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Pattern recognition receptors （PRRs） and their signaling pathways have essential roles in recognizing various components of pathogens as well as damaged cells and triggering inflammatory responses that eliminate invading microorganisms and damaged cells. The zebrafish relies heavily on these primary defense mechanisms against pathogens. Here, we review the major PRR signaling pathways in the zebrafish innate immune system and compare these signaling pathways in zebrafish and humans to reveal their evolutionary relationship and better understand their innate immune defense mechanisms.

Brain-inspired electronics require artificial synapses that have ultra-low energy consumption, high operating speed, and stable flexibility. Here, we demonstrate a flexible artificial synapse that uses a rapidly crystallized perovskite layer at room temperature. The device achieves a series of synaptic functions, including logical operations, temporal and spatial rules, and associative learning. Passivation using phenethyl-ammonium iodide eliminated defects and charge traps to reduce the energy consumption to 13.5 aJ per synaptic event, which is the world record for two-terminal artificial synapses. At this ultralow energy consumption, the device achieves ultrafast response frequency of up to 4.17 MHz; which is orders of magnitude magnitudes higher than previous perovskite artificial synapses. A multi-stimulus accumulative artificial neuromuscular system was then fabricated using the perovskite synapse as a key processing unit to control electrochemical artificial muscles, and realized muscular-fatigue warning. This artificial synapse will have applications in future bio-inspired electronics and neurorobots. Designing efficient brain-inspired electronics remains a challenge. Here, Liu et al. develop a flexible perovskite-based artificial synapse with low energy consumption and fast response frequency and realize an artificial neuromuscular system with muscular-fatigue warning.

Background Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a pathological condition characterized by vertebral curvature and associated trunk deformities in adolescents. The clinical efficacy of conservative treatment in alleviating spinal curvature of AIS remains a topic of ongoing debate. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of combined physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises (PSSE) and manual therapy (MT) on trunk deformity, spinal function, mobility, and mental health in patients with AIS. Methods Thirty-one participants who were diagnosed with AIS whose Cobb angle was between 10–45°were enrolled in the study. Participants in the intervention group received 50 min of PSSE combined with 10 min of MT, while the control group performed 50 min of PSSE as their home exercise program. Both treatments were implemented three times a week for four weeks. Cobb angle, spinal mobility, trunk morphology (vertebral rotation angle, apical deviation, pelvic obliquity distance and angle), movement capability, and quality of life (QOL) were assessed at baseline and post intervention. The treatment effects between the intervention and control groups were analyzed using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Results Following a 4-week treatment period, Cobb angle was significantly reduced from 21.58° to 18.58° in intervention group and increased from 18.00° at baseline and 19.14° post intervention in the control group. Significant improvements were also observed in spinal mobility, movement capability, quality of life, and some of the trunk morphology indices in the intervention group compared to baseline ( p  < 0.05). Improvements were significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group. Conclusion Combining PSSE and MT shows potential benefits in alleviating AIS symptoms and improving QOL. Further studies to substantiate these findings are warranted. Trial registration The trial was retrospectively registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( https://www.chictr.org.cn ) with the registration number: ChiCTR2300071357, (Date: 12/05/2023).

Perovskite single-crystal thin films (SCTFs) have emerged as a significant research hotspot in the field of optoelectronic devices owing to their low defect state density, long carrier diffusion length, and high environmental stability. However, the large-area and high-throughput preparation of perovskite SCTFs is limited by significant challenges in terms of reducing surface defects and manufacturing high-performance devices. This review focuses on the advances in the development of perovskite SCTFs with a large area, controlled thickness, and high quality. First, we provide an in-depth analysis of the mechanism and key factors that affect the nucleation and crystallization process and then classify the methods of preparing perovskite SCTFs. Second, the research progress on surface engineering for perovskite SCTFs is introduced. Third, we summarize the applications of perovskite SCTFs in photovoltaics, photodetectors, light-emitting devices, artificial synapse and field-effect transistor. Finally, the development opportunities and challenges in commercializing perovskite SCTFs are discussed.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, facial expression recognition (FER) has gained increasingly widespread applications in digital human generation, humanoid robotics, mental health, and human–computer dialogue. Typical FER algorithms based on machine learning have been widely studied over the past few decades, which motivated our survey. In this study, we have surveyed the state of the art in FER across two categories: traditional machine learning-based (ML-based) and deep learning-based (DL-based) approaches. Each category is analyzed based on six subcategories. Then, twelve methods, including four ML-based models and eight DL-based models, are compared to evaluate FER performance across four datasets. The experimental results show that in validation sets, the average accuracy of HOG-SVM is 50.12%, which is the best performance for the four ML-based methods; in contrast, Poster has an average accuracy of 75.98%, which is the best result obtained among the eight DL-based methods. The most difficult expression to recognize is contempt, with recognition accuracies of 10.00% and 40.06% for ML-based and DL-based methods, respectively. The accuracy of the ML-based method for identifying neutral expression is the highest at 35.25%; the DL-based method has the highest accuracy in identifying surprise at 69.56%. From the theoretical analysis and comparative experimental results of existing methods, we can see that FER faces challenges, including inaccurate recognition in complex environments and unbalanced data categories, highlighting several future research directions, especially those involving the latest applications of digital humans and large language models.

With the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, non-antibiotic therapies like gallium gain increasing attention. Intravenous gallium nitrate is under Phase II clinical trials to treat chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in cystic fibrosis patients. However, its clinical efficacy is constrained by the achievable peak concentration in human tissue. To address this limitation, we apply a genome-wide CRISPR interference approach (CRISPRi-seq) to identify potential synergistic targets with gallium. We classify the essential genes by response time and growth reduction, pinpointing the most vulnerable therapeutic targets in this species. In addition, we identify a highly conserved gene, fprB , encoding a ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase, whose deletion sensitizes P. aeruginosa to gallium, lowering its MIC by 32-fold and shifting mode of action from bacteriostatic to bactericidal. Further investigation reveals that FprB plays a critical role in modulating oxidative stress induced by gallium, via control of iron homeostasis and reactive oxygen species accumulation. Deleting fprB enhances gallium’s efficacy against biofilm formation and improves outcomes in a murine lung infection model of P. aeruginosa , suggesting FprB is a promising drug target in combination with gallium. Overall, our data show CRISPRi-seq as a powerful tool for systematic genetic analysis of P. aeruginosa , advancing the identification of novel therapeutic targets. In this work, authors show that deletion of FprB enhances the antibacterial activity of gallium against Pseudomonas aeruginosa , revealing a combination strategy and demonstrating the utility of CRISPRi-seq for therapeutic target discovery.

Rotary friction welding of wood typically uses dowels made from the same material as the base wood or involves specific modifications to the dowels, but these methods have practical limitations and are complex. This study focused on commonly used dowel materials (softwood: Scots pine, hardwood: birch), with moisture content adjusted to 7 to 10%, and examined the welding performance and micro-mechanisms. Through orthogonal experiments, the influence of process parameters on the welding strength of both wood types was systematically investigated. The microstructures of the welded areas were analyzed using a depth-of-field microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to explore the friction mechanisms. The results indicated that both Scots pine and birch dowels can be effectively welded using rotary friction. The optimal parameters were identified as follows: Scots pine dowels—hole diameter ratio of 8/12, rotational speed of 3000 r/min, feed rate of 25 mm/s; birch dowels—hole diameter ratio of 8/12, rotational speed of 2500 r/min, feed rate of 20 mm/s. Depth-of-field microscopy revealed larger weld areas and well-preserved surface structures. SEM images showed that during welding, the materials between the dowels and base wood melted, flowed, and re-solidified into a tightly bonded structure, ensuring a durable connection.

The electron transport layer (ETL) is a critical component in perovskite quantum dot (PQD) solar cells, significantly impacting their photovoltaic performance and stability. Low-temperature ETL deposition methods are especially desirable for fabricating flexible solar cells on polymer substrates. Herein, we propose a room-temperature-processed tin oxide (SnO 2 ) ETL preparation method for flexible PQD solar cells. The process involves synthesizing highly crystalline SnO 2 nanocrystals stabilized with organic ligands, spin-coating their dispersion, followed by UV irradiation. The energy level of SnO 2 is controlled by doping gallium ions to reduce the energy level mismatch with the PQD. The proposed ETL-based CsPbI 3 -PQD solar cell achieves a power conversion efficiency ( PCE ) of 12.70%, the highest PCE among reported flexible quantum dot solar cells, maintaining 94% of the initial PCE after 500 bending tests. Consequently, we demonstrate that a systemically designed ETL enhances the photovoltaic performance and mechanical stability of flexible optoelectronic devices.

With the rapid growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it is urgent to develop alternative therapeutic strategies. Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) belong to the largest family of virulence factors of many pathogenic bacteria and constitute the most characterized classes of pore-forming proteins (PFPs). Recent studies revealed the structural basis of several PFTs, both as soluble monomers, and transmembrane oligomers. Upon interacting with host cells, the soluble monomer of bacterial PFTs assembles into transmembrane oligomeric complexes that insert into membranes and affect target cell-membrane permeability, leading to diverse cellular responses and outcomes. Herein we have reviewed the structural basis of pore formation and interaction of PFTs with the host cell membrane, which could add valuable contributions in comprehensive understanding of PFTs and searching for novel therapeutic strategies targeting PFTs and interaction with host receptors in the fight of bacterial antibiotic-resistance.

Purpose. Pain catastrophizing may contribute to the altered trunk muscle activity in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). It is unclear if pain catastrophizing influences static postural control in patients with NSCLBP. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pain catastrophizing and static postural control in NSCLBP patients. Methods. Sixty-eight participants with NSCLBP and 40 healthy participants were recruited. Postural control was assessed by the sway area and the sway length of the center of pressure (COP) during balance tests. Pain catastrophizing in participants with NSCLBP was assessed by the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Bilateral transversus abdominis (TrA) activation was evaluated by ultrasound imaging-measured percent change in muscle thickness. Associations between COP parameter and PCS/subscales of PCS were examined by multiple linear regression (MLR). Results. Our results observed a larger COP sway area in NSCLBP group under eyes-closed condition p<0.001 and a lower level of voluntary activation of the bilateral TrA p<0.001, compared with the healthy control group. The MLR analyses revealed that the COP area sway under eyes-closed condition was significantly associated with the PCS score/helplessness score of PCS, voluntary activation of the left TrA, and age in participants with NSCLBP (β = 0.222/0.236, 0.341/0.344, and 0.328/0.325; p=0.045/0.033, 0.002, and 0.004, resp.). Conclusions. Static postural control was associated with pain catastrophizing, voluntary activation of TrA, and age in participants with NSCLBP. This indicated that pain catastrophizing may affect postural control and should be considered when interpreting balance test results and managing NSCLBP.