Versatile Deprotonation-Induced Exfoliation and Functionalization of Biological Nanofibrils for Actuation and Fluorescence.

Biological nanofibrils not only are characteristic of many species of biomasses but also serve as a promising type of sustainable nanomaterials for various applications. However, their production has long relied on an invasive and energy-consuming mechanical shear. A noninvasive and versatile approach remains challenging to exfoliate different types of biomasses into nanofibrils. In this study, we showed a versatile and nonaggressive intercalative deprotonation agent of organic base, which could efficiently deprotonate various biomasses for energy-saving exfoliation and functionalization, including cellulose, chitin, and silk. Both carboxylic nanofibrils and nanofibrils with pristine chemical structures could be produced in high yields through manual shaking or sonication. By further grafting photoresponsive groups via transesterification, intelligent NFs were generated featuring ultraviolet-responsive fluorescence and hydrophilicity. These responsive fluorescence and actuation behaviors promised their potential as green encryption and anticounterfeiting nanomaterials.

Phytochemical Profiling and Biological Activities of Pericarps and Seeds Reveal the Controversy on "Enucleation" or "Nucleus-Retaining" of Cornus officinalis Fruits.

The fruits of Cornus officinalis are used not only as a popular health food to tonify the liver and kidney, but also as staple materials to treat dementia and other age-related diseases. The pharmacological function of C. officinalis fruits with or without seeds is controversial for treating some symptoms in a few herbal prescriptions. However, the related metabolite and pharmacological information between its pericarps and seeds are largely deficient. Here, comparative metabolomics analysis between C. officinalis pericarps and seeds were conducted using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry, and therapeutic effects were also evaluated using several in vitro bioactivity arrays (antioxidant activity, α-glucosidase and cholinesterase inhibitory activities, and cell inhibitory properties). A total of 499 secondary metabolites were identified. Thereinto, 77 metabolites were determined as key differential metabolites between C. officinalis pericarps and seeds, and the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway was identified as the most significantly different pathway. Further, 47 metabolites were determined as potential bioactive constituents. In summary, C. officinalis seeds, which demonstrated higher contents in total phenolics, stronger in vitro antioxidant activities, better α-glucosidase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities, and stronger anticancer activities, exhibited considerable potential for food and health fields. This work provided insight into the metabolites and bioactivities of C. officinalis pericarps and seeds, contributing to their precise development and utilization.

miR-30a-5p mediates ferroptosis of hippocampal neurons in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion-induced cognitive dysfunction by modulating the SIRT1/NRF2 pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is a common cause of brain dysfunction. As a microRNA (also known as miRNAs or miRs), miR-30a-5p participates in neuronal damage and relates to ferroptosis. We explored the in vivo and in vitro effects and functional mechanism of miR-30a-5p in CCH-triggered cognitive impairment through the silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) pathway. METHODS: After 1 month of CCH modeling through bilateral common carotid artery stenosis, mice were injected with 2 µL antagomir (also known as anti-miRNAs) miR-30a-5p, with cognitive function evaluated by Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests. In vitro HT-22 cell oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) model was established, followed by miR-30a-5p inhibitor and/or si-SIRT1 transfections, with Fe2+ concentration, malonaldehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) contents, reactive oxygen species (ROS), miR-30a-5p and SIRT1 and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) protein levels, NRF2 nuclear translocation, and miR-30a-5p-SIRT1 targeting relationship assessed. RESULTS: CCH-induced mice showed obvious cognitive impairment, up-regulated miR-30a-5p, and down-regulated SIRT1. Ferroptosis occurred in hippocampal neurons, manifested by elevated Fe2+ concentration and ROS and MDA levels, mitochondrial atrophy, and diminished GSH content. Antagomir miR-30a-5p or miR-30a-5p inhibitor promoted SIRT1 expression and NRF2 nuclear translocation, increased GPX4, cell viability and GSH content, and reduced Fe2+ concentration and ROS and MDA levels. miR-30a-5p negatively regulated SIRT1. In vitro, miR-30a-5p knockout increased NRF2 nuclear translocation by up-regulating SIRT1, inhibiting OGD-induced ferroptosis in HT-22 cells. CONCLUSION: miR-30a-5p induces hippocampal neuronal ferroptosis and exacerbates post-CCH cognitive dysfunction by targeting SIRT1 and reducing NRF2 nuclear translocation.

CuCl2/FeCl3 Bimetallic Photocatalyst for Sustainable Ethylene Production from Ethanol via Recoverable Redox Cycles.

Photocatalytic conversions of ethanol to valuable chemicals are significant organic synthesis reactions. Herein, we developed a CuCl2/FeCl3 bimetallic photocatalyst for sustainable dehydration of ethanol to ethylene by recoverable redox cycles. The selectivity of ethylene was 98.3% for CuCl2/FeCl3, which is much higher than that of CuCl2 (34.5%) and FeCl3 (86.5%). Due to the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) process involved in generating the liquid products, the CuCl2/FeCl3 catalyst will be reduced to CuCl/FeCl2. Oxygen (O2) is required for the recovery of CuCl2/FeCl3 to avoid exhaustion. The soluble Fe3+/Fe2+ redox species deliver catalyst regeneration properties more efficiently than single metal couples, making a series of redox reactions (Cu2+/Cu+, Fe3+/Fe2+, and O2/ethanol couples) recyclable with synergistic effects. A flow reactor was designed to facilitate the continuous production of ethylene. The understanding of bimetallic synergism and consecutive reactions promotes the industrial application process of photocatalytic organic reactions.

Can rectal MRI and endorectal ultrasound accurately predict the complete response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy for rectal cancer?

Background: Standardized assessments of clinical complete response (cCR) to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for rectal cancer have been established, but their utility and accuracy remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical diagnostic value of rectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and endorectal ultrasonography (ERUS) for the determination of cCRs after neoadjuvant immunotherapy and to investigate the concordance between cCR and pathological complete response (pCR). Methods: Ninety-four patients with rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy with or without immunotherapy were included. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of each evaluation method were calculated. Results: Combined MRI and ERUS assessments found cCR in seven of the 94 patients in our cohort. In the non-immunotherapy group, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MRI for diagnosing cCR were 50.0%, 85.2%, and 77.1%, respectively, whereas those of ERUS were 50.0%, 92.6%, and 82.9%, respectively; those of combined MRI and ERUS were 25.0%, 96.3%, and 87.5%, respectively. In the immunotherapy group, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy with which MRI identified CR were 51.7%, 76.7%, and 64.4%, respectively; those of ERUS were 13.8%, 90.0%, and 52.5%, respectively, and those of combined MRI and ERUS were 10.3%, 96.7%, and 54.2%, respectively. We also found that 32 of 37 patients with pCR did not meet the cCR evaluation criteria. Of these pCR patients, 78.4% (29/37) received immunotherapy. In the entire cohort, there were five pCRs among the seven cCRs. Of the four cCRs that occurred in the immunotherapy group, three were pCRs. Conclusions: Rectal MRI and/or ERUS did not provide sufficiently accurate assessments of cCR in patients with rectal cancer receiving neoadjuvant therapy, especially immunotherapy, and cCR did not predict pCR.

Ferulic acid in synergy with retinol alleviates oxidative injury of HaCaT cells during UVB-induced photoaging.

Application of retinol (Vitamin A, VA) in skincare is limited for instability, poor water solubility, and skin intolerance that combats skin aging. We employed computer-aided virtual screening and cell experiments with transcriptomics, thereby unveiling the comprehensive gene expression and regulation pathway of photoaging HaCaT cell treated with ferulic acid (FA) in synergizing with VA. Through network pharmacology analysis, the combined use of VA and FA exhibited highly correlated cross-targets with skin aging acting on EGFR, PTPN1, ESR2, GSK3B, BACE1, PYGL, PTGS2 and APP. The indicators of oxidative stress, such as SOD, GSH, MDA, CAT and ROS in HaCaT cells after co-administration, were significantly improved from those in photoaging group (p<0.0001). 155 differential expressed genes (DEGs) were specific between groups, while reducing the expression of PTGS2 was identified as an important regulatory factor in photoaging HaCaT cells by VA and FA. Those DEGs of co-administration group focused on oxidative-reduction enzyme activity, skin growth, keratinization, and steroid biosynthesis. Apparently, the co-administration of VA and FA effectively mitigated the process of UVB-induced photoaging by reducing oxidative stress injury, inflammation responses, and regulating cell growth. This synergistic approach significantly slowed down the photoaging progression and improved the applied performance of VA in HaCaT cells.

Enhancing Iron(III) Oxide Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Performance Using Defect Engineering and Heterostructure Construction.

Fe2O3 is a promising semiconductor for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water decomposition. However, severe charge recombination problems limit its applications. In this study, a F-Fe2O3-x/MoS2 nanorod array photoanode was designed and prepared to facilitate charge separation. Detailed characterization and experimental results showed that F doping in Fe2O3 regulated the electronic structure to improve the conductivity of Fe2O3 and induced abundant oxygen vacancies to increase the carrier concentration and promote charge separation in bulk. In addition, the internal electric field between F-Fe2O3-x and MoS2 facilitated the qualitative transfer of the photogenerated charge, thus inhibiting their recombination. The synergistic effect between the oxygen vacancy and F-Fe2O3-x/MoS2 heterojunction significantly enhanced the PEC performance of Fe2O3. This study provides a universal strategy for designing other photoanode materials with high-efficiency charge separation.

Efficient all-small-molecule organic solar cells processed with non-halogen solvent.

All-small-molecule organic solar cells with good batch-to-batch reproducibility combined with non-halogen solvent processing show great potential for commercialization. However, non-halogen solvent processing of all-small-molecule organic solar cells are rarely reported and its power conversion efficiencies are very difficult to improve. Herein, we designed and synthesized a small molecule donor BM-ClEH that can take advantage of strong aggregation property induced by intramolecular chlorine-sulfur non-covalent interaction to improve molecular pre-aggregation in tetrahydrofuran and corresponding micromorphology after film formation. Tetrahydrofuran-fabricated all-small-molecule organic solar cells based on BM-ClEH:BO-4Cl achieved high power conversion efficiencies of 15.0% in binary device and 16.1% in ternary device under thermal annealing treatment. In contrast, weakly aggregated BM-HEH without chlorine-sulfur non-covalent bond is almost inefficient under same processing conditions due to poor pre-aggregation induced disordered π-π stacking, indistinct phase separation and exciton dissociation. This work promotes the development of non-halogen solvent processing of all-small-molecule organic solar cells and provides further guidance.

Charge Injection and Auger Recombination Modulation for Efficient and Stable Quasi-2D Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

The inefficient charge transport and large exciton binding energy of quasi-2D perovskites pose challenges to the emission efficiency and roll-off issues for perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) despite excellent stability compared to 3D counterparts. Herein, alkyldiammonium cations with different molecular sizes, namely 1,4-butanediamine (BDA), 1,6-hexanediamine (HDA) and 1,8-octanediamine (ODA), are employed into quasi-2D perovskites, to simultaneously modulate the injection efficiency and recombination dynamics. The size increase of the bulky cation leads to increased excitonic recombination and also larger Auger recombination rate. Besides, the larger size assists the formation of randomly distributed 2D perovskite nanoplates, which results in less efficient injection and deteriorates the electroluminescent performance. Moderate exciton binding energy, suppressed 2D phases and balanced carrier injection of HDA-based PeLEDs contribute to a peak external quantum efficiency of 21.9%, among the highest in quasi-2D perovskite based near-infrared devices. Besides, the HDA-PeLED shows an ultralong operational half-lifetime T50 up to 479 h at 20 mA cm-2 , and sustains the initial performance after a record-level 30 000 cycles of ON-OFF switching, attributed to the suppressed migration of iodide anions into adjacent layers and the electrochemical reaction in HDA-PeLEDs. This work provides a potential direction of cation design for efficient and stable quasi-2D-PeLEDs.

Single-Cell Sequencing Reveals MYOF-Enriched Monocyte/Macrophage Subcluster as a Favorable Prognostic Factor in Sepsis.

This research utilized single-cell RNA sequencing to map the immune cell landscape in sepsis, revealing 28 distinct cell clusters and categorizing them into nine major types. Delving into the monocyte/macrophage subclusters, 12 unique subclusters are identified and pathway enrichment analyses are conducted using KEGG and GO, discovering enriched pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation and antigen processing. Further GSVA and AUCell assessments show varied activation of interferon pathways, especially in subclusters 4 and 11. The clinical correlation analysis reveals genes significantly linked to survival outcomes. Additionally, cellular differentiation in these subclusters is explored. Building on these insights, the differential gene expression within these subclusters is specifically scrutinized, which reveal MYOF as a key gene with elevated expression levels in the survivor group. This finding is further supported by in-depth pathway enrichment analysis and the examination of cellular differentiation trajectories, where MYOF's role became evident in the context of immune response regulation and sepsis progression. Validating the role of the MYOF gene in sepsis, a dose-dependent response to LPS in THP-1 cells and C57 mice is observed. Finally, inter-cellular communications are analyzed, particularly focusing on the MYOF+Mono/Macro subcluster, which indicates a pivotal role in immune regulation and potential therapeutic targeting.

Strain Engineering of Cd0.5 Zn0.5 S Nanocrystal for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Wasted Plastic.

The challenge of synthesizing nanocrystal photocatalysts with adjustable lattice strain for effective waste-to-energy conversion is addressed in this study. Cd0.5 Zn0.5 S (CZS) nanocrystals are synthesized by a simple solvothermal method, regulation of the ratio between N, N-dimethylformamide, and water solvent are shown to provoke expansion and contraction, inducing an adjustable lattice strain ranging from -1.2% to 5.6%. With the hydrolyzed wasted plastic as a sacrificial agent, the 5.6% lattice-strain CZS exhibited a robust hydrogen evolution activity of 1.09 mmol m-2  h-1 (13.83 mmol g-1  h-1 ), 4.5 times that of pristine CZS. Characterizations and density functional theory calculation demonstrated that lattice expansion increases the spatial distance between the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum, thus reducing carrier recombination and promoting charge transfer. Additionally, lattice expansion induces surface S vacancies and adsorbed OH groups, further enhancing redox reactions. This study focuses on the synchronous regulation of crystal structure, charge separation/transport, and surface reactions through lattice strain engineering, which providing a reference for the rational design of new photocatalysts for effective waste-to-energy conversion.

Over 19 % Efficiency Organic Solar Cells Enabled by Manipulating the Intermolecular Interactions through Side Chain Fluorine Functionalization.

Fluorine side chain functionalization of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) represents an effective strategy for enhancing the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, a knowledge gap persists regarding the relationship between structural changes induced by fluorine functionalization and the resultant impact on device performance. In this work, varying amounts of fluorine atoms were introduced into the outer side chains of Y-series NFAs to construct two acceptors named BTP-F0 and BTP-F5. Theoretical and experimental investigations reveal that side-chain fluorination significantly increase the overall average electrostatic potential (ESP) and charge balance factor, thereby effectively improving the ESP-induced intermolecular electrostatic interaction, and thus precisely tuning the molecular packing and bulk-heterojunction morphology. Therefore, the BTP-F5-based OSC exhibited enhanced crystallinity, domain purity, reduced domain spacing, and optimized phase distribution in the vertical direction. This facilitates exciton diffusion, suppresses charge recombination, and improves charge extraction. Consequently, the promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.3 % and 19.2 % were achieved in BTP-F5-based binary and ternary devices, respectively, surpassing the PCE of 16.1 % for BTP-F0-based OSCs. This work establishes a structure-performance relationship and demonstrates that fluorine functionalization of the outer side chains of Y-series NFAs is a compelling strategy for achieving ideal phase separation for highly efficient OSCs.

Progressive Frame-Proposal Mining for Weakly Supervised Video Object Detection.

In this paper, we focus on the weakly supervised video object detection problem, where each training video is only tagged with object labels, without any bounding box annotations of objects. To effectively train object detectors from such weakly-annotated videos, we propose a Progressive Frame-Proposal Mining (PFPM) framework by exploiting discriminative proposals in a coarse-to-fine manner. First, we design a flexible Multi-Level Selection (MLS) scheme, with explicit guidance of video tags. By selecting object-relevant frames and mining important proposals from these frames, the proposed MLS can effectively reduce frame redundancy as well as improve proposal effectiveness to boost weakly-supervised detectors. Moreover, we develop a novel Holistic-View Refinement (HVR) scheme, which can globally evaluate importance of proposals among frames, and thus correctly refine pseudo ground truth boxes for training video detectors in a self-supervised manner. Finally, we evaluate the proposed PFPM on a large-scale benchmark for video object detection, on ImageNet VID, under the setting of weak annotations. The experimental results demonstrate that our PFPM significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art weakly-supervised detectors.

Cotton-Net: efficient and accurate rapid detection of impurity content in machine-picked seed cotton using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Widespread adoption of machine-picked cotton in China, the impurity content of seed cotton has increased significantly. This impurity content holds direct implications for the valuation of seed cotton and exerts a consequential influence on the ensuing quality of processed lint and textiles. Presently, the primary approach for assessing impurity content in seed cotton primarily depends on semi-automated testing instruments, exhibiting suboptimal detection efficiency and not well-suited for the impurity detection requirements during the purchase of seed cotton. To address this challenge, this study introduces a seed cotton near-infrared spectral (NIRS) data acquisition system, facilitating the rapid collection of seed cotton spectral data. Three pretreatment algorithms, namely SG (Savitzky-Golay convolutional smoothing), SNV (Standard Normal Variate Transformation), and Normalization, were applied to preprocess the seed cotton spectral data. Cotton-Net, a one-dimensional convolutional neural network aligned with the distinctive characteristics of the seed cotton spectral data, was developed in order to improve the prediction accuracy of seed cotton impurity content. Ablation experiments were performed, utilizing SELU, ReLU, and Sigmoid functions as activation functions. The experimental outcomes revealed that after normalization, employing SELU as the activation function led to the optimal performance of Cotton-Net, displaying a correlation coefficient of 0.9063 and an RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) of 0.0546. In the context of machine learning modeling, the LSSVM model, developed after Normalization and Random Frog algorithm processing, demonstrated superior performance, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.8662 and an RMSE of 0.0622. In comparison, the correlation coefficient of Cotton-Net increased by 4.01%. This approach holds significant potential to underpin the subsequent development of rapid detection instruments targeting seed cotton impurities.

Isomerization of Benzothiadiazole Yields a Promising Polymer Donor and Organic Solar Cells with Efficiency of 19.0.

The exploration of high-performance and low-cost wide-bandgap polymer donors remains critical to achieve high-efficiency nonfullerene organic solar cells (OSCs) beyond current thresholds. Herein, the 1,2,3-benzothiadiazole (iBT), which is an isomer of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT), is used to design wide-bandgap polymer donor PiBT. The PiBT-based solar cells reach efficiency of 19.0%, which is one of the highest efficiencies in binary OSCs. Systemic studies show that isomerization of BT to iBT can finely regulate the polymers' photoelectric properties including i) increasing the extinction coefficient and photon harvest, ii) downshifting the highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels, iii) improving the coplanarity of polymer backbones, iv) offering good thermodynamic miscibility with acceptors. Consequently, the PiBT:Y6 bulk heterojunction (BHJ) device simultaneously reaches advantageous nanoscale morphology, efficient exciton generation and dissociation, fast charge transportation, and suppressed charge recombination, leading to larger VOC of 0.87 V, higher JSC of 28.2 mA cm-2 , greater fill factor of 77.3%, and thus higher efficiency of 19.0%, while the analog-PBT-based OSCs reach efficiency of only 12.9%. Moreover, the key intermediate iBT can be easily afforded from industry chemicals via two-step procedure. Overall, this contribution highlights that iBT is a promising motif for designing high-performance polymer donors.

Weight Loss Using an mHealth App Among Individuals With Obesity in Different Economic Regions of China: Cohort Study.

Background: With the increasing prevalence of obesity, weight loss has become a critical issue in China. Self-managed weight loss through a mobile health (mHealth) app may be a prospective method. However, its practicability in different economic regions of China is unknown. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of self-managed weight loss through an mHealth app among individuals with obesity in different economic regions of China and to demonstrate the feasibility of online self-management for weight loss. Methods: A total of 165,635 Chinese adults who signed up for the mHealth app were included to analyze the body composition characteristics of individuals from different economic regions by χ2 analyses. Furthermore, 2 types of participants with obesity using mHealth monitoring, including 74,611 participants with a BMI ≥24.0 kg/m2 and 22,903 participants with a normal BMI but an excessive percentage of body fat (PBF), were followed for 6 months to explore the weight loss and fat loss effects in different economic regions of China and to find independent predictors associated with weight loss success by 2-tailed Student t test and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: There were 32,129 users from low-income regions and 133,506 users from high-income regions. The proportion of users with obesity in low-income regions was higher than in high-income regions, both based on BMI (15,378/32,129, 47.9% vs 59,233/133,506, 44.4%; P<.001) and PBF classification (19,146/32,129, 59.6% vs 72,033/133,506, 54%; P<.001). Follow-up analyses showed that the weight loss effect among participants with overweight or obesity in low-income regions was greater than in high-income regions (mean -4.93, SD 6.41 vs mean -4.71, SD 6.14 kg; P<.001), while there was no significant difference in fat loss (mean -2.06%, SD 3.14% vs mean -2.04%, SD 3.19%; P=.54). In the population with normal-weight obesity, the weight loss (mean -2.42, SD 4.07 vs mean -2.23, SD 4.21 kg; P=.004) and fat loss effects (mean -1.43%, SD 2.73% vs mean -1.27%, SD 2.63%; P<.001) were stronger in high-income regions than in low-income regions. In addition, multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that age, baseline PBF, skeletal muscle rate, and measurement frequency were related to weight loss, whereas gender and baseline body metabolic rate only showed a correlation with weight loss in the population in high-income regions. Conclusions: This study found a high proportion of mHealth app users with obesity in low-income regions. Individuals with overweight and obesity in different economic regions of China experienced significant weight loss and fat loss using an mHealth app. Moreover, individuals in high-income regions paid more attention to body fat and had better fat reduction effects. Therefore, promoting self-monitoring of weight and PBF through an mHealth app could be an important intervention that could be implemented across all regions of China.

Identification of two novel large deletions in FBN1 gene by next-generation sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in fibrillin-1 (FBN1) are known to be associated with Marfan syndrome (MFS), an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder. Most FBN1 mutations are missense or nonsense mutations. Traditional molecular genetic testing for the FBN1 gene, like Sanger sequencing, may miss disease-causing mutations in the gene's regulatory regions or non-coding sequences, as well as partial or complete gene deletions and duplications. METHODS: Next-generation sequencing, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and gap PCR were conducted on two MFS patients to screen for disease-causing mutations. RESULTS: We identified two large deletions in FBN1 from two MFS patients. One patient had a 0.23 Mb deletion (NC_000015.9:g.48550506_48779360del) including 5'UTR-exon6 of FBN1. The other patient harbored a 1416 bp deletion (NC_000015.9:g.48410869_48412284del) affecting the last exon, exon 66, of the FBN1 gene. CONCLUSION: Our results expanded the number of large FBN1 deletions and highlighted the importance of screening for large deletions in FBN1 in clinical genetic testing, especially for those with the classic MFS phenotype.

In Situ Growth of MOF from Wood Aerogel toward Bromide Ion Adsorption in Simulated Saline Water.

Utilizing metal-organic framework (MOF) materials for the extraction of bromide ions (Br-) from aqueous solutions, as an alternative to chlorine gas oxidation technology, holds promising potential for future applications. However, the limitations of powdered MOFs, such as low utilization efficiency, ease of aggregation in water, and challenging recovery processes, have hindered their practical application. Shaping MOF materials into application-oriented forms represents an effective but challenging approach to address these drawbacks. In this work, a novel Ag-UiO-66-(OH)2@delignified wood cellulose aerogel (CA) adsorbent is synthesized using an oil bath impregnation method, involving the deposition of UiO-66-(OH)2 nanoparticles onto CA and the uniform dispersion of Ag0 nanoparticles across its surface. CA, characterized by the intertwined cellulose nanofiber structure and a highly hydrophilic surface, serves as an ideal substrate for the uniform growth of UiO-66-(OH)2 nanoparticles, which, in turn, spontaneously reduce Ag+ to form distributed Ag0 nanoparticles due to the abundant hydroxyl groups provided. Leveraging the well-defined biological structure of CA, which offers excellent mass transfer channels, and the highly dispersed Ag adsorption sites, Ag-UiO-(OH)2/CA exhibits remarkable adsorption capacity (642 mg/gAg) under optimized conditions. Furthermore, an integrated device is constructed by interconnecting Ag-UiO-(OH)2/CA adsorbents in series, affirming its potential application in the continuous recovery of Br-. This study not only presents an efficient Ag-UiO-(OH)2/CA adsorbent for Br- recovery but also sheds light on the extraction of other valuable elements from various liquid ores.

Overexpression of SLC35F2 is a potential prognostic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To explore the potential clinical and prognostic significance of Homo sapiens solute carrier family 35 member F2 (SLC35F2) in the context of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods: The expression pattern of SLC35F2 in LUAD tissues and normal tissues was analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets and validated in 12 pairs of fresh clinical LUAD tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to assess the protein expression of SLC35F2 in 60 paraffin-embedded LUAD tissues, and its associations with clinicopathological parameters were further examined. The prognostic significance of SLC35F2 mRNA expression was also evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression models in LUAD patients from the TCGA database. The potential utility of SLC35F2 as an indicator of recurrence or metastasis was explored through the follow-up of selected clinical LUAD cases. Lastly, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to investigate the underlying biological mechanisms and signaling pathways. Results: Bioinformatics analysis utilizing the TCGA database indicated that SLC35F2 mRNA exhibited heightened expression in LUAD tissues when compared to normal tissues. These findings were further substantiated through the examination of 12 pairs of clinical LUAD tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues, employing qRT-PCR and western blotting techniques. IHC results from a cohort of 60 LUAD patients demonstrated an up-regulation of SLC35F2 in 38 out of 60 individuals (63.3 %), which exhibited a significant correlation with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stage (all P < 0.05). Both the Kaplan-Meier curve and the Cox proportional hazard analyses indicated a strong association between the up-regulation of SLC35F2 mRNA expression and unfavorable overall survival (OS) in patients with LUAD, as observed in the TCGA datasets (P < 0.05). The follow-up findings from select clinical LUAD cases provided evidence that the expression of SLC35F2 could serve as a dependable biomarker for monitoring the recurrence or metastasis. Additionally, the GSEA highlighted the enrichment of apoptosis, adhesion, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and p53 signaling pathways in the subgroup of LUAD patients with elevated SLC35F2 expression. Conclusion: SLC35F2 exhibited an up-regulated in both mRNA and protein expression, rendering it a valuable independent prognostic indicator for patients diagnosed with LUAD.

Ultraviolet Circularly Polarized Luminescence in Chiral Perovskite Nanoplatelet-Molecular Hybrids: Direct Binding Versus Efficient Triplet Energy Transfer.

The development of ultraviolet circularly polarized light (UVCPL) sources has the potential to benefit plenty of practical applications but remains a challenge due to limitations in available material systems and a limited understanding of the excited state chirality transfer. Herein, by constructing hybrid structures of the chiral perovskite CsPbBr3 nanoplatelets and organic molecules, excited state chirality transfer is achieved, either via direct binding or triplet energy transfer, leading to efficient UVCPL emission. The underlying photophysical mechanisms of these two scenarios are clarified by comprehensive optical studies. Intriguingly, UVCPL realized via the triple energy transfer, followed by the triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion processes, demonstrates a 50-fold enhanced dissymmetry factor glum . Furthermore, stereoselective photopolymerization of diacetylene monomer is demonstrated by using such efficient UVCPL. This study provides both novel insights and a practical approach for realizing UVCPL, which can also be extended to other material systems and spectral regions, such as visible and near-infrared.