Specific two-photon imaging of live cellular and deep-tissue lipid droplets by lipophilic AIEgens at ultra-low concentration

Lipid droplets are highly associated with obesity, diabetes, inflammatory disorders and cancer. A reliable two-photon dye for specific lipid droplets imaging in live cells and live tissues at ultra-low concentration has rarely been reported. In this work, four new aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) based on the naphthalene core were designed and synthesized for specific two-photon lipid droplets staining. The new molecules, namely NAP AIEgens, exhibit large Stokes shift (>110 nm), high solid-state fluorescence quantum yield (up to 30%), good two-photon absorption cross section (45–100 GM at 860 nm), high biocompatibility and good photostability. They could specifically stain lipid droplets at ultra-low concentration (50 nM) in a short time of 15 min. Such ultra-low concentration is the lowest value for lipid droplets staining in live cells reported so far. In vitro and ex vivo two-photon imaging of lipid droplets in live cells and live mice liver tissues were successfully demonstrated. In addition, selective visualization of lipid droplets in live mice liver tissues could be achieved at a depth of about 70 μm. These excellent properties render them as promising candidates for investigating lipid droplets-associated physiological and pathological processes in live biological samples

Regeneration of NAD(P)H and its Analogues by Photocatalysis with Ionized Carbon Nitride

The regeneration of NAD(P)H and its analogues is crucial for biocatalytic processes. However, despite the efficiency of enzymatic catalysis in regenerating NAD(P)H, the sustainability of enzymes is often compromised, particularly under extreme catalytic conditions. Moreover, artificial cofactors may present advantages in certain reactions due to their stability and versatility, yet the substrate specificity of enzymes poses significant challenges to their regeneration through the enzymatic method. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a highly stable regeneration method that can be adapted to both natural and artificial cofactors. In this work, employing potassium-ion-doped carbon nitride (ionCN-0.2) as a catalyst not only achieves high-efficiency photocatalytic regeneration of NAD(P)H, comparable to that of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), but also a remarkable ability to regenerate nicotinamide analogues. This enhanced performance stems from the tunable negative ζ-potential, which effectively adsorbs the positively charged [Cp*Rh(bpy)H2O]2+ mediator, resulting in enhanced regeneration kinetics of the nicotinamide moiety. The catalyst demonstrates superior performance compared to the reported systems; the optimal regeneration rate reaches 0.55 mmol L–1 gcat–1 min–1 and approaches enzymatic regeneration efficiency. Expanding the reaction conditions to a wider temperature and pH range also confirms the effectiveness and sufficient stability of this photocatalytic system, offering a promising strategy for stable cofactor regeneration in biocatalytic processes

Image1_A novel necroptosis-related lncRNA signature predicts the prognosis and immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma.TIF

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the malignant tumors with high mortality and a worse prognosis globally. Necroptosis is a programmed death mediated by receptor-interacting Protein 1 (RIP1), receptor-interacting Protein 1 (RIP3), and Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like (MLKL). Our study aimed to create a new Necroptosis-related lncRNAs (NRlncRNAs) risk model that can predict survival and tumor immunity in HCC patients. The RNA expression and clinical data originated from the TCGA database. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to identify the NRlncRNAs. The LASSO-Cox regression analysis was employed to build the risk model. Next, the ROC curve and the area under the Kaplan-Meier curve were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of the risk model. In addition, based on the two groups of risk model, we performed the following analysis: clinical correlation, differential expression, PCA, TMB, GSEA analysis, immune cells infiltration, and clinical drug prediction analysis. Plus, qRT-PCR was applied to test the expression of genes in the risk model. Finally, a prognosis model covering six necroptosis-related lncRNAs was constructed to predict the survival of HCC patients. The ROC curve results showed that the risk model possesses better accuracy. The 1, 3, and 5-years AUC values were 0.746, 0.712, and 0.670, respectively. Of course, we also observed that significant differences exist in the following analysis, such as functional signaling pathways, immunological state, mutation profiles, and medication sensitivity between high-risk and low-risk groups of HCC patients. The result of qRT-PCR confirmed that three NRlncRNAs were more highly expressed in HCC cell lines than in the normal cell line. In conclusion, based on the bioinformatics analysis, we constructed an NRlncRNAs associated risk model, which predicts the prognosis of HCC patients. Although our study has some limitations, it may greatly contribute to the treatment of HCC and medical progression.</p

Reactions of CO, H₂O, CO₂, and H₂ on the Clean and Precovered Fe(110) Surfaces – A DFT Investigation

The reactions of CO and H₂O on the clean Fe(110) surface as well as surfaces with 0.25 monolayer O, OH, and H precoverage have been computed on the basis of density functional theory (GGA-PBE). Under the considerations of the reductive nature of CO as reactant and H₂ as product as well as the oxidative nature of CO₂ and H₂O, we have studied the potential activity of metallic iron in the water-gas shift reaction. On the clean surface, CO oxidation following the redox mechanism has a similar barrier as CO dissociation; however, CO dissociation is much more favorable thermodynamically. Furthermore, surfaces with 0.25 monolayer O, OH, and H precoverage promote CO hydrogenation, while they suppress CO oxidation and dissociation. On the surfaces with different CO and H₂O ratios, CO hydrogenation is promoted. On all of these surfaces, COOH formation is not favorable. Considering the reverse reaction, CO₂ dissociation is much favorable kinetically and thermodynamically on all of these surfaces, and CO₂ hydrogenation should be favorable. Finally, metallic iron is not an appropriate catalyst for the water-gas shift reaction

Mechanisms of H₂O and CO₂ Formation from Surface Oxygen Reduction on Co(0001)

Surface O removal by H and CO on Co(0001) has been studied using periodic density functional method (revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof ; RPBE) and ab initio atomistic thermodynamics. On the basis of the quantitative agreement in the H₂O formation barrier between experiment (1.34 ± 0.07 eV) and theory (1.32 eV), H₂O formation undergoes a consecutive hydrogenation process [O + 2H → OH + H → H₂O], while the barrier of H₂O formation from OH disproportionation [2OH → H₂O + O] is much lower (0.72 eV). The computed desorption temperatures of H₂ and H₂O under ultrahigh vacuum conditions agree perfectly with the experiment. Surface O removal by CO has a high barrier (1.41 eV) and is strongly endothermic (0.94 eV). Precovered O and OH species do not significantly affect the barriers of H₂O and CO₂ formation. All of these results indicate that the present RPBE method and the larger surface model are more suitable for studying cobalt systems

Dissociative Hydrogen Adsorption on the Hexagonal Mo₂C Phase at High Coverage

Hydrogen adsorption on the primarily exposed (001), (100), (101), and (201) surfaces of the hexagonal Mo₂C phase at different coverage has been investigated at the level of density functional theory and using ab initio thermodynamics. On the Mo-terminated (001) and (100) as well as mixed Mo/C-terminated (101) and (201) surfaces, dissociative H₂ adsorption is favored both kinetically and thermodynamically. At high coverage, each surface can have several types of adsorption configurations coexisting, and these types are different from surface to surface. The stable coverage as a function of temperature and partial pressure provides useful information not only for surface science studies at ultrahigh vacuum condition but also for practical applications at high temperature and pressure in monitoring reactions. The differences in the adsorbed H atom numbers and energies of these surfaces indicate their different potential hydrotreating abilities. The relationship between surface stability and stable hydrogen coverage has been discussed

Adsorption Equilibria of CO Coverage on β-Mo₂C Surfaces

Adsorption and surface coverage of CO on the (001), (101), and (201) surfaces of β-Mo₂C were computed at the level of density functional theory under the consideration of the temperature and CO partial pressure by using the ab initio atomistic thermodynamic method. On the basis of the computed Gibbs free energies, the relationship between CO coverage on the surfaces and temperature as well as CO partial pressure has been established, and excellent agreements have been found between the predicated CO desorption temperatures and the experimentally recorded temperature programmed desorption (TPD) spectra. These computed phase diagrams show that a stable CO coverage can be obtained within a range of temperature and partial pressure; different surfaces can have different coverage at the same conditions, and different partial pressure has a different desorption temperature. In addition, these phase diagrams provide useful information for adjusting the balance between temperature and CO partial pressure for a stable CO coverage and for identifying the active surface and the initial states under given conditions. These results should also be very interesting for surface science under ultra high vacuum conditions

Expression of miRNA precursor and its major mature form in 15 mouse tissues.

<p>A heat map was constructed using GenePattern software based on the normalized miRNA reads. Heat maps showed precursors and major forms to have similar patterns of expression.</p

Single Gold Atom Adsorption on the Fe₃O₄(111) Surface

For understanding the catalytic activity of Fe₃O₄-supported gold catalysts, the adsorption structures and energies of a single Au atom on the six terminations of the Fe₃O₄(111) surface have been computed at the level of density functional theory (GGA+<i>U</i>). For the most stable adsorption configurations, correlation has been found between the surface stability and the Au atom adsorption energy; that is, the more stable the surface, the lower the Au atom adsorption energy. It is also found that the adsorbed Au atom is reduced and has a negative charge on the iron-terminated surfaces, whereas it is oxidized and has a positive charge on the oxygen-terminated surfaces, and the latter is in agreement with the experimental observation. No correlation between the transferred charge and the adsorption energy has been found. Regarding the experimentally observed oxidation of gold nanoparticles on the iron oxide surface, it is possible to produce an oxygen-terminated surface for gold adsorption by synthetic tuning

Efficient electrocatalytic alkyne Semi-Hydrogenation and deuteration using Pd/PANI catalysts supported on nickel foam

In this study, we synthesized Pd/PANI catalysts anchored on nickel foam (NF) via a single-step CV electrodeposition process. The resulting Pd0.3/PANI-NF materials exhibited outstanding selectivity and activity for electrocatalytic alkyne semi-hydrogenation and deuteration under ambient conditions. Characterization of Pd/PANI and control experiment revealed that the combination of PANI and Pd had a synergistic effect on the catalytic performance of Pd/PANI-NF for alkyne semi-hydrogenation. Optimized conditions in H-cells allowed efficient conversion of various terminal and internal alkynes into their corresponding alkenes with remarkable yields up to 92 % and a Faradaic efficiency of 88 %, even at low Pd loading (0.4 mol%). The Pd0.3/PANI-NF showed sustained catalytic activity for gram-scale alkene synthesis through five usage cycles under continuous flow conditions, marked by a high TOF (up to 230 h−1) and combined TONs of 2151, establishing its practical viability for electrocatalytic hydrogenation