Cholinergic dysfunction is a key feature of cognitive impairment, and currently available acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors provide limited symptomatic benefit and are often associated with adverse effects. This study evaluated the cognitive-protective effects of bavachin (BVC), a prenylated flavonoid from Psoralea corylifolia, and its interaction with Donepezil (DNP) in a scopolamine (SCP)-induced amnesia model. Male Swiss albino mice were pretreated with BVC (10-40 mg/kg), DNP (2.5 mg/kg), or their combination for 7 days prior to SCP challenge, followed by assessment using multiple behavioral paradigms, including novel object recognition, elevated plus maze, passive avoidance, Y-maze, and Morris water maze. BVC attenuated SCP-induced memory deficits in a dose-dependent manner, with the 40 mg/kg dose producing performance statistically comparable to, though not formally demonstrated to be equivalent to, the normal control across tests. Bliss independence analysis of behavioral endpoints indicated predominantly additive interactions, with occasional greater-than-additive trends. Biochemical evaluation demonstrated that BVC inhibits AChE in vitro (IC50 = 27.7 µM) and attenuates SCP-induced elevations of AChE activity ex vivo in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Combination treatment showed a greater-than-additive interaction in the frontal cortex (ΔBliss = 0.054) and an approximately additive effect in the hippocampus (ΔBliss = 0.013). Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations further suggested stable binding of BVC within the active sites of AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Collectively, these findings indicate that BVC attenuates cognitive deficits, at least in part, through cholinesterase inhibition, and exhibits additive effects with DNP, supporting its potential as an adjunctive candidate for cognitive disorders.

Sodium superionic conductors (NASICONs) have shown promising sodium-ion conduction for application in all-solid-state sodium metal batteries. However, many factors hinder their large-scale application, such as high total resistance caused by secondary phases and the formation of zirconia impurities due to sodium oxide volatilisation at elevated temperatures. This work circumvents one of the major impurities by completely removing zirconium from the structure, thereby establishing the concept of zirconium-free NASICON-type materials. Oxides with nominal chemical formulae NaMAl(PO4)3 (M = Nb, Ta) were synthesised by solid-state reaction and found to crystallise in a rhombohedral NASICON structure. However, increasing the Na content using Al doping at the Nb and/or Ta sites was unsuccessful, resulting in glass-ceramic formation. Hence, the nominal composition formula Na1+2xM1-xAl1+x(PO4)3 is primarily used to describe the targeted composition rather than to represent actual NASICON-type materials. Among the samples investigated, the multi-phase compound Na1.5Ta0.75Al1.25(PO4)3 showed an ionic conductivity of 1 × 10-4 S cm-1 at 200 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the Ta-based NaTaAl(PO4)3 was found to be chemically stable against reaction with molten Na, while the Nb analogue exhibited some degree of NbV reduction. This work presents a novel family of Zr-free NASICON structures designed to advance the development of all-solid-state sodium-metal batteries.

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is the enzyme responsible for production of methane by microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of ruminants and other anaerobic environments. The enzyme contains a nickel tetrapyrrole cofactor (cofactor F430) that can exist in a number of oxidation states. Previous computational studies of the MCR reaction mechanism have utilised available X-ray structures of the inactive Ni(II) state. However, a recent study by Ragsdale et al. reported crystallographic characterisation of the active Ni(I) state. Here we explore how the new Ni(I) active-site details influence modelling of the reaction pathway. We focus on the (i) non-covalent interactions among the active-site residues, (ii) identity of the lower axial ligand, and (iii) sensitivity to the choice of density functional. We find that to capture the substrate-binding microenvironment, in particular the interactions of the key Tyr367 residue, it is beneficial to augment previous cluster models by including three conserved phenylalanine residues. Using this expanded model, the potential catalytic role of an active-site water molecule reported to lie in bonding distance of the Ni(I) site is explored. Our computations suggest that the water molecule is not strongly coordinated to Ni, and is displaced by Gln147 during methane formation. The mechanistic predictions are relatively robust across functionals, and a cost-effective estimate of the barrier is obtained with TPSSh-D4//r2SCAN-3c. Overall, these results provide support for the main conclusions of previous QM cluster studies of MCR, while also elucidating new mechanistic subtleties and providing a reference point for future evaluation of new mechanistic proposals.

Root canal sealers play a crucial role in maintaining intraradicular asepsis by filling microscopic gaps and complex irregularities between the gutta-percha and canal walls, thus ensuring successful endodontic therapy. However, current root canal sealers suffer from slow setting rate and poor bioactivity, increasing the risk of reinfection and treatment failure. Herein, we develop a rapid-setting and bioactive sealer, with tristrontium silicate, bioactive glass and zirconium dioxide powder and phosphate solution as the solid and liquid phases, respectively. Upon mixing, the resultant injectable paste exhibits a fast setting time (42 ± 5 min), while possessing superior flowability (20.0 ± 0.1 mm), low solubility (2.9 ± 0.2%), appropriate film thickness (46.9 ± 0.3 µm) and adequate radiopacity (>3 mm Al equivalent), complying with ISO 6876:2012. Moreover, the developed sealer displays rapid generation of hydroxyapatite and sustained release of Sr2+ ions, while maintaining neutral pH under physiological conditions, contributing to its biocompatibility and antibacterial activity. Notably, the rapid-setting and bioactive sealer achieves improved in vitro dye resistance in a dentin-disc model over time, indicating excellent sealing ability, which is desirable for clinical applications.

tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are a relatively recently discovered class of small RNAs implicated in gene-regulation, particularly behaving as microRNA to degrade target mRNAs with seed-sequence matches, but there have been very few reports of a clear phenotypic role of these small RNAs in cancer cell growth and other properties. Here we report that in three different cancer cell lineages, tRF-3009a, tRF-3021a and tRF-3030a are required for cell invasion and migration. Of the three tRFs, tRF-3021a was uniquely required for cell proliferation and suppression of apoptosis. Interestingly, tRF-3021a knockdown decreases global protein synthesis prior to and independent of apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines of different lineages. Mutation of tRF-3021a shows that the effect on protein synthesis is very dependent on specific sequences in the tRF. RNA-seq reveals that the results cannot be explained by tRF-3021a decreasing the levels of target mRNAs that carry seed sequence matches with the tRF. These data indicate that tRF-3021a supports cancer cell survival and particularly protein synthesis while promoting cellular invasion and migration. Implications: tRF-3021a promotes malignant cell phenotypes, sustains global protein synthesis and prevents spontaneous apoptosis.

Correction for 'Harnessing (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) with chitosan-coated liposomes to modulate the radiation effect in cancer cells through alteration in the miR-139-5p-β-catenin axis' by Sulagna Dutta et al., Biomater. Sci., 2026, https://doi.org/10.1039/d6bm00597g.

The two-filter soft x-ray (SXR) method has been widely used to infer the electron temperature (Te) in keV-scale fusion plasmas, but its application in the sub-100 eV regime has been relatively less explored. For application in this regime, several additional effects require consideration. This work assesses the two-filter SXR method to infer Te in the sub-100 eV regime using the Be/Al filter configuration of the versatile experiment spherical torus SXR arrays. In this process, the relevant effects are separated into two categories. Random uncertainty components, namely, the filter-thickness fabrication tolerance and detector noise, are propagated through the ratio-temperature response curve to quantify the uncertainty. Systematic effects, namely, native oxide layers on the filters and impurity line emission, modify the response and are incorporated into the response calculation. Overall, the results indicate that the various random and systematic effects must be properly accounted for to achieve two-filter Te measurements in the sub-100 eV regime.

Correction and removal of expression of concern for 'A hysteresis-free perovskite transistor with exceptional stability through molecular cross-linking and amine-based surface passivation' by Hyeong Pil Kim et al., Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 7641-7650, https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NR10745B.