Homogenizing out-of-plane cation composition in perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite solar cells with the formula FA1-xCsxPbI3, where FA is formamidinium, provide an attractive option for integrating high efficiency, durable stability and compatibility with scaled-up fabrication. Despite the incorporation of Cs cations, which could potentially enable a perfect perovskite lattice1,2, the compositional inhomogeneity caused by A-site cation segregation is likely to be detrimental to the photovoltaic performance of the solar cells3,4. Here we visualized the out-of-plane compositional inhomogeneity along the vertical direction across perovskite films and identified the underlying reasons for the inhomogeneity and its potential impact for devices. We devised a strategy using 1-(phenylsulfonyl)pyrrole to homogenize the distribution of cation composition in perovskite films. The resultant p-i-n devices yielded a certified steady-state photon-to-electron conversion efficiency of 25.2% and durable stability.

Encapsulation of phenolic compounds within food-grade carriers and delivery systems by pH-driven method: a systematic review.

In comparison to conventional encapsulation methods of phenolic compounds (PCs), pH-driven method is green, simple and requires low energy consumption. It has a huge potential for industrial applications, and can overcome more effectively the aqueous solubility, stability and bioavailability issues related to PCs by changing pH to induce the encapsulation of PCs. This review aims to shed light on the use of pH-driven method for encapsulating PCs. The preparation steps and principles governing pH-driven method using various carriers and delivery systems are provided. A comparison of pH-driven with other methods is also presented. To circumvent the drawbacks of pH-driven method, improvement strategies are proposed. The essence of pH-driven method relies simultaneously on alkalization and acidification to bind PCs and carriers. It is used for the development of nanoemulsions, liposomes, edible films, nanoparticles, nanogels and functional foods. As a result of pH-driven method, PCs-loaded carriers may have smaller size, high encapsulation efficiency, more sustained-release and good bioavailability, due mainly to effects of pH change on the structure and properties of PCs as well as carriers. Finally, modification of wall materials and type of acidifier are considered as efficient approaches to improve the pH-driven method.

Modulating the glycemic response of starch-based foods using organic nanomaterials: strategies and opportunities.

Traditionally, diverse natural bioactive compounds (polyphenols, proteins, fatty acids, dietary fibers) are used as inhibitors of starch digestive enzymes for lowering glycemic index (GI) and preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In recent years, organic nanomaterials (ONMs) have drawn a great attention because of their ability to overcome the stability and solubility issues of bioactive. This review aimed to elucidate the implications of ONMs in lowering GI and as encapsulating agents of enzymes inhibitors. The major ONMs are presented. The mechanisms underlying the inhibition of enzymes, the stability within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and safety of ONMs are also provided. As a result of encapsulation of bioactive in ONMs, a more pronounced inhibition of enzymes was observed compared to un-encapsulated bioactive. More importantly, the lower the size of ONMs, the higher their inhibitory effects due to facile binding with enzymes. Additionally, in vivo studies exhibited the potentiality of ONMs for protection and sustained release of insulin for GI management. Overall, regulating the GI using ONMs could be a safe, robust and viable alternative compared to synthetic drugs (acarbose and voglibose) and un-encapsulated bioactive. Future researches should prioritize ONMs in real food products and evaluate their safety on a case-by-case basis.

Inhibition of miR-181a-5p reduces astrocyte and microglia activation and oxidative stress by activating SIRT1 in immature rats with epilepsy.

MicroRNAs regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, and this process has been shown to be implicated in the pathological processes of temporal lobe epilepsy. At present, studies about the impact of microRNA-181a (miR-181a) on epilepsy have focused on hippocampal neurons, and the effect of miR-181a on other cells in the hippocampus remains poorly understood. Herein, we explored the role of miR-181a-5p in a lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepticus in immature rats. We found that the hippocampal expression level of miR-181a-5p was increased. Inhibition of miR-181a-5p protected the hippocampus against epilepsy, including hippocampal insults, neuronal apoptosis, astrocyte and microglia activation, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, miR-181a-5p inhibition exerted a seizure-suppressing effect via SIRT1 upregulation. Overall, our findings reveal the potential role of the miR-181a-5p/SIRT1 pathway in the development of temporal lobe epilepsy, and this pathway may represent a novel target for ameliorating epilepsy and its sequelae.

Quenching Detrimental Reactions and Boosting Hole Extraction via Multifunctional NiOx /Perovskite Interface Passivation for Efficient and Stable Inverted Solar Cells.

Nickel oxide (NiOx ) is one of the most promising hole transport materials for inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, its application is severely restrained due to unfavorable interfacial reactions and insufficient charge carrier extraction. Herein, a multifunctional modification at the NiOx /perovskite interface is developed via introducing fluorinated ammonium salt ligand to synthetically solve the obstacles. Specifically, the interface modification can chemically convert detrimental Ni≥3+ to lower oxidation state, resulting in the elimination of interfacial redox reactions. Meanwhile, interfacial dipole is incorporated simultaneously to tune the work function of NiOx and optimize energy level alignment, which effectively promotes the charge carrier extraction. Therefore, the modified NiOx -based inverted PSCs achieve a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 22.93%. Moreover, the unencapsulated devices obtain a significantly enhanced long-term stability, maintaining over 85% and 80% of the initial PCEs after storage in ambient air with a high relative humidity of 50-60% for 1000 h and continuous operation at maximum power point under one-sun illumination for 700 h, respectively.

Cornuside protects against ischemic stroke in rats by suppressing the IL-17F/TRAF6/NF-κB pathway via the brain-gut axis.

Ischemic stroke is a serious neurological disease with limited therapeutic options; thus, it is particularly important to find effective treatments. Restoration of gut microflora diversity is an important factor in the treatment of ischemic stroke, but the mechanism remains unclear. Cornuside is known for its unique anti-inflammatory and circulation-promoting effects; however, whether it can effectively treat ischemic stroke and its therapeutic mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we used a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion model (MCAO/R) to mimic ischemic stroke in humans and to assess the cerebral protective effects of cornuside in rats with ischemic stroke. Using 16S rRNA sequencing and RNA sequencing, we explored the cornuside mechanism in the brain-gut axis that confers protection against ischemic stroke. In conclusion, cornuside can inhibit the IL-17F/TRAF6/NF-κB pathway by improving the dysregulation of intestinal microflora, and reduce intestinal inflammation and neuroinflammation, which treated ischemic stroke rats.

Aqueous synthesis of perovskite precursors for highly efficient perovskite solar cells.

High-purity precursor materials are vital for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to reduce defect density caused by impurities in perovskite. In this study, we present aqueous synthesized perovskite microcrystals as precursor materials for PSCs. Our approach enables kilogram-scale mass production and synthesizes formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) microcrystals with up to 99.996% purity, with an average value of 99.994 ± 0.0015%, from inexpensive, low-purity raw materials. The reduction in calcium ions, which made up the largest impurity in the aqueous solution, led to the greatest reduction in carrier trap states, and its deliberate introduction was shown to decrease device performance. With these purified precursors, we achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.6% (25.3% certified) in inverted PSCs and retained 94% of the initial PCE after 1000 hours of continuous simulated solar illumination at 50°C.

Multiscale self-calibrated pulmonary nodule detection network fusing dual attention mechanism.

Objective. In this study, we propose a model called DEPMSCNet (a multiscale self-calibration network) that has a high sensitivity and low false positive rate for detecting pulmonary nodules.Approach. First, at the feature extraction stage, we propose to use the REPSA-MSC module instead of the traditional convolutional neural network. The module extracts multiscale information from the feature map based on the image pyramid strategy while introducing adaptive convolutional branches to detect contextual information at each position of the multiscale, thereby expanding the receptive field and improving sensitivity. At the same time, multiple branches are adaptively weighted by channel attention, and the weights of different branches are adjusted to better generate pixel-level attention. Secondly, the proposed DSAM (dual-path spatial attention module) operates at the information fusion stage. This module fully exploits the rich spatial information of CT scans, obtains receptive field information from two branches, combines low-level feature map information with high-level semantic information, and enhances location-related information to effectively improve specificity. Thirdly, the focal loss function is used to solve the problem of positive and negative sample imbalance.Mainresults. The proposed model has been evaluated on the public lung nodule analysis (LUNA16) challenge dataset. The technique outperforms the most recent state-of-the-art detection algorithms in terms of sensitivity and specificity, obtaining a sensitivity of 0.988 and a competitive performance metric (CPM) of 0.963.Significance. Ablation experiments show that the two modules proposed in this paper effectively reduce false positives and improve sensitivity. This model effectively reduces the number of false positive nodules that doctors see on CT scans.

Tuning Perovskite Surface Polarity via Dipole Moment Engineering for Efficient Hole-Transport-Layer-Free Sn-Pb Mixed-Perovskite Solar Cells.

Post-treatment has been recognized as one of the effective methods for passivating the underlying defects in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), but little attention has been paid to how to pick suitable passivation agents with diverse isomers for efficient PSCs, particularly for the tin-lead (Sn-Pb) mixed PSCs. Here, we introduce the dependence of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) on a dipole moment for surface passivator screening, in which we chose three trifluoromethyl-phenylethylamine hydroiodide (CF3-PEAI) isomers as surface-treatment materials for hole-transport-layer-free (HTL-free) Sn-Pb mixed PSCs. The different positions of the -CF3 group for the CF3-PEAI isomer result in different dipole moments, which influences the interaction between CF3-PEAI and lead iodide. The para position CF3 with the highest dipole moment exhibits a higher PCE than the ortho-position with a lower dipole moment, which is attributed to the large dipole moment on the surface that could tune the surface polarity from p-type to n-type, facilitating electron charge transport in the HTL-free Sn-Pb mixed PSCs. An ultrathin 2D layer is formed on the perovskite surface to passivate the surface defects, which is responsible for the enhancement of the PCE and stability of the PSCs. As a result, the open-circuit voltage (VOC) of the device is improved from 0.775 to 0.824 V, yielding a champion PCE of 20.17%, which is one of the highest PCEs among the reported HTL-free Sn-Pb mixed PSCs. The device also shows improved stability with remaining 75% of its initial PCEs after storage in N2 for 700 h.

Single-cell epigenomics and spatiotemporal transcriptomics reveal human cerebellar development.

Human cerebellar development is orchestrated by molecular regulatory networks to achieve cytoarchitecture and coordinate motor and cognitive functions. Here, we combined single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics and single cell chromatin accessibility states to systematically depict an integrative spatiotemporal landscape of human fetal cerebellar development. We revealed that combinations of transcription factors and cis-regulatory elements (CREs) play roles in governing progenitor differentiation and cell fate determination along trajectories in a hierarchical manner, providing a gene expression regulatory map of cell fate and spatial information for these cells. We also illustrated that granule cells located in different regions of the cerebellar cortex showed distinct molecular signatures regulated by different signals during development. Finally, we mapped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of disorders related to cerebellar dysfunction and discovered that several disorder-associated genes showed spatiotemporal and cell type-specific expression patterns only in humans, indicating the cellular basis and possible mechanisms of the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders.

The role of inorganic salts in dough properties and noodle quality-A review.

Noodles are usually made with flour, salt, and water. Developments in the noodle industry have led to the use of some inorganic salts such as NaCl, alkaline, and phosphate salts to improve the quality of noodle products. However, the physicochemical properties of dough and noodle characteristics may show different rheological and technological properties after salt addition depending on the salt content, type, and mixture. Therefore, understanding the role and mechanism of different salts in flour dough and the resulting noodles would be helpful in improving the quality of the final products. This review covers recent advances in the application of inorganic salts to noodle dough and the effects of such an addition on the final product. Addition of inorganic salts improves the elasticity and extensibility of gluten, improves the texture of noodles and gelatinization of starch, and enhances the processing performance of the dough and quality of the final product. However, the addition of excessive amounts of these salts leads to the deterioration of gluten and a decrease in the elasticity and extensibility of the resulting dough. Most alkaline salts and NaCl can increase the cooking loss of noodles, but phosphates can decrease this parameter. Addition of alkaline or NaCl decreases the nutritional quality of cooked noodles due to lysine losses and reduces protein digestibility. Overall, inorganic salts can enhance dough characteristics and noodle quality, but health of the consumer should not be overlooked, which should be added within the allowable range of production.

Improvements of dried noodles qualities using two-stage resting: Explanation from macro and micro perspectives.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of two-stage resting (dough crumbs and dough sheets resting) on the quality of dried noodles. An improvement mechanism was explored according to the texture of dough sheets, gluten network, and microstructure of cooked noodles. After two-stage resting, the extensibility of dough sheets, the contents of glutenin macro polymer (GMP), and disulfide bonds (S-S) increased significantly (p < .05), whereas the content of sulphydryl group (-SH) significantly declined. From the perspective of microstructure, the average length and width of dough sheets protein experienced a significant reduction (p < .05); however, the branching rate, the number of protein lines, and the total length of the protein lines significantly increased (p < .05). Furthermore, the average network line length and width of cooked noodles were significantly reduced as the branching rate rose (p < .05); meanwhile, the number of holes significantly increased while the average area significantly decreased (p < .05). Overall, the two-stage resting has improved the quality of dried noodles and contributed to a more uniform and compact gluten network distribution.

Transcriptome dynamics of hippocampal neurogenesis in macaques across the lifespan and aged humans.

Whether adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) persists in adult and aged humans continues to be extensively debated. A major question is whether the markers identified in rodents are reliable enough to reveal new neurons and the neurogenic trajectory in primates. Here, to provide a better understanding of AHN in primates and to reveal more novel markers for distinct cell types, droplet-based single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) is used to investigate the cellular heterogeneity and molecular characteristics of the hippocampi in macaques across the lifespan and in aged humans. All of the major cell types in the hippocampus and their expression profiles were identified. The dynamics of the neurogenic lineage was revealed and the diversity of astrocytes and microglia was delineated. In the neurogenic lineage, the regulatory continuum from adult neural stem cells (NSCs) to immature and mature granule cells was investigated. A group of primate-specific markers were identified. We validated ETNPPL as a primate-specific NSC marker and verified STMN1 and STMN2 as immature neuron markers in primates. Furthermore, we illustrate a cluster of active astrocytes and microglia exhibiting proinflammatory responses in aged samples. The interaction analysis and the comparative investigation on published datasets and ours imply that astrocytes provide signals inducing the proliferation, quiescence and inflammation of adult NSCs at different stages and that the proinflammatory status of astrocytes probably contributes to the decrease and variability of AHN in adults and elderly individuals.

Electroacupuncture with rehabilitation training for limb spasticity reduction in post-stroke patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) with rehabilitation training in reducing limb spasticity in post-stroke patients. METHODS: A systematic review was performed by electronically searching six databases (Medline/Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Wanfang Data) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on EA with rehabilitation training for limb spasticity reduction in post-stroke patients from 1 January 2009 to 1 January 2019. A meta-analysis was performed using SAS 9.3 and RevMan 5.3 software after bibliography screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment using the Cochrane handbook. The primary outcome was spasticity. RESULTS: A total of 31 RCTs (including 2488 participants) were included. Except for Cai et al.'s study, the quality of other RCTs was not high. All studies performed a descriptive analysis, and 29 RCTs conducted a meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) for marked efficiency was 2.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.68-3.27, Z = 5.03, P < .00001). The OR for Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) classification was 2.42 (95% CI 1.89-3.10, Z = 7.03; P < .00001). The weighted mean difference (WMD) for MAS score was -0.68 (95% CI -0.79 - -0.56, Z = 11.24, P < .00001). The WMD for clinical spasticity index score was -1.50 (95% CI -2.28 - -0.72, Z = 3.79, P = .0002). CONCLUSION: EA with rehabilitation training could be a good strategy for reducing limb spasticity after stroke and is better than EA alone or rehabilitation training alone. However, its effectiveness remains to be further verified by large-sample and high-quality RCTs.

Could the Gut Microbiota Serve as a Therapeutic Target in Ischemic Stroke?

The brain-gut axis is a relatively recent discovery of a two-way regulation system between the gut and brain, suggesting that the gut microbiota may be a promising targeted prevention and treatment strategy for patients with a high risk of acute cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. There are many risk factors for ischemic stroke, and many studies have shown that the gut microbiota affects the absorption and metabolism of the body, as well as the risk factors of stroke, such as blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and atherosclerosis, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the gut microbiota can affect the occurrence and prognosis of ischemic stroke by regulating risk factors or immune responses. Therefore, this study aimed to collect evidence of the interaction between gut microbiota and ischemic stroke, summarize the interaction mechanism between the two, and explore the gut microbiota as a new targeted prevention and treatment strategy for patients with high ischemic risk.

MicroRNA as a Potential Biomarker and Treatment Strategy for Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a progressive injury that aggravates the pathological state when the organ tissue restores blood supply after a certain period of ischemia, including the myocardial, brain, liver, kidney, and intestinal. With growing evidence that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role as posttranscription gene silencing mediators in many I/R injury, in this review, we highlight the microRNAs that are related to I/R injury and their regulatory molecular pathways. In addition, we discussed the potential role of miRNA as a biomarker and its role as a target in I/R injury treatment. Developing miRNAs are not without its challenges, but prudent design combined with existing clinical treatments will result in more effective therapies for I/R injury. This review is aimed at providing new research results obtained in this research field. It is hoped that new research on this topic will not only generate new insights into the pathophysiology of miRNA in I/R injury but also can provide a basis for the clinical application of miRNA in I/R.

Scalp Acupuncture and Treadmill Training Inhibits Neuronal Apoptosis through Activating cIAP1 in Cerebral Ischemia Rats.

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in developed countries. Multitudinous evidence suggests that treadmill training treatment is beneficial for balance and stroke rehabilitation; however, the need for stroke therapy remains unmet. In the present study, a cerebral ischemia rat model was established by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training on ischemic stroke. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling and neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) double staining and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein-1 (cIAP1) and NeuN immunofluorescence double staining were used to detect the short-term and long-term neuroprotective effects of scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training on pMCAO rats. In addition, the antiapoptotic effect of the combined treatment was evaluated in pMCAO rats transfected with cIAP1 shRNA. Western blotting was used to detect the relative protein expression in the caspase-8/-9/-3 activation pathway downstream of cIAP1 to further clarify its regulatory mechanism. Our results showed that scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training successfully achieved short-term and long-term functional improvement within 14 days after stroke, significantly inhibited neuronal apoptosis, and upregulated the expression of cIAP1 protein in the ischemic penumbra area of the ischemic brain. However, no significant functional improvement and antiapoptotic effect were found in pMCAO rats transfected with cIAP1 shRNA. Western blotting results showed that the combined therapy markedly inhibited the activation of the caspase-8/-9/-3 pathway. These findings indicate that scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training therapy may serve as a more effective alternative modality in the treatment of ischemic stroke, playing an antiapoptotic role by upregulating the expression of cIAP1 and inhibiting the activation of the caspase-8/-9/-3 pathway.

Structural basis of wheat starch determines the adhesiveness of cooked noodles by affecting the fine structure of leached starch.

The relationship between the fine structure of original starch, leached starch during cooking, and the adhesiveness of noodles prepared by adding starches separated from different wheat cultivars was analyzed. The adhesiveness of noodles was primarily determined by the chain-length distributions of amylopectin rather than amylose. The adhesiveness of cooked noodles was positively correlated with the amount of short amylopectin chains with the degree of polymerization (DP) of 6-12, but negatively correlated with the amount of long chains with 25 < DP ≤ 36. The decrease of the proportion of short amylopectin chains and amylose chains and the increase of the amount of very long amylopectin chains with 37 < DP ≤ 100 in leachate led to decreased adhesiveness of cooked noodles. The reduction of the short-chain content in leached amylopectin caused by the increased proportion of long chains in original amylopectin is proposed to weaken the adhesiveness of cooked noodles.

Transcriptomic encoding of sensorimotor transformation in the midbrain.

Sensorimotor transformation, a process that converts sensory stimuli into motor actions, is critical for the brain to initiate behaviors. Although the circuitry involved in sensorimotor transformation has been well delineated, the molecular logic behind this process remains poorly understood. Here, we performed high-throughput and circuit-specific single-cell transcriptomic analyses of neurons in the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain structure implicated in early sensorimotor transformation. We found that SC neurons in distinct laminae expressed discrete marker genes. Of particular interest, Cbln2 and Pitx2 were key markers that define glutamatergic projection neurons in the optic nerve (Op) and intermediate gray (InG) layers, respectively. The Cbln2+ neurons responded to visual stimuli mimicking cruising predators, while the Pitx2+ neurons encoded prey-derived vibrissal tactile cues. By forming distinct input and output connections with other brain areas, these neuronal subtypes independently mediated behaviors of predator avoidance and prey capture. Our results reveal that, in the midbrain, sensorimotor transformation for different behaviors may be performed by separate circuit modules that are molecularly defined by distinct transcriptomic codes.

Electroacupuncture Pretreatment as a Novel Avenue to Protect Heart against Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury.

In recent years, the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment generating ischemic tolerance mimicking ischemic pretreatment (IP) has been continuously confirmed, which was first found in the brain and then in the heart. Furthermore, researchers have observed the intensive cardioprotection impact of EA pretreatment on patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and heart valve replacement, indicating that EA pretreatment tends to be a valuable and advantageous avenue for preventing acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury or treatment of ischemic heart disease (IHD). In reality, the heart protection mechanism of EA pretreatment is robust and pleiotropic, of which the regulatory molecular pathways are involved in multichannel, multilevel, and multitarget, including energy metabolism, inflammatory response, calcium overload, oxidative stress, autophagy, and apoptosis. Through a growing number of clinical tests and basic experiments with animal models, researchers progressively explored the optimal acupoints and parameters, where EA pretreatment induced acute and delayed ischemic tolerance for myocardial protection. Thereby, this article aims to collect the relevant evidence on EA pretreatment against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) and summarize the mechanism of cardioprotection of EA pretreatment to provide ideas and methods for further clinical applications.