Decreased AMPK/SIRT1/PDK4 induced by androgen excess inhibits human endometrial stromal cell decidualization in PCOS.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. Ovulatory dysfunction is recognized as a primary infertile factor, however, even when ovulation is medically induced and restored, PCOS patients continue to experience reduced cumulative pregnancy rates and a higher spontaneous miscarriage rate. Hyperandrogenism, a hallmark feature of PCOS, affects ovarian folliculogenesis, endometrial receptivity, and the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Decidualization denotes the transformation that the stromal compart of the endometrium must undergo to accommodate pregnancy, driven by the rising progesterone levels and local cAMP production. However, studies on the impact of hyperandrogenism on decidualization are limited. In this study, we observed that primary endometrial stromal cells from women with PCOS exhibit abnormal responses to progesterone during in vitro decidualization. A high concentration of testosterone inhibits human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) decidualization. RNA-Seq analysis demonstrated that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) expression was significantly lower in the endometrium of PCOS patients with hyperandrogenism compared to those without hyperandrogenism. We also characterized that the expression of PDK4 is elevated in the endometrium stroma at the mid-secretory phase. Artificial decidualization could enhance PDK4 expression, while downregulation of PDK4 leads to abnormal decidualization both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, testosterone excess inhibits IGFBP1 and PRL expression, followed by phosphorylating of AMPK that stimulates PDK4 expression. Based on co-immunoprecipitation analysis, we observed an interaction between SIRT1 and PDK4, promoting glycolysis to facilitate decidualization. Restrain of AR activation resumes the AMPK/SIRT1/PDK4 pathway suppressed by testosterone excess, indicating that testosterone primarily acts on decidualization through AR stimulation. Androgen excess in the endometrium inhibits decidualization by disrupting the AMPK/SIRT1/PDK4 signaling pathway. These data demonstrate the critical roles of endometrial PDK4 in regulating decidualization and provide valuable information for understanding the underlying mechanism during decidualization.

Halide Anions Tuning of Lead-Free Perovskite-Type Ferroelectric Semiconductors with Inverse High-Temperature Symmetry Breaking.

There is a noticeable gap in the literature regarding research on halogen-substitution-regulated ferroelectric semiconductors featuring multiple phase transitions. Here, a new category of 1D perovskite ferroelectrics (DFP)2SbX5 (DFP+ = 3,3-difluoropyrrolidium, X- = I-, Br-, abbreviated as I-1 and Br-2) with twophase transitions (PTs) is reported. The first low-temperature PT is a mmmFmm2 ferroelectric PT, while the high-temperature PT is a counterintuitive inverse temperature symmetry-breaking PT. By the substitution of iodine with bromine, the Curie temperature (Tc) significantly increases from 348 K of I-1 to 374 K of Br-2. Their ferroelectricity and pyroelectricity are improved (Ps value from 1.3 to 4.0 µC cm-2, pe value from 0.2 to 0.48 µC cm-2 K-1 for I-1 and Br-2), while their optical bandgaps increased from 2.1 to 2.7 eV. A critical slowing down phenomenon is observed in the dielectric measurement of I-1 while Br-2 exhibits the ferroelastic domain. Structural and computational analyses elucidate that the order-disorder movement of cations and the distortion of the chain perovskite [SbX5]2- anions skeleton lead to PT. The semiconductor properties are determined by [SbX5]2- anions. The findings contribute to the development of ferroelectric semiconductors and materials with multiple PTs and provide materials for potential applications in the optoelectronic field.

Total infectome characterization of respiratory infections in pre-COVID-19 Wuhan, China.

At the end of 2019 Wuhan witnessed an outbreak of "atypical pneumonia" that later developed into a global pandemic. Metagenomic sequencing rapidly revealed the causative agent of this outbreak to be a novel coronavirus denoted SARS-CoV-2. To provide a snapshot of the pathogens in pneumonia-associated respiratory samples from Wuhan prior to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, we collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 408 patients presenting with pneumonia and acute respiratory infections at the Central Hospital of Wuhan between 2016 and 2017. Unbiased total RNA sequencing was performed to reveal their "total infectome", including viruses, bacteria and fungi. We identified 35 pathogen species, comprising 13 RNA viruses, 3 DNA viruses, 16 bacteria and 3 fungi, often at high abundance and including multiple co-infections (13.5%). SARS-CoV-2 was not present. These data depict a stable core infectome comprising common respiratory pathogens such as rhinoviruses and influenza viruses, an atypical respiratory virus (EV-D68), and a single case of a sporadic zoonotic pathogen-Chlamydia psittaci. Samples from patients experiencing respiratory disease on average had higher pathogen abundance than healthy controls. Phylogenetic analyses of individual pathogens revealed multiple origins and global transmission histories, highlighting the connectedness of the Wuhan population. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the pathogens associated with acute respiratory infections and pneumonia, which were more diverse and complex than obtained using targeted PCR or qPCR approaches. These data also suggest that SARS-CoV-2 or closely related viruses were absent from Wuhan in 2016-2017.

Loss-Assisted Anomalous Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference Based on Nonunitary Multilayer Graphene.

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference is an intrinsic quantum phenomenon that goes beyond the possibilities of classical physics, and enables numerous applications in quantum information science. While the photon-photon interaction is fundamentally limited to the bosonic nature of photons and the restricted phase responses from commonly used unitary optical elements, we present that a nonunitary material provides an alternative degree of freedom to control the two-photon quantum interference, even revealing anomalous quantum interference paths that do not exist in a unitary configuration. An elaborate lossy multilayer graphene that can work as a nonunitary beam splitter is used to explore its tunability over the effective photon-photon interaction in spatial modes, and to verify the particle exchange statistics by its experimental implementation in quantum state filter. This scheme is further extended to observe four-dimensional quantum interference patterns on the lossless and lossy beam splitters, and thus show its applicability even in higher-dimensional Hilbert space.

Paraprobiotic and postbiotic forms of Bacillus siamensis improved growth, immunity, liver and intestinal health in Lateolabrax maculatus fed soybean meal diet.

Live commensal Bacillus siamensis LF4 showed reparative potentials against high SM-induced negative effects, but whether its paraprobiotic (heat-killed B. siamensis, HKBS) and postbiotic (cell-free supernatant, CFS) forms had reparative functions and potential mechanisms are not yet known. In this study, the reparative functions of HKBS and CFS were investigated by establishing an injured model of spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) treated with dietary high soybean meal (SM). The results showed that HKBS and CFS effectively mitigated growth suppression, immune deficiency, and liver injury induced by dietary high SM. Simultaneously, HKBS and CFS application positively shaped intestinal microbiota by increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria (Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Cetobacterium) and decreased harmful bacteria (Proteobacteria and Plesiomonasare). Additionally, HKBS and CFS improved SM-induced intestinal injury by restoring intestinal morphology, upregulating the expression of tight junction proteins, anti-inflammatory cytokines, antimicrobial peptides, downregulating the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and apoptotic proteins. Furthermore, HKBS and CFS intervention significantly activated TLR2, TLR5 and MyD88 signaling, and eventually inhibited p38 and NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, paraprobiotic (HKBS) and postbiotic (CFS) from B. siamensis LF4 can improve growth, immunity, repair liver and intestinal injury, and shape intestinal microbiota in L. maculatus fed high soybean meal diet, and TLRs/p38 MAPK/NF-κB signal pathways might be involved in those processes. These results will serve as a base for future application of paraprobiotics and postbiotics to prevent and repair SM-induced adverse effects in fish aquaculture.

Pleurotus eryngii root waste and soybean meal co-fermented protein improved the growth, immunity, liver and intestinal health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) root waste and soybean meal co-fermented protein (CFP) on growth performance, feed utilization, immune status, hepatic and intestinal health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Largemouth bass (12.33 ± 0.18 g) were divided into five groups, fed with diets containing 0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 % CFP respectively for 7 weeks. The growth performance and dietary utilization were slightly improved by the supplementation of CFP. In addition, improved immunoglobulin M (IgM) content and lysozyme activity in treatments confirm the enhancement of immunity in fish by the addition of CFP, especially in fish fed 20 % CFP (P < 0.05). Furthermore, CFP significantly improved liver GSH (glutathione) content in groups D10 and D15 (P < 0.05), and slightly improved total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity while slightly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Simultaneously, the upregulation of lipolysis-related genes (PPARα, CPT1 and ACO) expression and downregulation of lipid synthesis-related genes (ACC and DGAT1) expression was recorded in the group D20 compared with the control (P < 0.05), which were consistent with the decreased liver lipid contents, suggests that lipid metabolism was improved by CFP. In terms of intestinal structural integrity, ameliorated intestinal morphology in treatments were consistent with the upregulated Occludin, Claudin-1 and ZO-1 genes expression. The intestinal pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-8) expression were suppressed while the anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-ß) were activated in treatments. The expression of antimicrobial peptides (Hepcidin-1, Piscidin-2 and Piscidin-3) and intestinal immune effectors (IgM and LYZ) were slightly up-regulated in treatments. Additionally, the relative abundance of intestinal beneficial bacteria (Firmicutes) increased while the relative abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria (Fusobacterium and Proteobacteria) decreased, which indicated that the intestinal microbial community was well-reorganized by CFP. In conclusion, dietary CFP improves growth, immunity, hepatic and intestinal health of largemouth bass, these data provided a theoretical basis for the application of this novel functional protein ingredient in fish.

Identification and functional characterization of laminin receptor in the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain, in response to MCDV-1 challenge.

Laminin receptor (LR), which mediating cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, plays a crucial role in cell signaling and regulatory functions. In the present study, a laminin receptor gene (SpLR) was cloned and characterized from the mud crab (Scylla paramamosain). The full length of SpLR contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 960 bp encoding 319 amino acids, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 66 bp and a 3' UTR of 49 bp. The predicted protein comprised two Ribosomal-S2 domains and a 40S-SA-C domain. The mRNA of SpLR was highly expressed in the gill, followed by the hepatopancreas. The expression of SpLR was up-regulated after mud crab dicistrovirus-1(MCDV-1) infection. Knocking down SpLR in vivo by RNA interference significantly down-regulated the expression of the immune genes SpJAK, SpSTAT, SpToll1, SpALF1 and SpALF5. This study shown that the expression level of SpToll1 and SpCAM in SpLR-interfered group significantly increased after MCDV-1 infection. Moreover, silencing of SpLR in vivo decreased the MCDV-1 replication and increased the survival rate of mud crabs after MCDV-1 infection. These findings collectively suggest a pivotal role for SpLR in the mud crab's response to MCDV-1 infection. By influencing the expression of critical innate immune factors and impacting viral replication dynamics, SpLR emerges as a key player in the intricate host-pathogen interaction, providing valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying MCDV-1 pathogenesis in mud crabs.

LTA and PGN from Bacillus siamensis can alleviate soybean meal-induced enteritis and microbiota dysbiosis in Lateolabrax maculatus.

An eight-week feeding trial was designed to assess which component of commensal Bacillus siamensis LF4 can mitigate SBM-induced enteritis and microbiota dysbiosis in spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) based on TLRs-MAPKs/NF-кB signaling pathways. Fish continuously fed low SBM (containing 16 % SBM) and high SBM (containing 40 % SBM) diets were used as positive (FM group) and negative (SBM group) control, respectively. After feeding high SBM diet for 28 days, fish were supplemented with B. siamensis LF4-derived whole cell wall (CW), cell wall protein (CWP), lipoteichoic acid (LTA) or peptidoglycan (PGN) until 56 days. The results showed that a high inclusion of SBM in the diet caused enteritis, characterized with significantly (P < 0.05) decreased muscular thickness, villus height, villus width, atrophied and loosely arranged microvillus. Moreover, high SBM inclusion induced an up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a down-regulation of occludin, E-cadherin, anti-inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis related genes and antimicrobial peptides. However, dietary supplementation with CW, LTA, and PGN of B. siamensis LF4 could effectively alleviate enteritis caused by a high level of dietary SBM. Additionally, CWP and PGN administration increased beneficial Cetobacterium and decreased pathogenic Plesiomonas and Brevinema, while dietary LTA decreased Plesiomonas and Brevinema, suggesting that CWP, LTA and PGN positively modulated intestinal microbiota in spotted seabass. Furthermore, CW, LTA, and PGN application significantly stimulated TLR2, TLR5 and MyD88 expressions, and inhibited the downstream p38 and NF-κB signaling. Taken together, these results suggest that LTA and PGN from B. siamensis LF4 could alleviate soybean meal-induced enteritis and microbiota dysbiosis in L. maculatus, and p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathways might be involved in those processes.

Novel LDLR variants affecting low density lipoprotein metabolism identified in familial hypercholesterolemia.

BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disease of lipid metabolism mainly caused by mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene. Genetic detection of patients with FH help with precise diagnosis and treatment, thus reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and other related diseases. The study aimed to identify the causative gene mutations in a Chinese FH family and reveal the pathogenicity and the mechanism of these mutations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Whole exome sequencing was performed in a patient with severe lipid metabolism dysfunction seeking fertility guidance from a Chinese FH family. Two LDLR variants c.1875 C > G (p.N625K; novel variant) and c.1448G > A (p.W483*) were identified in the family. Wildtype and mutant LDLR constructs were established by the site-direct mutagenesis technique. Functional studies were carried out by cell transfection to evaluate the impact of detected variants on LDLR activity. The two variants were proven to affect LDL uptake and binding, resulting in cholesterol clearance reduction to different degrees. According to The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Standards and Guidelines, the W483* variant was classified as "Pathogenic", while the N625K variant as "VUS". CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide novel experimental evidence of functional alteration by LDLR variants identified in our study and expand the mutational spectrum of LDLR mutation induced FH.

Transcranial ultrasound with electrical stimulation of the cerebello-parietal nucleus on cerebral blood flow and limb function in patients with stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) combined with Fastigial nucleus stimulation (FNS) on cerebral blood flow and limb function in patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke. METHODS: A total of 90 patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke were randomly divided into an FNS, TUS, and TUS + FNS group (30 patients each), and all patients also received conventional treatment. The FNS group was treated with FNS alone. The TUS group was treated with TUS alone. The TUS + FNS group was treated with both TUS and FNS. The three groups were treated once a day for 6 days a week. RESULTS: The simplified Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Barthel index scores (BI), and the peak systolic blood flow velocity (Vs) and the mean blood flow velocity (Vm) of the anterior cerebral artery, middle cerebral artery, and posterior cerebral artery, were significantly higher in all three groups compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The scores for the TUS group were higher than for the FNS group (P < 0.05), and the scores of the TUS + FNS group were higher than the TUS and FNS groups, respectively (P < 0.05). The total effective rate was 63.3%, 70.0%, and 90.0% in the FNS, TUS, and TUS + FNS groups, respectively, and the difference between the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The FNS and TUS treatments improved the function of and accelerated cerebral blood flow in patients with acute ischemic stroke to different degrees, and the combined use of both treatment types was overall more effective.

Sleep-disordered breathing and nocturnal hypoxemia in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and nocturnal hypoxemia were known to be present in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), but the difference between SDB and nocturnal hypoxemia in patients who have chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease (CTEPD) with or without pulmonary hypertension (PH) at rest remains unknown. METHODS: Patients who had CTEPH (n = 80) or CTEPD without PH (n = 40) and who had undergone sleep studies from July 2020 to October 2022 at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital were enrolled. Nocturnal mean SpO2 (Mean SpO2) <90% was defined as nocturnal hypoxemia, and the percentage of time with a saturation below 90% (T90%) exceeding 10% was used to evaluate the severity of nocturnal hypoxemia. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to investigate the difference and potential predictor of SDB or nocturnal hypoxemia between CTEPH and CTEPD without PH. RESULTS: SDB was similarly prevalent in CTEPH and CTEPD without PH (P = 0.104), both characterised by obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Twenty-two patients with CTEPH were diagnosed with nocturnal hypoxemia, whereas only three were diagnosed with CTEPD without PH (P = 0.021). T90% was positively associated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with CTEPH and CTEPD without PH (P < 0.001); T90% was also negatively related to cardiac output in these patients. Single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, sex and mPAP were all correlated with nocturnal hypoxemia in CTEPH and CTEPD without PH (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Nocturnal hypoxemia was worse in CTEPD with PH; T90%, but not SDB, was independently correlated with the hemodynamics in CTEPD with or without PH.

Contributing factors for pregnancy outcomes in women with PCOS after their first FET treatment: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: We aim to explore the contributing factors of clinical pregnancy outcomes in PCOS patients undergoing their first FET treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 574 PCOS patients undergoing their first FET treatment at a private fertility center from January 2018 to December 2021. RESULTS: During the first FET cycle of PCOS patients, progesterone levels (aOR 0.109, 95% CI 0.018-0.670) and endometrial thickness (EMT) (aOR 1.126, 95% CI 1.043-1.419) on the hCG trigger day were associated with the clinical pregnancy rate. Similarly, progesterone levels (aOR 0.055, 95% CI 0.007-0.420) and EMT (aOR 1.179, 95% CI 1.011-1.376) on the hCG trigger day were associated with the live birth rate. In addition, AFC (aOR 1.179, 95% CI 1.011-1.376) was found to be a risk factor for preterm delivery. CONCLUSIONS: In women with PCOS undergoing their first FET, lower progesterone levels and higher EMT on hCG trigger day were associated with clinical pregnancy and live birth, and AFC was a risk factor for preterm delivery. During FET treatment, paying attention to the patient's endocrine indicators and follicle status may have a positive effect on predicting and improving the pregnancy outcome of PCOS patients.

A supramolecular fluorescence sensor array for the differentiation of multiple anions and prediction of iodine in artificial urine using machine learning.

The simultaneous discrimination and detection of multiple anions in an aqueous solution has been a major challenge due to their structural similarity and low charge radii. In this study, we have constructed a supramolecular fluorescence sensor array based on three host-guest complexes to distinguish five anions (F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, and ClO-) in an aqueous solution using anionic-induced fluorescence quenching combined with linear discriminant analysis. Due to the different affinities of the three host-guest complexes for each anion the anion quenching efficiency for each host-guest complex was likewise different, and the five anions were well recognized. The fluorescence sensor array not only distinguished anions at different concentrations (0.5, 10, and 50 µM) with 100% accuracy but also showed good linearity within a certain concentration range. The limit of detection (LOD) was < 0.5 µM. Our interference study showed that the developed sensor array had good anti-interference ability. The practicability of the developed sensor array was also verified by the identification and differentiation of toothpaste brands with different fluoride content and the prediction of the iodine concentration in urine combined with machine learning.

High dietary wheat starch negatively regulated growth performance, glucose and lipid metabolisms, liver and intestinal health of juvenile largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides.

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were fed with three diets containing 6%, 12%, and 18% wheat starch for 70 days to examine their impacts on growth performance, glucose and lipid metabolisms, and liver and intestinal health. The results suggested that the 18% starch group inhibited the growth, and improved the hepatic glycogen content compared with the 6% and 12% starch groups (P < 0.05). High starch significantly improved the activities of glycolysis-related enzymes, hexokinase (HK), glucokinase (GK), phosphofructokinase (PFK), and pyruvate kinase (PK) (P < 0.05); promoted the mRNA expression of glycolysis-related phosphofructokinase (pfk); decreased the activities of gluconeogenesis-related enzymes, pyruvate carboxylase (PC), and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK); and reduced the mRNA expression of gluconeogenesis-related fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase-1(fbp1) (P < 0.05). High starch reduced the hepatic mRNA expressions of bile acid metabolism-related cholesterol hydroxylase (cyp7a1) and small heterodimer partner (shp) (P < 0.05), increased the activity of hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) (P < 0.05), and reduced the hepatic mRNA expressions of lipid metabolism-related peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (ppar-α) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α (cpt-1α) (P < 0.05). High starch promoted inflammation; significantly reduced the mRNA expressions of anti-inflammatory cytokines transforming growth factor-ß1 (tgf-ß1), interleukin-10 (il-10), and interleukin-11ß (il-11ß); and increased the mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α), interleukin-1ß (il-1ß), and interleukin-8 (il-8) in the liver and intestinal tract (P < 0.05). Additionally, high starch negatively influenced the intestinal microbiota, with the reduced relative abundance of Trichotes and Actinobacteria and the increased relative abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. In conclusion, low dietary wheat starch level (6%) was more profitable to the growth and health of M. salmoides, while high dietary starch level (12% and 18%) could regulate the glucose and lipid metabolisms, impair the liver and intestinal health, and thus decrease the growth performance of M. salmoides.

Binary Organic Solar Cells with over 19 % Efficiency and Enhanced Morphology Stability Enabled by Asymmetric Acceptors.

The simultaneous improvement of efficiency and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs) for commercialization remains a challenging task. Herein, we designed asymmetric acceptors DT-C8Cl and DT-C8BTz with functional haloalkyl chains, in which the halogen atoms could induce noncovalent interactions with heteroatoms like O, S, and Se, etc., thus leading to appropriately manipulated film morphology. Consequently, binary devices based on D18: DT-C8Cl achieved a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.40 %. The higher PCE of D18: DT-C8Cl could be attributed to the enhanced π-π stacking, improved charge transport, and reduced recombination losses. In addition, the noncovalent interactions induced by haloalkyl chains could effectively suppress unfavorable morphology evolutions and thereby reduce trap density of states, leading to improved thermal and storage stability. Overall, our findings reveal that the rational design of asymmetric acceptors with functional haloalkyl chains is a novel and powerful strategy for simultaneously enhancing the efficiency and stability of OSCs.

Piezo-Activated Atomic-Thin Molybdenum Disulfide/MXene Nanoenzyme for Integrated and Efficient Tumor Therapy via Ultrasound-Triggered Schottky Electric Field.

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) nanoenzymes exhibit a piezoelectric polarization, which generates reactive oxygen species to inactivate tumors under ultrasonic strain. However, its therapeutic efficiency is far away from satisfactory, due to stackable MoS2 , quenching of piezo-generated charges, and monotherapy. Herein, chitosan-exfoliated monolayer MoS2 (Ch-MS) is composited with atomic-thin MXene, Ti3 C2 (TC), to self-assemble a multimodal nanoplatform, Ti3 C2 -Chitosan-MoS2 (TC@Ch-MS), for tumor inactivation. TC@Ch-MS not only inherits piezoelectricity from monolayer MoS2 , but also maintains remarkable stability. Intrinsic metallic MXene combines with MoS2 to construct an interfacial Schottky heterojunction, facilitating the separation of electron-hole pairs and endowing TC@Ch-MS increase-sensitivity magnetic resonance imaging responding. Schottky interface also leads to peroxidase mimetics with excellent catalytic performance toward H2 O2 in the tumor microenvironment under mechanical vibration. TC@Ch-MS possesses the superior photothermal conversion efficiency than pristine TC under near-infrared ray illumination, attributed to its enhanced interlaminar conductivity. Meanwhile, TC@Ch-MS realizes optimized efficiency on tumor apoptosis with immunotherapy. Therefore, TC@Ch-MS achieves an integrated diagnosis and multimodal treatment nanoplatform, whereas the toxicity to normal tissue cells is negligible. This work may shed fresh light on optimizing the piezoelectric materials in biological applications, and also give prominence to the significance of intrinsic metallicity in MXene.

Ultrasensitive tilt angle measurement using a photonic frequency inclinometer.

Quantum metrology promises a great enhancement in measurement precision that beyond the possibilities of classical physics. We demonstrate a Hong-Ou-Mandel sensor that acts as a photonic frequency inclinometer for ultrasensitive tilt angle measurement within a wide range of tasks, ranging from the determination of mechanical tilt angles, the tracking of rotation/tilt dynamics of light-sensitive biological and chemical materials, or in enhancing the performance of optical gyroscope. The estimation theory shows that both a wider single-photon frequency bandwidth and a larger difference frequency of color-entangled states can increase its achievable resolution and sensitivity. Building on the Fisher information analysis, the photonic frequency inclinometer can adaptively determine the optimum sensing point even in the presence of experimental nonidealities.

Turbulence-resilient detection of the rotational Doppler effect with cylindrical vector beams.

Recent years have witnessed a growing research interest in the rotational Doppler effect associated with orbital angular momentum of light, emerging as a powerful tool to detect rotating bodies in remote sensing. However, this method, when exposed to the turbulence in a realistic environment, has some severe limitations, leading to the unrecognizable rotational Doppler signals overwhelmed in background noise. Here we put forward a concise yet efficient method that enables the turbulence-resilient detection of the rotational Doppler effect with cylindrical vector beams. Specifically, by adopting the polarization-encoded dual-channel detection system, the low-frequency noises caused by turbulence can be individually extracted and subtracted, and thus mitigate the effect of turbulence. We demonstrate our scheme by conducting proof-of-principle experiments, whose results manifest the feasibility of a practical sensor to detect the rotating bodies in non-laboratory conditions.

Reactions of Thorium Oxide Clusters with Water: The Effects of Oxygen Content.

Thorium oxide has many important applications in industry. In this article, theoretical calculations have been carried out to explore the hydrolysis reactions of the ThOn (n=1-3) clusters. The reaction mechanisms of the O-deficient ThO and the O-rich ThO3 are compared with the stoichiometric ThO2 . The theoretical results show good agreement with the prior experiments. It is shown that the hydrolysis mainly occurred on the singlet potential surface. The overall reactions consist of two hydrolysis steps which are all favourable in energy. The effects of oxygen content on the hydrolysis are elucidated. Interestingly, among them, the peroxo group O2 2- in ThO3 is converted to the HOO- ligand, behaving like the terminal O2- in the hydrolysis which is transformed into the HO- groups. In addition, natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses were employed to further understand the bonding of the pertinent species and to interpret the differences in hydrolysis.

Three novel Actinoplanes species isolated by using polyaspartic acid as a water-retaining agent for the enrichment in situ.

Three novel actinomycete strains, designated TRM66264-DLMT, TRM88002T and TRM88003T, were isolated by using polyaspartic acid as a water-retaining agent for the enrichment in situ. The 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analyses of three strains indicated that they belonged to the genus Actinoplanes. The phylogenetically closest strains of TRM66264-DLMT, TRM88002T and TRM88003T were Actinoplanes bogorensis LIPI11-2-Ac043T (98.4 %), Actinoplanes abujensis A4029T (98.0 %) and Actinoplanes ferrugineus IFO15555T (98.1 %), respectively. The major polar lipids of strains TRM66264-DLMT and TRM88002T were phosphatidylethanolamine and disphosphatidylglycerol, while strain TRM88003T only had phosphatidylethanolamine. The predominant menaquinones of strain TRM66264-DLMT were identified as MK-9(H4) and MK-9 (H6). Strains TRM88002T and TRM88003T had MK-9(H4). The cell-wall peptidoglycan of three strains contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The whole-cell sugars of strain TRM66264-DLMT were identified as arabinose, glucose, galactose and xylose. Strains TRM88002T and TRM88003T mainly had arabinose and glucose. The DNA G+C content of strains TRM66264-DLMT, TRM88002T and TRM88003T were 70.48, 70.46 and 70.64 mol%, respectively. Genotypic and phenotypic analysis confirmed that all three strains sre new members of the genus Acinoplanes. Therefore, it is proposed that strains TRM66264-DLMT, TRM88002T and TRM88003T represent three novel species of the genus Actinoplanes, for which the names Actinoplanes polyasparticus sp. nov. (type strain TRM66264-DLMT=CCTCC AA 2021015T=LMG 32389T), Actinoplanes hotanensis sp. nov. (type strain TRM88002T=CCTCC AA 2021036T=LMG 32621T) and Actinoplanes aksuensis sp. nov. (type strain TRM88003T=CCTCC AA 2021037 T=LMG 32622T) are proposed.