UV2 and LW opsin genes mediate phototactic responses in the Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis.

Phototaxis is a critical behavior in insects and is closely linked to vision and environmental adaptation. Understanding how insects perceive light and exhibit phototactic responses is crucial for assessing the ecological impact of artificial light at night. However, the molecular and neural mechanisms that regulate phototactic responses in insects remain largely unknown.

Origin and mitigation of the imprint effect in hafnia-based ferroelectrics.

The potential of hafnia-based ferroelectric materials for Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM) applications is limited by the imprint effect, which compromises readout reliability. Here, we systematically investigate the asymmetric imprint behavior in W/HfZrO/W ferroelectric capacitors, demonstrating that the imprint direction correlates directly with the ferroelectric polarization state. Notably, a pre-pulse of specific polarity can temporarily suppress the imprint effect.

Discovery of Tricyclic Derivative as Novel and Potent Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Glycoprotein Inhibitor with an Improved Pharmacokinetic Profile.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major pathogen causing acute respiratory infections, and the RSV fusion glycoprotein (F) has been identified as a key target for developing small-molecule inhibitors. Based on our prior identification of lonafarnib as an F protein inhibitor, medicinal chemistry efforts led to the development of , which exhibits significantly enhanced potency against both laboratory and clinical RSV isolates in cellular assays. Time-of-addition and SPR assays indicate that inhibits viral entry by targeting the RSV F protein, but has farnesyltransferase-independent antiviral efficacy.

Long-Lived Charge-Transfer State and Interfacial Lock in Double-Cable Conjugated Polymers Enable Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells.

The donor/acceptor (D/A) interfaces in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs) critically govern exciton dissociation and molecular diffusion, determining both efficiency and stability. Herein, we design a double-cable conjugated polymer, SC-1F, to insert into a physically-blended D/A system to optimize the interface. We have found that SC-1F spontaneously segregates to the interface through favorable miscibility and heterogeneous nucleation with the acceptor.

TRPV1 Suppresses Microglial Inflammatory Activation to Ameliorate Schizophrenia-Associated Behaviors in Maternal Separation Rats.

Background And Hypothesis: Schizophrenia is linked to hippocampal dysfunction and microglial inflammatory activation. Our prior clinical findings revealed significantly reduced transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) expression in both first-episode and recurrent schizophrenia patients, with levels inversely correlating with symptom severity, implicating TRPV1 dysfunction in disease progression. Preclinical maternal separation (MS) models recapitulate schizophrenia-like behavioral and synaptic deficits, paralleled by hippocampal microglial TRPV1 downregulation.

A solo-LTR insertion in the CreTPS3a promoter enhances γ -terpinene biosynthesis and affects consumer preference for tangerine-like aroma in citrus fruits.

Aroma differentiation is a key trait distinguishing citrus and other horticultural crops from staple crops. However, the mechanisms and sensory features by which distinctive and various citrus-like aroma in citrus remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that γ-terpinene determines tangerine-like aroma, affects consumer preference, and has pest-repellent properties.

Redefining agroecological zones in China to mitigate climate change impacts on maize production.

This study introduces Multi-Dimensional Environment (MDE) zoning to enhance maize resilience and improve stagnant yields in China amidst climate change. Utilizing comprehensive environmental and yield data, MDE zoning accurately identifies areas for targeted, climate-adaptive breeding. The tool provides a flexible framework for updates using annual variety testing and daily environmental data, optimizing production and resource allocation.

Tellurium-Nitrogen-Carbon Support Boosting Platinum Catalysis in High-Efficiency Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

Enhancing the energy conversion efficiency of fuel cells necessitates optimization of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under high-voltage conditions through improved Pt catalysis. This study introduces an electrocatalyst that uniformly anchors a high loading (40 wt%) of small Pt nanoparticles (3.2 nm) on a novel support: tellurium and nitrogen co-mediated graphitized mesoporous carbon (Te-N-GMC).

The cachexia index as a prognostic indicator in patients with cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy: A retrospective study.

Objective: The cachexia index (CXI) demonstrates potential as both a diagnostic tool for cachexia and a prognostic tool for survival in cancer. However, CXI's predictive value has not been verified in cervical cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of the CXI in patients with cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy.

High-resolution time-series transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling reveals the regulatory mechanism underlying salt tolerance in maize.

Background: Soil salinization represents a critical global challenge to agricultural productivity, profoundly impacting crop yields and threatening food security. Plant salt-responsive is complex and dynamic, making it challenging to fully elucidate salt tolerance mechanism and leading to gaps in our understanding of how plants adapt to and mitigate salt stress.

Results: Here, we conduct high-resolution time-series transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of the extremely salt-tolerant maize inbred line, HLZY, and the salt-sensitive elite line, JI853.

Amplifying antigen-induced cellular responses with proximity labelling.

Antigen-induced clustering of cell surface receptors, including T cell receptors and Fc receptors, represents a widespread mechanism in cell signalling activation. However, most naturally occurring antigens, such as tumour-associated antigens, stimulate limited receptor clustering and on-target responses owing to insufficient density. Here we repurpose proximity labelling, a method used to biotinylate and identify spatially proximal proteins, to amplify designed probes as synthetic antigen clusters on the cell surface.

LEF1 confers resistance to DNA-damaging chemotherapies through upregulation of PARP1 and NUMA1 in ovarian cancer.

Resistance to platinum-based drugs and PARP inhibitors (PARPi) is the leading cause of treatment failure in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This study aimed to identify resistance mechanisms shared by both. Using bioinformatic analyses, EOC tissues, primary tumor cells and organoids, and chemoresistant cell lines, we identified lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1) as a candidate, whose expression was increased in both platinum-resistant and PARPi-resistant tumors.

Loss-of-function variations in solute carrier family 38 member 6 are associated with essential tremor.

Essential tremor (ET) is a common neurological disease that is characterized by 4-12 Hz kinetic tremors of the upper limbs and high genetic heterogeneity. Although numerous candidate genes and loci have been reported, the etiology of ET remains unclear. A novel ET-related gene was initially identified in a five-generation family via whole-exome sequencing, and other variants were identified in 772 familial ET probands and 640 sporadic individuals via whole-genome sequencing.

Revisiting the Synthesis of Tetramethoxyindolo[3,2-]indole Derivatives and the Study of Their Photoinduced Radical Formation in Halogenated Solvents.

We previously reported that the attempt to synthesize tetramethoxyindolo[3,2-]indole led to an undefined product. Now, it is confirmed that its instability is derived from the one-electron transfer from the tetramethoxyindolo[3,2-]indole derivatives to halogenated solvents under ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) light irradiation, forming a stable indolo[3,2-]indole radical cation while causing the carbon-halogen (C-X, X = Cl, Br, I) bond scission.

High-Performance Zirconium Disilicide Ceramics Fabricated via High-Pressure and High-Temperature Sintering.

Zirconium disilicide (ZrSi) ceramics have excellent physical and chemical properties and are employed in aerospace, energy, and chemical industries. Currently, the preparation and properties of ZrSi ceramics have been less studied. To comprehensively study the characteristics of ZrSi ceramics, in this study, dense bulk ZrSi ceramic samples are successfully prepared by the high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) sintering technique.

MAFLD: a ferroptotic disease.

Ferroptosis, a regulated cell death pathway driven by iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation, has recently been implicated as a major cause of hepatic injury in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This review highlights how the identification of hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3) as a ferroptosis-specific marker has led to the discovery that ferroptosis contributes to liver injury in MAFLD, and summarizes other emerging evidence connecting ferroptosis to MAFLD pathogenesis. These new findings suggest that dietary fat composition and genetic variants such as PNPLA3(I148M) may affect the progression of MAFLD by regulating cellular sensitivity to ferroptosis.

5-Year Outcomes With a Novel Coronary Sirolimus-Eluting Bioresorbable Scaffold: The NeoVas Randomized Trial.

Background: Previous trials have demonstrated increased 5-year risks for adverse clinical events after coronary artery implantation of poly-l-lactic acid-based bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) compared with cobalt chromium (CoCr) everolimus-eluting stents (EES).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 5-year clinical outcomes of the novel sirolimus-eluting NeoVas BRS compared with CoCr EES.

Methods: A total of 560 patients with single de novo native coronary artery lesions with reference vessel diameter 2.

CRISPR/Cas12a DTR system: a topology-guided Cas12a assay for specific dual detection of RNA and DNA targets.

The CRISPR/Cas12a technology has revolutionized molecular diagnostics. However, existing Cas12a systems depend on continuous target DNA activation, which limits them to single-target detection. In this study, we developed a novel topology-guided Cas12a system, the double-target responsive (DTR) system, capable of being activated by noncontiguous dual RNA/DNA targets.

Sexual dimorphism of white-matter functional connectome in healthy young adults.

Background: Sexual dimorphism in human brain has garnered significant attention in neuroscience research. Although multiple investigations have examined sexual dimorphism in gray matter (GM) functional connectivity (FC), the research of white matter (WM) FC remains relatively limited.

Methods: Utilizing resting-state fMRI data from 569 healthy young adults, we investigated sexual dimorphism in the WM functional connectome.

Celecoxib blocks AKT/mTOR in AKT/YapS127A-driven intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, activating p21/p27 for cycle arrest and suppressing Mcl-1 for apoptosis.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a malignant liver tumor with insidious onset, limited treatments, and poor prognosis. Recent studies show celecoxib exerts marked cytotoxic effects on cholangiocarcinoma cell lines, suggesting its potential as an iCCA therapy. However, the potential molecular and cellular mechanisms that link celecoxib treatment to its toxicological outcomes remain unclear.

Photothermal/GSH-dual-responsive organic quantum dots enabling traceable DNA delivery.

Quantum dots, with their superior intrinsic fluorescence and photostability, are emerging as a promising option for cancer gene therapy, diagnosis, and imaging. However, low gene delivery efficiency, insufficient targeting, and responsiveness remain challenges. To address these issues, PEI-based carbon quantum dots (CPNCs) were constructed by crosslinking polyethylenimine quantum dots (PQDs) with carbon quantum dots (CQDs) via disulfide bonds.

Unlocking low NO emissions from nitrate-laden wastewater in constructed wetlands: critical role of pyrrhotite substrate layer in mediating nitrate-dependent sulfide oxidation.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) treating nitrate-rich wastewater often face incomplete denitrification and elevated NO emissions due to insufficient electron donors. Pyrrhotite as a CW substrate demonstrated potential for enhancing autotrophic denitrification through coupled sulfur and iron biological oxidation. However, the impact of pyrrhotite layer positioning on regulating NO emissions and underlying mechanisms remains unclear.

Decoding NMDAR encephalitis: proteomic markers and computational identification of potential therapeutic pathways.

Background: The proteome is a valuable resource for pinpointing therapeutic targets. Therefore, we conducted a proteome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) study aimed at identifying potential protein markers and therapeutic targets for Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis (NMDAR-E).

Methods: Protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) were obtained from seven published genome-wide association studies (GWASs) focusing on the plasma proteome, resulting in summary-level data for 734 circulating protein markers.

Genitourinary system related tumors and coronary atherosclerosis risk: Evidence from a Mendelian randomization study on multi-cohorts.

Background: CVD and cancer are the leading causes of mortality globally. Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer patients have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Emerging evidence suggests a bidirectional link between these diseases, possibly mediated by hormonal changes, but further research needs to be performed to explore the specific role of hormone level changes in both diseases.

Associations of urinary metabolite concentrations of phthalates and their alternatives with reproductive outcomes among women receiving in vitro fertilization: A repeated measurement analysis.

Background: Studies suggest that phthalates (PAEs) may disrupt female reproductive health, but few have explored repeated measurements of PAE and their alternative exposure and their joint impact on reproductive outcomes.

Objectives: To evaluate the associations of repeatedly measured urinary levels of PAE and their alternative metabolites with reproductive outcomes in women receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods: This study included 704 women undergoing IVF between February and October 2023 in Chongqing, China.