A remaining challenge in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is surmounting the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Such a challenge prevents the development of efficient theranostic approaches ...that combine reliable diagnosis with targeted therapy. In this study, brain‐targeted near‐infrared IIb (NIR‐IIb) aggregation‐induced‐emission (AIE) nanoparticles are developed via rational design, which involves twisting the planar molecular backbone with steric hindrance. The resulting nanoparticles can balance competing responsiveness demands for radiation‐mediated NIR fluorescence imaging at 1550 nm and non‐radiation NIR photothermal therapy (NIR‐PTT). The brain‐targeting peptide apolipoprotein E peptide (ApoE) is grafted onto these nanoparticles (termed as ApoE‐Ph NPs) to target glioma and promote efficient BBB traversal. A long imaging wavelength 1550 nm band‐pass filter is utilized to monitor the in vivo biodistribution and accumulation of the nanoparticles in a model of orthotopic glioma, which overcomes previous limitations in wavelength range and equipment. The results demonstrate that the ApoE‐Ph NPs have a higher PTT efficiency and significantly enhanced survival of mice bearing orthotopic GBM with moderate irradiation (0.5 W cm−2). Collectively, the work highlights the smart design of a brain‐targeted NIR‐II AIE theranostic approach that opens new diagnosis and treatment options in the photonic therapy of GBM.
The near‐infrared II (NIR‐II)‐imaging‐guided photothermal therapy (PTT) of nanofluorophores is a promising approach for theranostic of orthotopic glioma. Brain‐targeting nanofluorophores featuring novel molecular design of “backbone distortion + molecular rotor” are prepared. They can balance the photon energy flow to achieve advanced NIR‐II imaging at 1550 nm and photo‐to‐heat ratio for PTT in orthotopic‐glioma‐bearing mice.
Recombinant type III collagen plays an important role in cosmetics, wound healing, and tissue engineering. Thus, increasing its production is necessary. After an initial increase in output by ...modifying the signal peptide, we showed that adding 1% maltose directly to the medium increased the yield and reduced the degradation of recombinant type III collagen. We initially verified that
Pichia pastoris
GS115 can metabolize and utilize maltose. Interestingly, maltose metabolism–associated proteins in
Pichia pastoris
GS115 have not yet been identified. RNA sequencing and transmission electron microscopy were performed to clarify the specific mechanism of maltose influence. The results showed that maltose significantly improved the metabolism of methanol, thiamine, riboflavin, arginine, and proline. After adding maltose, the cell microstructures tended more toward the normal. Adding maltose also contributed to yeast homeostasis and methanol tolerance. Finally, adding maltose resulted in the downregulation of aspartic protease YPS1 and a decrease in yeast mortality, thereby slowing down recombinant type III collagen degradation.
Key points
• Co-feeding of maltose improves recombinant type III collagen production.
• Maltose incorporation enhances methanol metabolism and antioxidant capacity.
• Maltose addition contributes to Pichia pastoris GS115 homeostasis.
Graphical Abstract
Electroluminescence efficiencies and stabilities of quasi-two-dimensional halide perovskites are restricted by the formation of multiple-quantum-well structures with broad and uncontrollable phase ...distributions. Here, we report a ligand design strategy to substantially suppress diffusion-limited phase disproportionation, thereby enabling better phase control. We demonstrate that extending the π-conjugation length and increasing the cross-sectional area of the ligand enables perovskite thin films with dramatically suppressed ion transport, narrowed phase distributions, reduced defect densities, and enhanced radiative recombination efficiencies. Consequently, we achieved efficient and stable deep-red light-emitting diodes with a peak external quantum efficiency of 26.3% (average 22.9% among 70 devices and cross-checked) and a half-life of ~220 and 2.8 h under a constant current density of 0.1 and 12 mA/cm
, respectively. Our devices also exhibit wide wavelength tunability and improved spectral and phase stability compared with existing perovskite light-emitting diodes. These discoveries provide critical insights into the molecular design and crystallization kinetics of low-dimensional perovskite semiconductors for light-emitting devices.
As urban populations grow, effectively accessing urban performance measures such as livability and comfort becomes increasingly important due to their significant socioeconomic impacts. While Point ...of Interest (POI) data has been utilized for various applications in location-based services, its potential for urban performance analytics remains unexplored. In this article, we present SenseMap, a novel approach for analyzing urban performance by leveraging POI data as a semantic representation of urban functions. We quantify the contribution of POIs to different urban performance measures by calculating semantic textual similarities on our constructed corpus. We propose Semantic-adaptive Kernel Density Estimation which takes into account POIs' influential areas across different Traffic Analysis Zones and semantic contributions to generate semantic density maps for measures. We design and implement a feature-rich, real-time visual analytics system for users to explore the urban performance of their surroundings. Evaluations with human judgment and reference data demonstrate the feasibility and validity of our method. Usage scenarios and user studies demonstrate the capability, usability and explainability of our system.
Sepsis-induced systemic inflammation can induce cardiac dysfunction, which can result in heart failure and death. Recently, natural drugs/compounds have received increased attention as therapeutic ...agents to prevent sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction. Crocetin (CRO) is a natural compound that has been shown to reduce inflammation and cytotoxicity in cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, the effects of CRO on sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction have not been evaluated. In this study, we used lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced H9c2 cells as an
in vitro
model to mimic cardiac sepsis. Crocetin significantly alleviated LPS-induced cytotoxicity, cellular apoptosis, and oxidative stress through increased Bcl-2 activity and PI3K-Akt signaling and suppression of caspase 3 and caspase 9 activities. Furthermore, CRO dramatically decreased the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8 via suppression of p65/Keap1 signaling and activation of Nrf2/HO-1/NQO1 signaling. In addition, CRO protected mitochondrial respiration, free fatty acid β-oxidation, and mitochondrial morphology in LPS-induced H9c2 cells. This study showed that CRO attenuated LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction via regulation of the inflammatory response and mitochondrial function and potentially had an effect on sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction.
Quinoidal structures incorporating expanded para-quinodimethane (p-QM) units have garnered great interest as functional organic electronic, optical, and magnetic materials. The direct use of the ...compact p-QM unit as an electronic building block, however, has been inhibited by the high reactivity conveyed by its biradical character. Herein, we introduce a stable p-QM variant, namely p-azaquinodimethane (p-AQM), that incorporates nitrogen atoms in the central ring and alkoxy substituents on the periphery to increase the stability of the quinoidal structure. The succinct synthesis from readily available precursors leads to regio- and stereospecific p-AQMs that can be readily integrated into the backbone of conjugated polymers. The quinoidal character of the p-AQM unit endows the resulting polymers with narrow band gaps and high carrier transport mobilities. The study of a series of copolymers employing different numbers of thiophene units revealed an unconventional trend in band gaps, which is distinct from the widely adopted donor–acceptor approach to tuning the band gaps of conjugated polymers. Theoretical calculations have shed light on the nature of this trend, which may provide a unique class of conjugated polymers with promising optical and electronic properties.
Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) is easily adsorbed and transformed by soil minerals and is an important redox-active component of soil and sediment. However, the effects of the molecular weight of DOM ...on the interface between MnO2 and DOM remain unclear. Herein, fulvic acid (FA) from peat was size-fractionated into four molecular weight fractions (FA>10kDa, FA5–10kDa, FA3–5kDa, and FA<3kDa) and then reacted with δ-MnO2 in this study. The affinity of FA for MnO2 varied significantly with different molecular weights, and large molecular weight FA was more easily adsorbed by MnO2. After 30 h of reaction, the highest mineralization rate was for FA>10kDa (42.39 %), followed by FA5–10kDa (28.65 %), FA3–5kDa (25.58 %), and FA<3kDa (20.37 %), consistent with the results of adsorption. The stronger reducing ability of the large molecular weight fraction of FA to MnO2 was mainly attributed to hydrophobic functional groups, promoting adsorption by MnO2 and the exposure of more active sites. The main active species involved in the mineralization of FA were •OH and Mn4+ through the quenching experiment. Our findings confirm that the large molecular weight fractions of FA play a crucial part in the adsorption and redox reactions of MnO2. These results may help evaluate the performance of different molecular characteristics of FA in the biogeochemical cycles of MnO2 in the soil environment.
Display omitted
•FA from peat was size-fractionated into four molecular weight fractions.•The affinity of FA for MnO2 varied significantly with different molecular weights.•Large molecular weight fraction of FA were more easily adsorbed and mineralizated.•The main active species involved in the mineralization of FA were •OH and Mn4+.
Copper anode slime is a typical hazardous waste that is rich in precious metals, rare metals and other valuable metals. Decopperization is the first step to recycle rare and precious metals from ...copper anode slime. In this work, the synergistic effect of ultrasound and ozone on copper leaching from copper anode slime was studied to develop an efficient and clean decopperization process. The effects of the reaction time, temperature, initial sulfuric acid concentration, ultrasound power and ozone flow rate were investigated. The results show that the dissolution fraction of copper can reach 98.46% under the optimum ultrasound and ozone reaction conditions. However, the leaching efficiency of copper under ozone is only 50.99% at 30 min. The kinetics analysis shows that the leaching reaction follows the classical unreacted-core shrinking model. The apparent Ea value and reaction orders were estimated to be 10.37 kJ/mol and 0.34, respectively. Meanwhile, the leaching kinetic equation under ultrasound and ozone was established using quadratic regression. Surface analyses indicated that the copper compound leached under ultrasound and ozone exposure. The higher leaching efficiency of copper results because copper and its compounds are transformed into soluble copper sulfate under the combination of ozone and ultrasound. The concentration of precious metals in the leaching residue under ultrasound and ozone is the highest, indicating that the synergistic effect of ultrasound and ozone can effectively enrich valuable precious metals. Synergistic decopperization from copper anode slime by ultrasound and ozone offers wide application prospects in transforming harmful anode slime waste into valuable materials.
Display omitted
•The synergistic decopperization by ultrasound and ozone was developed.•The decopperization efficiency is 98.46% under the optimum reaction conditions.•The apparent Ea and reaction orders were 10.37 kJ/mol and 0.34 respectively.•The synergistic action of ultrasonic and ozone leached the insoluble copper.
China’s rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to ecological and environmental problems, particularly air pollution. Digitalization has become a key component in high-quality development ...to overcome the previous high-energy and high-pollution development model. However, a certain degree of “green blindness” exists in the digital development process, and the impact on air pollution is not always positive. Therefore, the impact of the digital economy on air pollution is worth exploring. In this study, the authors examines the emissions increase and reduction effect mechanisms of the digital economy on air pollution using panel data in 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020. The two-tier stochastic frontier model showed that the interaction between the emissions increase effect and emissions reduction effect of the digital economy reduced the actual air pollution emissions level below the frontier level by 0.15%, on average. Overall air pollution level is characterized prominently by emission reduction, owing to the asymmetric bilateral effect of the digital economy. Second, the time trend characteristics of the net effect of the digital economy on air pollution emissions showed a wave-like change; the average values of the net effect in the three major regions (i.e., the east, central, and west) were all negative. Third, along with the development of digital economy, human capital levels, and general economic levels, the emissions reduction effect of the digital economy on air pollution has strengthened, such that the net effect became positive to negative. However, significant heterogeneous characteristics were noted in the effects of the digital economy on air pollution under different levels of digital economy development, human capital, and economic development. This study provides practical paths for air pollution management, strengthening inter-regional environmental synergy management and high-quality economic development.
Network graphs are common visualization charts. They often appear in the form of bitmaps in articles, web pages, magazine prints, and designer sketches. People often want to modify graphs because of ...their poor design, but it is difficult to obtain their underlying data. In this article, we present VividGraph, a pipeline for automatically extracting and redesigning graphs from static images. We propose using convolutional neural networks to solve the problem of graph data extraction. Our method is robust to hand-drawn graphs, blurred graph images, and large graph images. We also present a graph classification module to make it effective for directed graphs. We propose two evaluation methods to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. It can be used to quickly transform designer sketches, extract underlying data from existing graphs, and interactively redesign poorly designed graphs.
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