Construction of Porous Aromatic Frameworks with Specifically Designed Motifs for Charge Storage and Transport.

ConspectusPorous frameworks possess high porosity and adjustable functions. The two features conjointly create sufficient interfaces for matter exchange and energy transfer within the skeletons. For crystalline porous frameworks, including metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), their long-range ordered structures indeed play an important role in managing versatile physicochemical behaviors such as electron transfer or band gap engineering. It is now feasible to predict their functions based on the unveiled structures and structure-performance relationships. In contrast, porous organic frameworks (POFs) represent a member of the porous solid family with no long-range regularity. For the case of POFs, the randomly packed building units and their disordered connections hinder the electronic structural consistency throughout the entire networks. However, many investigations have demonstrated that the functions of POFs could also be designed and originated from their local motifs.In this Account, we will first provide an overview of the design and synthesis principles for porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), which are a typical family of POFs with high porosity and exceptional stability. Specifically, the functions achieved by the specific design and synthesis of in-framework motifs will be demonstrated. This strategy is particularly intuitive to introduce desired functions to PAFs, owing to the exceptional tolerance of PAFs to harsh chemical treatments and synthetic conditions. The local structures can be either obtained by selecting suitable building units, sometimes with the aid of computational screening, or emerge as the product of coupling reactions during the synthetic process. Radical PAFs can be obtained by incorporating a persistent radical molecule as a building unit, and the rigid and porous framework may facilitate the formation of radical species by trapping spins in the organic network, which could avoid the delocalizing and recombining processes. Alternatively, radical motifs can also be formed during the formation of the framework linkages. The coupling reaction plays an important role in the construction of functional motifs like diacetylene. The highly porous, radical PAFs showed significant performance as anodes of lithium-ion batteries. To improve the charge transport within the framework, the building units and their connecting manner were cohesively considered, and the framework with a fully conjugated backbone was built up. In another case, the explicit product of the cross-coupling reaction ensured the precise assembly of two building units with electron donating and accepting abilities; therefore, the moving direction of photogenerated electrons was rationally controlled. Constructing a fully conjugated backbone or rationally designing a D-A system for charge transfer in porous frameworks introduced exciting properties for photovoltaic and photocatalysis, and their highly porous, stable frameworks improved their functional applications for perovskite solar cells and chemical productions. These investigations shed light on the designable combination of intrinsic functional motifs with highly porous organic frameworks for effective energy storage and conversion.

A phase I, randomized study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of mefunidone in healthy subjects.

Background: Mefunidone is a novel synthetic compound and is better when compared to pirfenidone for the anti-fibrotic treatment of renal fibrosis in end-stage renal disease. We conducted this first-in-human, phase I clinical trial to determine the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic (PK) (including food effect) profiles of mefunidone administered orally as single and multiple ascending doses in healthy subjects. Methods: Part A assessed single ascending doses of mefunidone from 25 mg to 800 mg or placebo once daily in the fasting state. Part A also assessed the effect of food on tolerability and PK in the 100 mg cohort. Part B consisted of three treatment groups who received 100 mg, 200 mg, or 400 mg of mefunidone or placebo twice daily (BID, bis in die) on days 1-6 and once in the morning on day 7. Results: Single oral doses of mefunidone up to 800 mg and multiple doses of mefunidone up to 400 mg BID were all well-tolerated. Mefunidone behaved with ideal dose proportionality within the single-dose range of 50 mg-600 mg and the multiple-dose range of 100 mg BID to 400 mg BID by day 7. High-fat fed conditions led to a delay in Tmax by approximately 1 h and a slight reduction of approximately 20% in Cmax compared to that in fasting conditions, but it did not significantly affect systemic exposure. Conclusion: Mefunidone exhibited favorable pharmacokinetics and safety profiles. The present study informed and supported further developmental clinical studies of mefunidone. Clinical Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, identifier CXHL1900206.

A Plasmonic Optoelectronic Resistive Random-Access Memory for In-Sensor Color Image Cryptography.

The optoelectronic resistive random-access memory (RRAM) with the integrated function of perception, storage and intrinsic randomness displays promising applications in the hardware level in-sensor image cryptography. In this work, 2D hexagonal boron nitride based optoelectronic RRAM is fabricated with semitransparent noble metal (Ag or Au) as top electrodes, which can simultaneous capture color image and generate physically unclonable function (PUF) key for in-sensor color image cryptography. Surface plasmons of noble metals enable the strong light absorption to realize an efficient modulation of filament growth at nanoscale. Resistive switching curves show that the optical stimuli can impede the filament aggregation and promote the filament annihilation, which originates from photothermal effects and photogenerated hot electrons in localized surface plasmon resonance of noble metals. By selecting noble metals, the optoelectronic RRAM array can respond to distinct wavelengths and mimic the biological dichromatic cone cells to perform the color perception. Due to the intrinsic and high-quality randomness, the optoelectronic RRAM can produce a PUF key in every exposure cycle, which can be applied in the reconfigurable cryptography. The findings demonstrate an effective strategy to build optoelectronic RRAM for in-sensor color image cryptography applications.

Active metabolomics identify potential functional metabolites for preeclampsia prevention.

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, with limited effective clinical treatment options. Active metabolomics offers a promising approach to uncover metabolic changes in PE and identify potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets. This study performed untargeted metabolomics using LC-MS to compare serum samples from preeclampsia and normal pregnancies. METHODS: We performed untargeted metabolomics using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to compare serum samples from PE patients and normal pregnancies. We analyzed the alterations in metabolites and conducted functional experiments to assess the effects of LysoPE(16:0) on trophoblast cell invasion and migration. Mechanistic studies were performed to explore the potential targeting of GSK-3ß by LysoPE(16:0). RESULTS: Our metabolomics analysis revealed significant alterations in several metabolites, including lysophosphatidylcholines and organic acids. Notably, LysoPE(16:0) was found to be downregulated in the serum of PE patients. Functional experiments demonstrated that LysoPE(16:0) could promote trophoblast cell invasion and migration. Mechanistic studies suggest that the protective effect of LysoPE(16:0) against PE might be mediated through the modulation of the GSK-3ß/ß-Catenin pathway, with LysoPE(16:0) potentially targeting the GSK-3ß protein. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the potential role of LysoPE(16:0) in the pathophysiology of PE and its ability to modulate the GSK-3ß/ß-Catenin pathway. These results provide new insights into the metabolic changes associated with PE and suggest that LysoPE(16:0) could serve as a promising biomarker or therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of PE.

Identification and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) analysis of methyltransferase affecting tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit ripening.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Six methyltransferase genes affecting tomato fruit ripening were identified through genome-wide screening, VIGS assay, and expression pattern analysis. The data provide the basis for understanding new mechanisms of methyltransferases. Fruit ripening is a critical stage for the formation of edible quality and seed maturation, which is finely modulated by kinds of factors, including genetic regulators, hormones, external signals, etc. Methyltransferases (MTases), important genetic regulators, play vital roles in plant development through epigenetic regulation, post-translational modification, or other mechanisms. However, the regulatory functions of numerous MTases except DNA methylation in fruit ripening remain limited so far. Here, six MTases, which act on different types of substrates, were identified to affect tomato fruit ripening. First, 35 MTase genes with relatively high expression at breaker (Br) stage of tomato fruit were screened from the tomato MTase gene database encompassing 421 genes totally. Thereafter, six MTase genes were identified as potential regulators of fruit ripening via virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), including four genes with a positive regulatory role and two genes with a negative regulatory role, respectively. The expression of these six MTase genes exhibited diverse patterns during the fruit ripening process, and responded to various external ripening-related factors, including ethylene, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), temperature, and light exposure. These results help to further elaborate the biological mechanisms of MTase genes in tomato fruit ripening and enrich the understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of fruit ripening involving MTases, despite of DNA MTases.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus 8-mediated inhibition of microRNA let-7a ameliorates sclerosing cholangitis in a clinically relevant mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is characterized by chronic inflammation and it predisposes to cholangiocarcinoma due to lack of effective treatment options. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) provides a promising platform for gene therapy on such kinds of diseases. A microRNA (miRNA) let-7a has been reported to be associated with the progress of PSC but the potential therapeutic implication of inhibition of let-7a on PSC has not been evaluated. AIM: To investigate the therapeutic effects of inhibition of a miRNA let-7a transferred by recombinant adeno-associated virus 8 (rAAV8) on a xenobiotic-induced mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis. METHODS: A xenobiotic-induced mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis was induced by 0.1% 3,5-Diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-Dihydrocollidine (DDC) feeding for 2 wk or 6 wk. A single dose of rAAV8-mediated anti-let-7a-5p sponges or scramble control was injected in vivo into mice onset of DDC feeding. Upon sacrifice, the liver and the serum were collected from each mouse. The hepatobiliary injuries, hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were evaluated. The targets of let-7a-5p and downstream molecule NF-κB were detected using Western blot. RESULTS: rAAV8-mediated anti-let-7a-5p sponges can depress the expression of let-7a-5p in mice after DDC feeding for 2 wk or 6 wk. The reduced expression of let-7a-5p can alleviate hepato-biliary injuries indicated by serum markers, and prevent the proliferation of cholangiocytes and biliary fibrosis. Furthermore, inhibition of let-7a mediated by rAAV8 can increase the expression of potential target molecules such as suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 and Dectin1, which consequently inhibit of NF-κB-mediated hepatic inflammation. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that a rAAV8 vector designed for liver-specific inhibition of let-7a-5p can potently ameliorate symptoms in a xenobiotic-induced mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis, which provides a possible clinical translation of PSC of human.

Multiple Physiological and Biochemical Functions of Ascorbic Acid in Plant Growth, Development, and Abiotic Stress Response.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an important nutrient for human health and disease cures, and it is also a crucial indicator for the quality of fruit and vegetables. As a reductant, AsA plays a pivotal role in maintaining the intracellular redox balance throughout all the stages of plant growth and development, fruit ripening, and abiotic stress responses. In recent years, the de novo synthesis and regulation at the transcriptional level and post-transcriptional level of AsA in plants have been studied relatively thoroughly. However, a comprehensive and systematic summary about AsA-involved biochemical pathways, as well as AsA's physiological functions in plants, is still lacking. In this review, we summarize and discuss the multiple physiological and biochemical functions of AsA in plants, including its involvement as a cofactor, substrate, antioxidant, and pro-oxidant. This review will help to facilitate a better understanding of the multiple functions of AsA in plant cells, as well as provide information on how to utilize AsA more efficiently by using modern molecular biology methods.

Multiplexed electrical detection of whole viruses from plasma in a microfluidic platform.

The advancement of point-of-care diagnostics is crucial to improving patient outcomes, especially in areas with low access to hospitals or specialized laboratories. In particular, rapid, sensitive, and multiplexed detection of disease biomarkers has great potential to achieve accurate diagnosis and inform high quality care for patients. Our Coulter counting and immunocapture based detection system has previously shown its broad applicability in the detection of cells, proteins, and nucleic acids. This paper expands the capability of the platform by demonstrating multiplexed detection of whole-virus particles using electrically distinguishable hydrogel beads by demonstrating the capability of our platform to achieve simultaneous detection at clinically relevant concentrations of hepatitis A virus (>2 × 103 IU mL-1) and human parvovirus B19 virus like particles (>106 IU mL-1) from plasma samples. The expanded versatility of the differential electrical counting platform allows for more robust and diverse testing capabilities.

Lactobacillus plantarum Zhang-LL Inhibits Colitis-Related Tumorigenesis by Regulating Arachidonic Acid Metabolism and CD22-Mediated B-Cell Receptor Regulation.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant health concern and is the third most commonly diagnosed and second deadliest cancer worldwide. CRC has been steadily increasing in developing countries owing to factors such as aging and epidemics. Despite extensive research, the exact pathogenesis of CRC remains unclear, and its causes are complex and variable. Numerous in vitro, animal, and clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of probiotics such as Lactobacillus plantarum in reversing the adverse outcomes of CRC. These findings suggest that probiotics play vital roles in the prevention, adjuvant treatment, and prognosis of CRC. In this study, we constructed a mouse model of CRC using an intraperitoneal injection of azomethane combined with dextran sodium sulfate, while administering 5-fluorouracil as well as high- and low-doses of L. plantarum Zhang-LL live or heat-killed strains. Weight changes and disease activity indices were recorded during feeding, and the number of polyps and colon length were measured after euthanasia. HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes in the colons of mice, and ELISA was used to detect the expression levels of IL-1ß, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in serum. To investigate the specific mechanisms involved in alleviating CRC progression, gut microbial alterations were investigated using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics, and changes in genes related to CRC were assessed using eukaryotic transcriptomics. The results showed that both viable and heat-killed strains of L. plantarum Zhang-LL in high doses significantly inhibited tumorigenesis, colon shortening, adverse inflammatory reactions, intestinal tissue damage, and pro-inflammatory factor expression upregulation. Specifically, in the gut microbiota, the abundance of the dominant flora Acutalibacter muris and Lactobacillus johnsonii was regulated, PGE2 expression was significantly reduced, the arachidonic acid metabolism pathway was inhibited, and CD22-mediated B-cell receptor regulation-related gene expression was upregulated. This study showed that L. plantarum Zhang-LL live or heat-inactivated strains alleviated CRC progression by reducing the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria, increasing the abundance of beneficial commensal bacteria, mediating the arachidonic acid metabolism pathway, and improving host immunogenicity.

Association of Resting Heart Rate with the Risk of Stroke in Men.

Background: A resting heart rate may be correlated with an increased risk of stroke. Therefore, we explored the independent and joint influences of heart rate and body mass index on the incidence of stroke and its sub-types in a Chinese rural population. Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were adopted for measuring the influence exerted by heart rate on stroke in the Tongxiang China Kadoorie Biobank prospective cohort analyses, in which 23,132 men and 32,872 women were included. Incident stroke refers to '24-hour acute focal disorder, considered to result from ischemia or intracranial hemorrhage'. Results: Over a 6.9 year mean follow up period, 986 men and 925 women developed stroke, representing an incidence of 6.35 and 4.00 per 1,000 person-years. In contrast to men with heart rate < 69 beats/minute, men at heart rate ≥ 90 beats/minute could more probably develop stroke and ischemic stroke with representing hazard ratio [95% confidence interval (CI)] 1.29 (1.05 - 1.58), and 1.35 (1.06 - 1.71). An adjusted hazard ratio of 1.37 (95% CI = 1.06 - 1.74) and 1.46 (95% CI = 1.08 - 1.96) were respectively identified for stroke and ischemic stroke in non-overweight/obese male patients with heart rate ≥ 90 beats/minute. Joint analyses also favored the results. Unfortunately, non-significant results were found in women. Conclusion: Higher resting heart rate acts as an independent predictor of any stroke and ischemic stroke risk in adult Chinese male but not in female. This relationship was particularly evident among nonoverweight/obese male participants.

Emergence of chaotic cluster synchronization in heterogeneous networks.

Many real-world complex systems rely on cluster synchronization to function properly. A cluster of nodes exhibits synchronous behavior, while others behave erratically. Predicting the emergence of these clusters and understanding the mechanism behind their structure and variation in response to a parameter change is a daunting task in networks that lack symmetry. We unravel the mechanism for the emergence of cluster synchronization in heterogeneous random networks. We develop heterogeneous mean-field approximation together with a self-consistent theory to determine the onset and stability of the cluster. Our analysis shows that cluster synchronization occurs in a wide variety of heterogeneous networks, node dynamics, and coupling functions. The results could lead to a new understanding of the dynamical behavior of networks ranging from neural to social.

Lung cancer risk score for ever and never smokers in China.

BACKGROUND: Most lung cancer risk prediction models were developed in European and North-American cohorts of smokers aged ≥ 55 years, while less is known about risk profiles in Asia, especially for never smokers or individuals aged < 50 years. Hence, we aimed to develop and validate a lung cancer risk estimate tool for ever and never smokers across a wide age range. METHODS: Based on the China Kadoorie Biobank cohort, we first systematically selected the predictors and explored the nonlinear association of predictors with lung cancer risk using restricted cubic splines. Then, we separately developed risk prediction models to construct a lung cancer risk score (LCRS) in 159,715 ever smokers and 336,526 never smokers. The LCRS was further validated in an independent cohort over a median follow-up of 13.6 years, consisting of 14,153 never smokers and 5,890 ever smokers. RESULTS: A total of 13 and 9 routinely available predictors were identified for ever and never smokers, respectively. Of these predictors, cigarettes per day and quit years showed nonlinear associations with lung cancer risk (Pnon-linear < 0.001). The curve of lung cancer incidence increased rapidly above 20 cigarettes per day and then was relatively flat until approximately 30 cigarettes per day. We also observed that lung cancer risk declined sharply within the first 5 years of quitting, and then continued to decrease but at a slower rate in the subsequent years. The 6-year area under the receiver operating curve for the ever and never smokers' models were respectively 0.778 and 0.733 in the derivation cohort, and 0.774 and 0.759 in the validation cohort. In the validation cohort, the 10-year cumulative incidence of lung cancer was 0.39% and 2.57% for ever smokers with low (< 166.2) and intermediate-high LCRS (≥ 166.2), respectively. Never smokers with a high LCRS (≥ 21.2) had a higher 10-year cumulative incidence rate than those with a low LCRS (< 21.2; 1.05% vs. 0.22%). An online risk evaluation tool (LCKEY; http://ccra.njmu.edu.cn/lckey/web) was developed to facilitate the use of LCRS. CONCLUSIONS: The LCRS can be an effective risk assessment tool designed for ever and never smokers aged 30 to 80 years.

Development of a visual detection method for Salmonella based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification using pyrophosphatase.

Salmonella is one of the most widely distributed and harmful food-borne pathogens; thus, the rapid detection of viable Salmonella is important for ensuring food safety. In this study, a rapid visual strategy based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with the addition of thermal inorganic pyrophosphatase and linked with an ammonium molybdate chromogenic buffer was established to detect Salmonella. Specific primers were designed based on the phoP gene of Salmonella spp. The pyrophosphatase concentration, LAMP time, addition of ammonium molybdate chromogenic buffer, and color reaction time were optimized. Based on the optimal conditions, the sensitivity and specificity of the method were examined. In addition, the ability to detect actual samples was verified using apple juice containing Salmonella. LAMP was performed at 65°C for 45 min in the presence of thermal inorganic pyrophosphatase at a final concentration of 4 U ml-1, and 20 µl of the LAMP product was reacted with 50 µl of phosphate chromogenic buffer at 25°C for 15 min. According to our results, the limit of detection of the LAMP assay for viable Salmonella was 1.83 × 102 CFU per reaction, and nonspecific amplification was not observed. The detection rates of Salmonella Typhimurium with different concentrations in apple juice were 89.11%-94.80%, which verifies that the visual detection strategy is suitable for actual sample detection.

Carrier Modulation in 2D Transistors by Inserting Interfacial Dielectric Layer for Area-Efficient Computation.

2D materials with atomic thickness display strong gate controllability and emerge as promising materials to build area-efficient electronic circuits. However, achieving the effective and nondestructive modulation of carrier density/type in 2D materials is still challenging because the introduction of dopants will greatly degrade the carrier transport via Coulomb scattering. Here, a strategy to control the polarity of tungsten diselenide (WSe2 ) field-effect transistors (FETs) via introducing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as the interfacial dielectric layer is devised. By modulating the h-BN thickness, the carrier type of WSe2 FETs has been switched from hole to electron. The ultrathin body of WSe2 , combined with the effective polarity control, together contribute to the versatile single-transistor logic gates, including NOR, AND, and XNOR gates, and the operation of only two transistors as a half adder in logic circuits. Compared with the use of 12 transistors based on static Si CMOS technology, the transistor number of the half adder is reduced by 83.3%. The unique carrier modulation approach has general applicability toward 2D logic gates and circuits for the improvement of area efficiency in logic computation.

Development of a recombinase polymerase amplification assay with lateral flow dipstick (RPA-LFD) for rapid detection of Shigella spp. and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli.

Shigella spp. and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) are widely distributed and can cause serious food-borne diseases for humans such as dysentery. Therefore, an efficient detection platform is needed to detect Shigella and EIEC quickly and sensitively. In this study, a method called recombinase polymerase amplification combined with lateral flow dipstick (RPA-LFD) was developed for rapid detection of Shigella and EIEC. RPA primers and LFD detection probes were designed for their shared virulence gene ipaH. Primers and probes were screened, and the primer concentration, and reaction time and temperature were optimized. According to the optimization results, the RPA reaction should be performed at 39°C, and when combined with LFD, it takes less than 25 min for detection with the naked eye. The developed RPA-LFD method specifically targets gene ipaH and has no cross-reactivity with other common food-borne pathogens. In addition, the minimum detection limit of RPA-LFD is 1.29×102 copies/µL. The detection of food sample showed that the RPA-LFD method was also verified for the detection of actual samples.

Rcs phosphorelay affects the sensitivity of Escherichia coli to plantaricin BM-1 by regulating biofilm formation.

Introduction: Plantaricin BM-1 is a class IIa bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum BM-1 that exerts significant antibacterial activity against many foodborne bacteria. Studies have shown that class IIa bacteriocins inhibit Gram-positive bacteria via the mannose phosphotransferase system; however, their mechanism of action against Gram-negative bacteria remains unknown. In this study, we explored the mechanism through which the Rcs phosphorelay affects the sensitivity of Escherichia coli K12 cells to plantaricin BM-1. Methods and Results: The minimum inhibitory concentrations of plantaricin BM-1 against E. coli K12, E. coli JW5917 (rcsC mutant), E. coli JW2204 (rcsD mutant), and E. coli JW2205 (rcsB mutant) were 1.25, 0.59, 1.31, and 1.22 mg/ml, respectively. Growth curves showed that E. coli JW5917 sensitivity to plantaricin BM-1 increased to the same level as that of E. coli K12 after complementation. Meanwhile, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that, under the action of plantaricin BM-1, the appearance of E. coli JW5917 cells did not significantly differ from that of E. coli K12 cells; however, cell contents were significantly reduced and plasmolysis and shrinkage were observed at both ends. Crystal violet staining and laser scanning confocal microscopy showed that biofilm formation was significantly reduced after rcsC mutation, while proteomic analysis identified 382 upregulated and 260 downregulated proteins in E. coli JW5917. In particular, rcsC mutation was found to affect the expression of proteins related to biofilm formation, with growth curve assays showing that the deletion of these proteins increased E. coli sensitivity to plantaricin BM-1. Discussion: Consequently, we speculated that the Rcs phosphorelay may regulate the sensitivity of E. coli to plantaricin BM-1 by affecting biofilm formation. This finding of class IIa bacteriocin against Gram-negative bacteria mechanism provides new insights.

A "Click" Reaction to Engineer MoS2 Field-Effect Transistors with Low Contact Resistance.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with the atomically thin thickness have attracted great interest in the post-Moore's Law era because of their tremendous potential to continue transistor downscaling and offered advances in device performance at the atomic limit. However, the metal-semiconductor contact is the bottleneck in field-effect transistors (FETs) integrating 2D semiconductors as channel materials. A robust and tunable doping method at the source and drain region of 2D transistors to minimize the contact resistance is highly sought after. Here we report a stable carrier doping method via the mild covalent grafting of maleimides on the surface of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. The chemisorbed interaction contributes to the efficient carrier doping without degrading the high-performance carrier transport. Density functional theory results further illustrate that the molecular functionalization leads to the mild hybridization and the negligible impact on the conduction bands of monolayer MoS2, avoiding the random scattering from the dopants. Differently from reported molecular treatments, our strategy displays high thermal stability (above 300 °C) and it is compatible with micro/nano processing technology. The contact resistance of MoS2 FETs can be greatly reduced by ∼12 times after molecular functionalization. The Schottky barrier of 44 meV is achieved on monolayer MoS2 FETs, demonstrating efficient charge injection between metal and 2D semiconductor. The mild covalent functionalization of molecules on 2D semiconductors represents a powerful strategy to perform the carrier doping and the device optimization.

Metabonomics profile analysis in inflammation-induced preterm birth and the potential role of metabolites in regulating premature cervical ripening.

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth (PTB) is the primary cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Moreover, previous studies have established that PTB is related to premature cervical ripening. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. This study sought to identify differentially expressed metabolites and investigate their potential biological functions in PTB. METHODS: Pregnant C57BL/6 J mice were treated with either LPS or normal saline and cervical alterations before labor were detected by staining. Metabolic profiles in the plasma of PTB and control mice were examined through non-targeted metabonomics analyses, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence staining were performed on human cervical smooth cells. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that the mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA, SM-22, and calponin in cervical smooth muscle cells of PTB mice were lower while OR was higher at both mRNA and protein levels compared to the CTL group. A total of 181 differentially expressed metabolites were analyzed, among them, 96 were upregulated, while 85 were downregulated in the PTB group. Differentially expressed metabolites may play a role in STAT3, RhoA, mTOR, TGF-ß, and NK-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, when treated with taurine, the levels of α-SMA and SM-22 in human cervical smooth muscle cells were elevated, whereas that of connexin-43 was decreased. CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted the changes of metabolites in the peripheral blood changed prior to PTB and revealed that these differentially expressed metabolites might participate in the development of premature cervical ripening. Taurine was identified as an important metabolite may modulate human cervical smooth muscle cells. Our study provided new insights into the mechanism underlying premature cervical ripening in PTB.

HOXC6 impacts epithelial-mesenchymal transition and the immune microenvironment through gene transcription in gliomas.

BACKGROUND: Gliomas are the most common primary malignant tumours of the central nervous system (CNS). To improve the prognosis of glioma, it is necessary to identify molecular markers that may be useful for glioma therapy. HOXC6, an important transcription factor, is involved in multiple cancers. However, the role of HOXC6 in gliomas is not clear. METHODS: Bioinformatic and IHC analyses of collected samples (n = 299) were performed to detect HOXC6 expression and the correlation between HOXC6 expression and clinicopathological features of gliomas. We collected clinical information from 177 to 299 patient samples and estimated the prognostic value of HOXC6. Moreover, cell proliferation assays were performed. We performed Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) based on ChIP-seq and public datasets to explore the biological characteristics of HOXC6 in gliomas. RNA-seq was conducted to verify the relationship between HOXC6 expression levels and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers. Furthermore, the tumour purity, stromal and immune scores were evaluated. The relationship between HOXC6 expression and infiltrating immune cell populations and immune checkpoint proteins was also researched. RESULTS: HOXC6 was overexpressed and related to the clinicopathological features of gliomas. In addition, knockdown of HOXC6 inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells. Furthermore, increased HOXC6 expression was associated with clinical progression. The biological role of HOXC6 in gliomas was primarily associated with EMT and the immune microenvironment in gliomas. High HOXC6 expression was related to high infiltration by immune cells, a low tumour purity score, a high stromal score, a high immune score and the expression of a variety of immune checkpoint genes, including PD-L1, B7-H3 and CLTA-4. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that HOXC6 might be a key factor in promoting tumorigenesis and glioma progression by regulating the EMT signalling pathway and might represent a novel immune therapeutic target in gliomas.

Coarse Grain Consumption and Risk of Cardiometabolic Diseases: A Prospective Cohort Study of Chinese Adults.

BACKGROUND: Lower consumption of whole grains is associated with higher risks of diabetes and coronary heart disease in Western populations, but evidence is still limited for stroke. Moreover, little is known in China, where the rates of cardiometabolic diseases are high and the grain types consumed are different from those in Western countries. OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between coarse-grain (e.g., millet, corn, and sorghum) consumption and incident cardiometabolic diseases among Chinese adults. METHODS: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled >0.5 million adults aged 30-79 years from 10 urban and rural areas during 2004-2008. At baseline, consumption frequencies (in 5 categories from "never" to "daily") of 12 major food groups, including coarse grains, were collected using a validated FFQ. After a median of 11 years of follow-up, 17,149 cases of diabetes, 29,876 ischemic strokes, 6097 hemorrhagic strokes, and 6704 major coronary events were recorded among 461,047 participants without a prevalence of major chronic diseases at baseline. Cox regression analyses were used to yield adjusted HRs for each disease associated with coarse-grain consumption. RESULTS: Overall, 13.8% of participants reported regularly consuming (i.e., ≥4 days/week, regular consumers) and 29.4% reported never or rarely consuming coarse grains (i.e., nonconsumers) at baseline. Compared with nonconsumers, regular consumers had lower risks of diabetes (adjusted HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78-0.98) and ischemic stroke (adjusted HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.81-0.93), but not hemorrhagic stroke (adjusted HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.76-1.20) or major coronary events (adjusted HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.81-1.12). For diabetes and ischemic stroke, each 100 g/day increase in the usual intake of coarse grains was associated with 14% (adjusted HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.97) and 13% (adjusted HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81-0.94) lower risks, respectively, with similar results in various subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese adults, higher coarse-grain consumption is associated with lower risks of diabetes and ischemic stroke, supporting the promotion of coarse-grain consumption in China.