Use of minimally invasive ultrasound transducer during tubular microdiscectomy.

Minimally invasive ultrasound during tubular microdiscectomy is novel. The authors report the technique during surgery for L5-S1 herniated disc. Ultrasound provided real-time visualization of the pathology and neural elements. After discectomy and tactile assessment, ultrasound showed decompression of the thecal sac and traversing nerve root. The patient tolerated the procedure well, with resolution of preoperative pain and strength improvement. Postoperative MRI revealed a residual asymptomatic disc fragment that was retrospectively identified on ultrasonography. Minimally invasive ultrasound could become a useful supplement to direct visual and tactile assessment during tubular microdiscectomy, but further experience with surgical anatomy on ultrasound is required. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2024.1.FOCVID23206.

Recent advances in the synthesis of single-stranded DNA in vitro.

Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is the foundation of modern biology, with wide applications in gene editing, sequencing, DNA information storage, and materials science. However, synthesizing ssDNA with high efficiency, high throughput, and low error rate in vitro remains a major challenge. Various methods have been developed for ssDNA synthesis, and some significant results have been achieved. In this review, six main methods were introduced, including solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-based ssDNA synthesis, reverse transcription, primer exchange reaction, asymmetric polymerase chain reaction, and rolling circle amplification. The advantages and limitations of each method were compared, as well as illustrate their representative achievements and applications. Especially, rolling circle amplification has received significant attention, including ssDNA synthesis, assembly, and application based on recent work. Finally, the future challenges and opportunities of ssDNA synthesis were summarized and discussed. Envisioning the development of new methods and significant progress will be made in the near future with the efforts of scientists around the world.

Biomechanical response of decompression alone in lower grade lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis--A finite element analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the clinical efficacy of decompression alone in lower-grade spondylolisthesis. A higher rate of surgical revision and a lower rate of back pain relief was also observed. However, there is a lack of relevant biomechanical evidence after decompression alone for lower-grade spondylolisthesis. PURPOSE: Evaluating the biomechanical characteristics of total laminectomy, hemilaminectomy, and facetectomy for lower-grade spondylolisthesis by analyzing the range of motion (ROM), intradiscal pressure (IDP), annulus fibrosus stress (AFS), facet joints contact force (FJCF), and isthmus stress (IS). METHODS: Firstly, we utilized finite element tools to develop a normal lumbar model and subsequently constructed a spondylolisthesis model based on the normal model. We then performed total laminectomy, hemilaminectomy, and one-third facetectomy in the normal model and spondylolisthesis model, respectively. Finally, we analyzed parameters, such as ROM, IDP, AFS, FJCF, and IS, for all the models under the same concentrate force and moment. RESULTS: The intact spondylolisthesis model showed a significant increase in the relative parameters, including ROM, AFS, FJCF, and IS, compared to the intact normal lumbar model. Hemilaminectomy and one-third facetectomy in both spondylolisthesis and normal lumbar models did not result in an obvious change in ROM, IDP, AFS, FJCF, and IS compared to the pre-operative state. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the degree of parameter changes between the spondylolisthesis and normal lumbar models after undergoing the same surgical procedures. However, total laminectomy significantly increased ROM, AFS, and IS and decreased the FJCF in both normal lumbar models and spondylolisthesis models. CONCLUSION: Hemilaminectomy and one-third facetectomy did not have a significant impact on the segment stability of lower-grade spondylolisthesis; however, patients with LDS undergoing hemilaminectomy and one-third facetectomy may experience higher isthmus stress on the surgical side during rotation. In addition, total laminectomy changes the biomechanics in both normal lumbar models and spondylolisthesis models.

Clinical characteristics analysis of pediatric spinal cord injury without radiological abnormality in China: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE: This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of Chinese children with spinal cord injury (SCI) without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) and explore their contributing factors and mechanisms of occurrence. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of pediatric patients diagnosed with SCIWORA from January 2005 to May 2020. Epidemiological, etiological, mechanistic, therapeutic, and outcome aspects were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 47 patients with SCIWORA were included in this study, comprising 16 males and 31 females. The age range was 4 to 12 years, with an average age of 7.49 ± 2.04 years, and 70% of the patients were below eight. Sports-related injuries constituted 66%, with 70% attributed to dance backbend practice. Thoracic segment injuries accounted for 77%. In the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification, the combined proportion of A and B grades accounted for 88%. Conservative treatment was chosen by 98% of the patients, with muscle atrophy, spinal scoliosis, hip joint abnormalities, and urinary system infections being the most common complications. CONCLUSION: SCIWORA in Chinese children is more prevalent in those under eight years old, with a higher incidence in females than males. Thoracic spinal cord injuries are predominant, dance backbend as a primary contributing factor, and the social environment of "neijuan" is a critical potential inducing factor. Furthermore, the initial severity of the injury plays a decisive role in determining the prognosis of SCIWORA.

Research on Intelligent Vehicle Trajectory Tracking Control Based on Improved Adaptive MPC.

Intelligent vehicle trajectory tracking exhibits problems such as low adaptability, low tracking accuracy, and poor robustness in complex driving environments with uncertain road conditions. Therefore, an improved method of adaptive model predictive control (AMPC) for trajectory tracking was designed in this study to increase the corresponding tracking accuracy and driving stability of intelligent vehicles under uncertain and complex working conditions. First, based on the unscented Kalman filter, longitudinal speed, yaw speed, and lateral acceleration were considered as the observed variables of the measurement equation to estimate the lateral force of the front and rear tires accurately in real time. Subsequently, an adaptive correction estimation strategy for tire cornering stiffness was designed, an AMPC method was established, and a dynamic prediction time-domain adaptive model was constructed for optimization according to vehicle speed and road adhesion conditions. The improved AMPC method for trajectory tracking was then realized. Finally, the control effectiveness and trajectory tracking accuracy of the proposed AMPC technique were verified via co-simulation using CarSim and MATLAB/Simulink. From the results, a low lateral position error and heading angle error in trajectory tracking were obtained under different vehicle driving conditions and road adhesion conditions, producing high trajectory-tracking control accuracy. Thus, this work provides an important reference for improving the adaptability, robustness, and optimization of intelligent vehicle tracking control systems.

Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting using carbon cloth functionalized with ZnO nanostructures via polydopamine assisted electroless deposition.

ZnO nanorods (ZnO-nr) have been widely studied as a promising nanomaterial for photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, almost all prior studies employed planar electrodes. Here, we investigated the performance of ZnO nanorods on a fibrous carbon cloth (CC) electrode, which offers a larger surface area for functionalization of photocatalysts. ZnO nanorods and Ni nanofilm were deposited on carbon cloth substrates for investigation as the photoanode and cathode of a photoelectrochemical water splitting setup, respectively. The use of polydopamine in the electroless deposition of ZnO ensured a uniform distribution of nanorods that were strongly adherent to the microfiber surface of the carbon cloth. Compared to ZnO nanorods grown on planar ITO/glass substrates, the CC-based ZnO photoanodes exhibited smaller onset potentials (1.1 VRHEvs. 1.8 VRHE), ∼40× larger dark faradaic currents at 1.23 VRHE and 5.5×-9× improvement in photoconversion efficiencies. Ni/CC cathodes were also found to exhibit a lower overpotential@10 mA cm-2 than Ni/Cu by 90 mV. The photocurrent obtained from the ZnO-nr/CC anode was highly stable across an hour and the peak current decreased by only 5% across 5 cycles of illumination, compared to 72% for the planar ZnO-nr/ITO anode. However, the response of the CC-based setups to changes in the illumination conditions was slower, taking hundreds of seconds to reach peak photocurrent, compared to tens of seconds for the planar electrodes. Using cyclic voltammetry, the double-layer capacitance of the electrodes was measured, and it was shown that the increased efficiency of the ZnO-nr/CC anode was due to a 2 order of magnitude increase in electrochemically active sites provided by the copious microfiber surface of the carbon cloth.

Surface Coordination Environment Engineering on PtxCu1-x Alloy Catalysts for the Efficient Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CH4.

Alloy catalysts have been reported to be robust in catalyzing various heterogeneous reactions due to the synergistic effect between different metal atoms. In this work, aimed at understanding the effect of the coordination environment of surface atoms on the catalytic performance of alloy catalysts, a series of PtxCu1-x alloy model catalysts supported on anatase-phase TiO2 (PtxCu1-x/Ti, x = 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8) were developed and applied in the classic photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. According to the results of catalytic performance evaluation, it was found that the photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity on PtxCu1-x/Ti showed a volcanic change as a function of the Pt/Cu ratio, the highest CO2 conversion was achieved on Pt0.5Cu0.5/Ti, with CH4 as the main product. Further systematic characterizations and theoretical calculations revealed that the equimolar amounts of Pt and Cu in Pt0.5Cu0.5/Ti facilitated the generation of more Cu-Pt-paired sites (i.e., the higher coordination number of Pt-Cu), which would favor a bridge adsorption configuration of CO2 and facilitate the electron transfer, thus resulting in the highest photocatalytic CO2 reduction efficiency on Pt0.5Cu0.5/Ti. This work provided new insights into the design of excellent CO2 reduction photocatalysts with high CH4 selectivity from the perspective of surface coordination environment engineering on alloy catalysts.

Insights into the Construction of Robust Pt Clusters with Satisfactory Stability on CeO2 for the Catalytic Oxidation of CO.

Improving the efficiency of platinum group metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, etc.) in catalytic oxidation reactions remains an urgent topic. The conflict between the low-temperature activity and high-temperature stability of noble metals can hardly reach a consensus. For instance, Pt cluster catalysts supported on CeO2 with high low-temperature activity will suffer from deactivation due to the redispersion under high-temperature lean-burn reaction conditions. Herein, two Pt1/CeO2 prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method using different Pt precursors possessed varied Pt-O and Pt-O-Ce coordination numbers (CNs). They showed various priorities in CO oxidation versus NH3 selective catalytic oxidation, materials with higher CNPt-O-Ce selectively catalyzing NH3 oxidation to N2 more superior, conversely materials with lower CNPt-O-Ce performing better in CO oxidation. After activation by H2 reduction, both formed massive Pt clusters on the CeO2 surface but showed drastically distinct stability in lean-burn CO oxidation reactions. By summarizing the experimental results of high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, etc., it is beyond doubt that the difference in the initial states of Pt1 due to distinct precursors indeed determine the redispersion behavior of the reduced Pt clusters on CeO2. Materials with lower CNPt-O-Ce and higher CNPt-O are more likely to form robust Pt clusters, as they are not conducive to Pt anchoring, thus restricting the reversible structural evolution occurring under lean-burn CO oxidation and reductive conditions. This approach serves as a guide for the convenient and efficient construction and exploration of robust Pt cluster catalysts.

Surgical Management of Pericaecal Hernia in a Virgin Abdomen.

Internal hernia is an uncommon cause of mechanical small bowel obstruction. This case report details a 66-year-old Chinese male with no prior abdominal surgeries who presented with colicky abdominal pain, abdominal distension, and vomiting. Initial investigations were unyielding, but escalating symptoms prompted a diagnostic laparoscopy. Laparotomy then revealed a closed-loop obstruction through a lateral type pericecal hernia, with a segment of ischemic jejunum. Adhesion bands in the right iliac fossa and a congenital hernia orifice in the mesentery were identified and addressed. The patient recovered well postoperatively. This discussion explores the Meyer's classification of pericecal hernias, potential etiologies, clinical manifestations, diagnostic considerations, and the choice between laparoscopic and open surgeries. This case underscores the importance of a high index of suspicion, prompt surgical intervention, and the diagnostic utility of laparoscopy in managing pericecal hernias.

Microenvironment-responsive metal-phenolic network release platform with ROS scavenging, anti-pyroptosis, and ECM regeneration for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) can be caused by aging, injury, and genetic factors. The pathological changes associated with IVDD include the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cellular pyroptosis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. There are currently no approved specific molecular therapies for IVDD. In this study, we developed a multifunctional and microenvironment-responsive metal-phenolic network release platform, termed TMP@Alg-PBA/PVA, which could treat (IL-1ß)-induced IVDD. The metal-phenolic network (TA-Mn-PVP, TMP) released from this platform targeted mitochondria to efficiently scavenge ROS and reduce ECM degradation. Pyroptosis was suppressed through the inhibition of the IL-17/ERK signaling pathway. These findings demonstrate the versatility of the platform. And in a rat model of IVDD, TMP@Alg-PBA/PVA exhibited excellent therapeutic effects by reducing the progression of the disease. TMP@Alg-PBA/PVA, therefore, presents clinical potential for the treatment of IVDD.

A new, unusually large, Clavicornaltica Scherer, 1974 flea beetle from Borneo, described and sequenced in the field by citizen scientists (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae).

Background: The genus Clavicornaltica Scherer 1974 consists of very small, soil-dwelling flea beetles in South, Southeast and East Asia. Due to their diminutive size and morphological similarities, very little is known about their ecology and taxonomical diversity. It is likely that further studies will reveal this genus to be much more speciose than the 30 species currently recognised. New information: A new species of Clavicornaltica from Brunei Darussalam is described, C.mataikanensis Otani et al., sp. nov. This is the second species of this genus recorded from Ulu Temburong National Park.

Clinical efficacy of different surgical approaches in the treatment of thoracolumbar tuberculosis: a multicenter retrospective case-control study with a minimum 10-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term clinical efficacy of three different surgical approaches in treating thoracolumbar tuberculosis. METHODS: A total of 176 patients with thoracolumbar tuberculosis, treated with open surgery at two hospitals, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were stratified into three groups based on the surgical approach: anterior-only (AO), posterior-only (PO), and anterior-posterior combined (AP) approaches. Collected data encompassed operative duration, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay length, complications, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification, and radiographic measurements of segmental lordotic Cobb angles, correction angles, and correction rates. RESULTS: The minimum duration of follow-up among all patients was 10 years. Postoperatively, all patients experienced a reduction in ESR and CRP, with normalization occurring within 3 months and sustained normal at the last follow-up. The AP group had a longer operative duration and higher intraoperative blood loss than the other two groups. The Cobb correction rates for AO, PO, and AP were (56.33±6.62)%, (72.82±5.66)%, and (74.45±5.78)%, respectively. The correction loss of Cobb angles for AO, PO, and AP were (2.85±1.01)°, (1.42±0.97)°, and (1.19±0.89)°, respectively. Patients in all groups showed significant improvement in VAS scores and ODI postoperatively, with no notable intergroup differences. The neurological recovery rates for the AO, PO, and AP groups were 84.62, 87.10, and 83.72%, respectively, while the complication rates were 12.73, 16.98, and 22.06%, respectively. CONCLUSION: An anterior-only approach is recommended for cases with localized lesions and smaller angular deformities. For patients with multisegmental lesions and larger angular deformities, a posterior-only or anterior-posterior combined approach is advised, with a preference for the posterior-only approach.

COVID-19 Rebound After VV116 vs Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: With the widespread use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs, accumulating data have revealed potential viral load rebound after treatment. Objective: To compare COVID-19 rebound after a standard 5-day course of antiviral treatment with VV116 vs nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a single-center, investigator-blinded, randomized clinical trial conducted in Shanghai, China. Adult patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and within 5 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled between December 20, 2022, and January 19, 2023, and randomly allocated to receive either VV116 or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. Interventions: Participants in the VV116 treatment group received oral 600-mg VV116 tablets every 12 hours on day 1 and 300 mg every 12 hours on days 2 through 5. Participants in the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir treatment group received oral nirmatrelvir-ritonavir tablets with 300 mg of nirmatrelvir plus 100 mg of ritonavir every 12 hours for 5 days. Participants were followed up every other day until day 28 and every week until day 60. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was viral load rebound (VLR), defined as a half-log increase in viral RNA copies per milliliter compared with treatment completion. Secondary outcomes included a reduction in the cycle threshold value of 1.5 or more, time until VLR, and symptom rebound, defined as an increase of more than 2 points in symptom score compared with treatment completion. The primary outcome and secondary outcomes were analyzed using the full analysis set. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using the per protocol set. Adverse events were analyzed using the safety analysis set. Results: The full analysis set included 345 participants (mean [SD] age, 53.2 [16.8] years; 175 [50.7%] were men) who received VV116 (n = 165) or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (n = 180). Viral load rebound occurred in 33 patients (20.0%) in the VV116 group and 39 patients (21.7%) in the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group (P = .70). Symptom rebound occurred in 41 of 160 patients (25.6%) in the VV116 group and 40 of 163 patients (24.5%) in the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group (P = .82). Viral whole-genome sequencing of 24 rebound cases revealed the same lineage at baseline and at viral load rebound in each case. Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, viral load rebound and symptom rebound were both common after a standard 5-day course of treatment with either VV116 or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. Prolongation of treatment duration might be investigated to reduce COVID-19 rebound. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR2200066811.

Metabolomic profiling reveals biomarkers for diverse flesh colors in jelly fungi (Auricularia cornea).

Auricularia cornea has garnered attention due to its nutrition, culinary applications, and promising commercial prospects. However, there is little information available regarding the metabolic profiling of various colors strains. In this study, 642 metabolites across 64 classes were identified by LC-MS/MS to understand the metabolic variations between white, pink and dark brown strains. Notably, prenol lipids, carboxylic acids and fatty acyls accounted for 46.8 % of the total. Comparative analysis revealed 17 shared differential metabolites (DMs) among them. ACP vs ACW exhibited 17 unique metabolites, including d-arginine and maleic acid, etc. ACP vs ACB showed 5 unique metabolites, with only PS(18:1(9Z)/0:0) demonstrating up-regulation. ACB vs ACW showed 8 unique metabolites, including 4-hydroxymandelic acid and 5'-methylthioadenosine, etc. KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted pathway variations, and MetPA analysis identified key-pathways influencing DMs accumulation in A. cornea. This pioneering metabolomics study offers insights into A. cornea metabolic profiling, potential applications, and guides further research.

Ultra-trace Ag doped carbon quantum dots with peroxidase-like activity for the colorimetric detection of glucose.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have significant applications in nanozymes. However, previous studies have not elucidated the structure-activity relationship and enzyme mechanism. In this study, we employed a one-step microwave method to synthesize ultra-trace Ag-doped carbon quantum dots (Ag-CQDs). In the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), we used the oxidative coupling reaction of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to evaluate the intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, kinetics, and mechanism of Ag-CQDs. The trace amount of doped Ag (1.64 %) facilitated electron transfer from the CQDs interior to the surface. The electron transfer triggered the peroxide activity of CQDs, producing hydroxyl radical (·OH), which oxidized the colorless TMB to blue-colored TMB (oxTMB). By coupling with glucose oxidase (GOx), the Ag-CQDs/H2O2/TMB system has been used for colorimetric glucose determination. The system demonstrated a low detection limit (0.17 µM), wide linear range (0.5-5.5 µM), and satisfactory results when fruit juice was analyzed. This study reports a feasible method for the colorimetric detection of glucose by synthesizing ultra-trace Ag-doped carbon quantum dots with peroxidase-mimicking activity.

Turning harmful Mn2+ to treasure: In-situ formed ε-MnO2 for removing heavy metals from acid mine drainage.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) contains high concentrations of heavy metals, causing serious environmental pollution. Current neutralization techniques fail to recover and utilize valuable heavy metals, and generate large quantities of hazardous sludge. Manganese (Mn) is generally present at high levels in AMD. Therefore, this paper proposed a technology to recover Mn from AMD, by adding KMnO4 to converting Mn into ε-MnO2. Ultra-Violet C (UVC) was used to photolyze the residual KMnO4. The study then evaluated the processes and mechanisms involved in the technology. The photolysis of KMnO4 in strong acidic conditions was determined, and new mechanisms were proposed. MnO2 produced by the photolysis process was formed through the reaction between Mn(III) and KMnO4. In the absence of KMnO4, Mn(III) underwent further photolysis and was reduced to Mn2+. The maximum adsorption capacities of in-situ formed ε-MnO2 for Pb2+, Cd2+, and Fe3+ were 449.80, 122.05, and 779.88 mg/g, respectively. Higher Mn-OH levels and MnO2 regeneration were crucial in improving adsorption performance. Proton exchange and inner-circle complexation were the main pathways for Pb2+ and Cd2+ adsorption by in-situ formed ε-MnO2. A phase transformation occurred when a substantial amount of Fe3+ was adsorbed, leading to the gradual transformation to MnFe binary oxides. When applying in-situ formed ε-MnO2 technology for actual AMD treatment, 98.62 % of Mn in AMD was recovered within 24 h in the presence of ε-MnO2 for possible further reuse in industries, with a final recovery of 0.76 kg/m3. Further, this technique removed other heavy metals and reduced the sludge volume by 20.99 % when used as a pre-treatment step for neutralization. These results demonstrated the broad potential of this treatment technology.

SIRT3 and SIRT4 double-genes remodeled the mitochondrial network to induce hepatocellular carcinoma cell line differentiation and suppress malignant phenotypes.

Tumor cells with damaged mitochondria undergo metabolic reprogramming, but gene therapy targeting mitochondria has not been comprehensively reported. In this study, plasmids targeting the normal hepatocyte cell line (L-O2) and hepatocellular carcinoma cell line were generated using three genes SIRT3, SIRT4, and SIRT5. These deacetylases play a variety of regulatory roles in cancer and are related to mitochondrial function. Compared with L-O2, SIRT3 and SIRT4 significantly ameliorated mitochondrial damage in HCCLM3, Hep3B and HepG2 cell lines and regulated mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy, respectively. We constructed double-gene plasmid for co-express SIRT3 and SIRT4 using the internal ribosome entry site (IRES). The results indicated that the double-gene plasmid effectively expressed SIRT3 and SIRT4, significantly improved mitochondrial quality and function, and reduced mtDNA level and oxidative stress in HCC cells. MitoTracker analysis revealed that the mitochondrial network was restored. The proliferation, migration capabilities of HCC cells were reduced, whereas their differentiation abilities were enhanced. This study demonstrated that the use of IRES-linked SIRT3 and SIRT4 double-gene vectors induced the differentiation of HCC cells and inhibited their development by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction. This intervention helped reverse metabolic reprogramming, and may provide a groundbreaking new framework for HCC treatment.

Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and the Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Chinese Urban Area: A Case-Control Study.

Background: As a prodromal stage of dementia, significant emphasis has been placed on the identification of modifiable risks of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Research has indicated a correlation between exposure to air pollution and cognitive function in older adults. However, few studies have examined such an association among the MCI population inChina. Objective: We aimed to explore the association between air pollution exposure and MCI risk from the Hubei Memory and Aging Cohort Study. Methods: We measured four pollutants from 2015 to 2018, 3 years before the cognitive assessment of the participants. Logistic regression models were employed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) to assess the relationship between air pollutants and MCI risk. Results: Among 4,205 older participants, the adjusted ORs of MCI risk for the highest quartile of PM2.5, PM10, O3, and SO2 were 1.90 (1.39, 2.62), 1.77 (1.28, 2.47), 0.56 (0.42, 0.75), and 1.18 (0.87, 1.61) respectively, compared with the lowest quartile. Stratified analyses indicated that such associations were found in both males and females, but were more significant in older participants. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with the growing evidence suggesting that air pollution increases the risk of mild cognitive decline, which has considerable guiding significance for early intervention of dementia in the older population. Further studies in other populations and broader geographical areas are warranted to validate these findings.

High photocatalytic performance over ultrathin 2D TiO2 for CO2 reduction to alcohols.

We report a noble-metal-free photocatalyst, ultrathin TiO2 with atomic layer thickness, which is a potential catalyst for CO2 photoreduction. An excellent liquid-product yield of 463.9 µmol gcat-1 in 8 h with 98% selectivity to alcohols was achieved, owing to sufficient surface defects favoring CO2 adsorption/activation.

Research Progress on the Assembly of Large DNA Fragments.

Synthetic biology, a newly and rapidly developing interdisciplinary field, has demonstrated increasing potential for extensive applications in the wide areas of biomedicine, biofuels, and novel materials. DNA assembly is a key enabling technology of synthetic biology and a central point for realizing fully synthetic artificial life. While the assembly of small DNA fragments has been successfully commercialized, the assembly of large DNA fragments remains a challenge due to their high molecular weight and susceptibility to breakage. This article provides an overview of the development and current state of DNA assembly technology, with a focus on recent advancements in the assembly of large DNA fragments in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In particular, the methods and challenges associated with the assembly of large DNA fragment in different hosts are highlighted. The advancements in DNA assembly have the potential to facilitate the construction of customized genomes, giving us the ability to modify cellular functions and even create artificial life. It is also contributing to our ability to understand, predict, and manipulate living organisms.