Elf1 promotes Rad26's interaction with lesion-arrested Pol II for transcription-coupled repair.

Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) is a highly conserved DNA repair pathway that removes bulky lesions in the transcribed genome. Cockayne syndrome B protein (CSB), or its yeast ortholog Rad26, has been known for decades to play important roles in the lesion-recognition steps of TC-NER. Another conserved protein ELOF1, or its yeast ortholog Elf1, was recently identified as a core transcription-coupled repair factor. How Rad26 distinguishes between RNA polymerase II (Pol II) stalled at a DNA lesion or other obstacles and what role Elf1 plays in this process remains unknown. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of Pol II-Rad26 complexes stalled at different obstacles that show that Rad26 uses a common mechanism to recognize a stalled Pol II, with additional interactions when Pol II is arrested at a lesion. A cryo-EM structure of lesion-arrested Pol II-Rad26 bound to Elf1 revealed that Elf1 induces further interactions between Rad26 and a lesion-arrested Pol II. Biochemical and genetic data support the importance of the interplay between Elf1 and Rad26 in TC-NER initiation. Together, our results provide important mechanistic insights into how two conserved transcription-coupled repair factors, Rad26/CSB and Elf1/ELOF1, work together at the initial lesion recognition steps of transcription-coupled repair.

Quantifying dynamic pro-inflammatory gene expression and heterogeneity in single macrophage cells.

Macrophages must respond appropriately to pathogens and other pro-inflammatory stimuli in order to perform their roles in fighting infection. One way in which inflammatory stimuli can vary is in their dynamics-that is, the amplitude and duration of stimulus experienced by the cell. In this study, we performed long-term live cell imaging in a microfluidic device to investigate how the pro-inflammatory genes IRF1, CXCL10, and CXCL9 respond to dynamic interferon-gamma (IFNγ) stimulation. We found that IRF1 responds to low concentration or short duration IFNγ stimulation, whereas CXCL10 and CXCL9 require longer or higherconcentration stimulation to be expressed. We also investigated the heterogeneity in the expression of each gene and found that CXCL10 and CXCL9 have substantial cell-to-cell variability. In particular, the expression of CXCL10 appears to be largely stochastic with a subpopulation of nonresponding cells across all the stimulation conditions tested. We developed both deterministic and stochastic models for the expression of each gene. Our modeling analysis revealed that the heterogeneity in CXCL10 can be attributed to a slow chromatin-opening step that is on a similar timescale to that of adaptation of the upstream signal. In this way, CXCL10 expression in individual cells can remain stochastic in response to each pulse of repeated stimulation, which we also validated by experiments. Together, we conclude that pro-inflammatory genes in the same signaling pathway can respond to dynamic IFNγ stimulus with very different response features and that upstream signal adaptation can contribute to shaping heterogeneous gene expression.

Thiacalix[4]arene Etching of an Anisotropic Cu70H22 Intermediate for Accessing Robust Modularly Assembled Copper Nanoclusters.

Atom-precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) with large bulk (nuclearity >60) are important species for insight into the embryonic phase of metal nanoparticles and their top-down etching synthesis. Herein, we report a metastable rod-shaped 70-nuclei copper-hydride NC, [Cl@Cu70H22(PhC≡C)29(CF3COO)16]2+ (Cu70), with Cl- as the template, in which the Cl@Cu59 kernel adopts a distinctive metal packing mode along the bipolar direction, and the protective ligand shell exhibits corresponding site differentiation. In terms of metal nuclearity, Cu70 is the largest alkynyl-stabilized Cu-hydride cluster to date. As a typical highly active intermediate, Cu70 could undergo a transformation into a series of robust modularly assembled Cu clusters (B-type Cu8, A-A-type Cu22, A-B-type Cu23, and A-B-A-type Cu38) upon etching by p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene (H4TC4A), which could not be achieved by "one-pot" synthetic methods. Notably, the patterns of A and B blocks in the Cu NCs could be effectively modulated by employing appropriate counterions and blockers, and the modular assembly mechanism was illustrated through comprehensive solution chemistry analysis using HR-ESI-MS. Furthermore, catalytic investigations reveal that Cu38 could serve as a highly efficient catalyst for the cycloaddition of propargylic amines with CO2 under mild conditions. This work not only enriched the family of high-nuclear copper-hydride NCs but also provided new insights into the growth mechanism of metal NCs.

Self-Flipping Solar Seesaw Evaporators Leverage Scaling to De-Scale.

Salt scaling poses a significant obstacle to the practical implementation of solar-driven evaporation for desalination. Attempts to mitigate scaling by enhancing mass transfer often lead to a compromise in evaporation efficiency due to associated heat loss. In the present work, a novel seesaw evaporator with a Janus structure to harness scaling for periodic self-descaling is reported. The seesaw evaporators are facilely fabricated by delignifying balsa wood and subsequently single-sided spray-coating it with soot and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This unique Janus structure enables the evaporator to float on the brine while ensuring an ample supply of solution for evaporation. During evaporation, salt ions are transported directionally toward the cocked end of the evaporator to form scaling, triggering the seesaw evaporator to flip once a threshold is reached. The accumulated salts re-dissolve back into the solution. By adjusting the tilt angle, the evaporator can achieve an impressive evaporation rate of up to 2.65 kg m-2  h-1 when evaporating an 8 wt.% NaCl solution. Remarkably, these evaporators maintain a stable evaporation rate during prolonged 120 h operation and produce ≈3.93-6.35 L m⁻2 ·day⁻¹ of freshwater from simulated brines when assembled into an evaporation device.

Multiomics Analysis Reveals Leucine Deprivation Promotes Bile Acid Synthesis by Upregulating Hepatic CYP7A1 and Intestinal Turicibacter sanguinis in Mice.

BACKGROUND: Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid, participates in the regulation of lipid metabolism and the composition of the intestinal microbiota. However, the related mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: Here, we aimed to reveal the potential mechanisms by which hepatic CYP7A1 (a rate-limiting enzyme for bile acid [BA] synthesis) and gut microbiota coregulate BA synthesis under leucine deprivation. METHODS: To this end, 8-wk-old C57BL/6J mice were fed with either regular diets or leucine-free diets for 1 wk. Then, we investigated whether secondary BAs were synthesized by Turicibacter sanguinis in 7-wk-old C57BL/6J germ-free mice gavaged with T. sanguinis for 2 wk by determining BA concentrations in the plasma, liver, and cecum contents using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The results showed that leucine deprivation resulted in a significant increase in total BA concentration in the plasma and an increase in the liver, but no difference in total BA was observed in the cecum contents before and after leucine deprivation. Furthermore, leucine deprivation significantly altered BA profiles such as taurocholic acid and ω-muricholic acid in the plasma, liver, and cecum contents. CYP7A1 expression was significantly upregulated in the liver under leucine deprivation. Leucine deprivation also regulated the composition of the gut microbiota; specifically, it significantly upregulated the relative abundance of T. sanguinis, thus enhancing the conversion of primary BAs into secondary BAs by intestinal T. sanguinis in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, leucine deprivation regulated BA profiles in enterohepatic circulation by upregulating hepatic CYP7A1 expression and increasing intestinal T. sanguinis abundance. Our findings reveal the contribution of gut microbiota to BA metabolism under dietary leucine deprivation.

Effect of exercise on improving myocardial mitochondrial function in decreasing diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a significant cause of heart failure in patients with diabetes, and its pathogenesis is closely related to myocardial mitochondrial injury and functional disability. Studies have shown that the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy is related to disorders in mitochondrial metabolic substrates, changes in mitochondrial dynamics, an imbalance in mitochondrial Ca2+ regulation, defects in the regulation of microRNAs, and mitochondrial oxidative stress. Physical activity may play a role in resistance to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy by improving myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis, the level of autophagy and dynamic changes in fusion and division; enhancing the ability to cope with oxidative stress; and optimising the metabolic substrates of the myocardium. This paper puts forward a new idea for further understanding the specific mitochondrial mechanism of the occurrence and development of diabetic cardiomyopathy and clarifying the role of exercise-mediated myocardial mitochondrial changes in the prevention and treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This is expected to provide a new theoretical basis for exercise to reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy symptoms.

Real-world evidence of a novel tetravalent immunoglobulin Y effectiveness and safety in patients with the refractory Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND: Refractory Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection inevitably increase the difficulty of drug selection. Here, we described our experience with the use of a novel tetravalent IgY against H. pylori for the treatment of patients with refractory H. pylori infection. METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive the standard quadruple therapy (amoxicillin, clarithromycin, omeprazole and bismuth potassium citrate ) for 2 weeks or 250 mg of avian polyclonal IgY orally twice a day for 4 weeks. The binding efficacy of IgY to H. pylori antigens was detected by western blotting13. C-urea breath test was performed to evaluate the eradication therap's efficacy. The side effects of IgY were evaluated via various routine tests. The questionnaire was used to gather clinical symptoms and adverse reactions. RESULTS: Western blot analysis showed that tetravalent IgY simultaneously bind to VacA, HpaA, CagA and UreB of H. pylori. Tetravalent IgY had an eradication rate of 50.74% in patients with refractory H. pylori and an inhibition rate of 50.04% against DOB (delta over baseline) of 13C-urea. The symptom relief rate was 61.76% in thirty-four patients with clinical symptoms, and no adverse reactions were observed during tetravalent IgY treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Polyclonal avian tetravalent IgY reduced H. pylori infection, and showed good efficacy and safety in the treatment of refractory H. pylori infection patients, which represented an effective therapeutic option of choice for patients with refractory H. pylori infection.

Liver receptor homolog-1: structures, related diseases, and drug discovery.

Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is a ligand-regulated transcription factor that plays crucial roles in metabolism, development, and immunity. Despite being classified as an 'orphan' receptor due to the ongoing debate surrounding its endogenous ligands, recent researches have demonstrated that LRH-1 can be modulated by various synthetic ligands. This highlights the potential of LRH-1 as an attractive drug target for the treatment of inflammation, metabolic disorders, and cancer. In this review, we provide an overview of the structural basis, functional activities, associated diseases, and advancements in therapeutic ligand research targeting LRH-1.

Discovery and pharmacological characterization of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives as RORγ inverse agonists against prostate cancer.

The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORγ) is regarded as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer. Herein, we report the identification, optimization, and evaluation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives as novel RORγ inverse agonists, starting from high throughput screening using a thermal stability shift assay (TSA). The representative compounds 13e (designated as XY039) and 14a (designated as XY077) effectively inhibited the RORγ transcriptional activity and exhibited excellent selectivity against other nuclear receptor subtypes. The structural basis for their inhibitory potency was elucidated through the crystallographic study of RORγ LBD complex with 13e. Both 13e and 14a demonstrated reasonable antiproliferative activity, potently inhibited colony formation and the expression of AR, AR regulated genes, and other oncogene in AR positive prostate cancer cell lines. Moreover, 13e and 14a effectively suppressed tumor growth in a 22Rv1 xenograft tumor model in mice. This work provides new and valuable lead compounds for further development of drugs against prostate cancer.

Deciphering the influence of salinity stress on the biological aniline degradation system: Pollutants degradation performance and microbial response.

In order to evaluate the impact of salinity gradients on the aniline biodegradation system, six reactors at salinity concentrations (0%-5%) were established. The results presented the salinity except for 5% imposed negligible effects on aniline degradation performance. Nitrification had prominent resistance to salinity (0%-1.5%) while were significantly restrained when salinity increased. The total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of Z4 (1.5%) was 20.5% higher than Z1 (0%) during the stable operation phase. Moreover, high throughput sequencing analysis showed that halophilic bacterium, such as Halomonas, Rhodococcus, remained greater survival advantages in high salinity system. The substantial enrichment of Flavobacterium, Dokdonella, Paracoccus observed in Z4 ensured its excellent nitrogen removal performance. The close cooperation among dominant functional bacteria was strengthened when salt content was below 1.5% while exceeding 1.5% led to the collapse of metabolic capacity through integrating the toxicity of aniline and high osmotic pressure.

Advances in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain by Sympathetic Regulation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To explore the mechanism and therapeutic effect of sympathetic nerve regulation on neuropathic pain. RECENT FINDINGS: A comprehensive search was conducted in the PubMed and CNKI libraries, using the following keywords: stele ganglion block, neuropathic pain, sympathetic nerve block, sympathetic chemical destruction, and sympathetic radiofrequency thermocoagulation. We selected and critically reviewed research articles published in English that were related to sympathetic modulation in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The collected literature will be classified according to content and reviewed in combination with experimental results and clinical cases. Neuropathic pain was effectively treated with sympathetic regulation technology. Its mechanism includes the inhibition of sympathetic nerve activity, regulation of the inflammatory response, and inhibition of pain transmission, which greatly alleviates neuropathic pain in patients. Stellate ganglion blocks, thoracic and lumbar sympathectomies, chemical destruction, and radiofrequency thermocoagulation have been widely used to treat neuropathic pain. Sympathetic regulation can effectively relieve pain symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life by inhibiting sympathetic nerve activity, reducing the production and release of pain-related mediators, and inhibiting pain transmission. CT-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the thoracic and lumbar sympathetic nerves is effective and durable, with few complications, and is recommended as a treatment for intractable neuropathic pain.

A perovskite-based electrochemiluminescence aptasensor for tetracycline screening.

Tetracyclines are currently the most commonly used class of antibiotics, and their residue issue significantly impacts public health safety. In this study, a surface modification of perovskite with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide led to the generation of stable electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emitters in aqueous systems and improved the biocompatibility of perovskite. A perovskite quantum dot-based ECL sensing strategy was developed. Utilizing the corresponding aptamer of the antibiotics, strain displacement reactions were triggered, disrupting the ECL quenching system composed of perovskite and Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs) on the electrode surface, generating a signal to achieve quantitative detection of several common tetracycline antibiotics. The perovskite quantum dot provided a strong and stable initial signal, while the efficient catalytic activity of the silver cluster enhanced the recognition sensitivity. Tetracycline, chlortetracycline, and oxytetracycline were used as examples to demonstrate the differentiation and quantitative detection through this method. In addition, the aptasensor exhibited analytical performance with the linear range (0.1-10 µM OTC) and good recovery rates of 94.7% to 101.6% in real samples. This approach has the potential to become a sensitive and practical approach for assessing antibiotic residues.

Curcumae Radix: A Review of Traditional Use, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Quality Control.

Curcumae Radix (CuR) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used in China for more than 1,000 years. It has the traditional efficacy of activating blood and relieving pain, promoting qi and relieving depression, clearing heart and cooling blood, and promoting gallbladder and removing jaundice. Based on this, many domestic and foreign scholars have conducted systematic studies on its chemical composition, pharmacological effects, toxicity and quality control. Currently, 250 compounds, mainly including terpenoids and curcuminoids, have been isolated and identified from CuR, which has pharmacological activities, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antidepressant, hepatoprotective, hemostatic, hematopoietic, and treatment of diabetes mellitus. In modern clinical practice, CuR is widely used in the treatment of tumors, breast hyperplasia, hepatitis, and stroke. However, the generation of toxicity and clinical application of CuR and Caryophylli Flos, the determination of the concoction process of artifacts, the determination of specific Quality Marker, and the establishment of the quality control system of CuR, are problems that need to be solved urgently at present.

The effectiveness of various treatment approaches for laryngeal contact granulomas.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare the effectiveness of various treatment approaches for laryngeal contact granulomas (LCG). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 45 patients diagnosed with LCG at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from October 2017 to May 2023. Based on the treatment modalities administered, patients were categorized into three groups: acid suppression alone, hormone injection combined with acid suppression, and surgery combined with acid suppression. Subsequently, the study compared differences in treatment efficacy and average healing time among these three groups, using various indicators. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the granuloma size in LCG patients with hoarseness (0.126, 95% CI 0.087-0.288) was significantly greater compared to LCG patients without hoarseness (0.047, 95% CI 0.014-0.083) (P = 0.001). However, there were no significant variations in age, morphology (unlobulated/lobulated), laterality ratio (left/right), sex ratio (male/female), history of tracheal intubation (non-intubation/intubation), and RFS score (RFS > 7/RFS ≤ 7) (P > 0.05), regardless of the presence of hoarseness symptoms. At the treatment observation endpoint of 3 months, the curative ratio in the group receiving hormone injection combined with acid suppression was found to be significantly higher compared to the group receiving acid suppression alone (P = 0.018). In addition, the average healing time of patients in the hormone injection combined with acid suppression group was notably shorter than that of the acid suppression alone group (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of hormonal injections and acid suppression may enhance the curative ratio and expedite the healing time of LCG.

Phosphorylation Modification, Structural Characterization, Antioxidant and DNA Protection Capacities of Polysaccharides from Asarum Sieboldii Miq.

Polysaccharide from Asarum sieboldii Miq (ASP) was extracted and five phosphorylation polysaccharides with different degree of substitution were obtained, namely ASPP1, ASPP2, ASPP3, ASPP4, and ASPP5 (ASPPs). The physical and chemical structure and biological activities were studied. The results suggested that the carbohydrate and protein content were reduced while uronic acid was increased after phosphorylation modification. The molecular weight of ASPPs was significantly lower than that of ASP. ASPPs were acidic heteropolysaccharides mainly composed of galacturonic acid, galactose, glucose, fructose, and arabinose. The UV-vis spectrum indicated that the polysaccharides did not contain nucleic acid or protein after modification. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum demonstrated that ASPPs contained characteristic absorption peaks of P=O and P-O-C near 1270 and 980 cm-1 . ASPPs presented a triple helix conformation, but it was not presented in ASP. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the surface topography and particle structure of ASP were different after modification. Compared with ASP, ASPPs enhanced the activity to scavenge DPPH and ABTS free radicals and possessed more protective ability to DNA oxidation caused by OH⋅, GS⋅, and AAPH free radicals. These results suggest that chemical modification is beneficial for the exploitation and utilization of natural polysaccharides.

First report of Botrytis cinerea causing gray mold on Alternanthera philoxeroides in China.

Alternanthera philoxeroides is a perennial herbaceous plant used as a forage crop (Wang et al. 2005) and is known to have medicinal properties. One of notable active components is flavonoids, which have been found to exhibit anti-Hepatitis B Virus activity (Li et al. 2016). In 2021, a leaf spot on A. philoxeroides was observed in the science and education experimental park of Hebei Agricultural University (38°49'38″ N, 115°26'39″ E). Initial symptoms included leaf tissue water loss, chloro-sis and elliptical lesions scattered across the leaf margin with further development leading to ellipse-shaped disease spots and leaf wilting (Fig. 1A). In the field, 50 plants of A. philoxeroides were randomly selected to investigate and quantify dis-ease. Incidence of leaf disease was approximately 25%, and the infected leaves ex-hibited an average affected area of about 20%. In order to identify the pathogen, three diseased plants were randomly selected from different areas. Stems and leaves of diseased plants were cut into pieces (2 to 3 mm × 5 mm) and disinfested with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 minute. After rinsing with sterile water three times, each lesion sample was isolated and purified on PDA at 25°C. Eventually, all samples pro-duced morphologically consistent colonies of pure strains. From the 9 isolates ob-tained, ZLQ-1 was selected as a representative isolate for further study. Colonies were initially white, turning gray from the centre, then gray-brown with cottony aerial hyphae, and finally growing black, stiff, round or irregular sclerotia (0.6 to 4.0 mm × 1.1 to 4.2 mm, n=50) (Fig1. B, C). ZLQ-1 exhibited branched conidia with en-larged apical cells. The conidia of this isolate were unicellular, ovoid or ellipsoid in shape, with dimensions ranging from 5.8 to 16.9 µm × 6.3 to 11.2 µm (n=50) (Fig. 1D). These morphological characteristics were consistent with Botrytis cinerea (Ellis, 1971). The genes of internal transcribed spacer (ITS), heat shock protein (HSP60), DNA-dependent RNA polymerase subunit II (RPB2), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) were amplified with specific primers ITS1/ITS4, HSP60-F/HSP60-R, RPB2-F/RPB2-R and G3PDH-F/G3PDH-R (Aktaruzzaman et al., 2022). Sequences were deposited into GenBank with accession numbers ON479490 for ITS, ON572246 for G3PDH, ON572248 for HSP60, ON572247 for RPB2. BLASTn analysis showed that the ITS sequence shared 99.62% similarity to B. cinerea (CP009808), and the sequences of the other three nuclear protein-encoding genes (G3PDH, HSP60, and RPB2) showed at least 99.9% identity with the genome of B. ci-nerea (B05.10) (Staats et al. 2005). We have inoculated 10 healthy A. philoxeroides leaves with a suspension of 1x105 spores/mL, and used sterile water treatment as control (Aktaruzzaman et al., 2022). Each leaf was inoculated with 10 µL spore sus-pension. After 7 days in a controlled incubation environment (25℃, 40%RH), the plants inoculated with conidial suspensions displayed lesions covered in a gray-white mycelial layer, resembling those observed in the field (Fig. 1E-G). In con-trast, the plants inoculated with sterile water remained unaffected. Morphological and PCR analysis confirmed that the pathogen responsible for the observed symp-toms was B. cinerea. Koch's postulates were fulfilled as the same pathogen was con-sistently re-isolated from the inoculated leaves and confirmed to be B. cinerea through morphological and molecular methods. This is the first reported case of B. cinerea causing gray mold on A. philoxeroides in China. It is important to monitor and prevent B. cinerea infection during cultivation to ensure the production of healthy Chinese medicine and feed.

Synthesis of sinomenine derivatives with potential anti-leukemia activity.

In recent years, with sinomenine hydrochloride as the main ingredient, Qingfengteng had been formulated as various dosage forms for clinical treatment. Subsequent findings confirmed a variety of biological roles for sinomenine. Here, 15 H2S-donating sinomenine derivatives were synthesized. Target hybrids a11 displayed substantial cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines, particularly against K562 cells, with an IC50 value of 1.36 µM. In-depth studies demonstrated that a11 arrested cell cycle at G1 phase, induced apoptosis via both morphological changes in nucleus and membrane potential collapse in mitochondria. These results indicated a11 exerted an antiproliferative effect through apoptosis induction via mitochondrial pathway.

Visual Electrochemiluminescence Biosensor Chip Based on Distance Readout for Deoxynivalenol Detection.

Visual electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensors do not need complex instruments or well-trained operators, which is regarded as an ideal choice for portable and low-cost detection. But traditional visual ECL biosensors are based on the change in ECL intensity, which is easily affected by environmental factors and signal acquisition processes. In this work, a visual ECL biosensor chip based on distance readout has been developed for the first time. The chip is composed of a square detection region and a visual channel region, which are modified with graphene oxide (GO) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)@Ti3C2 nanocomposites, respectively. Target molecules can release aptamers adsorbed on the GO surface of the detection region and further change the electrode potential of the visual channel region, which can determine the length of the long channel that generates visible ECL signals. The application of AuNPs@Ti3C2 nanocomposites can effectively enhance ECL intensity by six times. Through the unique design of the sensor chip, quantification detection can be achieved based on the length change instead of the traditional intensity change. This visual ECL sensor is successfully applied for deoxynivalenol toxin detection in actual samples, demonstrating that the introduction of the distance readout strategy into ECL sensing has a good prospect in on-site testing.

Rapid quality assessment of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix based on near-infrared spectroscopy and capillary electrophoresis.

The aim of this study was to establish a rapid quality assessment method for Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix (RGM) using near-infrared (NIR) spectra combined with chemometric analysis. The NIR spectra were acquired using an integrating sphere diffuse reflectance module, using air as the reference. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) analyses were performed on a model P/ACE MDQ Plus system. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis qualitative model was developed to distinguish different species of RGM samples, and the prediction accuracy for all samples was 91%. The CE response values at each retention time were predicted by building a partial least squares regression (PLSR) calibration model with the CE data set as the Y matrix and the NIR spectra data set as the X matrix. The converted CE fingerprints basically match the real ones, and the six main peaks can be accurately predicted. Transforming NIR spectra fingerprints into the form of CE fingerprints increases its interpretability and more intuitively demonstrates the components that cause diversity among samples of different species and origins. Loganic acid, gentiopicroside, and roburic acid were considered quality indicators of RGM and calibration models were built using PLSR algorithm. The developed models gave root mean square error of prediction of 0.2592% for loganic acid, 0.5341% for gentiopicroside, and 0.0846% for roburic acid. The overall results demonstrate that the rapid quality assessment system can be used for quality control of RGM.

Balance between Activity and Stability of Single Metal and Intermetallic Compounds for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The higher population of the antibonding state around the Fermi level will result in better activity yet lower stability of HER (Re vs Ru metal). There seems to be a limitation or balance for using a single metal since the bonding scheme of a single metal is relatively simple. Combining Re (strong bonding), Ru (HER active), and Zr metal (corrosion-resistant) grants ternary intermetallic compound ZrRe1.75Ru025, exhibiting excellent HER activity and stability in acidic and alkaline electrolytes. The overpotential at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 (η10) for ZrRe1.75Ru025 is much lower compared to that of ZrRe2. Although the HER activity of ZrRe1.75Ru025 is not comparable to that of ZrRu2, it demonstrates outstanding HER stability, while the current density of ZrRu2 is over ca. 16% after 6 h. This suggests that intermetallic compounds can break the constraint between activity and stability in a single metal for HER, which may be applied in other fields as well.