Colorimetric aptasensor based on self-screened aptamers and cascaded catalytic reaction for the detection of quarantine plant bacteria.

Quarantine plant bacteria (QPB) are significant component of invasive alien species that result in substantial economic losses and serious environmental damage. Herein, a colorimetric aptasensor has been proposed based on the sandwich structure and the cascaded catalytic strategy for on-site detecting Xanthomonas hyacinthi, a type of QPB, in natural environments. The self-screened aptamer obtained through SELEX can bind to specific sites on the surface of viable organism with high affinity and specificity, which guarantees the selectivity of aptasensor. As an important part of the aptasensor, MIL-88-NH2(Fe) not only acts as a multifunctional carrier for both aptamers and glucose oxidase, but also catalyzes enzyme-like reaction because of specific surface area, amino and peroxidase-like activity. The present of Xanthomonas hyacinthi can trigger the formation of a sandwich structure and the occurrence of cascade catalytic reaction, enabling the detection with UV-Vis spectra and naked eyes. The proposed aptasensor presents a low detection limit of 2 cfu/mL and a wide linear range of 10 -107 cfu/mL. Compared to traditional detection methods for QPB, the reasonable design, high selectivity and convenience significantly improve the detection efficiency and contribute to environmental protection.

MicroRNA-128-3p Affects Neuronal Apoptosis and Neurobehavior in Cerebral Palsy Rats by Targeting E3 Ubiquitin-Linking Enzyme Smurf2 and Regulating YY1 Expression.

This study was dedicated to investigating the effects of microRNA-128-3p (miR-128-3p) on neuronal apoptosis and neurobehavior in cerebral palsy (CP) rats via the Smurf2/YY1 axis.In vivo modeling of hypoxic-ischemic (HI) CP was established in neonatal rats. Neurobehavioral tests (geotaxis reflex, cliff avoidance reaction, and grip test) were measured after HI induction. The HI-induced neurological injury was evaluated by HE staining, Nissl staining, TUNEL staining, immunohistochemical staining, and RT-qPCR. The expression of miR-128-3p, Smurf2, and YY1 was determined by RT-qPCR and western blot techniques. Moreover, primary cortical neurons were used to establish the oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) model in vitro, cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay, neuronal apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry and western blot, and the underlying mechanism between miR-128-3p, Smurf2 and YY1 was verified by bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase reporter assay, RIP, Co-IP, ubiquitination assay, western blot, and RT-qPCR.In vivo, miR-128-3p and YY1 expression was elevated, and Smurf2 expression was decreased in brain tissues of hypoxic-ischemic CP rats. Downregulation of miR-128-3p or overexpression of Smurf2 improved neurobehavioral performance, reduced neuronal apoptosis, and elevated Nestin and NGF expression in hypoxic-ischemic CP rats, and downregulation of Smurf2 reversed the effects of downregulation of miR-128-3p on neurobehavioral performance, neuronal apoptosis, and Nestin and NGF expression in hypoxic-ischemic CP rats, while overexpression of YY1 reversed the effects of Smurf2 on neurobehavioral performance, neuronal apoptosis, and Nestin and NGF expression in hypoxic-ischemic CP rats. In vitro, downregulation of miR-128-3p effectively promoted the neuronal survival, reduced the apoptosis rate, and decreased caspase3 protein expression after OGD, and overexpression of YY1 reversed the ameliorative effect of downregulation of miR-128-3p on OGD-induced neuronal injury. miR-128-3p targeted to suppress Smurf2 to lower YY1 ubiquitination degradation and decrease its expression.Inhibition of miR-128-3p improves neuronal apoptosis and neurobehavioral changes in hypoxic-ischemic CP rats by promoting Smurf2 to promote YY1 ubiquitination degradation and reduce YY1 expression.

Transcriptomics Reveals the Pathway for Increasing Brassica chinensis L. Yield under Foliar Application of Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles.

In this study, Brassica chinensis L seedlings after 6 weeks of soil cultivation were treated with foliar application of TiO2 NPs (20 mg/L) for different times. Transcriptomics analysis was employed to investigate the impact of TiO2 NPs on the physiology, growth, and yield of B. chinensis L. Results showed that TiO2 NPs' exposure significantly increased the biomass, total phosphorus, and catalase enzyme activity by 23.60, 23.72, and 44.01%, respectively, compared to the untreated ones (not bulk or ion).TiO2 NPs increased the leaf chlorophyll content by 4.9% and photosynthetic rate by 16.62%, which was attributed to the upregulated expression of seven genes (PetH, PetF, PsaF, PsbA, PsbB, PsbD, and Lhcb) associated with electron transport in photosystem I and light-harvesting in leaves. The water balance of B. chinensis was improved correlating with the altered expressions of 19 aquaporin genes (e.g., PIP2;1 and NIP6;1). The expressions of 58 genes related to plant hormone signaling and growth were dysregulated, with notable downregulations in GA20, SnRK2, and PP2C and upregulations of DELLAs, SAM, and ETR. Moreover, the 11 tricarboxylic acid cycle genes and 13 glycolysis genes appear to stimulate pathways involved in promoting the growth and physiology of B. chinensis. This research contributes valuable insights into new strategies for increasing the yield of B. chinensis.

Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers Related to Necroptosis and Immune Infiltration in Coronary Heart Disease.

Purpose: Necroptosis, a monitored form of inflammatory cell death, contributes to coronary heart disease (CHD) progression. This study examined the potential of using necroptosis genes as diagnostic markers for CHD and sought to elucidate the underlying roles. Methods: Through bioinformatic analysis of GSE20680 and GSE20681, we first identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to necroptosis in CHD. Hub genes were identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and random forest analysis after studying immune infiltration and transcription factor-miRNA interaction networks according to the DEGs. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to further investigate hub gene expression in vivo, for which a diagnostic model was constructed and the predictive efficacy was validated. Finally, the CHD group was categorized into high- and low-score groups in accordance with the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) score of the necroptosis genes. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, GSEA, and further immune infiltration analyses were performed on the two groups to explore the possible roles of hub genes. Results: Based on the results of the LASSO regression and random forest analyses, four genes were used to construct a diagnostic model to establish a nomogram. Additionally, an extensive analysis of all seventeen necroptosis genes revealed notable distinctions in expression between high-risk and low-risk groups. Evaluation of immune infiltration revealed that neutrophils, monocytes, B cells, and activated dendritic cells were highly distributed in the peripheral blood of patients with CHD. Specifically, the high CHD score group exhibited greater neutrophil and monocyte infiltration. Conversely, the high-score group showed lower infiltration of M0 and M2 macrophages, CD8+ T, plasma, and resting mast cells. Conclusion: TLR3, MLKL, HMGB1, and NDRG2 may be prospective biomarkers for CHD diagnosis. These findings offer plausible explanations for the role of necroptosis in CHD progression through immune infiltration and inflammatory response.

Influenza virus infection activates TAK1 to suppress RIPK3-independent apoptosis and RIPK1-dependent necroptosis.

Many DNA viruses develop various strategies to inhibit cell death to facilitate their replication. However, whether influenza A virus (IAV), a fast-replicating RNA virus, attenuates cell death remains unknown. Here, we report that IAV infection induces TAK1 phosphorylation in a murine alveolar epithelial cell line (LET1) and a murine fibroblastoma cell line (L929). The TAK1-specific inhibitor 5Z-7-Oxzeneonal (5Z) and TAK1 knockout significantly enhance IAV-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by increased PARP, caspase-8, and caspase-3 cleavage. TAK1 inhibition also increases necroptosis as evidenced by increased RIPK1S166, RIPK3T231/S232, and MLKLS345 phosphorylation. Mechanistically, TAK1 activates IKK, which phosphorylates RIPK1S25 and inhibits its activation. TAK1 also activates p38 and its downstream kinase MK2, which phosphorylates RIPK1S321 but does not affect RIPK1 activation. Further investigation revealed that the RIPK1 inhibitor Nec-1 and RIPK1 knockout abrogate IAV-induced apoptosis and necroptosis; re-expression of wild-type but not kinase-dead (KD)-RIPK1 restores IAV-induced cell death. ZBP1 knockout abrogates IAV-induced cell death, whereas RIPK3 knockout inhibits IAV-induced necroptosis but not apoptosis. 5Z treatment enhances IAV-induced cell death and slightly reduces the inflammatory response in the lungs of H1N1 virus-infected mice and prolongs the survival of IAV-infected mice. Our study provides evidence that IAV activates TAK1 to suppress RIPK1-dependent apoptosis and necroptosis, and that RIPK3 is required for IAV-induced necroptosis but not apoptosis in epithelial cells.

Dual-nodes bridged cobalt-modified Keggin-type polyoxometalate-based chains for highly efficient CO2 photoconversion.

The design of efficient catalysts for photocatalytic CO2 conversion is of great importance for the sustainable development of society. Herein, three polyoxometalate (POM)-based crystalline materials were formulated prepared by substituting transition metals and adjusting solvent acidity with 2-(2-pyridyl) benzimidazole (pyim) as the light-trapping ligand, namely {[SiW12O40][Co(pyim)2]2}·2C2H5OH (SiW12Co2), {[SiW12O40][Ni(pyim)2]2}·2C2H5OH (SiW12Ni2), and {[SiW12O40][Mn(pyim)2]2}·2C2H5OH (SiW12Mn2). X-ray crystallography diffraction analysis indicates that the three complexes exhibit isostructural properties, and form a stable one-dimensional chain structure stabilized by two [M(pyim)2]22+ (M = Co, Ni, and Mn) fragments serving as dual-nodes to the adjacent SiW12 units. A comprehensive analysis of the structural characterization and photocatalytic CO2 reduction properties is presented. Under light irradiation, SiW12Co2 exhibited a remarkable CO generation rate of 10 733 µmol g-1 h-1 with a turnover number of 328, outperforming most of the reported heterogeneous POM-based photocatalysts. Besides, cycling tests revealed that SiW12Co2 is an efficient and stable photocatalyst with great recyclability for at least four successive runs. This study proves that the successful incorporation of diverse transition metals into the POM anion could facilitate the development of highly efficient photocatalysts for the CO2RR.

Directional surface reconstruction of C and S Co-Doped Co2VO4/CoP for the cooperative enhancement of hydrogen production via seawater electrolysis.

The endeavor to architect bifunctional electrocatalysts that exhibit both exceptional activity and durability heralds an era of boundless potential for the comprehensive electrolysis of seawater, an aspiration that, nevertheless, poses a substantial challenge. Within this work, we describe the precise engineering of a three-dimensional interconnected nanoparticle system named SCdoped Co2VO4/CoP (SCCo2VO4), achieved through a meticulously arranged hydrothermal treatment sequence followed by gas-phase carbonization and phosphorization. The resulting SCCo2VO4 electrode exhibits outstanding bifunctional electrocatalytic stability, attributed to the strategic anionic doping and abundant heterogeneous interfaces. Doping not only adjusts the electronic structure, enhancing electron transfer efficiency but also optimizes the surface-active sites. This electrode prodigiously necessitated an extraordinarily minimal overpotential of merely 92 and 350 mV to attain current densities of 10 and 50 mA cm-2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively, in 1 M KOH solution. Noteworthily, when integrated into an electrolyzer for the exhaustive splitting of seawater, the SCP-Co2VO4 manifested an exceptionally low cell voltage of 2.08 V@50 mA cm-2 and showcased a durability that eclipses that of most hitherto documented nickel-based bifunctional materials. Further elucidation through Density Functional Theory (DFT) analyses underscored that anion doping and the inherent heterostructure adeptly optimize the Gibbs free energy of intermediates comprising hydrogen, chlorine, and oxygen (manifested as OH, O, OOH) within the HER and OER paradigms, thus propelling the electrochemical kinetics of seawater splitting to unprecedented velocities. These revelations unfurl a pioneering design philosophy for the creation of cost-effective yet superior catalysts aimed at the holistic division of water molecules, charting a course towards the realization of efficient and sustainable hydrogen production methodologies.

Unraveling schizophrenia's genetic complexity through advanced causal inference and chromatin 3D conformation.

Schizophrenia is a polygenic complex disease with a heritability as high as 80 %, yet the mechanism of polygenic interaction in its pathogenesis remains unclear. Studying the interaction and regulation of schizophrenia susceptibility genes is crucial for unraveling the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and developing antipsychotic drugs. Therefore, we developed a bioinformatics method named GRACI (Gene Regulation Analysis based on Causal Inference) based on the principles of information theory, a causal inference model, and high order chromatin 3D conformation. GRACI captures the interaction and regulatory relationships between schizophrenia susceptibility genes by analyzing genotyping data. Two datasets, comprising 1459 and 2065 samples respectively, were analyzed, and the gene networks from both datasets were constructed. GRACI showcased superior accuracy when compared to widely adopted methods for detecting gene-gene interactions and intergenic regulation. This alignment was further substantiated by its correlation with chromatin high-order conformation patterns. Using GRACI, we identified three potential genes-KCNN3, KCNH1, and KCND3-that are directly associated with schizophrenia pathogenesis. Furthermore, the results of GRACI on the standalone dataset illustrated the method's applicability to other complex diseases. GRACI download: https://github.com/liuliangjie19/GRACI.

Insights into the biodegradation of pentachlorobiphenyl by Microbacterium paraoxydans: proteomic and metabolomic studies.

Bacterial degradation mechanism for high chlorinated pentachlorobiphenyl (PentaCB) with worse biodegradability has not been fully elucidated, which could limit the full remediation of environments afflicted by the complex pollution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this research, a new PentaCB-degrading bacterium Microbacterium paraoxydans that has not been reported was obtained using enzymatic screening method. The characteristics of its intracellular enzymes, proteome and metabolome variation during PentaCB degradation were investigated systematically compared to non-PentaCB conditions. The findings indicate that the degradation rate of PentaCB (1 mg/L) could reach 23.9% within 4 hours and achieve complete degradation within 12 hours, with the mixture of intracellular enzymes being most effective at a pH of 6.0. During the biodegradation of PentaCB, the 12 up-regulated proteins characterized included ABC transporter PentaCB-binding protein, translocase protein TatA, and signal peptidase I (SPase I), indicating the presence of functional proteins for PentaCB degradation in both the cytoplasm and the outer surface of the cytoplasmic membrane. Furthermore, five differentially enriched metabolites were strongly associated with the aforementioned proteins, especially the up-regulated 1, 2, 4-benzenetriol which feeds into multiple degradation pathways of benzoate, chlorocyclohexane, chlorobenzene and aminobenzoate. These relevant results help to understand and speculate the complex mechanisms regarding PentaCB degradation by M. paraoxydans, which have both theoretical and practical implications for PCB bioremediation.

Luteolin ameliorates hypoxic pulmonary vascular remodeling in rat via upregulating KV1.5 of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxic pulmonary vascular remodeling (HPVR) is a key pathological feature of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH). Oxygen-sensitive potassium (K+) channels in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) play a crucial role in HPVR. Luteolin (Lut) is a plant-derived flavonoid compound with variety of pharmacological actions. Our previous study found Lut alleviated HPVR in HPH rat. PURPOSE: To elucidate the mechanism by which Lut mitigated HPVR, focusing on oxygen-sensitive voltage-dependent potassium channel 1.5 (Kv1.5). METHODS: HPH rat model was established using hypobaric chamber to simulate 5000 m altitude. Isolated perfused/ventilated rat lung, isolated pulmonary arteriole ring was utilized to investigate the impact of Lut on K+ channels activity. Kv1.5 level in lung tissue and pulmonary arteriole of HPH rat was assessed. CyclinD1, CDK4, PCNA, Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3 levels in lung tissue of HPH rat were tested. The effect of Lut on Kv1.5, cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]cyt), CyclinD1, CDK4, PCNA, Bax/Bcl-2 was examined in PASMCs under hypoxia, with DPO-1 as a Kv1.5 specific inhibitor. The binding affinity between Lut and Kv1.5 in PASMCs was detected by drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS). The overexpression of KCNA5 gene (encoding Kv1.5) in HEK293T cells was utilized to confirm the interaction between Lut and Kv1.5. Furthermore, the impact of Lut on mitochondrial structure, SOD, GSH, GSH-Px, MDA and HIF-1α levels were evaluated in lung tissue of HPH rat and PASMCs under hypoxia. RESULTS: Lut dilated pulmonary artery by directly activating Kv and Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa) in smooth muscle. Kv1.5 level in lung tissue and pulmonary arteriole of HPH rat was upregulated by Lut. Lut downregulated CyclinD1, CDK4, PCNA while upregulating Bax/Bcl-2/caspase-3 axis in lung tissue of HPH rat. Lut decreased [Ca2+]cyt, reduced CDK4, CyclinD1, PCNA, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, in PASMCs under hypoxia, by upregulating Kv1.5. The binding affinity and the interaction between Lut and Kv1.5 was verified in PASMCs and in HEK293T cells. Lut also decreased [Ca2+]cyt and inhibited proliferation via targeting Kv1.5 of HEK293T cells under hypoxia. Furthermore, Lut protected mitochondrial structure, increased SOD, GSH, GSH-Px, decreased MDA, in lung tissue of HPH rat. Lut downregulated HIF-1α level in both lung tissue of HPH rat and PASMCs under hypoxia. CONCLUSION: Lut alleviated HPVR by promoting vasodilation of pulmonary artery, reducing cellular proliferation, and inducing apoptosis through upregulating of Kv1.5 in PASMCs.

Full Electron Delocalization across the Cluster in 1,12-bisBMes2-p-carborane Radical Anion.

Conjugation between three-dimensional (3D) carboranes and the attached substituents is commonly believed to be very weak. In this paper, we report that reducing 1,12-bis(BMes2)-p-carborane (B2pCab) with one electron gives a radical anion with a centrosymmetric semiquinoidal structure. This radical anion shows extensive electron delocalization between the two boron centers over the p-carborane bridge due to the overlap of carborane lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the BMes2 LUMO. Unlike dianions of other C2B10H12 carboranes, which rearrange to a nido-form, two-electron reduction of B2pCab leads to a rearrangement into a basket-shaped intermediate.

Microbiota-induced inflammatory responses in bladder tumors promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition and enhanced immune infiltration.

The intratumoral microbiota can modulate the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME); however, the underlying mechanism by which intratumoral microbiota influences the TIME in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) remains unclear. To address this, we collected samples from 402 patients with UCB, including paired host transcriptome and tumor microbiome data, from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We found that the intratumoral microbiome profiles were significantly correlated with the expression pattern of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes. Furthermore, we detected that the genera Lachnoclostridium and Sutterella in tumors could indirectly promote the EMT program by inducing an inflammatory response. Moreover, the inflammatory response induced by these two intratumoral bacteria further enhanced intratumoral immune infiltration, affecting patient survival and response to immunotherapy. In addition, an independent immunotherapy cohort of 348 patients with bladder cancer was used to validate our results. Collectively, our study elucidates the potential mechanism by which the intratumoral microbiota influences the TIME of UCB and provides a new guiding strategy for the targeted therapy of UCB.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The intratumoral microbiota may mediate the bladder tumor inflammatory response, thereby promoting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition program and influencing tumor immune infiltration.

Prevalence, Genotypic Characteristics, and Antibiotic Resistance of Listeria monocytogenes From Retail Foods in Huzhou, China.

Listeria monocytogenes are considered to be the major foodborne pathogen worldwide. To understand the prevalence and potential risk of L. monocytogenes in retail foods, a total of 1243 retail foods in 12 food categories were sampled and screened for L. monocytogenes from 2020 to 2022 in Huzhou, China. A total of 46 out of 1234 samples were confirmed to be L. monocytogenes positive with a total rate of 3.7%. The contamination rate of seasoned raw meat (15.2%) was the highest, followed by raw poultry meat and raw livestock meat (9.9%) and salmon sashimi (9.5%). The L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to four serotypes, 1/2a,1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b, with the most prevalent serotype being 1/2a (47.9%). All isolates were grouped into 15 sequence types (STs) belonging to 14 clonal complexes (CCs) via multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The most prevalent ST was ST9/CC9 (23.9%), followed by ST3/CC3 (19.6%) and ST121/CC121 (17.4%). Notably, 11 STs were detected from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, some of them have been verified to be strongly associated with clinical origin listeriosis cases, such as ST3, ST2, ST5, ST8, and ST87. Listeria pathogenicity islands 1 (LIPI-1) and LIPI-2 were detected in approximately all L. monocytogenes isolates, whereas the distribution of both LIPI-3 genes and LIPI-4 genes exhibited association with specific ST, with LIPI-3 in ST3 and ST288, and LIPI-4 in ST87. The strains carrying LIPI-3 and LIPI-4 virulence genes in this study were all isolated from RTE foods. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that >90% of isolates were susceptible to PEN, AMP, ERY, CIP, SXT, VAN, CHL, and GEN, indicating the antibiotic treatment might be still efficient for most of the L. monocytogenes strains. However, for the three clinical first-line antibiotics (PEN, AMP, and GEN), we also observed three and four strains showing MIC values greater than the susceptibility standards for PEN and AMP, respectively, and one strain showing resistance to GEN.

Electrochemical aptasensors based on porous carbon derived from graphene oxide/ZIF-8 composites for the detection of Erwinia cypripedii.

In this research, self-screening aptamer and MOFs-derived nanomaterial have been combined to construct electrochemical aptasensor for environmental detection. By utilizing the large specific surface area of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), ZIF-8 was grown in situ on surface of rGO, and the composites was pyrolyzed to obtain MOFs-derived porous carbon materials (rGO-NCZIF). Thanks to the synergistic effect between rGO and NCZIF, the complex exhibits remarkable characteristics, including a high electron transfer rate and electrocatalytic activity. In addition, the orderly arrangement of imidazole ligands within ZIF-8 facilitated the uniform doping of nitrogen elements into the porous carbon, thereby significantly enhancing its electrochemical performance. After carboxylation, rGO-NCZIF was functionalized with self-screening aptamer for fabricating electrochemical aptasensor, which can be used to detect Erwinia cypripedii, a kind of quarantine plant bacteria, with detection limit of 4.92 × 103 cfu/mL. Due to the simplicity and speed, the aptasensor is suitable for rapid customs inspection and quarantine. Additionally, the universality of this sensing strategy was verified through exosomes detection by changing the aptamer. The results indicated that the rGO-NCZIF-based electrochemical aptasensor had practical value in the environmental and medical fields.

Fabrication of Nitrogen Based Magnetic Conjugated Microporous Polymer for Efficient Extraction of Neonicotinoids in Water Samples.

Facile and sensitive methods for detecting neonicotinoids (NEOs) in aquatic environments are crucial because they are found in extremely low concentrations in complex matrices. Herein, nitrogen-based magnetic conjugated microporous polymers (Fe3O4@N-CMP) with quaternary ammonium groups were synthesized for efficient magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) of NEOs from tap water, rainwater, and lake water. Fe3O4@N-CMP possessed a suitable specific surface area, extended π-conjugated system, and numerous cationic groups. These properties endow Fe3O4@N-CMP with superior extraction efficiency toward NEOs. The excellent adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@N-CMP toward NEOs was attributed to its π-π stacking, Lewis acid-base, and electrostatic interactions. The proposed MSPE-HPLC-DAD approach based on Fe3O4@N-CMP exhibited a wide linear range (0.1-200 µg/L), low detection limits (0.3-0.5 µg/L), satisfactory precision, and acceptable reproducibility under optimal conditions. In addition, the established method was effectively utilized for the analysis of NEOs in tap water, rainwater, and lake water. Excellent recoveries of NEOs at three spiked levels were in the range of 70.4 to 122.7%, with RSDs less than 10%. This study provides a reliable pretreatment method for monitoring NEOs in environmental water samples.

Self-Limiting Phase Transition Enabling Reversible Overstoichiometric Li Storage in Ni-Rich Cathodes.

Ni-rich cathodes are some of the most promising candidates for advanced lithium-ion batteries, but their available capacities have been stagnant due to the intrinsic Li+ storage sites. Extending the voltage window down can induce the phase transition from O3 to 1T of LiNiO2-derived cathodes to accommodate excess Li+ and dramatically increase the capacity. By setting the discharge cutoff voltage of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 to 1.4 V, we can reach an extremely high capacity of 393 mAh g-1 and an energy density of 1070 Wh kg-1 here. However, the phase transition causes fast capacity decay and related structural evolution is rarely understood, hindering the utilization of this feature. We find that the overlithiated phase transition is self-limiting, which will transform into solid-solution reaction with cycling and make the cathode degradation slow down. This is attributed to the migration of abundant transition metal ions into lithium layers induced by the overlithiation, allowing the intercalation of overstoichiometric Li+ into the crystal without the O3 framework change. Based on this, the wide-potential cycling stability is further improved via a facile charge-discharge protocol. This work provides deep insight into the overstoichiometric Li+ storage behaviors in conventional layered cathodes and opens a new avenue toward high-energy batteries.

Fluorescence Enhancement of CdS:Ag Quantum Dots Co-Assembled with Au Nanoparticles in a Hollow Nanosphere Form.

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have exceptional fluorescence properties. Overcoming aggregation-induced quenching and enhancing the fluorescence of colloidal QDs have remained a challenging issue in this field. In this study, composite hollow nanospheres composed of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and CdS:Ag-doped QDs were successfully constructed through controlled microemulsion-based cooperative assembly. This method harnessed the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Au NPs nearby doped QDs, resulting in enhanced doped QD fluorescence and the observation of the Purcell effect. The composite hollow nanospheres show a fluorescence enhancement compared to that of the pure CdS:Ag QDs. The enhanced fluorescence was demonstrated to come from the synergetic enhancement of the absorption and emission transition of the doped QDs. This approach provides a feasible technological pathway to address the challenge of improving the fluorescence performance of the doped QDs.

Aqueous Topological Synthesis of Au@semiconductor Core-Shell Nanocrystals with Morphology and Composition Engineering.

Core-shell nanocrystals (C-S NCs) are an essential class of materials whose structural engineering has attracted wide attention due to their tunable optical and electrical properties, especially noble metal@semiconductor (NMS) C-S NCs with flexible plasmon-exciton coupling. Due to their diverse critical applications, especially aqueous biological applications, herein we propose an aqueous topological strategy enabled by cation exchange reactions (CER) to synthesize various plasmonic Au@semiconductor C-S NCs, in which environmentally friendly triphenylphosphine (TPP) is used as an initiator instead of inflammable tributyl phosphine (TBP). The introduction of the milder, solid TPP facilitated a new aqueous CER strategy for synthesizing Au@semiconductor NCs with tailored chalcogenide compositions and morphologies. For example, the as-synthesized Au@ZnS C-S NRs had better absorption and biocompatibility and exhibited excellent photodynamic therapy efficacy.

Predictive potential of preoperative Naples prognostic score-based nomogram model for the prognosis in surgical resected thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients: A retrospective cohort study.

The present study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram model based on the Naples prognostic score (NPS) for resectable thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A total of 277 patients with ESCC, who underwent standard curative esophagectomy and designated as study cohort, were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into different groups, including NPS 0, NPS 1, NPS 2, and NPS 3 or 4 groups, for further analysis, and the results were validated in an external cohort of 122 ESCC patients, who underwent surgery at another cancer center. In our multivariate analysis of the study cohort showed that the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, systemic inflammation score, and NPS were the independent prognostic factors for the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) durations. In addition, the differential grade was also an independent prognostic factor for the OS in the patients with ESCC after surgery (all P < .05). The area under the curve of receiver operator characteristics for the PFS and OS prediction with systemic inflammation score and NPS were 0.735 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.676-0.795, P < .001) and 0.835 (95% CI 0.786-0.884, P < .001), and 0.734 (95% CI 0.675-0.793, P < .001) and 0.851 (95% CI 0.805-0.896, P < .001), respectively. The above independent predictors for OS or PFS were all selected in the nomogram model. The concordance indices (C-indices) of the nomogram models for predicting OS and PFS were 0.718 (95% CI 0.681-0.755) and 0.669 (95% CI 0.633-0.705), respectively, which were higher than that of the 7th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM staging system [C-index 0.598 (95% CI 0.558-0.638) for OS and 0.586 (95% CI 0.546-0.626) for PFS]. The calibration curves for predicting the 5-year OS or PFS showed a good agreement between the prediction by nomogram and actual observation. In the external validation cohort, the nomogram discrimination for OS was better than that of the 7th edition of TNM staging systems [C-index: 0.697 (95% CI 0.639-0.755) vs 0.644 (95% CI 0.589-0.699)]. The calibration curves showed good consistency in predicting the 5-year survival between the actual observation and nomogram predictions. The decision curve also showed a higher potential of the clinical application of predicting the 5-years OS of the proposed nomogram model as compared to that of the 7th edition of TNM staging systems. The preoperative NPS-based nomogram model had a certain potential role for predicting the prognosis of ESCC patients.

From Polyester Plastics to Diverse Monomers via Low-Energy Upcycling.

Polyester plastics, constituting over 10% of the total plastic production, are widely used in packaging, fiber, single-use beverage bottles, etc. However, their current depolymerization processes face challenges such as non-broad spectrum recyclability, lack of diversified high-value-added depolymerization products, and crucially high energy consumption. Herein, an efficient strategy is developed for dismantling the compact structure of polyester plastics to achieve diverse monomer recovery. Polyester plastics undergo swelling and decrystallization with a low depolymerization energy barrier via synergistic effects of polyfluorine/hydrogen bonding, which is further demonstrated via density functional theory calculations. The swelling process is elucidated through scanning electron microscopy analysis. Obvious destruction of the crystalline region is demonstrated through X-ray crystal diffractometry curves. PET undergoes different aminolysis efficiently, yielding nine corresponding high-value-added monomers via low-energy upcycling. Furthermore, four types of polyester plastics and five types of blended polyester plastics are closed-loop recycled, affording diverse monomers with exceeding 90% yields. Kilogram-scale depolymerization of real polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste plastics is successfully achieved with a 96% yield.