Despite the fast boom of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters bearing borane-based acceptor, so far, no TADF emitter with a direct B–N linkage between N-donor and boryl acceptor ...has been reported. The latter should simplify the molecular architecture and hence facilitate the synthetic design and versatility. We report here the preparation and characterization of a new series of N-borylated compounds with functional acridine donor unit; namely: ACBM, PACBM, and SACBM. Spectroscopic studies were performed to explore their photophysical properties that exhibited prominent solvatochromism and thermally activated delayed fluorescence. The time-dependent DFT calculation indicated the involvement of substantial intramolecular charge transfer character for which HOMO and LUMO are spatially separated. For compound SACBM, fabrication of green emitting OLED gave CIE chromaticity of (0.22, 0.59) and maximum external quantum efficiency, luminance efficiency and power efficiency of 19.1%, 60.9 cd/A, and 43.6 lm/W, respectively, demonstrating for the first time the highly efficient OLEDs using N-borylated TADF emitters.
We report a patient with systemic sclerosis who was diagnosed with advanced-stage mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lungs. The clinical presentation, imaging findings, pathological results, and ...molecular diagnoses are presented. A 64-year-old woman with systemic sclerosis was administered prednisolone and hydroxychloroquine sulfate to control her disease. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) revealed an interstitial pattern in both lungs during annual imaging. Connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) was diagnosed using blood tests, pulmonary function tests, and imaging findings. One year later, the patient underwent follow-up chest HRCT, which showed progressive lung disease. The patient underwent endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial lung cryobiopsy and computed tomography-guided biopsy for a pathological diagnosis. The pathology reports of bilateral lungs disclosed mucinous adenocarcinoma. After tumor staging and mutation testing, the patient received chemotherapy with pemetrexed and cisplatin. The bilateral lung lesions subsided after four cycles of first-line chemotherapy. Patients with CTD and lung involvement may be diagnosed with CTD-ILD. Although histopathological results are not mandatory for ILD diagnosis, EBUS-guided transbronchial lung biopsy or lung cryobiopsy should be considered when ILD has atypical or unexplained features.
In recent years, perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have become a promising candidate for developing next-generation displays due to their narrow emission width, tunable band gap, and near-unity ...photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). However, the major challenges of PQDs are their poor stability under oxygen-rich, high moisture, and continuous light irradiation conditions. Previously, we applied surface-functionalized cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to replace traditional ligands and successfully synthesized PQD/CNC films to improve the stability of PQDs. However, the PLQY of the PQDs/CNCs films is limited by the large crystals formed during the synthesis process. In this study, we incorporate phenethylammonium halide (PEAX, where X = Cl, Br, and I) during the synthesis process to form quasi-2D perovskite quantum well structures. The phenethylammonium halide provides a halide-rich environment and a more significant quantum confinement effect to PQDs in the CNC films. By combining the advantages of CNC and PEAX, stable light emission/conversion films with largely enhanced PLQY can be achieved. The PLQY of CsPbBr1.5Cl1.5, CsPbBr3, and CsPbBr0.5I2.5 films with PEAX passivation can be improved more than 8 (from 1.2 to 10%), 3 (from 22 to 69%), and 18 (from 3 to 55%) fold, respectively. Therefore, the synergistic approach of CNC and PEAX passivation for light emission/conversion films demonstrated herein holds the potential for developing full-color, stable, and high-performance displays in the future.
Positron emission tomography (PET) using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is useful for restaging renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and detecting metastatic diseases but is less satisfactory for detecting primary ...disease. We evaluated whether the integration of computed tomography (CT) scans with the PET system could increase the applicability of FDG-PET for RCC.
The MEDLINE databases were searched for relevant studies published since 2001. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of each study identified. We then performed a meta-analysis of the sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET findings as reported in all the selected studies.
Fourteen studies were eligible for inclusion. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET were 62% and 88% respectively, for renal lesions. For detecting extra-renal lesions, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET were 79% and 90%, respectively, based on the scans, and 84% and 91% based on the lesions. The use of a hybrid FDG-PET/CT to detect extra-renal lesions increased the pooled sensitivity and specificity to 91% and 88%, respectively, with good consistency.
For RCC, combining the FDG-PET and CT systems is helpful for detecting extra-renal metastasis rather than renal lesions. The hybrid PET/CT system has comparable sensitivity and specificity with PET in detecting extra-renal lesions of RCC.
The FDG-PET and PET/CT systems are both useful for detecting extra-renal metastasis in renal cell carcinoma.
A dynamic data correction method embedded in the process of data acquisition improves spectral quality. The method minimizes the impact of random errors in spectroscopic measurements by correcting ...peak positions in every single-scan spectrum. The method is fast enough to facilitate online data correction. The integration of corrected spectra improves resolving power and signal-to-noise ratio. The correction method can apply to most analytical spectra. In mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy, observations show that it improved the average resolving power by roughly 40–150% and revealed unresolved spectral features.
Abstract
Microcephalin 1 (MCPH1) was identified from genetic mutations in patients with primary autosomal recessive microcephaly. In response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), MCPH1 forms ...damage-induced foci and recruits BRCA2–RAD51 complex, a key component of the DSB repair machinery for homologous recombination (HR), to damage sites. Accordingly, the efficiency of HR is significantly attenuated upon depletion of MCPH1. The biochemical characteristics of MCPH1 and its functional interaction with the HR machinery had remained unclear due to lack of highly purified MCPH1 recombinant protein for functional study. Here, we established a mammalian expression system to express and purify MCPH1 protein. We show that MCPH1 is a bona fide DNA-binding protein and provide direct biochemical analysis of this MCPH family protein. Furthermore, we reveal that MCPH1 directly interacts with RAD51 at multiple contact points, providing evidence for how MCPH1 physically engages with the HR machinery. Importantly, we demonstrate that MCPH1 enhances the stability of RAD51 on single-strand DNA, a prerequisite step for RAD51-mediated recombination. Single-molecule tethered particle motion analysis showed a ∼2-fold increase in the lifetime of RAD51–ssDNA filaments in the presence of MCPH1. Thus, our study demonstrates direct crosstalk between microcephaly protein MCPH1 and the recombination component RAD51 for DSB repair.
There are over 2 million newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer worldwide with more than 10,000 cases in Taiwan each year. During 2017-2018, the National Yang-Ming University, the Taiwan ...University of Science and Technology, and the Taiwan Breast Cancer Prevention Foundation collaborated to develop a breast cancer self-management support (BCSMS) mHealth app for Taiwanese women with breast cancer.
The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life (QoL) of women with breast cancer in Taiwan after using the BCSMS app.
After receiving a first diagnosis of breast cancer, women with stage 0 to III breast cancer, who were recruited from social networking sites or referred by their oncologists or oncology case managers, were randomized 1:1 into intervention and control groups. Intervention group subjects used the BCSMS app and the control group subjects received usual care. Two questionnaires-the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and the EORTC Breast Cancer-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (QLQ-BR23)-were distributed to subjects in both arms. Paper-based questionnaires were used at baseline; paper-based or Web-based questionnaires were used at 1.5-month and 3-month follow-up evaluations. All evaluations were self-assessed and anonymous, and participants were blinded to their allocation groups. Descriptive analysis, the Pearson chi-square test, analysis of variance, and the generalized estimating equation were used to analyze the data. Missing values, with and without multi-imputation techniques, were used for sensitivity analysis.
A total of 112 women were enrolled and randomly allocated to either the experimental group (n=53) or control group (n=59). The follow-up completion rate was 89.3% (100/112). The demographic data showed homogeneity between the two groups in age (range 50-64 years), breast cancer stage (stage II), marital status (married), working status (employed), and treatment status (receiving treatments). The mean total QoL summary scores from the QLQ-C30 (83.45 vs 82.23, P=.03) and the QLQ-BR23 (65.53 vs 63.13, P=.04) were significantly higher among the experimental group versus the control group, respectively, at 3 months.
This research provides support for using a mobile health care app to promote the QoL among women in Taiwan after a first diagnosis of breast cancer. The BCSMS app could be used to support disease self-management, and further evaluation of whether QoL is sustained is warranted.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT004174248; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04174248.
Two new donor–acceptor conjugated polymers, i.e. PB(C 12 DTP)V-DTDPP-C 12 and PB(C 12 DTP)V-DTDPP-C 12 C 8 , were prepared by the Stille coupling of ( E )-1,2-bis(4-dodecyl-6-(trimethylstannyl)-4 H ...-dithieno3,2- b :2′,3′- d pyrrol-2-yl)ethene (Sn-B(C 12 DTP)V) with 3,6-bis(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-2,5-didodecylpyrrolo3,4- c pyrrole-1,4-dione (Br-DTDPP-C 12 ) and 3,6-bis(5-bromo-thiophen-2-yl)-2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)pyrrolo3,4- c pyrrole-1,4-dione (Br-DTDPP-C 8 C 12 ), respectively. The molecular weight and thermal properties of the obtained polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). Their optical and electrochemical properties were analyzed by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The morphological and molecular-packing features of the polymers were characterized by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV polarization spectroscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) to determine the relationship between the structural morphology and the performance. PB(C 12 DTP)V-DTDPP-C 12 C 8 with branched C 12 C 8 side chains on DPP units shows much higher hole mobility (1.2 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ) than 0.69 cm 2 V −1 s −1 of PB(C 12 DTP)V-DTDPP-C 12 .
To investigate the seepage characteristics of dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in rock fractures, two types of NAPLs (paint and creosote) were used in triaxial permeability tests conducted on ...single-fracture samples. The hydraulic conductivity of rock fractures with different apertures, confining pressures, and fluid properties was measured, and the influence of various physical factors on transmissivity was explored. The results demonstrated the following: (1) Fracture aperture and fluid viscosity are the main factors influencing transmissivity; (2) The widely used cubic law fails to effectively predict the transmissivity of high-viscosity liquids in a fracture, and the influence of liquid viscosity is considerably higher than that predicted by the cubic law; and (3) This study proposed a transmissivity prediction model of DNAPLs in a rock fracture based on multivariate regression analysis. The proposed model provides more accurate prediction results than those predicted by the cubic law, and is applicable to fracture apertures ranging from 5 × 10−4 to 2.5 × 10−3 m as well as to every kind of fluid used in this study.
To evaluate whether a shorter length (20 cm) of C-UCM has potential benefits, compared to immediate cord clamping (ICC), in very preterm babies.
Inborn preterm infants less than 30 weeks of ...gestational age (GA) were randomly assigned to the 20-cm C-UMC and ICC groups. The primary outcome was the need for packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusion before the 21st day of life. The secondary outcomes were short- and long-term outcomes related to premature birth.
Seventy-six neonates were randomized to the two groups. GA were 27.2 ± 1.8 and 27.5 ± 1.7 weeks (p = 0.389) and birth weights were 987 ± 269 and 1023 ± 313 g (p = 0.601) in the 20-cm C-UCM and ICC groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the need for pRBC transfusion before the 21st day of life (59.4% versus 71.8%, adjusted odds ratio aOR 0.311, 95% confidence interval CI 0.090–1.079). An increased prevalence of late-onset sepsis was observed in the 20-cm C-UCM group compared to the ICC group (21.6% versus 5.1%, aOR 5.434, 95% CI 1.033–23.580). The mortality rates were 13.5% and 2.6% in the 20-cm C-UCM and ICC groups, respectively (aOR 5.339, 95% CI 0.563–50.626). The neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of corrected age between the groups were also not statistically significant.
A 20-cm C-UCM showed no effect on reducing the incidence of pRBC transfusion in preterm babies with GA less than 30 weeks compared with ICC in this small-scale randomized controlled trial.
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