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BACKGROUND: The expansion of function-preserving surgery became possible due to a more profound understanding of gastric cancer (GC), and T1N + or T2N + gastric cancer patients might be potential beneficiaries. However, ways to evaluate the possibility of function-preserving pylorus surgery are still unknown. METHODS: A total of 288 patients at Renji Hospital and 58 patients at Huadong Hospital, pathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer staging at T1 and T2 with tumors located in the upper two-thirds of the stomach, were retrospectively enrolled from March 2015 to October 2022. Tumor regions of interest (ROIs) were manually delineated on bi-phase CT images, and a nomogram was built and evaluated. RESULTS: The radiomic features distributed differently between positive and negative pLNm groups. Two radiomic signatures (RS1 and RS2) and one clinical signature were constructed. The radiomic signatures exhibited good performance for discriminating pLNm status in the test set. The three signatures were then combined into an integrated nomogram (IN). The IN showed good discrimination of pLNm in the Renji cohort (AUC 0.918) and the Huadong cohort (AUC 0.649). The verification models showed high values. CONCLUSION: For GC patients with T1 and T2 tumors located in the upper two-thirds of the stomach, a nomogram was successfully built for predicting pylorus lymph node metastasis, which would guide the surgical indication extension of conservative gastrectomies.

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Background: Sleep is critical in health problems including Parkinson's disease (PD). This study examined the association between sleep characteristics and the likelihood of prodromal PD. Methods: At baseline examination of the Heart and Brain Investigation in Taicang (HABIT) study, potential PD biomarkers were obtained for 8777 participants aged over 50 years, and the probability of prodromal PD was assessed based on the Chinese expert consensus and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) criteria. General and component sleep characteristics were evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Median regression was applied to examine the association between sleep and the probability of prodromal PD, adjusting for age, sex, education level, physical activity, obesity, fast plasma glucose, lipids, and hypertension. Results: Based on China criteria, a higher level of PSQI score was significantly associated with a higher probability of prodromal PD (ß = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01-0.03) and a higher risk of having an increased probability of prodromal PD (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.05). Compared to participants with good quality sleep, those with poor quality sleep had a 0.07% increased probability of prodromal PD (95% CI: 0.01-0.13) and a 19% increased risk of having a high prodromal PD probability (95% CI: 1.04-1.20). Similar associations between sleep quality and the probability of prodromal PD were also observed using the MDS criteria. Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, daytime dysfunction, and use of sleep medications were also associated with the probability of prodromal PD. Conclusion: Poor sleep quality was associated with a high probability of prodromal PD. Sleep may be helpful for understanding and intervention of prodromal PD.

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The understanding of the interfacial processes is critically important for extending the practical application of ionic liquids, particularly for the role of interfacial water. In the electrochemical system based on ionic liquid electrolytes, small amounts of water at the interface generate a significant change in the electrochemical behaviors of ionic liquids. Therefore, the investigation on the interfacial behavior of water is highly desired in ionic liquids with different anions, water content, and hydrophilicity. Herein, based on the probe strategy, in situ surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with electrochemical control (EC-SERS) was developed to investigate the influence of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of ionic liquids on the interfacial water. The water-sensitive transformation reaction of 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) to para-aminothiophenol (PATP) was employed as a probe reaction for investigating the behavior of interfacial water. The changes of relative SERS intensities of DMAB to PATP served as an indication of the quantity variation of interfacial water. The results show that the transformation reaction efficiencies were critically dependent on the additional water contents, potential, and hydrophilicity of ionic liquids. With a very low molar fraction of additional water (Xw = 0.01), transformation efficiency of DMAB (the amount of interfacial water) followed the sequence of [BMIm]BF4 < [BMIm]PF6 < [BMIm]Tf2N. It was in agreement with the hydrophobicity order of the ionic liquids. With the increase in additional water content, the potential for the full transformation was positively moved, and the efficiency increased significantly. The stronger hydrophobicity allowed more water molecules to migrate to the interface, which was attributed to the difference in interactions between water and the anions of ionic liquids. It demonstrated that the small amount of water tended to gather at the interface in hydrophobic ionic liquids. Compared to traditional cyclic voltammetry, the EC-SERS technique combined with probe reactions is more sensitive to interfacial water. It is anticipated to develop as a promising tool for the investigating water-related issues at interfaces and to provide guidance to screen ionic liquids for practical application.

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Introduction: Chlorogenic acid (CGA) has been identified to possess salient anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer attributes. However, its application is limited by its instability and low bioavailability. Liposomes have been considered effective pharmaceutical delivery vehicles due to their ability to continuously release loaded drugs, improve drug stability, and display good biocompatibility. They can be easily modified by other small molecules to acquire additional biological functions. In this study, we developed and characterized folic acid-TPGS-modified chlorogenic acid liposome (FTCLP) and evaluated its anti-inflammatory activity. Methods: The successful encapsulation of CGA within FTCLP was confirmed through examination using electron microscopy, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The in vitro release characteristics of FTCLP were evaluated using the dialysis bag membrane method. Meanwhile, a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced colitis model was employed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of FTCLP and its mechanism. Results: The FTCLP exhibited an encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 84.85 ± 1.20% and a drug loading (DL) of 11.67 ± 0.04%. The particle size of FTCLP was determined to be 150.63 ± 0.71 nm, with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.198 ± 0.02 and a zeta potential of 2.61 ± 0.38 mV. The in vitro release profile followed the Higuchi model, indicating sustained-release characteristics. The in vivo study demonstrated that FTCLP treatment was effective in improving the symptoms of DSS-induced inflammatory response, as evidenced by mitigation of weight loss, reduction in the disease activity index (DAI) score, restoration of colon length, and attenuation of colon tissue damage. Furthermore, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interferon-gamma (INF-γ), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were markedly diminished in both the serum and colon tissue. FTCLP was also observed to suppress the expression of INF-γ, IL-1ß, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65, while concomitantly upregulating the expression of Janus kinase (JAK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Besides, the administration of FTCLP was found to result in an increase in the abundance of Lactobacillaceae and Peptostreptococcaceae, while decreasing the abundance of Bacteroidaceae, Rikenellaceae, and Helicobacteraceae. Conclusion: Following encapsulation of CGA within liposomes, FTCLP revealed favorable stability and sustained release properties, and enhanced the anti-inflammatory effects by modulating multiple inflammation-related biomarkers. FTCLP has the potential to be a safe and effective drug for targeted therapy of colitis.

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Gonadal and gonosomal mosaicism describe phenomena in which a seemingly healthy individual carries a genetic variant in a subset of their gonadal tissue or gonadal and somatic tissue(s), respectively, with risk of transmitting the variant to their offspring. In families with one or more affected offspring, occurrence of the same apparently de novo variants can be an indicator of mosaicism in either parent. Panel-based deep sequencing has the capacity to detect low-level mosaic variants with coverage exceeding the typical limit of detection provided by current, readily available sequencing techniques. In this study, we report three families with more than one affected offspring with either confirmed or apparent parental gonosomal or gonadal mosaicism for PIK3CD pathogenic variants. Data from targeted deep sequencing was suggestive of low-level maternal gonosomal mosaicism in Family 1. Through this approach we did not detect pathogenic variants in PIK3CD from parental samples in Family 2 and Family 3. We conclude that mosaicism was likely confined to the maternal gonads in Family 2. Subsequent long-read genome sequencing in Family 3 showed that the paternal chromosome harbored the pathogenic variant in PIK3CD in both affected children, consistent with paternal gonadal mosaicism. Detection of parental mosaic variants enables accurate risk assessment, informs reproductive decision-making, and provides helpful context to inform clinical management in families with PIK3CD pathogenic variants.

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Regulating the complex microenvironment after tooth extraction to promote alveolar bone regeneration is a pressing challenge for restorative dentistry. In this study, through modulating the mechanical properties of the cellular matrix, we guided various types of cells by self-organizing to form multicellular spheroids (MCSs) and hybridized MCSs with Prussian Blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) in the process. The constructed Prussian Blue nanohybridized multicellular spheroids (PBNPs@MCSs) with empowered antioxidant functions effectively reduced cell apoptosis under peroxidative conditions and exhibited enhanced ability to regulate the microenvironment and promote bone repair both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the PBNPs@MCSs exhibited enhanced photoacoustic imaging ability to trace low doses of PBNPs. Therefore, the constructed PBNPs@MCSs based on the biomimetic hydrogel can be used as a form of an engraftment building block, with a greater potential for pro-bone repair application in the complex microenvironment of the oral cavity.

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Metal oxides are promising (photo)electrocatalysts for sustainable energy technologies due to their good activity and abundant resources. Their applications such as photocatalytic water splitting predominantly involve aqueous interfaces under electrochemical conditions, but in situ probing oxide-water interfaces is proven to be extremely challenging. Here, we present an electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) study on the rutile TiO2(110)-water interface, and by tuning surface redox chemistry with careful potential control we are able to obtain high quality images of interfacial structures with atomic details. It is interesting to find that the interfacial water exhibits an unexpected double-row pattern that has never been observed. This finding is confirmed by performing a large scale simulation of a stepped interface model enabled by machine learning accelerated molecular dynamics (MLMD) with ab initio accuracy. Furthermore, we show that this pattern is induced by the steps present on the surface, which can propagate across the terraces through interfacial hydrogen bonds. Our work demonstrates that by combining EC-STM and MLMD we can obtain new atomic details of interfacial structures that are valuable to understand the activity of oxides under realistic conditions.

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2-Pentanone is a significant carbon-neutral fuel. To better understand 2-pentanone combustion, the CCSD(T)/CBS method was used to calculate the potential energy surfaces (PES) for H-abstraction, isomerization, and ß-scission reactions of 2-pentanone. Rate constants for the above reactions were calculated by the MESS employing conventional transition state theory (CTST) at 300-2000 K. The findings reveal adherence to the Evans-Polanyi principle in the H-abstraction reactions of 2-pentanone by H atoms. Specifically, the 2-site shows more competitive kinetics due to having the lowest energy barrier of 7.8 kcal/mol. The 4-position has the highest energy barrier, making the reaction difficult to occur. In the subsequent reactions, the breaking of C-H bonds is most competitive at low temperatures. In particular, the H transfer from INT1 to INT3 has a potential well height of 24.8 kcal/mol. The ß-scission reactions become the main pathway for the depletion of pentanone radicals with increasing temperature. This study significantly extends the kinetic parameters of 2-pentanone combustion over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, which is expected to contribute to the development of 2-pentanone combustion models.

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Detecting H2 at low concentrations is important due to it being a major safety concern in practical applications. However, semiconductor chemiresistive gas sensors always suffer from high operating temperatures and power consumption, as well as a limited concentration detection range, which restricts their widespread use. Herein, we developed a 3D nanostructured gas sensor employing a Pd-nanocluster-decorated SnO2 nanotube array as the sensing layer. The sensor showed sensitive and selective properties for detecting low concentrations of H2 at room temperature, with a low limit of detection of 1.6 ppb. It also showed good long-term stability, as long as 100 days. Moreover, systematical characterizations were performed in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to determine the ability of Pd/SnO2 junctions to improve the gas-sensing properties. The engineering of the nano-Schottky junction allows us to expand the library for designing low-power-consumption H2 sensors for widespread applications.

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Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome is an emerging viral hemorrhagic fever caused by a tick-borne bunyavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), with a high case fatality. We previously found that SFTSV nucleoprotein (NP) induces macroautophagy/autophagy to facilitate virus replication. However, the role of NP in antagonizing host innate immunity remains unclear. Mitophagy, a selected form of autophagy, eliminates damaged mitochondria to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that SFTSV NP triggers mitophagy to degrade MAVS (mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein), thereby blocking MAVS-mediated antiviral signaling to escape the host immune response. Mechanistically, SFTSV NP translocates to mitochondria by interacting with TUFM (Tu translation elongation factor, mitochondrial), and mediates mitochondrial sequestration into phagophores through interacting with LC3, thus inducing mitophagy. Notably, the N-terminal LC3-interacting region (LIR) motif of NP is essential for mitophagy induction. Collectively, our results demonstrated that SFTSV NP serves as a novel virulence factor, inducing TUFM-mediated mitophagy to degrade MAVS and evade the host immune response.Abbreviation: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; ACTB: actin beta; co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CQ: chloroquine; DAPI: 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; FCCP: carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone; GFP: green fluorescent protein; HTNV: Hantan virus; IAV: influenza A virus; IFN: interferon; LAMP1: lysosomal associated membraneprotein 1; LIR: LC3-interacting region; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associatedprotein 1 light chain 3 beta; MAVS: mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein; Mdivi-1: mitochondrial division inhibitor 1; MOI: multiplicity of infection; MT-CO2/COXII: mitochondrially encoded cytochrome C oxidase II; NP: nucleoprotein; NSs: nonstructural proteins; poly(I:C): polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid; RIGI: RNA sensor RIG-I; RLR: RIGI-like receptor; SFTSV: severe fever withthrombocytopenia syndrome virus; TCID50: 50% tissue culture infectiousdose; TIMM23: translocase of inner mitochondrial membrane 23; TOMM20:translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20; TUFM: Tu translation elongationfactor, mitochondrial.

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BACKGROUND: Alcohol and nicotine interact with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor system to alter reward-related responses, thereby contributing to the co-use and misuse of these drugs. A missense polymorphism rs16969968 (G>A) in the CHRNA5 gene has shown a strong association with nicotine-related phenotypes. However, less is known about the impact of this variant on alcohol-related phenotypes. METHODS: We assessed the main and interactive effect of smoking and rs16969968 polymorphism on alcohol consumption using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Timeline Follow Back (TLFB), and Lifetime Drinking History (LDH) in 980 healthy adults without alcohol use disorder. We further examined the effect of the rs16969968 polymorphism on acute alcohol consumption using a free-access intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA) human laboratory paradigm in a subset of 153 non-smoking participants. Subjective alcohol responses, alcohol sensitivity, and expectancy measures were compared between genotype groups (GG; AA/AG). RESULTS: We observed a significant association of smoking with AUDIT, TLFB, and LDH measures across genotype groups, with smokers showing higher scores compared to non-smokers. Additionally, we found an association between genotype and TLFB-total drinks in the IV-ASA subset, with the GG group showing higher scores than AA/AG group. Relatedly, the alcohol negative expectancy score was significantly lower in the GG group than the AA/AG group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore the association of smoking with alcohol measures. We found preliminary evidence for the protective effect of the functional CHRNA5 polymorphism on alcohol consumption and its association with increased negative alcohol expectancies, which highlights the substantial heterogeneity in alcohol responses.

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With the intention of advancing our research on diverse C-20 derivatives of camptothecin (CPT), 38 CPT derivatives bearing sulphonamide and sulfonylurea chemical scaffolds and different substituent groups have been designed, synthesised and evaluated in vitro for cytotoxicity against four tumour cell lines, A-549 (lung carcinoma), KB (nasopharyngeal carcinoma), MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer) and KBvin (an MDR KB subiline). As a result, all the synthesised compounds showed promising in vitro cytotoxic activity against the four cancer cell lines tested, and were more potent than irinotecan. Importantly, compounds 12b, 12f, 12j and 13 l possessed better antiproliferative activity against all tested tumour cell lines with IC50 values of 0.0118 - 0.5478 µM, and resulted approximately 3 to 4 times more cytotoxic than topotecan against multidrug-resistant KBvin subline. Convincing evidences are achieved that incorporation of sulphonamide and sulfonylurea motifs into position-20 of camptothecin confers markedly enhanced cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines.

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BACKGROUND: Tumor heterogeneity presents a formidable challenge in understanding the mechanisms driving tumor progression and metastasis. The heterogeneity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cellular level is not clear. METHODS: Integration analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data and spatial transcriptomics data was performed. Multiple methods were applied to investigate the subtype of HCC tumor cells. The functional characteristics, translation factors, clinical implications and microenvironment associations of different subtypes of tumor cells were analyzed. The interaction of subtype and fibroblasts were analyzed. RESULTS: We established a heterogeneity landscape of HCC malignant cells by integrated 52 single-cell RNA sequencing data and 5 spatial transcriptomics data. We identified three subtypes in tumor cells, including ARG1+ metabolism subtype (Metab-subtype), TOP2A+ proliferation phenotype (Prol-phenotype), and S100A6+ pro-metastatic subtype (EMT-subtype). Enrichment analysis found that the three subtypes harbored different features, that is metabolism, proliferating, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Trajectory analysis revealed that both Metab-subtype and EMT-subtype originated from the Prol-phenotype. Translation factor analysis found that EMT-subtype showed exclusive activation of SMAD3 and TGF-ß signaling pathway. HCC dominated by EMT-subtype cells harbored an unfavorable prognosis and a deserted microenvironment. We uncovered a positive loop between tumor cells and fibroblasts mediated by SPP1-CD44 and CCN2/TGF-ß-TGFBR1 interaction pairs. Inhibiting CCN2 disrupted the loop, mitigated the transformation to EMT-subtype, and suppressed metastasis. CONCLUSION: By establishing a heterogeneity landscape of malignant cells, we identified a three-subtype classification in HCC. Among them, S100A6+ tumor cells play a crucial role in metastasis. Targeting the feedback loop between tumor cells and fibroblasts is a promising anti-metastatic strategy.

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BACKGROUND: Melanoma is an aggressive cancer with poor response to traditional therapies. A combination of photothermal therapy and topical immunotherapy may enhance elimination of melanoma.. MATERIALS AND METHODS: C57BL/6 mice with early stage and metastatic melanoma were treated with laser immunotherapy (LIT), combining near-infrared laser-based photothermal therapy (PTT) and topical imiquimod (IMQ)-based immunotherapy. The volume of primary and abscopal melanoma, animal survival, tissue temperature, transcriptome, and immune cell response were investigated to evaluate the effect of LIT. RESULTS: LIT could eliminate primary tumors, inhibite abscopal tumors, and prolong animal survival. The tumor tissues were selectively destroyed under a photothermal gradient between 38.2 ± 3.7 °C and 73.0 ± 2.3 °C. Gene expression analysis showed a significant increase in the expression of damage associated molecular patterns. Additionally, the population of mature dendritic cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells were increased, while myeloid-derived suppressor cells were downregulated after LIT. CONCLUSION: The study showed that LIT inhibited the growth of both primary and abscopal melanoma by activating systemic antitumor immune responses and reversing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, making LIT a potential method for advanced melanoma treatment.

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RFC4 is required for DNA polymerase δ and DNA polymerase ε to initiate DNA template expansion. Downregulated RFC4 inhibits tumour proliferation by causing S-phase arrest and inhibiting mitosis, resulting in the reduction of tumour cells. RFC4 has been implicated that it plays an important role in the initiation and progression of cancers, but a comprehensive analysis of the role of RFC4 in cancer has not been performed. We comprehensively analysed the expression, prognosis, methylation level, splicing level, relationship of RFC4 and immune infiltration, and pan-cancer immunotherapy response used various databases (including TCGA, GTEx, UALCAN, Oncosplicing, TIDE, TISCH, HPA and CAMOIP), and experimented its biological function in HCC. Through pan-cancer analysis, we found that RFC4 is significantly upregulated in most tumours. The tumour patients with high expression of RFC4 have poor prognosis. The methylation level and variable splicing level of RFC4 were abnormal in most tumours compared with the adjacent tissues. Furthermore, RFC4 was closely associated with immune cell infiltration in various cancers. RFC4 was significantly co-expressed with immune checkpoints and other immune-related genes. The expression of RFC4 could indicate the immunotherapy efficacy of some tumours. The RFC4 expression was associated with sensitivity to specific small molecule drugs. Cell experiments have shown that downregulated RFC4 can inhibit cell cycle and tumour cell proliferation. We conducted a systematic pan-cancer analysis of RFC4, and the results showed that RFC4 can serve as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. These findings open new perspectives for precision medicine.

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Assembling titanium carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXene nanosheets into macroscopic films presents challenges, including voids, low orientation degree, and weak interfacial interactions, which reduce mechanical performance. We demonstrate an ultrastrong macroscopic MXene film using liquid metal (LM) and bacterial cellulose (BC) to sequentially bridge MXene nanosheets (an LBM film), achieving a tensile strength of 908.4 megapascals. A layer-by-layer approach using repeated cycles of blade coating improves the orientation degree to 0.935 in the LBM film, while a LM with good deformability reduces voids into porosity of 5.4%. The interfacial interactions are enhanced by the hydrogen bonding from BC and the coordination bonding with LM, which improves the stress-transfer efficiency. Sequential bridging provides an avenue for assembling other two-dimensional nanosheets into high-performance materials.

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Graphene has been extensively utilized as an electrode material for nonaqueous electrochemical capacitors. However, a comprehensive understanding of the charging mechanism and ion arrangement at the graphene/electrolyte interface remain elusive. Herein, a gap-enhanced Raman spectroscopic strategy is designed to characterize the dynamic interfacial process of graphene with an adjustable number of layers, which is based on synergistic enhancement of localized surface plasmons from shell-isolated nanoparticles and a metal substrate. By employing such a strategy combined with complementary characterization techniques, we study the potential-dependent configuration of adsorbed ions and capacitance curves for graphene based on the number of layers. As the number of layers increases, the properties of graphene transform from a metalloid nature to graphite-like behavior. The charging mechanism shifts from co-ion desorption in single-layer graphene to ion exchange domination in few-layer graphene. The increase in area specific capacitance from 64 to 145 µF cm-2 is attributed to the influence on ion packing, thereby impacting the electrochemical performance. Furthermore, the potential-dependent coordination structure of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide in tetraglyme ([Li(G4)][FSI]) at graphene/electrolyte interface is revealed. This work adds to the understanding of graphene interfaces with distinct properties, offering insights for optimization of electrochemical capacitors.

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Psychiatric genetic counseling (GC) has been associated with patient-reported increases in empowerment (perceived control, emotional regulation, and hope). We sought to evaluate the extent to which patients' psychological state at the time of GC is related to changes in empowerment. Participants with a history of major depressive disorder and/or bipolar disorder that had been refractory to treatment underwent psychiatric GC remotely from 2022 to 2023. GC was performed by four genetic counselors and included discussion of perceived causes of illness, multifactorial inheritance, and protective factors. Empowerment, depression, and anxiety were measured immediately prior to GC via online survey by the GCOS-16, PHQ-9, and GAD-7, respectively. Empowerment was re-assessed 2 weeks later. In total, 66/161 (41.0%) invited individuals completed both the baseline and follow-up surveys. Participants completing both surveys were 54.6% female, 84.8% white, and ranged in age from 22 to 78 years (mean = 54.8 years). Overall, a significant change in mean empowerment was not observed (p = 0.38); however, there were moderating effects by baseline psychological state. A multiple linear regression model incorporating PHQ-9, GAD-7 and baseline GCOS-16 score predicted change in empowerment with a large effect (F = 5.49, R2 = 0.21, p < 0.01). A higher score on the PHQ-9 was associated with decreases in empowerment from pre to post GC. Higher scores on the GAD-7 and lower baseline GCOS-16 scores were associated with increases in empowerment. Further, two-way ANOVA was conducted to assess change in empowerment between subgroups based on the level of anxiety and depression. Those with low depression and high anxiety reported significant increases in empowerment (F = 6.64, p = 0.01). These findings suggest that psychiatric GC may be especially helpful to individuals experiencing anxiety and low baseline empowerment. Alternative approaches may be needed to best meet the needs of those experiencing significant depression.

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Fluoride pollution and water scarcity are urgent issues. Reducing fluoride concentration in water is crucial. Kaolinite has been used to study adsorption and fluoride removal in water and to characterize material properties. The experimental results showed that the adsorption capacity of kaolinite decreased with increasing pH. The highest adsorption of fluoride occurred at pH 2, with a capacity of 11.1 mg/g. The fluoride removal efficiency remained high after four regeneration cycles. The fitting results with the Freundlich isotherm model and the external diffusion model showed that the non-homogeneous adsorption of kaolinite fit the adsorption behavior better. Finally, the adsorption mechanism was analyzed by FT-IR and XPS. The binding energies of various adsorption sites and the chemical adsorption properties of atomic states were discussed in relation to DFT calculations. The results showed that Al and H sites were the main binding sites, and the bonding stability for different forms of fluoride varies, with the size of Al-F (-7.498 eV) > H-F (-6.04 eV) > H-HF (-3.439 eV) > Al-HF (-3.283 eV). Furthermore, the density of states and Mulliken charge distribution revealed that the 2p orbital of F was found to be active in the adsorption process and was the main orbital for charge transfer.

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