Establishing reaction networks in the 16-electron sulfur reduction reaction.

The sulfur reduction reaction (SRR) plays a central role in high-capacity lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. The SRR involves an intricate, 16-electron conversion process featuring multiple lithium polysulfide intermediates and reaction branches1-3. Establishing the complex reaction network is essential for rational tailoring of the SRR for improved Li-S batteries, but represents a daunting challenge4-6. Herein we systematically investigate the electrocatalytic SRR to decipher its network using the nitrogen, sulfur, dual-doped holey graphene framework as a model electrode to understand the role of electrocatalysts in acceleration of conversion kinetics. Combining cyclic voltammetry, in situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, we identify and directly profile the key intermediates (S8, Li2S8, Li2S6, Li2S4 and Li2S) at varying potentials and elucidate their conversion pathways. Li2S4 and Li2S6 were predominantly observed, in which Li2S4 represents the key electrochemical intermediate dictating the overall SRR kinetics. Li2S6, generated (consumed) through a comproportionation (disproportionation) reaction, does not directly participate in electrochemical reactions but significantly contributes to the polysulfide shuttling process. We found that the nitrogen, sulfur dual-doped holey graphene framework catalyst could help accelerate polysulfide conversion kinetics, leading to faster depletion of soluble lithium polysulfides at higher potential and hence mitigating the polysulfide shuttling effect and boosting output potential. These results highlight the electrocatalytic approach as a promising strategy for tackling the fundamental challenges regarding Li-S batteries.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is noninferior to chemoradiotherapy for early-onset locally advanced rectal cancer in the FOWARC trial.

BACKGROUND: The early-onset rectal cancer with rapidly increasing incidence is considered to have distinct clinicopathological and molecular profiles with high-risk features. This leads to challenges in developing specific treatment strategies for early-onset rectal cancer patients and questions of whether early-onset locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) needs aggressive neoadjuvant treatment. METHODS: In this post hoc analysis of FOWARC trial, we investigated the role of preoperative radiation in early-onset LARC by comparing the clinicopathological profiles and short-term and long-term outcomes between the early-onset and late-onset LARCs. RESULTS: We revealed an inter-tumor heterogeneity of clinical profiles and treatment outcomes between the early-onset and late-onset LARCs. The high-risk features were more prevalent in early-onset LARC. The neoadjuvant radiation brought less benefits of tumor response and more risk of complications in early-onset group (pCR: OR = 3.75, 95% CI = 1.37-10.27; complications: HR = 11.35, 95% CI = 1.46-88.31) compared with late-onset group (pCR: OR = 5.33, 95% CI = 1.83-15.58; complications: HR = 5.80, 95% CI = 2.32-14.49). Furthermore, the addition of radiation to neoadjuvant chemotherapy didn't improve long-term OS (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.49-3.87) and DFS (HR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.58-1.90) for early-onset patients. CONCLUSION: Preoperative radiation plus chemotherapy may not be superior to the chemotherapy alone in the early-onset LARC. Our findings provide insight into the treatment of early-onset LARC by interrogating the aggressive treatment and alternative regimens.

Lamin A/C mediates microglial activation by modulating cell proliferation and immune response.

Lamin A/C is involved in macrophage activation and premature aging, also known as progeria. As the resident macrophage in brain, overactivation of microglia causes brain inflammation, promoting aging and brain disease. In this study, we investigated the role of Lamin A/C in microglial activation and its impact on progeria using Lmna-/- mice, primary microglia, Lmna knockout (Lmna-KO) and Lmna-knockdown (Lmna-KD) BV2 cell lines. We found that the microglial activation signatures, including cell proliferation, morphology changes, and proinflammatory cytokine secretion (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α), were significantly suppressed in all Lamin A/C-deficient models when stimulated with LPS. TMT-based quantitative proteomic and bioinformatic analysis were further applied to explore the mechanism of Lamin A/C-regulated microglia activation from the proteome level. The results revealed that immune response and phagocytosis were impaired in Lmna-/- microglia. Stat1 was identified as the hub protein in the mechanism by which Lamin A/C regulates microglial activation. Additionally, DNA replication, chromatin organization, and mRNA processing were also altered by Lamin A/C, with Ki67 fulfilling the main hub function. Lamin A/C is a mechanosensitive protein and, the immune- and proliferation-related biological processes are also regulated by mechanotransduction. We speculate that Lamin A/C-mediated mechanotransduction is required for microglial activation. Our study proposes a novel mechanism for microglial activation mediated by Lamin A/C.

Vectorial holography over a multimode fiber.

Vectorial holography through a strongly scattering medium can facilitate various applications in optics and photonics. However, the realization of vectorial holography with arbitrary distribution of optical intensity is still limited because of experimental noise during the calibration of vectorial transmission matrix (TM) and reconstruction noise during the retrieval of input wavefront for a given holographic target. Herein, we propose and experimentally demonstrate the vectorial holography with arbitrary distribution of optical intensity over a multimode fiber (MMF) using the Tikhonov regularization. By optimizing the noise factor, the performance of vectorial holography over an MMF is improved compared with the conjugate transpose and inverse TM methods. Our results might shed new light on the optical communication and detection mediated by MMFs.

Quantum-Geometry-Induced Anomalous Hall Effect in Nonunitary Superconductors and Application to Sr_{2}RuO_{4}.

The polar Kerr effect and the closely related anomalous charge Hall effect are among the most distinguishing signatures of the superconducting state in Sr_{2}RuO_{4}, as well as in several other compounds. These effects are often thought to be derived from chiral superconducting pairing, and different mechanisms have been invoked for the explanation. However, the intrinsic mechanisms proposed previously often involve unrealistically strong interband Cooper pairing. We show in this Letter that, even without interband pairing, nonunitary superconducting states can support the intrinsic anomalous charge Hall effect, thanks to the quantum geometric properties of the Bloch electrons. The key here is to have a normal-state spin Hall effect, for which a nonzero spin-orbit coupling is essential. A finite charge Hall effect then naturally arises at the onset of a spin-polarized nonunitary superconducting pairing. It depends on both the spin polarization and the normal-state electron Berry curvature, the latter of which is the imaginary part of the quantum geometric tensor of the Bloch states. Applying our results to the weakly paired Sr_{2}RuO_{4} we conclude that, if the reported Kerr effect is of intrinsic origin, the superconducting state is most likely nonunitary and has odd parity. Our theory may be generalized to other superconductors that exhibit the polar Kerr effect.

Anti-phasic oscillatory development for speech and noise processing in cochlear implanted toddlers.

Human brain demonstrates amazing readiness for speech and language learning at birth, but the auditory development preceding such readiness remains unknown. Cochlear implanted (CI) children (n = 67; mean age 2.77 year ± 1.31 SD; 28 females) with prelingual deafness provide a unique opportunity to study this stage. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, it was revealed that the brain of CI children was irresponsive to sounds at CI hearing onset. With increasing CI experiences up to 32 months, the brain demonstrated function, region and hemisphere specific development. Most strikingly, the left anterior temporal lobe showed an oscillatory trajectory, changing in opposite phases for speech and noise. The study provides the first longitudinal brain imaging evidence for early auditory development preceding speech acquisition.

The roles of 5-HT in orofacial pain.

OBJECTIVES: Acute and chronic orofacial pain are very common and remain a vexing health problem that has a negative effect on the quality of life. Serotonin (5-HydroxyTryptamine, 5-HT) is a kind of monoamine neurotransmitter that is involved in many physiological and pathological processes. However, its role in orofacial pain remains inconclusive. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the recent advances in understanding the effect exerted by 5-HT on the modulation of orofacial pain. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An extensive search was conducted on PubMed and Web of Science for pertinent studies focusing on the effects of 5-HT on the modulation of orofacial pain. RESULTS: In this review, we concisely review how 5-HT mediates orofacial pain, how 5-HT is regulated and how we can translate these findings into clinical applications for the prevention and/or treatment of orofacial pain. CONCLUSIONS: 5-HT plays a key role in the modulation of orofacial pain, implying that 5-HT modulators may serve as effective treatment for orofacial pain. However, further research on the precise mechanisms underlying the modulation of orofacial pain is still warranted.

Psychosocial Factors Associated With Long-Term Cognitive Impairment Among COVID-19 Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT: COVID-19 survivors complained of the experience of cognitive impairments, which also called "brain fog" even recovered. The study aimed to describe long-term cognitive change and determine psychosocial factors in COVID-19 survivors. A cross-sectional study was recruited 285 participants from February 2020 to April 2020 in 17 hospitals in Sichuan Province. Cognitive function, variables indicative of the virus infection itself, and psychosocial variables were collected by telephone interview. Univariate logistic regression and Lasso logistic regression models were used for variable selection which plugged into a multiple logistics model. Overall prevalence of moderate or severe cognitive impairment was 6.3%. Logistic regression showed that sex, religion, smoking status, occupation, self-perceived severity of illness, sleep quality, perceived mental distress after COVID-19, perceived discrimination from relatives and friends, and suffered abuse were associated with cognitive impairment. The long-term consequences of cognitive function are related to multiple domains, in which psychosocial factors should be taken into consideration.

Nanoscale Pickering emulsion food preservative films/coatings: Compositions, preparations, influencing factors, and applications.

Pickering emulsion (PE) technology effectively addresses the issues of poor compatibility and low retention of hydrophobic active ingredients in food packaging. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that each stage of the preparation process for PE films/coatings (PEFCs) can significantly influence their functional properties. With the fundamental considerations of environmental friendliness and human safety, this review extensively explores the potential of raw materials for PEFC and introduces the preparation methods of nanoparticles, emulsification technology, and film-forming techniques. The critical factors that impact the performance of PEFC during the preparation process are analyzed to enhance food preservation effectiveness. Moreover, the latest advancements in PE packaging across diverse food applications are summarized, along with prospects for innovative food packaging materials. Finally, the preservation mechanism and application safety have been systematically elucidated. The study revealed that the PEFCs provide structural flexibility, where designable nanoparticles offer unique functional properties for intelligent control over active ingredient release. The selection of the dispersed and continuous phases, along with component proportions, can be customized for specific food characteristics and storage conditions. By employing suitable preparation and emulsification techniques, the stability of the emulsion can be improved, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the films/coatings in preserving food. Including additional substances broadens the functionality of degradable materials. The PE packaging technology provides a safe and innovative solution for extending the shelf life and enhancing the quality of food products by protecting and releasing active components.

Efficacy and safety of chloral hydrate in auditory brainstem response test: A systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of chloral hydrate in auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests. SETTING AND DESIGN: In this study, the authors systematically searched both English (Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science) and Chinese (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and VIP Chinese Science) databases. Two authors independently performed data extraction and quality assessment. The pooled sedation failure rate and the pooled incidence of adverse events were calculated via a random-effects model. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity, and the PRISMA guideline was followed. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with ABR tests receiving chloral hydrate sedation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The pooled sedation failure rate and the pooled incidence of adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 23 clinical studies were included in the final analysis. The pooled sedation failure rate of patients who received chloral hydrate sedation before ABR examination was 10.0% [95% confidence interval (CI) (6.7%, 15.0%), I2 = 95%, p < .01]. There were significant differences in the prevalence of sedation failure between sample sizes greater than 200 and those less than or equal to 200 (5.6% vs. 19.6%, p < .01) and between the studies that reported sleep deprivation and those that did not report sleep deprivation (7.1% vs. 18.9%, p < .01). The pooled incidence of adverse events was 10.32% [95% CI (5.83%, 14.82%), I2 = 98.1%, p < .01]. CONCLUSIONS: Chloral hydrate has a high rate of sedation failure, adverse events, and potential carcinogenicity. Therefore, replacing its use in ABR tests with safer and more effective sedatives is warranted.