Development of poly(lactic acid)/polyvinyl alcohol-based temperature-responsive shell-core nanofibers: Controlled release, biosafety evaluation, and application in raspberry preservation.

With the increasing demand for sustainable and effective food preservation methods, the development of novel smart preservation materials has become a pressing need. A temperature-responsive smart nanofiber material with a shell-core structure, polyvinyl alcohol/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/polylactic acid/lemon essential oil (PPPL), was developed by incorporating lemon essential oil as a core-layer preservative and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) as a temperature-responsive shell layer. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the shell-core structure of the fibers.

Structural basis for the interaction between the Drosophila RTK Sevenless (dROS1) and the GPCR BOSS.

Sevenless, the Drosophila homologue of ROS1 (University of Rochester Sarcoma) (herein, dROS1) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) essential for the differentiation of Drosophila R7 photoreceptor cells. Activation of dROS1 is mediated by binding to the extracellular region (ECR) of the GPCR (G protein coupled receptor) BOSS (Bride Of Sevenless) on adjacent cells. Activation of dROS1 by BOSS leads to subsequent downstream signaling pathways including SOS (Son of Sevenless).

GABA receptor π forms channels that stimulate ERK through a G-protein-dependent pathway.

The rare γ-aminobutyric acid type-A receptor (GABAR) subunit π (GABRP) is highly expressed in certain cancers, where it stimulates growth through extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling by an uncharacterized pathway. To elucidate GABRP's signaling mechanism, we determined cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of GABRP embedded in native nanodiscs, both in the presence and absence of GABA. Structurally, GABRP homopentamers closely resemble heteropentameric GABAR anion channels, transitioning from a closed "resting" state to an open "active" state upon GABA binding.

Identification of reproduction-related genes in the hypothalamus of sheep (Ovis aries) using the nanopore full-length transcriptome sequencing technology.

The hypothalamus is the coordination center of the sheep (Ovis aries) endocrine system and plays an important role in the reproductive processes of sheep. However, the specific mechanism by which the hypothalamus affects sheep reproductive performance remains unclear. In this study, the hypothalamus tissues of high-reproduction small-tailed Han sheep and low-reproduction Wadi sheep were collected, and full-length transcriptome sequencing by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) was performed to explore the key functional genes associated with sheep fecundity.

Fluorinated Fullerenes as Electrolyte Additives for High Ionic Conductivity Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Currently, lithium-ion batteries have an increasingly urgent need for high-performance electrolytes, and additives are highly valued for their convenience and cost-effectiveness features. In this work, the feasibilities of fullerenes and fluorinated fullerenes as typical bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide/1,2-dimethoxymethane (LiFSI/DME) electrolyte additives are rationally evaluated based on density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamic simulations. Interestingly, electronic structures of C, CF, CF, CF, 1-CF, and 2-CF are found to be compatible with the properties required as additives.

Purification, Characterization, and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Free and Bound Polyphenols Extracted from Tratt Pomace.

Tratt pomace (RRTP), an underutilized byproduct, is rich in polyphenol compounds. This study aimed to further explore the purification, characterization, anti-inflammatory activities, and underlying molecular mechanisms of free polyphenols (RRTP-FP) and bound polyphenols (RRTP-BP) from RRTP. The results indicated that AB-8 macroporous resin emerged as the preferred choice for subsequent separation and purification.

O-carboxymethyl chitosan in biomedicine: A review.

O-carboxymethyl chitosan (O-CMC) is a chitosan derivative produced through the substitution of hydroxyl (-OH) functional groups in glucosamine units with carboxymethyl (-CHCOOH) substituents, effectively addressing the inherent solubility issues of chitosan in aqueous solutions. O-CMC has garnered significant interest due to its enhanced solubility, elevated viscosity, minimal toxicity, and advantageous biocompatibility properties. Furthermore, O-CMC demonstrates antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant characteristics, rendering it a promising candidate for various biomedical uses such as wound healing, tissue engineering, anti-tumor therapies, biosensors, and bioimaging.

Novel Flavonoid Photoswitchable "Turn-On" Fluorescent Chemosensors: Synthesis of Bromo Flavonols for Nanomolar Aluminum Ion Detection and Cellular Imaging, among Other Applications.

Aluminum (Al), a non-essential element in living systems, can potentially cause chronic toxicity. Therefore, it is crucial to have a specific and sensitive method for detecting Al in order to assess its risk to life. In this study, we designed and synthesized a novel fluorescent probe (IV) based on bromoflavonol.

Nanoassembly of doxorubicin-conjugated polyphosphoester and siRNA simultaneously elicited macrophage- and T cell- mediated anticancer immune response for cancer therapy.

Efficiently reawakening immune cells, including T cells and macrophages, to eliminate tumor cells is a promising strategy for cancer treatment, but remains a huge challenge nowadays. Herein, a nanoassembly formed by doxorubicin (DOX)-conjugated polyphosphoester (PP-(hDOX)) and CD47-targeting siRNA (siCD47) via electrostatic and π-π stacking interactions, termed as PP-(hDOX&siCD47), was developed to reawaken the T cell and macrophage-mediated anticancer activity. The PP-(hDOX&siCD47) could efficiently blockade antiphagocytic signal by downregulation of CD47 expression to reactive macrophage-mediated anticancer immunotherapy.

A Transformer-Based Neural Network for Gait Prediction in Lower Limb Exoskeleton Robots Using Plantar Force.

Lower limb exoskeleton robots have shown significant research value due to their capabilities of providing assistance to wearers and improving physical motion functions. As a type of robotic technology, wearable robots are directly in contact with the wearer's limbs during operation, necessitating a high level of human-robot collaboration to ensure safety and efficacy. Furthermore, gait prediction for the wearer, which helps to compensate for sensor delays and provide references for controller design, is crucial for improving the the human-robot collaboration capability.

Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of a Ti-Cr-Doped LiMnNiO Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Ti, Cr dual-element-doped LiMnNiO (LNMO) cathode materials (LTNMCO) were synthesized by a simple high-temperature solid-phase method. The obtained LTNMCO shows the standard structure of the 3 space group, and the Ti and Cr doped ions may replace the Ni and Mn sites in LNMO, respectively. The effect of Ti-Cr doping and single-element doping on the structure of LNMO was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characteristics.

7SK methylation by METTL3 promotes transcriptional activity.

A fundamental feature of cell signaling is the conversion of extracellular signals into adaptive transcriptional responses. The role of RNA modifications in this process is poorly understood. The small nuclear RNA 7SK prevents transcriptional elongation by sequestering the cyclin dependent kinase 9/cyclin T1 (CDK9/CCNT1) positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) complex.

Dietary lycopene is negatively associated with abdominal aortic calcification in US adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Vascular calcification (VC) is one of the complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Previous studies have confirmed that oxidative stress (OS) plays an important role in developing VC and that antioxidants have anti-VC effects.

Objectives: Our study aimed to determine the relationship between the intake of antioxidants from dietary sources and the prevalence of VC, especially in the CKD population.

Type-II BiOSe/MoTe van der Waals Heterostructure Photodetectors with High Gate-Modulation Photovoltaic Performance.

In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) nonlayered BiOSe-based electronics and optoelectronics have drawn enormous attention owing to their high electron mobility, facile synthetic process, stability to the atmosphere, and moderate narrow band gaps. However, 2D BiOSe-based photodetectors typically present large dark current, relatively slow response speed, and persistent photoconductivity effect, limiting further improvement in fast-response imaging sensors and low-consumption broadband detection. Herein, a BiOSe/2H-MoTe van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructure obtained from the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach and vertical stacking is reported.

Visible and infrared photodiode based on γ-InSe/Ge van der Waals heterojunction for polarized detection and imaging.

Broadband photodetectors are a category of optoelectronic devices that have important applications in modern communication information. γ-InSe is a newly developed two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductor with an air-stable and low-symmetry crystal structure that is suitable for polarization-sensitive photodetection. Herein, we report a P-N photodiode based on 3D Ge/2D γ-InSe van der Waals heterojunction (vdWH).

Enhanced mechanisms of pooling and channel attention for deep learning feature maps.

The pooling function is vital for deep neural networks (DNNs). The operation is to generalize the representation of feature maps and progressively cut down the spatial size of feature maps to optimize the computing consumption of the network. Furthermore, the function is also the basis for the computer vision attention mechanism.

Computational mining of endohedral C electrides: tri-metal alkali and alkaline-earth encapsulation.

C is the second most abundant fullerene next to C. In this work, the exploration of C based electrides is proposed by theoretical encapsulation of group I/II trimetallic clusters into the C cage. Herein, we provide computational evidence that endohedral metallofullerenes M@C (M = Li, Na, K, Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) can exist stably by calculating encapsulation energies and analyzing atom centered density matrix propagation molecular dynamics simulations.

Low-pressure PVD growth SnS/InSe vertical heterojunctions with type-II band alignment for typical nanoelectronics.

Two-dimensional (2D) polarization-sensitive detection as a new photoelectric application technology is extensively investigated. However, most devices are mainly based on individual anisotropic materials, which suffer from large dark current and relatively low anisotropic ratio, limiting the practical application in polarized imaging system. Herein, we design a van der Waals (vdWs) p-type SnS/n-type InSe vertical heterojunction with proposed type-II band alignment low-pressure physical vapor deposition (LPPVD) and dry transfer method.

Optimizing the Deep Neural Networks by Layer-Wise Refined Pruning and the Acceleration on FPGA.

To accelerate the practical applications of artificial intelligence, this paper proposes a high efficient layer-wise refined pruning method for deep neural networks at the software level and accelerates the inference process at the hardware level on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The refined pruning operation is based on the channel-wise importance indexes of each layer and the layer-wise input sparsity of convolutional layers. The method utilizes the characteristics of the native networks without introducing any extra workloads to the training phase.

AI-based Prevention Embedded System Against COVID-19 in Daily Life.

Since the prevalence of COVID-19, the virus has spread all over the world. A large number of people have been infected and died, and countries all over the world have experienced the most severe crisis. Vaccination can effectively resist the virus.

Multifunctional GeAs/WS Heterojunctions for Highly Polarization-Sensitive Photodetectors in the Short-Wave Infrared Range.

Polarization-sensitive photodetectors in the infrared range have attracted considerable attention because of their unique and wide application prospects in polarization sensors and remote sensing. However, it is challenging to achieve short-wave infrared polarization detection as most polarization-sensitive photodetectors are based on transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials with in-plane symmetric crystal structure and sizable band gap (1-2 eV). In this work, we design a type-II GeAs/WS heterojunction realizing superior self-driven polarization-sensitive photodetection in the short-wave infrared region.

Tailoring Escherichia coli Chemotactic Sensing towards Cadmium by Computational Redesign of Ribose-Binding Protein.

Periplasmic binding proteins such as ribose-binding proteins (RBPs) are involved in the bacterial chemotaxis two-component system. RBP selectively identifies and interacts with ribose to induce a conformational change that leads to chemotaxis. Here, we report the development of an engineered Escherichia coli (E.

Structural basis for ligand reception by anaplastic lymphoma kinase.

The proto-oncogene ALK encodes anaplastic lymphoma kinase, a receptor tyrosine kinase that is expressed primarily in the developing nervous system. After development, ALK activity is associated with learning and memory and controls energy expenditure, and inhibition of ALK can prevent diet-induced obesity. Aberrant ALK signalling causes numerous cancers.