Studies have showed that ferroptosis may closely associate with IVDD; thus, targeting ferroptosis may have great potential for IVDD therapy. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the first-line medications for LBP, while nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) is a key inhibitory protein for ferroptosis. In the current study, we conducted a molecular docking screening between NSAIDs library and Nrf2 protein. Tinoridine was shown to have a high binding affinity to Nrf2. The in vitro study in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells showed that Tinoridine may promote the expression and activity of Nrf2, it may also rescue RSL3-induced ferroptosis in NP cells. Knockdown of Nrf2 reverses the protective effect of Tinoridine on RSL3-induced ferroptosis in NP cells, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of Tinoridine on ferroptosis is through Nrf2. In vivo study demonstrated that Tinoridine may attenuate the progression of IVDD in rats. As NSAIDs are already clinically used for LBP therapy, the current study supports Tinoridine's application from the view of ferroptosis inhibition.

Dynamic microphysiological system chip platform for high-throughput, customizable, and multi-dimensional drug screening.

Spheroids and organoids have attracted significant attention as innovative models for disease modeling and drug screening. By employing diverse types of spheroids or organoids, it is feasible to establish microphysiological systems that enhance the precision of disease modeling and offer more dependable and comprehensive drug screening. High-throughput microphysiological systems that support optional, parallel testing of multiple drugs have promising applications in personalized medical treatment and drug research. However, establishing such a system is highly challenging and requires a multidisciplinary approach. This study introduces a dynamic Microphysiological System Chip Platform (MSCP) with multiple functional microstructures that encompass the mentioned advantages. We developed a high-throughput lung cancer spheroids model and an intestine-liver-heart-lung cancer microphysiological system for conducting parallel testing on four anti-lung cancer drugs, demonstrating the feasibility of the MSCP. This microphysiological system combines microscale and macroscale biomimetics to enable a comprehensive assessment of drug efficacy and side effects. Moreover, the microphysiological system enables evaluation of the real pharmacological effect of drug molecules reaching the target lesion after absorption by normal organs through fluid-based physiological communication. The MSCP could serves as a valuable platform for microphysiological system research, making significant contributions to disease modeling, drug development, and personalized medical treatment.

Patterning Techniques Based on Metallized Electrospun Nanofibers for Advanced Stretchable Electronics.

Stretchable electronics have experienced remarkable progress, especially in sensors and wireless communication systems, attributed to their ability to conformably contact with rough or uneven surfaces. However, the development of complex, multifunctional, and high-precision stretchable electronics faces substantial challenges, including instability at rigid-soft interfaces and incompatibility with traditional high-precision patterning technologies. Metallized electrospun nanofibers emerge as a promising conductive filler, offering exceptional stretchability, electrical conductivity, transparency, and compatibility with existing patterning technologies. Here, this review focuses on the fundamental properties, preparation processes, patterning technologies, and application scenarios of conductive stretchable composites based on metallized nanofibers. Initially, it introduces the fabrication processes of metallized electrospun nanofibers and their advantages over alternative materials. It then highlights recent progress in patterning technologies, including collector collection, vapor deposition with masks, and lithography, emphasizing their role in enhancing precision and integration. Furthermore, the review shows the broad applicability and potential influence of metallized electrospun nanofibers in various fields through their use in sensors, wireless systems, semiconductor devices, and intelligent healthcare solutions. Ultimately, this review seeks to spark further innovation and address the prevailing challenges in stretchable electronics, paving the way for future breakthroughs in this dynamic field.

On the role of asymmetric molecular geometry in high-performance organic solar cells.

Although asymmetric molecular design has been widely demonstrated effective for organic photovoltaics (OPVs), the correlation between asymmetric molecular geometry and their optoelectronic properties is still unclear. To access this issue, we have designed and synthesized several symmetric-asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) pairs with identical physical and optoelectronic properties. Interestingly, we found that the asymmetric NFAs universally exhibited increased open-circuit voltage compared to their symmetric counterparts, due to the reduced non-radiative charge recombination. From our molecular-dynamic simulations, the asymmetric NFA naturally exhibits more diverse molecular interaction patterns at the donor (D):acceptor (A) interface as compared to the symmetric ones, as well as higher D:A interfacial charge-transfer state energy. Moreover, it is observed that the asymmetric structure can effectively suppress triplet state formation. These advantages enable a best efficiency of 18.80%, which is one of the champion results among binary OPVs. Therefore, this work unambiguously demonstrates the unique advantage of asymmetric molecular geometry, unveils the underlying mechanism, and highlights the manipulation of D:A interface as an important consideration for future molecular design.

Insights into vaccines for elderly individuals: from the impacts of immunosenescence to delivery strategies.

Immunosenescence increases the risk and severity of diseases in elderly individuals and leads to impaired vaccine-induced immunity. With aging of the global population and the emerging risk of epidemics, developing adjuvants and vaccines for elderly individuals to improve their immune protection is pivotal for healthy aging worldwide. Deepening our understanding of the role of immunosenescence in vaccine efficacy could accelerate research focused on optimizing vaccine delivery for elderly individuals. In this review, we analyzed the characteristics of immunosenescence at the cellular and molecular levels. Strategies to improve vaccination potency in elderly individuals are summarized, including increasing the antigen dose, preparing multivalent antigen vaccines, adding appropriate adjuvants, inhibiting chronic inflammation, and inhibiting immunosenescence. We hope that this review can provide a review of new findings with regards to the impacts of immunosenescence on vaccine-mediated protection and inspire the development of individualized vaccines for elderly individuals.

Multiply Guaranteed Catalytic DNA Circuit for Cancer-Cell-Selective Imaging of miRNA and Robust Evaluation of Drug Resistance.

Catalytic DNA circuits are desirable for sensitive bioimaging in living cells; yet, it remains a challenge to monitor these intricate signal communications because of the uncontrolled circuitry leakage and insufficient cell selectivity. Herein, a simple yet powerful DNA-repairing enzyme (APE1) activation strategy is introduced to achieve the site-specific exposure of a catalytic DNA circuit for realizing the selectively amplified imaging of intracellular microRNA and robust evaluation of the APE1-involved drug resistance. Specifically, the circuitry reactants are firmly blocked by the enzyme recognition/cleavage site to prevent undesirable off-site circuitry leakage. The caged DNA circuit has no target-sensing activity until its circuitry components are activated via the enzyme-mediated structural reconstitution and finally transduces the amplified fluorescence signal within the miRNA stimulation. The designed DNA circuit demonstrates an enhanced signal-to-background ratio of miRNA assay as compared with the conventional DNA circuit and enables the cancer-cell-selective imaging of miRNA. In addition, it shows robust sensing performance in visualizing the APE1-mediated chemoresistance in living cells, which is anticipated to achieve in-depth clinical diagnosis and chemotherapy research.

Adaptive Point-Line Fusion: A Targetless LiDAR-Camera Calibration Method with Scheme Selection for Autonomous Driving.

Accurate calibration between LiDAR and camera sensors is crucial for autonomous driving systems to perceive and understand the environment effectively. Typically, LiDAR-camera extrinsic calibration requires feature alignment and overlapping fields of view. Aligning features from different modalities can be challenging due to noise influence. Therefore, this paper proposes a targetless extrinsic calibration method for monocular cameras and LiDAR sensors that have a non-overlapping field of view. The proposed solution uses pose transformation to establish data association across different modalities. This conversion turns the calibration problem into an optimization problem within a visual SLAM system without requiring overlapping views. To improve performance, line features serve as constraints in visual SLAM. Accurate positions of line segments are obtained by utilizing an extended photometric error optimization method. Moreover, a strategy is proposed for selecting appropriate calibration methods from among several alternative optimization schemes. This adaptive calibration method selection strategy ensures robust calibration performance in urban autonomous driving scenarios with varying lighting and environmental textures while avoiding failures and excessive bias that may result from relying on a single approach.

Triple Cascade Quantum-Strip for Heart Failure Point-of-Care Testing.

Heart failure (HF) is a life-threatening syndrome. Timely and accurate bedside monitoring of the occurrence and progression of HF via measurements of multiple HF-related biomarkers remains a challenge. Here, we report a triple cascade quantum-strip (TCQS) sensing strategy for the rapid and selective multiplex-tracing of three clinically validated HF biomarkers (BNP/NT-proBNP/ST2) in serum. High selectivity to the three biomarkers is achieved by controlling the individual recognition ability of three target-specific quantum immunoprobes and tuning their simultaneous use to BNP/NT-proBNP/ST2 recognition without mutual interference, which allows the three biomarkers to be directly enriched from serum samples. Benefiting from the fast release-binding kinetics of target-bound immunoprobes on TCQS, recognizable fluorescent signals can be rapidly read out through combining with a self-designed smartphone-based portable reader. This rapid and simple profiling strategy results in good specificity and sensitivity with LODs of 0.097, 0.072, and 0.948 ng/mL for BNP, NT-proBNP, and ST2, respectively, which match the need of clinical applications. Real serum samples are tested with an accuracy of 92.86% for HF diagnosis, validating the capability of the smartphone-read TCQS for practical applications. In particular, the simultaneous detection of the TCQS sensing strategy for BNP/NT-proBNP/ST2 will facilitate the accurate monitoring of HF occurrence, risk stratification, progression, and prognosis as a powerful POCT tool.

Sensory-Guided Establishment of Sensory Lexicon and Investigation of Key Flavor Components for Goji Berry Pulp.

Many customers prefer goji berry pulp, well-known for its high nutritional content, over fresh goji berries. However, there is limited research on its sensory lexicon and distinctive flavor compounds. This study focused on developing a sensory lexicon for goji berry pulp and characterizing its aroma by sensory and instrumental analysis. Sensory characteristics of goji berry pulp were evaluated by our established lexicon. A total of 83 aromatic compounds in goji berry pulp were quantified using HS-SPME-GC-Orbitrap-MS. By employing OAV in combination, we identified 17 aroma-active compounds as the key ingredients in goji berry pulp. Then, we identified the potentially significant contributors to the aroma of goji berry pulp by combining principal component analysis and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models of aroma compounds and sensory attributes, which included 3-ethylphenol, methyl caprylate, 2-hydroxy-4-methyl ethyl valerate, benzeneacetic acid, ethyl ester, hexanal, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, acetylpyrazine, butyric acid, 2-ethylhexanoic acid, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-pentanol, phenylethyl alcohol, and 2-nonanone. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the quality control and processing technology of goji berry pulp.

Over 18% Efficiency Ternary Organic Solar Cells with 300 nm Thick Active Layer Enabled by an Oligomeric Acceptor.

The development of high-efficiency thickness-insensitive organic solar cells (OSCs) is crucially important for the mass production of solar panels. However, increasing the active layer thickness usually induces a substantial loss in efficiency. Herein, a ternary strategy in which an oligomer DY-TF is incorporated into PM6:L8-BO system as a guest component is adopted to break this dilemma. The S···F intramolecular noncovalent interactions in the backbone endow DY-TF with a high planarity. Upon the addition of DY-TF, the crystallinity of the blend is effectively improved, leading to increased charge carrier mobility, which is highly desirable in the fabrication of thick-film devices. As a result, thin-film PM6:L8-BO:DY-TF-based device (110 nm) shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.13%. Impressively, when the active layer thickness increases to 300 nm, an efficiency of 18.23% (certified as 17.8%) is achieved, representing the highest efficiency reported for 300 nm thick OSCs thus far. Additionally, blade-coated thick device (300 nm) delivers a promising PCE of 17.38%. This work brings new insights into the construction of efficient OSCs with high thickness tolerance, showing great potential for roll-to-roll printing of large-area solar cells.