The Japanese tits evaluate threat level based on the posture of a predator.

Previous studies have shown that the threat level posed by a predator can vary with physical features. In this study, we tested whether the wing posture of a raptor could serve as a clue for bird threat assessment. We observed the behavioral response of Japanese tits Parus minor to taxidermy dummies Eurasian sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus with either spread wings and closed wings.

Tuning Proton Conduction by Staggered Arrays of Polar Preyssler-Type Oxoclusters.

Polyoxometalates (POMs), anionic nanosized oxoclusters that can be considered as fragments of metal oxides, have been extensively studied for their diverse composition and structure, showing promise in various fields such as catalysis and electronics. Proton conduction, relevant to catalysis and electronics, has attracted interest in materials chemistry, and POM anions are advantageous in terms of their proton carrier density and mobility. Recently, polar POMs have attracted attention for their unique ferroelectric behaviors, yet they have been little studied with regard to proton conduction, as their polarity has generally been believed to have a negative impact.

Insight into the Mechanism of CO Chemical Fixation into Epoxides by Windmill-Shaped Polyoxovanadate and -BuNX (X = Br, I).

Carbon dioxide (CO) coupled with epoxide to generate cyclic carbonate stands out in carbon neutrality due to its 100% atom utilization. In this work, the mechanism of CO cycloaddition with propylene oxide (PO) cocatalyzed by windmill-shaped polyoxovanadate, [(CNH)(CHO)VVO]·4CHOH (V-1), and -BuNX (X = Br, I) was thoroughly investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The ring-opening, CO-insertion, and ring-closing steps of the process were extensively studied.

A combined pre- and intra-operative nomogram in evaluation of degrees of liver cirrhosis predicts post-hepatectomy liver failure: a multicenter prospective study.

Background: Adequate evaluation of degrees of liver cirrhosis is essential in surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The impact of the degrees of cirrhosis on prediction of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) remains poorly defined. This study aimed to construct and validate a combined pre- and intra-operative nomogram based on the degrees of cirrhosis in predicting PHLF in HCC patients using prospective multi-center's data.

CEUS in prediction of early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection and to stratify the risk of early recurrence: a retrospective observational study.

Purpose: Early recurrence (ER) after surgery is related to early death in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radical resection. To explore the role of preoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in predicting ER of HCC after curative resection and to stratify the risk of ER.

Materials And Methods: This study evaluated consecutive 556 patients with HCC who were examined by CEUS during the 2 weeks before curative resection between January 2011 and December 2018.

Insights into the Mechanism of Nitrobenzene Reduction to Aniline by Phosphomolybdic Acid Supported TM Single-Atom Catalysts.

Catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene (Ph-NO) to aniline (Ph-NH) is a model reaction in the field of catalysis, in which the development of efficient catalysts remains a great challenge due to the lack of strategies to solve activity and selectivity problems. In this work, the mechanism of Ph-NO hydrogenation over Pt supported on phosphomolybdic acid (α-PMA) was proposed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that the dissociation of the first and second N-O bonds is triggered by single H-induced and double H-induced mechanisms, respectively.

Constructing Oxygen Vacancies via Engineering Heterostructured Fe C/Fe O Catalysts for Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis.

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions provides an intriguing pathway to convert N into NH . However, significant kinetic barriers of the NRR at low temperatures in desirable aqueous electrolytes remain a grand challenge due to the inert N≡N bond of the N molecule. Herein, we propose a unique strategy for in situ oxygen vacancy construction to address the significant trade-off between N adsorption and NH desorption by building a hollow shell structured Fe C/Fe O heterojunction coated with carbon frameworks (Fe C/Fe O @C).

Regulating Efficient and Selective Single-atom Catalysts for Electrocatalytic CO Reduction.

Anchoring transition metal (TM) atoms on suitable substrates to form single-atom catalysts (SACs) is a novel approach to constructing electrocatalysts. Graphdiyne with sp-sp hybridized carbon atoms and uniformly distributed pores have been considered as a potential carbon material for supporting metal atoms in a variety of catalytic processes. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to study the single TM atom anchoring on graphdiyne (TM -GDY, TM=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co and Cu) as the catalysts for CO reduction.

HCC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a hyper-enhanced rim on Sonazoid-CEUS Kupffer phase images is a predictor of tumor response.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody therapy by assessing the hyper-enhanced rim phenomenon of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on Sonazoid-contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) Kupffer phase images.

Methods: This retrospective study included 61 patients with HCC who received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapy from August 1, 2020, to January 31, 2022. We compared the progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with hyper-enhanced rim+ and hyper-enhanced rim-nodules and the time to nodule progression (TTnP) of hyper-enhanced rim+ and hyper-enhanced rim- nodules.

Prospective Comparison of Oral Contrast-Enhanced Transabdominal Ultrasound Imaging With Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography in Pre-operative Tumor Staging of Gastric Cancer.

The aim of this prospective study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of oral contrast-enhanced transabdominal ultrasound imaging (OCTU) with that of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) for the pre-operative tumor staging of gastric cancer, with post-operative pathology as the standard. We included 108 cases of gastric cancer with simultaneous OCTU and enhanced CT pre-operative tumor staging diagnoses. Results were compared with post-operative pathology based on the eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor-node-metastasis staging guidelines for gastric cancer.

[Effect of Rehmanniae Radix on depression-like behavior and hippocampal monoamine neurotransmitters of chronic unpredictable mild stress model rats].

To investigate the effect of Rehmanniae Radix on depression-like behavior and monoamine neurotransmitters of chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) model rats. CUMS combined with isolated feeding was used to induce the depression model of rats. The depression-like behavior of rats was evaluated by sucrose preference test, open field test, and forced swim test.

The interesting luminescence behavior and rare nonlinear optical properties of the {AgMo} nanocluster.

The remarkably reversible thermochromic luminescence behavior and the rare nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the [Ag(MoO)(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C Bu)(CHCOO)(CHCOO)]·2HO ({AgMo} for short) nanocluster reported were investigated experimentally. The important contributions of Ag, C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C ions and MoO groups to the NLO properties were proved by further density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Ultrasound contrast agent Sonazoid for the diagnosis of hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma: a case report.

Background: An angiomyolipoma usually occurs in the kidneys and rarely in the liver. Hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma (HEAML), a rare variant of angiomyolipoma, possesses malignant potential and mimics the imaging features of hepatocellular carcinoma. Sonazoid® (perfluorobutane microbubbles), a new contrast agent that facilitates hepatic parenchyma-specific Kupffer phase imaging on contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS), is useful for the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions.

[Guanxin Zhitong Capsules attenuate human endothelial cell damage induced by palmitic acid via MAPK signaling pathway].

The present study observed the effect of Guanxin Zhitong Capsules(GXZT) on the lipotoxicity of vascular endothelial cells and investigated the mechanism of GXZT in atherosclerosis treatment. The lipotoxicity model in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) was induced by palmitic acid(PA) stimulation. These cells were divided into a normal control group(NC, 15% normal serum), a model group(PA, 0.

Isomeric effects on the acidity of Al Keggin clusters in porous ionic crystals.

We demonstrate a facile synthesis method of a porous ionic crystal (PIC) composed of the little-known δ-Keggin-type cationic polyoxoaluminum cluster ([δ-AlO(OH)(HO)], δ-Al) with an oppositely-charged polyoxometalate, which enabled us to investigate the activity as a solid acid. The δ-Al based PIC exhibited much higher activity in pinacol rearrangement, a typical acid-catalyzed reaction, than the PIC based on the well-known and thermodynamically stable rotational isomer (ε-Al). This work is a rare example of rotational isomers of polyoxoaluminum clusters exhibiting remarkably different catalytic activities.

Transition-Metal-Modified Vanadoborate Clusters as Stable and Efficient Photocatalysts for CO Reduction.

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (CORR) is considered to be a promising sustainable and clean approach to solve environmental issues. Polyoxometalates (POMs), with advantages in fast, reversible, and stepwise multiple-electron transfer without changing their structures, have been promising catalysts in various redox reactions. However, their performance is often restricted by poor thermal or chemical stability.

[Protective effect of serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex on HUVEC injured by H_2O_2].

This study aimed to investigate the effect of serum containing ginseng and Moutan Cortex on human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) injured with hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2). HUVEC injured with H_2O_2 were divided into 6 groups, namely blank group, model group, ginsenoside(TGG) group, total glucosides of Moutan Cortex(TGM) group, paeonol(P) group and TGG+TGM+P group. After 24 hours of co-culture with H_2O_2, the activities of succinate dehydrogenase(SDH) and Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATP were detected by microenzyme labeling.

[Study on protective effect of total flavonoids from Rosa multiflora on HUVEC induced by ox-LDL].

The aim of this paper was to study the protective effect of total flavonoids from Rosa multiflora(TF-RM) on the injury of HUVEC induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein(ox-LDL). SPF male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group, simvastatin group(1.8 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) and TF-RM group(2.

Configuration effect in polyoxometalate-based dyes on the performance of DSSCs: an insight from a theoretical perspective.

The electronic properties of dyes can be readily tuned by modifying the structure. Herein, the polyoxometalate (POM)-based dyes derived from dye XW11 with new patterns, donor-acceptor-π linker-acceptor (D-A-π-A) structure (dye 1), and D-π-A-π-A structure (dye 2) were designed by inserting a POM moiety besides the extensively exploited D-π-A structure (dye 3). Based on density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations, the configuration effect on the designed dyes was investigated.

Nasopharyngeal Swabs Are More Sensitive Than Oropharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Diagnosis and Monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 Load.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by oropharyngeal swabs (OPS) and nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) is an essential method for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management. It is not clear how detection rate, sensitivity, and the risk of exposure for medical providers differ in two sampling methods. In this prospective study, 120 paired NPS and OPS specimens were collected from 120 inpatients with confirmed COVID-19.

Hollow Porous MnFe O Sphere Grown on Elm-Money-Derived Biochar towards Energy-Saving Full Water Electrolysis.

The development of inexpensive and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts is significant for widespread practical applications of overall water splitting technology. Herein, a one-pot solvothermal method is used to prepare hollow porous MnFe O spheres, which are grown on natural-abundant elm-money-derived biochar material to construct MnFe O /BC composite. When the overpotential is 156 mV for both the oxygen evolution reaction and the hydrogen evolution reaction, the current density reaches up to 10 mA cm , and its duration is 10 h.

Multielectron transportation of polyoxometalate-grafted metalloporphyrin coordination frameworks for selective CO-to-CH photoconversion.

Photocatalytic CO reduction into energy carriers is of utmost importance due to the rising concentrations of CO and the depleting energy resource. However, the highly selective generation of desirable hydrocarbon fuel, such as methane (CH), from CO remains extremely challenging. Herein, we present two stable polyoxometalate-grafted metalloporphyrin coordination frameworks (POMCFs), which are constructed with reductive Zn-ϵ-Keggin clusters and photosensitive tetrakis(4-carboxylphenyl)porphyrin (HTCPP) linkers, exhibiting high selectivity (>96%) for CH formation in a photocatalytic CO-reduction system.