Electronic and magnetic properties of transition-metal-doped monolayer B2S2 within GGA + U framework.

Considering the significant role of magnetism induction in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials, we systematically investigate the effects of various dopants from the 3d and 4d transition metal (TM) series, including Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag and Cd, on the electronic and magnetic properties of monolayer B2S2 through first-principles calculations. The calculated formation energies indicate that substitutional doping at the B site with various TM atoms could be achieved under S-rich growth conditions. What matters is that with the exception of systems doped with Cu, Tc, and Ag elements, which exhibit non-magnetic semiconductor properties, all other doped systems demonstrate magnetism. Specifically, the Cr-, Ni- and Pd-doped monolayers are magnetic half-metals, while the rest are magnetic semiconductors. We have also performed calculations of magnetic couplings between two TM atoms with an impurity concentration of 3.12%, revealing the prevalence of weak magnetic coupling in the majority of the magnetic systems examined. Moreover, the monolayers doped with Cr, Zr and Pd atoms exhibit ferromagnetic ground states. These findings strongly support the high potential for inducing magnetism in the B2S2 monolayer through B-site doping.

Evaluation of Physicochemical Characteristics and Sensory Properties of Cold Brew Coffees Prepared Using Ultrahigh Pressure under Different Extraction Conditions.

Although cold brew coffee is becoming increasingly popular among consumers, the long coffee extraction time is not conducive to the further development of the market. This study explored the feasibility of ultrahigh pressure (UHP) to shorten the time required for preparing cold brew coffee. The effects of pressure and holding time on the physicochemical characteristics and sensory evaluation of UHP-assisted cold brew coffee were also determined. The extraction yield; total dissolved solid, total phenol, and melanoid content; antioxidant capacity; and trigonelline and chlorogenic acid contents of UHP-assisted cold brew coffee increased as the pressure increased. The extraction yield and the total dissolved solid, total phenol, total sugar, and chlorogenic acid and trigonelline contents were higher when the holding time was longer. The HS-SPME-GC/MS analysis demonstrated that the furan, aldehyde, and pyrazine contents in coffee increased as the pressure and holding time increased. The pressure did not significantly impact the concentrations of volatile components of esters and ketones in coffee samples. However, the increase in holding time significantly increased the ester and ketone contents. The sensory evaluation results revealed that as pressure rose, the intensities of nutty, fruity, floral, caramel, and sourness flavors increased, whereas bitterness and sweetness decreased. Longer holding time increased nutty, caramel, sour, bitter, sweet, and aftertaste flavors. Principal component analysis (PCA) results indicated that holding time is a more crucial factor affecting the physiochemical indices and flavor characteristics of coffee. UHP can shorten the preparation time of cold brew coffee. Pressure and holding time significantly affected the physiochemical indices and volatile components of UHP-assisted cold brew coffee. UHP-assisted cold brew coffee had lower bitterness, higher sweetness, and a softer taste than conventional cold brew coffee.

Development and validation of a risk-prediction model for immune-related adverse events in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and is the most common cancer in males. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that target programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) have achieved impressive efficacy in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Pardoll, 2012; Champiat et al., 2016; Gao et al., 2022). Although ICIs are usually well tolerated, they are often accompanied by immune-related adverse events (irAEs) (Doroshow et al., 2019). Non-specific activation of the immune system produces off-target immune and inflammatory responses that can affect virtually any organ or system (O'Kane et al., 2017; Puzanov et al., 2017). Compared with adverse events caused by chemotherapy, irAEs are often characterized by delayed onset and prolonged duration and can occur in any organ at any stage of treatment, including after cessation of treatment (Puzanov et al., 2017; von Itzstein et al., 2020). They range from rash, pneumonitis, hypothyroidism, enterocolitis, and autoimmune hepatitis to cardiovascular, hematological, renal, neurological, and ophthalmic irAEs (Nishino et al., 2016; Kumar et al., 2017; Song et al., 2020). Hence, we conducted a retrospective study to identify validated factors that could predict the magnitude of the risk of irAEs in patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors; our approach was to analyze the correlation between the clinical characteristics of patients at the start of treatment and relevant indicators such as hematological indices and the risk of developing irAEs. Then, we developed an economical, practical, rapid, and simple model to assess the risk of irAEs in patients receiving ICI treatment, as early as possible.

Investigation of toxic effect of mercury on Microcystis aeruginosa: Correlation between intracellular mercury content at single cells level and algae physiological responses.

Single-cell studies can help to understand individual differences and obtain atypical cellular characteristics in view of cellular heterogeneity. Herein, the accumulation of mercury (Hg) in single algae cells was studied by droplet chip-time resolved inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analytical system, and the relation of Hg accumulation to the physiological responses of algae cell was explored. When low concentrations of Hg2+ (5-20 µg/L) were used in the exposure experiment, the content of Hg in single cells increased in first 2 h, then decreased with further increase of exposure time to 96 h, probably due to the growth dilution effect of the algae. When exposed to 30 µg/L Hg2+, the uptake of Hg by individual cells increased over time, which was associated with increased cell membrane permeability. The exposure to Hg2+ (5-30 µg/L) inhibited the growth of algae in a concentration-dependent manner and serious growth inhibition occurred under the exposure concentration of 30 µg/L. While the exposure concentration was lower than 20 µg/L, algal cells exhibited a recover tendency due to the self-protection mechanism of algal cells. Bivariate results showed that intracellular Hg accumulation was significantly negatively correlated with cells growth in terms of OD680, photosynthetic pigments, Fv/Fm and PIabs. On the contrast, reactive oxygen species content, superoxide dismutase activity, and cell membrane permeability were significantly positively correlated with the accumulation of intracellular Hg. These results are helpful to further understand the toxic effect of Hg on algae.

Tripartite Motif Containing 11 Interacts with DUSP6 to Promote the Growth of Human Osteosarcoma Cells through Regulating ERK1/2 Pathway.

Tripartite Motif Containing 11 (TRIM11), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is identified as a carcinogen causing certain human cancers. However, the specific role of TRIM11 is still uncovered in human osteosarcoma (OS) cells. To explore the role of TRIM11 in OS cells, TRIM11 was induced by silencing and overexpression in OS cells using RNA interference (RNAi) and lentiviral vector, respectively. qRT-PCR and western blot were used to examine the transcription and translation levels of the target gene. Cell count kit-8 (CCK-8) assays were established to analyze cell proliferation. Cell apoptosis ratio was determined via flow cytometry. In our analyses, TRIM11 was suggested to be upregulated, and it functioned as a pro-proliferation and antiapoptosis factor in OS cells. Moreover, the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) inhibitor PD98059 was used to examine the relationship between TRIM11 and ERK1/2 in OS cells. Results demonstrated that the role of TRIM11 was significantly disrupted by the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059. Interestingly, we found TRIM11 overexpression did not affect dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) transcription, but improved its translation in OS cells. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) analyses revealed that TRIM11 interacted with DUSP6. Importantly, overexpression of TRIM11 enhanced DUSP6 ubiquitination in OS cells. Therefore, TRIM11 might suppress the translation of DUSP6 via improving its ubiquitination. Additionally, TRIM11 silencing in OS cells significantly reduced its tumorigenicity in vivo. Overall, our findings firstly revealed that TRIM11 was an oncogene gene in the growth of OS cells and illustrated its potential function as a target in the treatment of OS.