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Background Fingerprint analysis and simultaneous multi-components determination are crucial for the holistic quality control of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Yet, reference standards (RS) are often commercially unavailable and with other shortages, which severely impede the application of these technologies. Methods A digital reference standard (DRS) strategy and the corresponding software called DRS analyzer, which supports chromatographic algorithms, spectrum algorithms, and the combination of these algorithms, was developed. The extensive function also enabled the DRS analyzer to recommend the chromatographic column based on big data. Results Various quality control methods of fingerprints of 11 compounds in polyphenolic acid extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza ( S. miltiorrhiza ) were developed based on DRS analyzer, involving relative retention time (RRT) method, linear calibration using two reference substances (LCTRS) technique, RRT combined with Photon Diode Array (PDA) method, LCTRS combined with PDA method. Additionally, the column database of samples was established. Finally, our data demonstrated that the DRS analyzer could accurately identify 11 compounds of the samples, using only one or two physical RSs. Conclusions The DRS strategy is an automated, intelligent, objective, accurate, eco-friendly, universal, sharing, and promising method for overall quality control of TCMs that requires the usage of fewer RSs.

Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have shown significant potential for nonlinear optical applications due to their ultrafast hot carriers and consequent optical nonlinearity enhancement. Modified poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films show metallic characteristics and a resultant ENZ wavelength near 1550nm through polar solvent treatment and annealing. The metallic PEDOT film exhibits an intrinsic optical nonlinear response that is comparable to gold and 100-fold higher than typical inorganic semiconductor ENZ materials due to {\\pi}-conjugated delocalized electrons. Hot carriers generate a 22-fold increase in the optical nonlinearity coefficient of metallic PEDOT films at 1550 nm. Hot holes in metallic PEDOT films have a smaller enhancement multiple of carrier temperature and a longer relaxation time than hot electrons in inorganic ENZ materials due to the larger imaginary permittivity and hot-phonon bottleneck for carrier cooling. Our findings suggest that {\\pi}-conjugated ENZ polymer may have unique ultrafast and nonlinear optical properties compared to inorganic ENZ materials, enabling new possibilities in on-chip nanophotonic devices, nonlinear optics, and plasmonics.

Background: Fingerprint analysis and simultaneous multi-components determination are crucial for the holistic quality control of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Yet, reference standards (RS) are often commercially unavailable and with other shortages, which severely impede the application of these technologies. Methods: A digital reference standard (DRS) strategy and the corresponding software called DRS analyzer, which supports chromatographic algorithms, spectrum algorithms, and the combination of these algorithms, was developed. The extensive function also enabled the DRS analyzer to recommend the chromatographic column based on big data. Results: Various quality control methods of fingerprints of 11 compounds in polyphenolic acid extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza (S. miltiorrhiza) were developed based on DRS analyzer, involving relative retention time (RRT) method, linear calibration using two reference substances (LCTRS) technique, RRT combined with Photon Diode Array (PDA) method, LCTRS combined with PDA method. Additionally, the column database of samples was established. Finally, our data demonstrated that the DRS analyzer could accurately identify 11 compounds of the samples, using only one or two physical RSs. Conclusions: The DRS strategy is an automated, intelligent, objective, accurate, eco-friendly, universal, sharing, and promising method for overall quality control of TCMs that requires the usage of fewer RSs.

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is pivotal for optimizing drug dosage regimens in individual patients, particularly for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has shown great potential in TDM due to high sensitivity, non-destructive analysis, specific fingerprint spectrum, low sample consumption, simple operation, and low ongoing costs. Due to the rapid development of SERS for TDM, a review focusing on the analytical method is presented to better understand the trends. This review examines the latest advancements in SERS substrates and their applications in TDM, highlighting the innovations in substrate design that enhance detection sensitivity and selectivity. We discuss the challenges faced by SERS for TDM, such as substrate signal reproducibility and matrix interference from complex biological samples, and explore solutions like digital colloid-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, enrichment detection strategies, microfluidic SERS, tandem instrument technologies, and machine learning-enabled SERS. These advancements address the limitations of traditional SERS applications and improve analytical efficiency in TDM. Finally, conclusions and perspectives on future research directions are presented. The integration of SERS with emerging technologies presents a transformative approach to TDM, with the potential to significantly enhance personalized medicine and improve patient outcomes.

While the properties of biochar are closely related to its functional groups, it is unclear under what conditions biochar develops its properties. In this study, two-dimensional (2D) (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) correlation spectroscopy was for the first time applied to investigate the development of functional groups and establish their relationship with biochar properties. The results showed that the agricultural biomass carbonized to biochars was a dehydroxylation/dehydrogenation and aromatization process, mainly involving the cleavage of O-alkylated carbons and anomeric O-C-O carbons in addition to the production of fused-ring aromatic structures and aromatic C-O groups. With increasing charring temperature, the mass cleavage of O-alkylated groups and anomeric O-C-O carbons occurred prior to the production of fused-ring aromatic structures. The regression analysis between functional groups and biochar properties (pH and electrical conductivity) further demonstrated that the pH and electrical conductivity of rice straw derived biochars were mainly determined by fused-ring aromatic structures and anomeric O-C-O carbons, but the pH of rice bran derived biochars was determined by both fused-ring aromatic structures and aliphatic O-alkylated (HCOH) carbons. In summary, this work suggests a novel tool for characterising the development of functional groups in biochars.

Obesity is highly prevalent worldwide. More and more studies have been conducted on the relationship between H. pylori infection and obesity or overweight. But the relationship between them is controversial in the literatures and there is no comprehensive evidence for the correlation. To evaluate the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Chinese adult subjects who received routine physical examinations and the relationship between H. pylori and obesity. Literatures on H. pylori infection and obesity in Chinese population were searched in online databases. Relevant data were extracted independently by two researchers and meta-analysis was performed by using Review manager 5.3 software. 22 articles were selected with a total sample size of 178033. The pooled prevalence of H. pylori was 42% (95%CI: 37% to 47%) and mean difference of BMI between subjects with and without H. pylori infection was 0.94 (95%CI: -0.04 to 1.91). 9 eligible studies with 27111 subjects were used to calculated pooled OR value because they contained obesity groups. The OR value showed that H. pylori-positive subjects tended to be obese at a risk of 1.20 (95% CI: 1.13 to 1.28). In China, obesity has association with H. pylori infection. H. pylori infection may be one of the risk factors for obesity.

In semiconductor manufacturing, defect inspection in non-patterned wafer production lines is essential to ensure high-quality integrated circuits. However, in actual production lines, achieving both high efficiency and high sensitivity at the same time is a significant challenge due to their mutual constraints. To achieve a reasonable trade-off between detection efficiency and sensitivity, this paper integrates the time delay integration (TDI) technology into dark-field microscopy. The TDI image sensor is utilized instead of a photomultiplier tube to realize multi-point simultaneous scanning. Experiments illustrate that the increase in the number of TDI stages and reduction in the column fixed pattern noise effectively improve the signal-to-noise ratio of particle defects without sacrificing the detecting efficiency.

Background Polycomb proteins are conventionally known as global repressors in cell fate determination. However, recent observations have shown their involvement in transcriptional activation, the mechanisms of which need further investigation. Methods Herein, multiple data from ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and HiChIP before or after RYBP depletion in embryonic stem cell (ESC), epidermal progenitor (EPC) and mesodermal cell (MEC) were analyzed. Results We found that Polycomb protein RYBP occupies super-enhancer (SE) in ESCs, where core Polycomb group (PcG) components such as RING1B and EZH2 are minimally enriched. Depletion of RYBP results in impaired deposition of H3K27ac, decreased expression of SE-associated genes, and reducing the transcription of enhancer RNA at SE regions (seRNA). Regarding the mechanism of seRNA transcription, the Trithorax group (TrxG) component WDR5 co-localizes with RYBP at SEs, and is required for seRNA expression. RYBP depletion reduces WDR5 deposition at SE regions. In addition, TrxG-associated H3K4me3 tends to be enriched at SEs with high levels of seRNA transcription, and RYBP deficiency impairs the deposition of H3K4me3 at SEs. Structurally, RYBP is involved in both intra- and inter-SE interactions. Finally, RYBP generally localizes at SEs in both in vitro cell lines and in vivo tissue-derived cells, dysfunction of RYBP is associated with various cancers and developmental diseases. Conclusion RYBP cooperates with TrxG component to regulate SE activity. Dysfunction of RYBP relates to various diseases. The findings provide new insights into the transcriptionally active function of Polycomb protein in cell fate determination.

Accurate prediction of hemolytic peptides is essential for peptide safety evaluation and therapeutic design; however, existing models remain constrained by limited accuracy and interpretability. To overcome these challenges, we propose a regression framework that integrates embeddings from a protein language model with handcrafted amino acid descriptors. Specifically, sequence representations derived from the ESM2_t33 model are fused with physicochemical amino acid descriptor features, and key predictive variables are selected through a three-stage strategy involving variance filtering, F-test ranking, and mutual information analysis. The final ensemble model, composed of Random Forest, Extremely Randomized Trees, Gradient Boosting, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Ridge Regression, achieved a coefficient of determination (R ) of 0.57 and a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.76 on the test set, outperforming previous approaches. To enhance interpretability, we applied Shapley value analysis and the Calibrated_Explanation algorithm to quantify feature contributions and generate reliable sample-specific explanations. The trained model has been deployed online as HemPepPred, a tool for predicting hemolytic concentration (HC ) values, which provides a practical platform for rational peptide design and safety assessment.

Background Schizophrenia (SCZ) is marked by profound biological and clinical heterogeneity, presenting major challenges for accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment. Traditional classifications based solely on clinical presentation are limited by inter-individual variability, overlapping symptom profiles, and low stability across disease stages and treatment states. Dysregulation of the excitation–inhibition (E–I) balance within neural circuits is thought to underpin diverse positive and negative symptoms. Classification based on neural excitability may therefore provide critical insights into disentangling this heterogeneity. Methods We applied a cortical excitability (CE) mapping approach to spatially characterize E–I dysregulations in 77 drug-naïve first-episode SCZ (FES) patients and 76 healthy controls (HCs). CE abnormalities were identified using voxel-wise comparisons, and patients were subsequently clustered into subtypes based on the spatial patterns of CE alterations. Longitudinal analyses assessed the subgroups’ clinical trajectories over 12 months of antipsychotic treatment. Furthermore, CE maps were integrated with transcriptomic and neuroreceptor datasets to analyse potential molecular mechanisms underlying the observed CE abnormalities. Results Relative to HCs, FES patients exhibited CE abnormalities primarily in the bilateral frontal lobes, sensorimotor cortex, and right cuneus. Two subtypes were identified, differing in both the spatial extent of CE abnormalities and their clinical profiles: FES1 showed more widespread CE reductions across frontal and association cortices, associated with greater affective and cognitive burden, whereas FES2 demonstrated a comparatively preserved CE profile and milder symptom expression. Subsequent transcriptomic and receptor analyses revealed distinct biological underpinnings: FES1 was associated with synaptic dysfunction and neurodevelopmental disruption, while FES2 reflected multisystem involvement potentially accompanied by compensatory processes. Conclusions CE-based subtyping captures clinically and biologically meaningful heterogeneity in FES. Moreover, this approach provides a promising framework for bridging neural circuit dysfunction with molecular signatures and may advance precision psychiatry in SCZ.