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The present work highlights the low temperature deposition of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The effects of Al doping concentration and substrate temperature on structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films have been systematically studied. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the preferred orientation of AZO thin films alters from (100) to (002) with the increase of both substrate temperature and Al doping concentration, which may affect the electrical property of the AZO. The resistivity of the AZO reduces with increasing the temperature from 160 to 220 °C and then remains broadly stable (in the range of 220–260 °C), while the resistivity of the AZO thin films exhibits a sharp fall followed by a slow rise with Al concentration increasing from 0 to 3.57 at.% (atom %). The AZO film deposited at substrate temperature of 220 °C and Al content of ~ 2.17 at.% shows the lowest resistivity of 8.33 × 10 –4  Ω cm and the high transmittance of ~ 95%, respectively. The work indicates a promising low temperature deposition of AZO thin films as transparent conductive oxide film.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful and widely used tools for molecular structure elucidation in organic chemistry. However, the interpretation of NMR spectra to determine unknown molecular structures remains a labor-intensive and expertise-dependent process, particularly for complex or novel compounds. Although recent methods have been proposed for molecular structure elucidation, they often underperform in real-world applications due to inherent algorithmic limitations and limited high-quality data. Here, we present NMR-Solver, a practical and interpretable framework for the automated determination of small organic molecule structures from 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra. Our method introduces an automated framework for molecular structure elucidation, integrating large-scale spectral matching with physics-guided molecular optimization that exploits atomic-level structure–spectrum relationships in NMR. We evaluate NMR-Solver on simulated benchmarks, curated experimental data from the literature, and real-world experiments, demonstrating its strong generalization, robustness, and practical utility in real-life scenarios. By integrating computational NMR analysis, deep learning, and interpretable chemical reasoning into a unified system, it facilitates scalable, automated, and chemically meaningful molecular structure elucidation, establishing a generalizable paradigm for solving inverse problems in molecular science. The study presents NMR-Solver, an automated framework that determines small-molecule structures from NMR spectra by combining large-scale spectral matching with physics-guided optimization, enabling accurate and interpretable structure elucidation.

In this work, self-powered ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 photodetectors (PDs) with enhanced UV sensing performance were successfully fabricated. The effects of Au nanoparticles on optical and photodetect ability of ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 nanorods were studied in detail. The results showed that the ZnO nanorods exhibited enhanced UV emission and reduced visible emission after the Au decoration. The best UV sensing performance was achieved from the ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 -based PD, of which the size of the Au nanoparticles and the thickness of the Al 2 O 3 were 3–4 nm and 6 nm, respectively. The on/off ratio, UV sensing responsibility, and detectivity were 805, 6.8 mA/W, and 1.7 × 10 9 Jones, respectively, which were 8.5, 8.6, and 8.5 times to that of ZnO/Al 2 O 3 -based PD without Au nanoparticle decoration (@ light intensity of 0.6 mW/cm 2 ; 0 bias). It was believed that the surface plasmonic effect, carrier confinement, and the surface passivation co-contributed to the enhanced UV photodetect ability. The work may provide an insight into the design and synthesis of 1D nano-material-based self-powered UV detectors for next-generation low cost, large area, and energy-efficient optoelectronic devices.

With the vigorous development of information display system and solar energy conversion technology, it is crucial to develop newly indium-free, transparent conductive material (TCO). In this work, Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films with excellent TCO properties were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at low-temperature. The influence of doping concentration on film performance was studied in detail by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, Hall-effect measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–visible spectroscopy. It has been found that the surface morphology of all as-prepared thin films is in irregular grain-like texture, and the preferred orientation and electrical properties of the GZO thin films are highly dependent on Ga-concentration. When the Ga-doping concentration is 1.16 at.% (at ZnO/Ga 2 O 3 cycle ratio of 24:1), the GZO film exhibits the highest carrier concentration of 1.07 × 10 21  cm −3 , the lowest resistivity of 6.91 × 10 −4 Ω cm and the highest quality factor Φ Tc of 3.5 × 10 −3 Ω −1 . The average transmittance of the GZO thin films is better than ~ 88%. This study provides an important reference of GZO for TCO film in flexible electronic devices including display devices and other optoelectronic applications.

The heat treatment process is a key technology to improve the performance of cast aluminum-copper alloys with micro-nano boron nitride (BN) particles, but its strengthening mechanism still needs to be studied. Orthogonal tests were used to carry out heat treatment experiments on aluminum matrix ceramic composites prepared by adding different contents of micro-nano BN particles. Then, a crystal model was established, and the heat treatment process was simulated by the molecular dynamics (MD) method. The heat treatment results show that the mechanical strength and elongation of the nano-BN/aluminum matrix composites with a content of “2%” are significantly increased (9.52% and 23.28%) after heat treatment with a solution temperature of 545 °C, a solution duration of 9 h, an aging temperature of 150 °C and an aging of 8 h. The stress calculation results based on MD are also consistent with the experimental conclusions. The results of microstructure and MD calculations show that the micro/nano BN particles would promote the rearrangement of the lattice and make other lattice types transform to the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) phase during heat treatment, which would be enforced the grain boundaries of the alloy, hindered the movement and diffusion of dislocations, reduced the formation of dislocation defect surfaces, and improved the tensile strength and hardness of the alloy. At the same time, the recrystallization of heat treatment causes the dislocations to undergo cross-slip and lattice rotation in the process of plane slip, resulting in the annihilation of multiple groups of dislocations due to interaction, which makes the plasticity of the material slightly decrease. The coexistence of the residual face-centered cubic phase and the HCP phase in the internal structure makes the composite material have a good balance of strength, hardness and ductility.

Background: Preterm birth is one of the main causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality and imposes a heavy burden on families and society. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors and analyze birth conditions and complications of newborns born at < 32 gestational weeks for extremely preterm (EP) and very preterm (VP) birth in the clinic to further extend the gestational period. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study and collected data from 1598 pregnant women and 1660 premature newborns (excluding 229 premature babies who died due to severe illness and abandonment) admitted to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University in China from 2016 to 2020. We compared women’s and newborns’ characteristics by t-tests and Chi-square tests for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to estimate the effects of risk factors on EP and VP birth. Results: We identified 3 independent risk factors for EP birth: cervical incompetency ( P  < 0.001); multiple pregnancy ( P  < 0.01), primipara ( P  < 0.001). Additionally, we identified 4 independent risk factors for VP birth: gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) ( P  < 0.05), preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM) ( P  < 0.01), fetal intrauterine distress ( P  < 0.001), and hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy (HDCP) ( P  < 0.001). In addition, pairwise comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in the incidence rates of neonatal pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and sepsis between the 28–28 + 6 and 29–29 + 6 weeks of gestation groups ( P  < 0.05). Compared with 28–28 + 6 weeks of gestation, neonatal complications were significantly more common at < 26 weeks of gestation ( P  < 0.05). The incidence rates of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage(NICH), patent ductus arteriosus(PDA), patent foramen ovale(PFO), pneumonia, BPD and sepsis were significantly higher in the 26–26 + 6 and 27–27 + 6 gestational weeks than in the 28–28 + 6 gestational weeks ( P  < 0.05). Conclusion: PPROM, is the most common risk factor for EP and VP birth, and cervical insufficiency, multiple pregnancy, and primipara are independent risk factors for EP birth. Therefore, during pregnancy, attention should be devoted to the risk factors for PPROM, and reproductive tract infection should be actively prevented to reduce the occurrence of PPROM. Identifying the risk factors for cervical insufficiency, actively intervening before pregnancy, and cervical cervix ligation may be considered to reduce the occurrence of EP labor. For iatrogenic preterm birth, the advantages and disadvantages should be carefully weighed, and the gestational period should be extended beyond 28 weeks to enhance the safety of the mother and child and to improve the outcomes of preterm birth.

Preeclampsia (PE) is commonly considered as a placental disorder in pregnancy. Until now, the etiology and pathological mechanism of PE have remained ambiguous. Although PE can lead to a variety of maternal and infant complications, there are still no effective treatments. This study aimed to explore the correlation between the novel polypeptide COL-4A1 and PE, and to identify the underlying mechanism by which this polypeptide may function and to explore new therapeutic targets for PE. A rat model of PE was established and used to verify the function of the polypeptide COL-4A1 in vivo. Additionally, human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured with or without COL-4A1 and TNF-α (20 ng/ml). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), wound-healing, Transwell and tube formation assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation, migration and angiopoiesis. RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry were conducted to explore the underlying downstream mechanism of COL-4A1. In vivo, COL-4A1 increased blood pressure and elevated the risk of fetal growth restriction (FGR) which was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the rat model. In vitro, COL-4A1 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HUVECs. After culture with COL-4A1, compared to control group the adhesive ability and level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were enhanced and tube formation ability was decreased. Furthermore, Western blotting (WB) and pull-down assays were conducted to explore the underlying mechanism by which COL-4A1 functions, and the TGF-β/PI3K/AKT pathway was identified as the potential pathway involved in its effects. In summary, these results revealed that the polypeptide COL-4A1 caused PE-like symptoms in cells and a rat model. Through the TGF-β/PI3K/AKT pathway, COL-4A1 interferes with the pathogenesis of PE. Thus COL-4A1 is expected to become a potential target of PE, providing a basis for exploring the treatment of PE.

We present a straightforward emulsion-induced interfacial anisotropic assembly method for in- situ synthesis of bowl-shaped, self-encapsulated mesoporous polydopamine (BMPDA) nanocontainers (M-M@P) loaded with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (2-MBI). Results showed that the loading capacity of the bowl-shaped mesoporous polydopamine reaches 24 wt.%. The M-M@P exhibits a cumulative MBI release of 91.61% after immersion in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution at pH = 2 for 24 h, accompanied by a corrosion inhibition efficiency of 95.54%. Additionally, the acid-responsive M-M@P not only enables controlled release of MBI but also synergistically promotes the formation of a protective film on the carbon steel substrate via the chelation of PDA-Fe3+, thereby enhancing the self-healing performance of waterborne epoxy coatings.

Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a gestational disorder that significantly endangers maternal and fetal health. Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA)-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are important in the progression and diagnosis of various diseases. However, their role in the development of PE is unclear. Consequently, we detected the expression profiles of tsRNAs in the plasma of patients with PE as well as those in the plasma of the healthy control group, and a multiplicity of experiments were conducted with the aim of clarifying their roles in the occurrence and development of PE and the feasibility of serving as predictive biomarkers for this disorder. Methods: High-throughput sequencing of tsRNA in plasma from PE cases was performed to evaluate its potential as a diagnostic or therapeutic biomarker. The function of tsRNA in trophoblasts was explored using the HTR-8/SVneo cell line. Plasma from pregnant women with suspected PE was analyzed to assess the potential of tsRNA to act as a predictive marker of PE. Results: High-throughput sequencing of tsRNA was performed on plasma from pregnant women with PE and from healthy pregnant controls. Analysis revealed a significant reduction in the level of tRNA-derived stress-inducing RNA (tiRNA)-Gln-CTG in the plasma (p < 0.001) and placenta (p < 0.001) of pregnant women with PE, suggesting its potential involvement in the development of this condition. tiRNA-Gln-CTG was identified in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HTR-8/SVneo cells. In vitro experiments revealed that tiRNA-Gln-CTG influences the proliferation, cycling, migration, and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells, possibly by targeting the 3′UTR region of thrombospondin-2 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for degradation. Extracellular vesicle (EV) carriers may mediate the level of tiRNA-Gln-CTG in the circulation. Y-box binding protein-1 (YBX1) may be involved in loading tiRNA-Gln-CTG into EVs. The sensitivity of low tiRNA-Gln-CTG levels for predicting the onset of PE in suspected cases was 91.7% within 1 week of delivery, 85.7% within 4 weeks of delivery, and 89.3% before delivery, with corresponding specificities of 84.5%, 79.2%, and 73.4%, respectively. Conclusions: tiRNA-Gln-CTG significantly influences trophoblast function and is associated with the development of PE. It can serve as an effective biomarker for predicting PE progression within one week of delivery in women with suspected PE.

To improve the prediction accuracy of ammonia nitrogen in water monitoring networks, the combination of a bio-inspired algorithm and back propagation neural network (BPNN) has often been deployed. However, due to the limitations of the bio-inspired algorithm, it would also fall into the local optimal. In this paper, the seagull optimization algorithm (SOA) was used to optimize the structure of BPNN to obtain a better prediction model. Then, an improved SOA (ISOA) was proposed, and the common functional validation method was used to verify its optimization performance. Finally, the ISOA was applied to improve BPNN, which is known as the improved seagull optimization algorithm–back propagation (ISOA–BP) model. The simulation results showed that the prediction accuracy of ammonia nitrogen was greatly improved and the proposed model can be better applied to the prediction of complex water quality parameters in water monitoring networks.