Development of soy protein isolate gels added with Tremella polysaccharides and psyllium husk powder as 3D printing inks for people with dysphagia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of soy protein isolate (SPI) gels added with Tremella polysaccharides (TPs) and psyllium husk powder (PHP) as 3D printing inks for developing dysphagia-friendly food and elucidate the potential mechanism of TPs and PHP in enhancing the printing and swallowing performance of SPI gels. The results indicated that the SPI gels with a TP : PHP ratio of 3 : 7 could be effectively used as printing inks to manufacture dysphagia-friendly food. The addition of TPs increased the free water content, resulting in a decrease in the viscosity of the SPI gels, which, in turn, reduced the line width of the 3D-printed product and structural strength of the gel system. The addition of PHP increased disulfide bond interactions and excluded volume interactions, which determined the mechanical strength of SPI gels and increased the line width of the printed product. The synergistic effects between TPs and PHP improved the printing precision and structural stability. This study presents meaningful insights for the utilization of 3D printing in the creation of dysphagia-friendly food using protein-polysaccharide complexes.

Design principles as minimal models.

In this essay I suggest that we view design principles in systems biology as minimal models, for a design principle usually exhibits universal behaviors that are common to a whole range of heterogeneous (living and nonliving) systems with different underlying mechanisms. A well-known design principle in systems biology, integral feedback control, is discussed, showing that it satisfies all the conditions for a model to be a minimal model. This approach has significant philosophical implications: it not only accounts for how design principles explain, but also helps clarify one dispute over design principles, e.g., whether design principles provide mechanistic explanations or a distinct kind of explanations called design explanations.

Discovery of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Deficiency in Individuals With Common Psychiatric Comorbidities: A Retrospective Case Review.

INTRODUCTION: A retrospective analysis was conducted of a data set collected in an outpatient behavioral health clinic to assess medication metabolism and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and to see if there was a correlation with certain diagnoses and/or gender. METHOD: The outpatient routine completed genetic testing on their patients and the test results were later collected through a third-party company, which completed the pharmacogenomic test analyzing genetic variations in DNA, medication metabolism, and an MTHFR deficiency. RESULTS: This study reviewed 186 patients seen in an outpatient setting who were tested for an MTHFR deficiency and compared their psychiatric diagnoses and the number of failed medication attempts. Of those 186 patients, 77 had normal MTHFR enzyme function, 85 were found to have a moderate MTHFR deficiency, and 24 had a severe MTHFR deficiency. Those with a severe MTHFR deficiency had a higher number of medication trials as compared to those without the deficiency and there were overall more patients with a moderate MTHFR deficiency in this data set. CONCLUSION: Currently, MTHFR deficiency is not commonly tested due to lack of insurance coverage and provider knowledge, and due to the cost of the test itself. Thus, the diagnosis can often be missed.

Electrical aligned polyurethane nerve guidance conduit modulates macrophage polarization and facilitates immunoregulatory peripheral nerve regeneration.

Biomaterials can modulate the local immune microenvironments to promote peripheral nerve regeneration. Inspired by the spatial orderly distribution and endogenous electric field of nerve fibers, we aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of electrical and topological cues on immune microenvironments of peripheral nerve regeneration. Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) with aligned electrospun nanofibers were fabricated using a polyurethane copolymer containing a conductive aniline trimer and degradable L-lysine (PUAT). In vitro experiments showed that the aligned PUAT (A-PUAT) membranes promoted the recruitment of macrophages and induced their polarization towards the pro-healing M2 phenotype, which subsequently facilitated the migration and myelination of Schwann cells. Furthermore, NGCs fabricated from A-PUAT increased the proportion of pro-healing macrophages and improved peripheral nerve regeneration in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the potential application of NGCs in peripheral nerve regeneration from an immunomodulatory perspective and revealed A-PUAT as a clinically-actionable strategy for peripheral nerve injury.

Oxidative Addition of E-H (E = C, N) Bonds to Transient Uranium(II) Centers.

Two-electron oxidative addition is one of the most important elementary reactions for d-block transition metals but it is uncommon for f-block elements. Here, we report the first examples of intermolecular oxidative addition of E-H (E = C, N) bonds to uranium(II) centers. The transient U(II) species was formed in-situ by reducing a heterometallic cluster featuring U(IV)-Pd(0) bonds with potassium-graphite (KC8). Oxidative addition of C-H or N-H bonds to the U(II) centers was observed when this transient U(II) species was treated with benzene, carbazole or 1-adamantylamine, respectively. The U(II) centers could also react with tetracene, biphenylene or N2O, leading to the formation of arene reduced U(IV) products and uranyl(VI) species via two- or four-electron processes. This study demonstrates that the intermolecular two-electron oxidative addition reactions are viable for actinide elements.

Preparation of NIR-II Polymer Nanoprobe Through Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer of NIR-I Dye.

Near-infrared-II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging is pivotal in biomedical research. Organic probes exhibit high potential in clinical translation, due to advantages such as precise structure design, low toxicity, and post-modifications convenience. In related preparation, enhancement of NIR-II tail emission from NIR-I dyes is an efficient method. In particular, the promotion of twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) of relevant NIR-I dyes is a convenient protocol. However, present TICT-type probes still show disadvantages in relatively low emission, large particle sizes, or limited choice of NIR-I dyes, etc. Herein, the synthesis of stable small-sized polymer NIR-II fluoroprobes (e.g., 7.2 nm), integrating TICT and Förster resonance energy transfer process to synergistically enhance the NIR-II emission is reported. Strong enhanced emissions can be obtained from various NIR-I dyes and lanthanide elements (e.g., twelvefold at 1250 nm from Nd-DTPA/IR-808 sample). The fluorophore provides high-resolution angiography, with high-contrast imaging on middle cerebral artery occlusion model mice for distinguishing occlusion. The fluorophore can be rapidly excreted from the kidney (urine ≈65% within 4 h) in normal mice and exhibits long-term renal retention on acute kidney injury mice, showing potential applications in the prognosis of kidney diseases. This development provides an effective strategy to design and synthesize effective NIR-II fluoroprobes.

Altered development of face recognition among infants born amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To effectively contain the spread of COVID-19, public health agencies mandated special regulations. Although they protected us from COVID-19, these restrictions have inevitably changed the environment around us. It remains unclear how these changes may have affected early cognitive development among infants born during the pandemic. Thus, this study examined how the COVID-19 restrictions have affected infants' face recognition ability, a hallmark of their cognitive capacities. Specifically, we used the familiarization and visual pair comparison paradigm to examine face recognition performance among infants aged 6 to 14 months amid the second wave of the pandemic (February to July 2021). Experiment 1 investigated the recognition of unmasked faces and found that only younger infants, but not older infants, recognized faces by showing a novelty preference. Experiment 2 examined the recognition of faces wearing masks and found that only older infants, but not younger ones, recognized faces by exhibiting a familiarity preference. These results suggest that with limited interactions during the pandemic, infants could have developed an overly specialized face processing ability that failed to recognize the faces of strangers. Moreover, infants could have obtained more information on masked faces during the pandemic and adapted to the current situation. In Expreiment 3, we further confirmed the restriction on infants' interpersonal experiences with a survey conducted both before and during the pandemic. Overall, these findings demonstrated how the pandemic altered early perceptual development and further confirmed that interpersonal experiences during infancy are critical in their cognitive development.

Inhibition of STAT3 by S3I-201 suppress peritoneal fibroblast phenotype conversion and alleviate peritoneal fibrosis.

Peritoneal fibrosis is a common pathological response to long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) and a major cause for PD discontinuation. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the induction and progression of peritoneal fibrosis is of great interest. In our study, in vitro study revealed that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a key factor in fibroblast activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. Furthermore, STAT3 induced by IL-6 trans-signalling pathway mediate the fibroblasts of the peritoneal stroma contributed to peritoneal fibrosis. Inhibition of STAT3 exerts an antifibrotic effect by attenuating fibroblast activation and ECM production with an in vitro co-culture model. Moreover, STAT3 plays an important role in the peritoneal fibrosis in an animal model of peritoneal fibrosis developed in mice. Blocking STAT3 can reduce the peritoneal morphological changes induced by chlorhexidine gluconate. In conclusion, our findings suggested STAT3 signalling played an important role in peritoneal fibrosis. Therefore, blocking STAT3 might become a potential treatment strategy in peritoneal fibrosis.

Robust Gaussian Process Regression Method for Efficient Tunneling Pathway Optimization: Application to Surface Processes.

Simulation of surface processes is a key part of computational chemistry that offers atomic-scale insights into mechanisms of heterogeneous catalysis, diffusion dynamics, and quantum tunneling phenomena. The most common theoretical approaches involve optimization of reaction pathways, including semiclassical tunneling pathways (called instantons). The computational effort can be demanding, especially for instanton optimizations with an ab initio electronic structure. Recently, machine learning has been applied to accelerate reaction-pathway optimization, showing great potential for a wide range of applications. However, previous methods still suffer from numerical and efficiency issues and were not designed for condensed-phase reactions. We propose an improved framework based on Gaussian process regression for general transformed coordinates, which has improved efficiency and numerical stability, and we propose a descriptor that combines internal and Cartesian coordinates suitable for modeling surface processes. We demonstrate with 11 instanton optimizations in three representative systems that the improved approach makes ab initio instanton optimization significantly cheaper, such that it becomes not much more expensive than a classical transition-state theory rate calculation.

Mechanochemical dynamics of collective cells and hierarchical topological defects in multicellular lumens.

Collective cell dynamics is essential for tissue morphogenesis and various biological functions. However, it remains incompletely understood how mechanical forces and chemical signaling are integrated to direct collective cell behaviors underlying tissue morphogenesis. Here, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) mechanochemical theory accounting for biochemical reaction-diffusion and cellular mechanotransduction to investigate the dynamics of multicellular lumens. We show that the interplay between biochemical signaling and mechanics can trigger either pitchfork or Hopf bifurcation to induce diverse static mechanochemical patterns or generate oscillations with multiple modes both involving marked mechanical deformations in lumens. We uncover the crucial role of mechanochemical feedback in emerging morphodynamics and identify the evolution and morphogenetic functions of hierarchical topological defects including cell-level hexatic defects and tissue-level orientational defects. Our theory captures the common mechanochemical traits of collective dynamics observed in experiments and could provide a mechanistic context for understanding morphological symmetry breaking in 3D lumen-like tissues.

PPAR-γ regulates the polarization of M2 macrophages to improve the microenvironment for autologous fat grafting.

The unpredictable survival rate of autologous fat grafting (AFG) seriously affects its clinical application. Improving the survival rate of AFG has become an unresolved issue in plastic surgery. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) regulates the adipogenic differentiation of adipocytes, but the functional mechanism in AFG remains unclear. In this study, we established an animal model of AFG and demonstrated the superior therapeutic effect of PPAR-γ regulation in the process of AFG. From day 3 after fat grafting, the PPAR-γ agonist rosiglitazone group consistently showed better adipose integrity, fewer oil cysts, and fibrosis. Massive macrophage infiltration was observed after 7 days. At the same time, M2 macrophages begin to appear. At day 14, M2 macrophages gradually became the dominant cell population, which suppressed inflammation and promoted revascularization and fat regeneration. In addition, transcriptome sequencing showed that the differentially expressed genes in the Rosiglitazone group were associated with the pathways of adipose regeneration, differentiation, and angiogenesis; these results provide new ideas for clinical treatment.

Caffeic acid combined with arabinoxylan or ß-glucan attenuates diet-induced obesity in mice via modulation of gut microbiota and metabolites.

Polyphenols and dietary fibers in whole grains are important bioactive compounds to reduce risks for obesity. However, whether the combination of the two components exhibits a stronger anti-obesity effect remains unclear. Caffeic acid is a major phenolic acid in cereals, and arabinoxylan and ß-glucan are biological macromolecules with numerous health benefits. Here, we investigated the effect of caffeic acid combined with arabinoxylan or ß-glucan on glucose and lipid metabolism, gut microbiota, and metabolites in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Caffeic acid combined with arabinoxylan or ß-glucan significantly reduced the body weight, blood glucose, and serum free fatty acid concentrations. Caffeic acid combined with ß-glucan effectively decreased serum total cholesterol levels and hepatic lipid accumulation, modulated oxidative and inflammatory stress, and improved gut barrier function. Compared with arabinoxylan, ß-glucan, and caffeic acid alone, caffeic acid combined with arabinoxylan or ß-glucan exhibited a better capacity to modulate gut microbiota, including increased microbial diversity, reduced Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and increased abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium. Furthermore, caffeic acid combined with ß-glucan reversed HFD-induced changes in microbiota-derived metabolites involving tryptophan, purine, and bile acid metabolism. Thus, caffeic acid and ß-glucan had a synergistic anti-obesity effect by regulating specific gut microbiota and metabolites.

Nuclear Quantum Effects on Nonadiabatic Dynamics of a Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore Analogue: Ring-Polymer Surface-Hopping Simulation.

Herein, we have used the "on-the-fly" ring-polymer surface-hopping simulation method with the centroid approximation (RPSH-CA), in combination with the multireference OM2/MRCI electronic structure calculations to study the photoinduced dynamics of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore analogue in the gas phase, i.e., o-HBI, at 50, 100, and 300 K with 1, 5, 10, and 15 beads (3600 1 ps trajectories). The electronic structure calculations identified five new minimum-energy conical intersection (MECI) structures, which, together with the previous one, play crucial roles in the excited-state decay dynamics of o-HBI. It is also found that the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) occurs in an ultrafast manner and is completed within 20 fs in all the simulation conditions because there is no barrier associated with this ESIPT process in the S1 state. However, the other excited-state dynamical results are strongly related to the number of beads. At 50 and 100 K, the nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) are very important; therefore, the excited-state dynamical results change significantly with the bead number. For example, the S1 decay time deduced from time-dependent state populations becomes longer as the bead number increases. Nevertheless, an essentially convergent trend is observed when the bead number is close to 10. In contrast, at 300 K, the NQEs become weaker and the above dynamical results converge very quickly even with 1 bead. Most importantly, the NQEs seriously affect the excited-state decay mechanism of o-HBI. At 50 and 100 K, most trajectories decay to the S0 state via perpendicular keto MECIs, whereas, at 300 K, only twisted keto MECIs are responsible for the excited-state decay. The present work not only comprehensively explores the temperature-dependent photoinduced dynamics of o-HBI, but also demonstrates the importance and necessity of NQEs in nonadiabatic dynamics simulations, especially at relatively low temperatures.

Induced Aggregation, Solvent Regulation, and Supracluster Assembly of Aluminum Oxo Clusters.

ConspectusRecent years have witnessed the development of cluster materials as they are atomically precise molecules with uniform size and solution-processability, which are unattainable with traditional nanoparticles or framework materials. The motivation for studying Al(III) chemistry is not only to understand the aggregation process of aluminum in the environment but also to develop novel low-cost materials given its natural abundance. However, the Al-related clusters are underdeveloped compared to the coinage metals, lanthanides, and transition metals. The challenge in isolating crystalline compounds is the lack of an effective method to realize the controllable hydrolysis of Al(III) ions. Compared with the traditional hydrolysis of inorganic Al(III) salts in highly alkaline solutions and hydrolysis of aluminum trialkyl compounds conducted carefully in an inert operating environment, we herein developed an effective way to control the hydrolysis of aluminum isopropanol through an alcoxalation reaction. By solvothermal/low melting point solid melting synthesis and using "ligand aggregation, solvent regulation, and supracluster assembly" strategies, our laboratory has established an organic-inorganic hybrid system of aluminum oxo clusters (AlOCs). The employment of organic ligands promotes the aggregation and slows the hydrolysis of Al(III) ions, which in turn improves the crystallization process. The regulation of the structure types can be achieved through the selection of ligands and the supporting solvents. Compared with the traditional condensed polyoxoaluminates, we successfully isolated a broad range of porous AlOCs, including aluminum molecular rings and Archimedes aluminum oxo cages. By studying ring expansion, structural transformation, and intermolecular supramolecular assembly, we demonstrate unique and unprecedented structural controllability and assembly behavior in cluster science. The advancement of this universal synthetic method is to realize materials customization through modularly oriented supracluster assembly. In this Account, we will provide a clear-cut definition and terminology of "ligand aggregation, solvent regulation, and supracluster assembly". Then we will discuss the discovery in this area by using a strategy, such as aluminum molecular ring, ring size expansion, ring supracluster assembly, etc. Furthermore, given the internal and external pore structures, as well as the solubility and modifiability of the AlOCs, we will demonstrate their potential applications in both the solid and liquid phases, such as iodine capture, the optical limiting responses, and dopant in polymer dielectrics. The strategy herein can be applied to extensive cluster science and promote the research of main group element chemistry. The new synthetic method, fascinating clusters, and unprecedented assembly behaviors we have discovered will advance Al(III) chemistry and will also lay the foundation for functional applications.

Clinical Characteristics and Analysis of Associated Risk Factors in Patients with Severe and Non-Severe COVID-19 Infection.

Objective: Our aim was to highlight the clinical characteristics and determine the risk factors associated with severe and non-severe COVID-19 infection. Study Method: A retrospective review was conducted on clinical data obtained from patients with COVID-19 infection, admitted to the emergency department between November 2022 and January 2023. Total of 1684 participants were categorized into severe (312 cases,18.53%) and non-severe (1,372 cases,81.47%) cohorts. Logistic regression was utilized for multivariate analysis, with a P-value less than 0.05 signifying a significant difference between the groups. Results: The study consisted of 952 males (56.53%) and 732 females (43.47%) participants. The age distribution ranged from 18 to 93 years in both cohorts. There were statistically significant differences between the clinical symptoms of the severe and non-severe cohorts (P < 0.05). According to the multivariate statistical analysis, patients with more pronounced clinical manifestations had significantly elevated values related to age(P < 0.05), diabetes(P < 0.01), hypertension(P < 0.01), C-reactive protein (CRP) (P < 0.05), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (P < 0.01) as compared to those presenting with milder symptoms. Conclusion: The primary clinical presentations in both the cohorts were mostly similar. Predominant factors contributing to the severity of COVID-19 infection were age, diabetes, hypertension, elevated CRP levels, and increased LDH.

Photoinduced Dynamics of a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube with a sp3 Defect: The Importance of Excitonic Effects.

Herein, we employed linear-response time-dependent functional theory nonadiabatic dynamic simulations to explore the photoinduced exciton dynamics of a chiral single-walled carbon nanotube CNT(6,5) covalently doped with a 4-nitrobenzyl group (CNT65-NO2). The results indicate that the introduction of a sp3 defect leads to the splitting of the degenerate VBM/VBM-1 and CBM/CBM+1 states. Both the VBM upshift and the CBM downshift are responsible for the experimentally observed redshifted E11* trapping state. The simulations reveal that the photoinduced exciton relaxation dynamics completes within 500 fs, which is consistent with the experimental work. On the other hand, we also conducted the nonadiabatic carrier (electron and hole) dynamic simulations, which completely ignore the excitonic effects. The comparison demonstrates that excitonic effects are indispensable. Deep analyses show that such effects induce several dark states, which play an important role in regulating the photoinduced dynamics of CNT65-NO2. The present work demonstrates the importance of including excitonic effects in simulating photoinduced processes of carbon nanotubes. In addition, it not only rationalizes previous experiments but also provides valuable insights that will help in the future rational design of novel covalently doped carbon nanotubes with superior photoluminescent properties.

Exosomal MALAT1 from macrophages treated with high levels of glucose upregulates LC3B expression via miR-204-5p downregulation.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of diabetes-related complications. However, whether macrophage-derived MALAT1 affects autophagic activity under hyperglycemic conditions is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the molecular regulatory mechanisms of macrophage-derived MALAT1 and autophagy under hyperglycemic conditions. METHODS: Hyperglycemia was induced by culturing macrophages in 25 mM glucose for 1 h. Exosomes were extracted from the culture media. A rat model of carotid artery balloon injury was established to assess the effect of MALAT1 on vascular injury. Reverse transcription, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, immunohistochemical staining, and luciferase activity assays were performed. RESULTS: Stimulation with high levels of glucose significantly enhanced MALAT1 expression in macrophage-derived exosomes. MALAT1 inhibited miR-204-5p expression in macrophage-derived exosomes under hyperglycemic conditions. siRNA-induced silencing of MALAT1 significantly reversed macrophage-derived exosome-induced miR-204-5p expression. Hyperglycemic treatment caused a significant, exosome-induced increase in the expression of the autophagy marker LC3B in macrophages. Silencing MALAT1 and overexpression of miR-204-5p significantly decreased LC3B expression induced by macrophage-derived exosomes. Overexpression of miR-204-5p significantly reduced LC3B luciferase activity induced by macrophage-derived exosomes. Balloon injury to the carotid artery in rats significantly enhanced MALAT1 and LC3B expression, and significantly reduced miR-204-5p expression in carotid artery tissue. Silencing MALAT1 significantly reversed miR-204-5p expression in carotid artery tissue after balloon injury. MALAT1 silencing or miR-204-5p overexpression significantly reduced LC3B expression after balloon injury. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that hyperglycemia upregulates MALAT1. MALAT1 suppresses miR-204-5p expression and counteracts the inhibitory effect of miR-204-5p on LC3B expression in macrophages to promote vascular disease.

Impact of Outpatient Beta Blocker Therapy Adjustment on Tachyarrhythmias in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction Admitted for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Background: Limited data exists to evaluate the optimal management of outpatient beta blocker therapy when patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are admitted for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of holding or decreasing the dose of outpatient beta blocker therapy vs continuation of therapy on rates of tachyarrhythmias during admission for ADHF. Methods: This single-center, retrospective cohort study divided patients with HFrEF (left ventricular ejection fraction less than or equal to 40%) admitted for ADHF into two cohorts: one that had their outpatient beta blocker continued at the same dose upon admission and one that had it held or dose decreased. The primary outcome was a composite of non-sustained or sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or atrial fibrillation or flutter with rapid ventricular response during the hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included the individual tachyarrhythmias in the primary outcome, in-hospital mortality, and 90-day re-admission for heart failure. Results: Of the 137 patients included, 82 were in the continuation cohort and 55 in the discontinuation/reduction cohort. The median length of stay was 5.3 days (interquartile range, 3.8-7.6). No significant difference in the primary composite outcome was found between the discontinuation/reduction and continuation cohorts (29.1% vs 22.0%; relative risk [95% confidence interval], 1.33 [.74-2.37]; P = .420). No significant differences were seen between the two cohorts for any of the secondary outcomes. Conclusion: Beta blocker therapy adjustment on admission for ADHF may not affect the occurrence of tachyarrhythmias in patients with HFrEF.

Topological wetting states of microdroplets on closed-loop structured surfaces: Breakdown of the Gibbs equation at the microscale.

Microdroplets are a class of soft matter that has been extensively employed for chemical, biochemical, and industrial applications. However, fabricating microdroplets with largely controllable contact-area shape and apparent contact angle, a key prerequisite for their applications, is still a challenge. Here, by engineering a type of surface with homocentric closed-loop microwalls/microchannels, we can achieve facile size, shape, and contact-angle tunability of microdroplets on the textured surfaces by design. More importantly, this class of surface topologies (with universal genus value = 1) allows us to reveal that the conventional Gibbs equation (widely used for assessing the edge effect on the apparent contact angle of macrodroplets) seems no longer applicable for water microdroplets or nanodroplets (evidenced by independent molecular dynamics simulations). Notably, for the flat surface with the intrinsic contact angle ~0°, we find that the critical contact angle on the microtextured counterparts (at edge angle 90°) can be as large as >130°, rather than 90° according to the Gibbs equation. Experiments show that the breakdown of the Gibbs equation occurs for microdroplets of different types of liquids including alcohol and hydrocarbon oils. Overall, the microtextured surface design and topological wetting states not only offer opportunities for diverse applications of microdroplets such as controllable chemical reactions and low-cost circuit fabrications but also provide testbeds for advancing the fundamental surface science of wetting beyond the Gibbs equation.