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Zinc is an essential trace element for living organisms, and zinc homeostasis is essential for the maintenance of the normal physiological functions of cells and organisms. The intestine is the main location for zinc absorption and excretion, while zinc and zinc homeostasis is also of great significance to the structure and function of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Zinc excess or deficiency and zinc homeostatic imbalance are all associated with many intestinal diseases, such as IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), and CRC (colorectal cancer). In this review, we describe the role of zinc and zinc homeostasis in the intestinal mucosal barrier and the relevance of zinc homeostasis to gastrointestinal diseases.

The Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency can be overcome if hot carriers can be harvested before they thermalize. Recently, carrier cooling time up to 100 picoseconds was observed in hybrid perovskites, but it is unclear whether these long-lived hot carriers can migrate long distance for efficient collection. We report direct visualization of hot-carrier migration in methylammonium lead iodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃) thin films by ultrafast transient absorption microscopy, demonstrating three distinct transport regimes. Quasiballistic transport was observed to correlate with excess kinetic energy, resulting in up to 230 nanometers transport distance that could overcome grain boundaries. The nonequilibrium transport persisted over tens of picoseconds and ~600 nanometers before reaching the diffusive transport limit. These results suggest potential applications of hot-carrier devices based on hybrid perovskites.

Grapevine ( Vitis vinifera ), one of the most economically important fruit crops in the world, suffers significant yield losses from powdery mildew, a major fungal disease caused by Erysiphe necator . In addition to suppressing host immunity, phytopathogens modulate host proteins termed susceptibility (S) factors to promote their proliferation in plants. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9) technology was used to enable the targeted mutagenesis of MLO (mildew resistance Locus O) family genes that are thought to serve as S factors for powdery mildew fungi. Small deletions or insertions were induced in one or both alleles of two grapevine MLO genes, VvMLO3 and VvMLO4 , in the transgenic plantlets of the powdery mildew-susceptible cultivar Thompson Seedless. The editing efficiency achieved with different CRISPR/Cas9 constructs varied from 0 to 38.5%. Among the 20 VvMLO3/4 -edited lines obtained, one was homozygous for a single mutation, three harbored biallelic mutations, seven were heterozygous for the mutations, and nine were chimeric, as indicated by the presence of more than two mutated alleles in each line. Six of the 20 VvMLO3/4 -edited grapevine lines showed normal growth, while the remaining lines exhibited senescence-like chlorosis and necrosis. Importantly, four VvMLO3 -edited lines showed enhanced resistance to powdery mildew, which was associated with host cell death, cell wall apposition (CWA) and H 2 O 2 accumulation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing technology can be successfully used to induce targeted mutations in genes of interest to improve traits of economic importance, such as disease resistance in grapevines.

Singlet fission presents an attractive solution to overcome the Shockley–Queisser limit by generating two triplet excitons from one singlet exciton. However, although triplet excitons are long-lived, their transport occurs through a Dexter transfer, making them slower than singlet excitons, which travel by means of a Förster mechanism. A thorough understanding of the interplay between singlet fission and exciton transport is therefore necessary to assess the potential and challenges of singlet-fission utilization. Here, we report a direct visualization of exciton transport in single tetracene crystals using transient absorption microscopy with 200 fs time resolution and 50 nm spatial precision. These measurements reveal a new singlet-mediated transport mechanism for triplets, which leads to an enhancement in effective triplet exciton diffusion of more than one order of magnitude on picosecond to nanosecond timescales. These results establish that there are optimal energetics of singlet and triplet excitons that benefit both singlet fission and exciton diffusion. Understanding the interplay between singlet fission and exciton transport is important if singlet-fission materials are to be used for solar cell applications. Now, a cooperative singlet–triplet transport mechanism has been revealed through ultrafast transient absorption microscopy.

It has been demonstrated that Parkinson's disease (PD) is closely associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and ferroptosis. However, the specific mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Consequently, this study investigated the mechanisms connecting these factors and explored potential biomarkers for PD. Data for PD and ERS, as well as information on ferroptosis, were sourced from public databases and relevant literature. Candidate genes were identified through differential expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Further investigations included functional enrichment analysis, the construction of a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the examination of related genes. Subsequently, biomarkers were validated using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression algorithm. Additionally, correlations among biomarkers, gene set enrichment analysis, chromosomal and subcellular localization, immune cell infiltration, regulatory mechanisms, and drug predictions were conducted. Initially, seven candidate genes were identified, predominantly associated with type II diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, five interacting associations within the PPI network and twenty related genes were identified, primarily engaged in the physical interactions pathway. Subsequently, three biomarkers were screened: N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1), dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD), and cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP). A detailed analysis revealed a positive correlation between CIRBP and DLD, while NDRG1 exhibited a negative correlation with DLD; all three biomarkers were chiefly enriched in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway and PD. NDRG1 is located on chromosome 8, DLD on chromosome 7, and CIRBP on chromosome 19, with all three primarily localized in the nucleus. A total of 31 differential immune cells were identified between the disease and control groups, with neurons representing the highest proportion and the most significant negative correlation observed between DLD and pro B-cells. The interactions involving NORAD-hsa-miR-1277-5p-DLD, NEAT1-hsa-miR-128-3p-CIRBP, and XIST-hsa-miR-3173-5p-NDRG1 were found to be pivotal. Additionally, these biomarkers were regulated by 15 common transcription factors. Finally, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, pyruvic acid, nitric oxide, and phosphates were predicted as potential co-targeted therapeutic agents. NDRG1, DLD, and CIRBP were identified as biomarkers for PD, thereby opening new avenues for elucidating disease mechanisms, facilitating early diagnosis, and identifying potential therapeutic targets.

Financial innovation and advances in payment systems are important not only to boost remittances but also to foster the successful development of electronic businesses around the world. As such, many leading companies in electronic commerce are putting a great deal of effort into the development of their payment system to attract more users and compete with other leading companies in the market. WeChat is a social communication tool that introduced a payment function widely adopted as a third-party payment in China nowadays. The purpose of this study was to adopt WeChat as a case study to identify the influential factors that impact consumers’ intention to adopt it as digital payment. We identified several core influential factors including service quality, perceived risk, perceived security, perceived ease of use, social influence, compatibility, and age. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to investigate how influential factors affect the adoption of this third-party digital payment platform. The results revealed that all identified factors have a significant influence on consumer’s intention to use digital payment, except age. This study also provided useful advice for digital payment improvement and recommendations to enhance digital payment for the success of electronic business operations. The paper provides new insight into the factors influencing consumers’ intention to use mobile digital payment.

Cancer immunotherapy is a growing field. GM-CSF, a potent cytokine promoting the differentiation of myeloid cells, can also be used as an immunostimulatory adjuvant to elicit antitumor immunity. Additionally, GM-CSF is essential for the differentiation of dendritic cells, which are responsible for processing and presenting tumor antigens for the priming of antitumor cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Some strategies have been developed for GM-CSF-based cancer immunotherapy in clinical practice: GM-CSF monotherapy, GM-CSF-secreting cancer cell vaccines, GM-CSF-fused tumor-associated antigen protein-based vaccines, GM-CSF-based DNA vaccines and GM-CSF combination therapy. GM-CSF also contributes to the regulation of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. This review provides recommendations regarding GM-CSF-based cancer immunotherapy.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common solid tumor of the neural crest cell origin in children and has a poor prognosis in high-risk patients. The oncogene MYCN was found to be amplified at extremely high levels in approximately 20% of neuroblastoma cases. In recent years, research on the targeted hydrolysis of BRD4 to indirectly inhibit the transcription of the MYCN created by proteolysis targeting chimaera (PROTAC) technology has become very popular. dBET57 (S0137, Selleck, TX, USA) is a novel and potent heterobifunctional small molecule degrader based on PROTAC technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of dBET57 in NB and its potential mechanism. In this study, we found that dBET57 can target BRD4 ubiquitination and disrupt the proliferation ability of NB cells. At the same time, dBET57 can also induce apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and decrease migration. Furthermore, dBET57 also has a strong antiproliferation function in xenograft tumor models in vivo. In terms of mechanism, dBET57 targets the BET protein family and the MYCN protein family by associating with CRBN and destroys the SE landscape of NB cells. Combined with RNA-seq and ChIP-seq public database analysis, we identified the superenhancer-related genes TBX3 and ZMYND8 in NB as potential downstream targets of dBET57 and experimentally verified that they play an important role in the occurrence and development of NB. In conclusion, these results suggest that dBET57 may be an effective new therapeutic drug for the treatment of NB.

Objectives Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is a severe public health issue in adolescents. This study investigated the possible impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and analyzed psychological risk factors on adolescent NSSI. Methods A one-year follow-up study was conducted in September 2019 (Time 1) and September 2020 (Time 2) among 3588 high school students. The completed follow-up participants ( N  = 2527) were classified into no NSSI (negative at both time points), emerging NSSI (negative at Time 1 but positive at Time 2), and sustained NSSI (positive at both time points) subgroups according to their NSSI behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived family functioning, perceived school climate, negative life events, personality traits (neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control) were assessed using self-report scales. Results The data indicated an increase (10.3%) in the incidence of NSSI. Compared to no NSSI subjects, the emerging NSSI and sustained NSSI subgroups had lower perceived family functioning, higher neuroticism, higher impulse-system but lower self-control scores, and more negative life events. Logistic regressions revealed that after controlling for demographics, neuroticism and impulse-system levels at Time 1 positively predicted emerging NSSI behavior, and similarly, higher neuroticism and impulsivity and lower self-control at Time 1 predicted sustained NSSI behavior. Conclusions These findings highlighted the aggravated impact of the COVID-19 on NSSI, and suggested that individual neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control traits might be crucial for the development of NSSI behavior among adolescent students.

Charge carrier diffusion coefficient and length are important physical parameters for semiconducting materials. Long-range carrier diffusion in perovskite thin films has led to remarkable solar cell efficiencies; however, spatial and temporal mechanisms of charge transport remain unclear. Here we present a direct measurement of carrier transport in space and in time by mapping carrier density with simultaneous ultrafast time resolution and ∼50-nm spatial precision in perovskite thin films using transient absorption microscopy. These results directly visualize long-range carrier transport of ∼220 nm in 2 ns for solution-processed polycrystalline CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 thin films. Variations of the carrier diffusion coefficient at the μm length scale have been observed with values ranging between 0.05 and 0.08 cm 2  s −1 . The spatially and temporally resolved measurements reported here underscore the importance of the local morphology and establish an important first step towards discerning the underlying transport properties of perovskite materials. Determining the mechanism of charge carrier transport in solar cells is important for their development towards higher efficiencies. Here, the authors elucidate the spatial and temporal diffusion of charge carriers in hybrid perovskite thin films through ultrafast transient absorption microscopy.