Necrostatin-1 protects corneal epithelial cells by inhibiting the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL cascade in a benzalkonium chloride-induced model of necroptosis.

Purpose: Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) is commonly used as a preservative in ophthalmic medications, despite its potential to induce chemical injury. Extensive research has demonstrated that BAC can lead to adverse effects, including injuries to the ocular surface. Our study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of necroptosis induced by BAC.

The pan-plastome of : insights into diversity, phylogeny, and domestication history.

Backgrounds: in the Rosaceae and commonly referred to as mei or Chinese plum is widely used as a traditional ornamental flowering plant and fruit tree in China. Although some population and genetic analyses have been conducted for this species, no extensive comparisons of genetic variation from plastomes have yet been investigated.

Methods: We assembled a total of 322 complete plastomes in this study and did a series of comparative analyses to better resolve pan-plastomic patterns of .

Bioinformatics analysis of signature genes related to cell death in keratoconus.

Keratoconus is corneal disease in which the progression of conical dilation of cornea leads to reduced visual acuity and even corneal perforation. However, the etiology mechanism of keratoconus is still unclear. This study aims to identify the signature genes related to cell death in keratoconus and examine the function of these genes.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of the Quorum-Sensing Inhibitors of PAO1.

Due to the resistance of Gram-negative bacteria PAO1 to most clinically relevant antimicrobials, the use of traditional antibiotic treatments in hospitals is challenging. The formation of biofilms, which is regulated by the quorum-sensing (QS) system of (PA), is an important cause of drug resistance. There are three main QS systems in : the system, the system, and the system.

Discovery of Novel STING Inhibitors Based on the Structure of the Mouse STING Agonist DMXAA.

The stimulator-of-interferon-gene (STING) protein is involved in innate immunity. The drug DMXAA (5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid) proved to be a potent murine-STING (mSTING) agonist but had little effect on human-STING (hSTING). In this paper, we draw upon the comparison of different crystal structures and protein-ligand interaction relationships analysis to venture the hypothesis that the drug design of DMXAA variants has the potential to convert STING agonists to inhibitors.

Protective effect of bioactive iridium nanozymes on high altitude-related hypoxia-induced kidney injury in mice.

High altitude-related hypoxia-induced organ damage significantly impacts people who are exposed to acute high-altitude environment. At present, kidney injury still lacks effective treatment strategies. Iridium nanozymes (Ir-NPs) are a nanomaterial with various enzymatic activities and are expected to be used in kidney injury treatment.

Spatial-temporal variations and influencing factors of air quality in China's major cities during COVID-19 lockdown.

To control the spread of COVID-19, the Chinese government announced a "lockdown" policy, and the citizens' activities were restricted. This study selected three standard air quality indexes, AQI, PM2.5, and PM10, of 2017-2021 in 40 major cities in six regions in China to analyze their changes, spatial-temporal distributions, and socioeconomic influencing factors.

Room Temperature Halide-Eutectic Solid Electrolytes with Viscous Feature and Ultrahigh Ionic Conductivity.

A viscous feature is beneficial for a solid electrolyte with respect to assembling solid-state batteries, which can change the solid-solid contacts from point to face. Here, novel halide-based deep eutectic solid electrolytes (DESEs) prepared by a facile ball milling method is reported. The mixture of halides triggers the deep eutectic phenomena by intermolecular interactions, leading to diverse morphologies and viscous statuses in terms of composition.

Control of electronic topology in a strongly correlated electron system.

It is becoming increasingly clear that breakthrough in quantum applications necessitates materials innovation. In high demand are conductors with robust topological states that can be manipulated at will. This is what we demonstrate in the present work.

Promoting favorable interfacial properties in lithium-based batteries using chlorine-rich sulfide inorganic solid-state electrolytes.

The use of inorganic solid-state electrolytes is considered a viable strategy for developing high-energy Li-based metal batteries. However, suppression of parasitic interfacial reactions and growth of unfavorable Li metal depositions upon cycling are challenging aspects and not yet fully addressed. Here, to better understand these phenomena, we investigate various sulfide inorganic solid electrolytes (SEs), i.

Unraveling the Conversion Evolution on Solid-State Na-SeS Battery via In Situ TEM.

All-solid-state (ASS) Na-S batteries are promising for a large-scale energy-storage system owing to numerous merits. However, the high conversion reaction barrier impedes their practical application. In this work, the basic mechanism on how Se catalyzes the conversion reaction in the Na-S batteries is unraveled.

Giant spontaneous Hall effect in a nonmagnetic Weyl-Kondo semimetal.

Nontrivial topology in condensed-matter systems enriches quantum states of matter to go beyond either the classification into metals and insulators in terms of conventional band theory or that of symmetry-broken phases by Landau's order parameter framework. So far, focus has been on weakly interacting systems, and little is known about the limit of strong electron correlations. Heavy fermion systems are a highly versatile platform to explore this regime.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Linear Aliphatic Amine-Linked Triaryl Derivatives as Potent Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Programmed Cell Death-1/Programmed Cell Death-Ligand 1 Interaction with Promising Antitumor Effects In Vivo.

A series of novel linear aliphatic amine-linked triaryl derivatives as inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 were designed, synthesized, and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. In this chemical series, compound showed the most potent inhibitory activity and binding affinity with hPD-L1, with an IC value of 12 nM and a KD value of 16.2 pM, showing a binding potency approximately 2000-fold that of hPD-1.

Management of Cataract in Patients with Irregular Astigmatism with Regular Central Component by Phacoemulsification Combined with Toric Intraocular Lens Implantation.

Purpose: To evaluate visual acuity (VA) and refractive status in patients with cataract and irregular astigmatism with a regular central component after phacoemulsification with implantation of a toric intraocular lens (IOL).

Methods: Patients with cataract associated with irregular astigmatism with a regular central component were enrolled. All patients underwent phacoemulsification and toric IOL implantation.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone derivatives as potent quorum-sensing inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

Due to the increasing resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to most clinically relevant antimicrobials, it is challenging to treat bacterial infection with traditional antibiotics. Quorum sensing can regulate the production of biofilms and virulence factors which are closely related to bacterial resistance. Previously we synthesized a series of oxazolidinone compounds targeting the quorum-sensing transcriptional regulatory protein CviR and ZS-12 showed good activity against Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 quorum-sensing.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of acridone analogues as novel STING receptor agonists.

STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) has become a focal point in immunology research and a target in drug discovery. The discovery of a potent human-STING agonist is expected to revolutionize current anti-virus or cancer immunotherapy. Inspired by the structure and function of murine STING-specific agonists (DMXAA and CMA), we rationally designed and synthesized four series of novel compounds for the enhancement of human sensitivity.

Argyrodite Solid Electrolyte with a Stable Interface and Superior Dendrite Suppression Capability Realized by ZnO Co-Doping.

Despite the high ionic conductivity and good machinability, the application of sulfide solid electrolytes (SEs) is severely limited by the poor compatibility of oxide cathodes with Li metals. Herein, a ZnO co-doping strategy is proposed to enhance the chemical and electrochemical performance of sulfide SEs. Given the synergistic effect by incorporation of ZnO, the argyrodite electrolyte achieves superior interfacial stability and Li dendrite suppression capability.

Turbostratic carbon-localised FeS nanocrystals as anodes for high-performance sodium-ion batteries.

Low-cost metal sulfides are promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs); however, they suffer from sluggish kinetics and large volume expansion upon cycling. Here, a strategy to grow FeS on turbostratic carbon (t-carbon) assisted by chemical interactions between Fe and C electrons was realized via a simple and scalable mechanical alloying (MA) approach with a trace amount of CNTs. The structural change in CNTs synchronized with the in situ growth of FeS on the transformed t-carbon during the MA process, forming localised FeS nanocrystals wrapped in the frameworks of t-carbon.

Structural and Thermoelectric Properties of Cu Substituted Type I Clathrates Ba₈CuSiGa.

With an attempt to improve the thermoelectric properties of type I clathrates in the Ba-Ga-Si system, we introduce Cu into the framework of the crystal structure. Single crystals are prepared in Ga-flux and characterized by X-ray diffraction techniques and transport measurements for the structural and thermoelectric properties. Our composition analyses show that only a small amount of Cu is determined in the clathrates.

Estimation of Activity Interaction Parameters in Fe-S-j Systems.

It is important to know the activity interaction parameters between components in melts in the process of metallurgy. However, it's considerably difficult to measure them experimentally, relying still to a large extent on theoretical calculations. In this paper, the first-order activity interaction parameter ( e s j ) of on sulphur in Fe-based melts at 1873 K is investigated by a calculation model established by combining the Miedema model and Toop-Hillert geometric model as well as considering excess entropy and mixing enthalpy.

Crystal Chemistry and Thermoelectric Properties of Type-I Clathrate Ba₈NiSiGe ( = 0, 10, 20, 42.2).

Thermoelectric materials are actively considered for waste heat recovery applications. To improve the heat to electricity conversion efficiency, fundamental understanding on composition, crystal structure, and interrelation with the thermoelectric properties is necessary. Here, we report the chemical and thermoelectric properties of type-I clathrates Ba 8 Ni 3.

Nrf2 protects human lens epithelial cells against HO-induced oxidative and ER stress: The ATF4 may be involved.

Our previous study has shown heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protects human lens epithelial cells (LECs) against HO-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. Nrf2, the major regulator of HO-1, is triggered during the mutual induction of oxidative stress and ER stress. In response to ER stress, unfolded protein response (UPR) serves as a program of transcriptional and translational regulation mechanism with PERK involved.

Carbon monoxide (CO) modulates hydrogen peroxide (HO)-mediated cellular dysfunction by targeting mitochondria in rabbit lens epithelial cells.

Mitochondrial components are of great importance for the maintenance of lens transparency. In our previous work, we confirmed that carbon monoxide (CO) can protect human and rabbit lens epithelial cells (LECs) from hydrogen peroxide (HO)-mediated apoptosis, while the mechanism remains undefined. Because CO can bind to mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX), we evaluated the effect of CO on the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and function in HO-treated rabbit LECs.