Modular and Photoreversible Polymer-Nanoparticle Hydrogels via Host-Guest Interactions.

Polymer-nanoparticle (PNP) hydrogels are a class of nanocomposite materials showing potential as injectable platforms for biomedical applications. Their design is limited by incomplete knowledge of how the binding motif impacts the viscoelastic properties of the material and is generally constrained to non-responsive supramolecular interactions. Expanding the scope of available interactions and advancing the understanding of how defined interactions influence network formation would accelerate PNP hydrogel design. To address this gap in the design of PNP hydrogels, the study designs and investigates a tunable platform based on beta-cyclodextrin (ßCD) host-guest cross-links between functionalized polymers and nanoparticles. A host-functionalized polymer (ßCD hyaluronic acid) and guest harboring block co-polymer (poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(lactic acid)) NPs are synthesized. The presence and accessibility for binding of the host and guest moieties are characterized via isothermal titration calorimetry. PNP hydrogels with varying concentrations of functionalized polymer and NPs reveal a limited window of concentrations for gelation. It is hypothesized that network formation is governed by the capacity of polymer chains to effectively bridge NPs, which is related to the host-guest ratios present in the system. Further, photo-responsive guests are incorporated to engineer photoreversible gelation of PNP hydrogels via exposure to specific wavelengths of light.

Establishment and Characterization of a New Cell Line from Enzootic Nasal Adenocarcinoma in Goats: ENA-1.

Enzootic nasal adenocarcinoma (ENA) is a contagious tumor disease of goats and sheep, which is caused by enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV). To better understand the pathogenesis of ENA, this study aimed to establish a goat ENA cell line (ENA-1). The cells have been characterized with regard to morphology, growth rate, ultrastructural features, chromosome number, expression of CK7 and CK18, tumorigenicity, species, and mycoplasma contamination. ENA-1 had an epithelioid cell morphology with an unstable chromosome number under a light microscope. Under an electron microscope, the cell nuclear heterogeneity was not obvious, and there were more intermediate filaments and a small number of immature retrovirus-like particles in the cytoplasm. ENA-1 had strong proliferative potential, and the cell multiplication time was about 36 h, which could make BALB/c nude mice develop tumors. CK7 and CK18 were expressed in the cytoplasm of primary goat tumors, in transplanted tumors from nude mice, and un ENA-1 cells with the same intensity. PCR revealed that ENA-1 continuously carried ENTV-2 up to the 17th generation with no germline contamination or mycoplasma contamination. In conclusion, using a serum-containing culture system, ENA-1 cells were successfully isolated, cultured, and purified from goat tumor tissues. The isolated ENA-1 cells retained robust proliferation potential and maintained their phenotype, indicating the potential application of the ENA-1 cell line as an in vitro model of ENA.

A diagnostic strategy for pulmonary fat embolism based on routine H&E staining using computational pathology.

Pulmonary fat embolism (PFE) as a cause of death often occurs in trauma cases such as fractures and soft tissue contusions. Traditional PFE diagnosis relies on subjective methods and special stains like oil red O. This study utilizes computational pathology, combining digital pathology and deep learning algorithms, to precisely quantify fat emboli in whole slide images using conventional hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. The results demonstrate deep learning's ability to identify fat droplet morphology in lung microvessels, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.98. The AI-quantified fat globules generally matched the Falzi scoring system with oil red O staining. The relative quantity of fat emboli against lung area was calculated by the algorithm, determining a diagnostic threshold of 8.275% for fatal PFE. A diagnostic strategy based on this threshold achieved a high AUC of 0.984, similar to manual identification with special stains but surpassing H&E staining. This demonstrates computational pathology's potential as an affordable, rapid, and precise method for fatal PFE diagnosis in forensic practice.

FDNet: An end-to-end fusion decomposition network for infrared and visible images.

Infrared and visible image fusion can generate a fusion image with clear texture and prominent goals under extreme conditions. This capability is important for all-day climate detection and other tasks. However, most existing fusion methods for extracting features from infrared and visible images are based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). These methods often fail to make full use of the salient objects and texture features in the raw image, leading to problems such as insufficient texture details and low contrast in the fused images. To this end, we propose an unsupervised end-to-end Fusion Decomposition Network (FDNet) for infrared and visible image fusion. Firstly, we construct a fusion network that extracts gradient and intensity information from raw images, using multi-scale layers, depthwise separable convolution, and improved convolution block attention module (I-CBAM). Secondly, as the FDNet network is based on the gradient and intensity information of the image for feature extraction, gradient and intensity loss are designed accordingly. Intensity loss adopts the improved Frobenius norm to adjust the weighing values between the fused image and the two raw to select more effective information. The gradient loss introduces an adaptive weight block that determines the optimized objective based on the richness of texture information at the pixel scale, ultimately guiding the fused image to generate more abundant texture information. Finally, we design a single and dual channel convolutional layer decomposition network, which keeps the decomposed image as possible with the input raw image, forcing the fused image to contain richer detail information. Compared with various other representative image fusion methods, our proposed method not only has good subjective vision, but also achieves advanced fusion performance in objective evaluation.

Synthesis of Enantioenriched 1,2-cis Disubstituted Cycloalkanes by Convergent NiH Catalysis.

Enantioenriched multi-substituted cycloalkanes constitute an essential class of compounds in pharmaceuticals, natural products and agrochemicals. Here we report an NiH-catalyzed asymmetric migratory hydroalkylation process for the efficient and selective construction of such compounds. Through a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DYKAT), easily accessible racemic and isomeric mixtures of cycloalkenes could be directly utilized as starting materials, convergently producing thermo-dynamically disfavored chiral 1,2-cis disubstituted cycloalkanes bearing vicinal stereocenters with high levels of regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity. In addition, prochiral cyclic alkenes can be also employed, and deliver chiral 1,2-cis disubstituted cycloalkanes through desymmetrization process.

Progress on simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and production of clean energy: A review.

In the current era of severe energy and environmental crises, the need for efficient and sustainable methods to control pollution and promote resource recycling has become increasingly important. Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and simultaneous production of clean energy is one such approach that has garnered significant attention in recent years. The principle of photocatalysis involves the development of efficient photocatalysts and the efficient utilization of solar energy. The use of organic contaminants can enhance the photocatalytic reactions, leading to the sustainable generation of clean energy. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of the latest advances in the application of photocatalytic synergized clean energy production in the environmental field. This review highlights the latest developments and achievements in this field, highlighting the potential for this approach to revolutionize the way we approach environmental pollution control and resource recycling. The review focuses on (1) the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation and synergistic energy production, (2) photocatalysts and synthesis strategies, (3) photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction, (4) pollutant degradation, and (5) hydrogen and electricity production. In addition, perspectives on key challenges and opportunities in photocatalysis and clean energy for future developments are proposed. This review provides a roadmap for future research directions and innovations of photocatalysis that could contribute to the development of more sustainable and cleaner energy solutions.

Dual-duty NiCo2S4 nanosheet-based solar rechargeable batteries toward multi-scene solar energy conversion and storage.

Solar energy has the potential to be the next-generation power source if the intermittent nature can be overcome via rational energy storage engineering. The competitiveness of solar rechargeable batteries can be further enhanced if the demand for multiple energy storage scenarios can be met within one device. Moreover, active electrochemical materials with different energy storage types are the critical component of this energy storage system. In this work, dual-duty electrochemical functional materials were introduced to guide multi-scene solar energy storage device design and fabrication. Furthermore, dual-duty NiCo2S4 nanosheets were prepared and applied to solar rechargeable batteries. A photo-assisted aqueous polysulfide/iodide flow battery was designed and fabricated with a charging voltage as low as 0.05 V, showing the good electrocatalytic performance of NiCo2S4 nanosheets for aqueous redox couples. Moreover, the low charging voltage leads to 93.5% of input electric energy saving under one sun illumination (AM 1.5, 100 mW cm-2). On the other hand is the photo-assisted sodium-ion battery with a NiCo2S4 anode, showing a remarkably low charging voltage of 0.67 V and a high discharge medium voltage of 1.05 V. The battery can save about 67.6% of input electric energy under 1 sun illumination.

Direct Detection of Dark Photon Dark Matter Using Radio Telescopes.

Dark photons can be the ultralight dark matter candidate, interacting with Standard Model particles via kinetic mixing. We propose to search for ultralight dark photon dark matter (DPDM) through the local absorption at different radio telescopes. The local DPDM can induce harmonic oscillations of electrons inside the antenna of radio telescopes. It leads to a monochromatic radio signal and can be recorded by telescope receivers. Using the observation data from the FAST telescope, the upper limit on the kinetic mixing can already reach 10^{-12} for DPDM oscillation frequencies at 1-1.5 GHz, which is stronger than the cosmic microwave background constraint by about one order of magnitude. Furthermore, large-scale interferometric arrays like LOFAR and SKA1 telescopes can achieve extraordinary sensitivities for direct DPDM search from 10 MHz to 10 GHz.

New Insights into Lichenization in Agaricomycetes Based on an Unusual New Basidiolichen Species of Omphalina s. str.

The genus Omphalina is an ideal genus for studying the evolutionary mechanism of lichenization. Based on molecular phylogeny using ITS and nuLSU sequences by means of Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses and morphological examination, combining the existence of green algae in basidiomata stipe and a Botrydina-type vegetative thallus, we described a bryophilous new basidiolichen species, Omphalina licheniformis, from a residential area of Jiangxi Province, China. This finding of unusual new basidiolichen species updated our understanding of the delimitation of Omphalina, indicating that both non-lichen-forming and lichen-forming fungal species are included simultaneously. The presence of algal cells in the basidiomata should receive more attention, as this would be helpful to distinguish more potential basidiolichens and explore the cryptic species diversity. This work provides new insights and evidence for understanding the significance of lichenization during the evolution of Agaricomycetes.

Activation of DDX58/RIG­I suppresses the growth of tumor cells by inhibiting STAT3/CSE signaling in colon cancer.

Some patients with colon cancer eventually develop metastasis during treatment, and the 5­year survival rate of patients with metastatic colon cancer remains relatively low, which is most likely due to the ineffectiveness of the current standard treatment. Systemic treatment for patients with colon cancer has expanded from chemotherapy to targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Immunotherapy holds promise in the treatment of colon cancer. The present study revealed the role of innate immune receptor helicase DExD/H­box helicase 58 (DDX58), which encodes retinoic acid­inducible gene­I (RIG­I), in colon cancer. It was demonstrated that colon cancer patients with a low protein expression of DDX58/RIG­I had a worse 5­year survival rate of patients compared with patients with a high expression of DDX58/RIG­I. The activation of DDX58/RIG­I inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells, as well as tumor growth in a nude mouse xenograft model of colon cancer. To investigate the mechanisms of action of DDX58/RIG­I in colon cancer, the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/cystathionine­Î³­lyase (CSE) signaling in the up­ or downregulation of DDX58 was examined. The data demonstrated that DDX58 regulated the STAT3/CSE signaling pathway by interacting with STAT3 and consequently affecting the proliferation of tumor cells in colon cancer. In addition, the RIG­I agonist, SB9200, induced proliferation, migration and invasion of human colon cancer. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that DDX58/RIG­I affects the proliferation of tumor cells by regulating STAT3/CSE signaling in colon cancer. The findings presented herein suggest that DDX58/RIG­I activation may be an effective treatment strategy, and DDX58/RIG­I agonists may be potential therapeutic candidates for colon cancer.

Dandelion Seed Extract Affects Tumor Progression and Enhances the Sensitivity of Cisplatin in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Like dandelion, dandelion seed also have anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, in this article, we intend to explore the anti-cancer availability of aqueous dandelion seed extract (DSE) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Firstly, the effects of DSE on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and angiogenesis were investigated. Then to explore the mechanism of DSE against ESCC, the levels of proliferation-associated proteins (PI3K, Akt and pAkt), apoptosis-associated proteins (survivin, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase3 and caspase9), metastasis-associated proteins (MMP2, MMP9, VEGF) and EMT progression-associated proteins (Snail, E-cadherin and Vimentin) were analyzed. Next, we further explored the effect of DSE on the sensitivity of cisplatin (DDP) in ESCC cells and investigated the effect of DSE combined with DDP on DNA damage repair-associated proteins (MSH2, MLH1 and ERCC1) and drug resistant target protein STAT3. The results indicated that DSE selectively inhibited cell growth, proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and induced cell apoptosis in ESCC cells. It was observed the decreased PI3K, Akt and pAkt proteins levels in KYSE450 and Eca109 cells administrated with DSE. The data also showed that the application of DSE decreased the level of survivin and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, while increased the levels of caspase3 and caspase9. We also observed that DSE significantly decreased the levels of MMP2, MMP9 and VEGF proteins and inhibited the EMT progression in KYSE450 and Eca109 cells. In addition, survivin plays a critical role in DSE against ESCC followed with the application of survivin inhibitor YM155 impairing the inhibitory abilities of DSE in ESCC cells. Meanwhile, it was observed that DSE enhances the sensitivity of DDP to human ESCC cells via promoting DNA damage and inhibiting phosphorylation of STAT3. Therefore, DSE may affect ESCC progression and enhance the sensitivity of cisplatin, and consequently become an effective anti-cancer option for human ESCC treatment.

Diverse Synthesis of Chiral Trifluoromethylated Alkanes via Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Reductive Hydroalkylation of Unactivated Olefins.

Here, we report a nickel-catalyzed enantioconvergent hydroalkylation of olefins with trifluoromethyl-containing α-alkyl halides for the synthesis of enantioenriched trifluoromethylated alkanes. This reaction employs readily available and bench-stable alkenes as alkyl coupling partners, featuring mild conditions, a broad substrate scope, and high functional group tolerance. The synthetic utility of this method is further demonstrated in the late-stage functionalization of a range of drug molecules and natural products.

Bulk Nanostructured Materials Design for Fracture-Resistant Lithium Metal Anodes.

Li metal is an ideal anode for next-generation batteries because of its high theoretical capacity and low potential. However, the unevenly distributed stress in Li metal anodes (LMAs) induced by volume fluctuation may cause the electrode to fracture easily, especially during high-rate plating/stripping processes. Here fracture-resistant LMAs using the concept of bulk nanostructured materials are designed via a metallurgical process. In bulk nanostructured Li (BNL), ionic conducting phases exist at grain boundaries, which promote Li+ transport. The refined Li grain size and precipitation hardening in BNL enhances the mechanical strength and fatigue endurance, alleviating the unevenly distributed stress and preventing electrode pulverization. Density functional theory is used to investigate the binding energy between Li and various kinds of oxides and SiO2 is found to be optimal additive among screened oxides. BNL has 91% of the theoretical capacity of Li metal. In full cells with BNL anode, LiFePO4 could deliver capacity of 90 mAh g-1 at 10C, an order of magnitude higher than that in full cells with Li foil anode. This strategy is expected to pave the way for fracture-resistant LMAs in high-rate cycling with maximum capacity.

MXene Aerogel Scaffolds for High-Rate Lithium Metal Anodes.

Li metal is considered to be an ultimate anode for metal batteries owing to its extremely high theoretical capacity and lowest potential. However, numerous issues such as short lifespan and infinite volume expansion caused by the dendrite growth during Li plating/stripping hinder its practical usage. These challenges become more grievous under high current densities. Herein, 3D porous MXene aerogels are proposed as scaffolds for high-rate Li metal anodes using Ti3 C2 as an example. With high metallic electron conductivity, fast Li ion transport capability, and abundant Li nucleation sites, such scaffolds could deliver high cycling stability and low overpotential at current density up to 10 mA cm-2 . High rate performance is also demonstrated in full cells with LiFePO4 as cathodes. This work provides a new type of scaffolds for Li metal anodes and paves the way for the application of non-graphene 2D materials toward high energy density Li metal batteries.

[Envelope protein of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovious expressed in NIH3T3 cells promotes cell proliferation].

Objective To explore the influence of the exogenous Jaagsiekte sheep retrovious (exJSRV) envelope protein (Env) on NIH3T3 cell proliferation. Methods A recombinant plasmid pcDNA4/myc-His/exJSRV- env carrying exJSRV- env gene was constructed, and then the correctness of the recombinant plasmid was identified by PCR, restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing. The recombinant plasmid pcDNA4/myc-His/exJSRV- env was transiently transfected into NIH3T3 cells by Lipofectamine(TM) LTX. After the transfection of the recombinant plasmid, the expression of exJSRV- env was detected by reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting. The effect of Env on cell proliferation was investigated by CCK-8 assay and plate colony formation assay. Results The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid containing exJSRV- env was successfully constructed as identified by PCR, restriction enzyme identification and sequencing. After the recombinant plasmid was transiently transfected into NIH3T3 cells, reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting showed the expression of exJSRV- env , and Env promoted NIH3T3 cell proliferation significantly. Conclusion JSRV Env was expressed successfully in the NIH3T3 cells and promoted the proliferation of NIH3T3 cells.

Reliability analysis of acoustic radiation force impulse ultrasound imaging with virtual touch tissue quantification: ex vivo ox liver.

The effect of scanning angle and region of interest (ROI) depth on shear-wave velocity (SWV) was investigated in this study. Shear-wave velocity of ox liver ex vivo was measured with different approaches. Region of interest was set underneath the liver capsule at depths of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cm. Three groups of measurements were performed at different scanning angles. One group of measurement was conducted with a scanning angle of 0 to 15 degrees from the midline, and the other 2 groups were performed with scanning angles of 15 to 30 degrees and 30 to 45 degrees. The data on SWV from different scan angles and ROI depths were analyzed statistically. Scanning angle and ROI depth were found to be the 2 factors that affect SWV. Interaction was observed between the scan angle and ROI depth. The data at different depths within 0- to 15-degree scanning angles exhibited no significant difference. However, the reliability of SWV decreased with the increase in ROI depth. In the groups of 15 to 30 degrees and 30 to 45 degrees, a significant difference was found between the 2 different measured depths. Scanning angle and ROI depth affected the reliability of SWV measurement. The scanning angle should be confined within 15 degrees from the midline. Therefore, SWV from shallow ROI is more reliable than that at deep ROI.