Physical activity, Vitamin D, and all-cause/cardiovascular mortality: a prospective study in older Chinese adults.

Background: Physical activity was associated with the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. However, little is known about older adults, especially those aged over 80 years.

Methods: 2863 older adults in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were enrolled.

Taming Highly Enolizable Aldehydes via Enzyme Catalysis for Enantiocomplementary Construction of β-Hydroxyphosphonates.

Taming highly enolizable aldehydes for catalytic asymmetric C-C coupling with nucleophiles remains an elusive challenge compared to widely explored simple alkyl or aryl aldehydes. Herein, we use ThDP-dependent enzymes to realize the direct C-C coupling of highly enolizable 2-phosphonate aldehydes with in situ-generated dynamically reversible nucleophiles (acyl anions). Unlike NHC-mediated reactions that yield complex mixtures of multiple adducts, our enzymatic process selectively produces biologically active β-hydroxy phosphonates with high yields (up to 95%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).

Regulation of Bone Remodeling by Metal-Phenolic Networks for the Treatment of Systemic Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic disease that impairs bone remodeling by favoring osteoclastic resorption over osteoblastic formation. Nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies focus on the delivery of drug molecules to either decrease bone resorption or increase bone formation rather than regulating the entire bone remodeling process, and osteoporosis interventions suffer from this limitation. Here, we present a multifunctional nanoparticle based on metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) for the treatment of systemic osteoporosis by regulating both osteoclasts and osteoblasts.

Lateralization of the Aberrant Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation within the Default Mode Network in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Rationale And Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common pathogenesis of dementia, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered as the intermediate stage from normal elderly to AD. Early detection of MCI is an essential step for the timely intervention of AD to slow the progression of this disease. Different form previous studies in the whole-brain spontaneous activities, this research aimed to explore the low-frequency amplitude spectrum activities of patients with MCI within the default mode network (DMN), which has been involved in the process of maintaining normal cognitive function.

Rare and common genetic variants underlying the risk of Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a congenital enteric neuropathic disorder characterized by high heritability (>80%) and polygenic inheritance (>20 genes). The previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified several common variants associated with HSCR and demonstrated increased predictive performance for HSCR risk in Europeans using a genetic risk score, there remains a notable gap in knowledge regarding Chinese populations. We conducted whole exome sequencing in a HSCR case cohort in Chinese.

Toward Surface Passivation of Black Phosphorus via a Self-Assembled Ferrocene Molecular Layer.

Black phosphorus (BP), a promising two-dimensional material, faces significant challenges for its applications due to its instability in air and water. Herein, molecular dynamics simulations reveal that a self-assembled ferrocene (FeCp) molecular layer can form on BP surfaces and remain stable in aqueous environments, predicting its effectiveness for passivation. This theoretical finding is corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and optical microscopy observations.

The Association Between Posting WeChat Moments and the Risk of Depressive Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: Prospective National Cohort Study.

Background: The association between social media usage and the risk of depressive symptoms has attracted increasing attention. WeChat is a popular social media software in China. The impact of using WeChat and posting WeChat moments on the risk of developing depressive symptoms among community-based middle-aged and older adults in China is unknown.

Unraveling the genetic mysteries of spinal muscular atrophy in Chinese families.

Objective: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disorder encompassing 5q and non-5q forms, causing muscle weakness and atrophy due to spinal cord cell degeneration. Understanding its genetic basis is crucial for genetic counseling and personalized treatment options.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed families of patients suspected of SMA at our institution from February 2006 to March 2024.

Promoter engineering with programmable upstream activating sequences in Aspergillus Niger cell factory.

Background: Aspergillus niger is an important industrial filamentous fungus used to produce organic acids and enzymes. A wide dynamic range of promoters, particularly strong promoters, are required for fine-tuning the regulation of gene expression to balance metabolic flux and achieve the high yields of desired products. However, the limited understanding of promoter architectures and activities restricts the efficient transcription regulation of targets in strain engineering in A.

TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis.

Background: To investigate the role of the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 40 (TOM40) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with the aim of identifying new biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets.

Methods: TOM40 expression level in OSCC was evaluated using datasets downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), as well as clinical data. The correlation between TOM40 expression level and the clinicopathological parameters and survival were analyzed in TCGA.

Small molecule inhibits KCNQ channels with a non-blocking mechanism.

Voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs) are crucial targets for neuropsychiatric therapeutics owing to their role in controlling neuronal excitability and the established link between their dysfunction and neurological diseases, highlighting the importance of identifying modulators with distinct mechanisms. Here we report two small-molecule modulators with the same chemical scaffold, Ebio2 and Ebio3, targeting a potassium channel KCNQ2, with opposite effects: Ebio2 acts as a potent activator, whereas Ebio3 serves as a potent and selective inhibitor. Guided by cryogenic electron microscopy, patch-clamp recordings and molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that Ebio3 attaches to the outside of the inner gate, employing a unique non-blocking inhibitory mechanism that directly squeezes the S6 pore helix to inactivate the KCNQ2 channel.

Anomaly detection in multidimensional time series for water injection pump operations based on LSTMA-AE and mechanism constraints.

Addressing the issues of inadequate information exchange among subsequences in the operational time series of water injection pumps, leading to low accuracy and high false alarm rates in anomaly detection, this paper proposes a multidimensional time series anomaly detection method for water injection pump operations, leveraging Long Short-Term Memory Autoencoder augmented with Attention Mechanism (LSTMA-AE) and mechanistic constraints. The LSTMA-AE framework encompasses three primary modules: a Time Feature Extraction Module (Encoder), an Attention Layer, and a Data Reconstruction Module (Decoder). The Encoder captures temporal dependencies and features within the input sequences, mapping the input data into a higher-dimensional space.

Deciphering intricate associations between vigorous development and novel metabolic preferences of partial denitrification/anammox granular consortia within mainstream municipal wastewater.

There is limited understanding of the granular partial denitrification/anammox (PD/A) microbiota and metabolic hierarchy specific to municipal wastewater treatment, particularly concerning the multi-mechanisms of functional differentiation and granulation tendencies under high-loading shocks. Therefore, this study utilized fragmented mature biofilm as the exclusive inoculum to rapidly establish a granular PD/A system. Following long-term feeding with municipal wastewater, PD/A process reached a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 97.

Bilayer Mn-based Prussian blue cathode with high redox activity for boosting stable cycling in aqueous sodium-ion half/full batteries.

The Mn-based Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) have garnered significant attention due to their high specific capacity, stemming from the unique multi-electron reactions with Na. However, the structural instability caused by multi-ion insertion impacts the cycle life, thus limiting their further application in aqueous sodium-ion batteries (ASIBs). To address this issue, this work employed an in situ epitaxial solvent deposition method to homogeneously grow Ni hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) on the surface of MnPBA, which can effectively overcome the de-intercalation instability.

A novel hierarchical porous biochar based on ZIF-8 volatile hard template with high-efficiency electrochemical sensing performance for trace determination of Ponceau 4R.

A convenient method is proposed using a heat-treatable volatile template to prepare hierarchical porous biochar (HPB). Litsea cubeba leaves and ZIF-8 served as carbon source and volatile hard template, respectively. The good compatibility between ZIF-8 and biomass facilitated their uniform dispersion, and the thermal decomposition of ZIF-8 created abundant pores in the HPB.

Low molecular weight galactomannan alleviates diarrhea induced by senna leaf in mice intestinal barrier improvement and gut microbiota modulation.

Low molecular weight galactomannan (LMGM), a soluble dietary fibre derived from guar gum, is recognized for its prebiotic functions, including promoting the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria and the production of short-chain fatty acids, but the mechanism of alleviating diarrhea is not fully understood. This study established an acute diarrhea mouse model using senna leaf decoction and evaluated the therapeutic effects of LMGM by monitoring diarrhea scores, loose stool prevalence, intestinal tissue pathology and gene expression, and gut microbiota composition and metabolisms. The results indicated that LMGM significantly reduced diarrhea scores and loose stool prevalence within two hours post-treatment.

Modular Engineering of Lysostaphin with Significantly Improved Stability and Bioavailability for Treating MRSA Infections.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a refractory pneumonia-causing pathogen due to the antibiotic resistance and the characteristics of persisting inside its host cell. Lysostaphin is a typical bacteriolytic enzyme for degrading bacterial cell walls via hydrolysis of pentaglycine cross-links, showing potential to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, there are still grand challenges for native lysostaphin because of its poor shelf stability and limited bioavailability.

Topologically Engineered High- Quasi-BIC Metasurfaces for Enhanced Near-Infrared Emission in PbS Quantum Dots.

Enhancing photoluminescence (PL) efficiency in colloidal quantum dots is pivotal for next-generation near-infrared photodetectors, imaging systems, and photonic devices. Conventional methods, especially metal-based plasmonic structures, suffer from large optical losses, which limits their practical use. Here, we introduce a quasi-bound state in the continuum (quasi-BIC) metasurface on a silicon-on-insulator platform, tailored to provide high-quality factor resonances with minimized losses.

Recent transformations of vinylidene cyclopropanes (VDCPs).

Methodological studies on the transformations of vinylidene cyclopropanes (VDCPs) have been substantially developed in the past few decades, and significant progress has been achieved in visible light-mediated, non-metal-related, and transition metal-catalyzed processes. In particular, when reactive functional groups are introduced into the backbone of VDCPs, a variety of cascade or sequential transformations can take place to produce more complex cyclic or polycyclic compounds. This review describes the recent advancements in this field.

Controllable Synthesis of Heterogeneous ZnS/SnS Encapsulated in Hollow Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Microcubes as Anode for High-Performance Li-ion Capacitors.

Li-ion capacitors (LICs) integrate the desirable features of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs), but the kinetic imbalance between the both electrodes leads to inferior electrochemical performance. Thus, constructing an advanced anode with outstanding rate capability and terrific redox kinetics is crucial to LICs. Herein, heterostructured ZnS/SnS nanosheets encapsulated into N-doped carbon microcubes (ZnS/SnS@NC) are successfully fabricated.

Understanding the Needs of Young and Middle-Aged Chinese People Who Have Experienced a Stroke Who Have Not Successfully Returned to Work: A Qualitative Study.

Objectives: The study aims to understand the return to work (RTW) needs of young and middle-aged people who have experienced a stroke and to contribute to the development of supportive RTW services.

Design: A qualitative study employing the phenomenological method.

Participants: Eleven young and middle-aged people who have experienced a stroke participated in the study.

Position Optimization of Bulky Tetraphenylsilane in Multiple Resonance Molecules for Highly Efficient Narrowband OLEDs.

Multiple resonance (MR)-type thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters have garnered significant interest due to their narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) and high electroluminescence efficiency. However, the planar structures and large singlet-triplet energy gaps (ΔEs) characteristic of MR-TADF molecules pose challenges to achieving high-performance devices. Herein, two isomeric compounds, p-TPS-BN and m-TPS-BN, are synthesized differing in the connection modes between a bulky tetraphenylsilane (TPS) group and an MR core.

Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus are more sensitive to environmental factors in dicots than in monocots, globally.

Leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels provide critical strategies for plant adaptions to changing environments. However, it is unclear whether leaf N and P levels of different plant functional groups (e.g.

The Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot for ferns: Updated phylogeny, hidden diversity, and biogeography of the java fern genus (Polypodiaceae).

The Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot is renowned for its rich biodiversity, including that of vascular plants. However, the fern diversity and its endemism in this hotspot have not been well understood and so far, the diversity of very few groups of ferns in this region has been explored using combined molecular and morphological approaches. Here, we updated the plastid phylogeny of the Java fern genus with 226 (115% increase of the latest sampling) samples across the distribution range, specifically those of three phylogenetically significant species, , .

AmelOBP4: an antenna-specific odor-binding protein gene required for olfactory behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera).

Background: Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) initiate the process of odorant perception. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that OBPs bind a broad variety of chemicals and are more likely to carry pheromones or odor molecules with high binding affinities. However, few studies have investigated its effects on insect behavior.