Explore the vast range of titles available.

Polymeric adsorbents with different properties were synthesized via suspension polymerization. Equilibrium and kinetics experiments were then performed to verify the adsorption capacities of the resins for molecules of various sizes. The adsorption of small molecules reached equilibrium more quickly than the adsorption of large molecules. Furthermore, the resins with small pores are easy to lower their adsorption capacities for large molecules because of the pore blockage effect. After amination, the specific surface areas of the resins decreased. The average pore diameter decreased when the resin was modified with either primary or tertiary amines, but the pore diameter increased when the resin was modified with secondary amines. The phenol adsorption capacities of the amine-modified resins were reduced because of the decreased specific area. The amine-modified resins could more efficiently adsorb reactive brilliant blue 4 owing to the presence of polar functional groups.

Due to its unbounded and orthogonal modes, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) is regarded as a key optical degree of freedom (DoF) for future information processing with ultra-high capacity and speed. Although the manipulation of OAM based on metasurfaces has brought about great achievements in various fields, such manipulation currently remains at single-DoF level, which means the multiplexed manipulation of OAM with other optical DoFs is still lacking, greatly hampering the application of OAM beams and advancement of metasurfaces. In order to overcome this challenge, we propose the idea of multiplexed coherent pixel (MCP) for metasurfaces. This approach enables the manipulation of arbitrary complex-amplitude under incident lights of both plane and OAM waves, on the basis of which we have realized the multiplexed DoF control of OAM and wavelength. As a result, the MCP method expands the types of incident lights which can be simultaneously responded by metasurfaces, enriches the information processing capability of metasurfaces, and creates applications of information encryption and OAM demultiplexer. Our findings not only provide means for the design of high-security and high-capacity metasurfaces, but also raise the control and application level of OAM, offering great potential for multifunctional nanophotonic devices in the future.

In this paper, we examine the impact of manufacturers’ dishonest reports of product sustainability. We first investigate the Volkswagen emissions scandal and Wal-Mart fake organic food scandal in terms of the overstatement of product sustainability. Based on these two cases, we construct a two-echelon supply chain model consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer. The supply chain members can use inspections or deferred payments in trading. We find that the inspection and deferred payment mechanisms do not always help reduce the overstatements of sustainability. With the inspection mechanism, when the basic demand is higher (lower) than the threshold, inspections can (cannot) effectively reduce the levels of overstatement. With the deferred payment mechanism, when the manufacturer’s expected proportion of payments is sufficiently small (large), the deferred payments can (cannot) help reduce the levels of overstatement. Moreover, we find that when overstatements are difficult (easy) to identify by the retailer, the deferred payment (inspection) mechanism is the more effective means for the retailer to reduce overstatements. Furthermore, our numerical results indicate that when a third party organization perceives a low probability of product overstatement, the manufacturer and the retailer use neither inspections nor the deferred payment mechanism. In contrast, when a third party organization perceives a high probability of product overstatement, the inspection mechanism is more beneficial to the manufacturer, while the deferred payment is more beneficial to the retailer. The managerial implications of our findings are discussed.

Endochondral ossification generates most of the load-bearing bones, recapitulating it in human cells remains a challenge. Here, we report generation of SOX9 + sclerotomal progenitors (scl-progenitors), a mesenchymal precursor at the pre-condensation stage, from human pluripotent stem cells and development of osteochondral induction methods for these cells. Upon lineage-specific induction, SOX9 + scl-progenitors have not only generated articular cartilage but have also undergone spontaneous condensation, cartilaginous anlagen formation, chondrocyte hypertrophy, vascular invasion, and finally bone formation with stroma, thereby recapitulating key stages during endochondral ossification. Moreover, self-organized growth plate-like structures have also been induced using SOX9 + scl-progenitor-derived fusion constructs with chondro- and osteo-spheroids, exhibiting molecular and cellular similarities to the primary growth plates. Furthermore, we have identified ITGA9 as a specific surface marker for reporter-independent isolation of SOX9 + scl-progenitors and established a culture system to support their expansion. Our work highlights SOX9 + scl-progenitors as a promising tool for modeling human skeletal development and bone/cartilage bioengineering. Endochondral ossification is hard to recapitulate with human cells. Here, the authors generated SOX9+ sclerotomal progenitors from hPSCs, modeling key developmental stages of bone development and growth plate-like structures.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The molecular etiology of glaucoma is complex and unclear. At present, there are few drugs available for glaucoma treatment. The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic analysis of glaucoma candidate drugs/chemicals based on glaucoma genes, including genetic factors and differentially expressed (DE) genes. In total, 401 genes from the genetic databases and 1656 genes from the DE gene analysis were included in further analyses. In terms of glaucoma-related genetic factors, 54 pathways were significantly enriched (FDR < 0.05), and 96 pathways for DE genes were significantly enriched (FDR < 0.05). A search of the PheWAS database for diseases associated with glaucoma-related genes returned 1,289 diseases, and a search for diseases associated with DE glaucoma-related genes returned 1,356 diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and ophthalmic diseases were highly related to glaucoma genes. A search of the DGIdb, KEGG, and CLUE databases revealed a set of drugs/chemicals targeting glaucoma genes. A subsequent analysis of the electronic medical records (EMRs) of 136,128 patients treated in Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital for candidate drug usage and the onset of glaucoma revealed nine candidate drugs. Among these drugs, individuals treated with nicardipine had the lowest incidence of glaucoma. Taken together with the information from the drug databases, the 40 most likely candidate drugs for glaucoma treatment were highlighted. Based on these findings, we concluded that the molecular mechanism of glaucoma is complex and may be a reflection of systemic diseases. A set of ready-to-use candidate drugs targeting glaucoma genes may be developed for glaucoma clinical drug treatments. Our results provide a systematic interpretation of glaucoma genes, interactions with other systemic diseases, and candidate drugs/chemicals.

Long-acting glucocorticoids are frequently administered in the intensive care unit (ICU); however, their precise effect on ICU mortality in septic patients with acute respiratory failure remains inadequately defined. This study aims to investigate whether the use of long-acting glucocorticoids is associated with a reduced mortality rate in this critically ill population. Adult patients meeting the Sepsis-3 criteria and simultaneously experiencing acute respiratory failure were retrospectively identified from version 3.0 of the MIMIC-IV (Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care) database. The primary outcome of interest was ICU mortality, defined as death occurring before discharge from the intensive care unit. To minimize baseline confounding, propensity score matching was performed at a 1:3 ratio using nearest-neighbor matching with a caliper width of 0.2 standard deviations. Time-to-event analyses were conducted using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, with statistical significance evaluated via log-rank testing. Additionally, a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to adjust for illness severity and treatment-related covariates, with further exploratory subgroup analyses performed to assess potential effect modifications. This study analyzed a cohort of 10,707 patients diagnosed in Septic Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure, among whom 2,298 (21.5%) succumbed to ICU mortality. Patients were stratified into glucocorticoid-exposed and unexposed groups based on documented administration of long-acting glucocorticoids during ICU treatment. The crude mortality rate was higher in the unexposed group compared to the glucocorticoid-exposed cohort, and this association remained statistically significant after adjustment in multivariable Cox regression analyses (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04-1.43). Subgroup analyses identified significant interaction effects, particularly among patients with malignancies and those receiving continuous renal replacement therapy. Furthermore, propensity score-matched analyses reinforced the primary findings, demonstrating consistent mortality differences between the groups. Sensitivity analysis of different treatment groups showed that the long-acting glucocorticoid group had a significant survival advantage compared to the short-acting glucocorticoid group. The use of long-acting glucocorticoids was correlated with a reduction in ICU mortality among critically ill by septic patients with acute respiratory failure. This finding indicates a potential survival advantage associated with long-acting glucocorticoid therapy in this high-risk patient population.

To explore the underlying mechanism of the anti-diabetic effect of resveratrol (RSV) on regulating glycolipid metabolism in diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin (STZ) and a high-fat diet (HFD). Male Wistar rats were randomized into three groups. Two groups were fed a high-fat diet and intraperitoneally injected with STZ (35 mg/kg), with one group also treated with RSV (30 mg/kg/d), and the third, control group was fed a normal diet. After 12 weeks, blood lipid levels and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were assessed. Histopathological changes were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. The protein expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) was assessed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence, and the proteins level of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1), phosphorylated-PDK1 (p-PDK1), phosphorylated-protein kinase B (p-AKT), glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) in the liver were analyzed by Western blotting. The mRNA levels of and in the liver were determined by RT-qPCR. RSV treatment significantly reduced liver/body weight ratio (L/W, < 0.05), FBG ( < 0.01) and serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC, < 0.05), triglycerides (TG, < 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C, < 0.05) in diabetic rats. RSV also improved diabetic symptoms, attenuated liver steatosis and increased liver glycogen accumulation. RSV treatment significantly downregulated the proteins expression of p-PDK1 and p-AKT ( < 0.01) and the levels of HIF-1α ( < 0.05) and GLUT1 ( < 0.01), while significantly upregulating the level of LDLR ( < 0.05). RSV was effective in improving glycolipid metabolism in diabetic rats, probably by inhibiting the PDK1/AKT/HIF-1α pathway and regulation of its downstream target levels. These findings may provide new insight into the mechanism of action of RSV in the treatment of diabetes.

As a systematic investigation of the correlations between physical examination indicators (PEIs) is lacking, most PEIs are currently independently used for disease warning. This results in the general physical examination having limited diagnostic values. Here, we systematically analyzed the correlations in 221 PEIs between healthy and 34 unhealthy statuses in 803,614 individuals in China. Specifically, the study population included 711,928 healthy participants, 51,341 patients with hypertension, 12,878 patients with diabetes, and 34,997 patients with other unhealthy statuses. We found rich relevance between PEIs in the healthy physical status (7662 significant correlations, 31.5%). However, in the disease conditions, the PEI correlations changed. We focused on the difference in PEIs between healthy and 35 unhealthy physical statuses and found 1239 significant PEI differences, suggesting that they could be candidate disease markers. Finally, we established machine learning algorithms to predict health status using 15–16% of the PEIs through feature extraction, reaching a 66–99% accurate prediction, depending on the physical status. This new reference of the PEI correlation provides rich information for chronic disease diagnosis. The developed machine learning algorithms can fundamentally affect the practice of general physical examinations.

Anthropogenic activities are among the primary drivers of global biodiversity decline. In conservation practice, monitoring population parameters and clarifying habitat requirements constitute fundamental prerequisites for developing effective strategies. Long‐term research addresses these needs through systematic population monitoring and comprehensive data analysis, establishing critical foundations for biodiversity preservation. This study presents a 15‐year dataset on Merops viridis—a nationally protected avian species in China—documenting spatial shifts in nest‐site selection driven by anthropogenic habitat modification and revealing a consistent annual population decline. Our results demonstrate that alterations in nesting habitat critically influence population dynamics, providing theoretical support for evidence‐based conservation strategies. We further discuss potential drivers of observed changes in nest‐site selection and population decline, advocating for the urgent establishment of large‐scale protected areas targeting sandy floodplands to safeguard this species. Our results indicate that alterations in the nesting site habitat have a crucial impact on population dynamics. This study offers valuable decision‐making foundations for the enhanced conservation of blue‐throated bee‐eaters.

Nonlinear nanophotonic devices have shown great potential for on‐chip information processing, quantum source, 3D microfabrication, greatly promoting the developments of integrated optics, quantum science, nanoscience and technologies, etc. To promote the applications of nonlinear nanodevices, improving the nonlinear efficiency, expanding the spectra region of nonlinear response and reducing device thickness are three key issues. Herein, this study focuses on the nonlinear effect of third‐harmonic generation (THG), and present a thin Si meta‐sructure to improve the THG efficiency in the ultraviolet (UV) region. The measured THG efficiency is up to 10−5 at an emission wavelength of 309 nm. Also, the THG nanosystem is only 100 nm in thickness, which is two–five times thinner than previous all‐dielectric nanosystems applied in THG studies. These findings not only present a powerful thin meta‐structure with highly efficient THG emission in UV region, but also provide a constructive avenue for further understanding the light–matter interactions at subwavelength scales, guiding the design and fabricating of advanced photonic devices in future. By utilizing the confined hybrid anapole mode, the ultra‐thin silicon‐based meta‐structure can not only achieve ultraviolet third harmonic generation (THG), but also greatly enhance the conversion efficiency to as high as 10−5, which is a new record to date of the ultraviolet‐region THG in the all‐dielectric nanosystems.