Self-Warning and Self-Repairing Mechanisms in Functional Coatings: A Review.

Coatings have attracted widespread attention in the field of corrosion protection of metals because of their corrosion resistance and convenient techniques. Unfortunately, till now, traditional coatings have the shortcomings of vulnerability and passive corrosion protection, hence functional coatings progressively replace them. Endowing coatings with additional functions not only transform them into active protection mechanisms but also significantly improve life cycle of coatings.

Engineering of high-precision C-to-G base editors with expanded site selectivity and target compatibility.

Base editors (BEs) are powerful tools for single nucleotide substitutions without requiring DNA double-stranded breaks or donor templates. The development of C-to-G base editors (CGBEs) represents a significant advancement by enabling base transversions, thus expanding the range of genetic modifications beyond traditional transitions and facilitating a broader spectrum of (therapeutic) applications. However, current CGBEs suffer from limitations in their editing range, mostly modifying position 6 relative to the distal end of the PAM, and their editing efficiency depends on the sequence context.

Efficient derivation of stable sheep embryonic stem cells opens a new avenue for agricultural and biomedical application.

Introduction: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), capable of generating all adult cell types, hold transformative potential for agriculture and biomedicine. However, stable sheep ESCs derivation remains challenging, limiting their application in further research.

Objectives: We aimed to establish stable sheep ESCs using a simplified protocol, validate their pluripotency, and demonstrate genome editing utility.

Electrochemical Immunosensor Using COOH-Functionalized 3D Graphene Electrodes for Sensitive Detection of Tau-441 Protein.

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is essential for effective treatment; however current diagnostic methods are often complex, costly, and unsuitable for point-of-care testing. Graphene-based biosensors offer an alternative due to their affordability, versatility, and high conductivity. However, graphene's conductivity can be compromised when its carbon lattice is oxidized to introduce functional groups for biomolecule immobilization.

Patient characteristics associated with clinically coded long COVID: an OpenSAFELY study using electronic health records.

Background: Clinically coded long COVID cases in electronic health records are incomplete, despite reports of rising cases of long COVID.

Aim: To determine patient characteristics associated with clinically coded long COVID.

Design & Setting: With the approval of NHS England, we conducted a cohort study using electronic health records within the OpenSAFELY-TPP platform in England, to study patient characteristics associated with clinically coded long COVID from 29 January 2020 to 31 March 2022.

Two-Step Estimation Procedure for Parametric Copula-Based Regression Models for Semi-Competing Risks Data.

Non-terminal and terminal events in semi-competing risks data are typically associated and may be influenced by covariates. We employed regression modeling for semi-competing risks data under a copula-based framework to evaluate the effects of covariates on the two events and the association between them. Due to the complexity of the copula structure, we propose a new method that integrates a novel two-step algorithm with the Bound Optimization by Quadratic Approximation (BOBYQA) method.

Engineering eukaryotic transposon-encoded Fanzor2 system for genome editing in mammals.

Eukaryotic transposon-encoded Fanzor proteins hold great promise for genome-engineering applications as a result of their compact size and mechanistic resemblance to TnpB. However, the unmodified Fanzor systems show extremely low activity in mammalian cells. Guided by the predicted structure of a Fanzor2 complex using AlphaFold3, we engineered the NlovFz2 nuclease and its cognate ωRNA to create an evolved enNlovFz2 system, with an expanded target-adjacent motif (TAM) recognition scope (5'-NMYG) and a substantially improved genome-editing efficiency, achieving an 11.

A Solvent-Induced Solid Polymer Electrolyte with Controllable Polymerization for Low-Temperature Lithium Metal Batteries.

Solid-state electrolytes based on in situ ring-opening polymerization of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) have attracted widespread attention in Li metal batteries because of their high interface compatibility. However, its conventional cationic polymerization mechanism frequently results in the formation of long polymer chains during in situ polymerization, thereby impeding Li transport. Here, we regulate the ring opening polymerization of DOL by introducing ,-dimethyltrifluoroacetamide (FDMA), thus avoiding the formation of long polymer chains.

Arsenene-Vanadene nanodots co-activate Apoptosis/Ferroptosis for enhanced chemo-immunotherapy.

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) represents a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer with an unfavorable prognosis, characterized by minimal immune infiltration and pronounced immune suppression, resulting in a limited response to immunotherapy. In this study, a multifunctional Arsenene-Vanadene nanodot (AsV) drug delivery system is introduced, which responds to the tumor microenvironment by releasing arsenic and vanadium. Arsenic undergoes oxidation to generate highly toxic trivalent arsenic, which induces apoptosis in tumor cells while utilizing apoptotic cell debris to transiently activate the immune system.

In situ valence-transited arsenic nanosheets for multi-modal therapy of colorectal cancer.

Late-stage and advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) often prove to be resistant to current treatment regimens, due to the evolving tumor microenvironment. Chemotherapy-dominated multi-modal therapeutic strategies based on the specific CRC microenvironment open a new horizon for eradicating colorectal tumors. Here, in situ valence-transited arsenic nanosheets are developed as a multi-modal therapeutic platform by responding to the HS-enriched CRC microenvironment.

Dual-Induced Directed Deposition Mechanism Based on Anionic Surfactants Enables Long Cycle Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion battery has low cost, and environmental friendliness, emerging as a promising candidate for next-generation battery systems. However, it still suffers from a limited cycling life, caused by dendritic Zn growth and severe side reactions. Recent research highlights that the Zn (002) crystal plane exhibits superior anti-corrosive properties and a horizontal growth pattern.

Activating discharge and inhibiting self-corrosion by adding indium to the anode of Mg-air battery.

Self-corrosion and low practical voltage of anodes severely limit the usage of Mg-air batteries. Although many elements, including indium (In), have been used to enhance the discharge characteristics of Mg anodes, unclear mechanism of the action of a single element and lack of research on binary alloys as anodes have restricted the development of Mg-air batteries. Herein, Mg-In ( = 0.

Spatiotemporal delivery of multiple components of rhubarb-astragalus formula for the sysnergistic treatment of renal fibrosis.

Purpose: Rhubarb ( L.) and astragalus (Radix astragali) find widespread used in clinical formulations for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD). Notably, the key active components, total rhubarb anthraquinone (TRA) and total astragalus saponin (TAS), exhibit superiority over rhubarb and astragalus in terms of their clear composition, stability, quality control, small dosage, and efficacy for disease treatment.

COVID-19 and Mental Illnesses in Vaccinated and Unvaccinated People.

Importance: Associations have been found between COVID-19 and subsequent mental illness in both hospital- and population-based studies. However, evidence regarding which mental illnesses are associated with COVID-19 by vaccination status in these populations is limited.

Objective: To determine which mental illnesses are associated with diagnosed COVID-19 by vaccination status in both hospitalized patients and the general population.

Incidence of diabetes after SARS-CoV-2 infection in England and the implications of COVID-19 vaccination: a retrospective cohort study of 16 million people.

Background: Some studies have shown that the incidence of type 2 diabetes increases after a diagnosis of COVID-19, although the evidence is not conclusive. However, the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on this association, or the effect on other diabetes subtypes, are not clear. We aimed to investigate the association between COVID-19 and incidence of type 2, type 1, gestational and non-specific diabetes, and the effect of COVID- 19 vaccination, up to 52 weeks after diagnosis.

Camouflaging nanoreactor traverse the blood-brain barrier to catalyze redox cascade for synergistic therapy of glioblastoma.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a complex and highly restrictive barrier that prevents most biomolecules and drugs from entering the brain. However, effective strategies for delivering drugs to the brain are urgently needed for the treatment of glioblastoma. Based on the efficient BBB penetration properties of exosomes derived from brain metastatic breast cancer cells (EB), this work prepared a nanoreactor (denoted as MAG@EB), which was constructed by self-assembly of Mn, arsenate and glucose oxidase (GOx) into nanoparticles wrapped with EB.

Strategies to Regulate the Degradation and Clearance of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: A Review.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have attracted extensive attention as drug delivery systems because of their unique meso-structural features (high specific surface area, large pore volume, and tunable pore structure), easily modified surface, high drug-loading capacity, and sustained-release profiles. However, the enduring and non-specific enrichment of MSNs in healthy tissues may lead to toxicity due to their slow degradability and hinder their clinical application. The emergence of degradable MSNs provided a solution to this problem.

Development of deaminase-free T-to-S base editor and C-to-G base editor by engineered human uracil DNA glycosylase.

DNA base editors enable direct editing of adenine (A), cytosine (C), or guanine (G), but there is no base editor for direct thymine (T) editing currently. Here we develop two deaminase-free glycosylase-based base editors for direct T editing (gTBE) and C editing (gCBE) by fusing Cas9 nickase (nCas9) with engineered human uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) variants. By several rounds of structure-informed rational mutagenesis on UNG in cultured human cells, we obtain gTBE and gCBE with high activity of T-to-S (i.

Psychometric validation of a patient-reported experience measure for older adults attending the emergency department: the PREM-ED 65 study.

Introduction: Optimising emergency department (ED) patient experience is vital to ensure care quality. However, there are few validated instruments to measure the experiences of specific patient groups, including older adults. We previously developed a draft 82-item Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM-ED 65) for adults ≥65 attending the ED.

Integrated oral microgel system ameliorates renal fibrosis by hitchhiking co-delivery and targeted gut flora modulation.

Background: Renal fibrosis is a progressive process associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), contributing to impaired kidney function. Active constituents in traditional Chinese herbs, such as emodin (EMO) and asiatic acid (AA), exhibit potent anti-fibrotic properties. However, the oral administration of EMO and AA results in low bioavailability and limited kidney accumulation.

Clinical coding of long COVID in primary care 2020-2023 in a cohort of 19 million adults: an OpenSAFELY analysis.

Background: Long COVID is the patient-coined term for the persistent symptoms of COVID-19 illness for weeks, months or years following the acute infection. There is a large burden of long COVID globally from self-reported data, but the epidemiology, causes and treatments remain poorly understood. Primary care is used to help identify and treat patients with long COVID and therefore Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of past COVID-19 patients could be used to help fill these knowledge gaps.

Generation of rat forebrain tissues in mice.

Interspecies blastocyst complementation (IBC) provides a unique platform to study development and holds the potential to overcome worldwide organ shortages. Despite recent successes, brain tissue has not been achieved through IBC. Here, we developed an optimized IBC strategy based on C-CRISPR, which facilitated rapid screening of candidate genes and identified that Hesx1 deficiency supported the generation of rat forebrain tissue in mice via IBC.

Impact of vaccination on the association of COVID-19 with cardiovascular diseases: An OpenSAFELY cohort study.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is associated with an increased risk of arterial and venous thrombotic events, but the implications of vaccination for this increased risk are uncertain. With the approval of NHS England, we quantified associations between COVID-19 diagnosis and cardiovascular diseases in different vaccination and variant eras using linked electronic health records for ~40% of the English population. We defined a 'pre-vaccination' cohort (18,210,937 people) in the wild-type/Alpha variant eras (January 2020-June 2021), and 'vaccinated' and 'unvaccinated' cohorts (13,572,399 and 3,161,485 people respectively) in the Delta variant era (June-December 2021).