Fluorescent dithienylethene-based photochromic materials have been attracting considerable attention owing to their wide applications in biological and materials sciences. However, the limitations of ...detrimental UV irradiation for photocyclization, short emission lifetime, and inefficient photoresponsive speed still need to be addressed. Herein, a novel dithienylethene photochromic molecule,
BFBDTE
, has been prepared by the incorporation of a difluoroboron β-diketonate (BF
2
bdk) unit. The strong electron acceptor BF
2
bdk not only reduces the energy gap of the open isomer, ensuring visible light-controlled fluorescence switching, but also promotes intersystem crossing for the generation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). Upon alternating irradiation with green and NIR light,
BFBDTE
presents a rare example of photochromism, fluorescence and TADF switching in various polar solvents and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film. Meanwhile, it shows rapid and well repeatable cyclization (12 s) and cycloreversion reactions (20 s) in PMMA, accompanied by fast TADF switching within 11 s. Furthermore, photo-electrochemical measurements reveal a remarkable on-off photoelectronic response (photocurrent density ratio:
I
light
/
I
dark
= 684) between the open- and closed-form of
BFBDTE
. These remarkable merits make
BFBDTE
promising for photoswitchable molecular devices, optical memory storage systems, NIR detectors, and photoelectric switching.
Controlled by the alternating irradiation of green and NIR light, difluoroboron modifed dithienylethene shows rapid photochromism and photoelectronic switching.
The lymphatic vessels have been implicated in maintenance of interstitial fluid homeostasis and immune responses, and pathological conditions including inflammation, wound healing, lymphedema and ...tumor progression. The knowledge about the lymphatic structure and function in muscles, especially in muscular disorders, remains fragmentary and elusive. LYVE-1-positive initial lymphatics are generally found around skeletal muscle fibers, but not distributed in a fiber type-specific manner. Recent advances in lymphatic research have identified that exercise stimuli trigger adaptive changes in the behavior of initial lymphatics and upregulate lymphangiogenesis. Increasing evidence has supported that muscle disorders are closely correlated with lymphatic dysfunction, growth and remodeling. During these processes, VEGFR-3 and its ligands VEGF-C and VEGF-D are important regulators of muscular lymphangiogenesis. Further studies are necessary to clarify the structural and molecular plasticity of mammalian muscular lymphatics in response to endurance training and pathological events.
Display omitted
Summary
Despite being of vital importance for seed establishment and grain quality, starch degradation remains poorly understood in organs such as cereal or legume seeds. In cereals, starch ...degradation requires the synergetic action of different isoforms of α‐amylases. Ubiquitous overexpression of TaAmy2 resulted in a 2.0–437.6‐fold increase of total α‐amylase activity in developing leaf and harvested grains. These increases led to dramatic alterations of starch visco‐properties and augmentation of soluble carbohydrate levels (mainly sucrose and α‐gluco‐oligosaccharide) in grain. Interestingly, the overexpression of TaAMY2 led to an absence of dormancy in ripened grain due to abscisic acid (ABA) insensitivity. Using an allosteric α‐amylase inhibitor (acarbose), we demonstrated that ABA insensitivity was due to the increased soluble carbohydrate generated by the α‐amylase excess. Independent from the TaAMY2 overexpression, inhibition of α‐amylase during germination led to the accumulation of soluble α‐gluco‐oligosaccharides without affecting the first stage of germination. These findings support the hypotheses that (i) endosperm sugar may overcome ABA signalling and promote sprouting, and (ii) α‐amylase may not be required for the initial stage of grain germination, an observation that questions the function of the amylolytic enzyme in the starch degradation process during germination.
Significance Statement
This study described the application of plant biotechnology to provide evidence as to whether elevated levels of α‐amylase in the mature grain can affect germination positively or negatively. These findings support the hypotheses that (i) endosperm sugar may overcome abscisic acid signalling and promote sprouting, and (ii) α‐amylase may not be required for the initial stage of grain germination.
Quality control can decrease variations in the performance of colonoscopists and improve the effectiveness of colonoscopy to prevent colorectal cancers. Unfortunately, routine quality control is ...difficult to carry out because a practical method is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop an automatic quality control system (AQCS) and assess whether it could improve polyp and adenoma detection in clinical practice.
First, we developed AQCS based on deep convolutional neural network models for timing of the withdrawal phase, supervising withdrawal stability, evaluating bowel preparation, and detecting colorectal polyps. Next, consecutive patients were prospectively randomized to undergo routine colonoscopies with or without the assistance of AQCS. The primary outcome of the study was the adenoma detection rate (ADR) in the AQCS and control groups.
A total of 659 patients were enrolled and randomized. A total of 308 and 315 patients were analyzed in the AQCS and control groups, respectively. AQCS significantly increased the ADR (0.289 vs 0.165, P < .001) and the mean number of adenomas per procedure (0.367 vs 0.178, P < .001) compared with the control group. A significant increase was also observed in the polyp detection rate (0.383 vs 0.254, P = .001) and the mean number of polyps detected per procedure (0.575 vs 0.305, P < .001). In addition, the withdrawal time (7.03 minutes vs 5.68 minutes, P < .001) and adequate bowel preparation rate (87.34% vs 80.63%, P = .023) were superior for the AQCS group.
AQCS could effectively improve the performance of colonoscopists during the withdrawal phase and significantly increase polyp and adenoma detection. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT03622281.)
Display omitted
How to distinguish D2O and H2O and determine the trace H2O content in D2O solvent, by using molecule-based spectral probes, is an intriguing topic in analytical chemistry, yet considerably few ...examples remain up to now, likely due to the very similar physical/chemical properties between D2O and H2O. In this work, we found that both the hydrolysis reactions to release fluorescent amines and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of imines, functioning as dual fluorescence signals to distinguish D2O and H2O, could be modulated by changing the imine structures. The hydrophobicity of imines showed an important contribution to the ability of modulating the hydrolysis reactions and AIE, demonstrating a significant difference on fluorescence signals in D2O and H2O solvents. Among all tested imines, probe 3, condensed from 2-naphthylamine and salicylaldehyde, was found to have the potential ability to act as an ideal candidate for probing the H2O content in D2O solvent, particularly in a low H2O content range, using the ratiomeric emission signals.
Novel PARP inhibitors with selective mode-of-action have been approved for clinical use. Herein, oxadiazole based ligands that are predicted to target PARP-1 have been synthesized and screened for ...the loss of cell viability in mammary carcinoma cells, wherein seven compounds were observed to possess significant IC
values in the range of 1.4 to 25 µM. Furthermore, compound
inhibited the viability of MCF-7 cells with an IC
value of 1.4µM, when compared to Olaparib (IC
= 3.2 µM). Compound
also decreased cell viability in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with IC
values of 15.3 and 19.2 µM, respectively. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with compounds
and
produced PARP cleavage, H2AX phosphorylation and CASPASE-3 activation comparable to that observed with Olaparib. Compounds
and
also decreased foci-formation and 3D Matrigel growth of MCF-7 cells equivalent to or greater than that observed with Olaparib. Finally, in silico analysis demonstrated binding of compound
towardsthe catalytic site of PARP-1, indicating that these novel oxadiazoles synthesized herein may serve as exemplars for the development of new therapeutics in cancer.
Lymphatic metastasis of tumor cells represents a series of extremely complex and sequential processes that include dissemination and invasion into surrounding stromal tissues from primary tumors, ...penetration into lymphatic walls and implantation in regional lymph nodes, and extravasation or proliferation in parenchyma of target organs. Recent developments in lymphatic biology and research, especially the application of unique molecular markers specific for lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), LYVE-1, Prox-1 and podoplanin have provided exciting new insights into the tumor microenvironment and LEC-tumor cell interface. To date, established factors for determining the behavior and prognosis of primary tumors have been emphasized morphologically and physiologically, i.e., lymphatic impairment and vessel density, dysfunction of lymphatic valves, interstitial fluid pressure, as well as a series of lymphangiogenic growth factors including VEGF-C/-D, and other cytokines and chemokines. Increasing knowledge of the tumor biological significance in lymphatics within the tumors (intratumoral lymphatics, ITLs) and at the tumor periphery (peritumoral lymphatics, PTLs) has greatly promoted understanding of tumor access into the lymphatic system by inducing lymphangiogenesis or by co-opting preexisting lymphatics. Therefore, the targeting PTLs and ITLs, which have been proposed as an important route for antimetastatic approach, are deemed worthy of further study in various animal tumor models and human tumors.
Lymphatic vessels are actively involved in the recovery process of inflamed tissues. However, the changes in intramuscular lymphatic vessels during inflammation caused by skeletal muscle injury ...remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the changes in lymphatic vessels after skeletal muscle injury. The left tibialis anterior muscles of male mice were subjected to lengthening contractions (LC) for inducing skeletal muscle injury, and samples were collected on Days 2, 4, and 7 for examining changes in both the skeletal muscles and intramuscular lymphatic vessels. With hematoxylin–eosin staining, the inflammatory response was observed in myofibers on Days 2 and 4 after LC, whereas regeneration of myofibers was found on Day 7 after LC. The number and area of intramuscular lymphatic vessels analyzed by immunohistochemical staining with an antibody against lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 were significantly increased only on Day 4 after LC. Based on the abovementioned results, intramuscular lymphatic vessels undergo morphological changes such as increase under the state of muscle inflammation. This study demonstrated that the morphology of intramuscular lymphatic vessels undergoes significant changes during the initial recovery phase following skeletal muscle injury.
PDF
