bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Poly(N‐methyl‐N‐vinylacetamide): A Strong Alternative to PEG for Lipid‐Based Nanocarriers Delivering siRNA
Authors: Berger Manon , Toussaint François , Ben Djemaa Sanaa , Maquoi Erik , Pendeville Hélène , Evrard Brigitte , Jerôme Christine , Leblond Chain Jeanne , Lechanteur Anna , Mottet Denis , Debuigne Antoine , Piel Géraldine 
Published: November 2023

AbstractLipid‐based nanocarriers have demonstrated high interest in delivering genetic material, exemplified by the success of Onpattro and COVID‐19 vaccines. While PEGylation imparts stealth properties, it hampers cellular uptake and endosomal escape, and may trigger adverse reactions like accelerated blood clearance (ABC) and hypersensitivity reactions (HSR). This work highlights the great potential of amphiphilic poly(N‐methyl‐N‐vinylacetamide) (PNMVA) derivatives as alternatives to lipid‐PEG for siRNA delivery. PNMVA compounds with different degrees of polymerization and hydrophobic segments, are synthesized. Among them, DSPE (1,2‐distearoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphoethanolamine)‐PNMVA efficiently integrates into lipoplexes and LNP membranes and prevents protein corona formation around these lipid carriers, exhibiting stealth properties comparable to DSPE‐PEG. However, unlike DSPE‐PEG, DSPE‐PNMVA24 shows no adverse impact on lipoplexes cell uptake and endosomal escape. In in vivo study with mice, DSPE‐PNMVA24 lipoplexes demonstrate no liver accumulation, indicating good stealth properties, extended circulation time after a second dose, reduced immunological reaction, and no systemic pro‐inflammatory response. Safety of DSPE‐PNMVA24 is confirmed at the cellular level and in animal models of zebrafish and mice. Overall, DSPE‐PNMVA is an advantageous substitute to DSPE‐PEG for siRNA delivery, offering comparable stealth and toxicity properties while improving efficacy of the lipid‐based carriers by minimizing the dilemma effect and reducing immunological reactions, meaning no ABC or HSR effects.
Enzymatically Activatable Polymers for Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Ma Bin , Shi Jiahao , Zhang Yuhe , Li Zhili , Yong Haiyang , Zhou Ya‐Nan , Liu Shuai , A Sigen , Zhou Dezhong 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThe irregular expression or activity of enzymes in the human body leads to various pathological disorders and can therefore be used as an intrinsic trigger for more precise identification of disease foci and controlled release of diagnostics and therapeutics, leading to improved diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and therapeutic efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity. Advanced synthesis strategies enable the preparation of polymers with enzymatically activatable skeletons or side chains, while understanding enzymatically responsive mechanisms promotes rational incorporation of activatable units and predictions of the release profile of diagnostics and therapeutics, ultimately leading to promising applications in disease diagnosis and treatment with superior biocompatibility and efficiency. By overcoming the challenges, new opportunities will emerge to inspire researchers to develop more efficient, safer, and clinically reliable enzymatically activatable polymeric carriers as well as prodrugs.
Universal Strategy for Inorganic Nanoparticle Incorporation into Mesoporous Liquid Crystal Polymer Particles
Authors: Lee Geunjung , Park Geonhyeong , Park Jesse G. , Bak Yeongseo , Lee Changjae , Yoon Dong Ki 
Published: November 2023

AbstractDeveloping inorganic–organic composite polymers necessitates a new strategy for effectively controlling shape and optical properties while accommodating guest materials, as conventional polymers primarily act as carriers that transport inorganic substances. Here, a universal approach is introduced utilizing mesoporous liquid crystal polymer particles (MLPs) to fabricate inorganic–organic composites. By leveraging the liquid crystal phase, morphology and optical properties are precisely controlled through the molecular‐level arrangement of the host, here monomers. The controlled host material allows the synthesis of inorganic particles within the matrix or accommodation of presynthesized nano‐inorganic particles, all while preserving the intrinsic properties of the host material. This composite material surpasses the functional capabilities of the polymer alone by sequentially integrating one or more inorganic materials, allowing for the incorporation of multiple functionalities within a single polymer particle. Furthermore, this approach effectively mitigates the drawbacks associated with guest materials resulting in a substantial enhancement of composite performance. The presented approach is anticipated to hold immense potential for various applications in optoelectronics, catalysis, and biosensing, addressing the evolving demands of the society.
Symmetry‐Induced Regulation of Pt Strain Derived from Pt3Ga Intermetallic for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Authors: Gui Renjie , Cheng Han , Wang Minghao , Tai Xiaolin , Zhang Huijuan , Liu Congyan , Cao Xuemin , Chen Chen , Ge Min , Wang Huijuan , Zheng Xusheng , Chu Wangsheng , Lin Yue , Xie Yi , Wu Changzheng 
Published: November 2023

AbstractPt‐based fuel cell catalysts with excellent activity and stability for proton‐exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been developed through strain regulation in recent years. Herein, this work demonstrates that symmetry‐induced strain regulation of Pt surface of PtGa intermetallic compounds can greatly enhance the catalytic performance of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). With the strain environment varies derived from the lattice mismatch of analogous PtGa core but different symmetry, the Pt surface of the PtGa alloy and the Pt3Ga (Pmm) precisely realize 0.58% and 2.7% compressive strain compared to the Pt3Ga (P4/mmm). Experimental and theoretical results reveal that when the compressive stress of the Pt lattice increases, the desorption process of O* intermediates becomes accelerated, which is conducive to oxygen reduction. The Pt3Ga (Pmm) with high symmetry and compressive Pt surface exhibit the highest mass and specific activities of 2.18 A mgPt−1 and 5.36 mA cm−2, respectively, which are more than one order of magnitude higher than those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. This work demonstrates that material symmetry can be used to precisely modulate Pt surface stress to enhance the ORR, as well as provide a distinct platform to investigate the relationship between Pt compressibility and catalytic activity.
Extracellular Delivery of Functional Mitochondria Rescues the Dysfunction of CD4+ T Cells in Aging
Authors: Headley Colwyn A. , Gautam Shalini , Olmo‐Fontanez Angelica , Garcia‐Vilanova Andreu , Dwivedi Varun , Akhter Anwari , Schami Alyssa , Chiem Kevin , Ault Russell , Zhang Hao , Cai Hong , Whigham Alison , Delgado Jennifer , Hicks Amberlee , Tsao Philip S. , Gelfond Jonathan , Martinez‐Sobrido Luis , Wang Yufeng , Torrelles Jordi B. , Turner Joanne 
Published: November 2023

AbstractMitochondrial dysfunction alters cellular metabolism, increases tissue oxidative stress, and may be principal to the dysregulated signaling and function of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the elderly. In this proof of principle study, it is investigated whether the transfer of functional mitochondria into CD4+ T cells that are isolated from old mice (aged CD4+ T cells), can abrogate aging‐associated mitochondrial dysfunction, and improve the aged CD4+ T cell functionality. The results show that the delivery of exogenous mitochondria to aged non‐activated CD4+ T cells led to significant mitochondrial proteome alterations highlighted by improved aerobic metabolism and decreased cellular mitoROS. Additionally, mito‐transferred aged CD4+ T cells showed improvements in activation‐induced TCR‐signaling kinetics displaying markers of activation (CD25), increased IL‐2 production, enhanced proliferation ex vivo. Importantly, immune deficient mouse models (RAG‐KO) showed that adoptive transfer of mito‐transferred naive aged CD4+ T cells, protected recipient mice from influenza A and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. These findings support mitochondria as targets of therapeutic intervention in aging.
Anionic Regulation and Heteroatom Doping of Ni‐Based Electrocatalysts to Boost Biomass Valorization Coupled with Hydrogen Production
Authors: Xu Penghui , Bao Zhenyu , Zhao Yujian , Zheng Lingxia , Lv Zhuoqing , Shi Xiaowei , Wang Hong‐En , Fang Xiaosheng , Zheng Huajun 
Published: November 2023

AbstractElectrocatalytic biomass valorization coupled with hydrogen production provides an efficient and economical way to achieve a zero‐carbon economy. Ni‐based electrocatalysts are promising candidates due to their intrinsic redox capabilities, but the rational design of active Ni site coordination is still a huge challenge. Herein, the combined strategies of surface reconstruction and heteroatom doping are adopted to modify Ni3S2 pre‐catalysts and the obtained bimetallic catalyst exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance toward 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation to 2,5‐furanedicarboxylic acid (FDCA). Specifically, the oxysulfide‐coordinated amorphous NiOOH (NiOOH‐SOx) active phase is in situ constructed following the anionic regulation mechanism, which endows numerous defects and unsaturated sites for anodic HMF oxidation. Cu heteroatom doping further modulates the electronic structure of active sites with abundant Lewis acidic sites, offering advanced capability for HMF adsorption. Several operando characterization techniques (in situ Raman, infrared, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies) are performed to disclose the reaction pathway and structure‐activity‐potential relationship. Theoretical results further demonstrate that Cu doping and oxyanionic regulation effectively modulate the local coordination environment of Ni sites and correspondingly tailor the intermediate adsorption behavior and then promote the reaction kinetics. Moreover, a two‐electrode system is assembled to pair HMF oxidation with cathode hydrogen production, demonstrating better energy conversion efficiency.
Cesium Cyclopropane Acid‐Aided Crystal Growth Enables Efficient Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells with a High Moisture Tolerance
Authors: Yue Yaochang , Yang Rongshen , Zhang Weichao , Cheng Qian , Zhou Huiqiong , Zhang Yuan 
Published: November 2023

AbstractWhile all‐inorganic halide perovskites (iHPs) are promising photovoltaic materials, the associated water sensitivity of iHPs calls for stringent humidity control to reach satisfactory photovoltaic efficiencies. Herein, we report a moisture‐insensitive perovskite formation route under ambient air for CsPbI2Br‐based iHPs via cesium cyclopropane acids (C3) as a compound introducer. With this approach, appreciably enhanced crystallization quality and moisture tolerance of CsPbI2Br are attained. The improvements are attributed to the modified evaporation enthalpy of the volatile side product of DMA‐acid initiated by Cs‐acids. As such, the water‐involving reaction is directed toward the DMA‐acids, leaving the target CsPbI2Br perovskites insensitive to ambient humidity. We highlight that by controlling the C3 concentration, the dependence of power conversion efficiency (PCE) in CsPbI2Br devices on the humidity level during perovskite film formation becomes favorably weakened, with the PCEs remaining relatively high (>15 %) associated with improved device stability for RH levels changed from 25 % to 65 %. The champion solar cells yield an impressive PCE exceeding 17 %, showing small degradations (<10 %) for 2000 hours of shell storage and 300 hours of 85/85 (temperature/humidity) tests. The demonstrated C3‐based strategy provides an enabler for improving the long‐sought moisture‐stability of iHPs toward high photovoltaic device performance.
Evaluation of a high oleic soybean oil variety in lubricant and biodiesel applications
Authors: Winfield DeMichael D. , Cermak Steven C. , Evangelista Roque L. , Moser Bryan R. , McKinney Justin , Pantalone Vince 
Published: November 2023

AbstractSoybean oil is an abundant commodity crop that has garnered attention for its use as a feedstock for sustainable materials. Soybean oil is high in polyunsaturated fatty acid content, which can promote undesirable properties in biodiesel and lubricant applications. In this work, we characterized the fatty acid composition of commercial soybean oil along with two other soybean oil varieties, Ellis and TN18‐4110. Ellis and commercial soybean oils had similar fatty acid compositions, while TN18‐4110 was enriched in the monounsaturated oleic acid. Biodiesel and estolides were prepared from the three varieties and the relevant physical properties were measured. In comparison to commercial soybean diesel, both Ellis and TN18‐4110 exhibited unique advantages. As estolide‐based lubricants, all three varieties had advantageous cold flow properties, but TN18‐4110 also possessed excellent oxidative stability and lower viscosity. The physical properties and structural property relationships of the biodiesel and estolides are discussed.
Synthesis and Anti‐Melanoma Activity of Acryloyl Pyridinone Analogues
Authors: Urbaniak Alicja , Bathula Chandramohan , Chauhan Jyoti , Rai Prateek , Thammathong Joshua , Clark Christopher , Heflin Billie , De Loose Annick , Avaritt Nathan , Rodriguez Analiz , Tackett Alan J. , Sen Subhabrata , Banerjee Souvik 
Published: November 2023

AbstractA major challenge for clinical management of melanoma is the prevention and treatment of metastatic disease. Drug discovery efforts over the last 10 years have resulted in several drugs that improve the prognosis of metastatic melanoma; however, most patients develop early resistance to these treatments. We designed and synthesized, through a concise synthetic strategy, a series of hybrid olefin‐pyridinone compounds that consist of structural motifs from tamoxifen and ilicicolin H. These compounds were tested against a human melanoma cell line and patient‐derived melanoma cells that had metastasized to the brain. Three compounds 7 b, 7 c, and 7 g demonstrated promising activity (IC50=0.4–4.3 μM). Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that 7 b and 7 c induce cell cycle arrest predominantly in the G1 phase. Both 7 b and 7c significantly inhibited migration of A375 melanoma cells; greater effects were demonstrated by 7 b. Molecular modelling analysis provides insight into a plausible mechanism of action.
Boosting CO2 Electroreduction to Multi‐carbon Products via Oxygen‐rich Vacancies and Ce4+−O2−−Cu+ Structure in Cu/CeO2 for Stabilizing Cu+
Authors: Fang Minghui , Xia Wei , Han Shitao , Yao Ting , Wang Min , Zhou Dawei , Dong Xue , Yang Jiahao , Jia Shuaiqiang , He Mingyuan , Wu Haihong , Han Buxing 
Published: November 2023

AbstractCu is a promising electrocatalyst for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to produce high‐value C2+ products. Due to the fierce competition of the hydrogen evolution reaction, the slow diffusion of CO2, and the high energy barrier of the C−C coupling reaction, it is still challenging to achieve high activity and high selectivity to produce multi‐carbon products on copper‐based electrocatalysts. In this work, we synthesized Cu/CeO2 catalysts with varying amounts of Cu doping, aiming at effectively converting CO2 into C2+ products through electroreduction. At a copper doping level of 9.77 wt%, the catalyst exhibited a current density of 16.8 mA cm−2 using a standard H‐type cell, achieving a C2+ faradaic efficiency (FE) of 78.3 %. Through additional experiments and material characterization, we confirmed that controlling the Cu loading on the surface of CeO2 is an effective way to regulate the ratio of Cu+ to Cu0 active sites and the number of oxygen vacancies. Furthermore, the strong electron interaction between Ce4+−O2−−Cu+ structure can stabilize Cu+ species and enhance the overall stability of the catalyst. This strategy enhances the selectivity towards C2+ products and effectively suppresses the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.
The role of short‐term temperature variability and light in shaping the phenology and characteristics of seagrass beds
Authors: Wong Melisa C. , Dowd Michael 
Published: November 2023

AbstractSeagrass beds inhabit highly heterogeneous temperature regimes that characterize the marine nearshore. Temperature directly influences seagrasses and also provides indirect information on other ecologically relevant environmental variables. Multiple temperature processes operate on seasonal and sub‐seasonal timescales (i.e., hours to months) and include variation from seasonal air–sea heat fluxes, advective heat transport from upwelling and tidal circulation, and daily heating and cooling of shallow waters. Despite this, seagrass–temperature studies typically only examine a single isolated temperature process, often seasonal heating/cooling or marine heatwaves. Furthermore, elucidation of relationships between different short‐term temperature processes and seagrass metrics could provide insights into biologically relevant temperature metrics for seagrasses. Here, we examine the effects of multiple short‐term temperature processes on Zostera marina beds in Atlantic Canada, by describing the seasonal phenology of bed characteristics, plant morphology, and physiology across different temperature regimes and by identifying relationships between different temperature and seagrass metrics. We also include water depth as a proxy for light availability. Four distinct short‐term temperature processes (median temperature, growing degree day [heat accumulation], daily temperature range, and time in the optimal temperature range [5–23°C]) were used to categorize temperature regimes across our study sites as warm and highly variable, or cool and less variable. We found that both temperature regime and light availability were important for leaf area index (LAI) and shoot density, which both decreased with increasing depth yet had the strongest seasonal differences and maximum rates of increase (shoot density) or lowest values and maximum rates of decrease (LAI) in warm and highly variable temperature regimes. These temperature regimes were also associated with seasonal patterns in number of leaves, reduced leaf lengths and number of leaves per shoot, and thinner rhizomes with less carbohydrate storage. Generalized additive models (GAMs) for each seagrass metric using the four temperature processes indicated that while median temperature displayed expected relationships with almost every seagrass metric, inclusion of other temperature processes revealed additional insights not evident from median temperature alone. Our study shows that different sources of short‐term temperature variation influence seagrass properties and that accounting for these will improve our understanding of the temperature–seagrass interaction.
Rational design of polymer‐based particulate vaccine adjuvants
Authors: Huete‐Carrasco Jorge , Lynch Roisin I. , Ward Ross W. , Lavelle Ed C. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractVaccination is considered one of the major milestones in modern medicine, facilitating the control and eradication of life‐threatening infectious diseases. Vaccine adjuvants are a key component of many vaccines, serving to steer antigen‐specific immune responses and increase their magnitude. Despite major advances in the field of adjuvant research over recent decades, our understanding of their mechanism of action remains incomplete. This hinders our capacity to further improve these adjuvant technologies, so addressing how adjuvants induce and control the induction of innate and adaptive immunity is a priority. Investigating how adjuvant physicochemical properties, such as size and charge, exert immunomodulatory effects can provide valuable insights and serve as the foundation for the rational design of vaccine adjuvants. Most clinically applied adjuvants are particulate in nature and polymeric particulate adjuvants present advantages due to stability, biocompatibility profiles, and flexibility in terms of formulation. These properties can impact on antigen release kinetics and biodistribution, cellular uptake and targeting, and drainage to the lymphatics, consequently dictating the induction of innate, cellular, and humoral adaptive immunity. A current focus is to apply rational design principles to the development of adjuvants capable of eliciting robust cellular immune responses including CD8+ cytotoxic T‐cell and Th1‐biased CD4+ T‐cell responses, which are required for vaccines against intracellular pathogens and cancer. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of how particulate adjuvants, especially polymer‐based particulates, modulate immune responses and how this can be used as a guide for improved adjuvant design.
NAMPT regulates mitochondria function and lipid metabolism during porcine oocyte maturation
Authors: Guo Xin , Jiao Le , Yi Yang , Zhang Hao‐Lin , Liu Ya‐Xi , Wang Zi‐Yu , Sun Shao‐Chen 
Published: November 2023

AbstractOocyte maturation defect can lead to maternal reproduction disorder. NAMPT is a rate‐limiting enzyme in mammalian NAD+ biosynthesis pathway, which can regulate a variety of cellular metabolic processes including glucose metabolism and DNA damage repair. However, the function of NAMPT in porcine oocytes remains unknown. In this study, we showed that NAMPT involved into multiple cellular events during oocyte maturation. NAMPT expressed during all stages of porcine oocyte meiosis, and inhibition of NAMPT activity caused the cumulus expansion and polar body extrusion defects. Mitochondrial dysfunction was observed in NAMPT‐deficient porcine oocytes, which showed decreased membrane potential, ATP and mitochondrial DNA content, increased oxidative stress level and apoptosis. We also found that NAMPT was essential for spindle organization and chromosome arrangement based on Ac‐tubulin. Moreover, lack of NAMPT activity caused the increase of lipid droplet and affected the imbalance of lipogenesis and lipolysis. In conclusion, our study indicated that lack of NAMPT activity affected porcine oocyte maturation through its effects on mitochondria function, spindle assembly and lipid metabolism.