Search

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide, and the discovery of new effective breast cancer therapies with lower toxicity is still needed. We screened a series of chalcone derivatives and found that MY11 ((E)-1-(2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-piperazinylphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one) had the strongest anti-breast cancer activity. MY11 inhibited the growth of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells by arresting the cell cycle and promoting apoptosis, through regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis-related proteins. PDTC (Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate ammonium), a specific inhibitor of the NF-κB pathway, abolished the inhibitory effect of MY11 treatment. NF-κB has been shown to regulate PUMA-dependent apoptosis. Our in vitro studies demonstrated that MY11 promoted breast cancer cell apoptosis by activating the NF-κB/PUMA/mitochondrial apoptosis pathway (including Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-9). MY11 also inhibited tumor growth in an orthotopic breast cancer mouse model by inducing apoptosis through the NF-κB signaling pathway, importantly, with minimal toxicity. In addition, MY11 was found by docking analysis to bind to p65, which might enhance the stability of the p65 protein. Taken together, our findings indicate that MY11 exerts a significant anticancer effect in breast cancer and that it may be a potential candidate for the treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent virtual-lesion study using inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) confirmed the causal behavioral relevance of the precuneus in the evaluation of one's own memory performance (aka mnemonic metacognition). This study's goal is to elucidate how these TMS-induced neuromodulatory effects might relate to the neural correlates and be modulated by individual anatomical profiles in relation to meta-memory. In a within-subjects design, we assessed the impact of 20-min rTMS over the precuneus, compared to the vertex, across three magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neuro-profiles on 18 healthy subjects during a memory versus a perceptual task. Task-based functional MRI revealed that BOLD signal magnitude in the precuneus is associated with variation in individual meta-memory efficiency. Moreover, individuals with higher resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fcMRI) between the precuneus and the hippocampus, or smaller gray matter volume in the stimulated precuneal region exhibit considerably higher vulnerability to the TMS effect. These effects were not observed in the perceptual domain. Thus, we provide compelling evidence in outlining a possible circuit encompassing the precuneus and its mnemonic midbrain neighbor the hippocampus at the service of realizing our meta-awareness during memory recollection of episodic details. Highlights: TMS disrupts the correlation between BOLD activity and meta-memory ability. TMS effect is modulated by rs-fcMRI between precuneus and hippocampus. Individuals with greater precuneal gray matter volume more immune to TMS effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin is one of the most promising applicable biomass resources, but its full utilization has yet to be realized, possibly, due to the difficulty in depolymerization and subsequent functionalization. We successfully carried out depolymerization of commercial Kraft lignin with the aid of formic acid and sodium formate to generate a mixture of monomeric and dimeric lignin. The obtained depolymerized lignin was further chemically modified by alkylation and subsequent esterification to afford lignin oil. The obtained lignin oil was thoroughly characterized by proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy to validate its chemical nature. The properties of the lignin oil, including viscosity, total acid number and thermal properties were well characterized. The lignin oil was blended with commercial engine oil to examine their miscibility, and the result showed that it had good compatibility with some engine oil, rendering it as a potential lubricant or additive for low-end applications in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 4,9-dihydro- s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-based conjugated polymers with 3,4-bis(dodecyloxy)thiophene, 3,3-bis((dodecyloxy)methyl)-3,4-dihydro-2 H-thieno[3,4- b] [, ] dioxepine and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene as co-monomers were synthesized via Stille coupling reaction in more than 50 % yields. These polymers possess relatively high number-average molecular weights of 14,900-21,000 g mol and exhibit good solubility in common organic solvents. The physical and electrochemical properties of these polymers were studied, and the polymers showed optical bandgap between 2.04 and 2.08 eV. Electrochromic devices showed a rare and reversible colour change between dark red at neutral state and black at oxidized state with optical switching contrast ratios of up to 50 % at λ and 90 % at 1500 nm in the visible and NIR regions, respectively. Graphical abstract: 4,9-dihydro- s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene-based conjugated polymers showing rare and reversible colour change between dark red at neutral state and black at oxidized state were synthesized via Stille coupling. These polymers possess high optical contrast in both the visible and NIR regions.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheological characteristics of fiber-modified asphalt mixture were investigated. Cellulous fiber, polyester fiber and mineral fiber were used as additives for asphalt mixture, and the dosages were 0.3%, 0.3%, 0.4%, respectively. Dynamic modulus test using superpave simple performance tester (SPT) was adopted to study the dynamic modulus and phase angle for the control mixture and fiber-modified ones at various temperatures and frequencies. Test results show that the rheological properties can be improved significantly by the addition of various fibers. The dynamic modulus increases with the increase of frequency, and the phase angle decreases with the increase of frequency. When various fibers are used, the dynamic modulus increases and phase angle decreases at each frequency. This indicates that the stiffness and the elastic portion of fiber-modified asphalt mixtures can be enhanced when various fibers are used, which results in the change of viscoelastic properties of mixtures. The creep test results show that the total strain and the permanent strain of asphalt mixtures during load-unload cycle can be significantly reduced, which results in the improvement of resistance to permanent deformation for asphalt mixtures containing various fiber additives. The Burgers model can be employed effectively to illustrate the rheological properties of fiber modified asphalt mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aqueous phase oxidation of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) by potassium persulfate (KPS) catalyzed by Ag+ was investigated using a glass bubble column reactor. Concentration of gaseous mercury and potassium persulfate were measured by cold vapor atom absorption (CVAA) and ion chromatograph (IC), respectively. The effects of pH value, concentration of potassium persulfate and silver nitrate (SN), temperature, Hg0 concentration in the reactor inlet and tertiary butanol (TBA), free radical scavenger, on the removal efficiency of Hg0 were studied. The results showed that the removal efficiency of Hg0 increased with increasing concentration of potassium persulfate and silver nitrate, while temperature and TBA were negatively effective. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of Hg0 was much better in neutral solution than in both acidic and alkaline solution. But the influence of pH was almost eliminated by adding AgNO3. High Hg0 concentration has positive effect. The possible reaction mechanism of gaseous mercury was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-deposition treatment including thermal and solvent annealing of polymer films in various organic electronics such as organic photovoltaics and organic thin film transistors plays a vital role in governing the film morphology and consequently their optical and electronic properties. However, such a post-treatment method has yet been used for electrochromics. This paper studied the influence of solvent vapor annealing of a diketopyrrolopyrrole-containing electrochromic conjugated polymer on its film morphology. Compared to an un-annealed film, the films exposed to acetone vapor and chloroform vapor are generally composed of polymer clusters with smaller domain sizes and more compact, aggregated structures. Subsequent evaluation of the electrochromic performances of the devices revealed the strong influence of the film morphologies on the optical contrasts, switching times and coloration efficiencies. In general, the electrochromic films treated with a poor solvent (acetone) exhibited faster switching speeds and improved coloration efficiencies. In contrast, treatment with a good solvent (chloroform) had destructive effects on the optical contrasts, switching speeds and coloration efficiency of the films. These findings showed that the electrochromic performance closely corresponded to changes in the film structure and morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]