Subtraction-based DNA Origami Cryptography by using Structural Defects for Information Encryption.

Conventional cryptographic methods rely on increased computational complexity to counteract the threat posed by growing computing power for sustainable protection. DNA cryptography circumvents this threat by leveraging complex DNA recognition to maintain information security. Specifically, DNA origami has been repurposed for cryptography, using programmable folding of the long scaffold strand carrying additional tagged strands for information encryption.

Prenatal low-dose Bisphenol A exposure impacts cortical development via cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway in offspring.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used plasticizer known to cause various disorders. Despite a global reduction in the use of BPA-containing products, prenatal exposure to low-dose BPA, even those below established safety limits, has been linked to neurological and behavioral deficits in childhood. The precise mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear.

Offspring nursing extends mother's longevity in a long-term maternal cared spider.

Females typically outlive males in animals, especially in species that provide long-term maternal care. However, life history theory predicts that investments in reproduction, such as lactation and offspring nursing, often shorten caretakers' longevity. Aiming to interpret this paradox, we selected the lactating jumping spider to investigate the effects of reproductive activities on longevity for two sexes.

ECM stiffness affects cargo sorting into MSC-EVs to regulate their secretion and uptake behaviors.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) have garnered extensive attention as natural product-based nanomedicines and potential drug delivery vehicles. However, the specific mechanism for regulating MSC-EVs secretion and delivery remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness regulates the secretion and delivery of EVs by affecting MSCs' cargo sorting mechanically.

Humic substances mediated superior photochemical pollutant conversion on defective TiO in environmentally relevant matrices: The key roles of oxygen vacancy in surface interactions, oxidant activation and radical generation.

Ubiquitous humic substances usually exhibit strong interfering effects on target pollutant removal in advanced water purification. This work aims to develop a photochemical conversion system on the nonstoichiometric TiO for pollutant removal in environmentally relevant matrices. In this synergistic reaction system, the redox-reactive humic substances and defective oxygen vacancies can serve as the organic electron transfer mediator and the key surface reactive sites, respectively.

Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Central Precocious Puberty and Hormone Levels in Chinese Girls.

Central precocious puberty (CPP) is associated with adverse health outcomes in females; however, CPP pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eight genes with CPP risk and hormone levels. A case-control study on 247 and 243 girls with and without CPP, respectively, was conducted at Kunming Children's Hospital, China, from September 2019 to August 2020.

Emodin Prevented Depression in Chronic Unpredicted Mild Stress-Exposed Rats by Targeting miR-139-5p/5-Lipoxygenase.

Background: The use of medicinal plant ingredients is one of the goals of developing potential drugs for treating depression. Compelling evidence suggests that anti-inflammatory medicines may block the occurrence of depression. We studied the effect of a natural compound, emodin, on the development of psychosocial stress-induced depression and the underlying mechanisms.

Prescribing Silver Chirality with DNA Origami.

Metal nanostructures of chiral geometry interacting with light via surface plasmon resonances can produce tailorable optical activity with their structural alterations. However, bottom-up fabrication of arbitrary chiral metal nanostructures with precise size and morphology remains a synthetic challenge. Here we develop a DNA origami-enabled aqueous solution metallization strategy to prescribe the chirality of silver nanostructures in three dimensions.

Features of a simvastatin-loaded multi-layered co-electrospun barrier membrane for guided bone regeneration.

A novel tri-layer membrane consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL) fibrous sheets and structured nanofibers with a gelatin (Gt) shell and a simvastatin-containing PCL core (PCL-Gt/PCL-simvastatin membrane) was prepared. The soft external layer comprised of Gt/PCL-simvastatin, the external layer of PCL and the middle layer of both microfilaments, interwoven together. The membrane was designed to promote osteoinduction and act as a barrier against cells but not against water and molecules in order to promote guided bone regeneration.

Antimony tin oxide/lead selenide composite as efficient counter electrode material for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells.

Antimony tin oxide (ATO)/lead selenide (PbSe) composite was rationally designed and fabricated on fluorine doped tin oxide glass (FTO) for using as counter electrode (CE) of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The electrocatalytic activity of the CE is deeply investigated in the polysulfide electrolyte by employing the Tafel, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the symmetrical cells. The results confirm that the ATO/PbSe CE has better electrocatalytic activity and stability than that of PbSe CE obtained by pulse voltage electrodeposition (PVD).

Toward Smart Information Processing with Synthetic DNA Molecules.

DNA, a biological macromolecule, is a naturally evolved information material. From the structural point of view, an individual DNA strand can be considered as a chain of data with its bases working as single units. For decades, due to the high biochemical stability, large information storage capacity, and high recognition specificity, DNA has been recognized as an attractive material for information processing.

Lung microbiome mediates the progression from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to lung cancer through inflammation.

Lung microbiome exists in the respiratory tract and parenchymal tissues. It mediates lung injury through a variety of mechanisms, including bacterial disturbance, metabolites, inflammatory response, immune response, and genotoxicity. Accumulating evidences suggest that changes in lung microbiome correlates with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, and the microbiome promotes the progression from COPD to lung cancer.

Shortened telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes of patients with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a high indoor air pollution region in China.

Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are closely linked diseases. In Xuanwei, China, the extremely high incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer and COPD are associated with exposure to household smoky coal burning. Previous studies found that telomere length was related to lung disease.

[Analysis on the status of health literacy and its influencing factors among residents aged 15-69 years old in Haidian District of Beijing City in 2018].

Objective: To understand the status of health literacy and its influencing factors among the residents in Haidian District of Beijing, and to provide references for targeted health education intervention.

Methods: A multi-staged probability proportionate to size sampling(PPS) sampling method was used to collect 7034 residents that aged 15-69 years old in Haidian District in 2018.

Results: The standardized rate of health literacy among the residents of Haidian District was 28.

The influence of air pollution on respiratory microbiome: A link to respiratory disease.

Air pollution is known to trigger and exacerbate many respiratory diseases. The interaction between respiratory microbiome and host plays a significant role in maintaining airway immune homeostasis and health. Emerging evidence has revealed the associations of disturbances in the airway microbiome with air pollution and respiratory disease.

The Smartphone-Assisted Intervention Improved Perception of Nutritional Status among Middle School Students.

Misperception of nutritional status is common and hinders the progress of childhood obesity prevention. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a smartphone-assisted intervention to improve student and parental perception of students' nutritional status (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese). We conducted a parallel-group controlled trial with a non-randomized design in three junior middle schools of Beijing, China in 2019.

A hospital-associated measles outbreak in health workers in Beijing: Implications for measles elimination in China, 2018.

Background: Since the National Action Plan for Measles Elimination 2006-2012 was released in 2006, China has entered into an era of accelerated measles elimination. Despite substantial decline, measles outbreak continued to occur mainly in a non-targeted population, in particular health workers due to occupational exposure. We investigated a measles outbreak in a Chinese medicine hospital, Beijing, in March 2018.

To establish a talent pool for global health in China: from political will to action.

Recently, China has played a more and more important role in global health, mainly by improving health outcomes of its own population nationwide and participating international health activities. In addition, China has participated in a dozen of international organizations, which all contained health domains, particularly the Belt and Road Initiative with an ambitious goal to improve health of the people in the countries alongside closely partnered with the World Health Organization. All these highlight the need of human resource for global health at the national level.

Evidence of altered depression and dementia-related proteins in the brains of young rats after ovariectomy.

Menopause, a risk factor for brain dysfunction in women, is characterized by neuropsychological symptoms including depression and dementia, which are closely related to alterations in different brain regions after menopause. However, little is known about the variability in pathophysiologic changes associated with menopause in the brain. Here, we observed that menopause in rats induced by bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) showed depressive and dementia-related behaviors along with neuronal loss in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HIP), hypothalamus (HYP), and amygdala (AMY) by Nissl staining.

Compressive Behavior and Constitutive Model of Austenitic Stainless Steel S30403 in High Strain Range.

Material anisotropy for tension and compression is a significant characteristic of austenitic stainless steel compared to carbon steel. Due to limitations during the testing of the restrained jig, the maximum strain value of compressive experiments of austenitic stainless steel is around 2%. This value cannot satisfy the requirements of accurate finite simulation on austenitic stainless steel columns and beams in the high compressive strain range.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress induces spatial memory deficits by activating GSK-3.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we injected tunicamycin (TM), a recognized ER stress inducer, into the brain ventricle of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats to induce the unfolded protein response (UPR), demonstrated by the enhanced phosphorylation of pancreatic ER kinase (PERK), inositol-requiring enzyme-1 (IRE-1) and activating transcription factor-6 (ATF-6). We observed that UPR induced spatial memory deficits and impairments of synaptic plasticity in the rats.