Design and Mechanism Study of 6c, a Novel Artesunate Derivatives, for Anti-Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: Artesunate can inhibit the proliferation of various tumor cells and has practical value in developing anti-tumor drugs. However, its biological activity against hepatocellular carcinoma is weak. The efficacy of its anti-tumor effect needs to be improved.

Silk Protein Gene Engineering and Its Applications: Recent Advances in Biomedicine Driven by Molecular Biotechnology.

Silk protein, as a natural polymer material with unique structures and properties, exhibits tremendous potential in the biomedical field. Given the limited production and restricted properties of natural silk proteins, molecular biotechnology has been extensively applied in silk protein genetic engineering to produce novel silk proteins with specific properties. This review outlines the roles of major model organisms, such as silkworms and spiders, in silk protein production, and provides a detailed introduction to the applications of gene editing technologies (eg, CRISPR-Cas9), transgenic expression technologies, and synthetic biology techniques in silk protein genetic engineering.

Long COVID facts and findings: a large-scale online survey in 74,075 Chinese participants.

Background: Research on long COVID in China is limited, particularly in terms of large-sample epidemiological data and the effects of recent SARS-CoV-2 sub-variants. China provides an ideal study environment owing to its large infection base, high vaccine coverage, and stringent pre-pandemic measures.

Methods: This retrospective study used an online questionnaire to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection status and long COVID symptoms among 74,075 Chinese residents over one year.

Taxonomic notes on the genus Yoshida, 2007 (Araneae, Theridiidae) from China, with two new species.

Four species are reported from Hubei Province, China, including two new species: R. Zhong, J. Liu & Hu, (♂) and R.

Liposome-encapsulated lambda exonuclease-based amplification system for enhanced detection of miRNA in platelet-derived microvesicles of non-small cell lung cancer.

Platelet-derived microvesicles (PMVs) and their encapsulated microRNAs (miRNAs) hold immense potential as biomarkers for early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis. This study presents a pioneering liposome-based approach for enhanced miRNA detection within PMVs, employing a lambda exonuclease (λ EXO)-based amplification system encapsulated in immunoliposomes. The platform exploits the novel catalytic functionality of λ EXO, demonstrating its unprecedented capability to catalyze RNA-DNA hybrid substrates.

Chamilactones A and B, Sesquiterpenes from the Endophytic Fungus F5.

A bioassay-guided chemical investigation of the endophytic fungus F5 resulted in the discovery of two novel sesquiterpenes, chamilactones A and B ( and ), with a new 9,10-seco-15--isoilludalane carbon skeleton, together with several biosynthetically related precursors (-). Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by the analysis of MS, NMR, calculated C chemical shifts, ECD calculations, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. It was proposed that an unprecedented carbon-carbon bond cleavage between C-9 and C-10 in - was the key step in the biosynthetic pathway of and .

Discovery and Characterization of a Fungal N-acetylglucosamine Transferase in the Biosynthesis of Furanone Glycosides.

Malfilamentosides are a class of fungal secondary metabolites characterized by glycosylated furanone scaffold; however, the enzyme that catalyzes the -glycosylation of the furanone core with -acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) has not yet been identified. In this study, we discovered and identified the biosynthetic gene cluster of the malfilamentosides. and investigations revealed that a glycosyltransferase, MftB, catalyzes the -glycosylation of the furanone scaffold with GlcNAc.

Green Glyphosate Treatment with Ferrihydrite and CaO via Forming Surface Ternary Complex.

Glyphosate (PMG) is a globally used broad-spectrum herbicide and receives environmental concerns because of its moderate persistence and potential carcinogenicity. Traditional PMG treatment methods often suffer from the generation of a more toxic and persistent aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) intermediate. Herein, we develop a green method with ferrihydrite (FH) and CaO (FH/CaO) via regulating the coordination of PMG with FH and Ca, where the phosphonate group of PMG preferentially binds to FH and its carboxylate side complexes with Ca released by CaO, forming a FH-PMG-Ca ternary surface complex.

Smart Directional Liquid Manipulation on Curvature-Ratchet Surfaces.

Structured surfaces leverage interfacial energy for directional liquid manipulation without external power, showing tremendous potential in microfluidics, green energy and biomedical applications. While the interplay of interfacial energy between solid surfaces and liquids is crucial for liquid manipulation, a systematic understanding of how the balance in liquid-solid interfacial energy affects liquid behaviors remains lacking. Here, using the curvature-ratchet surface as a generic example, we reveal the complex directional liquid dynamics inherent in the subtle regulation of liquid-solid interfacial energy.

Targeted Conversion of Biomass into Primary Diamines via Carbon Shell-Confined Cobalt Nanoparticles.

Primary diamines are valuable yet challenging to synthesize due to issues such as product and intermediate condensation and catalyst poisoning. To address these problems, effective synthesis systems must be explored. Here, 2,5-bis(aminomethyl)furan (BAMF), a biomass-derived primary diamine, is chosen as the model for constructing such a system.

Photoredox-Mediated Radical Addition/Cyclization To Construct Benzannulated 6,5-Spiroketal Glycosides.

We herein present a green and mild photoredox strategy for constructing a framework of benzannulated 6,5-spiroketal glycosides. This method employs various -arylacetylene glycosides and aryl ketone acids as the starting materials, facilitating the rapid and straightforward synthesis of 6,5-spiroketal glycosides with up to 92% yields under photoredox catalytic conditions. This efficient approach has the potential to significantly enhance the molecular library of carbohydrate-based pharmaceuticals.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Twin Growth Discordance: New Insights from a Twin Birth Cohort Study.

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has been linked to adverse fetal growth and development. However, most evidence was generated based on the singleton pregnancy studies, whereas potential impact on twin fetuses remains largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the associations of prenatal PFAS exposure with the growth and developmental differences within twin pairs by investigating 162 twin newborns and their mothers and determining 19 PFASs in maternal serum during the first, second, and third trimesters and cord serum of twins.

Chemical upcycling of Ni from electroplating wastewater into a well-defined catalyst for electrooxidation of glycerol to formate.

Highly effective and efficient remediation of hazardous Ni waste from electroless electroplating wastewater remains a significant challenge. However, rather than regarding it as hazardous waste, Ni-electroplating wastewater can instead be considered a huge resource of Ni. Herein, we report a convenient hydrothermal strategy for upcycling Ni from nickel-electroplating wastewater into a carbon-doped Ni-P alloy (denoted as C/Ni-P) electrocatalyst for the oxidation of glycerol to formate.

Enhancing a Perovskite Solar Cell and Module by Suppressing Protonation through Chelating Agents.

Formamidinium-based perovskites (FA perovskites) often incorporate methylammonium chloride (MACl) to stabilize the α-FAPbI phase and prevent formation of the δ phase. However, MACl undergoes deprotonation and reacts with FA, leading to the generation of unstable byproducts that can cause component degradation and negatively impact the device performance. In this study, we introduce ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid as a corrosion inhibitor, which effectively prevents the formation of these byproducts and stabilizes α-FAPbI.

Synchronously degradation of biogas slurry and decarbonization of biogas using microbial fuel cells.

Two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) with biogas slurry (BS) of corn stover as the anode substrate and as the cathode substrate was investigated to solve the problem of the accumulation of wastewater generated from biogas plants and to achieve low-cost separation of CO from biogas. A simple two-compartment MFC was constructed using biocatalysis and inexpensive materials without expensive catalysts. The performance of MFC (X1-W, Y1-W, Z1-W) with different biogas solution concentrations as anode substrate and MFC (X2-C, Y2-C, Z2-C) with as biocathode were compared, respectively.

Tyramine-enzyme conjugate repeats for an interdigitated capacitance immunosensing array in the detection of neuroblastoma biomarker neuron-specific enolase.

Methods based on enzyme labelling strategies have been widely developed for capacitance immunoassays, but most suffer from low sensitivity and are unfavorable for routine use in the early stages of diagnostics. Herein, we designed a highly efficient capacitance immunosensing method for the low-abundance neuroblastoma biomarker neuron-specific enolase (NSE) using an interdigitated micro-comb electrode. Initially, monoclonal mouse anti-human NSE capture antibodies were immobilized on the interdigitated gold electrodes using bovine serum albumin.

Activating Redox Chemistry of Quinones for High Energy Density Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Anode materials with high capacity and suitable redox potential are crucial for improving the energy density of aqueous sodium-ion batteries (ASIBs). And organic anode materials play a promising role due to their tunable electrochemical performance. However, the insufficient electroactive sites lead to a low capacity, hindering the elevation of energy density.

Insight into the molecular initiating event of mutagenic N-nitrosamines: a computational study on DNA alkylation by their diazonium ions.

N-Nitrosamines are a class of compounds that includes the potent mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of many of its members and is distributed widely throughout the human environment. DNA alkylation by their diazonium ions formed metabolically acts as a molecular initiating event (MIE) that links molecular chemistry to mutagenicity. However, the regiochemistry for diazonium ions reacting with DNA bases is still under debate.

Modelling and analysis of an epidemic model with awareness caused by deaths due to fear.

In this paper, we establish a compartmental model in which the transmission rate is associated with the fear of being infected by COVID-19. We provide a detailed analysis of the epidemic model and established results for the existence of a positively invariant set. The expression of the basic reproduction number is characterized.

Scalable Integration of High Sensitivity Strain Sensors Based on Silicon Nanowire Spring Array Directly Grown on Flexible Polyimide Films.

The growth and integration of position-controlled, morphology-programmable silicon nanowires (SiNWs), directly upon low-cost polymer substrates instead of postgrowth transferring, is attractive for developing advanced flexible sensors and logics. In this work, a low temperature growth of SiNWs at only 200 °C has been demonstrated, for the first time, upon flexible polyimide (PI) films, via a planar solid-liquid-solid (IPSLS) growth mechanism. The SiNWs with diameter of ∼146 nm can be grown into precise locations on PI as orderly array and with preferred elastic geometry.

Transdermal patch based on pressure-sensitive adhesive: the importance of adhesion for efficient drug delivery.

Introduction: Transdermal patches offer a unique advantage by providing extended therapeutic benefits while maintaining stable plasma drug concentration. The efficacy and safety of patches depend significantly on their ability to adhere to the skin, a feature influenced by various external and internal factors.

Areas Covered: The review primarily focuses on the fundamental aspects of adhesion in transdermal patches, including basic information about the skin, the underlying principles of adhesion, drug delivery, and adhesion characteristics of pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs), adhesion issues, impact factors, strategies to improve patch adhesion, and relevant molecular mechanisms.

3D-Printed PCL/SrHA@DFO Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffold with Bone Regeneration and Vascularization Function.

The application of a three-dimensional (3D)-printed biological functional scaffold in the repair of bone defects is a promising strategy. In this study, strontium-containing hydroxyapatite (SrHA) powder was synthesized by the hydrothermal method, and then poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/HA and PCL/SrHA composite scaffolds were prepared by the high-temperature melt extrusion 3D printing technology. The basic physical and chemical properties, in vitro biological properties, osteogenesis, and angiogenesis abilities of the scaffold were studied.

The dynamics of CD4+ T cell proliferation and regulation.

We use mathematical modeling to study the proliferation dynamics of CD4+ T cells within an immune response. This proliferation is driven by the autocrine reaction of helper T cells and interleukin-2 (IL-2), and regulated by natural regulatory T cells (nTregs). Previous studies suggested that a fratricidal mechanism is necessary to eliminate helper T cells post-infection.

APT imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma signals an effective therapeutic response in advance of tumor shrinkage.

The aim of this study was to assess the utility of weighted amide proton transfer (APT) MRI in three different rodent models of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). APT MRI was evaluated in models of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) induced HCC, N1S1 syngeneic orthotopic xenograft and human HepG2 ectopic xenograft. All models of HCC showed a higher APT signal over the surrounding normal tissues.