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Heteroepitaxial growth of high Al-content AlGaN often results in a high density of threading dislocations and surface hexagonal hillocks, which degrade the performance and reliability of AlGaN-based UVC light emitting diodes (LEDs). In this study, the degradation mechanism and impurity/defect behavior of UVC LEDs in relation to the hexagonal hillocks have been studied in detail. It was found that the early degradation of UVC LEDs is primarily caused by electron leakage. The prominent contribution of the hillock edges to the electron leakage is unambiguously evidenced by the transmission electron microscopy measurements, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and conductive atomic force microscopy. Dislocations bunching and segregation of impurities, including C, O, and Si, at the hillock edges are clearly observed, which facilitate the trap-assisted carrier tunneling in the multiple quantum wells and subsequent recombination in the p-AlGaN. This work sheds light on one possible degradation mechanism of AlGaN-based UVC LEDs.

To analyze the causes of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis in spinal osteoid osteoma, and to put forward solutions to improve diagnosis accuracy and treatment efficacy in patients.We performed a retrospective cohort study on patients with spinal osteoid osteoma in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital from January 1983 to September 2019. All patients underwent surgery. The outcome measures were the extent of local pain, nocturnal pain, radicular symptoms of extremities after surgery, and reduction or disappearance of lesions on CT after surgery.Thirty-seven patients with spinal osteoid osteoma were recruited in the study. A total of 27% were female, and the mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 21.3 (8.7) years. A total of 87.0% of patients presented with nocturnal pain, and 94.7% of patients were responsive to NSAIDS treatment. The mean (SD) time from the initial onset of symptoms to the final diagnosis was 14.7 (12.5) months. Only four of 37 (10.8%) patients were correctly diagnosed with spinal osteoid osteoma on the first visit to the local hospital. CT is associated with a higher diagnosis rate than X-ray or MRI on the first visit. Surgical navigation was used in 88.9% of patients who underwent curettage resection, and in 10% of patients who underwent en bloc resection. A total of 37 of 37 patients (100%) reported relief of local pain and radicular symptoms of extremities after surgery, and no recurrence of tumors was found during follow-ups.Spinal CTs are recommended to be performed if osteoid osteoma is suspected based on clinical manifestation, including nocturnal pain and responsiveness to NSAIDS treatment, to avoid misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of spinal osteoid osteoma.

T-cells, being the major player in adaptive immune system mediating cellular immunity, have become a central focus for engaging the immune system in fighting against cancer. Their activation is initiated by recognition of antigen/major histocompatibility complexes by the T-cell receptor (TCR) and enhanced by engagement of co-stimulatory receptor. In recent years, various immunotherapies deploying T-cell immunity have made immense progress, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy, checkpoint blockage, and CD3-based bispecific antibodies. Here we report the development of a novel trispecific antibody to CD19, CD3, and CD28, with an emphasis on the co-engagement of both CD3/TCR complex and CD28 co-stimulatory receptor for sustained T cell activation. Compared with the BiTE-CD19xCD3 lacking the co-stimulatory domain, the trispecific antibody augmented T cell proliferation and differentiation into memory T cells. It induced faster tumor cell lysis than the bispecific antibody, preferably through direct tumor lysis by CD8 T cells. RNAseq analysis revealed that the trispecific antibody modulates TCR complex-derived signal at multiple aspects, including amplification of transcriptional factors, promoting production of cytokines, positive regulation of cell cycle, and upregulation of anti-apoptotic factors to influence survival of T-cells. Markedly increased tumor inhibition effects and prolonged survival were observed in vivo in humanized mouse model. By extra engagement of a co-stimulatory receptor to prolong the survival of activated T cells, our study has proposed another possibility to extend the pharmacology effect of tandem single-chain variable fragments (scFv)-based antibody, which is worthy of further exploration in clinical trial settings.

Amorphous fluorine resin is a promising material that can be used for the encapsulation of deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs) to promote the light output, due to its light characteristics which mean it shows no absorption in the DUV wavelength region. However, obvious decay and high cost are the problems faced by fluorine resin. In this study, thin-fluorine-resin-film-packaged DUV LEDs were fabricated by the drip-coating method and the characteristics were tested. The results show that the light output power increased from 4.95 mW to 5.44 mW at 40 mA, and the cost of fluorine resin can be reduced to ~10%. In addition, no degradation during the aging was observed. However, when the light output power reached 12 mW or higher, >10% decay was observed after aging for 1000 h. In conclusion, thin-fluorine-resin-film-packaged DUV LEDs can achieve 10% light output power enhancement by using less fluorine resin material, and the material is more applicable to low-power DUV LEDs.

The development of materials with intrinsically antimicrobial activities has attracted great interest. Herein, we report the synthesis of free-standing and robust poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) membranes with high antibacterial activities by in situ photo-cross-linking of an ionic liquid monomer and followed by anion-exchange with an amino acid (l-proline (Pro) or l-tryptophan (Trp)). The resultant PIL-based membranes with excellent robustness exhibit high antimicrobial properties against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and present no significant hemolysis and cytotoxicity toward human red blood and skin fibroblast cells, as well as low adsorption of bovine serum albumin. The synthesized PIL-Trp membranes exhibit the highest antibacterial efficiency due to the synergistic attributes of both imidazolium cation and Trp– anion. Furthermore, all the PIL-based membranes exhibit long-term antibacterial stability, which demonstrates clinical feasibility...

A set of AgCu/Cu-foam/AgCu/Ti multi-layered composite fillers was designed and employed to braze the Inconel 600 alloy and ZrB2-SiC ceramic. Microstructures, formation mechanism and shear strengths of the joints were investigated in detail with and without the addition of Ti foil. The shear strengths of the brazed joints were improved substantially with the presence of Ti foils. A maximum gain of 150 % was reached from 77 MPa to 198 MPa after introducing the Ti foil and brazing the joint at a 1173 K for 15 min. The mechanical property enhancement is attributed to a newly formed TiC phase, release of residual stress, and barrier effect of Cu foam to inhibit formation of Ti-Ni intermetallic compounds.

Hypoxia can cause Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal tubular cells, and in turn, renal fibrosis. We tested the expression of TRIM46, a member of tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) family proteins, and mesenchymal markers under hypoxia. Our results showed that hypoxia significantly enhanced expression of TRIM46 in HK2 human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells. Our data further showed that hypoxia led to upregulated expression of mesenchymal markers including α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and Snail, and downregulated expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin, coupled with an increased abundance of nuclear β-catenin. However, such effects were reversed when TRIM46 expression was knocked down. TRIM46 overexpression had similar effects as hypoxia exposure, and such effects were reversed when cells were treated with XAV-939, a selective inhibitor for β-catenin. Furthermore, we found that TRIM46 promoted ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of Axin1 protein, a robust negative regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity. Finally, increased TRIM46 coupled with decreased Axin1 was observed in a rat renal fibrosis model. These data suggest a novel mechanism contributing to EMT that mediates hypoxia-induced renal fibrosis. Our results suggest that selectively inhibiting this pathway that activates fibrosis in human kidney may lead to development of a novel therapeutic approach for managing this disease.

Purpose: Renal fibrosis (RF) is the necessary way for Chronic kidney disease (CKD) to develop to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Patients with chronic kidney disease suffer from high morbidity and premature death due to various complications and even cancer. Therefore, this study aims to identify key genes in the pathogenesis of RF and Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma (KIRC).Method: We analyzed the gene expression characteristics of two databases (GSE6344 and GSE22459) and used geo2R tools to obtain the differentially expressed genes (DEG). Then, use Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) for Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) path analysis. Subsequently, we used the STRING database and built the protein-protein-interactions (PPI) network, the cytoHubba plug-ins of Cytoscape were used to select the hub. Then, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) database to verify hub genes and further screen out core genes. Then, TargetScanHuman, miRTarbase and miRWalk databases were used to reverse-predict targeted miRNA regulated by core genes and screen out core miRNA. mRNA and miRNA mutual aid network were established. At the same time, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis（GEPIA）database was used for survival analysis of screened core genes to find genes related to prognosis. Tumor Immune Estimation Resource（TIMER）database was used to evaluate the correlation between the expression of core genes and immune cell penetration. Then use the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) tool to analyze the LYZ gene, and finally use the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) online database to verify the expression level of the identified central gene.Result: We filtered 2755 DEGs from the GSE6344 database, including 1292 upregulated DEGs and 1463 downregulated DEGs; 2552 DEGs were filtered from the GSE22459 database, including 2022 downregulated DEGs and 530 upregulated DEGs. We did functional enrichment analysis of down-regulated and up-regulated differential genes, Functional enrichment analysis of up-regulated genes shows that DEGs involves many functions and expression pathways. such as immune response, plasma membrane, membrane, integral component of plasma membrane, signal transduction, extracellular region and extracellular space. It is demonstrated in the PPI network constructed by 67 nodes (proteins) and 546 PPI edges (interactions); Functional enrichment analysis of down-regulated genes also shows that DEGs involves many functions and expression pathways. such as integral component of plasma membrane, plasma membrane, extracellular space and extracellular region. It is demonstrated in the PPI network constructed by 141 nodes (proteins) and 624 PPI edges (interactions). Then a gene LYZ was selected step by step in three rounds of validation through TCGA data set, GTEx data set, Timer database and HPA database. LYZ expression was significantly correlated with the immune infiltration levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, Macrophage, Myeloid dendritic, Neutrophil and B cell. The upstream hub miRNA that regulate this gene were identified: has-miR-4649-3p and has-miR-873-3p. Based on these findings, it is proposed that LYZ may be a potential novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of KIRC at the mRNA and protein levels, and has-miR-4649-3p and has-miR-873-3p at the molecular level, and can help us better manage the progression of renal fibrosis.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that immune response, inflammation and other pathways play an extremely important role in RF and KIRC. LYZ, has-miR-4649-3p and has-miR-873-3p may become potential prognostic biomarkers of KIRC and contribute to the prevention and treatment of renal fibrosis, which also shows us a new therapeutic idea that provides the possibility to treat renal fibrosis from the perspective of immunity.

Background: 2',3'-cGAMP (2',3'-cyclic AMP-GMP) has been reported as an agonist of the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) signaling pathway. However, cGAMP has poor membrane permeability and can be hydrolyzed by ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (ENPP1), limiting its ability to activate the STING-IRF3 pathway. This study aimed to investigate that the folate-targeted liposomal cGAMP could overcome the defects of free cGAMP to enhance the antitumor effect. Materials and Methods: cGAMP was encapsulated in PEGylated folic acid-targeted liposomes to construct a carrier-delivered formulation. The particle size and morphology were detected by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The sustained-release ability was measured by drug release and pharmacokinetics. Animal models were applied to evaluate the tumor inhibition efficiency in vivo. Flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the expression of immune cells, secreted cytokines, and target genes. The activation of the STING-IRF3 pathway was evaluated by immunofluorescence. Results: Physical characters of liposomes revealed that the prepared liposomes were stable in neutral humoral environments and released more internal drugs in acidic tumor tissues. Systemic therapy with liposomes on Colorectal 26 tumor-bearing mice in vivo effectively inhibited tumor growth via stimulating the expression of CD8+ T cells and reversed the immunosuppressed tumor microenvironment (TME). Conclusions: The study suggests that the folic acid-targeted cGAMP-loaded liposomes deliver drugs to the TME to enhance the STING agonist activity, improving the efficiency of tumor therapy via the cGAMP-STING-IRF3 pathway.

Renal fibrosis is considered as the final pathway of all types of kidney diseases, which can lead to the progressive loss of kidney functions and eventually renal failure. The mechanisms behind are diversified, in which the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is one of the most important regulatory pathways that accounts for the disease. Several processes that are regulated by the mTOR pathway, such as autophagy, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, are tightly associated with renal fibrosis. In this study, we have reported that the expression of tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) protein 6, a member of TRIM family protein, was highly expressed in renal fibrosis patients and positively correlated with the severity of renal fibrosis. In our established in vitro and in vivo renal fibrosis models, its expression was upregulated by the Angiotensin II-induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p50 and p65. In HK2 cells, the expression of TRIM6 promoted the ubiquitination of tuberous sclerosis proteins (TSC) 1 and 2, two negative regulators of the mTORC1 pathway. Moreover, the knockdown of TRIM6 was found efficient for alleviating renal fibrosis and inhibiting the downstream processes of EMT and ER in both HK2 cells and 5/6-nephrectomized rats. Clinically, the level of TRIM6, TSC1/2, and NF-κB p50 was found closely related to renal fibrosis. As a result, we have presented the first study on the role of TRIM6 in the mTORC1 pathway in renal fibrosis models and our findings suggested that TRIM6 may be a potential target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

Imidazolium-type metal-containing ionic liquid (IL) monomers and their corresponding poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) membranes coordinated with CuCl2 (PILM-Cu), FeCl3 (PILM-Fe), or ZnCl2 (PILM-Zn) were synthesized. The effect of metal ions on the antimicrobial activities against both Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) was investigated. Compared with pristine PILM-Br membrane, PILM-Cu, PILM-Fe, and PILM-Zn membranes exhibit enhanced antibacterial activities due to the attributes of both imidazolium cations and metal-containing anions. Furthermore, all of the metal-containing PIL membranes present low hemolysis toward human red blood cell and high long-term antibacterial stability, even after immersion in water for 90 days, demonstrating clinical feasibility in topical applications.

The role of cGAMP stimulating cGAS-cGAMP-STING-IRF3 pathway to inhibit tumor growth was well-established. Herein, the efficiency and pharmacological mechanism of cGAMP on regulating tumor metastasis was investigated. The effects of cGAMP regulating CD8+ T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumor microenvironment was explored. In this study, we found that cGAMP boosted STING signaling pathway to activate the production of IFN-γ from CD8+ T cells, and decreased the population of MDSCs in vivo. The metastasis in CT26 tumor bearing mice was inhibited by cGAMP via regulating EMT process. cGAMP played an important role in suppressing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) from MDSCs, abolished the suppressive function of MDSCs to the T cells. All in all, the results indicated that the STING agonist cGAMP activated the production of IFN-γ from CD8+ T cells to suppress MDSCs in vivo.

The role of cGAMP stimulating cGAS-cGAMP-STING-IRF3 pathway to inhibit tumor growth was well-established. Herein, the efficiency and pharmacological mechanism of cGAMP on regulating tumor metastasis was investigated. The effects of cGAMP regulating CD8+ T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumor microenvironment was explored. In this study, we found that cGAMP boosted STING signaling pathway to activate the production of IFN-γ from CD8+ T cells, and decreased the population of MDSCs in vivo. The metastasis in CT26 tumor bearing mice was inhibited by cGAMP via regulating EMT process. cGAMP played an important role in suppressing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) from MDSCs, abolished the suppressive function of MDSCs to the T cells. All in all, the results indicated that the STING agonist cGAMP activated the production of IFN-γ from CD8+ T cells to suppress MDSCs in vivo.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death for people over 65 years. Worse still, no completely effective therapeutic agent is available so far. One important pathological hallmark of AD is accumulated amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques with dysregulated metal homeostasis. Human metallothionin 3 (MT3), a regulator of metal homeostasis, is downregulated at least 30% in AD brain. So far, some in vitro studies demonstrated its multiple functions related to AD. However, it is a great pity that systematic in vivo studies of MT3 on AD model animals are still a blank so far. In this study, we treated APP/PS1 mice with sustained drug release of Zn7MT3 directly to the central nervous system, and investigated the role and molecular mechanism of Zn7MT3 to protect against AD mice systematically. The results demonstrated that Zn7MT3 can significantly ameliorate cognitive deficits, regulate metal homeostasis, abolish Aβ plaque load, and reduce oxidative stress. Additionally, it has been confirmed that MT3 is penetrable to the blood brain barrier of AD mice. All these results support that Zn7MT3 is an effective AD suppressing agent and has potential for applications in Alzheimer’s disease therapy.

Polycationic polymers have been widely used as antimicrobial materials because of their broad spectrum activity and potential use as new antibiotics. Herein, we report the synthesis of polyanionic antimicrobial membranes by in situ photo-cross-linking of a sulfate based anionic monomer, followed by cation-exchange with organic (quaternary ammonium or imidazolium) or metal (Ag+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Na+, K+) cations. The resultant polyanionic membranes show high and broad spectrum antibacterial activities against both bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) and fungi (Candida albicans ). In addition, the polyanionic antimicrobial membranes efficiently inhibited the formation of biofilms by SC5314 and its crk1 gene deleted (Δcrk1) C. albicans strains. Furthermore, the synthesized polyanionic membranes exhibit good blood compatibility, low cytotoxicity and long-term antibacterial stability, demonstrating safe antimicrobial materials in the application of healthcare.

Due to the fragility and the poor optoelectronic performances of Si, it is challenging and exciting to fabricate the Si-based flexible light-emitting diode (LED) array devices. Here, a flexible LED array device made of Si microwires-ZnO nanofilm, with the advantages of flexibility, stability, lightweight, and energy savings, is fabricated and can be used as a strain sensor to demonstrate the two-dimensional pressure distribution. Based on piezo-phototronic effect, the intensity of the flexible LED array can be increased more than 3 times (under 60 MPa compressive strains). Additionally, the device is stable and energy saving. The flexible device can still work well after 1000 bending cycles or 6 months placed in the atmosphere, and the power supplied to the flexible LED array is only 8% of the power of the surface-contact LED. The promising Si-based flexible device has wide range application and may revolutionize the technologies of flexible screens, touchpad technology, and smart skin.

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of single-stage resection for type II congenital constriction rings by means of histologic examination of resected specimens and imaging examination of affected extremities, and to evaluate the appearance and function of the extremities after single-stage surgery. Methods The features of the skin on the constriction rings and the subcutaneous tissues were identified through continuous sectioning, hematoxylin and eosin staining, and immunohistologic staining of specimens of type II constriction rings obtained by means of surgery. The relationship between the constriction rings and the deep main blood vessels was evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging. Single-stage resection of the constriction band, reduction of the fascial flap, and triangular flap-plasty were performed for 21 patients. The appearance, lymphedema, and movement of the extremities were compared before and after the operation. Results Type II constriction rings in the extremities had normal full-layer skin structures. Collagen was found deposited densely at the base of the grooves, but the normal subcutaneous tissue space remained, and the vital nerves and blood vessels were unaffected. Complete resection of the constriction rings was achieved in all 21 patients, and lymphedema subsided 2 months after the operation. No episode of recurrence was found, and limb function was not affected at 26-month follow-up. Conclusions Type II congenital constriction rings in limbs possess normal subcutaneous tissue spaces. A single-stage operation, which includes complete resection of the rings, fascial flap reduction, and triangular flap-plasty, could achieve a satisfactory appearance and good function. Clinical question/level of evidence Therapeutic, III.

The structure-antibacterial activity relationship between the small molecular compounds and polymers are still elusive. Here, imidazolium-type ionic liquid (IL) monomers and their corresponding poly(ionic liquids) (PILs) and poly(ionic liquid) membranes were synthesized. The effect of chemical structure, including carbon chain length of substitution at the N3 position and charge density of cations (mono- or bis-imidazolium) on the antimicrobial activities against both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was investigated by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The antibacterial activities of both ILs and PILs were improved with the increase of the alkyl chain length and higher charge density (bis-cations) of imidazolium cations. Moreover, PILs exhibited lower MIC values relative to the IL monomers. However, the antibacterial activities of PIL membranes showed no correlation to those of their analogous small molecule IL monomers and PILs, which increased with the charge density (bis-cations) while decreasing with the increase of alkyl chain length. The results indicated that antibacterial property studies on small molecules and homopolymers may not provide a solid basis for evaluating that in corresponding polymer membranes.

A new method of array configuration for solar tracking photovoltaic (PV) devices is proposed. By analyzing the affecting factors of shadows, a calculation model of PV cell panels’ shadow in the sunlight is structured. And the variation rule of shadows in a year is founded by simulation program. Then a spacing calculation method of the solar tracking device array is proposed. The experiment result shows that the proposed method can minimize the installation spacing of PV device by ensuring PV cell panels without shadow shading and save area effectively in PV power station construction.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death for people over 65 years. Worse still, no completely effective therapeutic agent is available so far. One important pathological hallmark of AD is accumulated amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques with dysregulated metal homeostasis. Human metallothionin 3 (MT3), a regulator of metal homeostasis, is downregulated at least 30% in AD brain. So far, some in vitro studies demonstrated its multiple functions related to AD. However, it is a great pity that systematic in vivo studies of MT3 on AD model animals are still a blank so far. In this study, we treated APP/PS1 mice with sustained drug release of Zn7MT3 directly to the central nervous system, and investigated the role and molecular mechanism of Zn7MT3 to protect against AD mice systematically. The results demonstrated that Zn7MT3 can significantly ameliorate cognitive deficits, regulate metal homeostasis, abolish Aβ plaque load, and reduce oxidative stress. Additionally, it has been confirmed that MT3 is penetrable to the blood brain barrier of AD mice. All these results support that Zn7MT3 is an effective AD suppressing agent and has potential for applications in Alzheimer’s disease therapy.

Herein, a series of quaternary ammonium (Qa) or imidazolium (Im) cation-based poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) membranes and their corresponding zinc ion coordinated PIL membranes were synthesized. The effects of chemical structure, including organic cations, alkyl side chain of substitution, and zinc atoms on the antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans were investigated. The Zn-containing PIL membranes show higher antibacterial activities compared to those of pristine PIL membranes due to the synergistic attributes of both organic cations (Qa or Im) and zinc atoms. A wound healing test using methicillin-resistant S. aureus infected mouse as the model further demonstrated that zinc ion coordinated PIL membranes were antibacterially active, biologically safe, and may have potential application as an antimicrobial wound dressing in a clinical setting.

Pyrrolidinium-type small molecule ionic liquids (ILs), poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) homopolymers, and their corresponding PIL membranes were synthesized and used for antibacterial applications. The influences of substitutions at the N position of pyrrolidinium cation on the antimicrobial activities against both Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were studied by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The antibacterial efficiency of both the small molecule ILs and PIL homopolymers increased with the increase of the alkyl chain length of substitutions. Furthermore, PIL homopolymers show relatively lower MIC values, indicating better antimicrobial activities than those of the corresponding small molecule ILs. However, the antibacterial properties of the PIL membranes are contrary to corresponding ILs and PIL homopolymers, which reduce with the increase of alkyl chain length. Furthermore, the resultant PIL membranes show excellent hemocompatibility and low cytotoxicity toward human cells, demonstrating clinical feasibility in topical applications.

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is a heme-containing metalloprotein in NO-sGC-cGMP signaling. NO binds to the heme of sGC to catalyze the synthesis of the second messenger cGMP, which plays a critical role in several physiological processes. However, the molecular mechanism for sGC to mediate the NO signaling remains unclear. Here fluorophore FlAsH-EDT2 and fluorescent proteins were employed to study the NO-induced sGC activation. FlAsH-EDT2 labeling study revealed that NO binding to the H-NOX domain of sGC increased the distance between H-NOX and PAS domain and the separation between H-NOX and coiled-coil domain. The heme pocket conformation changed from “closed” to “open” upon NO binding. In addition, the NO-induced conformational change of sGC was firstly investigated in vivo through fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. The results both in vitro and in vivo indicated the conformational change of the catalytic domain of sGC from “open” to “closed” upon NO binding. NO binding to the heme of H-NOX domain caused breaking of Fe-N coordination bond, initiated the domain moving and conformational change, induced the allosteric effect of sGC to trigger the NO-signaling from H-NOX via PAS & coiled-coil to the catalytic domain, and ultimately stimulates the cyclase activity of sGC.

Image cloning which could copy the source image and “paste” it into the target image seamlessly is one of the important digital image manipulation techniques. Traditional methods which cope with this problem managed to analyze image information in gradient domains according to solving Poisson equations. As a result, existing methods need high computational cost and memory usage which hinder them from time-critical applications with high-resolution images. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to cope with image cloning problem based on modified mean-value coordinates technique so that we transform the problem into a very simple image interpolation procedure which is easy to implement without diminishing the performances. We also apply image pyramid technique to further accelerate the proposed algorithm and achieve high performances even on a CPU with single thread.

The cobalt-containing cathode materials facilitate the activity of oxygen reduction, but they also suffer from problems like high thermal expansion coefficients, which cause poor thermal compatibility with electrolytes and limited performance stability. In this work, a functionally graded PrBaCo 2 O 5 (PBCO) cathode is developed for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on proton-conducting BaCe 0.7 Zr 0.1 Y 0.2 O 3− δ (BCZY) electrolyte. The compositions of the cathodes are gradually changed from a material that is active for oxygen reduction and more compatible with the electrolyte BCZY to another material that is more conductive for current collection. The single cells have high resistance to thermal shock, showing well-combined cathode-electrolyte interface after 60 times of thermal cycles. Meanwhile, a maximum power density of 588 mW cm −2 and a low polarization resistance of 0.08 Ω cm −2 is achieved at 700 °C, respectively. The impedance spectra indicate that the optimized cathode structure greatly improves the polarization resistance while ohmic resistance is mainly determined by the conductivity and thickness of electrolyte. The results demonstrate that this configuration not only buffers the TEC mismatch but also optimizes the cathode structure for oxygen reduction reaction.

[Bi 0.75 Y 1.05− x Ca 1.2+ x ](Fe 4.4− x Sn x V 0.6 )O 12 (Sn x :Bi-CVG) ferrite materials were prepared by conventional ceramic technique. The bulk density, microstructure and the magnetic properties of the obtained samples were analyzed. The results showed that moderate addition of Sn 4+ in Bi-CVG could lower the sintering temperature and enhance the soft magnetic properties obviously. With the increase of Sn 4+ content, the saturation magnetization first increased and then decreased, while the coercivity and the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth (Δ H ) first sharply decreased and then slightly increased. Additionally, the specimen of [Bi 0.75 Y 0.65 Ca 1.6 ](Fe 4.0 Sn 0.4 V 0.6 )O 12 sintered at 1075 °C possessed the highest density and the optimum magnetic properties: RD (the relative density) = 98.49%, H c = 152.3 A/m, 4 πM s = 711.3 × 10 −4 T, Δ H = 2.1 kA/m.

LiFePO 4 has become a highly promising cathode material for use in the next generation of lithium-ion batteries, in which metal-doping is typically employed to improve the electrochemical properties. However, it is always difficult to resolve the issue that how the doping element and its position cause the microstructural changes and eventually influence the material properties. In this work, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of a series of metal-doped LiFePO 4 were simulated by software MS Reflex to investigate those factors since XRD is a typical technique for the study of crystal structures. The effect of simulation conditions, doping position, and types of doping elements were discussed. The results revealed that: (1) the suitable step size should be 0.02° or less, and the simulation position had little influence on the XRD pattern; (2) the peak intensity changed with doping position, and had been affected more evidently at the Li-site compare with the Fe-site; (3) there was a close relationship between the doping elements and peak intensities in XRD patterns, and the variation degree of the peak intensity increased linearly with the atomic number of doping elements.

The LiFePO 4 precursor was synthesized using a precipitation with raw materials LiOH·H 2 O, (NH 4 ) 2 HPO 4 and FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O. The kinetics of synthesis olivine LiFePO 4 was studied by using a differential thermal analysis (DTA) at different heating rates. The average activation energy of the reaction where the precursor form olivine LiFePO 4 was 239.39 kJ mol −1 , calculated by Doyle–Ozawa and Kissinger methods. The reaction order, frequency factor, rate equation and kinetic equation of the reaction were determined by the Kissinger method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The sample synthesized by the precursor sintered for 6 h at 550 °C shows a single-phase, regular morphology, well-distributed particle sizes and good electrochemical properties.

Objective To summarize the experience in diagnosis and surgical treatment of 105 cases with a tumor of the chest wall, and to investigate reconstruction of a large chest-wall defect after resection of a chest wall tumor.

The molecular mechanism of CeONP in protecting against neuronal cytotoxicity from amyloid peptides and copper ions was investigated systematically by photoluminescence of [Ru(phen)2dppz](2+), morphology of TEM, mass spectroscopy, cell viability assay, ROS fluorescence assay, and EPR. The results revealed that CeONPs reduced Aβ1-42 aggregation, protected from neurotoxicity of ROS induced by Cu(2+) + Aβ1-42via blocking the production of free radicals and scavenging the radicals with Ce(3+)/Ce(4+) catalytic cycles, which provides a valuable insight into CeONPs as a therapeutic intervention in oxidative damage in Alzheimer's disease.

Heme oxidation and loss of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is thought to be an important contributor to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Nevertheless, it remains unknown why the heme loses readily in oxidized sGC. In the current study, the conformational change of sGC upon heme oxidation by ODQ was studied based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the heme and a fluorophore fluorescein arsenical helix binder (FlAsH-EDT2) labeled at different domains of sGC β1. This study provides an opportunity to monitor the domain movement of sGC relative to the heme. The results indicated that heme oxidation by ODQ in truncated sCC induced the heme-associated αF helix moving away from the heme, the Per/Arnt/Sim domain (PAS) domain moving closer to the heme, but led the helical domain going further from the heme. We proposed that the synergistic effect of these conformational changes of the discrete region upon heme oxidation forces the heme pocket open, and subsequent heme loss readily. Furthermore, the kinetic studies suggested that the heme oxidation was a fast process and the conformational change was a relatively slow process. The kinetics of heme loss from oxidized sGC was monitored by a new method based on the heme group de-quenching the fluorescence of FlAsH-EDT2.

Image cloning which could copy the source image and “paste“ it into the target image seamlessly is one of an important digital image manipulation technique. Traditional methods to cope with this problem were to analyze image information in gradient domain according to solving Poisson equations. As a result, existing methods need high computational cost and memory usage which hinder them from real-time applications with high-resolution images. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to cope with image cloning problem based on modified mean-value coordinates technique so that we transform the problem into an image interpolation procedure which is very simple and easy to implement without diminishing the performances. Furthermore, we use GPGPU (General Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Unit) technique to accelerate the proposed algorithm and achieve real-time performances with the cloned region whose size is about 1 mega pixels.

Immunotherapy is one of the key strategies for cancer treatment. The cGAS-cGAMP-STING-IRF3 pathway of cytosolic DNA sensing plays a pivotal role in antiviral defense. We report that the STING activator cGAMP possesses significant antitumor activity in mice by triggering the STING-dependent pathway directly. cGAMP enhances innate immune responses by inducing production of cytokines such as interferon-β, interferon-γ and stimulating dendritic cells activation, which induces the cross-priming of CD8+ T cells. The antitumor mechanism of cGAMP was verified by STING and IRF3, which were up-regulated upon cGAMP treatment. STING-deficiency dramatically reduced the antitumor effect of cGAMP. Furthermore, cGAMP improved the antitumor activity of 5-FU and clearly reduced the toxicity of 5-FU. These results demonstrated that cGAMP is a novel antitumor agent and has potential applications in cancer immunotherapy.

Shuang Fan 1, a , Hongyi Gao 1, b , Qiming Xu 1, c , Huanqiu He 1, d , Lili Lu 1, e , Junyao Shen 1, f , Yu Xiao 1, g and Li Tan 2, h * 1 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China 2 Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China 15910751786@126.com, 15210600103@163.com, 857467411@qq.com, 497891518@qq.com, 438097705@qq.com, 625003680@qq.com, 1049982139@qq.com, tljw060606@163.com

To assess the accuracy of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) with imaging reconstruction in judging central pulmonary vascular involvement from central lung cancer, and to explore its ability to predict the resectability of lung cancer. MSCTs were conducted on 48 patients who were diagnosed preoperatively with central lung cancer. Images of pulmonary arteries and veins that might affect lobectomy or pneumonectomy were reconstructed by means of imaging processing techniques. Then the relationship of the tumor to the vessels was assessed prospectively on both axial CT images and axial CT images plus reconstructed images(CT-RI) in comparison to subsequent pathologic and surgical findings. MSCTs were obtained on all 48 patients whom 42 underwent thoracotomy, lobectomy or pneumonectomy. Compared with the axial CT images, CT -Rl was more accurate in judging the relationship of the central pulmonary vessels to the tumor based on subsequent pathologic 78 vessels studied and surgical findings (186 vessels studied) (0.01

In this article, a high sensitive longitudinally driven giant magneto-impedance (LDGMI) effect in Fe 36 Co 36 Nb 4 Si 4.8 B 19.2 (FeCo-based) ribbon under weak magnetic field (WMF) was presented. The FeCo-based amorphous ribbon was prepared by single roller quench and annealed with joule-heat in flowing nitrogen atmosphere. The LDGMI effect profiles of FeCo-based ribbon have been measured with HP4294A impedance analyzer. The result shows that the LDGMI effect of FeCo-based ribbon responds to the WMF sensitively (as high as 1380 %/A·m−1). The super high sensitivity can be obtained in a moderate narrow range of annealing current density (27∼34 A/mm2) and closely depends on the driven current frequency. The highest sensitivity (1380 %/A·m−1) was observed when the FeCo-based amorphous ribbon annealed at 32 A/mm2 for 10 minutes and then driven with AC at the frequency of 300 kHz. The high sensitive LDGMI effect in WMF may results from the multiple magnetic anisotropy structure which induced by the temperature grads in the ribbon. This high sensitive LDGMI effect in WMF is promising for the development of weak magnetic-field sensors.

A colloidal dispersion of indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles in butyl acetate solvent was achieved using a milling process in which PVP or PEG were used as a dispersant. The influences of Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and Polyethylene glycol (PEG) dispersants on the stability of ITO suspension were studied by Zeta potential value, Nano-particle size measurement and sedimentation experiment. The results indicate that PEG dispersant dosage 5.5%, PVP 3.5% of the amount of slurry when the effect of dispersion can play, but in the storage time of 30 days, the dispersing agent PVP on the stability of slurry particles better than the PEG.

In this paper, a low-power CMOS variable gain amplifier (VGA) with an approximated exponential equation is presented. The proposed VGA is composed of two cascaded variable gain stages and a fixed gain stage, and has advantages of low-power, wide controlled gain range and temperature independent. The VGA is implemented in 0.18um CMOS technology. The simulations show that a total linear gain range of 80dB (−15dB∼65dB) with 3-dB bandwidth can be obtained at 50MHz; the IIP3 varies from −4dBm to −40dBm. The power dissipation is less than 2.2mA from a 1.8V supply voltage; the NF is only 14dB (at the 65dB gain). And the control circuit provides a gain error lower than ±1.5dB over the full temperature and gain ranges.

In this paper, a low-power CMOS variable gain amplifier (VGA) with dB-linear gain, which is based on an approximated exponential equation is presented. Being designed for GPS application, the proposed VGA is composed of two cascaded variable gain stages and a fixed gain stage, and has advantages of low-power, wide controlled-gain-range and highly-linear. The VGA is implemented in 0.18 ?m CMOS technology. The simulations show that a total linear gain range of 60 dB (27 dB-87 dB) with 3-dB bandwidth can be obtained at 16 MHz; the IIP3 varies from -11 dBm (at the minimum gain) to -60 dB (at the maximum gain). The power dissipation is less than 2 mA from a 1.8 V supply, and the input referred noise voltage is only 13 ?Vrms (at the 55 dB gain).

We present a multifunction wireless transceiver RFIC for WLAN and DVB-H applications. The RFIC includes a super-heterodyne transceiver for IEEE 802.11 a/b/g WLAN applications and a zero-IF receiver for DVB-H application. The WLAN and DVB-H transceiver share the down-conversion mixers, the baseband VGAs, filters, and the PLL synthesizer, resulting in a small silicon area of 20 mm2. Using a 3.3 V supply, the power consumption of the WLAN transceiver and the DVB-H receiver are 462 mW and 396 mW, respectively.