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An asymmetric decarboxylative Mannich reaction of phosphonate sultam‐ketimines with malonic acid half esters is developed enabled by saccharide‐derived bifunctional amino thiourea catalysis. This protocol provides access to a broad range of α‐amino‐β‐carboxylic phosphonates featuring the N,P‐containing tetrasubstituted stereocenters with 78–99% ee. Further synthetic derivatizations could allow the introduction of amide, alcohol, and azetidine scaffolds to the core structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial infection has a significant impact on the human health. With the widespread use of antibiotics, the bacterial resistance has increased significantly, which necessitates the urgent identification of novel antibacterial materials. In this study, a hydrogel with an inherent antibacterial ability, self-assembled from a heterochiral peptide C16-DL4LR4, has been reported. The hydrogel demonstrated optimal rheological and injectable properties. It revealed a time-dependent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis as well as Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Shigella sonnei. After 5 h treatment with the hydrogel, the survival rate of S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and Sh. sonnei bacteria was decreased to 5.9%, 0%, 5.3% and 11.09%, respectively. The chiral nanofibers with a diameter of 15–20 nm in the hydrogel were observed to be conducive to the aggregation of bacteria and destruction of the cell membrane to achieve the antibacterial effect. In addition, the in vitro analysis on the mouse embryonic fibroblasts confirmed the superior biocompatibility of the hydrogel. The results obtained in this study provide the basis for the development of the functional antibacterial hydrogels by the self-assembly of the heterochiral peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we classify 1-connected 8-dimensional Poincaré complexes, topological manifolds and smooth manifolds whose integral homology groups are isomorphic to those of S3 × S5. A topic related to a paper of Escher and Ziller is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐layer π‐stacked emitters based on spatially confined donor/acceptor/donor (D/A/D) patterns have been developed to achieve high‐efficiency thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). In this case, dual donor moieties and a single acceptor moiety are introduced to form two three‐dimensional (3D) emitters, DM‐BD1 and DM‐BD2, which rely on spatial charge transfer (CT). Owing to the enforced face‐to‐face D/A/D pattern, effective CT interactions are realized, which lead to high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 94.2 % and 92.8 % for the two molecules, respectively. The resulting emitters exhibit small singlet–triplet energy splitting (ΔEST) and fast reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) processes. Maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 28.0 % and 26.6 % were realized for devices based on DM‐BD1 and DM‐BD2, respectively, which are higher than those of their D/A‐type analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐layer π‐stacked emitters based on spatially confined donor/acceptor/donor (D/A/D) patterns have been developed to achieve high‐efficiency thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). In this case, dual donor moieties and a single acceptor moiety are introduced to form two three‐dimensional (3D) emitters, DM‐BD1 and DM‐BD2, which rely on spatial charge transfer (CT). Owing to the enforced face‐to‐face D/A/D pattern, effective CT interactions are realized, which lead to high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 94.2 % and 92.8 % for the two molecules, respectively. The resulting emitters exhibit small singlet–triplet energy splitting (ΔEST) and fast reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) processes. Maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 28.0 % and 26.6 % were realized for devices based on DM‐BD1 and DM‐BD2, respectively, which are higher than those of their D/A‐type analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote functionalization reactions have the power to transform a C−H (or C−C) bond at a distant position from a functional group. This Review summarizes recent advances and key breakthroughs in remote fluorination, trifluoromethylation, difluoromethylation, trifluoromethylthiolation, and fluoroalkenylation reactions. Several powerful strategies have emerged to control the reactivity and distal selectivity such as the undirected radical approach, the 1,5‐hydrogen atom transfer, the metal migration, the use of distant directing groups, and the ring‐opening reactions. These unconventional and predictable C−H (and C−C) functionalization transformations should allow for the preparation of a wide range of otherwise‐difficult‐to‐access alkyl, aromatic, heteroaromatic, and structurally complex fluorides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influencing factors of postoperative delirium (POD) after deep brain electric stimulation (DBS) in patients older than 50 years with Parkinson disease (PD) and to construct a nomogram model to predict the risk of POD. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 229 patients older than 50 years with PD hospitalized from January 2015 to August 2019. All patients received DBS during hospitalization. The incidence of POD of patients and clinical data such as gender, age, educational level, and duration of disease were collected, the influencing factors of POD of patients with PD were analyzed, and a nomogram model for predicting the risk of POD was established. POD occurred in 47 of 229 patients with PD, with an incidence rate of 20.52%. Gender, age, Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale score, preoperative cerebral ischemia, preoperative pulmonary inflammation, and preoperative length of stay are the influencing factors of POD in patients older than 50 years with PD (P < 0.05). After deviation correction, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the nomogram model for predicting POD risk is 0.755, the sensitivity is 74.47%, and the specificity is 73.08%. The mean absolute error between the prediction of POD risk by the nomogram model and actual delirium risk is 0.024, suggesting that the nomogram model has good prediction efficiency. Based on the influencing factors of delirium after DBS for patients older than 50 years with PD, the nomogram model for predicting the risk of POD has been established in this study. The prediction efficiency is good, which can provide a reference for early clinical identification of high-risk patients and formulate interventional countermeasures as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to construct a nomogram for postoperative delirium (POD) after deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study retrospectively enrolled 165 patients with PD who had undergone DBS surgery. The patients were assessed using the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit and were divided into 2 groups: the delirium group and nondelirium group. The nomogram for POD after DBS surgery was constructed from the results of univariate analysis and multivariate logistic analysis of the influencing factors for POD after DBS surgery. Univariate analysis revealed that the preoperative length of stay and the presence of preoperative brain atrophy, preoperative pulmonary inflammation, and postoperative cerebral edema were statistically significant. The results from the nonmotor symptoms scale for PD, mini-mental state examination, PD sleep scale, and unified PD rating scale III were also statistically significant (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the unified PD rating scale III (odds ratio [OR], 2.284; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.614–3.232), nonmotor symptoms scale for PD (OR, 8.191; 95% CI, 5.629–11.917), PD sleep scale (OR, 0.058; 95% CI, 0.05–0.067), preoperative length of stay (OR, 1.230; 95% CI, 1.053–1.437), and preoperative brain atrophy (OR, 3.912; 95% CI, 3.5–4.255) were independent factors that influenced the occurrence of POD after DBS surgery. A nomogram model was constructed using these indicators. The model predicted an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve after DBS surgery of 0.870 (95% CI, 0.808–0.918), sensitivity of 74.19%, and specificity of 91.54%. The present study has presented a reliable and useful nomogram that can accurately predict the occurrence of POD after DBS surgery in patients with PD. This tool is easy to use and could assist physicians during the therapeutic decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent achievements in lignin depolymerization deliver various platform chemicals with high yields and provide great potential for further upgrading to value-added high-end products. 4-propylguaiacol as one of the most widely reported products via lignin-first depolymerization approach has been upgraded to a lot of valuable chemicals including polymer and pharma intermediates. In this work, we moved the focus to the field of flavors and fragrances, and proposed an environmental-friendly synthesis route to get the alternative of 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate (an important fragrance ingredient with annual production of more than 1000 metric tonnes). The key for the methodology is the design and development of the Raney NiCu catalyst which prepared by ball milling and dealloying process. The obtained catalysts show improved activity compared to widely used Raney Ni catalyst and the highest yield of 87.8% for 4-propylcyclohexanol could be achieved at 160 °C when use 2-propanol as hydrogen donor. The second step aims to get 4-propylcyclohexyl acetate via esterification of 4-propylcyclohexanol with acetic acid. This could be proceeded at 90 °C via Amberlyst-15 catalyst with the highest yield of 88.3%. The proposed process presents the potential to produce the biobased flavors and fragrances in a sustainable way. [Display omitted] • A new and sustainable synthesis route for flavors and fragrances was developed. • A Raney NiCu catalyst was successfully prepared via ball milling process. • Raney NiCu catalyst showed higher activity than widely used Raney Ni catalyst. • The crucial role of high activity is attributed to the formation of Ni-Cu alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of red/near-infrared (NIR) thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters are relatively lagging due to the spin statistics and energy gap law. Herein, we designed and synthesized a new NIR TADF emitter, 3-(4-(9,9′-spirobi[fluorene]-3-yl(phenyl)amino)phenyl)acenaphtho[1,2-b]pyrazine-8,9-dicarboni-trile (SDPA-APDC) , by incorporating a spiro-type electron-donating moiety N , N -diphenyl-9,9′-spirobi[fluorene]-2-amine (SDPA) to an electron-withdrawing unit acenaphtho[1,2- b ]pyrazine-8,9-dicarbonitrile (APDC). The photophysical, electrochemical and thermal properties of SDPA-APDC have been systematically explored. Consequently, the emitter was found high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), narrow bandgap, small singlet-triplet energy gap (Δ E ST) and excellent thermal stability. Furthermore, SDPA-APDC was developed for electroluminescence devices. The doped devices of SDPA-APDC achieved a red emission peak at 696 nm with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 10.75%. And the non-doped device exhibited a NIR emission peak at 782 nm with a maximum EQE of 2.55% Image 1 • Designing a near-infrared TADF emitter SDPA-APDC. • The doped and non-doped OLEDs of SDPA-APDC exhibited a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 10.75% (red emission peak at 696 nm) and 2.55% (NIR emission peak at 782 nm), respectively. • Enriching the design principles of efficient red/NIR TADF emitters based on more different electron donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep‐red and near‐infrared emitters with twisted donor–acceptor (D–A) structures often exhibit suboptimal performance in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) due to constraints imposed by the energy gap law. In this work, a pure hydrogen carbon (PHC) host material named SBF‐DTP is purposefully tailored for deep‐red OLEDs. The excellent capacity of SBF‐DTP to support D–A type DR emitters effectively arises from its distinctive attributes: localized excitation states, 3D configuration, and low polarity. When employing SBF‐DTP as the host for the fluorescence emitter DCPA‐TPA and the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter APDC‐DTPA, doped films exhibit substantially enhanced photoluminescence quantum yields. This improvement leads to high‐efficiency OLEDs with external quantum efficiencies of 5.47% for DCPA‐TPA and 20.03% for APDC‐DTPA, respectively, which is about twice as high as the initial reports. This findings underscore the paramount significance of developing efficient host materials in the pursuit of high‐performance deep red and even near‐infrared OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer; fluorination; fluoroalkyl(thiol)ation; metal migration; remote functionalization EN 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer fluorination fluoroalkyl(thiol)ation metal migration remote functionalization 1 1 1 12/03/20 20201201 NES 201201 B Remote functionalization reactions b have the power to transform a C-H (or C-C) bond at a distant position from a functional group. 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer, fluorination, fluoroalkyl(thiol)ation, metal migration, remote functionalization. [Extracted from the article]

Compared with red and green perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs), blue PeLEDs are still unable to well control spectral stability due to the issues of ion migration and phase separation under external operating conditions. Herein, a strategy using organometallic ligands is reported to achieve spectrally stable PeLEDs. The obtained perovskite film exhibits stable photoluminescence spectra under UV excitation (365nm) and continuous heating of 70 °C. The device delivers an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 6.7% with 50% lifetime (T50) of 21.6 min. Under high driving voltage (from 2 to 7.5 V), no obvious spectral shift has occurred for the electroluminescence spectrum at 481 nm. This work confirms the positive effect of organometallic ligands in quasi‐2D perovskite and provides a new idea for proposing effective ligands to act on the perovskite luminescence layer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the effect of a health (E)-coach chronic disease management model on the rehabilitation behaviour management of patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). Methods: The E-coach chronic disease management model was constructed based on a literature review and expert interviews. The effect of the E-coach model on patients with ASO during hospitalisation was analysed by comparing the compliance rates of blood glucose control, blood pressure control, drug compliance, ankle-brachial index, 6-min walking test (6MWT) and pain-free walking distance (PFWD) scores between the E-coach and control groups. Results: In total, 212 patients with ASO were included in this study. After the intervention, the blood pressure compliance rate (44.8% vs. 65.7%) and blood glucose compliance rate (48.6% vs. 66.8%) were higher in the E-coach group than in the control group (p < 0.05). After intervention, compared with the control group, the patients in the E-coach group had better drug compliance (6.8 ± 1.9 vs. 7.9 ± 1.0), and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The scores for the 6MWT (329.19 ± 5.58 vs. 353.00 ± 9.76; 412.65 ± 12.59 vs. 499.16 ± 18.43) and PFWD (219.15 ± 11.96 vs. 225.36 ± 16.13; 331.62 ± 51.36 vs. 369.42 ± 75.71) tests were significantly higher in the E-coach group than in the control group at 1 and 6 months after intervention (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The E-coach chronic disease management model can effectively improve the control rates of blood glucose and blood pressure and the behaviour management of patients with ASO and is thus worthy of clinical reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the neglect of left-behind children (LBC) in China. Method: Participants: Children separated from one or both parents for at least 6 months. Intervention: Trauma of separation. Comparison: Non-left-behind children (NLBC). Outcomes: Neglect rates and severity. Only case–control studies were included. Results: Thirteen studies were included; there were 18,688 LBC in a large sample (N = 42,003) of children aged 0–18 years in China. The overall neglect rate was significantly higher in LBC compared to NLBC (odds ratio [ OR ] = 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.50, 1.67], p <.01) based on the Chinese Rural Child Neglected Evaluation Model (CRCNEM) and the Parents–Child Conflict Tactics Scales (OR = 1.44, 95% CI [1.35, 1.54], p <.01). The overall neglect severity in LBC was also significantly higher than NLBC (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI [0.28, 0.33], p <.01). The same trends were observed in sex subgroups. With regard to subtypes, LBC were significantly more likely to have emotional neglect (OR = 2.29, 95% CI [1.88, 2.78], p <.01), medical neglect (OR = 1.79, 95% CI [1.62, 1.98], p <.01), physical neglect (OR = 1.75, 95% CI [1.60, 1.91], p <.01), security neglect (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.32, 1.75], p <.01), educational neglect (OR = 1.50, 95% CI [1.31, 1.72], p <.01), and social neglect (OR = 1.33, 95% CI [1.18, 1.51], p <.01). Furthermore, LBC had significantly higher severity in medical neglect (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI [0.27, 0.35], p <.01), emotional neglect (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI [0.24, 0.32], p <.01), physical neglect (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI [0.18, 0.29], p <.01), security neglect (SMD = 0.26, 95% CI [0.23, 0.29], p <.01), educational neglect (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI [0.20, 0.31], p <.01), and social neglect (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI [0.10, 0.40], p <.01). Conclusion: The neglect rates and severity in LBC in China were both significantly higher than those in NLBC. There was a strong association between neglect and LBC. Public policy changes are urgently needed to improve the dire situation and the well-being of the LBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the inherent organic–metal system property, phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PhOLEDs) are capable of exhibiting high performance. However, the existence of unintended triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA), which is mainly originated from high triplet exciton density leading to inferior device performance, is a current predicament. For mitigating the TTA in devices, reported herein is an effective host system with the role of precisely controlling the triplet excitons via the multichannel processes, in which a bipolar host material, a hole‐transporting material, and an electron‐transporting material are mixed to manage the triplet exciton transfer. The mixed‐host with so‐called "triplet excitons harvesting" strategy exhibits two concomitant reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) processes that simultaneously occur in the bipolar host material:electron‐transporting material and the host‐transporting material:electron‐transporting material exciplexes, respectively. Highly efficient green and red PhOLEDs are demonstrated by these multichannel processes, in which phosphorescent emitters bis(2‐phenylpyridine) (acetylacetonate) iridium(III) (Ir(ppy)2(acac)) and bis(2‐methyldibenzo[f,h]‐quinoxaline) (acetylacetonate) iridium(III) (Ir(MDQ)2(acac)) are doped into the mixed‐host, respectively. The green and red PhOLEDs realize nearly 30% of maximum external quantum efficiencies of 29.4% and 29.2%, respectively, and also maintain 29.1% and 28.3% at 1000 cd m−2. These excellent efficiencies and low roll‐offs confirm that the concomitant RISC processes effectively manage and utilize triplet excitons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: Left-behind children have a high incidence of behavioral problems in some Eastern countries, especially China. We sought to assess the combined effects of physical neglect, a major embodiment of the left-behind phenomenon, and the trauma of being left behind on subsequent behavioral problems. Method: 776 children (including 600 left-behind children) aged 12–16 years were chosen by cluster sampling in rural China. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Conners Teacher Rating Scale were used to evaluate physical neglect and behavioral problems. Results: Left-behind children experienced more physical neglect (mean difference = 0.63; 95%CI 0.15–1.10; P = 0.01) and were more inattentive (mean difference=0.11; 95%CI 0.03–0.19; P = 0.009) than non-left-behind children. Physically neglected left-behind children had higher scores for conduct problems, inattention, and hyperactivity index than non-left-behind without physical neglect group (P < 0.05 for each). Among left-behind children, physical neglect group had significantly more conduct problems than those of controls (mean difference=0.14; 95%CI 0.05–0.23; P = 0.008). Physically neglected non-left-behind children had higher scores for conduct problems than those of left-behind children without physical neglect (mean difference=0.31; 95%CI 0.13–0.47; P = 0.003). Among physically neglected children, left-behind children had significantly higher scores for inattention than those of non-left-behind children (mean difference=0.13; 95%CI 0.04–0.22; P = 0.037). Conclusion: Left-behind children have more behavioral problems than non-left-behind children. Physical neglect may result in more severe conduct problems than those associated with staying behind, and staying behind may lead to inattention. Exposure to both may lead to more obvious behavioral problems. Therefore, we should accord more attention to physically neglected and left-behind children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-area organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) fabricated by solution process with low-cost are essential for practical applications. However, maintaining desirable uniformity and smoothness of prepared films are challenging with the enhancement of film size and layers. Reported herein is a systematic strategy of solvent and device structure engineering for designing small molecular hybrid white OLED (WOLED) via blade-coating. Benefiting from the uniform blade-coated films with low roughness about 1 nm as well as the balanced charge carrier transport, the blade-coated WOLED with hybrid fluorescence and phosphorescence (small area 0.1 cm2) shows the maximum current efficiency (CE), power efficiency (PE), and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 29.0 cd A−1, 30.4 lm W−1, and 11.6%, respectively. And the WOLEDs achieve low turn-on voltage (V on) of about 2.8 V. Meanwhile, the all-vacuum-based WOLED reaches maximum CE, PE, and EQE of 40 cd A−1, 44.3 lm W−1, and 15.9%, respectively. Remarkably, a larger area of the device (2 cm × 2 cm) with uniform emitting reaches peak EQE of 6.8% by blade-coating, notably, only a small amount of solution about 0.9 μL/cm2 was consumed for blade-coated films. The high-performance and low-cost WOLED via blade-coating is ascribed to the facile strategy to improve the film morphology and the energy-level matching, which provides huge potential in display and flat panel lighting. Benefiting from the solvent and device structure engineering, the blade-coated hybrid white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) reach external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) close to 12% (small-area, 0.1 cm2) and 6.8% (2 cm × 2 cm) with a small amount of solution about 0.9 μL/cm2. [Display omitted] • Fabricating a hybrid white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) by blade-coating at ambient conditions. • Selecting the ideal solvents (solvent engineering) and electron-transporting layer for the highly efficient blade-coating WOLED which reaches the maximum EQE, power efficiency (PE), and current efficiency (CE) of 11.6%, 30.4 lm W−1, and 29.0 cd A−1, respectively. • Fabricating a blade-coated WOLED (2 cm × 2 cm) owning peak EQE of 6.8% with a small amount of solution of 0.9 μL/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research suggests that parental absence per se does not have a main effect on children's cognitive development. However, this body of research is confounded by decreased family finance resulted from parental absence. Further insights on children's cognitive development can be gained by studying situations where parental absence actually leads to higher family finance. China's rural left-behind children (LBC) are uniquely suited for this purpose because of their extended separation from parents who migrated to work for better family finance. The participants were 74 LBC (M = 9.99 years, SD = 2.66) whose parents both migrated away for work within six months of their births and 74 non-left-behind children (NLBC) (M = 10.03 years, SD = 2.58) of similar backgrounds but whose parents never migrated. We used the 4th Edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) to individually collected data on the children's Verbal Comprehension (which includes Similarities, Vocabulary, and Comprehension subtests), Perceptual Reasoning (which includes Block Design, Picture Concepts and Matric Reasoning subtests), Working Memory (which includes Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests), and Processing Speed (which includes Coding and Symbol Search subtests). We found that the LBC scored lower than the NLBC on the language Comprehension and Vocabulary subtests of the Verbal Comprehension Index (Cohen's d = 0.41; p =.01). Subsequent General Linear Modeling analyses revealed that for the Comprehension subtest: (1) dual-parental absence significantly and negatively predicted Comprehension scores and (2) monthly family income significantly and positively predicted Comprehension scores for the LBC but not for the NLBC. For Vocabulary subtest, only dual-parental absence was significant. Overall, these results offer a deeper understanding on the effect of dual parental absence and changes in family finance on different domains of children's cognitive development. • Migratory separation reduced parent-child interaction but increased family finance. • Chinese Rural Left-Behind children scored lower than peers on overall WISC-IV IQ. • Dual-parental absence had a negative effect on children's language comprehension. • Dual-parental absence's impact on language comprehension depended on family finance. • Migratory separation had benefits and detriments to children's cognitive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We first test if CHR is associated with insular cortex dysconnectivity. • We first test if insular cortex dysconnectivity is associated with severity of psychotic symptoms. Abnormalities in insular functional connectivity have been implicated in many clinical features of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to determine to what degree such abnormalities occur in individuals with clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), and whether which is associated with symptom severity. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 47 healthy controls, 24 CHR individuals and 19 patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Using the posterior, dorsal and ventral insular subregions as separate seeds, we examined resting-state functional connectivity differences between different groups and the association between concurrent symptom severity and dysconnectivity. Compared with healthy controls, both CHR individuals and schizophrenia patients showed hypoconnectivity between posterior insula (PI) and somatosensory areas, and between dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and putamen. Schizophrenia patients also showed dAI and ventral anterior insula(vAI) hyperconnectivity with visual areas relative to controls and CHR individuals. Correlation analysis revealed that dAI functional connectivity with superior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with positive symptoms of CHR, and vAI connectivity with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was negatively correlated with the severity of the symptoms of first-episode schizophrenia. Our findings suggest that insular functional dysconnectivity with the sensory cortex may be a system-level neural substrate preceding the onset of psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the initiation, invasion, metastasis and drug resistance of cancer. The function of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) in lung cancer progression remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on lung cancer EMT and the role of ERK5 in its effect. Wound healing and Transwell assays were applied to examine the migratory and invasive capacity in vitro. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting analysis were performed to investigate the expression of mRNA and protein levels. Small-interfering RNA was used to silence ERK5. Xenograft model was used to confirm the effect of SFN in vivo. Enhanced EMT and decreased ERK5 activation were observed in lung cancer cells in comparison with normal human bronchial epithelial cells. SFN diminished the migratory and invasive capacity of lung cancer cells. Additionally, significantly increased expression of epithelial markers (E-cadherin and ZO-1), decreased expression of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin and Snail1) and activation of ERK5 were observed after SFN treatment. The inhibitory effect of SFN on lung cancer cell EMT was attenuated by ERK5 silencing. SFN-induced EMT suppression and ERK5 activation were further confirmed in lung cancer xenograft mouse model. The present study illustrated for the first time that ERK5 activation mediates SFN suppression of lung cancer cell EMT. These findings could provide new insights into the function of ERK5 in EMT regulation and the potential therapeutic application of SFN in cancer intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]