Typical high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) require exotic high-refractive-index (n ≥ 1.8) substrates to enhance the outcoupling of trapped light in the device. One of the exciting ...possibilities of OLEDs is the use of lightweight flexible plastic substrates, which unfortunately have a low refractive index (n ≤ 1.6). To unlock the full potential of OLEDs on flexible plastic, we report high-efficiency phosphorescent OLEDs using a thin-film outcoupling enhancement method that does not depend on high-index substrates. In these devices, multifunctional anode stacks, consisting of a high-index Ta2 O5 optical coupling layer, electrically conductive gold layer and hole-injection MoO3 layer, are collectively optimized to achieve high efficiency. The maximum external quantum efficiency reaches 63% for green, which remains as high as 60% at >10,000 cd m-2 .
Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) can serve as oncogenes or suppressors and are associated with many cancers, including oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
An alignment miRNA array was used to ...identify differentially expressed miRNAs in ESCC tissues. The expression of miR-183 and programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) in oesophageal tissues from ESCC and early oesophageal carcinoma patients was examined by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and western blotting. A luciferase assay was performed to confirm miR-183 target genes. The effects of miR-183 on ESCC cells and the associated mechanisms were established by in vitro experiments.
We identified 51 upregulated miRNAs and 17 downregulated miRNAs in our array, and miR-183 was one of the most upregulated miRNAs. An inverse correlation between miR-183 and PDCD4 levels was found in ESCC tissues. Upregulated expression of miR-183 was not correlated with tumour stage or lymphatic metastasis in ESCC patients. The luciferase assay confirmed that miR-183 directly interacted with the PDCD4 mRNA 3'-untranslated region in ESCC cells. Overexpression of miR-183 led to decreased PDCD4 protein levels and promoted ESCC cell proliferation and invasion. Inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway increased PDCD4 protein levels and decreased miR-183 expression in ESCC cells.
MiR-183 promotes ESCC cell proliferation and invasion by directly targeting PDCD4, which suggests that it is involved in the pathogenesis of ESCC.
We conducted a single-arm prospective study in 50 patients who received the combination of an haploidentical stem cell graft and an unrelated umbilical cord blood unit for the treatment of ...hematological malignancies. The median time for neutrophil engraftment was 13 days (11-20 days), and for platelets was 15 days (11-180 days). All surviving patients attained complete haploidentical engraftment except three patients who presented a mixed engraftment with increasing cord blood and decreasing haplo mismatch chimerism during the first 4 months after transplantation. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD was 20%±0.327% at day+100, and the incidence of chronic GVHD was 19.26%±1.0% at 1 year. The 1-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 19.78%±1%, and the TRM was 16.2%±0.54%. At 1 year, overall survival was 78.6%±7.6% and PFS 64.0%±11.0%. The BU/CY-based conditional regimen showed a significant superiority over TBI/CY on PFS (relative risk=5.012, 95% confidence interval, 1.146-21.927, P=0.032). In conclusion, the co-infusion of an unrelated cord blood unit may potentially improve the outcome of haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic SCT.
Experimental investigations on atmospheric steam-water two-phase flow regimes and transitions in two transparent narrow rectangular channels with cross-section areas of 1 mm × 20 mm and 2 mm × 20 mm ...were carried out under conditions of 0.007 ≤ Jf ≤ 0.27 m s−1, 0.05 ≤ Jg ≤ 65.2 m s−1, 0 < q ≤ 18 kW m−2. Four flow patterns were observed in narrow rectangular horizontal channels under heated condition, i.e., bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow and annular flow. New dryout phenomenon of annular flow was observed under high wall heat flux conditions. The liquid phase occupies half of the middle of narrow channel above the bottom rectangular plate. Below the top plate, liquid phase is concentrated to a slender streamline in the middle of upper half narrow channel by high speed steam flow. For the flow regime transitions, the critical values of void fraction for transitions from bubbly flow to slug flow, slug flow to churn flow, and churn flow to annular flow in narrow rectangular horizontal channels under heated condition are 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9, respectively. The heat flux decays flow regime transitions because the generated bubbles from heated wall surfaces promote the separation of bubbles in the upstream and downstream. Flow regime transitions under larger surface tension condition need greater vapor phase velocities to disturb the mainflow. In a general, new flow regime transition criteria were developed and can present excellent predictions for the present data of flow regimes and transitions in narrow rectangular horizontal channels under heated condition.
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•Flow pattern data of steam-water two-phase in narrow rectangular channels are obtained.•The effect of heat flux on flow pattern transition is analyzed.•New flow regime transition criterias in narrow rectangular horizontal channels are developed.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) had been reported as one of the major responsible genes for malignant progression and phenotype reversion of gliomas, and has been used as one of the most ...important therapeutic targets. In the present study, small interference RNA (siRNA) and antisense EGFR expression constructs, which target sequences of human EGFR catalytic domain (2400-2420) and the 3'-coding region, respectively, were used to examine the growth inhibition effects on U251 glioma cells. Cell growth was significantly inhibited and G2/M arrest was observed in antisense- and siRNA-treated groups. Matrigel matrix demonstrated spotted cell clustering pattern in antisense- and siRNA-transfected U251 cells, indicating poor cell growth activities. In addition, the tumor volumes in U251 subcutaneous mice model treated with antisense and siRNA were significantly smaller than those treated with control siRNA and phosphate-buffered saline. Also, glial fibrillary acidic protein expression was upregulated in antisense- and siRNA-treated groups than the control groups. Our results demonstrated that antisense- or siRNA-targeting intracellular region of EGFR can inhibit EGFR expression, exerted growth inhibition effect on U251 glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, siRNA expression plasmid-mediated gene therapy would be a new strategy in treatment of gliomas.
Fludioxonil is used in seedborne disease management of various fungal pathogens, including Fusarium asiaticum, the predominant causal agent of Fusarium head blight in China. In this study, we ...screened resistant strains from a large number of F. asiaticum strains collected from 2012 to 2016 and found that 4 of 1,000 field strains were highly resistant to fludioxonil. The 50% effective concentration values of the resistant strains and induced mutants ranged from 80 to >400 μg/ml. Compared with field-sensitive strains, all field-collected and laboratory-induced resistant strains exhibited fitness defects in traits including mycelial growth, conidial production, pathogenicity, and sensitivity to osmotic conditions. In the presence of fludioxonil, significantly higher glycerol accumulation was found in sensitive strains but not in resistant individuals. The fludioxonil-resistant strains produced lower amounts of glycerol in liquid culture and lower amounts of trichothecene mycotoxins in rice culture and inoculated wheat spikelets than the fludioxonil-sensitive strains. Sequence analyses of the key genes of the two-component histidine kinase signaling pathway showed various amino acid substitutions in the Os1, Os4, and Os5 genes between field-sensitive and resistant strains or mutants. The results of this study suggest a potential risk of fludioxonil resistance development and a possible influence of resistance mutations on fitness parameters and toxin production in F. asiaticum.
Base pairs involving protonated nucleobases play important roles in the DNA republication. Xanthine is an oxidative product of guanine. In this work, we employ density functional theory to ...investigate the protonation properties of xanthine (X), adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). With regard to the proton affinity, we study the protonated base pairs between X and A, C, G, T. The quantum theory of atoms in molecule and the natural bond orbital analysis are employed to elucidate the interaction characteristics. The interaction energy and structural parameters show the relative stability of the protonated base pairs: X:AH
+
> X:CH
+
> X:GH
+
> XH
+
:T. The occurrence of X(syn):AH
+
(anti) structure may lead to a G:C → T:A transition.
Yes-associated protein (YAP) has been widely studied as a mechanotransducer in many cell types, but its function in cartilage is controversial. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of YAP ...phosphorylation and nuclear translocation on the chondrocyte response to stimuli relevant to osteoarthritis (OA).
Cultured normal human articular chondrocytes from 81 donors were treated with increased osmolarity media as an in vitro model of mechanical stimulation, fibronectin fragments (FN-f) or IL-1β as catabolic stimuli, and IGF-1 as an anabolic stimulus. YAP function was assessed with gene knockdown and inhibition by verteporfin. Nuclear translocation of YAP and its transcriptional co-activator TAZ and site-specific YAP phosphorylation were determined by immunoblotting. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence to detect YAP were performed on normal and OA human cartilage with different degrees of damage.
Chondrocyte YAP/TAZ nuclear translocation increased under physiological osmolarity (400 mOsm) and IGF-1 stimulation, which was associated with YAP phosphorylation at Ser128. In contrast, catabolic stimulation decreased the levels of nuclear YAP/TAZ through YAP phosphorylation at Ser127. Following YAP inhibition, anabolic gene expression and transcriptional activity decreased. Additionally, YAP knockdown reduced proteoglycan staining and levels of type II collagen. Total YAP immunostaining was greater in OA cartilage, but YAP was sequestered in the cytosol in cartilage areas with more severe damage.
YAP chondrocyte nuclear translocation is regulated by differential phosphorylation in response to anabolic and catabolic stimuli. Decreased nuclear YAP in OA chondrocytes may contribute to reduced anabolic activity and promotion of further cartilage loss.
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