Hierarchically porous MOFs (HP‐MOFs) present advantageous synergism of micro‐ and mesopore but challenging in synthetic control at molecular scale. Herein, we present the first example of reversible ...and controllable mesopore generation and renovation in a microporous MOF of HKUST‐1 via synthetic manipulation at molecular scale. An ammonia‐gas etching strategy is proposed to create mesopores in carboxylate‐based microporous MOFs and thus produce HP‐MOFs. Gas‐phase etching ensures uniform mesopore formation inside the MOF crystals via plane‐oriented cutting the carboxylate‐metal bonds off without affecting the crystal size and morphology. The mesopore size is controlled by the etching temperature, while the mesopore volume could be tuned by adjusting etchant pressure. The generated mesopores could be renovated using MOF precursors solutions so that to achieve controllable mesopore generation/closure, and encapsulation of the adsorbed molecules. This work demonstrates a powerful protocol for precisely tailoring and tuning the properties of MOF materials at molecular scale.
Plane‐oriented mesopore formation and closure in microporous MOFs were demonstrated mimicking the surgical operation but at molecular level. The established strategy enables formation of hierarchical MOF with tunable porosity. The anisotropic nature of the MOF lattice planes enabled not only engineering the mesopore size and volume, but also controlling the pore shape that could be beneficial for certain kind of new applications in the MOF field.
Exfoliating montmorillonite (Mt) to nanolayers is a crucial step during producing clay/polymer nanocomposites(CPN). Only well-exfoliated and well-dispersed Mt. nanolayers in the polymer matrix can ...significantly improve the properties of the nanocomposites. This review examines the latest scientific advances in the exfoliation methods of Mt., the insights into the exfoliation mechanisms, and the peculiar functionalities of the resultant CPN. The direct exfoliation of Mt. dispersed in water or organic solvents is often intensified by ultrasonication. Grinding of Mt. in the form of solid in a high-energy ball mill can directly exfoliate Mt. to some extent. Exfoliating Mt. for producing CPN is mainly achieved through so-called in situ exfoliation, solution exfoliation and melt exfoliation. The Mt./polymer nanocomposites exhibit typically improved barrier properties, mechanical strength, thermal stability, and fire retardancy. The literature survey suggests that future work should place emphases on developing green and effective exfoliation methods, and deepening understanding of exfoliation mechanisms and the interfacial interactions between the inorganic Mt. nanolayers and organic monomers/polymers. Future research is suggested to assembling exfoliated Mt. nanolayers with functional polymeric molecules or other nano-scale building blocks to produce functional hierarchical nanomaterials with practical applications.
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•Literature survey and opinions on exfoliating montmorillonite (Mt) into nanolayers.•Organic modification of Mt for exfoliating Mt in polymer matrix.•Exfoliation of Mt by in situ polymerization, in polymer solution, and melt exfoliation•Exfoliated Mt for improving barrier, mechanical and thermal properties, and flame retardancy.•Remarks on challenges and opportunities in exfoliation of Mt for nanocomposites.
We report acute antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 285 patients with COVID-19. Within 19 days after symptom onset, 100% of patients tested positive for antiviral immunoglobulin-G (IgG). ...Seroconversion for IgG and IgM occurred simultaneously or sequentially. Both IgG and IgM titers plateaued within 6 days after seroconversion. Serological testing may be helpful for the diagnosis of suspected patients with negative RT-PCR results and for the identification of asymptomatic infections.
Bone formation is a complex regeneration process that was regulated by many signalling pathways, such as Wnt, Notch, BMP and Hedgehog (Hh). All of these signalling have been demonstrated to ...participate in the bone repair process. In particular, one promising signalling pathway involved in bone formation and homeostasis is the Hh pathway. According to present knowledge, Hh signalling plays a vital role in the development of various tissues and organs in the embryo. In adults, the dysregulation of Hh signalling has been verified to be involved in bone‐related diseases in terms of osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and bone fracture; and during the repair processes, Hh signalling could be reactivated and further modulate bone formation. In this chapter, we summarize our current understanding on the function of Hh signalling in bone formation and homeostasis. Additionally, the current therapeutic strategies targeting this cascade to coordinate and mediate the osteogenesis process have been reviewed.
A simplified display of the Hh signalling pathway. In the presence of the Hh protein, the combination of Hh and Ptch abolishes the suppressive effects on Smo delivered by Ptch; then, Hh signalling is activated and the Hh signals are transducted into cells. After that, transcription factors Glis family are dissociated from a suppressive complex containing Sufu and further activated. Subsequently, the Hh signalling downstream target genes that contribute to certain cellular activities are modulated.
Developing molecular fluorophores with high brightness is of considerable importance to achieve superior biological imaging quality in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window. It has been ...demonstrated that the improved fluorescence quantum yield (QY) can be obtained for NIR-II molecular fluorophores with S–D–A–D–S (S, shielding unit; D, donor; A, acceptor) structures. However, their absorption coefficient is relatively low, limiting their brightness for imaging. Here, 3,4-propylenedioxy thiophene (PDOT) is introduced as a donor unit to construct NIR-II fluorophores with better protection of the conjugated backbone and decreased backbone distortion, eventually leading to simultaneously improved QY and absorption coefficient. Thus, the new fluorophore IR-FP8P shows fluorescence emission with a peak of 1040 nm, a QY of 0.6% (with reference to IR-26 with a QY of 0.05% in dichloroethane), and a peak absorption coefficient of 1.3 × 104 M–1·cm–1 in aqueous solutions. The higher brightness at 808 nm excitation endows IR-FP8P with superior imaging quality in the NIR-II window. When conjugated with a specific hormone, the targeting probe FSH@FP8 enables fast and unambiguous ovary imaging in mice, revealing the potential of this bright fluorophore for visualizing complicated biological systems in the NIR-II window.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor that affects people worldwide. Metagenomic analyses have shown an enrichment of Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) in colorectal carcinoma ...tissue; many studies have indicated that F. nucleatum is closely related to the colorectal carcinogenesis. In this review, we provide the latest information to reveal the related molecular mechanisms. The known virulence factors of F. nucleatum promote adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells via FadA and Fap2. Besides, Fap2 also binds to immune cells causing immunosuppression. Furthermore, F. nucleatum recruits tumor-infiltrating immune cells, thus yielding a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, which promotes colorectal neoplasia progression. F. nucleatum was also found to potentiate CRC development through toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling and microRNA (miRNA)-21 expression. In addition, F. nucleatum increases CRC recurrence along with chemoresistance by mediating a molecular network of miRNA-18a*, miRNA-4802, and autophagy components. Moreover, viable F. nucleatum was detected in mouse xenografts of human primary colorectal adenocarcinomas through successive passages. These findings indicated that an increased number of F. nucleatum in the tissues is a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC, and the underlying molecular mechanism can probably provide a potential intervention treatment strategy for patients with F. nucleatum-associated CRC.
financially supported by the Key R＆D Program of Jiangxi Province of China （20152ACF60010）;the Key Projects of Hunan Science and Technology Support Program of China （Application research of Guiye A ...male sterile line）;the Research Project of Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities of Jiangxi Province, China（JC1315）;supported by Emmy Noether DFG grant MA 6473/1-1
Background
Inconsistent eradication rates for Helicobacter pylori have been reported worldwide with dual therapy, perhaps owing to the difference in dose administration and treatment duration. This ...retrospective study aimed to determine whether high‐dose dual therapy (HDDT) with different regimens leads to different eradication rates. The study compares the efficacy and safety of HDDT 10‐day vs 14‐day and investigates the factors that might affect the eradication rates.
Materials and Methods
Two comparable treatment groups were based on propensity score matching (PSM). Patients were divided into two groups based on the therapy they underwent: 10‐day HDDT and 14‐day HDDT (20 mg esomeprazole and 750 mg amoxicillin, administered four times daily). The eradication rates, adverse events (AEs), patient compliance, CYP2C19 gene polymorphisms, and antibiotic resistance rates of the two groups were compared.
Results
The intention to treat (ITT) analysis showed that the eradication rates for 10‐day and 14‐day groups were 78.4% (95% CI 69.6%–87.2%) and 89.7% (95% CI 83.3%–96.2%; p = .039), respectively, while the per‐protocol (PP) eradication rates were 80.0% (95% CI 71.3%–88.7%) and 92.9% (95% CI 87.4%–98.5%; p = .014), respectively. The corresponding drug‐related AEs were 6.8% (6/88) and 5.7% (5/88; p = .755). No significant differences were observed between the compliance rates of the two groups. The CYP2C19 gene polymorphism had no effect on the eradication rates of the two groups.
Conclusion
The results showed that the 14‐day HDDT affords a higher H. pylori eradication rate than the 10‐day HDDT.
Abstract
Iridium complexes are drawing great interest because they exhibit high phosphorescence quantum efficiency. Extensive efforts have been devoted to the molecular design of ligands to achieve ...phosphorescent emission over a wide range of wavelengths that is compatible with many applications. In this research news article, we focus on materials design to improve the performance of phosphorescent Ir
III
complexes for organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), luminescence sensitizers, and biological imaging.
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of drug eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) treatment by CalliSpheres® in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma ...(HCC) as well as the predicting factors for response.
99 patients with HCC were consecutively enrolled in this study. All participants were treated by CalliSpheres® DEB-TACE. Clinical response was evaluated according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) criteria. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) was used to assess the adverse events and liver dysfunction during and after the operation.
Post treatment, 16 patients (16.2%) achieved CR and 59 (59.6%) achieved PR, the ORR was 75.8%. Subgroup analysis showed that patients with higher BCLC stage were of worse CR and ORR rates, and the CR as well as ORR between patients with cTACE history and patients without cTACE history were similar. Univariate logistic regression analysis displayed that number of nodules > 3, higher BCLC stage and previous cTACE might be correlated with worse ORR but with no statistical significance. As to liver function, CTCAE grades of laboratory indexes for liver function were increased at 1 week compared to baseline and recovered to the baseline grades at 1-3 months post operation. Besides, most of the common adverse events were light and moderate in our study.
In conclusion, DEB-TACE by CalliSpheres® was efficient and well tolerated in Chinese HCC patients, and BCLC stage, number of nodules and cTACE history were possibly correlated with treatment response.
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