The tryptophan metabolite kynurenic acid ameliorates septic colonic injury through activation of the PPARγ signaling pathway.

Sepsis is the leading cause of death among critically ill patients in clinical practice, making it urgent to reduce its incidence and mortality rates. In sepsis, macrophage dysfunction often worsens and complicates the condition. M1 and M2 macrophages, two distinct types, contribute to pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects, respectively.

Programmable Wrinkled MXene-Based Soft Actuators with Moisture- and Light-Responsive Deformation and Water-Surface Locomotion Capabilities.

Soft actuators are limited by single-mode driving technology, which poses challenges in dealing with complex and multidimensional movements. In this study, a multiresponsive soft actuator was fabricated by integrating a microwrinkling structure into an MXene-based film, enabling programmable motions. To achieve this, we introduced -hexane into the film preparation process and utilized its rapid volatilization to accelerate the shrinkage difference between the film and the substrate.

Advances in materials and devices for smartlife photovoltaic innovations.

The rapid development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies is expanding their applications beyond conventional outdoor energy harvesting into innovative smart-life energy solutions. This review examines the most recent progress in materials and device designs for various emerging PV systems, particularly in indoor and low-light environments, semitransparent devices, and flexible, wearable applications. These advancements have great potential to support autonomous smart life, enhance the energy efficiency of building-integrated solutions, and improve wearable technologies.

Smart Cancer-Targeting and Super-Sensitive Sensing of Eu/Tb-Induced Hyaluronan Characteristic Nano-Micelles with Effective Drug Loading and Release.

To avoid the critical problems of effective drugs not being carried to their targeted cancers and their quantity and location not being sensed in situ, this work presents a completely new innovative strategy to achieve both smart cancer targeting (SCT) and super-sensitive sensing (SSS), where one drug carrier works for effective drug loading and release. Herein, malignant melanoma treatment is used as an example of reliable detection and effective therapy. We report two characteristic dumbbell-like nano-micelles and spherical-like nano-micelles of hyaluronan induced by the Eu/Tb complexes for effective drug loading and release, respectively.

Alveolar epithelial cells shape lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses and reprogramming of alveolar macrophages.

Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are sentinels in the airways, where they sense and respond to invading microbes and other stimuli. Unlike macrophages in other locations, AMs can remain responsive to Gram-negative lipopolysaccharides (LPS) after they have responded to LPS in vivo (they do not develop "endotoxin tolerance"), suggesting that the alveolar microenvironment may influence their responses. Although alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) normally limit AMs' innate responses, preventing inflammation induced by harmless antigens in the lung, how AECs influence the innate responses of AMs to infectious agents has been uncertain.

Impact of diabetes on the association between serum urate levels and incident dementia: a cohort study in the UK biobank.

Objectives: Diabetes was associated with increased serum urate levels and a higher risk of dementia. However, current evidence regarding the association between serum urate and dementia is controversial.The research gap on how to effectively control urate levels in the population with diabetes still remains.

Co-Ni bimetallic oxide with tuned surface oxygen vacancies efficiently electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia.

The electrocatalytic reduction reaction of nitrate (NO) to ammonia (NH) provides an efficient and clean NH production method, which has the potential to replace the traditional industrial preparation methods. However, the limited activity and Faraday efficiency (FE) of existing catalysts impede the practical application of this technology. Herein, in this work, a high-performance catalyst with high NH yield and FE was fabricated.

Biomimetic Nanomodulator Regulates Oxidative and Inflammatory Stresses to Treat Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a devastating complication of sepsis, affecting approximately 70% of patients with sepsis in intensive care units (ICU). Although the pathophysiological mechanisms remain elusive, sepsis is typically accompanied by systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and hyper-oxidative conditions. Here, we introduce a biomimetic nanomodulator (mAOI NP) that specifically targets inflammation site and simultaneously regulates oxidative and inflammatory stresses.

Ubiquitin-independent degradation of Bim blocks macrophage pyroptosis in sepsis-related tissue injury.

Pyroptosis, a typical inflammatory cell death mode, has been increasingly demonstrated to have therapeutic value in inflammatory diseases such as sepsis. However, the mechanisms and therapeutic targets of sepsis remain elusive. Here, we reported that REGγ inhibition promoted pyroptosis by regulating members of the gasdermin family in macrophages.

Enhancing Hot Carrier Photoelectric Efficiency through the Boosted Collection of Hot Holes via Au/ZrO/Si Tunneling Junctions.

Metallic nanoparticles can generate photoexcited hot carriers on the femtosecond scale under light excitation, which holds immense significance for applications such as optical communication and ultrafast imaging. In this study, a tunnelling junction structure with ZrO as the dielectric layer is designed and fabricated to achieve efficient hot hole collection between Au nanoparticles and P-type Si. Through characterizations of photoconductive atomic force microscopy, the electrical transition from an ohmic contact to a tunneling junction is confirmed, and the transfer pathway of Au hot holes to P-type Si upon 520 nm excitation is clearly observed.

Interplay between Bile Acids and Intestinal Microbiota: Regulatory Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential for Infections.

Bile acids (BAs) play a crucial role in the human body's defense against infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. BAs counteract infections not only through interactions with intestinal bacteria exhibiting bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity but they also directly combat infections. Building upon our research group's previous discoveries highlighting the role of BAs in combating infections, we have initiated an in-depth investigation into the interactions between BAs and intestinal microbiota.

Heterostructure FeS/Mn(OH) of incomplete sulfurization induces Mn atoms with high density of states for enhancing oxygen evolution reaction and supercapacitor electrochemical performance.

Heterostructures and the introduction of heterogeneous elements have been regarded as effective strategies to promote electrochemical performance. Herein, sulfur species are introduced by a simple hydrothermal vulcanization method, which constructs the open heterostructure FeS/Mn(OH) as a bifunctional material. The open cordyceps-like morphology can make the material contact more sufficiently with the electrolyte, exposing a large number of reaction sites.

L-valine derived from the gut microbiota protects sepsis-induced intestinal injury and negatively correlates with the severity of sepsis.

Background: The protective role of gut microbiota and its metabolites against intestinal damage in sepsis patients remain unclear.

Methods: Fecal samples were acquired from patients categorized into sepsis and non-sepsis groups for analysis of microbial composition via 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics analysis. We assessed the impact of gut microbiota from sepsis patients on intestinal barriers in antibiotic-treated mice.

Excellent Electroluminescent Property of Eu-Induced Polystyrene--poly(acrylic acid) Aggregates (EIPAs) in Polymeric Light-Emitting Diodes.

Eu-induced polystyrene--poly(acrylic acid) aggregates (EIPAs) were synthesized using a self-assembly approach, and their structures and photophysical characteristics were examined to achieve effective monochromatic red emission in polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). By adjusting the monomer ratio in RAFT polymerization, the size of Eu-induced block copolymer nanoaggregates can be regulated, thereby modulating the luminescence intensity. High-performance bilayer polymer light-emitting devices were fabricated using poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) and 2-(-butylphenyl)-5-biphenylyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) as the host matrix, with EIPAs as the guest dopant.

A Uni-Micelle Approach for the Controlled Synthesis of Monodisperse Gold Nanocrystals.

Small-size gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are showing large potential in various fields, such as photothermal conversion, sensing, and medicine. However, current synthesis methods generally yield lower, resulting in a high cost. Here, we report a novel uni-micelle method for the controlled synthesis of monodisperse gold nanocrystals, in which there is only one kind micelle containing aqueous solution of reductant while the dual soluble Au (III) precursor is dissolved in oil phase.

Controlling the graphite-like microcrystalline structure of lignin-based ultrafine carbon fibers via the design of condensed structures.

Obtaining lignin-based graphite-like microcrystallites at a relatively low carbonization temperature is still very challenging. In this work, we report a new method based on condensed structures, for regulating graphite-like microcrystalline structures via the incorporation of 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) into the main structure of lignin. The effects of MDI on the thermal properties of lignin and the graphite-like microcrystalline structure of lignin-based ultrafine carbon fibers were extensively studied and investigated.

Tryptophan metabolites relieve intestinal infection by altering the gut microbiota to reduce IL-22 release from group 3 innate lymphoid cells of the colon lamina propria.

Invasive candidiasis may be caused by () colonization of the intestinal tract. Preventing intestinal damage caused by infection and protecting intestinal barrier function have become a critical issue. Integrated analyses of the microbiome with metabolome revealed a remarkable shift of the gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolites, kynurenic acid (KynA), and indolacrylic acid (IA) in mice infected with .

Surface Passivation toward Multiple Inherent Dangling Bonds in Indium Phosphide Quantum Dots.

Indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) have become the most recognized prospect to be less-toxic surrogates for Cd-based optoelectronic systems. Due to the particularly dangling bonds (DBs) and the undesirable oxides, the photoluminescence performance and stability of InP QDs remain to be improved. Previous investigations largely focus on eliminating P-DBs and resultant surface oxidation states; however, little attention has been paid to the adverse effects of the surface In-DBs on InP QDs.

High-Efficiency Ternary Polymer Solar Cells with a Gradient-Blended Structure Fabricated by Sequential Deposition.

Acquiring the ideal blend morphology of the active layer to optimize charge separation and collection is a constant goal of polymer solar cells (PSCs). In this paper, the ternary strategy and the sequential deposition process were combined to make sufficient use of the solar spectrum, optimize the energy-level structure, regulate the vertical phase separation morphology, and ultimately enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of the PSCs. Specifically, the donor and acceptor illustrated a gradient-blended distribution in the sequential deposition-processed films, thus resulting in facilitated carrier characteristics in the gradient-blended devices.

Pseudohalogen Ammonium Salt-Assisted Syntheses of Large-Sized Indium Phosphide Quantum Dots with Near-Infrared Photoluminescence.

The development of indium phosphide (InP)-based quantum dots (QDs) with a near-infrared (NIR) emission area still lags behind the visible wavelength region and remains problematic. This study describes a one-step pseudohalogen ammonium salt-assisted approach to generate NIR-emitted InP-based QDs with high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs). The coexistence of NH and PF ions from NHPF may synchronously etch and passivate the surface oxides and impede the creation of traps under the whole growth process of InP QDs.

Highly selective electroreduction of CO to CO with ZnO QDs/N-doped porous carbon catalysts.

ZnO quantum dots (QDs) supported on porous nitrogen-doped carbon (ZnO/P-NC) exhibited excellent electrochemical performance for the electroreduction of CO to CO with a faradaic efficiency of 95.3% and a current density of 21.6 mA cm at -2.

p-d Orbital Hybridization-Engineered PdSn Nanozymes for a Sensitive Immunoassay.

Nanozymes with peroxidase-like activity have been extensively studied for colorimetric biosensing. However, their catalytic activity and specificity still lag far behind those of natural enzymes, which significantly affects the accuracy and sensitivity of colorimetric biosensing. To address this issue, we design PdSn nanozymes with selectively enhanced peroxidase-like activity, which improves the sensitivity and accuracy of a colorimetric immunoassay.