The structural characteristics of natural species have been optimized by natural selection for millions of years. They offer specific functions much more effectively than artificial approaches. Morphology genetic materials utilize morphologies gleaned from natural selection into their hierarchical structures. The combination of natural morphologies and manually selected functional materials makes these novel materials suitable for many applications. This review focuses on the strategies by which the structures and functions of natural species can be utilized. Specific functions inherited from both the natural microstructures and coupled functional materials are highlighted with regard to various applications, including photonics, light-harvesting, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and electrodes for supercapacitors and batteries, as well as environmentally friendly materials.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of disability and anxiety in Covid-19 survivors at discharge from hospital and analyze relative risk by exposures. Design Multi-center retrospective cohort study. Setting Twenty-eight hospitals located in eight provinces of China. Methods A total of 432 survivors with laboratory-confirmed SARS CoV-2 infection participated in this study. At discharge, we assessed instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) with Lawton’s IADL scale, dependence in activities of daily living (ADL) with the Barthel Index, and anxiety with Zung’s self-reported anxiety scale. Exposures included comorbidity, smoking, setting (Hubei vs. others), disease severity, symptoms, and length of hospital stay. Other risk factors considered were age, gender, and ethnicity (Han vs. Tibetan). Results Prevalence of at least one IADL problem was 36.81% (95% CI: 32.39–41.46). ADL dependence was present in 16.44% (95% CI: 13.23–20.23) and 28.70% (95% CI: 24.63–33.15) were screened positive for clinical anxiety. Adjusted risk ratio (RR) of IADL limitations (RR 2.48, 95% CI: 1.80–3.40), ADL dependence (RR 2.07, 95% CI 1.15–3.76), and probable clinical anxiety (RR 2.53, 95% CI 1.69–3.79) were consistently elevated in survivors with severe Covid-19. Age was an additional independent risk factor for IADL limitations and ADL dependence; and setting (Hubei) for IADL limitations and anxiety. Tibetan ethnicity was a protective factor for anxiety but a risk factor for IADL limitations. Conclusion A significant proportion of Covid-19 survivors had disability and anxiety at discharge from hospital. Health systems need to be prepared for an additional burden resulting from rehabilitation needs of Covid-19 survivors.

Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) is considered to be a universal antioxidant. The intestine is very sensitive to a wide range of stressors for it exposed in a complex microenvironment that usually contained excess free radicals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pre-protective effect of LA on intestinal epithelial cell injury induced by H2O2. In this research, IPEC-J2 cells were divided into three groups: the control group, the H2O2-treated group, and the LA pre-protective group. Cell viability, intracellular ROS, DNA damage integrity, and antioxidant enzyme activity of all groups were measured. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR was used to determine the influence of oxidative stress and LA on the GH/IGF-1 axis in IPEC-J2 cells. The research selected 1 mM H2O2 and 10 μg/ml as modeling concentration. The data indicated that H2O2 can significantly increase the intracellular free radicals, leading to serious DNA damage and significantly reduce superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and lipase activity. LA-protected IPEC-J2 cells against H2O2-induced injury by scavenging hydroxyl radical. In the current study, LA pre-protective group share a lower intracellular ROS and lower DNA damage compare to H2O2-treated group (P < 0.01); and also, a higher lipase activity were detected in LA pre-protective group compare to H2O2-treated group (P < 0.05). But the mechanism between oxidative stress, LA effect, and GH/IGF-1 axis is still unknown. The model used in the current study is also suitable for other feed additive screening.

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We examined the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL6) gene knockout in preserving the bone loss induced by ovariectomy (OVX) and the mechanisms involved in bone metabolism. Twenty female wild-type (WT), -knockout (TNFα) or knockout (IL6) mice aged 12 weeks were sham-operated (SHAM) or subjected to OVX and killed after 4 weeks. Bone mass and skeletal microarchitecture were determined using micro-CT. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from all three groups (WT, TNFα and IL6) were induced to differentiate into osteoblasts or osteoclasts and treated with 17-β-estradiol. Bone metabolism was assessed by histological analysis, serum analyses and qRT-PCR. OVX successfully induced a high turnover in all mice, but a repair effect was observed in TNFα and IL6 mice. The ratio of femoral trabecular bone volume to tissue volume, trabecular number and trabecular thickness were significantly decreased in WT mice subjected to OVX, but increased in TNFα mice (1.62, 1.34, 0.27-fold respectively; < 0.01) and IL6 mice (1.34, 0.80, 0.22-fold respectively; < 0.01). Furthermore, we observed a 29.6% increase in the trabecular number in TNFα mice when compared to the IL6 mice. Both, TNFα and IL6 BMSCs exhibited decreased numbers of TRAP-positive cells and an increase in ALP-positive cells, with or without E2 treatment ( < 0.05). While the knockout of or significantly upregulated mRNA expressions of osteoblast-related genes ( and ) and downregulated osteoclast-related mRNA for, and and , knockout appeared to have roles beyond knockout in upregulating mRNA expression and downregulating mRNA expressions of WNT-related genes ( and ) and TNF-related activation-induced genes (). TNFα seemed to be more potentially invasive in inhibiting bone formation and enhancing TRAF6-mediated osteoclastogenesis than IL6, implying that the regulatory mechanisms of TNFα and IL6 in bone metabolism may be different.