Solution-processed small-molecule solar cells: breaking the 10% power conversion efficiency.

A two-dimensional conjugated small molecule (SMPV1) was designed and synthesized for high performance solution-processed organic solar cells. This study explores the photovoltaic properties of this molecule as a donor, with a fullerene derivative as an acceptor, using solution processing in single junction and double junction tandem solar cells. The single junction solar cells based on SMPV1 exhibited a certified power conversion efficiency of 8.02% under AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)). A homo-tandem solar cell based on SMPV1 was constructed with a novel interlayer (or tunnel junction) consisting of bilayer conjugated polyelectrolyte, demonstrating an unprecedented PCE of 10.1%. These results strongly suggest solution-processed small molecular materials are excellent candidates for organic solar cells

A Systematic Survey of Control Techniques and Applications: From Autonomous Vehicles to Connected and Automated Vehicles

Vehicle control is one of the most critical challenges in autonomous vehicles (AVs) and connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), and it is paramount in vehicle safety, passenger comfort, transportation efficiency, and energy saving. This survey attempts to provide a comprehensive and thorough overview of the current state of vehicle control technology, focusing on the evolution from vehicle state estimation and trajectory tracking control in AVs at the microscopic level to collaborative control in CAVs at the macroscopic level. First, this review starts with vehicle key state estimation, specifically vehicle sideslip angle, which is the most pivotal state for vehicle trajectory control, to discuss representative approaches. Then, we present symbolic vehicle trajectory tracking control approaches for AVs. On top of that, we further review the collaborative control frameworks for CAVs and corresponding applications. Finally, this survey concludes with a discussion of future research directions and the challenges. This survey aims to provide a contextualized and in-depth look at state of the art in vehicle control for AVs and CAVs, identifying critical areas of focus and pointing out the potential areas for further exploration

Prediction of ESRD in IgA Nephropathy Patients from an Asian Cohort: A Random Forest Model

Background/Aims: There is an increasing risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among Asian people with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). A computer-aided system for ESRD prediction in Asian IgAN patients has not been well studied. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed biopsy-proven IgAN patients treated at the Department of Nephrology of the Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2009 to November 2013. Demographic and clinicopathological data were obtained within 1 month of renal biopsy. A random forest (RF) model was employed to predict the ESRD status in IgAN patients. All cases were initially trained and validated, taking advantage of the out-of-bagging(OOB) error. Predictors used in the model were selected according to the Gini impurity index in the RF model and verified by logistic regression analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve (AUC) and F-measure were used to evaluate the RF model. Results: A total of 262 IgAN patients were enrolled in this study with a median follow-up time of 4.66 years. The importance rankings of predictors of ESRD in the RF model were first obtained, indicating some of the most important predictors. Logistic regression also showed that these factors were statistically associated with ESRD status. We first trained an initial RF model using gender, age, hypertension, serum creatinine, 24-hour proteinuria and histological grading suggested by the Clinical Decision Support System for IgAN (CDSS, www.IgAN.net). This 6-predictor model achieved a F-measure of 0.8 and an AUC of 92.57%. By adding Oxford-MEST scores, this model outperformed the initial model with an improved AUC (96.1%) and F-measure (0.823). When C3 staining was incorporated, the AUC was 97.29% and F-measure increased to 0.83. Adding the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) improved the AUC to 95.45%. We also observed improved performance of the model with additional inputs of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, hemoglobin and albumin. Conclusion: In addition to the predictors in the CDSS, Oxford-MEST scores, C3 staining and eGFR conveyed additional information for ESRD prediction in Chinese IgAN patients using a RF model

Medicinal chemistry strategies towards the development of non-covalent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive target in anti-COVID-19 therapy for its high conservation and major role in the virus life cycle. The covalent Mpro inhibitor nirmatrelvir (in combination with ritonavir, a pharmacokinetic enhancer) and the non-covalent inhibitor ensitrelvir have shown efficacy in clinical trials and have been approved for therapeutic use. Effective antiviral drugs are needed to fight the pandemic, while non-covalent Mpro inhibitors could be promising alternatives due to their high selectivity and favorable druggability. Numerous non-covalent Mpro inhibitors with desirable properties have been developed based on available crystal structures of Mpro. In this article, we describe medicinal chemistry strategies applied for the discovery and optimization of non-covalent Mpro inhibitors, followed by a general overview and critical analysis of the available information. Prospective viewpoints and insights into current strategies for the development of non-covalent Mpro inhibitors are also discussed.We gratefully acknowledge financial support from Major Basic Research Project of Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021ZD17, China), Science Foundation for Outstanding Young Scholars of Shandong Province (ZR2020JQ31, China), Foreign Cultural and Educational Experts Project (GXL20200015001, China), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515110740, China), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M702003). This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain through grant PID2019-104176RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 awarded to Luis Menéndez-Arias; An institutional grant of the Fundación Ramón Areces (Madrid, Spain) to the CBMSO is also acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Intra-Articular Injection of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi Extract Attenuates Pain Behavior and Cartilage Degeneration in Mono-Iodoacetate Induced Osteoarthritic Rats

Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL) has been widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating soreness and weakness of waist and knees. It has potential for treating OA owing to its kidney-tonifying activity with bone-strengthening effects, but there is so far no report of its anti-OA effect. This study established a rat OA model by intra-articular (IA) injection of mono-iodoacetate (1.5 mg) and weekly treated by IA administration of FLL at 100 μg/mL for 4 weeks. Thermal withdrawal latency, mechanical withdrawal threshold, and spontaneous activity were tested for evaluation of pain behavior, and histopathological (HE, SO, and ABH staining) and immunohistochemical (Col2, Col10, and MMP13) analyses were conducted for observation of cartilage degradation. In vitro effect of FLL on chondrocytes was evaluated by MTT assay and qPCR analysis. Moreover, HPLC analysis was performed to determine its chemoprofile. The pain behavioral data showed that FLL attenuated joint pain hypersensitivity by increasing thresholds of mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia as well as spontaneous activity. The histopathological result showed that FLL reversed OA cartilage degradation by protecting chondrocytes and extracellular matrix in cartilage, and the immunohistochemical analysis revealed its molecular actions on protein expressions of MMP13, Col2, and Col10 in cartilage. The MTT assay showed its proliferative effects on chondrocytes, and qPCR assay clarified its mechanism associated with gene expressions of Mmp13, Col2, Col10, Adamts5, Aggrecan, and Runx2 in TNF-α treated chondrocytes. Our results revealed an anti-OA effect of FLL on pain behavior and cartilage degradation in OA rats and clarified a molecular mechanism in association with the suppression of chondrocyte hypertrophy and catabolism. IA FLL can be regarded as novel and promising option for OA therapy

Properties and Asteroseismological analysis of a new ZZ ceti discovered by TMTS

Tsinghua university-Ma Huateng Telescope for Survey (TMTS) aims to discover rapidly evolving transients by monitoring the northern sky. The TMTS catalog is cross-matched with the white dwarf (WD) catalog of Gaia EDR3, and light curves of more than a thousand WD candidates are obtained so far. Among them, the WD TMTS J23450729+5813146 (hereafter J2345) is one interesting common source. Based on the light curves from the TMTS and follow-up photometric observations, periods of 967.113 s, 973.734 s, 881.525 s, 843.458 s, 806.916 s and 678.273 s are identified. In addition, the TESS observations suggest a 3.39 h period but this can be attributed to the rotation of a comoving M dwarf located within 3". The spectroscopic observation indicates that this WD is DA type with Teff = 11778+/-617K,log g = 8.38+/-0.31,mass=0.84+/-0.20Msun and age=0.704+/-0.377 Gyrs. Asteroseismological analysis reveals a global best-fit solution of Teff =12110+/-10K and mass=0.760+/-0.005Msun,consistent with the spectral fitting results, and Oxygen and Carbon abundances in the core center are 0.73 and 0.27, respectively. The distance derived from the intrinsic luminosity given by asteroseismology is 93 parsec, which is in agreement with the distance of 98 parsec from Gaia DR3. Additionally, kinematic study shows that this WD is likely a thick disk star. The mass of its zero-age main-sequence mass is estimated to be 3.08 Msun and has a main-sequence plus cooling age of roughly 900 Myrs.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

FWAlgaeDB, an integrated genome database of freshwater algae

Algal genomics research contributes to a deeper understanding of algal evolution and provides useful genomics inferences correlated with various functions. Published algal genome sequences are very limited owing to genome assembly challenges. Because genome data of freshwater algae are rapidly increasing with the recent boom in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics, an interface to store, interlink, and display these data is needed. To provide a substantial genomic resource specifically for freshwater algae, we developed the Freshwater Algae Database (FWAlgaeDB), a user-friendly, constantly updated online repository for integrating genomic data and annotation information. This database, which includes information on 204 freshwater algae, allows easy access to gene repertoires and gene clusters of interest and facilitates potential applications. Three functional modules are integrated into FWAlgaeDB: a Basic Local Alignment Search Tool tool for similarity analyses, a Search tool for rapid data retrieval, and a Download function for data downloads. This database tool is freely available at http://www.fwalagedb.com/#/home. To demonstrate the utility of FWAlgaeDB, we also individually mapped metagenomic sequencing reads of 10 water samples to FWAlgaeDB and Nt algae databases we constructed to obtain taxonomic composition information. According to the mapping results, FWAlgaeDB may be a better choice for identifying algal species in freshwater samples, with fewer potential false positives because of its focus on freshwater algal species. FWAlgaeDB can therefore serve as an open-access, sustained platform to provide genomic data and molecular analysis tools specifically for freshwater algae

Mechanism of Human Papillomavirus Binding to Human Spermatozoa and Fertilizing Ability of Infected Spermatozoa

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are agents of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in females and males. Precise data about the presence, mechanism of infection and clinical significance of HPV in the male reproductive tract and especially in sperm are not available. Here we show that HPV can infect human sperm, it localizes at the equatorial region of sperm head through interaction between the HPV capsid protein L1 and syndecan-1. Sperm transfected with HPV E6/E7 genes and sperm exposed to HPV L1 capsid protein are capable to penetrate the oocyte and transfer the virus into oocytes, in which viral genes are then activated and transcribed. These data show that sperm might function as vectors for HPV transfer into the oocytes, and open new perspectives on the role of HPV infection in males and are particularly intriguing in relation to assisted reproduction techniques