Effect of PM2.5 air pollution on the global burden of neonatal diarrhea from 1990 to 2019.

The primary risk factor for global disease burden is prolonged exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution, which results in health problems and death. However, the global burden of diarrheal diseases attributable to PM2.5 remains unclear.

New purse-string suture clamp and multi-functional seal cap: a simple intracorporeal circular-stapled oesophagojejunostomy after laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) is still limited because intracorporeal oesophagojejunostomy is technically demanding and difficult in laparoscopic gastrectomy. Circular-stapled anastomosis is considered the "gold standard" method for oesophagojejunostomy in open total gastrectomy. A purse-string suture instrument is used to create a purse-string suture along the distal oesophagus as a standard technique for classic circular-stapled oesophagojejunostomy in the open total gastrectomy.

Degradable and Piezoelectric Hollow ZnO Heterostructures for Sonodynamic Therapy and Pro-Death Autophagy.

Piezoelectric materials can generate charges and reactive oxygen species (ROS) under external force stimulation for ultrasound-induced sonodynamic therapy (SDT). However, their poor piezoelectricity, fast electron-hole pair recombination rate, and biological toxicity of piezoelectric materials limit the therapeutic effects of piezoelectric SDT. In this study, hollow ZnO (HZnO) nanospheres were synthesized by using a one-step method.

16-channel sleeve antenna array based on passive decoupling method at 14 T.

At ultra-high fields, especially at 14 T, head coil arrays face significant challenges with coupling between elements. Although passive decoupling methods can reduce this coupling, the decoupling elements can cause destructive interference to the RF field of the head array, thus reducing the B efficiency. The B loss due to this effect can be even higher than that due to inter-element coupling.

Fabrication of Low-Cost Porous Carbon Polypropylene Composite Sheets with High Photothermal Conversion Performance for Solar Steam Generation.

The development of absorber materials with strong light absorption properties and low-cost fabrication processes is highly significant for the application of photothermal conversion technology. In this work, a mixed powder consisting of NaCl, polypropylene (PP), and scale-like carbon flakes was ultrasonically pressed into sheets, and the NaCl was then removed by salt dissolution to obtain porous carbon polypropylene composite sheets (P-CPCS). This process is simple, green, and suitable for the low-cost, large-area fabrication of P-CPCS.

Regulating Charge Transfer in Cyanine Dyes: A Universal Methodology for Enhancing Cancer Phototherapeutic Efficacy.

ConspectusDue to the advantages of spatiotemporal selectivity and inherent noninvasiveness, cancer phototherapy, which includes both photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), has garnered significant attention in recent years as a promising cancer treatment. Despite the commendable progress in this field, persistent challenges remain. In PDT, limitations in dyes manifest as low intersystem crossing (ISC) efficiency and oxygen-dependent photoactivity, resulting in unsatisfactory performance, particularly under hypoxic conditions.

Near-Infrared Heptamethine Cyanine Photosensitizers with Efficient Singlet Oxygen Generation for Anticancer Photodynamic Therapy.

Near-infrared photosensitizers are valuable tools to improve treatment depth in photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, their low singlet oxygen (O) generation ability, indicated by low O quantum yield, presents a formidable challenge for PDT. To overcome this challenge, the heptamethine cyanine was decorated with biocompatible S (Scy7) and Se (Secy7) atom.

Self-assembly-integrated tumor targeting and electron transfer programming towards boosting tumor type I photodynamic therapy.

Type I photodynamic therapy (PDT) is attracting increasing interest as an effective solution to the poor prognosis of patients with hypoxic tumors. The development of functional type I photosensitizers is limited by a lack of feasible strategies to systematically modulate electron transfer (ET) in photosensitization. Herein, we present an easily accessible approach for the preparation of nanophotosensitizers with self-assembly-integrated tumor-targeting and ET programming towards boosting tumor type I PDT.

Red-Light Triggered H-Abstraction Photoinitiators for the Efficient Oxygen-Independent Therapy of Hypoxic Tumors.

The clinical application of photodynamic therapy (PDT) is limited by oxygen-dependence and side effects caused by photosensitizer residues. Photoinitiators based on the H-abstraction reaction can address these challenges because they can generate alkyl radical-killing cells independently of oxygen and undergo rapid bleaching following H-abstraction. Nonetheless, the development of photoinitiators for PDT has been impeded by the absence of effective design strategies.

Clearly fluorescent delineating ER+ breast tumor incisal edge and identifying tiny metastatic tumor foci at high resolution.

Fluorescence-image guided surgery (FGS) can intraoperatively provide real-time visualization of a tumor incisal edge and high-resolution identification of tumor foci to improve treatment outcomes. In this contribution, we report a fluorescent probe NB-TAM based on intramolecularly folded photoinduced electron transfer (PET), which displayed a prominent turn-on response in the near-infrared (NIR) window upon specific interaction with the estrogen receptor (ER). Significantly, NB-TAM could delineate a clear tumor incisal edge (tumor-to-normal tissue ratio > 5) in a 70-min time window, and was successfully used to guide the facile and precise resection of ER+ breast tumors in mice.

Detection and Identification of Tassel States at Different Maize Tasseling Stages Using UAV Imagery and Deep Learning.

The tassel state in maize hybridization fields not only reflects the growth stage of the maize but also reflects the performance of the detasseling operation. Existing tassel detection models are primarily used to identify mature tassels with obvious features, making it difficult to accurately identify small tassels or detasseled plants. This study presents a novel approach that utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and deep learning techniques to accurately identify and assess tassel states, before and after manually detasseling in maize hybridization fields.

Activating Iterative Revolutions of the Cancer-Immunity Cycle in Hypoxic Tumors with a Smart Nano-Regulator.

The activation of sequential events in the cancer-immunity cycle (CIC) is crucial for achieving effective antitumor immunity. However, formidable challenges, such as innate and adaptive immune resistance, along with the off-target adverse effects of nonselective immunomodulators, persist. In this study, a tumor-selective nano-regulator named PNBJQ has been presented, focusing on targeting two nonredundant immune nodes: inducing immunogenic cancer cell death and abrogating immune resistance to fully activate endogenous tumor immunity.

Gram-negative bacteria recognition and photodynamic elimination by Zn-DPA based sensitizers.

The abuse and overuse of antibiotics let drug-resistant bacteria emerges. Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (APDT) has shown outstanding merits to eliminate the drug-resistant bacteria via cytotoxic reactive oxygen species produced by irradiating photosensitizer. However, most of photosensitizers are not effective for Gram-negative bacteria elimination.

Spatio-temporal distribution and evolution of the Tujia traditional settlements in China.

The rapid modernization in China has aggravated the reduction of the traditional settlements and aroused concern about the protection and research. This study aims to examine the spatial-temporal variations Tujia traditional settlements in China and to delineate the driving mechanism of the settlement distribution. Previous studies have focused on the characteristics of settlements in provincial or smaller areas, providing lacked information regarding spatial distribution heterogeneity of Tujia traditional settlements in China.

A non-peptide-based fluorescent probe capable of sensitively visualizing asparagine endopeptidase.

The non-peptide-based fluorescent probe QMC11 is capable of specifically targeting asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) and imaging cellular endogenous AEP. The motion of the probe can be restricted by AEP to activate fluorescence while keeping a low background signal.

A PROTAC Augmenter for Photo-Driven Pyroptosis in Breast Cancer.

Proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) has recently emerged as a promising strategy for inducing post-translational knockdown of target proteins in disease treatment. The degradation of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4), an essential nuclear protein for gene transcription, induced by PROTAC is proposed as an epigenetic approach to treat breast cancer. However, the poor membrane permeability and indiscriminate distribution of PROTAC in vivo results in low bioavailability, limiting its development and application.

Wavelength-Tuneable Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Nucleic Acid Imaging.

Nucleic acid is one of the most important substances in organisms, and its dynamic changes are closely related to physiological processes. Nucleic acid labeling is conducive to providing important information for the early diagnosis and treatment of pathophysiological processes. Here, we utilized the transfer mechanism between carbon sources and CDs to synthesize wavelength-adjustable N-CDs for the nucleic acid image.

Monophenylboryl aza-BODIPY with free rotation of the B-phenyl group for enhanced photothermal conversion.

Owing to the efficient non-radiative relaxation by the free rotation of the B-phenyl moiety, monophenyl substituted aza-BODIPY on the boron centre with near-infrared absorption has high photothermal conversion efficiency, which is highly desirable for a photothermal therapy agent.

Plant microphenotype: from innovative imaging to computational analysis.

The microphenotype plays a key role in bridging the gap between the genotype and the complex macro phenotype. In this article, we review the advances in data acquisition and the intelligent analysis of plant microphenotyping and present applications of microphenotyping in plant science over the past two decades. We then point out several challenges in this field and suggest that cross-scale image acquisition strategies, powerful artificial intelligence algorithms, advanced genetic analysis, and computational phenotyping need to be established and performed to better understand interactions among genotype, environment, and management.

Aryl-Modified Pentamethyl Cyanine Dyes at the C2' Position: A Tunable Platform for Activatable Photosensitizers.

Pentamethyl cyanine dyes are promising fluorophores for fluorescence sensing and imaging. However, advanced biomedical applications require enhanced control of their excited-state properties. Herein, a synthetic approach for attaching aryl substituents at the C2' position of the thio-pentamethine cyanine (TCy5) dye structure is reported for the first time.

Aza-BODIPY with two efficacious fragments for NIR light-driven photothermal therapy by triggering cancer cell apoptosis.

The reasonable structure of aza-BODIPY renders it as an efficient photothermal reagent for photothermal therapy. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of aza-BODIPY NMeBu with the free rotating -butyl group and the dimethylamino-substituted segment to promote the photothermal conversion the excited state non-radiative transition. NMeBu was found to be the π-π stacking form in the unit cell based on X-ray analysis.

Dipicolylamine-Zn Induced Targeting and Photo-Eliminating of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Drug-Resistance Gram-Positive Bacteria.

The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, particularly resistant strains of Gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, poses a significant threat to public health. Although antibacterial photodynamic therapy (APDT) is a promising strategy for combating drug-resistant bacteria, actively targeted photosensitizers (PSs) remain unknown. In this study, a PS based on dipicolylamine (DPA), known as WZK-DPA-Zn, is designed for the selective identification of P.

Synchronized activating therapeutic nano-agent: Enhancement and tracing for hypoxia-induced chemotherapy.

Prodrug is a potential regime to overcome serious adverse events and off-target effects of chemotherapy agents. Among various prodrug activators, hypoxia stands out owing to the generalizability and prominence in tumor micro-environment. However, existing hypoxia activating prodrugs generally face the limitations of stringent structural requirements, the lack of feedback and the singularity of therapeutic modality, which is imputed to the traditional paradigm that recognition groups must be located at the terminus of prodrugs.