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A hybrid electrolyte involving tetramethylammonium (TMA) hydroquinone/benzoquinone redox couple is formulated. This electrolyte is more transparent than the traditional I(-)/I(3)(-) electrolyte and has negligible absorption in the visible region. Dye-sensitized solar cells using the hybrid electrolyte show higher light-to-electricity conversion efficiency. FTO=fluorine-doped tin oxide.

Four organic donor–π–conjugated-acceptor (D–π–A) type II dyes with different thiophene linkers are reported for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For the first time, a donor (triphenylamine) was introduced in type II sensitizers, and 2-hydroxybenzonitrile as acceptor/anchoring moiety was covalently linked TiO 2 particles. The dye LS203 in this series gives the best solar energy conversion efficiency of 3.4%, with J sc = 7.4 mA cm −2 , V oc = 0.67 V, FF = 0.69, the maximum IPCE value reaches 66.9%.

Four novel tetrahydroquinoline dyes by inserting isophorone and/or thiophene moieties as π bridge between the electron donating unit of substituted tetrahydroquinoline and the electron withdrawing unit of cyano carboxylic acid have been synthesized and successfully applied to dye-sensitized solar cells. Among them, DSCs sensitized by HYTIC, which shows the simplest molecular structure, exhibit improved efficiency of 7.0%. This by now is the highest efficiency for the reported tetrahydroquinoline sensitizers and comparable to the performance of N719-sensitized solar cells under the conditions employed here.

A new iodine-free electrolyte based on amino acids L-cysteine/L-cystine as a redox couple has been designed and synthesized. DSSCs fabricated with the conventional I−/I3− redox couple gave efficiencies of 8.1% and 6.3% under optimized experimental conditions based on ruthenium dye, N719, and metal-free organic dye, TH202, respectively. Based on the same dyes, the DSSCs employing the new L-cysteine/L-cystine redox couple showed comparable efficiencies of 7.7% and 5.6%, respectively. However, higher incident-photon-to-electron (IPCE) conversion efficiencies and larger Jsc values were found for devices with the L-cysteine/L-cystine redox couple than with I−/I3−. From an electrochemical impedance spectroscopic study, we found that the charge recombination between the conduction band electrons in the TiO2 film and the electrolyte containing the L-cysteine/L-cystine redox couple is restrained.

Copper (II) phthalocyanines (CuPcs) have attracted growing interest as promising hole-transporting materials (HTMs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to their low-cost and excellent stability. H ...

A series of novel metal-free organic dyes TC301-TC310 with relatively high HOMO levels were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on electrolytes that contain Br(-)/Br(3)(-) and I(-)/I(3)(-). The effects of additive Li(+) ions and the HOMO levels of the dyes have an important influence on properties of the dyes and performance of DSCs. The addition of Li(+) ions in electrolytes can broaden the absorption spectra of the dyes on TiO(2) films and shift both the LUMO levels of the dyes and the conduction band of TiO(2), thus leading to the increase of J(sc) and the decrease of V(oc). Upon using Br(-)/Br(3)(-) instead of I(-)/I(3)(-), a large increase of V(oc) is attributed to the enlarged energy difference between the redox potentials of electrolyte and the Fermi level of TiO(2), as well as the suppressed electron recombination. Incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) action spectra, electrochemical impedance spectra, and nanosecond laser transient absorption reveal that both the electron collection yields and the dye regeneration yields (Φ(r)) depend on the potential difference (the driving forces) between the oxidized dyes and the Br(-)/Br(3)(-) redox couple. For the dyes for which the HOMO levels are more positive than the redox potential of Br(-)/Br(3)(-) sufficient driving forces lead to the longer effective electron-diffusion lengths and almost the same efficient dye regenerations, whereas for the dyes for which the HOMO levels are similar to the redox potential of Br(-)/Br(3)(-), insufficient driving forces lead to shorter effective electron-diffusion lengths and inefficient dye regenerations.

Background Neutrophil elastase (NE) plays an important role in psoriasis. In this study we observed the effect of NE on the proliferation of HaCaT cells and transwell psoriasis organ culture model and investigated the mechanism. Methods HaCaT cells were treated with various concentrations NE (0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 IU/l). In addition, the cells were co-stimulated with 10 IU/l NE and 1 g/l sivelestat. Then, HaCaT cells proliferation and DNA synthesis were determined using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) and tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR) assay respectively. Cell cycle distribution was measured using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Subsequently, we established cultured transwell psoriasis organ model in vitro. Then, the cultured transwell psoriasis organ model was treated with 10 IU/l NE. Immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expression levels of Ki67 and p53 in the cultured transwell psoriasis organ model. Results MTT and 3H-TdR incorporation assay suggested NE could remarkably promote the proliferation and DNA synthesis of HaCaT cell in a dose-dependent manner. After NE treatment (10 IU/l) for 24 h, the cell fraction of HaCaT cell in G2 + S phase was increased significantly, whereas the cell fraction in G1 phase was reduced remarkably. Immunohistochemistry results revealed enhanced expression of both Ki67 and p53 genes in cultured transwell psoriasis organ model after NE treatment. Conclusions NE significantly promotes the proliferation of HaCaT cell. Meanwhile, it also up-regulates the expression levels of Ki67 and p53 in psoriasis lesion tissue, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis lesion.

A new class of organic dyes based on acenaphthopyrazine derivatives, containing pyrazine group as the electron acceptor and o-dicarboxyl acids as the anchoring groups were designed and synthesized ...

Summary Background Aminolaevulinic acid–photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) is a novel and effective treatment in acne. However, little is known about the effect of different concentrations of ALA in the treatment of acne in Chinese patients with Fitzpatrick skin type III and IV. Objectives To investigate the efficacy and safety of ALA-PDT in the treatment of moderate to severe acne in Chinese patients and to identify the suitable concentration of topical ALA. Methods One hundred and eighty patients with moderate to severe facial acne were recruited and randomly divided into four groups. Each group was treated with a different concentration (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of ALA to the facial lesions on the right side and placebo agent on the left side as control. Each patient was treated once every 10 days for four sessions. The numbers of inflammatory and noninflammatory acne lesions were counted at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, 12 and 24 after the last treatment. Adverse effects were recorded at each follow-up visit. Results After 24 weeks, each side treated by ALA-PDT showed clinical improvement compared with the control side treated by red light alone (P

A series of metal-free organic dyes bridged by anthracene-containing π-conjugations were designed and synthesized as new chromophores for the application of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Detailed investigations on the relationship between the dye structures, photophysical properties, electrochemical properties, and performances of DSCs are described. With the introduction of the anthracene moiety, together with a triple bond for the fine-tuning of molecular planar configurations and to broaden absorption spectra, the short-circuit photocurrent densities (Jsc) and open-circuit photovoltages (Voc) of DSCs were improved to a large extent. The improvement of Jsc is attributed to much broader absorption spectra of the dyes with the anthracene moiety. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis reveals that the introduction of the anthracene moiety suppresses the charge recombination arising from electrons in TiO2 films with I3− ions in the electrolyte, thus improving Voc considerably. On the bas...

A series of organic sensitizers containing identical π-spacers and electron acceptors but different, aromatic amine electron-donating groups, were used in dye-sensitized solar cells to study the effect of the electron donating groups on device performance. The derived photophysical and photovoltaic properties, as well as density functional theory calculations, revealed that the tetrahydroquinoline dye was prone to aggregate upon the surface of titanium dioxide owing to the dye's planar structure. A 45% improvement in efficiency of a tetrahydroquinoline dye based cell was achieved when chenodeoxycholic acid was employed as co-adsorbent. However, the airscrew type of triphenylamine unit and Y type structure of the substituted phenothiazine framework suppressed dye aggregation on titanium dioxide. The efficiency of a phenothiazine dye-based cell fabricated using saturated co-adsorbent in dichloromethane was only 15% greater than that achieved in the absence of co-adsorbent. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was used to determine the interfacial charge transfer process occurring in solar cells that employed different dyes in both the absence and presence of chenodeoxycholic acid as co-adsorbent.

Background Infection by high-risk HPV (human papillomavirus) is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Dendritic cell-based (DC-based) therapeutic vaccine represents a promising approach to the prevention and treatment of many cancers, including HPV-related cancers, but current strategies have met with only limited success in preclinical and clinical research. It is necessary to find a properly and effective antigen presenting system of DC-based vaccine. Objective To design a new HPV16 therapeutic vaccine using an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retrieval signal and study its ability to induce the specific CTL activity in vitro and in vivo. Methods E7(p)-KDEL and its control peptide were synthesized on solid phase. A series of methods were used, including standard 51Cr-labeled release assay, enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay and ELISA, to detect the CTL activity induced by different peptides. Prophylactic models and therapeutic models were examined to detect the in vivo effectiveness of E7(p)-KDEL-loaded DCs. Results The specific CTL activity induced by E7(p)-KDEL-loaded DCs was much stronger than that induced by the other peptide-loaded DCs. Comparing with the control peptides, after incubation with the spleen cells of mice, the E7(p)-KDEL-loaded DCs could induce higher concentration of secreted IFN-γ and had higher ELISPOT numbers. In animal models, E7(p)-KDEL-loaded DCs vaccines effectively protected mice against fatal TC-1 tumor challenge and cured tumor-bearing mice. Conclusions The ER retrieval signal-mediated antigen delivery system may have important clinical application for cancer therapy, even virus infectious disease and autoimmune disease.

Novel electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) reagents C1, C2, and C3 with high fluorescence quantum yields bearing 15-crown-5 moiety have been synthesized and characterized. The photophysical, electrochemical, and ECL characters of these compounds have been studied in a 1:1 (v/v) PhH/MeCN mixed solvent. The ECL intensity is enhanced distinctly with the increase in the fluorescence quantum yield. Their ECL behaviors have been studied using annihilation and co-reactant methods (tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) was used as a co-reactant), respectively. The stable ECL emissions of compounds C1–C3 can be ascribed to the typical and simple monomer ECL emission via S-route. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A novel dye (2TPA-R), containing two triphenylamine (TPA) units connected by a vinyl group and rhodanine-3-acetic acid as the electron acceptor, is designed and synthesized successfully to reveal the working principles of organic dye in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). 2TPA and TPA-R, which consist of two TPA units connected by vinyl and a TPA unit linked with rhodanine-3-acetic acid, respectively, are also synthesized as references to study the intramolecular energy transfer (EnT) and charge transfer (ICT) processes of 2TPA-R in CH2Cl2 solution and on a TiO2 surface. The results suggest that the intramolecular EnT and ICT processes show a positive effect on the performance of DSSCs. However, the flexible structure and less-adsorbed amount of dye on TiO2 may make it difficult to improve the efficiency of DSSCs. This study on intramolecular EnT and ICT processes acts as a guide for the design and synthesis of efficient organic dyes in the future.

Experimental and theoretical methods were used to study newly synthesized thiophene-pi-conjugated donor-acceptor compounds, which were found to exhibit efficient intramolecular charge-transfer emission in polar solvents with relatively large Stokes shifts and strong solvatochromism. To gain insight into the solvatochromic behavior of these compounds, the dependence of the spectra on solvent polarity was studied on the basis of Lippert-Mataga models. We found that intramolecular charge transfer in these donor-acceptor systems is significantly dependent on the electron-withdrawing substituents at the thienyl 2-position. The dependence of the absorption and emission spectra of these compounds in methanol on the concentration of trifluoroacetic acid was used to confirm intramolecular charge-transfer emission. Moreover, the calculated absorption and emission energies, which are in accordance with the experimental values, suggested that fluorescence can be emitted from different geometric conformations. In addition, a novel S(2) fluorescence phenomenon for some of these compounds was also be observed. The fluorescence excitation spectra were used to confirm the S(2) fluorescence. We demonstrate that S(2) fluorescence can be explained by the calculated energy gap between the S(2) and S(1) states of these molecules. Furthermore, nonlinear optical behavior of the thiophene-pi-conjugated compound with diethylcyanomethylphosphonate substituents was predicted in theory.

Novel thiophene-pi-conjugated donor-acceptor molecules, 5-[2-(1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-6-yl)-vinyl]-thioph ene2-carbaldehyde (QTC) and (1-cyano-2-{5-[2-(1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1, ...

Three anthraquinone dyes with carboxylic acid as anchoring group are designed and synthesized as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Preliminary photophys. and photoelectrochem. measurements show that these anthraquinone dyes have very low performance on DSSC applications, although they have broad and intense absorption spectra in the visible region (up to 800 nm). Transient absorption kinetics, fluorescence lifetime measurements and d. functional theory (DFT) calcns. are conducted to investigate the cause of such low DSSC performance for these dyes. The strong electron-withdrawing character of the two carbonyl groups on anthraquinone framework may lie behind the low performance by suppressing the efficient electron injection from the dye to the conduction band of TiO2.

Three series of donor−acceptor π-conjugated (D-π-A) molecules 1−3 have been synthesized with a 2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-pyrido[3,2,1-ij]quinolinyl (Julolidine group), N,N-dimethylamino, or N,N-diphenylamino group as the donor moiety, a phenylvinyl or thienylvinyl unit as the bridge, and a bromide or aldehyde group as the acceptor moiety. The photophysical, electrochemical, and electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) characters of these compounds have been studied in a 1:1 PhH/MeCN solution. Three different categories of ECL mechanisms for each of the three families of compounds are discussed, respectively. Compounds 1a−c produce typical and simple monomer ECL emission resulting from the annihilation of their radical cations and radical anions. The ECL emission of compounds 2a−c can be ascribed as an excimer emission. Compounds 3a−c exhibit an aggregate ECL emission. X-ray crystal structures of compounds 1b, 2a, and 3a provide further proof for the above-mentioned reaction mechanisms. All these compounds ...

Novel org. dyes (C1-1, C1-5 and C2-1) with a tetrahydroquinoline moiety as the electron donor, different thiophene-contg. electron spacers and a cyanoacrylic acid moiety as the electron acceptor have been designed and synthesized for the application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). An interesting relationship between the dye structures, properties, and the performance of DSSCs based on these tetrahydroquinoline dyes is obtained. Although C2-1 dye, which has a rigid electron spacer, has the narrowest action spectrum among these dyes, it gives the highest solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) of 4.49% (Voc = 600 mV, Jsc = 11.20 mA/cm2, ff = 0.67) of a DSSC under simulated AM 1.5 irradn. (100 mW/cm2). Under the same conditions, the η value of a DSSC based on N3 dye is 6.16%. [on SciFinder(R)]

Two org. dyes with the general structure donor-conjugated chain-acceptor (D-π-A) were studied as sensitizers for nanocryst. TiO2 solar cells. The electron donor and acceptor groups were pyrrolidine and cyano acrylic acid, resp. The conjugated chain of 2-cyano-3-{5-[2-(4-pyrrolidin-1-ylphenyl)vinyl]thiophen-2-yl}acrylic acid contains one Ph ring and a thiophene unit and is therefore denoted PT, while for 2-cyano-3-{5-[2-(5-pyrrolidin-1-ylthiophen-2-yl)vinyl]thiophen-2-yl}acrylic acid the Ph ring is replaced by a 2nd thiophene unit (TT). Solar-to-elec. energy conversion efficiencies under simulated AM 1.5 irradn. (1000 W m-2) of 2.3% were obtained for solar cells based on PT but of

Primary localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis (PLCNA) is a rare form of cutaneous amyloidosis. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman with multiple asymptomatic discrete nodules and atrophic plaques on the thighs of 4 years' duration that had increased in number and size. Results of extensive clinical, histologic, and laboratory evaluation showed no evidence of systemic amyloidosis or myeloma. A diagnosis of PLCNA was made. The patient refused treatment due to the asymptomatic nature of the lesions, and follow-up examination 2.5 years later showed minimal progression of the disease.

To study the clinicopathologic features, immunophenotype and gene rearrangement of primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type (PCLBCL).Seven cases of PCLBCL were enrolled into the study. Clinicopathologic analysis, immunohistochemical staining and gene rearrangement for IgH and Igκ were undertaken in the study.All the seven cases were male, and the median age was 72 years. Patients usually presented with multiple purple tumors, nodules, papules and infiltrative plaques. Two patients had a history of leg injury before onset, and one had mosquito bites. Histologically, the tumor involved the dermis and subcutis with dense and diffuse infiltrative pattern composing of centroblasts and/or immunoblasts. Immunohistochemical staining showed that seven cases (7/7) expressed CD20, six (6/6) expressed bcl-2, four (4/4) expressed MUM-1, four (4/5) expressed CD79a, four (4/5) expressed PAX-5 and four (4/6) expressed bcl-6, respectively. All cases did not express CD3ε, CD45RO, CD10 and CD30. IgH gene rearranged bands were detected in three (3/6) cases and Igκ was detected in one (1/5) case. Six of the seven cases died and the remaining patient, who was 44-year-old, was alive after 22 months of follow-up.PCLBCL is rare, predominantly affects elderly male patients. PCLBCL has poor prognosis and high mortality, but younger patients seem to have better prognosis. Some cases had a history of trauma or mosquito bites. The relationship between the history and the onset of PCLBCL needs further evaluation.

T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated cross-recognition is a major mechanism in the pathogenesis of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. However, the characteristics of the TCR repertoire and the clinical significance of repertoire reformation throughout the course of DRESS are unknown. Here, we isolated CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells from peripheral blood of 8 DRESS patients at 10-day intervals and, sequenced CDR3-regions of the TCRB chain by high-throughput sequencing to analyze the dynamic reformation in the T-cell repertoire hierarchy. Compared with healthy donors, T-cell expanded in peripheral repertoires from DRESS patient. The extent of fluctuation of dominant CD8+ T-cell clones, but not of CD4+ counterparts, correlated positively with the clinical severity and helped classify the enrolled subjects into “fluctuant” and “flat” repertoire groups. The anti-herpesvirus response, which was measured using anti-EBV/HHV antibodies and the proportion of the homologous CD8+ EBV-specific clonotypes, in the “fluctuant” group was substantial higher than that in the “flat” group. Furthermore, autoimmune sequelae were observed in a cured “fluctuant” patient. Collectively, the clinical relevance of the fluctuant CD8+ T-cell repertoires supports the notion that herpes virus-mediated continuously de novo priming of newly pathogenic CD8+ T-cell clones is an alternate mechanism responsible for the pathogenicity of DRESS.

Donor-acceptor molecules containing thiophene chromophore with remarkably large Stokes shift (> 210 nm) have been found to exhibit strong and stable ECL emission via the singlet excited state witho ...

1-Amino-4-bromoanthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (bromoamine acid) is an important intermediate for dyes. 1-Aminoanthraquinone-2,4-disulfonic acid is the major impurity when 1-aminoanthraquinone is sulfonated in oleum to synthesize bromoamine acid. The mechanism of bromination of 1-aminoanthraquinone-2,4-disulfonic acid in sulfuric acid has been studied. It is proved that 1-aminoanthraquinone-2,4-disulfonic acid undergoes de-sulfonation first to form 1-aminoanthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid, and then bromination to form bromoamine acid. Based on this mechanism, a new optimal process for the synthesis of bromoamine acid is developed. In this way, bromoamine acid is afforded in high yield and good quality.

A new molecular dyad, comprised of a zinc-porphyrin and a ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridine) complex linked through an amide bond has been synthesized and characterized by H-1, C-13 NMR, UV-vis, mass-s ...

Bis(4-methylpyridine)phthalocyaninato ruthenium(II) has been synthesized. It was proved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction that the central Ru(II) atom is bonded to six N atoms in an elongated octahedral configuration, and the axial ligands have a significantly longer Ru - N bond distance, 2.101(4) Å, than the independent pyrrol Ru - N bond, 1.99 Å. Therefore, the axial ligands can be exchanged by other ligands. The ligand exchange reactions with diethyl pyridyl-4-phosphonate and diethyl pyridylmethyl-4-phosphonate were studied in high boiling-point solvents at elevated temperatures, ca 160 °C. Mono-ligand as well as double-ligand replaced complexes were obtained. The complexes have been isolated by column chromatography. These complexes have potential applications, such as in dye sensitized solar cells.

A perylenediimide (PDI) tetramer-based three dimensional (3D) molecular material, termed SFX-PDI4, has been designed, synthesized, and characterized. The low-lying HOMO and LUMO energy levels, high ...

Three new dyes have been synthesized to investigate the influence of the distance between the electron acceptor and TiO2 surface on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In these dyes, the isoquinolinium acceptor, with a -(CH2)nCOOH anchoring group, and a functionalized triphenylamine donor are separated by an oligothiophene bridge. The physical and electrochemical properties of the dyes were investigated systematically. The results prove that different numbers of -CH2- units between the isoquinolinium acceptor and the carboxyl anchoring group have a less pronounced effect on the physical and electrochemical properties of these dyes. However, when applied in DSSCs, a sharp decrease in the short-circuit current (Jsc) was observed with increasing numbers of -CH2- units. For example, the device containing the organic dye bearing three -CH2- units produced the lowest Jsc of 7.94 mA·cm(-2). In contrast, the device containing the dye bearing only one -CH2- unit exhibited the highest Jsc of 13.88 mA·cm(-2). The higher photocurrent obtained with the device incorporating the dye with one -CH2- unit resulted in a higher power conversion efficiency of 6.8%.

In the present study, tetramethylammonium hydroquinone (HQ)/benzoquinone (BQ) were developed for use as a redox couple, with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) being proposed for use as counter electrode (CE) catalysts in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Both metal-complex N719 and metal-free organic dye CM309 were employed to fabricate devices. For the devices sensitized by N719, when using PEDOT and MWNT CEs, power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 5.2 and 4.9% were obtained, respectively, which were much higher than that of the device using the traditional Pt CE (4.7%) when HQ/BQ electrolyte was employed. However, with the HQ/BQ redox shuttle, the efficiency of the devices sensitized by N719 is much lower than that of the devices when the traditional I(-)/I3(-) based electrolyte and Pt CE were employed (7.9%). While for the CM309 sensitized solar cells, when the HQ/BQ redox shuttle was employed, PEDOT and MWNT performed much better than Pt, the DSSC using the PEDOT CE showed an efficiency of 6.2%, which was close to that of the DSSC using the traditional I(-)/I3(-) electrolyte and Pt CE (6.3%).

Objective.To determine the association of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the TNIP1 gene and compare the expression of this gene in cases and controls from a Chinese Han population in this replication study.Methods.Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to genotype 19 SNP in TNIP1 in Chinese Han patients with SLE (n = 341) and controls (n = 356). Genotypes were analyzed by codominant, dominant, and recessive models. Analysis of allele frequencies and linkage disequilibrium was also performed. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to measure the expression of these genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of SLE cases and controls.Results.Seven SNP loci were significantly associated with SLE in our population (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Two TNIP1 gene haplotypes (ATTGCGC and GTCCTAT) were associated with SLE (p = 0.0246 and p = 0.0024, respectively). Western blotting and qRT-PCR results provide evidence that patients with SLE had significantly reduced expression of TNIP1/ABIN-1 relative to controls.Conclusion.Analysis of SNP in the TNIP1 gene and expression of this gene in peripheral blood lymphocytes indicated these SNP were associated with the occurrence of SLE in Han Chinese patients. Future studies should examine the roles of these SNP in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Four hydroxylpyridium organic dyes were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Hydroxylpyridium was introduced as an electron acceptor in donor-π-conjugated bridge-acceptor (D-π-A) system. The traditional anchoring groups, such as the carboxyl group, were replaced by hydroxyl group. It was found that the existence of the hydroxylpyridium exhibits a large effect on the absorption spectra of dyes JH401-JH404. For JH series of dyes, hexylthiophene was employed as the π-conjugated bridge, and triphenylamine, phenothiazine, and their derivatives were used as the electron donor. The performances of the dyes with different structure were investigated by photophysical, photovoltaic, and electrochemical methods. When applied in the DSSCs, the sensitizer JH401 yields the best efficiency, 2.6% (Jsc = 6.35 mA/cm(2), Voc = 605 mV, FF = 67.6%) under 100 mW/cm(2) light illumination. Its maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) is 80% at 440 nm light wavelength, which is the highest IPCE value achieved with hydroxyl group adsorbent organic dyes so far.

Benign lymphangioendothelioma represents a rare lymphatic vascular proliferation characterized by proliferation of irregular and thin-walled vessels dissecting amongst dermal collagen. Immunohistochemical analysis has been lacking in most previously reported cases.Herein, we report the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of four cases of benign lymphangioendothelioma. Immunohistochemical study was completed for all lesions.All lesions presented as large, red to brown patches or plaques. Three lesions were located on the thigh and one lesion was located on the neck. Histopathologically, all lesions showed proliferation of anastomotic or retiform thin-walled vessels with a single layer of endothelial cells that dissect the dermis. D2-40 and Prox1 immunostains were positive and Wilms tumor 1 (WT-1) immunostain was negative in all cases.Benign lymphangioendothelioma represents a lymphatic vascular proliferation. A lack of expression of WT-1 suggests it represents a lymphatic vascular malformation.

Transcription factor FOXP3 (forkhead box P3) is found initially as a key regulator in regulatory T cells. Recently its expression has been demonstrated in some non-lymphoid normal and cancerous cells. Now FOXP3 has been proven to regulate cancer-related genes, especially suppressor genes in breast cancer. But the mechanisms by which FOXP3 regulates suppressor genes are not fully determined. In this study, we found the inverse correlation between FOXP3 and Ezh2, an enzyme for histone H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) and a central epigenetic regulator in cancer. The overexpression of FOXP3 weakened Ezh2's enhancement on the mammosphere formation, cell proliferation, directional migration, and colony forming ability of T47D cells. We demonstrated that FOXP3 could downregulate Ezh2 protein level and this depended on not only the FOXP3 expression amount, but also the nuclear localization of FOXP3. More importantly, we demonstrated FOXP3 accelerated Ezh2 protein degradation through the polyubiquitination–proteasome pathway by enhancing the transcription of E3 ligase Praja1 directly. These results provided a new mechanism for FOXP3 in histone modifications as an Ezh2 suppressor and supported new evidence for FOXP3 as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer.

An organic dye JY1 bearing a nitro group was designed, synthesized and applied in DSCs. An unusual colour change was observed when the voltage applied to the device was reversed which was accompanied by a five-fold increase in the cell efficiency. We propose that applying a bias enabled the attachment of nitro groups to the TiO2 surface.

Novel cyanine dyes, in which a tetrahydroquinoline derivative is used as an electron donor and 1-butyl-5-carboxy-3, 3-dimethyl-indol-1-ium moiety is used as an electron acceptor and anchoring group, were designed and synthesized for application in dye-sensitized solar cells. The photovoltaic performance of these solar cells depends markedly on the molecular structure of the dyes in terms of the n-hexyl chains and the methoxyl unit. Retardation of charge recombination caused by the introduction of n-hexyl chains resulted in an increase in electron lifetime. As a consequence, an improvement of open-circuit photovoltage (V oc) was achieved. Also, the electron injection efficiencies were improved by the introduction of methoxyl moiety, which led to a higher short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc). The highest average efficiency of the sensitized devices (η) was 5.6 % (Jsc=13.3 mA cm-2, Voc=606 mV, and fill factor FF=69.1 %) under 100 mW cm-2 (AM 1.5G) solar irradiation. All of these dyes have very high absorption extinction coefficients and strong absorption in a relatively narrow spectrum range (500-650 nm), so one of our organic dyes was explored as a sensitizer in co-sensitized solar cells in combination with the other two other existing organic dyes. Interestingly, a considerably improved photovoltaic performance of 8.2 % (Jsc=20.1 mA cm-2, Voc=597 mV, and FF=68.3 %) was achieved and the device showed a panchromatic response with a high incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency exceeding 85 % in the range of 400-700 nm. Sensitive dyes absorb it all: Co-sensitization of three spectrally complementary dyes on a TiO2 film in a well-designed sequence significantly improves the photovoltaic performance of the device, and an efficiency of 8.2 % is achieved. The devices demonstrate a panchromatic response with an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency g80 % over the entire visible spectral region from 400 to 700 nm.

A new type of electrolyte with a sulfide/polysulfide redox couple and I(-) was prepared as a solvent-free ionic liquid for application in dye-sensitized solar cells, reaching efficiencies of 5.2-6.4% under AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm(-2) light illumination, and 6.6% efficiency was obtained under 0.1 sun irradiation.

Time-resolved emission and absorption spectroscopy are used to study the photoinduced dynamics of forward and back electron transfer processes taking place between a recently synthesized series of donor–(π-spacer)–acceptor organic dyes and semiconductor films. Results are obtained for vertically oriented titania nanotube arrays (inner diameters 36 nm and 70 nm), standard titania nanoparticles (25 nm diameter) and, as a reference, alumina nanoparticle (13 nm diameter) films. The studied dyes contain a triphenylamine group as an electron donor, cyanoacrylic acid part as an electron acceptor, and differ by the substituents in a spacer group that causes a shift of its absorption spectra. Despite a red-shift of the dye absorption band resulting in an improved response to the solar spectrum, smaller electron injection rates and smaller extinction coefficients result in reduced dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) conversion efficiencies. For the most efficient dye, TPC1, electron injection from the hot locally excited state to titania on a time scale of about 100 fs is suggested, while from the relaxed charge transfer state it proceeds in a non-exponential way with time constants from 1 ps to 50 ps. Our results imply that the latter process involves the trap states below the conduction band edge (or the sub-bandgap tail of the acceptor states), localized close to the dye radical cation, and is accompanied by fast electron recombination to the parent dye's ground state. This process should limit the efficiency of DSSCs made using these types of organic dyes. The residual, slower recombination can be described by a stretched exponential decay with a characteristic time of 0.5 μs and a dispersion parameter of 0.33. Both the electron injection and back electron transfer dynamics are similar in titania nanoparticles and nanotubes. Variations between the two film types are only found in the time resolved emission transients, which are explained in terms of the difference in local electric fields affecting the position of the emission bands.

A modified polysulfide redox couple, [(CH(3))(4)N](2)S/[(CH(3))(4)N](2)S(n), in an organic solvent (3-methoxypropionitrile) was employed in CdS quantum dot (QD)-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), and an unprecedented energy conversion efficiency of up to 3.2% was obtained under AM 1.5 G illumination. The QDs were linked to nanoporous TiO(2) via covalent bonds by using thioglycolic acid, and chemical bath deposition in an organic solvent was then used to prepare the QDSSCs, facilitating high wettability and superior penetration capability of the TiO(2) films. A very high fill factor of 0.89 was observed with the optimized QDSSCs.

We report on femtosecond–nanosecond (fs–ns) studies of the triphenylamine organic dye (TPC1) interacting with titania nanoparticles of different sizes, nanotubes and nanorods. We used time-resolved emission and absorption spectroscopy to measure the photoinduced dynamics of forward and back electron transfer processes taking place in TPC1–titania complexes in acetonitrile (ACN) and dichloromethane (DCM) solutions. We observed that the electron injection from the dye to titania occurs in a multi-exponential way with the main contribution of 100 fs from the hot excited charge-transfer state of anchored TPC1. This process competes with the relaxation of the excited state, mainly governed by solvation, that takes place with average time constants of 400 fs in ACN and 1.3 ps in DCM solutions. A minor contribution to the electron injection process takes place with longer time constants of about 1–10 ps from the relaxed excited state of TPC1. The latter times and their contribution do not depend on the size of the nanoparticles, but are substantially smaller in the case of nanotubes (1–3 ps), probably due to the caging effect. The contribution is also smaller in DCM than in ACN. The efficient back recombination takes place also in a multi-exponential way with times of 1 ps, 15 ps and 1 ns, and only 20–30% of the initial injected electrons in the conduction band are left within the first 1 ns after excitation. The faster recombination rates are suggested due to those originating from the free electrons in the conduction band of titania or the electrons in the shallow trap states, while the slower recombination is due to the electrons in the deep trap states. The results reported here should be relevant to a better understanding of the photobehaviour of an organic dye with promising potential for use in solar cells. They should also help to determine the important factors that limit the efficiency of solar cells based on the triphenylamine-based dyes for solar energy conversion., This work was supported by the JCCM and MICINN through projects PCI08-0037-5868 and MAT2008-01609, respectively. M.Z. thanks the support from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 235286 (NANOSOL).

A 59-year-old Chinese woman was referred to our department in November 2005 for erythematous lesions of the chest, the back, and the limbs that had appeared six months before, with no obvious cause. The rash faded upon diascopy. The affected area had gradually extended, merged into a large patch, and spread to both arms. Three months earlier, rice-grain or broad bean-sized erythema had appeared on both thighs, and the affected area had gradually increased and partly merged. The patient did not report [...]

We report on studies of the recently synthesized compound (TPC1) with a promising potential use in dye-sensitized solar cells. We used steady-state as well as femtosecond (fs) to nanosecond (ns) time-resolved emission techniques to understand its behaviour under different conditions of solvation and light excitation. In polar solvents the equilibrium between TPC1 normal and anion structures was found to depend on solvent H-bond acceptor ability and concentration of the dye. We observed a correlation between the contribution of the normal form in the total absorption spectrum and solar energy conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic devices prepared in different baths, which are high in dichloromethane and low in tetrahydrofurane. Both forms exhibit a large charge transfer character in the excited state manifested by a large Stokes shift between absorption and emission maxima (up to 9000 cm(-1) in acetonitrile). The lifetime of the relaxed state of the normal structure varies significantly with the solvent polarity (from 80 ps in acetonitrile to 1.8 ns in n-hexane), and it is considerably shorter than that of the anion one (1.2-2.6 ns). The ultrafast relaxation processes are dominated by the solvation dynamics which is the fastest in acetonitrile (below 1 ps) and the slowest in ethanol (about 25 ps, the amplitude-averaged time). The results reported here should be relevant to a better understanding of the photobehaviour of metal-free dyes for solar cells and help in the design of new and more efficient dyes for conversion of light to electricity. QC 20110204

Alopecia areata (AA) is a hair follicle-specific autoimmune disease that is inherited genetically but triggered environmentally. Stress response is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of AA. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), known as the stress axis, plays a cardinal role in the stress response. Growing evidence demonstrates that stress responses are under the control of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Skin and hair follicles display peripheral HPA axis-like signaling systems. Some studies have revealed that a modified HPA axis, which is characterized by enhanced CRH/CRHR and insufficient glucocorticoid, is involved in the pathology of AA, suggesting that the paradoxical expression differs from that of normal control and should be further examined. Because adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is an intermediary in the HPA axis, MC2R, which specifically binds ACTH, may be important in the stress response of skin. Therefore, we investigated the gene and protein expression of MC2R in AA lesions and tried to elucidate the connection between HPA axis regulation, MC2R and AA. Reciprocal changes in MC2R mRNA and proteins in human AA were observed in our study; while mRNA levels were higher in lesions from AA patients compared with scalp tissues from normal controls, protein levels of MC2R were lower. The paradoxical expression of MC2R gene and protein levels coincided with evidence that over-responsive HPA activity coexists with a deficient HPA response in AA. We hypothesized that the HPA axis response in human AA may be the following: stressors first activate excess CRH/CRHR to produce increased ACTH, which up-regulates the expression of MC2R mRNA, but the stress response cannot create sufficient cortisol when the binding of ACTH/MC2R is deficient due to decreased MC2R protein. This hypothesis rationally clarifies the changed HPA axis in human AA and highlights the importance of MC2R in the pathogenesis of AA. The inconsistent expression of protein and mRNA implicates post-transcriptional control of human MC2R gene expression as found in murine MC2R gene.

A new strategy in which the anchoring group is separated from the acceptor groups of the dyes was developed; among these dyes, the HY103dye gives a maximum IPCE value of 86% at 660 nm and an η value of 3.7% in the NIR region reported in DSCs.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on two novel carbazole dyes (TC301 and TC306) and a Br(-)/Br(3)(-) redox mediator in dried CH(3)CN solutions as electrolytes yielded a V(oc) of 1.156 V and a eta value of 3.68% and a V(oc) of 0.939 V and a eta value of 5.22% under simulated AM 1.5, respectively. The dyes TC301 and TC306 have more positive HOMO levels (1.59 and 1.38 V vs NHE) than the redox potential of Br(-)/Br(3)(-)-based electrolytes, which have sufficient driving force to regenerate dyes. Under similar conditions with an I(-)/I(3)(-) instead of a Br(-)/Br(3)(-) redox mediator, DSCs sensitized by the dyes TC301 and TC306 produced a V(oc) of 0.696 V and a eta value of 2.36% and a V(oc) of 0.621 V and a eta value of 4.10%, respectively.