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Macrolide antibiotics (MALs) are widely used for both human and animal health. Most MALs and their metabolites transfer into aquatic organisms and environment resulting in violent consequences. Previous studies show that MALs cause cardiotoxicity in humans and mammals. However, the potential risk of these chemicals in aquatic organisms remains unclear. Here, we used zebrafish embryos as a model to evaluate the toxicity of MALs. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to four typical MALs including azithromycin (AZM), clarithromycin (CLR), tilmicosin (TMS) and tylosin (TYL) to study their cardiotoxicity. The heart rate of zebrafish embryos showed similar biphasic distribution in the presence of four MALs at 2 days post-fertilization (dpf). The heart rate increased significantly at low levels of MALs while decreased obviously at high levels. Subsequently, TMS was chose to study its acute toxicity and developmental toxicity, which caused pericardial edema and spinal curvature in zebrafish embryos at 4 dpf. Furthermore, we found that TMS triggered oxidative stress, with decreased SOD activities and increased MDA contents. Lastly, apoptosis was observed in zebrafish embryos under TMS treatment, with up-regulation of apoptosis associated genes such as p53, bcl 2, bax, caspase 3 and caspase 9, confirmed by increased protein expression based on Western blot analysis. Taken together, these data indicate that MALs can cause serious toxicity in the development of zebrafish. Great caution should be taken due to the huge consumption of MALs for food animal production and treatments with TMS for infections in aquaculture., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, we report on highly efficient Mn 4+ -activated double perovskite Li 3 Mg 2 SbO 6 (LMS) red-emitting phosphors. These LMS:Mn 4+ phosphors can be efficiently excited over a broad wavelength band from 235 nm to 600 nm peaking at 344 nm and 469 nm, and exhibited an intense red emission band with a range from 600 nm to 800 nm centered around 651 nm. The optimal Mn 4+ doping concentration of LMS:Mn 4+ was 0.6 mol% and its internal quantum efficiency can reach as high as 83%. Besides, the thermal quenching effect on the optical property was also analyzed. Finally, a warm white light-emitting diode (WLED) lamp was fabricated by using a 454 nm InGaN blue LED chip combined with a blend of YAG:Ce 3+ yellow phosphors and the as-prepared LMS:0.6% Mn 4+ red phosphors, which showed bright white light with CIE chromaticity coordinates (0.4093, 0.3725), correlated color temperature (CCT = 3254 K), color rendering index (CRI = 81) and luminous efficacy (LE = 87 lm/W)., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In the present work, novel high-efficiency Mn 4+ -activated BaLaMgSbO 6 (BLMS) far-red-emitting phosphors used for plant growth LEDs were successfully synthesized via a solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), temperature-dependent PL, CIE color coordinates, and lifetimes as well as internal quantum efficiency (IQE) were used to characterize the phosphor samples. The excitation spectrum of the as-obtained BLMS:Mn 4+ phosphors presented two wide bands covering 250-550 nm and the emission spectrum exhibited a far-red emission band in the range of 650-800 nm peaked at 700 nm. Concentration-dependent PL properties of BLMS:Mn 4+ phosphors were studied. The optimal doping concentration of Mn 4+ ions was 0.6 mol%, and the concentration quenching mechanism was determined to be the nonradiative energy transfer among the nearest-neighbor Mn 4+ activators. Impressively, the BLMS:0.6%Mn 4+ sample showed an outstanding IQE of 83%. In addition, luminescence thermal quenching characteristics were also analyzed. Furthermore, the PL spectrum of BLMS:0.6%Mn 4+ sample was compared with the absorption spectrum of phytochrome P FR . Finally, after combining BLMS:0.6%Mn 4+ phosphors with a 365 nm near-UV LED chip, a far-red light-emitting diode (LED) device was successfully achieved to demonstrate its possible applications in plant growth LEDs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Hyperactivation of the NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to the pathogenesis of multiple diseases, but the mechanisms underlying transcriptional regulation of Nlrp3 remain elusive. We demonstrate here that macrophages lacking V-set and immunoglobulin domain-containing 4 ( Vsig4 ) exhibit significant increases in Nlrp3 and Il-1 β transcription, caspase-1 activation, pyroptosis, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion in response to NLRP3 inflammasome stimuli. VSIG4 interacts with MS4A6D in the formation of a surface signaling complex. VSIG4 occupancy triggers Ser 232 and Ser 235 phosphorylation in MS4A6D, leading to activation of JAK2-STAT3-A20 cascades that further results in nuclear factor κB suppression and Nlrp3 and Il-1 β repression. Exaggerated NLRP3 and IL-1β expression in Vsig4 -/- mice is accountable for deleterious disease severity in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and resistance to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. The agonistic VSIG4 antibodies (VG11), acting through NLRP3 and IL-1β suppression, show significant therapeutic efficacy in mouse EAE. These findings highlight VSIG4 as a prospective target for treating NLRP3-associated inflammatory disorders.

In this work, we reported on novel far-red-emitting SrGdAlO 4 :Mn 4+ (SGA:Mn 4+ ) phosphors towards application in plant growth lighting. The crystal structure and luminescence properties were investigated on the basis of X-ray diffraction, excitation and emission spectra, luminescence decay curves and temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra. When excited by 353 nm, the SGA:Mn 4+ phosphors showed a far-red emission band in the 650-800 nm wavelength range with peaks at 709 and 725 nm, which was due to the 2 E g → 4 A 2g electron transition of Mn 4+ ion. The optimal Mn 4+ doping concentration was about 0.1 mol%. The CIE chromaticity coordinates of the SGA:0.1%Mn 4+ sample were (0.7064, 0.2934). The luminescence decay lifetimes decreased gradually from 1.263 to 0.868 ms with the increasing Mn 4+ concentrations. Notably, the emission band of SGA:0.1%Mn 4+ sample was well-matched with the absorption spectrum of phytochrome P FR , which indicated the SGA:Mn 4+ were potential far-red-emitting phosphors for plant growth applications., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Mn 4+ -activated SrLaMgSbO 6 far-red emitting phosphors with double perovskite structure were prepared by traditional solid-state reaction. The research on the crystal structure of the SrLaMgSbO 6 :0.8%Mn 4+ (SLMS:0.8%Mn 4+ ) phosphors showed that the as-prepared sample was made up of two polyhedrons, [SbO 6 ] and [MgO 6 ]. Under the excitation of 333 nm, the SLMS:0.8%Mn 4+ phosphors exhibited an intense far-red emission in the 625-800 nm wavelength range with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.733, 0.268), which could match well with the absorption spectrum of phytochrome P FR . The optimal concentration of Mn 4+ ions in the SLMS:Mn 4+ phosphors was 0.8 mol%. Importantly, the as-prepared SLMS:0.8%Mn 4+ phosphors had an internal quantum efficiency of 35%. The thermal stability of SLMS:0.8%Mn 4+ phosphors was also investigated, and the activation energy was found to be 0.3 eV. Thus, the Mn 4+ -activated SLMS phosphors have great potential to serve as far-red emitting phosphors in indoor plant growth lighting., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this work, Ce 3+ -activated Ba 3 Lu 2 B 6 O 15 (BLBO) blue-emitting phosphors were prepared, and their photoluminescence properties were studied. It was found that these phosphors can be excited over a broad excitation band range from 300 nm to 430 nm and generated a blue emission band in the 400-550 nm range with a maximum peak at 443 nm. The full width at half maximum of the blue emission band was about 68 nm. The optimal doping concentration of Ce 3+ ions was determined to be 3 mol. %, and the BLBO:0.03Ce 3+ phosphors possessed an internal quantum efficiency as high as 71%. Finally, by coating the phosphors with a blend of commercial CaAlSiN 3 :Eu 2+ red-emitting phosphors, (Ba,Sr) 2 SiO 4 :Eu 2+ green-emitting phosphors, and BLBO:0.03Ce 3+ blue-emitting phosphors on a 380 nm ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED) chip, a white LED device with a color-rendering index of ∼94 and correlated color temperature of 4952 K was obtained.

Ba 3 Eu(BO 3 ) 3 (BEB) and Lu 3+ doped BEB red phosphors were successfully synthesized by a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, excitation and emission spectra, decay lifetimes, CIE coordinates, internal quantum efficiency, and thermal stability of these phosphors were systematically studied. Under 395 nm excitation, these phosphors exhibited high-brightness red emissions centred at 611 nm. In addition, it was found that doping appropriate amounts of Lu 3+ ions into BEB phosphors can improve their photoluminescence intensity and internal quantum efficiency. The integrated emission intensity of BEB:0.3Lu 3+ phosphor was about 1.34 times that of BEB phosphor. Compared with commercial red phosphor Y 2 O 2 S:Eu 3+ , BEB:0.3Lu 3+ phosphor showed better color purity (91.4%) and higher emission intensity (about 3.25 times). Surprisingly, the BEB:0.3Lu 3+ phosphor had a high internal quantum efficiency of almost 87%, which was higher than that of 83% for BEB phosphors. Meanwhile, the BEB:0.3Lu 3+ phosphors also exhibited good thermal stability with activation energy around 0.14 eV, and the integrated emission intensity at 423 K remained about 52% of that at 303 K. Finally, by using commercial BaMgAl 10 O 17 :Eu 2+ blue phosphors, commercial (Ba,Sr) 2 SiO 4 :Eu 2+ green phosphors, as-prepared BEB:0.3Lu 3+ red phosphors and a 395 nm near-ultraviolet-emitting light-emitting diode (LED) chip, a prototype warm white LED device was fabricated, which showed good color rendering index (CRI = 84.7) and low correlated color temperature (CCT = 3377 K)., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The Sm 3+ ion singly doped LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 (LCZV) phosphors were synthesized by a traditional high-temperature solid-state method. The luminescence characteristics of the as-prepared samples were studied by photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra. Under 343 nm excitation, the synthesized phosphors exhibited color controllable emission induced by the efficient energy transfer from VO 4 3- groups to Sm 3+ ions. Besides, the energy transfer efficiency was revealed to be about 58.4% when the dopant concentration was 4 mol%. By utilizing the as-prepared LCZV:Sm 3+ phosphors, commercial BaMgAl 10 O 7 :Eu 2+ blue-emitting phosphors and a near-ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED) chip, a white LED device was fabricated. Under an injection current of 100 mA, the packaged LED device emitted pure white light with high color rendering index (88.4) and proper correlated color temperature (4320 K). By analyzing the thermal quenching behavior of the VO 4 3- groups and Sm 3+ ions, the optical thermometric behavior of the Sm 3+ -doped LCZV compounds was investigated. The maximum absolute sensor sensitivity and relative sensor sensitivity were found to be 0.25 K -1 and 1.8% K -1 , respectively. Additionally, the emitting color of the studied samples was dependent on the temperature. Ultimately, the Sm 3+ -doped LCZV phosphors were potential candidates for indoor illumination, optical thermometry and safety signals in high temperature environments., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Far-red emitting phosphors LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ were successfully synthesized via a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The X-ray powder diffraction confirmed that the pure-phase LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ phosphors had formed. Under 398 nm excitation, the LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ phosphors emitted far red light within the range of 650-800 nm peaking at 703 nm (14 225 cm -1 ) due to the 2 E g → 4 A 2g transition, which was close to the spectral absorption center of phytochrome P FR located at around 730 nm. The optimal doping concentration and luminescence concentration quenching mechanism of LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ phosphors was found to be 0.001 and electric dipole-dipole interaction, respectively. And the CIE chromaticity coordinates of the LaScO 3 :0.001Mn 4+ phosphor were (0.7324, 0.2676). The decay lifetimes of the LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ phosphors gradually decreased from 0.149 to 0.126 ms when the Mn 4+ doping concentration increased from 0.05 to 0.9 mol%. Crystal field analysis showed that the Mn 4+ ions experienced a strong crystal field in the LaScO 3 host. The research conducted on the LaScO 3 :Mn 4+ phosphors illustrated their potential application in plant lighting to control or regulate plant growth., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this study, a series of Na 2 (Gd 1- x Eu x ) 2 B 2 O 7 (abbreviated as: Na 2 Gd 2 B 2 O 7 : x Eu 3+ ; x = 0, 0.05, 0.15, 0.35, 0.45, and 0.50) phosphors were synthesized by conventional solid state reaction approach. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared phosphors were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and elemental mapping. The results indicated that the phosphors had micro-size particles with monoclinic phases. The photoluminescence excitation and emission study indicated that the as-prepared phosphors could give rise to efficient red emissions under near-ultraviolet excitation. The optimal doping concentration of Eu 3+ ions was x = 0.35, and the corresponding deduced critical distance ( R c ) was about 9.4 Å. The concentration quenching mechanism was dominated by energy-transfer among the Eu 3+ ions through dipole-dipole interactions. The calculated internal quantum efficiency of the Na 2 Gd 2 B 2 O 7 :0.35Eu 3+ red phosphor was 70.8% and the color purity was as high as 99%. Furthermore, decay dynamics revealed that with the increase in the content of Eu 3+ , the lifetimes decreased due to the increase in non-radiative transition. Importantly, the present Na 2 Gd 2 B 2 O 7 :0.35Eu 3+ phosphors also exhibited good thermal stability, and the emission intensity at 150 °C was about 56% of that at 30 °C. Furthermore, a warm white light-emitting diode (WLED) device was fabricated with commercial BaMgAl 10 O 17 :Eu 2+ blue phosphors, (Ba,Sr) 2 (SiO 4 ):Eu 2+ green phosphors, and the as-prepared Na 2 Gd 2 B 2 O 7 :0.35Eu 3+ red phosphors as well as a 395 nm LED chip. The device exhibited CIE coordinates of (0.4367, 0.3987), a high color rendering index (CRI = 92.2), a low correlated color temperature (CCT = 2960 K), and a luminous efficacy of 40.65 lm W -1 . The observed results strongly indicate that the as-prepared Na 2 Gd 2 B 2 O 7 :Eu 3+ phosphors may be used as the red emitting component in pc-WLEDs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Single phase Eu 3+ -activated Ba 3 Y 4 O 9 (Ba 3 (Y 1- x Eu x ) 4 O 9 ) red-emitting phosphors with different Eu 3+ doping concentrations were synthesized by a high temperature solid-state reaction method. The phase purity, crystal structure, photoluminescence properties, internal quantum efficiency, decay lifetimes, and thermal stability were investigated. Upon excitation at 396 nm near-ultraviolet light and 469 nm blue light, the Ba 3 (Y 1- x Eu x ) 4 O 9 phosphors exhibited a strong red emission at 614 nm due to the 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 transition of Eu 3+ ions. The optimal doping concentration of Eu 3+ ions in Ba 3 (Y 1- x Eu x ) 4 O 9 was found to be x = 0.25. Furthermore, the critical distance was calculated to be 12.78 Å and the energy transfer mechanism for the concentration quenching effect was determined to be quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. In addition, the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates of Ba 3 (Y 0.75 Eu 0.25 ) 4 O 9 phosphors were measured to be (0.6695, 0.3302) which located at the red region, and significantly, the high color purity was about 97.9%. The as-synthesized phosphors also possessed excellent thermal stability and the activation energy was determined to be 0.29 eV. Therefore, the investigated results indicated that the Ba 3 Y 4 O 9 :Eu 3+ phosphor may be a suitable candidate as a red phosphor for white light-emitting diodes under effective excitation at near-ultraviolet and blue light., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A series of Mn 4+ -activated CaLaMgSbO 6 far-red-emitting phosphors were synthesized by a solid-state reaction route and the microstructure and optical characterizations were investigated in detail. Upon excitation at 370 and 469 nm, the samples showed intense far-red emission at about 708 nm originating from the 2 E g → 4 A 2g transition and the optimal Mn 4+ concentration was 0.7 mol%. The as-prepared phosphors also exhibited excellent internal quantum efficiency (88%) and high thermal stability. The emission intensity at room temperature dropped to 54% when the temperature rose to 423 K and the activation energy was 0.34 eV. The outstanding optical properties and the fact that the emission band of the obtained phosphors had a broad overlap with the absorption band of phytochrome P FR demonstrated that the CaLaMgSbO 6 :Mn 4+ phosphors may be promising potential spectral converters for applying to indoor plant cultivation light-emitting diodes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this paper, we reported on the high-efficiency and thermally-stable La 2 LiSbO 6 :Mn 4+ ,Mg 2+ (LLS:Mn 4+ ,Mg 2+ ) far-red emitting phosphors. Under 338 nm excitation, the composition-optimized LLS:0.3%Mn 4+ ,1.6%Mg 2+ phosphors which were made up of [SbO 6 ], [LiO 6 ], and [LaO 8 ] polyhedrons, showed intense far-red emissions peaking at 712 nm ( 2 E g → 4 A 2g transition) with internal quantum efficiency as high as 92%. The LLS:0.3%Mn 4+ ,1.6%Mg 2+ phosphors also exhibited high thermal stability, and the emission intensity at 423 K only reduced by 42% compared with its initial value at 303 K. The far-red light-emitting device has also been made by using the LLS:0.3%Mn 4+ ,1.6%Mg 2+ phosphors and a 365 nm emitting InGaN chip, which can emit far-red light that is visible to the naked eye. Importantly, the emission spectrum of the LLS:0.3%Mn 4+ ,1.6%Mg 2+ phosphors can match well with the absorption spectrum of phytochrome P FR , indicating the potential of these phosphors to be used in plant growth light-emitting diodes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Herein, novel rare-earth-free Mn 4+ -doped SrLaAlO 4 deep-red emitting phosphors were successfully synthesized via a traditional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure and phase purity of the as-prepared samples were confirmed by XRD Rietveld refinement. Photoluminescence properties of SrLaAlO 4 :Mn 4+ phosphors were examined in detail using photoluminescence spectra, decay lifetimes, temperature-dependent emission spectra and internal quantum efficiency measurements. The excitation spectrum obtained by monitoring at 730 nm contained two excitation bands centered at 364 and 520 nm within the range of 200-550 nm due to the Mn 4+ -O 2- charge-transfer band and the 4 A 2g → 4 T 1g , 4 T 2g transitions of the Mn 4+ ions. Under the 364 nm excitation, the SrLaAlO 4 :Mn 4+ phosphors exhibited an intense deep-red emission band in 610-790 nm wavelength range peaking at 730 nm, which was assigned to the 2 E g → 4 A 2g transition of Mn 4+ ions. The deep red emission showed excellent responsiveness to phytochrome P FR , revealing that the SrLaAlO 4 :0.4% Mn 4+ phosphors possessed a possible application in deep-red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for plant cultivation. The optimal doping concentration of Mn 4+ ions was found to be 0.4 mol%. The critical distance R c for energy transfer among Mn 4+ ions was determined to be 5.86 Å and the concentration quenching mechanism was confirmed to be the electric dipole-dipole interaction. In addition, the Commission International de I'Eclairage (CIE) colour coordinates of the SrLaAlO 4 :0.4% Mn 4+ phosphors (0.734, 0.266) were located in the deep red region and the corresponding internal quantum efficiency was measured to be about 29%. The above results confirmed that the as-prepared SrLaAlO 4 :0.4% Mn 4+ deep red emitting phosphors might be a potential candidate for plant cultivation LEDs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A series of new red-emitting Ba 2 Lu 4.98- x Eu x La 0.02 B 5 O 17 (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) phosphors were synthesized via the high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The phase formation of the as-synthesized Ba 2 Lu 4.48 Eu 0.5 La 0.02 B 5 O 17 phosphor was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction analysis. It was found that La 3+ doping resulted in the reduction of LuBO 3 impurities and thus pure phase Ba 2 Lu 5 B 5 O 17 was realised. The morphology of Ba 2 Lu 4.48 Eu 0.5 La 0.02 B 5 O 17 phosphors was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). As a function of Eu 3+ concentration the photoluminescence spectra and decay lifetimes were investigated in detail. Under excitation at 396 nm, a dominant red emission peak located at 616 nm ( 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 ) indicated that Eu 3+ ions mainly occupied low symmetry sites with a non-inversion center in Ba 2 Lu 4.48 Eu 0.5 La 0.02 B 5 O 17 . The optimal Eu 3+ ion concentration was found to be x = 0.5 and the critical distance of Eu 3+ was determined to be 6.55 Å. In addition, the concentration quenching takes place via dipole-dipole interactions. The phosphors exhibited good CIE (Commission International de I'Eclairage) color coordinates ( x = 0.643, y = 0.356) situated in the red region and a high color purity of 97.8%. Furthermore, the internal quantum efficiency and the thermal stability of Ba 2 Lu 4.48 Eu 0.5 La 0.02 B 5 O 17 phosphors were also investigated systematically. The results suggest that Ba 2 Lu 4.48 Eu 0.5 La 0.02 B 5 O 17 may be a potential red phosphor for white light-emitting diodes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Novel Mn 4+ -activated far-red emitting SrMg 2 La 2 W 2 O 12 (SMLW) phosphors were prepared by a conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The SMLW:Mn 4+ phosphors showed a broad excitation band peaking at around 344 nm and 469 nm in the range of 300-550 nm. Under 344 nm near-ultraviolet light or 469 nm blue light, the phosphors exhibited a far-red emission band in the 650-780 nm range centered at about 708 nm. The optimal Mn 4+ doping concentration in the SMLW host was 0.2 mol% and the CIE chromaticity coordinates of SMLW:0.2% Mn 4+ phosphors were calculated to be (0.7322, 0.2678). In addition, the influences of crystal field strength and nephelauxetic effect on the emission energy of Mn 4+ ions were also investigated. Moreover, the internal quantum efficiency of SMLW:0.2% Mn 4+ phosphors reached as high as 88% and they also possessed good thermal stability. Specifically, the emission intensity at 423 K still maintained about 57.5% of the initial value at 303 K. Finally, a far-red light-emitting diode (LED) lamp was fabricated by using a 365 nm near-ultraviolet emitting LED chip combined with the as-obtained SMLW:0.2% Mn 4+ far-red phosphors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A series of far-red-emitting BaLaMgNbO 6 :Mn 4+ (BLMN:Mn 4+ ) phosphors were successfully synthesized by a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. Crystal structure and luminescence properties of the obtained samples were systematically investigated. The emission spectra exhibited a strong narrow far-red emission band peaking at 700 nm with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of ∼36 nm under 360 nm excitation. The optimal Mn 4+ concentration was about 0.4 mol%. The internal quantum efficiency and CIE chromaticity coordinates of the BLMN:0.4% Mn 4+ phosphor were 52% and (0.7222, 0.2777), respectively. In addition, the luminescence mechanism has been analyzed using a Tanabe-Sugano energy level diagram. Finally, by using a 365 nm near-ultraviolet InGaN chip combined with BLMN:0.4% Mn 4+ phosphors, a far-red LED device was fabricated., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Double perovskite-based LiLaMgWO 6 :Mn 4+ (LLMW:Mn 4+ ) red phosphors were synthesized by traditional solid-state route under high temperature, and they showed bright far-red emission under excitation of 344 nm. The crystal structure, luminescence performance, internal quantum efficiency, fluorescence decay lifetimes, and thermal stability were investigated in detail. All samples exhibited far-red emissions around 713 nm due to the 2 E g → 4 A 2g transition of Mn 4+ under excitation of near-ultraviolet and blue light, and the optimal doping concentration of Mn 4+ was about 0.7 mol%. The CIE chromaticity coordinates of the LLMW:0.7% Mn 4+ sample were (0.7253, 0.2746), and they were located at the border of the chromaticity diagram, indicating that the phosphors had high color purity. Furthermore, the internal quantum efficiency of LLMW:0.7% Mn 4+ phosphors reached up to 69.1%, which was relatively higher than those of the reported Mn 4+ -doped red phosphors. Moreover, the sample displayed good thermal stability; the emission intensity of LLMW:0.7% Mn 4+ phosphors at 423 K was 49% of the initial value at 303 K, while the activation energy was 0.39 eV. Importantly, there was a broad spectral overlap between the emission band of LLMW:Mn 4+ phosphors and the absorption band of phytochrome P FR under near-ultraviolet light. All of these properties and phenomena illustrate that the LLMW:Mn 4+ phosphors are potential far-red phosphors for applications in plant cultivation LEDs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this Letter, we report a novel NaLaMgWO 6 :Mn 4+ double-perovskite phosphor. Under the excitation at 342 nm, this phosphor showed a high-efficiency far-red emission at approximately 700 nm with internal quantum efficiency of up to 60%. Moreover, it exhibited a high thermal stability; the emission intensity at 423 k was approximately 57% of that at room temperature. Finally, a prototype light-emitting diode (LED) device was fabricated using the combination of a NaLaMgWO 6 :Mn 4+ far-red-emitting phosphor and 365-nm LED chip.

Eu 3+ -activated Ba 2 Y 5 B 5 O 17 (Ba 2 Y 5- x Eu x B 5 O 17 ; x = 0.1-1) red-emitting phosphors were synthesized by the conventional high temperature solid-state reaction method in an air atmosphere. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the pure phase formation of the as-synthesized phosphors. Morphological studies were performed using field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The photoluminescence spectra, lifetimes, color coordinates and internal quantum efficiency (IQE) as well as the temperature-dependent emission spectra were investigated systematically. Upon 396 nm excitation, Ba 2 Y 5- x Eu x B 5 O 17 showed red emission peaking at 616 nm which was attributed to the 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 electric dipole transition of Eu 3+ ions. Meanwhile, the influences of different concentrations of Eu 3+ ions on the PL intensity were also discussed. The optimum concentration of Eu 3+ ions in the Ba 2 Y 5- x Eu x B 5 O 17 phosphors was found to be x = 0.8. The concentration quenching mechanism was attributed to the dipole-dipole interaction and the critical distance ( R c ) for energy transfer among Eu 3+ ions was determined to be 5.64 Å. The asymmetry ratio [( 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 )/( 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 )] of Ba 2 Y 4.2 Eu 0.8 B 5 O 17 phosphors was calculated to be 3.82. The fluorescence decay lifetimes were also determined for Ba 2 Y 5- x Eu x B 5 O 17 phosphors. In addition, the CIE color coordinates of the Ba 2 Y 4.2 Eu 0.8 B 5 O 17 phosphors ( x = 0.653, y = 0.345) were found to be very close to the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard values ( x = 0.670, y = 0.330) of red emission and also showed high color purity (∼94.3%). The corresponding internal quantum efficiency of the Ba 2 Y 4.2 Eu 0.8 B 5 O 17 sample was measured to be 47.2%. Furthermore, the as-synthesized phosphors exhibited good thermal stability with an activation energy of 0.282 eV. The above results revealed that the red emitting Ba 2 Y 4.2 Eu 0.8 B 5 O 17 phosphors could be potential candidates for application in near-UV excited white light emitting diodes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Blue-green dual-emitting phosphors Ca 3 Lu(GaO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ (CLGB:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ ) were synthesized via a traditional solid-state reaction method. The phase of the phosphors was characterized by X-ray diffraction and the luminescence properties were investigated using the excitation and emission spectra, decay curves, temperature-dependent emission spectra, CIE chromaticity coordinates, and the internal quantum efficiency. Under 345 nm UV light excitation, Ce 3+ singly doped CLGB phosphors presented intense blue light in the 350-550 nm wavelength region with a maximum peak at 400 nm. In sharp contrast, CLGB:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ phosphors showed both the blue and green emission wavelengths of Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ ions, respectively. The overall emission colors can be tuned from blue (0.164, 0.042) to green (0.331, 0.485) via increasing the concentration of Tb 3+ ions, due to the energy transfer (ET) from Ce 3+ ions to Tb 3+ ions. The optimal doping concentration of Tb 3+ ions in CLGB:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ phosphors was found to be 40 mol%. The mechanism of the ET from the Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ ions was demonstrated to be electric quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. The CLGB:0.04Ce 3+ ,0.40Tb 3+ sample possessed a high IQE of 54.2% and excellent thermal stability with an activation energy of 0.3142 eV when excited at 345 nm. The integrated emission intensity of CLGB:0.04Ce 3+ ,0.40Tb 3+ at 423 K was found to be about 74% of that at 303 K. Finally, under 300 mA driven current, the fabricated prototype white light-emitting diode showed CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.3996, 0.3856) and high color rending index of 81.2. Considering all the above characteristics, the obtained CLGB:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ phosphors can be a type of multicolor emitting phosphor for application in white light-emitting diodes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Single-component white-emitting phosphors are highly promising for applications in phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes. In this paper, novel single-phase LiCa 3(1- x ) ZnV 3 O 12 :Eu 3+ ( x = 0-0.05) phosphors with tunable white emissions were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction. The LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 ( x = 0) phosphor showed an efficient self-activated bluish-green emission due to the V 5+ -O 2- charge transfer transition of the [VO 4 ] 3- groups, and possessed an intense broad excitation spectrum in the 250-400 nm wavelength range. Together with the [VO 4 ] 3- emission, the red emission of Eu 3+ ions was also observed in LiCa 3(1- x ) ZnV 3 O 12 :Eu 3+ phosphors. The energy transfer from the [VO 4 ] 3- groups to the Eu 3+ ions was studied. Importantly, the emission colors of LiCa 3(1- x ) ZnV 3 O 12 :Eu 3+ phosphors varied from greenish-blue to whitish and then to red with increasing Eu 3+ content and the white-light emission was realized in the single-phase phosphor of LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 :0.003Eu 3+ by combining the [VO 4 ] 3- -emission and the Eu 3+ -emission. The energy-transfer efficiency from [VO 4 ] 3- groups to Eu 3+ ions in the LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 :0.003Eu 3+ sample was determined to be about 52% and the internal quantum efficiency of the LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 :0.003Eu 3+ phosphor was found to be about 41.5%. In addition, the CIE chromaticity coordinates of LiCa 3 ZnV 3 O 12 :0.003Eu 3+ were ( x = 0.3374, y = 0.3596), and the correlated color temperature was estimated to be about 5311 K., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Case Presentation: A 38-year-old right-handed woman presented to the hospital with subtle right facial palsy and global aphasia of 4 days' duration. She found that she had aphasia when she suddenly woke up at midnight and reported a headache lasting for several hours. She had no fever, vomiting, seizures, or limb paralysis. She had had migraines with an occasional visual aura for > 10 years. She was not taking any medication and was a nondrinker and nonsmoker. She had no other significant medical background and family history., (Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, we reported on high-brightness Eu 3+ -activated Ca 3 Lu(AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 (CLAB) red-emitting phosphors. Under 397 nm excitation, the CLAB:Eu 3+ phosphors showed intense red emissions at around 621 nm with CIE coordinates of (0.657, 0.343). The optimal doping concentration of Eu 3+ ions was found to be 30 mol. %, and the CLAB:0.3Eu 3+ sample possessed high-color purity of 93% and ultra-high internal quantum efficiency as great as 98.5%. Importantly, the CLAB:0.3Eu 3+ also had good thermal stability. Finally, a white-light-emitting diode (WLED) lamp with good color-rendering index was fabricated by using a 365 nm ultraviolet chip and the phosphor blends of CLAB:0.3Eu 3+ red-emitting phosphors, (Ba,Sr) 2 SiO 4 :Eu 2+ green-emitting phosphors, and BaMgAl 10 O 7 :Eu 2+ blue-emitting phosphors.

Novel blue-green-emitting Ca 3 Gd(AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ phosphors were successfully synthesized via traditional high temperature solid reaction method. X-ray diffraction, luminescence spectroscopy, fluorescence decay time and fluorescent thermal stability tests have been used to characterize the as-prepared samples. The energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ ions in the Ca 3 Gd(AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 host has been demonstrated to be by dipole-dipole interaction, and the energy transfer efficiency reached as high as 83.6% for Ca 3 Gd 0.39 (AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :0.01Ce 3+ ,0.6Tb 3+ . The critical distance was calculated to be 9.44 Å according to the concentration quenching method. The emission colour of the obtained phosphors can be tuned appropriately from deep blue (0.169, 0.067) to green (0.347, 0.494) through increasing the doping concentrations of Tb 3+ . Moreover, the Ca 3 Gd 0.39 (AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :0.01Ce 3+ ,0.6Tb 3+ phosphor possessed excellent thermal stability at high temperature, and the emission intensity at 423 K was about 87% of that at 303 K. Finally, the fabricated prototype LED device with a BaMgAl 10 O 7 :Eu 2+ blue phosphor, CaAlSiN 3 :Eu 2+ red phosphor, Ca 3 Gd 0.39 (AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :0.01Ce 3+ ,0.6Tb 3+ green phosphor and 365 nm-emitting InGaN chip exhibited bright warm white light. The current study shows that Ca 3 Gd 0.39 (AlO) 3 (BO 3 ) 4 :0.01Ce 3+ ,0.6Tb 3+ can be used as a potential green phosphor for white LEDs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The magnesium transporter 1 (MAGT1) is a critical regulator of basal intracellular free magnesium ([Mg 2+ ]i) levels. It has been shown that MAGT1 was involved in the disorder in Mg 2+ homeostasis after Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Here, we identified the effects of MAGT1-mediated disturbance of Mg 2+ homeostasis on chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected natural killer (NK) and CD8 + T cells. The expression of MAGT1 was gradually decreased with the increase of infected time in CD8 + T cells, but not with that in NK cells, of the patients. Decreased level of intracellular free Mg 2+ ([Mg 2+ ]i) leads to defective expression of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and the NK activating receptor (NKG2D) in NK and CD8 + T cells. Our data illustrate that [Mg 2+ ]i plays a key role in control of HBV infection.

Hypoxia stimulates excessive growth of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contributing to vascular remodelling. Recent studies have shown that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDIs) suppress VSMC proliferation and activate eNOS expression. However, the effects of HDI on hypoxia-induced VSMC growth and the role of activated eNOS in VSMCs are unclear. Using an EdU incorporation assay and flow cytometry analysis, we found that the HDIs, butyrate (Bur) and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) significantly suppressed the proliferation of hypoxic VSMC lines and induced apoptosis. Remarkable induction of cleaved caspase 3, p21 expression and reduction of PCNA expression were also observed. Increased eNOS expression and enhanced NO secretion by hypoxic VSMC lines were detected using Bur or SAHA treatment. Knockdown of eNOS by siRNA transfection or exposure of hypoxic VSMCs to NO scavengers weakened the effects of Bur and SAHA on the growth of hypoxic VSMCs. In animal experiments, administration of Bur to Wistar rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia for 28 days ameliorated the thickness and collagen deposition in pulmonary artery walls. Although the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) was not obviously decreased with Bur in hypoxic rats, right ventricle hypertrophy index (RVHI) was decreased and the oxygen partial pressure of arterial blood was elevated. Furthermore, cell viability was decreased and eNOS and cleaved caspase 3 were induced in HDI-treated rat pulmonary arterial SMCs. These findings imply that HDIs prevent hypoxia-induced VSMC growth, in correlation with activated eNOS expression and activity in hypoxic VSMCs., (© 2017 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)

Radioresistance remains a significant obstacle in the treatment of Prostate Cancer (PCa). To simulate the clinical scenario of irradiation resistance (IRR), we created DU145-IRR PCa cell lines by treatment with 2 Gy daily IR for 59 fractions. DU145-IRR cells acquired an aggressive phenotype as evidenced by increased clonogenic survival, tumorigenic potential and invasiveness. We performed transcriptome profiling to discover dysregulated genes in DU145-IRR cells and identified the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), Urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1). We first investigated the role of UCA1 in radiation response and found that UCA1 abundance was significantly higher in DU145-IRR cells compared to control cells. UCA1 siRNA-knockdown reversed the aggressive phenotype and significantly increased sensitivity to IR. UCA1 depletion inhibited growth, induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M transition and decreased activation of the pro-survival Akt pathway. We then studied the clinical significance of UCA1 expression in two independent cohorts of PCa patients: MSKCC (130 patients) and CPC-GENE (209 patients). UCA1 over-expression was associated with decreased 5-year disease-free survival in MSKCC patients (HR = 2.9; p = 0.007) and a trend toward lower biochemical recurrence-free survival in CPC-GENE patients (HR = 2.7; p = 0.05). We showed for the first time that UCA1 depletion induces radiosensitivity, decreases proliferative capacity and disrupts cell cycle progression, which may occur through altered Akt signaling and induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M transition. Our results indicate that UCA1 might have prognostic value in PCa and be a potential therapeutic target.

Objective: To analyze the value of fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement on endovascular therapy for patients with renal artery stenosis., Methods: Clinical data of 12 patients with Stanford B type aortic dissection complicated with renal blood flow injury in Anzhen hospital hospitalized from May 2013 to February 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Renal artery angiography was performed and fractional flow reserve (FFR) was measured before Thoracic endovascular aortic repair. After operation, renal artery FFR was measured again, and renal artery stenting was performed in patients with FFR ≤ 0.90 or average pressure difference between proximal and distal of renal artery > 20 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) and not applied for patients with FFR > 0.90.The patients were then subsequently followed up clinically. Kidney function were measured after 1 month, and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography data were obtained at 1 and 3 months later, respectively., Results: The FFR of 1 patient was 0.90, while the FFR of other patients were less than 0.90 before thoracic endovascular aortic repair. After the procedure,the angiography showed that the blood flow of renal artery in 8 patients were fluency, and the FFR index was over 0.90. There were 4 patients with FFR less than 0.90. After renal artery stenting, the FFR of these 4 patients were all above 0.90. Compared with pre-procedure, blood urea nitrogen ((8.84 ± 3.99) mmol/L vs. (5.18 ± 1.69) mmol/L, P = 0.011) and uric acid ((359.3 ± 77.3) µmol/L vs. (276.9 ± 108.3) µmol/L, P = 0.008) decreased significantly after 1 month, and there was no significant difference in serum creatinine (P = 0.760). Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography results showed that blood flow of renal artery were fluency after 1 month and 3 months., Conclusion: In patients with aortic dissection complicating renal blood flow injury, the FFR measurement is meaningful in evaluating the blood flow status of target organs and guide the endovascular revascularization.

Objective: The objective of this study was to introduce a novel strategy for thoracic endovascular aortic repair of Stanford B aortic dissection using two-stent graft implantation (TSI), in which the proximal stent and distal stent with different sizes are sequentially deployed, and to summarize our experience with this technique., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted of 72 consecutive patients (61 men; mean age, 55 ± 7 years; range, 41-67 years) with Stanford type B aortic dissection who underwent TSI treatment between January 2012 and May 2013. Among all patients, 43 (59.7%) involved the infrarenal aorta and 29 (40.3%) involved the whole thoracic and abdominal aorta; mean aortic involvement length was 226 ± 13 mm (range, 182-312 mm). Eight cases were for acute dissection (within 2 weeks from onset of symptoms), 11 cases were for chronic dissection (>3 months after initial dissection), and 53 cases were for subacute dissection (between 2 weeks and 3 months). Twenty-two cases (30.6%) were uncomplicated type and 50 cases (69.4%) were complicated type. Follow-up was performed postoperatively at 1 month, 6 months, and yearly thereafter. Technique success, aorta morphology, and procedure-related complications were evaluated., Results: Technical success was achieved in 100%; 72 pairs of stent grafts (144 thoracic stent grafts) and 10 left subclavian artery chimney stents were used. The mean aortic length coverage by the stent grafts was 197.6 ± 20.3 mm, and mean taper diameter span was 7.5 ± 1.8 mm. All patients were followed up from 6 to 16 months (mean, 10 ± 4 months); 95.8% (69 of 72) had a thrombosed false lumen in the aortic coverage, and the true lumen expanded on average 57% ± 11% (23%-100%). No significant changes were found in aortic diameters of the proximal and distal ends of the two stent grafts and the angles between centerlines of the distal end of the stent and the aorta during follow-up. Procedure-related complications included transient paraplegia (coverage of the left subclavian artery without revascularization and extensive coverage of aorta >220 mm) due to acute spinal cord ischemia (n = 1) and malapposition of the distal stent (primary tear closed, true lumen expansion led to oversize rate insufficient in distal stent diameter; n = 1). No death or malperfusion complications were observed during the perioperative period and follow-up., Conclusions: Short-term outcomes showed TSI to be a flexible and effective approach to accurately repair Stanford B aortic dissection that could potentially address the limitations of currently available stent grafts. Further prospective clinical studies are warranted to evaluate its long-term efficacy., (Copyright © 2015 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyze the value of fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement on endovascular therapy for patients with renal artery stenosis., Methods: Clinical data of 9 patients underwent endovascular therapy due to moderate renal artery stenosis (50%-69%) in Anzhen hospital from May to September 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) were measured in patients with moderate stenosis in renal artery and abnormal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or different between renal artery angiography and ultrasound before the procedure. Endovascular therapy was not applied for patients with FFR > 0.90, and the patients were subsequently followed up clinically. Endovascular therapy was applied in patients with FFR less than 0.90 or the pressure difference between the two ends of stenosis was more than 20 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa). Blood pressure, ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography data were obtained at 1 and 3 months later, respectively., Results: There were 6 patients diagnosed as severe renal artery stenosis (≥ 70%) and the other 3 patients diagnosed as moderate renal artery stenosis by renal artery ultrasound before operation. Two patients with FFR > 0.90 were not undertaken the endovascular therapy. Seven patients with FFR < 0.90 underwent endovascular therapy. After renal artery stenting, renal stenosis was relieved immediately and the transstent blood flow was fluency in these 7 patients. There was significant difference in the FFR before and after operation (0.81 ± 0.09 vs.0.94 ± 0.03, P = 0.008). Among the patients underwent endovascular therapy, blood pressure was normal without medication in 2 patients and well controlled with 1 or 2 combined antihypertensive drugs in the rest 5 patients., Conclusion: In patients with moderate renal artery stenosis, fractional flow reserve measurement could be used as a useful index to guide intervention procedure and to evaluate the efficacy of endovascular therapy.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to evaluate short- and mid-term outcomes of the left subclavian artery (LSA) chimney stent implantation (LSACSI) during thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), and to summarize our experience with this technique., Methods: From June 2010 to September 2012, 59 patients (49 men; mean age of 57.4 ± 13.3 years, range from 26 to 83 years) who underwent TEVAR and LSACSI were enrolled. Patients suffered from Stanford type B aortic dissection (n = 27), penetrating aortic ulcer (n = 18), aortic arch aneurysm (n = 9), pseudoaneurysm of the aortic arch (n = 4) and proximal type I endoleak after TEVAR of aortic dissection (n = 1). Elective settings were performed in 72% and emergent in 38% of all patients. Follow-up was performed at postoperative 3 months, 6 months and yearly thereafter., Results: The technical success rate was 98.3% (58/59), and 69 thoracic stent grafts were used. Sixty-two chimney stents, including 55 uncovered and 7 covered stents, were implanted in 59 LSAs. The overall immediate endoleak rate was 15.3% (9/59); type I endoleak was observed in 5 patients and type II in 4 patients. The difference in the immediate endoleak rate related to the anatomy between the outer and the inner curvature was statistically significant (35 vs 4%, P = 0.018). Chimney stent compression was observed in 3 patients and another stent was deployed inside the first one. Perioperative complications included stroke (3.4%, 2/59) and left upper limb ischaemia (1.7%, 1/59). The median follow-up period was 16.5 (range 1-39 months). The mortality rate during follow-up was 5.4% (3/56). Complications during follow-up included endoleak [overall, n = 8 (14.3%, 8/56); type I, n = 5; type II, n = 3], retrograde type A aortic dissection (n = 1), collapse (n = 3, 5.4%) or occlusion (n = 2, 3.6%) of the chimney stent., Conclusions: Short- and mid-term results showed that it is feasible to preserve the patency of the LSA in TEVAR with the chimney technique for thoracic aortic pathologies close to the LSA. However, TEVAR combined with LSACSI was not advocated for lesions located at the outer curve of the aortic arch due to a high possibility of endoleak., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.)

Objective: To observe the feasibility and clinical efficacy of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for patients with Stanford B aortic dissection using personalized two stent-grafts implantation (TSI)., Methods: This retrospective review included 56 patients who underwent TSI during TEVAR for Stanford B aortic dissection from Jan 2012 to May 2013 in Beijing Anzhen hospital. There were 8 patients in acute phase (within 2 weeks from onset of symptoms), 11 patients in chronic phase (greater than 2 months following initial dissection) and 37 patients in subacute phase (between 2 weeks and 2 months from onset of symptoms). Infrarenal aorta was involved in 34 patients (60.7%) and suprarenal aorta involved in 22 patients (39.3%), the mean aortic lesion length was (226 ± 13)mm. Thoracic and abdominal aortic angiography was performed during operation to measure aortic diameters of proximal and distal landing zone, and the distance between them. The proximal stent-grafts were implanted in distal aorta to the origin of left subclavian artery with oversize rate of 10%-15% according to proximal landing zone according to procedural guideline. Then the distal newly customized large tapered stent-grafts were sequentially deployed according to the diameters of both the distal end of proximal stent and distal landing zone (aortic true lumen), and overlapping length of the two stent-grafts was more than 30 mm. Patients were followed-up at 3 months, 6 months, and yearly thereafter post operation., Results: TSI procedure was successful in all patients and 122 stent-grafts were implanted. The mean length of implanted stent-grafts was (197.6 ± 20.3)mm. The mean diameter taper span was (7.5 ± 1.8)mm with proximal oversize rate of (12.8 ± 3.4)% and distal oversize rate of (11.2 ± 4.1)%. The mean angle between the distal end of stent and aorta was (2.3 ± 1.3)°. The diameter of proximal and distal landing zone, and angle between the distal end of stent and aorta remained unchanged during follow up (mean: (10.0 ± 4.0) months). The total thrombosis rate of the false lumen was 98.2% (55/56), thrombosis rate of stent segment was 82.1% (46/56) . Stent-related complications were observed in 2 patients (3.6%) , including acute spinal cord ischemia due to paraplegia (n = 1) and malposition of distal stent (n = 1)., Conclusions: Encouraging short-term outcomes are obtained from current personalized two stent-grafts implantation strategy for patients with Stanford B aortic dissection. Further prospective clinical studies are warranted to evaluate the long-term efficacy of this procedure.

Aim: To investigate the function of Pea3 in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) invasion and metastatic potential., Methods: The expression of Pea3 during clinical progression of human CRC was investigated using Oncomine Research Edition. To assay Pea3 expression in established CRC cell lines, we performed western blotting of cell lysates. We employed shRNA-mediated knockdown of Pea3 in HCT116 (HCT) and LS174T CRC cells which was confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blotting. Transwell invasion assays, MTS proliferation assays, anoikis assays, and fluorometric matrix metalloprotease (MMP) assays were performed to determine the effects of Pea3 knockdown on invasion, proliferation, anoikis and MMP activity in CRC cells in vitro. Alterations in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and matrix metalloprotease (MMP) mRNA levels were determined by qPCR. CRC cells were injected into the flanks of nude mice to generate xenografts and tumor growth monitored with serial calliper measurements. To assay metastatic potential, CRC cells were injected into the spleen of nude mice, and histological analysis performed on the livers 21 d later., Results: We demonstrated that reduction of Pea3 expression in CRC cells significantly impaired their invasive capacity (HCT.shPea3, 0.28 ± 0.04 fold, P < 0.01; LS.shPea3, 0.15 ± 0.04 fold; SW.shPea3, 0.23 ± 0.03, P < 0.01), reduced anoikis resistance (HCT.shPea3 75.4% ± 1.9% viable cells vs HCT.shCtrl 88.6% ± 0.6% viable cells, P < 0.01; LS.shPea3 71.7% ± 0.5% viable cells vs LS.Ctrl 89.6% ± 0.3% viable cells, P < 0.005, but had no effect on proliferation (HCT.shCtrl AUC 5098 ± 123 vs HCT.shPea3 5689 ± 151, P < 0.05; LS.shCtrl AUC 5600 ± 324.1 vs LS.shPea3 6423 ± 400, P < 0.05). In vivo, HCT.shPea3 and HCT.shCtrl tumour xenografts grew at a similar rate (HCT.shPea3 2.64 ± 0.82 fold vs HCT.shCtrl 2.88 ± 0.80 fold, P > 0.05). In keeping with a pro-metastatic function for Pea3 in CRC, several EMT markers and MMPs were downregulated in shPea3-expressing cells, suggesting that Pea3 may exert its effects through these processes. A reduction in overall MMP activity was observed in HCT.shPea3 cells compared to their control counterparts (HCT.shPea3 0.61 ± 0.04 fold, P < 0.005). This translated in vivo to the complete absence of metastases in the livers of mice that were grafted with CRC cells lacking Pea3. Conversely, CRC cells expressing Pea3 formed liver metastases in all mice., Conclusion: Our study implicates Pea3 as a mediator of metastases, and provides a biological rationale for the adverse prognosis associated with elevated Pea3 expression in human CRC.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) and to improve doctors' awareness and the early diagnosis of this disease., Methods: The clinical data of 9 cases confirmed by operation and pathology of PAS from November 2001 to November 2012 in Beijing Anzhen Hospital were reviewed. The clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, imaging manifestation, pathology as well as follow-up were studied. Survival was determined by the Kaplan-Merier method., Results: (1)Main clinical manifestations were chest distress (8/9), palpitation (2/9), syncope (2/9), cough (2/9), weight loss (2/9) and chest pain (1/9). (2)Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) , high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were all elevated to different extents, but D-Dimer remained in the normal range. (3) Seven cases received CTPA examination and evidenced filling defect in the main pulmonary artery trunk (6/7), left pulmonary artery (6/7), right pulmonary artery (7/7). 7 cases received TTE examination and showed enlarged right ventricle (6/7) : mean right ventricular end-diastolic diameter was (38.54 ± 16.30) mm; enlarged right atrium (7/7): mean right atrium diameter was (55.11 ± 5.45) mm; and tricuspid insufficiency (7/7) : estimated mean pulmonary artery pressure was (81.14 ± 21.17) mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) , and pulmonary stenosis (5/7) . Four cases received deep venous ultrasound examination and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was found in 1 patient. Four cases received Ganz catheter examination and the preoperative and postoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure was (52.00 ± 5.23) mmHg and (23.00 ± 5.60) mmHg, respectively. (4) All 9 patients received surgery and intimal sarcoma was diagnosed in all of them. Leiomyosarcoma was diagnosed in 3 cases, leiomyo-angiosarcoma was diagnosed in 1 case, undifferentiated sarcomas was diagnosed in 1 case. (5)The 1-, 3- and 5-month survival was 71.4%, 53.6% and 35.7%, respectively, median survival time was 5 months post surgery., Conclusion: PAS is difficult to differentiate with PTE. PAS should be suspected in patient with right atrium, right ventricular enlargement and early appeared right heart failure, and normal D-Dimer level. Outcome for PAS patients is poor despite surgery in this cohort.

To evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of right ventricular function parameters measurement using 320-slice volume cardiac CT. Retrospective analysis of 50 consecutive patients (23 men, 27 women) with suspected pulmonary diseases was performed in electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated cardiac CT and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Parameters including right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end- systolic volume (RVESV), right ventricular stroke volume (RVSV), right ventricular cardiac output (RVCO), and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) were semi-automatically and separately calculated from both CT and CMR data. Significant difference between measurements was measured by paired t test and two-variable linear regression analysis with Pearson's correlation coefficient. Bland-Altman analysis was performed in each pair of parameters. There was little variability between the measurements by the two observers (kappa = 0.895-0.980, P < 0.05). There was good correlation between all parameters obtained by CT and CMR (P < 0.001): RVEDV (108.5 ± 21.9 ml, 113.5 ± 24.8 ml, r = 0.944), RVESV (69.8 ± 33.4 ml, 73.2 ± 35.4 ml, r = 0.972), RVSV (39.0 ± 13.2 ml, 40.2 ± 13.3 ml, r = 0.977), RVCO (2.6 ± 0.7 l, 2.6 ± 0.7 l. r = 0.958), RVEF (38.8 ± 19.1 %, 39.1 ± 19.3 %, r = 0.990), and there was no significant difference between CT and CMR measurements in RVEF (n = 50, t = -0.677, P > 0.05). 320-slice volume cardiac CT is an accurate non-invasive technique to evaluate RV function.

That tumors lack innervation is dogma in the field of pathology, but the molecular determinants of this phenomenon remain elusive. We studied the effects of conditioned media from Colon 26 and B16 mouse tumor cell lines on the axonal outgrowth and cellular differentiation of embryonic Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mouse dorsal root ganglion cells. Tumor-conditioned media suppressed dorsal root ganglion axonal extension but had no effect on neuronal or glial differentiation. We found that the tumor cells expressed most of the class 3 semaphorins - axon guidance molecules. Blocking the activity of class 3 semaphorins with the soluble receptor neuropilin-1 significantly counteracted the tumor-induced inhibition of axonal extension. Together, these results suggest a role for tumor-secreted class 3 semaphorins in selectively inhibiting axonal outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Purpose: To analyze the relationship of the intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal ectasia in rabbits underwent laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK)., Methods: This random study comprised three groups: twenty-eight eyes of white rabbits underwent-3D to -10D myopic LASIK, twelve eyes underwent 3D to 10D myopic LASIK, twelve eyes served as controls. The rabbits were examined mask under general anesthesia pre- and post-operation. We investigated CCT, curvature and corneal ectasia of the rabbit at difference IOP level after the operation. Then the corneal conformation of rabbits was analyzed by topography modeling system (TMS). The pathological changes of the rabbit corneas were observed. The effect of the corneal thickness and IOP are analysed by statistical methods., Results: The IOP and CCT are significantly correlated with the corneal ectasia respectively (P < 0.001) and together (P < 0.05). Keratoconus patterns were detected in rabbits by keratoconus screening system, and the pathological character of keratoconus was also found., Conclusion: The ablation depth of cornea and high IOP had a significant effect on corneal ectasia after LASIK treatment for myopia respectively and together. It suggested that the over ablation quantity on cornea and high IOP were the main reasons for keratoconus after LASIK.