Gut microbiota diversity in a dung beetle (Catharsius molossus) across geographical variations and brood ball-mediated microbial transmission.

The dung beetle primarily feeds on the feces of herbivorous animals and play a crucial role in ecological processes like material cycles and soil improvement. This study aims to explore the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota of Catharsius molossus (a renowned dung beetle originating from China and introduced to multiple countries for its ecological value) and exploring whether these gut microbes are transmitted vertically across generations. Using 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA gene sequencing techniques, we described the diversity and composition of gut microbes in C. molossus from different localities and different developmental stages (Egg, young larvae and old larvae). We discovered that the diversity of gut microbiota of dung beetles varied obviously among different geographical localities and different developmental stages, and we also discussed the potential influencing factors. Interestingly, the microbial community structure within the brood balls is more similar to male dung beetle than to that of females, which is consistent with the observation that the brood ball is constructed by the male dung beetle, with the female laying egg in it at the final step. This unique breeding method facilitates offspring in inheriting microbial communities from both the mother and the father. Initially, the larvae's gut microbiota closely mirrors that of the parental gift in these brood balls. As larvae grow, significant changes occur in their gut microbiota, including an increase in symbiotic bacteria like Lactococcus and Enterococcus. Analysis of the gut bacteria of adult dung beetles across various localities and different developmental stages identified nine core genera in adults, contributing to 67.80% of the total microbial abundance, and 11 core genera in beetles at different developmental stages, accounting for 49.13% of the total. Notably, seven genera were common between these two core groups. Our results suggest that Parental gifts can play a role in the vertical transmission of microbes, and the abundance of probiotics increases with larval development, supporting the hypothesis that "larval feeding behavior occurs in two stages: larvae first feed on parental gifts to acquire necessary microbes, then enrich symbiotic microbiota through consuming their own feces."

[Effect of surface treatment on the three-point bend bonding strength between pure titanium fabricated by selective laser melting and porcelain].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of surface treatment on bonding strength between pure titanium formed by selective laser melting and porcelain. METHODS: Pure titanium strips (64) and cobalt-chromium alloy strips (16) were laser machined to meet ISO 9693 standards. The pure titanium specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the sandblasting pressure and interlayer material. The sandblasting pressure of 0.25 MPa of bonder porcelain group was TB1, the sandblasting pressure of 0.25 MPa of gold coating group was TG1, the sandblasting pressure of 0.45 MPa of bonder porcelain group was TB2, and the sandblasting pressure of 0.45 MPa of the gold coating group was TG2(n=16). After porcelain fusing, half of the specimens in each group were tested for three-point bend bonding strength, and the other half were tested after 10 000 cycles of thermal cycling(n=8). The bonding strength of cobalt-chromium alloy after sandblasting at 0.25 MPa and 0.45 MPa was taken as the control group and recorded as group C1, C2(n=8). The bonding strength was tested using classical three-point bending experiment. The surface roughness of pure titanium was measured by laser scanning confocal microscope(LSCM). Field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM) was used to observe the interface morphology of titanium-ceramic. The surface morphology of titanium after porcelain stripping was observed with stereomicroscope and fracture modes were analyzed by it. Graphpad Prism 8.0 software package was used for statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: The bonding strength of group TG2 was (40.16±3.97) MPa and (37.38±2.39) MPa of group TG1, which were significantly higher than that of group TB2 (36.32±1.44) MPa and group TB1 (33.75±2.31) MPa (P＜0.05). The bonding strength of group TB2 with 0.45 MPa sandblasting was significantly higher than that of group TB1 with 0.25 MPa sandblasting (P＜0.05). There was no significant decrease in titanium-ceramic bonding strength before and after thermal cycling. When the sandblasting pressure increased from 0.25 MPa to 0.45 MPa, the roughness increased significantly (P＜0.05). The fracture modes were mixed. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of this study, gold coating can significantly improve the bonding strength of Ti22 porcelain and SLM pure titanium than bonder porcelain, and increase of sandblasting pressure can further improve the bonding strength of titanium-porcelain. After 10 000 cycles of thermal cycling, the titanium-porcelain bonding strength did not decrease significantly.

Identification of the natural chalcone glycoside hydroxysafflor yellow A as a suppressor of P53 overactivation-associated hematopoietic defects.

Enhanced P53 signaling may lead to hematopoietic disorders, yet an effective therapeutic strategy is still lacking. Our study, along with previous research, suggests that P53 overactivation and hematopoietic defects are major consequences of zinc deficiency. However, the relationship between these two pathological processes remains unclear. In this study, we observed a severe reduction in the number of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multi-lineage progenitor cells in zebrafish treated with the zinc chelator N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine and showed the indispensable role of P53 signaling in the process. Next, we took advantage of HSCs-labeled transgenic zebrafish and conducted a highly efficient phenotypic screening for small molecules against P53-dependent hematopoietic disorders. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), a natural chalcone glycoside, exhibited potent protection against hematopoietic failure in zinc-deficient zebrafish and strongly inhibited the P53 pathway. We confirmed the protective effect of HSYA in zinc-deficient mice bone marrow nucleated cells, which showed a significant suppression of P53 signaling and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the hematopoietic-protective activity of HSYA was validated using a mice model of myelotoxicity induced by 5-FU. In summary, our work provides an effective phenotypic screening strategy for identifying hematopoietic-protective agents and reveals the novel role of HSYA as a promising lead compound in rescuing hematopoietic disorders associated with P53 overactivation.

Excimer-Mediated Ultrafast Intermolecular Nonradiative Decay Enables Giant Photothermal Performance for Optimized Phototheranostic.

Developing organic photothermal materials (OPMs) with high photothermal performance for phototheranostic mainly focus on the manipulation of intramolecular nonradiative (intraNR) decay, which often requires quite complicated and time-consuming molecular engineering. In addition to intraNR decay, intermolecular nonradiative (interNR) decay is equally important and more convenient in governing photothermal performance. However, controlling interNR decay remains challenging due to the limited understanding of their origin and dynamics. Here, systemic investigation of intraNR and interNR decay directs the first demonstration of simple manipulation of interNR decay to produce a giant photothermal performance for optimized phototheranostic. Among three designed polymers with varying fluorine substitution, structure-performance studies reveal a dimer-initiated interNR decay to improve photothermal performance. Dimer is formed by intermolecular CF···H hydrogen bond. This finding inspires a simple aggregation control strategy to form excited dimer, namely, excimer. It initiates an ≈100-fold enhancement in interNR decay rate over conventional intraNR decay to produce ultrahigh photothermal conversion efficiency of 81% for efficient photoacoustic imaging-guided photothermal therapy in vivo. This study provides insights into interNR decay in achieving a giant photothermal effect and paves a convenient way to develop high-performance OPMs.

Taurocholic Acid and Glycocholic Acid Inhibit Inflammation and Activate Farnesoid X Receptor Expression in LPS-Stimulated Zebrafish and Macrophages.

A hyperactive immune response can be observed in patients with bacterial or viral infection, which may lead to the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, or "cytokine storm", and a poor clinical outcome. Extensive research efforts have been devoted to the discovery of effective immune modulators, yet the therapeutic options are still very limited. Here, we focused on the clinically indicated anti-inflammatory natural product Calculus bovis and its related patent drug Babaodan to investigate the major active molecules in the medicinal mixture. Combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry, transgenic zebrafish-based phenotypic screening, and mouse macrophage models, taurochiolic acid (TCA) and glycoholic acid (GCA) were identified as two naturally derived anti-inflammatory agents with high efficacy and safety. Both bile acids significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage recruitment and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines in in vivo and in vitro models. Further studies identified strongly increased expression of the farnesoid X receptor at both the mRNA and protein levels upon the administration of TCA or GCA, which may be essential for mediating the anti-inflammatory effects of the two bile acids. In conclusion, we identified TCA and GCA as two major anti-inflammatory compounds in Calculus bovis and Babaodan, which could be important quality markers for the future development of Calculus bovis, as well as promising lead compounds in the treatment of overactive immune responses.

Ag-doped InP/ZnS quantum dots for type-I photosensitizers.

Water-soluble Ag-doped InP/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with high photoluminescence quantum yield were synthesized and characterized. Their maximum two- and three-photon absorption cross sections are determined as ∼1.7 × 104 GM at 820 nm and ∼1.7 × 10-76 cm6 s2 photon-2 at 1260 nm. Importantly, for the first time, we demonstrated that Ag-doped InP/ZnS QDs can be used for type-I photodynamic therapy and are more suitable for the hypoxic environment of tumors.

Photochemical Synthesis of Nonplanar Small Molecules with Ultrafast Nonradiative Decay for Highly Efficient Phototheranostics.

There has been much recent progress in the development of photothermal agents (PTAs) for biomedical and energy applications. Synthesis of organic PTAs typically involves noble metal catalysts and high temperatures. On the other hand, photochemical synthesis, as an alternative and green chemical technology, has obvious merits such as low cost, energy efficiency, and high yields. However, photochemical reactions have rarely been employed for the synthesis of PTAs. Herein, a facile and high-yield photochemical reaction is exploited for synthesizing nonplanar small molecules (NSMs) containing strong Michler's base donors and a tricyanoquinodimethane acceptor as high-performance PTAs. The synthesized NSMs show interesting photophysical properties including good absorption for photons of over 1000 nm wavelength, high near-infrared extinction coefficients, and excellent photothermal performance. Upon assembling the NSMs into nanoparticles (NSMN), they exhibit good biocompatibility, high photostability, and excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 75%. Excited-state dynamic studies reveal that the NSMN has ultrafast nonradiative decay after photoexcitation. With these unique properties, the NSMN achieves efficient in vivo photoacoustic imaging and photothermal tumor ablation. This work demonstrates the superior potential of photochemical reactions for the synthesis of high-performance molecular PTAs.

Large Nonlinear Optical Activity of a Near-infrared-absorbing Bithiophene-based Polymer with a Head-to-head Linkage.

Although the production of near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing organic polymers with an excellent nonlinear optical (NLO) response is vital for various optoelectronic devices and photodynamic therapy, the molecular design and relevant photophysical investigation still remain challenging. In this work, large NLO activity is observed for an NIR-absorbing bithiophene-based polymer with a unique head-to-head linkage in the NIR region. The saturable absorption coefficient and modulation depth of the polymer are determined as ∼-3.5×105  cm GW-1 and ∼32.43%, respectively. Notably, the polymer exhibits an intrinsic nonlinear refraction index up to ∼-9.36 cm2 GW-1 , which is six orders of magnitude larger than that of CS2 . The maximum molar-mass normalized two-photon absorption cross-section (σ2 /M) of this polymer can be up to ∼14 GM at 1200 nm. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements reveal significant spectral overlap between the 2PA and excited state absorption in the 1000-1400 nm wavelength range and an efficient triplet quantum yield of ∼36.7%. The results of this study imply that this NIR-absorbing polymer is promising for relevant applications.

[Exploration on the Construction of Intensive Care Clinical Information Management System].

OBJECTIVE: This study introduces the feasibility study experience of intensive care clinical information management system in order to provide reference for the construction of intensive care clinical information management system in other hospitals. METHODS: Four kinds of mainstream intensive care clinical information management system software were used to evaluate the implementation effect of each software such as equipment integration, information integration and application function module, so as to explore the construction scheme of intensive care clinical information management system. RESULTS: The optimized construction scheme and comprehensive feasibility study report of intensive care clinical information management system were formed, which provided an objective basis for the final scheme design, demonstration, procurement and decision-making of the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The trial and feasibility study of intensive care clinical information management system contribute to optimize the construction scheme.

The Progress and Perspective of Organic Molecules With Switchable Circularly Polarized Luminescence.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) has been under intense research for future applications in high-resolution 3D displays, smart sensors, and information technologies. Different types of CPL materials have been developed, but neither the handedness nor the asymmetrical luminescence degree can be inferred from the material composition or the components. CPL materials with switchable handedness or emission wavelength play an important role, reducing the need for repetitive bottom-up synthesis. Here, we have presented switchable CPL behaviors toward multiple reported stimuli, including light irradiation, host-guest interaction, metal ions, pH, solvent, temperature, etc. This summary and discussion of the effective stimuli is aimed to promote rational future material exploration and boost related multidisciplinary applications.

Manipulating Nonradiative Decay Channel by Intermolecular Charge Transfer for Exceptionally Improved Photothermal Conversion.

In-depth studies of nonradiative (NR) decay, seeking to maximize NR decay rate or manipulate other NR decay channels, are of greatest significance for improving the photothermal conversion efficiency (η) of organic materials for phototheranostics; however, to date, relevant work remains scarce. Here, we present an insightful study of NR decay in BODIPY (BDP) dye, in an aggregated state, i.e., in BDP nanoparticles (BDP NPs), which show an efficient additional NR decay channel from the aggregation-stabilized intermolecular charge transfer (CT) state, resulting in exceptionally high η (61%) for highly efficient phototheranostics in vivo. BDP NPs exhibit two ultrafast NR decay channels with ultrashort lifetimes of 1.7 and 50 ps, which is in stark contrast to the only S1 → S0 NR channel with a long lifetime of 373 ps in the isolated BDP dye. More importantly, the ultrafast NR channel (1.7 ps) in BDP NPs depletes a substantial portion of the excited-state population (71%), which accounts for its much better photothermal effect as compared with the isolated BDP dye. Finally, BDP NPs display a highly efficient photoacoustic imaging (PAI) guided photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors in live mice. This study presents a deeper fundamental understanding of NR decay in organic materials, setting a valuable guideline that may be widely applicable to similar molecular structure to develop more advanced organic materials not only for photothermal-related applications.

Water-soluble chiral tetrazine derivatives: towards the application of circularly polarized luminescence from upper-excited states to photodynamic therapy.

A new family of water-soluble chiral tetrazine derivatives 1 and 2 is reported. Spectroscopic studies reveal that the derivatives violate Kasha's rule and emit from their upper-excited states (S n , n > 1). The transition assignments are supported by time-dependent density functional theory calculations. More importantly, both chromophores exhibit anisotropy factors on the order of ∼10-3 to 10-4 for circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) from upper-excited states. Additionally, the nonplanar geometry of the derivatives induces a significant yield of triplet excited states. Transient absorption spectroscopic measurements reveal high triplet quantum yields of ∼86% for 1 and ∼81% for 2. Through in vitro studies, we demonstrate that the derivatives can be used as photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, providing a highly efficient form of cancer therapy. This study is the first demonstration of simple organic molecules with CPL from upper-excited states and efficient PDT.

A near-infrared I emissive dye: toward the application of saturable absorber and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy in the deep-tissue imaging window.

A boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye emitting in the near-infrared (NIR) I region (723 nm) exhibits strong saturable absorption at 680 nm. Its multiphoton absorption spectra in the NIR II and III regions are determined. Three-photon fluorescence imaging of the BODIPY-labeled cells excited at 1665 nm is also demonstrated.

Hierarchical SnS2/CuInS2 Nanosheet Heterostructure Films Decorated with C60 for Remarkable Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Rational architectural design and catalyst components are beneficial to improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Herein, hierarchical SnS2/CuInS2 nanosheet heterostructure porous films were fabricated and decorated with C60 to form photocathodes for PEC water reduction. Large-size CuInS2 nanosheet films were first grown on transparent conducting glass to form substrate films. Then, small-size SnS2 nanosheets were epitaxially grown on both sides of the CuInS2 nanosheets to form uniform hierarchical porous laminar films. The addition of C60 on the surface of the SnS2/CuInS2 porous nanosheets effectively increased visible light absorption of the composite photocathode. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy analyses indicated that the formation of a SnS2/CuInS2 heterojunction and decoration of C60 significantly increased the photocurrent density by promoting the electron-hole separation and decreasing the resistance to the transport of charge carriers. The hierarchical SnS2/CuInS2 nanosheet heterostructure porous films containing multiscale nanosheets and pore configurations can enlarge the surface area and enhance visible light utilization. These beneficial factors make the optimized C60-decorated SnS2/CuInS2 photocathode exhibit much higher photocathodic current (4.51 mA cm-2 at applied potential -0.45 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode ) and stability than the individual CuInS2 (2.58 mA cm-2) and SnS2 (1.92 mA cm-2) nanosheet film photocathodes. This study not only reveals the promise of C60-decorated hierarchical SnS2/CuInS2 nanosheet heterostructure porous film photocathodes for efficient solar energy harvesting and conversion but also provides rational guidelines in designing high-efficiency photoelectrodes from earth-abundant and low-cost materials allowing widely practical applications.

[Observation on curative effect of thermal acupuncture needle muscular stimulation therapy for knee osteoarthritis patients].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect of thermal acupuncture needle muscular stimulation for treatment of knee osteoarthritis patients. METHODS: A total of 120 outpatients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly and equally divided into control and treatment groups. Patients of the treatment group were treated by inserting the acupuncture needles into the attached sites of the quadriceps femoris, musculus vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, etc. around the knee joint. The needles were manipulated repeately till "Deqi", followed by attaching a piece of ignited moxa-roll (about 2 cm length) to the needle handle. The treatment was conducted once a week, 4 weeks altogether. Patients of the control group were treated by oral administration of Celebrex (a specific inhibitor of COX-2, 200 mg/time, once daily, 4 weeks together). The therapeutic effect was evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS), Lequesne Index (Chinese Version) of osteoarthritis after 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months after the treatment. RESULTS: After 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months after the treatment, the effective rates were 78.3% (47/60) and 81.7% (49/60) in the control group, and 96.6% (58/60) and 96.6% (58/60) in the treatment group, respectively, being significantly higher in the treatment group (P<0.05). Both VAS scores and Lequesne Indexes in the treatment group, and VAS scores in the control group were decreased significantly after 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months' follow-up (P<0.05). The effects of the treatment group were considerably superior to those of the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Thermal needle muscular stimulation therapy is effective for relieving knee osteoarthritis patients' symptoms of pain, knee-joint stiffness, swelling, walking capability, etc.