Oncological prognosis and morbidity of hepatectomy in elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity score matching and multicentre study.

PURPOSE: With increasing life expectancy, the number of elderly patients (≥ 65 years) with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has steadily increased. Hepatectomy remains the first-line treatment for HCC patients. However, the prognosis of hepatectomy for elderly patients with HCC remains unclear. METHODS: Clinical and follow-up data from 1331 HCC patients who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2020 were retrospectively retrieved from a multicentre database. Patients were divided into elderly (≥ 65 years) and non-elderly (< 65 years) groups, and PSM was used to balance differences in the baseline characteristics. The postoperative major morbidity and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of the two groups were compared and the independent factors that were associated with the two study endpoints were identified by multivariable regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 1331 HCC patients enrolled in this study, 363 (27.27%) were elderly, while 968 (72.73%) were not. After PSM, 334 matched samples were obtained. In the propensity score matching (PSM) cohort, a higher rate of major morbidity was found in elderly patients (P = 0.040) but the CSS was similar in the two groups (P = 0.087). Multivariate analysis revealed that elderly age was not an independent risk factor associated with high rates of major morbidity (P = 0.117) or poor CSS (P = 0.873). The 1-, 3- and 5-year CSS rates in the elderly and non-elderly groups were 91.0% versus 86.2%, 71.3% versus 68.8% and 55.9% versus 58.0%, respectively. Preoperative alpha fetoprotein (AFP) level, Child‒Pugh grade, intraoperative blood transfusion, extended hemi hepatectomy, and tumour diameter could affect the postoperative major morbidity and preoperative AFP level, cirrhosis, Child‒Pugh grade, macrovascular invasion, microvascular invasion (MVI), satellite nodules, and tumor diameter were independently and significantly associated with CSS. CONCLUSION: Age itself had no significant effect on the prognosis of elderly patients with HCC after hepatectomy. Hepatectomy can be safely performed in elderly patients after cautious perioperative management.

First Report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae Causing Stem Brown Rot of Loquat in China.

Loquat (Rhaphiolepis biabas, heterotypic synonym: Eriobotrya japonica) is an important edible and medicinal plant that is widely cultivated on 133 thousand hectares (recorded in 2022) in China. A stem brown rot was observed on young and old trees in Mengzi city (23°23' N; 103°23' E), Yunnan Province, southwest China, during October 2014 and September 2021. Incidence ranged from 20% of trees in surrounding plantations to 50% incidence of a 160 tree orchard that was the focal point of the disease survey. Circular brown lesions occurred initially on the stems and gradually covered all the epidermis of the stem, leading to irregular dents within the bark that developed a dark brown powdery appearance (Fig.1A). Larger lesions affected vascular tissues, causing diseased trees to wither and die. Diseased tissues were surface-disinfected in a 5% sodium hypochlorite solution for 3 min, rinsed three times with sterile distilled water, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated in the dark at 28°C. Twenty samples were collected for tissue isolation, and 11 isolates were single-spored on water agar. In culture, the colonies on PDA were white to dark-gray, velvet, with dense hyphae, diameter 7.64 cm after 5 days. After 18 days, spherical or subglobose pycnidia were developed and semi-buried in medium, their walls were thicker and dark-brown, which were black particles surrounded by gray-black hyphae. Conidiogenous cells were hyaline, cylindrical, holoblastic, slightly swollen at the base, with rounded apex. Conidia were initially hyaline and aseptate with elliptic or ovate shape, becoming dark brown with a single septate and developing longitudinal striations along thick walls at maturity. Conidia dimensions varied from 8.0 to 12.2 × 3.8 to 6.1µm (n=50) (Fig.1D). The morphological characteristics of eleven isolates were consistent with the description of Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Alves et al. 2008). Further confirmation was also determined by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), ß-tubulin genes, partial translation elongation factor-1α (TEF-1α) (White et al. 1990, Carbone et al. 1999, Glass et al.1995). The isolate LSB-1 was selected for DNA sequence analysis. Based on BLASTn analysis, ITS sequences (OM617921) had 98.3% similarity with L. theobromae CBS164.96 (accession AY640255), CBS124.13(accession DQ458890), CAA006 (accession DQ458891) and CBS111530 (accession EF622074), ß-tubulin sequences (OM643838) showed 99.1% similarity with L. theobromae accessions EU673110. The TEF-1α (OM643839) had 99.0% identity with L. theobromae accession EF633054. The isolate LSB-1 clustered on the same clade with other L. theobromae. Pathogenicity testing of isolate LSB-1, LSB-2, LSB-3 was conducted by inoculating the stems of l-year-old seedlings growing in pots. The epidermis at the inoculation site, 15-20 cm below the crown, was wiped with 75% alcohol cotton ball, washed three times with sterile water, and then punctured (5mm diameter) with sterile inoculation needle. A 5mm block of each isolate cultured on PDA for seven days was attached to the inoculation site. Controls were inoculated with sterile PDA blocks. The inoculation area was covered with polyethylene cling film. All inoculated seedlings were kept in controlled greenhouse at 27°C with 80% relative humidity under natural daylight conditions, and watered weekly. Each treatment was repeated three times. Eight days after inoculation, all diseased plants showed dark brown discoloration at the point of inoculation (Fig. 1G) with the bark at the inoculation site gradually raising as the disease progressed. Thirty days after inoculation, all inoculated seedlings produced typical symptoms, whereas the control seedlings remained healthy. Fungal isolates were only recovered from symptomatic stems and were morphologically identical to L. theobromae, completing Koch's postulates. According to the relevant literature, Lasiodiplodia theobromae has a broad host range, causing numerous diseases, including canker and dieback of branch (Aguilera-Cogley et al., 2021), panicle blight (Mahadevakumar et al, 2022), root rot (Abd-El Ghani and Fatouh, 2005), fruit rot(Freire et al., 2011) in diverse geographical regions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. theobromae causing stem brown rot of loquat in China and provides a foundation for further study of the epidemiology and integrated management of this disease.

Steering interface effect of H-ZSM-5 zeolites with tailored surface barriers to improve their catalytic performances.

An efficient zeolite interface with optimized surface barriers was tailored by passivating the hydroxyl-group defects at surfaces or near pore mouths. The surface permeability of the modified zeolite was almost 90% greater than that of the pristine one, leading to remarkable improvements in C=2-3 selectivity and an anti-inactivation rate of 75% for the catalytic cracking reaction.

Duyun compound green tea extracts regulate bile acid metabolism on mice induced by high-fat diet.

Duyun compound green tea (DCGT) is a healthy beverage with lipid-lowering effect commonly consumed by local people, but its mechanism is not very clear. We evaluated the effect of DCGT treatment on bile acids (BA) metabolism of mice with high-fat diet (HFD) - induced hyperlipidaemia by biochemical indexes and metabolomics and preliminarily determined the potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways of hyperlipidaemia mice treated with DCGT as well as investigated its lipid-lowering mechanism. The results showed that DCGT treatment could reduce HFD - induced gain in weight and improve dyslipidaemia. In addition, a total of ten types of BA were detected, of which seven changed BA metabolites were observed in HFD group mice. After DCGT treatment, glycocholic acid, tauroursodeoxycholic acid and taurochenodeoxycholic acid were significantly down-regulated, while hyodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid were markedly up-regulated. These results demonstrated that DCGT treatment was able to make the BA metabolites in the liver of hyperlipidaemia mice normal and alleviate hyperlipidaemia by regulating the metabolites such as glycocholic acid, tauroursodeoxycholic acid and taurochenodeoxycholic, as well as the BA metabolic pathway and cholesterol metabolic pathway involved.

Insights into the Effect of the Adsorption Preference of Additives on the Anisotropic Growth of ZSM-5 Zeolite.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Zaiku Xie, Jiawei Teng, Chuanming Wang, and co-workers at the SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Liaoning Petrochemical University and University of Science and Technology of China. The image depicts the effect of eight organic additives on the anisotropic growth of classical ZSM-5 zeolite at the molecular level. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202201781.

Molecular transport in zeolite catalysts: depicting an integrated picture from macroscopic to microscopic scales.

Increasing social sustainability triggers the persistent progress of industrial catalysis in energy transformation and chemical production. Zeolites have been demonstrated to be pivotal catalysts in chemical industries due to their moderate acidity and versatile well-defined pore structures. However, in the context of enhancing the performances of zeolite catalysts, the perspectives on the diffusion regulations within the pores and channels in the bulk phases or external surfaces of the zeolites are often overlooked. Establishing the structure-transport-reactivity relationships in heterogeneous catalysis can provide rational guidelines to design high-performance catalysts. Herein, this tutorial review attempts to systematically depict an integrated picture of molecular transport behaviors in zeolite catalysts from macroscopic to microscopic perspectives. The advances in the accurate diffusion measurements employing both macroscopic and microscopic techniques are briefly introduced. The diffusion characteristics in zeolite catalysts under working conditions (e.g., high temperature, multi-components, and reaction coupling) are then addressed. The macroscopic internal diffusion and the microscopic diffusion occurring in the micro-zones of zeolite crystals (e.g., surface diffusion, diffusion anisotropy, and confined diffusion) are reviewed and discussed in more detail. These diffusion behaviors highly impact the underlying reaction mechanism, catalytic performances, and catalyst optimization strategies. Finally, the multi-type pore systems of practical zeolite catalysts in industrial reactors and their transport behaviors are analyzed. The fully-crystalline monolithic zeolites in the absence of binders are highlighted as rising-star catalytic materials for industrial applications. The research challenges in this field and the potential future development directions are summarized.

Compound green tea (CGT) regulates lipid metabolism in high-fat diet induced mice.

This work aims to study the effect of compound green tea (CGT) on liver lipid metabolism in mice based on metabolomics of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and preliminarily identify potential biomarkers and pathways of action by using a metabonomic network database to explore the lipid-lowering effect of CGT. In this study, forty mice were randomly divided into four groups: compound tea treatment group (DH), high-fat model control group (NK), normal control group (CK) and positive drug group (YK). After a month of different interventions, the mice were weighed and the blood lipid indexes were detected. In addition, differential liver metabolites were monitored by using LC-MS. The results showed that CGT and positive drug treatment were able to decrease body weight, liver coefficient, TC, TG and LDL levels of obese mice, while increasing HDL levels. Among the 110 compounds obtained, 54 metabolites were significantly altered in the four comparisons. More importantly, 15 remarkably downregulated metabolites involved in Lysopc 16:1, Lysopc 18:1, and Lysopc 18:2 were found in the DH group when the mice were treated with CGT; meanwhile, the positive drug Xuezhikang was able to significantly downregulate 14 compounds, including (±)18-HEPE, and 6 keto-PGF1α, compared with the NK group. Besides, KEGG enrichment analysis also revealed the important metabolic pathways, such as linoleic acid metabolism, Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and α-linolenic acid metabolism, were related to fatty acid metabolism. These results suggested that CGT could regulate the lipid metabolism in the liver of hyperlipidemia mice, and may regulate 54 potential biomarkers in mice through a related metabolic pathway to make them return to a normal state and improve the disorder of lipid metabolism.

Insights into the Effect of the Adsorption Preference of Additives on the Anisotropic Growth of ZSM-5 Zeolite.

Zeolite morphology plays a crucial role in affecting catalytic performance, while is persistently challenging to tailor through crystal anisotropic growth. It has been recognized that specific additives can be introduced into the synthesis of zeolites to achieve anisotropic growth, however their role and the underlying mechanism are not well understood. Herein, the effect of eight specific additives on the anisotropic growth of the ZSM-5 zeolite is unveiled within the framework of crystallization engineering. Either an inhibition effect or a promotion effect is revealed for each additive according to the crystallization kinetics. The adsorption preference of typical additives on different surfaces was demonstrated by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) together with 3D reconstruction. The calculated adsorption energy difference between MFI [100]/[101] and [010] surfaces was proposed as a key descriptor to estimate the possible morphology induced by additive. ZSM-5 zeolites varying from sphere-like, plate-like to noodle-like morphology could be synthesized by employing specific additives with increasing adsorption strength difference on distinct surfaces.

Direct Propylene Epoxidation with Molecular Oxygen over Cobalt-Containing Zeolites.

Direct propylene epoxidation with molecular oxygen is a dream reaction with 100% atom economy, but aerobic epoxidation is challenging because of the undesired over-oxidation and isomerization of epoxide products. Herein, we report the construction of uniform cobalt ions confined in faujasite zeolite, namely, Co@Y, which exhibits unprecedented catalytic performance in the aerobic epoxidation of propylene. Propylene conversion of 24.6% is achieved at propylene oxide selectivity of 57% at 773 K, giving a state-of-the-art propylene oxide production rate of 4.7 mmol/gcat/h. The catalytic performance of Co@Y is very stable, and no activity loss can be observed for over 200 h. Spectroscopic analyses reveal the details of molecular oxygen activation on isolated cobalt ions, followed by interaction with propylene to produce epoxide, in which the Co2+-Coδ+-Co2+ (2 < δ < 3) redox cycle is involved. The reaction pathway of propylene oxide and byproduct acrolein formation from propylene epoxidation is investigated by density functional theory calculations, and the unique catalytic performance of Co@Y is interpreted. This work presents an explicit example of constructing specific transition-metal ions within the zeolite matrix toward selective catalytic oxidations.

Sensory-Based Identification of Aroma-Active Compounds in Hotpot Seasoning before and after Boiling.

Boiling, the most frequent edible way to hotpot seasoning (HS), exerts a significant impact on the aroma of HS. The present study employed, for the first time, a novel switchable system between GC-O-MS and GC×GC-O-MS (SGC/GC×GC-O-MS) to study the aroma compounds of HS and hotpot seasoning boiling liquid (HSBL). A total of 79 aroma compounds and 56 aroma-active compounds were identified. The aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) was used to analyze the differences between the key aroma-active components in the HS and HSBL. The results showed that 13 aroma-active components were significantly affected by boiling, such as D-limonene, methional, and linalool. Moreover, a total of 22 key aroma-active components were identified through the odor activity values (OAVs) calculation. Of them, (E)-2-octenal (fatty) and linalool showed a significant difference, suggesting them to be the most critical aroma-active compounds in the HSBL, and HS, respectively. Finally, the correlation between key aroma-active compounds and the sensory properties of HS and HSBL was studied. These results demonstrated that the OAVs of key aroma-active compounds could characterize the real information of samples through bidirectional orthogonal partial least squares (O2PLS). The analysis results were consistent with the sensory evaluation results.

A diffusion anisotropy descriptor links morphology effects of H-ZSM-5 zeolites to their catalytic cracking performance.

Zeolite morphology is crucial in determining their catalytic activity, selectivity and stability, but quantitative descriptors of such a morphology effect are challenging to define. Here we introduce a descriptor that accounts for the morphology effect in the catalytic performances of H-ZSM-5 zeolite for C4 olefin catalytic cracking. A series of H-ZSM-5 zeolites with similar sheet-like morphology but different c-axis lengths were synthesized. We found that the catalytic activity and stability is improved in samples with longer c-axis. Combining time-resolved in-situ FT-IR spectroscopy with molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the difference in catalytic performance can be attributed to the anisotropy of the intracrystalline diffusive propensity of the olefins in different channels. Our descriptor offers mechanistic insight for the design of highly effective zeolite catalysts for olefin cracking.

Why Are There so Many Plant Species That Transiently Flush Young Leaves Red in the Tropics?

Delayed greening of young leaves is a ubiquitous and visually striking phenomenon in the tropics. Here, we investigated the potential ecological functions of red coloration patterns in young leaves. To detect any protective function of the red coloration on the young leaves, leaf damage by insect herbivores was recorded in the field. To determine capacity for chemical defense, the concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins were measured in both young and mature leaves. To test the hypothesis that anthocyanins function as photo-protective molecules, chlorophyll content, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F v /Fm ), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), and effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII ) were measured in the field. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed to test the relationary significance of the occurrence of redness in young leaves. Compared to the coloration in non-red leaves, young red leaves had significant higher anthocyanins and tannins content and lower herbivore damages. Young, red leaves had the lowest Fv /Fm values, which were significantly lower than those of non-red leaves. NPQ values in young red leaves were comparable to those of other groups. Although young red leaves had high ΦPSII , these values were significantly lower than those of the other three groups. The results suggest that the red coloration of young leaves protects them from insect herbivory primary by chemical defense through high concentrations of tannins and anthocyanins. Additionally, low Fv /Fm values in young red leaves indicate that anthocyanins might not be functioning as light attenuators to compensate for insufficient photo-protection mediated by NPQ. And finally, red coloration in young leaves is predominantly a result of adaptation to heavy herbivory stress but without significant intrinsic phylogenetic relationship of plant species.

Thermodynamic rules for zeolite formation from machine learning based global optimization.

While the [TO4] tetrahedron packing rule leads to millions of likely zeolite structures, there are currently only 252 types of zeolite frameworks reported after decades of synthetic efforts. The subtle synthetic conditions, e.g. the structure-directing agents, pH and the feed ratio, were often blamed for the limited zeolite types due to the complex kinetics. Here by developing machine learning global optimization techniques, we are now able to establish the global potential energy surface of a typical zeolite system, Si x Al y P z O2H y-z with 12 T atoms (T: Si, Al and P) that is the general formula shared by CHA, ATS, ATO and ATV zeolite frameworks. After analyzing more than 106 minima data, we identify thermodynamic rules on energetics and local bonding patterns for stable zeolites. These rules provide general guidelines to classify zeolite types and correlate them with synthesis conditions. The machine learning based atomistic simulation thus paves a new way towards rational design and synthesis of stable zeolite frameworks with desirable compositions.

Endovascular treatment versus standard medical treatment for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (BEST): an open-label, randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous randomised trials have shown an overwhelming benefit of mechanical thrombectomy for treating patients with stroke caused by large vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation. Whether endovascular treatment is beneficial for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment of acute strokes due to vertebrobasilar artery occlusion. METHODS: We did a multicentre, randomised, open-label trial, with blinded outcome assessment of thrombectomy in patients presenting within 8 h of vertebrobasilar occlusion at 28 centres in China. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to endovascular therapy plus standard medical therapy (intervention group) or standard medical therapy alone (control group). The randomisation sequence was computer-generated and stratified by participating centres. Allocation concealment was implemented by use of sealed envelopes. The primary outcome was a modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 3 or lower (indicating ability to walk unassisted) at 90 days, assessed on an intention-to-treat basis. The primary safety outcome was mortality at 90 days. Secondary safety endpoints included the rates of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, device-related complications, and other severe adverse events. The BEST trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02441556. FINDINGS: Between April 27, 2015, and Sept 27, 2017, we assessed 288 patients for eligibility. The trial was terminated early after 131 patients had been randomly assigned (66 patients to the intervention group and 65 to the control group) because of high crossover rate and poor recruitment. In the intention-to-treat analysis, there was no evidence of a difference in the proportion of participants with mRS 0-3 at 90 days according to treatment (28 [42%] of 66 patients in the intervention group vs 21 [32%] of 65 in the control group; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1·74, 95% CI 0·81-3·74). Secondary prespecified analyses of the primary outcome, done to assess the effect of crossovers, showed higher rates of mRS 0-3 at 90 days in patients who actually received the intervention compared with those who received standard medical therapy alone in both per-protocol (28 [44%] of 63 patients with intervention vs 13 [25%] of 51 with standard therapy; adjusted OR 2·90, 95% CI 1·20-7·03) and as-treated (36 [47%] of 77 patients with intervention vs 13 [24%] of 54 with standard therapy; 3·02, 1·31-7·00) populations. The 90-day mortality was similar between groups (22 [33%] of 66 patients in the intervention vs 25 [38%] of 65 in the control group; p=0·54) despite a numerically higher prevalence of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage in the intervention group. INTERPRETATION: There was no evidence of a difference in favourable outcomes of patients receiving endovascular therapy compared with those receiving standard medical therapy alone. Results might have been confounded by loss of equipoise over the course of the trial, resulting in poor adherence to the assigned study treatment and a reduced sample size due to the early termination of the study. FUNDING: Jiangsu Provincial Special Program of Medical Science.

Acetylene-Selective Hydrogenation Catalyzed by Cationic Nickel Confined in Zeolite.

The selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes is an important type of organic transformation with large-scale industrial applications. This transformation requires efficient catalysts with precise selectivity control, and palladium-based metallic catalysts are currently employed. Here we show that four-coordinated cationic nickel(II) confined in zeolite can efficiently catalyze the selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene, a key process for trace acetylene removal prior to the polymerization process. Under optimized conditions, 100% acetylene conversion and an ethylene selectivity up to 97% are simultaneously achieved. This catalyst system also exhibits good stability and recyclability for potential applications. Spectroscopy investigations and density functional theory calculations reveal the heterolytic dissociation of hydrogen molecules and the importance of hydride and protons in the selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene. This work provides an efficient strategy toward active and selective zeolite catalysts by utilizing the local electrostatic field within the zeolite confined space for small-molecule activation and by linking heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis.

Syngas to light olefins conversion with high olefin/paraffin ratio using ZnCrOx/AlPO-18 bifunctional catalysts.

Direct synthesis of light olefins from syngas (STO) using a bifunctional catalyst composed of oxide and zeolite has attracted extensive attention in both academia and industry. It is highly desirable to develop robust catalysts that could enhance the CO conversion while simultaneously maintain high selectivity to C2-C4 olefins. Herein, we report a bifunctional catalyst consisting of ZnCr binary oxide (ZnCrOx) and low-Si AlPO-18 zeolite, showing both satisfying selectivity to C2-C4 olefins of 45.0% (86.7%, CO2 free) and high olefin/paraffin ratio of 29.9 at the CO conversion of 25.2% under mild reaction conditions (4.0 MPa, 390 °C). By optimizing the reaction conditions, the CO conversion could be markedly increased to 49.3% with a slight drop in selectivity. CD3CN/CO-FTIR characterizations and theoretical calculations demonstrate that low-Si AlPO-18 zeolite has lower acid strength, and is therefore less reactive toward the hydride transfer in the STO reaction, leading to a higher olefin/paraffin ratio.

Necessity of Heteroatoms for Realizing Hypothetical Aluminophosphate Zeolites: A High-Throughput Computational Approach.

Aluminophosphate zeolites (AlPOs) have important applications in adsorption, separation, and catalysis. Millions of hypothetical zeolite structures have been predicted, but experimentally realizing them as AlPOs requires a priori knowledge on whether heteroatom incorporations are necessary to stabilize their frameworks. Previous computations focus on the energy difference before and after heteroatom incorporation, which are not applicable for high-throughput computations because of the combinatorial explosion of possible incorporation sites. Here, we establish a new model to estimate the probability of a hypothetical structure being a pure or a heteroatom-stabilized AlPO, which is based on the Mahalanobis distances between a hypothetical structure and its neighboring reference structures in distortion-energy plots. Our approach avoids numerous attempts at heteroatom incorporation and is therefore applicable for high-throughput structure evaluation. Using this model, we have predicted 17 050 hypothetical structures being realizable as pure AlPOs and 12 039 structures realizable only via heteroatom incorporation. This will provide important guidance toward the synthesis of new AlPOs.

Draft Genome Sequence of Haloparvum sedimenti Strain DYS4, the Type Species of the Genus Haloparvum, Isolated from a Salt Mine.

Here is the genome sequence of Haloparvum sedimenti DYS4, the type species of the genus Haloparvum, isolated from a salt mine. The DNA G+C content of this genome was 68.27 mol%. The scaffold N50 was 96,635 bp. The completely sequenced and annotated genome is 3,243,052 bp and contains 3,313 genes.

Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Macrocycles: Synthesis and Host-Guest Coassembly with Fullerene toward Photovoltaic Application.

Electron-rich (donor) and electron-deficient (acceptor) units to construct donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated macrocycles were investigated to elucidate their interactions with electron-deficient fullerene. Triphenylamine and 4,7-bisthienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole were alternately linked through acetylene, as the donor and acceptor units, respectively, for pentagonal 3B2A and hexagonal 4B2A macrocycles. As detected by scanning tunneling microscopy, both D-A macrocycles were found to form an interesting concentration-controlled nanoporous monolayer on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, which could effectively capture fullerene. Significantly, the fullerene filling was cavity-size-dependent with only one C70 or PC71BM molecule accommodated by 3B2A, while two were accommodated by 4B2A. Density functional theory calculations were also utilized to gain insight into the host-guest systems and indicted that the S···π contact is responsible for stabilizing these host-guest systems. Owing to the ellipsoidal shape of C70, C70 molecules are standing or lying in molecular cavities depending on the energy optimization. For the 3B2A/PC71BM blended film, PC71BM was intercalated into the cavity formed by the macrocycle 3B2A and provided excellent power conversion efficiency despite the broad band gap (2.1 eV) of 3B2A. This study of D-A macrocycles incorporating fullerene provides insights into the interaction mechanism and electronic structure in the host-guest complexes. More importantly, this is a representative example using D-A macrocycles as a donor to match with the spherical fullerene acceptor for photovoltaic applications, which offer a good approach to achieve molecular scale p-n junctions for substantially enhanced efficiencies of organic solar cells through replacing linear polymer donors by cyclic conjugated oligomers.

Obesity Reduces Cognitive and Motor Functions across the Lifespan.

Due to a sedentary lifestyle, more and more people are becoming obese nowadays. In addition to health-related problems, obesity can also impair cognition and motor performance. Previous results have shown that obesity mainly affects cognition and motor behaviors through altering brain functions and musculoskeletal system, respectively. Many factors, such as insulin/leptin dysregulation and inflammation, mediate the effect of obesity and cognition and motor behaviors. Substantial evidence has suggested exercise to be an effective way to improve obesity and related cognitive and motor dysfunctions. This paper aims to discuss the association of obesity with cognition and motor behaviors and its underlying mechanisms. Following this, mechanisms of exercise to improve obesity-related dysfunctions are described. Finally, implications and future research direction are raised.