Low-Dose Mildronate-Derived Lipidoids for Efficient mRNA Vaccine Delivery with Minimal Inflammation Side Effects.

mRNA vaccines have been revolutionizing disease prevention and treatment. However, their further application is hindered by inflammatory side effects, primarily caused by delivery systems such as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). In response to this issue, we prepared cationic lipids (mLPs) derived from mildronate, a small-molecule drug, and subsequently developed the LNP (mLNP-69) comprising a low dose of mLP.

Macrophages in the infarcted heart acquire a fibrogenic phenotype, expressing matricellular proteins, but do not undergo fibroblast conversion.

Although some studies have suggested that macrophages may secrete structural collagens, and convert to fibroblast-like cells, macrophage to fibroblast transdifferentiation in infarcted and remodeling hearts remains controversial. Our study uses linage tracing approaches and single cell transcriptomics to examine whether macrophages undergo fibroblast conversion, and to characterize the extracellular matrix expression profile of myeloid cells in myocardial infarction. To examine whether infarct macrophages undergo fibroblast conversion, we identified macrophage-derived progeny using the inducible CX3CR1 mice crossed with the PDGFRα reporter line for reliable fibroblast identification.

Surpassing millisecond coherence in on chip superconducting quantum memories by optimizing materials and circuit design.

The performance of superconducting quantum circuits for quantum computing has advanced tremendously in recent decades; however, a comprehensive understanding of relaxation mechanisms does not yet exist. In this work, we utilize a multimode approach to characterizing energy losses in superconducting quantum circuits, with the goals of predicting device performance and improving coherence through materials, process, and circuit design optimization. Using this approach, we measure significant reductions in surface and bulk dielectric losses by employing a tantalum-based materials platform and annealed sapphire substrates.

Ultrathin Magnesium-Based Coating as an Efficient Oxygen Barrier for Superconducting Circuit Materials.

Scaling up superconducting quantum circuits based on transmon qubits necessitates substantial enhancements in qubit coherence time. Over recent years, tantalum (Ta) has emerged as a promising candidate for transmon qubits, surpassing conventional counterparts in terms of coherence time. However, amorphous surface Ta oxide layer may introduce dielectric loss, ultimately placing a limit on the coherence time.

Association between triglyceride glucose-body mass index and heart failure in subjects with diabetes mellitus or prediabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) is a surrogate indicator of insulin resistance. However, the association of TyG-BMI with heart failure (HF) in individuals with diabetes mellitus or prediabetes mellitus is unknown.

Methods: This study included 7,472 participants aged 20-80 years old with prediabetes or diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2018).

Protective effects of macrophage-specific integrin α5 in myocardial infarction are associated with accentuated angiogenesis.

Macrophages sense changes in the extracellular matrix environment through the integrins and play a central role in regulation of the reparative response after myocardial infarction. Here we show that macrophage integrin α5 protects the infarcted heart from adverse remodeling and that the protective actions are associated with acquisition of an angiogenic macrophage phenotype. We demonstrate that myeloid cell- and macrophage-specific integrin α5 knockout mice have accentuated adverse post-infarction remodeling, accompanied by reduced angiogenesis in the infarct and border zone.

Association between sun-protective behaviors and hypertension: a cross-sectional study from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009 to 2014.

Background: In previous studies, sun-protective behaviors increased cardiovascular incidence. Our present article is to further analyze the potential relationship between sun-protective behaviors (staying in the shade, wearing long-sleeved clothing, and applying sunscreen) and hypertension.

Method: The present cross-sectional study evaluated 8,613 participants (aged 20-60 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) obtained between 2009 and 2014.

Chemical Profiles of the Oxides on Tantalum in State of the Art Superconducting Circuits.

Over the past decades, superconducting qubits have emerged as one of the leading hardware platforms for realizing a quantum processor. Consequently, researchers have made significant effort to understand the loss channels that limit the coherence times of superconducting qubits. A major source of loss has been attributed to two level systems that are present at the material interfaces.

High-Efficiency Carbon-based CsPbI Br Perovskite Solar Cells from Dual Direction Thermal Diffusion Treatment with Cadmium Halides.

In recent years, carbon-based CsPbI Br perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted more attention due to their low cost and good stability. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of carbon-based CsPbI Br PSCs is still no more than 16%, because of the defects in CsPbI Br or at the interface with the electron transport layer (ETL), as well as the energy level mismatch, which lead to the loss of energy, thus limiting PCE values. Herein, a series of cadmium halides are introduced, including CdCl , CdBr and CdI for dual direction thermal diffusion treatment.

Deciphering phase evolution in complex metal oxide thin films via high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization.

Discovery of structure-property relationships in thin film alloys of complex metal oxides enabled by high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization facilities is demonstrated here with a case-study. Thin films of binary transition metal oxides (Ti-Zn) are prepared by pulsed laser deposition with continuously varying Ti:Zn ratio, creating combinatorial samples for exploration of the properties of this material family. The atomic structure and electronic properties are probed by spatially resolved techniques including x-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) at the Ti and Zn K-edge, x-ray diffraction, and spectroscopic ellipsometry.

Integrins in cardiac fibrosis.

Cells sense mechanical stress and changes in their matrix environment through the integrins, a family of heterodimeric surface receptors that bind to extracellular matrix ligands and trigger cytoskeletal remodeling, while transducing a wide range of intracellular signals. Integrins have been extensively implicated in regulation of inflammation, repair and fibrosis in many different tissues. This review manuscript discusses the role of integrin-mediated cascades in myocardial fibrosis.

Differential effects of Smad2 and Smad3 in regulation of macrophage phenotype and function in the infarcted myocardium.

TGF-βs regulate macrophage responses, by activating Smad2/3. We have previously demonstrated that macrophage-specific Smad3 stimulates phagocytosis and mediates anti-inflammatory macrophage transition in the infarcted heart. However, the role of macrophage Smad2 signaling in myocardial infarction remains unknown.

The role of endogenous Smad7 in regulating macrophage phenotype following myocardial infarction.

Smad7 restrains TGF-β responses, and has been suggested to exert both pro- and anti-inflammatory actions that may involve effects on macrophages. Myocardial infarction triggers a macrophage-driven inflammatory response that not only plays a central role in cardiac repair, but also contributes to adverse remodeling and fibrosis. We hypothesized that macrophage Smad7 expression may regulate inflammation and fibrosis in the infarcted heart through suppression of TGF-β responses, or via TGF-independent actions.

Identification of macrophages in normal and injured mouse tissues using reporter lines and antibodies.

Reliable tools for macrophage identification in mouse tissues are critical for studies investigating inflammatory and reparative responses. Transgenic reporter mice and anti-macrophage antibodies have been used as "specific pan-macrophage" markers in many studies; however, organ-specific patterns of expression and non-specific labeling of other cell types, such as fibroblasts, may limit their usefulness. Our study provides a systematic comparison of macrophage labeling patterns in normal and injured mouse tissues, using the CX3CR1 and CSF1R macrophage reporter lines and anti-macrophage antibodies.

High-efficiency and ultraviolet stable carbon-based CsPbIBr solar cells from single crystal three-dimensional anatase titanium dioxide nanoarrays with ultraviolet light shielding function.

TiO is commonly used to prepare electron transport layers (ETLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, conventional TiO ETLs suffer from low electron mobility and charge recombination. Here, we report the direct growth of TiO ETLs on fluorine doped conductive (FTO) glasses with titanium tetrafluoride (TiF) as the reactant by hydrothermal method.

Smad7 effects on TGF-β and ErbB2 restrain myofibroblast activation and protect from postinfarction heart failure.

Repair of the infarcted heart requires TGF-β/Smad3 signaling in cardiac myofibroblasts. However, TGF-β-driven myofibroblast activation needs to be tightly regulated in order to prevent excessive fibrosis and adverse remodeling that may precipitate heart failure. We hypothesized that induction of the inhibitory Smad, Smad7, may restrain infarct myofibroblast activation, and we examined the molecular mechanisms of Smad7 actions.

Enhancing efficiency of perovskite solar cells from surface passivation of Co doped CuGaO nanocrystals.

Before completely applying inorganic materials as hole transport materials (HTM) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), modifying devices with inorganic oxides that have the potential as inorganic hole transporters is an effective way to improve device performance and stability. Co doped CuGaO nanocrystals (Co-CuGaO NCs) with sizes about 20 nm are synthesized by hydrothermal method and used for surface passivation at the interface of perovskite (PVK)/2,2',7,7'-Tetrakis[N,N-di (4-methoxyphenyl) amino]-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiroOMeTAD). Co-CuGaO NCs have a larger bandgap with lower valance band compared with spiroOMeTAD, which is more beneficial to the conduction of holes and the blocking of electrons.

Collagen denaturation in the infarcted myocardium involves temporally distinct effects of MT1-MMP-dependent proteolysis and mechanical tension.

Tissue injury results in profound alterations in the collagen network, associated with unfolding of the collagen triple helix, proteolytic degradation and generation of fragments. In the infarcted myocardium, changes in the collagen network are critically involved in the pathogenesis of left ventricular rupture, adverse remodeling and chronic dysfunction. We hypothesized that myocardial infarction is associated with temporally and spatially restricted patterns of collagen denaturation that may reflect distinct molecular mechanisms of collagen unfolding.

High-Efficiency, Low-Hysteresis Planar Perovskite Solar Cells by Inserting the NaBr Interlayer.

With great research potential, the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been well developed in recent years, but there are still some urgent issues like efficiency and hysteresis defects that severely limit their commercialization. Interface modification is a significant measure to reduce defects and promote performance. In the article, an easy and effective strategy of modifying the electron transport layer (ETL) with NaBr is proposed to improve efficiency and reduce hysteresis.

Thin-film synthesis of superconductor-on-insulator A15 vanadium silicide.

We present a new method for thin-film synthesis of the superconducting A15 phase of vanadium silicide with critical temperature higher than 13 K. Interdiffusion between a metallic vanadium film and the underlying silicon device layer in a silicon-on-insulator substrate, at temperatures between 650 and 750 °C, favors formation of the vanadium-rich A15 phase by limiting the supply of available silicon for the reaction. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction verify the stoichiometry and structure of the synthesized thin films.

Chemokines in cardiac fibrosis.

Several members of the chemokine family are involved in regulation of fibrosis. This review manuscript discusses the role of the chemokines in the pathogenesis of myocardial fibrosis. The CC chemokine CCL2 exerts fibrogenic actions through recruitment and activation of monocytes and macrophages expressing its receptor, CCR2.

Salidroside Attenuates Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction Partially Through Activation of QKI/FoxO1 Pathway.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapy. However, its usage has been associated with adverse effects. Salidroside (SAL) is an antioxidative drug, which confers protective effects against several diseases.

Histone hyperacetylation mediates enhanced IL-1β production in LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated macrophages.

Under the condition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon (IFN)-γ activation, macrophage metabolism is converted from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. In the present work, we analysed whether glycolysis could affect interleukin (IL)-1β expression through altering histone acetylation levels in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis are used to characterize histone acetylation in macrophages stimulated by LPS/IFN-γ.

Inhibition of TRPA1 Promotes Cardiac Repair in Mice After Myocardial Infarction.

Recent studies have shown that TRPA1, a nonselective cation channel with high permeability to calcium, is expressed in many tissues of the cardiovascular system and is involved in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of TRPA1 in cardiac repair after myocardial infarction (MI) has not been clearly defined. The aim of this study was to confirm whether inhibition of TRPA1 could attenuate MI-induced cardiac ischemia injury.

Salidroside prevents tumor necrosis factor-α-induced vascular inflammation by blocking mitogen-activated protein kinase and NF-κB signaling activation.

Vascular inflammation is a key factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Salidroside is an important active ingredient extracted from the root of the plant, which has been reported to have antioxidative, anti-cancer, neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects. However, the effects of salidroside on vascular inflammation have not been clarified.