Synergistic Charge Engineering in Tellurium-Encapsulated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Universal Conductivity Enhancement.

With the rapid advancement of electronic device miniaturization, materials are required to possess stronger conductivity at smaller scales. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have drawn significant interest due to their outstanding theoretical electrical properties. However, improving their electrical performance remains a significant challenge.

Discovery of 7-azaindole-3-acrylamide inhibitors of inflammasomes/IL-1β for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Currently, a significant proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) fail to respond to conventional drug therapies such as immunosuppressants and biologic agents. IL-1 signaling blockade is a promising therapeutic strategy for these unresponsive IBD patients. In this study, we identified a novel anti-NLRP3/ IL-1β inhibitor, the 7-azaindole analogue Y19, which exhibits an IC value of 1.

Temporal trends and epidemiological impact of metabolic risk factors on stroke burden in Chinese individuals aged 65 and older, 1992-2021.

Background: Stroke remains a principal cause of mortality and disability globally, with approximately 75 percent of strokes affecting individuals aged 65 and older. High fasting plasma glucose (HFPG), high LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), and high systolic blood pressure (SBP) are significant metabolic risk factors contributing to the increasing stroke burden. Despite this, the specific impact of these factors on stroke distribution within China, the world's most populous aging nation, has not been extensively explored.

Gate-Tunable Highly Linear Bipolar Photoresponse in Se@SWCNT Adaptive Neurons for Dynamically Programmable Neuromorphic Computing.

The development of tunable and highly controllable photoconductive devices for brain-inspired optical neuromorphic systems remains challenging. Previous neuromorphic devices are limited by asymmetric and nonlinear conductive properties, which impose specific restrictions on training tasks and weight learning rules in dynamic and complex visual environments. A programmable synaptic transistor based on a Se@SWCNT 1D van der Waals heterojunction, enabling gate-controlled positive and negative responses is presented.

LRa05 on glycemic control and gut microbiota in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder linked to high blood glucose and gut dysbiosis. Probiotics like LRa05 may improve glycemic control and gut microbiota.

Aim: To explore the impact of LRa05 with hypoglycemic medications on glycemic control and intestinal flora in T2DM patients with gut dysbiosis.

Tunable synthesis of atomic one-dimensional VTe magnets within single-walled carbon nanotubes.

The unstable configurations and uncontrollable stoichiometric ratios of atomically-thick one-dimensional (1D) magnets pose challenges for practical applications. Here, we employ a spatially confined domain strategy to obtain 1D vanadium tellurides (VTe) with distinctive stoichiometry within single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Confined by SWCNTs with different inner diameters, three unconventional air-stable VTe can be generated: 1D 1H-VTe, VTe, and VTe.

Quantum Spin Dynamics of One-Dimensional Magnetic van der Waals Heterostructures.

The discovery of intrinsic magnetism within a single molecule has attracted significant interest. However, progress in the applications of nanospintronics using molecular magnets has been sluggish due to stability issues with both the devices and their performance. In this study, we propose a promising approach to protect magnetic molecules from the environment by encapsulating them in nanoscale tubular holes of carbon tubes.

Formation mechanism of the complex dynamics in subnormal glow discharge systems: Mixed-mode oscillations and period-adding bifurcation.

Mixed-mode oscillation (MMO) is a type of complex dynamic behavior commonly seen in multitimescale dynamical systems. As a typical nonlinear medium, MMOs have been experimentally observed in a variety of plasma systems. However, the underlying microscopic physical mechanisms that are responsible for this complex dynamics are still unclear at present.

Morphological adaptation strategy of invasive plant seed distributed along rivers is closely related to soil nutrients.

Rivers are crucial in the spread of invasive plants. Invasive plants alter their seed traits to adapt to environmental changes and promote invasion. Studying the trait changes in invasive plant seeds may improve the understanding of their propagation mechanisms along the river and provide appropriate control measures.

Enhanced intelligent train operation algorithms for metro train based on expert system and deep reinforcement learning.

In recent decades, automatic train operation (ATO) systems have been gradually adopted by many metro systems, primarily due to their cost-effectiveness and practicality. However, a critical examination reveals computational constraints, adaptability to unforeseen conditions and multi-objective balancing that our research aims to address. In this paper, expert knowledge is combined with deep reinforcement learning algorithm (Proximal Policy Optimization, PPO) and two enhanced intelligent train operation algorithms (EITO) are proposed.

Van der Waals Antiferroelectric CuCrPS-Based Artificial Synapse for High-Precision Neuromorphic Computation.

2D van der Waals heterostructure-based artificial synapses have emerged as a compelling platform for next-generation neuromorphic systems, owing to their tunable electrical conductivity and layer-engineered functionality through controlled stacking of 2D materials. In this work, an engineered SnS₂/h-BN/CuCrP₂S₆ van der Waals antiferroelectric field-effect transistor (AFe-FET) is presented that implements synaptic weight modulation through the synergistic interplay of charge trapping dynamics and electric-field-controlled ferroelectric polarization switching. The AFe-FET architecture successfully emulates essential neuroplasticity features, including paired-pulse facilitation, short-term plasticity, and long-term plasticity.

Editable Light Response in Halide Perovskites Encapsulated within Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

One-dimensional (1D) perovskite heterostructures fabricated through the template method employing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have garnered significant attention due to their distinctive structural properties. Nevertheless, substantial challenges remain in the device applications of 1D halide perovskite heterostructures due to the separation issue of the semiconductor SWCNTs (s-SWCNTs) after encapsulating the perovskite. Here, we report 1D perovskite heterostructures based on CsPbBr encapsulated inside s-SWCNTs (CPB@s-SWCNTs), realizing editable photoresponse.

Space-Confined Growth of Ultrathin 2D β-GaO Nanoflakes for Artificial Neuromorphic Application.

In recent years, wide-bandgap semiconductor β-GaO material has been widely studied because of its excellent properties. Simultaneously, 2D metal oxides (2DMOs) have also become a focus of research owing to their superior stability and unique physical properties arising from quantum confinement effects. Therefore, the exploration of 2D β-GaO is expected to reveal its novel electrical properties in electronic applications.

Correction: Potential public health impacts of gonorrhea vaccination programmes under declining incidences: A modeling study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

Higher Nitrogen Uptakes Contribute to Growth Advantage of Invasive over Two Co-Occurring Natives Under Different Soil Nitrogen Forms and Concentrations.

High nitrogen (N) uptake is one of the main reasons for invasive alien plant invasions. However, little effort has been made to compare the effects of different N forms on N uptake between invasive and native plants, especially those on N form acquisition strategies (preference and plasticity), which influence N uptake, and thus exotic plant invasions. Related studies are particularly few in barren habitats, where the effects of N deposition on invasiveness are considered to be much weaker than in fertile habitats.

HGF-DPSCs ameliorate asthma by regulating CCR1 Th2 cells responses in mice pulmonary mucosa.

Asthma, a prevalent allergic disease affecting approximately 300 million individuals globally, remains a significant public health challenge. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), both recognized for their immunomodulatory properties, hold therapeutic potential for asthma. However, their precise mechanisms remain underexplored.

Donor-acceptor engineering of a triplet-exciton-optimized MOF photocatalyst for efficient singlet oxygen-mediated oxidation.

The exploration of photocatalysts (PCs) for efficient singlet oxygen (O)-based photocatalytic oxidation is critical and challenging. Herein, a new series of donor-acceptor metal-organic frameworks (D-A MOFs) are constructed through the engineering of the D-A system, and investigated as PCs for the O oxidation reaction. By regulating the intersystem crossing and reversed intersystem crossing features of the D-A system, D-A MOFs could reveal highly tunable triplet-exciton generation.

Quasi-Industrial Preparation of SWCNTs-Confined High-Entropy Oxides as Self-Supported Electrodes for Continuous Electrosynthesis.

High-entropy oxides (HEOs) are emerging as highly promising materials for electrochemical applications due to their exceptional electronic properties and active sites. However, the synthesis of 1D HEO with high aspect ratios and mechanical properties has been challenging, particularly on an industrial scale. Herein, we report a spatially confined oxidation (SCO) method to synthesize 1D HEO@SWCNTs with high specific surface area and stability.

Coarse for Fine: Bounding Box Supervised Thyroid Ultrasound Image Segmentation Using Spatial Arrangement and Hierarchical Prediction Consistency.

Weakly-supervised learning methods have become increasingly attractive for medical image segmentation, but suffered from a high dependence on quantifying the pixel-wise affinities of low-level features, which are easily corrupted in thyroid ultrasound images, resulting in segmentation over-fitting to weakly annotated regions without precise delineation of target boundaries. We propose a dual-branch weakly-supervised learning framework to optimize the backbone segmentation network by calibrating semantic features into rational spatial distribution under the indirect, coarse guidance of the bounding box mask. Specifically, in the spatial arrangement consistency branch, the maximum activations sampled from the preliminary segmentation prediction and the bounding box mask along the horizontal and vertical dimensions are compared to measure the rationality of the approximate target localization.

Boron phosphide microwires based on-chip electrocatalytic oxygen evolution microdevice.

Developing low-cost, high-performance metal-free electrocatalysts is crucial for sustainable oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) in alkaline media. Here, we synthesized ultra-long boron phosphide (BP) microwires along the [111] crystal axis with high yield. By controlling temperature and adding Ni, we identified Ni's role as a flux and transport agent, optimizing BP microwires at 1050°C.

Oriented gold nanorods on polyacrylic acid grafted carbon nanotube for efficient SERS detection of cationic dyes.

In this work, we successfully achieved controllable assembly of gold nanorods (AuNRs) into end-to-end orientation using polyacrylic acid (PAA) grafted carbon nanotube (CNT) (i.e., CNT-g-PAA) as a template.

Potential public health impacts of gonorrhea vaccination programmes under declining incidences: A modeling study.

Background: Gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted disease notified in Singapore in 2023. Evidence suggests that the 4CMenB vaccine designed to protect against Neisseria meningitidis infection may offer partial cross-protection against gonorrhea. This generated interest in using 4CMenB for the purpose of staving gonorrhea transmission.

Numerical investigation on the oscillation performance of an acoustically suspended plate using flexural vibration.

Near-field acoustic levitation (NFAL) technology holds significant promise for applications in the manufacturing processes of wafers and other delicate components, owing to its advantages such as compactness, environmental friendliness, and unlimited materials for suspended objects. NFAL relies on high-frequency vibrations to generate the squeeze film that suspends objects, which inherently leads to oscillations of the suspended objects. To date, no research has been conducted to predict the oscillation performance of a suspended object under a flexural radiator.

ETV5-Mediated Transcriptional Repression of DDIT4 Blocks Macrophage Pro-Inflammatory Activation in Diabetic Atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis risk is elevated in diabetic patients, but the underlying mechanism such as the involvement of macrophages remains unclear. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanism related to the pro-inflammatory activation of macrophages in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis. Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the macrophage-related transcriptome differences in patients with atherosclerosis and diabetic mice.

Performance Enhancement of Carbon Nanotube Network Transistors via SbI Inner-Doping in Selected Regions.

Semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) represent one of the most promising materials for surpassing Moore's Law and developing the next generation of electronic devices. Despite numerous developed approaches, reducing the contact resistance of s-SWCNTs networks remains a significant challenge in achieving further enhancements in electronic performance. In this study, antimony triiodide (SbI) is efficiently encapsulated within high-purity s-SWCNTs films at low temperatures, forming 1D SbI@s-SWCNTs vdW heterostructures.