Publications by authors named "H-F Zhou"

The striking electronic characteristics of graphene trigger immense interests and continual explora-tions for new two-dimensional (2D) Dirac materials. By first-principles electronic structure calculations, we here identify a new set of 2D semimetals in hydro-/halogen embedding trigonalborophene, namely-BX (X = H, F, Cl), that possess the graphene-like massless Dirac fermions. Owing to the central hollow B atoms strongly hybridized to the hydro-/halogen adatoms, adequate charge transfer is induced from the hollow B to the basal honeycomb B sublattice, which electronically stabilizes the 2D sheet and decisively endows a robust (intrinsic and stable-against-strains) graphene-like Dirac cone state.

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Here, we successfully synthesized a pair of enantiomeric molecular piezoelectric materials by H/F substitution strategy. These compounds show a large piezoelectric coefficient value of 25 pC N measured by the quasi-static method. A simple energy harvesting device was fabricated based on this crystal, showing great potential in piezoelectric mechanical energy harvesters.

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Ferroelastic materials with high phase transition temperature have broad application prospects in information conversion and storage, shape memory, energy conversion, hyperelasticity, etc. However, most of the current reports focus on inorganic ferroelastic materials. Inorganic ferroelastic materials have the disadvantages of high energy consumption and harmful metals, which limit their application in practical work.

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HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) has received great attention as an attractive therapeutic target for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), but the inevitable drug resistance and side effects have always been major challenges faced by non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). This work aimed to identify novel chemotypes of anti-HIV-1 agents with improved drug-resistance profiles, reduced toxicity, and excellent druggability. A series of diarylpyrimidine (DAPY) derivatives were prepared structural modifications of the leads K-5a2 and .

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Despite the potential of oral immunotherapy against food allergy, adverse reactions and loss of desensitization hinder its clinical uptake. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is implicated in the increasing prevalence of food allergy, which will need to be regulated to enable for an effective oral immunotherapy against food allergy. Here we report an inulin gel formulated with an allergen that normalizes the dysregulated ileal microbiota and metabolites in allergic mice, establishes allergen-specific oral tolerance and achieves robust oral immunotherapy efficacy with sustained unresponsiveness in food allergy models.

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  • * It examines how different components, like foaming agents and defoamers, affect key characteristics of EPBS muck, including defoaming and filtration efficiency, moisture content, and turbidity.
  • * Results indicate that varying concentrations of specific surfactants and defoamers significantly impact the performance of the muck's treatment process, influencing factors such as defoaming ratios and suspended solids.
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  • Exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) is a nonviral cell therapy utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to increase fetal hemoglobin production in patients with sickle cell disease.
  • A phase 3 study involved 44 patients aged 12 to 35 with a history of severe vaso-occlusive crises; patients received edited stem cells after myeloablative conditioning.
  • Results showed 97% of patients were free from vaso-occlusive crises and 100% avoided hospitalization for over 12 months, with a safety profile similar to standard treatments.
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NNRTI is an important component of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but the rapid emergence of drug resistance and poor pharmacokinetics limited their clinical application. Herein, a series of novel aryl triazolone dihydropyridines (ATDPs) were designed by structure-guided design with the aim of improving drug resistance profiles and pharmacokinetic profiles. Compound (EC = 0.

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Purpose: To investigate the tear proteomic and neuromediator profiles, in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) imaging features, and clinical manifestations in neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A total of 20 NCP patients and 20 age-matched controls were recruited.

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  • Existing antipsychotics do not effectively manage cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and can cause serious side effects.
  • Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is identified as a promising target for new antipsychotic drugs that could potentially avoid these side effects.
  • A new series of TAAR1 agonists were developed, showing effectiveness in alleviating schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodent models without causing unwanted side effects, positioning them as potential candidates for future schizophrenia treatments.
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Designing giant-molecule acceptors is deemed as an up-and-coming strategy to construct stable organic solar cells (OSCs) with high performance. Herein, two giant dimeric acceptors, namely, DYV and DYFV, have been designed and synthesized by linking two Y-series derivatives with a vinyl unit. DYFV exhibits more red-shifted absorption, down-shifted energy levels, and enhanced intermolecular packing than DYV because the intramolecular noncovalent interaction (H···F) of DYFV leads to better coplanarity of the backbone.

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  • - The study explores the reaction between sodium (Na) and hydrogen fluoride (HF), which forms sodium fluoride (NaF) and hydrogen gas, highlighting the formation of specific complexes during the reaction process.
  • - Detailed mechanisms are investigated, revealing that sodium initially interacts with HF to create a complex, leading to a transition state and subsequent bond formation, ultimately resulting in various complexes involving NaF and HF.
  • - Analyses like noncovalent interaction (NCI), quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), and natural bond orbital (NBO) are used to understand the interactions within these complexes, enhancing our knowledge of the reactions between sodium and hydrogen fluoride.
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Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy requires autologous T lymphocytes from cancer patients, a process that is both costly and complex. Universal CAR-T cell treatment from allogeneic sources can overcome this limitation but is impeded by graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and host versus-graft rejection (HvGR). Here, we introduce a mutated calcineurin subunit A (CNA) and a CD19-specific CAR into the T cell receptor α constant (TRAC) locus to generate cells that are resistant to the widely used immunosuppressant, cyclosporine A (CsA).

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Introduction: Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (SO), a non-calcium, chewable, iron-based phosphate binder (PB), effectively lowers serum phosphorus (sP) concentrations while reducing pill burden relative to other PBs. To date, SO studies have largely examined treatment-experienced, prevalent hemodialysis populations. We aimed to explore the role of first-line SO initiated during the first year of dialysis.

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  • Noncoding DNA helps scientists understand how genes work and how they relate to diseases in humans.
  • Researchers studied the DNA of many primates to find specific regulatory parts that are important for gene regulation.
  • They discovered a lot of these regulatory elements in humans that are different from those in other mammals, which can help explain human traits and health issues.
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Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) have been emerging as a hot research topic due to their potential applications in energy storage, semiconductors, and electronic devices. Herein, we systematically investigated the synthesis and phase transition behaviors of the enantiomeric OIHPs, () and ()-,-dimethyl-3-fluoropyrrolidinium cadmium bromide ([DMFP][CdBr]), and the hybrid trigonal structure [DMFP] (CdBr)(CdBr). The enantiomers have a mirror-symmetric structure and enhanced solid-state phase transition points of 417 and 443 K, in contrast to the nonfluorinated parent compound, ,-dimethyl-pyrrolidinium cadmium bromide ([DMP][CdBr], 385 K).

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Multimodal epigenetic characterization of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) could improve the performance of blood-based early cancer detection. However, integrative profiling of cfDNA methylome and fragmentome has been technologically challenging. Here, we adapt an enzyme-mediated methylation sequencing method for comprehensive analysis of genome-wide cfDNA methylation, fragmentation, and copy number alteration (CNA) characteristics for enhanced cancer detection.

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  • The bivalent mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine, which targets both the original virus and the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 variants, has been authorized to enhance protection against COVID-19.
  • A matched cohort study showed that compared to those who only received monovalent vaccines, the bivalent vaccine had a 70.3% effectiveness rate in preventing hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
  • The bivalent booster not only sustained strong protection for over three months but also demonstrated effectiveness against medically attended SARS-CoV-2 infections (55.0%) and COVID-19 hospital deaths (82.7%).
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  • The study focuses on the assembly of spliceosomal snRNP cores, comparing human and *S. pombe* (Sp) systems.
  • It identifies key chaperoning proteins, highlighting that while both systems need ICln and the SMN complex, there are notable differences in how specific proteins interact and form structures.
  • This research enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of Sm core assembly and provides insights into the evolutionary variations in chaperone systems.
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  • The study investigates the role of IgG -glycosylation in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) to understand its inflammatory mechanisms and identify potential new markers and therapies.
  • Researchers analyzed the plasma IgG -glycome in CTEPH patients, finding decreased IgG galactosylation associated with a proinflammatory state and strong connections to clinical markers like NT-proBNP.
  • This groundbreaking research is the first to map the IgG -glycome's proinflammatory phenotype in CTEPH, highlighting its potential as an indicator of inflammation and enhancing our understanding of the disease's glycomic mechanisms.
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  • A study investigated the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture, doxylamine-pyridoxine, and their combination for treating moderate to severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) in 352 early-pregnancy women across 13 hospitals in China from mid-2020 to early 2022.
  • Results showed that all treatment groups (acupuncture, doxylamine-pyridoxine, and the combination) significantly reduced nausea scores compared to controls, with the combination being the most effective.
  • However, the treatment with doxylamine-pyridoxine was associated with a higher risk of having babies who were small for their gestational age, and the true clinical significance of these findings remains unclear
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Flexible solar cells have a lot of market potential for application in photovoltaics integrated into buildings and wearable electronics because they are lightweight, shockproof and self-powered. Silicon solar cells have been successfully used in large power plants. However, despite the efforts made for more than 50 years, there has been no notable progress in the development of flexible silicon solar cells because of their rigidity.

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  • * Findings revealed that 40.7% of women maintained a stable BMI, while others experienced weight loss or gain, with greater risks associated with significant weight changes.
  • * Women losing more than 1 kg/m had a higher risk of low birth weight, while those gaining weight faced increased risks for larger babies, gestational diabetes, and emergency C-sections, highlighting the importance of managing weight between pregnancies.
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Purpose: Investigate the impact of various halogens on pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and micro positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of Glu-urea-Lys-based prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) inhibitors.

Procedures: Based on the modification of SC691, a small molecule inhibitor of PSMA previously developed by our group, we synthesized Ga-labeled compounds by modifying the lysine terminal amino with different halogenated phenyl substituents. After complete characterization, in vitro and in vivo properties were studied.

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  • - The study investigates how a specific large noncoding genomic segment linked to bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) affects the endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a crucial process in heart valve formation.
  • - Researchers used CRISPR technology to delete this genomic segment in induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), finding that this deletion impaired EndoMT and reduced the expression of key genes involved in this process.
  • - Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed important insights into the molecular mechanisms at play, highlighting potential regulatory roles of genes such as TWIST1, particularly in cells derived from BAV patients.
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