Physicochemical properties, profile of volatiles, fatty acids, lipids and concomitants from four Kadsura coccinea seed oils.

The Kadsura coccinea fruit is a wild fruit that may be eaten and used medicinally. Its seeds are rich in nutrients but are typically thrown away without processing.The physicochemical characterization, volatiles, fatty acids, lipids and concomitants of cold-processed seed oils from four kinds of K. coccinea were evaluated. The average kernel yield and oil yield of K. coccinea seeds were 68.21 % and 30.44 %, respectively. The seed oil contains a moderate level of total phenolics (368.99-503.99 mgGAE/100 g), total flavonoids (95.01-126.18 mg RE/100 g), and ß-sitosterol (1498.8-1712.7 mg/kg) with higher iodine value, lower acid value, saponification value and shorter induction time. GC analysis reveals appreciable amounts of linoleic acid (64.91-68.05 %) and squalene in seed oil. GC-MS analysis showed that the major volatile compounds were γ-muurolene (27.25-31.7 %), ß-himachalene (19.51-20.37 %) and ß-curcumene (15.78-16.78 %). Moreover, 16 terpenoids, 14 phenolics were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. These results suggest that K. coccinea seed seems an promising alternative oilseed with biological ingredients for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Manganese Doped-Nitrogenated Carbon as an Efficient Catalyst for Acidic Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2.

Renewable electricity-driven CO2 electroreduction to value-added chemicals is a feasible approach to alleviate both environmental and energy issues. However, CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) systems in alkaline electrolytes are constrained by intrinsic limitations such as salt accumulation that impede further industrialization. Herein, an atomically dispersed Mn doped-nitrogen carbon (AD MnNC) catalyst is developed to electrochemically reduce CO2 to CO in both neutral and acidic media. Benefiting from well-dispersed MnNx sites, the maximum CO Faradaic efficiency (FECO) reaches ≈100% at -0.73 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) with CO current density (JCO) of 20.4 mA cm-2 in neutral 0.5 m KHCO3. Due to diminished *H adsorption, AD MnNC achieves a FECO of 85.3% at pH 2.0, effectively suppressing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an acidic electrolyte. The mechanistic study reveals that AD MnNC accelerates the production of *COOH intermediates through a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathway and thus promotes CO formation.

Switching CO2 Electroreduction Pathways between Ethylene and Ethanol via Tuning Microenvironment of the Coating on Copper Nanofibers.

Engineering the microenvironment of electrode surface is one of the effective means to tune the reaction pathways in CO2RR. In this work, we prepared copper nanofibers with conductive polypyrrole coating by polymerization of pyrrole using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as template. As a result, the obtained copper nanofibers Cu/Cu2+1O/SHNC, exhibited a superhydrophobic surface, which demonstrated very high selectivity for ethanol with a Faraday efficiency (FE) of 66.5% at -1.1 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in flow cell. However, the catalyst Cu/Cu2+1O/NC, which was prepared under the same conditions but without PVP, possessed a hydrophobic surface and exhibited high selectivity towards ethylene at the given potentials. The mechanism for switch of reaction pathways from ethylene to ethanol in CO2RR was studied. Incorporating pyrrolidone groups into the polymer coating results in the formation of a superhydrophobic surface. This surface weakens the hydrogen bonding interaction between interfacial water molecules and facilitates the transfer of CO2, thereby enhancing the local CO2/H2O ratio. The high coverage of *CO promotes the coupling of *CO and *CHO to form C2 intermediates, and reduces the reaction energy for the formation of *CHCHOH (ethanol path) at the interface. This ensures that the reaction pathway is directed towards ethanol.

NDRG2 regulates glucose metabolism and ferroptosis of OGD/R-treated astrocytes by the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

Ischemic stroke is one main type of cerebrovascular disorders with leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Astrocytes are the only nerve cell type storing glycogen in the brain, which regulate the glucose metabolism and handle the energy supply and survive of neurons. Astrocyte ferroptosis contributes to neuron injury in brain disorders. N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) has been implicated in the progression of brain diseases, including ischemic stroke. However, whether NDRG2 could affect the glucose metabolism and ferroptosis of astrocytes during ischemic stroke remains largely unknown. Mouse astrocytes were treated with oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to establish the in vitro model. Glial fibrillary acidic protein, NDRG2, Wnt3a and ß-catenin expression levels were detected by immunofluorescence staining and western blot analyses. Glucose metabolism was investigated by glucose uptake, lactate production, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH/NADP+), ATP and glycolysis enzymes (HK2, PKM2 and lactate dehydrogenase A [LDHA]) levels. Ferroptosis was assessed via reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), iron and ferroptosis-related markers (GPX4 and PTGS2) contents. Glycolysis enzymes and ferroptosis-related markers levels were measured via western blot. NDRG2 expression was elevated in OGD/R-induced astrocytes. NDRG2 overexpression aggravated OGD/R-induced loss of glucose metabolism through reducing glucose uptake, lactate production, NADPH/NADP+ and ATP levels. NDRG2 upregulation exacerbated OGD/R-caused reduction of glycolysis enzymes (HK2, PKM2 and LDHA) levels. NDRG2 promoted OGD/R-induced ferroptosis of astrocytes by increasing ROS, iron and PTGS2 levels and decreasing GSH and GPX4 levels. NDRG2 overexpression enhanced OGD/R-induced decrease of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling activation by reducing Wnt3a and ß-catenin expression. NDRG2 silencing played an opposite effect. Inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling activation by IWR-1 attenuated the influences of NDRG2 knockdown on glucose metabolism, glycolysis enzymes levels and ferroptosis. These findings demonstrated that NDRG2 contributes to OGD/R-induced inhibition of glucose metabolism and promotion of ferroptosis in astrocytes through inhibiting Wnt/ß-catenin signaling activation, which might be associated with ischemic stroke progression.

Progress in the application of ultrasound in glioma surgery.

Brain glioma, which is highly invasive and has a poor prognosis, is the most common primary intracranial tumor. Several studies have verified that the extent of resection is a considerable prognostic factor for achieving the best results in neurosurgical oncology. To obtain gross total resection (GTR), neurosurgery relies heavily on generating continuous, real-time, intraoperative glioma descriptions based on image guidance. Given the limitations of existing devices, it is imperative to develop a real-time image-guided resection technique to offer reliable functional and anatomical information during surgery. At present, the application of intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) has been indicated to enhance resection rates and maximize brain function preservation. IOUS, which is promising due to its lower cost, minimal operational flow interruptions, and lack of radiation exposure, can enable real-time localization and precise tumor size and form descriptions while assisting in discriminating residual tumors and solving brain tissue shifts. Moreover, the application of new advancements in ultrasound technology, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS), noninvasive ultrasound (NUS), and ultrasound elastography (UE), could assist in achieving GTR in glioma surgery. This article reviews the advantages and disadvantages of IOUS in glioma surgery.

Switching Reaction Pathways of CO2 Electroreduction by Modulating Cations in the Electrochemical Double Layer.

Tuning the selectivity of CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR) solely by changing electrolyte is a very attractive topic. In this study, we conducted CO2RR in different aqueous electrolytes over bulk metal electrodes. It was discovered that controlled CO2RR could be achieved by modulating cations in the electrochemical double layer. Specifically, ionic liquid cations in the electrolyte significantly inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), while yielding high Faraday efficiencies toward CO (FECO) or formate (FEformate) depending on the alkali metal cations. For example, the product could be switched from CO (FECO=97.3 %) to formate (FEformate=93.5 %) by changing the electrolyte from 0.1 M KBr-0.5 M 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (OmimBr) to 0.1 M CsBr-0.5 M OmimBr aqueous solutions over pristine Cu foil electrode. In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that the ordered structure generated by the assembly of Omim+ under an applied negative potential alters the hydrogen bonding structure of the interfacial water, thereby inhibiting the HER. The difference in selectivity in the presence of different cations is attributed to the hydrogen bonding effect caused by Omim+, which alters the solvated structure of the alkali metal cations and thus affects the stabilization of intermediates of different pathways.

In-Doped ZnO Electron Transport Layer for High-Efficiency Ultrathin Flexible Organic Solar Cells.

Sol-gel processed zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most widely used electron transport layers (ETLs) in inverted organic solar cells (OSCs). The high annealing temperature (≈200 °C) required for sintering to ensure a high electron mobility however results in severe damage to flexible substrates. Thus, flexible organic solar cells based on sol-gel processed ZnO exhibit significantly lower efficiency than rigid devices. In this paper, an indium-doping approach is developed to improve the optoelectronic properties of ZnO layers and reduce the required annealing temperature. Inverted OSCs based on In-doped ZnO (IZO) exhibit a higher efficiency than those based on ZnO for a range of different active layer systems. For the PM6:L8-BO system, the efficiency increases from 17.0% for the pristine ZnO-based device to 17.8% for the IZO-based device. The IZO-based device with an active layer of PM6:L8-BO:BTP-eC9 exhibits an even higher efficiency of up to 18.1%. In addition, a 1.2-micrometer-thick inverted ultrathin flexible organic solar cell is fabricated based on the IZO ETL that achieves an efficiency of 17.0% with a power-per-weight ratio of 40.4 W g-1, which is one of the highest efficiency for ultrathin (less than 10 micrometers) flexible organic solar cells.

Nitrogen-Blowing Assisted Strategy for Fabricating Large-Area Organic Solar Modules with an Efficiency of 15.6.

Organic solar cells (OSCs) are one of the most promising photovoltaic technologies due to their affordability and adaptability. However, upscaling is a critical issue that hinders the commercialization of OSCs. A significant challenge is the lack of cost-effective and facile techniques to modulate the morphology of the active layers. The slow solvent evaporation leads to an unfavorable phase separation, thus resulting in a low power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar modules. Here, a nitrogen-blowing assisted method is developed to fabricate a large-area organic solar module (active area = 12 cm2) utilizing high-boiling-point solvents, achieving a PCE of 15.6%. The device fabricated with a high-boiling-point solvent produces a more uniform and smoother large-area film, and the assistance of nitrogen-blowing accelerates solvent evaporation, resulting in an optimized morphology with proper phase separation and finer aggregates. Moreover, the device fabricated by the nitrogen-blowing assisted method exhibits improved exciton dissociation, balanced carrier mobility, and reduced charge recombination. This work proposes a universal and cost-effective technique for the fabrication of high-efficiency organic solar modules.

Cysteine and glycine-rich protein 2 is crucial for maintaining the malignant phenotypes of gliomas through its action on Notch signalling cascade.

Cysteine and glycine-rich protein 2 (CSRP2) is expressed differently in numerous cancers and plays a key role in carcinogenesis. However, the role of CSRP2 in glioma is unknown. This study sought to determine the expression profile and clinical significance of CSRP2 in glioma and explore its biological functions and mechanisms via lentivirus-mediated CSRP2 silencing experiments. Increased CSRP2 was frequently observed in gliomas, which was associated with clinicopathological characteristics and an unfavourable prognosis. Decreasing CSRP2 led to the suppression of malignant proliferation, metastasis and stemness in glioma cells while causing hypersensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. Mechanistic investigations revealed that CSRP2 plays a role in mediating the Notch signalling cascade. Silencing CSRP2 decreased the levels of Notch1, cleaved Notch1, HES1 and HEY1, suppressing the Notch signalling cascade. Reactivation of Notch markedly diminished the tumour-inhibiting effects of CSRP2 silencing on the malignant phenotypes of glioma cells. Notably, CSRP2-silencing glioma cells exhibited reduced potential in the formation of xenografts in nude mice in vivo, which was associated with an impaired Notch signalling cascade. These results showed that CSRP2 is overexpressed in glioma and has a crucial role in sustaining the malignant phenotypes of glioma, suggesting that targeting CSRP2 could be a promising strategy for glioma treatment.

Sishen Pill and its active phytochemicals in treating inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer: an overview.

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the associated risk of colon cancer are increasing globally. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment has unique advantages. The Sishen Pill, a common Chinese patented drug used to treat abdominal pain and diarrhea, consists mainly of Psoraleae Fructus, Myristicae Semen, Euodiae Fructus, and Schisandra Chinensis. Modern research has confirmed that Sishen Pill and its active secondary metabolites, such as psoralen, myristicin, evodiamine, and schisandrin, can improve intestinal inflammation and exert antitumor pharmacological effects. Common mechanisms in treating IBD and colon cancer mainly include regulating inflammation-related signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-kappa B, mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, NOD-like receptor heat protein domain-related protein 3, and wingless-type MMTV integration site family; NF-E2-related factor 2 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α to inhibit oxidative stress; mitochondrial autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress; intestinal immune cell differentiation and function through the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway; and improving the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier. Overall, existing evidence suggests the potential of the Sishen pill to improve IBD and suppress inflammation-to-cancer transformation. However, large-scale randomized controlled clinical studies and research on the safety of these clinical applications are urgently required.

Hypoxic microenvironment-induced exosomes confer temozolomide resistance in glioma through transfer of pyruvate kinase M2.

OBJECTIVE: Glioma, a malignant primary brain tumor, is notorious for its high incidence rate. However, the clinical application of temozolomide (TMZ) as a treatment option for glioma is often limited due to resistance, which has been linked to hypoxic glioma cell-released exosomes. In light of this, the present study aimed to investigate the role of exosomal pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) in glioma cells that exhibit resistance to TMZ. METHODS: Sensitive and TMZ-resistant glioma cells were subjected to either a normoxic or hypoxic environment, and the growth patterns and enzymatic activity of glycolysis enzymes were subsequently measured. From these cells, exosomal PKM2 was isolated and the subsequent effect on TMZ resistance was examined and characterized, with a particular focus on understanding the relevant mechanisms. Furthermore, the intercellular communication between hypoxic resistant cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) via exosomal PKM2 was also assessed. RESULTS: The adverse impact of hypoxic microenvironments on TMZ resistance in glioma cells was identified and characterized. Among the three glycolysis enzymes that were examined, PKM2 was found to be a critical mediator in hypoxia-triggered TMZ resistance. Upregulation of PKM2 was found to exacerbate the hypoxia-mediated TMZ resistance. Exosomal PKM2 were identified and isolated from hypoxic TMZ-resistant glioma cells, and were found to be responsible for transmitting TMZ resistance to sensitive glioma cells. The exosomal PKM2 also contributed towards mitigating TMZ-induced apoptosis in sensitive glioma cells, while also causing intracellular ROS accumulation. Additionally, hypoxic resistant cells also released exosomal PKM2, which facilitated TMZ resistance in tumor-associated macrophages. CONCLUSION: In the hypoxic microenvironment, glioma cells become resistant to TMZ due to the delivery of PKM2 by exosomes. Targeted modulation of exosomal PKM2 may be a promising strategy for overcoming TMZ resistance in glioma.

Association between Body Mass Index and Medication-Overuse Headache among Individuals with Migraine: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Medication-overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary chronic headache disorder that occurs in individuals with a pre-existing primary headache disorder, particularly migraine disorder. Obesity is often combined with chronic daily headaches and is considered a risk factor for the transformation of episodic headaches into chronic headaches. However, the association between obesity and MOH among individuals with migraine has rarely been studied. The present study explored the association between body mass index (BMI) and MOH in people living with migraine. METHODS: This cross-sectional study is a secondary analysis of data from the Survey of Fibromyalgia Comorbidity with Headache study. Migraine and MOH were diagnosed using the criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition. BMI (kg/m2) is calculated by dividing the weight (kg) by the square of the height (m). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between BMI and MOH. RESULTS: A total of 2,251 individuals with migraine were included, of whom 8.7% (195/2,251) had a concomitant MOH. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, education level, headache duration, pain intensity, headache family history, chronic migraine, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fibromyalgia, demonstrated there was an association between BMI (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.11; p = 0.031) and MOH. The results remained when the BMI was transformed into a category. Compared to individuals with Q2 (18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI ≤23.9 kg/m2), those with Q4 (BMI ≥28 kg/m2) had an adjusted OR for MOH of 1.81 (95% CI, 1.04-3.17; p = 0.037). In the subgroup analyses, BMI was associated with MOH among aged more than 50 years (OR, 1.13; 95%, 1.03-1.24), less than high school (OR, 1.08; 95%, 1.01-1.15), without depression (OR, 1.06; 95%, 1.01-1.12), and without anxiety (OR, 1.06; 95%, 1.01-1.12). An association between BMI and MOH was found in a sensitivity analysis that BMI was classified into four categories according to the World Health Organization guidelines. CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional study, BMI was associated with MOH in Chinese individuals with migraine.

Associations of illness perception and social support with fear of progression in young and middle-aged adults with digestive system cancer: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: While Fear of progression (FoP) is a natural reaction in cancer, elevated FoP can impact life quality and social function. Our study aims to explore how illness perception, social support, and posttraumatic growth influence patients' FoP. METHODS: This study enrolled 243 young and middle-aged adults with digestive system cancer at a hospital in Guangzhou from November 2022 to November 2023. In this study, the measurement instruments utilized included The Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form, The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, The 12-item Perceived Social Support Scale, and The 21-item Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Data was analyzed employing polynomial regression and response surface analyses. RESULTS: The mean score of FoP was 35.45 ± 10.05, and 59.3% of the cancers (scores≥34) had clinically dysfunctional levels of FoP. Regarding congruence, patients' FoP was higher when the levels of illness perception and social support were both low or high than when the levels were both intermediate. Regarding incongruence, patients' FoP was lower when the level of illness perception was low and social support was high compared with when the level of illness perception was high and social support was low. Additionally, posttraumatic growth moderated the (in)congruence effect of illness perception-social support on the FoP of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Low or high illness perception-social support congruence was detrimental to the FoP of patients. Low illness perception-high social support incongruence was beneficial to patients' FoP. Posttraumatic growth can be a positive factor for enhancing the impact of low illness perception-high social support incongruence on patients' FoP.

Highly Efficient Electrosynthesis of Glycine over an Atomically Dispersed Iron Catalyst.

Glycine is a nonessential amino acid that plays a vital role in various biological activities. However, the conventional synthesis of glycine requires sophisticated procedures or toxic feedstocks. Herein, we report an electrochemical pathway for glycine synthesis via the reductive coupling of oxalic acid and nitrate or nitrogen oxides over atomically dispersed Fe-N-C catalysts. A glycine selectivity of 70.7% is achieved over Fe-N-C-700 at -1.0 V versus RHE. Synergy between the FeN3C structure and pyrrolic nitrogen in Fe-N-C-700 facilitates the reduction of oxalic acid to glyoxylic acid, which is crucial for producing glyoxylic acid oxime and glycine, and the FeN3C structure could reduce the energy barrier of *HOOCCH2NH2 intermediate formation thus accelerating the glyoxylic acid oxime conversion to glycine. This new synthesis approach for value-added chemicals using simple carbon and nitrogen sources could provide sustainable routes for organonitrogen compound production.

An artificial intelligence platform for automated PFAS subgroup classification: A discovery tool for PFAS screening.

Since structural analyses and toxicity assessments have not been able to keep up with the discovery of unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), there is an urgent need for effective categorization and grouping of PFAS. In this study, we presented PFAS-Atlas, an artificial intelligence-based platform containing a rule-based automatic classification system and a machine learning-based grouping model. Compared with previously developed classification software, the platform's classification system follows the latest Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of PFAS and reduces the number of uncategorized PFAS. In addition, the platform incorporates deep unsupervised learning models to visualize the chemical space of PFAS by clustering similar structures and linking related classes. Through real-world use cases, we demonstrate that PFAS-Atlas can rapidly screen for relationships between chemical structure and persistence, bioaccumulation, or toxicity data for PFAS. The platform can also guide the planning of the PFAS testing strategy by showing which PFAS classes urgently require further attention. Ultimately, the release of PFAS-Atlas will benefit both the PFAS research and regulation communities.

5-Hydroxytryptamine 4 Receptor Agonist Attenuates Diabetic Enteric Neuropathy through Inhibition of the Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase 3 Pathway.

Necroptosis, considered as a form of programmed cell death, contributes to neural loss. The 5-hydroxytryptamine 4 receptor (5-HT4R) is involved in neurogenesis in the enteric nervous system. However, whether the activation of 5-HT4R can alleviate diabetic enteric neuropathy by inhibiting receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3)-mediated necroptosis is unclear. This study aimed to explore the beneficial effects of 5-HT4R agonist on enteric neuropathy in a mouse model of diabetes and the mechanisms underlying these effects. Diabetes developed neural loss in the colon of mice. 5-HT4Rs localized in submucosal and myenteric plexuses were confirmed. Administration of 5-HT4R agonist attenuated diabetes-induced colonic hypomotility and neural loss of the colon in mice. Remarkably, RIPK3, phosphorylated RIPK3, and its downstream target mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), two key proteins regulating necroptosis, were significantly up-regulated in the colon of diabetic mice. Treatment with 5-HT4R agonist appeared to inhibit diabetes-induced elevation of RIPK3, phosphorylated RIPK3, and MLKL in the colon of mice. Diabetes-induced up-regulation of MLKL in both the mucosa and the muscularis of the colon was prevented by Ripk3 deletion. Moreover, diabetes-evoked neural loss and delayed colonic transit were significantly inhibited by Ripk3 removal. These findings suggest that activation of 5-HT4Rs could potentially provide a protective effect against diabetic enteric neuropathy by suppressing RIPK3-mediated necroptosis.

Inhibitor of Wnt receptor 1 suppresses the effects of Wnt1, Wnt3a and ß­catenin on the proliferation and migration of C6 GSCs induced by low­dose radiation.

The radioresistance of glioma is an important cause of treatment failure and tumor aggressiveness. In the present study, under performed with linear accelerator, the effects of 0.3 and 3.0 Gy low­dose radiation (LDR) on the proliferation and migration of C6 glioma stem cells in vitro were examined by flow cytometric analysis, immunocytochemistry and western blot analysis. It was found that low­dose ionizing radiation (0.3 Gy) stimulated the proliferation and migration of these cells, while 3.0 Gy ionizing radiation inhibited the proliferation of C6 glioma stem cells, which was mediated through enhanced Wnt/ß­catenin signaling, which is associated with glioma tumor aggressiveness. LDR treatment increased the expression of the DNA damage marker γ­H2AX but promoted cell survival with a significant reduction in apoptotic and necrotic cells. When LDR cells were also treated with an inhibitor of Wnt receptor 1 (IWR1), cell proliferation and migration were significantly reduced. IWR1 treatment significantly inhibited Wnt1, Wnt3a and ß­catenin protein expression. Collectively, the current results demonstrated that IWR1 treatment effectively radio­sensitizes glioma stem cells and helps to overcome the survival advantages promoted by LDR, which has significant implications for targeted treatment in radioresistant gliomas.

Advances in embedding techniques of anthocyanins: Improving stability, bioactivity and bioavailability.

The health benefits of anthocyanins have attracted extensive research interest. However, anthocyanins are sensitive to certain environmental and gastrointestinal conditions and have low oral bioavailability. It has been reported that delivery systems made in different ways could improve the stability, bioavailability and bioactivity of anthocyanins. This present review summarizes the factors affecting the stability of anthocyanins and the reasons for poor bioavailability, and various technologies for encapsulation of anthocyanins including microcapsules, nanoemulsions, microemulsions, Pickering emulsions, nanoliposomes, nanoparticles, hydrogels and co-assembly with amphiphilic peptides were discussed. In particular, the effects of these encapsulation technologies on the stability, bioavailability and bioactivities of anthocyanins in vitro and in vivo experiments are reviewed in detail, which provided scientific insights for anthocyanins encapsulation methods. However, the application of anthocyanins in food industry as well as the biological fate and functional pathways in vivo still need to be further explored.

Auricular acupuncture for persistent insomnia and anxiety associated with COVID-19: a case report.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with various psychological symptoms. We report a case of a female patient who was diagnosed with persistent insomnia and anxiety associated with COVID-19, which was successfully treated with nine treatment sessions of auricular acupuncture. This case report provides preliminary evidence to support further research into auricular acupuncture as a potential therapy for persistent insomnia and anxiety associated with COVID-19.

Highly efficient zinc electrode prepared by electro-deposition in a salt-induced pre-phase separation region solution.

Efficient electrode design is crucial for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to produce valuable chemicals. The solution used for the preparation of electrodes can affect their overall properties, which in turn determine the reaction efficiency. In this work, we report that transition metal salts could induce the change of two-phase ionic liquid/ethanol mixture into miscible one phase. Pre-phase separation region near the phase boundary of the ternary system was observed. Zinc nanoparticles were electro-deposited along the fibres of carbon paper (CP) substrate uniformly in the salt-induced pre-phase separation region solution. The as-prepared Zn(1)/CP electrode exhibits super-wettability to the electrolyte, rendering very high catalytic performance for CO2 electro-reduction, and the Faradaic efficiency towards CO is 97.6% with a current density of 340 mA cm-2, which is the best result to date in an H-type cell.