Observation of efficacy of rt-PA thrombolysis combined with Solitaire AB stent mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To observe and analyze the efficacy of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA) thrombolysis combined with Solitaire AB stent mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: Clinical efficacy, neurological function, oxidative stress response, adverse reactions, and quality of life were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Lower NIHSS scores were observed among patients who received treatment within 2 h after stroke onset when compared with those in a timeframe of 2-6 h, suggesting better neurological function recovery of the patients with early intervention and thus emphasizing the importance of early treatment for patients with stroke onset. Clinical efficacy in the combination group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05). After treatment, Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) levels were higher, while lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and Serum Amyloid A (SAA) levels were lower in the combination group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the combination group (p < 0.05). At discharge, we observed significantly more patients with good recovery in the combination group when compared to the control group (p < 0.05), suggesting better quality of life of the patients, while this statistical significance was no longer observable at 90 days after discharge (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: For acute ischemic stroke patients, rt-PA thrombolysis combined with Solitaire AB stent mechanical thrombectomy treatment is effective. It promotes neurological function recovery, improves vascular stenosis, reduces inflammation and adverse reactions, and enhances quality of life, showing promising clinical applications.

Upconversion electroluminescence in 2D semiconductors integrated with plasmonic tunnel junctions.

Plasmonic tunnel junctions are a unique electroluminescent system in which light emission occurs via an interplay between tunnelling electrons and plasmonic fields instead of electron-hole recombination as in conventional light-emitting diodes. It was previously shown that placing luminescent molecules in the tunneling pathway of nanoscopic tunnel junctions results in peculiar upconversion electroluminescence where the energy of emitted photons exceeds that of excitation electrons. Here we report the observation of upconversion electroluminescence in macroscopic van der Waals plasmonic tunnel junctions comprising gold and few-layer graphene electrodes separated by a ~2-nm-thick hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barrier and a monolayer semiconductor. We find that the semiconductor ground exciton emission is triggered at excitation electron energies lower than the semiconductor optical gap. Interestingly, this upconversion is reached in devices operating at a low conductance (<10-6 S) and low power density regime (<102 W cm-2), defying explanation through existing proposed mechanisms. By examining the scaling relationship between plasmonic and excitonic emission intensities, we elucidate the role of inelastic electron tunnelling dipoles that induce optically forbidden transitions in the few-layer graphene electrode and ultrafast hot carrier transfer across the van der Waals interface.

Ultrafast laser state active controlling based on anisotropic quasi-1D material.

Laser state active controlling is challenging under the influence of inherent loss and other nonlinear effects in ultrafast systems. Seeking an extension of degree of freedom in optical devices based on low-dimensional materials may be a way forward. Herein, the anisotropic quasi-one-dimensional layered material Ta2PdS6 was utilized as a saturable absorber to modulate the nonlinear parameters effectively in an ultrafast system by polarization-dependent absorption. The polarization-sensitive nonlinear optical response facilitates the Ta2PdS6-based mode-lock laser to sustain two types of laser states, i.e., conventional soliton and noise-like pulse. The laser state was switchable in the single fiber laser with a mechanism revealed by numerical simulation. Digital coding was further demonstrated in this platform by employing the laser as a codable light source. This work proposed an approach for ultrafast laser state active controlling with low-dimensional material, which offers a new avenue for constructing tunable on-fiber devices.

Domperidone inhibits cell proliferation via targeting MEK and CDK4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of digestive system tumor related death in the world. Unfortunately, effective chemopreventive agent is lack for patients with ESCC in clinical practice, which leads to the extremely high mortality rate. METHODS: A library of prescribed drugs was screened for finding critical anti-tumor properties in ESCC cells. The phosphoproteomics, kinase array, pulldown assay and drug affinity responsive target stabilization assay (DARTS) were applied to explore mechanisms and searched for synergistic targets. Established models of PDX in mice were used to determine the therapeutic effect of domperidone. RESULTS: After screening a library of prescribed drugs, we discovered that domperidone has anti-tumor properties. Domperidone, acting as a gastroprokinetic agent, has been widely used in clinic for gastrointestinal motility disorders. Despite limited research, there are indications that domperidone may have anti-tumor properties. In this study, we determined that domperidone significantly inhibited ESCC proliferation in vitro and in vivo. We employed phosphoproteomics to reveal p-ERK, and p-SMAD3 down-regulation upon domperidone treatment. Then, the results of kinase assay and pulldown assay further validated that domperidone directly combined with MEK1/2 and CDK4, leading to the inhibition of their kinase activity. Furthermore, our results revealed that MEK/ERK and CDK4/SMAD3 signal pathway were major pathways in domperidone against ESCC. CONCLUSION: Collectively, these findings suggest that domperidone serves as an effective "multi-target" inhibitor of MEK1/2 and CDK4, offering potential benefits for the chemoprevention of ESCC.

Energy transfer driven brightening of MoS2 by ultrafast polariton relaxation in microcavity MoS2/hBN/WS2 heterostructures.

Energy transfer is a ubiquitous phenomenon that delivers energy from a blue-shifted emitter to a red-shifted absorber, facilitating wide photonic applications. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors provide unique opportunities for exploring novel energy transfer mechanisms in the atomic-scale limit. Herein, we have designed a planar optical microcavity-confined MoS2/hBN/WS2 heterojunction, which realizes the strong coupling among donor exciton, acceptor exciton, and cavity photon mode. This configuration demonstrates an unconventional energy transfer via polariton relaxation, brightening MoS2 with a record-high enhancement factor of ~440, i.e., two-order-of-magnitude higher than the data reported to date. The polariton relaxation features a short characteristic time of ~1.3 ps, resulting from the significantly enhanced intra- and inter-branch exciton-exciton scattering. The polariton relaxation dynamics is associated with Rabi energies in a phase diagram by combining experimental and theoretical results. This study opens a new direction of microcavity 2D semiconductor heterojunctions for high-brightness polaritonic light sources and ultrafast polariton carrier dynamics.

Ubiquitous protein lactylation in health and diseases.

For decades, lactate has been considered a byproduct of glycolysis. The lactate shuttle hypothesis shifted the lactate paradigm, demonstrating that lactate not only plays important roles in cellular metabolism but also cellular communications, which can transcend compartment barriers and can occur within and among different cells, tissues and organs. Recently, the discovery that lactate can induce a novel post-translational modification, named lysine lactylation (Kla), brings forth a new avenue to study nonmetabolic functions for lactate, which has inspired a 'gold rush' of academic and commercial interest. Zhang et al. first showed that Kla is manifested in histones as epigenetic marks, and then mounting evidences demonstrated that Kla also occurs in diverse non-histone proteins. The widespread Kla faithfully orchestrates numerous biological processes, such as transcription, metabolism and inflammatory responses. Notably, dysregulation of Kla touches a myriad of pathological processes. In this review, we comprehensively reviewed and curated the existing literature to retrieve the new identified Kla sites on both histones and non-histone proteins and summarized recent major advances toward its regulatory mechanism. We also thoroughly investigated the function and underlying signaling pathway of Kla and comprehensively summarize how Kla regulates various biological processes in normal physiological states. In addition, we also further highlight the effects of Kla in the development of human diseases including inflammation response, tumorigenesis, cardiovascular and nervous system diseases and other complex diseases, which might potentially contribute to deeply understanding and interpreting the mechanism of its pathogenicity.

Hepatic regulator of G protein signaling 14 ameliorates NAFLD through activating cAMP-AMPK signaling by targeting Giα1/3.

OBJECTIVE: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging public health threat as the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. However, there remains no effective medication to improve NAFLD. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most frequently investigated drug targets family. The Regulator of G protein signaling 14 (RGS14), as an essential negative modulator of GPCR signaling, plays important regulatory roles in liver damage and inflammatory responses. However, the role of RGS14 in NAFLD remains largely unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, we found that RGS14 was decreased in hepatocytes in NAFLD individuals in a public database. We employed genetic engineering technique to explore the function of RGS14 in NAFLD. We demonstrated that RGS14 overexpression ameliorated lipid accumulation, inflammatory response and liver fibrosis in hepatocytes in vivo and in vitro. Whereas, hepatocyte specific Rgs14-knockout (Rgs14-HKO) exacerbated high fat high cholesterol diet (HFHC) induced NASH. Further molecular experiments demonstrated that RGS14 depended on GDI activity to attenuate HFHC-feeding NASH. More importantly, RGS14 interacted with Guanine nucleotide-binding protein (Gi) alpha 1 and 3 (Giα1/3, gene named GNAI1/3), promoting the generation of cAMP and then activating the subsequent AMPK pathways. GNAI1/3 knockdown abolished the protective role of RGS14, indicating that RGS14 binding to Giα1/3 was required for prevention against hepatic steatosis. CONCLUSIONS: RGS14 plays a protective role in the progression of NAFLD. RGS14-Giα1/3 interaction accelerated the production of cAMP and then activated cAMP-AMPK signaling. Targeting RGS14 or modulating the RGS14-Giα1/3 interaction may be a potential strategy for the treatment of NAFLD in the future.

Corynoline inhibits esophageal squamous cell carcinoma growth via targeting Pim-3.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive and deadly malignancy characterized by late-stage diagnosis, therapy resistance, and a poor 5-year survival rate. Finding novel therapeutic targets and their inhibitors for ESCC prevention and therapy is urgently needed. METHODS: We investigated the proviral integration site for maloney murine leukemia virus 3 (Pim-3) protein levels using immunohistochemistry. Using Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium and clone formation assay, we verified the function of Pim-3 in cell proliferation. The binding and inhibition of Pim-3 by corynoline were verified by computer docking, pull-down assay, cellular thermal shift assay, and kinase assay. Cell proliferation, Western blot, and a patient-derived xenograft tumor model were performed to elucidate the mechanism of corynoline inhibiting ESCC growth. RESULTS: Pim-3 was highly expressed in ESCC and played an oncogenic role. The augmentation of Pim-3 enhanced cell proliferation and tumor development by phosphorylating mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) at T185 and Y187. The deletion of Pim-3 induced apoptosis with upregulated cleaved caspase-9 and lower Bcl2 associated agonist of cell death (BAD) phosphorylation at S112. Additionally, binding assays demonstrated corynoline directly bound with Pim-3, inhibiting its activity, and suppressing ESCC growth. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that Pim-3 promotes ESCC progression. Corynoline inhibits ESCC progression through targeting Pim-3.

Optical Gain Spectrum and Confinement Factor of a Monolayer Semiconductor in an Ultrahigh-Quality Cavity.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have attracted great attention as a novel class of gain materials for low-threshold, on-chip coherent light sources. Despite several experimental reports on lasing, the underlying gain mechanism of 2D materials remains elusive due to a lack of key information, including modal gain and the confinement factor. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to directly determine the absorption coefficient of monolayer WS2 by characterizing the whispering gallery modes in a van der Waals microdisk cavity. By exploiting the cavity's high intrinsic quality factor of 2.5 × 104, the absorption coefficient spectrum and confinement factor are experimentally resolved with unprecedented accuracy. The excitonic gain reduces the WS2 absorption coefficient by 2 × 104 cm-1 at room temperature, and the experimental confinement factor is found to agree with the theoretical prediction. These results are essential for unveiling the gain mechanism in emergent, low-threshold 2D-semiconductor-based laser devices.

Optimizing postbiotic production through solid-state fermentation with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens J and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SN4 enhances antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Background: Postbiotics are an emerging research interest in recent years and are fairly advanced compared to prebiotics and probiotics. The composition and function of postbiotics are closely related to fermentation conditions. Methods: In this study, we developed a solid-state fermentation preparation method for postbiotics with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. The antibacterial activity was improved 3.62 times compared to initial fermentation conditions by using optimization techniques such as single factor experiments, Plackett-Burman design (PBD), steepest ascent method (SAM), and central composite design (CCD) methods. The optimized conditions were carried out with an initial water content of 50% for 8 days at 37°C and fermentation strains of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens J and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SN4 at a ratio of 1:1 with a total inoculum size of 8%. The optimized SSF medium content ratios of peptide powder, wheat bran, corn flour, and soybean meal were 4, 37.4, 30, and 28.6%, respectively. Results: Under these optimized conditions, postbiotics with a concentration of 25 mg/mL showed significant broad-spectrum antibacterial capabilities against Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus and strong antioxidant activity against ABTS, DPPH, and OH radicals. Moreover, the optimized postbiotics exhibited good anti-inflammatory ability for reducing nitric oxide (NO) secretion in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells in response to LPS-induced inflammation. Furthermore, the postbiotics significantly improved intestinal epithelial wound healing capabilities after mechanical injury, such as cell scratches in IPEC-J2 cells (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In brief, we developed postbiotics through optimized solid-state fermentation with potential benefits for gut health. Therefore, our findings suggested that the novel postbiotics could be used as potential functional food products for improving body health.

Database of space life investigations and information on spaceflight plant biology.

Extensive spaceflight life investigations (SLIs) have revealed observable space effects on plants, particularly their growth, nutrition yield, and secondary metabolite production. Knowledge of these effects not only facilitates space agricultural and biopharmaceutical technology development but also provides unique perspectives to ground-based investigations. SLIs are specialized experimental protocols and notable biological phenomena. These require specialized databases, leading to the development of the NASA Science Data Archive, Erasmus Experiment Archive, and NASA GeneLab. The increasing interests of SLIs across diverse fields demand resources with comprehensive content, convenient search facilities, and friendly information presentation. A new database SpaceLID (Space Life Investigation Database http://bidd.group/spacelid/ ) was developed with detailed menu search tools and categorized contents about the phenomena, protocols, and outcomes of 459 SLIs (including 106 plant investigations) of 92 species, where 236 SLIs and 57 plant investigations are uncovered by the existing databases. The usefulness of SpaceLID as an SLI information source is illustrated by the literature-reported analysis of metabolite, nutrition, and symbiosis variations of spaceflight plants. In conclusion, this study extensively investigated the impact of the space environment on plant biology, utilizing SpaceLID as an information source and examining various plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica rapa L., and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. The findings provide valuable insights into the effects of space conditions on plant physiology and metabolism.

Optimization of Exopolysaccharide Produced by Lactobacillus plantarum R301 and Its Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities.

In this study, the yield of exopolysaccharide (EPS) from Lactobacillus plantarum R301 was optimized using a single-factor experiment and response surface methodology (RSM). After optimization, the EPS yield was increased with a fold-change of 0.85. The significant factors affecting EPS production, as determined through a Plackett-Burman design and Central Composite Design (CCD), were MgSO4 concentration, initial pH, and inoculation size. The maximum yield was 97.85 mg/mL under the condition of 0.01% MgSO4, an initial pH 7.4, and 6.4% of the inoculation size. In addition, the EPS exhibited strong antioxidant activity, as demonstrated by its ability to scavenge DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radicals. The scavenging rate was up to 100% at concentrations of 4 mg/mL, 1 mg/mL, and 2 mg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the EPS also exhibited reducing power, which was about 30% that of ascorbic acid when both tended to be stable with the increased concentration. These results suggest that L. plantarum R301 EPS possesses different antioxidant mechanisms and warrants further investigation. In addition to its antioxidant activity, the EPS also demonstrated good anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 cells, which could decrease nitric oxide (NO) production and expression of the proinflammatory cytokine Il-6. These findings suggest that L. plantarum R301 EPS could be used as a potential multifunctional food additive in the food industry.

Soybean Oil Regulates the Fatty Acid Synthesis II System of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens LFB112 by Activating Acetyl-CoA Levels.

[Background] Bacillus LFB112 is a strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens screened in our laboratory. Previous studies found that it has a strong ability for fatty acid metabolism and can improve the lipid metabolism of broilers when used as feed additives. [Methods] This study aimed to confirm the fatty acid metabolism of Bacillus LFB112. Sterilized soybean oil (SSO) was added to the Beef Peptone Yeast (BPY) medium, and its effect on fatty acid content in the supernatant and bacteria, as well as expression levels of genes related to fatty acid metabolism, were studied. The control group was the original culture medium without oil. [Results] Acetic acid produced by the SSO group of Bacillus LFB112 decreased, but the content of unsaturated fatty acids increased. The 1.6% SSO group significantly increased the contents of pyruvate and acetyl-CoA in the pellets. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of enzymes involved in the type II fatty acid synthesis pathway of FabD, FabH, FabG, FabZ, FabI, and FabF were up-regulated. [Conclusions] Soybean oil increased the content of acetyl-CoA in Bacillus LFB112, activated its type II fatty acid synthesis pathway, and improved the fatty acid metabolism level of Bacillus LFB112. These intriguing results pave the way for further investigations into the intricate interplay between Bacillus LFB112 and fatty acid metabolism, with potential applications in animal nutrition and feed additive development.

Synthesis and Broadband Photodetection of a P-Type 1D Van der Waals Semiconductor HfSnS3.

1D van der Waals (vdW) materials have attracted significant interest in recent years due to their giant anisotropic and weak interlayer-coupled characters. More 1D vdW materials are urgently to be exploited for satisfying the practice requirement. Herein, the study of 1D vdW ternary HfSnS3 high-quality single crystals grown via the chemical vapor transport technique is reported. The Raman vibration modes and band structure of HfSnS3 are analyzed via DFT calculations. Its strong in-plane anisotropic is verified by the polarized Raman spectroscopy. The field-effect transistors (FETs) based on the HfSnS3 nanowires demonstrate p-type semiconducting behavior as well as outstanding photoresponse in a broadband range from UV to near-infrared (NIR) with short response times of ≈0.355 ms, high responsivity of ≈11.5 A W-1 , detectivity of ≈8.2 × 1011 , external quantum efficiency of 2739%, excellent environmental stability, and repeatability. Furthermore, a typical photoconductivity effect of the photodetector is illustrated. These comprehensive characteristics can promote the application of the p-type 1D vdW material HfSnS3 in optoelectronics.

Gender differences in the association between sensory function and CIND among Chinese elderly: Based on CLHLS.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the gender differences of the association between sensory impairment (SI) and the risk of cognitive decline and possible cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND). METHOD: Data were drawn from three waves of the nationally representative survey of China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) between 2011/12-2018 surveys, involving 6138 participants aged 65 or older who had no CIND at the baseline. Multivariate linear or logistic regression models were employed to examine the effect of SI on cognitive decline and CIND risk by gender stratification, respectively. RESULTS: Hearing impairment and visual impairment were associated with lower MMSE scores, and the strength of the association was stronger in men than in women. Hearing impairment was related to an elevated risk of CIND both in men and women (Men: OR=2.46; 95% CI=1.81, 3.35; Women: OR=1.43; 95% CI=1.09, 1.88). However, the effect of visual impairment on CIND was statistically significant only in men (OR=1.43; 95% CI=1.09, 1.88). The risk of cognitive decline and CIND were significantly higher with single and dual SI than those without SI, except for women with single visual impairment. CONCLUSION: SI is independently associated with cognitive decline and CIND risk, and the association differed by gender. Further researches should clarify the mechanism between SI and cognitive function among older adults, especially for gender differences.

Efficacy of Butylphthalide in Combination with Edaravone in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke and the Effect on Serum Inflammatory Factors.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of butylphthalide combined with edaravone in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke and the effect on serum inflammatory factors. Methods: One hundred and sixty patients with acute ischemic stroke who attended the neurovascular intervention department of our hospital from May 2020 to June 2022 were enrolled as study subjects for prospective analysis and were equally divided into a control group and an experimental group using the random number table method, with 80 cases in each group. The control group was treated with edaravone injection, while the experimental group was treated with butylphthalide combined with edaravone. The disease was recorded to compare the efficacy, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, homocysteine, serum inflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels, and the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups. Results: The total effective rate of treatment in the experimental group was 90.0% (72/80), while that of the control group was 62.5% (50/80), the total effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). After treatment, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, homocysteine level, and serum TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 levels of patients in the experimental group improved compared with those before treatment, and the degree of improvement was better than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). After 3 months of treatment, a comparison of the incidence of adverse reactions in the two groups showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The treatment of acute ischemic stroke with butylphthalide combined with edaravone has positive significance in improving blood circulation regulation and serum inflammatory factor levels and is reliable and worthy of clinical promotion.

Tailoring the epitaxial growth of oriented Te nanoribbon arrays.

As an elemental semiconductor, tellurium (Te) has been famous for its high hole-mobility, excellent ambient stability and topological states. Here, we realize the controllable synthesis of horizontal Te nanoribbon arrays (TRAs) with an angular interval of 60°on mica substrates by physical vapor deposition strategy. The growth of Te nanoribbons (TRs) is driven by two factors, where the intrinsic quasi-one-dimensional spiral chain structure promotes the elongation of their length; the epitaxy relationship between [110] direction of Te and [110] direction of mica facilitates the oriented growth and the expansion of their width. The bending of TRs which have not been reported is induced by grain boundary. Field-effect transistors based on TRs demonstrate high mobility and on/off ratio corresponding to 397 cm2 V-1 s-1 and 1.5×105, respectively. These phenomena supply an opportunity to deep insight into the vapor-transport synthesis of low-dimensional Te and explore its underlying application in monolithic integration.

Growth of single-crystal black phosphorus and its alloy films through sustained feedstock release.

Black phosphorus (BP), a fascinating semiconductor with high mobility and a tunable direct bandgap, has emerged as a candidate beyond traditional silicon-based devices for next-generation electronics and optoelectronics. The ability to grow large-scale, high-quality BP films is a prerequisite for scalable integrated applications but has thus far remained a challenge due to unmanageable nucleation events. Here we develop a sustained feedstock release strategy to achieve subcentimetre-size single-crystal BP films by facilitating the lateral growth mode under a low nucleation rate. The as-grown single-crystal BP films exhibit high crystal quality, which brings excellent field-effect electrical properties and observation of pronounced Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, with high mobilities up to ~6,500 cm2 V-1 s-1 at low temperatures. We further extend this approach to the growth of single-crystal BP alloy films, which broaden the infrared emission regime of BP from 3.7 µm to 6.9 µm at room temperature. This work will greatly facilitate the development of high-performance electronics and optoelectronics based on BP family materials.

Ultrathin quantum light source with van der Waals NbOCl2 crystal.

Interlayer electronic coupling in two-dimensional materials enables tunable and emergent properties by stacking engineering. However, it also results in significant evolution of electronic structures and attenuation of excitonic effects in two-dimensional semiconductors as exemplified by quickly degrading excitonic photoluminescence and optical nonlinearities in transition metal dichalcogenides when monolayers are stacked into van der Waals structures. Here we report a van der Waals crystal, niobium oxide dichloride (NbOCl2), featuring vanishing interlayer electronic coupling and monolayer-like excitonic behaviour in the bulk form, along with a scalable second-harmonic generation intensity of up to three orders higher than that in monolayer WS2. Notably, the strong second-order nonlinearity enables correlated parametric photon pair generation, through a spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process, in flakes as thin as about 46 nm. To our knowledge, this is the first SPDC source unambiguously demonstrated in two-dimensional layered materials, and the thinnest SPDC source ever reported. Our work opens an avenue towards developing van der Waals material-based ultracompact on-chip SPDC sources as well as high-performance photon modulators in both classical and quantum optical technologies1-4.

Yeast Expressed Hybrid Peptide CLP Abridged Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Levels by Endotoxin Neutralization.

The aim of this study was to apply a strategy to express a recombinant CLP peptide and explore its application as a product derived from natural compounds. The amphiphilic CLP peptide was hybridized from three parent peptides (CM4, LL37, and TP5) and was considered to have potent endotoxin-neutralizing activity with minimal cytotoxic and hemolytic activity. To achieve high secretion expression, an expression vector of pPICZαA-HSA-CLP was constructed by the golden gate cloning strategy before being transformed into Pichia pastoris and integrated into the genome. The recombinant CLP was purified through the Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry. The Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test exhibited that the hybrid peptide CLP inhibited lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in a dose-dependent manner and was significantly (p < 0.05) more efficient compared to the parent peptides. In addition, it essentially diminished (p < 0.05) the levels of nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines (including TNF-α, IL6, and IL-1ß) in LPS-induced mouse RAW264.7 macrophages. As an attendant to the control and the parental peptide LL37, the number of LPS-induced apoptotic cells was diminished compared to the control parental peptide LL37 (p < 0.05) with the treatment of CLP. Consequently, we concluded that the hybrid peptide CLP might be used as a therapeutic agent.