A spiro‐axis skeleton not only introduces circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) into thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules but also enhances the intramolecular through space ...charge transfer (TSCT) process. Spiral distributed phenoxazine and 2‐(trifluoromethyl)‐9H‐thioxanthen‐9‐one‐10,10‐dioxide act as donor and acceptor units, respectively. The resulting TADF enantiomers, (rac)‐OSFSO, display emission maxima at 470 nm, small singlet‐triplet energy gap (ΔEST) of 0.022 eV and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 81.2 % in co‐doped film. The circularly polarized OLEDs (CP‐OLEDs) based on (R)‐OSFSO and (S)‐OSFSO display obvious circularly polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) signals with dissymmetry factor up to 3.0×10−3 and maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 20.0 %. Moreover, the devices show remarkably low efficiency roll‐off with an EQE of 19.3 % at 1000 cd m−2 (roll‐off ca. 3.5 %), which are among the top results of CP‐OLEDs.
A chiral spiro‐axis skeleton introduced the circularly polarized luminescence property into TADF molecules and enhanced the intramolecular through space charge transfer process. The resulting TADF enantiomers display obvious CPEL signals with |gEL| factor up to 3.0×10−3 and EQE of 20.0 % with remarkably low efficiency roll‐off, which are among the top results of CP‐OLEDs.
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The substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technique makes it possible that a complete circuit including planar circuitry, transitions, and rectangular waveguides are fabricated in planar form using a ...standard printed circuit board or other planar processing techniques. In this paper, guided wave and modes characteristics of such an SIW periodic structure are studied in detail for the first time. A numerical multimode calibration procedure is proposed and developed with a commercial software package on the basis of a full-wave finite-element method for the accurate extraction of complex propagation constants of the SIW structure. Two different lengths of the SIW are numerically simulated under multimode excitation. By means of our proposed technique, the complex propagation constant of each SIW mode can accurately be extracted and the electromagnetic bandstop phenomena of periodic structures are also investigated. Experiments are made to validate our proposed technique. Simple design rules are provided and discussed.
Although antipsychotic drugs are mainly used for treating schizophrenia, they are widely used for treating various psychiatric diseases in adults, the elderly, adolescents and even children. Today, ...about 1.2% of the worldwide population suffers from psychosis and related disorders, which translates to about 7.5 million subjects potentially targeted by antipsychotic drugs. Neurites project from the cell body of neurons and connect neurons to each other to form neural networks. Deficits in neurite outgrowth and integrity are implicated in psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. Neurite deficits contribute to altered brain development, neural networking and connectivity as well as symptoms including psychosis and altered cognitive function. This review revealed that (1) antipsychotic drugs could have profound effects on neurites, synaptic spines and synapse, by which they may influence and regulate neural networking and plasticity; (2) antipsychotic drugs target not only neurotransmitter receptors but also intracellular signaling molecules regulating the signaling pathways responsible for neurite outgrowth and maintenance; (3) high doses and chronic administration of antipsychotic drugs may cause some loss of neurites, synaptic spines, or synapsis in the cortical structures. In addition, confounding effects causing neurite deficits may include elevated inflammatory cytokines and antipsychotic drug‐induced metabolic side effects in patients on chronic antipsychotic therapy. Unraveling how antipsychotic drugs affect neurites and neural connectivity is essential for improving therapeutic outcomes and preventing aversive effects for patients on antipsychotic drug treatment.
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14.
Osteoclasts: New Insights Feng, Xu; Teitelbaum, Steven L
Bone research,
03/2013, Volume:
1, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Osteoclasts, the bone-resorbing cells, play a pivotal role in skeletal development and adult bone remodeling. They also participate in the pathogenesis of various bone disorders. Osteoclasts ...differentiate from cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage upon stimulation of two essential factors, the monocyte/ macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activation of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). M-CSF binds to its receptor c-Fms to activate distinct signaling pathways to stimulate the proliferation and survival of osteoclast precursors and the mature cell. RANKL, however, is the primary osteoclast differentiation factor, and promotes osteoclast differentiation mainly through controlling gene expression by activating its receptor, RANK. Osteoclast function depends on polarization of the cell, induced by integrin avβ3, to form the resorptive machinery characterized by the attachment to the bone matrix and the formation of the bone-apposed ruffled border. Recent studies have provided new insights into the mechanism of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. In particular, c-Fms and RANK signaling have been shown to regulate bone resorption by cross-talking with those activated by integrin avβ3. This review discusses new advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of osteoclast differentiation and function.
Memory formation and consolidation necessitate gene expression and new protein synthesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a family of small noncoding RNAs that inhibit target gene mRNA expression, are involved ...in new memory formation. In this study, elevated miR-126a-3p (miR-126) levels were found to contribute to the consolidation of contextual fear memory. Using different commonly mined algorithms and luciferase reporter assay, we found two Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related proteins, namely EFHD2 and BACE1, but not ADAM9, were the targets downregulated by miR-126 after CFC training. Moreover, we indicated that upregulated miR-126 could promote the formation of contextual fear memory by modulating its target EFHD2. Finally, we demonstrated that miR-126 overexpression in dentate gyrus of hippocampus could reduce Aβ plaque area and neuroinflammation, as well as rescue the hippocampal memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice. This study adds to the growing body of evidence for the role of miRNAs in memory formation and demonstrates the implication of EFHD2 protein regulated by miR-126 in the adult brain.
Immune checkpoint therapy in liver cancer Xu, Feng; Jin, Tianqiang; Zhu, Yuwen ...
Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research,
05/2018, Volume:
37, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Immune checkpoints include stimulatory and inhibitory checkpoint molecules. In recent years, inhibitory checkpoints, including cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell ...death protein-1 (PD-1), and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), have been identified to suppress anti-tumor immune responses in solid tumors. Novel drugs targeting immune checkpoints have succeeded in cancer treatment. Specific PD-1 blockades were approved for treatment of melanoma in 2014 and for treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer in 2015 in the United States, European Union, and Japan. Preclinical and clinical studies show immune checkpoint therapy provides survival benefit for greater numbers of patients with liver cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, two main primary liver cancers. The combination of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 with anti-CTLA-4 antibodies is being evaluated in phase 1, 2 or 3 trials, and the results suggest that an anti-PD-1 antibody combined with locoregional therapy or other molecular targeted agents is an effective treatment strategy for HCC. In addition, studies on activating co-stimulatory receptors to enhance anti-tumor immune responses have increased our understanding regarding this immunotherapy in liver cancer. Epigenetic modulations of checkpoints for improving the tumor microenvironment also expand our knowledge of potential therapeutic targets in improving the tumor microenvironment and restoring immune recognition and immunogenicity. In this review, we summarize current knowledge and recent developments in immune checkpoint-based therapies for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma and attempt to clarify the mechanisms underlying its effects.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The topic of gut microbiota is currently attracting considerable interest as a potential factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the extent and time course of alterations in the gut microbiota, ...and their effects on AD pathology remain uncertain. Herein, we compared the fecal microbiomes and fecal short chain fatty acid composition (SCFAs) between wild-type and AD model mice at different ages under strictly controlled specific pathogen free conditions, and also conducted microscopic investigations of intestinal structures. Our results showed that the microbiota composition and diversity were perturbed and the level of SCFAs was reduced in AD mice, predicting alterations in more than 30 metabolic pathways, which may be associated with amyloid deposition and ultrastructural abnormalities in AD mouse intestine. These findings indicate that AD pathology might not only affect brain function directly, but also exacerbate cognitive deficits through reducing the level of SCFAs via alterations of gut microbiota induced by intestinal amyloid deposition. Our data may support a role of gut microbiota, and suggest a novel route for therapeutic intervention in AD.
Pure organic materials with intrinsic room‐temperature phosphorescence typically rely on heavy atoms or heteroatoms. Two different strategies towards constructing organic room‐temperature ...phosphorescence (RTP) species based upon the through‐space charge transfer (TSCT) unit of 2.2paracyclophane (PCP) were demonstrated. Materials with bromine atoms, PCP‐BrCz and PPCP‐BrCz, exhibit RTP lifetime of around 100 ms. Modulating the PCP core with non‐halogen‐containing electron‐withdrawing units, PCP‐TNTCz and PCP‐PyCNCz, successfully elongate the RTP lifetime to 313.59 and 528.00 ms, respectively, the afterglow of which is visible for several seconds under ambient conditions. The PCP‐TNTCz and PCP‐PyCNCz enantiomers display excellent circular polarized luminescence with dissymmetry factors as high as −1.2×10−2 in toluene solutions, and decent RTP lifetime of around 300 ms for PCP‐TNTCz enantiomers in crystalline state.
A series of organic phosphors based on paracyclophanes (PCPs) exhibit both strong room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and excellent circularly polarized luminescence. Modulating the PCP core with non‐halogen‐containing electron‐withdrawing units elongates the RTP lifetime to 313.59 and 528.00 ms. The afterglow is visible for several seconds under ambient conditions.
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"Western" style dietary patterns are characterized by a high proportion of highly processed foods rich in fat and low in fiber. This diet pattern is associated with a myriad of metabolic ...dysfunctions, including neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. β-glucan, the major soluble fiber in oat and barley grains, is fermented in the lower gastrointestinal tract, potentially impacting the microbial ecosystem and thus may improve elements of cognition and brain function via the gut-brain axis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of β-glucan on the microbiota gut-brain axis and cognitive function in an obese mouse model induced by a high-fat and fiber-deficient diet (HFFD).
After long-term supplementation for 15 weeks, β-glucan prevented HFFD-induced cognitive impairment assessed behaviorally by object location, novel object recognition, and nesting building tests. In the hippocampus, β-glucan countered the HFFD-induced microglia activation and its engulfment of synaptic puncta, and upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) mRNA expression. Also, in the hippocampus, β-glucan significantly promoted PTP1B-IRS-pAKT-pGSK3β-pTau signaling for synaptogenesis, improved the synaptic ultrastructure examined by transmission electron microscopy, and increased both pre- and postsynaptic protein levels compared to the HFFD-treated group. In the colon, β-glucan reversed HFFD-induced gut barrier dysfunction increased the thickness of colonic mucus (Alcian blue and mucin-2 glycoprotein immunofluorescence staining), increased the levels of tight junction proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1, and attenuated bacterial endotoxin translocation. The HFFD resulted in microbiota alteration, effects abrogated by long-term β-glucan supplementation, with the β-glucan effects on Bacteroidetes and its lower taxa particularly striking. Importantly, the study of short-term β-glucan supplementation for 7 days demonstrated pronounced, rapid differentiating microbiota changes before the cognitive improvement, suggesting the possible causality of gut microbiota profile on cognition. In support, broad-spectrum antibiotic intervention abrogated β-glucan's effects on improving cognition, highlighting the role of gut microbiota to mediate cognitive behavior.
This study provides the first evidence that β-glucan improves indices of cognition and brain function with major beneficial effects all along the gut microbiota-brain axis. Our data suggest that elevating consumption of β-glucan-rich foods is an easily implementable nutritional strategy to alleviate detrimental features of gut-brain dysregulation and prevent neurodegenerative diseases associated with Westernized dietary patterns. Video Abstract.
Isoselenazolone derivatives have attracted significant research interest because of their potent therapeutic activities and indispensable applications in organic synthesis. Efficient construction of ...functionalized isoselenazolone scaffolds is still challenging, and thus new synthetic approaches with improved operational simplicity have been of particular interest. In this manuscript, we introduce a rhodium‐catalyzed direct selenium annulation by using stable and tractable elemental selenium. A series of benzamides as well as acrylamides were successfully coupled with selenium under mild reaction conditions, and the obtained isoselenazolones could be pivotal synthetic precursors for several organoselenium compounds. Based on the designed control experiments and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy measurements, we propose an unprecedented selenation mechanism involving a highly electrophilic Se(IV) species as the reactive selenium donor. The reaction mechanism was further verified by a computational study.
A Rh(III)‐catalyzed direct selenium annulation by using stable and tractable elemental selenium is developed. A series of benzamides as well as acrylamides were successfully coupled with selenium under mild reaction conditions to give isoselenazolone derivatives. An unprecedented selenation mechanism involving an electrophilic Se(IV) species as the reactive selenium donor is proposed based on the designed control experiments, X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, and computational study.
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