Associations of E-proteinoid 3 receptor genetic polymorphisms with salt sensitivity, longitudinal blood pressure changes, and hypertension incidence in Chinese adults.

The E-proteinoid 3 receptor (PTGER3), a member of the prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) subtype receptor, belongs to the G-protein-coupled superfamily of receptors. Animal studies have demonstrated its involvement in salt sensitivity by regulating sodium reabsorption. This study aimed to investigate the association between genetic variants of PTGER3 and salt sensitivity, longitudinal blood pressure (BP) changes, and the incidence of hypertension in Chinese adults. A chronic salt intake intervention was conducted involving 514 adults from 124 families in the 2004 Baoji Salt-Sensitivity Study Cohort in northern China. These participants followed a 3-day regular baseline diet, followed by a 7-day low-salt diet (3.0 g/d) and a 7-day high-salt diet (18 g/d), and were subsequently followed for 14 years. The findings revealed a significant relationship between the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs17482751 of PTGER3 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) response to high salt intervention. Additionally, SNPs rs11209733, rs3765894, and rs2268062 were significantly associated with longitudinal changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), DBP, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during the 14-year follow-up period. SNP rs6424414 was significantly associated with longitudinal changes in DBP over 14 years. Finally, SNP rs17482751 showed a significant correlation with the incidence of hypertension over 14 years. These results emphasize the significant role of PTGER3 gene polymorphism in salt sensitivity, longitudinal BP changes, and the development of hypertension in the Chinese population.

Dual-earner couples' sharing of work-related experiences: Effects on relational and personal well-being.

Personal growth and self-expressive goals have become increasingly important in modern marriages. In dual-earner couples, sharing work-related experiences with the partner can be particularly important in promoting mutual support for each other's personal growth. The current study examined dual-earner couples' sharing of work-related experiences and how it influenced both partners' relationship satisfaction and personal well-being. A total of 102 heterosexual dual-earner couples were recruited from communities in Hong Kong. They completed a pretest survey, a 14-day daily diary study, and a follow-up survey 1 year later. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was adopted to analyze the dyadic effects of sharing positive and negative work-related experiences on relationship satisfaction and personal well-being on the same day and 1 year later. In general, the sharing of both positive and negative work-related experiences had beneficial effects on the outcomes. Specifically, wives' sharing had more immediate effects on both partners' relational and personal well-being, whereas husbands' sharing had more long-term effects on the partner's personal well-being. The findings highlight the importance of work-related sharing in dual-earner couples. Practical implications are discussed.

Phytochrome B interacts with LIGULELESS1 to control plant architecture and density tolerance in maize.

Over the past few decades, significant improvements in maize yield have been largely attributed to increased plant density of upright hybrid varieties rather than increased yield per plant. However, dense planting triggers shade avoidance responses (SAR) that optimize light absorption but impair plant vigor and performance, limiting yield improvement through increasing plant density. In this study, we demonstrated that high-density induced leaf angle narrowing and stem/stalk elongation are largely dependent on phytochrome B (phyB1/B2), the primary photoreceptor responsible for perceiving red (R) and far-red (FR) light in maize. Maize phyB physically interacts with the LIGULELESS1 (LG1), a classical key regulator of leaf angle, to coordinately regulate plant architecture and density tolerance. The abundance of LG1 is significantly increased by phyB under high R:FR light (low density) but rapidly decreases under low R:FR light (high density), correlating with variations in leaf angle and plant height under various densities. Additionally, we identified the homeobox transcription factor HB53 as a target co-repressed by both phyB and LG1 but rapidly induced by canopy shade, indicating its central role in response to varying densities. Notably, HB53 regulates plant architecture by controlling the elongation and division of ligular adaxial and abaxial cells. These findings uncover the phyB-LG1-HB53 regulatory module as a key molecular mechanism governing plant architecture and density tolerance, providing potential genetic targets for breeding maize hybrid varieties optimized for high-density planting.

Medium-chain triglycerides combined with DHA improve cognitive function by inhibiting neurocyte apoptosis of the brain in SAMP8 mice.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, Cn-3, 22:6) are essential in improving cognitive function and protecting neurocytes. This study explored the effects of the combined intervention of MCTs and DHA on inhibiting neurocyte apoptosis of the brain and improving cognitive function in senescence-accelerated mouse-prone 8 (SAMP8). Four-month-old male SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into four treatment groups (12 mice/group): DHA, MCT, DHA + MCT, and control groups, which intervened for seven months. Twelve age-matched male senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) was used as the natural aging group. TUNEL assay and HE staining were used to assess neurocyte apoptosis and damage in the brain of mice. Moreover, the cognitive function was analyzed using the Morris water maze (MWM) and open field (OF) tests. The results showed that the cognitive function of 11-month-old SAMP8 mice decreased with age, and further pathological examination revealed the damaged neurocyte structure, karyopyknosis, cell atrophy, and even apoptosis. MCTs combined with DHA supplementation could increase octanoic acid (C8:0), decanoic acid (C10:0), and DHA levels in the serum, inhibit neurocyte apoptosis, improve neurocyte damage, moreover delay age-related cognitive decline after seven-month treatment. Furthermore, combining MCTs and DHA was significantly more beneficial than MCTs or DHA alone. In conclusion, MCTs combined with DHA could delay cognitive decline by inhibiting neurocyte apoptosis of the brain in SAMP8 mice.

Tumor suppressor KEAP1 promotes HSPA9 degradation, controlling mitochondrial biogenesis in breast cancer.

The oxidative-stress-related protein Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) is a substrate articulator of E3 ubiquitin ligase, which plays an important role in the ubiquitination modification of proteins. However, the function of KEAP1 in breast cancer and its impact on the survival of patients with breast cancer remain unclear. Our study demonstrates that KEAP1, a positive prognostic factor, plays a crucial role in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle transition in breast cancer. We investigate the underlying mechanism using human tumor tissues, high-throughput detection technology, and a mouse xenograft tumor model. KEAP1 serves as a key regulator of cellular metabolism, the reprogramming of which is one of the hallmarks of tumorigenesis. KEAP1 has a significant effect on mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation by regulating HSPA9 ubiquitination and degradation. These results suggest that KEAP1 could serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in the treatment of breast cancer.

[Functions and mechanisms of testicular descent in Apodemus agrarius based on transcriptomics and metabolomics].

This study aims to explore the functions and mechanisms of testicular descent in Apodemus agrarius, and analyze the changes in genes and metabolite levels in this process. Illumina NovaSeq and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry were used for the transcriptomic analysis and metabolomic analysis, respectively, of the normal and descending testis of A. agrarius. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment of the transcriptomic results revealed 240 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), such as Spesp1, Izumo1, Hyal5, and Fabp9. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment showed 52 DEGs, including Pcyt1, Pla2g4e, Gpd1l, and Lypla3. The qRT-PCR results were consistent with the transcriptomic results in terms of the expression patterns of six randomly selected genes in the normal and descending testis. The metabolomic results revealed 28 differential metabolites associated with the testicular function, including 3-dehydroquinic acid, α-linolenic acid, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The conjoint analysis showcased that glycerophospholipid metabolism, α-linolenic acid metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism may be the key metabolic pathways regulating testicular descent in A. agrarius. This study will help to understand the mechanism of testicular descent and lay a theoretical foundation for exploring the mechanisms of the population changes of A. agrarius and developing laboratory animal resources.

Share pledge and accounting conservatism in share-pledging firms: Evidence from a natural experiment in China.

This paper focuses on firms in which insiders pledge their shares as collateral for loans. By investigating a natural experiment-China's enactment of provisions on share reductions that restrict pledge creditors' cashing-out behavior-we find that pledging firms exhibited more conservative financial reporting after the implementation than non-pledging firms. This effect was pronounced in firms with a higher ratio of pledged shares, a longer maturation period of the pledged shares, and more concentrated pledge creditors. Additionally, we show that pledging firms increased their accounting conservatism after the shock, leading to a lower risk of margin calls and stock price crashes. The effect on accounting conservatism was stronger in firms with controlling pledgers or when the pledge creditors were banks. Our results remained consistent after we performed several robustness tests. These behaviors are economically logical because the provisions heighten creditors' liquidity risk and the potential losses of loan default. Pledging shareholders embrace more accounting conservatism to mitigate creditors' concerns about agency costs and avoid triggering margin calls. Our findings provide direct support that creditors have a real demand for accounting conservatism and highlight the impact of shareholder-creditor conflicts on the financial reporting policies of pledging firms.

Histidine Protonation Behaviors on Structural Properties and Aggregation Properties of Aß(1-42) Mature Fibril: Approaching by Edge Effects.

The histidine behavior plays a crucial role in the structural and aggregation properties of protein folding and misfolding. Understanding the histidine behavior at the edge of the protein structure is critical for finding ways to disrupt fibril elongation and growth, but this impact remains poorly understood. In the current study, we used molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the edge substitution effect of histidine protonation on the structural and aggregation properties. Our data showed that ΔG1 contributed the most to binding affinity compared to ΔG2 and ΔG3. The different protonation states at the edge chain significantly impacted the secondary structure properties of the edge chain. Specifically, we found that such protonation behavior significantly affected specific regions, particularly the N-terminus (G9-Q15) and C-terminus (K28-A30). Further analysis confirmed that H6, H13, and H14 were directly involved in H-bonding networks with the C1_H14//C2_H13 interchain interactions critical for maintaining the interchain stability. Furthermore, we confirmed that H6, H13, and H14 were directly involved in the loss of the carbon skeleton contact in the N-terminus. Our findings indicate that the edge condition is more susceptible to changes in structural properties than the middle condition. The current study is helpful for understanding the histidine behavior hypothesis in related misfolding diseases.

Ovarian steroid cell tumors, not otherwise specified: three case reports and literature review.

Objective: To provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian steroid cell tumors, not otherwise specified (SCTs-NOS). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of three patients with SCTs-NOS admitted to the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from 2012 to 2022 and reviewed literature reports related to this disease. Results: A total of 3 cases in our center and 70 cases searched in literature reports were included. The age at diagnosis ranged from 3 to 93 years (median, 34 years). The common clinical manifestations were hirsutism, acne, deepened voice, clitoromegaly, amenorrhea, and excessive weight gain. Tumor sizes ranged from 1.2 to 45 cm, with an average diameter of 6.5cm. Most of SCTs-NOS were benign, but some of them exhibited malignant behavior. Surgery was the main treatment and close follow-up was required. The follow up time of 73 cases ranged from 3 to 132 months (median, 21.3 months). Disease recurrence or progression occurred in 14 cases (19.2%). Three of the 73 patients had a successful pregnancy. Conclusion: SCTs-NOS usually occur in women of reproductive age, which are mainly manifested as androgen excess symptoms. Surgery is an appropriate treatment for SCTs-NOS and should be individualized. Final diagnosis depends on pathology. SCTs-NOS have malignant potential, and the treatments for patients with malignant tumors and disease recurrence or progression were cytoreductive surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy, and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) therapy.

A ginseng polysaccharide protects intestinal barrier integrity in high-fat diet-fed obese mice.

A novel polysaccharide, GPH1, was extracted and isolated from ginseng. Structural analysis of GPH1 revealed a molecular weight of 7.321 × 105 Da and the presence of glucose and galactose components in a 30.2: 1 molar ratio. Results of methylation and NMR analyses indicated the GPH1 backbone consisted of →1)-α-Glc-(3→ and →1)-α-Glc-(6→. The anti-obesity activity of GPH1 was assessed by HFD-induced obesity mouse model. GPH1 was found to significantly reduced body weight, alleviated liver lipid accumulation and inflammatory damage. Meanwhile, GPH1 treatment increased the expression of tight junction proteins, including zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-1, while also regulating the intestinal microbiota of obese mice by promoting proliferation of beneficial bacteria with known anti-obesity effects, including s_Akkermansia muciniphila, s_Lactobacillus intestinalis, s_Lactobacillus reuteri, s_Streptococcus hyointestinalis, and s_Lactococcus garvieae. Our findings demonstrated that GPH1 is a practical natural dietary supplement with potential therapeutic effects on obesity.

Integrative Analysis of Lactylome and Proteome of Hypertrophic Scar To Identify Pathways or Proteins Associated with Disease Development.

Lactylation (Kla), a recently discovered post-translational modification derived from lactate, plays crucial roles in various cellular processes. However, the specific influence of lactylation on the biological processes underlying hypertrophic scar formation remains unclear. In this study, we present a comprehensive profiling of the lactylome and proteome in both hypertrophic scars and adjacent normal skin tissues. A total of 1023 Kla sites originating from 338 nonhistone proteins were identified based on lactylome analysis. Proteome analysis in hypertrophic scar and adjacent skin samples revealed the identification of 2008 proteins. It is worth noting that Kla exhibits a preference for genes associated with ribosome function as well as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis in both normal skin and hypertrophic scar tissues. Furthermore, the functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that differentially lactyled proteins are primarily involved in proteoglycans, HIF-1, and AMPK signaling pathways. The combined analysis of the lactylome and proteome data highlighted a significant upregulation of 14 lactylation sites in hypertrophic scar tissues. Overall, our investigation unveiled the significant involvement of protein lactylation in the regulation of ribosome function as well as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, potentially contributing to the formation of hypertrophic scars.

Long-term burden and increasing trends of body mass index are linked with adult hypertension through triglyceride-glucose index: A 30-year prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Insulin resistance (IR) has previously been associated with hypertension, and obesity is a risk factor for IR and hypertension. There is likely an association between body mass index (BMI) and risk for hypertension through the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index but this relationship remains uncharacterized. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study is based on the Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Cohort, which is an ongoing prospective study established in 1987. The TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dl) × fasting plasma glucose (mg/dl)/2]. The total area under the curve (AUCt) and incremental AUC (AUCi) were calculated as the long-term burden and trend of BMI, respectively. We found that BMI AUCt and BMI AUCi were significantly associated with the risk of adult hypertension, both without (RR = 1.30/1.31 for BMI AUCt/AUCi) and with (RR = 1.25/1.26 for BMI AUCt/AUCi) the inclusion of the TyG index as a covariate. Importantly, mediation analysis revealed that the TyG index mediated the BMI AUCt-SBP association (19.3%), the BMI AUCt-DBP association (22.7%), the BMI AUCi-SBP association (18.5%) and the BMI AUCi-DBP association (21.3%). Furthermore, the TyG index had a significant mediating effect of 15.9% on the BMI AUCt-hypertension association and 14.9% on the BMI AUCi-hypertension association. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the TyG index plays an important mediating role in the association between the cumulative burden and increasing trends of BMI originating in childhood and the risk of hypertension in midlife. We emphasize that early weight management has the potential to reduce the burden of hypertension caused by IR. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was clinically registered at the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02734472) and approved by the Academic Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU1AF2015LSL-047).

An end-to-end infant brain parcellation pipeline.

Objective: Accurate infant brain parcellation is crucial for understanding early brain development; however, it is challenging due to the inherent low tissue contrast, high noise, and severe partial volume effects in infant magnetic resonance images (MRIs). The aim of this study was to develop an end-to-end pipeline that enabled accurate parcellation of infant brain MRIs. Methods: We proposed an end-to-end pipeline that employs a two-stage global-to-local approach for accurate parcellation of infant brain MRIs. Specifically, in the global regions of interest (ROIs) localization stage, a combination of transformer and convolution operations was employed to capture both global spatial features and fine texture features, enabling an approximate localization of the ROIs across the whole brain. In the local ROIs refinement stage, leveraging the position priors from the first stage along with the raw MRIs, the boundaries o the ROIs are refined for a more accurate parcellation. Results: We utilized the Dice ratio to evaluate the accuracy of parcellation results. Results on 263 subjects from National Database for Autism Research (NDAR), Baby Connectome Project (BCP) and Cross-site datasets demonstrated the better accuracy and robustness of our method than other competing methods. Conclusion: Our end-to-end pipeline may be capable of accurately parcellating 6-month-old infant brain MRIs.

Process approach as a cognitive biomarker related to gray matter volume in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Process approach is valuable for memory assessment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), yet its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This study aims to synergize the process approach with brain structure analysis to explore both the discriminative capacity and potential mechanisms underlying the process approach. METHODS: 37 subjects of MCI, 35 subjects of AD and 38 subjects of healthy control (HC) were included. The process approach in Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), including discriminability (A'), response bias (B"D), semantic clustering (LBCsem) and serial clustering (LBCser) was performed. The gray matter volume (GMV) was analyzed by voxel-based morphometry. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and partial correlations were conducted to explore the value of the process approach and investigate the relationship between the process approach, traditional indices of AVLT and GMV. RESULTS: ROC analysis showed the value of A', B"D and LBCser in differentiating MCI and AD. Combining AVLT-Immediately Recall (AVLT-IR) and LBCser showed a higher value in diagnosing MCI. Partial correlations revealed that in the MCI group, A' and B"D were mainly positively associated with GMV of the hippocampus and temporal lobe. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the process approach is a promising cognitive biomarker to detect MCI and AD.

Radical enhanced intersystem crossing mechanism, electron spin dynamics of high spin states and their applications in the design of heavy atom-free triplet photosensitizers.

Heavy atom-free triplet photosensitizers (PSs) can overcome the high cost and biological toxicity of traditional molecular systems containing heavy atoms (such as Pt(II), Ir(III), Ru(II), Pd(II), Lu(III), I, or Br atoms) and, therefore, are developing rapidly. Connecting a stable free radical to the chromophore can promote the intersystem crossing (ISC) process through electron spin exchange interaction to produce the triplet state of the chromophore or the doublet (D) and quartet (Q) states when taking the whole spin system into account. These molecular systems based on the radical enhanced ISC (REISC) mechanism are important in the field of heavy atom-free triplet PSs. The REISC system has a simple molecular structure and good biocompatibility, and it is especially helpful for building high-spin quantum states (D and Q states) that have the potential to be developed as qubits in quantum information science. This review introduces the molecular structure design for the purpose of high-spin states. Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) is the most important characterization method to reveal the properties of these molecular systems, generation mechanism and electron spin polarization (ESP) of the high spin states. The spin polarization manipulation of high spin states and potential application in the field of quantum information engineering are also summarized. Moreover, molecular design principles of the REISC system to obtain long absorption wavelength, high triplet state quantum yield and long triplet state lifetime are introduced, as well as applications of the compounds in triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion, photodynamic therapy and bioimaging. This review is useful for the design of heavy atom-free triplet PSs based on the radical-chromophore molecular structure motif and the study of the photophysics of the compounds, as well as the electron spin dynamics of the multi electron system upon photoexcitation.

Effectiveness and safety of Chaihu-Shugan-San for treating depression based on clinical cases: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chaihu-Shugan-San (CSS), a Traditional Chinese Medicine formula, has been widely used for treating depression since the Ming Dynasty, as recorded in Jingyue Quanshu, but its effectiveness and safety lack comprehensive and objective evaluation. Based on our meta-analysis, we aimed to adequately evaluate the efficacy and risk of CSS by considering the latest clinical literature. METHODS: Multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP, and Wanfang, were used to collect clinical data. The quality of the included clinical studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, and the data were meta-analyzed using Review Manager 5.0 and Stata 17. The data were obtained from a genome-wide association study, and Mendelian randomization (MR) was performed using R Software 4.3.2 with the TwoSampleMR and MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier packages. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies with 1034 patients and 6 antidepressant drugs were included in this work. Meta-analyses revealed that drug combinations of CSS and antidepressants significantly improved depressive symptoms (weighted mean difference = -4.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -5.62--2.81), increased the effective rate (odds ratio [OR] = 3.82; 95% CI: 2.44-6.83), and reduced side effects (OR = -3.55; 95% CI: -5.66--1.43) compared with antidepressant monotherapy. Additionally, compared with antidepressant monotherapy, CSS alone exhibited fewer side effects (95% CI:-9.25--6.95). Like antidepressants, CSS also improved depressive symptoms (weighted mean difference = -0.05; 95% CI: -0.63--0.52) and increased the effective rate (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 0.52-2.20). Additionally, MR was used to evaluate the safety of traditional antidepressants, as there was a causal association between amitriptyline and body mass index. CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrated that compared with traditional antidepressants, CSS combined with antidepressants was more effective and safer for treating depressed patients. MR showed that a causal relationship may exist between amitriptyline and body mass index. Therefore, clinicians should carefully consider the advantages and potential drawbacks of Traditional Chinese Medicine and classic drugs to serve patients better.

Progress on the role of LIN28A/B in tumor development and progression.

LIN28A and its homolog LIN28B are highly conserved RNA-binding proteins that play important roles in early embryonic development, somatic cell reprogramming, metabolism and tumorigenesis. LIN28A/B are highly expressed in a variety of malignant tumors such as breast cancer. They play important roles in the initiation, maintenance, and metastasis of tumors and are associated with poor prognosis. Previous studies have shown that the main regulatory mechanisms of LIN28A/B include let-7s dependent ways and let-7s independent ways, such as directly targeting mRNA. In this review, we summarize the function and molecular regulatory mechanisms of LIN28A/B in malignant tumors such as liver cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer, in order to provide references for further exploring the function and mechanism of LIN28A/B and their possible roles in clinical applications.

Sources and formation characteristics of particulate nitrate in the Pearl River Delta region of China: Insights from three-year online observations.

Nitrate (NO3-) has been identified as a key component of particulate matter (PM2.5) in China. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding its sources and how it forms, especially in the context of high-frequency and long-term data. In this study, NO3- levels were observed on an hourly basis over an almost three-year period at an urban site in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China, from January 2019 to December 2021. The results reveal an average daily NO3- concentration ranging from 0.08 µg m-3 to 61.69 µg m-3, constituting 11.9 ± 12.5 % of PM2.5. This percentage rose to as high as 57 % during pollution episodes, highlighting NO3-'s significant role in pollution formation. The ammonia-rich environment was found to be the most important factor in promoting NO3- formation. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis indicates that the primary sources of NO3- in the PRD region were vehicle emissions (43.8 ± 21.2 %) and coal combustion (39.1 ± 21.5 %), with shipping emissions, sea salt, soil dust and industrial emissions + biomass burning following in importance. Regarding source areas, the primary contributor of vehicle emissions was predominantly from the PRD region, whereas the coal combustion, aside from local contributions, also originates from the northern region. From a long-term perspective, NO3- pollution has remained relatively stable since the summer of 2020. Concurrently, coal combustion source has shown a localization trend. These insights derived from the extensive, high-frequency observation presented in this study serve as a valuable reference for devising strategies to control NO3- and PM2.5 in the PRD region and China.

C-H-activated Csp2-Csp3 diastereoselective gridization enables ultraviolet-emitting stereo-molecular nanohydrocarbons with mulitple H···H interactions.

Gridization is an emerging molecular integration technology that enables the creation of multifunctional organic semiconductors through precise linkages. While Friedel-Crafts gridization of fluorenols is potent, direct linkage among fluorene molecules poses a challenge. Herein, we report an achiral Pd-PPh3-cataylized diastereoselective (>99:1 d.r.) gridization based on the C-H-activation of fluorene to give dimeric and trimeric windmill-type nanogrids (DWGs and TWGs). These non-conjugated stereo-nanogrids showcase intramolecular multiple H…H interactions with a low field shift to 8.51 ppm and circularly polarized luminescence with high luminescent dissymmetry factors (|gPL | = 0.012). Significantly, the nondoped organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) utilizing cis-trans-TWG1 emitter present an ultraviolet electroluminescent peak at ~386 nm (CIE: 0.17, 0.04) with a maximum external quantum efficiency of 4.17%, marking the highest record among nondoped ultraviolet OLEDs based on hydrocarbon compounds and the pioneering ultraviolet OLEDs based on macrocycles. These nanohydrocarbon offer potential nanoscafflolds for ultraviolet light-emitting optoelectronic applications.

Tailoring the ion storage of MXene by aramid nanofibers towards self-standing electrodes for flexible solid-state supercapacitors.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are a class of 2D nanomaterials that can offer excellent properties for high-performance supercapacitors. Nevertheless, irreversible restacking of MXene sheets decreases the interlayer spacing, which inhibits the ion intercalation between the MXene nanosheets and finally deteriorates the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. Herein, aramid nanofibers (ANFs) are mixed with Ti3C2TxMXene to prepare MXene/ANFs composite films. The restacking of MXene sheets is inhibited by the electrostatic repulsion between ANFs and MXene. The ANFs act as intercalation agents to increase the interlayer spacing of the composite films, which can improve the ion storage ability of supercapacitors. Furthermore, the ANFs enhance the mechanical strength of the composite films due to the strong hydrogen bonding interaction and nanomechanical interlocking between ANFs and MXene, endowing the composite films with self-standing property. The resultant composite films are used as electrodes for flexible solid-state supercapacitors to achieve high specific capacitance (996.5 mF cm-2at 5 mV s-1) and outstanding cycling stability. Thus, this work provides a potential strategy to regulate the properties of 2D nanomaterials, which may expand the application of them in energy storage, ionic separation, osmotic energy conversion and beyond.