Organic solid‐state lasers (OSSLs) based on 1D organic crystals have attracted broad attention from researchers owing to the importance of potential applications in optoelectronic fields. 1D OSSLs ...can be fabricated from various organic molecules under the function of weak intermolecular interactions via numerous methods. The lasing performance of 1D OSSLs can be tuned toward novel optoelectronic applications by modifying the primary 1D morphology through constructing heterogeneous 1D architectures. Here, the recent advances of 1D OSSLs from the aspects of materials, fabrication methods, as well as some enlightening examples of 1D OSSLs with advanced laser performances are reviewed, and an outlook is given providing inspiration for the future development of 1D OSSLs with desired performances.
One dimensional (1D) organic solid‐state lasers (OSSLs) can be fabricated from various organic compounds via numerous approaches and play an important role in developing novel optoelectronic devices. Here, recent advances in 1D OSSLs are summarized from the aspects of materials, fabrication methods, and advanced laser performances. An outlook is given to provide inspiration for the rational design of 1D OSSLs.
Near‐infrared (NIR) organic solid‐state lasers play an essential role in applications ranging from laser communication to infrared night vision, but progress in this area is restricted by the lack of ...effective excited‐state gain processes. Herein, we originally proposed and demonstrated the cascaded occurrence of excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer for constructing the completely new energy‐level systems. Cascading by the first ultrafast proton transfer of <430 fs and the subsequent irreversible second proton transfer of ca. 1.6 ps, the stepwise proton transfer process favors the true six‐level photophysical cycle, which supports efficient population inversion and thus NIR single‐mode lasing at 854 nm. This work realizes longest wavelength beyond 850 nm of organic single‐crystal lasing to date and originally exploits the cascaded excited‐state molecular proton transfer energy‐level systems for organic solid‐state lasers.
Six‐level energy systems are constructed through the cascaded occurrence of excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer consisting of a first ultrafast proton transfer of <430 fs and a following dominant and irreversible proton transfer of ca. 1.6 ps, which support the NIR single‐mode lasing at 854 nm for exploiting energy‐level systems of OSSLs, especially at the NIR region from 780 to 2500 nm.
Yield enhancement is a top priority for soybean (Glycine max Merr.) breeding. SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) is a major integrator in flowering pathway, and it is anticipated to be ...capable of regulating soybean reproductive stages through its interactions with other MADS-box genes. Thus, we produced transgenic soybean for a constitutive expression of a maize SOC1 (ZmSOC1). T
transgenic plants, in comparison with the nontransgenic plants, showed early flowering, reduced height of mature plants, and no significant impact on grain quality. The transgenic plants also had a 13.5-23.2% of higher grain weight per plant than the nontransgenic plants in two experiments. Transcriptome analysis in the leaves of 34-day old plants revealed 58 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) responding to the expression of the ZmSOC1, of which the upregulated FRUITFULL MADS-box gene, as well as the transcription factor VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER1, contributed to the promoted flowering. The downregulated gibberellin receptor GID1B could play a major role in reducing the plant height. The remaining DEGs suggested broader effects on the other unmeasured traits (e.g., photosynthesis efficiency and abiotic tolerance), which could contribute to yield increase. Overall, modulating expression of SOC1 in soybean provides a novel and promising approach to regulate plant growth and reproductive development and thus has a potential either to enhance grain yield or to change plant adaptability.
Data on the associations between esophageal histological lesions and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in general populations are limited. We aimed to investigate these associations ...in a large Chinese general population to inform future Chinese ESCC screening guidelines.
We performed endoscopic screening of 21,111 participants aged 40-69 years from 3 high-risk areas of China in 2005-2009, and followed the cohort through 2016. Cumulative incidence and mortality rates of ESCC were calculated by baseline histological diagnosis, and hazard ratios of ESCC, overall and by age and sex, were assessed using the Cox proportional hazards models.
We identified 143 new ESCC cases (0.68%) and 62 ESCC deaths (0.29%) during a median follow-up of 8.5 years. Increasing grades of squamous dysplasia were associated with the increasing risk of ESCC incidence and mortality. The cumulative ESCC incidence rates for severe dysplasia/carcinoma in situ, moderate dysplasia (MD), and mild dysplasia were 15.5%, 4.5%, and 1.4%, respectively. Older individuals (50-69 years) had 3.1 times higher ESCC incidence than younger individuals (40-49 years), and men had 2.4 times higher ESCC incidence than women.
This study confirmed that increasing grades of squamous dysplasia are associated with increasing risk of ESCC and that severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ require clinical treatment. This study suggests that in high-risk areas of China, patients with endoscopically worrisome MD should also receive therapy, the first screening can be postponed to 50 years, and endoscopic surveillance intervals for unremarkable MD and mild dysplasia can be lengthened to 3 and 5 years, respectively.
To achieve high‐performance large‐area flexible polymer solar cells (PSCs), one of the challenges is to develop new interface materials that possess a thermal‐annealing‐free process and ...thickness‐insensitive photovoltaic properties. Here, an n‐type self‐doping fullerene electrolyte, named PCBB‐3N‐3I, is developed as electron transporting layer (ETL) for the application in PSCs. PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL can be processed at room temperature, and shows excellent orthogonal solvent processability, substantially improved conductivity, and appropriate energy levels. PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL also functions as light‐harvesting acceptor in a bilayer solar cell, contributing to the overall device performance. As a result, the PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL‐based inverted PSCs with a PTB7‐Th:PC71BM photoactive layer demonstrate an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.62% for rigid and 10.04% for flexible devices. Moreover, the device avoids a thermal annealing process and the photovoltaic properties are insensitive to the thickness of PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL, yielding a PCE of 9.32% for the device with thick PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL (61 nm). To the best of one's knowledge, the above performance yields the highest efficiencies for the flexible PSCs and thick ETL‐based PSCs reported so far. Importantly, the flexible PSCs with PCBB‐3N‐3I ETL also show robust bending durability that could pave the way for the future development of high‐performance flexible solar cells.
An n‐type doping fullerene electrolyte (PCBB‐3N‐3I) with high‐content doping groups, resulting in high conductivity and well‐matched energy levels, is synthesized. The inverted polymer solar cells with PCBB‐3N‐3I electron transport layer show a record efficiency in the flexible polymer solar cells with an extremely high bending durability and thickness‐insensitive photovoltaic behavior.
We measure the expansion rate of the recent Universe and the calibration scale of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) from low-redshift data. BAO relies on the calibration scale, i.e., the sound ...horizon at the end of drag epoch rd, which often imposes a prior of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurement from the Planck satellite. In order to make really independent measurements of H0, we leave rd completely free and use the BAO data sets combined with the 31 observational H (z) data, GW170817, and Pantheon sample of Type Ia supernovae. In lambda cold dark matter (Λ CDM) model, we get ... For the two model-independent reconstructions of H (z), we obtain ... Mpc in the cubic expansion, and ... in the polynomial expansion. The values of Hubble constant H0 and sound horizon rd are consistent with the estimate derived from the Planck CMB data assuming a flat Λ CDM model, but H0 is in 2.4 ∼ 2.6 σ tension with SH0ES 2019, respectively.(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
Leaf senescence is a complex process regulated by developmental and environmental factors, and plays a pivotal role in the development and life cycle of higher plants. Casein kinase 1 (CK1) is a ...highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase in eukaryotes and functions in various cellular processes including cell proliferation, light signaling and hormone effects of plants. However, the biological function of CK1 in plant senescence remains unclear. Through systemic genetic and biochemical studies, we here characterized the function of Arabidopsis EL1-like (AEL), a CK1, in promoting leaf senescence by stimulating ethylene biosynthesis through phosphorylating transcription factor WRKY22. Seedlings lacking or overexpressing AELs presented delayed or accelerated leaf senescence, respectively. AELs interact with and phosphorylate WRKY22 at Thr57, Thr60 and Ser69 residues to enhance whose transactivation activity. Being consistent, increased or suppressed phosphorylation of WRKY22 resulted in the promoted or delayed leaf senescence. WRKY22 directly binds to promoter region and stimulates the transcription of 1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase 7 gene to promote ethylene level and hence leaf senescence. Our studies demonstrated the crucial role of AEL-mediated phosphorylation in regulating ethylene biosynthesis and promoting leaf senescence by enhancing WRKY22 transactivation activity, which helps to elucidate the fine-controlled ethylene biosynthesis and regulatory network of leaf senescence.
L-carnitine (LC) is well known for its antioxidant activity. In this study, we explored the potential mechanistic effects of LC supplementation on aged bovine oocytes in vitro. We showed that ...in-vitro maturation could enhance the subsequent developmental capacity of aging oocytes, when supplemented with LC. After in vitro fertilization, the blastocyst formation rate in the aged oocytes post-LC treatment significantly increased compared to that in untreated aged oocytes (29.23 ± 2.20% vs. 20.90 ± 3.05%). Furthermore, after LC treatment, the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species in aged oocytes significantly decreased, and glutathione levels significantly increased, compared to those in untreated aged oocytes. Mitochondrial membrane potential, the percentage of early apoptotic oocytes, and caspase-3 activity were significantly reduced in LC-treated aged oocytes compared to those in untreated aged oocytes. Furthermore, during in vitro aging, the mRNA levels of the anti-apoptotic genes, Bcl-xl and survivin in LC-treated aged oocytes were significantly higher than those in untreated aged oocytes. Overall, these results indicate that at least in in vitro conditions, LC can prevent the aging of bovine oocytes and improve the developmental capacity of bovine embryo.
The present study evaluated the students' psychological well-being, experiences, performance, and perception of learning regional anatomy remotely. A regional anatomy remote learning curriculum was ...designed and learning materials were delivered virtually to 120 undergraduate medical students at Jinan University, China. All the students consented and voluntarily participated in this study by completing self-administered online questionnaires including the Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scales at the beginning and end of the learning session. A subset participated in focus group discussions. Most of the students (90.0%) positively evaluated the current distance learning model. More than 80% were satisfied with the content arrangement and coverage. Many students preferred virtual lectures (68.2%) and videos showing dissections (70.6%) during the distance learning sessions. However, writing laboratory reports and case-based learning were the least preferred modes of learning as they were only preferred by 23.2% and 14.1% of the students, respectively. There was no significant lockdown-related anxiety or depression reported by students using depression and anxiety scales as well as feedback from focus group discussions. The surveyed students' confidence scores in distance learning were significantly higher after 5 weeks than at the beginning of the session (3.05 ± 0.83 vs. 3.70 ± 0.71, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the present results showed no significant differences between the current group's academic performance in the unit tests as well as the final overall evaluation for different parts of the course compared to that of the previous year's cohort. The findings above were congruent with focus group discussion data that the use of the online teaching platform for regional anatomy significantly improved the students' confidence in virtual and self-directed learning and did not negatively affect their academic performance.
Background and Purpose
Patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia are often accompanied by anxiety and depression. Microglia‐mediated neuroinflammation is involved in the development of neuropathic ...pain and anxiodepression pathogenesis. Whether and how microglia are involved in trigeminal neuralgia‐induced anxiodepression remains unclear.
Experimental Approach
Unilateral constriction of the infraorbital nerve (CION) was performed to establish trigeminal neuralgia in rat and mouse models. Mechanical allodynia and anxiodepressive‐like behaviours were measured. Optogenetic and pharmacological manipulations were employed to investigate the role of hippocampal microglia in anxiety and depression caused by trigeminal neuralgia.
Key Results
Trigeminal neuralgia activated ipsilateral but not contralateral hippocampal microglia, up‐regulated ipsilateral hippocampal ATP and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) levels, impaired ipsilateral hippocampal long‐term potentiation (LTP) and induced anxiodepressive‐like behaviours in a time‐dependent manner in rodents. Pharmacological or optogenetic inhibition of ipsilateral hippocampal microglia completely blocked trigeminal neuralgia‐induced anxiodepressive‐like behaviours. Activation of unilateral hippocampal microglia directly elicited an anxiodepressive state and impaired hippocampal LTP. Knockdown of ipsilateral hippocampal P2X7 receptors prevented trigeminal neuralgia‐induced microglial activation and anxiodepressive‐like behaviours. Furthermore, we demonstrated that microglia‐derived IL‐1β mediated microglial activation‐induced anxiodepressive‐like behaviours and LTP impairment.
Conclusion and Implications
These findings suggest that priming of microglia with ATP/P2X7 receptors in the ipsilateral hippocampus drives pain‐related anxiodepressive‐like behaviours via IL‐1β. An asymmetric role of the bilateral hippocampus in trigeminal neuralgia‐induced anxiety and depression was uncovered. The approaches targeting microglia and P2X7 signalling might offer novel therapies for trigeminal neuralgia‐related anxiety and depressive disorder.
Trigeminal neuralgia activates ipsilateral hippocampal microglia by ATP/P2X7 receptor interaction which impairs ipsilateral hippocampal long‐term potentiation (LTP) via interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β). Microglial purinergic inflammatory responses and the neuronal plasticity changes in the ipsilateral hippocampal CA1 area may be a key pathogenesis of anxiodepression caused by trigeminal neuralgia. The approaches targeting microglia and P2X7 receptor signalling might offer novel therapies for trigeminal neuralgia‐related anxiety and depressive disorder.
PDF
