Superhydrophobic Tensile Designability of Silicone Rubber Composites.

Silicone rubber has broad applications in the field of industrial engineering due to its stable physical and chemical properties. However, the superhydrophobic properties, of silicone rubber, especially large deformation superhydrophobic properties, were not satisfactory for many harsh application environments and complex engineering structures. Here, we report the preparation of superhydrophobic tensile designable silicone rubber composites by a mixed deposition process that included powder deposition and smoke deposition.

Lignans from the Roots and Rhizomes of and Their Cytotoxic Activities.

One new dibenzyltyrolactone lignan dysoslignan A (), three new arylnaphthalide lignans dysoslignan B-C (-), along with fourteen known metabolites (-), were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of . Their structures and stereochemistry were determined from analysis of NMR spectroscopic and circular dichroism (CD) data. Compound represents the first report of naturally occurring arylnaphthalide lignan triglycoside.

Dysosmaflavonoid A-F, new flavonols with potent DPPH radical scavenging activity from Dysosma versipellis.

Six new flavonols, including four glucosylated flavonols (dysosmaflavonoid A-D), one phenylpropanoid-substituted flavonol (dysosmaflavonoid E), and one phenyl-substituted flavonol (dysosmaflavonoid F), together with five known analogues, were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of Dysosma versipellis. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of their NMR, IR, UV, HRESIMS, and HPLC data. The antioxidant activities of all isolated compounds were examined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay.

Structurally diverse biflavonoids from and their bioactivity.

Five pairs of new biflavonoid enantiomers, (±)-dysosmabiflavonoids A-E (1-5), two new biflavonoids, dysosmabiflavonoids F-G (6-7), and four biosynthetically related precursors (8-11) were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of . Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HR-ESI-MS and 2D NMR. Their absolute configurations were determined by comparison of the calculated and experimental ECD spectra.

Identification and analysis of DNA methylation-driven signatures for prognostic and immune microenvironments evaluation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver cancer is the main reason of cancer deaths globally, with an unfavorable prognosis. DNA methylation is one of the epigenetic modifications and maintains the right adjustment of gene expression and steady gene silencing. We aim to explore the novel signatures for prognosis by using DNA methylation-driven genes.

Polar Species for Effective Dielectric Regulation to Achieve High-Performance CsPbI Solar Cells.

Nonradiative losses caused by defects are the main obstacles to further advancing the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). There is focused research to boost the device performance by reducing the number of defects and deactivating defects; however, little attention is paid to the defect-capture capacity. Here, upon systematically examining the defect-capture capacity, highly polarized fluorinated species are designed to modulate the dielectric properties of the perovskite material to minimize its defect-capture radius.

Cytotoxic polyhydroxylated pregnane glycosides from var. .

Fourteen new polyhydroxylated pregnane glycosides, cissasteroid A-N (1-14), and five known analogues (15-19), were isolated from the dried whole plant of var. . Their structures and stereochemistry were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data, chemical hydrolysis, and ECD measurements.

Cytotoxic Polyhydroxylated Oleanane Triterpenoids from var. .

Three new polyhydroxylated oleanane triterpenoids, cissatriterpenoid A-C (-), along with one known analogue (), were isolated from the whole plant of var. . Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data (IR, HR-ESI-MS, H-NMR, C-NMR, DEPT, H-H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, NOESY) and the microhydrolysis method.

Molten-Salt-Assisted CsPbI Perovskite Crystallization for Nearly 20%-Efficiency Solar Cells.

Dynamic manipulation of crystallization is pivotal to the quality of polycrystalline films. A molten-salt-assisted crystallization (MSAC) strategy is presented to improve grain growth of the all-inorganic perovskite films. Compared with the traditional solvent annealing, MSAC enables more intensive mass transfer by means of convection and diffusion, which is beneficial to the interaction among the precursor colloids and to inducing in-plane growth of perovskite grains, resulting in the formation of high-quality perovskite films with suppressed pinhole and crack formation.

Structural basis of target DNA recognition by CRISPR-Cas12k for RNA-guided DNA transposition.

The type V-K CRISPR-Cas system, featured by Cas12k effector with a naturally inactivated RuvC domain and associated with Tn7-like transposon for RNA-guided DNA transposition, is a promising tool for precise DNA insertion. To reveal the mechanism underlying target DNA recognition, we determined a cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of Cas12k from cyanobacteria Scytonema hofmanni in complex with a single guide RNA (sgRNA) and a double-stranded target DNA. Coupled with mutagenesis and in vitro DNA transposition assay, our results revealed mechanisms for the recognition of the GGTT protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence and the structural elements of Cas12k critical for RNA-guided DNA transposition.

Structural basis for substrate recognition and cleavage by the dimerization-dependent CRISPR-Cas12f nuclease.

Cas12f, also known as Cas14, is an exceptionally small type V-F CRISPR-Cas nuclease that is roughly half the size of comparable nucleases of this type. To reveal the mechanisms underlying substrate recognition and cleavage, we determined the cryo-EM structures of the Cas12f-sgRNA-target DNA and Cas12f-sgRNA complexes at 3.1 and 3.

Cryo-EM structure of the RNA-guided ribonuclease Cas12g.

Cas12g, the type V-G CRISPR-Cas effector, is an RNA-guided ribonuclease that targets single-stranded RNA substrate. The CRISPR-Cas12g system offers a potential platform for transcriptome engineering and diagnostic applications. We determined the structures of Cas12g-guide RNA complexes in the absence and presence of target RNA by cryo-EM to a resolution of 3.

Sixteen New Prenylated Flavonoids from the Fruit of .

Sixteen new prenylated flavonoids, sinoflavonoids P-Z (-) and sinoflavonoids NA-NE (-), were isolated from the fruit of , along with eight known analogues (-). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data (HR-ESI-MS, H-NMR, C-NMR, HSQC, HMBC). The cytotoxic activities of compounds -, , and were evaluated by MTT assay.

Six New Coumarin Glycosides from the Aerial Parts of .

Six new coumarin glycosides, genglycoside A-F (-), were isolated from the aerial parts of , along with ten known analogues (-). Their structures were unambiguously established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data and HPLC analysis. The cytotoxic activities of all isolated compounds were evaluated by MTT assay.

Expression, purification, and evaluation of in vivo anti-fibrotic activity for soluble truncated TGF-β receptor II as a cleavable His-SUMO fusion protein.

Excessive production of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and its binding to transforming growth factor-β receptor type II (TGF-βRII) promotes fibrosis by activation of the TGF-β1-mediated signaling pathway. Thus, the truncated extracellular domain of TGF-βRII (tTβRII) is a promising anti-fibrotic candidate, as it lacks the signal transduction domain. In this work, the native N-terminal tTβRII was prepared as a His-SUMO fusion protein (termed His-SUMO-tTβRII) in Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3).

Isolation and molecular cloning of hepatocyte growth factor from guinea pig (gHGF), and expression of truncated variant of gHGF with improved anti-fibrotic activity in Escherichia coli.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is an attractive target for anti-fibrotic therapy because it attenuates excessive transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) which plays an important role in hepatic fibrosis. In the study, we reported on the isolation and molecular cloning of the open reading frame (ORF) of guinea pig HGF (gHGF), encoding a protein of 729 amino acids, with an apple-like (hairpin) domain, four kringle domains and a trypsin-like serine protease domain. Moreover, the truncated variant of gHGF (a double mutant of N-terminal hairpin and first kringle domains of gHGF, K132E and G134E, gmNK1) protein fused with His tag, the molecular weight of which was about 20.

Early Predictors of Acute Kidney Injury: A Narrative Review.

Accompanied with the broad application of interventional therapy, the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) has been recently increasing in clinical renal medicine. The pathogenesis of AKI is diverse and complex. In the context of the requirements for the diagnosis and treatment of a renal disorder, a large number of studies have explored biological markers and their usefulness to the early diagnosis and treatment of AKI, including glomerular injury, renal tubular injury, and others.

Magnesium regulates neural stem cell proliferation in the mouse hippocampus by altering mitochondrial function.

In the adult brain, neural stem cells from the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the cortex progress through the following five developmental stages: radial glia-like cells, neural progenitor cells, neuroblasts, immature neurons, and mature neurons. These developmental stages are linked to both neuronal microenvironments and energy metabolism. Neurogenesis is restricted and has been demonstrated to arise from tissue microenvironments.