A novel murine model of mania.

Neuropathological mechanisms of manic syndrome or manic episodes in bipolar disorder remain poorly characterised, as the research progress is severely limited by the paucity of appropriate animal models. Here we developed a novel mania mice model by combining a series of chronic unpredictable rhythm disturbances (CURD), which include disruption of circadian rhythm, sleep deprivation, exposure to cone light, with subsequent interference of followed spotlight, stroboscopic illumination, high-temperature stress, noise disturbance and foot shock. Multiple behavioural and cell biology tests comparing the CURD-model with healthy controls and depressed mice were deployed to validate the model. The manic mice were also tested for the pharmacological effects of various medicinal agents used for treating mania. Finally, we compared plasma indicators of the CURD-model mice and the patients with the manic syndrome. The CURD protocol produced a phenotype replicating manic syndrome. Mice exposed to CURD presented manic behaviours similar to that observed in the amphetamine manic model. These behaviours were distinct from depressive-like behaviours recorded in mice treated with a depression-inducing protocol of chronic unpredictable mild restraint (CUMR). Functional and molecular indicators in the CURD mania model showed multiple similarities with patients with manic syndrome. Treatment with LiCl and valproic acid resulted in behavioural improvements and recovery of molecular indicators. A novel manic mice model induced by environmental stressors and free from genetic or pharmacological interventions is a valuable tool for research into pathological mechanisms of mania.

Acene-Integrated Buckybowls with Near-Infrared II Absorption and over 90% Photothermal Conversion Efficiency.

Tetracene and pentacene are large, promising building blocks for construction of complex molecular nanocarbons due to their extraordinary photophysical and electronic properties. Herein, two acene-integrated buckybowls, composed of two rows of tetracenes and pentacenes fused through s-indacene unit at the zigzag edges, have been synthesized and characterized. Compared to parent tetracene and pentacene, the buckybowls are extremely stable and show much smaller electrochemical band gaps. Kinetic studies gave the bowl-to-bowl inversion barriers of 11.7 and 13.3 kcal mol-1. Subsequent investigations on magnetic ring currents revealed two local diatropic currents at two rows of acenes and one paratropic current at the s-indacene unit, respectively. Notably, both buckybowls show a broad absorption that reaches into near-infrared II region, and a high photothermal conversion efficiency (> 90%) was achieved when exposed to near-infrared 1064 nm laser photo-irradiation. This study highlights the unusual nature of merging the intrinsic properties of acenes with the inherent properties of buckybowls and showcases a potential avenue for acene utilization for the design of novel complex nanocarbons with a broad range of applications.

Leptin Attenuates Fear Memory by Inhibiting Astrocytic NLRP3 Inflammasome in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Model.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the activation of nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome contributes to the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Astrocytes, the homeostatic cells of the central nervous system are intimately involved into pathophysiology of various mental disorders including PTSD. We demonstrated previously that leptin exerts neuroprotection and ameliorates chronic sleep deprivation-induced depressive-like behaviours. Here, we extended the study of therapeutic effects of leptin to PTSD model mice. We discovered that PTSD is associated with significant activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in astrocytes sorted from GFAP-GFP transgenic mice, while administration of leptin markedly suppressed the activation of astrocytic NLRP3 inflammasome. Leptin effectively improved PTSD-associated behavioural alterations including fear memory, cognitive impairments, and depressive-like behaviours. Therapeutic effects of leptin were mediated by the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in astrocytes. In addition, the PTSD-related activation of NLRP3 inflammasome impairs astrocytic mitochondria suppressing ATP synthesis and leading to an increased ROS production. Leptin reversed mitochondrial inhibition by stimulating STAT3 in astrocytes. We propose leptin as a novel candidate for the pharmacological treatment of PTSD.

Spatio-temporal evolution and influencing factors of synergizing the reduction of pollution and carbon emissions - Utilizing multi-source remote sensing data and GTWR model.

Grasping current circumstances and influencing components of the synergistic degree regarding reducing pollution and carbon has been recognized as a crucial part of China in response to the protection of the environment and climate mitigation. With the introduction of remote sensing night-time light, CO2 emissions at multi-scale have been estimated in this study. Accordingly, an upward trend of "CO2-PM2.5" synergistic reduction was discovered, which was indicated by an increase of 78.18% regarding the index constructed of 358 cities in China from 2014 to 2020. Additionally, it has been confirmed that the reduction in pollution and carbon emissions could coordinate with economic growth indirectly. Lastly, it has identified the spatial discrepancy of influencing factors and the results have emphasized the rebound effect of technological progress and industrial upgrades, whilst the development of clean energy can offset the increase in energy consumption thus contributing to the synergy of pollution and carbon reduction. Moreover, it has been highlighted that environmental background, industrial structure, and socio-economic characteristics of different cities should be considered comprehensively in order to better achieve the goals of "Beautiful China" and "Carbon Neutrality".

The Association Between Antidepressant Effect of SSRIs and Astrocytes: Conceptual Overview and Meta-analysis of the Literature.

Major depressive disorders (MDD) a worldwide psychiatric disease, is yet to be adequately controlled by therapies; while the mechanisms of action of antidepressants are yet to be fully characterised. In the last two decades, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated the role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology and therapy of MDD. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most widely used antidepressants. It is generally acknowledged that SSRIs increase serotonin levels in the central nervous system by inhibiting serotonin transporters, although the SSRIs action is not ideal. The SSRIs antidepressant effect develops with considerable delay; their efficacy is low and frequent relapses are common. Neither cellular nor molecular pharmacological mechanisms of SSRIs are fully characterised; in particular their action on astrocytes remain underappreciated. In this paper we overview potential therapeutic mechanisms of SSRIs associated with astroglia and report the results of meta-analysis of studies dedicated to MDD, SSRIs and astrocytes. In particular, we argue that fluoxetine, the representative SSRI, improves depressive-like behaviours in animals treated with chronic mild stress and reverses depression-associated decrease in astrocytic glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression. In addition, fluoxetine upregulates astrocytic mRNA expression of 5-hydroxytriptamin/serotonin2B receptors (5-HT2BR). In summary, we infer that SSRIs exert their anti-depressant effect by regulating several molecular and signalling pathways in astrocytes.

Positive regulation of Type III secretion effectors and virulence by RyhB paralogs in Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.

Small non-coding RNA RyhB is a key regulator of iron homeostasis in bacteria by sensing iron availability in the environment. Although RyhB is known to influence bacterial virulence by interacting with iron metabolism related regulators, its interaction with virulence genes, especially the Type III secretion system (T3SS), has not been reported. Here, we demonstrate that two RyhB paralogs of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis upregulate Type III secretion system (T3SS) effectors, and consequently affect Salmonella invasion into intestinal epithelial cells. Specifically, we found that RyhB-1 modulate Salmonella response to stress condition of iron deficiency and hypoxia, and stress in simulated intestinal environment (SIE). Under SIE culture conditions, both RyhB-1 and RyhB-2 are drastically induced and directly upregulate the expression of T3SS effector gene sipA by interacting with its 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) via an incomplete base-pairing mechanism. In addition, the RyhB paralogs upregulate the expression of T3SS effector gene sopE. By regulating the invasion-related genes, RyhBs in turn affect the ability of S. Enteritidis to adhere to and invade into intestinal epithelial cells. Our findings provide evidence that RyhBs function as critical virulence factors by directly regulating virulence-related gene expression. Thus, inhibition of RyhBs may be a potential strategy to attenuate Salmonella.

Covalent Assembly of MoS2 Nanosheets with SnS Nanodots as Linkages for Lithium/Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Weak van der Waals interactions between interlayers of two-dimensional layered materials result in disabled across-interlayer electron transfer and poor layered structural stability, seriously deteriorating their performance in energy applications. Herein, we propose a novel covalent assembly strategy for MoS2 nanosheets to realize unique MoS2 /SnS hollow superassemblies (HSs) by using SnS nanodots as covalent linkages. The covalent assembly based on all-inorganic and carbon-free concept enables effective across-interlayer electron transfer, facilitated ion diffusion kinetics, and outstanding mechanical stability, which are evidenced by experimental characterization, DFT calculations, and mechanical simulations. Consequently, the MoS2 /SnS HSs exhibit superb rate performance and long cycling stability in lithium-ion batteries, representing the best comprehensive performance in carbon-free MoS2 -based anodes to date. Moreover, the MoS2 /SnS HSs also show excellent sodium storage performance in sodium-ion batteries.

Magnetic Phase Transition-Induced Modulation of Ferroelectric Properties in Hexagonal RFeO3 (R = Tb and Ho).

Hexagonal rare-earth iron oxides (h-RFeO3) exhibit spontaneous magnetization and room-temperature ferroelectricity simultaneously. However, achieving a large magnetoelectric coupling necessitates further exploration. Herein, we report the impact of the magnetic phase transition on the ferroelectric properties of epitaxial h-RFeO3 (R = Tb and Ho) films prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The metastable h-RFeO3 phase is successfully stabilized with high crystallinity and low leakage current due to the ITO buffer layer, making it possible to investigate the ferroelectric properties. The h-TbFeO3 film exhibits a magnetic-field-induced transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) to weak ferromagnetic (wFM) phases below 30 K, while also exhibiting ferroelectricity at 300 K. The dielectric constants change with the magnetic phase transition, demonstrating hysteresis in the magnetocapacitance. In contrast, the h-HoFeO3 film exhibits antiferroelectric-like behavior and an AFM-wFM phase transition. Notably, the h-HoFeO3 film shows a rapid increase in the remnant polarization during the AFM-wFM phase transition accompanied by an increase in the ferroelectric component. Considering the strong connection between the antiferroelectric behavior in the h-RFeO3 system and the ferroelectric domain wall motion, this considerable modification of ferroelectric properties during the magnetic phase transition is probably due to the faster movement of the ferroelectric domain walls in the wFM phase induced by the clamping effect. Our findings indicate the effectiveness of magnetic phase transitions in enhancing the magnetoelectric coupling, particularly when utilizing domain wall clamping properties.

Locoregional recurrence and survival of breast-conserving surgery compared to mastectomy following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer.

Background: The risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR) and the long-term prognosis of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are still controversial. This study aimed to evaluate oncological outcomes for patients undergoing BCS after NAC and determine LRR and survival predictors. Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort study of patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) who received NAC and underwent BCS or mastectomy from June 2011 to November 2020. LRR, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared in patients undergoing BCS or mastectomy. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine LRR, DFS, and OS predictors. Results: A total of 585 patients were included, of whom 106 (18.1%) underwent BCS and 479 (81.9%) underwent a mastectomy. The LRR rate was 11.3% in the BCS group and 16.3% in the mastectomy group, revealing no significant difference(p = 0.200). In patients who underwent BCS, clinical lymph node status, histological grade and pathological complete response (pCR) were independent factors to predict LRR. There was no significant difference in DFS and OS between the BCS and the mastectomy groups. Multivariable analysis showed that lymph node status, histological grade, molecular subtypes, pCR and Miller&Payne (M&P) classification were independent predictors of DFS. Lymph node status, molecular subtypes and pCR were independent predictors of OS. BCS or mastectomy was not an independent predictor of DFS or OS. Conclusion: Compared with mastectomy, BCS after NAC may not increase the risk of local recurrence or mortality, BCS can be performed in selected patients with small tumor size and good response to NAC.

Composition Regulation of Potassium Sodium Niobate Thin Films through Post-Annealing under Alkali Element Atmospheres.

Amorphous potassium sodium niobate (KNN) films were synthesized at 300 °C through the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method and subsequently crystallized by post-annealing at 700 °C in various alkali element atmospheres (Na and K). The as-deposited film is notably deficient in alkali metal elements, particularly K, whereas the loss of alkali elements in the films can be replenished through annealing in an alkali element atmosphere. By adjusting the molar ratio of Na and K in the annealing atmosphere, the ratio of Na/K in the resultant film varied, consequently suggesting the efficiency of this method on composition regulation of KNN films. Meanwhile, we also found that the physical characteristics of the films also underwent differences with the change of an annealing atmosphere. The films annealed in a high Na atmosphere exhibit large dielectric losses with limited piezoelectric vibration behavior, while annealing in a high K atmosphere reduces the dielectric losses and enhances the piezoelectric behavior. Furthermore, the results of vibration measurement demonstrated that the film annealed in a mixed powder of 25% Na2CO3 and 75% K2CO3 exhibits an optimal vibration displacement of ~400 pm under the sinusoidal excitation voltage of 8 V. This approach of altering the composition of KNN films through post-annealing may introduce the new concept of property design of KNN as well as other similar films.

Development and validation of AI models using LR and LightGBM for predicting distant metastasis in breast cancer: a dual-center study.

Objective: This study aims to develop an artificial intelligence model utilizing clinical blood markers, ultrasound data, and breast biopsy pathological information to predict the distant metastasis in breast cancer patients. Methods: Data from two medical centers were utilized, Clinical blood markers, ultrasound data, and breast biopsy pathological information were separately extracted and selected. Feature dimensionality reduction was performed using Spearman correlation and LASSO regression. Predictive models were constructed using LR and LightGBM machine learning algorithms and validated on internal and external validation sets. Feature correlation analysis was conducted for both models. Results: The LR model achieved AUC values of 0.892, 0.816, and 0.817 for the training, internal validation, and external validation cohorts, respectively. The LightGBM model achieved AUC values of 0.971, 0.861, and 0.890 for the same cohorts, respectively. Clinical decision curve analysis showed a superior net benefit of the LightGBM model over the LR model in predicting distant metastasis in breast cancer. Key features identified included creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase. Conclusion: This study developed an artificial intelligence model using clinical blood markers, ultrasound data, and pathological information to identify distant metastasis in breast cancer patients. The LightGBM model demonstrated superior predictive accuracy and clinical applicability, suggesting it as a promising tool for early diagnosis of distant metastasis in breast cancer.

Multiscale Structural Engineering Boosts Piezoelectricity in Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9-Based High-Temperature Piezoceramics.

High-temperature piezoelectric materials, which enable the accurate and reliable sensing of physical parameters to guarantee the functional operation of various systems under harsh conditions, are highly demanded. To this end, both large piezoelectricity and high Curie temperature are pivotal figures of merit (FOMs) for high-temperature piezoceramics. Unfortunately, despite intensive pursuits, it remains a formidable challenge to unravel the inverse correlation between these FOMs. Herein, a conceptual material paradigm of multiscale structural engineering was proposed to address this dilemma. The synergistic effects of phase structure reminiscent of a polymorphic phase boundary and refined domain morphology simultaneously contribute to a large piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 30.3 pC/N and a high Curie temperature TC of 740 °C in (LiCeNd) codoped Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 (NBN-LCN) ceramics. More encouragingly, the system has exceptional thermal stability and is nonsusceptible to mechanical loading. This study not only demonstrates that the high-performance and robust NBN-LCN high-temperature piezoceramics hold great potential for implements under harsh conditions but also opens an avenue for integrating antagonistic properties for the enhancement of the collective performance in functional materials.

RyhB Paralogs Downregulate the Expressions of Multiple Survival-Associated Genes and Attenuate the Survival of Salmonella Enteritidis in the Chicken Macrophage HD11.

RyhB-1 and RyhB-2 are small non-coding RNAs in Salmonella that act as regulators of iron homeostasis by sensing the environmental iron concentration. Expressions of RyhB paralogs from Salmonella Typhimurium are increased within microphages. RyhB paralogs restrain the growth of S. Typhimurium in RAW264.7 macrophages by modulating the expression of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) genes sicA and rtsB. However, little is known about the regulatory role of RyhBs and their virulence-associated targets in Salmonella Enteritidis. We studied candidate targets of RyhB paralogs via RNA-Seq in conditions of iron limitation and hypoxia. RyhB paralogs were expressed when the S. Enteritidis strain CMCC(B)50336 (SE50336) interacted with the chicken macrophage line HD11. We analyzed gene expression associated with Salmonella survival and replication in macrophages in wild-type strain SE50336 and the RyhB deletion mutants after co-incubation with HD11 and screened out targets regulated by RyhBs. The expressions of both RyhB-1 and RyhB-2 were increased after co-incubation with HD11 for 8 h and several survival-associated genes within macrophages, such as ssaI, sseA, pagC, sodC, mgtC, yaeB, pocR, and hns, were upregulated in the ryhB-1 deletion mutant. Specifically, ssaI, the type-three secretion system 2 (T3SS-2) effector encoded by SPI-2, which promoted the survival of Salmonella in macrophages, was upregulated more than 3-fold in the ryhB-1 deletion mutant. We confirmed that both RyhB-1 and RyhB-2 downregulated the expression of ssaI to repress its mRNA translation by directly interacting with its coding sequence (CDS) region via an incomplete complementary base-pairing mechanism. The SPI-2 gene sseA was indirectly modulated by RyhB-1. The survival assays in macrophages showed that the ability of intracellular survival of ryhB-1 and/or ryhB-2 deletion mutants in HD11 was higher than that of the wild-type strain. These results indicate that RyhB paralogs downregulate survival-related virulence factors and attenuate the survival of S. Enteritidis inside chicken macrophage HD11.

Combining conventional ultrasound and ultrasound elastography to predict HER2 status in patients with breast cancer.

Introduction: Identifying the HER2 status of breast cancer patients is important for treatment options. Previous studies have shown that ultrasound features are closely related to the subtype of breast cancer. Methods: In this study, we used features of conventional ultrasound and ultrasound elastography to predict HER2 status. Results and Discussion: The performance of model (AUROC) with features of conventional ultrasound and ultrasound elastography is higher than that of the model with features of conventional ultrasound (0.82 vs. 0.53). The SHAP method was used to explore the interpretability of the models. Compared with HER2- tumors, HER2+ tumors usually have greater elastic modulus parameters and microcalcifications. Therefore, we concluded that the features of conventional ultrasound combined with ultrasound elastography could improve the accuracy for predicting HER2 status.

Electroacupuncture prevents astrocyte atrophy to alleviate depression.

Astrocyte atrophy is the main histopathological hallmark of major depressive disorder (MDD) in humans and in animal models of depression. Here we show that electroacupuncture prevents astrocyte atrophy in the prefrontal cortex and alleviates depressive-like behaviour in mice subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Treatment of mice with CUMS induced depressive-like phenotypes as confirmed by sucrose preference test, tail suspension test, and forced swimming test. These behavioural changes were paralleled with morphological atrophy of astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex, revealed by analysis of 3D reconstructions of confocal Z-stack images of mCherry expressing astrocytes. This morphological atrophy was accompanied by a decrease in the expression of cytoskeletal linker Ezrin, associated with formation of astrocytic leaflets, which form astroglial synaptic cradle. Electroacupuncture at the acupoint ST36, as well as treatment with anti-depressant fluoxetine, prevented depressive-like behaviours, astrocytic atrophy, and down-regulation of astrocytic ezrin. In conclusion, our data further strengthen the notion of a primary role of astrocytic atrophy in depression and reveal astrocytes as cellular target for electroacupuncture in treatment of depressive disorders.

Novel pathogenesis of post-traumatic stress disorder studied in transgenic mice.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is very common after exposure to trauma, mental stress or violence. Because objective biological markers for PTSD are lacking, exactly diagnosing PTSD is a challenge for clinical psychologists. In-depth research on the pathogenesis of PTSD is a key for solving this problem. In this work, we used male Thy1-YFP transgenic mice, in which neurons are fluorescently labeled, to research the effects of PTSD on neurons in vivo. We initially discovered that pathological stress associated with PTSD increased the activation of glycogen synthesis kinase-beta (GSK-3ß) in neurons and induced the translocation of the transcription factor forkhead box-class O3a (FoxO3a) from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, which decreased the expression of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) and increased mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to trigger neuronal apoptosis in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, the PTSD model mice showed increased freezing and anxiety-like behaviors and more severe decrease of memory and exploratory behavior. Additionally, leptin attenuated neuronal apoptosis by increasing the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which further elevated the expression of UCP2 and inhibited the mitochondrial production of ROS induced by PTSD, thus reducing neuronal apoptosis and ameliorating PTSD-related behaviors. Our study is expected to promote the exploration of PTSD-related pathogenesis in neural cells and the clinical effectiveness of leptin for PTSD.

An interpretable machine learning approach for predicting 30-day readmission after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and has a significantly high recurrence rate. We aimed to identify risk factors for stroke recurrence and develop an interpretable machine learning model to predict 30-day readmissions after stroke. METHODS: Stroke patients deposited in electronic health records (EHRs) in Xuzhou Medical University Hospital between February 1, 2021, and November 30, 2021, were included in the study, and deceased patients were excluded. We extracted 74 features from EHRs, and the top 20 features (chi-2 value) were used to build machine learning models. 80% of the patients were used for pre-training. Subsequently, a 20% holdout dataset was used for verification. The Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was used to explore the interpretability of the model. RESULTS: The cohort included 6,558 patients, of whom the mean (SD) age was 65 (11) years, 3,926 were males (59.86 %), and 132 (2.01 %) were readmitted within 30 days. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for the optimized model was 0.80 (95 % CI 0.68-0.80). We used the SHAP method to identify the top 10 risk factors (i.e., severe carotid artery stenosis, weak, homocysteine, glycosylated hemoglobin, sex, lymphocyte percentage, neutrophilic granulocyte percentage, urine glucose, fresh cerebral infarction, and red blood cell count). The AUROC of a model with the 10 features was 0.80 (95 % CI 0.69-0.80) and was not significantly different from that of the model with 20 risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our methods not only showed good performance in predicting 30-day readmissions after stroke but also revealed risk factors that provided valuable insights for treatments.

Microperoxidase-11 functionalized nanozyme with enhanced peroxidase-mimicking activities for visual detection of cysteine.

Various nanomaterials with peroxidase activity (nanozyme) have been designed for bio catalysis and biosensing, however, most of them need further design and modification of probe molecules for the specific binding reaction with targets. This results in a decrease in catalysis activity and hinders them to be perfect alternatives to natural enzyme in biosensing. In this work, an enhanced nanozyme was synthesized by functionalizing natural microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) on a hybrid graphene oxide-gold (GO-Au) material. The designed nanozyme showed an enhanced catalysis activity and realized a robust and efficient colorimetric detection of cysteine based on specific binding reaction between active iron center from MP-11 and thiol in cysteine. The enhanced properties show promising applications of complex nanozyme and provides a great opportunity for developing efficient sensing systems.

AIE-Active Photosensitizers: Manipulation of Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Applications in Photodynamic Therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive approach for tumor elimination that is attracting more and more attention due to the advantages of minimal side effects and high precision. In typical PDT, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from photosensitizers play the pivotal role, determining the efficiency of PDT. However, applications of traditional PDT were usually limited by the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect of the photosensitizers employed. Fortunately, photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE-active photosensitizers) have been developed with biocompatibility, effective ROS generation, and superior absorption, bringing about great interest for applications in oncotherapy. In this review, we review the development of AIE-active photosensitizers and describe molecule and aggregation strategies for manipulating photosensitization. For the molecule strategy, we describe the approaches utilized for tuning ROS generation by attaching heavy atoms, constructing a donor-acceptor effect, introducing ionization, and modifying with activatable moieties. The aggregation strategy to boost ROS generation is reviewed for the first time, including consideration of the aggregation of photosensitizers, polymerization, and aggregation microenvironment manipulation. Moreover, based on AIE-active photosensitizers, the cutting-edge applications of PDT with NIR irradiated therapy, activatable therapy, hypoxic therapy, and synergistic treatment are also outlined.

The neuroprotective mechanism of lithium after ischaemic stroke.

Stroke causes degeneration and death of neurones leading to the loss of motor function and frequent occurrence of cognitive impairment and depression. Lithium (Li+), the archetypal mood stabiliser, is neuroprotective in animal models of stroke, albeit underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We discover that Li+ inhibits activation of nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model in mice. This action of Li+ is mediated by two signalling pathways of AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin and AKT/FoxO3a/ß-catenin which converge in suppressing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using immunocytochemstry, MRI imaging, and cell sorting with subsequent mRNA and protein quantification, we demonstrate that Li+ decreases the infarct volume, improves motor function, and alleviates associated cognitive and depressive impairments. In conclusion, this study reveals molecular mechanisms of Li+ neuroprotection during brain ischaemia, thus providing the theoretical background to extend clinical applications of Li+ for treatment of ischemic stroke.