Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Promising Therapeutic Opportunities for Diabetic Wound Healing.

Wound healing is a sophisticated and orderly process of cellular interactions in which the body restores tissue architecture and functionality following injury. Healing of chronic diabetic wounds is difficult due to impaired blood circulation, a reduced immune response, and disrupted cellular repair mechanisms, which are often associated with diabetes. Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (SC-EVs) hold the regenerative potential, encapsulating a diverse cargo of proteins, RNAs, and cytokines, presenting a safe, bioactivity, and less ethical issues than other treatments. SC-EVs orchestrate multiple regenerative processes by modulating cellular communication, increasing angiogenesis, and promoting the recruitment and differentiation of progenitor cells, thereby potentiating the reparative milieu for diabetic wound healing. Therefore, this review investigated the effects and mechanisms of EVs from various stem cells in diabetic wound healing, as well as their limitations and challenges. Continued exploration of SC-EVs has the potential to revolutionize diabetic wound care.

Monocytes release cystatin F dimer to associate with Aß and aggravate amyloid pathology and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has important clinical implications for guiding therapy. Impaired amyloid beta (Aß) clearance is critical in the pathogenesis of sporadic AD, and blood monocytes play an important role in Aß clearance in the periphery. However, the mechanism underlying the defective phagocytosis of Aß by monocytes in AD remains unclear. METHODS: Initially, we collected whole blood samples from sporadic AD patients and isolated the monocytes for RNA sequencing analysis. By establishing APP/PS1 transgenic model mice with monocyte-specific cystatin F overexpression, we assessed the influence of monocyte-derived cystatin F on AD development. We further used a nondenaturing gel to identify the structure of the secreted cystatin F in plasma. Flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and laser scanning confocal microscopy were used to analyse the internalization of Aß by monocytes. Pull down assays, bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy were used to determine the interactions and potential interactional amino acids between the cystatin F protein and Aß. Finally, the cystatin F protein was purified and injected via the tail vein into 5XFAD mice to assess AD pathology. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that the expression of the cystatin F protein was specifically increased in the monocytes of AD patients. Monocyte-derived cystatin F increased Aß deposition and exacerbated cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice. Furthermore, secreted cystatin F in the plasma of AD patients has a dimeric structure that is closely related to clinical signs of AD. Moreover, we noted that the cystatin F dimer blocks the phagocytosis of Aß by monocytes. Mechanistically, the cystatin F dimer physically interacts with Aß to inhibit its recognition and internalization by monocytes through certain amino acid interactions between the cystatin F dimer and Aß. We found that high levels of the cystatin F dimer protein in blood contributed to amyloid pathology and cognitive deficits as a risk factor in 5XFAD mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight that the cystatin F dimer plays a crucial role in regulating Aß metabolism via its peripheral clearance pathway, providing us with a potential biomarker for diagnosis and potential target for therapeutic intervention.

Panchromatic Light-Harvesting Three-Dimensional Metal Covalent Organic Frameworks for Boosting Photocatalysis.

Constructing artificial photocatalysts with panchromatic solar energy utilization remains an appealing challenge. Herein, two complementary photosensitizers, [Ru(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and porphyrin dyes, have been cosensitized in metal covalent organic frameworks (MCOFs), resulting in the MCOFs with strong light absorption covering the full visible spectrum. Under panchromatic light irradiation, the cosensitized MCOFs exhibited remarkable photocatalytic H2 evolution with an optimum rate of up to 33.02 mmol g-1 h-1. Even when exposed to deep-red light (λ = 700 ± 10 nm), a commendable H2 production (0.79 mmol g-1 h-1) was still obtained. Theoretical calculation demonstrated that the [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and porphyrin modules in our MCOFs have a synergistic effect to trigger an interesting dual-channel photosensitization pathway for efficient light-harvesting and energy conversion. This work highlights the potential of combining multiple PSs in MCOFs for panchromatic photocatalysis.

SiX2 (X = S, Se) Nanowire Gate-All-Around MOSFETs for Sub-5 nm Applications.

The gate-all-around (GAA) field-effect transistor (FET) holds great potential to support next-generation integrated circuits. Nanowires such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one important category of channel materials in GAA FETs. Based on first-principles investigations, we propose that SiX2 (X = S, Se) nanowires are promising channel materials that can significantly elevate the performance of GAA FETs. The sub-5 nm SiX2 (X = S, Se) nanowire GAA FETs exhibit excellent ballistic transport properties that meet the requirements of the 2013 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). Compared to CNTs, they are also advantageous or at least comparable in terms of gate controllability, device dimensions, etc. Importantly, SiSe2 GAA FETs show superb gate controllability due to the ultralow minimum subthreshold swing (SSmin) that breaks "Boltzmann's tyranny". Moreover, the energy-delay product (EDP) of SiX2 GAA FETs is significantly lower than that of the CNT FETs. These features make SiX2 nanowires ideal channel material in the sub-5 nm GAA FET devices.

Implementation of a Multi-Functional-Group Strategy for Enhanced Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells through the Incorporation of 3-Amino-4-Phenylbutyric Acid Hydrochloride.

Reducing the defect density of perovskite films during the crystallization process is critical in preparing high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, a multi-functional molecule, 3-phenyl-4-aminobutyric acid hydrochloride (APH), with three functional groups including a benzene ring, ─NH3 + and ─COOH, is added into the perovskite precursor solution to improve perovskite crystallization and device performance. The benzene ring increases the hydrophobicity of perovskites, while ─NH3 + and ─COOH passivate defects related to I- and Pb2+, respectively. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the optimal device increased to 24.65%. Additionally, an effective area of 1 cm2 with a PCE of 22.45% is also prepared using APH as an additive. Furthermore, PSCs prepared with APH exhibit excellent stability by 87% initial PCE without encapsulation after exposure at room temperature under 25% humidity for 5000 h and retaining 70% of initial PCE after aging at 85 °C in an N2 environment for 864 h.

Amine-Functionalized Metal-Free Nanocarbon to Boost Selective CO2 Electroreduction to CO in a Flow Cell.

Highly efficient electrochemical CO2-to-CO conversion is a promising approach for achieving carbon neutrality. While nonmetallic carbon electrocatalysts have shown potential for CO2-to-CO utilization in H-type cells, achieving efficient conversion in flow cells at an industrial scale remains challenging. In this study, we present a cost-effective synthesis strategy for preparing ultrathin 2D carbon nanosheet catalysts through simple amine functionalization. The optimized catalyst, NCNs-2.5, demonstrates exceptional CO selectivity with a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 98% and achieves a high current density of 55 mA cm-2 in a flow cell. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibits excellent long-term stability, operating continuously for 50 h while maintaining a CO selectivity above 90%. The superior catalytic activity of NCNs-2.5 is attributed to the presence of amine-N active sites within the carbon lattice structure. This work establishes a foundation for the rational design of cost-effective nonmetallic carbon catalysts as sustainable alternatives to metals in energy conversion systems.

YAP/TAZ activation mediates PQ-induced lung fibrosis by sustaining senescent pulmonary epithelial cells.

Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide and a common cause of poisoning that leads to pulmonary fibrosis with a high mortality rate. However, the underlying mechanisms of PQ-induced pulmonary fibrosis and whether pulmonary epithelial cell senescence is involved in the process remain elusive. In this study, PQ-induced pulmonary epithelial cell senescence and Hippo-YAP/TAZ activation were observed in both C57BL/6 mice and human epithelial cells. PQ-induced senescent pulmonary epithelial cells promoted lung fibroblast transformation through secreting senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors. Yap/Taz knockdown in mice lungs significantly decreased the expression of downstream profibrotic protein Ctgf and senescent markers p16 and p21, and alleviated PQ-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Interfering YAP/TAZ in senescent human pulmonary epithelial cells resulted in decreased expression of the anti-apoptosis protein survivin and elevated level of apoptosis. In conclusion, our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which the involvement of Hippo-YAP/TAZ activation in pulmonary epithelial cell senescence mediates the pathogenesis of PQ-induced pulmonary fibrosis, thereby offering novel insights and potential targets for the clinical management of PQ poisoning as well as providing the mechanistic insight of the involvement of Yap/Taz activation in cell senescence in pulmonary fibrosis and its related pulmonary disorders. The YIN YANG balance between cell senescence and apoptosis is important to maintain the homeostasis of the lung, the disruption of which will lead to disease.

Longitudinal molecular profiling elucidates immunometabolism dynamics in breast cancer.

Although metabolic reprogramming within tumor cells and tumor microenvironment (TME) is well described in breast cancer, little is known about how the interplay of immune state and cancer metabolism evolves during treatment. Here, we characterize the immunometabolic profiles of tumor tissue samples longitudinally collected from individuals with breast cancer before, during and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) using proteomics, genomics and histopathology. We show that the pre-, on-treatment and dynamic changes of the immune state, tumor metabolic proteins and tumor cell gene expression profiling-based metabolic phenotype are associated with treatment response. Single-cell/nucleus RNA sequencing revealed distinct tumor and immune cell states in metabolism between cold and hot tumors. Potential drivers of NAC based on above analyses were validated in vitro. In summary, the study shows that the interaction of tumor-intrinsic metabolic states and TME is associated with treatment outcome, supporting the concept of targeting tumor metabolism for immunoregulation.

Enhanced Low-Temperature Resistance of Lithium-metal Rechargeable Batteries Based on Electrolyte Including Ethyl Acetate and LiDFOB Additives.

To meet the demand for higher energy density in lithium-ion batteries and expand their application range, coupling lithium metal anodes with high-voltage cathodes is an ideal solution. However, the compatibility between lithium metal batteries and electrolytes affects their applicability. In this study, proposes a locally concentrated electrolyte based on ethyl acetate (EA) as the solvent, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) as the lithium salt, and lithium difluorooxoborate (LiDFOB) as a sacrificial agent to enhance the low-temperature and high-voltage endurance of Li//Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries. The Li//LCO battery can operate within the voltage range of 3 to 4.5 V, with an initial discharge specific capacity of 174.5 mAh g-1 at 20 oC. At -40 oC, after 200 cycles, the capacity retention rate is 87.7%. It can operate under extreme conditions of -70 oC, with a discharge specific capacity of 112.6 mAh g-1. Additionally, LCO//HC batteries using this electrolyte demonstrate excellent performance. Present work provides a new perspective for the optimization of electrolytes for low-temperature lithium-ion batteries.

Isomerization Engineering of Oxygen-Enriched Carbon Quantum Dots for Efficient Electrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Production.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has emerged as a kind of multi-functional green oxidants with extensive industrial utility. Oxidized carbon materials exhibit promises as electrocatalysts in the two-electron (2e-) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for H2O2 production. However, the precise identification and fabrication of active sites that selectively yield H2O2 present a serious challenge. Herein, a structural engineering strategy is employed to synthesize oxygen-doped carbon quantum dots (o-CQD) for the 2e- ORR. The surface electronic structure of the o-CQDs is systematically modulated by varying isomerization precursors, thereby demonstrating excellent electrocatalyst performance. Notably, o-CQD-3 emerges as the most promising candidate, showcasing a remarkable H2O2 selectivity of 96.2% (n = 2.07) at 0.68 V versus RHE, coupled with a low Tafel diagram of 66.95 mV dec-1. In the flow cell configuration, o-CQD-3 achieves a H2O2 productivity of 338.7 mmol gcatalyst -1 h-1, maintaining consistent production stability over an impressive 120-hour duration. Utilizing in situ technology and density functional theory calculations, it is unveil that edge sites of o-CQD-3 are facilely functionalized by C-O-C groups under alkaline ORR conditions. This isomerization engineering approach advances the forefront of sustainable catalysis and provides a profound insight into the carbon-based catalyst design for environmental-friendly chemical synthesis processes.

Role played by MDSC in colitis-associated colorectal cancer and potential therapeutic strategies.

Colitis-associated colorectal cancer has been a hot topic in public health issues worldwide. Numerous studies have demonstrated the significance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the progression of this ailment, but the specific mechanism of their role in the transformation of inflammation to cancer is unclear, and potential therapies targeting MDSC are also unclear. This paper outlines the possible involvement of MDSC to the development of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. It also explores the immune and other relevant roles played by MDSC, and collates relevant targeted therapies against MDSC. In addition, current targeted therapies for colorectal cancer are analyzed and summarized.

Deep Learning Assessment of Small Renal Masses at Contrast-enhanced Multiphase CT.

Background Accurate characterization of suspicious small renal masses is crucial for optimized management. Deep learning (DL) algorithms may assist with this effort. Purpose To develop and validate a DL algorithm for identifying benign small renal masses at contrast-enhanced multiphase CT. Materials and Methods Surgically resected renal masses measuring 3 cm or less in diameter at contrast-enhanced CT were included. The DL algorithm was developed by using retrospective data from one hospital between 2009 and 2021, with patients randomly allocated in a training and internal test set ratio of 8:2. Between 2013 and 2021, external testing was performed on data from five independent hospitals. A prospective test set was obtained between 2021 and 2022 from one hospital. Algorithm performance was evaluated by using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared with the results of seven clinicians using the DeLong test. Results A total of 1703 patients (mean age, 56 years ± 12 [SD]; 619 female) with a single renal mass per patient were evaluated. The retrospective data set included 1063 lesions (874 in training set, 189 internal test set); the multicenter external test set included 537 lesions (12.3%, 66 benign) with 89 subcentimeter (≤1 cm) lesions (16.6%); and the prospective test set included 103 lesions (13.6%, 14 benign) with 20 (19.4%) subcentimeter lesions. The DL algorithm performance was comparable with that of urological radiologists: for the external test set, AUC was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.85) versus 0.84 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.88) (P = .61); for the prospective test set, AUC was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.93) versus 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.96) (P = .70). For subcentimeter lesions in the external test set, the algorithm and urological radiologists had similar AUC of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.83) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.92) (P = .78), respectively. Conclusion The multiphase CT-based DL algorithm showed comparable performance with that of radiologists for identifying benign small renal masses, including lesions of 1 cm or less. Published under a CC BY 4.0 license. Supplemental material is available for this article.

Universal scaling law for chiral antiferromagnetism.

The chiral antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials, which have been widely investigated due to their rich physics, such as non-zero Berry phase and topology, provide a platform for the development of antiferromagnetic spintronics. Here, we find two distinctive anomalous Hall effect (AHE) contributions in the chiral AFM Mn3Pt, originating from a time-reversal symmetry breaking induced intrinsic mechanism and a skew scattering induced topological AHE due to an out-of-plane spin canting with respect to the Kagome plane. We propose a universal AHE scaling law to explain the AHE resistivity ( ρ A H ) in this chiral magnet, with both a scalar spin chirality (SSC)-induced skew scattering topological AHE term, a s k and non-collinear spin-texture induced intrinsic anomalous Hall term, b i n . We found that a s k and b i n can be effectively modulated by the interfacial electron scattering, exhibiting a linear relation with the inverse film thickness. Moreover, the scaling law can explain the anomalous Hall effect in various chiral magnets and has far-reaching implications for chiral-based spintronics devices.

Catalytic NIR chemiluminescence sensor with enhanced persistence and intensity for in vivo imaging.

Chemiluminescence (CL) is a self-illumination phenomenon that involves the emission of light from chemical reactions, and it provides favorable spatial and temporal information on biological processes. However, it is still a great challenge to construct effective CL sensors that equip strong CL intensity, long emission wavelength, and persistent luminescence for deep tissue imaging. Here, we report a liposome encapsulated polymer dots (Pdots)-based system using catalytic CL substrates (L-012) as energy donor and fluorescent polymers and dyes (NIR 695) as energy acceptors for efficient Near-infrared (NIR) CL in vivo imaging. Thanks to the modulation of paired donor and acceptor distance and the slow diffusion of biomarker by liposome, the Pdots show a NIR emission wavelength (λ em, max = 720 nm), long CL duration (>24 h), and a high chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer efficiency (46.5 %). Furthermore, the liposome encapsulated Pdots possess excellent biocompatibility, sensitive response to H2O2, and persistent whole-body NIR CL imaging in the drug-induced inflammation and the peritoneal metastatic tumor mouse model. In a word, this NIR-II CL nanoplatform with long-lasting emission and high spatial-temporal resolution will be a concise strategy in deep tissue imaging and clinical diagnostics.

Quasi-distributed quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy sensing based on hollow waveguide micropores.

In this Letter, a quasi-distributed quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) gas sensing system based on hollow waveguide micropores (HWGMP) was reported for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Three micropores were developed on the HWG to achieve distributed detection units. Three self-designed quartz tuning forks (QTFs) with low resonant frequency of 8.7 kHz were selected as the acoustic wave transducer to improve the detection performance. Compared with micro-nano fiber evanescent wave (FEW) QEPAS, the HWGMP-QEPAS sensor has advantages such as strong anti-interference ability, low loss, and low cost. Acetylene (C2H2) was selected as the target gas to verify the characteristics of the reported sensor. The experimental results showed that the three QTFs almost had the same sensing ability and possessed an excellent linear concentration response to C2H2. The minimum detection limits (MDLs) for the three QTFs were determined as 68.90, 68.31, and 66.62 ppm, respectively. Allan deviation analysis indicated that the system had good long-term stability, and the MDL can be improved below 3 ppm in an average time of 1000 s.

Photoinduced Electronic and Spin Topological Phase Transitions in Monolayer Bismuth.

Ultrathin bismuth exhibits rich physics including strong spin-orbit coupling, ferroelectricity, nontrivial topology, and light-induced structural dynamics. We use ab initio calculations to show that light can induce structural transitions to four transient phases in bismuth monolayers. These light-induced phases exhibit nontrivial topological character, which we illustrate using the recently introduced concept of spin bands and spin-resolved Wilson loops. Specifically, we find that the topology changes via the closing of the electron and spin band gaps during photoinduced structural phase transitions, leading to distinct edge states. Our study provides strategies to tailor electronic and spin topology via ultrafast control of photoexcited carriers and associated structural dynamics.

Co-culture of RhoA-overexpressed Microtia Chondrocytes and Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in the Construction of Tissue-engineered Ear-shaped Cartilage.

Microtia is a congenital auricle dysplasia with a high incidence and tissue engineering technology provides a promising strategy to reconstruct auricles. We previously described that the engineered cartilage constructed from microtia chondrocytes exhibited inferior levels of biochemical and biomechanical properties, which was proposed to be resulted from the decreased migration ability of microtia chondrocytes. In the current study, we found that Rho GTPase members were deficient in microtia chondrocytes. By overexpressing RhoA, Rac1 and CDC42, respectively, we further demonstrated that RhoA took great responsibility for the decreased migration ability of microtia chondrocytes. Moreover, we constructed PGA/PLA scaffold-based cartilages to verify the chondrogenic ability of RhoA overexpressed microtia chondrocytes, and the results showed that overexpressing RhoA was of limited help to improve the quality of microtia chondrocyte engineered cartilage. However, co-culture of ADSCs significantly improved the biochemical and biomechanical property of engineered cartilage. Especially, co-culture of RhoA overexpressed microtia chondrocytes and ADSCs produced an excellent effect on the wet weight, cartilage-specific extracellular matrix and biomechanical property of engineered cartilage. Furthermore, we presented that co-culture of RhoA overexpressed microtia chondrocytes and ADSCs combined with human ear-shaped PGA/PLA scaffold and titanium alloy stent fabricated by CAD/CAM and 3D printing technology effectively constructed and maintained auricle structure in vivo. Collectively, our results provide evidence for the essential role of RhoA in microtia chondrocytes and a developed strategy for the construction of patient-specific tissue-engineered auricular cartilage.

Terahertz-triggered ultrafast nonlinear optical activities in two-dimensional centrosymmetric PtSe2.

The nonlinear mechanisms of polarization and optical fields can induce extensive responses in materials. In this study, we report on two kinds of nonlinear mechanisms in the topological semimetal PtSe2 crystal under the excitation of intense terahertz (THz) pulses, which are manipulated by the real and imaginary parts of the nonlinear susceptibility of PtSe2. Regarding the real part, the broken inversion symmetry of PtSe2 is achieved through a THz-electric-field polarization approach, which is characterized by second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements. The transient THz-laser-induced SHG signal occurs within 100 fs and recombines to the equilibrium state within 1 ps, along with a high signal-to-noise ratio (∼51 dB) and a high on/off ratio (∼102). Regarding the imaginary part, a nonlinear absorption change can be generated in the media. We reveal a THz-induced absorption enhancement in PtSe2 via nonlinear transmittance measurements, and the sheet conductivity can be modulated up to 42% by THz electric fields in our experiment. Therefore, the THz-induced ultrafast nonlinear photoresponse reveals the application potential of PtSe2 in photonic and optoelectronic devices in the THz technology.