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Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) could significantly improve outcomes for patients and future disease-modifying treatments. Several studies have revealed that α-synuclein levels in peripheral erythrocytes are associated with PD, but the diagnostic value in early PD is still unknown.This study included both cross-sectional and longitudinal design. The subjects included 45 patients with early PD and 79 age-matched healthy controls. Participants were re-examined with repeated blood collection and clinical assessments after 3 years. The electrochemiluminescence assay was used to measure total and oligomeric α-synuclein levels respectively. The diagnostic value of erythrocytic α-synuclein for early PD was determined by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. Correlations between RBC α-synuclein levels and changes over 3 years in clinical characteristic scores were further investigated with a linear regression.Total and oligomeric α-synuclein levels in erythrocyte were significantly increased in early PD groups compared with control group (Total α-synuclein, p 0.001; Oligomer, p 0.001). Levels of total and oligomeric α-synuclein in erythrocytes were correlated with MDS-UPDRS III scores in early PD (Total α-synuclein, p = 0.008; Oligomer, p = 0.037). After adjusting for age, gender and dopaminergic medication, an association was found between higher erythrocytic oligomeric α-synuclein levels at baseline and greater increase in MDS-UPDRS III scores over 3 years (p = 0.007).Our study suggests that total and oligomeric α-synuclein in erythrocyte were elevated even in the initial motor stage of PD. Higher erythrocytic oligomeric α-synuclein levels at baseline predicts a faster clinical decline over time in patients with early PD.

Studies have shown that most patients after PCI cannot adhere to the cardiac rehabilitation program. The survey found that due to the lack of secondary prevention of cardiac rehabilitation, the phenomenon of drug reduction and withdrawal after PCI is very common after discharge, leading to recurrence of the patient’s disease or worsen and repeated hospitalizations, so continuity of care is very important. In this paper, in addition to proposing a network care continuum with artificial intelligence handler in order to improve the healthcare system and provide new ideas for improving the postoperative recovery of CHD patients, we analyze the impact of PCI on the coronary heart disease patients’ PCI postoperative quality of life. In the method part, this article introduces the concepts of continuation care and PCI after surgery, introduces the marker delivery algorithm in the field of artificial intelligence, and introduces the SF-36 scale for patient quality of life analysis. This article designs an experiment combining artificial intelligence processors to carry out network continuity care for patients and divides 100 eligible patients into an experimental group and a control group. In the analysis part, the two groups of patients were analyzed in terms of general data comparison, physical function, biochemical indicators, quality of life, and dependence. It can be seen from the experimental analysis that the anxiety and depression of the two groups of subjects have different degrees of decline. The HAMA value of the experimental group is 9.06 ± 0.77 , and the HAMD value is 9.18 ± 1.20 , which is significantly lower than that of the control group, P < 0.05 . It can be seen that the use of network continuation care can reduce the negative emotions of patients more than general care. Through psychological counseling and postoperative follow-up, it can improve the optimism and positive emotions of the patients, reduce the negative emotions of the patients, and improve it to a certain extent.

Chloride transport is a vital issue in the research on the durability of alkali-activated materials (AAMs). Nevertheless, due to its miscellaneous types, complex mix proportions, and limitations in testing methods, the reports of different studies are numerous and vary greatly. Therefore, in order to promote the application and development of AAMs in chloride environments, this work systematically reviews the chloride transport behavior and mechanism, solidification of chloride, influencing factors, and test method of chloride transport of AAMs, along with conclusions regarding instructive insights to the chloride transport problem of AAMs in future work.

Grandparenting is known to impact psychological health in older people. However, the extent to which the effect is altered by migration-related and sociodemographic determinants is less clear. Therefore, we conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate whether the association between grandparenting and psychological distress differs between rural-urban migrants and local older adults from May to September 2019. A total of 373 rural-urban migrants and 602 local older adults involved in grandparenting in Hangzhou completed measurements assessing sociodemographic characteristics, childcare burden and psychological distress. In total, 22.2% of the grandparents reported psychological distress. Rural-urban migrant grandparents had a lower socioeconomic status (SES), a higher childcare burden (23.6 ± 9.2 vs. 20.7 ± 9.5, p 0.001) and higher levels of psychological distress (29.8% vs. 17.4%, p 0.001) than local grandparents. Childcare burden and pressure from adult children were the most significant predictors for psychological distress in both groups (ps 0.05). Psychological distress was also significantly associated with self-rated health status (β = -0.276, p = 0.033) and willingness to participate in grandparenting (β = -0.659, p = 0.024) in migrant grandparents but associated with female gender (β = 0.346, p = 0.022), caring for children at night (β = 0.424, p = 0.011), conflict with adult children (β = 0.432, p 0.001) and annual income (β = -0.237, p 0.001) in local grandparents. Migrant status showed a statistically significant moderating effect between childcare burden and psychological distress. These results may be of assistance in comprehensively understanding the social determinants of mental health of grandparents involved in grandparenting.

This study investigates the relationship between the mRNA expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and Tumor protein p53 (TP53) in circulating tumor cells (CTC) and sensitivity to radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer. To investigate the relationship between cytokines IL-6, CD8Radiosensitivity was assessed by measuring a morphological or functional change in the tumor in response to ionizing radiation. Fasting venous anticoagulated blood (EDTA anticoagulation) was drawn from patients, and the Trizol-chloroform two-step method was used for RNA extraction. Data were collected from 45 patients admitted with radiotherapy alone from January 2018 to December 2021. The expression levels of NRF2mRNA (Messenger Ribose Nucleic Acid) and TP53mRNA in CTCs were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Pre- and post-treatment changes in IL-6 and CD8Twenty-six cases were sensitive to radiotherapy, and 19 were resistant, for a radiotherapy sensitivity rate of 58.8%. NRF2mRNA and TP53mRNA values increased in 19 radiotherapy-resistant patients and decreased in 26 radiotherapy-sensitive patients compared with those before radiotherapy (P = 0.001, P＜0.05). The ΔCT values of NRF2mRNA and TP53mRNA before treatment were moderately correlated with prognosis (P 0.002). Inflammatory cytokine IL-6 was elevated in 22 of 45 patients after radiation, P = 0.04. NRF2 mRNA level was consistently elevated with CD8The expression of NRF2mRNA and TP53mRNA in the CTCs found in the peripheral blood of patients with esophageal squamous carcinoma was significantly associated with the sensitivity to radiotherapy. NRF2 mRNA level was consistently elevated with CD8

Purpose To evaluate the test-retest reliability and validity of the MNREAD test for use in children with vision impairment (VI) and to compare their performance on the test to that of normally sighted children. Methods Children with VI (n = 62) and without VI (n = 40) were administered the MNREAD test and the Basic Reading Inventory (BRI) on two study visits, 1 to 3 weeks apart. The maximum reading rate, critical print size, and reading acuity were determined for the MNREAD test, and test-retest reliability was evaluated. The reading rate for the MNREAD test was compared to the BRI results. Results Strong correlations between visits were found for all MNREAD parameters (0.68-0.99). Older, but not younger, children with VI read significantly more slowly on both the MNREAD and the BRI than children with normal vision (P < 0.05). Reading rates between the two tests were strongly correlated (r = 0.88). For the MNREAD test, the reading rate increased 4.4 words per minute (wpm) per year for VI and 10.6 wpm/y for those with normal vision. For the BRI, the reading rate increased by 5.9 wpm/y for VI and 9.7 wpm/y for those with normal vision. Poorer visual acuity was associated with slower reading rates on the MNREAD test but not on the BRI, as the MNREAD relies largely on visual factors but the BRI also relies on linguistic and grammar skills. Conclusions The MNREAD test are reliable and valid for use in children with vision impairment. Translational Relevance The MNREAD test can be utilized by clinicians, as they are a quick, easy-to-administer method for evaluating reading vision in children with VI.

In real life, individuals tend to be self-interested. The defectors exploit the cooperators for high payoffs, and the cooperators take defensive measures to reduce their own losses. Since the defensive behavior of cooperators is affected by environmental factors, this paper proposes an environmental-based defensive game model in the well-mixed population. Theoretical analysis shows that when cooperators do not have the defensive awareness, all the individuals choose defection. When cooperators have defensive awareness, the cooperators can survive in the fierce competition, so as to realize the stable coexistence of cooperation and defection. If all the cooperators have defensive awareness, the system can reach an evolutionary stable state of full cooperation. Through abundant numerical calculations, it is found that when the temptation is small and the defensive probability is large, the cooperation fraction is significantly affected by the threshold. Furthermore, the stronger the defensive awareness, the higher the cooperation fraction. As long as there are cooperators in the population who take defensive measures, a state of full defection can be avoided. Reducing the defensive cost and increasing the defensive benefit as well as the defensive loss are conducive to enhance cooperation level. In a word, defensive behavior promotes cooperation, which provides a new perspective for understanding the emergence of cooperation.

Background Erythrocytes are a major source of peripheral α-synuclein (α-Syn). The goal of the current investigation is to evaluate erythrocytic total, oligomeric/aggregated, and phosphorylated α-Syn species as biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD and healthy control blood samples were collected along with extensive clinical history to determine whether total, phosphorylated, or aggregated α-Syn derived from erythrocytes (the major source of blood α-Syn) are more promising and consistent biomarkers for PD than are free α-Syn species in serum or plasma. Methods Using newly developed electrochemiluminescence assays, concentrations of erythrocytic total, aggregated and phosphorylated at Ser129 (pS129) α-Syn, separated into membrane and cytosolic components, were measured in 225 PD patients and 133 healthy controls and analyzed with extensive clinical measures. Results The total and aggregated α-Syn levels were significantly higher in the membrane fraction of PD patients compared to healthy controls, but without alterations in the cytosolic component. The pS129 level was remarkably higher in PD subjects than in controls in the cytosolic fraction, and to a lesser extent, higher in the membrane fraction. Combining age, erythrocytic membrane aggregated α-Syn, and cytosolic pS129 levels, a model generated by using logistic regression analysis was able to discriminate patients with PD from neurologically normal controls, with a sensitivity and a specificity of 72 and 68%, respectively. Conclusions These results suggest that total, aggregated and phosphorylated α-Syn levels are altered in PD erythrocytes and peripheral erythrocytic α-Syn is a potential PD biomarker that needs further validation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40035-019-0155-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We designed and fabricated poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl] [3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7): [6,6]-phenyl-C70-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PC70BM)–based solar cells with gate electrodes, which can introduce an additional electric field within the devices just as in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). Our proposed realize the simple and convenient modulation of electric field within the device, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.1% is reached at 2.0 V gate bias, significantly higher than the PCE of 6.8% at the case of no gate structure. By calculating the carrier mobility and the rate of exciton dissociation efficiency in detail, the role of electric field to the exciton dissociation and carrier transport was investigated, respectively. Meanwhile, the feasibility of the proposed device structure in practical application was discussed. The results suggest that such a gate structure has a great of prospects in achieving high efficiency polymer solar cells.

Information asymmetry makes individuals rely on different criteria when updating strategies. We combined the Fermi and aspiration process into a changeable process. Our aim is to study how individuals change strategies based on the selection of updating rules and how this affects the evolution of cooperation in public goods game. Our analytical and simulated results indicate that the changeable process indeed can effectively promote cooperation both in well-mixed and structured populations. A striking finding is that the cooperation level is a nonmonotonic function of the aspiration value in the structured population when the social dilemma is weak. Too high probability that individual adopts the aspiration process will impede the evolution of cooperation for low aspiration value. Conversely, it will enhance the evolution of cooperation for high aspiration value.

BACKGROUND: The PedsQL 4.0 is a generic health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instrument that has been used across many pediatric health conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate its use in children with vision impairment and to test its ability to distinguish between visually impaired and normally sighted children. METHODS: Children with vision impairment and age-matched controls underwent vision testing, including binocular best-corrected distance visual acuity. They completed the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale Child Report (ages 8–12) or Teen Report (ages 13–18), as appropriate. Parents completed the Parent Proxy Report in a room separate from their children. Analyses included descriptive statistics, intraclass correlations, t tests, and determination of Cronbach’s α for subscales. RESULTS: A total of 70 study subjects and 44 controls were included. Groups were similar with regard to age, race, and sex. PedsQL 4.0 subscales showed no floor effects; however, some scales had ceiling effects of up to 28% in certain groups. Cronbach’s α was excellent (0.88) for all subscales and reports. PedsQL 4.0 total score for children with vision impairment differed significantly from that for normally sighted children for both age groups and for both parent and child reports. Total score was also significantly associated with visual acuity. Parent and child reports correlated poorly (ICC

Multiple system atrophy(MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by intracellular α-synuclein deposits. There is an unmet need for blood-based biomarkers to diagnose MSA. Our previous studies have reported elevated α-synuclein levels in erythrocytes of MSA patients. However, α-synuclein protein in the membrane and cytoplasm of erythrocytes in MSA have not been investigated.The membrane and cytoplasm were extracted from erythrocytes in 77 patients with MSA and 133 healthy controls. Levels of total and oligomeric α-synuclein were detected using Electrochemiluminescence assays. The correlations between α-synuclein levels and clinical characteristics were explored in MSA group. The diagnostic value of erythrocyte α-synuclein for MSA was determined by Receiver operator characteristic curve.α-synuclein levels in the erythrocyte membrane were significantly elevated in MSA patients compared with the healthy controls (total α-synuclein, p = 0.003; oligomeric α-synuclein/total α-synuclein, p = 0.033; oligomeric α-synuclein/protein, p 0.001). The combination of total and oligomeric α-synuclein levels in erythrocyte membrane could efficiently distinguish MSA from healthy controls (sensitivity of 79.2%; specificity of 69.2%; area under the curve: 0.771). In contrast, no significant difference was found in erythrocyte cytoplasm α-synuclein levels. In the subgroup of 48 patients with probable MSA, there was a weakly negative correlation between oligomeric α-synuclein/protein in erythrocyte membrane and disease duration (r = -0.336; p = 0.009).Our pilot study suggests that the membrane fraction of α-synuclein levels in erythrocyte were elevated in patients with MSA, and these levels may be decreased with the development of disease.

CuO nanowires (NWs) with the diameters ranging from 130 to 275 nm have been successfully prepared by electrospinning technique, followed by a calcination process. Inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with the structure of indium tin oxide/CuO NWs/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT):poly(styrenesulphonate) (PSS)/CH3NH3PbI3/phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester/Bphen/Ag were designed, achieving a best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.87%, which is 21% improvement compared to that of the control PSCs without CuO NWs. By the characterizations of an optical microscope, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, it was found that CuO NWs have uniform morphology and orderly arrangement. Electrochemical impedance spectrometry and external quantum efficiency were used to reveal the effect of CuO NWs on the performance of PSCs. Compared to ZnO NWs with the same diameters and quantitative analysis based on a simple model, we conclude that the improvement of PCE by about 1...

The individual roles of three chloroplast CPN60 protomers (CPN60α, CPN60β1, and CPN60β2) and whether and how they are assembled into functional chaperonin complexes are investigated in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Protein complexes containing all three potential subunits were identified in Chlamydomonas, and their co-expression in Escherichia coli yielded a homogeneous population of oligomers containing all three subunits (CPN60αβ1β2), with a molecular weight consistent with a tetradecameric structure. While homo-oligomers of CPN60β could form, they were dramatically reduced when CPN60α was present and homo-oligomers of CPN60β2 were readily changed into hetero-oligomers in the presence of ATP and other protomers. ATP hydrolysis caused CPN60 oligomers to disassemble and drove the purified protomers to reconstitute oligomers in vitro, suggesting that the dynamic nature of CPN60 oligomers is dependent on ATP. Only hetero-oligomeric CPN60αβ1β2, containing CPN60α, CPN60β1, and CPN60β2 subunits in a 5:6:3 ratio, cooperated functionally with GroES. The combination of CPN60α and CPN60β subunits, but not the individual subunits alone, complemented GroEL function in E. coli with subunit recognition specificity. Down-regulation of the CPN60α subunit in Chlamydomonas resulted in a slow growth defect and an inability to grow autotrophically, indicating the essential role of CPN60α in vivo.

Cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit has been indicated important for tremor in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the role of dentate nucleus (DN) in parkinsonian tremor remains unclear. To investigate whether DN plays a role in PD tremor, we recruited 50 PD and 29 age-matched health controls (HC). The patients were divided into tremor-dominant (TD) and non-tremor-dominant (NTD) groups. We collected resting-state fMRIs data for each subject. The bilateral DN was then chosen as the region of interest to examine PD tremor-related network changes, as well as its correlation with tremor severity. Voxel-wise functional connectivity analysis revealed that the bilateral DN had higher connectivity with the bilateral cerebellar anterior lobe, and had lower connectivity with the bilateral prefrontal cortex in TD compared to the HC and NTD groups. Functional connectivity of the bilateral DN with the bilateral cerebellar posterior lobe was also higher in TD than NTD group. Functional connectivity between the bilateral DN and the bilateral cerebellar posterior lobe showed positive correlation with tremor severity, while that between the bilateral DN and the bilateral prefrontal cortex displayed negative correlation. Our study demonstrates higher dentato-cerebellar connectivity and lower dentato-prefrontal connectivity in TD patients, which might be involved in the pathogenesis of PD tremor. And we conclude that DN might be associated with the pathogenesis of PD tremor.

Vinorelbine (VIN) is a semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid and is one of the most active agents for the treatment of solid tumors. The drug is commonly administered through a peripheral vein. Although VIN is known to cause local venous toxicity, such as drug-induced phlebitis, the mechanism responsible for the toxicity remains unclear. To investigate the role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in VIN-induced vascular endothelial injury, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were prepared from umbilical cords recovered with the written informed consent of the parents and treated with VIN for 60 min. Following the washing away of the VIN, the cells were cultured for a further 6 and 12 h, and the changes in TLR4 expression in the HUVECs were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. Finally, the effects of VIN on the translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were determined by immunofluorescence and confocal analysis. The VIN-treated cells were stretched, extended and irregular while the control cells exhibited normal morphology. The TLR4 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in the VIN-treated HUVECs than those in the control group (P

To investigate the predictive value of minor salivary gland biopsy in clinically diagnosed early stage Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, and to provide more evidence of minor salivary gland biopsy as a pathological diagnostic biomarker of PD. Thirteen patients with early stage PD and 13 age-matched controls were recruited. Hoehn and Yahr stage and Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale Part III were employed to evaluate their severity of the disease. All the subjects underwent minor salivary gland biopsy and (11)C-methyl-N-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl) tropane ((11)C-CFT) DAT-PET scan. Immunohistochemical staining for Lewy-type alpha-synucleinopathy using antibody against alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) was performed in the tissues obtained from minor salivary gland. Abnormal accumulation of α-Syn was found around the gland cells in 9 of the 13 patients with PD, but in none of the control subjects. The α-Syn immunoreactive structures were located in the periacinar space. Twelve clinically diagnosed PD patients showed asymmetrical and relatively severe reduction of (11)C-CFT uptake in the posterior putamen compared with the control. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of minor salivary gland biopsy were 75, 100, 100 and 25%, respectively, when compared with the DAT-PET imaging. Our results suggest that minor salivary gland biopsy does not hold high diagnostic accuracy as DAT-PET, but still has the potential to be a useful pathologic biomarker for PD, which is worth more investigations.

Large-scale quantitative evaluation of the tightness of membrane association for nontransmembrane proteins is important for identifying true peripheral membrane proteins with functional significance. Herein, we simultaneously ranked more than 1000 proteins of the photosynthetic model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for their relative tightness of membrane association using a proteomic approach. Using multiple precisely ranked and experimentally verified peripheral subunits of photosynthetic protein complexes as the landmarks, we found that proteins involved in two-component signal transduction systems and transporters are overall tightly associated with the membranes, whereas the associations of ribosomal proteins are much weaker. Moreover, we found that hypothetical proteins containing the same domains generally have similar tightness. This work provided a global view of the structural organization of the membrane proteome with respect to divergent functions, and built the foundation for future investigation of the dynamic membrane proteome reorganization in response to different environmental or internal stimuli.

Objective We investigated possible abnormalities in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macula lutea of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and tested for any correlation with the severity of dementia. Methods A total of 72 subjects, comprising 25 AD patients, 26 MCI patients and 21 healthy individuals (controls) were enrolled in this study. The thickness of the RNFL and volume of the macula lutea was determined using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results When compared with controls, we found statistically significant thinning of the RNFL in AD patients at all clock-hour positions except 12:00, and nasal quadrant, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00. After adjusting several risk factors, the average thickness of the RNFL was reduced in MCI patients compared to AD patients, with specific reductions at inferior quadrant, 5:00 and 6:00. Compared to controls, MCI patients showed a significant decrease in RNFL thickness only in the temporal quadrant, 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00. We found significant reduction in the volume of the macula lutea both in AD and MCI patients. Finally, we could not establish any correlation between patient Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (an estimation of the severity of cognitive impairment) and any OCT parameter. Conclusion Retinal degeneration in AD and MCI patients results in decreased thickness of the RNFL, and reduced macular volume in AD and MCI patients. However, there seems to be no correlation between these changes and the severity of dementia.

Myths are a visionary sacred narrative that provides society with its values, significance and symbolic foundation. In the current field of politics, where liberal rationalism of Habermas and Rawls dominate, myths are viewed with suspicion. They denote falsehood, archaic knowledge or tool for mass manipulation. It is dismissed as a mode of thought incongruous to the modern political world because of its ‘irrationality’. This desire to purge myths from politics fails to recognise the ineradicable role of myth as a symbolic and affective form. How it provides society with collective representation and understanding of the world. As a consequence, they are essential for effective politics; they bestowed the faith and motivational drives that orient our actions. The Left needs to engage with the mythical to intervene and challenge the prevailing market logic of neoliberalism and rise in xenophobia. This does not entail succumbing to dogmatism, as Barthes claims; on the contrary, myths are not formalistically naturalising but rather permit a pluralism of meaning that can support emancipatory politics. Tapping into the current demands of ‘real’ democracy from political movements, a ‘myth of democratic politics ’ based on Rancièrean work, can provide a foundational framework to realise a new vision of politics based on dissensus and power of the people. It is a vision of politics that can revive the Left as a powerful political force, which shapes our collective future.

Using a genetic approach, we have identified and characterized a novel protein, named Msf1 (Maintenance factor for photosystem I), that is required for the maintenance of specific components of the photosynthetic apparatus in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Msf1 belongs to the superfamily of light-harvesting complex proteins with three transmembrane domains and consensus chlorophyll-binding sites. Loss of Msf1 leads to reduced accumulation of photosystem I and chlorophyll-binding proteins/complexes. Msf1is a component of a thylakoid complex containing key enzymes of the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway, thus revealing a possible link between Msf1 and chlorophyll biosynthesis. Protein interaction assays and greening experiments demonstrate that Msf1 interacts with Copper target homolog1 (CHL27B) and accumulates concomitantly with chlorophyll in Chlamydomonas, implying that chlorophyll stabilizes Msf1. Contrary to other light-harvesting complex-like genes, the expression of Msf1 is not stimulated by high-light stress, but its protein level increases significantly under heat shock, iron and copper limitation, as well as in stationary cells. Based on these results, we propose that Msf1 is required for the maintenance of photosystem I and specific protein-chlorophyll complexes especially under certain stress conditions.

Metal nanowires have become an inevitable candidate for the next generation transparent conductive electrodes due to the high conductivity, transparency and flexibility. Here, copper nanowires (Cu NWs) with good uniformity were prepared in sequence by electrospinning technology, calcination and ethanol vapor phase reduction. Through adjusting vapor temperature accurately, the optimized Cu NWs with large aspect ratio of above 105, a low sheet resistance down to 51.4 Ω/口and a high transmittance of 80% in visible spectra were prepared. Inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells with Cu NWs network as transparent electrodes were designed and a power conversion efficiency of 5.32% was achieved when the coverage of Cu NWs was 22%.

An effective composite bilayer cathode buffer structure is proposed for use in small molecular solar cells. CsF was doped in Alq3 to form the first cathode buffer, leading to small serial resistances. BCP was used as the second cathode buffer to block the holes to the electrode. The optimized bilayer cathode buffer significantly increased the short circuit and fill factor of devices. By integrating this bilayer cathode buffer, the CuPc/C60 small molecular heterojunction cell exhibited a power conversion efficiency of up to 0.8%, which was an improvement of 56% compared to a device with only the Alq3 cathode buffer. Meanwhile, the bilayer cathode buffer still has a good protective effect on the performance of the device.

Proteome Dynamics of albumins and globulins during grain development of elite Chinese wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 6 were studied. A total of 210 differentially expressed protein spots were recognized by two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and 146 of these that represented 89 unique proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Four protein expression patterns were observed across five grain developmental stages. Among the identified proteins, more than 80% were enzymes in eight functional categories, including carbohydrate metabolism (27%), protein metabolism (27%), stress/defense/detoxification (11%), cell metabolism (6%), transcription/translation (4%), nitrogen metabolism (4%), photosynthesis (4%), and signal transduction (1%). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of 18 representative genes demonstrated that about two thirds of the genes displayed different expression profiles between the transcriptional and translational stages.

The relationship between chromosome deletion in wheat and protein expression were investigated using Chinese Spring and fine deletion line 3BS-8. Through 2-DE (2-D electrophoresis) analysis, no differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were found in leaf samples, however, 47 DEPs showed at least two-fold abundance variation (p < 0.05) in matured wheat grains and 21 spots were identified by tandem MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. Among the identified spots, four were cultivar-specific, including three (spots B15, B16, and B21) in Chinese Spring and one in 3BS-8 (spot B10). Among variety-different DEPs between Chinese Spring and 3BS-8, most spots showed a higher express profile in CS, only four spots showed up-regulated expression tendency in 3BS-8. An interesting observation was that more than half of the identified protein spots were involved in storage proteins, of which 11 spots were identified as globulins. According to these results, we can presume that the encoded genes of protein spots B15, B16, and B21 were located on the chromosome segment deleted in 3BS-8.

Persons with kidney disease often have cardiovascular disease, but they are less likely to use recommended medications for secondary prevention. The hypothesis was that participants with reduced estimated GFR have lower use of medications recommended for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events (antiplatelet agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers, β-blockers, and statins) and lower medication adherence than participants with preserved estimated GFR.In this cross-sectional analysis, we analyzed data from 6913 participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study with a history of cardiovascular disease. Medication use was ascertained by an in-home pill bottle review. Medication adherence was assessed using a validated four-item scale.Among participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, 59.8% used antiplatelet agents, 49.9% used angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers, 41.6% used β-blockers, and 53.0% used statins. Compared with the referent group (estimated GFR ≥60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)), participants with estimated GFR45 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) were more likely to use angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (adjusted prevalence ratio=1.14, 95% confidence interval=1.06-1.23), β-blockers (adjusted prevalence ratio=1.20, 95% confidence interval=1.09-1.32), and statins (adjusted prevalence ratio=1.10, 95% confidence interval=1.01-1.19). Antiplatelet agent use did not differ by estimated GFR category; 30% of participants reported medication nonadherence across all categories of estimated GFR.Among participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, mild to moderate reductions in estimated GFR were associated with similar and even more frequent use of medications for secondary prevention compared with participants with preserved estimated GFR. Overall medication use and adherence were suboptimal.

A soluble derivative of copper phthalocyanine, that is 2,9,16,23-tetra carboxyl copper phthalocyanine (CuTCPc), is synthesized in this paper. The applications of CuTCPc as donor and interlayer materials in solar cell devices are investigated. The results demonstrate that when CuTCPc is used as a donor material, the performance of the device ITO/CuTCPc/PCBM/Al shows an open circuit voltage (V(OC)) of 0.54 V, a short circuit current (J(SC)) of 0.825 mA/cm2, a fill factor (FF) of 32.3% and the power conversion efficiency (nu) of 0.14%. When CuTCPc acts as an interlayer, the performance of the device ITO/CuTCPc/P3HT:PCBM/Al is improved: J(SC) increases to 3.12 mA/cm2, V(OC) increases to 0.59 V, FF increases to 33.8%, and the corresponding nu is 0.62%.

In this paper, six organic light emitting devices with different quantum well cycles and different position of well structures have been demonstrated. These well structures were composed by N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-napthyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine and tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum, or tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum and 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline. The device with one cycles well structure as electron transporting layer exhibits the highest brightness 3354 cd/m 2 and current efficiency of 3.46 cd/A. The current efficiency improved owing to carrier confinement and higher exciton formation probability in the well layer. Results illustrated that using proper period of well structure could improve the current efficiency of organic light emitting device and using well structure as electron transporting layer are better than as hole-transporting layer.

Salt stress is a major abiotic stress that limits agricultural productivity in many regions of the world. To understand the molecular basis of the salt stress response in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a proteomic approach was used to identify the salt stress-responsive proteins in an elite Chinese wheat cultivar, Zhengmai 9023, which exhibits a high yield, superior gluten quality and better biotic resistance. Three-week-old seedlings were treated with NaCl of four different concentrations (1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5%). The total proteins from the leaves of untreated and NaCl-treated plants were extracted and separated by two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). A total of 2358 protein spots were detected on the gels, among which 125 spots showed a significant change in protein abundance, and 83 differentially expressed spots were localised on preparative gels. Using Q-TOF mass spectrometry, 52 salt-responsive spots were identified, which were classified into six functional categories that included transport-associated proteins, detoxifying enzymes, ATP synthase, carbon metabolism, protein folding, and proteins with unknown biological functions. Of the 52 differentially expressed proteins, 26 were up-regulated, 21 were down-regulated, and five spots showed multi-expression patterns. In particular, some important proteins for salt tolerance were found to be up-regulated in Zhengmai 9023 under salt stress, such as H(+)-ATPases, glutathione S-transferase, ferritin and triosephosphate isomerase.

Bread made from a mixture of wheat and lupin flour possesses a number of health benefits. The addition of lupin flour to wheat flour during breadmaking has major effects on bread properties. The present study investigated the lupin and wheat flour protein interactions during the breadmaking process including dough formation and baking by using proteomics research technologies including MS/MS to identify the proteins. Results revealed that qualitatively most proteins from both lupin and wheat flour remained unchanged after baking as per electrophoretic behavior, whereas some were incorporated into the bread gluten matrix and became unextractable. Most of the lupin alpha-conglutins could be readily extracted from the lupin wheat bread even at low salt and nonreducing/nondenaturing extraction conditions. In contrast, most of the beta-conglutins lost extractability, suggesting that they were trapped in the bread gluten matrix. The higher thermal stability of alpha-conglutins compared to beta-conglutins is speculated to account for this difference.

[6,6]-Phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is used to modify an indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated substrate. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using PCBM as the anode modification layer are fabricated. The dependence of performance on different PCBM thicknesses is also investigated. When the thickness of the PCBM film is appropriate, the brightness and efficiency of OLEDs are enhanced, which is attributed to an enhanced hole injection and an improved carrier balance. The enhancement of hole injection was ascribed to the formation of a dipole layer at the anode/organic interface.

A new class of low molecular weight glutenin subunit (LMW-GS) genes was isolated and characterized from Aegilops comosa (2n = 2x = 14, MM). Although their DNA structure displayed high similarity to LMW-i type genes, there are some key differences. The deduced amino acid sequences of their mature proteins showed that the first amino acid residue of each gene was leucine and therefore they were designated as LMW-l type subunits. An extra cysteine residue was present in the signal peptide and the first cysteine residue of mature proteins located at the end of repetitive domain. Additionally, a long insertion of 10-22 residues (LGQQPQ(5-17)) occurred in the end of the C-terminal II. Comparative analysis demonstrated that LMW-l type glutenin genes possessed a great number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions. A new classification system was proposed according to the gene structure and phylogenetic analysis. In this new system, LMW-GS is classified into two major classes, LMW-M and LMW-I, with each including two subclasses. The former included LMW-m and LMW-s types while the latter contained LMW-l and LMW-i types. Analysis of their evolutionary origin showed that the LMW-l genes diverged from the group 2 of LMW-m type genes at about 12-14 million years ago (MYA) while LMW-i type evolved from LMW-l type at approximately 8-12 MYA. The LMW-s type was a variant form of group 1 of LMW-m type and their divergence occurred about 4-6 MYA. In addition to homologous recombination, non-homologous illegitimate recombination could be an important molecular mechanism for the origin and evolution of LMW-GS gene family. The secondary structure prediction suggested that the novel LMW-l type subunits, such as AcLMW-L1 and AcLMW-L2, may have positive effects on dough properties.