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Motivated by recent progress in the superconductivity nonreciprocal phenomena, we study the general theory of Josephson diodes. The central ingredient for Josephson diodes is the asymmetric proximity process inside the tunneling barrier. From the symmetry breaking point of view, there are two types of Josephson diodes: inversion breaking and time-reversal breaking. For the inversion breaking case, applying voltage bias could effectively tune the proximity process like the voltage-dependent Rashba coupling or electric polarization giving rise to I_(c)(V)≠I_(c)(-V) and Iᵣ+≠Iᵣ-. For the time-reversal breaking case, the current flow could adjust the internal time-reversal breaking field like magnetism or time-reversal breaking electron-electron pairing, which leads to I_(c)+≠I_(c)-. All these results provide a complete understanding and the general principles of realizing Josephson diodes, especially the recently found NbSe₂/Nb₃Br₈/NbSe₂ Josephson diodes.

The Kagome superconductors AV 3 Sb 5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) have received enormous attention due to their nontrivial topological electronic structure, anomalous physical properties and superconductivity. Unconventional charge density wave (CDW) has been detected in AV 3 Sb 5 . High-precision electronic structure determination is essential to understand its origin. Here we unveil electronic nature of the CDW phase in our high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on KV 3 Sb 5 . We have observed CDW-induced Fermi surface reconstruction and the associated band folding. The CDW-induced band splitting and the associated gap opening have been revealed at the boundary of the pristine and reconstructed Brillouin zones. The Fermi surface- and momentum-dependent CDW gap is measured and the strongly anisotropic CDW gap is observed for all the V-derived Fermi surface. In particular, we have observed signatures of the electron-phonon coupling in KV 3 Sb 5 . These results provide key insights in understanding the nature of the CDW state and its interplay with superconductivity in AV 3 Sb 5 superconductors. The impact of the charge density wave (CDW) state to the electronic structure in the Kagome superconductors A V 3 Sb 5 remains unclear. Here, the authors observe CDW-induced Fermi surface reconstruction with a strongly anisotropic CDW gap and signatures of the electron-phonon coupling for all V-derived bands.

The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in hole doped NdNiO 2 , similar to CaCuO 2 , has received enormous attention. However, different from CaCuO 2 , R NiO 2 ( R  = Nd, La) has itinerant electrons in the rare-earth spacer layer. Previous studies show that the hybridization between Ni- d x 2 − y 2 and rare-earth- d orbitals is very weak and thus R NiO 2 is still a promising analog of CaCuO 2 . Here, we perform first-principles calculations to show that the hybridization between Ni- d x 2 − y 2 orbital and itinerant electrons in R NiO 2 is substantially stronger than previously thought. The dominant hybridization comes from an interstitial- s orbital rather than rare-earth- d orbitals, due to a large inter-cell hopping. Because of the hybridization, Ni local moment is screened by itinerant electrons and the critical U Ni for long-range magnetic ordering is increased. Our work shows that the electronic structure of R NiO 2 is distinct from CaCuO 2 , implying that the observed superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates does not emerge from a doped Mott insulator. The discovery of superconductivity in doped NdNiO 2 has generated excitement due to similarities with cuprates. Here, the authors use first-principles calculations to show that different from cuprates, a hybridization between Ni d -orbitals and itinerant electrons in NdNiO 2 disfavours magnetism by screening Ni moment, as in Kondo systems.

Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma is regarded as one of the most popular and commonly used herbal medicines and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions for over 2000 years. Pentacyclic triterpene saponins are common secondary metabolites in these plants, which are synthesized via the isoprenoid pathway to produce a hydrophobic triterpenoid aglycone containing a hydrophilic sugar chain. This paper systematically summarizes the chemical structures of triterpene saponins in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and reviews and updates their main biological activities studies. Furthermore, the solubilization characteristics, influences, and mechanisms of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma are elaborated. Solubilization of the triterpene saponins from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma occurs because they contain the nonpolar sapogenin and water-soluble sidechain. The possible factors affecting the solubilization of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma are mainly other crude drugs and the pH of the decoction. Triterpene saponins represented by glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma characteristically form micelles due to amphiphilicity, which makes solubilization possible. This overview provides guidance regarding a better understanding of GlycyrrhizaeRadix et Rhizoma and its TCM compatibility, alongside a theoretical basis for the further development and utilization of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma.

Object detection, a cornerstone of computer vision, aims to localize and classify objects within images. This comprehensive survey reviews modern object detection methods, focusing on two dominant paradigms: Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Transformer-based architectures. This work provides a structured comparison of CNN-based and Transformer-based detection paradigms, highlighting their complementary strengths and trade-offs. CNNs demonstrate advantages in local feature extraction and computational efficiency, whereas Transformers excel at capturing global context through self-attention mechanisms. We also analyze multi-modal fusion techniques integrating Red-Green-Blue (RGB), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and language embeddings. Benchmark results from representative models include: Real-Time Detection Transformer (RT-DETR) achieves 53.1% mean Average Precision (mAP) at Intersection over Union (IoU) at 0.5 : 0.95, You Only Look Once version 8 (YOLOv8) achieves 50.2% mAP at 0.5:0.95, real-time detectors exceed 100 frames per second (FPS) with competitive accuracy, and specialized infrared methods achieve 92.45% F-measure on NUAA-SIRST dataset. The work introduces a novel taxonomy of multi-modal fusion strategies, documents field-wide and review-specific limitations, and synthesizes recent 2024 to 2025 benchmarks across diverse datasets. Despite these advances, significant challenges remain in handling scale variation, occlusion effects, and domain adaptation. This survey outlines these persistent obstacles and promising research directions, providing a structured reference for researchers and practitioners.

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease, but the initiation mechanisms are unclear. Although antipsychotics are effective against positive symptoms, therapeutic interventions for negative symptoms are limited due to the lack of pathophysiological mechanisms. Here we identify synaptotagmin-11 (Syt11) as a potential genetic risk factor and dopamine over-transmission as a mechanism in the development of schizophrenia. Syt11 expression is reduced in individuals with schizophrenia but restored following the treatment with antipsychotics. Syt11 deficiency in dopamine neurons in early adolescence, but not in adults, leads to persistent social deficits and other schizophrenia-like behaviors by mediating dopamine over-transmission in mice. Accordingly, dopamine neuron over-excitation before late adolescence induces persistent schizophrenia-associated behavioral deficits, along with the structural and functional alternations in the mPFC. Notably, local intervention of D2R with clinical drugs presynaptically or postsynaptically exhibits both acute and long-lasting therapeutic effects on social deficits in schizophrenia mice models. These findings not only define Syt11 as a risk factor and DA over-transmission as a potential risk factor initiating schizophrenia, but also propose two D2R-targeting strategies for the comprehensive and long-term recovery of schizophrenia-associated social withdrawal. Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder and the pathogenesis remains unclear. Here, the authors show a potential role for synaptotagmin-11 in schizophrenia-related behavior through dopamine over-transmission.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) represents a severe microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus. As a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with extensive clinical applications, Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (LLF) exhibits significant anti-DN activity. However, the underlying pharmacological mechanisms, crucial components, and targets for LLF in DN treatment remain unclear. By integrating network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations, the bioactive compounds, potential therapeutic targets, and underlying mechanisms of LLF in the treatment of DN were elucidated, followed by biological validation in a palmitic acid (PA)-induced MPC5 podocyte injury model. Among the 383 DN-related LLF targets identified, TNF emerged as a pivotal one, demonstrating potential binding interaction with the active components salidroside (Sal), apigenin (Api), and tormentic acid (TA). Moreover, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and KEGG enrichment analysis collectively highlighted the cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway. Notably, the cGAS-STING pathway is central to this pathway. Experimental studies further demonstrated that LLF-containing serum exerted a protective effect on MPC5 podocytes through cGAS-STING pathway suppression. Overall, these findings elucidate the pleiotropic mechanisms underlying LLF’s protective effects against DN, integrating compound–target–pathway interactions and thus offering a rationale for further investigation.

This study achieved the construction of earthquake disaster scenarios based on physics-based methods—from fault dynamic rupture to seismic wave propagation—and then population and economic loss estimations. The physics-based dynamic rupture and strong ground motion simulations can fully consider the three-dimensional complexity of physical parameters such as fault geometry, stress field, rock properties, and terrain. Quantitative analysis of multiple seismic disaster scenarios along the Qujiang Fault in western Yunnan Province in southwestern China based on different nucleation locations was achieved. The results indicate that the northwestern segment of the Qujiang Fault is expected to experience significantly higher levels of damage compared to the southeastern segment. Additionally, there are significant variations in human losses, even though the economic losses are similar across different scenarios. Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yuxi City, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture were identified as at medium to high seismic risks, with Yuxi and Honghe being particularly vulnerable. Implementing targeted earthquake prevention measures in Yuxi and Honghe will significantly mitigate the potential risks posed by the Qujiang Fault. Notably, although the fault is within Yuxi, Honghe is likely to suffer the most severe damage. These findings emphasize the importance of considering rupture directivity and its influence on ground motion distribution when assessing seismic risk.

Animal models are crucial for elucidating the pathological mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease (PD). Unfortunately, most of transgenic mouse models fail to manifest pathological changes observed in PD patients, pending the advancement of PD research. However, the mechanism underlying this discrepancy remains elusive. Here, we provide compelling evidence that the compensatory expression of synaptotagmin-11 (Syt11) plays a key role in concealing PD-associated phenotypes in parkin knockout (KO) mouse models. Unlike the normal dopamine (DA) release and motor behaviors observed in parkin KO mice, parkin knockdown (KD) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in adult mice led to both the impaired DA release and the pronounced motor deficits. Interestingly, Syt11, a well-established parkin substrate involved in PD, was specifically upregulated in parkin KD mice and in parkin KO mice during the suckling stage, but not in adult parkin KO mice. Importantly, the overexpression of Syt11 alone is capable of inducing PD-like motor and non-motor impairments, as well as the impaired DA release and reuptake, which is essential for parkin-associated pathogenesis of PD. Therefore, this work not only elucidate a compensatory mechanism that accounts for the absence of overt PD phenotypes in parkin KO mice, but also contribute to the comprehensive understanding of the progression of PD, opening new avenues for the therapeutic treatment of PD.

Betulinic acid (BA) is a star member of the pentacyclic triterpenoid family, which exhibits great prospects for antitumor drug development. In an attempt to develop novel antitumor candidates, 21 BA-nitrogen heterocyclic derivatives were synthetized, in addition to four intermediates, 23 of which were first reported. Moreover, they were screened for in-vitro cytotoxicity against four tumor cell lines (Hela, HepG-2, BGC-823 and SK-SY5Y) by a standard methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The majority of these derivatives showed much stronger cytotoxic activity than BA. Remarkably, the most potent compound 7e (the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of which was 2.05 ± 0.66 μM) was 12-fold more toxic in vitro than BA-treated Hela. Furthermore, multiple fluorescent staining techniques and flow cytometry collectively revealed that compound 7e could induce the early apoptosis of Hela cells. Structure–activity relationships were also briefly discussed. The present study highlighted the importance of introducing nitrogen heterocyclic rings into betulinic acid in the discovery and development of novel antitumor agents.