Programmable, Self-Healable, and Photochromic Liquid Crystal Elastomers Based on Dynamic Hindered Urea Bonds for Biomimetic Flowers.

Recently, researchers have been exploring the use of dynamic covalent bonds (DCBs) in the construction of exchangeable liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) for biomimetic actuators and devices. However, a significant challenge remains in achieving LCEs with both excellent dynamic properties and superior mechanical strength and stability. In this study, a diacrylate-functionalized monomer containing dynamic hindered urea bonds (DA-HUB) is employed to prepare exchangeable LCEs through a self-catalytic Michael addition reaction. By incorporating DA-HUB, the LCE system benefits from DCBs and hydrogen bonding, leading to materials with high mechanical strength and a range of dynamic properties such as programmability, self-healing, and recyclability. Leveraging these characteristics, bilayer LCE actuators with controlled reversible thermal deformation and outstanding dimensional stability are successfully fabricated using a simple welding method. Moreover, a biomimetic triangular plum, inspired by the blooming of flowers, is created to showcase reversible color and shape changes triggered by light and heat. This innovative approach opens new possibilities for the development of biomimetic and smart actuators and devices with multiple functionalities.

Reduced neural responses to pleasant odor stimuli after acute psychological stress is associated with cortisol reactivity.

Acute stress alters olfactory perception. However, little is known about the neural processing of olfactory stimuli after acute stress exposure and the role of cortisol in such an effect. Here, we used an event-related olfactory fMRI paradigm to investigate brain responses to odors of different valence (unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral) in healthy young adults following an acute stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) induction (N = 22) or a non-stressful resting condition (N = 22). We obtained the odor pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity ratings after the acute stress induction or resting condition. We also measured the participants' perceived stress and salivary cortisol at four time points during the procedure. We found a stress-related decrease in brain activation in response to the pleasant, but not to the neutral or unpleasant odor stimuli in the right piriform cortex extending to the right amygdala, the right orbitofrontal cortex, and the right insula. In addition, activation of clusters within the regions of interest were negatively associated with individual baseline-to-peak increase in salivary cortisol levels after stress. We also found increased functional connectivity between the right piriform cortex and the right insula after stress when the pleasant odor was presented. The strength of the connectivity was positively correlated with increased perceived stress levels immediately after stress exposure. These results provide novel evidence for the effects of acute stress in attenuating the neural processing of a pleasant olfactory stimulus. Together with previous findings, the effect of acute stress on human olfactory perception appears to depend on both the valence and the concentration (e.g., peri-threshold or suprathreshold levels) of odor stimuli.

Increased sensitivity to unpleasant odor following acute psychological stress.

Previous studies have reported increased sensitivity to malodor after acute stress in humans. However, it is unclear whether stress-related "hypersensitivity" to odors depends on odor pleasantness. Forty participants (mean age 19.13 ± 1.14 years, 21 men and 19 women) completed a stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) and a control session in randomized order. Detection threshold to three odors varying in pleasantness (pleasant: ß-Citronellol; neutral: 2-Heptanol; unpleasant: 4-Methylpentanoic acid), odor discrimination, odor identification, sensitivity to trigeminal odor, and suprathreshold odor perception were assessed after participants' completion of the stress or the control tasks. Salivary cortisol, subjective stress, and heart rate were assessed throughout the experiment. After TSST, participants showed an increased sensitivity for the unpleasant odor. Moreover, there were correlations between stress-related salivary cortisol and the increased sensitivity for the unpleasant odor (r = 0.32, p = 0.05) and the neutral odor (r = 0.34, p < 0.05). Besides, salivary cortisol response was correlated to the increased odor discrimination performance (Δ stress - control) (r = 0.34, p < 0.05). The post-TSST perceived stress was correlated with decreased odor identification and decreased sensitivity to the unpleasant odor. After stress, participants rated lower pleasantness for ß-Citronellol than the control condition. Overall, these results suggest the impact of acute psychological stress on odor sensitivity depends on the odor valence, and that the stress-related cortisol responses may play an important role in this effect.

Alternative splicing of chitin deacetylase 2 regulates chitin and fatty acid metabolism in Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.

Chitin plays an important role in the development and molting of insects. The key genes involved in chitin metabolism were considered promising targets for pest control. In this study, two splice variants of chitin deacetylase 2 (CDA2) from Diaphorina citri were identified, including DcCDA2a and DcCDA2b. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that DcCDA2a and DcCDA2b encoded 550 and 544 amino acid residues with a signal peptide, respectively. Spatio-temporal expression patterns analysis showed that DcCDA2a and DcCDA2b were highly expressed in D. citri wing and nymph stages. Moreover, DcCDA2a and DcCDA2b expression levels were induced by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Silencing DcCDA2a by RNA interference (RNAi) significantly disrupted the D. citri molting and increased D. citri mortality and malformation rate, whereas inhibition of DcCDA2b resulted in a semimolting phenotype. Furthermore, silencing DcCDA2a and DcCDA2b significantly suppressed D. citri chitin and fatty acid metabolism. Our results indicated that DcCDA2 might play crucial roles in regulating D. citri chitin and fatty acid metabolism, and it could be used as a potential target for controlling D. citri.

Comparison between human olfactory sensitivity in the fasted and fed states: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Olfaction is tightly regulated by internal status such as hunger level. The influence of fasted and fed states on olfactory sensitivity in humans has reached mixed results. This study aims to systematically review, integrate and meta-analyze evidence of the impact of fasting on olfactory sensitivity in humans and to explore the impact of potential moderators. METHOD: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, COCHRANE and Ovid) were searched for studies with human participants investigating the effect of fasting on olfactory sensitivity. Studies were included in the review if they measured odor threshold both at fasted and sated status. The data extraction was determined based on the change in odor threshold from the fasted state to the fed state. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effect model to estimate the standardized mean difference transformed olfactory sensitivity change between fasted and fed states with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Thirteen studies (12 articles) were included in the meta-analysis with a total of 550 participants. Olfactory sensitivity was higher in the fasted state compared to the fed state (SMD = -0.251, 95% CI = -0.426, -0.075, Z = -2.804, p = 0.005). Separated analyses for food and non-food odors revealed a significant elevated sensitivity to non-food odors during the fasted state compared to the fed state. The meta-regression analysis revealed that fasting time positively moderate the increased olfactory sensitivity from the fasted to fed states (ß = -0.013, 95% CI = -0.023, -0.002, p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Fasting improves human olfactory sensitivity to non-food odors, and this effect increases with longer fasting time. Future research design on olfactory sensitivity should take both the fasted state and fasting period of the participants into consideration.

Guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids with various ring skeletons from Daphne bholua uncovered by molecular networking and structural revisions of previously reported analogues.

The genus Daphne is a treasure-house of secondary metabolites with various biological effects, which inspired Daphne bholua being fully investigated phytochemically and biologically for the first time. Here, seven undescribed guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids (1-7) along with thirteen known analogues (8-20) were targeted and isolated from D. bholua using molecular networking. Their chemical structure and configurations were established via NMR spectroscopy analysis, NMR and ECD calculations, Snatzke's method, along with single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Moreover, two pairs of sesquiterpene isomers, either with prominent biological properties or with unprecedented skeleton, were revised by means of computer-assisted structure elucidation, chemical shift calculator using deep learning, etc. The inhibitory potentials of all isolates against acetylcholinesterase were evaluated in vitro and in silico.

Thermo-Transient Receptor Potential Channels: Therapeutic Potential in Gastric Cancer.

Over the last decade, researchers have found abnormal expression of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. In particular, members of the thermally sensitive subclass (thermo-TRPs) are involved in many disease processes. Moreover, they have a vital role in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC). Accordingly, thermo-TRPs constitute a major pharmacological target, and the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying their response to physiological stimuli or drugs is key for notable advances in GC treatment. Therefore, this paper summarizes the existing literature about thermo-TRP protein expression changes that are linked to the incidence and progression of GC. The review also discusses the implication of such association to pathology and cell physiology and identifies potential thermo-TRP protein targets for diagnosis and treatment of GC.

Inhibition of Quorum-Sensing Regulator from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using a Flavone Derivative.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication process that controls bacterial collective behaviors. The QS network regulates and coordinates bacterial virulence factor expression, antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. Therefore, inhibition of the QS system is an effective strategy to suppress the bacterial virulence. Herein, we identify a phosphate ester derivative of chrysin as a potent QS inhibitor of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) using a designed luciferase reporter assay. In vitro biochemical analysis shows that the chrysin derivative binds to the bacterial QS regulator LasR and abrogates its DNA-binding capability. In particular, the derivative exhibits higher anti-virulence activity compared to the parent molecule. All the results reveal the potential application of flavone derivative as an anti-virulence compound to combat the infectious diseases caused by P. aeruginosa.

Efficient Method for Prediction of Metastable or Ground Multipolar Ordered States and Its Application in Monolayer α-RuX_{3} (X=Cl, I).

Exotic high-rank multipolar order parameters have been found to be unexpectedly active in more and more correlated materials in recent years. Such multipoles are usually dubbed "hidden orders" since they are insensitive to common experimental probes. Theoretically, it is also difficult to predict multipolar orders via ab initio calculations in real materials. Here, we present an efficient method to predict possible multipoles in materials based on linear response theory under random phase approximation. Using this method, we successfully predict two pure metastable magnetic octupolar states in monolayer α-RuCl_{3}, which is confirmed by self-consistent unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations. We then demonstrate that these octupolar states can be stabilized in monolayer α-RuI_{3}, one of which becomes the octupolar ground state. Furthermore, we also predict a fingerprint of an orthogonal magnetization pattern produced by the octupole moment that can be easily detected by experiment. The method and the example presented in this Letter serve as a guide for searching multipolar order parameters in other correlated materials.

Shear Wave Elasticity Differentiation Between Low- and High-Grade Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma and Correlation With Collagen Fiber Content.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the differences in the shear wave elasticity and collagen fiber content between low- and high-grade bladder urothelial carcinoma and study the relationship between elasticity and the content of collagen fiber. METHODS: A total of 66 patients with bladder tumors who were referred to our hospital underwent transrectal or transvaginal conventional ultrasound and shear wave elasticity examinations. After bladder urothelial carcinoma was pathologically confirmed, 34 cases of low-grade and 32 cases of high-grade carcinoma were enrolled. The specimens underwent Masson trichrome staining, and image-processing software was used to quantitatively analyze the area of collagen fiber. RESULTS: Based on conventional ultrasound, the low- and high-grade groups were similar in the number, location, interior echoes, basal portion, size, and vascularity (P > .05); nevertheless, the difference in the surface condition (smooth or rough) was statistically significant (P = .03). The high-grade group had significantly higher maximum and mean elasticity than the low-grade group (P < .01). The percentage of the collagen fiber area in the high-grade group was significantly higher than that in the low-grade group (mean ± SD, 11.45% ± 1.66% versus 7.64% ± 0.70%; P = .01). There was a positive correlation between maximum elasticity, mean elasticity, and the percentage of the collagen fiber area (r = 0.75 and 0.52, respectively; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Shear wave elasticity can be used to differentiate between low- and high-grade bladder urothelial carcinoma. The elasticity of lesions has a close correlation with the content of collagen fiber, which may have an important impact on tissue stiffness and the development of bladder cancer.

Application of Bayesian network and regression method in treatment cost prediction.

Charging according to disease is an important way to effectively promote the reform of medical insurance mechanism, reasonably allocate medical resources and reduce the burden of patients, and it is also an important direction of medical development at home and abroad. The cost forecast of single disease can not only find the potential influence and driving factors, but also estimate the active cost, and tell the management and reasonable allocation of medical resources. In this paper, a method of Bayesian network combined with regression analysis is proposed to predict the cost of treatment based on the patient's electronic medical record when the amount of data is small. Firstly, a set of text-based medical record data conversion method is established, and in the clustering method, the missing value interpolation is carried out by weighted method according to the distance, which completes the data preparation and processing for the realization of data prediction. Then, aiming at the problem of low prediction accuracy of traditional regression model, this paper establishes a prediction model combined with local weight regression method after Bayesian network interpretation and classification of patients' treatment process. Finally, the model is verified with the medical record data provided by the hospital, and the results show that the model has higher prediction accuracy.

Communication Technologies for Smart Grid: A Comprehensive Survey.

With the ongoing trends in the energy sector such as vehicular electrification and renewable energy, the Smart Grid (SG) is clearly playing a more and more important role in the electric power system industry. One essential feature of the SG is the information flow over high-speed, reliable, and secure data communication networks in order to manage the complex power systems effectively and intelligently. SGs utilize bidirectional communication to function whereas traditional power grids mainly only use one-way communication. The communication requirements and suitable techniques differ depending on the specific environment and scenario. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey on the communication technologies used in the SG, including the communication requirements, physical layer technologies, network architectures, and research challenges. This survey aims to help the readers identify the potential research problems in the continued research on the topic of SG communications.

Determination of Biogenic Amines in Different Parts of Lycium barbarum L. by HPLC with Precolumn Dansylation.

The aim of this work was to characterize biogenic amines (BAs) in different parts of Lycium barbarum L. using HPLC with dansyl chloride derivatization, and jointly, to provide referential data for further exploration and utilization of Lycium barbarum L. The linear correlation coefficients for all BAs were above 0.9989. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.015-0.075 and 0.05-0.25 µg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviations for the intra-day and inter-day precision were 0.66-2.69% and 0.91-4.38%. The described method has good repeatability and intermediate precision for the quantitative determination of BAs in different parts of Lycium barbarum L. Satisfactory recovery for all amines was obtained (79.3-110.3%). The result showed that there were four kinds of BAs. The highest putrescine content (20.9 ± 3.2 mg/kg) was found in the flower. The highest histamine content (102.7 ± 5.8 mg/kg) was detected in the bark, and the highest spermidine (13.3 ± 1.6 mg/kg) and spermine (23.7 ± 2.0 mg/kg) contents were detected in the young leaves. The high histamine (HIS) content in the bark may be one of the reasons why all of the parts of Lycium barbarum L., except the bark, are used for medicine or food in China. Meanwhile, the issue of the high concentration of HIS should be considered when exploiting or utilizing the bark of Lycium barbarum L.

Efficient Synthesis of Phosphonamidates through One-Pot Sequential Reactions of Phosphonites with Iodine and Amines.

A one-pot sequential strategy to construct phosphonamidates has been developed by generating phosphonites in situ from arylmagnesium bromides and triethyl phosphite followed by treatment with iodine and amines. A variety of phosphonamidates were obtained with good to excellent yields at room temperature from easily available materials.

Genome-based reclassification of Lactobacillus casei: emended classification and description of the species Lactobacillus zeae.

Taxonomic relationships between Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus zeae have long been debated. Results of previous analyses have shown that overall genome relatedness indices (such as average nucleotide identity and core nucleotide identity) between the type strains L. casei ATCC 393T and L. zeae ATCC 15820T were 94.6 and 95.3 %, respectively, which are borderline for species definition. However, the digital DNA‒DNA hybridization value was 57.3 %, which was clearly lower than the species delineation threshold of 70 %, and hence raised the possibility that L. casei could be reclassified into two species. To re-evaluate the taxonomic relationship of these taxa, multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on the concatenated five housekeeping gene (dnaJ, dnaK, mutL, pheS and yycH) sequences, phylogenomic and core genome multilocus sequence typing analyses, gene presence and absence profiles using pan-genome analysis, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiling analysis, cellular fatty acid compositions, and phenotype analysis were carried out. The results of phenotypic characterization, MLSA, whole-genome sequence-based analyses and MALDI-TOF MS profiling justified an independent species designation for the L. zeae strains, and supported an emended the description of the name of Lactobacillus zeae (ex Kuznetsov 1956) Dicks et al. 1996, with ATCC 15820T (=DSM 20178T=BCRC 17942T) as the type strain.

Prevotella hominis sp. nov., isolated from human faeces.

A strictly anaerobic predominant bacterium, designated as strain gm001T, was isolated from a freshly voided faecal sample collected from a healthy Taiwanese adult. Cells were Gram-stain-negative rods, non-motile and non-spore-forming. Strain gm001T was identified as a member of the genus Prevotella, and a comparison of 16S rRNA and hsp60 gene sequences revealed sequence similarities of 98.5 and 93.3 %, respectively, demonstrating that it was most closely related to the type strain of Prevotella copri. Phylogenomic tree analysis indicated that the gm001T cluster is an independent lineage of P. copri DSM 18205T. The average nucleotide identity, digital DNA‒DNA hybridization and average amino acid identity values between strain gm001T and P. copri DSM 18205T were 80.9, 28.6 and 83.8 %, respectively, which were clearly lower than the species delineation thresholds. The species-specific genes of this novel species were also identified on the basis of pan-genomic analysis. The predominant menaquinones were MK-11 and MK-12, and the predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. Acetate and succinate were produced from glucose as metabolic end products. Taken together, the results indicate that strain gm001T represents a novel species of the genus Prevotella, for which the name Prevotella hominis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is gm001T (=BCRC 81118T=JCM 33280T).

Reclassification of Micrococcus aloeverae and Micrococcus yunnanensis as later heterotypic synonyms of Micrococcus luteus.

Micrococcus aloeverae,Micrococcus endophyticus, Micrococcus luteus and Micrococcus yunnanensis are phenotypically and genotypically closely related, and together comprise the M. luteus group. In this study, the taxonomic relationships among Micrococcus aloeverae, M. luteus and M. yunnanensis were re-evaluated by using polyphasic approaches. The similarity values of the concatenated housekeeping gene (gyrB, recA and rpoB) sequences shared by the type strains of M. aloeverae, M. luteus and M. yunnanensis ranged from 98.3 to 99.4 %. The average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity and digital DNA‒DNA hybridization values among these three taxa were greater (97.1‒98.1 %, 96.8‒98.1 % and 75.0‒83.5 %, respectively) than the thresholds for bacterial species delineation, indicating that they belong to the same species, whereas those for M. endophyticus were clearly lower than the thresholds. In addition, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characterization results also support the synonymy of these three taxa. Therefore, we propose that M. aloeverae and M. yunnanensis should be reclassified as later heterotypic synonyms of M. luteus.

Lactobacillus suantsaii sp. nov., isolated from suan-tsai, a traditional Taiwanese fermented mustard green.

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, non-motile, catalase-negative and facultative anaerobic strain, L88T, was isolated from suan-tsai, a traditional Taiwanese fermented mustard green. Comparative analyses of 16S rRNA, pheS and rpoA gene sequences demonstrated that strain L88Twas a member of the genus Lactobacillus. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the type strains of Lactobacillus acidifarinae (98.2 % similarity), Lactobacillus namurensis (98.1 %), Lactobacillus zymae (98.1 %) and Lactobacillus spicheri (96.8 %) were the closest neighbours to this novel strain. The average nucleotide identity, digital DNA‒DNA hybridization and average amino acid identity values between L88T and its closest relatives were lower than 80, 30 and 90 %, respectively. Phenotypic and genotypic test results demonstrated that strain L88T represents a novel species of the genus Lactobacillus, for which the name Lactobacillus suantsaii sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is L88T (=BCRC 12945T=NBRC 113535T).

Unique Topology Analysis by ToposPro for a Metal-Organic Framework with Multiple Coordination Centers.

The reactions of 2-(4-pyridyl) thiazole-4-carboxylic acid (Hptca) and CuCl2·6H2O have led to a novel 3D mixed-valence, four-copper-center, metal-organic framework (MOF) [Cu8Cl2(ptca)10·17H2O] n (1). The topology analysis using ToposPro software package for 1 resulted in three chain-based topology types of sra (42, 63, 8), pcu (412, 63), and dia (66) via choosing corresponding connection atoms as central atoms. The study indicates that connection atoms associated directly with multiple coordination centers are applicable to act as central atoms. This unique topology analysis approach is conceptually different from the current analytical methods which use node atoms as central atoms. In addition, complex 1 exhibits significant selective adsorption of CO2 over N2. This study provides a great example of the topological analysis of MOFs with multiple coordination centers.

Transcriptome analysis of three cultivars of Poria cocos reveals genes related to the biosynthesis of polysaccharides.

Poria cocos (P. cocos) polysaccharides (PCPs) are used to improve immunity and possess antitumor activities. We compared three cultivars of P. cocos (5.78, XJ 28 and JHYH) PCP contents. Then we determined that malZ, galA, SORD, gnl and bglX are key enzymes within the PCP biosynthetic pathway by using HiSeq2500 transcriptome and qRT-PCR validation. Our results provide more detailed information about the PCP biosynthesis pathway at the molecular level in P. cocos and establish the functions for the molecular breeding to produce polysaccharides in general for therapeutic use in Chinese medicinal plants.