Two-dimensional ice-like water adlayers on a mica surface with and without a graphene coating under ambient conditions.

Water tends to wet all hydrophilic surfaces under ambient conditions, and the first water adlayers on solids are important for a broad range of physicochemical phenomena and technological processes, including corrosion, wetting, lubrication, anti-icing, catalysis, and electrochemistry. Unfortunately, challenges in characterizing the first water adlayer in the laboratory have hampered molecular-level understanding of the contact water structure. Herein, we present the first ab initio molecular dynamics simulation evidence of a previously unreported ice-like adlayer structure (named as Ice-AL-II) on a prototype mica surface under ambient conditions. Calculation showed that the newly identified Ice-AL-II structure is more stable than the widely recognized ice-adlayer structure on mica surfaces (named as Ice-AL-I). Ice-AL-II exhibited a face-centered corner-cut tetragon (or a face-centered irregular pentagon) pattern of a hydrogen-bonded network. The center of the corner-cut tetragon was occupied by either a K+ cation or a water molecule with two H atoms pinned by the mica (100) via double hydrogen bonds. Our simulation also suggested that bilayer Ice-AL-II favors AA stacking rather than AB stacking. Interestingly, when a graphene sheet was coated on top of the ice-like adlayer, the stability of Ice-AL-II was further enhanced. In contrast, due to its strongly puckered structure, the Ice-AL-I structure could be crushed into a near-Ice-AL-II structure by the graphene coating. Ice-AL-II is thus proposed as a promising candidate for the ice-like structure on a mica surface detected by scanning polarization force microscopy and by atomic force microscopy between a graphene coating and a mica surface.

Tuning hydrogen bond network connectivity in the electric double layer with cations.

Hydrogen bond (H-bond) network connectivity in electric double layers (EDLs) is of paramount importance for interfacial HER/HOR electrocatalytic processes. However, it remains unclear whether the cation-specific effect on H-bond network connectivity in EDLs exists. Herein, we report simulation evidence from ab initio molecular dynamics that cations at Pt(111)/water interfaces can tune the structure and the connectivity of H-bond networks in EDLs. As the surface charge density σ becomes more negative, we show that the connectivity of the H-bond networks in EDLs of the Na+ and Ca2+ systems decreases markedly; in stark contrast, the connectivity of the H-bond networks in EDLs of the Mg2+ system increases slightly. Further analysis revealed that the interplay between the hydration of cations and the interfacial water structure plays a key role in the connectivity of H-bond networks in EDLs. These findings highlight the key roles of cations in EDLs and electrocatalysis.

Research Progress on Hygroscopic Agents for Atmospheric Water Harvesting Systems.

Adsorptive atmospheric water harvesting systems (AWHs) represent an innovative approach to collecting freshwater resources from the atmosphere, with a hygroscopic agent at their core. This method has garnered significant attention due to its broad applicability, strong recycling capacity, and sustainability. It is being positioned as a key technology to address global freshwater scarcity. The core agent's hygroscopic properties play a crucial role in determining the performance of the AWHs. This article provides a comprehensive review of the latest advancements in hygroscopic agents, including their adsorption mechanisms and classifications. This study of hygroscopic agents analyzes the performance and characteristics of relevant porous material composite polymer composites and plant composites. It also evaluates the design and preparation of these materials. Aiming at the problems of low moisture adsorption and desorption difficulty of the hygroscopic agent, the factors affecting the water vapor adsorption performance and the method of enhancing the hygroscopic performance of the material are summarized and put forward. For the effect of hygroscopic agents on the volume of water catchment devices, the difference in density before and after hygroscopicity is proposed as part of the evaluation criteria. Moisture absorption per unit volume is added as a performance evaluation criterion to assess the effect of hygroscopic agents on the volume of water collection equipment. The article identifies areas that require further research and development for moisture absorbers, exploring their potential applications in other fields and anticipating the future development direction and opportunities of moisture-absorbing materials. The goal is to promote the early realization of adsorptive atmospheric water harvesting technology for large-scale industrial applications.

Growth of millimeter-sized 2D metal iodide crystals induced by ion-specific preference at water-air interfaces.

Conventional liquid-phase methods lack precise control in synthesizing and processing materials with macroscopic sizes and atomic thicknesses. Water interfaces are ubiquitous and unique in catalyzing many chemical reactions. However, investigations on two-dimensional (2D) materials related to water interfaces remain limited. Here we report the growth of millimeter-sized 2D PbI2 single crystals at the water-air interface. The growth mechanism is based on an inherent ion-specific preference, i.e. iodine and lead ions tend to remain at the water-air interface and in bulk water, respectively. The spontaneous accumulation and in-plane arrangement within the 2D crystal of iodide ions at the water-air interface leads to the unique crystallization of PbI2 as well as other metal iodides. In particular, PbI2 crystals can be customized to specific thicknesses and further transformed into millimeter-sized mono- to few-layer perovskites. Additionally, we have developed water-based techniques, including water-soaking, spin-coating, water-etching, and water-flow-assisted transfer to recycle, thin, pattern, and position PbI2, and subsequently, perovskites. Our water-interface mediated synthesis and processing methods represents a significant advancement in achieving simple, cost-effective, and energy-efficient production of functional materials and their integrated devices.

The performance of OPC and OPC3 water models in predictions of 2D structures under nanoconfinement.

Nanoconfined water plays an important role in broad fields of science and engineering. Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been widely used to investigate water phases under nanoconfinement. The key ingredient of MD is the force field. In this study, we systematically investigated the performance of a recently introduced family of globally optimal water models, OPC and OPC3, and TIP4P/2005 in describing nanoconfined two-dimensional (2D) water ice. Our studies show that the melting points of the monolayer square ice (MSI) of all three water models are higher than the melting points of the corresponding bulk ice Ih. Under the same conditions, the melting points of MSI of OPC and TIP4P/2005 are the same and are ∼90 K lower than that of the OPC3 water model. In addition, we show that OPC and TIP4P/2005 water models are able to form a bilayer AA-stacked structure and a trilayer AAA-stacked structure, which are not the cases for the OPC3 model. Considering the available experimental data and first-principles simulations, we consider the OPC water model as a potential water model for 2D water ice MD studies.

Regulation of Erythroid Differentiation via the HIF1α-NFIL3-PIM1 Signaling Axis Under Hypoxia.

Aims: Erythropoiesis is controlled by several factors, including oxygen level under different circumstances. However, the role of hypoxia in erythroid differentiation and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We studied the effect and mechanism of hypoxia on erythroid differentiation of K562 cells and observed the effect of hypoxia on early erythropoiesis of zebrafish. Results: Compared with normal oxygen culture, both hemin-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells and the early erythropoiesis of zebrafish were inhibited under hypoxic treatment conditions. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1α) plays a major role in the response to hypoxia. Here, we obtained a stable HIF1α knockout K562 cell line using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology and further demonstrated that HIF1α knockout promoted hemin-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells under hypoxia. We demonstrated an HIF1-mediated induction of the nuclear factor interleukin-3 (NFIL3) regulated in K562 cells under hypoxia. Interestingly, a gradual decrease in NFIL3 expression was detected during erythroid differentiation of erythropoietin-induced CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) and hemin-induced K562 cells. Notably, erythroid differentiation was inhibited by enforced expression of NFIL3 under normoxia and was promoted by the knockdown of NFIL3 under hypoxia in hemin-treated K562 cells. In addition, a target of NFIL3, pim-1 proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (PIM1), was obtained by RNA microarray after NFIL3 knockdown. PIM1 can rescue the inhibitory effect of NFIL3 on hemin-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. Innovation and Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that the HIF1α-NFIL3-PIM1 signaling axis plays an important role in erythroid differentiation under hypoxia. These results will provide useful clues for preventing the damage of acute hypoxia to erythropoiesis.

Revealing the Impact of Gut Microbiota on Acne Through Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

Background: The association between acne and gut microbiota has garnered considerable attention; nevertheless, given the substantial diversity within gut microbiota, the precise cause-and-effect relationship linking specific microbial species to acne remains elusive. To address this gap in knowledge, our study utilized Mendelian randomization analysis to elucidate a potential causal link between gut microbiota composition and acne development while also investigating underlying mechanisms involving microbial factors associated with metabolic disorders. Materials and Methods: The independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) closely associated with 196 gut microbiota samples (N=18340) were selected as variable tools. The relationship between gut microbiota and acne (N=212438) was analyzed using the Twosample package in R4.3.1, employing various methods including inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, MR-Egger, Simple-mode, and Weighted-mode. To ensure the stability of the estimates, a series of sensitivity analyses were conducted, such as Cochran's Q-test, MR-Egger intercept analysis, leave-one-out analysis, and funnel plots. Additionally, the impact of each instrumental variable was calculated. Results: In the Mendelian randomization analysis, we identified twelve microbial taxa potentially associated with acne: family.Bacteroidaceae, family.Clostridiaceae1, genus.Allisonella, genus.Bacteroides, genus.Butyricimonas, genus.Clostridiumsensustricto1, and genus.Coprococcus3. These seven bacterial groups were found to be potential risk factors for acne. Conversely, family.Lactobacillaceae and genus.Ruminococcustorquesgroup along with genus.CandidatusSoleaferrea, genus.Fusicatenibacter, family.Lactobacillaceae, and genus.Lactobacillus exhibited a protective effect against acne. Furthermore, our investigation revealed that some of these microbial taxa have been implicated in metabolic diseases through previous studies. Importantly though, no causal relationship was observed in the reverse Mendelian randomization analysis.

Puckered Zigzag Monolayer Ice: Does a Confined Flat Four-Coordinated Monolayer Ice Always Have a Corresponding Puckered Phase?

We note that a flat, four-coordinated monolayer ice under confinement always has a corresponding puckered phase. Recently, a monolayer ice consisting of an array of zigzag water chains (ZZMI) predicted by first-principles calculations of water under confinement is a flat four-coordinated monolayer ice. Herein, to investigate whether puckered ZZMI exists stably, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of two-dimensional (2D) ice formation for water constrained in graphene nanocapillaries. We find a novel monolayer ice structure that can be viewed as the ZZMI puckered along the direction perpendicular to the zigzag chain (pZZMI). Unlike ZZMI that does not satisfy the ice rule, each water molecule in pZZMI can form four hydrogen bonds (HBs) via forming two stable intersublayer HBs and two intrasublayer HBs. This work provides a fresh perspective on 2D confined ice, highlighting the intrinsic connections between 2D confined ices.

Non-flammable solvent-free liquid polymer electrolyte for lithium metal batteries.

As a replacement for highly flammable and volatile organic liquid electrolyte, solid polymer electrolyte shows attractive practical prospect in high-energy lithium metal batteries. However, unsatisfied interface performance and ionic conductivities are two critical challenges. A common strategy involves introducing organic solvents or plasticizers, but this violates the original intention of security design. Here, an electrolyte concept called liquid polymer electrolyte without any small molecular solvents is proposed for safe and high-performance batteries, based on the design of a room-temperature liquid-state brush-like polymer as the sole solvent of lithium salts. This liquid polymer electrolyte is non-flammable and exhibits high ionic conductivity (1.09 [Formula: see text] 10-4 S cm-1 at 25 °C), significant lithium dendrite suppression, and stable long-term cycling over a wide operating temperature range ( ≥ 1000 cycles at 60 °C and 90 °C). Moreover, the pouch cell can resist thermal abuse, vacuum environment, and mechanical abuse. This electrolyte and design strategy are expected to provide enlightening ideas for the development of safe and high-performance polymer electrolytes.

Emergency exploratory laparotomy and radical gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer combined with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignant tumor worldwide and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a frequent complication of GC. Radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy are widely used surgical procedures in the clinical management of GC. This study intends to probe the clinical efficacy and safety of radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy on the basis of exploratory laparotomy in patients with GC combined with UGIB, hoping to provide valuable information to aid patients in selecting the appropriate surgical intervention. AIM: To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy and palliative therapy in patients with GC and UGIB combined. METHODS: A total of 89 GC patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China between July 2018 and July 2020 were selected as participants for this study. The 89 patients were divided into two groups: radical resection group (n = 46) treated with exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy and Palliative group (n = 43) treated with palliative therapy. The study compared several variables between the two groups, including surgical duration, intraoperative blood transfusion volume, postoperative anal exhaust time, off-bed activity time, length of hospitalization, and incidence of complications such as duodenal stump rupture, anastomotic obstruction, and postoperative incision. Additionally, postoperative immune function indicators (including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD3+/HLADR+), immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM), tumor markers (CEA, CA199, and CA125), and inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α) were assessed. The surgical efficacy and postoperative quality of life recovery were also evaluated. The patients were monitored for survival and tumor recurrence at 6 mo, 1 year, and 2 years post-surgery. RESULTS: The results indicated that the duration of operation time and postoperative hospitalization did not differ between the two surgical procedures. However, patients in the radical resection group exhibited shorter intraoperative blood loss, anus exhaust time, off-bed activity time, and inpatient activity time than those in the Palliative group. Although there was no substantial difference in the occurrence of postoperative complications, such as duodenal stump rupture and anastomotic obstruction, between the radical resection group and Palliative group (P > 0.05), the radical resection group exhibited higher postoperative immune function indicators (including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, etc.) and immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgM) than the Palliative group, while tumor markers and inflammatory factors levels were lower than those in the radical resection group. Additionally, surgical efficacy, postoperative quality of life, and postoperative survival rates were higher in patients who underwent radical gastrectomy than in those who underwent palliative therapy. Moreover, the probability of postoperative tumor recurrence was lower in the radical gastrectomy group compared to the palliative therapy group, and these differences were all statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared to palliative therapy, exploratory laparotomy + radical gastrectomy can improve immune function, reduce the levels of tumor markers and inflammatory factors, improve surgical efficacy, promote postoperative quality of life recovery, enhance survival rates, and attenuate the probability of tumor recurrence.

Charge Transfer and Level Lifetime in Molecular Photon-Absorption upon the Quantum Impedance Lorentz Oscillator.

On the strength of the new quantum impedance Lorentz oscillator (QILO) model, a charge-transfer method in molecular photon-absorption is proposed and imaged via the numerical simulations of 1- and 2-photon-absorption (1PA and 2PA) behaviors of the organic compounds LB3 and M4 in this paper. According to the frequencies at the peaks and the full width at half-maximums (FWHMs) of the linear absorptive spectra of the two compounds, we first calculate the effective quantum numbers before and after the electronic transitions. Thus, we obtain the molecular average dipole moments, i.e., 1.8728 × 10-29 C·m (5.6145 D) for LB3 and 1.9626 × 10-29 C·m (5.8838 D) for M4 in the ground state in the tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent. Then, the molecular 2PA cross sections corresponding to wavelength are theoretically inferred and figured out by QILO. As a result, the theoretical cross sections turn out to be in good agreement with the experimental ones. Our results reveal such a charge-transfer image in 1PA near wavelength 425 nm, where an atomic electron of LB3 jumps from the ground-state ellipse orbit with the semimajor axis ai = 1.2492 × 10-10m = 1.2492 Å and semiminor axis bi = 0.4363 Å to the excited-state circle (aj = bj = 2.5399 Å). In addition, during its 2PA process, the same transitional electron in the ground state is excited to the elliptic orbit with aj = 2.5399 Å and bj =1.3808 Å, in which the molecular dipole moment reaches as high as 3.4109 × 10-29 C·m (10.2256 D). In addition, we obtain a level-lifetime formula with the microparticle collision idea of thermal motion, which indicates that the level lifetime is proportional (not inverse) to the damping coefficient or FWHM of an absorptive spectrum. The lifetimes of the two compounds at some excited states are calculated and presented. This formula may be used as an experimental method to verify 1PA and 2PA transition selection rules. The QILO model exhibits the advantage of simplifying the calculation complexity and reducing the high cost associated with the first principle in dealing with quantum properties of optoelectronic materials.

Ultrafine NiFe-Based (Oxy)Hydroxide Nanosheet Arrays with Rich Edge Planes and Superhydrophilic-Superaerophobic Characteristics for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

NiFe-based (oxy)hydroxides are the benchmark catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium, however, it is still challenging to control their structures and compositions. Herein, molybdates (NiFe(MoO4 )x ) are applied as unique precursors to synthesize ultrafine Mo modified NiFeOx Hy (oxy)hydroxide nanosheet arrays. The electrochemical activation process enables the molybdate ions (MoO4 2- ) in the precursors gradually dissolve, and at the same time, hydroxide ions (OH- ) in the electrolyte diffuse into the precursor and react with Ni2+ and Fe3+ ions in confined space to produce ultrafine NiFeOx Hy (oxy)hydroxides nanosheets (<10 nm), which are densely arranged into microporous arrays and maintain the rod-like morphology of the precursor. Such dense ultrafine nanosheet arrays produce rich edge planes on the surface of NiFeOx Hy (oxy)hydroxides to expose more active sites. More importantly, the capillary phenomenon of microporous structures and hydrophilic hydroxyl groups induce the superhydrophilicity and the rough surface produces the superaerophobic characteristic for bubbles. With these advantages, the optimized catalyst exhibits excellent performance for OER, with a small overpotential of 182 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and long-term stability (200 h) at 200 mA cm-2 . Theoretical calculations show that the modification of Mo enhances the electron delocalization and optimizes the adsorption of intermediates.

Excessive Iodine Enabled Ultrathin Inorganic Perovskite Growth at the Liquid-Air Interface.

The liquid-air interface offers a platform for the in-plane growth of free-standing materials. However, it is rarely used for inorganic perovskites and ultrathin non-layered perovskites. Herein the liquid-air interfacial synthesis of inorganic perovskite nanosheets (Cs3 Bi2 I9 , Cs3 Sb2 I9 ) is achieved simply by drop-casting the precursor solution with only the addition of iodine. The products are inaccessible without iodine addition. The thickness and lateral size of these nanosheets can be adjusted through the iodine concentration. The high volatility of the iodine spontaneously drives precursors that normally stay in the liquid to the liquid-air interface. The iodine also repairs in situ iodine vacancies during perovskite growth, giving enhanced optical and optoelectronic properties. The liquid-air interfacial growth of ultrathin perovskites provides multi-degree-of-freedom for constructing perovskite-based heterostructures and devices at atomic scale.

Coagulation Factors for Diagnosis of Periprosthetic Joint Infection / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectivePeriprosthetic joint infections （PJI） are currently the most calamitous complication after arthroplasty. Although achievements have been made in many markers for the diagnosis of PJI， the lack of a gold standard remains a great obstacle for early diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate the association between coagulation markers and the development of PJI in patients undergoing revision total joint arthroplasty （TJA）. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study with a total of 2 517 patients who underwent hip or knee arthroplasties from January 2011 to January 2022 （2 394 with primary TJA， 87 with aseptic revision and 36 with PJI）. We applied univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression to analyze differences of coagulation factors between primary TJA and aseptic revision or PJI group. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve and area under the curve （AUC） were used to measure the diagnostic value of coagulation factors in predicting PJI. ResultsCoagulation factors and their ratios including plasma fibrinogen （FBG）， prothrombin time （PT）， thrombin time （TT）， activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT）， platelet （PLT）， mean platelet volume （MPV）， platelet distribution width （PDW）， plateletcrit （PCT）， PLT / MPV， PLT / PDW and PLT / PCT were included in this study. High FGB level was strongly correlated with the risk of PJI compared to other coagulation factors. The optimal threshold value of FBG was 4.53 g/L with a sensitivity of 47.22%， a specificity of 93.07% （Primary TJA group vs. PJI group）. Similarly， the optimal threshold value of FBG was 4.44 g/L with a sensitivity of 47.22%， a specificity of 95.40% between the other two groups （Aseptic revision group vs. PJI group）. ROC curve analysis demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance of FBG （AUC value）， indicating a potential to be a diagnostic marker for PJI. ConclusionsFBG is significantly correlated with PJI and it can be used as a potential non-invasive marker for early detection. It may serve as a safe and cost-effective tool for assessing PJI in clinical work.

Two P450 genes, CYP6SN3 and CYP306A1, involved in the growth and development of Chilo suppressalis and the lethal effect caused by vetiver grass.

Chilo suppressalis is a widely distributed pest occurring in nearly all paddy fields, which has developed high level resistance to different classes of insecticides. Vetiver grass has been identified as a dead-end trap plant for the alternative control of C. suppressalis. In this study, two cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) genes, CsCYP6SN3 and CsCYP306A1, were identified and characterized, which are expressed at all developmental stages, with the highest expression in the midguts and fat bodies of 3rd instar larvae. Vetiver significantly inhibited the expression levels of CsCYP6SN3 and CsCYP306A1 in 3rd larvae after feeding. RNA interference showed that silencing CsCYP6SN3 and CsCYP306A1 genes dramatically reduced the pupation rate and pupa weight. Feeding on vetiver after silencing CsCYP6SN3 and CsCYP306A1 led to higher mortality compared with feeding on rice. In conclusion, these findings indicated that the expression levels of CsCYP6SN3 and CsCYP306A1 were associated with the lethal effect of vetiver against C. suppressalis larvae and functional knowledge about these two detoxification genes could provide new targets for agricultural pest control.

Deep CTS: a Deep Neural Network for Identification MRI of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common peripheral nerve disease in adults; it can cause pain, numbness, and even muscle atrophy and will adversely affect patients' daily life and work. There are no standard diagnostic criteria that go against the early diagnosis and treatment of patients. MRI as a novel imaging technique can show the patient's condition more objectively, and several characteristics of carpal tunnel syndrome have been found. However, various image sequences, heavy artifacts, small lesion characteristics, high volume of imagine reading, and high difficulty in MRI interpretation limit its application in clinical practice. With the development of automatic image segmentation technology, the algorithm has great potential in medical imaging. The challenge is that the segmentation target is too small, and there are two categories of images with the proximal border of the carpal tunnel as the boundary. To meet the challenge, we propose an end-to-end deep learning framework called Deep CTS to segment the carpal tunnel from the MR image. The Deep CTS consists of the shape classifier with a simple convolutional neural network and the carpal tunnel region segmentation with simplified U-Net. With the specialized structure for the carpal tunnel, Deep CTS can segment the carpal tunnel region efficiently and improve the intersection over union of results. The experimental results demonstrated that the performance of the proposed deep learning framework is better than other segmentation networks for small objects. We trained the model with 333 images, tested it with 82 images, and achieved 0.63 accuracy of intersection over union and 0.17 s segmentation efficiency, which indicate great promise for the clinical application of this algorithm.

Mediation of water-soluble oligoaniline by phenol in the aniline-persulfate system under alkaline conditions.

Although synthesis of oligoaniline (OANI) by persulfate and aniline has been investigated in the recent years, the impact of phenol on the synthesized soluble OANI is still not clear. In this study, our results indicate that phenol and pH mediate the production of the blue water-soluble OANI (OANIblue) in the reaction between sodium persulfate (SPS) and aniline under alkaline conditions, and the yields of OANIblue increase with increasing concentrations of phenol and pH values. Quenching experiments rule out the contributions of SO4˙- and ˙OH to aniline oxidation and imply that the non-radical activation of SPS is an important pathway in the formation of OANIblue. MALDI-TOF-MS analysis indicates that phenol apparently inhibits the polymerization degree of aniline in that the molecular weights of OANIblue gradually decrease from 1586.4 to 684.6 when phenol is increased from 0 to 2.0 mM. FTIR and Raman analyses confirm the structure of aniline oligomers in OANIblue and indicate that phenol inhibits the phenazine-like structure in OANIblue and facilitates the transformation of benzenoid rings to quinoid rings in the oxidation products. However, simultaneous activation of SPS by phenol and aniline is likely to occur in the reaction system with the formation of PhNH˙, as indicated by DFT calculations. The high scavenging reactivity of phenol towards both PhNH2˙+ and PhNH˙ implies that PhNH2˙+ and PhNH˙ are not the intermediates in the formation of OANIblue. DFT calculations also reveal that apart from the one-electron transfer pathway between aniline and SPS, the two-electron transfer pathway is also likely to occur in the presence of phenol, resulting in the formation of PhNH+/PhN˙˙ without producing PhNH2˙+ and PhNH˙. The produced PhNH+/PhN˙˙ intermediates then couple with aniline, PhNH+, aminophenyl sulfate and its hydrolysate to form dimers, trimers, oligomers, and eventually OANIblue. This study not only describes a novel method to prepare water-soluble OANI, but also gives new insight on the importance of phenol in the production of OANIblue.

Impaction Bone Grafting Combined with Titanium Mesh for Acetabular Bone Defects Reconstruction in Total Hip Arthroplasty Revision: A Retrospective and Mini-Review Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application of impaction bone grafting (IBG) combined with Ti-alloy mesh for acetabular bone defect reconstruction in total hip arthroplasty (THA) revision and follow up the clinical outcomes and imaging findings. METHODS: The clinical and imaging data of patients who were admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to December 2020 and underwent acetabular bone defects reconstruction using IBG combined with titanium mesh were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative and post-revision Oxford and Harris scores, and post-revision complications were evaluated. Radiographs were used to determine center of rotation (COR) of the hip joint, transparency line, bone graft fusion, and bone mineral density (BMD) around the hip joint. RESULTS: Significant improvement was observed in both Oxford and Harris scores (P < 0.05). The radiographs taken at the last follow-up examination showed no significant differences in the acetabulum COR, offsets, inclination angle, mean ratio of vertical value, and BMD analysis between the post-revision side and contralateral side (P > 0.05). The follow-up data showed restoration of the mesh implant and graft bone fusion. CONCLUSIONS: The application of IBG combined with titanium-alloy mesh in revision THA patients with acetabular defects was found to provide satisfactory outcomes. However, large-scale studies are still needed to further elucidate the long-term outcomes.

One new piperazinedione isolated from a mangrove-derived fungus Aspergillus niger JX-5.

One new piperazinedione derivative, nigerpiperazine A (1), along with six known compounds (2-7) were isolated from the fungus Aspergillus niger JX-5 from mangrove Ceriops tagal. Nigerpiperazine A (1) was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and 13C NMR chemical shift calculations, compounds 4 and 5 were determined by X-ray and the CD spectra. The absolute configuration of 4 was identified by X-ray for the first time. Compounds 1 and 4 showed inhibitory activities against Helicoverpa armigera Hubner with the IC50 values of 200 and 100 µg/mL, respectively.

The Essential Oil of Artemisia argyi H.Lév. and Vaniot Attenuates NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in THP-1 Cells.

Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot is a traditional medical herb that has been used for a long time in China and other Asian counties. Essential oil is the main active fraction of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot, and its anti-inflammatory potential has been observed in vitro and in vivo. Here, we found that the essential oil of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot (EOAA) inhibited monosodium urate (MSU)- and nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. EOAA suppressed caspase-1 and IL-1ß processing and pyroptosis. NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and translocation were also inhibited. In addition, EOAA suppressed nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation without blocking ASC oligomerization, suggesting that it may inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation by preventing caspase-1 processing. Our study thus indicates that EOAA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation and has therapeutic potential against NLRP3-driven diseases.