Space Industry in China: Stages of Development, Current State, Problems and Prospects

The article analyzes the development of China’s space industry from its inception to the present. It is shown that the PRC has consistently implemented a policy of development of this strategic industry and has made tremendous progress in this area to date. Having gone through a number of stages, first with the help of external support (the USSR), then relying mainly on its own forces, China has made a breakthrough in space and today represents one of the world’s largest space powers. At the same time, the problems that persist in the industry need to be solved.

Flexible and Stretchable Memristive Arrays for in-Memory Computing

With the tremendous progress of Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the demand for flexible and stretchable electronic systems is rapidly increasing. As the vital component of a system, existing computing units are usually rigid and brittle, which are incompatible with flexible and stretchable electronics. Emerging memristive devices with flexibility and stretchability as well as direct processing-in-memory ability are promising candidates to perform data computing in flexible and stretchable electronics. To execute the in-memory computing paradigm including digital and analogue computing, the array configuration of memristive devices is usually required. Herein, the recent progress on flexible and stretchable memristive arrays for in-memory computing is reviewed. The common materials used for flexible memristive arrays, including inorganic, organic and two-dimensional (2D) materials, will be highlighted, and effective strategies used for stretchable memristive arrays, including material innovation and structural design, will be discussed in detail. The current challenges and future perspectives of the in-memory computing utilizing flexible and stretchable memristive arrays are presented. These efforts aim to accelerate the development of flexible and stretchable memristive arrays for data computing in advanced intelligent systems, such as electronic skin, soft robotics, and wearable devices.

Recent Advances in Green-Solvent-Processable Organic Photovoltaics

Over the last four years, tremendous progress has occurred in the field of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and the champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) under AM1.5G conditions, as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is currently 18.2%. However, these champion state-of-the-art devices were fabricated at lab-scale using highly toxic halogenated solvents which are harmful to human health and to the environment. The transition of OPVs from the lab to large-scale production and commercialization requires the transition from halogenated-solvent-processing to green-solvent-processing without compromising the device’s performance. This review focuses on the most recent research efforts, performed since the year 2018 onwards, in the development of green-solvent-processable OPVs and discusses the three main strategies that are being pursued to achieve the proposed goal, namely, (i) molecular engineering of novel donors and acceptors, (ii) solvent selection, and (iii) nanoparticle ink technology.

Quantum dynamics research in India: a perspective

Comprehending out-of-equilibrium properties of quantum many-body systems is still an emergent area of recent research. The upsurge in this area is motivated by tremendous progress in experimental studies, the key platforms being ultracold atoms and trapped ion systems. There has been a significant contribution from India to this vibrant field. This special issue which includes both review articles and original research papers highlights some of these contributions.

Phosphorus Acquisition and Utilization in Plants

Tremendous progress has been made on molecular aspects of plant phosphorus (P) nutrition, often without heeding information provided by soil scientists, ecophysiologists, and crop physiologists. This review suggests ways to integrate information from different disciplines. When soil P availability is very low, P-mobilizing strategies are more effective than mycorrhizal strategies. Soil parameters largely determine how much P roots can acquire from P-impoverished soil, and kinetic properties of P transporters are less important. Changes in the expression of P transporters avoid P toxicity. Plants vary widely in photosynthetic P-use efficiency, photosynthesis per unit leaf P. The challenge is to discover what the trade-offs are of different patterns of investment in P fractions. Less investment may save P, but are costs incurred? Are these costs acceptable for crops? These questions can be resolved only by the concerted action of scientists working at both molecular and physiological levels, rather than pursuing these problems independently. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 73 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness Using Optical Coherent Tomography: A Review

The choroid is the main source of blood and nourishment supply to the eye. The dysfunction of the choroid has been implicated in various retinal and choroidal diseases. The identification and in-depth understanding of pachychoroid spectrum disorders are based on the tremendous progress of optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology in recent years, although visibility of choroid is challenging in the era of the time or spectral domain OCT. The recent rapid revolution of OCTs, such as the enhanced depth imaging OCT and the swept-source OCT, has greatly contributed to the significant improvement in the analysis of the morphology and physiology of the choroid precisely, especially to the choroid–scleral boundary and vasculature. The present review highlights the recently available evidence on the measurement methodology and the clinical significance of choroidal thickness in retinal or choroidal disorders.

Patient-Specific Tumor Microenvironment Models

The heterogeneity of cancer makes it difficult to predict the prognosis of treatment. There is still a lack of preclinical model systems that reflect the clinical characteristics of patients who have heterogenetic tumors. Advances in 3-dimentional (3D) cell culture are leading to discoveries that occur in the development and progression of cancer that has not been known. There are many models including patient-derived xenograft, patient-derived organoid and spheroid, patient-derived explant, scaffold-based model, and system-based model. Each 3D model has its strengths and limitations. One model cannot answer every question, so it seems most reasonable to approach multiple models when studying cancer heterogeneity. Hopefully, 3D tumor modeling will make tremendous progress on this path by fusion of innovative biomaterials and advanced modeling techniques that can partially mimic the heterogeneous environment of real tumors.

Anomeric stereoauxiliary strategy enables efficient synthesis of wide-ranging imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines

Imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines are one of the most important groups of N-heterocyclic compounds, with wide applications in pharmaceutics, chemical science and material science. Despite tremendous progress in their synthesis over the past decade, a number of important imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines as intermediate products remain inaccessible, such as 1-alkylimidazo[1,5-α]pyridines. Herein, we report a novel anomeric stereoauxiliary approach for the preparation of this important class of compounds. It strongly expands the scope of readily accessible imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines well beyond the existing state-of-the-art methods. More than 80 products with a substantial number of deemed unattainable ones were synthesized. With the first time accessibility to alkyl(pyridine-2-yl)methanone substrates, a group of important deuterated imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines derivatives were also efficiently achieved. The mechanism containing a key seven-membered ring transition state via α-anomeric stereoauxiliary for this new synthetic pathway is provided in great detail and supported by electronic structure calculations. In total, this novel synthetic approach for a broad range of imidazo[1,5-α]pyridines involving the native stereochemistry will open a new window for research endeavors in diverse fields, encompassing organic synthesis, biomass conversion via cleavage of C-N bonds and medicinal chemistry.

Synergistic Anticancer Effect of Glycolysis and Histone Deacetylases Inhibitors in a Glioblastoma Model

Over the last decade, we have seen tremendous progress in research on 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and its analogs. Clinical trials of 2-DG have demonstrated the challenges of using 2-DG as a monotherapy, due to its poor drug-like characteristics, leading researchers to focus on improving its bioavailability to tissue and organs. Novel 2-DG analogs such as WP1122 and others have revived the old concept of glycolysis inhibition as an effective anticancer strategy. Combined with other potent cytotoxic agents, inhibitors of glycolysis could synergistically eliminate cancer cells. We focused our efforts on the development of new combinations of anticancer agents coupled with 2-DG and its derivatives, targeting glioblastoma, which is in desperate need of novel approaches and therapeutic options and is particularly suited to glycolysis inhibition, due to its reliance on aerobic glycolysis. Herein, we present evidence that a combined treatment of 2-DG analogs and modulation of histone deacetylases (HDAC) activity via HDAC inhibitors (sodium butyrate and sodium valproate) exerts synergistic cytotoxic effects in glioblastoma U-87 and U-251 cells and represents a promising therapeutic strategy.

Ferroptosis: A Double-Edged Sword in Gastrointestinal Disease

Ferroptosis is a novel form of regulated cell death (RCD) that is typically accompanied by iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. In contrast to apoptosis, autophagy, and necroptosis, ferroptosis has unique biological processes and pathophysiological characteristics. Since it was first proposed in 2012, ferroptosis has attracted attention worldwide. Ferroptosis is involved in the progression of multiple diseases and could be a novel therapeutic target in the future. Recently, tremendous progress has been made regarding ferroptosis and gastrointestinal diseases, including intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastric cancer (GC), and colorectal cancer (CRC). In this review, we summarize the recent progress on ferroptosis and its interaction with gastrointestinal diseases. Understanding the role of ferroptosis in gastrointestinal disease pathogenesis could provide novel therapeutic targets for clinical treatment.