Isomeric diammonium passivation for perovskite-organic tandem solar cells.

In recent years, perovskite has been widely adopted in series-connected monolithic tandem solar cells (TSCs) to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells. Perovskite/organic TSCs, comprising a wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cell (pero-SC) as the front cell and a narrow-bandgap organic solar cell (OSC) as the rear cell, have recently drawn attention owing to the good stability and potential high power conversion efficiency (PCE)1,2,3,4. However, WBG pero-SCs usually exhibit higher voltage losses than regular pero-SCs, which limits the performance of TSCs5,6. One of the major obstacles comes from interfacial recombination at the perovskite/C60 interface, and it is important to develop effective surface passivation strategies to pursue higher PCE of perovskite/organic TSCs7. Here we exploit a new surface passivator cyclohexane 1,4-diammonium diiodide (CyDAI2), which naturally contains two isomeric structures with ammonium groups on the same or opposite sides of the hexane ring (denoted as cis-CyDAI2 and trans-CyDAI2, respectively), and the two isomers demonstrate completely different surface interaction behaviors. The cis-CyDAI2 passivation treatment reduces the Quasi-Fermi level splitting (QFLS)-open circuit voltage (Voc) mismatch of the WBG pero-SCs with a bandgap of 1.88 eV and enhanced its Voc to 1.36 V. Combining the cis-CyDAI2 treated perovskite and the organic active layer with a narrow-bandgap of 1.24 eV, the constructed monolithic perovskite/organic TSC demonstrates a PCE of 26.4% (certified as 25.7%).

Strain regulation retards natural operation decay of perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs) have undergone a rapid development in the last decade. However, there is still a lack of systematic studies to investigate whether the empirical rules of working lifetime assessment used in silicon solar cells can be applied to pero-SCs. It is commonly believed that pero-SCs show enhanced stability under day/night cycling due to the reported self-healing effect in the dark.1,2 While we discovered that the degradation of highly efficient FAPbI3 pero-SCs is in fact much faster under natural day/night cycling mode, questioning the widely accepted approach to estimate the operational lifetime of pero-SCs based on continuous mode testing. We reveal the key factor to be the lattice strain caused by thermal expansion/shrinking of the perovskite during the operation, an effect that gradually relaxes under the continuous-illumination mode but cycles synchronously under the cycling mode.3,4 The periodic lattice strain under the cycling mode results in deep trap accumulation and chemical degradation during operation, decreasing the ion migration potential and hence the device lifetime.5 We introduce phenylselenenyl chloride (Ph-Se-Cl) to regulate the perovskite lattice strain during day/night cycling, which achieved the certified efficiency of 26.3% and a 10-time improved T80 lifetime under the cycling mode after the modification.

Solid-Phase Electrosynthesis.

ConspectusThe significance of the new synthetic approach is that it can overcome the limitations of conventional methods and produce previously inaccessible polymer structures and materials. The solid-phase synthesis developed by Merrifield in 1964 is widely employed for the synthesis of biological molecules, such as peptides, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides. Although the variety of iterative reactions available is theoretically implemented for most organic synthesis protocols, they are usually required to have high efficiency against sluggish reaction kinetics at the solid-liquid interface and process with protection and deprotection steps. Generally, unsatisfied reaction dynamics at the solid-liquid interface cannot statistically permit accurate and uniform polymer synthesis of sophisticated structures and functions within an acceptable time scale. To address this challenge, we propose the concept of solid-phase electrosynthesis, which simultaneously enables rapidly surface-initiated uniform electrosynthesis and unidirectional assembly of metallopolymers via kinetically accelerated and statistically allowed iterative growth. In particular, on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of the metal complex with electroactive unit A, the iterative monomer with two electroactive units A and B can be alternatively activated by oxidative and reductive potentials for A-A and B-B covalent couplings with the SAM, respectively. This enables topochemical one-by-one additions of the iterative monomers to end-on-oriented self-assembled molecules through alternative redox reactions. Each iterative step is purified by washing. Repeating the same iterative reaction enables further reaction of the unreactive sites on the SAMs and repairs the morphology defects, thereby ensuring the statistically allowed uniform synthesis and fabrication of polymer monolayers. The resulting monolayers exhibit subnanometer-uniform morphology over centimeter-sized areas with crystalline states and show thicknesses similar to theoretical molecular lengths. This demonstrates the unidirectional formation of polymer assemblies, providing a pathway for obtaining highly ordered formation of noncrystalline polymers. The length-controlled electrosynthesis of metallopolymers can be generalized for many types of organic ligands and metal species, enabling quantitative design of the composition and sequence-controlled metallopolymers with the precise relationships of structures and properties. Solid-phase electrosynthesis offers a unique approach to synthesize polymer structures and monolayers with enhanced functionality and superior physical properties, including physical density, modulus, and conductance. Through the utilization of precise and efficient iterative growth, this predictable electrosynthesis, coupled with optical and electrical monitoring, not only expands the scope of current synthetic chemistry but also paves a potential way for the automated generation of optoelectric molecular monolayers with large-area dimensional consistency and enhanced physical performance.

Sequence-Controlled Electrochemical Immobilization of Catalyst-Photosensitizer Oligomers for Tuning Photoelectrochemical Behaviors.

Immobilizing catalysts and photosensitizers on an electrode surface is crucial in interfacial energy conversion. However, their combination for optimizing catalytic performance is an unpredictable challenge. Herein, we report that catalyst and photosensitizer monomers are selectively grafted one-by-one addition onto the electrode surface by interfacial electrosynthesis to achieve composition and sequence-controlled oligomer photoelectrocatalytic monolayers. This electrosynthesis relies on the oxidative coupling reaction of carbazole and the reductive coupling reaction of vinyl on the catalyst and photosensitizer monomers, and it initiates on self-assembled monolayers and propagates with alternating positive and negative potentials. Each addition and completion of the target monomer can be quantitatively identified and monitored by optical and electrical responses and their linear coefficients as a function of reaction steps. The resulting composition and sequence-controlled monolayers exhibit tuning electrocatalytic behaviors including water splitting and CO2 reduction, indicating an efficient way to optimize the electro- and photocatalytic functions and performance of molecular materials.

Elevated aerobic glycolysis driven by p62-mTOR axis promotes arsenic-induced oncogenic phenotypes in human mammary epithelial cells.

Chronic arsenic exposure is considered to increase the risk of breast cancer. p62 is a multifunctional adaptor protein that controls myriad cellular processes and is overexpressed in breast cancer tissues. Although previous studies have indicated the involvement of p62 accumulation in arsenic tumorigenesis, the underlying mechanism remains obscure. Here, we found that 0.1 µM or 0.5 µM arsenite exposure for 24 weeks induced oncogenic phenotypes in human mammary epithelial cells. Elevated aerobic glycolysis, cell proliferation capacity, and activation of p62-mTOR pathway, as indicated by increased protein levels of p62, phosphorylated-mTOR (p-mTOR) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), were observed in chronically arsenite-exposed cells, and of note in advance of the onset of oncogenic phenotypes. Moreover, p62 silencing inhibited acquisition of oncogenic phenotypes in arsenite-exposed cells. The protein levels of p-mTOR and HIF1α, as well as aerobic glycolysis and cell proliferation, were suppressed by p62 knockdown. In addition, re-activation of p­mTOR reversed the inhibitory effects of p62 knockdown. Collectively, our data suggest that p62 exerts an oncogenic role via mTORC1 activation and acts as a key player in glucose metabolism during arsenite-induced malignant transformation, which provides a new mechanistic clue for the arsenite carcinogenesis.

The urinary level of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol was positively associated with both all-cause and cause-specific mortalities in general adult residents of United States.

Chlorophenols are widespread environmental organic pollutants with harmful effects on human beings. Although relationships between chlorophenols and various dysfunctions/diseases have been reported, the contribution of chlorophenols exposure to mortalities is underdetermined. In this cohort study, we included 4 types of urinary chlorophenols, aiming to estimate associations of chlorophenols exposure with all-cause and cause-specific mortalities. Urinary chlorophenols were examined at baseline of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2010, and adjusted for the urinary creatinine level. Associations between chlorophenols and mortalities were estimated using COX regression analyses, results were shown as hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). By dividing participants into four subgroups based on quartiles of urinary levels of chlorophenols, associations between mortalities and categorical variables of chlorophenols were estimated. Furthermore, the quantile g-computation analysis was used to estimate the joint effects of 4 chlorophenols on mortalities. Among 5817 adults (2863 men), 1034 were deceased during the follow-up. After adjusted for confounders, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) was found to be positively associated with both all-cause (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.16, 1.84) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortalities (HR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.55). Compared to the subgroup of the lowest level of chlorophenols, participants in subgroups of higher 2,4,5-TCP levels showed higher risk of all-cause mortality (P-value for trend = 0.003). For CVD mortality, HRs in subgroups of higher levels of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) were statistically significant (P-values for trend were 0.017 for 2,4-DCP and 0.049 for 2,4,6-TCP). The HRs (95% CI) of joint effects of 4 chlorophenols were 1.11 (1.01, 1.21) and 1.32 (1.10, 1.57) for all-cause and CVD-specific mortalities, and 2,4,5-TCP showed the highest weight in joint effects. All of these findings implied that among 4 urinary chlorophenols we included, 2,4,5-TCP might be a sensitive one in associations with mortalities among general populations.

Transcriptome-wide profiling of mRNA N6-methyladenosine modification in rice panicles and flag leaves.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is essential for plant growth and development. Exploring m6A methylation patterns in rice tissues is fundamental to understanding the regulatory effects of this modification. Here, we profiled the transcriptome-wide m6A landscapes of rice panicles at the booting stage (PB) and flowering stage (PF), and of flag leaves at the flowering stage (LF). The global m6A level differed significantly among the three tissues and was closely associated with the expression of writer and eraser genes. The methylated gene ratio was higher in the flag leaves than in the panicles. Compared with commonly methylated genes, tissue-specific methylated genes showed lower levels of both m6A modification and expression, and a preference for m6A deposition in the coding sequence region. The m6A profiles of the two organs had more distinct differences than the profiles of the same organ at different stages. A negative correlation between m6A levels and gene expression was observed in PF vs. PB but not in PF vs. LF, indicting the complicated regulatory effect of m6A on gene expression. The distinct expression patterns of m6A reader genes in different tissues indicate that readers may affect gene stability through binding. Overall, our findings demonstrated that m6A modification influences tissue function by regulating gene expression. Our findings provide valuable insights on the regulation and biological functions of m6A modifications in rice.

Nanoporous Gold-Modified Screen-Printed Electrodes for the Simultaneous Determination of Pb2+ and Cu2+ in Water.

In this study, nanoporous gold (NPG) was deposited on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) by the dynamic hydrogen bubble template (DHBT) method to prepare an electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of Pb2+ and Cu2+ by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The electrodeposition potential and electrodeposition time for NPG/SPCE preparation were investigated thoroughly. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX) analysis confirmed successful fabrication of the NPG-modified electrode. Electrochemical characterization exhibits its superior electron transfer ability compared with bare and nanogold-modified electrodes. After a comprehensive optimization, Pb2+ and Cu2+ were simultaneously determined with linear range of 1-100 µg/L for Pb2+ and 10-100 µg/L for Cu2+, respectively. The limits of detection were determined to be 0.4 µg/L and 5.4 µg/L for Pb2+ and Cu2+, respectively. This method offers a broad linear detection range, a low detection limit, and good reliability for heavy metal determination in drinking water. These results suggest that NPG/SPCE holds great promise in environmental and food applications.

Develop a bone mineral density T-score distribution nomograms based on osteoporosis risk factors for middle-aged and older adults.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to understand how age, health status, and lifestyle impact bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged and older adults, focusing on predicting osteoporosis risk. METHODS: This study included 2836 participants aged 50-88 from the Health Improvement Program of Bone (HOPE) conducted from 2021 to 2023. We used logistic regression to make a prediction tool. Then checked its accuracy and reliability using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves. RESULTS: Factors like age, body weight, prior fractures, and smoking were independently found to affect BMD T-score distribution in men. In women, age and body weight were identified as independent factors influencing BMD T-score distribution. A nomogram was created to visually illustrate these predictive relationships. CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram proved highly accurate in identifying men aged 50 and above and postmenopausal women based on their BMD T-score distribution, improving clinical decision-making and patient care in osteoporosis evaluation and treatment.

[Phenotypic drug discovery promotes research and development of innovative drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine].

Traditional Chinese medicine with rich resources in China and definite therapeutic effects on complex diseases demonstrates great development potential. However, the complex composition, the unclear pharmacodynamic substances and mechanisms of action, and the lack of reasonable methods for evaluating clinical safety and efficacy have limited the research and development of innovative drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine. The progress in cutting-edge disciplines such as artificial intelligence and biomimetics, especially the emergence of cell painting and organ-on-a-chip, helps to identify and characterize the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine based on the changes in model characteristics, thus providing more accurate guidance for the development and application of traditional Chinese medicine. The application of phenotypic drug discovery in the research and development of innovative drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine is gaining increasing attention. In recent years, the technology for phenotypic drug discovery keeps advancing, which improves the early discovery rate of new drugs and the success rate of drug research and development. Accordingly, phenotypic drug discovery gradually becomes a key tool for the research on new drugs. This paper discusses the enormous potential of traditional Chinese medicine in the discovery and development of innovative drugs and illustrates how the application of phenotypic drug discovery, supported by cutting-edge technologies such as cell painting, deep learning, and organ-on-a-chip, propels traditional Chinese medicine into a new stage of development.

Localized Oxidation Embellishing Strategy Enables High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cell (pero-SC) has attracted extensive studies as a promising photovoltaic technology, wherein the electron extraction and transfer exhibit pivotal effect to the device performance. The planar SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL) has contributed the recent record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the pero-SCs, yet still suffers from surface defects of SnO2 nanoparticles which brings energy loss and phase instability. Herein, we report a localized oxidation embellishing (LOE) strategy by applying (NH4 )2 CrO4 on the SnO2 ETL. The LOE strategy builds up plentiful nano-heterojunctions of p-Cr2 O3 /n-SnO2 and the nano-heterojunctions compensate the surface defects and realize benign energy alignment, which reduces surface non-radiative recombination and voltage loss of the pero-SCs. Meanwhile, the decrease of lattice mismatch released the lattice distortion and eliminated tensile stress, contributing to better stability of the devices. The pero-SCs based on α-FAPbI3 with the SnO2 ETL treated by the LOE strategy realized a PCE of 25.72 % (certified as 25.41 %), along with eminent stability performance of T90 >700 h. This work provides a brand-new view for defect modification of SnO2 electron transport layer.

Volatile Perovskite Precursor Ink Enables Window Printing of Phase-Pure FAPbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules in Ambient Atmosphere.

Despite the great success of perovskite photovoltaics in terms of device efficiency and stability using laboratory-scale spin-coating methods, the demand for high-throughput and cost-effective solutions remains unresolved and rarely reported because of the complicated nature of perovskite crystallization. In this work, we propose a stable precursor ink design strategy to control the solvent volatilization and perovskite crystallization to enable the wide speed window printing (0.3 to 18.0 m/min) of phase-pure FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs) in ambient atmosphere. The FAPbI3 perovskite precursor ink uses volatile acetonitrile (ACN) as the main solvent with DMF and DMSO as coordination additives is beneficial to improve the ink stability, inhibit the coffee rings, and the complicated intermediate FAPbI3 phases, delivering high-quality pin-hole free and phase-pure FAPbI3 perovskite films with large-scale uniformity. Ultimately, small-area FAPbI3 pero-SCs (0.062 cm2 ) and large-area modules (15.64 cm2 ) achieved remarkable efficiencies of 24.32 % and 21.90 %, respectively, whereas the PCE of the devices can be maintained at 23.76 % when the printing speed increases to 18.0 m/min. Specifically, the unencapsulated device exhibits superior operational stability with T90 >1350 h. This work represents a step towards the scalable, cost-effective manufacturing of perovskite photovoltaics with both high performance and high throughput.

Iodonium Initiators: Paving the Air-free Oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

To date, perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs) with doped 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) hole transporting layers (HTLs) have shown the highest recorded power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). However, their commercialization is still impeded by poor device stability owing to the hygroscopic lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and volatile 4-tert-butylpyridine dopants as well as time-consuming oxidation in air. In this study, we explored a series of single-component iodonium initiators with strong oxidability and different electron delocalization properties to precisely manipulate the oxidation states of Spiro-OMeTAD without air assistance, and the oxidation mechanism was clearly understood. Iodine (III) in the diphenyliodonium cation (IP+ ) can accept a single electron from Spiro-OMeTAD and forms Spiro-OMeTAD⋅+ owing to its strong oxidability. Moreover, because of the coordination of the strongly delocalized TFSI- with Spiro-OMeTAD⋅+ in a stable radical complex, the resulting hole mobility was 30 times higher than that of pristine Spiro-OMeTAD. In addition, the IP-TFSI initiator facilitated the growth of a homogeneous and pinhole-free Spiro-OMeTAD film. The pero-SCs based on this oxidizing HTL showed excellent efficiencies of 25.16 % (certified: 24.85 % for 0.062-cm2 ) and 20.71 % for a 15.03-cm2 module as well as remarkable overall stability.

Inner Side Chain Modification of Small Molecule Acceptors Enables Lower Energy Loss and High Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells Processed with Non-halogenated Solvents.

Organic solar cells (OSCs) processed with non-halogenated solvents usually suffer from excessive self-aggregation of small molecule acceptors (SMAs), severe phase separation and higher energy loss (Eloss), leading to reduced open-circuit voltage (Voc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE). Here, we designed and synthesized two SMAs L8-PhF and L8-PhMe by introducing different substituents (fluorine for L8-PhF and methyl for L8-PhMe) on the phenyl end group of inner side chains of L8-Ph, and investigated the effect of the substituents on the intermolecular interaction of SMAs, Eloss and performance of OSCs processed with non-halogenated solvents. It is found that compared with L8-PhF, which possesses strong intermolecular interactions but downgraded molecular packing order, L8-PhMe exhibits more effective non-covalent interactions, which improves the tightness and order of molecular packing. When blending the SMAs with PM6, the OSCs based on L8-PhMe shows reduced non-radiative energy loss, and enhanced Voc than the devices based on the other two SMAs. Consequently, the L8-PhMe based device processed with o-xylene and using 2PACz as the hole transport layer shows an outstanding PCE of 19.27%. This study highlights that the Eloss of OSCs processed with non-halogenated solvents could be decreased through regulating the intermolecular interactions of SMAs by inner side chain modification.

Tailoring the Position of Ester Group on N-Alkyl Chains of Benzotriazole-based Small Molecule Acceptors for High-Performance Organic Solar Cells.

Side chain engineering plays a vital role in exploring high-performance small molecule acceptors (SMAs) for organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, we designed and synthesized a series of A-DA'D-A type SMAs by introducing different N-substituted alkyl and ester alkyl side chains on benzotriazole (BZ) central unit and aimed to investigate the effect of different ester substitution positions on photovoltaic performances. All the new SMAs with ester groups exhibit lower the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels and more blue-shifted absorption, but relatively higher absorption coefficients than alkyl chain counterpart. After blending with the donor PM6, the ester side chain-based devices demonstrate enhanced charge mobility, reduced amorphous intermixing domain size and long-lived charge transfer state compared to the alkyl chain counterpart, which are beneficial to achieve higher short-circuit current density (Jsc ) and fill factor (FF), simultaneously. Thereinto, the PM6 : BZ-E31 based device achieves a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.33 %, which is the highest PCE among the OSCs based on the SMAs with BZ-core. Our work demonstrated the strategy of ester substituted side chain is a feasible and effective approach to develop more efficient SMAs for OSCs.

mRNA N6 -methyladenosine is critical for cold tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Plants respond to low temperatures by altering the mRNA abundance of thousands of genes contributing to numerous physiological and metabolic processes that allow them to adapt. At the post-transcriptional level, these cold stress-responsive transcripts undergo alternative splicing, microRNA-mediated regulation and alternative polyadenylation, amongst others. Recently, m6 A, m5 C and other mRNA modifications that can affect the regulation and stability of RNA were discovered, thus revealing another layer of post-transcriptional regulation that plays an important role in modulating gene expression. The importance of m6 A in plant growth and development has been appreciated, although its significance under stress conditions is still underexplored. To assess the role of m6 A modifications during cold stress responses, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing was performed in Arabidopsis seedlings esposed to low temperature stress (4°C) for 24 h. This transcriptome-wide m6 A analysis revealed large-scale shifts in this modification in response to low temperature stress. Because m6 A is known to affect transcript stability/degradation and translation, we investigated these possibilities. Interestingly, we found that cold-enriched m6 A-containing transcripts demonstrated the largest increases in transcript abundance coupled with increased ribosome occupancy under cold stress. The significance of the m6 A epitranscriptome on plant cold tolerance was further assessed using the mta mutant in which the major m6 A methyltransferase gene was mutated. Compared to the wild-type, along with the differences in CBFs and COR gene expression levels, the mta mutant exhibited hypersensitivity to cold treatment as determined by primary root growth, biomass, and reactive oxygen species accumulation. Furthermore, and most importantly, both non-acclimated and cold-acclimated mta mutant demonstrated hypersensitivity to freezing tolerance. Taken together, these findings suggest a critical role for the epitranscriptome in cold tolerance of Arabidopsis.

Dietary intakes of methionine, threonine, lysine, arginine and histidine increased risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese population: does the mediation effect of obesity exist?

BACKGROUND: Published studies have shown positive associations of branched chain and aromatic amino acids with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and the findings remain consistent. However, the associations of other essential and semi-essential amino acids, i.e., methionine (Met), threonine (Thr), lysine (Lys), arginine (Arg) and histidine (His), with T2DM remain unknown. Obesity is an important independent risk factor for T2DM, and excessive amino acids can convert into glucose and lipids, which might underlie the associations of amino acids with obesity. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the associations between dietary intakes of these 5 amino acids and T2DM risk, as well as the mediation effects of obesity on these associations, in a Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 10,920 participants (57,293 person-years) were included, and dietary intakes of 5 amino acids were investigated using 24-h dietary recalls. Anthropometric obesity indices were measured at both baseline and the follow-up endpoints. Associations of amino acids with T2DM were estimated using COX regression models, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were shown. The mediation effects of obesity indices were analyzed, and the proportion of the mediation effect was estimated. RESULTS: Higher intakes of the 5 amino acids were associated with increasing T2DM risk, while significant HRs were only shown in men after adjustments. No interaction by gender was found. Regression analyses using quintiles of amino acids intakes showed that T2DM risk was positively associated with amino acids intakes only when comparing participants with the highest intake levels of amino acids to those with the lowest intake levels. Adjusted correlation coefficients between amino acid intakes and obesity indices measured at follow-up endpoints were significantly positive. Mediation analyses showed that mediation effects of obesity indices existed on associations between amino acids intakes and T2DM risk, and the mediation effect of waist circumference remained strongest for each amino acid. CONCLUSIONS: We found positive associations of dietary intakes of Met, Thr, Lys, Arg and His with increasing T2DM risk in general Chinese residents, on which the mediation effect of obesity existed. These findings could be helpful for developing more constructive guidance in the primary prevention of T2DM based on dietary interventions.

Phenols from Potentilla anserina L. Improve Insulin Sensitivity and Inhibit Differentiation in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes in Vitro.

Potentilla anserina L., a well-known perennial herb, is widely used in traditional Tibetan medicine and used as a delicious food in humans. The present investigation reports on the activity of P. anserina phenols (PAP) in regulating glycolipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Insulin sensitivity tests showed that PAP improved insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by promoting the phosphorylation of serine/threonine kinase Akt. Moreover, an assay involving the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes demonstrated that PAP also decreased the accumulation of lipid droplets by suppressing the expression of adipokines during the differentiation process. In addition, the underlying mechanism from the aspects of energy metabolism and oxidative stress is also discussed. The improvement in energy metabolism was supported by an increase in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and intracellular ATP. Amelioration of oxidative stress was supported by decreased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). In summary, our findings suggest that PAP can ameliorate the disorder of glycolipid metabolism in insulin resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes by improving energy metabolism and oxidative stress and might be an attractive candidate for the treatment of diabetes.

High Daytime Temperature Responsive MicroRNA Profiles in Developing Grains of Rice Varieties with Contrasting Chalkiness.

High temperature impairs starch biosynthesis in developing rice grains and thereby increases chalkiness, affecting the grain quality. Genome encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) fine-tune target transcript abundances in a spatio-temporal specific manner, and this mode of gene regulation is critical for a myriad of developmental processes as well as stress responses. However, the role of miRNAs in maintaining rice grain quality/chalkiness during high daytime temperature (HDT) stress is relatively unknown. To uncover the role of miRNAs in this process, we used five contrasting rice genotypes (low chalky lines Cyp, Ben, and KB and high chalky lines LaGrue and NB) and compared the miRNA profiles in the R6 stage caryopsis samples from plants subjected to prolonged HDT (from the onset of fertilization through R6 stage of caryopsis development). Our small RNA analysis has identified approximately 744 miRNAs that can be grouped into 291 families. Of these, 186 miRNAs belonging to 103 families are differentially regulated under HDT. Only two miRNAs, Osa-miR444f and Osa-miR1866-5p, were upregulated in all genotypes, implying that the regulations greatly varied between the genotypes. Furthermore, not even a single miRNA was commonly up/down regulated specifically in the three tolerant genotypes. However, three miRNAs (Osa-miR1866-3p, Osa-miR5150-3p and canH-miR9774a,b-3p) were commonly upregulated and onemiRNA (Osa-miR393b-5p) was commonly downregulated specifically in the sensitive genotypes (LaGrue and NB). These observations suggest that few similarities exist within the low chalky or high chalky genotypes, possibly due to high genetic variation. Among the five genotypes used, Cypress and LaGrue are genetically closely related, but exhibit contrasting chalkiness under HDT, and thus, a comparison between them is most relevant. This comparison revealed a general tendency for Cypress to display miRNA regulations that could decrease chalkiness under HDT compared with LaGrue. This study suggests that miRNAs could play an important role in maintaining grain quality in HDT-stressed rice.

Direct Arylation Synthesis of Small Molecular Acceptors for Organic Solar Cells.

In recent years, small molecular acceptors (SMAs) have extensively promoted the progress of organic solar cells (OSCs). The facile tuning of chemical structures affords SMAs excellent tunability of their absorption and energy levels, and it gives SMA-based OSCs slight energy loss, enabling OSCs to achieve high power conversion efficiencies (e.g., >18%). However, SMAs always suffer complicated chemical structures requiring multiple-step synthesis and cumbersome purification, which is unfavorable to the large-scale production of SMAs and OSC devices for industrialization. Direct arylation coupling reaction via aromatic C-H bonds activation allows for the synthesis of SMAs under mild conditions, and it simultaneously reduces synthetic steps, synthetic difficulty, and toxic by-products. This review provides an overview of the progress of SMA synthesis through direct arylation and summarizes the typical reaction conditions to highlight the field's challenges. Significantly, the impacts of direct arylation conditions on reaction activity and reaction yield of the different reactants' structures are discussed and highlighted. This review gives a comprehensive view of preparing SMAs by direct arylation reactions to cause attention to the facile and low-cost synthesis of photovoltaic materials for OSCs.