The Neural Mechanism Underlying Differentiated In-Group Versus Out-Group Face Recognition and Memory, Identification, Empathy and Pro-social Behavior: Evidence from fMRI and ERP Studies.

In the context of perceiving individuals within and outside of social groups, there are distinct cognitive processes and mechanisms in the brain. Extensive research in recent years has delved into the neural mechanisms that underlie differences in how we perceive individuals from different social groups. To gain a deeper understanding of these neural mechanisms, we present a comprehensive review from the perspectives of facial recognition and memory, intergroup identification, empathy, and pro-social behavior. Specifically, we focus on studies that utilize functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potential (ERP) techniques to explore the relationship between brain regions and behavior. Findings from fMRI studies reveal that the brain regions associated with intergroup differentiation in perception and behavior do not operate independently but instead exhibit dynamic interactions. Similarly, ERP studies indicate that the amplitude of neural responses shows various combinations in relation to perception and behavior.

Human activities along southwest border of China: Findings based on DMSP/OLS Nighttime light data.

Human activities along southwest border of China exert significant influences on sustainable development of regional economy, politics, and environment among countries Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. However, related empirical studies remain very limited due to the low availability and comparability of small-scale statistic data in that region. Fortunately, Nighttime light (NTL) images provide uniform, consistent and valuable data sources. Using NTL data from 1992 to 2013, this article seeks to contribute the literature by investigating the trend of relative intensity of human activities between China and her southwest neighborhoods. We find that the human activities intensity of Chinese borderland maintained advantage over her neighborhoods, and the trend of this advantage is nonlinear. Regional development policy launched by Chinese government is considered to be a possible explanation.

Structural and temporal dynamics analysis of zinc-based biomaterials: History, research hotspots and emerging trends.

Objectives: To examine the 16-year developmental history, research hotspots, and emerging trends of zinc-based biodegradable metallic materials from the perspective of structural and temporal dynamics. Methods: The literature on zinc-based biodegradable metallic materials in WoSCC was searched. Historical characteristics, the evolution of active topics and development trends in the field of zinc-based biodegradable metallic materials were analyzed using the bibliometric tools CiteSpace and HistCite. Results: Over the past 16 years, the field of zinc-based biodegradable metal materials has remained in a hotspot stage, with extensive scientific collaboration. In addition, there are 45 subject categories and 51 keywords in different research periods, and 80 papers experience citation bursts. Keyword clustering anchored 3 emerging research subfields, namely, #1 plastic deformation #4 additive manufacturing #5 surface modification. The keyword alluvial map shows that the longest-lasting research concepts in the field are mechanical property, microstructure, corrosion behavior, etc., and emerging keywords are additive manufacturing, surface modification, dynamic recrystallization, etc. The most recent research on reference clustering has six subfields. Namely, #0 microstructure, #2 sem, #3 additive manufacturing, #4 laser powder bed fusion, #5 implant, and #7 Zn-1Mg. Conclusion: The results of the bibliometric study provide the current status and trends of research on zinc-based biodegradable metallic materials, which can help researchers identify hot spots and explore new research directions in the field.

Positive relief of stroke patients with dysphagia under cluster nursing strategy.

For exploring the positive relief effect and application value of cluster nursing strategies on stroke patients with dysphagia in rehabilitation medicine. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with stroke dysphagia admitted to the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of our hospital from June 2021 to November 2022; by comparison, patients were separated into intervention group (IG) and control group (CG) according to different degrees of swallowing difficulty, and nutritional nursing interventions were conducted on the selected research subjects. It was given routine care in the CG and a cluster nursing strategy in the IG, with a total intervention time of 5 months. Before intervention, general information of all patients was compared. Before and after intervention, the incidence of aspiration, nutritional biochemical indicators (hemoglobin, total serum protein, albumin, prealbumin, total cholesterol), grip strength, Swallowing Quality of Life score, etc were collected from the 2 groups of patients. Finally, the specific benefits were analyzed through statistical results to evaluate the intervention effect. After intervention, the explicit aspiration rate of the participants in this experiment significantly decreased, and the difference among the participants in this experiment was statistically significant (P < .05); the implicit aspiration rate was not statistically significant (P > .05). In the comparison of nursing expenses, the CG spent 5403.57 ± 815.51 yuan, while the IG spent 5237.10 ± 758.35 yuan. There was a statistically marked disparity among the participants in this experiment (t = 52.41, P < .001). In the comparison of hospitalization expenses, the cost of the CG was 9236.05 ± 3236.08 yuan; The cost of the IG was 9538.59 ± 4985.21 yuan, and there was a marked disparity among the participants in this experiment (P < .001). The significant statistical significance exists (P < .05) in the 5 indicators of hemoglobin, total protein, prealbumin, albumin, and total cholesterol, quality of life scores, and patient physical efficacy in both groups. The intervention study of cluster nursing strategy for stroke patients with dysphagia in rehabilitation medicine can effectively reduce the incidence of overt aspiration and ultimately improve their quality of life. It has high clinical application value.

Green Starch-Based Hydrogels with Excellent Injectability, Self-Healing, Adhesion, Photothermal Effect, and Antibacterial Activity for Promoting Wound Healing.

Hydrogel materials have proven valuable in wound healing, but improving the safety of these hydrogels is still challenging. Therefore, designing multifunctional natural polymeric-based hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties to replace toxic or potentially risky, refractory chemical polymer-based hydrogels such as polyacrylamide and polyethylene glycol is of particular significance. Here, a green starch-based hydrogel (Starch@Ca/CGC hydrogel) with injectability, self-healing, and instant adhesion was constructed by coordination interaction, electrostatic interaction, and intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Therein, natural bioactive small molecules gallic acid (GA) and carvacrol (CA) were coordinated with metal ions by the ultrasonic-triggered self-assembly and ionic cross-linking codriven strategy to prepare Cu-gallic acid-carvacrol nanospheres (CGC NPs), which conferred the hydrogel with near-infrared light (NIR)-controlled CA release and photothermal synergistic sterilization properties, as well as antioxidant and anti-infection capabilities. More importantly, the multifunctional hydrogel platforms could completely cover an irregular wound shape to prevent secondary injury and significantly accelerate wound healing under NIR with more skin appendages like hair follicles and blood vessels appearing. Therefore, it is expected that this starch-based hydrogel could serve as a competitive multifunctional dressing in the biomedical field, including bacteria-derived wound infection and other tissue repair.

Chiral Plasmonic Hybrid Nanostructures: A Gateway to Advanced Chiroptical Materials.

Chirality introduces a new dimension of functionality to materials, unlocking new possibilities across various fields. When integrated with plasmonic hybrid nanostructures, this attribute synergizes with plasmonic and other functionalities, resulting in unprecedented chiroptical materials that push the boundaries of the system's capabilities. Recent advancements have illuminated the remarkable chiral light-matter interactions within chiral plasmonic hybrid nanomaterials, allowing for the harnessing of their tunable optical activity and hybrid components. These advancements have led to applications in areas such as chiral sensing, catalysis, and spin optics. Despite these promising developments, there remains a need for a comprehensive synthesis of the current state-of-the-art knowledge, as well as a thorough understanding of the construction techniques and practical applications in this field. This review begins with an exploration of the origins of plasmonic chirality and an overview of the latest advancements in the synthesis of chiral plasmonic hybrid nanostructures. Furthermore, representative emerging categories of hybrid nanomaterials are classified and summarized, elucidating their versatile applications. Finally, the review engages with the fundamental challenges associated with chiral plasmonic hybrid nanostructures and offer insights into the future prospects of this advanced field.

ADCdb: the database of antibody-drug conjugates.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of innovative biopharmaceutical drugs, which, via their antibody (mAb) component, deliver and release their potent warhead (a.k.a. payload) at the disease site, thereby simultaneously improving the efficacy of delivered therapy and reducing its off-target toxicity. To design ADCs of promising efficacy, it is crucial to have the critical data of pharma-information and biological activities for each ADC. However, no such database has been constructed yet. In this study, a database named ADCdb focusing on providing ADC information (especially its pharma-information and biological activities) from multiple perspectives was thus developed. Particularly, a total of 6572 ADCs (359 approved by FDA or in clinical trial pipeline, 501 in preclinical test, 819 with in-vivo testing data, 1868 with cell line/target testing data, 3025 without in-vivo/cell line/target testing data) together with their explicit pharma-information was collected and provided. Moreover, a total of 9171 literature-reported activities were discovered, which were identified from diverse clinical trial pipelines, model organisms, patient/cell-derived xenograft models, etc. Due to the significance of ADCs and their relevant data, this new database was expected to attract broad interests from diverse research fields of current biopharmaceutical drug discovery. The ADCdb is now publicly accessible at: https://idrblab.org/adcdb/.

The improved resistance of germinated spores to ultraviolet irradiation: Comparison with chlorine.

Fungi outbreaks in water will include a series of processes, including spore aggregation, germination, biofilm, and finally present in a mixed state in the aquatic environment. More attention is paid to the control of dispersed fungal spores, however, there was little knowledge of the control of germinated spores. This study investigated the inactivation kinetics and mechanism of ultraviolet (UV) treatment for fungal spores with different germination percentages compared with dormant spores. The results indicated that the inactivation rate constants (k) of spores with 5%-45% germination were 0.0278-0.0299 cm2/mJ for Aspergillus niger and 0.0588-0.0647 cm2/mJ for Penicillium polonicum, which were lower than those of dormant spores. It suggested that germinated spores were more tolerant to UV irradiation than dormant spores, and it may be due to the defensive barrier (upregulated pigments) and some reductive substance (upregulated enoyl reductase) by absorbing UV or reacting with reactive oxygen species according to transcriptome analysis. Compared to dormant spores, the k-UV of germinated spores decreased by 18.17%-26.56% for Aspergillus niger, which was less than k-chlorine (62.33%-69.74%). A slighter decrease in k-UV showed UV irradiation can efficiently control fungi contamination, especially when dormant spores and germinated spores coexisted in actual water systems. This study indicates that more attention should be paid to germinated spores.

Chirality Engineering of Colloidal Copper Oxide Nanostructures for Tailored Spin-Polarized Catalysis.

The combination of the chiral concept and inorganic nanostructures holds great potential for significantly impacting catalytic processes and products. However, the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials with engineered chiroptical activity and identical structure and size presents a substantial challenge, impeding exploration of the relationship between chirality (optical activity) and catalytic efficiency. Here, we present a facile wet-chemical synthesis for achieving intrinsic and tunable chiroptical activity within colloidal copper oxide nanostructures. These nanostructures exhibit strong spin-polarization selectivity compared with their achiral counterparts. More importantly, the ability to engineer chiroptical activity within the same type of chiral nanostructures allows for the manipulation of spin-dependent catalysis, facilitating a study of the connection between the chiroptical magnitude (asymmetric factor) and catalytic performance in inorganic nanostructures. Specifically, using these materials as model catalysts in a proof-of-concept catalytic reaction, we reveal a linear correlation between the asymmetric factor of chiral nanomaterials and the efficiency of the catalytic reaction. This work paves the way for the development of chiral inorganic nanosystems and their application in catalysis through chiroptical engineering.

Molecular Characteristics, Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Biofilm-Forming Ability of Clinically Invasive Staphylococcus aureus Isolates.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics, antimicrobial resistance, and biofilm-forming ability of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from invasive infections. Methods: A total of 92 non-repetitive S. aureus isolates from invasive infections were analyzed by Multi-locus Sequence Typing (MLST), spa typing, and chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) typing. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion and agar dilution methods. Biofilm-forming ability was assessed using crystal violet assay. The presence and expression of biofilm-associated genes were examined using PCR and RT-qPCR. Results: Among the 55 Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 41 Methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) isolates, ST59 (43.6%) predominated in MRSA, while ST7 (39.0%) was most common in MSSA. As expected, MRSA exhibited higher antibiotic resistance rates compared to MSSA isolates. Biofilm formation assays revealed that the majority of isolates (88.5%) produced biofilms, with 26.0% classified as strong producers (OD570 ≥ 1.0) and 62.5% as weak producers (0.2 ≤ OD570<1.0). MSSA exhibited a higher biofilm-forming ability than MRSA (P < 0.01), with variations across clones. Notably, ST7 isolates displayed greater biofilm-forming ability than other sequence types (ST59, ST5, and ST239). RT-qPCR results revealed that ST7 isolates exhibited higher expression levels of icaA compared to other sequence types. Conclusion: This study revealed significant molecular heterogeneity among invasive S. aureus isolates, with ST59 and ST7 as dominant clones. The strong biofilm-forming capacity of ST7 merits concern given its rising prevalence regionally. Continuous surveillance of emerging successful lineages is critical to help guide infection control strategies against invasive S. aureus infections.

Enhanced Degradability of the Apatite-Based Calcium Phosphate Cement Incorporated with Amorphous MgZnCa Alloy.

Degradability is vital for bone filling and plays an important role in bone regeneration. Evidence indicates that apatite-based calcium phosphate cement (ACPC) is a prospective biomaterial for bone repair with enhanced osteogenesis. However, poor degradability restricts their clinical application. In this study, MgZnCa-doped ACPC (MgZnCa/ACPC) composites were fabricated by adding 3 (wt) % amorphous MgZnCa powder in the solid phase of ACPC to enhance the biodegradation and bioactivity of the apatite ACPC. The chemical and the physical properties of the MgZnCa/ACPC composite were investigated and compared with the ACPC composite. The results showed that the incorporation of MgZnCa improved both the degradability and the compressive strength of the ACPC composite. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis suggested significant changes in the microstructures of the composites due to the incorporation and the anodic dissolution of MgZnCa alloy. These findings indicate that the MgZnCa/ACPC composite is capable of facilitating bone repair and regeneration by endowing favorable degradation property.

Manipulating the Host-Guest Chemistry of Cucurbituril to Propel Highly Reversible Zinc Metal Anodes.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries are practically plagued by the short lifespan and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) of Zn anodes resulting from random dendrite deposition and parasitic reactions. Herein, the host-guest chemistry of cucurbituril additive with Zn2+ to achieve longstanding Zn anodes is manipulated. The macrocyclic molecule of cucurbit[5]uril (CB[5]) is delicately designed to reconstruct both the CB[5]-adsorbed electric-double layer (EDL) structure at the Zn interface and the hydrated sheath of Zn2+ ions. Especially benefiting from the desirable carbonyl rims and suitable hydrophobic cavities, the CB[5] has a strong host-guest interaction with Zn2+ ions, which exclusively permits rapid Zn2+ flux across the EDL interface but retards the H2 O radicals and SO4 2- . Accordingly, such a unique particle redistributor warrants long-lasting dendrite-free deposition by homogenizing Zn nucleation/growth and significantly improved CE by inhibiting side reactions. The Zn anode can deliver superior reversibility in CB[5]-containing electrolyte with a ninefold increase of cycle lifetime and an elevated CE of 99.7% under harsh test conditions (10 mA cm-2 /10 mA h cm-2 ). The work opens a new avenue from the perspective of host-guest chemistry to propel the development of rechargeable Zn metal batteries and beyond.

Study on Mechanical Properties and Degradation Behavior of Magnesium Alloy Vascular Clip.

The Mg alloy vascular clip has biodegradability and good biocompatibility, which can improve the convenience and safety of clinical application. However, the Mg alloy vascular clip also has some disadvantages, such as an unreasonable structure design and a degradation rate which is too fast. In this study, the process of clamping blood vessels with a biodegradable Mg alloy (Mg-Zn-Nd-Zr and Mg-Zn-Nd) general V-type vascular clip was simulated by finite element simulation software (Abaqus). A new type of vascular clip, the P-type vascular clip, was analyzed and investigated through simulation. The differences between Mg alloy vascular clips of V-type and P-type were analyzed by finite element simulation. In addition, the effects of Zr element on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of P-type vascular clips were also investigated to improve the mechanical stability. The results show that during the V-type vascular clip closure of Mg-Zn-Nd-Zr alloy, this clip has some problems, such as uneven distribution of blood vessel stress, crevices in blood vessels and stress concentration. The improved P-type vascular clip has uniform closure, and there is no gap in the blood vessel, which can effectively avoid stress concentration. The improved P-type vascular clip is well closed and can effectively avoid stress concentration. The corrosion resistance of the Mg-Zn-Nd-Zr alloy P-type clip was better than that of the Mg-Zn-Nd alloy P-type clip (degradation rate of 2.02 mm/y and 2.61 mm/y on the 7th day, respectively). Mg-Zn-Nd-Zr alloy The P-type vascular clip remained closed even on the 7th day, which could meet the requirements of clinical application.

Immunomodulatory biomaterials against bacterial infections: Progress, challenges, and future perspectives.

Bacterial infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Even with the use of multiple antibiotic treatment strategies, 4.95 million people died from drug-resistant bacterial infections in 2019. By 2050, the number of deaths will reach 10 million annually. The increasing mortality may be partly due to bacterial heterogeneity in the infection microenvironment, such as drug-resistant bacteria, biofilms, persister cells, intracellular bacteria, and small colony variants. In addition, the complexity of the immune microenvironment at different stages of infection makes biomaterials with direct antimicrobial activity unsatisfactory for the long-term treatment of chronic bacterial infections. The increasing mortality may be partly attributed to the biomaterials failing to modulate the active antimicrobial action of immune cells. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective alternatives to treat bacterial infections. Accordingly, the development of immunomodulatory antimicrobial biomaterials has recently received considerable interest; however, a comprehensive review of their research progress is lacking. In this review, we focus mainly on the research progress and future perspectives of immunomodulatory antimicrobial biomaterials used at different stages of infection. First, we describe the characteristics of the immune microenvironment in the acute and chronic phases of bacterial infections. Then, we highlight the immunomodulatory strategies for antimicrobial biomaterials at different stages of infection and their corresponding advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, we discuss biomaterial-mediated bacterial vaccines' potential applications and challenges for activating innate and adaptive immune memory. This review will serve as a reference for future studies to develop next-generation immunomodulatory biomaterials and accelerate their translation into clinical practice.

Chiral Inorganic Nanomaterials for Photo(electro)catalytic Conversion.

Chiral inorganic nanomaterials due to their unique asymmetric nanostructures have gradually demonstrated intriguing chirality-dependent performance in photo(electro)catalytic conversion, such as water splitting. However, understanding the correlation between chiral inorganic characteristics and the photo(electro)catalytic process remains challenging. In this perspective, we first highlight the chirality source of inorganic nanomaterials and briefly introduce photo(electro)catalysis systems. Then, we delve into an in-depth discussion of chiral effects exerted by chiral nanostructures and their photo-electrochemistry properties, while emphasizing the emerging chiral inorganic nanomaterials for photo(electro)catalytic conversion. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of chiral inorganic nanomaterials for photo(electro)catalytic conversion are prospected. This perspective provides a comprehensive overview of chiral inorganic nanomaterials and their potential in photo(electro)catalytic conversion, which is beneficial for further research in this area.

Assessment of the sustainability of groundwater utilization and crop production under optimized irrigation strategies in the North China Plain under future climate change.

Over-exploitation of groundwater due to intensive irrigation and anticipated climate change pose severe threats to the water and food security worldwide, particularly in the North China Plain (NCP). Limited irrigation has been recognized as an effective way to improve crop water productivity and slow the rapid decline of groundwater levels. Whether optimized limited irrigation strategies could achieve a balance between groundwater pumping and grain production in the NCP under future climate change deserves further study. In this study, an improved Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to simulate climate change impacts on shallow groundwater levels and crop production under limited irrigation strategies to suggest optimal irrigation management practices under future climate conditions in the NCP. The simulations of eleven limited irrigation strategies for winter wheat with targeted irrigations at different growth stages and with irrigated or rainfed summer maize were compared with future business-as-usual management. Climate change impacts showed that mean wheat (maize) yield under adequate irrigation was expected to increase by 13.2% (4.9%) during the middle time period (2041-2070) and by 11.2% (4.6%) during the late time period (2071-2100) under three SSPs compared to the historical period (1971-2000). Mean decline rate of shallow groundwater level slowed by approximately 1 m a-1 during the entire future period (2041-2100) under three SSPs with a greater reduction for SSP5-8.5. The average contribution rate of future climate toward the balance of shallow groundwater pumping and replenishment was 62.9%. Based on the simulated crop yields and decline rate of shallow groundwater level under the future climate, the most appropriate limited irrigation was achieved by applying irrigation during the jointing stage of wheat with rainfed maize, which could achieve the groundwater recovery and sustainable food production.

Multicolor Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Inorganic Crystalline Nanostructures Induced by Atomic Chirality.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is well-studied in molecular systems but has been rarely reported in pure inorganic nanoscale crystals. Herein, we develop a family of pure inorganic rare-earth nanowires with robust and color-tunable CPL emissions. The chiral rare earth nanowires possess intrinsic atomic chirality with controlled handedness that is guided by the enantiomers with molecular chirality in the synthesis. By varying luminescent ions incorporated in the crystal lattice, color-tunable CPL can be achieved and is thermally robust, preserving emission over 300 °C, distinct from existing CPL-active materials. Moreover, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that the synthesized nanostructures can be easily dispersed in a polymer matrix to enable transparent and flexible CPL films. This study opens up a promising avenue to design robust and tunable CPL materials helpful to the understanding of inorganic chiral information and capable of further applications in novel optoelectronic devices.

Surface Engineering of MoS2 Quantum Dots via Cyclodextrin-Based Host-Guest Chemistry as Versatile Platforms for Enhanced Cell Imaging Application.

Transition metal chalcogenide quantum dots (QDs), especially MoS2 QDs, are an emerging class of novel optical probes for versatile bioanalytical applications owing to their distinct physicochemical properties. However, the reasonable use of these QDs for biological imaging has been largely restricted due to the challenge of controllable surface functionalization. In this work, we report a new strategy to engineer the surface of MoS2 QDs by taking advantage of cyclodextrin (CD)-based host-guest chemistry. The prepared ß-CD-modified QDs (ß-CD-MoS2 QDs) exhibit enhanced fluorescence properties, excellent biocompatibility, and good stability, making them promising as novel optical probes for bioimaging. Cellular imaging experiments revealed that these ß-CD-MoS2 QDs can enter living cells through multiple internalization pathways, which differs significantly from pristine QDs. Particularly, we observed that the intracellular accumulation of MoS2 QDs in lipid droplets was enhanced owing to the specific binding of ß-CD to cholesterol, which was then harnessed for monitoring the lipid metabolism in living cells via fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, we also demonstrated the potential use of ß-CD-MoS2 QDs for targeted cell imaging and microplate-based cell recognition, which can be easily achieved via bioconjugation with functional motifs (e.g., folate acid) through host-guest chemistry. Altogether, these results illustrate the great potential of engineering the surface of MoS2 QDs and other analogous materials via CD-based host-guest chemistry for advancing their cell imaging applications.

Promising Energetic Melt-Castable Material with Balanced Properties.

As one of the most widely used energetic materials to date, trinitrotoluene (TNT) suffers from several generally known drawbacks such as high toxicity, oil permeability, and poor mechanical properties, which are driving researchers to explore new high-performance energetic melt-castable materials for replacing TNT. However, it still remains a great challenge to discover a promising TNT alternative due to the multidimensional requirements for practical applications. Herein, we reported a new promising energetic melt-castable molecule, 4-methoxy-1-methyl-3,5-dinitro-1H-pyrazole (named as DMDNP). Besides a reasonable melting point (Tm: 94.8 °C), good thermostability (Td: 293.2 °C), and excellent chemical compatibility, DMDNP exhibits some obvious advantages over TNT including more environmentally friendly synthesis, high yield, low toxicity, low volume shrinkage, low mechanical and electrostatic sensitivities, etc., demonstrating well-balanced properties and great promise as a TNT replacement.