Neoagarooligosaccharide Protects against Hepatic Fibrosis via Inhibition of TGF-β/Smad Signaling Pathway

Hepatic fibrosis occurs when liver tissue becomes scarred from repetitive liver injury and inflammatory responses; it can progress to cirrhosis and eventually to hepatocellular carcinoma. Previously, we reported that neoagarooligosaccharides (NAOs), produced by the hydrolysis of agar by β-agarases, have hepatoprotective effects against acetaminophen overdose-induced acute liver injury. However, the effect of NAOs on chronic liver injury, including hepatic fibrosis, has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we examined whether NAOs protect against fibrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. NAOs ameliorated PAI-1, α-SMA, CTGF and fibronectin protein expression and decreased mRNA levels of fibrogenic genes in TGF-β-treated LX-2 cells. Furthermore, downstream of TGF-β, the Smad signaling pathway was inhibited by NAOs in LX-2 cells. Treatment with NAOs diminished the severity of hepatic injury, as evidenced by reduction in serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced liver fibrosis mouse models. Moreover, NAOs markedly blocked histopathological changes and collagen accumulation, as shown by H&E and Sirius red staining, respectively. Finally, NAOs antagonized the CCl₄-induced upregulation of the protein and mRNA levels of fibrogenic genes in the liver. In conclusion, our findings suggest that NAOs may be a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of chronic liver injury via inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.     

Progressive NO2 Sensors with Rapid Alarm and Persistent Memory-Type Responses for Wide-Range Sensing Using Antimony Triselenide Nanoflakes

Antimony triselenide (Sb₂Se₃) nanoflake-based nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sensors exhibit a progressive bifunctional gas-sensing performance, with a rapid alarm for hazardous highly concentrated gases, and an advanced memory-type function for low-concentration (<1 ppm) monitoring repeated under potentially fatal exposure. Rectangular and cuboid shaped Sb₂Se₃ nanoflakes, comprising van der Waals planes with large surface areas and covalent bond planes with small areas, can rapidly detect a wide range of NO₂ gas concentrations from 0.1 to 100 ppm. These Sb₂Se₃ nanoflakes are found to be suitable for physisorption-based gas sensing owing to their anisotropic quasi-2D crystal structure with extremely enlarged van der Waals planes, where they are humidity-insensitive and consequently exhibit an extremely stable baseline current. The Sb₂Se₃ nanoflake sensor exhibits a room-temperature/low-voltage operation, which is noticeable owing to its low energy consumption and rapid response even under a NO₂ gas flow of only 1 ppm. As a result, the Sb₂Se₃ nanoflake sensor is suitable for the development of a rapid alarm system. Furthermore, the persistent gas-sensing conductivity of the sensor with a slow decaying current can enable the development of a progressive memory-type sensor that retains the previous signal under irregular gas injection at low concentrations.     

Principled analytic classifier for positive-unlabeled learning via weighted integral probability metric

Machine Learning - We consider the problem of learning a binary classifier from only positive and unlabeled observations (called PU learning). Recent studies in PU learning have shown superior...     

The effect of charge on the dihydrogen storage capacity of Sc2–C6H6

The effect of charge on the dihydrogen storage capacity of Sc₂–C₆H₆ has been investigated at B3LYP-D3/6-311G(d,p) level. The neutral system Sc₂–C₆H₆ can store 8H₂ with gravimetric density of 8.76 wt %, and one H₂ dissociates and bonds atomically on the scandium atom. The adsorption of 8H₂ on Sc₂–C₆H₆ is energetically favorable below 155 K. The atom-centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) molecular dynamics simulations show that Sc₂–C₆H₆ can adsorb 3H₂ within 1000 fs at 300K. Compared with Sc₂–C₆H₆, the charged systems can adsorb more hydrogen molecules with higher gravimetric density, and all the H₂ are adsorbed in the molecular form. The gravimetric densities of Sc₂–C₆H₆⁺ and Sc₂–C₆H₆²⁺ are 9.75 and 10.71 wt%. Moreover, the maximum adsorption of charged systems are favorable in wider temperature range. Most importantly, the ADMP-MD simulations indicate that Sc₂–C₆H₆²⁺ can adsorb 6 hydrogen molecules within 1000 fs at 300K. It can be found that the gravimetric density (6.72 wt%) of Sc₂–C₆H₆²⁺ still exceeds the target of US Department of Energy (DOE) under ambient conditions.     

Selective Coating of SnS on the Bio‐Inspired Moth‐Eye Patterned PEDOT:PSS Polymer Films

A new strategy for the selective coating of tin sulfide (SnS) on the surface of moth‐eye patterned (MEP) conducting polymer film is studied by considering the optical properties of the antireflective moth‐eye pattern and flexibility of polymer films. The semiconductor SnS is selectively coated on the surface of MEP microdomes of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene‐sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film. The SnS coated MEP film is obtained by using pore selectively SnS thin layer functionalized polystyrene honeycomb‐patterned porous (HCP) film as a template. Aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution is poured on the SnS functionalized HCP films and detached for the fabrication of SnS coated MEP films. The films show a satisfactory photo‐responsive property under solar stimulated light illumination due to the antireflective MEP structure of PEDOT film and homogenous SnS coating on the surface of the conducting polymer.     

An end-to-end denoising autoencoder-based deep neural network approach for fault diagnosis of analog circuit

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - Fault diagnosis of analog circuit is critical to improve safety and reliability in electrical systems and reduce losses. Traditional fault...