Although transparent radiative cooling is a passive cooling strategy with practical applications and aesthetic appeal, complex manufacturing processes and the use of environmentally unfriendly ...thermal emitters remain latent problems. Herein, eco‐friendly transparent silk radiative cooling (TSRC) films are developed, regenerated from natural silkworm cocoons, for zero‐energy‐consumption thermal management of optoelectronic devices. These TSRC films can dissipate heat radiatively through molecular vibrations of the protein backbone and side chains, while retaining the function and appearance of the associated devices, due to their high visible transparency. Theoretical and experimental investigations revealed that the thermal emission increases rapidly upon increasing the film thickness, but slowly thereafter achieves saturation; nevertheless, the intrinsic solar absorption of silk in the ultraviolet and near‐infrared regions also grows linearly, unavoidably weakening the cooling effect. After spectroscopic optimization, the maximum cooling power during the daytime and nighttime is improved to 77.6 and 101.7 W m−2, respectively. Gratifyingly, the films have a remarkable effect on the cooling performance of electronic devices under sunlight. For example, the TSRC film provides a temperature drop of 5.1 °C for a smartphone during multitasking and charging, and 14 °C for a silicon solar panel with an improvement in the photoelectronic conversion efficiency (≈7%).
Transparent silk radiative cooling films can reduce the temperature of a silicon solar panel and a smartphone by 14 and 5.1 °C, respectively, even under direct sunlight, without compromising the function and appearance of the devices. This makes the transparent silk radiative cooling film an eco‐friendly and efficient solution for the thermal management of optoelectronic devices.
Current understanding of amyloid-β (Aβ) metabolism and toxicity provides an extensive list of potential targets for developing drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease. We took two independent ...approaches, including synaptic-plasticity–based analysis and behavioral screening of synthetic compounds, for identifying single compounds that are capable of rescuing the Aβ-induced memory loss in both transgenic fruit fly and transgenic mouse models. Two clinically available drugs and three synthetic compounds not only showed positive effects in behavioral tests but also antagonized the Aβ oligomers-induced activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Such surprising converging outcomes from two parallel approaches lead us to conclude that EGFR is a preferred target for treating Aβ-induced memory loss.
The vines and leaves of
L. are used as herbal medicines to treat inflammation-related disorders. However, their safety profile remains uncharacterized, and the constituents in their extracts that ...exert anti-inflammatory and adverse effects remain unclear. This study isolated the characteristic cucurbitane-type triterpenoid species in the vines and leaves of
L. and analyzed their cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory effects, and underlying mechanisms. Four structurally related triterpenoids-momordicines I, II, IV, and (23E) 3β,7β,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23-dien-19-al (TCD)-were isolated from the triterpenoid-rich fractions of extracts from the vines and leaves of
. Momordicine I was cytotoxic on normal cells, momordicine II exerted milder cytotoxicity, and momordicine IV and TCD had no obvious adverse effects on cell growth. TCD had anti-inflammatory activity both in vivo and in vitro. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, TCD inhibited the inhibitor kappa B kinase/nuclear factor-κB pathway and enhanced the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, heme oxygenase-1, and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 and p38. Thus, the vines and leaves of
should be used with caution. An extraction protocol that can enrich TCD but remove momordicine I would likely enhance the safety of the extract.
Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association of statin exposure and incident diabetes, and subsequent outcomes in the general population. Background Cardiovascular events as consequences ...of atherosclerosis and diabetes are reduced by statins. However, statins are associated with excessive risk of diabetes occurrence according to clinical trial analyses. From daily-practice perspectives, it remains unclear whether statin use increases risk; prognoses of diabetes after exposure require further clarification. Methods From Taiwan National Health Insurance beneficiaries age ≥45 years (men) and ≥55 years (women) before 2004, subjects continuously treated with statins ≥30 days during 2000 to 2003 and nonusers before 2004 were identified. Among nondiabetic individuals at the cohort entry, controls were matched to statin users on a 4:1 ratio by age, sex, atherosclerotic comorbidities, and year of their entry. Outcomes as diabetes, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, the composite of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke), and in-hospital deaths were assessed. Results Over a median of 7.2 years, annual rates of diabetes were significantly higher in statin users (2.4% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.001), whereas MACE (hazard ratio HR: 0.82; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.68 to 0.98 for myocardial infarction; HR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.03 for ischemic stroke; HR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.84 to 0.99 for MACE) and in-hospital mortality (HR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.55 to 0.67) were less. The risk–benefit analyses suggested that statin treatment was favorable in high-risk (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.83 to 0.95) and secondary prevention (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.83 to 0.96) populations. Among diabetic patients, prior statin use was associated with fewer MACE (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.59 to 0.97). In-hospital deaths were similar in statin-related diabetes among high-risk (HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 0.83 to 1.49) and secondary prevention (HR: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.79 to 1.47) subjects compared with nondiabetic controls. Conclusions Risk of diabetes was increased after statins, but outcomes were favorable.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a global health concern and is typically diagnosed using in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG). However, PSG is highly time-consuming and labor-intensive. We, ...therefore, developed machine learning models based on easily accessed anthropometric features to screen for the risk of moderate to severe and severe OSA. We enrolled 3503 patients from Taiwan and determined their PSG parameters and anthropometric features. Subsequently, we compared the mean values among patients with different OSA severity and considered correlations among all participants. We developed models based on the following machine learning approaches: logistic regression, k-nearest neighbors, naïve Bayes, random forest (RF), support vector machine, and XGBoost. Collected data were first independently split into two data sets (training and validation: 80%; testing: 20%). Thereafter, we adopted the model with the highest accuracy in the training and validation stage to predict the testing set. We explored the importance of each feature in the OSA risk screening by calculating the Shapley values of each input variable. The RF model achieved the highest accuracy for moderate to severe (84.74%) and severe (72.61%) OSA. The level of visceral fat was found to be a predominant feature in the risk screening models of OSA with the aforementioned levels of severity. Our machine learning models can be employed to screen for OSA risk in the populations in Taiwan and in those with similar craniofacial structures.
► Gaze tends to move to semantically similar object to currently inspected one. ► Semantic guidance is unaffected by the time course of scene inspection. ► Gaze is progressively guided toward ...semantically similar object to the search target.
The perception of objects in our visual world is influenced by not only their low-level visual features such as shape and color, but also their high-level features such as meaning and semantic relations among them. While it has been shown that low-level features in real-world scenes guide eye movements during scene inspection and search, the influence of semantic similarity among scene objects on eye movements in such situations has not been investigated. Here we study guidance of eye movements by semantic similarity among objects during real-world scene inspection and search. By selecting scenes from the LabelMe object-annotated image database and applying latent semantic analysis (LSA) to the object labels, we generated semantic saliency maps of real-world scenes based on the semantic similarity of scene objects to the currently fixated object or the search target. An ROC analysis of these maps as predictors of subjects’ gaze transitions between objects during scene inspection revealed a preference for transitions to objects that were semantically similar to the currently inspected one. Furthermore, during the course of a scene search, subjects’ eye movements were progressively guided toward objects that were semantically similar to the search target. These findings demonstrate substantial semantic guidance of eye movements in real-world scenes and show its importance for understanding real-world attentional control.
Long-term memory (LTM) formation depends on the conversed cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)-dependent gene transcription followed by de novo protein synthesis. Thirsty fruit flies can be ...trained to associate an odor with water reward to form water-reward LTM (wLTM), which can last for over 24 hours without a significant decline. The role of de novo protein synthesis and CREB-regulated gene expression changes in neural circuits that contribute to wLTM remains unclear. Here, we show that acute inhibition of protein synthesis in the mushroom body (MB) alphabeta or gamma neurons during memory formation using a cold-sensitive ribosome-inactivating toxin disrupts wLTM. Furthermore, adult stage-specific expression of dCREB2b in alphabeta or gamma neurons also disrupts wLTM. The MB alphabeta and gamma neurons can be further classified into five different neuronal subsets including alphabeta core, alphabeta surface, alphabeta posterior, gamma main, and gamma dorsal. We observed that the neurotransmission from alphabeta surface and gamma dorsal neuron subsets is required for wLTM retrieval, whereas the alphabeta core, alphabeta posterior, and gamma main are dispensable. Adult stage-specific expression of dCREB2b in alphabeta surface and gamma dorsal neurons inhibits wLTM formation. In vivo calcium imaging revealed that alphabeta surface and gamma dorsal neurons form wLTM traces with different dynamic properties, and these memory traces are abolished by dCREB2b expression. Our results suggest that a small population of neurons within the MB circuits support long-term storage of water-reward memory in Drosophila.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Electrical synapses between neurons, also known as gap junctions, are direct cell membrane channels between adjacent neurons. Gap junctions play a role in the synchronization of neuronal network ...activity; however, their involvement in cognition has not been well characterized. Three-hour olfactory associative memory in Drosophila has two components: consolidated anesthesia-resistant memory (ARM) and labile anesthesia-sensitive memory (ASM). Here, we show that knockdown of the gap junction gene innexin5 (inx5) in mushroom body (MB) neurons disrupted ARM, while leaving ASM intact. Whole-mount brain immunohistochemistry indicated that INX5 protein was preferentially expressed in the somas, calyxes, and lobes regions of the MB neurons. Adult-stage-specific knockdown of inx5 in αβ neurons disrupted ARM, suggesting a specific requirement of INX5 in αβ neurons for ARM formation. Hyperpolarization of αβ neurons during memory retrieval by expressing an engineered halorhodopsin (eNpHR) also disrupted ARM. Administration of the gap junction blocker carbenoxolone (CBX) reduced the proportion of odor responsive αβ neurons to the training odor 3 hours after training. Finally, the α-branch-specific 3-hour ARM-specific memory trace was also diminished with CBX treatment and in inx5 knockdown flies. Altogether, our results suggest INX5 gap junction channels in αβ neurons for ARM retrieval and also provide a more detailed neuronal mechanism for consolidated memory in Drosophila.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Multiple intracellular signals are altered in Alzheimer's disease brain tissues, including the PI3K/Akt pathway. However, the pathological relevance of such alterations is poorly understood. In vitro ...studies yield results that seem to be consistent with the conventional perception in which an up-regulation of the cell survival pathway, PI3K pathway, is protective in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. The current in vivo genetic approach, however, reveals that inhibition of the PI3K pathway leads to rescuing of the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ)-induced memory loss in the Drosophila brain. We began our inquiry into the molecular basis of this memory loss by studying Aβ42-induced enhancement of long-term depression. We found that long-term depression is restored to a normal level through inhibition of PI3K activity. Aβ42-induced PI3K hyperactivity is directly confirmed by immunostaining of the PI3K phosphorylation targets, phospholipids. Such observations lead to the following demonstration that Aβ42-induced memory loss can be rescued through genetic silencing or pharmacological inhibition of PI3K functions. Our data suggest that Aβ42 stimulates PI3K, which in turn causes memory loss in association with an increase in accumulation of Aβ42 aggregates.
Current antiviral therapy fails to cure chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection because of persistent covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). CRISPR/Cas9-mediated specific cleavage of cccDNA is a ...potentially curative strategy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the CRISPR/Cas system inevitably targets integrated HBV DNA and induces double-strand breaks (DSBs) of host genome, bearing the risk of genomic rearrangement and damage. Herein, we examined the utility of recently developed CRISPR/Cas-mediated “base editors” (BEs) in inactivating HBV gene expression without cleavage of DNA. Candidate target sites of the SpCas9-derived BE and its variants in HBV genomes were screened for generating nonsense mutations of viral genes with individual guide RNAs (gRNAs). SpCas9-BE with certain gRNAs effectively base-edited polymerase and surface genes and reduced HBV gene expression in cells harboring integrated HBV genomes, but induced very few insertions or deletions (indels). Interestingly, some point mutations introduced by base editing resulted in simultaneous suppression of both polymerase and surface genes. Finally, the episomal cccDNA was successfully edited by SpCas9-BE for suppression of viral gene expression in an in vitro HBV infection system. In conclusion, Cas9-mediated base editing is a potential strategy to cure CHB by permanent inactivation of integrated HBV DNA and cccDNA without DSBs of the host genome.
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