Identification and molecular docking of tyrosinase inhibitory peptides from allophycocyanin in Spirulina platensis.

BACKGROUND: Tyrosinase, a copper-containing metalloenzyme with catalytic activity, is widely found in mammals. It is the key rate-limiting enzyme that catalyzes melanin synthesis. For humans, tyrosinase is beneficial to the darkening of eyes and hair. However, excessive deposition of melanin in the skin can lead to dull skin color and lead to pigmentation. Therefore, many skin-whitening compounds have been developed to decrease tyrosinase activity. This study aimed to identify a new tyrosinase inhibitory peptide through enzymatic hydrolysis, in vitro activity verification, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. RESULTS: A tripeptide Asp-Glu-Arg (DER) was identified, with a '-CDOCKER_Energy' value of 121.26 Kcal mol-1 . DER has effective tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Research shows that its half maximal inhibitory concentration value is 1.04 ± 0.01 mmol L-1 . In addition, DER binds to tyrosinase residues His85, His244, His259, and Asn260, which are key residues that drive the interaction between the peptide and tyrosinase. Finally, through MD simulation, the conformational changes and structural stability of the complexes were further explored to verify and supplement the results of molecular docking. CONCLUSION: This experiment shows that DER can effectively inhibit tyrosinase activity. His244, His259, His260, and Asn260 are the critical residues that drive the interaction between the peptide and tyrosinase, and hydrogen bonding is an important force. DER from Spirulina has the potential to develop functional products with tyrosinase inhibition. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Achieving Stable Lithium Metal Anode at 50 mA cm-2 Current Density by LiCl Enriched SEI.

Lithium metal batteries are intensively studied due to the potential to bring up breakthroughs in high energy density devices. However, the inevitable growth of dendrites will cause the rapid failure of battery especially under high current density. Herein, the utilization of tetrachloroethylene (C2 Cl4 ) is reported as the electrolyte additive to induce the formation of the LiCl-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Because of the lower Li ion diffusion barrier of LiCl, such SEI layer can supply sufficient pathway for rapid Li ion transport, alleviate the concentration polarization at the interface and inhibit the growth of Li dendrites. Meanwhile, the C2 Cl4 can be continuously replenished during the cycle to ensure the stability of the SEI layer. With the aid of C2 Cl4 -based electrolyte, the Li metal electrodes can maintain stable for >300 h under high current density of 50 mA cm-2 with areal capacity of 5 mAh cm-2 , broadening the compatibility of lithium metal anode toward practical application scenarios.

Three-Dimensional Printing to Guide Fenestrated/Branched TEVAR in Triple Aortic Arch Branch Reconstruction With a Curative Effect Analysis.

PURPOSE: To summarize experience with and the efficacy of fenestrated/branched thoracic endovascular repair (F/B-TEVAR) using physician-modified stent-grafts (PMSGs) under 3D printing guidance in triple aortic arch branch reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From February 2018 to April 2022, 14 cases of aortic arch aneurysms and 30 cases of aortic arch dissection (22 acute aortic arch dissection and 8 long-term aortic arch dissection)were treated by F/B-TEVAR in our department, including 34 males and 10 females, with an average age of 59.84 ± 11.72 years. Three aortic arch branches were affected in all patients. A 3D-printed model was made according to computed tomography angiography images and used to guide the fabrication of PMSGs. All patients were followed up. RESULTS: A total of 132 branches were successfully reconstructed with no case of conversion to open surgery. The average operation time was 4.97 ± 1.40 hours, including a mean 44.05 ± 7.72 minutes for stent-graft customization, the mean postoperative hospitalization duration was 9.91 ± 4.47 days, the average intraoperative blood loss was 480.91 mL (100-2810 mL), and the mean postoperative intensive care unit monitoring duration was 1.02 days (0-5 days). No deaths occurred within 30 days of surgery. Postoperative neurological complications occurred in 1 case (2.3%), and retrograde type A dissection occurred in 1 case (2.3%). CONCLUSION: Compared with conventional surgery, triple aortic arch branch reconstruction under the guidance of 3D printing is a minimally invasive treatment method with the advantages of accurate positioning, rapid postoperative recovery, few complications, and reliable short- to mid-term effects. CLINICAL IMPACT: At present the PMSG usually depend on imaging data and software calculation. With the guidance of 3D printing technology, image data could be transformed into 3D model, which has improved the accuracy of the positioning of the fenestrations. The diameter reduction technique and the internal mini cuff technique have made a complement to the slimed-down fenestration selection process and the low rate of endoleak. As reproducible study, our results may provide reference for TEVAR in different cases.

Community resilience and psychological distress in Chinese older adults amid COVID-19: the roles of perceived community prevention effectiveness and risk perception.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the world, bringing a disaster for not only public physical but also mental health. As older adults are more vulnerable than those in other age groups in this disaster, their psychological distress in this pandemic is of particular concern. Considering the importance of communities in combating the pandemic, we examined the role of a community in relieving older adults' psychological distress and the heterogeneous effect by older adults' different levels of risk perception.Method: We collected data through a questionnaire survey of 272 older adults in 12 communities in the Sichuan province of China in April 2020, and used the structural equation model to analyze the data.Results: we found that community resilience was negatively associated with older adults' psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress), and this association was mediated by perceived community prevention effectiveness. However, this indirect effect was stronger for older adults with low risk perceptions than for ones with high risk perceptions (including self-risk perception and group-risk perception).Conclusion: These findings underlined a community's vital significance in alleviating older adults' psychological distress amid the COVID-19 pandemic and moreover indicated that tailored interventions for facilitating community pandemic prevention should be designed for older adults with different risk perceptions.

Ion-Inserted Metal-Organic Frameworks Accelerate the Mass Transfer Kinetics in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur battery promises great potential to promote the reform of energy storage field. Modified functional interlayer on separator has been recognized as efficient method to promote battery performances, mainly focusing on the entrapment and catalytic effect toward lithium polysulfide, while the mass transfer property across the interlayers has not been carefully considered. Herein, a dense layer composed of ion-inserted metal-organic frameworks is used to facilitate mass transfer across the layer and ensure high polysulfides entrapment efficiency. In situ Raman study reveals that the dense functional layer blocks the transfer of Li ions, while the ion-inserted layer can accelerate the ion-transfer kinetics and avoid the ion depletion caused polarization. As a result, a specific capacity of 742 mAh g-1 is obtained at 2 C, with the decay rate of 0.089% per cycle at 1 C over 600 cycles, demonstrating great potential for the application in advanced Li-S batteries.

Effects of sources of social support and resilience on the mental health of different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: A pandemic is a very stressful event, especially for highly vulnerable people (e.g., older adults). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the main and interactive relationships of social support and resilience on individual mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic across three age groups: emerging adults, adults, and older adults. METHODS: A survey was conducted with 23,192 participants aged 18-85. Respondents completed a questionnaire, including items on the COVID-19-related support they perceived from different sources, the abbreviated version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Mental Health Inventory. RESULTS: Latent profile analysis identified five profiles of social support, and the patterns of potential profiles were similar in all groups. However, category distribution in the five profiles was significantly different among the age groups. Furthermore, analysis using the BCH command showed significant differences in mental health among these profiles. Lastly, interactive analyses indicated resilience had a positive relationship with mental health, and social support served as a buffer against the negative impact of low resilience on mental health. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides quantitative evidence for socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and enables several practical implications for helping different age groups protecting mental health during pandemic.

Compensatory Social Networking Site Use, Family Support, and Depression Among College Freshman: Three-Wave Panel Study.

BACKGROUND: Freshmen were found to use social networking sites (SNS) as a useful medium to effectively adjust to college life, which hints at a tendency to resort to SNS for social compensation. However, the compensatory use of SNS is usually problematic. OBJECTIVE: This study explores why a subgroup of freshmen developed depressive symptoms while socially adjusting to college by investigating the antecedent role of introversion, the explanatory role of compensatory use of SNS, and the protective role of perceived family support. The study is among the first to point out the relevance of the compensatory use of SNS in explaining the indirect association between introversion and depression with a longitudinal design. METHODS: A 3-wave panel sample of freshmen (N=1137) is used to examine the moderated mediation model. RESULTS: We found that introversion at Wave 1 positively predicted compensatory use of SNS at Wave 2 and subsequently increased depression at Wave 3 (unstandardized B=0.07, SE 0.02, P<.001, 95% CI 0.04-0.10; unstandardized B=0.09, SE 0.01, P<.001, 95% CI 0.06-0.12). The moderated mediation model further examined the buffering role of perceived family support within the link between introversion and compensatory SNS use (index=0.0031, SE 0.0015, 95% CI 0.0003-0.0062). Unexpectedly, we found that family support in Wave 1 decreased compensatory SNS use for less introverted freshmen in Wave 2 and further decreased depression in Wave 3. CONCLUSIONS: Unexpectedly, our findings uncover an enhancing effect, rather than a buffering effect, of family support by embedding its effect within the relationship between introversion and compensatory SNS use. Appreciating the differences in the casual pathways for freshmen with different levels of introversion clarifies how SNS affect young adults' lives.

Person-city personality fit and entrepreneurial success: An explorative study in China.

While the study of personality differences is a traditional psychological approach in entrepreneurship research, economic research directs attention towards the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which entrepreneurial activity are embedded. We combine both approaches and quantify the interplay between the individual personality make-up of entrepreneurs and the local personality composition of ecosystems, with a special focus on person-city personality fit. Specifically, we analyse personality data from N = 26,405 Chinese residents across 42 major Chinese cities, including N = 1091 Chinese entrepreneurs. Multi-level polynomial regression and response surface plots revealed that: (a) individual-level conscientiousness had a positive effect and individual-level agreeableness and neuroticism had a negative effect on entrepreneurial success, (b) city-level conscientiousness had a positive, and city-level neuroticism had a negative effect on entrepreneurial success, and (c) additional person-city personality fit effects existed for agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. For example, entrepreneurs who are high in agreeableness and conduct their business in a city with a low agreeableness level show the lowest entrepreneurial success. In contrast, entrepreneurs who are low in agreeableness and conduct their business in a city with a high agreeableness level show relatively high entrepreneurial success. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Age stereotypes, flexible goal adjustment, and well-being among Chinese older adults.

Previous studies have examined the independent roles of positive age stereotypes (PAS) and negative age stereotypes (NAS) in successful aging. This study aimed to examine the joint effect of PAS and NAS on the well-being of Chinese older adults, and to further examine whether this effect was moderated by flexible goal adjustment (FGA). Using a cross-sectional design, 279 Chinese older adults (age range 60‒97 years) completed measures related to age stereotypes, FGA, and well-being. The results showed that PAS interacted with NAS to predict well-being. In addition, the joint effect of PAS and NAS was moderated by FGA. Specially, for older adults with low FGA, NAS weakened the positive association between PAS and well-being; whereas, for older adults with high FGA, NAS could not influence the association between PAS and well-being. Tailored interventions to modify aging perceptions and to enhance coping flexibility competence might be helpful for promoting the well-being of older adults.

Paclitaxel-sensitization enhanced by curcumin involves down-regulation of nuclear factor-κB and Lin28 in Hep3B cells.

Although paclitaxel is an effective chemotherapeutic drug used in the treatment of many tumors, hepatoma cells, in particular, are known to be highly resistant to it. Previously, we discovered that Lin28 was closely associated with resistance to paclitaxel in Hep3B cells. The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factor, which plays an important role in tumor survival, directly activates Lin28 expression through a binding site on the first intron. Curcumin, a non-toxic anti-inflammatory agent, inhibits NF-κB activity in vitro. In this study, we reported that a combination of curcumin and paclitaxel exhibited synergistic anti-proliferative and pro-apoptosis effects on Hep3B cells, and curcumin down-regulated paclitaxel-induced enhanced expression of Lin28 and NF-κB activation. Furthermore, our results revealed that curcumin reduced Lin28 levels via mechanisms directly mediated by inhibition of NF-κB activity. These mechanism-based observations evidence that curcumin enhances the sensitivity of hepatoma cells to paclitaxe, and strongly support the notion that paclitaxel in combination with curcumin may provide a superior therapeutic index for HCC chemotherapy.

Collective-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship of leaders' personality traits and team performance: A cross-level analysis.

The relationship between a leader's personality and his team's performance has been established in organisational research, but the underlying process and mechanism responsible for this effect have not been fully explored. Both the traditional multiple linear regression and the multilevel structural equation model approaches were used in this study to test a proposed mediating model of subordinates' perception of collective efficacy between leader personality and team performance. The results show that the team leader's extraversion and conscientiousness personality traits were related positively to both the team-average (individual) perception of collective efficacy and team performance, and the collective efficacy mediated the relationship of the leader's personality traits and team performance. This study also discusses how Chinese cultural elements play a role in such a mediating model.

[Cause analysis and clinical intervention of C 5 palsy after cervical surgery].

Objective: To review the research progress of C 5 palsy (C 5P) after cervical surgery, providing new clinical intervention ideas for the C 5P patients. Methods: The relevant literature domestically and abroad was extensively consulted and the latest developments in the incidence, risk factors, manifestations and diagnosis, prevention, and intervention measures of C 5P were systematically expounded. Results: C 5P is characterized by weakness in the C 5 nerve innervation area after cervical decompression surgery, manifested as limited shoulder abduction and elbow flexion, with an incidence rate more than 5%, often caused by segmental spinal cord injury or mechanical injury to the nerve roots. For patients with risk factors, careful operation and preventive measures can reduce the incidence of C 5P. Most of the patients can recover with conservative treatment such as drug therapy and physical therapy, while those without significant improvement after 6 months of treatment may require surgical intervention such as foraminal decompression and nerve displacement. Conclusion: Currently, there has been some advancement in the etiology and intervention of C 5P. Nevertheless, further research is imperative to assess the timing of intervention and surgical protocol.

Designing Reliable Cathode System for High-Performance Inorganic Solid-State Pouch Cells.

All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) based on inorganic solid electrolytes fascinate a large body of researchers in terms of overcoming the inferior energy density and safety issues of existing lithium-ion batteries. To date, the cathode designs in the ASSBs achieve remarkable achievements, adding the urgency of scaling up the battery system toward inorganic solid-state pouch cell configuration for the application market. Herein, the recent developments of cathode materials and the design considerations for their application in the pouch cell format are reviewed to straighten out the roadmap of ASSBs. Specifically, the intercalation compounds and the conversion materials with conversion chemistries are highlighted and discussed as two potentially valuable material types. This review focuses on the basic electrochemical mechanisms, mechanical contact issues, and sheet-type structure in inorganic solid-state pouch cells with corresponding perspectives, thus guiding the future research direction. Finally, the benchmarks for manufacturing inorganic solid-state pouch cells to meet practical high energy density targets are provided in this review for the development of commercially viable products.

The Relationship between Addictive Use of Short-Video Platforms and Marital Satisfaction in Older Chinese Couples: An Asymmetrical Dyadic Process.

Increasing evidence indicates that the addictive use of social media can have a detrimental effect on marital satisfaction, due mainly to the decrease in time and focus given to one's spouse. However, the impact of social media use among older couples remains under-investigated, and the research that does exist relies on individual-level data that do not allow the exploration of the dynamics between the dyadic partners. Therefore, the present study focused on older adults' use of short-video platforms, as these have been shown to be particularly addictive for older adults. A sample of 264 older couples was gathered (meanage = 68.02, SD = 8.68), and both spouses completed surveys reporting addictive use of short-video platforms, negative emotions, and marital satisfaction. Using an actor-partner interdependence model, we found an asymmetrical dyadic process in that the addictive use of short-video platforms by the wives was not only related to their own negative emotions, but also those of their spouse, as well as to decreased marital satisfaction. Meanwhile, addictive use by the husbands seemed to relate only to their own increased negative emotions, as well as to decreased marital satisfaction. Together, the findings from this study reveal dyadic dynamics with delineated pathways through which the addictive use of short-video platforms can damage older couples' interactive processes and marital satisfaction.

Ultralong Cycling and Safe Lithium-Sulfur Pouch Cells for Sustainable Energy Storage.

While layered metal oxides remain the dominant cathode materials for the state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, conversion-type cathodes such as sulfur present unique opportunities in developing cheaper, safer, and more energy-dense next-generation battery technologies. There has been remarkable progress in advancing the laboratory scale lithium-sulfur (Li-S) coin cells to a high level of performance. However, the relevant strategies cannot be readily translated to practical cell formats such as pouch cells and even battery pack. Here these key technical challenges are addressed by molecular engineering of the Li metal for hydrophobicization, fluorination and thus favorable anode chemistry. The introduced tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite (TBP) and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBA+F-) as well as cellulose membrane by rolling enables the formation of a functional thin layer that eliminates the vulnerability of Li metal towards the already demanding environment required (1.55% relative humidity) for cell production and gives rise to LiF-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) to suppress dendrite growth. As a result, Li-S pouch cells assembled at a pilot production line survive 400 full charge/discharge cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.55% and impressive rate performance of 1.5 C. A cell-level energy density of 417 Wh kg-1 and power density of 2766 W kg-1 are also delivered via multilayer Li-S pouch cell. The Li-S battery pack can even power an unmanned aerial vehicle of 3 kg for a fairly long flight time. This work represents a big step forward acceleration in Li-S battery marketization for future energy storage featuring improved safety, sustainability, higher energy density as well as reduced cost.

Longitudinal optogenetic mapping reveals enhanced motor control by the contralesional cortex after traumatic brain injury in mice.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of human disability, and understanding its spontaneous recovery pattern after injury is critical for potential treatments. However, studies on the function of the contralesional cortex after TBI have mostly focused on acute-phase changes, and long-term dynamic changes in the control of the affected limb by the contralesional cortex are less understood. To unravel long-term adaptations in the contralesional cortex, we developed a mouse model of TBI and used longitudinal optogenetic motor mapping to observe the function of contralesional corticospinal neurons (CSNs) projecting to the unilateral seventh cervical (C7) segment of the spinal cord. We injected a retrograde adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing channelrhodopsin-2 to optogenetically stimulate and map the functional connections of the motor-sensory cortex. We validated the effectiveness of transcranial optogenetic stimulation for functional mapping and observed a general increase in the control of the affected limb by the contralesional cortex over time. Using retrograde labeling techniques, we showed that TBI does not affect the distribution of C7-CSNs but alters their function, and the labeled CSNs are concentrated in the caudal and rostral forelimb areas. Our findings provide new insights into harnessing contralesional cortical plasticity to improve treatment for affected limbs. This study sheds light on the long-term adaptations in the contralesional cortex after TBI, paving the way for potential clinical applications of optogenetic stimulation to improve motor control and rehabilitation outcomes.

Direct Urea/H2O2 Fuel Cell with a Hierarchical Porous Nanoglass Anode for High-Efficiency Energy Conversion.

Direct urea/H2O2 fuel cells (DUFCs) constitute a sustainable bifunctional energy conversion technique devoted to simultaneously eliminating environmental wastewater with urea and generating clean energy. However, exploring an efficient anode material for DUFCs still remains a huge challenge. In this work, a Ni-P hierarchical porous nanoglass (HPNG) catalytic electrode was developed via a low-cost, industrially available electrodeposition technique, which exhibits one of the best performances reported so far in the urea oxidation reaction (UOR), with a potential of 1.330 V at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 9.77 mV dec-1. The superior UOR performance of the HPNG electrode is attributed to the excellent intrinsic catalytic activity of NG with a high-energy state and an extremely enlarged surface area from the unique 3D hierarchical porous structure. Furthermore, a DUFC system with the HPNG anode shows a performance breakthrough as indicated by the maximum power density of 38.15 mW cm-2 for 0.5 M urea, representing one of the best yet reported DUFCs. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of the scalable production of HPNG electrodes and is expected to be a great contribution to the development of the practical use of DUFCs in the near future for bifunctional energy conversion.

COVID-19 symptoms and compliance: The mediating role of fundamental social motives.

Background: Understanding the compliance of infected individuals and the psychological process underlying compliance during pandemics is important for preventing and controlling the spread of pathogens. Our study investigated whether fundamental social motives mediate the relationship between having infectious disease and compliance. Methods: An online survey was conducted in March 2020, during the severe phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China to collect data from 15,758 participants. The survey comprised self-report questionnaires with items pertaining to current symptoms (COVID-19 symptoms, other symptoms or no symptoms), the Fundamental Social Motive Inventory, and measures of compliance. Correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and structural equation model were used for data analysis. Results: The participants with COVID-19 symptoms had lower levels of compliance than those without symptoms, and their lower compliance was caused by a decrease in disease avoidance (indirect effect = -0.058, 95% CI = [-0.061, -0.056]) and familial motives (indirect effect = -0.113, 95% CI = [-0.116, -0.062]). Whereas exclusion concern (indirect effect = 0.014, 95% CI = [0.011, 0.017]) suppressed the effects of COVID-19 symptoms on compliance, the effect disappeared in the multiple mediation model, while those of disease avoidance and familial motives remained. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the critical role of disease avoidance and familial motives in promoting compliance with public health norms during pandemics and suggest that enhancing these motives may serve as an effective intervention strategy to mitigate noncompliance among potentially infected individuals.

Integrated opposite charge grafting induced ionic-junction fiber.

The emergence of ionic-junction devices has attracted growing interests due to the potential of serving as signal transmission and translation media between electronic devices and biological systems using ions. Among them, fiber-shaped iontronics possesses a great advantage in implantable applications owing to the unique one-dimensional geometry. However, fabricating stable ionic-junction on curved surfaces remains a challenge. Here, we developed a polyelectrolyte based ionic-junction fiber via an integrated opposite charge grafting method capable of large-scale continuous fabrication. The ionic-junction fibers can be integrated into functions such as ionic diodes and ionic bipolar junction transistors, where rectification and switching of input signals are implemented. Moreover, synaptic functionality has also been demonstrated by utilizing the fiber memory capacitance. The connection between the ionic-junction fiber and sciatic nerves of the mouse simulating end-to-side anastomosis is further performed to realize effective nerve signal conduction, verifying the capability for next-generation artificial neural pathways in implantable bioelectronics.

Underlying antihypertensive mechanism of egg white-derived peptide QIGLF using renal metabolomics analysis.

The kidney is an important target organ in the treatment of hypertension, but the effect of peptide QIGLF with antihypertensive activity on kidneys remains unknown. In the work, we aimed to further understand the hypotensive effects of QIGLF in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) using widely targeted metabolomics technology to investigate the kidney metabolic profiling variations. After four weeks of oral administration, the results showed different renal metabolomics profiles between QIGLF and model groups. Besides, a total of 10 potential biomarkers were identified, that is, 3-hydroxybutanoate, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 19(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 15-oxoETE, L-ornithine, malonate, uridine, uridine 5'-monophosphate, argininosuccinic acid, and N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate. These metabolites might exhibit antihypertensive activity of QIGLF by regulating synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, arachidonic acid metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis. These findings suggest that QIGLF might alleviate hypertension by inhibiting renal inflammation, promoting natriuresis, and regulating renal nitric oxide production.