Rapid detection of microalgae cells based on upconversion nanoprobes.

The quantification of microalgae cells is crucial for the treatment of ships' ballast water. However, achieving rapid detection of microalgae cells remains a substantial challenge. Here, we develop a new method for rapid and effective detection of microalgae concentration by utilizing upconversion nanoprobes (UCNPs) of NaYF4:Er3+,Tm3+. Three ligands, carboxylated methoxypolyethylene glycols with 5000 and 2000 molecular weights (mPEG-COOH-5, mPEG-COOH-2) and D-gluconic acid sodium salt (DGAS), were used to convert hydrophobic UCNPs into a hydrophilic state through modification. The results show that the mPEG-COOH-5 modified UCNPs present the highest stability in an aqueous solution. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements reveal the presence of a significant number of -COOH functional groups on UCNPs after the mPEG-COOH-5 modification. These -COOH groups enhance the hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of UCNPs. The soluble UCNPs were directly mixed with microalgae, and the upconversion luminescence (UCL) spectra of the UCNPs were recorded immediately after thorough shaking. This greatly reduces the measurement time and could realize rapid onboard detection. In this sensing procedure, the UCNPs with red UCL functioned as energy donors, while microalgae with red absorption served as an energy acceptor. The UCL gradually diminishes with an increase in microalgae concentration based on the inner filter effect, thus establishing a relationship between UCL and microalgae concentration. The accuracy of the detection is further validated through the traditional microscope counting method. These findings pave the way for a novel rapid strategy to assess microalgae concentration using UCNPs.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Ischemic Stroke Risk: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have reported controversial relationships between circulating vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) and ischemic stroke (IS). This study aims to demonstrate the causal effect between VEGF and IS using Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: Summary statistics data from two large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for 16,112 patients with measured VEGF levels and 40,585 patients with IS were downloaded from public databases and included in this study. A published calculator was adopted for MR power calculation. The primary outcome was any ischemic stroke, and the secondary outcomes were large-artery stroke, cardioembolic stroke, and small-vessel stroke. We used the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method for primary analysis, supplemented by MR-Egger regression and the weighted median method. RESULTS: Nine SNPs were included to represent serum VEGF levels. The IVW method revealed no strong causal association between VEGF and any ischemic stroke (odds ratio [OR] 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.04, p = 0.39), cardioembolic stroke (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.97-1.12, p = 0.28), large-artery stroke (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.95-1.09, p = 0.62), and small-vessel stroke (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.91-1.04, p = 0.46). These findings remained robust in sensitivity analyses. MR-Egger regression suggested no horizontal pleiotropy. CONCLUSIONS: This Mendelian randomization study found no relationship between genetically predisposed serum VEGF levels and risks of IS or its subtypes.

Discovery of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen Suppressor GS-8873.

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection afflicts hundreds of millions of people and causes nearly one million deaths annually. The high levels of circulating viral surface antigen (HBsAg) that characterize CHB may lead to T-cell exhaustion, resulting in an impaired antiviral immune response in the host. Agents that suppress HBsAg could help invigorate immunity toward infected hepatocytes and facilitate a functional cure. A series of dihydropyridoisoquinolizinone (DHQ) inhibitors of human poly(A) polymerases PAPD5/7 were reported to suppress HBsAg in vitro. An example from this class, RG7834, briefly entered the clinic. We set out to identify a potent, orally bioavailable, and safe PAPD5/7 inhibitor as a potential component of a functional cure regimen. Our efforts led to the identification of a dihydropyridophthalazinone (DPP) core with improved pharmacokinetic properties. A conformational restriction strategy and optimization of core substitution led to GS-8873, which was projected to provide deep HBsAg suppression with once-daily dosing.

Near Infrared-II Excited Triplet Fusion Upconversion with Anti-Stokes Shift Approaching the Theoretical Limit.

The anti-Stokes shift represents the capacity of photon upconversion to convert low-energy photons to high-energy photons. Although triplet exciton-mediated photon upconversion presents outstanding performance in solar energy harvesting, photoredox catalysis, stereoscopic 3D printing, and disease therapeutics, the interfacial multistep triplet exciton transfer leads to exciton energy loss to suppress the anti-Stokes shift. Here, we report near infrared-II (NIR-II) excitable triplet exciton-mediated photon upconversion using a hybrid photosensitizer consisting of lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) and new surface ligands of thiophene-substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole (Th-DPP). Under 1064 nm excitation, this photon upconversion revealed a record-corrected upconversion efficiency of 0.37% (normalized to 100%), with the anti-Stokes shift (1.07 eV) approaching the theoretical limit (1.17 eV). The observation of this unexpected result is due to our discovery of the presence of a weak interaction between the sulfur atom on Th-DPP and Pb2+ on the PbS QDs surface, facilitating electronic coupling between PbS QDs and Th-DPP, such that the realization of triplet exciton transfer efficiency is close to 100% even when the energy gap is as small as 0.04 eV. With this premise, this photon upconversion as a photocatalyst enables the production of standing organic gel via photopolymerization under 1064 nm illumination, displaying NIR-II photon-driven photoredox catalysis. This research not only establishes the foundation for enhancing the performance of NIR-II excitable photonic upconversion but also promotes its development in photonics and photoredox catalysis.

The Effect of Lipid Composition on the Liposomal Delivery of Camptothecin Developed by Active Click Loading.

In the present study, we investigated the role of lipid composition of camptothecin (CPT)-loaded liposomes (CPT-Lips) to adjust their residence time, drug distribution, and therefore the toxicities and antitumor activity. The CPT was loaded into liposomes using a click drug loading method, which utilized liposomes preloaded with GSH and then exposed to CPT-maleimide. The method produced CPT-Lips with a high encapsulation efficiency (>95%) and sustained drug release. It is shown that the residence times of CPT-Lips in the body were highly dependent on lipid compositions with an order of non-PEGylated liposomes of unsaturated lipids < non-PEGylated liposomes of saturated lipids < PEGylated liposomes of saturated lipids. Interestingly, the fast clearance of CPT-Lips resulted in significantly decreased toxicities but did not cause a significant decrease in their in vivo antitumor activity. These results suggested that the lipid composition could effectively adjust the residence time of CPT-Lips in the body and further optimize their therapeutic index, which would guide the development of a liposomal formulation of CPT.

Processing of Whole Kernel Tapioca Pearl and Milk Tea BOBA of Fresh Highland Barley: Optimization of Processing Parameters and Quality Evaluation.

Fresh highland barley is difficult to store, leading to a lack of commercial products. To address these problems, the research investigated the effect of different heat treatments (steaming , microwaving , baking , and cooking ) on the quality of fresh highland barley, and used pretreated fresh highland barley as material, combined with the milk tea market, to design and optimize the preparation process of fresh highland barley tapioca pearl and milk tea BOBA. The results showed that the different heat treatments reduced the content of ash and starch significantly, and SFB and MFB decreased the digestibility of fresh highland barley (P < 0.05). In particular, SFB had a significantly higher overall score for fresh barley than the other treatments, with the highest sensory evaluation for aroma, elasticity, and the overall taste of the grain, and the eGI value was the lowest (58.64). The optimal preparation process of fresh highland barley tapioca pearl and milk tea BOBA was designed and optimized by the L9(34) orthogonal test. The optimal tapioca pearl formula contained the following: apioca starch content of 36%, cooking time of 2.5 min, and erythritol stevia content of 1.5%. The optimal milk tea BOBA formula contained the following: sodium alginate content of 1.3%, erythritol stevia content of 0.6%, and calcium lactate content of 2.2%. This not only improves the comprehensive utilization rate of fresh highland barley, but also provides the accessory food, ensuring a lower eGI and increasing the healthiness and diversity of milk tea.

The Nonvolatile Memory and Neuromorphic Simulation of ReS2 /h-BN/Graphene Floating Gate Devices Under Photoelectrical Hybrid Modulations.

The floating gate devices, as a kind of nonvolatile memory, obtain great application potential in logic-in-memory chips. The 2D materials have been greatly studied due to atomically flat surfaces, higher carrier mobility, and excellent photoelectrical response. The 2D ReS2 flake is an excellent candidate for channel materials due to thickness-independent direct bandgap and outstanding optoelectronic response. In this paper, the floating gate devices are prepared with the ReS2 /h-BN/Gr heterojunction. It obtains superior nonvolatile electrical memory characteristics, including a higher memory window ratio (81.82%), tiny writing/erasing voltage (±8 V/2 ms), long retention (>1000 s), and stable endurance (>1000 times) as well as multiple memory states. Meanwhile, electrical writing and optical erasing are achieved by applying electrical and optical pulses, and multilevel storage can easily be achieved by regulating light pulse parameters. Finally, due to the ideal long-time potentiation/depression synaptic weights regulated by light pulses and electrical pulses, the convolutional neural network (CNN) constructed by ReS2 /h-BN/Gr floating gate devices can achieve image recognition with an accuracy of up to 98.15% for MNIST dataset and 91.24% for Fashion-MNIST dataset. The research work adds a powerful option for 2D materials floating gate devices to apply to logic-in-memory chips and neuromorphic computing.

ROS-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction in the Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis.

Various signaling pathways are regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are radical oxygen intermediates under normal physiological conditions. However, when the buffering capacity of antioxidant enzymes is exceeded by the accumulation of ROS, oxidative stress, and endothelial cell dysfunction occur, which have been recognized as key contributors to the development of atherosclerosis. In this review, an overview is provided on mechanisms underlying ROS generation in endothelial cells and the involved regulatory pathways. Further, we discuss the ROS induced endothelial cell dysfunction and its relationship with atherosclerosis. Current knowledge on ROS-induced endothelial impairment is presented, characterized by decreased NO bioavailability, intracellular dysfunction and ox-LDL accumulation. Furthermore, biomarkers such as oxidative products of lipid, protein, and nucleotide are discussed as measurements for ROS levels. Novel interventions targeting oxidative stress are listed as potential pharmacotherapies in clinical practice. In conclusion, this review presents a systematic analysis of the mechanisms underlying ROS generation and elucidates how manipulation of these mechanisms can safeguard endothelial cell function.

Conformational Preference of Lithium Polysulfide Clusters Li2Sx (x = 4-8) in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Structures are of fundamental importance for diverse studies of lithium polysulfide clusters, which govern the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. The ring-like geometries were regarded as the most stable structures, but their physical origin remains elusive. In this work, we systematically explored the minimal structures of Li2Sx (x = 4-8) clusters to uncover the driving force for their conformational preferences. All low-lying isomers were generated by performing global searches using the ABCluster program, and the ionic nature of the Li···S interactions was evidenced with the energy decomposition analysis based on the block-localized wave function (BLW-ED) approach and further confirmed with the quantum theory of atoms in molecule (QTAIM). By analysis of the contributions of various energy components to the relative stability with the references of the lowest-lying isomers, the controlling factor for isomer preferences was found to be the polarization interaction. Notably, although the electrostatic interaction dominates the binding energies, it contributes favorably to the relative stabilities of most isomers. The Li+···Li+ distance is identified as the key geometrical parameter that correlates with the strength of the polarization of the Sx2- fragment imposed by the Li+ cations. Further BLW-ED analyses reveal that the cooperativity of the Li+ cations primarily determines the relative strength of the polarization.

In Vivo Prediction of Breast Muscle Weight in Broiler Chickens Using X-ray Images Based on Deep Learning and Machine Learning.

Accurately estimating the breast muscle weight of broilers is important for poultry production. However, existing related methods are plagued by cumbersome processes and limited automation. To address these issues, this study proposed an efficient method for predicting the breast muscle weight of broilers. First, because existing deep learning models struggle to strike a balance between accuracy and memory consumption, this study designed a multistage attention enhancement fusion segmentation network (MAEFNet) to automatically acquire pectoral muscle mask images from X-ray images. MAEFNet employs the pruned MobileNetV3 as the encoder to efficiently capture features and adopts a novel decoder to enhance and fuse the effective features at various stages. Next, the selected shape features were automatically extracted from the mask images. Finally, these features, including live weight, were input to the SVR (Support Vector Regression) model to predict breast muscle weight. MAEFNet achieved the highest intersection over union (96.35%) with the lowest parameter count (1.51 M) compared to the other segmentation models. The SVR model performed best (R2 = 0.8810) compared to the other prediction models in the five-fold cross-validation. The research findings can be applied to broiler production and breeding, reducing measurement costs, and enhancing breeding efficiency.

Pyrrole-Based Fully Non-fused Acceptor for Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells.

Organic solar cells (OSCs) are still suffering from the low light utilization and unstable under ultraviolet irradiation. To tackle these challenges, we design and synthesize a non-fused acceptor based on 1-(2-butyloctyl)-1H-pyrrole as π-bridge unit, denoted as GS70, which serves as active layer in the front-cell for constructing tandem OSCs with a parallel configuration. Benefiting from the well-complementary absorption spectra with the rear-cell, GS70-based parallel tandem OSCs exhibit an improved photoelectron response over the range between 600-700 nm, yielding a high short-circuit current density of 28.4 mA cm-2. The improvement in light utilization translates to a power conversion efficiency of 19.4 %, the highest value among all parallel tandem OSCs. Notably, owing to the intrinsic stability of GS70, the manufactured parallel tandem OSCs retain 84.9 % of their initial PCE after continuous illumination for 1000 hours. Overall, this work offers novel insight into the molecular design of low-cost and stability non-fused acceptors, emphasizing the importance of adopting a parallel tandem configuration for achieving efficient light harvesting and improved photostability in OSCs.

Prediction of the mechanical properties of TPMS structures based on Back propagation neural network.

Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) has the characteristics of high porosity, a highly interconnected network, and a smooth surface, making it an ideal candidate for bone tissue engineering applications. However, due to the complex relationship between multiple parameters of the TPMS structure and mechanical properties, it is a challenging task to optimize the properties of TPMS structures with different parameters. In this study, a Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) was utilized to construct the relationship between TPMS parameters. Its mechanical performance and the TPMS structure were optimized using the BPNN. Results indicated that after training the correlation coefficient (R) between the BPNN prediction and the experimental results is 0.955475, it shows that our BPNN model has an adequate accuracy in describing the TPMS structures properties. Result of TPMS structure optimization shows that after optimization the yield strength of Hybridized Gyroid-Diamond Structure (HGDS) is 6.20 MPa, which is increased by 102.61% when compared with the original Hybridized Gyroid-Diamond Structure (3.06 MPa). Result of topological morphology indicates the effective bearing area of the optimized model was increased by 12.92% compared with the original model, which ascribe the increase in yield strength of the optimization model.

In Situ Creation of Surface Defects on Pd@NiPd with Core-shell Hierarchical Structure Toward Boosting Electrocatalytic Activity.

A deep insight into surface structural evolution of the catalyst is a challenging issue to reveal the structure-activity relationship. In this contribution, based on a surface alloying strategy, the dual-functional Pd@NiPd catalyst with a unique core-shell hierarchical structure is developed through selective crystal growth, surface cocrystallization, directional self-assembly, and reduction process. The surface defects are created in situ on the outer NiPd alloy layer in the electrochemical redox processes, which endow the Pd@NiPd catalyst with excellent electrocatalytic activity of hydrogen generation reaction (HER) and oxygen generation reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The optimal Pd@NiPd-2 catalyst requires an overpotential of only 18 mV that is far lower than Pt/C benchmark (43 mV) at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 for the HER, and 210 mV that is far lower than RuO2 benchmark (430 mV) at 50 mA cm-2 for the OER. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the outstanding electrocatalytic activity is originated from the creation of surface defect structure that induces a significant reduction in the adsorption and dissociation energy barriers of H2O molecules in the HER and a decrease in the conversion energy from O* to OOH* that resulted from the synergy of two adjacent Pd sites by forming O-bridge. This work affords a typical paradigm for exploiting efficient catalysts and investigating the dependence of electrocatalytic activity on the surface structural evolution.

Branched fructo-oligosaccharides from Polygonatum Cyrtonema Hua as crosslinking agents for cellulose: A novel injectable and on-demand dissolution hydrogel for diabetic wound.

Oligosaccharide-containing macromolecular bio adhesives are emerging as highly promising eco-friendly materials to enhance the cytocompatibility of viscous hydrogels for wound healing applications. In our prior research, we extensively elucidated the properties of branch-structure fructo-oligosaccharides derived from Polygonatum Cyrtonema Hua (referred to as PCOS). However, the characteristics of hydrogels based on fructo-oligosaccharides remain to be fully explored. In present work, we developed an injectable, PCOS/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) hydrogel which is a dual ion-physical cross-linked hydrogel that can be considered as a potential diabetic wound dressing. The tests showed that the optimal ratios for hydrogel preparation were 2 % CBM 940 (Carbomer 940), 5 % CMC and 10 % PCOS. The resultant hydrogel was formulated into composite hydrogels that were then used for the treatment of full-thickness excisional wounds in a db/db diabetic mouse model. Wound closure and histological evaluation confirmed its beneficial effect on wound healing. Further morphological analysis through scanning electron microscopy images revealed a porous hydrogel structure, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy provided structural insights on the crosslinking reaction. Physicochemical properties of the hybrid hydrogels determined by rheological properties, thermogravimetric, water loss rate, et al., indicated that the double crosslinking PCOS/CMC hybrid hydrogel showed enhanced dynamic mechanical properties and water retention capacity compared to the CMC cellulose matrix hydrogels. Thus, this novel PCOS-hybrid hydrogel exhibited good dissolvability and injectable properties, which was proved to facilitate for the diabetic wound healing both in vitro and in vivo test and holds a potential clinical application in the wound healing.

Revisiting implications of early family economic conditions for adolescent adaptations: An integrative cascade model.

Implications of family economic conditions (FECs) for child development have been extensively examined. What remains sparse is research spanning multiple life stages to delineate the far-reaching influences of early FECs for child subsequent development in different domains and how various family stress and investment processes jointly account for such association. To address these gaps, using data from 929 families in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2001, 2005), this study examined how family income-to-needs ratio (FITNR) when children were 1-36 months old was associated with child language skills, social competence, externalizing, and internalizing problems at 6th grade. Parental investment and maternal/paternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity when children were 54 months old and in 3rd grade were tested as potential mediators. Results indicated that early FITNR shaped child cognitive, social, and behavioral adaptation in early adolescence indirectly through parental investment, depressive symptoms, and sensitive parenting in the preschool period and middle childhood. Parental investment, depressive symptoms, and sensitive parenting played such mediating roles above and beyond each other. Parental investment primarily accounted for the association between early FITNR and child later language skills, whereas parental depressive symptoms and sensitive parenting uniquely explained the associations between early FITNR and child subsequent internalizing symptoms, externalizing problems, social competence, and language skills. Theoretical/practical implications of such findings were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The activator protein-1 complex governs a vascular degenerative transcriptional programme in smooth muscle cells to trigger aortic dissection and rupture.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Stanford type A aortic dissection (AD) is a degenerative aortic remodelling disease marked by an exceedingly high mortality without effective pharmacologic therapies. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) lining tunica media adopt a range of states, and their transformation from contractile to synthetic phenotypes fundamentally triggers AD. However, the underlying pathomechanisms governing this population shift and subsequent AD, particularly at distinct disease temporal stages, remain elusive. METHODS: Ascending aortas from nine patients undergoing ascending aorta replacement and five individuals undergoing heart transplantation were subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing. The pathogenic targets governing the phenotypic switch of SMCs were identified by trajectory inference, functional scoring, single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering, regulon, and interactome analyses and confirmed using human ascending aortas, primary SMCs, and a ß-aminopropionitrile monofumarate-induced AD model. RESULTS: The transcriptional profiles of 93 397 cells revealed a dynamic temporal-specific phenotypic transition and marked elevation of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) complex, actively enabling synthetic SMC expansion. Mechanistically, tumour necrosis factor signalling enhanced AP-1 transcriptional activity by dampening mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Targeting this axis with the OXPHOS enhancer coenzyme Q10 or AP-1-specific inhibitor T-5224 impedes phenotypic transition and aortic degeneration while improving survival by 42.88% (58.3%-83.3% for coenzyme Q10 treatment), 150.15% (33.3%-83.3% for 2-week T-5224), and 175.38% (33.3%-91.7% for 3-week T-5224) in the ß-aminopropionitrile monofumarate-induced AD model. CONCLUSIONS: This cross-sectional compendium of cellular atlas of human ascending aortas during AD progression provides previously unappreciated insights into a transcriptional programme permitting aortic degeneration, highlighting a translational proof of concept for an anti-remodelling intervention as an attractive strategy to manage temporal-specific AD by modulating the tumour necrosis factor-OXPHOS-AP-1 axis.

Exogenous Serotonin (5-HT) Promotes Mesocotyl and Coleoptile Elongation in Maize Seedlings under Deep-Seeding Stress through Enhancing Auxin Accumulation and Inhibiting Lignin Formation.

Serotonin (5-HT), an indoleamine compound, has been known to mediate many physiological responses of plants under environmental stress. The deep-seeding (≥20 cm) of maize seeds is an important cultivation strategy to ensure seedling emergence and survival under drought stress. However, the role of 5-HT in maize deep-seeding tolerance remains unexplored. Understanding the mechanisms and evaluating the optimal concentration of 5-HT in alleviating deep-seeding stress could benefit maize production. In this study, two maize inbred lines were treated with or without 5-HT at both sowing depths of 20 cm and 3 cm, respectively. The effects of different concentrations of 5-HT on the growth phenotypes, physiological metabolism, and gene expression of two maize inbred lines were examined at the sowing depths of 20 cm and 3 cm. Compared to the normal seedling depth of 3 cm, the elongation of the mesocotyl (average elongation 3.70 cm) and coleoptile (average elongation 0.58 cm), secretion of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA; average increased 3.73 and 0.63 ng g-1 FW), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; average increased 1.95 and 0.63 µM g-1 FW) in the mesocotyl and coleoptile were increased under 20 cm stress, with a concomitant decrease in lignin synthesis (average decreased 0.48 and 0.53 A280 g-1). Under 20 cm deep-seeding stress, the addition of 5-HT activated the expression of multiple genes of IAA biosynthesis and signal transduction, including Zm00001d049601, Zm00001d039346, Zm00001d026530, and Zm00001d049659, and it also stimulated IAA production in both the mesocotyl and coleoptile of maize seedlings. On the contrary, 5-HT suppressed the expression of genes for lignin biosynthesis (Zm00001d016471, Zm00001d005998, Zm00001d032152, and Zm00001d053554) and retarded the accumulation of H2O2 and lignin, resulting in the elongation of the mesocotyl and coleoptile of maize seedlings. A comprehensive evaluation analysis showed that the optimum concentration of 5-HT in relieving deep-seeding stress was 2.5 mg/L for both inbred lines, and 5-HT therefore could improve the seedling emergence rate and alleviate deep-seeding stress in maize seedlings. These findings could provide a novel strategy for improving maize deep-seeding tolerance, thus enhancing yield potential under drought and water stress.

Low-Cost Fully Non-fused Ring Acceptor Enables Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Modules for Multi-Scene Applications.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, with highly tunable light-response ranges, offer significant potential for use in driving low-power consumption off-grid electronics in multi-scenarios. However, development of photoactive layer materials that can meet simultaneously the requirements of diverse irradiation conditions is a still challenging task. Herein, a low-cost fully non-fused acceptor (denoted as GS60) featuring well-matched absorption spectra with solar, scattered light and artificial light radiation was designed and synthesized. Systematic characterizations revealed that GS60 possessed outstanding photoelectron properties and ideal morphology, which resulted in reduced voltage loss and suppressed charge recombination. By blending with a non-fused ring polymer PTVT-T, the as-obtained GS60 based OPV cells achieved a good power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.1 %, a high value for the cells based on non-fused ring bulk heterojunction. Besides, manufactured large-area OPV modules based on PTVT-T:GS60 yielded PCEs of 11.2 %, 11.8 %, 12.1 %, 23.1 %, and 20.3 % under irradiation of AM 1.5G, natural light of cloudy weather, natural light in shadow, laser and indoor, respectively. The PTVT-T:GS60 devices exhibited considerable potential in terms of improving photostability and reducing material cost. Overall, this work provides novel insight into the molecular design of low-cost non-fused ring acceptors, and extended potential of medium band gap acceptors based OPV cells used in various application scenarios.

The SIRT3 activator ganoderic acid D regulates airway mucin MUC5AC expression via the NRF2/GPX4 pathway.

PURPOSE: The expression of MUC5AC, a highly prevalent airway mucin, is regulated by stimulatory factors such as oxidative stress. Ganoderic acid D (GAD) activates mitochondrial deacetylase SIRT3. SIRT3 regulates mitochondrial function through deacetylation of mitochondrial proteins, thereby playing a significant role in alleviating oxidative stress-related diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the mechanisms and rationale underlying the regulation of MUC5AC expression by GAD. METHODS: Human airway epithelial cells (NCI-H292) were exposed to pyocyanin (PCN) to establish an in vitro cell model of airway mucus hypersecretion. The expression of SIRT3, MUC5AC, and NRF2 pathway proteins in cells was assessed. Cellular mitochondrial morphology and oxidative stress markers were analyzed. C57BL/6 mice were induced with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) to establish an in vivo mouse model of airway mucus hypersecretion. The expression of SIRT3 and MUC5AC in the airways was examined. In addition, the differential expression of target genes in the airway epithelial tissues of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was analyzed using publicly available databases. RESULTS: The results revealed a significant upregulation of MUC5AC expression and a significant downregulation of SIRT3 expression in relation to airway mucus hypersecretion. GAD inhibited the overexpression of MUC5AC in PCN-induced NCI-H292 cells and PA-induced mouse airways by upregulating SIRT3. GAD activated the NRF2/GPX4 pathway and inhibited PCN-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial morphological changes in NCI-H292 cells. However, ML385 inhibited the regulatory effects of GAD on MUC5AC expression. CONCLUSION: The SIRT3 activator GAD downregulated MUC5AC expression, potentially through activation of the NRF2/GPX4 pathway. Accordingly, GAD may be a potential treatment approach for airway mucus hypersecretions.

Unprecedented Neoverrucosane and Cyathane Diterpenoids with Anti-Neuroinflammatory Activity from Cultures of the Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom Hericium erinaceus.

The culinary medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus holds significant global esteem and has garnered heightened interest within increasingly ageing societies due to its pronounced neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory properties. Within this study, two novel diterpenes, 16-carboxy-13-epi-neoverrucosane (1) and Erinacine L (2); three known xylosyl cyathane diterpenoids, Erinacine A (3), Erinacine C (4), and Erinacine F (5); and four lanostane-type triterpenoids, and three cyclic dipeptides (10-12), in addition to orcinol (13), were isolated from the rice-based cultivation medium of H. erinaceus. Their structures were determined by NMR, HR-ESI-MS, ECD, and calculated NMR. Compound 1 marks a pioneering discovery as the first verrucosane diterpene originating from basidiomycetes, amplifying the scope of fungal natural product chemistry, and the intricate stereochemistry of Compound 5 has been comprehensively assessed for the first time. Compounds 2-5 not only showed encouraging neurotrophic activity in rat adrenal pheochromocytoma PC-12 cells, but also significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in BV2 microglia cell cultures with IC50 values as low as 5.82 ± 0.18 µM. To elucidate the mechanistic underpinnings of these bioactivities, molecular docking simulation was used to analyze and support the interaction of 1 and 2 with inducible NO synthase (iNOS), respectively. In particular, compound 2, a cyathane-xyloside containing an unconventional hemiacetal moiety, is a compelling candidate for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. In summation, this investigation contributes substantively to the panorama of fungal diterpene structural diversity, concurrently furnishing additional empirical substantiation for the role of cyathane diterpenes in the amelioration of neurodegenerative afflictions.