Novel metal oxides partially derived perovskite-structured hydroxides for room temperature trace NO gas sensors under UV irradiation.

Perovskite-structured materials are used as gas-sensitive materials due to their wide bandgap and controllable morphology, but large initial resistance and low response limit their development. In this work, ZnSn(OH)/ZnO composites derived from ZnO were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The gas-sensitive results show that all sensors show significantly improved response to NO under UV irradiation compared with without UV irradiation.

P-N Heterojunction formation: Metal Sulfide@Metal Oxide Chemiresistor for ppb HS Detection from Exhaled Breath and Food Spoilage at Flexible Room Temperature.

The development of a portable, low-cost sensor capable of accurately detecting HS gas in exhaled human breath at room temperature is highly anticipated in the fields of human health assessment and food spoilage evaluation. However, achieving outstanding gas sensing performance and applicability for flexible room-temperature operation with parts per billion HS gas sensors still poses technical challenges. To address this issue, this study involves the in situ growth of MoS nanosheets on the surface of InO fibers to construct a p-n heterojunction.

How Do Expectations Modulate Pain? A Motivational Perspective.

Expectations can profoundly modulate pain experience, during which the periaqueductal gray (PAG) plays a pivotal role. In this article, we focus on motivationally evoked neural activations in cortical and brainstem regions both before and during stimulus administration, as has been demonstrated by experimental studies on pain-modulatory effects of expectations, in the hope of unraveling how the PAG is involved in descending and ascending nociceptive processes. This motivational perspective on expectancy effects on the perception of noxious stimuli sheds new light on psychological and neuronal substrates of pain and its modulation, thus having important research and clinical implications.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide improves the Alzheimer's disease by regulating intestinal microbiota.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disease, and the intestinal flora and its metabolites play an important role in the amelioration of central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as AD through a bidirectional interaction between the gut-brain axis (GBA). Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), one of the precursors for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) synthesis, reduces the brain features of AD, including neuroinflammation, mitochondrial abnormalities, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. However, the impact of NMN on the gut flora of AD is still unknown.

Longitudinal multidiversity pattern and the environmental drivers of riparian bird communities along submontane rivers of Changbai Mountains, China.

Riparian zones are biodiversity hotspots in montane ecosystems and are of critical conservation concern. However, studies on longitudinal diversity patterns and environmental drivers have been restricted to aquatic fauna, while the animals that rely on both river and riparian resources have been of much less concern. Here, we examined the multifaceted diversity distribution of riparian birds along longitudinal gradients and analyzed the importance of environmental factors in shaping these patterns in the Changbai Mountains.

Protein Subcellular Localization Prediction Model Based on Graph Convolutional Network.

Protein subcellular localization prediction is an important research area in bioinformatics, which plays an essential role in understanding protein function and mechanism. Many machine learning and deep learning algorithms have been employed for this task, but most of them do not use structural information of proteins. With the advances in protein structure research in recent years, protein contact map prediction has been dramatically enhanced.

Refined Contact Map Prediction of Peptides Based on GCN and ResNet.

Predicting peptide inter-residue contact maps plays an important role in computational biology, which determines the topology of the peptide structure. However, due to the limited number of known homologous structures, there is still much room for inter-residue contact map prediction. Current models are not sufficient for capturing the high accuracy relationship between the residues, especially for those with a long-range distance.

Yttrium-mediated red fluorescent carbon dots for sensitive and selective detection of calcium ions.

As the second messenger in cells, calcium ions are indispensable in various physiological activities of the body. In this work, a special red fluorescent carbon dot was designed and synthesized using the secondary hydrothermal method with yttrium, p-phenylenediamine, and ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid as precursors for the detection of calcium ions. The designed carbon dot exhibited bright red fluorescence, and the fluorescence emission wavelength showed good photostability.

Junctional and somatic hypermutation-induced CXC motif is critical for the recognition of a highly conserved epitope on HCV E2 by a human broadly neutralizing antibody.

Induction of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bNAbs) that bind to the viral envelope glycoproteins is a major goal of hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine research. The study of bNAbs arising in natural infection is essential in this endeavor. We generated a human antibody, 8D6, recognizing the E2 protein of HCV isolated from a chronic hepatitis C patient.

Resonance Raman scattering-infrared absorption dual-mode immunosensing for carcinoembryonic antigen based on ZnO@SiO nanocomposites.

Detection of cancer biomarkers is crucial for the diagnosis and monitoring of malignant tumors. However, the accuracy and sensitivity still require sufficient improvement for practically clinical application. In this work, a reliable and sensitive dual-mode immunosensing method is described for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection using a biofunctional ZnO@SiO nanocomposite as a resonance Raman scattering (RRS)-infrared (IR) absorption nanoprobe.

Association between dyadic interventions and outcomes in cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

Purpose: Patient-caregiver dyadic interventions are when "interventions are offered to cancer patients and their family caregivers together as the unit of care." The purpose of the present study was to determine the association of dyadic intervention for cancer patients and their family caregivers with quality of life (QOL), and other outcomes for people with cancer.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted using the electronic databases to identify all randomized clinical trials on cancer patient-caregiver dyads.

Functional variants of TNFAIP3 are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in a cohort of Chinese Han population.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) is a negative regulator of NF-κB activity. We previously reported that the paired tandem polymorphic dinucleotides TT > A (rs148314165, rs200820567 of TNFAIP3) conferred the risk for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in European and Korean populations. We investigated the genetic association of the TT > A variants, as well as the functional coding variant rs2230926 in exon 3 of TNFAIP3 in 1229 Chinese Han SLE patients and 1608 matched population controls.

Publisher Correction: A functional variant in the OAS1 gene is associated with Sjögren's syndrome complicated with HBV infection.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Up/down conversion luminescence and energy transfer of Er/Tb activated NaGd(WO) green emitting phosphors.

A series of double scheelite-type tungstate green phosphors NaGd(WO):Er, Tb were synthesized by a hydrothermal route and subsequent calcination process, and they were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime measurements. The phosphors take on octahedral microcrystals with a mean side length of ~2 μm. In the single doped phosphors system, the energy transfer processes from WO to Er or Tb were discussed.

A functional variant in the OAS1 gene is associated with Sjögren's syndrome complicated with HBV infection.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been suspected to contribute to several autoimmune diseases, including Sjögren's syndrome (SS), although the exact mechanism is unknown. The 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS1) is one of the most important components of the immune system and has significant antiviral functions. We studied a polymorphism rs10774671 of OAS1 gene in Han Chinese descent.

Pt nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped porous graphene for sensitive detection of Tadalafil.

Graphene (GR) is one of the most promising candidates for utilization in the electroanalytical field because of its superior electrocatalytic activity, excellent electronic conductivity, and high chemical stability. However, the GR sheets usually tend to stack together with π-π interaction. The spontaneous stacking leads to the aggregation of the GR sheets and imposes a negative feedback in the surface area of the GR, which obviously limits its electrochemical application.

Integrating photoluminescence, magnetism and thermal conversion for potential photothermal therapy and dual-modal bioimaging.

Multifunctional nanocomposites (NCs) incorporating magnetic, luminescent and photothermal conversion properties are endowed with potential application in many fields such as imaging, tumor detection, drug delivery and therapy. Here, multifunctional MWCNTs-NaGdF:Yb, Er, Eu NCs, which offer the potential for integrated bioimaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) were fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method. The resulting sample exhibits uniform morphology, bright dual-modal luminescence and intrinsic paramagnetic properties.

Route of placebo administration: Robust placebo effects in laboratory and clinical settings.

Recent advances in laboratory and clinical research have greatly enhanced our understanding of placebo effects. However, little progress has been made in translational research that can well integrate these findings. This article examines pivotal role of placebo administration in subsequent placebo responses, providing a unified framework that accounts for robust placebo effects in both laboratory and clinical settings.

Dual-mode blue emission, enhanced up-conversion luminescence and paramagnetic properties of ytterbium and thulium-doped BaGdF multifunctional nanophosphors.

A series of BaGdF:Yb, Tm nanophosphors (NPs) with dual-mode (down-conversion (DC) and upconversion (UC)) luminescence were successfully prepared by hydrothermal method at 180°C. The NPs have sphere-like morphology and cubic structure. Under the excitation of ultraviolet 355nm and near-infrared 980nm, Yb and Tm ions co-doped BaGdF phosphors exhibit bright blue dual-mode emission.

Dual-mode immunoassay based on shape code and infrared absorption fingerprint signals of silica nanorods.

Silica nanorods were synthesized through a simple one-pot emulsion-droplet-based growth method, in which tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) was used as the silica source, ammonia as the catalyst, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the structure-directing agent and stabilizer. By controlling hydrolysis and condensation in the reaction process, we regulated the aspect ratios and the infrared (IR) absorption fingerprint signals (the transverse optical and the longitudinal optical phonon modes) of the silica nanorods. Based on this, a dual-mode immunoassay was performed for detecting model target analyte, human IgG.

Low level of extra-pair paternity between nearest neighbors results from female preference for high-quality males in the yellow-rumped flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia).

Extra-pair copulation is considered to be a means by which females can modify their initial mate choice, and females might obtain indirect benefits to offspring fitness by engaging in this behavior. Here, we examined the patterns of extra-pair paternity and female preferences in the yellow-rumped flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia). We found that female yellow-rumped flycatchers are more likely to choose larger and relatively highly heterozygous males than their social mates as extra-pair mates, that the genetic similarity of pairs that produced mixed-paternity offspring did not differ from the similarity of pairs producing only within-pair offspring, and that extra-pair offspring were more heterozygous than their half-siblings.

Accurate Quantitative Sensing of Intracellular pH based on Self-ratiometric Upconversion Luminescent Nanoprobe.

Accurate quantitation of intracellular pH (pH) is of great importance in revealing the cellular activities and early warning of diseases. A series of fluorescence-based nano-bioprobes composed of different nanoparticles or/and dye pairs have already been developed for pH sensing. Till now, biological auto-fluorescence background upon UV-Vis excitation and severe photo-bleaching of dyes are the two main factors impeding the accurate quantitative detection of pH.

One-step in situ solid-substrate-based whole blood immunoassay based on FRET between upconversion and gold nanoparticles.

Despite their general clinical applications, current fluorescence-based immunoassays are confronted with serious challenges, e.g. the advance serum/ plasma separation and the tedious washing process in current heterogeneous approaches, and aggregation of particles, low sensitivity and the narrow linear range in homogeneous approaches.

Layer-by-layer assembly of polyoxometalate-pyrene-decorated fluorescent microspheres for the suspension immunoassay of Listeria monocytogenes.

A fluorescence microsphere suspension array technique has been developed as a promising tool for the molecular detection of Listeria monocytogene (LM), which is a dangerous food borne pathogen that can cause severe food intoxication in both humans and animals. In such a technique, fluorescent microspheres as the key matrix for detection are often decorated with neutral organic dyes, which usually suffer from instability, easy photobleaching and loss from the matrix. Herein, we design and synthesize a new organic-inorganic hybrid POM-pyrene compound [N(CH)][VO{(OCH)CNH-CH-CH}] (1), which is employed as a negatively-charged fluorescent material to prepare a new class of fluorescent microspheres by a layer-by-layer electrostatic self-assembly method.

IFN-λ4 desensitizes the response to IFN-α treatment in chronic hepatitis C through long-term induction of USP18.

The recently discovered interferon lambda 4 (IFN-λ4) is a new member of the human type III interferons which could induce a strong antiviral effect through the JAK-STAT cascade. However, hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who are capable of expressing IFN-λ4 usually have poor response to IFN-α treatment, and the mechanism behind this paradox remains unknown. Here, we reported that IFN-λ4 desensitized IFN-α-stimulated JAK-STAT signalling.