Helicate-to-tetrahedron transformation of chiral lanthanide supramolecular complexes induced by ionic radii effect and linker length.

Controlled formation of desired lanthanide supramolecular complexes is challenging because of the difficulties in predicting coordination geometry, as well as a labile coordination number. Herein, we explore the effect of ionic radii and linker length on supramolecular species formation. A helicate-to-tetrahedron transformation occurred between [LnL1] and [LnL1] (Ln = La, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb and Lu).

Climate-induced Arctic-boreal peatland fire and carbon loss in the 21st century.

Boreal peatlands are increasingly vulnerable to wildfires as climate change continues accelerating. Fires consume substantial quantities of organic soils and rapidly transfer large stocks of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere. Herein, we quantify the minimum environmental temperature from -45 °C to 45 °C that allows the moist peat to smolder, as the fire threshold of peatlands.

Fluctuation and extinction of laminar diffusion flame induced by external acoustic wave and source.

Acoustic wave can destabilize the flame and has a potential in firefighting, but the influences of the sound source and its frequency are still poorly understood. This work applies a loudspeaker to extinguish a laminar diffusion propane flame of 5-25 mm high, where the local sound frequency is 50-70 Hz and sound pressure is 0.8-3.

Data storage using peptide sequences.

Humankind is generating digital data at an exponential rate. These data are typically stored using electronic, magnetic or optical devices, which require large physical spaces and cannot last for a very long time. Here we report the use of peptide sequences for data storage, which can be durable and of high storage density.

On the triad of air PM pollution, pathogenic bioaerosols, and lower respiratory infection.

Airborne particulate matter (PM) pollution, as a leading environmental health risk, causes millions of premature deaths globally every year. Lower respiratory infection (LRI) is a sensitive response to short-term exposure to outdoor PM pollution. The airborne transmission of etiological agents of LRI, as an important pathway for infection and morbidity, bridges the public health issues of air quality and pathogen infectivity, virulence, resistance, and others.

Thrombospondin-1 mediates Rho-kinase inhibitor-induced increase in outflow-facility.

Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitors, a novel class of anti-glaucoma agents, act by increasing the aqueous humor outflow through the conventional trabecular meshwork pathway. However, the downstream signaling consequences of the ROCK inhibitor are not completely understood. Our data show that Y39983, a selective ROCK inhibitor, could induce filamentous actin remodeling, reduced cell motility (as measured by cell migration), and transepithelial resistance in primary human TM (hTM) cells.

Effective Piezo-Phototronic Enhancement of Flexible Photodetectors Based on 2D Hybrid Perovskite Ferroelectric Single-Crystalline Thin-Films.

2D hybrid perovskites are very attractive for optoelectronic applications because of their numerous exceptional properties. The emerging 2D perovskite ferroelectrics, in which are the coupling of spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric effects, as well as photoexcitation and semiconductor behaviors, have great appeal in the field of piezo-phototronics that enable to effectively improve the performance of optoelectronic devices via modulating the electro-optical processes. However, current studies on 2D perovskite ferroelectrics focus on bulk ceramics that cannot endure irregular mechanical deformation and limit their application in flexible optoelectronics and piezo-phototronics.

Plasmonic-doped melanin-mimic for CXCR4-targeted NIR-II photoacoustic computed tomography-guided photothermal ablation of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma.

Effective and noninvasive diagnosis and prompt treatment of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are urgently needed to reduce its mortality rate. Herein, the integration of high-resolution diagnostic second near-infrared (NIR-II) photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) and imaging-guided targeted photothermal ablation of orthotopic small HCC (SHCC) is presented for the first time, which was enabled by a plasmonic platinum (Pt)-doped polydopamine melanin-mimic nanoagent. As designed, an antibody-modified nanoagent (designated Pt@PDA-c) with a plasmonic blackbody-like NIR absorption and superior photothermal conversion efficiency (71.

Effect of the Linking Group on the Thermoelectric Properties of Poly(Schiff Base)s and Their Metallopolymers.

As polymer-based thermoelectric (TE) materials possess attractive features such as light weight, flexibility, low toxicity and ease of processibility, an increasing number of conducting polymers and their composites with high TE performances have been developed in recent years. Up to date, however, the research focusing on the structure-performance relationship remains rare. In this paper, two series of poly(Schiff base)s with either C=C or C≡C linker and their metallopolymers were synthesized and doped with single-walled carbon nanotubes to evaluate how the linking groups affected the TE properties of the resulting composites.

Effects of Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule on the gut microbiota in ovariectomized rats: Metabolism and modulation.

Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule (XLGB) has been proven to prevent and treat osteoporosis. However, as a long-term oral formula, XLGB's effects on the metabolic capacity, structure and function of gut microbiota have yet to be elucidated in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Our objectives were to evaluate the capacity of gut microbiota for metabolizing XLGB ingredients and to assess the effect of this prescription on gut microbiota.

Realizing high-power and high-capacity zinc/sodium metal anodes through interfacial chemistry regulation.

Stable plating/stripping of metal electrodes under high power and high capacity remains a great challenge. Tailoring the deposition behavior on the substrate could partly resolve dendrites' formation, but it usually works only under low current densities and limited capacities. Here we turn to regulate the separator's interfacial chemistry through tin coating with decent conductivity and excellent zincophilicity.

Biophysical properties of corneal cells reflect high myopia progression.

Myopia is a common ocular disorder with significant alterations in the anterior ocular structure, including the cornea. The cell biophysical phenotype has been proposed to reflect the state of various diseases. However, the biophysical properties of corneal cells have not been characterized during myopia progression and their relationship with myopia remains unknown.

A new near-infrared phosphorescent iridium(III) complex conjugated to a xanthene dye for mitochondria-targeted photodynamic therapy.

Iridium(iii) complexes are potent candidates for photodynamic therapy (PDT), but some key drawbacks still hamper clinical translation, such as poor operability in the phototherapeutic window, high dark toxicity, and low reactive oxygen species (ROS) production efficiency. In this work, a near-infrared phosphorescent Ir(iii) complex conjugated to a xanthene dye, NIR-Ir-XE, is reported with highly favourable properties for mitochondria-targeted imaging and cancer phototherapy. The generation of the triplet excited state of a xanthene moiety endows the NIR-Ir-XE to form singlet oxygen (1O2) for use as a photodynamic therapy agent after irradiation with visible light.

Extrinsic foot muscle forces and joint contact forces in flexible flatfoot adult with foot orthosis: A parametric study of tibialis posterior muscle weakness.

Background: The posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction (PTTD) is typically associated with progressive flatfoot deformity, which could be alleviated with foot orthosis. However, the evaluation of tibialis posterior (TP) weakness on lower limb mechanics of flatfoot adults with foot orthoses is scarce and requires further investigation.

Research Question: This study aimed to examine the effects of TP weakness on lower limb mechanics in flatfoot adults with foot orthosis through gait analysis and musculoskeletal modelling.

Large-scale growth of few-layer two-dimensional black phosphorus.

Two-dimensional materials provide opportunities for developing semiconductor applications at atomistic thickness to break the limits of silicon technology. Black phosphorus (BP), as a layered semiconductor with controllable bandgap and high carrier mobility, is one of the most promising candidates for transistor devices at atomistic thickness. However, the lack of large-scale growth greatly hinders its development in devices.

Metal Substitution Steering Electron Correlations in Pyrochlore Ruthenates for Efficient Acidic Water Oxidation.

Exploring the advanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is highly desirable toward sustainable energy conversion and storage, yet improved efficiency in acidic media is largely hindered by its sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, we rationally manipulate the electronic states of the strongly electron correlated pyrochlore ruthenate YRuO alternative through partial A-site substitution of Sr for Y, efficiently improving its intrinsic OER activity. The optimized YSrRuO candidate observes a highly intrinsic mass activity of 1018 A g at an overpotential of 300 mV with excellent durability in 0.

Synthesis of Bis-Terpyridine-Based Metallopolymers and the Thermoelectric Properties of Their Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites.

Although the organic and the conventional inorganic thermoelectric (TE) materials have been extensively developed in recent years, the number of cases involving conducting metallopolymers is still quite limited. In view of the versatile coordination capability of the terpyridine fraction and the electron-rich nature of the 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene moiety, a bis-terpyridine-featured ligand was designed, and a series of metallopolymers were then synthesized. Upon the addition of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), the TE properties of the resulting metallopolymer-SWCNT composite films were investigated.

Water extract of Er-xian decoction selectively exerts estrogenic activities and interacts with SERMs in estrogen-sensitive tissues.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The increasing use of "kidney"-nourishing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) like Er-xian decoction (EXD) for management of menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis has aroused concerns about their safety, and whether they interact with prescription drugs as both of them act via estrogen receptors (ERs) and regulate serum estradiol.

Aim Of The Study: The present study aimed to evaluate whether EXD selectively exerted estrogenic activities and interacted with Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs).

Materials And Methods: In vivo, mature ovariectomized (OVX) rats were administrated with EXD or combined treatment of EXD and SERMs for 12 weeks.

Influence of arch support heights on the internal foot mechanics of flatfoot during walking: A muscle-driven finite element analysis.

Background: Different arch support heights of the customized foot orthosis could produce different effects on the internal biomechanics of the foot. However, quantitative evidence is scarce. Therefore, we aimed to investigate and quantify the influence of arch support heights on the internal foot biomechanics during walking stance.

Non-Hermitian route to higher-order topology in an acoustic crystal.

Topological phases of matter are classified based on their Hermitian Hamiltonians, whose real-valued dispersions together with orthogonal eigenstates form nontrivial topology. In the recently discovered higher-order topological insulators (TIs), the bulk topology can even exhibit hierarchical features, leading to topological corner states, as demonstrated in many photonic and acoustic artificial materials. Naturally, the intrinsic loss in these artificial materials has been omitted in the topology definition, due to its non-Hermitian nature; in practice, the presence of loss is generally considered harmful to the topological corner states.

The lignan-rich fraction from Sambucus Williamsii Hance ameliorates dyslipidemia and insulin resistance and modulates gut microbiota composition in ovariectomized rats.

Menopausal women are susceptible to have high risk of cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and osteoporosis due to the metabolic disorder caused by estrogen deficiency. Accumulating evidence supports that gut microbiota is a key regulator of metabolic diseases. Our previous metabolomics study interestingly demonstrated that the anti-osteoporotic effects of lignan-rich fraction (SWCA) from Sambucus wialliamsii Hance were related to the restoration of a series of lipid and glucose metabolites.

Printing High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells in High-Humidity Ambient Environment-An In Situ Guided Investigation.

Extensive studies are conducted on perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with significant performance advances (mainly spin coating techniques), which have encouraged recent efforts on scalable coating techniques for the manufacture of PSCs. However, devices fabricated by blade coating techniques are inferior to state-of-the-art spin-coated devices because the power conversion efficiency () is highly dependent on the morphology and crystallization kinetics in the controlled environment and the delicate solvent system engineering. In this study, based on the widely studied perovskite solution system dimethylformamide-dimethyl sulfoxide, air-knife-assisted ambient fabrication of PSCs at a high relative humidity of 55 ± 5% is reported.

Fracture mapping of complex intra-articular calcaneal fractures.

Background: Intra-articular calcaneal fracture remains challenging to manage. Computed tomography and fracture mapping are useful for the diagnosis and treatment of calcaneal fractures. The aim of the present study was to characterize calcaneal fracture patterns using fracture mapping.