Improving Lower Limb Function and Frailty in Frail Older Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Study of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation.

Background: A global public health problem, frailty is closely associated with poor prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in older patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Although exercise intervention is the most commonly used method to reverse and alleviate frailty, its application is restricted in patients with acute myocardial infarction following PCI due to cardiovascular instability and autonomic imbalance. Consequently, there is a need for a new practical intervention to address frailty syndrome in these patients. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in frail older AMI patients post-PCI. Patients and Methods: A single-blind, randomized controlled trial was carried out in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine from March to October 2023. A total of 100 eligible participants were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (n = 50) and control (n = 50) groups, respectively. Both groups received usual care. The experimental group underwent neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on bilateral quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles for 30 minutes daily from day 1 to day 7 after surgery. The primary outcomes measured included the frailty score, lower limb muscle strength, and lower limb muscle quality. Secondary outcomes included the activities of daily living score, inflammatory markers, and length of hospital stay. All participants were included in an intention-to-treat analysis after the study ended. Results: The frailty scores of the two groups exhibited a gradual decrease over time, and the scores of the experimental group were lower than those of the control group at 4 and 7 days after surgery (P<0.001). Concurrently, the lower limb muscle strength showed an increasing trend over the time in the experimental group and a decreasing trend in the control group, and the scores of the experimental group surpassed those of the control group (p<0.001). Moreover, a statistical difference was observed in the lower limb muscle mass across the groups after 7 days postoperatively compared with baseline on both sides (p<0.05). Conclusion: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation has the potential to enhance lower limb function and alleviate frailty in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI. These findings introduce a novel intervention approach for frailty management in the elderly population.

Elucidating the role of angiogenesis-related genes in colorectal cancer: a multi-omics analysis.

Background: Angiogenesis plays a pivotal role in colorectal cancer (CRC), yet its underlying mechanisms demand further exploration. This study aimed to elucidate the significance of angiogenesis-related genes (ARGs) in CRC through comprehensive multi-omics analysis. Methods: CRC patients were categorized according to ARGs expression to form angiogenesis-related clusters (ARCs). We investigated the correlation between ARCs and patient survival, clinical features, consensus molecular subtypes (CMS), cancer stem cell (CSC) index, tumor microenvironment (TME), gene mutations, and response to immunotherapy. Utilizing three machine learning algorithms (LASSO, Xgboost, and Decision Tree), we screen key ARGs associated with ARCs, further validated in independent cohorts. A prognostic signature based on key ARGs was developed and analyzed at the scRNA-seq level. Validation of gene expression in external cohorts, clinical tissues, and blood samples was conducted via RT-PCR assay. Results: Two distinct ARC subtypes were identified and were significantly associated with patient survival, clinical features, CMS, CSC index, and TME, but not with gene mutations. Four genes (S100A4, COL3A1, TIMP1, and APP) were identified as key ARCs, capable of distinguishing ARC subtypes. The prognostic signature based on these genes effectively stratified patients into high- or low-risk categories. scRNA-seq analysis showed that these genes were predominantly expressed in immune cells rather than in cancer cells. Validation in two external cohorts and through clinical samples confirmed significant expression differences between CRC and controls. Conclusion: This study identified two ARG subtypes in CRC and highlighted four key genes associated with these subtypes, offering new insights into personalized CRC treatment strategies.

Active volatile components of the preferred hosts are potential attractants to Hyphantria cunea adults.

The extraordinary adaptability and dispersal abilities have allowed Hyphantria cunea to expand its range, posing a great threat to urban landscapes and natural ecosystems. Searching for safe, efficient, and low-cost control methods may provide new strategies for pest management in H. cunea spread areas. In this study, based on the attraction of insects by preferred hosts, it was found that the response rates of virgin H. cunea female adults to Salix matsudana, Juglans mandshurica and Ulmus pumila were 89.17%, 97.92% and 93.98%, respectively. It was further found that this significant preference was mainly related to the volatiles m-xylene, o-xylene, dodecane and tetradecane found in the three species. Even though all four compounds at 10 µL/mL and 100 µL/mL had significant attractive effects on the virgin H. cunea female adults, m-xylene and dodecane at 100 µL/mL elicited significant EAG responses and tending behaviors by stimulating the olfactory receptor neurons (ORN A) of females, with response rates of 83.13% and 84.17%, while also having significant attractive effects on virgin male adults with rates of 65.74% and 67.51%. Therefore, both m-xylene and dodecane which at concentrations of 100 µL/mL had strong attractions to adults, could be used as the first choice of attractants for both sexes of H. cunea. This has important practical significance in reducing the frequency of H. cunea generations, limiting their population, controlling their spread range, and improving the efficiency of pest management in epidemic areas.

Van der Waals Encapsulation by Ultra-thin Oxide for Air-Sensitive 2D Materials.

The ambient stability is one of the focal points for applications of 2D materials, especially for those well-known air-sensitive ones such as black phosphorus (BP) and transitional metal telluride. Traditional methods of encapsulation, such as atomic layer deposition of oxides and heterogeneous integration of hexagonal boron nitride, can hardly avoid removal of encapsulation layer when the 2D materials are encapsulated for further device fabrication, which causes complexity and damage during the procedure. Here, a van der Waals encapsulation method that allows direct device fabrication without removal of encapsulation layer is introduced using Ga2O3 from liquid gallium. Taking advantage of the robust isolation ability against ambient environment of the dense native oxide of gallium, hundreds of times longer retention time of (opto)electronic properties of encapsulated BP and MoTe2 devices is realized than unencapsulated devices. Due to the ultra-thin high-κ properties of Ga2O3, top-gated devices are directly fabricated with the encapsulation layer, simultaneously as a dielectric layer. This direct device fabrication is realized by selective etching of Ga2O3, leaving the encapsulated materials intact. Encapsulated 1T' MoTe2 exhibits high conductivity even after 150 days in ambient environment. This method is therefore highlighted as a promising and distinctive one compared with traditional passivation approaches. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Low Bone Mineral Density as a Predictor of Mortality and Infections in Stroke Patients: A Hospital-based Study.

CONTEXT: Low bone mineral density (BMD) has been linked to elevated risks of mortality and infections in the general population; however, its association with these outcomes in stroke patients remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the correlation between low BMD and risks of mortality and infections among stroke patients in a Taiwanese cohort. METHODS: In this single-centered retrospective cohort study, 905 stroke patients from a Taiwanese database (2000-2022) were analyzed. Patients were divided based on BMD measurements of the femur and spine. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and secondary outcomes included urinary tract infection (UTI) and pneumonia. Accelerated failure time regression model analyses evaluated the association between BMD and these outcomes, while the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test assessed survival differences between groups. RESULTS: Among the participants (average age 76.1 years, 70.5% female), 33.82% had osteopenia and 55.25% had osteoporosis. Stroke patients with lower spine and right femur BMD had significantly reduced survival rates, especially when the BMD value fell below 0.842 g/cm2 (spine), and 0.624 g/cm2 (right femur), respectively. Regarding secondary outcomes, lower spine BMD was significantly associated with an increased risk of UTI. CONCLUSION: Low BMD, particularly in the femur and spine, is a significant predictor of mortality and UTI in stroke patients. These findings highlight the importance of assessing and managing BMD in stroke patients to improve outcomes and reduce complications.

Synthesis, DNA binding of bis-naphthyl ferrocene derivatives and the application as new electroactive indicators for DNA biosensor.

A series of bis-naphthyl ferrocene derivatives were synthesized and characterized. Based on the results obtained from UV-visible absorption titration and ethidium bromide (EB) displacement experiments, it was observed that the synthesized compounds exhibited a strong binding ability to dsDNA. In comparison to the viscosity curve of EB, the tested compounds demonstrated a bisintercalation binding mode when interacting with CT-DNA. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to assess the binding specificity of these indicators towards ssDNA and dsDNA. All tested indicators displayed more pronounced signal differences before and after hybridization between probe nucleic acids and target nucleic acids compared to Methylene Blue (MB). Among the evaluated compounds, compound 3j containing an ether chain showed superior performance as an indicator, making it suitable for constructing DNA-based biosensors. Under optimized conditions including probe ssDNA concentration and indicator concentration, this biosensor exhibited good sensitivity, reproducibility, stability, and selectivity. The limit of detection was calculated as 4.53 × 10-11 mol/L. Furthermore, when utilizing 3j as the indicator in serum samples, the biosensor achieved satisfactory recovery rates for detecting the BRCA1 gene.

SUMOylation of annexin A6 retards cell migration and tumor growth by suppressing RHOU/AKT1-involved EMT in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The protein annexin A6 (AnxA6) is involved in numerous membrane-related biological processes including cell migration and invasion by interacting with other proteins. The dysfunction of AnxA6, including protein expression abundance change and imbalance of post-translational modification, is tightly related to multiple cancers. Herein we focus on the biological function of AnxA6 SUMOylation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. METHODS: The modification sites of AnxA6 SUMOylation were identified by LC-MS/MS and amino acid site mutation. AnxA6 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. HCC cells were induced into the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-featured cells by 100 ng/mL 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate exposure. The ability of cell migration was evaluated under AnxA6 overexpression by transwell assay. The SUMO1 modified AnxA6 proteins were enriched from total cellular proteins by immunoprecipitation with anti-SUMO1 antibody, then the SUMOylated AnxA6 was detected by Western blot using anti-AnxA6 antibody. The nude mouse xenograft and orthotopic hepatoma models were established to determine HCC growth and tumorigenicity in vivo. The HCC patient's overall survival versus AnxA6 expression level was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Lys579 is a major SUMO1 modification site of AnxA6 in HCC cells, and SUMOylation protects AnxA6 from degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Compared to the wild-type AnxA6, its SUMO site mutant AnxA6K579R leads to disassociation of the binding of AnxA6 with RHOU, subsequently RHOU-mediated p-AKT1ser473 is upregulated to facilitate cell migration and EMT progression in HCC. Moreover, the SENP1 deSUMOylates AnxA6, and AnxA6 expression is negatively correlated with SENP1 protein expression level in HCC tissues, and a high gene expression ratio of ANXA6/SENP1 indicates a poor overall survival of patients. CONCLUSIONS: AnxA6 deSUMOylation contributes to HCC progression and EMT phenotype, and the combination of AnxA6 and SENP1 is a better tumor biomarker for diagnosis of HCC grade malignancy and prognosis.

The Safety of Ixekizumab in Chinese Adults with Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: Analyses from a Prospective, Single-Arm, Multicenter, 12-Week Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: Ixekizumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-17A, is efficacious and well tolerated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. However, there are limited data on the real-world safety of ixekizumab in Chinese patient populations. We performed an observational study of ixekizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in routine clinical practice in China. Here we present a further safety analysis of this study. METHODS: In this prospective, observational, single-arm, multicenter, post-marketing safety study, adults (≥18 years) with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis receiving ixekizumab were enroled at dermatology departments in hospitals across China and prospectively followed for 12 weeks or until their last dose of ixekizumab. In this analysis, we evaluated adverse events (AEs) of special interest (AESIs) identified using MedDRA® search strategies. We also analyzed AEs and AESIs occurring in greater than ten patients in subgroups by age (< 65/≥ 65 years), sex, body weight (< 60/60 kg to < 80/≥ 80 kg), renal impairment, hepatic impairment, history of tuberculosis, history of HBV infection, recent or active infection, history of allergic reaction/hypersensitivity, and number (0-1/2-4/5-7) of ixekizumab 80 mg injections after baseline until day 105. RESULTS: This analysis included 663/666 patients enrolled in the primary study. At least one AESI was reported in 224 (33.8%) patients and considered related to ixekizumab in 181 (27.3%); the most common were injection site reactions (n = 131, 19.8%), infections (n = 80, 12.1%), and allergic reactions/hypersensitivity events (n = 59, 8.9%). The proportion of patients with ≥ 1 AE was higher for females versus males (99/186, 53.2% versus 184/477, 38.6%, p = 0.0006). The proportion of patients with ≥ 1 AE increased with the number of ixekizumab injections after baseline [61/188 (32.4%) for zero to one injection, 151/338 (44.7%) for two to four injections, and 61/106 (57.5%) for five to seven injections; p = 0.0001]. CONCLUSIONS: In this real-world study, ixekizumab was well tolerated in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, with no difference in safety across most patient subgroups.

Chemoselective Synthesis of 3-Bromomethyloxindoles via Visible-Light-Induced Radical Cascade Bromocyclization of Alkenes.

A novel visible-light-induced radical cascade bromocyclization of N-arylacrylamides has been accomplished. This reaction overcomes the overbromination at the benzene rings suffered in traditional electrophilic reactions, thus enabling the first highly chemoselective synthesis of valuable 3-bromomethyloxindoles. The combination of pyridine and anhydrous medium is identified as the key factor for the high chemoselectivity in the current photoreaction system, which might work by suppressing the in situ generation of low-concentration Br2 from N-bromosuccinimide. Moreover, the mild reaction conditions ensure the generation of a wide range of the new desired products with excellent functional group tolerance.

Design Principles and Mechanistic Understandings of Non-Noble-Metal Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Batteries.

Zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are promising energy storage systems because of high theoretical energy density, safety, low cost, and abundance of zinc. However, the slow multi-step reaction of oxygen and heavy reliance on noble-metal catalysts hinder the practical applications of ZABs. Therefore, feasible and advanced non-noble-metal electrocatalysts for air cathodes need to be identified to promote the oxygen catalytic reaction. In this review, we initially introduced the advancement of ZABs in the past two decades and provided an overview of key developments in this field. Then, we discussed the working mechanism and the design of bifunctional electrocatalysts from the perspective of morphology design, crystal structure tuning, interface strategy, and atomic engineering. We also included theoretical studies, machine learning, and advanced characterization technologies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure-performance relationship of electrocatalysts and the reaction pathways of the oxygen redox reactions. Finally, we discussed the challenges and prospects related to designing advanced non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for ZABs.

Biomarkers of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: quantitative analysis of whole-brain tissue component volumes, intelligence scores, ADOS-CSS, and ages of first-word production and walking onset.

BACKGROUND: Preschooling is a critical time for intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); thus, we analyzed brain tissue component volumes (BTCVs) and clinical indicators in preschool children with ASD to identify new biomarkers for early screening. METHODS: Eighty preschool children (3-6 years) with ASD were retrospectively included. The whole-brain myelin content (MyC), white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and non-WM/GM/MyC/CSF brain component volumes were obtained using synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (SyMRI). Clinical data, such as intelligence scores, autism diagnostic observation schedule-calibrated severity scores, age at first production of single words (AFSW), age at first production of phrases (AFP), and age at walking onset (AWO), were also collected. The correlation between the BTCV and clinical data was evaluated, and the effect of BTCVs on clinical data was assessed by a regression model. RESULTS: WM and GM volumes were positively correlated with intelligence scores (both P < 0.001), but WM and GM did not affect intelligence scores (P = 0.116, P = 0.290). AWO was positively correlated with AFSW and AFP (both P < 0.001). The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that MyC, AFSW, AFP, and AWO were significantly different (P = 0.005, P < 0.001, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed positive correlations between WM and GM volumes and intelligence scores. Whole-brain MyC affected AFSW, AFP, and AWO in preschool children with ASD. Noninvasive quantification of BTCVs via SyMRI revealed a new visualizable and quantifiable biomarker (abnormal MyC) for early ASD screening in preschool children.

Research progress on the roles of dopamine and dopamine receptors in digestive system diseases.

Dopamine (DA) is a neurotransmitter synthesized in the human body that acts on multiple organs throughout the body, reaching them through the blood circulation. Neurotransmitters are special molecules that act as messengers by binding to receptors at chemical synapses between neurons. As ligands, they mainly bind to corresponding receptors on central or peripheral tissue cells. Signalling through chemical synapses is involved in regulating the activities of various body systems. Lack of DA or a decrease in DA levels in the brain can lead to serious diseases such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, addiction and attention deficit disorder. It is widely recognized that DA is closely related to neurological diseases. As research on the roles of brain-gut peptides in human physiology and pathology has deepened in recent years, the regulatory role of neurotransmitters in digestive system diseases has gradually attracted researchers' attention, and research on DA has expanded to the field of digestive system diseases. This review mainly elaborates on the research progress on the roles of DA and DRs related to digestive system diseases. Starting from the biochemical and pharmacological properties of DA and DRs, it discusses the therapeutic value of DA- and DR-related drugs for digestive system diseases.

S100A9-/- alleviates LPS-induced acute lung injury by regulating M1 macrophage polarization and inhibiting pyroptosis via the TLR4/MyD88/NFκB signaling axis.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by pulmonary diffusion abnormalities that may progress to multiple-organ failure in severe cases. There are limited effective treatments for ALI, which makes the search for new therapeutic avenues critically important. Macrophages play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of ALI. The degree of macrophage polarization is closely related to the severity and prognosis of ALI, and S100A9 promotes M1 polarization of macrophages. The present study assessed the effects of S100A9-gene deficiency on macrophage polarization and acute lung injury. Our cohort study showed that plasma S100A8/A9 levels had significant diagnostic value for pediatric pneumonia and primarily correlated with monocyte-macrophages and neutrophils. We established a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse model of acute lung injury and demonstrated that knockout of the S100A9 gene mitigated inflammation by suppressing the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, reducing the number of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and inhibiting cell apoptosis, which ameliorated acute lung injury in mice. The in vitro and in vivo mechanistic studies demonstrated that S100A9-gene deficiency inhibited macrophage M1 polarization and reduced the levels of pulmonary macrophage chemotactic factors and inflammatory cytokines by suppressing the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and reversing the expression of the NLRP3 pyroptosis pathway, which reduced cell death. In conclusion, S100A9-gene deficiency alleviated LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting macrophage M1 polarization and pyroptosis via the TLR4/MyD88/NFκB pathway, which suggests a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of ALI.

Efficacy and safety of a panthenol-enriched mask for individuals with distinct impaired skin barrier subtypes.

BACKGROUND: The protection for different skin types with impaired skin barrier in the market is insufficient. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a panthenol-enriched mask (La Roche-Posay Mask Pro) in addressing various skin barrier impairment subgroups, including dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin. METHODS: A total of 177 participants were enrolled in the study and divided into three subgroups based on their skin type. Participants used the mask following the specified protocol, with measurements taken for skin hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), sebum content, and skin redness-factors that are directly influenced by skin barrier function. Assessments were conducted at baseline and after 1 day (tested 15 min post-application), 7 days, and 14 days of application using Sebumeter, Tewameter, Corneometer, Mexameter, and VISIA. RESULTS: Results showed significant improvements in skin parameters across all subgroups. In the dry sensitive skin subgroup, the mask increased skin hydration, sebum content, and reduced redness. For the oily sensitive skin subgroup, the mask regulated sebum production and improved skin hydration. In the oily acne skin subgroup, the mask reduced sebum content, redness, TEWL, and post-inflammatory erythema and hyperpigmentation. Tolerance was excellent for all skin types, with no adverse reactions observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the efficacy and safety of the panthenol-enriched LRP Mask Pro for individuals with distinct skin barrier impairment subgroups. The mask's versatile formulation and proven efficacy make it a valuable skincare product for addressing various skin concerns and achieving healthier, more balanced skin.

External Field-Responsive Ternary Non-Noble Metal Oxygen Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

Despite the increasing effort in advancing oxygen electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs), the performance development gradually reaches a plateau via only ameliorating the electrocatalyst materials. Herein, a new class of external field-responsive electrocatalyst comprising Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 stably dispersed on N-doped Ketjenblack (Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4/N-KB) is developed via polymer-assisted strategy for practical ZABs. Briefly, the activity indicator ΔE is significantly decreased to 0.618 V upon photothermal assistance, far exceeding most reported electrocatalysts (generally >0.680 V). As a result, the photothermal electrocatalyst possesses comprehensive merits of excellent power density (319 mW cm-2), ultralong lifespan (5163 cycles at 25 mA cm-2), and outstanding rate performance (100 mA cm-2) for liquid ZABs, and superb temperature and deformation adaptability for flexible ZABs. Such improvement is attributed to the photothermal-heating-enabled synergy of promoted electrical conductivity, reactant-molecule motion, active area, and surface reconstruction, as revealed by operando Raman and simulation. The findings open vast possibilities toward more-energy-efficient energy applications.

Predictive value of NLR and PLR for immune-related adverse events: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is a lack of affordable and accessible indicators that can accurately predict immune-related adverse events (irAEs) resulting from the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In order to address this knowledge gap, our study explore the potential predictive value of two ratios, namely the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), for irAEs in cancer patients. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library. Studies involving NLR or PLR with irAEs were included. Quality and risk of bias of the selected studies were assessed. Forest plots were created based on Cox model analysis. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: After screening 594 studies, a total of 7 eligible studies with 1068 cancer patients were included. Analysis based on Cox regression showed that low neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (L-NLR) (OR = 3.02, 95% CI 1.51 to 6.05, P = 0.002) and low platelet-lymphocyte ratio (L-PLR) (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.76, P = 0.004) were associated with irAEs. In the subgroup analysis of cut-off value, when the NLR cut-off value was 3, irAEs was significantly correlated with NLR (OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.63 to 4.26, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Both L-NLR and L-PLR have been found to be significantly associated with irAEs. Consequently, patients identified as being at a higher risk for irAEs should be subjected to more diligent monitoring and close observation.

Longevous Cycling of Rechargeable Zn-Air Battery Enabled by "Raisin-Bread" Cobalt Oxynitride/Porous Carbon Hybrid Electrocatalysts.

Developing commercially viable electrocatalyst lies at the research hotspot of rechargeable Zn-air batteries, but it is still challenging to meet the requirements of energy efficiency and durability in realistic applications. Strategic material design is critical to addressing its drawbacks in terms of sluggish kinetics of oxygen reactions and limited battery lifespan. Herein, a "raisin-bread" architecture is designed for a hybrid catalyst constituting cobalt nitride as the core nanoparticle with thin oxidized coverings, which is further deposited within porous carbon aerogel. Based on synchrotron-based characterizations, this hybrid provides oxygen vacancies and Co-Nx -C sites as the active sites, resulting from a strong coupling between CoOx Ny nanoparticles and 3D conductive carbon scaffolds. Compared to the oxide reference, it performs enhanced stability in harsh electrocatalytic environments, highlighting the benefits of the oxynitride. Furthermore, the 3D conductive scaffolds improve charge/mass transportation and boost durability of these active sites. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the introduced N species into hybrid can synergistically tune the d-band center of cobalt and improve its bifunctional activity. As a result, the obtained air cathode exhibits bifunctional overpotential of 0.65 V and a battery lifetime exceeding 1350 h, which sets a new record for rechargeable Zn-air battery reported so far.

Do disclosure of ESG information policies inhibit the value of heavily polluting Enterprises?-Evidence from China.

Green governance and high-quality green development are crucial to the growth of enterprises; therefore, this paper examines how environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure policies affect the value of heavily polluting companies. The study's data is from the new version of the Governance Guidelines for Public Companies promulgated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2018. Thus, the data of China's public companies from 2011 to 2021 is used for the study's analysis. The methods applied for our estimation analysis are the differences-in-differences (DID) and the mediation effect model. The findings depict that ESG information disclosure policies can significantly inhibit the corporate value of heavily polluting enterprises (HPE). Enterprise technological innovation plays a mediating effect in this mechanism; that is, after introducing the policy, it effectively alleviates the information asymmetry and promotes enterprise technological innovation, but it also damages the enterprise value. Further analysis shows that the inhibition effect of ESG information disclosure policy on the value of HPE is heterogeneous, and for non-state-owned enterprises, ESG information disclosure policies have a stronger inhibitory effect. Also, there is little difference between the central and western regions and the eastern region in terms of the inhibitory effect of ESG disclosure policies on the value of HPE. The conclusion of this paper is conducive to improving the information disclosure policy of listed companies and promoting the green development of enterprises.

[Blind area and layout optimization of parks based on the spatial supply-demand evaluation in Taiyuan City, China]. / åŸºäºŽä¾›éœ€å‡è¡¡çš„å¤ªåŽŸå¸‚å ¬å›­æœåŠ¡ç›²åŒºåŠä¼˜åŒ–å¸ƒå±€.

It is of great practical significance to identify service blind area, scientifically select park construction areas, and clarify the priority of parks' construction based on the co-ordination of supply-demand evaluation. With the urban parks within the Taiyuan Ring Expressway as the research subjects, we estimated the accessibility range and the service pressure of each park by using the application programming interface of Gaode map route planning and point of interest data to characterize their supply and demand levels. We identified the service blind areas of parks by overlay analysis, and used the location-allocation (LA) model to purposefully supply park green space. Results showed that the accessibility coverage rates of the parks by walking and bicycling within 15 minutes were 35.6% and 71.7%, respectively, indicating insufficient supply capacity of parks. The areas with large potential demand for park green space in Taiyuan were mainly concentrated in the business district of Qinxian-Changfeng Street and the Shuangta business district within Dongzhong ring road, which existed the obviously invisible blind areas. Finally, we proposed new park green space site selection proposal based on LA model. Optimization results indicated that the coverage rates of walking and bicycling within 15 minutes increased to 46.7% and 81.0%, respectively, and that the service pressure of parks was relieved. We combined the leisure demands of urban residents and the distribution of urban parks by utilizing network big data, which could promote the scientific nature and accuracy of the optimizing site selection and provide scientific method and theory basis for urban park construction.

[Chemical constituents from stems and leaves of Cratoxylum cochinchinense and their inhibitory effects on proliferation of synoviocytes in vitro].

The chemical constituents from the stems and leaves of Cratoxylum cochinchinense were isolated and purified using silica gel, ODS gel, and Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography, as well as preparative HPLC. The chemical structures of all isolated compounds were identified on the basis of their physicochemical properties, spectroscopic analyses, and the comparison of their physicochemical and spectroscopic data with the reported data in literature. As a result, 21 compounds were isolated from the 90% ethanol extract of the stems and leaves of C. cochinchinense, which were identified as cratocochine(1), 1-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyxanthone(2), 1-hydroxy-5,6,7-trimethoxyxanthone(3), ferrxanthone(4), 3,6-dihydroxy-1,5-dimethoxyxanthone(5), 3,6-dihydroxy-1,7-dimethoxyxanthone(6), 1,2,5-trihydroxy-6,8-dimethoxyxanthone(7), securixanthone G(8), gentisein(9), 3,7-dihydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone(10), pancixanthone B(11), garcimangosxanthone A(12), pruniflorone L(13), 9-hydroxy alabaxanthone(14), cochinchinone A(15), luteolin(16), 3,5'-dimethoxy-4',7-epoxy-8,3'-neolignane-5,9,9'-triol(17), N-benzyl-9-oxo-10E,12E-octadecadienamide(18), 15-hydroxy-7,13E-labdadiene(19), stigmasta-4,22-dien-3-one(20), and stigmast-5-en-3ß-ol(21). Among these isolates, compound 1 was a new xanthone, compounds 2-5, 7, 8, 12, and 16-21 were isolated from the Cratoxylum plant for the first time, and compounds 11 and 13 were obtained from C. cochinchinense for the first time. Furthermore, all isolated compounds 1-21 were appraised for their anti-rheumatoid arthritis activities by MTS method through measuring their anti-proliferative effect on synoviocytes in vitro. As a result, xanthones 1-15 displayed notable anti-rheumatoid arthritis activities, which showed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of MH7A synoviocytes with the IC_(50) values ranging from(8.98±0.12) to(228.68±0.32) µmol·L~(-1).