One-pot, Four-component Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Pharmacokinetic Studies of Tetra-substituted Imidazole Derivatives as Potential Mushroom Tyrosinase Inhibitors.

Introduction: An efficient and four-component one-pot facile synthesis of tetra-substituted imidazole is achieved by cyclo-condensation reaction of benzil with subsequent successive substitution of aromatic aldehydes, ester substituted amine and ammonium acetate via refluxing the mixture for almost two hours at 140°C.

Method: The ending point of the understudy reaction was examined by TLC after regular intervals. Synthesized 1,2,4-tetrasubstituted imidazoles were characterized by physical data and the structural features were analyzed using spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR, NMR and elemental analysis.

Identification of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor for N-Acetylcysteine to Rescue Nicotine-induced Injury Using Beating Cilia in Primary Tissue Derived Airway Organoids.

Smoking is one of the major contributors to airway injuries. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been proposed as a treatment or preventive measure for such injuries. However, the exact nature of the smoking-induced injury and the protective mechanism of NAC are not yet fully understood.

A Large Model-Derived Algorithm for Complex Organoids with Internal Morphogenesis and Digital Marker Derivation.

Automated segmentation and evaluation algorithms have been demonstrated to enhance the simplicity and translational utility of organoid technology. However, there is a pressing need for the development of complex organoids that possess epithelium environmental elements, dense regional cell aggregation, and intraorganoid morphologies. Nevertheless, there has been limited progress, including both the construction of data sets and the development of algorithms, in the use of user-friendly microscopy to address such complex organoids.

Spatial and temporal patterns of cortical mean diffusivity in Alzheimer's disease and suspected non-Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology.

Introduction: The spatial and temporal patterns of cortical mean diffusivity (cMD), as well as its association with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and suspected non-Alzheimer's pathophysiology (SNAP), are not yet fully understood.

Methods: We compared baseline (n = 617) and longitudinal changes (n = 421) of cMD, cortical thickness, and gray matter volume and their relations to vascular risk factors, amyloid beta (Aβ), and tau positron emission tomography (PET), and longitudinal cognitive decline in Aβ PET negative and positive older adults.

Results: cMD increases were more sensitive to detecting brain structural alterations than cortical thinning and gray matter atrophy.

Amyloid and SCD jointly predict cognitive decline across Chinese and German cohorts.

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in amyloid-positive (Aβ+) individuals was proposed as a clinical indicator of Stage 2 in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum, but this requires further validation across cultures, measures, and recruitment strategies.

Methods: Eight hundred twenty-one participants from SILCODE and DELCODE cohorts, including normal controls (NC) and individuals with SCD recruited from the community or from memory clinics, underwent neuropsychological assessments over up to 6 years. Amyloid positivity was derived from positron emission tomography or plasma biomarkers.

Location-dependent occurrence and distribution of metal-based nanoparticles in bay environments.

Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) are increasingly being released into the marine environment, posing potential environmental risks. However, factors governing the environmental occurrence and distribution of MNPs in bays still lack a comprehensive understanding. Herein, we collected seawater and sediment samples from two adjacent bays (Daya Bay and Honghai Bay, which have similar water qualities), and determined the particle concentrations and sizes of multi-element MNPs (Ti-, Cu-, Zn-, Ag-, Mn-, Pb- and Cr-based NPs) via single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (spICP-MS).

Chronotoxici-Plate Containing Droplet-Engineered Rhythmic Liver Organoids for Drug Toxicity Evaluation.

The circadian clock coordinates the daily rhythmicity of biological processes, and its dysregulation is associated with various human diseases. Despite the direct targeting of rhythmic genes by many prevalent and World Health Organization (WHO) essential drugs, traditional approaches can't satisfy the need of explore multi-timepoint drug administration strategies across a wide range of drugs. Here, droplet-engineered primary liver organoids (DPLOs) are generated with rhythmic characteristics in 4 days, and developed Chronotoxici-plate as an in vitro high-throughput automated rhythmic tool for chronotherapy assessment within 7 days.

Tragacanth gum-based copper oxide nanoparticles: Comprehensive characterization, antibiofilm, antimicrobial and photocatalytic potentials.

Hereunder, we pioneered the synthesis of Copper Oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) utilizing Tragacanth gum (TG). The NPs were characterized using advanced techniques and assessed for different pharmaceutical and environmental perspectives. The successful formation of a colloidal NPs solution was confirmed by the appearance of a distinct black color and a distinct peak at 260 nm in UV-Visible spectrophotometry.

Protocol to encapsulate cerebral organoids with alginate hydrogel shell to induce volumetric compression.

In vitro organoids, including cerebral organoids, are usually developed without mechanical compression, which may contribute to a delay in maturation. Here, we present a protocol for encapsulating cerebral organoids with a thin shell of low-concentration alginate hydrogel. We describe steps for organoid generation, microfluidic chip culture, Matrigel coating, expansion culture, and alginate encapsulation.

Differential Dominance of Ecological Processes Shapes the Longhorn Beetle Community in Tropical Rainforests and Temperate Forests of Southwest China.

(1) Background: Understanding the relationship between community assembly and species coexistence is key to understanding ecosystem diversity. Despite the importance of wood-boring longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in forests, factors affecting their population dynamics, species richness, and ecological interactions remain underexplored. (2) Methods: We surveyed cerambycid beetles and plants within five plots each across three transects in tropical rainforests and temperate forests of Yunnan, China, known for its rich biodiversity and varied elevation gradients.

Understanding Water Diffusion Behaviors in Epoxy Resin through Molecular Simulations and Experiments.

The unclear understanding of the water diffusion behavior posts a big challenge to the manipulation of water absorption properties in epoxy resins. Herein, we investigated the water diffusion behavior and its relationship with molecule structures inside an epoxy resin mainly by the nonequilibrium molecular dynamics and experiments. It is found that at the initial rapid water absorption stage, bound water and free water both contribute, while at the later slow water absorption stage, free water plays a dominant role.

Rubusoside mitigates neuroinflammation and cellular apoptosis in Parkinson's disease, and alters gut microbiota and metabolite composition.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra. Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of PD, involving the activation of microglia cells, heightened production of proinflammatory cytokines, and perturbations in the composition of the gut microbiota. Rubusoside (Ru), the principal steviol bisglucoside present in Rubus chingii var.

Multifunctional Liquid Metal-Bridged Graphite Nanoplatelets/Aramid Nanofiber Film for Thermal Management.

Miniaturization of modern micro-electronic devices urges the development of multi-functional thermal management materials. Traditional polymer composite-based thermal management materials are promising candidates, but they suffer from single functionality, high cost, and low fire-resistance. Herein, a multifunctional liquid metal (LM)-bridged graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs)/ aramid nanofibers (ANFs) film is fabricated via a facile vacuum-assisted self-assembly approach followed by compression.

Provenance analyses of silted sediments in Shenzhen Bay: Insights based on rare earth elements and stable isotopes.

Shenzhen Bay (SZB) in southern China is a typical eutrophic area, with internal pollution from its sediments representing an important nutrient source. However, the transport paths and sources of sediments in SZB remain unclear, making it difficult to analyze the nutritional budget and propose effective sediment management strategies. To address this, we linked a sediment fingerprinting technique to a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) and conducted provenance analyses.

A multifunctional optoelectronic device based on 2D material with wide bandgap.

Low-dimensional materials exhibit unique quantum confinement effects and morphologies as a result of their nanoscale size in one or more dimensions, making them exhibit distinctive physical properties compared to bulk counterparts. Among all low-dimensional materials, due to their atomic level thickness, two-dimensional materials possess extremely large shape anisotropy and consequently are speculated to have large optically anisotropic absorption. In this work, we demonstrate an optoelectronic device based on the combination of two-dimensional material and carbon dot with wide bandgap.

Effectiveness and associated mechanisms of a combination of biofilm attached cultivation and mixotrophy in promoting microalgal biomass.

The effectiveness and associated mechanisms of the biofilm attached cultivation (BAC) under mixotrophy in promoting algal proliferation were investigated. Commercially valuable unicellular microalgae Chromochloris zofingiensis was first used in BAC. Compared with suspended cultivation, the results unequivocally demonstrated the growth benefits of C.

Stress regulates Alzheimer's disease progression via selective enrichment of CD8 T cells.

This study investigates stress's impact on Alzheimer's disease (AD) using male APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Negative stressors (chronic social defeat, restraint) and positive hedonia (environmental enrichment, EE) were applied. Stress worsens AD pathology, while EE slows progression.

Volumetric compression by heterogeneous scaffold embedding promotes cerebral organoid maturation and does not impede growth.

Although biochemical regulation has been extensively studied in organoid modeling protocols, the role of mechanoregulation in directing stem cell fate and organoid development has been relatively unexplored. To accurately replicate the dynamic organoid development observed in nature, in this study, we present a method of heterogeneous embedding using an alginate-shell-Matrigel-core system. This approach allows for cell-Matrigel remodeling by the inner layer and provides short-term moderate-normal compression through the soft alginate outer layer.

Multi-criteria dispatch optimization of a community energy network with desalination: Insights for trading off cost and security of supply.

The idea of community energy network is being advocated to enhance the elasticity of diverse energy systems required for efficiently integrating a substantial volume of distributed energy resources. On the other hand, the interest in renewables-based desalination systems has received significant interest recently to consider freshwater as an additional end-use product in the community energy network system. Within this context, this paper introduces a multifaceted method for community energy networks with a focus on desalination-capable systems.

Attachment culture of cortical organoids at the microwell air-liquid interface.

The cortical organoid is an efficient model for studying human brain neurodevelopment and neurological disease. However, its three-dimensional structure limits real-time observation of internal physiological changes. Here, we present a protocol for an air-liquid interface attachment culture for cortical organoids.

Microfluidic droplet encapsulation-guided organoid growth promotes parental tumor phenotype recapitulation.

Patient-derived organoids are gaining incremental popularity in both basic sciences and translational applications toward precision medicine and revolutionized drug discovery. However, for tumor organoids, challenges remain in low rates of organoid growth and tumor cell purity, that is, recapitulation of tumor phenotypes in constructed organoids. Here, we report a method of microfluidic droplet encapsulation that provides structural guidance for tumor cell growth and organization, where they develop into tumor organoids with high purity and high rates of modeling success, as compared to the classical organoid modeling method, that is, non-engineered organoids.

Si/Organic Integrated Narrowband Near-Infrared Photodetector.

Spectrally selective narrowband photodetection is critical for near-infrared (NIR) imaging applications, such as for communicationand night-vision utilities. It is a long-standing challenge for detectors based on silicon, to achieve narrowband photodetection without integrating any optical filters. Here, this work demonstrates a NIR nanograting Si/organic (PBDBT-DTBT:BTP-4F) heterojunction photodetector (PD), which for the first time obtains the full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of only 26 nm and fast response of 74 µs at 895 nm.

Protocol for generating in vitro glioma models using human-induced pluripotent- or embryonic-stem-cell-derived cerebral organoids.

In glioma modeling, existing organoid protocols lack the ability to replicate glioma cell invasion and interaction with normal brain tissue. Here, we present a protocol for generating in vitro brain disease models using human-induced pluripotent- or embryonic-stem-cell-derived cerebral organoids (COs). We describe steps for forming glioma organoids by co-culturing forebrain organoids with U-87 MG cells.