Differences in resting-state brain activity in first-episode drug-naïve major depressive disorder patients with and without suicidal ideation.

Despite altered brain activities being associated with suicidal ideation (SI), the neural correlates of SI in major depressive disorder (MDD) have remained elusive. We enrolled 82 first-episode drug-naïve MDD patients including 41 with SI and 41 without SI, as well as 41 healthy controls (HCs). Resting-state functional and structural MRI data were collected. The measures of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and grey matter volume (GMV) were calculated and compared. Compared with HCs, patients with SI exhibited increased fALFF values in the right rectus gyrus and left medial superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus and precuneus. Decreased GMV in the right parahippocampal gyrus, insula and middle occipital gyrus and increased GMV in the left superior frontal gyrus were detected in patients with SI. In addition, patients without SI demonstrated increased fALFF values in the right superior frontal gyrus and decreased fALFF values in the right postcentral gyrus. Decreased GMV in the left superior frontal gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, fusiform gyrus and increased left supplementary motor area, superior occipital gyrus, right anterior cingulate gyrus and superior temporal gyrus were revealed in patients with SI. Moreover, in comparison with patients without SI, increased fALFF values were identified in the left precuneus of patients with SI. However, no significant differences were found in GMV between patients with and without SI. These findings might be helpful for finding neuroimaging markers predicting individual suicide risk and detecting targeted brain regions for effective early interventions.

Identification of Stutzerimonas stutzeri volatile organic compounds that enhance the colonization and promote tomato seedling growth.

AIMS: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have an important function in plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) development and plant growth. This study aimed to identify VOCs of the PGPR strain, Stutzerimonas stutzeri NRCB010, and investigate their effects on NRCB010 biofilm formation, swarming motility, colonization, and tomato seedling growth. METHODS AND RESULTS: Solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were performed to identify the VOCs produced during NRCB010 fermentation. A total of 28 VOCs were identified. Among them, seven (e.g. γ-valerolactone, 3-octanone, mandelic acid, 2-heptanone, methyl palmitate, S-methyl thioacetate, and 2,3-heptanedione), which smell well, are beneficial for plant, or as food additives, and without serious toxicities were selected to evaluate their effects on NRCB010 and tomato seedling growth. It was found that most of these VOCs positively influenced NRCB010 swarming motility, biofilm formation, and colonization, and the tomato seedling growth. Notably, γ-valerolactone and S-methyl thioacetate exhibited the most positive performances. CONCLUSION: The seven NRCB010 VOCs, essential for PGPR and crop growth, are potential bioactive ingredients within microbial fertilizer formulations. Nevertheless, the long-term sustainability and replicability of the positive effects of these compounds across different soil and crop types, particularly under field conditions, require further investigation.

Sphingosylphosphorylcholine alleviates pressure overload-induced myocardial remodeling in mice via inhibiting CaM-JNK/p38 signaling pathway.

Apoptosis plays a critical role in the development of heart failure, and sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) is a bioactive sphingolipid naturally occurring in blood plasma. Some studies have shown that SPC inhibits hypoxia-induced apoptosis in myofibroblasts, the crucial non-muscle cells in the heart. Calmodulin (CaM) is a known SPC receptor. In this study we investigated the role of CaM in cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart failure and the associated signaling pathways. Pressure overload was induced in mice by trans-aortic constriction (TAC) surgery. TAC mice were administered SPC (10 µM·kg-1·d-1) for 4 weeks post-surgery. We showed that SPC administration significantly improved survival rate and cardiac hypertrophy, and inhibited cardiac fibrosis in TAC mice. In neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes, treatment with SPC (10 µM) significantly inhibited Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition and cell apoptosis accompanied by reduced Bax and phosphorylation levels of CaM, JNK and p38, as well as upregulated Bcl-2, a cardiomyocyte-protective protein. Thapsigargin (TG) could enhance CaM functions by increasing Ca2+ levels in cytoplasm. TG (3 µM) annulled the protective effect of SPC against Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SPC-mediated inhibition of cardiomyocyte apoptosis involved the regulation of p38 and JNK phosphorylation, which was downstream of CaM. These results offer new evidence for SPC regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis, potentially providing a new therapeutic target for cardiac remodeling following stress overload.

Enhanced light output from deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes enabled by high-order modes on a photonic crystal surface.

The authors demonstrate the enhanced light output from 275-nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diode (LED) structures via the in-plane modulation of shallow photonic crystal (PC) patterns that were fabricated on the p-AlGaN contact layer surface. The employed PC lattice constants are in the range of 270-780 nm, much larger than the fundamental Bragg order lattice constant (∼95 nm). As compared to the unpatterned sample, the intensity of the top (or bottom) emission can be enhanced by up to 331% (or 246%), attributed to the high-order coherent diffraction of the internal trapped light and also the Purcell enhancement of spontaneous emission. The findings in this Letter suggest an easier way for the realization of more energy-efficient DUV LEDs which offer the advantage of high emission for various applications in disinfection and sterilization.

Notoginsenoside R1 protects against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice via suppressing TAK1-JNK/p38 signaling.

Previous studies show that notoginsenoside R1 (NG-R1), a novel saponin isolated from Panax notoginseng, protects kidney, intestine, lung, brain and heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury. In this study we investigated the cardioprotective mechanisms of NG-R1 in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury in vivo and in vitro. MI/R injury was induced in mice by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min followed by 4 h reperfusion. The mice were treated with NG-R1 (25 mg/kg, i.p.) every 2 h for 3 times starting 30 min prior to ischemic surgery. We showed that NG-R1 administration significantly decreased the myocardial infarction area, alleviated myocardial cell damage and improved cardiac function in MI/R mice. In murine neonatal cardiomyocytes (CMs) subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) in vitro, pretreatment with NG-R1 (25 µM) significantly inhibited apoptosis. We revealed that NG-R1 suppressed the phosphorylation of transforming growth factor ß-activated protein kinase 1 (TAK1), JNK and p38 in vivo and in vitro. Pretreatment with JNK agonist anisomycin or p38 agonist P79350 partially abolished the protective effects of NG-R1 in vivo and in vitro. Knockdown of TAK1 greatly ameliorated H/R-induced apoptosis of CMs, and NG-R1 pretreatment did not provide further protection in TAK1-silenced CMs under H/R injury. Overexpression of TAK1 abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of NG-R1 and diminished the inhibition of NG-R1 on JNK/p38 signaling in MI/R mice as well as in H/R-treated CMs. Collectively, NG-R1 alleviates MI/R injury by suppressing the activity of TAK1, subsequently inhibiting JNK/p38 signaling and attenuating cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Cu2+ -Anchored Carbon Nano-Photocatalysts for Visible Water Splitting to Boost Hydrogen Cuproptosis.

Both hydrogen (H2 ) and copper ions (Cu+ ) can be used as anti-cancer treatments. However, the continuous generation of H2 molecules and Cu+ in specific sites of tumors is challenging. Here we anchored Cu2+ on carbon photocatalyst (Cu@CDCN) to allow the continuous generation of H2 and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) in tumors using the two-electron process of visible water splitting. The photocatalytic process also generated redox-active Cu-carbon centers. Meanwhile, the Cu2+ residues reacted with H2 O2 (the obstacle to the photocatalytic process) to accelerate the two-electron process of water splitting and cuprous ion (Cu+ ) generation, in which the Cu2+ residue promoted a pro-oxidant effect with glutathione through metal-reducing actions. Both H2 and Cu+ induced mitochondrial dysfunction and intracellular redox homeostasis destruction, which enabled hydrogen therapy and cuproptosis to inhibit cancer cell growth and suppress tumor growth. Our research is the first attempt to integrate hydrogen therapy and cuproptosis using metal-enhanced visible solar water splitting in nanomedicine, which may provide a safe and effective cancer treatment.

High brightness and broad modulation bandwidth InGaN-based red micro-LEDs integrated with plasmonic gratings.

We propose red micro-LEDs integrated with plasmonic gratings, which demonstrate high efficiency and broad modulation bandwidth. The Purcell factor and external quantum efficiency (EQE) for an individual device can be improved up to 5.1 and 11%, respectively, due to the strong coupling between surface plasmons and multiple quantum wells. The cross talk effect between adjacent micro-LEDs can be efficiently alleviated as well, thanks to the high-divergence far-field emission pattern. Moreover, the 3-dB modulation bandwidth of the designed red micro-LEDs is predicted to be ∼ 528 MHz. Our results can be used to design high-efficiency and high-speed micro-LEDs for the applications of advanced light display and visible light communication.

Dapagliflozin attenuates pressure overload-induced myocardial remodeling in mice via activating SIRT1 and inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of heart failure. Dapagliflozin (DAPA), a new type of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, is an oral hypoglycemic drug that reduces glucose reabsorption by the kidneys and increases glucose excretion in the urine. Studies have shown that DAPA may have the potential to treat heart failure in addition to controlling blood sugar. This study explored the effect of DAPA on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related apoptosis caused by heart failure. In vitro, we found that DAPA inhibited the expression of cleaved caspase 3, Bax, C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and glucose-regulated protein78 (GRP78) and upregulated the cardiomyoprotective protein Bcl-2 in angiotensin II (Ang II)-treated cardiomyocytes. In addition, DAPA promoted the expression of silent information regulator factor 2-related enzyme 1 (SIRT1) and suppressed the expression of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and the ratios p-PERK/PERK and p-eIF2α/eIF2α. Notably, the therapeutic effect of DAPA was weakened by pretreatment with the SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 (10 µM). Simultaneous administration of DAPA inhibited the Ang II-induced transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and inhibited fibroblast migration. In summary, our present findings first indicate that DAPA could inhibit the PERK-eIF2α-CHOP axis of the ER stress response through the activation of SIRT1 in Ang II-treated cardiomyocytes and ameliorate heart failure development in vivo.

Preparation of boronic acid and carboxyl-modified molecularly imprinted polymer and application in a novel chromatography mediated hollow fiber membrane to selectively extract glucose from cellulose hydrolysis.

A novel boronic acid and carboxyl-modified glucose molecularly imprinted polymer were prepared through suspension polymerization, which is based on 1.0 mmol glucose as a template, 1.2 mmol methacrylamidophenylboronic acid, and 6.8 mmol methacrylic acids as monomers, 19 mmol ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, and 1 mmol methylene-bis-acrylamide as crosslinkers. The prepared glucose-molecularly imprinted polymer had a particle size of 25-70 µm, and was thermally stable below 215°C, with a specific surface area of 174.82 m2/ g and average pore size of 9.48 nm. The best selectivity between glucose and fructose was 2.71 and the maximum adsorption capacity of glucose- molecularly imprinted polymer was up to 236.32 mg/ g which was consistent with the Langmuir adsorption model. The similar adsorption abilities in six successive runs and the good desorption rate (99.4%) verified glucose-molecularly imprinted polymer could be reused. It was successfully used for extracting glucose from cellulose hydrolysis. The adsorption amount of glucose was 2.61 mg/mL and selectivity between glucose and xylose reached 4.12. A newly established chromatography (glucose-molecularly imprinted polymer) mediated hollow fiber membrane method in time separated pure glucose from cellulose hydrolysates on a large scale, and purified glucose solution with a concentration of 3.84 mg/mL was obtained, which offered a feasible way for the industrial production of glucose from cellulose hydrolysates.

Electron-Beam-Driven III-Nitride Plasmonic Nanolasers in the Deep-UV and Visible Region.

Plasmonic nanolasers based on wide bandgap semiconductors are presently attracting immense research interests due to the breaking in light diffraction limit and subwavelength mode operation with fast dynamics. However, these plasmonic nanolasers have so far been mostly realized in the visible light ranges, or most are still under optical excitation pumping. In this work, III-nitride-based plasmonic nanolasers emitting from the green to the deep-ultraviolet (UV) region by energetic electron beam injection are reported, and a threshold as low as 8 kW cm-2 is achieved. A fast decay time as short as 123 ps is collected, indicating a strong coupling between excitons and surface plasmon. Both the spatial and temporal coherences are observed, which provide a solid evidence for exciton-plasmon coupled polariton lasing. Consequently, the achievements in III-nitride-based plasmonic nanolaser devices represent a significant step toward practical applications for biological technology, computing systems, and on-chip optical communication.