Peripheral mitochondrial DNA as a neuroinflammatory biomarker for major depressive disorder.

In the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder, chronic stress-related neuroinflammation hinders favorable prognosis and antidepressant response. Mitochondrial DNA may be an inflammatory trigger, after its release from stress-induced dysfunctional central nervous system mitochondria into peripheral circulation. This evidence supports the potential use of peripheral mitochondrial DNA as a neuroinflammatory biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder. Herein, we critically review the neuroinflammation theory in major depressive disorder, providing compelling evidence that mitochondrial DNA release acts as a critical biological substrate, and that it constitutes the neuroinflammatory disease pathway. After its release, mitochondrial DNA can be carried in the exosomes and transported to extracellular spaces in the central nervous system and peripheral circulation. Detectable exosomes render encaged mitochondrial DNA relatively stable. This mitochondrial DNA in peripheral circulation can thus be directly detected in clinical practice. These characteristics illustrate the potential for mitochondrial DNA to serve as an innovative clinical biomarker and molecular treatment target for major depressive disorder. This review also highlights the future potential value of clinical applications combining mitochondrial DNA with a panel of other biomarkers, to improve diagnostic precision in major depressive disorder.

Nanoparticle delivery systems of functional substances for precision nutrition.

Foodborne functional substances have received much attention for their functional benefits in health and disease. However, these substances are easily affected by the adverse environment during production, transportation, or storage. They will also be damaged by the gastric environment and limited by the mucosal barrier after entering the human body, thus affecting the bioavailability of functional substances in the body. The construction of nanoparticle delivery systems is helpful to protect the biological activity of functional substances and improve their solubility, stability, and absorption of substances. Responsive delivery systems help control the release of functional substances in specific environments and targeted sites to achieve nutritional intervention, disease prevention, and treatment. In this chapter, the main types of foodborne functional substances and their commonly used delivery systems were reviewed, and the application of delivery systems in precision nutrition was described from the aspects of environmental stimuli-responsive delivery systems, site-specific delivery systems, and disease-targeted delivery systems.

hsa_circ_0000129 targets miR-383-5p/tropomyosin 3 axis to facilitate ovarian cancer progression.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies among women. CircRNAs play key roles in the progression of ovarian cancer. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action of hsa_circ_0000129 and its effects on ovarian cancer. Expression of hsa_circ_0000129, tropomyosin 3 (TPM3), and miR-383-5p in ovarian cancer cell lines and tissue specimens was detected using qRT-PCR or western blotting. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, and transwell assays were performed to assess viability, proliferation, and migration of ovarian cancer cells. A xenograft model was used to study tumorigenicity of ovarian cancer cells in vivo. Luciferase and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to determine binding between miR-383-5p and hsa_circ_0000129 or TPM3. Upregulation of hsa_circ_0000129 and TPM3 and downregulation of miR-383-5p were observed in ovarian cancer. Low hsa_circ_0000129 and TPM3 expression repressed viability, migration, and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. Inhibition of miR-383-5p had a contrary effect. Furthermore, knockdown of hsa_circ_0000129 restricted the tumorigenicity of ovarian cancer cells. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0000129 has a sponging effect on miR-383-5p, which targets TPM3. Hsa_circ_0000129 stimulated development of the malignant ovarian cancer phenotype by sponging miR-383-5p and releasing TPM3.

Losses and destabilization of soil organic carbon stocks in coastal wetlands converted into aquaculture ponds.

Coastal-wetlands play a crucial role as carbon (C) reservoirs on Earth due to their C pool composition and functional sink, making them significant for mitigating global climate change. However, due to the development and utilization of wetland resources, many wetlands have been transformed into other land-use types. The current study focuses on the alterations in soil organic-C (SOC) in coastal-wetlands following reclamation into aquaculture ponds. We conducted sampling at 11 different coastal-wetlands along the tropical to temperate regions of the China coast. Each site included two community types, one with solely native species (Suaeda salsa, Phragmites australis and Mangroves) and the other with an adjacent reclaimed aquaculture pond. Across these 11 locations we compared SOC stock, active OC fractions, and soil physicochemical properties between coastal wetlands and aquaculture ponds. We observed that different soil uses, sampling sites, and their interaction had significant effects on SOC and its stock (p < .05). Reclamation significantly declined SOC concentration at depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm by 35.5% and 30.3%, respectively, and also decreased SOC stock at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm depths by 29.1% and 37.9%, respectively. Similar trends were evident for SOC stock, labile organic-C, dissolved organic-C and microbial biomass organic-C concentrations (p < .05), indicating soil C-destabilization and losses from soil following conversion. Soils in aquaculture ponds exhibited higher bulk density (BD; 11.3%) and lower levels of salinity (61.0%), soil water content (SWC; 11.7%), total nitrogen (TN) concentration (23.8%) and available-nitrogen concentration (37.7%; p < .05) than coastal-wetlands. Redundancy-analysis revealed that pH, BD and TN concentration were the key variables most linked with temporal variations in SOC fractions and stock between two land use types. This study provides a theoretical basis for the rational utilization and management of wetland resources, the achievement of an environment-friendly society, and the preservation of multiple service functions within wetland ecosystems.

[Advances in Imaging-Based Evaluation of Solid Tumors Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors].

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown remarkable benefits in the treatment of solid tumors,while the occurrence of atypical response patterns and immune-related adverse events during treatment challenges the accuracy of therapeutic evaluation.Medical imaging is crucial for the evaluation of immunotherapy.It enables the assessment of treatment efficacy via both morphological and functional ways and offers unique a predictive value when being combined with artificial intelligence.Here we review the recent research progress in imaging-based evaluation of solid tumors treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

ß-hydroxybutyrate and mitochondria mediate the association between medium-chain fatty acids, DHA and mild cognitive impairment: a nested case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could affect the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions might be their potential mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between MCFAs, DHA and MCI, and potential mechanisms. METHODS: This study used data from Tianjin Elderly Nutrition and Cognition (TENC) cohort study, 120 individuals were identified with new onset MCI during follow-up, 120 individuals without MCI were selected by 1:1 matching sex, age, and education levels as the control group from TENC. Conditional logistic regression analysis and mediation effect analysis were used to explore their relationship. RESULTS: Higher serum octanoic acid levels (OR: 0.633, 95% CI: 0.520, 0.769), higher serum DHA levels (OR: 0.962, 95% CI: 0.942, 0.981), and more mtDNAcn (OR: 0.436, 95% CI: 0.240, 0.794) were associated with lower MCI risk, while more mtDNA deletions was associated with higher MCI risk (OR: 8.833, 95% CI: 3.909, 19.960). Mediation analysis suggested that BHB and mtDNAcn, in series, have mediation roles in the association between octanoic acid and MCI risk, and mtDNA deletions have mediation roles in the association between DHA and MCI risk. CONCLUSION: Higher serum octanoic acid and DHA levels were associated with lower MCI risk. Octanoic acid could affect the incidence of MCI through BHB, then mitochondria function, or through mitochondria function, or directly. Serum DHA level could affect the incidence of MCI through mitochondria function, or directly.

Inhibition of Macrophage Recruitment to Heart Valves Mediated by the C-C Chemokine Receptor Type 2 Attenuates Valvular Inflammation Induced by Group A Streptococcus in Lewis Rats.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an autoimmune disease caused by recurrent infections of Group A streptococcus (GAS), ultimately leading to inflammation and the fibrosis of heart valves. Recent studies have highlighted the crucial role of C-C chemokine receptor type 2-positive (CCR2+) macrophages in autoimmune diseases and tissue fibrosis. However, the specific involvement of CCR2+ macrophages in RHD remains unclear. METHODS: This study established an RHD rat model using inactivated GAS and complete Freund's adjuvant, demonstrating a correlation between CCR2+ macrophages and fibrosis in the mitral valves of these rats. RESULTS: Intraperitoneal injection of the CCR2 antagonist Rs-504393 significantly reduced macrophage infiltration, inflammation, and fibrosis in valve tissues of RHD rats compared to the solvent-treated group . Existing evidence suggests that C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) acts as the primary recruiting factor for CCR2+ cells. To validate this, human monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) were cultured in vitro to assess the impact of recombinant CCL2 protein on macrophages. CCL2 exhibited pro-inflammatory effects similar to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), promoting M1 polarization in macrophages. Moreover, the combined effect of LPS and CCL2 was more potent than either alone. Knocking down CCR2 expression in THP-1 cells using small interfering RNA suppressed the pro-inflammatory response and M1 polarization induced by CCL2. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study indicate that CCR2+ macrophages are pivotal in the valvular remodeling process of RHD. Targeting the CCL2/CCR2 signaling pathway may therefore represent a promising therapeutic strategy to alleviate valve fibrosis in RHD.

Engineering of a hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase with simultaneous enhancement in activity and thermostability for efficient biosynthesis of ursodeoxycholic acid.

Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (HSDHs) catalyze the oxidation/reduction of hydroxyl/keto groups of steroids with high regio- or stereoselectivity, playing an essential role in producing optically pure chemicals. In this work, a novel approach was developed to simultaneously improve the stability and activity of 7ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7ß-HSDH) by combining B-factor analysis and computer-aided prediction. Several advantageous mutants were identified, and the most promising variant, S51Y/P202Y, exhibited 2.3-fold improvements in catalytic activity, 3.3-fold in half-life at 40°C, and 4.7-fold in catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km), respectively. Structural modeling analysis showed that the shortened reversible oxidation reaction catalytic distance and the strengthened residue interactions compared to the wild type were attributed to the improved stability and activity of the obtained mutants. To synthesize ursodeoxycholic acid cost-effectively by mutant S51Y/P202Y, a NAD-kinase was employed to facilitate the substitution of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+) with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in the whole-cell catalysis system. The substrate 7-ketolithocholic acid (100 mM) was converted completely in 0.5 h, achieving a space-time yield of 1,887.3 g L-1 d-1. This work provided a general target-oriented strategy for obtaining stable and highly active dehydrogenase for efficient biosynthesis. IMPORTANCE: Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases have emerged as indispensable tools in the synthesis of steroids, bile acids, and other steroid derivatives for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In this study, a novel approach was developed to simultaneously improve the stability and activity of a hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase by combining B-factor analysis and computer-aided prediction. This semi-rational method was demonstrated to be highly effective for enzyme engineering. In addition, NAD kinase was introduced to convert NAD+ to NADP+ for effective coenzyme regeneration in the whole-cell multienzyme-catalyzed system. This strategy reduces the significant economic costs associated with externally supplemented cofactors in NADP-dependent biosynthetic pathways.

Structural and Functional Basis of GenB2 Isomerase Activity from Gentamicin Biosynthesis.

Aminoglycosides are essential antibiotics used to treat severe infections caused mainly by Gram-negative bacteria. Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside and, despite its toxicity, is clinically used to treat several pulmonary and urinary infections. The commercial form of gentamicin is a mixture of five compounds with minor differences in the methylation of one of their aminosugars. In the case of two compounds, gentamicin C2 and C2a, the only difference is the stereochemistry of the methyl group attached to C-6'. GenB2 is the enzyme responsible for this epimerization and is one of the four PLP-dependent enzymes encoded by the gentamicin biosynthetic gene cluster. Herein, we have determined the structure of GenB2 in its holo form in complex with PMP and also in the ternary complex with gentamicin X2 and G418, two substrate analogues. Based on the structural analysis, we were able to identify the structural basis for the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme, which was also studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Unprecedently, GenB2 is a PLP-dependent enzyme from fold I, which is able to catalyze an epimerization but with a mechanism distinct from that of fold III PLP-dependent epimerases using a cysteine residue near the N-terminus. The substitution of this cysteine residue for serine or alanine completely abolished the epimerase function of the enzyme, confirming its involvement. This study not only contributes to the understanding of the enzymology of gentamicin biosynthesis but also provides valuable details for exploring the enzymatic production of new aminoglycoside derivatives.

Observing multi-frequency structured illumination patterns based on an evanescent field in a millimeter-scale polymer slide.

Millimeter-scale slide optical waveguides (OWGs) show the potential to break the barrier of easy-to-use and versatility for total internal reflection (TIR) fluorescence technology. In this paper, multi-frequency structured illumination (SI) patterns resulting from the evanescent field (EF) on the surface of a millimeter-scale polymer slide OWG are observed by measuring the fluorescence intensity distribution of fluorescent dyes deposited on the top of the OWG. The frequency, intensity, and stability of the SI patterns show a strong dependence on the coupling angle of the incident light (changing with the incident position). The distribution of multi-frequency SI patterns in the frequency space is demonstrated for different numerical aperture (NA) imaging systems (NA = 0.3, 0.6, and 0.8), indicating the potential for enhanced resolution for low NA systems with a simple and cheap polymer slide.

Recent progress on triterpenoid derivatives and their anticancer potential.

Cancer poses a significant global public health challenge, with commonly used adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy often leading to adverse side effects and drug resistance. Therefore, advancing cancer treatment necessitates the ongoing development of novel anticancer agents with diverse structures and mechanisms of action. Natural products remain crucial in the process of drug discovery, serving as a primary source for pharmaceutical leads and therapeutic advancements. Triterpenoids are particularly compelling due to their complex structures and wide array of biological activities. Recent research has demonstrated that naturally occurring triterpenes and their derivatives have the potential to serve as promising candidates for new drug development. This review aims to comprehensively explore the anticancer properties of triterpenoids and their synthetic analogs, with a focus on recent advancements. Various aspects, such as synthesis, phytochemistry, and molecular simulation for structure-activity relationship analyses, are summarized. It is anticipated that triterpenoid derivatives will emerge as notable anticancer agents following further investigation into their mechanisms of action and in vivo studies.

B4GALT5 a sialylation-related genes associated with patient prognosis and immune microenvironment in ovarian cancer and pan-cancer.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the predominant primary tumor in the human reproductive system. Abnormal sialylation has a significant impact on tumor development, metastasis, immune evasion, angiogenesis, and treatment resistance. B4GALT5, a gene associated with sialylation, plays a crucial role in ovarian cancer, and may potentially affect clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search across TIMER, GEPIA2, GeneMANIA, and Metascape to obtain transcription profiling data of ovarian cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The expression of B4GALT5 was test by immunohistochemistry. To investigate the impact of B4GALT5 on growth and programmed cell death in OC cells, we performed transwell assays and western blots. RESULTS: The presence of B4GALT5 was strongly associated with an unfavorable outcome in OC. B4GALT5 significantly promoted the proliferation of OC cells. Upon analyzing gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), it was discovered that B4GALT5 played a crucial role in the extracellular matrix, particularly in collagen-containing structures, and exhibited correlations with ECM-receptor interactions, transcriptional dysregulation in cancer, as well as the interleukin-1 receptor signaling pathway. Furthermore, there is a clear link between B4GALT5 and the tumor immune microenvironment in OC. Moreover, B4GALT5 exhibits favorable expression levels across various types of cancers, including CHOL, KIRC, STAD and UCES. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it is widely believed that B4GALT5 plays a pivotal role in the growth and progression of OC, with its heightened expression serving as an indicator of unfavorable outcomes. Moreover, B4GALT5 actively participates in shaping the cancer immune microenvironment within OC. This investigation has the potential to contribute significantly to a deeper understanding of the substantial involvement of B4GALT5 in human malignancies, particularly OCs.

Leveraging Functional Genomics for Understanding Beef Quality Complexities and Breeding Beef Cattle for Improved Meat Quality.

Consumer perception of beef is heavily influenced by overall meat quality, a critical factor in the cattle industry. Genomics has the potential to improve important beef quality traits and identify genetic markers and causal variants associated with these traits through genomic selection (GS) and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) approaches. Transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics provide insights into underlying genetic mechanisms by identifying differentially expressed genes, proteins, and metabolic pathways linked to quality traits, complementing GWAS data. Leveraging these functional genomics techniques can optimize beef cattle breeding for enhanced quality traits to meet high-quality beef demand. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of applications of omics technologies in uncovering functional variants underlying beef quality complexities. By highlighting the latest findings from GWAS, GS, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics studies, this work seeks to serve as a valuable resource for fostering a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between genetics, gene expression, protein dynamics, and metabolic pathways in shaping beef quality.

Real-World Study of Lanreotide Autogel in Routine Practice in Patients with Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (GEP-NETs) in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of data on the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of lanreotide autogel in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) of Chinese ethnicity. This non-interventional, retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of lanreotide autogel in patients of Chinese ethnicity with GEP-NETs in clinical practice. METHODS: Patient charts were abstracted from five hospitals in Hong Kong and Taiwan (July-September 2021), where lanreotide autogel is approved for treating GEP-NETs. Included patients were adults with unresectable, metastatic, or locally advanced GEP-NETs who received a first injection (index) of lanreotide autogel 120 mg between 01 January 2017 and 30 June 2020 (planned sample size: N = 30). Follow-up ran from index to a maximum of 48 (± 4) weeks or until disease progression, start of new antitumor treatment, or death. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) rate at week 48 (±4), and secondary endpoints included PFS rate at week 24 (±4), estimated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. All analyses were descriptive. RESULTS: Of 27 patients enrolled, 22 (81.5%) had 48 weeks of follow-up. Tumors of pancreatic origin were the most common (73.9%). PFS rate was 0.96 (95% confidence interval: 0.72 - 0.99) at 24 weeks and 0.82 (0.53-0.94) at 48 weeks. Overall, 74.1% patients experienced ≥ 1 treatment-emergent adverse event; none were serious. No deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Lanreotide autogel was well tolerated and showed good tumor control rate in a real-world setting. These findings align with results from previous studies in Caucasian, Japanese, and Korean patients, thus supporting lanreotide autogel for treating patients with GEP-NETs of Chinese ethnicity.

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are rare cancers that develop in the stomach, intestines, or pancreas. Lanreotide autogel is used to treat GEP-NETs in patients whose tumors cannot be removed by surgery or have spread to other body parts. At the time of the study, lanreotide autogel was not approved in mainland China for treating patients with GEP-NETs. Most clinical trials of lanreotide autogel were conducted in Caucasian patients, so more information is needed on whether lanreotide autogel is effective and well tolerated for treating GEP-NETs in patients of Chinese ethnicity. We performed this study to gain this information. In this study, we retrieved data from the medical records of patients of Chinese ethnicity with GEP-NETs who were treated with lanreotide autogel in Hong Kong and Taiwan. We examined the medical records to understand how these patients responded to lanreotide autogel. The results from this study showed that after 24 weeks of lanreotide autogel treatment, 22 of 23 patients had GEP-NETs that did not worsen. After 48 weeks of treatment, two of these patients had GEP-NETs that grew or spread, resulting in 20 patients with GEP-NETs that did not worsen at the end of the study. No patients had serious side effects related to lanreotide autogel. In conclusion, this study showed that lanreotide autogel is well tolerated and effective for treating patients of Chinese ethnicity with GEP NETs in the real world, which is consistent with results from earlier studies in Caucasian patients. These results support the use of lanreotide autogel in these patients.

Acute stress causes sex-dependent changes to ventral subiculum synapses, circuitry, and anxiety-like behavior.

Experiencing a single severe stressor is sufficient to drive sexually dimorphic psychiatric disease development. The ventral subiculum (vSUB) emerges as a site where stress may induce sexually dimorphic adaptations due to its sex-specific organization and pivotal role in stress integration. Using a 1-hr acute restraint stress model, we uncover that stress causes a net decrease in vSUB activity in females that is potent, long-lasting, and driven by adrenergic receptor signaling. By contrast, males exhibit a net increase in vSUB activity that is transient and driven by corticosterone signaling. We further identified sex-dependent changes in vSUB output to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and in anxiety-like behavior in response to stress. These findings reveal striking changes in psychiatric disease-relevant brain regions and behavior following stress with sex-, cell-type, and synapse-specificity that contribute to our understanding of sex-dependent adaptations that may shape stress-related psychiatric disease risk.

Design Strategies for High-Performance NH3-SCO Catalysts: Identifying and Modulating Direct Anchoring Sites for Ag on TiO2.

Ammonia (NH3) slip from diesel vehicle aftertreatment systems and internal combustion engines fueled by NH3 or NH3/H2 poses serious environmental problems. Ag-based catalysts are widely used for the selective catalytic oxidation of NH3 to N2 (NH3-SCO), and their performance is greatly dependent on the state of Ag, which is influenced by the anchoring sites on the support. Despite efforts to identify the direct anchoring sites of metal atoms on TiO2, conflicting views persist. Here, we compared the correlation between Ag dispersion and the content of hydroxyl (OH) groups or defects on TiO2 and conducted density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and the results confirmed that the surface OH groups of TiO2 serve as the direct anchoring sites for Ag. By modulating the OH group content through thermal induction, the optimal OH group content on TiO2-800 resulted in more metallic Ag nanoparticles (Ag0 NPs) in larger sizes, leading to the development of an excellent NH3-SCO catalyst. Moreover, in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), kinetic studies, and DFT calculations suggested that more Ag0 NPs in larger sizes on 10Ag/TiO2-800 were conducive to O2 activation and NH3 dissociation. Our findings provide new insights for designing efficient NH3-SCO catalysts, and OH groups as direct anchoring sites could be extended to other metals and supports for the rational design of catalysts.

Synthesis and properties of bio-based semi-aromatic heat-resistant copolymer polyamide 5T-co-6T.

Herein, poly(pentanediamine terephthalamide) (PA5T) homopolymer was synthesized via a salt-forming reaction+solid state polycondensation method using bio-based 1,5-pentanediamine and terephthalic acid as the primary raw materials. To address the issue of its narrower processing window, poly(hexamethylene terephthalamide)(PA6T), which also cannot be melt processed due to the processing window is negative, was introduced into its molecular chain to synthesize poly (pentanediamine/hexanediamine terephthaloyl) (PA5T-co-6T) copolymers. The structures were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance carbon spectroscopy (13C-NMR). Furthermore, the melting temperature, crystallization temperature, thermal stability, and crystal growth mode of the polymer were tested and analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), respectively. The results demonstrate that the crystal growth mode gradually changes from three-dimensional spherical growth to two-dimensional disk-like or three-dimensional spherical growth with the increase of 6T chain segment content. Simultaneously, the crystallization temperature, melting temperature, and crystallization rate of the polymer all showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing, which was due to the combined effects of the increase in the content of 6T chain segments on the molecular-chain structure and crystal structure of the polymer. Bio-based PA5T-co-6T has excellent heat resistance and a wider processing window than PA5T and PA6T, which possesses great application prospects in the fields of automotive, electronic appliances, and LED optics.

Polymerizable ionic liquid-derived N, S co-doped sp3/sp2 carbon as electrocatalyst for H2O2 generation.

The H2O2 generation via the green electrochemical process is of high interest. For the H2O2 electrochemical generation, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is important. Unfortunately, the ORR is kinetically sluggish and catalysts are needed. However, noble metal ORR catalysts are pricy and scarcely applicable in applications. Therefore, non-precious metal catalysts are desired. Heteroatom-doped carbons show promise as metal-free ORR catalysts. The ORR catalytic activity will be enhanced by the carbon's sp2 and/or sp3 engineering. For N, S co-doped and sp2/sp3 modulated carbon, a polymerizable ionic liquid of hydrolyzed vinyl imidazolium was studied. The carbon is studied as a metal-free catalyst for the ORR via the 2e-process. It is possible to get an onset potential of 0.88 V vs. RHE with approximately 50% selectivity for the H2O2. The current study offers a simple technique for synthesizing heteroatom-doped sp2/sp3 designed carbon as catalysts for the electroreduction of O2 to produce H2O2, and a new way of tunning the sp3/sp2 carbon catalytic activity by modulating the ionic liquid.

Clinicopathological characteristics and oncologic outcomes of patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia manifesting as isolated pulmonary lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics and oncological outcomes of a special group of patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) initially presenting with isolated lung lesions, elevated human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels, and unobserved pelvic lesions. METHODS: Overall, 2358 patients with GTN treated at our hospital between 2000 and 2023 were retrospectively reviewed, and 40 patients were evaluated. The demographic characteristics, clinicopathological features, treatment data, and follow-up information of each patient were collected. The primary outcome was progression free survival. Kaplan-Meier analysis and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to identify the risk factors. RESULTS: Among the 40 patients, 95.0 % had solitary lung lesions, with a median size of 1.9 cm. Moreover, 72.5 % of patients were pathologically confirmed as epithelioid trophoblastic tumors (ETT). During a median follow-up period of 53.5 months (range, 2-143), 11 patients experienced recurrence, including all patients who received chemotherapy alone as the initial treatment, and no death was observed. Relapse treatment involved lung segmentectomy and lobectomy combined with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses identified comparing with surgery±chemotherapy, chemotherapy alone as the initial treatment (hazard ratio [HR] =7.738, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.698-35.269, P = 0.008) as independent risk factor for recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with a history of pregnancy exhibiting isolated pulmonary lesions, elevated hCG levels (mostly <1000 mIU/mL), and unobserved pelvic lesions, ETT should be considered first. Surgical resection of lung lesion is crucial for optimal management. When chemotherapy is considered, multidrug regimen is recommended.