Development-Inspired Biomimetic Cell-Niche Coaggregates Safeguard Tooth Stem Cell-Based Functional Tissue Regeneration.

Harnessing natural developmental programs to repair and replace damaged organs represents promising approaches in regenerative medicine. However, effective strategies are still lacking for tissue regeneration in complicated conditions, such as the periodontal bone defect. Here, human dental follicle stem cells (hDFSCs) and their aggregates (hDFSCA) are cultured and characterized, which are formed based on the inherent property of these stem cells self-assembly into compact spheroid-like structures, mimicking mesenchymal condensation in development.

PSAT1 regulates hair follicle growth and stem cell behavior in cashmere goats.

Background: The Arbas Cashmere Goat from Inner Mongolia is renowned for its superior-quality cashmere, which is primarily produced by secondary hair follicles (SHFs). Secondary hair follicle stem cells (SHFSCs) are critical regulators of SHF growth and development. However, the specific regulatory mechanisms of phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 (PSAT1) in SHFSCs remain unclear.

Inflammation-triggered Gli1 stem cells engage with extracellular vesicles to prime aberrant neutrophils to exacerbate periodontal immunopathology.

Periodontitis is a prevalent and progressive detrimental disease characterized by chronic inflammation, and the immunopathological mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play crucial roles as immunoregulators and maintain tissue homeostasis and regeneration, but their in vivo function in immunopathology and periodontal tissue deterioration is still unclear. Here, we utilized multiple transgenic mouse models to specifically mark, ablate and modulate Gli1 cells, a critical and representative subset of MSCs in the periodontium, to explore their specific role in periodontal immunopathology.

The landscape of cell regulatory and communication networks in the human dental follicle.

Introduction: The dental follicle localizes the surrounding enamel organ and dental papilla of the developing tooth germ during the embryonic stage. It can differentiate and develop to form the periodontal ligament, cementum, and alveolar bone tissues. Postnatally, the dental follicle gradually degenerates, but some parts of the dental follicle remain around the impacted tooth.

Optimizing natural human-derived decellularized tissue materials for periodontal bone defect repair.

Periodontal disease is a major contributor to tooth loss worldwide in adults. Particularly, periodontal bone defect is a common clinical condition, yet current therapeutic strategies exhibit limited effectiveness. Recently, natural bone graft materials have attracted considerable interest for enhancing bone defect repair due to their superior biocompatibility and osteogenic capabilities.

A prediction model based on computed tomography characteristics for identifying malignant from benign sub-centimeter solid pulmonary nodules.

Background: Distinguishing benign from malignant sub-centimeter solid pulmonary nodules (SSPNs) continues to be challenging in clinical practice. Earlier diagnosis is crucial for improving patient survival and prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of malignant SSPNs and establish and validate a prediction model based on computed tomography (CT) characteristics to assist in their early diagnosis.

Visual Sensor with Host-Guest Specific Recognition and Light-Electrical Co-Controlled Switch.

Perception of UV radiation has important applications in medical health, industrial production, electronic communication, etc. In numerous application scenarios, there is an increasing demand for the intuitive and low-cost detection of UV radiation through colorimetric visual behavior, as well as the efficient and multi-functional utilization of UV radiation. However, photodetectors based on photoconductive modes or photosensitive colorimetric materials are not conducive to portable or multi-scene applications owing to their complex and expensive photosensitive components, potential photobleaching, and single-stimulus response behavior.

Inductive Effect on Single-Atom Sites.

Single-atom catalysts exhibit promising electrocatalytic activity, a trait that can be further enhanced through the introduction of heteroatom doping within the carbon skeleton. Nonetheless, the intricate relationship between the doping positions and activity remains incompletely elucidated. This contribution sheds light on an inductive effect of single-atom sites, showcasing that the activity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) can be augmented by reducing the spatial gap between the doped heteroatom and the single-atom sites.

Molecular Recognition Regulates Coordination Structure of Single-Atom Sites.

Coordination engineering for single-atom sites has drawn increasing attention, yet its chemical synthesis remains a tough issue, especially for tailorable coordination structures. Herein, a molecular recognition strategy is proposed to fabricate single-atom sites with regulable local coordination structures. Specifically, a heteroatom-containing ligand serves as the guest molecule to induce coordination interaction with the metal-containing host, precisely settling the heteroatoms into the local structure of single-atom sites.

Status of irrational drug use in the outpatient department of a Beijing hospital from 2018 to 2021 and evaluation of the effect of intervention measures.

To explore the status of irrational drug use in a hospital between the pre-intervention (2018 to 2019) and post-intervention (2020 to 2021) in Beijing and evaluate the effects of relevant interventions. Prescriptions were evaluated manually with reference to the management rules of the china prescription administrative policy, standard management of hospital prescription comments, standards for prescription examination in medical institutions, regulations on pharmaceutical administration in medical institutions and the administrative measures for the clinical application of antibiotics. There were 5,584 irrational outpatient electronic prescriptions, with 1,681, 1,554, 1,234 and 1,115 made annually from 2018 to 2021, respectively.

Associations between brain gene expression perturbations implicated by COVID-19 and psychiatric disorders.

Background: Currently, there is increasing evidence from clinic, epidemiology, as well as neuroimaging, demonstrating neuropsychiatric abnormalities in COVID-19, however, whether there were associations between brain changes caused by COVID-19 and genetic susceptibility of psychiatric disorders was still unknown.

Methods: In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate these associations by combing single-cell RNA sequencing datasets of brain tissues of COVID-19 and genome-wide association study summary statistics of psychiatric disorders.

Results: The analysis demonstrated that among ten psychiatric disorders, gene expression perturbations implicated by COVID-19 in excitatory neurons of choroid plexus were significantly associated with schizophrenia.

Working Zinc-Air Batteries at 80 °C.

Aqueous zinc-air batteries possess inherent safety and are especially commendable facing high-temperature working conditions. However, their working feasibility at high temperatures has seldom been investigated. Herein, the working feasibility of high-temperature zinc-air batteries is systemically investigated.

A clicking confinement strategy to fabricate transition metal single-atom sites for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis.

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries call for high-performance bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts. Transition metal single-atom catalysts constitute a promising candidate considering their maximum atom efficiency and high intrinsic activity. However, the fabrication of atomically dispersed transition metal sites is highly challenging, creating a need for for new design strategies and synthesis methods.

Preconstructing Asymmetric Interface in Air Cathodes for High-Performance Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries.

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries afford great potential toward next-generation sustainable energy storage. Nevertheless, the oxygen redox reactions at the air cathode are highly sluggish in kinetics to induce poor energy efficiency and limited cycling lifespan. Air cathodes with asymmetric configurations significantly promote the electrocatalytic efficiency of the loaded electrocatalysts, whereas rational synthetic methodology to effectively fabricate asymmetric air cathodes remains insufficient.

Semi-Immobilized Molecular Electrocatalysts for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries constitute promising next-generation energy storage devices due to the ultrahigh theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh kg. However, the multiphase sulfur redox reactions with sophisticated homogeneous and heterogeneous electrochemical processes are sluggish in kinetics, thus requiring targeted and high-efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, a semi-immobilized molecular electrocatalyst is designed to tailor the characters of the sulfur redox reactions in working Li-S batteries.

Understanding the Impedance Response of Lithium Polysulfide Symmetric Cells.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are highly considered for next-generation energy storage due to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh kg. The conversion reactions between lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) constitute the core process in working Li-S batteries. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of LiPS symmetric cells is an effective tool to provide detailed information on the LiPS conversion reactions and direct further kinetic promotion.

Recent advances of noble-metal-free bifunctional oxygen reduction and evolution electrocatalysts.

Oxygen reduction and evolution reactions constitute the core process of many vital energy storage or conversion techniques. However, the kinetic sluggishness of the oxygen redox reactions and heavy reliance on noble-metal-based electrocatalysts strongly limit the energy efficiency of the related devices. Developing high-performance noble-metal-free bifunctional ORR and OER electrocatalysts has gained worldwide attention, where much important progress has been made during the last decade.

Can Aqueous Zinc-Air Batteries Work at Sub-Zero Temperatures?

Efficient energy storage at low temperatures starves for competent battery techniques. Herein, inherent advantages of zinc-air batteries on low-temperature electrochemical energy storage are discovered. The electrode reactions are resistive against low temperatures to render feasible working zinc-air batteries under sub-zero temperatures.

A ΔE = 0.63 V Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst Enables High-Rate and Long-Cycling Zinc-Air Batteries.

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries constitute promising next-generation energy storage devices due to their intrinsic safety, low cost, and feasibility to realize high cycling current density and long cycling lifespan. Nevertheless, their cathodic reactions involving oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution are highly sluggish in kinetics, requiring high-performance noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalysts that exceed the current noble-metal-based benchmarks. Herein, a noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst is fabricated, which demonstrates ultrahigh bifunctional activity and renders excellent performance in rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

Tanshinone IIA: A Review of its Anticancer Effects.

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is a pharmacologically lipophilic active constituent isolated from the roots and rhizomes of the Chinese medicinal herb Bunge (Danshen). Tan IIA is currently used in China and other neighboring countries to treat patients with cardiovascular system, diabetes, apoplexy, arthritis, sepsis, and other diseases. Recently, it was reported that tan IIA could have a wide range of antitumor effects on several human tumor cell lines, but the research of the mechanism of tan IIA is relatively scattered in cancer.

Stilbenoids from the roots of .

Two new stilbenoids, stemobenoids A () and B (), together with three known compounds were obtained from the roots of . The structures of the new compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRMS, 1D and 2D NMR data. Compounds and displayed potent quinone reductase inducing activity in Hepa 1c1c7 cells.

Intrinsic Electrocatalytic Activity Regulation of M-N-C Single-Atom Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with highly active sites atomically dispersed on substrates exhibit unique advantages regarding maximum atomic efficiency, abundant chemical structures, and extraordinary catalytic performances for multiple important reactions. In particular, M-N-C SACs (M=transition metal atom) demonstrate optimal electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and have attracted extensive attention recently. Despite substantial efforts in fabricating various M-N-C SACs, the principles for regulating the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity of their active sites have not been sufficiently studied.

Coordination Tunes Selectivity: Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction on High-Loading Molybdenum Single-Atom Catalysts.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have great potential in electrocatalysis. Their performance can be rationally optimized by tailoring the metal atoms, adjacent coordinative dopants, and metal loading. However, doing so is still a great challenge because of the limited synthesis approach and insufficient understanding of the structure-property relationships.

Asymmetric Air Cathode Design for Enhanced Interfacial Electrocatalytic Reactions in High-Performance Zinc-Air Batteries.

The rechargeable zinc-air battery (ZAB) is a promising energy storage technology owing to its high energy density and safe aqueous electrolyte, but there is a significant performance bottleneck. Generally, cathode reactions only occur at multiphase interfaces, where the electrocatalytic active sites can participate in redox reactions effectively. In the conventional air cathode, the 2D multiphase interface on the surface of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) inevitably results in an insufficient amount of active sites and poor interfacial contact, leading to sluggish reaction kinetics.

Structural Changes and Antibacterial Activity of Epsilon-poly-l-lysine in Response to pH and Phase Transition and Their Mechanisms.

ε-Poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) consists of 25-35 lysine residues which are linked by an isopeptide bond formed by dehydration condensation of α-carboxyl and ε-amino groups and has good antibacterial activity and broad-spectrum inhibition range. However, there is no clear conclusion about the structure and antibacterial mechanism of ε-PL in aqueous solution. Herein, a high purity of ε-PL was prepared using Amberlite IRC-50 ion-exchange resin.